sober in drinkynge softe in wordes wyse in counsaile and to conclude hee oughte to be very pacient in aduersytye and farre from vices which attempt him Worthye of prayse is the greate Seneca for these wordes but more worthye shall the olde men be if they will conforme their workes according to those wordes For if wee see them abandon vices and geue them selues to vertues we wyll both serue them and honour them ¶ That princes when they are aged should be temperate in eating sober in drinkynge modest in apparell and aboue all true in communicacion Cap. xviii IT is consonaunt to the counsayle of Seneca that the aged shoulde bee temperate in eating whych they ought to do not only for the reputacion of their persons but also for the preseruacion of their liues For the olde men which are drunk and amarous are persecuted with their owne diseases and are defamed by the tonges of other That whiche the auncient men shoulde eate I meane those whiche are noble and vertuous ought to be verye cleane well dressed and aboue all that theye take it in ceason and time for otherwise to muche eatinge of diuers thinges causeth the yonge to bee sicke and enforceth the olde to dye Yong men though they eate dishonestly very hastely and eate speakinge we can do no lesse but dissemble withe them but the olde mē whych eate much and hastelye of necessitie we oughte to reproue them For men of honour ought to eate at the table with a great grauitie as if they were in anye counsaile to determine causes It is not my intention to perswade the feble olde men not to eate but to admonishe them to eate no more then is necessarye We doe not prohibite them to eate delicate thinges but to beware of superfluous thinges We doe not counsale them to leaue eatinge hauinge nede but to withdrawe them selues from curiosyties For thoughe it bee lawefull for aged men to eate sufficiente it is not honeste for them to eate to ouercome their stomakes It is a shame to wryte it but more shame ought they to haue whiche doe it whiche is that the goodes whiche theye haue wonne and inheryted by their predecessours theye haue eaten and dronken so that theye haue neyther bought house vyne nor yet maried any doughter but they are naked and theire poore children goe to the Tauernes and Innes and the myserable fathers to the Hospitalles and churches When anye man commeth to pouertye for that his house is burned or his shyppe drowned or that theye haue taken all from hym by lawe or that he hath spent it in pleadyng against hys enemye or anye other inconuenience is come vnto hym mee thinketh wee all are bounde to succoure him and the harte hathe compassion to beeholde hym but hee that spendeth it in apparaile not requysyte to seeke delitious wynes and to eate delicate meates to such one I woulde saye that the pouertye hee suffreth is not sufficiente for his desertes For of all troubles there is none so greate as to see a man suffer the euill whereof he hymselfe hathe bene the occasion Also according to the counsaile of Seneca the auncients ought to be wel aduertised in that they should not onely be temperate in eatyng but also they shoolde be sober in drinking and this both for the preseruacion of their health and allso reputacion of theire honestye For if the olde Phisitions doe not deceiue vs humaine bodies doe drye and corrupte beecause theye drinke superfluously and eate more then nature requireth If I shoulde saye vnto the olde menne that theye shoulde drynke no wyne theye myghte tell mee that it is not the counsayle of a Christian But presuppose theye oughte to drynke and that for noe oppynyon theye shoulde leaue it yet I admonyshe exhorte and desire them that theye drynke lytle and that theye drynke verye temperate For the disordynate and immesurate drynkynge causeth yonge men to bee drunke and the olde men bothe drunke and foolishe O howe muche authoritye loste theye and what grauytye doe honourable and auncient menne lose whiche in drynkinge are not sober Whyche semeth to bee true for asmuche as the man beeinge loden wyth wyne thoughe hee were the wysest in the worlde hee shoulde bee a verye foole that woulde take counsayle of suche one in hys affaires Plutarche in a booke whiche hee made of the fortune of the Romains sayed that in the senate of Rome there was an auncient manne who made greate exclamacions that a yonge man hadde in suche sorte dishonoured him that for the iniuries he hadde spoken hee deserued deathe And when the yonge manne was called for to aunswere to that hee hadde sayde vnto hym he aunswered Fathers conscripte thoughe I seeme yonge vnto you yet I am not so yonge but that I knewe the father of this olde manne who was a vertuous and noble Romayne and somewhat a kynne to mee And I seeynge that his father hadde gotten muche goodes fightynge in the warres and also seeinge this olde manne spending them in eatynge and drinkynge I sayde vnto him one daye I am verye sorye my lorde and vncle for that I heare of thye honour in the market place and am the more sorye for that I see done in thy house wherein we sawe fyftye men armed before in one houre and we nowe see a hundreth knaues made drunke And worse then that as thye father shewed to all those that entered hys house the ensignes hee hadde wonne in the warres so nowe to those that enter into thy house thou shewest them dyuers sortes of wynes My vncle complayned of mee but in this case I make the plaintife iudge againste mee the defendaunt And I woolde by the immortall goddes hee deserued noe more payne for hys woorkes then I deserue by my woordes For yf he had bene wyse hee woulde haue accepted the correction which secretlye I gaue him and had not come openly to declare his faults in the Senate The complaynte of the olde manne beeinge hearde by the Senate and the excuse in lyke manner of the yonge man they gaue iudgement that theye shoolde take all the goods from the olde manne and prouyde hym of a tutour whyche shoulde gouerne hym and hys house And theye commaunded the tutoure that from hence forwarde hee shoolde not geeue him one cuppe of wyne since hee was noted of drunkennesse Of truth the sentence whiche the Senate gaue was verye iuste For the olde manne whiche geeueth him selfe to wyne hathe asmuche neede to haue a gouernoure as an infaunte or a foole Laettius made a booke of the feastes of Phylosophers and declarethe sundrye auncyente bankettes amonge the which he putteth one where were assēbled many greate philosophers And admit that the meats were meane simple yet the bidden gestes were sage And the cause why they did assemble was not to eat but to dispute of some graue doctrines whereof the philosophers did somewhat doubte For in those daies the greater the Stoikes the Peripatetikes were in nomber
were to full of deuises and blamed much the Grecians because they were to curious in speaking fine wordes aboue all other he greately prayseth the Romaynes for that they were very harde of belife that they scarcely alweyes credited the sayings of the Grekes and because they were discrete in admitting the inuencions of the Egyptians The author hath reason to prayse th one and disprayse thother For it procedeth of a light iudgement to credite al the thinges that a man heareth and to doe al thinges that he séeth Returninge therefore now to our matter Marcus Varro sayde there were .5 thinges in the worlde very harde to bringe in whereof none after they were commonly accepted were euer lost or forgottē for euen as things vainely begō are easely left of so things with great feare accepted with much diligence are obserued The first thing that chiefly thoroughout al the world was accepted was al men to liue togethers that is to say they should make places townes villages cities common wealthes For according to the saying of Plato the first best inuentours of the cōmon welth were the antes which according to thexperiēce we sée do liue togethers trauaile togethers do go togethers also for the winter thei make prouisiō togethers furthermore none of these antes do geue thē selues to any priuat thing but al theirs is brought into their cōmō welth It is a meruelous thing to behold the cōmō welth of the antes how netely they trim their hilles to beholde howe they swepe away the graine when it is wet and how they drye it whan they fele any moisture to beholde how they come from their worke and how the one doth not hurt the other And to behold also how they doe reioyce the one in the others trauaile and that which is to our greatest confusion is that if it come so to passe 50000. antes will liue in a little hillocke togethers and two men onely cannot liue in peace and concorde in a cōmon wealth Woulde to God the wisedome of men were so great to kepe them selues as the prudence of the antes is to liue Whan the world came to a certayne age mens wittes waxed more fine than tirantes sprange vp which oppressed the poore theues that robbed the riche rebelles that robbed the quiet murderers that slew the pacient the ydell that eate the swete of other mens browes all the which thinges considered by thē which were vertuous they agréed to assemble liue together that therby they might preserue the good and withstande the wicked Macrobius affirmeth this in the seconde booke of Scipions dreame saying that couetousnes and auarice was the greatest cause why men inuented the commō wealth Plinie in the seuenth booke .56 chap. sayth the first that made small assembles were the Atheniens and the first that builte great cities were the Aegyptians The seconde thinge that was accepted throughout all the worlde were the letters whiche we reade whereby we take profite in writinge Accordinge whereunto Marcus Varro saith the Aegyptians prayse them selues and say that they did inuente them and the Assyrians affirme the contrary and sweare that they were shewed firste of all amongst them Plinie in the seuenth booke saith that in the first age there was in the alphabet no more than 16. letters that greate Palamedes at the siege of Troye added other .4 and Aristotle saithe that immediatly after the beginninge there were founde .18 letters And that afterwardes Palamedes did adde but .2 and so there were 20. and that the Philosopher Epicarmus dyd adde other two which were .22 it is no great matter whether the Aegyptians or the Assyrians first founde the letters But I say and affirme that it was a thing necessary for a common wealth and also for thencrease of man knowledge For if we had wanted letters and writings we could haue had no knowledge of the tyme past nor yet our posteritie coulde haue ben aduertised what was done in our dayes Plutarche in the second booke entituled De viris illustribus and Plinie in the seuenth booke and .56 chapiter doe greately prayse Pirotas bycause he firste founde the fier in a flinte stone They greatly commended Protheus bicause he inuented harneis and they highly extolled Panthasuca bicause she inuented the hatchet They praysed Citheus because he inuented the bowe and the arrowes they greatelye praysed Pheniseus because he inuented the crosse bowe and the slinge They highly praysed the Lacedemonians because they inuented the helmet the spere and the sword They commende those of Thessalia bicause they inuented the combate on horseback and they commende those of Affrike because they inuented the fight by sea But I doe prayse and continually will magnifie not those which founde the arte of fightinge and inuented weapons to procure warre for to kill his neighbour but those which found letters for to learne science to make peace betwene two princes What difference there is to wet the penne with inke and to paynte the spere with bloud to be enuironned with bookes or to be laden with weapons To study how euery man ought to liue or els to goe priuely and robbe in the warres to lie in waight to kill his neighbour There is none of so vaine a iudgement but wil praise more the speculation of the sciences than the practise of the warre Because that in the end he that learneth sciences learneth nought els but how he and others ought to lyue And he that learneth warlike feates learneth none other thinge than howe to sley his neighbour and to destroye others The thirde thinge that equally of all was accepted were lawes For admit that al men now liued togethesr in common if they would not be subiect one to another there woulde contention arise amongest them for that accordinge to the sayinge of Plato there is no greater token of the distruction of a common weale than whan many rulers are chosen therein Plinie in his seuenth booke .56 chapter sayth that a Quéene called Ceres was the first that taught them to sowe in the fieldes to grinde in milles to paste and bake in ouens and also she was the first that taught the people to liue according to the lawe And by the meanes of all these thinges our forefathers called her a goddesse Since that time we neuer haue sene heard nor red of any realme or other nation aswell straunge as barbarous what so euer they were but haue had lawes whereby the good were fauoured and also institutions of greuous paynes wherewith the wicked were punished Although truely I had rather and it were better that the good shoulde loue reason than feare the lawe I speake of those which leaue to doe euill workes for feare onely of fallinge into the punishementes appointed for euill doers For although men approue that which they doe yet God condemneth that which they desire Seneca in an epistle he wrot to his friend Lucille sayde these wordes Thou writest vnto me Lucille that those of
wealthe where the gouernours and iudges thereof doe not cast theire eyes but vnto them whâ—e they ought to chastise where they doe not thynke in theire harte but howe they maye enryche theire coffers where they doe not occupye theire handes but to take brybes and doe not passe the tyme but in bankettes And I sayde not wythout a cause bankettes For there are manye iudges whyche imploye they re studye more to geate frindes to mayntayne theire state proudlye then for to read bookes to iudge mennes causes vprightly The iudge which neuer readeth the iudge whiche neuer studieth the iudge whiche neuer openeth boke the iudge which is neuer in his house the iudge which day night robbeth howe is it possible that he execute one true iustice There can bee no greater feare in a man nor sclaunder more greate in the common welth then when the iudge who ought to iudge and chastise the offences of others is alwaies ouerwhelmed with vices him selfe The iudge which presumeth to be good and wil be good and desireth to be good a manne shoulde finde him no where vnlesse he be studying in his house or sitting in the place of iustice Let not princes trust vppon this when they prouyde iudges and gouernours for to iudge saieng that if they fynde any euill they wil soone cut him of for suche are so euil that if they want to meanes to get to those offices they shal want no cautils nor corrupt frindes to suborne them therein When princes great lordes shall finde anye iudge euill I counsaile them to auoide him immediatlye or that they shewe them selues not contented with his dooinges for suche one shal forthwith enforce him selfe to doe iustice with intencion that those of the common wealth myght desire him to be theire iudge Although my penne doth reproue these Iudges whiche are negligent and carelesse the whiche neither by knowledge can iudge nor with stoutnes punishe The iudges whiche iudge and gouerne ought not to be with all so familiar that all dare take vppon them to aske him for in this case if some commend his gentle coÌ„uersacion others will blame his parciall iustice I counsaile admonishe and require Princes that they content them selues not only to be true pitifull honeste and vertuous nor yet to be iuste but that it is as well necessarie they be obseruers of iustice For let them knowe that there is great difference betwene him that is iust and an other that doth minister iustice for to the prince that is good commeth honour to his parsonne but from him that ministreth iustice commeth profite to his common wealth Peraduenture it is no wonder to see the Prince that will tell no lye and to see his ministers not to speak one truthe peraduenture I do not thinke my self sclaundered to se the prince temperate in eatinge and to see all his seruauntes distempered bothe wythe eating and drinkinge peraduenture and it is no cause to muse vppon to see the princes chaste and honeste and to see theire seruauntes in fleshe filthye and dissolute peraduenture it is no cause to meruaile to see the prince iuste and to loue iustice and that verye fewe of hys ministers doe minister it The ende why all these thinges are spoken is to aduertise Princes that they bee not so carefull to bee chaste sober true and iust but that they know whether theire gouernoures and iudges are corrupted couetous gredy vnshame faste lyers or brybers For if it toucheth vs much that oure Princes be good so much more it toucheth vs that the ministers be not euil One of the things wherein princes ought to prouyde with their iudges and gouernours is that by no meanes they suffer theire lawes and auncient customes to bee broken in theire common wealthe and that in theire steedes straunge customes bee not introduced For the comminaltye is so variable in that they saye and so light in that they aske that they woulde daylye see a newe kinge and hourely chaunge a newe lawe Plinie in an epistle that he writeth to Escario saieth Optime apud Persas capitalem per legem fuit prohibitum nouos aut peregrinos mores inducere As if he spake more plainelye Amongest the Perses it was a lawe inuiolable that no man shoulde bringe into the common wealth anye straunge custome for suche an offence they shoulde paye none other raunsome but the losse of theire heades As menne dayly doe diminishe in vertue vnlesse by force they bee witholden and augment in vanitie so they woulde inuent newe deuyses and straunge customes wherewith men shoulde be decayed and the common wealthe destroyed For straunge meates doe alter mennes stomackes When those of Creta were vngentlye vsed of the Rhodiens they did not praye to theire godes to sende them pestylence warre famin or sedition amonge theire enemies but that they woulde suffer some euil maners to bee brought in amongest theire people Let not those thinke that shall reade this that it was a small curse those of Creta desired and that it was a small reuenge whiche God gaue them of theire enemyes if he gaue them that whiche they dyd requyre For from warres famin and pestylence some maye escape but with the newe and straunge deuyses we see all perishe Of manye thinges the Historians doe reproue the Emperour Sergius Galba and for one alone they doe praise him whiche is that he neuer consented that in Rome anye newe lawe shoulde bee made nor anye olde custome broken And hee commaunded that those shoulde bee greuouslye punished whiche brought in anye newe lawe and hee rewarded those whiche put hym in mynde of anye olde custome the whiche he commaunded to bee obserued It is a mockerye yea better to saye a sclaunder to see that some younge iudges will doe that of the common wealthe whiche a Taylour dothe of a gowne that is to saye to tourne hym within and without before and behynde whiche they ought not to doe nor the people to consent thereunto For the Prince dothe not sende them to make lawes nor to bringe in newe orders but to the ende that they doe onelye preserue the common wealthe in theire good customes Princes ought also to take greate care that vnto lyttle and greate riche and poore they minister equall iustice sithe there is no dyuyne nor humayne lawe that geueth them power and aucthoritie to corrupt it for if a Prince cannot wythout reason dispose his owne goods much lesse he can make lawes and sell iustice We doe not denye a Prince but that he is lorde of beastes of fysh of byrdes of mynes of mountaines of seruaunts and of fyeldes finallye that hee is lorde of the sea and lande but therefore we will not graunt hym that he is lorde of iustice For there is none other true Lorde of iustice but God whiche is the selfe same iustice When a Prince dyeth and maketh his will hee saieth I leaue all my realmes seignories to the prince my sonne and legittimate heire and doe leaue vnto
to lawe and the christian wyth the pagan without comparison the soule of a christian oughte more to be estemed then the lyfe of a Romayne For the good Romaine obseruethe it as a lawe to dye in the warre but the good christian hathe this precepte to lyue in peace Suetonius Tranquillus in the seconde booke of Cesars sayethe That amonge all the Romayne prynces there was noe prynce so wellbeloued nor yet in the warres so fortunate as Augustus was And the reason hereof is beecause that prynce neuer beganne anye warre vnlesse by greate occasyon he was thereunto prouoked O of how many prynces not ethnicks but christians we haue hearde and reade all contrarye to thys whyche is that were of suche large conscience that theye neuer tooke vppon them anye warre that was iuste to whom I sweare and promyse that since the warre which they in thys worlde beeganne was vniuste the punishemente whiche in an other theye shall haue is moste righteous Xerxes kynge of the Perses beynge one dayeat dynner one broughte vnto hym verye faire and sauourye fygges of the prouince of Athens the whyche beeinge sette at the table he sweare by the immortal goddes and by the bones of his predecessours that he would neuer eate fygges of hys countreye but of Athens whych were the beste of all Greece And that whyche by woorde of mouthe kynge Xerxes sweare by valiaunt dedes withe force and shielde he accomplished and wente foorthwith to conquere Gretia for noe other cause but for to syll him selfe wythe the sygges of that countreye so that he beganne that warre not onelye as a lyghte prynce but also as a vicious man Titus Liuius sayethe that when the Frenche men did cast of the wine of Italy immediately they put them selues in armes and went to conquere the countreye witheout hauinge anye other occasion to make warre againste them So that the Frenchemen for the lycorousnes of the pleasaunt wynes loste the deare bloude of theire owne hartes Kyng Antigonus dreamed one nighte that he sawe kinge Methridates withe a fyeth in hys hande who lyke a mower dyd cut all Italy And there fell suche feare to kynge Antigonus that he determined to kyll kynge Methridates so that this wicked prince for credytinge a lighte dreame set all the worlde in an vprore The Lumberdes beeinge in Pannonia herde saye that there was in Italy sweete fruites sauowry fleshe odoriferous wynes faire women good fish litle colde and temperate heate the whyche newes moued them not onelye to desire them but also theye toke weapons to goe conquere Italye So that the Lombardes came not into Italye to reuenge them of theire enemies but to bee there more vicious and riotous The Romaynes and the Carthagiens were friendes of longe time but after they knew there was in Spaine great mynes of golde and of siluer immediatelye arose betweene them exceadynge cruell warres so that those twoe puissaunt realmes for to take eche from other their goods destroyed their own proper dominions The authors of the aboue said were Plutarchus Paulus Diaconus Berosus Titus Liuius O secret iudgements of god which suffreth such thyngs O mercyful goodnes of thee my Lord that ê‘mitteth such things that through the dreame of on price in his chaÌ„ber another for to robbe the treasures of Spayne another to fly the colde of Hungary another to drinke the wines of Italy another to eat figges of Grece shoulde put al the countrey to fire bloud Let not my pen be cruel against al princes which haue vniust warres For as Traianus said Iust warre is more worthe then fayned peace I commend approue and exalt princes whiche are carefull stout to kepe and defende that which their predecessours lefte them For admit that for dispossessing them hereof cometh all the breache with other Princes Loke how much his enemy offendeth his conscience for taking it so much offendeth he his common wealth for not defending it The wordes whiche the diuine Plato spake in the first booke of his laws dyd satisfye me greatly which were these It is not mete we should be to extreme in coÌ„mending those which haue peace nor let vs be to vehement in reprouing those whiche haue warre For it may be now that if one haue warre it is to the end to attaine peace And for the contrary if one haue peace it shal be to the ende to make warre In deede Plato sayde verye true For it is more worthe to desire shorte warre for longe peace then short peace for longe warre The philosopher Chilo being demauÌ„ded whereby a good or euil gouernour might be knowen he auÌ„swered There is nothing wherby a good and euill man maye be better knowen then in that for the which they striue For the tyranous Prince offrethe him selfe to dye to take from an other but the vertuous prince trauaileth to defend his own WheÌ„ the redemer of this worlde departed from this worlde he sayde not I geue ye my warre or leaue ye my warre but I leaue ye my peace and geeue you mye peace Thereof ensuethe that the good christian is bounde to keepe the peace which Christ so muche commaunded then to inuent warre to reuenge his proper iniurye which god so much hated If princes dyd that they oughte to doe and in this case woulde beleue me for no temporall thing they shoulde condescend to shed mans bloud if nothinge els yet at the leaste the loue of hym whiche on the crosse shed hys precious bloude for vs shoulde from that cleane disswade vs. For the good Christians are commaunded to bewaile theire owne sinnes but they haue no licence to shed the bloude of their enemies Fynally I desire exhorte and further admonishe al princes and great lordes that for his sake that is prince of peace they loue peace procure peace kepe peace and liue in peace For in peace they shal be rich their people happye ¶ Themperour Marcus Aurelius writeth to his friend Cornelius wherein he dyscribeth the discomodyties of warre and the vanitie of tryumphe Cap. xiiij MArcus Emperoure wysheth to thee Cornelius hys faithful frend helth to thye person and good lucke against all euill fortune Withein fiftene daies after I came from the warre of Asia whereof I haue triumphed here in Rome remembrynge that in times paste thou weare a companyon of my trauaile I sent immedyatly to certyfy thee of my triuÌ„phes For the noble harts do more reioice of their friÌ„ds ioy theÌ„ they do of their own proê‘ delights If thou wilt take pains to come wheÌ„ I seÌ„d to cal thee be thou assured that on the one part thou shalt haue much plesure to se the great abuÌ„daÌ„s of riches that I haue brought out of Asia to beeholde mye receiuinge into Rome on the other thou canst not kepe thy selfe from weepinge to se suche a sorte of captiues the which entred in before the triuÌ„phant chariotes bounde naked to augment to the coÌ„querours most glory also to them vanquished to be a greater
haue no other way to descend but to fall is much lyke to that of the famyliars of Princes And therefore my lord I woold wysh you woold procure you such faythfulll frends about you that they hauyng regard and care of your person shoold always hold you by the gown for fallyng And not such as after they had let you fall woold then lend you their hands to help you vp agayn 6 All bee it the thyngs of the sowl shoold bee preferred beefore all others of thys worldly lyfe yet neuerthelesse I wyll bee content so that you haue as great care and consideration of your conscience as you haue of your honor All whych I was willyng to tell you syr to the end you may better vnderstand that those that are in estimation with the prince though they may benefit by tyme in takyng their tyme yet tyme dooth neuer benefyt by them at all 7 You must euer doo good to your vttermost power and neuer doo dyspleasure to any though it lye in your power and that you haue iust cause For the tears of the poore that are iniuryed and the lamentable cryes and playnts of the oppressed may possibly one day ascend to the presence of the tribunall seat where god shall sitt in his maiesty demaundyng iustyce and vengeaunce agaynst you and also come to the ears of the prince to cause you to bee hated of hym for euer 8 Touching the fauor you will shew to any eyther in offices or other benefits you will beestow on any man take heede you always rather preferre honest and true Christians then your own neere kynsmen or frends For a man may lawfully make his frend partaker of hys goods but not of hys conscience 9 In your councels you geeue in any wise bee not to much affectioned in them neither scorne with those that contrary your oppinion Bee not proud and seuere to those you doo commaund neither doo any thing wythout good aduyce and consideration For al beeit in princes courts euery mā dooth admire and beehold the excellency and woorthynes of the person yet are those always that are most in fauor of the Prince more noted regarded and sooner accused then others 10 Yf you wyll not erre in the counseils you shall geeue nor fayl in those things you enterprise Imbrace those that tell you the truth and reiect and hate those whom you know to bee flatterers and dissemblers For you shoold rather desire to bee admonished of the thing present then counselled after the dammage receiued Although wee suppose assuredly all these things aboue written are not lykely to happen nor come euen so to passe as I haue spoken yet may yt please you syr to remember they are not therefore impossible For spitefull fortune permitteth oft tymes that the sayles which the lyghtnyng and boysterous tempests could not break and teare in peeces are afterwards vpō a soden euen in the sweete of the mornings sleepe eche man taking his rest leauing the seas beefore in quiet calme all to shyuered and torn a sunder Hee that meaneth to geeue another a blow allso the more hee draweth back hys arme with greater force hee striketh And euen so neyther more nor lesse saieth fortune with those on whom for a time shee smyleth For the lenger a mā remaineth in her loue and fauor the more cruel and bitter shee sheweth her self to him in the end And therefore I woold aduise euery wise and sage person that when fortune seemes best of all to fauor him and to doo most for him that then hee should stand most in feare of her and least trust her deceipts Therefore Sir make no small accompt of this my booke litle though it bee For you know that doubtles as experience teacheth vs of greater price value is a litle spark of a Dyamond then a greater ballasse It forceth lyttle that the booke bee of small or great volume syth thexcellency thereof consysteth not in the number of leaues more or lesse but only in the good and graue sentences that are amplie writen therein For euery author that writeth to make his booke of great price and shew ought to bee brief in his woords and sweete and pleasant in his matter hee treateth of the better to satisfy the mynd of the reader and also not to bee tedious to the hearer And Sir I speak not without cause that you shoold not a lytle esteeme this small treatise of myne since you are most assured that with tyme al your things shall haue end your frends shall leaue you your goods shal bee deuided your self shall dye your fauor and credyt shall dimynish and those that succeede you shal forget you you not knowing to whom your goods and patrimony shall come and aboue all you shall not know what condicions your heires and children shall bee of But for this I write in your Royall history and Chronicle of your lawdable vertues and perfections and for that also I serue you as I doo with this my present woork the memory of you shall remain eternized to your Successors for euer Chilo the philosopher beeyng demaunded whether there were any thing in the world that fortune had not power to bring to nought aunswered in this sort Two things onely there are which neyther tyme can consume nor fortune distroy and that is the renowne of man wrytten in bookes and the veritie that is hidden For allthough troth for a tyme lye interred yet yt resurgeth agayn and receyueth lyfe appearing manyfestly to all And euen so in like case the vertues wee fynd wryten of a man doo cause vs at this present to haue him in as great veneration as those had in his tyme that best knew him Read therefore Sir at times I beeseech you these wrytyngs of myne allbeeit I feare mee you can scant borrow a moment of tyme with leysure once to looke vppon yt beeing as I know you are allways occupyed in affaires of great importaunce wherein mee thinketh you shoold not so surcharge your self but that you myght for your commodyty and recreacion of your spirits reserue some pryuat howers to your self For sage and wise men should not so burden them selues with care of others toyle that they should not spend one hower of the day at the least at their pleasure to looke on their estate and condicion As recoūteth Suctonius Tranquillus of Iulius Cesar who notwythstandyng his quotydian warres hee had neuer let slypt one day but that hee read or wrote some thing So that beeing in his Pauyllyon in the camp in the one hand hee held his launce to assault his enemy and in the other the penne to wryte with all with which hee wrote his woorthy comentaries The reasonable man therefore calling to mynd the streight account that hee must render of him self and of the time hee hath lost shal always bee more careful that hee lose not his time then hee shal bee to keepe his treasure For the wel imployed time is a mean help to his
the Egiptians nor Licurgus to the Lacedemonians nor Plato to his disciples nor Apolonius to the poets of Nemsis nor Hiarcus to the Indians coold euer tech it them and much lesse coold they tell how to fynd any way to write it in their bookes of common wealth The cause why these famous men did not fynd it was beecause this science coold not bee learned by studying of dyuers bookes nor by traueling through dyuers countreys but only by framing great suites and processes and by infinite charge and expence of money Happy yea truely most happy were those ages in whych they neither knew nor coold tell what strife or contentionment For in deede from that tyme hetherto the world hath fallen to decay and cheefely since men haue growen to quarel and contend ech other with his neighbor Plato was wont to say that in that comon weale where there were found many Phisitians it was also an euydent token that there were many vicyous people and lykewise wee may say that in the city where there are many suters it is to bee thought it folowes also that there are many yll disposed people That only may bee called a blessed and fortunat common weale where men lyue quietly and haue not to doo with Iustices nor iudges For it is a true rule when phisitians are much frequēted and iudges much occupyed that amongst that people there is lyttle health and lesse quiet But to returne to the troubles of our suters I say that the disciples of the famous Philosopher Socrates were not bound to bee sylent in Athens aboue two yeres but the vnfortunat suters were bound to hold their peace tenne yeres if their sutes did continue so long For albeeit the Iudge doo them open iniury yet they may not seeme to complayn but rather say hee thinketh hee hath doon him the best iustice in the world And if for his mishapp or plague of his offences hee woold not so approue and speak them let him bee assured the Iudge will perceiue it by his countenaunce and afterwards lett hym know it by his iudgement Some suters say they are great sinners and I say they are saints For of the seuen dedly sinnes that are committed only of three they are but to bee accused For in the other iiii although they woold they doo not geeue him tyme nor leaue to offend How can the suter euer offend in Pryde since hee must poore man goe from house to house with hys capp in his hand and all humility to solicite his cause How can hee euer offend in Auarice syth hee hath not many tymes a peny in his purse to by him his dyuer nor to pay for the infinit draughts and coppyes proceeding out of the Chauncery How can hee offend in Sloth and ydlenes sith hee consumeth the long nights only in sighes and complaynts and the whole day in trotting and trudging vp and down How can hee offend in Gluttony since hee woold bee content to haue only to suffyse nature and not to desyre pyes nor breakfastes nor to lay the table euery day That sinne they most easely and commonly offend in is Ire and in deede I neuer saw suter paciēt and although hee bee angry wee may not maruell at yt a whit For if euer once in the end of half a yere hee happen to haue any thyng that pleaseth hym I dare bee bound euery weeke after hee shall not want infinit troubles to torment and vex hym These men also offend much in enuy for in deed there is no man that pleades but ys enuious and thys proceedeth many tymes to see an other man by fauor dispatched of hys sute that hath not contynued only two moneths in court a suter and of hys that hath continued aboue two yeres synce yt beganne not a woord spoken They offend also in the sinne of backbyting and murmuryng agaynst their neyghbors For they neuer cease complayning of the partiality of the Iudges of the slouthfulnes and tymorousnes of his Counseller that pleades hys cause at the barre of the little consideration of the attorny of the payments of the notary and of the small curtesies or rather rudenes of the officers of the Iudge So that it may well bee sayd that to striue in law and to murmure are nere kinsfolkes togeethers The Egiptians were in tyme past plaged only wyth tenne plagues but these miserable woful suters are dayly plaged with a thowsand torments And the difference beetwixt their plague these is that the Egiptians came from the diuine prouydence and these of our poore suters from the inuention of mans malyce And it is not without cause wee say that it is mans inuention not diuine For to frame inditements to geene delays to the party to allege accions to deny the demaund to accept the proofe to examin witnesses to take out proces to note the declaration to prolong the cause alleging well or prouing yll to refuse the iudge for suspect to make intercession to take out the copy of the plea and to call vppon it agayn wyth a 1500. dudles Surely all these are things that neither god commaundeth in the old testament neither Ihesus Christ our sauiour dooth allow in his holy Gospell The writings of Egipt although they were to the great losse and detriment of the seignory of the Egiptians yet were they neuerthelesse very profitable for the liberty of the Egiptians But the miserable playntifes are yet in an other greater extremity for notwithstanding the plagues and miseries the poore wretches suffer daily yet do they leaue their soules buried in the courts of Chauncery and cannot notwithstanding haue their goods at liberty And if the plague of the Egiptians was by ryuers of blood froggs horse flyes death of cattell tempests leprosy locusts mists flyes and by the death of the first borne children The plague of the plaintifes is to serue the presidents to beare with the auditors to intreat the notaries to make much of their clarks to please the counsellers to follow their heeles that must open their cause to pray the vsshers to borow money to goe from house to house to sollicite their attorneys all these things are easy to tell but very hard to suffer For after they are once prooued and tryed by experience they are enough to make a wyse man contented rather to lose a peece of hys ryght then to seeke to recouer it by any such extremity For hee may bee well assured that hee shall neuer want fayre countenaunce sugred woords and large promyses but for good dooings it is a maruelous woonder if euer they meete togeethers And therefore beefore all other thyngs it is necessary hee pray to God for hys own health and preseruation and next to him for the preseruacion and long continuaunce of the Iudge if hee will obteyn his suite Therefore I aduise him that hath not the Iudge for hys frend to beeware as from the deuyll hee doo not commence any suite beefore him For to dispatch him the
merite to suffer many troubles if we haue not pacience therin During the time of this our miserable life we cannot denay but in euery estate there is bothe trouble and daunger For then onely our estate shal be perfit when we shal come gloriously in soule and body without the feare of deathe and also whan we shall reioyce without daungers in life Retourninge agayne to our purpose mightie Prince although we all be of value little we all haue little we all can attaine little we all know little we al are able to doe little we all do liue but little Yet in all this little the state of Princes semeth some great and high thing For that worldely men say there is no such felicitie in this life as to haue authoritie to commaunde many to be bounde to obey none But if either subiectes knewe how dere Princes by their power to commaunde or if Princes knewe howe swete a thinge it is to liue in quiet doutelesse the subiectes would pitie their rulers and the rulers would not enuy theyr subiectes For ful few are the pleasures which Princes enioy in respecte of the troubles that they endure Sithe then the estate of Princes is greater than al that he may doe more than all is more of value than all vpholdeth more than all and finally that from thence procedeth the gouernement of all it is more nedefull that the house the person and the life of a Prince be better gouerned and ordred than all the reste For euen as by the yard the marchante measureth al his ware so by the life of the Prince is measured the whole common weale Many sorowes endureth the woman in nourishing a waywerde childe great trauaile taketh a scholemaister in teaching an vntowarde scholler much paine taketh an officer in gouerning a multitude ouergreate howe greate than is the paine and peril whereunto I offer my selfe in takinge vpon me to order the life of such a one vpon whose life hangeth all the good state of a common weale For Princes and great Lords ought of vs to be serued and not offended we ought to exhort them not to vexe them we ought to entreate them not to rebuke them we ought to aduise them and not to defame them finally I say that right simple recken I that surgiō which with the same plaisters he layed to a hard héele séeketh to cure the tender eyes I meane by this cōparison that my purpose is not to tel princes and noble men in this booke what they be but to warne them what they ought to be not to tell them what they doe but to aduise them what they ought to doe For that noble man which will not amende his lyfe for remorse of his owne conscience I doe thinke that he wil amende it for the writing of my penne Paulus diaconus the historiographer in the second booke of his commentaries sheweth an antiquitie right worthy to remember and also pleasaunt to reade Although in dede to the hinderaunce of my selfe I shall reherse it It is as of the henne who by longe scraping on the donghill discouereth the knife that shall cut hir owne throte Thus was the case Hannibal the moste renowmed Prince and captayne of Carthage after he was vainquished by thaduenturous Scipio fled into Asia to kinge Antiochus a Prince then liuinge of great vertue who receiued him into his realme tooke him into his protectiō and right honourably enterteyned him in his house And certes king Antiochus did herein as a pitefull Prince for what can more beautifie the honor of a Prince than to succor nobilitie in their nedefull estate These two Princes vsed diuers exercises to spende the time honorably thus they diuided tyme. Sometime to hunt in the mountaines otherwhile to disporte them in the fieldes oft to vewe their armies But mostly they wente to the scholes to heare the Philosophers And truly they did like wise skilfull men For there is no hower in a daye otherwise so well employed as in hearinge a wise pleasaunt tonged man There was at a time in Ephesus a famous philosopher called Phormio which openly red and taught the people of that realme And one day as these twoo Princes came into the schoole the philosopher Phormio chaunged the matter whereupon be red and of a sodayne began to talke of the meanes and wayes that Princes ought to vse in warre of thorder to be kepte in geuing battaile Such so straunge and high phrased was the matter which he talked of that not onely they merueiled which neuer before sawe him but euen those also that of longe tyme had dayly hearde him For herein curious and flourisshing wittes shewe their excellency in that they neuer wante fresh mater to entreate vpon Greatly gloried the king Antiochus that this philosopher in presence of this straunge prince had so excellentlye spoken so that straungers might vnderstand he had his realme stored with wise mē For couragious and noble princes esteme nothing so precious as to haue men valiāt to defend their frontiers and also wise to gouerne their commō weales The lecturered king Antiochus demaunded of the prince Hannibal howe he liked the talke of the philosopher Phormio to whome Hannibal stoutely aunswered and in his aunswere shewed him self to be of that stoutnes he was the same day whā he wanne the great battayle at Cannas For although noble harted and couragious princes lose all their estates and realmes yet they will neuer confesse their hartes to be ouerthrowen nor vaynquisshed And these were the words that at that time Hannibal said Thou shalt vnderstande kinge Antiochus that I haue séene diuers dotinge olde men yet I neuer sawe a more dootarde foole than Phormio whom thou causest such a great philosopher For the greatest kinde of foly is whan a man that hath but a little vaine science presumeth to teach not those which haue only science but also such as haue most certeine experience Tel me kinge Antiochus what harte can brooke with pacience or what tonge can suffer with silence to sée a sely man as this philosopher is nourished all his life time in a corner of Grece studieng philosophie to presume as he hath done to talke before the prince Hannibal of the affaires of warre as though he had bene either lorde of Affrike or captayne of Rome Certes he either full little knoweth him self or els but little estemeth vs. For it appeareth by his vaine words he would seme to know more in matters of warre by that he hath red in bookes than doth Hannibal by the sundry and great battayles which he hath fought in the fieldes O king Antiochus how far and how great is the difference betwene the state of philosophers the state of captaynes betwene the skill to reade in schole and the knowledge to rule an armie betwene the science that these wise men haue in bookes and thexperience that thothers haue in warre betwene their skil to write with the penne and ours to fight
with the sword betwene one that for his pastime is set round with deskes of bookes and an other in perill of life compassed with troupes of enemies For many there are which with great eloquence in blasing dedes done in warres can vse their tongs but few are those that at the brunt haue hartes to aduenture their liues This sely philosopher neuer saw man of warre in the field neuer saw one army of men discomfeited by an other neuer heard the terrible trumpet sound to the horrible cruel slaughter of men neuer saw the treasons of some nor vnderstode the cowardnes of other neuer saw how fewe they be that fight nor how many there are that ronne away Finally I say as it is semely for a philosopher and a learned man to praise the profites of peace euē so it is in his mouth a thing vncomely to prate of the perils of warre If this philosopher hath sene no one thing with his eyes that he hath spoken but onely red them in sondry bokes let him recounte them to such as haue neither sene nor red them For warlike feates are better learned in the bloudy fields of Afrike than in the beautifull scholes of Grece Thou knowest right wel king Antiochus that for the space of 36. yeres I had continuall and daungerous warres aswell in Italy as in Spayne in which fortune did not fauor me as is alwaies her maner to vse those which by great stoutnes manhodde enterprise things high and of much difficultie a witnes wherof thou séest me heare who before my berde began to grow was serued nowe whan it is hore I my selfe begin to serue I sweare vnto the by the God Mars kinge Antiochus that if any man did aske me how he should vse and behaue him selfe in warre I would not answere him one word For they are things that are learned by experiēce of déedes not by prating in words Although princes begin warres by iustice and folow them with wisedome yet the ende standeth vpon fickle fortune and not of force nor policie Diuers other things Hannibal saide vnto Antiochus who so wil sée thē let him reade the Apothemes of Plutarche This example noble prince tēdeth rather to this end to condempne my boldnes not to cōmende my enterprise saying that thaffaires of the cōmon wealth be as vnknowen to me as the daungers of the warres were to Phormio Your maiestie may iustely say vnto me that I being a poore simple man brought vp a great while in a rude countrey do greatly presume to describe howe so puissant a prince as your highnes ought to gouerne him self and his realme For of trueth the more ignoraunt a man is of the troubles and alteracions of the worlde the better he shal be coūted in the sight of God The estate of princes is to haue great traines about them the estate of religious men is to be solitarye for the seruaunt of God ought to be alwayes voyde from vaine thoughtes to be euer accompanied with holy meditations The estate of princes is alwayes vnquiet but the state of the religious is to be enclosed For otherwise he aboue all others may be called an Apostata that hath his body in the sell and his hart in the market place To princes it is necessary to speake common with all men but for the religious it is not decente to be conuersaunt with the world For solitary men if they do as they ought should occupy their hands in trauaile their body in fasting their tonge in prayer their harte in contemplacion The estate of princes for the most part is employed to warre but the state of the religious is to desire procure peace For if the prince would study to passe his boundes and by battaile to shed the bloud of his enemies the religious ought to shede teares pray to God for his sinnes O that it pleased almighty God as I know what my boūden dutie is in my hart so that he would giue me grace to accomplish the same in my dedes Alas whan I ponder with my selfe the waightines of my matter my penne through slothe and negligence is ready to fall out of my hand I half minded to leaue of mine enterprise My intent is to speake against my selfe in this case For albeit men maye know thaffaires of princes by experience yet they shall not know howe to speake nor write thē but by science Those which ought to counsaile princes those which ought to refourme the life of princes that ought to instruct them ought to haue a clere iudgement an vpright minde their words aduisedly considered their doctrine holesom their life without suspiciō For who so wil speake of high things hauing no experēce of them is like vnto a blinde man that woulde leade teach him the way which séeth better thā he him self This is the sentēce of Xenophon the great which saith There is nothing harder in this life than to know a wise mā And the reason which he gaue was this That a wise man cānot be knowen but by an other wise mā we maye gather by this which Xenophon saieth that as one wise man cannot be knowen but by an other wise man so lykewise it is requisite that he should be or haue ben a prince which should write of the life of a prince For he that hath ben a mariner sailled but one yere on the sea shall be able to giue better counsaile and aduise than he that hath dwelled .x. yers in the hauen Xenophō wrote a boke touching the institucion of princes bringeth in Cambises the kyng how he taughte and spake vnto kyng Cirus hys sonne And he wrote an other booke likewise of the arte of cheualrye and brought in kyng Phillip how he oughte to teache his sonne Alexander to fight For the philosophers thought that writting of no auctoritie that was not intituled set forth vnder the name of those princes which had experience of that they wrate O if an aged prince would with his penne if not with worde of mouth declare what misfortunes haue happened sins the first time he began to reigne howe disobedient his subiectes haue ben vnto him what griefe his seruauntes haue wrought against him what vnkindnes his frendes haue shewed him what subtile wiles his enemies haue vsed towardes hym what daunger his person hath escaped what tarres haue ben in his palace what faultes they haue said against him how many times they haue deceiued straungers finally what grefes he hath had by day what sorrowful sighes he hath fetched in the night truly I thinke in my thought I am nothing deceaued that if a prynce wold declare vnto vs his hole lif that he wold particularly shew vs euery thing we wold both wōder at that body which had so much suffered also we wold be offended with that hart that had so greatly dissembled It is a troublesom thing a daungerous thing an insolent
and proud entreprise for a man to take vpon him with a penne to gouerne the cōmon wealth with a prince to reasō of his life For in dede men are not perswaded to liue wel by faire words but by vertuous dedes And therfore not with out cause I say that he is not wise but very arrogāt that dare presume vnasked to giue a prīce counsail For princes in many thinges haue their mindes occupied haughtely bent som of them also are affectioned where as we peraduenture thinke to haue them mercifull we finde thē more angry heauy against vs. For counsaile doth more harme than profite if the giuer therof be not very wise he also which receiueth it very pacient I haue not ben a prince to know the trauailes of princes nor am not as president to counsel princes yet I was so bolde to cōpile this booke it was not vppon presumption to counsaile a prince so much as by an humble sorte to giue mine aduise For to giue counsel I confesse I haue no credite but to giue theim aduise it suffiseth me to be a subiecte What the order is that I haue taken in this boke how profitable it is to all men how vnpleasaunt to no man how holsome profound doctrine in it is conteined how the histories be herin applied I wil not that my pen do write but they thē selues shal iudge which shal reade this worke We se it oft com to passe that diuers bokes do lose their estimation not for that they are not very good excellēt but because the auctour hath ben to presumptuous vainglorious For in my opinion for a man to praise his owne writinges much is nothing els but to giue men occasion to speake euil both of him of his worke Let no man thinke that I haue written thys which is written without great aduisement and examination I do confesse before the redemer of the whole world that I haue cōsumed so many yers to seke what I shold write that this .ii. yers one day hath scarsely escaped me wherin my pen hath not don his dutie to write or correct in this worke I confesse that I toke great paine in writing it for of trueth it hath ben written twise with mine owne hand and thrise with another mans hand I confesse I haue red searched in diuers sondrie partes many and good strange bokes to th end I might finde good and pleasant doctrine besydes that I trauailed much to set apply the histories to the purpose For it is an vnsemely thing to apply an history without a purpose I had great respecte in that I was not so briefe in my writinges that a man might note me to be obscure nor yet in anye thing so long that a man shold sclaunder me with to much talke For al the excellēcie of writing consisteth where many goodly sentences are declared in few apte wordes For oft times the long stile is lothsom tedious both to the hearers readers Nero that emperour was in loue with a lady in Rome named Pompeia that which in beauty to his fātasie exceded all other In the end partely with intreaty partely with money presētes he obteined of her the he desired For in this case of loue wher prayers importunities be paciētly hard resistance doth lacke The inordinate loue that Nero bare to Pompeia proceded of the yelow here 's she had which wer of the colour of amber in prayse of them he cōpiled diuers sondry songes in heroical meter with an instrument sang thē himself in her presence Nero was a sage prince wise excellētly well learned in the latin tong also a good musiciā yet Plutarche in his boke of the gests of noble womē to declare the vaniti lightnes of Nero reciteth this history describīg Pōpeia said the her body was smal her fingers lōg her mouth proper her eye lyds thin her nose sōwhat sharpe her téeth smal her lips red her neck white her forhead brod finally her eies great rowlin her brest large wel propocioned what thinke you wold Nero haue don if he had so affectionatly set his fātasy vpō al other her beautiful properties sins that for the loue alonly of her yelow locks he was depriued both of his wisdom also sences For vain light mē loue cōmēly not that which reasō cōmaūdeth but that which their appetite desireth The loue of the emperor encreased with foly so much that not only he coūted seuerally al that héere 's that his louer Pōpeia had on her head but also gaue to euery heere a proper name in praise of euery one of thē made a song in somuch that this effeminat prince spēt more time in bāketting plaieng with his louer Pōpeia thā he did to reforme amend the faultes of the cōmon welth Yea his foly so much surmoūted al reasō that he cōmaunded a cōbe of gold to be made therw t he himself cōmed her yelow locks And if it chaūsed that any one here in kemīg fel of he by by caused it to be set in gold offred it vp in the tēple to the goddes Iuno For it was an anciēt custome amōg the Romains that the things which they entierly loued whether it wer good or euil should be offred vp to their gods And whan it was once knowen that Nero was so in loue with these héere 's of Pompeia which wer of the colour of amber al the ladies endeuoured thē selues not only to make artificially their here of that colour but also to were their garmentes and other attyres of the same colour in somuche that bothe men and women did vse collers of amber brooches ringes set with amber al their other Iewels were of amber For alwayes it hath ben sene euer shall be that those things wherunto the prince is most addicted the people folow aboue al other couet the same Before this Emperour Nero plaied this light part in Rome the amber stone was had in little estimacion after that he set so muche by it there was no precious stone in Rome so much estemed Yea furthermore the marchant gained nothinge so much whether it were in gold or silke as he did in the amber stones nor brought any kind of marchaundise to Rome more precious or more vendible than that was I doe meruelle at this vanitie forasmuch as the children of the world do loue desire labor more to folow the straunge foly of an other than to furnish supply their own proper necessitie Therefore retourning againe to my purpose most excellent prince by this example you may coniecture what I would say that is that if this writing were accepted vnto princes I am assured it woulde be refused of no man And if any man would slaunderously talke of it he durst not remembring that your maiestie hath receiued it For those things which princes
take to their custody we are bouÌ„d to defend it is not lawfull for vs to diminish their credite Suppose that this my worke were not so profound as it might be of this matter nor with such eloqueÌ„ce set out as many other bokes are yet I dare be bolde to say that the prince shal take more profit by reading of this worke than Nero did by his loue Pompeia For in the end by reading and studieng good bookes men tourne become sage and wise and by keping il company they are counted fooles vitious My meaning is not nor I am not so importunat and vnreasonable to perswade princes that they should so fauour my doctrine the it should be in like estimacion now in these partes as the amber was there in Rome But that which only I require demaund is that the time which Nero speÌ„t in singing telling the héere 's of his loue Pompeia should now be employed to redresse the wrongs faultes of the common wealth For the noble worthy prince ought to employ the least part of the day in the recreation of his person After he hath giueÌ„ audience to his counsaylours to the embassadours to the great Lordes prelates to the riche and poore to his owne countrey men and straungers after that he be come into his priuy chamber then my desire is that he would reade this treatise or some other better than this for in princes chambers oftentimes those of the priuie chaÌ„ber and other their familiares loase great time in reciting vayne and trifling maters and of small profit the which might better be spent in reading some good booke In al worldly affaires that we do in al our bookes which we compile it is a greate matter to be fortunate For to a man that fortune doth not fauour diligence without doute can little auaile Admitte that fortune were against me in that this my worke should be acceptable vnto your maiestie without comparison it should be a great grief dishonor vnto me to tel you what should be good to reade for your pastime if on thother parte you woulde not profite by mine aduise For my mind was not only to make this booke to the end princes should reade it for a pastime but to that end in recreating theÌ„ selues somtimes they mought thereby also take profit Aulus Gellius in the. 12. chapter of his thirde booke entituled De nocte attica said that amongs al the schollers which the diuine Plato had one was named Demosthenes a man amongest the Gréekes moste highly estemed of the Romaynes greatly desired Because he was in his liuing seuere and in his tonge and doctrine a very saâ—ire If Demosthenes had come in the time of Phalaris the tiraunt whan Grecia was peopled with tirau tes and that he had not bene in Platoes tyme when it was replenished with Philosophers truelye Demosthenes had bene as cleare a lanterne in Asia as Cicero the greate was in Europe Greate good happe hath a notable man to be borne in one age more then in any other I meane that if a valiaunt Knight come in the tyme of a couragious and stout prince such one truly shal be estemed and set in great authoritie But if he come in the time of an other effeminate and couetous prince he shall not be regarded at al. For he wil rather esteme one that wil augment his treasour at home than him that can vanquishe his enemies in battayle abrode So likewise it chaunseth to wise and vertuous men which if they come in the time of vertuous and learned princes are estemed and honoured But if they come in tyme of vayne and vitious princes they make small accounte of them For it is an auncient custome amonge vanities children not to honor him which to the common wealth is most profitable but him whiche to the prince is most acceptable The ende why this is spoken Most pusant Prince is because the twoo renoumed philosophers were in Grece both at one time and because the diuine philosopher Plato was so much estemed and made of they did not greatly esteme the philosopher Demosthenes For the emineÌ„t and high renoume of one alone diminisheth the fame estimacion amoÌ„g the people of many Although Demosthenes was such a one in dede as we haue sayd that is to witte eloquent of tonge ready of memory sharpe and quicke of witte in liuing seuere sure and profitable in geuing of counsaile in renoume excellent in yeres very auncient and in philosophie a man right wel learned Yet he refused not to goe to the scholes of Plato to heare morall philosophie He that shall reade this thinge or heare it ought not to merueile but to folow it and to profit likewise in the same that is to vnderstande that one philosopher learned of an other and one wise maÌ„ suffered him selfe to be taught of an other For knowledge is of such a qualitie that the more a man knoweth dayly there encreaseth in him a desire to knowe more All thinges of this life after they haue bene tasted and possessed cloyeth a man wearieth and troubleth him true science onely excepted which neuer doth cloy weary nor troble them And if it happen we wery any it is but the eyes which are weried with lokinge and reading and not the spirite with féeling and tastinge Many Lordes and my familiar friendes doe aske me how it is possible I shoulde liue with so much study And I also demaunde of them how it is possible they should liue in such continuall idelnes For considering the prouocacion and assaultes of the flesh the daungers of the world the temptacions of the deuil the treasons of enemies importunities of friendes what hart can suffer so great and continual trauaile but onely in reading comforting him selfe in bookes Truely a man ought to haue more compassion of a simple ignoraunte man than of a poore man For there is no greater pouerty vnto a man than to lacke wisdome whereby he should know how to gouerne him selfe Therefore folowinge our matter the case was such one day Demosthenes going to the schole of Plato sawe in the market place of Athens a greate assembly of people which were hearing a philosopher newely come vnto that place he spake not this without a cause that there was a greate companye of people assembled For that naturallye the common people are desirous to heare new and straunge things Demosthenes asked what philosopher he was after whome so many people went and when it was aunswered him that it was Calistratus the philosopher a man which in eloquence was very swéete and pleasaunt he determined to staie and heare him to th ende he woulde knowe whither it were true or vayne that the people tolde hym For oftentymes it happeneth that amonge the people some gette them selues greate fame more by fauour than by good learninge The difference betwixte the diuine Philosopher Plato and Calistratus was in that Plato was exceadinglye well
learned and the other very eloquente and thus it came to passe that in liuinge they folowed Plato and in eloquence of speache they did imitate Callistratus For there are diuers menne sufficiently well learned whiche haue profounde doctrine but they haue no waye nor meanes to teache it others Demosthenes hearing Calistratus but ones was so far in loue with his doctrine that he neuer after hearde Plato nor entred into his scole for to harken to any of his lectures At which newes diuers of the sages of Grecia marueiled much seing that the tonge of a man was of such power that it had put all their doctrine to scilence Although I apply not this example I doute not but your maiestie vnderstandeth to what end I haue declared it And moreouer I say that although Princes haue in their chambers bookes so well corrected and men in their courtes so wel learned that they may worthely kéepe thestimacion which Plato had in his schole yet in this case it shoulde not displease me that the difference that was betwen Plato and Calistratus should be betwene Princes and this booke God forbidde that by this sayeng men should thinke I meane to disswade Princes from the company of the sage men or from reading of any other booke but this for in so doinge Plato shoulde be reiected which was diuine and Calistratus embraced which was more wordly But my desire is that sometime they would vse to reade this booke a little for it may chaunce they shal finde some holsome counsayle therein which at one tyme or other may profite them in their affaires For the good careful Princes ought to graffe in their memory the wise sayings which they reade forget the canekred iniuries wronges which are done thē I do not speake it without a cause that he that readeth this my writing shall finde in it some profitable counsaile For all that which hath bene writen in it hath bene in euery worde sentence with great diligence so wel weyed and corrected as if therein onely consisted the effecte of the whole worke The greatest griefe that learned menne feele in their writing is to thinke that if there be many that view their doings to take profit therby they shall perceiue that there are as many moe which occupy their tonges in the sclaunder and disprayse thereof In publishinge this my worke I haue obserued the maner of them that plant a new gardein wherein they set Roses which giue a pleasaunt sauour to the nose they make faire grene plattes to delight the eyes they graft fruitful trées to be gathered with the handes but in the end as I am a man so haue I written it for menne and consequently as a man I may haue erred for there is not at this daye so persite a painter but another will presume to amende his worke Those which diligētly wil endeuour themselues to reade this booke shall find in it very profitable counsailes very liuely lawes good reasons notable sayinges sentences very profound worthy examples histories very ancient For to say the trueth I had a respect in that the doctrine was auncient the stile new And albeit your maiesty be the greatest Prince of all Princes and I the least of all your subiectes you ought not for my base condicion to disdayne to cast your eyes vppon this booke nor to thinke scorne to put that thing in proofe which semeth good For a good letter ought to be nothing the lesse estemed although it be written with an euill penne I haue sayde and will say that Princes and greate Lordes the stouter the richer and the greater of renoume they be the greater nede they haue of all men of good knowledge about them to coūseil them in their affaires and of good bookes which they maye reade and this they ought to do aswel in prosperitie as in aduersitie to the end that their affaires in time conueniente may be debated and redressed For otherwise they shoulde haue time to repent but no leasure to amende Plinie Marcus Varro Strabo and Macrobius which were historiographers no lesse graue than true were at greate controuersie in prouinge what thinges were most autentike in a common weale and at what time they were of all menne accepted Seneca in a pistle he wrote to Lucillus praysed without cessing the common wealth of the Rhodiens in the which with much a doe they bent them selues altogether to kepe one selfe thinge and after they had therupon agréed they kept and mainteyned it inuiolately The diuine Plato in the sixte booke entituled De legibus ordeyned and commaunded that if any citizen did inuente any new thing which neuer before was reade nor harde of the inuentour thereof should first practise the same for the space of .10 yeares in his owne house before it was brought into the common wealth and before it shold be published vnto the people to th ende if the inuencion were good it should be profitable vnto him and if it were noughte that than the daunger and hurte therof should lighte onely on him Plutarche in his Apothemes saith that Licurgus vpō greauous penalties did prohibite that none should be so hardye in his common wealthe to goe wanderinge into straunge countreys nor that he shoulde be so hardy to admit any straungers to come into his house and the cause why this lawe was made was to th ende straungers shoulde not bringe into their houses thinges straunge and not accustomed in their common wealthe and that they trauailing through straunge contreis shoulde not learne newe customes The presumption of menne now a dayes is so great and the consideracion of the people so small that what so euer a man can speake he speaketh what so euer he can inuente he doth inuente what he would he doth write and it is no marueill for there is no man that will speake againste them Nor the common people in this case are so lighte that amonges them you may dayly sée new deuises and whether it hurt or profit the common wealth they force not If there came at this day a vayne man amonges the people which was neuer sene nor hearde of before if he be any thing subtile I aske you but this question shal it not be easy for him to speake and inuente what he listeth to set forth what he pleaseth to perswade that which to him séemeth good and al his saienges to be beleued Truly it is a wonderfull thinge and no lesse sclaunderous that one shoulde be sufficient to peruerte the sences and iudgementes of all and all not able to represse the lightnes and vanitie of one Things that are newe and not accustomed neither princes ought to allowe nor yet the people to vse For a newe thinge oughte no lesse to be examined and considered before it be brought into the common wealth than the greate doutes whiche aryse in mennes myndes Rufinus in the prologue of his seconde booke of his apologie reproueth greately the Egyptians because they
the yle of Scicili haue caried a great quantitie of corne into Spaine and into Affrike the which thing was forbidden by a Romayne lawe and therefore they haue deserued greuous puniâ—â—ement Nowe because thou arte vertuous thou mayst teache me to do wel and I that am olde wil teach the to say wel this is because that amongest wyse and vertuous men it is enoughe to saye that the lawe commaundeth appointeth and suffereth this thing but in as much as it is agreing with reason For the crowne of the good is reason and the scourge of the wicked is the lawe The fourth thing that commonly through the worlde amongest all men was accepted was the barbars And let no man take this thing in mockery For if they doe reade Plinie in the .59 chapiter the seuenth booke they shal finde for a truth that the Romaines wer in Rome .454 yeres without pouling or shauing the hayres of the beard of any man Marcus Varro said that Publius Ticinius was the firste that brought the barbers from Scicili to Rome But admitte it were so or otherwise yet notwithstandinge there was a greate contention amonge the Romaynes For they sayde they thought it a rashe thinge for a man to committe his life to the courtesie of another Dionisius the Siracusan neuer trusted his beard with any barbor but whaÌ„ his doughters were very little they clipped his beard with sisers but after they became great he woulde not put his trust in them to trimme his bearde but he him selfe did burne it with the shales of nuttes This Dionisius Siracusan was demanded why he would not trust any barbours with his beard He answered because I know that ther be some which wil geue more to the barbor to take away my life than I wil giue to trimme my beard Plinie in the seuenth booke saith that the great Scipio called African and the Emperour Augustus wer the first that caused them in Rome to shaue their beards And I thinke thend why Plinie spake these things was to exalte these twoo princes which had as greate courage to suffer the raysours touche their throtes as th one for to fight against Hannibal in Afrike and thother against Sextus Pompeius in Scicili The fifte thing which coÌ„monly through the world was accepted were the dialles and clockes which the Romaines wanted a long tyme. For as Plinie and Marcus Varro say the Romaines were without clockes in Rome for the space of .595 yeres The curious hystoriographers declare thre maner of dialles that were in olde time that is to say dialles of the houres dialles of the sonne and dialls of the water The dialle of the son Aneximenides Millesius inuented who was great Animandras scholer The dialle of the water Scipio Nasica inuented and the Diall of houres one of the scholers of Thales the Phylosopher inuented Of all these antiquities whyche were brought into Rome none of them were so acceptable to the Romaines as the dialles were wherby they measured the daye by the houre For before they could not saye we wil ryse at .vii. of the clocke we will dine at .x. we will see one thother at .xii. at .i. we will doe that we oughte to doe But before they sayde after the sonne is vp we wil doe such a thinge and before it goe downe we wyll doe that we ought to doe Thoccasion of declaryng vnto you these .v. antiquities in this preamble was to no other intente but to call my booke the Dial of Prynces The name of the booke veing newe as it is maye make the learning that is therein greatly to be estemed God forbyd that I should be so bolde to saye they haue ben so longe time in Spayne without dialles of learning as they were in Rome without the diall of the sonne the water and of the houres For that in Spayne haue ben alwayes men well learned in sciences and very expert in the warres By great reason and of greater occasion the Princes oughte to be commended the knyghtes the people their wittes and the fertilitye of their countrey but yet to all these goodnes I haue sene manye vnlearned bookes in spayne which as broken dialles deserue to be cast into the fier to be forged anew I do not speake it without a cause that manye bookes deserue to be broken and burnte For there are so many that without shame and honestie doe set forthe bookes of loue of the worlde at this daye as boldely as if they taught theim to dispise and speake euil of the world It is pitye to see how many dayes and nightes be consumed in readyng vayne bookes that is to say as Orson and Valentine the Courte of Venus the .iiii. sonnes of Amon and diuerse other vaine bokes by whose doctrine I dare boldlye say they passe not the tyme but in perdicion for they learne not how they oughte to flye vice but rather what way they may with more pleasour embrace it This dial of princes is not of sande nor of the sonne nor of the houres nor of the water but it is the dial of lyfe For that other dialles serue to know what houre it is in the nyghte and what houre it is of the day but this sheweth and teacheth vs how we ought to occupye our mindes and how to order our lyfe The propertye of other dyalles is to order thinges publyke but the nature of this dyal of prynces is to teache vs how to occupye our selues euery houre and how to amende our lyfe euery momente It lytle auayleth to keape the dyalles well and to see thy subiectes dissolutely without any order to range in routes and dayly rayse debate and contention amonge them selues Jn this Prologue the Aucthour speaketh particularlye of the booke called Marcus Aurelius which he translated and dedicated to the Emperour Charles the fyfte THe greatest vanitye that I find in the world is that vayne men are not only conteÌ„t to be vaine in their life but also procure to leue a memory of their vanity after their death For it is so thought good vnto vaine and light men whyche serue the worlde in vaine workes that at the houre of death when they perceyue they can do no more that they can no lenger preuaile they offer them selues vnto death which now they see approche vpon them Manye of the world are so fleshed in the world that although it forsaketh them in déedes yet they wyl not forsake it in theyr desires And I durst sweare that if the world could graunt them perpetual life they woulde promyse it alwayes to remaine in their customable follye O what a nomber of vaine men are aliue whiche haue neither remembraunce of god to serue him nor of his glorye to obey him nor of their conscience to make it cleane but like brute beasts folow and ronne after their voluptuous pleasours The brute beast is angrye if a man kepe him to much in awe if he be wery he taketh his rest he slepeth when he lysteth he eateth and
drinketh when he commeth vnto it and vnles he be compelled he doth nothing he taketh no care for the common welth for he neither knoweth how to folow reason nor yet how to resist sensualitie Therfore if a man at al times should eate when he desireth reuenge himselfe when he is moued commit adultrie when he is tempted drinke when he is thristie and slepe when he is drousey we might more properly cal such a one a beaste nourished in the mountaines than a man brought vp in the common wealth For him properly we maye cal a man that gouerneth him self like a man that is to say conformable vnto such things as reason willeth and not wher sensuality leadeth Let vs leaue these vaine men whyche are aliue and talke of them that be dead against whom we dare say that whyles they were in the world they folowed the world liued according to the same It is not to be marueiled at that sins they were lyuing in the worlde they were noted of some worldlye point But seing their vnhappy and wicked life is ended why wil they then smel of the vanities of the world in their graues It is a great shame and dishonor for men of noble stout harts to se in one minut thend of our life and neuer to see the end of our folye We neither read heare nor se any thing more common then suche men as be most vnprofitable in the comon wealth and of life most reprobate to take vpon them most honour whiles they liue and to leaue behind them the greatest memorye at their death What vanity can be greater in the world then to esteme the world whych estemeth no man and to make no compt of god who so greatly regardeth al men what a greater foly can ther be in man then by muche trauaile to encrease his goodes and with vaine pleasours to lose his soule It is an olde plague in mannes nature that many or the most parte of menne leaue the amendment of their life farre behind to set their honor the more before Suetonius Tranquillus in the first booke of the Emperours sayth that Iulius Cesar no further thenne in Spaine in the Citye of Cales nowe called Calis sawe in the temple the triumphes of Alexander the great paynted the whyche when he hadde wel vewed he sighed marueilous soore and beinge asked why he dyd so he aunswered What a wofull case am I in that am now of thage of .30 yeres and Alexander at the same yeres had subdued the whole worlde and rested him in Babilon And I being as I am a Romaine neuer dyd yet thyng woorthy of prayse in my lyfe nor shal leaue any renoume of me after my death Dion the Grecian in the second boke de Audacia saythe that the noble Drusius the Almayne vsed to visite the graues and tombes of the famous and renowmed which were buried in Italy and did this alwaies especially at his going to warfare and it was asked him why he did so he aunswered I vysite the sepulchers of Scipio and of diuers others which are dead before whom al the earth trembled when they were alyue For in beholdyng their prosperous successe I dyd recouer both strength and stoutnes He sayth furthermore that it encourageth a man to fight against hys enemies remembring he shal leaue of him a memory in time to come Cicero sayth in his Rhethorike and also Plynie maketh mencion of the same in an epistle that there came from Thebes in Egipt a knight to Rome for no other purpose but onelye to see whether it were true or no that was reported of the notable thinges of Rome Whom Mecenas demaunded what he perceyued of the Romaynes and what he thought of Rome He aunswered the memorye of the absente dooth more content me then the glory of the present doth satisfye me And the reason of this is The desire which men haue to extol the lyuing and to be equal vnto the dead maketh thinges so straunge in their lyfe that they deserue immortal fame after their death The Romaynes reioysed not a litle to heare such wordes of a straungers mouth wherby he praysed them whych were departed and exalted them that yet lyued O what a thing it is to consider the auncient heathens whych neyther feared hel not hoped for heauen yet by remembraunce of weakenes they toke vnto them strength ▪ by cowardnes they were boldened through feare they became hardy of daungers they toke encouragement of enemies they made frendes of pouertye they toke pacience of malyce they learned experience finally I say they denied their owne willes folowed thopinions of others only to leaue behind them a memory with the dead and to haue a lytle honor with the lyuing O how many are they that trust the vnconstauntnes of fortune only to leaue some notable memorye behind them Let vs cal to mynd some worthy examples wherby they may se that to be true which I haue spoken What made king Ninus to inuent such warres Quene Semiramis to make such buildings Vlisses the Grecian to sulke so many seas king Alexander to conquere so many landes Hercules the Thebane to set vp his pillers where he did Caius Cesar the Romayne to giue .52 battailes at his pleasure Cirus king of Persia to ouercome both the Asiaes Hannibal the Carthagian to make so cruel warres against the Romaines Pirrhus king of Epirotes to come downe into Italy Atila king of the Huns to defye al Europe truly they woulde not haue taken vppon them such daungerous enterprises only vppon the words of theym whych were in those dayes present but because we should so esteme them that should come after Seing then that we be men and the chyldren of men it is not a lytle to bee marueiled at to see the diuersity betwene the one and the other and what cowardnes ther is in the harts of some and contrarywise what courage in the stomakes of others For we se commonly now a daies that if there be 10. of stout courages whych are desirous with honour to dye there are 10. thousand cowards whiche throughe shamefull pleasurs seke to prolong their life The man that is ambitious thinketh him most happy who with much estimacion can kepe his renowme and with litle care regarde his lyfe And on the other side he that wil set by his lyfe shal haue but in small estimacion his renowme The Sirians the Assirians the Thebanes the Caldes the Grekes the Macedonians the Rodians the Romaines the Huns the Germaines and the Frenchmen if such noble men as among these were most famous had not aduentured their lyues by such daūgerous enterprises they had neuer got such immortal fame as they had don to leaue to their prosperity Sextus Cheronensis in his third boke of the valiaunt deedes of the Romaines saith that the famous captaine Marcus Marcellus which was the first of al men that sawe the backe of Hannibal in the fielde was demaunded of one how he durst enter into
abstinence from meates when I desired to eate what watching in the night whan I would haue slept what cares I haue suffred in steed of rest that I might haue enioyed let other proue if me they wyl not credite The intencion of my painful trauailes I offer to the deuine maiestie vpon my knees to youre highnesse noble prince I presente thys my worke and humbly beseche god that the doctrine of this booke may be as profitable vnto you and the common wealth in your lyfe as it hath ben to me tedious hinderaunce to my health I haue thought it good to offer to your maiestye the effect of my laboures thoughe you peraduenture wyl lytle regard my paines for the requyting of my trauayle and reward of my good wyl I requyre nought els of your highnes but that the rudenesse of my vnderstanding the basenes of my stile the smalnes of my eloquence the euil order of my sentences the vanitie of my words be no occasion why so excellent and goodly a worke shold be lytle regarded For it is not reason that a good horse should be the lesse estemed for that the ryder knoweth not how to make hym ronne hys carrier I haue done what I could doe doe you now that you ought to doe in gyuynge to this present worke grauytye and to me the interpretor thereof aucthority I saye no more but humbly besech god to mayntayne your estimacion and power in earth and that you maye afterwarde enioye the fruicion of hys deuyne presence in heauen The Argumente of the booke called the Diall of Princes VVherein the aucthour declareth hys intencion and maner of proceadinge ARchimenedes the great and famous philosopher to whom Marcus Marcellus for his knowledge sake graunted life and after vsing Nygromancie deserued death being demaunded what time was sayd that time was the inuentor of al noueltyes and a Regestre certaine of antiquities whiche seeth of it selfe the beginning the middest and the ending of al things And finally time is he that endeth al. No man can deny but the diffinition of thys Philosopher is true for if tyme could speake he would certifye vs of sundry things wherin we doubt and declare them as a witnes of sight Admyt al things perishe and haue an ende yet one thing is exempted and neuer hath end which is truth that amongest al things is priuileged in such wise that she triumpheth of time and not tyme of her For accordyng to the dyuine sayeng it shal be more easy to se heauen and earth to fal then once truth to perish There is nothing so entyer but may be diminished nothynge so healthful but may be diseased nothing so strong but may be broken neyther any thing so wel kept but may be corrupted And finally I say there is nothing but by time is ruled and gouerned saue only truth which is subiect to none The fruits of the spring time haue no force to giue sustenaunce nor perfait swetenes to giue any sauour but after that the sommer is past and haruest commeth they rype and then all that we eate nourisheth more and gyueth a better tast I meane by this when the world beganne to haue wyse men the more Philosophers were estemed for their good maners the more they deserued to be reproued for their euyl vnderstandyng Plato in his second booke of the comon wealthe sayd that the auncient Phylosophers aswell Grekes as Egiptians Caldees which firste beganne to beholde the starres of heauen and ascended to the toppe of the mount Olimpus to vew the influences and mocions of the planets on the earthe deserued rather pardon of their ignoraunce then prayse for their knowledge Plato sayde further that the Phylosophers which were before vs were the first that gaue themselues to searche out the truth of the Elements in the heauen and the first whych sowed errors in things natural of the earth Homere in his Iliade agreyng wyth Plato saith I condemne al that the auncient Phylosophers knew but I greatly commend theym for that they desired to know Certes Homere sayd wel and Plato sayd not amysse for if amongest the first Philosophers this ignoraunce had not raygned there had not bene such contrary sectes in euery schoole He that hath redde not the bookes which are lost but the opinions whych the auncient phylosophers had wyl graunt me thoughe the knowledge were one yet their sectes were dyuers that is to say Cinici Stoici Academici Platonici and Epicurei whych were as variable the one from the other in their opinions as they were repugnaunt in their condicions I wyll not neyther reason requireth that my penne should be so much dysmesured as to reproue those whyche are dead for to gyue the glory al onely to them that are alyue for the one of them knew not al neyther were the other ignoraunt of all Yf he deserueth thankes that sheweth me the way whereby I ought to go no lesse then meriteth he whiche warneth me of the place wherin we may erre The ignoraunce of our forefathers was but a gyde to kepe vs from â—rryng for the errour of them shewed vs the truth to theyr much prayse and to our great shame Therfore I dare boldly say if we that are now had bene then we had knowen lesse then they knew And if those were nowe whych were then they would haue knowen more then we know And that this is true it appeareth wel for that the auncyent phylosophers through the great desyre they had to know the trouth of small and bypathes haue made brode and large wayes the whych we now wil not sée nor yet walke therin Wherfore we haue not so muche cause to bewayle their ignoraunce as they had reason to complayne of our negligence For truth whych is as Aulus Gelius saith the doughter of time hath reueled vnto vs the errours which we ought to eschew and the true doctrine which we ought to folow What is ther to se but hath bene sene what to dyscouer but hath ben discouered what is there to reade but hath bene red what to write but hath bene writen what is ther to know but hath ben knowen now a dayes humaine malice is so expert men so we â—able and our wittes so subtyl that we want nothyng to vnderstand neither good nor euyl And we vndoe our selues by sekyng that vayne knowledge which is not necessary for our life No man vnder the pretence of ignoraunce can excuse his fault since al men know al men reade and al men learne the whych is euident in this case as it shal appeare Suppose the ploughe man and the learned man do go to the law and you shall perceyue the labourer vnder that simple garment to forge to his councellour halfe a dosen of malicious trickes to delude his aduersary as fynely as the other that is leerned shal be able to expound 2. or 3. chapters of this booke If men would employ their knowledge to honesty wisedome pacience and mercy it were wel but
then was vncorrected and humbly beseaching him sayde that for recompence of all my trauaile I desyred no other rewarde but that no man in hys chamber myghte copye the booke And I in the meane tyme proceded to accomplyshe the worke Bycause I did not meane in suche maner to publyshe it for otherwyse I sayd hys maiestie shoulde be euil serued and I also of my purpose preuented but my synnes caused that the booke was copyed and conueyed from one to another And by the handes of Pages sondrie tymes wryten ▪ so that there encreased dayly in it errours and faultes And synce there was but one originall copye they brought it vnto me to correct whiche if it coulde haue spoken woulde haue complained it selfe more of them that dyd wryte it then of those whyche dyd steale it And thus when I hadde finyshed the woorke and thought to haue publysshed it I perceaued that Marcus Aurelius was now imprinted at Ciuile And in thys case I take the readers to be iudges betwene me and the Imprinters because they maye sée whether it maye stande with lawe and iustice that a booke whyche was to his imperiall maiestye dedicated the auctour thereof beyng but an infant and the booke so vnparfecte and vncorrect without my consent or knowledge shoulde be published Notwithstandynge they ceased not but printed it agayne in Portugall and also in the kyngdome of Nauarre And if the fyrste impression was faultye truly the seconde and the thirde were no lesse So that whyche was wryten for the wealthe of all men generallye eache man dyd applye to the profite of hym selfe particularlye There chaunced another thynge of this booke called the golden booke of Marcus Aurelius whyche I am ashamed to speake but greater shame they shoulde haue that so dishonestly haue done That is some made them selues to be auctours of the whole woorke others saye that parte of it was made and compyled of their owne heades the whyche appeareth in a booke in print wherein the auctour dyd lyke a man voyde of all honestye and in another booke one vsed lykewyse the words whyche Marcus Aurelius spake to Faustine when she asked him the key of hys studye After these theues came to my knowledge iudge you whether it were inoughe to proue my pacience For I had rather they hadde robbed me of my goodes then taken awaye my renowme By this all men shal see that Marcus Aurelius was not then corrected nor in any place parfecte wherby they myght perceaue that it was not my minde to translate Marcus Aurelius but to make a dial◠for Prynces whereby all christien people maye be gouerned and ruled And as the doctrine is shewed for the vse of many so I woulde profite my selfe with that whyche the wise men had spoken and wryten And in this sorte proceadeth the worke wherin I put one or two Chapiters of mine and after I put some epistles of Marcus Aurelius and other doctrine of some auncient men Let not the reader be disceaued to thynke that the one and the other is of the auctor For although the phrase of the languag be mine yet I confesse the greatest part that I knew was of another man although the historiographers and doctours with whome I was holpen were manye yet the doctrine whyche I wrote was but one I will not denye but I haue left out some thinges whiche were superfluous in whose steade I haue placed thinges more swete and profitable So that it neadeth good wittes to make that whyche semeth in one language grosse in another to giue it the apparaunce of golde I haue deuided into three bookes this present diall of Princes The first treateth that the Prince ought to be a good christian The secound howe he ought to gouerne his wife and children The thirde teacheth how he shoulde gouerne his person and his commen wealthe I had begon another booke wherin was conteyned howe a Prince shoulde behaue him selfe in his courte and pallace but the importunitie of my frendes caused me to withdrawe my pen to the ende I might bringe this worke to lighte The Table of the Diall of Princes THe Prologue general of the Auctour The Prologue vpon the booke entituled Marcus Aurelius The Argument of the whole booke The firste Chapter entreateth of the byrthe lynage of Marcus Aurelius where the Auctour reciteth at the beginninge of the booke .iii Chapters in the which he declareth the discourse of his lief for by hys Epistles and doctrine this whole worke is proued Chap. i. Of a letter whiche Marcus Aurelius wrot to his frend Pulio wherin he recounteth the order of his lyef and among other thynges declareth the woordes whyche a poore man of Nola spake vnto the Romaine censor Chap. ii Macus Aurelius concludeth his letter and mencioneth the scienses which he lerned and all the maisters he had and in the end he reciteth fyue notable thinges in the obseruaunce of the whiche the Romaines were very curious Chap. iii. Of the excellencye of the Christian religion whereby the true God is knowen and of the vanities of the auncientes in tymes past Chap iiii How among the Auncientes the Philosopher Bruxellus was estemed and of the wordes he spake vnto them at the hower of his deathe Chap. v. Of the wordes whiche Bruxellus the Philosopher spake to the senate of Rome Chap. vi Howe the Gentiles thought that one God was not of power sufficient to defend them from their enemies Chap. vii Of a letter which the senate sent vnto all those which were subiect to the empire Chap. viii Of the true and liuing God and of the maruailes he wroughte in the old lawe to manifest his diuine power and of the superstition of the false gods Chap. ix That there is but one trewe God and howe that realme is hapie whyche hathe a Kyng that is a good christian Chap. x. Of Sondry gods which the Auncients worshiped of the office of those goddes and how they were reuenged of them that displeased them Chap. xi Of other more naturall and peculiar goddes whyche the Auncient people had Chap xii How Tyberius the knight was chosen gouernour of the empire and afterwards created Emperour onely for beyng a good Christian and how God depriued Iustiniā the yonger both of his sences and empire for beyng an heretike Chap. xiii Of the wordes the empresse Sophia spake to Tiberius Constantinus whiche tended to his reproffe for that he consumed the treasures which she had gathered Chap. xiiii The answer of Tiberius vnto the empresse Sophia wherein he declareth that Princes nede not to hourde vp great treasures Chap. xv How the chieftaine Narsetes ouercame manye battailes onlye for that his wholle confydence was in God And what happened to him by the empresse Sophia Augusta wherin may be noted the vnthanckfulnes of Princes towardes their seruantes Chap. xvi Of a letter the emperour Marcus Aurelius sent to the kynge of Scicille in the whych he recordeth the trauailes they endured to gether in their youthe and
Chap. xviii The auctour stil perswadeth women to gyue their owne children sucke Chap. xix That princesses and great ladyes ought to be verye circumspecte in chosinge their nurces of seuen properties whyche a good nource should haue Chap. xx The auctor addeth .3 other condicions to a good nource that giueth sucke Chap. xxi Of the disputacion before Alexander the great concernyng the sucking of babes Chap. xxii Of wytchcraftes and sorceries which the nources vsed in old time in geuinge their chyldren sucke Chap xxiii Marcus Aurelius wryteth to his frende Dedalus inueighenge againste witches which cure children by sorceries and charmes Chap. xxiiii How excellent a thing it is for a gentleman to haue an eloquent tongue cap. xxv Of a letter which the Athenians sent to the Lacedemonians Chap. xxvi That nources which giue sucke to the children of prynces ought to be discret and sage women Chap. xxvii That women may be no lesse wyse then men though they be not it is not through default of nature but for want of good bringyng vp Chap. xxviii Of a letter which Pithagoras sent to his sister Theoclea she readinge at that time philosophy in Samothracia Chap. xxix The auctor followeth his purpose perswading princesses and great ladies to endeuour them selues to be wise as the women wer in old time Chap xxx Of the worthynes of the lady Cornelia and of a notable epistle she wrote to her .ii. sonnes Tyberius and Caius which serued in the warres Chap. xxxi Of the educacion and doctrine of children whyles they are yong Chap. xxxii Princes oughte to take héede that their children be not broughte vp in vaine pleasures and delights chap. xxxiii That princes and great lords ought to be careful in sekynge men to brynge vp their children Of x. condicions that good schoole maisters ought to haue Chap. xxxiiii Of the ii sonnes of Marcus Aurelius of the whych the eldest and best beloued dyed And of the maisters he reproued for the other named Comodus Chap. xxxv Howe Marcus Aurelius rebuked fiue of the xiiii maisters he had chosen for the educacion of his sonne Comodus And how he bannished the rest from his pallace for their light behauior at the feast of the god Genius Chap. xxxvi That princes other noble men ought to ouersée the tutours of their children lest they conceale the secrete faultes of their scholers Chap. xxxvii Of the Emperours determinacioÌ„ when he commytted his sonne to the tutoures which he had prouyded for his educacion Chap. xxxviii That tutours of princes and noble mens sonnes ought to be very circumspect that their scholars do not accustome them selues in vyces whyles they are yonge and speciallye to kepe them from foure vyces Chap xxxix Of .ii. other vyces perilous in youthe whych the maysters ought to kepe theym from Chap. xl The ende of the Table of the seconde Booke The table of the third Booke HOw Princes and great Lordes ought to trauaile to administer to all equall Iustice Chap. i. The waye that Princes ought to vse in choosing their Iudges Officers in their contreyes Chap. ii Of an oration which a vilian of Danuby made before the senatours of Rome concernyng the tyrannie and oppressions whyche their offycers vse in his contrey Chap. iii. The villayne argueth againste the Romaynes whyche without cause or reason concquered their contreye and proued manifestely that they throughe offendyng of their gods were vancquished of the Romaines Chap. iiii The villayne concludeth his oration against the Iudges which minister not Iustice and declareth howe preiudicial such wycked men are to the common weale Chap. v. That Princes and noble men should be very circumspect in choosyng Iudges and Offycers for therin consisteth the profyt of the publyke weale Chap. vi Of a letter whych Marcus Aurelius wrot to Antigonus his frende wherein he speaketh agaynste the crueltye of Iudges and Officiers Chap. vii The Emperour Marcus continueth his letter agaynst cruel Iudges and reciteth ii examples the one of a pitiefull kyng of Cipres and the other of a cruell Iudge of Rome and in this Chapter is mencioned the erbe Ilabia growing in Cipres on the mounte Arcladye whych beyng cut droppeth bloud c. Chap. viii Of the wordes whych Nero spake concernynge iustyce and of the instruction whych the Emperoure Augustus gaue to a iudge which he sent into Dacia Cap. ix The Emperour foloweth his purpose agaynst cruel iudges declareth a notable imbassage whych came from Iudea to the Senate of Rome to complayne of the iudges that gouerned that Realme Chap. x. The Emperour concludeth his letter agaynst the cruel iudges declareth what the grand father of king Boco spake in the Senate Chap. xi An exhortacion of the auctor to princes noble men to embrace peace and to eschew the occasions of warre Chapter xii The commodities which come of peace Chap. xiii A letter of Marcus Aurelius to him freÌ„d Cornelius wherin he describeth the discommodities of warre and the vanitie of the triumphe Chap. xiiii The Emperour Marcus Aurelius declareth the order that the Romaynes vsed in setting forth men of warre and of the ouâ—tragious vilanies whyche captaynes and souldiours vse in the warres Chap. 15. Marcus Aurelius lamenteth with teares the follye of the Romaynes for that they made warre wyth Asia And declarethe what great domage commeth vnto the people wher the prince doth begin warres in a straung countrey Chap. xvi That prynces and great lords the more they grow in yeres should be the more discrete and vertuous to refraine from vices Chap. xvij That princes when they are aged shold be temperate in eating sober in drynking modest in apparel aboue al true in their communication Chap. xviii .. Of a letter of the Emperour Marcus Aurelius to Claudius and Claudinus wherein he reproueth those that haue many yeres and litle discrecion Chap. xix The emperour foloweth his letter and perswadeth those that are olde to giue no more credit to the world nor to any of hys flatteries Chap. xx The emperour procedith in his letter proueth by good reasons that sith the aged persons wil be serued and honoured of the yong they ought to be more vertuous and honest then the yong Chap. xxi The emperour concludeth his letter sheweth what perilles those old men lyue in which dissolutly like yong children passe their dayes and geueth vnto them holsom counsel for the remedy therof Chap. xxii Princes ought to take hede that they be not noted of Auarice for that the couetous man is both of god man hated Cap xxiii The auctor foloweth his matter wyth great reasons discoÌ„mendeth the vices of couetous men Chap. xxiiii Of a letter whyche the emperour M. Aurelius wrot to his freÌ„d Cincinatus wherin he toucheth those gentlemen which wil take vpon them the trade of marchaundise againste their vocations deuided into 4. chapters Chap xxv The Emperour procedeth his letter declareth what vertues men ought to vse and the vices which
the tiraunt which was in Cicilia asking him why he possessed the Realme so longe by tirannye Phalaris aunswered hym agayne in another Epystle in these fewe wordes Thou callest me tyraunt bicause I haue taken this realme kept it this .32 yeres I graunt the quod he that I was a tiraunte in vsurpyng it For no manne occupyeth another mannes ryght but by reason he is a tyraunte But yet I will not agree to be called a tyraunte sithe it is nowe .xxxii. yeares sins I haue possessed it And though I haue atcheued it by tyrannie yet I haue gouerned it by wisedome And I let thee to vnderstande that to take an other mans goods it is an easie thing to conquer but a hard thing to kepe an easy thing but to kepe them I ensure the it is very hard The Emperour Marcus Aurelius maried the doughter of Antonius Pius the 16. Emperour of Rome and she was named Faustina who as sole heire had the Empire so through mariage Marcus Aurelius came to be Emperour this Faustine was not so honest and chast as she was faire and beautifull She had by him two sonnes Commodus and Verissimus Marcus Aurelius triumphed twise once when he ouercame the Perthians and an other time when he conquered the Argonantes He was a man very wel learned and of a deepe vnderstanding He was as excellent both in the Greke and latin as he was in his mother tongue He was very temperate in eating and drinking he wrote many thinges ful of good learning swete sentences He dyed in conquering the realme of Pannonia whiche is now called Hongarie His death was asmuch bewayled as his lyfe was desired And he was loued so intierlye in the citye of Rome that euery Romane had a statue of him in his house to th ende the memorie of him among them should neuer decay The which was neuer red that they euer did for any other king or Emperoure of Rome no not for Augustus Cesar who was beste beloued of all other Emperours of Rome He gouerned the empire for the space of 18. yeres with vprighte iustice and dyed at the age of 63 yeres with much honour in the yere clymatericke which is in the 60. and 3. yeres wherein the lyfe of man ronneth in great peril For then are accomplyshed the nine seuens or the seuen nynes Aulus Gelius writeth a chapiter of this matter in the boke De noctibus Atticis Marcus Aurelius was a prince of lyfe most pure of doctrine most profound of fortune most happie of all other princes in the world saue only for Faustine his wife and Commodus his sonne And to the ende we maye see what Marcus Aurelius was from his infancie I haue put here an epistle of his which is this ¶ Of a letter whych Marcus Aurelius sent to his frend Pulio wherein hee declareth the order of hys whole lyfe and amongest other thinges he maketh mencion of a thyng that happened to a Romaine Censor with hys host of Campagna Cap. ii MArcus Aurelius only Emperour of Rome greteth the his old frend Pulio wisheth health to thy parson and peace to the commen wealth As I was in the temple of the vestall virgens a letter of thine was presented vnto me which was writen long before and greatly desired of me but the best therof is that thou wryting vnto me briefly desirest that I should writ vnto the at large Which is vndecent for the authoritie of him that is chiefe of the empire in especial if such one be couetous for to a prince there is no greater infamy then to be lauishe of words and scant of rewards Thou wrytest to me of thy griefe in thy legge and that thy wounde is great and truly the payne thereof troubleth me at my hart and I am righte sory that thou wantest that which is necessarie for thy health and that good that I do wishe the. For in the ende all the trauailes of the life may be endured so that the body with diseases be not troubled Thou lettest me vnderstande by thy letters that thou art arriued at Rhodes and requireste me to write vnto the howe I lyued in that place when I was younge what time I gaue my minde to studie likewise what the discourse of my life was vntil the time of my being Emperoure of Rome In this case trulye I meruell at the not a lytle that thou shouldest aske me such a question and so muche the more that thou diddest not consider that I cannot without great trouble and paine answere thy demaunde For the doinges of youthe in a younge man were neuer so vpright and honest but it were more honesty to amend them then to declare them Annius Verus my father shewing vnto me his fatherly loue not accomplishing yet fully 13 yeres drew me from the vices of Rome and sent me to Rhodes to learne science howbeit better acccompanyed with bookes then loden with money where I vsed suche dilygence and fortune so fauoured me that at the age of 26. yeres I red openly natutall and moral philosophy and also Rethoricke and ther was nothing gaue me such occasion to study and read bookes as the want of moneye for pouertie causeth good mens children to bee vertuous so that they attaine to that by vertue which others come vnto by riches Trulye frende Pulio I found great want of the pleasures of Rome specially at my first comminge into the I le but after I had redde philosophie 10 yeares at Rhodes I toke my selfe as one borne in the countrey And I thinke my couersacion among them caused it to seme no lesse For it is a rule that neuer faileth that vertue maketh a straunger grow natural in a straunge country and vyce maketh the natural a straūger in his owne country Thou knowest wel how my father Annius Verus was 15. yeres a captaine in the frontiers against the Barbarous by the commaundement of Adrian my lorde and maister and Antonius Pius my father in law both of theym prynces of famous memorie which recōmended me ther to his old frendes who with fatherly counsel exhorted me to forget the vyces of Rome and to accustome me to the vertues of Rhodes And trulye it was but nedeful for me for the naturall loue of the countrye oft tymes bringeth domage to him that is borne therein leadinge his desier stil to retourne home Thou shalt vnderstand that the Rhodians are men of much curtesy requyting beneuolence whych chaunseth in few Iles because that naturally they are personnes deceitful subtile vnthankeful and ful of suspiciō I speake this bycause my fathers frends alwaies succoured me wyth counsayle and money which two thinges were so necessarie that I could not tell which of them I had most nede of For the straunger maketh his profit with moneye to withstand disdainfull pouertie and profitteth him selfe with counsell to forget the swete loue of his country I desired then to reade philosophy in Rhodes so long as my father continued
The fifthe was that they whiche had charge of bringinge vp of children shoulde not be vicious For there is nothinge more monstruous and more sclaunderous then he that is maister of children should be subiecte and seruaunt to vyces How thinkest thou my frende Pulio whan al these thinges were obserued in Rome Thinkest thou that the youthe was so dissolute as at this present thinkeste thou in deede that it is the same Rome wherin in times past were so notable good and auncient men beleuest thou that it is that Rome wherin in the golden age the olde men were so honest and the children so well taught the armies wel ordered and the iudges and Senatours so vpright and iuste I call God to witnes and sweare to the that it is not Rome neyther hath it any likenes of Rome nor yet anye grace to be Rome and he that would say that this Rome was the old Rome knoweth lytle of Rome The matter was this that the auncient and vertuous Romaynes being dead it semeth to the gods that we are not yet woorthye to enioye their houses So that eyther this is not Rome or els we be not the Romaines of Rome For considering the prowesse and vertuous deedes of the auncient Romaines and wayeng also our dissolute lyues it wer a very great infamy for them to call vs their successours I desier my frend Pulio to write vnto the all these thinges to th end thou mayest se what we were and what we are For great things haue neede of great power and require a long tyme before they can growe and come to their perfection and then afterward at one moment with one blow they fal downe to the ground I haue bene more tedious in my letter than I thoughte to haue bene and now I haue told the that which wyth dyligence by reason of my great affayres in thre or foure tymes I haue wryten of that that wanteth in thine and is to much in myne we shal make a reasonable letter and since I pardon the for being to briefe pardon thou me also for being to long I saw the ones enquire for vnicornes horne in Alexandry wherfore now I send the a good peece and likewise I send the a horse which in my iudgement is good Aduertise me if thy doughter Drusilla be alyue wyth whom I was wont to laugh and I wyll healpe her to a mariage The immortall gods kepe the O my Pulio thy wife thy stepmother and thy doughter and Salut them all from me and faustine Marke of Mounte Celio Emperour of Rome with his owne hand wryteth vnto the. ¶ Of the excellency of christian religion whych manyfesteth the true God and disproueth the vanitye of the auncyents hauyng so many Gods And that in the olde tyme when the enemyes were reconcyled in their houses they caused also that the gods should embrace eche other in the Temples Cap. iiii HE that is the onely diuyne worde begotten of the Father lorde perpetuall of the Hierarchies more aunciente then the heauens Prince of all holynesse chiefe head from whom all had their begynning the greatest of all gods and creatore of all creatures in the profundnesse of his eternall sapience accordeth all the harmony and composition of Christian religion This is suche a maner of sure matter and so well laid that neyther the miseries which spring of thinfections of naughty Christians can trouble nor yet the boysterous windes of the heretiques are able to moue For it wer more likely that heauen and earthe shoulde both perishe then it should suspend for one daye and that ther sholde be no Christian religion The auncient godds whyche were inuentours of wordly thinges as the foundacion of their reproued sectes was but a flienge sande and an vnstable ground ful of daūgerous erronious abuses so some of those poore wretches lokyng perhappes lyke a shippe ronning vppon a rocke suspectynge nothyng were drowned Other like ruyned buildynges were shaken in sonder and fell downe dead finally these gods whiche onely bare the name of gods shal be for euermore forgotten But he onely shal be perpetual whiche in god by god thorough god hath his beginninge Many and sundry were the multitude of the nacions whiche haue bene in times past That is to wyt the Sirians the Assirians Persiās Medians Macedoniās Grecians Cythians Arginians Corinthiās Caldeās Indiās Athenians Lacedemonians Africans Vandales Svveuians Allains Hongarians Germaignes Britons Hebrevves Palastines Gentiles Iberthailides Maurians Lucitanians Gothes and Spaniardes And truely in all these loke howe greate the difference amongest them in their customes and maners was so much diuersitie was of the ceremonies which they vsed and of their gods which they honoured For the gentiles had this errour that they sayd one alone was not of power sufficient to create suche a multitude as were created If I were before al the sages that euer were they would not say the contrary but without cōparison the gods whome they worshypped and inuented were greater in multitude then the realmes and prouinces whiche they conquered and possessed For by that folie the auncient poetes durst affirme in their writinges that the gods of one nation and countrey wer mortal enemies to the gods of another prouince So that the gods of Troye enuied the gods of Grece more then the princes of Grece enuied the princes of Troye What a strange thinge was it to see the Assirians in what reuerence they worshypped the god Belus The Egiptiās the god Apis. The Caldeans the god Assas The Babiloniās the deuouring dragon The pharaones the statue of gold The Palestines Belzebub The Romaines honoured the god Iupiter The Affricās the god Mars The Corinthians the god Apollo The Arabians the God Astaroth The Arginians the Sonne Those of Acaia the Moone The Cidonians Belphegorn The Amonites Balim The Indians Baccus The lacedemonians Osiges The Macedonians did sacrifice to Marcury The Ephesians to their goddesse Diana The Grekes to Iuno The Armenians to Liber The Troiās to Vesta The Latins to Februa The Tarentines to Ceres The Rhodians as saieth Apolonius Thianeus worshypped the God Ianus and aboue all thinges wee oughte to meruaile at this That they striued oftentimes amongest them selues not so muche vpon the possessions and signories of Realmes as vppon a certaine obstinacie they had to maintaine the gods of the one to be of greater power then the others For they thoughte if their gods were not estemed that the people should be impouerished vnfortunate and persecuted Pulio in his second booke De dissolatione regionum orientarum declareth that the first prouince that rebelled againste the Emperour Helius Adrianus which was the fiftenth Emperour of Rome was the land of Palestine against the which was sent a captaine named Iulius Seuerus a manne of great courage and verye fortunate and aduenturous in armes This captaine did not only finishe the warres but he wrought such an outragious destruction in that land that he besieged 52. cities and raced them to the ground
Goddesse whom they named Lucina to whom they did commende women quick and great with chylde to sende them safe deliuerie And without the walles of Rome in a streate called Salaria she had a great churche wherin all the Romaine women conceiued with childe did sacrifice to their goddesse Lucina and as Fronten declareth de Veneratione deorum there they remayned nyne dayes and nyne nightes making their vowe Numa Pompilius buylte the churche of this goddesse which was plucked downe by the Consull Rutilius because a doughter of his great with childe made her vowe and kept her nyne Vigilles and vpon more deuotion was desirous to be deliuered in the saide temple Suche was her mishappe that her deliuery was not onely euill but her death was much worse Whereupon Rutilius in his rage caused the temple secretly to be burned For we reade many times that when the Gentyles sawe they were distressed and in great necessitie they recommended them selues to their Gods and if they did not then succour them in their necessitie immediatly they toke from them their sacrifice bette downe their temples or chaunged their Gods And further the Gentiles had an other god called Opis which was called the God of the babe newe borne euen as Lucina was goddesse of the mother whiche bare it The custome was that during all the nyne monethes that the woman was quick with chylde she caried the image of the God Opis hanging vppon her belly tyed to her girdle or sowed to her garmentes and at the houre of her deliuerie the mydwyfe toke in her hands the saide image and euen in the verye byrth before herselfe layde handes vpon it she first of all towched the childe with the Idoll If the childe were well borne the parentes that daye made great oblations to the Idoll but if it were euill or dead borne straight way the parentes of the childe did beate the image of the poore God Opis to powder or els burned it or drowned it in the ryuer Also the Gentyles worshipped an other God called Vaginatus and vnto him they did great sacrifice because their children should not weepe muche and therfore they caried the image of this god Vaginatus hanged about their neckes for the Gentiles thought it an euill signe and token whan the Babe wept muche in his infancie he should haue very euill fortune in his age They had also an other God called God Cuninus him they honoured with sacrifice to th end that he should be their Patrone for the safetie of their children in their cradels And those whiche were poore had the God Cuninus hanged vpon the cradell but the ryche had very sumptuouse cradelles wherein were painted many gods Cunini ▪ Herodian and Pulio declareth in the life of Seuerus that when the Emperour Seuerus was in the warre against the Gavvles his wyfe whose name was Iulia was deliuered of a daughter whiche was her first And it happened that a sister of this Iulia named Mesa natiue of Persia and of the citie of Mesa sent vnto her sister at Rome a cradell all of an Vnicornes horne and fine gold and about the same was painted many images of the god Cuninus The cradel was of so great value that many yeres after it was kept in the Treasurie of Rome Though in dede the Romaines kept those thinges more for the desire of memorie than for the loue of ryches The Romaines had likewise an other god whom they called god Ruminus whiche was as muche to saie as God of sucking Babes and to him the matrones of Rome offered diuerse sacrifices to th ende he woulde kepe their breastes from corruption and geue them mylke enough for their litle children And all the whyle they gaue the chyld sucke thei had the image of this god about their neckes hanging downe to their brestes And euery morning before she gaue the childe sucke the mother sent a dishe full of mylke to offer to the God Ruminus and if she happened to be in suche place where there was no churche dedicated to the God Ruminus then she bathed her god Ruminus she hadde with her in mylke They had also an other God whom they called God Stellinus and him they impropered to their children when they began to goe To this god the matrones offered many giftes that their children might not be lame Dwarfes nor impotent or decrepite but that they might be able to go well For among the Romaines those that were Criples or Dwarfes were had in suche contempt that they could neither beare office in the Senate nor be admitted priestes in the temples Hercules in his thirde booke De repub saith that Cornelia that worthy woman and mother of the Gracchi had her twoo first sonnes the one lame and the other a Dwarfe Whereupon supposinge the god Stellinus had bene wrath with her she bylte him a Temple in the .xii. region neare to the fieldes Gaditanus amongest the Gardens of Detha and this temple remained till the tyme of Randagismus who besieging Rome destroyed the Temples and brake vp their gardines about Rome They had also an other god called Adeon and his chardge was that when the childe could goe well he should go to his mother and make muche of her And allbeit Cicero in his booke De natura Deorum putteth this god amongest the other gods yet I do not remember that I haue euer read that this god had any Temple in Rome till the tyme of Mammea mother of the Emperoure Antoninus This excellente woman beinge lefte a wydowe and with two litle children desiering that they might be well and vertuously brought vp and that they should increase their loue towardes her she buylte to the god Adeon a sumptuous Temple in the .xii. region Vaticanus neare to the gardens of Domicilius and hard adioyning to that also she erected one other edifice called Sacellum Mammae where she abode solitarely for a tyme. For the maner and custome at that time was that all wydowes whiche woulde bryng vp their children in good discipline should immediatly seuer thēselues farre from the daungerous pleasures of Rome The auncientes had also an other god called Mentallis which was in effect god of wyt That is to wyte he had authoritie and power to giue children good or euill sence And to this god the auncientes did great sacrifices especially the Greekes muche more than the Romaines For as muche as Seneca saith that he doth meruayle nothyng at all of that the Greekes knewe but that whiche made him most to marueile was of that they knewe not since they had the temple of the god Mentallis within their scholes All the children whome they sent to learne Philosophie were by the lawes of Athens bounde to serue three yeares in that temple And to omyt that whiche Seneca spake of the Greekes I dare boldely saye and affirme to many whiche at these dayes are liuing that if it be true he gaue sence and vnderstanding to men that they would to daye rather than
which they call Bacchanales withoute the citie in the waye of Salaria by the Aulters of the Goddesse Februa and it was bilte by the Gaules when they besieged Rome in the time of Camillus Februa was a goddesse for the feuers and they vsed in Rome when any was taken with the feauer immediatelye to sende some sacrifice vnto her This Goddesse hadde no temple at al but her Image was in Pautheon whiche was a temple wherein al the goddes were and in this place they sacrificed vnto her Pauor was the God of feare who hadd the charge to take feare from the Romaines hartes and to gyue them stoute courage against their enemies The Temple of this god Pauor was in Rome in the sixte warde in the place of Mamuria nere the olde Capitoll and euer when they had any enemyes the Romaynes forthewith offred in this place sacrifices and there was in the same temple a statue of Scipio the Affricane all of siluer which he offred there when he triumphed ouer the Carthagians Meretrix was the goddesse of dishonest women and as Publius Victor saieth there was in Rome fourty streates of cōmen women in the myddest wherof the temple of this Meretrix was It chaunsed in the time of Ancus Martius the forthe kynge of the seuen Romayne Kynges that there was in Rome a courtizan natiue of Laurento whiche was so fayre that with her bodye she gayned greate ryches whereof she made all the Romayne people partakers Wherefore in memorye of her the Romaynes bilt ther a temple and made her Goddesse of all the common women in Rome Cloatina was Goddesse of the stoole and to this goddesse all those commended them selues whiche were troubled with the Collycke to th end she would healpe them to purge their bealies Quies was the goddesse of rest and to her the Romaynes did great sacrifices because she should gyue them pleasour and rest especiallye one that day when there was any triumphe in Rome they gaue in this Temple many gyftes because she should preserue the glorye and ioye of the triumphes Nunia Pompilius seconde Kyng of the Romaynes builte the temple of this Goddesse and it was without the citie for to note that durynge the lyfe of man in this worlde he coulde neyther haue pleasoure nor reste Theatrica was a goddesse that had the charge to kepe the Theatres Stagyes when the Romaynes celebrated their playes and thoccasion of inuenting of this Goddesse was because when the Romaynes woulde set forthe their tragedies they made so solempne theatres that there myghte wel stand xx thousand men aboue as manye vnderneth for to beholde the spectacle And sometime it happened that for the greate wayghte of them aboue the wode of the theatres and stages brake killed all those which were vnderneth so after this sorte all their pastime turned into sorrow The Romaynes which wer prouided in al thinges agred to do sacrifice vnto the Goddesse Theatrica to th ende she should preserue them from the daungers of the Theaters and built her a temple in the nynth ward in the Market place of Cornelia neare to the house of Fabij Domitian the xii Emperour of Rome dystroyed this Temple because in his presence one of the Theaters brake and killed many men And for that the goddesse Theatrica dyd not preserue them he made the Temple to be beaten downe Peraduenture those that haue red lytle shal find these things new inoughe but let theym reade Cicero in his booke De natura Deorum Iohn Bocchas of the genealogie of gods and Pulio of the aunciente Gods and Saint Augustine in the firste xi and the xviii booke of the cytie of God and they shall fynd a great nomber more then is spoken of ¶ How Tiberius the knyghte was chosen gouernour of the empire and afterwardes created Emperoure only for being a good Christian And how God depriued Iustinian the yonger both of his empire and sences for being an heretike Cap. xiii THe fiftye Emperour of Rome was Tiberius Constantinus who succeded Iustinian the younger which was a cruell Emperoure And Paulus Diaconus sayeth that he was an enemye to the poore a thefe to the rich a great louer of riches and an enemy to him selfe in spending them For the propertie of a couetous man is to liue like a begger all the dayes of his lyfe and to be founde riche at the houre of his deathe This Iustinian was so couetous that hee commaunded coffers and chestes of iron to bee made and brought into his palayce to kepe the treasours whiche he hadde robbed And of this you ought not to meruel for Seneca sayth that couetous Prynces doo not onely suspect their subiectes but also theym selues In those dayes the church was greatly defyled by the heresye of the Pelagians and the maynteyner of that sect was this wicked Prince Iustinian so that for him selfe he procured riches and for the Deuill he cheapned soules For those that are once forsaken of the hande of God do not only become seruantes of the deuil but also labour to allure others to hell Wherfore sith the sinnes of men are dyuerse and the iudgements of God kept secrete and that yet the lyuing God is so merciful that not with standing his mercy would saue the soules he wil also with iustyce chastise the bodies And therfore seing the obstinacye of this Emperour to be such that the lenger he lyued the more he augmented his damnacion the wrathe of God lighted vpon him and sodainly with out any grudge or tokē of sicknes this Emperour Iustinian was derriued of his sences became a foole because the matter was so sodaine it caused in Rome great feare and admiracion for that the Prince was a foole and all the Empire chaunged And in dede This Emperour was so stryken that his life and follye ended both in one day For the dyseases which God sendethe to Princes commeth not through faulte of humours but through the corrupcion of maners Also ther is no medicyne that can resist it nor yet anye other thing that can remedye it The people perceiuyng howe the Emperour through hys synnes was according to the diuine pleasoure become a foole agreed sythe there was no remedye for his dyssease to chuse some good person to whom the charge of the publyke weale myght be gyuen For trulye a man needeth greater pacience and wysedome to gouerne another mans then for that whiche is his owne proper The lotte befell to a Knyghte Tiberius so called a man for a truthe bothe chaste iuste profitable sage vertuous hardy merciful charitable in feates of armes aduenturous and aboue all a good Christian And let not this thynge be lytle regarded that the Prince be a good Christian For there is no state so happy as that whiche is gouerned by a Prince of a good and faitheful conscience and because he wanted no vertues to adorne a Prince he was both feared of manye and beloued of all Which thinge oughte not lyghtlye to
the Catholicke Churche that they dyshonour not Gods mynisters and maintayne heresyes For as this accursed Emperoure Valente for his wicked doinges was condignely punished by the hands of the almighty God So let them be assured the selfe same god wil not pardon their offences For it is a rule infallible that the prince which is not a good christian shall fall into the hands of his cruell enemyes ¶ Of the Emperour Valentinian and Gracian hys sonne whych reigned in the time of saynte Ambrose whyche because they were good Christians were alwayes fortunate and that god gyueth victorye vnto Princes more throughe the teares of them that pray then through the weapons of those that fyght I Valentinian and Valent were brethrene and the eldest of them was Valentinian who succeded in the Empire after the death of his father to be pretor of the armies For amonges the Romaines there was a lawe in vre that if the father died in the fauour of the people of right the sonne without any other demaunde was heire This Valentinian was a lusty yong man of a sanguine complection and of his body well shaped and aboue al he was a good Christian and of all the people generallye welbeloued For nothynge adorneth the noble man more then to be counted ciuill and corteous of behauior At that time wher the Emperoure Iulian persecuted moste the chrisstians Valentinian was pretor of the armies and when Iulian was aduertised that Valentinian was a christian he sent vnto him and bad hym do sacrifice to the idols of the Romaine Emperour or els to forsake the office of his pretorship Iulian would gladly haue killed Valentinian but he durst not For it was a law inuiolable amonges the Romaynes that no citizen should be put to death without decre of the Senate Valentinian receyuing the message of this Emperour Iulian aduertised of his will which was to renownce his faith or to leaue his office he dyd not only resigne his office but therwithal forgaue the Emperour all the money he ought him for arreragies of his seruyce And because he woulde lyue with a more quyete conscience he wente from Rome into a cloyster where he bannyshed hym selfe for two yeares and a halfe and for this he was hyghlye estemed and commended For it is a good signe that man is a good Christian whyche of his owne free will renounceth worldlye goodes Shortlye after It happened that Iulian the Emperoure wente to conquer the Realme of Persia wherein a battaile he was very sore wounded and fell downe deade in the presente place For to the mishappes of fortune the Emperour with all his estate pleasours is asmuch subiect as is the poorest man that lyeth in the streates When the newes came to Rome that Iulian was dead by the consent of all Valentinian was created Emperoure so that he beinge bannyshed for Christes sake was called againe and crowned Prince of the Romaine empire Let no man care to lose al that he possesseth let no man way to see him selfe despised for Christes sake For in the end no men can in a thousand yeares so much abase vs as god in one houre can exalt vs. In the same yere which was from the foundation of Rome a thousand a hundred and .xix. in a citie called Atrobata it rained very fine wull so that all the citie became riche In the same yeare in the citie of Constantinople it hailed suche great stones that they killed many men left no herdes in the fieldes aliue At the same tyme there came an earthquake throughout Italy so likewyse in Scicille that many housen fell and slewe sundry persons and aboue all the sea rose in suche sorte that it drowned many cities nighe thereunto Paulus Diaconus in the .xi. booke De gestibus Romanorum saieth that the emperour Valentinian was of a subtile witte of graue coūtenaunce eloquēt in speache yet he spake litle stoute in his affaires and diligent in his busines in aduersities pacient and a great enemy of the vicious temperat in eating and drinking a frend of religious persons so that they saide he resembled the emperour Aurelius For after that the emperour Marcus Aurelius died with whom the felicitie of the Romaine empire ended they euer vsed thenceforth in Rome to compare and liken the young and newe come princes to the auncient emperours their antecessours That is to wete if the prince wer couragious they said he was like Iulius Caesar if he were vertuous they saide he was an other Octauian if he were fortunate that he was Tiberius if he were rashe they sayde he was Caligula if he were cruell they compared him to Nero if he were merciful thei sayde he was like to Traian or Antonius Pius if he were beawtifull they likened him to Titus if he were idle they compared him to Domitian if he were paciēt they called him Vespasius if he were tēperat they likened him to Adrian if he were deuoute to their gods then he semed Aurelianus finally he that was sage and vertuous they compared him to the good Marcus Aurelius This emperour Valentinian was a good Christian and in al his affaires touching the empyre very wyse and circumspecte and yet he was noted for one thynge very muche and that was that he trusted and fauoured his seruauntes so muche and was so led by his friendes that through their occasion they abusinge his loue and credite there arose manye dissentions emonges the people Seneca sayde once to the Emperoure Nero I wyll that thou vnderstande Lorde that there is no pacience can suffre that twoo or three absolutly commaunde all not for that they are moste vertuous but for that they are moste in fauour with thee O princes and great Lordes if you were as I am I knowe not what you would doe but if I were as you be I woulde behaue my selfe in suche sorte to them of my house that they should be seruauntes to serue and obeye me and not boste themselues to be in suche fauour to commaunde me For that prince is not sage that to content a fewe getteth the hatred of all The Emperour Valentinian died in the fiue and fifty yeare of his byrthe and eleuen yeare of his Empyre of so longe sickenesse that his vaynes were so dried vp that they could not drawe one droppe of bloude out of his body And at the daye of his funeralles where the dead corps was greatly bewayled Saint Ambrose made anexcellent sermon in commendation of him for in those dayes when any prince departed that fauoured muche the Churche all the holy Byshoppes mete at his buriall The two brethren being Emperours that is to wete Valentinian and Valent through the desire of the father in lawe of Gracian that was father to his wyfe and desirous to haue one of his doughters children chose Valentinian to bryng vp who had a sonne named Gracian whiche was created emperour so young that as yet he had no berde And truly the Senate would not haue suffered it
was euerlasting but that all are mortal in the ende both high lowe haue an end for many are layde to nighte into their graue which the next day following thought to be aliue Leaue aside the deuine iudgment in that he spake he said highly and like a Philosopher for it semeth to be a pleasaunt thing to see how men gouerne the world Therfore now to the matter it is but reason we know the cause of this so auncient a noueltye whiche is that God wylleth and ordeinethe that one onlye commaunde all and that all together obey one For there is nothing that God doth thoughe the cause therof be vnknowen to vs that wanteth reason in his eternall wisedome In this case speakyng like a Christian I saye that if our father Adam had obeyed one onlye commaundemente of God whiche was forbydden him in the terrestial Paradise we had remayned in lybertie vpon the earth and should haue bene Lordes and maisters ouer al. But sith he would not then obey the Lord we are nowe become the slaues of so many Lords O wicked sine cursed be thou sith by the onely the world is broughte into suche a bondage without teares I cannot speake that which I would that through our first fathers which submitted them selues to sinne we their children haue lost the sygnorye of the world For sithe they were prisoners to synne in their hartes lytle auaileth the lybertie of their bodyes There was great dyuersitie betwixt the opynions of Pythagoras and the opinyons of Socrates for somuch as those of Socrates scoole saide that it were better all thinges should be common and all men equall Thother of Pythagoras scoole sayde the contrarie and that the common wealthe were better wherin eche one had his owne proper and all should obey one so that the one of them dyd admit and graunte the name of seruantes and thothers dyd despise the name of Lordes As Laertius in his first booke of the life of Philosophers sayth that the Philosopher Demostenes was also of the same opinyon that to the end the people should be well gouerned he would two names should be vtterly abbolished and taken a way that is to wete Lords and subiectes masters and seruaunts for the one desirous to rule â–ª by fyersnes and thothers not willyng to obeye by tyranny would shedde the bloud of the innocent and would be vyolent agaynst the poore they would destroy the renowmed famous people and tyrannes would waxe stout the which thyngs should be taken away if there were no sygnorye nor seruytude in the world But notwithstanding these thinges the Phylosopher in his first booke of his pollitiques sayth that by fower natural reasons we may proue it to be very necessarie that Princes do commaund and the people obey The first reason is of the partes of the Elements symple and mixt For we se by experience that the Elementes do suffer to th ende they wold be ioyned together the one to haue more power then al the whyche is shewed by experyence forasmuch as the Element of the fyer the Element of the ayer and the Element of the water do obey the Element of the earth doth commaund For against their nature he bryngeth them all to the earth But if all the noble and chiefest Elements were obedyente to the most vile Element onely to forme a body myxt it is a greater reason that al obeye to one vertuous person that the common wealth mighte therby the better be gouerned The second reason is of the bodye the soule in the armony wherof the soule is the mistresse which commaundeth and the body the seruaunt which obeyeth fo the body neither seeth heareth nor vnderstandeth without the body The sage Philosopher by this wil infer that the sage men should naturally be lords ouer others For in the world ther is nothing more mâ—nstrous then that fooles should coÌ„maund wise men obey The third reason taketh his ground on beastes for we se by experience that diuers beastes by thonely knowledge of men are gouerned therfore it is but mete that many men which are more lyker beastes then the beastes theym selues do suffer them selues to be gouerned and ruled by wise men For the common weale is more profited by a brute beast then it is by a witlesse man The fourth reason proceadeth of women for we se that they being created to the image of God god commaundeth and ordayneth that they should be subiect to man presupposing their knowledge not to be so great as the knowledge of men Therfore if this thing be thus why could not diuerse mortal men who with out comparison know lesse then women take theym selues for happie that one alone would commaund gouerne them so that such one were a sage vertuous parson Sithe man is naturally pollytike which is to be a frend of company the company engendreth enuy afterwards discord norisheth warre warre bringeth in tiranny tiranny destroyeth the comon wealth the common wealth being lost all men thinke their liues in peryl Therfore it is very necessarie that in the common wealth many be gouerned by one alone for to conclude ther is no common wealth wel gouerned but by one alone The great trauayles and inconuenyences which the auncientes found in tymes past were the occasion that it was ordeyned in the publyke weale that all should obey one Sythe that in a campe one onely Captaine is obeyed and in the sea one Pilot followed in the monasterye all obeye one prelate and in the Churche all obeye one byshoppe and syns in a hyue of bees one bee onely leadeth all the rest it were not reason that men should be without one king nor the common wealth without a gouernour Those men that will not haue a king in a common wealth are lyke vnto drones waspes which without trauaile eate the swete of others And mine opinion in this case should be that euery man that will not be commaunded as an abiect of the common weale should be expulsed and cast out therof For in a common wealthe ther can be no greater enemye then he that desireth that many should rule therin In that publike weale where one alone hath care for al al obey the commaundement of one onely there God shal be serued the people shal profit the good shal be estemed the euil dispised and besides that tirannes shal be suppressed For a gouernaunce of many is not profitable onlesse they referre theym selues to the iudgemente of a fewe and to the arbitermente of one alone Oh howe manâ—e people and Realmes because they woulde not obey their princes by iustice haue since by cruell tirannes bene gouerned with tyrannye For it is euen a iuste plage that they which disire the scepters of righteous Princes shoulde feale and proue the scourge of cruell tirauntes Alwayes it was and shal be that in the worlde there was one to commaunde another to obeye one to gouerne and another to bee gouerned
loued of his subiectes cannot liue in peace nor quyet and the realme that is not feareful of their king can not be wel gouerned The realme Sicilia had alwayes mightye Princes and gouernours for in auncient time it was gouerned by vertuous princes or els by cruel malicious tirauntes In the time of Senerus the Emperour ther reigned in Cecil a king called Lelius Pius who had so many good things in him that throughout al the empire he was very wel estemed and chiefly for foure lawes amongeste others hee ordayned in that Realme whiche were these folowing We ordaine that if amongeste equall persones there bee anye iniuries offered that they be punished or els that they be dissembled for wher enuye is roted betwene two it profiteth more to reconsile their good willes then to punish their persones We ordaine that if the greatest be offended by the least that such offence be litle reproued wel punished for the audacite litle shame also the disobedience of the seruaunt to the maister ought not to be reformed but by greuous punishment We ordaine that if any resist or speake against the comaundement of a prince that presently without delay he suffer death before them al for they may boldly by the way of supplycacion reuerently declare their grieffes and not by slaunder rebellyously dysobeye their lordes We ordaine that if anye rayse the common wealthe agaynste the Prince hee that canne fyrste strycke of hys heade maye lawefullye wythe oute fearynge anye daunger of punyshemente for hys heade is iustelye taken frome hym that woulde there shoulde be manye heades in the common wealthe Of all this before spoken Herianus is the authoure in hys fourthe booke of the kynges of Sicille where hee putteth manye and singuler lawes and customes which the auncientes had to the great confusion of these that be present For truly the auncientes did not onlye exceade these that be present in their workes and doings but also in speaking profound wordes Therfore returning to our matter mans life greatly trauaileth alwayes to defend the head in such sort that a man would rather suffer his hand to be cut of then to suffer a wound to be made in his head By this comparison I meane that a fault in a common wealth is a cut which cankereth festereth but the disobedyence to a prince is a wound which forthwith killeth Yf a man did aske me what vnion princes shoulde haue with their common wealth I would answere them in this sort that the wealth of the king realme consisteth herein That the king shold accompany with the good bannishe the euil For it is vnpossible that the king should be beloued of the common wealth if the companye he hath about him be reputed vicious He should also loue his Realme without dissymulacion the realme should serue him vnfainedly for the common wealth which knoweth it to be beloued of their Prince shal not find any thing to hard for his seruice Further that the kinge vse his subiectes as his children and that the subiectes serue him as a father for generallye the good father can not suffer his children to be in daunger neyther the good children wil dissobeye their father Also the king ought to be iust in his commaundementes and the subiectes faithful For if it be a good thinge in their seruices to liue vnder a iust law it is much better to lyue vnder a iust king Also the king ought to defende his subiectes from enemies they ought wel to pay him his tribute for the Prince who defended his people from enemyes and tirannye worthely deserueth to be lord of al their goodes Also the king ought to kepe his common wealth in quiet and ought not to be presumptous of his persone so the prince whych is not feared wel estemed shal neuer be obeyed in his commaundement Finally I say that the good king ought to do his Realme pleasure and the faithfull subiectes ought to endeuour them selues neuer to displease their kinge For that prince cannot be called vnfortunate who of his common wealthe is loued and obeyed ¶ As there are two sences in the head smelling and hering So likewise the prince whiche is the heade of the common weale oughte to here the complaintes of al his subiectes and should knowe them al to recompence their seruices Cap. xxxvii WE haue shewed how the prince is the common wealthe and nowe we wil let you vnderstand another notable thing which is this that as all sences are in the heade so oughte all estates to be in princes For the verues which are in many spred and skattered should be in one prince founde and gathered The office of the feete is not to se but to goe the handes office is not to heare but to labour the shoulders not to feele but to beare all these offices are not semely for the membres which are his subiectes but apperteineth to the king alone to exercise them For the head to haue eyes and no other members meaneth nought els but that onlye to the prince and to none other apparteyneth to know all for Iulius Cesar knewe all those of his host and named them by their proper names I counsel and admonishe you O you princes which shal heare see or read this thing that you do reioyce to visite and to be visited to see to be sene to talke to be talked with for the thinges whych wyth your eyes you se not you cannot perfectly loue A man ought also to know that the head only hath eares to note that to the king and to none other apperteyneth to here all and to kepe the gates open for them that haue any sewtes for it is no small matter to a common wealth to haue and obtaine of the prince easye audyence Helius Spartiahus commendeth highly Traian the Emperour that when he was on horsebacke to go to the warres alyghted againe to here the complainte of a poore Romaine which thing was meruelously noted amongest al the Romaines for if men were not vaine they should geue a Prince more honoure for one worke of iustice then for the victorye of many battayles Truly to a king it is no pleasure but rather paine and griefe and also for the common people auoyaunce that the prince alwayes should be enclosed and shut vp For the prince which shutteth hys gates agaynste his subiectes causeth theym not to open there hartes wyllynglye to obey hym How many and great slaunders doth their arise in the common wealth only for that the prince somtime wil not speake Iulius Cesar was Emperoure and the heade of all the empyre and because he was musing of weighty matters would not herken to him which would haue reueled the treason conspired agaynst him was that same day with .33 wondes in the Senate murdered The contrarye is red of Marcus Aurelius the Emperoure who was so famyliar with all men that howbeit he was chiefe of al and that the affaires which
compassiō vpon their griefes Princes also should endeuour them selues to be loued well willed because at their death they maye of all their seruauntes and frendes be lamented For princes ought to be suche that they may be prayed for in their life and lamented and remembred after their death Howe cursed is that prince and also howe vnhappy is that common wealth where the seruauntes wyll not serue their Lorde but for rewarde and that the Lorde doth not loue them but for ther seruices For there is neuer true loue where there is any particuler intereste With many stones a house is buylded and of many men and one prince whiche is the head of all the common wealth is made For he that gouerneth the common wealth may be called a prince and otherwyse not and the common wealth can not be called nor sayde a common wealth if it hath not a prince whiche is the head thereof If Geometrie doe not deceiue me the lyme whiche ioyneth one stone with an other suffereth well that it be myngled with sande but the corner stone that lyeth on the toppe ought to be medled with vnslekyd lyme And it soundeth vnto good reason For if the nether stones seperate the wall openeth but if the corner should slippe the buylding incontinently falleth I suppose fathers conscript you vnderstande very well to what ende I applie this comparison The loue of one neighbour with an other may suffer to be cold but the loue of a prince to his people should be true and pure I meane that the loue amongest frendes may well passe sometymes though it be colde but the loue betwene the kyng and his people at all tymes oughte to be perfect For where there is parfite loue there is no fained wordes nor vnfaithfull seruice I haue seene in Rome many debates among the people to haue bene pacified in one day and one onely which betwene the Lord and the common wealth aryseth can not be pacified vntyll death For it is a daungerous thing for one to stryue with many and for many to contende against one In this case where the one is proude and the other rebelles I wyll not excuse the prince nor let to condemne the people For in the end he that thinketh himself moste innocent deserueth greatest blame From whence thinke you cōmeth it that Lordes nowe a daies doe commaunde vniust thinges by fury that subiectes in iuste matters wyll not obey by reason I will tell you The Lorde doing of will and not of right would caste the willes of all in his owne braine and deriue from him selfe all counsayle For euen as princes are of greater power then all the reste so they thinke they knowe more then all the reste The contrary happeneth to subiectes who beinge prouoked I can not tel you with what frenesy despising the good vnderstanding of their Lord will not obey that that their princes willeth for the health of them all but that whiche euery man desireth for him selfe particularly For men nowe a dayes are so fonde that euery man thynketh the prince should loke on him alone Truely it is a straunge thing though it be muche vsed among men that one should desire that the garmentes of all other should be mete for him whiche is as impossible as one mans armour shoulde arme a multitude But what shall we be Fathers conscripte and sacred senate sith our fathers lefte vs this worlde with suche foly and that in these debates stryfes we their children are alwayes in dissention and controuersie and in this wilfulnes we shall also leaue our children and heires How many princes haue I seene and read of in my time of my predecessours whiche were vtterly vndone by to muche pryde and presumption But I neuer read nor heard of any whiche were destroyed for being courteous and louing to his subiectes I will declare by some examples whiche I haue read in bookes to the ende that the Lordes may see what they wynne by their good conuersation and what they loase by being to haulty The realme of the Sydonians was greater then that of the Caldeans in weapons and inferiour in antiquitie vnto that of the Assirians In this realme there was Debastia whiche was called a linage of kinges that endured two hundreth and .xxv. yeares because all those kinges were of a commendable conuersation And an other of Debastia endured no longer then fourty yeares And our auncientes tooke pleasure of peace whereof we are destitute and were ignoraunt of the warres whiche we nowe vse so muche Alwayes they desired to haue kinges whiche should be good for the common wealth in peace rather than valiaunt and couragious for the warre As Homere in his Iliade saieth the auncient Egiptians called their kinges Epiphanes and had a custome that Epiphanes alwaies should enter into the temples barefoote And because it chaūsed the Epiphane on a time to come into the churche hoased he was immediatly for his disobedience depriued and expulsed from the realme and in his steade an other created Homere declareth here that this king was proude euill conditioned wherefore the Egiptians depriued him and banished hym the realme taking occasion that he did not enter into the temple barefoote For truly when Lordes are euil willed and not beloued for a litle trifle and occasion the people will arise and rebell against them The saide Homere saide also that the Parthes called their kynges Assacides that the sixte of that name was depriued and expulsed the realme for that of presumption he had hym selfe to the mariage of a knight and being bidden and desired would not go to the mariage of a poore Plebeyan Cicero in his Tusculanes saith that in olde time the people perswaded their princes to communicate with the poore that they should abstaine and flye from the ryche For among the poore they may learne to be mercifull and with the ryche they shall learne nothing but to be proude Ye knowe right well Fathers conscript howe this our countrey was first called great Grece afterwarde it was called Latium and then Italie And when it was called Latium they called their kynges Marrani and truly though their borders were but narrowe yet at the leaste their stoutnes was great The Annales of those times say that after the thirde Siluius succeded a Marrane who was proude ambitious and euill cōdicioned in such sorte that for feare of the people alwaies he slept locked vp and therfore they depryued and banished him the Realme For the auncientes saide that the king should locke his dores at no houre of the nighte against his subiectes neither he should refuse in the daie to geue them audience Tarquine whiche was the last of the seuen kinges of Rome was very vnthankefull towards his father in lawe he was an infamie to his bloud a traytour to his countrey and cruell of his persone who also enforced the noble Lucretia and yet notwithstanding this they doe not call him vnthankefull infamous cruell traytour
of Corinthe for I haue no commission to treate of peace with vnthriftye players but with sage gouernours Those of Athens comaunded me not to kepe company with those that haue their hāds occupied with dyce but with those that haue their bodyes loden with harnes with those that haue their eyes daseled with their bookes For those men which haue warre with the dice it is vnpossible they shold haue peace with their neighbours After he had spoken these wordes he returned to Athens I let the vnderstand my frend Pulio that the Corinthians thinke it to be the greatest felicitie in the world to occupie dayes nightes in playes and meruel not hereat neyther laugh thou them to scorne For it was tolde we by a Greeke being in Antioche that a Corinthian estemed it more felycitie to winne a game then the Romaine captaine dyd to winne a triumphe As they say the Corinthians were wyse and temperate men vnlesse it were in playes in the which thing they were to vycious Me thynke my frend Pulio that I aunswere the more ampely then thou requyrest or that my health suffreth the whych is lytle so that both thou shalte be troubled to reade it and I here shal haue paine to wryt it I wil make the a briefe some of al the others whiche now come vnto my remembraunce the which in dyuerse things haue put their ioy and chiefe felycities Of Crates the philosopher CRates the philosopher put his felycitie to haue good fortune in prosperous nauigacions sayeng that he which sayleth by sea can neuer haue perfecte ioy at his hart so long as he considereth that betwene death life there is but on bourde Wherfore the harte neuer feeleth so great ioy as when in the hauen he remembreth the perrils whyche he hath escaped of the sea Of Estilpho the philosopher EStilpho the philosopher put all his felycitie to be of great power sayeng that the man which can do litle is worth lytle and he that hath litle the gods do him wrong to let him lyue so long For he only is happie which hath power to oppresse his enemyes and hath wherwith al to succour him selfe and reward his frendes Of Simonides the philosopher SImonides the philosopher put all his felycitie to be wel beloued of the people sayinge that churlyshe men and euyl condicioned shoulde be sent to the mountaynes amongest brute beastes For ther is no greater felycity in this lyfe then to be beloued of all in the common wealthe Of Archita the philosopher ARchita the Philosopher had all his felycity in conquering a battaile sayeng that naturallye man is so much frende to hym selfe and desireth so much to come to the chiefe of his enterprise that thoughe for lytle trifles he played yet he woulde not be ouercome For the hart willynglye suffereth all the trauayles of the lyfe in hope afterwardes to wynne the vyctorye Of Gorgias the philosopher GOrgias the philosopher put all his felycytie to heare a thing whych pleased him sayeng that the body feleth not so much a great wound as the hart doth an euyl word For truly ther is no musicke that soundeth so swete to the eares as the pleasaunt words are sauoury to the hart Of Crisippus the philosopher CRisippus the Philosopher had all his felycitye in this world in making great buildynges sayeng that those which of them selues lefte no memorye both in their lyfe and after their death deserued infamye For greate and sumptuous buyldynges are perpetuall monumentes of noble courages Of Antisthenes the philosopher ANtisthenes the phylosopher put al his felicye in renowne after his death For sayth he there is no losse but of lyfe that flytteth without fame For the wiseman neade not feare to dye So he leaue a memory of his vertuous lyfe behind him Of Sophocles the philosopher SOphocles had all his ioy in hauyng children whych should possesse the inheritaunce of their father sayenge that the graffe of him that hath no children surmounteth aboue al other sorrowes For the greatest felicity in this lyfe is to haue honoure and riches and afterwards to leaue children whych shal inherite them Of Euripides the philosopher EVripides the Philosopher had all his ioy in keaping a fayre woman sayeng hys tongue wyth wordes could not expresse the griefe whiche the hart endureth that is accumbred with a foule woman therfore of truth he whych happeneth of a goodly and vertuous woman ought of ryght in hys lyfe to desire no more pleasure Of Palemon the philosopher PAlemon put the felycytye of men in eloquence sayeng and swearing that the man that cannot reason of al things is not so lyke a reasonable man as he is a brute beast For accordyng to the opinyons of many there is no greater fely citye in thys wretched worlde then to be a man of a pleasaunte tongue and of an honest lyfe Of Themistocles the philosopher THemistocles put all hys felycity in discending from a noble lynage sayeng that the man whych is come of a meane stocke is not bounde to make himselfe of a renowmed fame For truly the vertues and prowesses of them that are past are not but an example to moue them to take great enterprises which are present Of Aristides the philosopher ARistides the philosopher put all his felycitie in keaping temporal goods sayeng that the man which hath not wherwith to eate nor to susteine his lyfe it were better counsayle for him of his free wil to goe into the graue then to do any other thing For he only shal be called happie in this worlde who hath no nede to enter into another mans house Of Heraclitus the philosopher HEraclitus put all his felycitie in heaping vp treasoure sayenge that the prodygall man the more he getteth the more he spendeth but he hath the respecte of a wyse man who can keape a secrete treasoure for the necessityes to come Thou hast now sufficiently vnderstode my frend Pulio how that .vii. monethes since I haue bene taken with the feuer quartaine and I swere vnto the by the immortall gods that at this present instaunt writyng vnto the my hand shaketh which is an euident token that the cold doth take me wherefore I am constrayned to conclude this matter which thou demaundest me although not according to my desier For amongest true frends though the workes do cease wherewith they serue yet therefore the inward partes ought not to quaile wherwyth they loue If thou dost aske me my frend Pulio what I thynke of all that is aboue spoken and to whych of those I do sticke I aunswere the. That in this world I do not graunt any to be happie and if ther be any the gods haue them with them because on the one side chosynge the playne and drye way without clay and on the other syde all stonye and myerie we may rather call this lyfe the precipitacion of the euyl then the safegard of the good I wil speake but one word only but marke wel what therby I meane whych is
that amongest the myshappes of fortune we dare saye that ther is no felycitie in the world And he only is happie from whom wisedom hath plucked enuious aduersitie and that afterwards is brought by wisedome to the highest felycitye And thoughe I would I cannot endure any lenger but that the immortall gods haue the in their custoditye and that they preserue vs from euyl fortune Sith thou art retired now vnto Bethinie I know well thou wouldest I should write the some newes from Rome and at this presente there are none but that the Carpentines and Lusitaines are in great strife and dissension in Spayne I receiued letters how that the barbarous were quyet though the host that was in Illiria were in good case yet notwistanding the army is somwhat fearefull and timerous For in all the coaste and borders ther hath bene a great plague Pardon me my frend Pulio for that I am so sickely that yet I am not come to my selfe For the feuer quartaine is so cruel a disease that he which hath it contenteth himselfe with nothinge neither taketh pleasure in any thing I send the .ii. of the best horses that can be found in al Spayne also I send the ii cuppes of gold of the richest that can be founde in Alexandria And by the lawe of a good man I swere vnto the that I desire to sende the ii or .iii. howers of those which trouble me in my feauer quartaine My wife Faustine saluteth the and of her part and mine also to Cassia thy olde mother and noble widowe we haue vs commended Marcus the Romaine Emperour with his owne hande writeth this and againe commendeth him vnto his dere frend Pulio ¶ That princes and great Lordes ought not to esteme them selues for being fayre and wel proportioned Cap. xli .. IN the time that Iosue triumphed amongest the Hebrues and that Dardanus passed from great Grece to Samotratia and when the sonnes of Agenor were seking their sister Europe and in the time that Siculus reigned in Scicil in great Asia in the Realme of Egipt was buylded a great cytie called Thebes the which king Busiris built of whom Diodorus Sicculus at large mencioneth Plynie in the .36 chapter of his naturall historie and Homere in the second of his Iliade and Statius in al the booke of his Thebiade do declare great meruelles of this citye of Thebes which thing ought greatly to be estemed for a man oughte not to thinke that fayned whiche so excellente auctours haue writen For a truth they say that Thebes was in circuite .40 myles and that the walles were .30 stades hye and in breadthe .6 They say also that the citie had a hundreth gates very sumptuous and strong and in euery gate .ii. hundreth horsemen watched Through the middest of Thebes passed a great riuer the which by mylles and fishe dyd greatly profite the citie When Thebes was in his prosperity they say that there were two hundreth thousand fiers and besydes all this al the kynges of Egipt were buried in that place As Strabo sayth De situ orbis when Thebes was destroyed with enemies they found therin lxxvii tombes of kings whych had bene buried there And here is to be noted that al those tombes were of vertuous kings For among the Egiptians it was a law inuiolable that the king which had bene wicked in his lyfe should not be buried after his death Before the noble and worthy Numantia was founded in Europe the riche Carthage in Affricke and the hardye Rome in Italy the goodly Capua in Campaigne and the great Argentine in Germanie and the holy Helia in Palestine Thebes onlye was the most renowmed of all the world For the Thebanes amongest al nacions were renowmed aswel for their riches as for their buyldings and also because in theyr lawes customes they had many notable seuere things al the men were seuere in their workes although they would not be knowen by their extreame doinges Homere sayth that the Thebanes had v. customes wherein they were more extreme then any other nacion 1. The first was that the children drawing to v. yeres of age were marked in the forehead with a hoote yron because in what places so euer they came they should be knowen for Thebanes by that marke 2. The second was that they should accustome their children to trauaile alwayes on foote And the occasion why they dyd this was because the Egiptians kept their beastes for their gods and therfore when so euer they trauayled they neuer rydde on horsebacke because they should not seme to sitte vpon their god 3. The third was that none of the citizens of Thebes shold mary with any of straunge nacions but rather they caused them to marrye parentes with parentes because that frendes maryeng with frendes they thoughte the frendshippe and loue should be more sure 4. The fourthe custome was that no Thebane should in any wise make a house for himselfe to dwel in but first he should make his graue wherin he should be buryed Me thinketh that in this point the Thebanes were not to extreme nor excessiue but that they did lyke sage and wise men yea and by the law of veryte I sweare that they were sager then we are For if at the least we dyd imploye our thought but two howers in the weke to make our graue it is vnpossible but that we should correcte euerye daye our life 5. The fift custome was that all the boies which were excedinge faire in their face shoulde be by theym strangled in the cradell and all the girles whiche were extreame foule were by them killed sacrifised to the godds Sayeng that the gods forgotte themselues when they made the men faire and the women foule For the man which is very faire is but an vnparfite woman and the woman which is extreme foule is but a sauage and wilde beast The greatest God of the Thebaines was Isis who was a red bull nourisshed in the riuer of Nile and they had a custome that all those which had red heere immediately should be sacrifyâ—ed The contrarye they did to the beastes for sithe their God was a bul of tawnye couloure none durst be so bold to kyl any beasts of the same coloure In such fourme and maner that it was lawfull to kyll both men and women and not the brute beastes I do not say this was wel done of the Thebaines to sley their children nor yet I do say that it was wel done to sacrifice men women which had red or taunye heere nor I thinke it a thinge reasonable that they should do reuerence to the beastes of that coloure but I wonder why they should so much dispise foule women and faire men sith all the world is peopled bothe with faire and foule Then sith those barbarous lyuyng as they did vnder a false law did put him to death whom the Gods had adorned with any beautie we then which are Christians by reason ought much lesse to esteme
that the vayne glory which they haue and their beauty also shal haue an end to day or to morow A man that is faire and wel proportyoned is therfore nothyng the more vertuous he that is deformed euil shapen is nothing therfore the more vicious so the vertue dependeth not at all of the shape of the bodye neyther yet vyce procedeth of the deformitye of the face For dayly we se the difformytie of the body to be beautyfied wyth vertues of the mynd and the vertues of the mynd to be defaced wyth the vyce of the body in his works For truly he that in the vsage of his lyfe hath any botche or imperfectyon is worse then he that hath foure botches in hys shoulders Also I say that though a man be great yet it is not true that therfore he is strong so that it is not a general rule that the bigge body hath always a valiaunt and couragious hart nor the man whych is lytle of parson shold be of a vyle false hart For we se by experyence the greatest men the most cowards the least of personage the most stout and hardy of hart The holy scripture speake of king Dauid that he was redde in his countenaunce not bygge of body but of a meane stature yet not withstanding as he and the mighty Gyaunt Golias were in campe Dauid kylled Golias wyth a sling with hys owne sword cut of hys head We ought not maruayle that a lytle sheaperde should sley so valyaunt myghty a Gyaunte For oft tymes of a lytle sparke commeth a great lyght and contrary wise by a great torche a man can scarsely see to do any thinge This kinge Dauid dyd more that he being lytle of body and tender of yeres killed the Lions recouered the lambes out of the Woulfes throtes and besides this in one day in a battaile with his owne handes he slew to the nomber of 800 men Though we cannot find the like in our tyme we may well ymagine that of the 800. which he slew there were at least .300 of theym as noble of linage as he as riche in goodes as faire in countenaunce and as high of stature but none of these had so much force courage since he escaped aliue they remayned in the field deade Thoughe Iulius Cesar was bigge enoughe of body yet notwithstandinge he was euyll proporcioned For he had his head all bald his nose very sharpe one hande more shorter then the other And albeit he was yong he had his face ryuelled his coulour somewhat yeallowe and aboue all he went somewhat croked his girdel was halfe vndone For men of good wittes do not employ themselues to the setting out of their bodyes Iulius Cesar was so vnhandsome in his bodye that after the battaile of Pharsalique a neighbour of Rome said vnto the great Oratour Tullius Tell me Tullius why hast thou folowed the parcialities of Pompeius since thou art so wise knowest thou not that Iulius Cesar ought to be lord and monarche of all the world Tullius then aunswered I tell the true my frend that I seing Iulius Cesar in his youth so euyl vnsemely girded iudged neuer to haue sene that that is sene of him and did neuer greatly regard him But the old Silla knew him better For he seinge Iulius Cesar so vncomely and so slouenly appareiled in his youth oftentimes sayd vnto the Senate beware of this yong man so euil marked For if you do not watche wel his procedings it is he that shall hereafter destroye the Romaine people as Suetonius Tranquillus affirmeth in the booke of Caeser Albeit that Iulius Caeser was vncomely in his behauiour yet in naminge onlye his name he was so feared through the worlde as if bechaunce any king or princes did talke of him at their table as after supper for feare they coulde not slepe that night vntill the next day As in Gallia Gotica wher Iulius Caesar gaue a battaile by chaunce a Frenche knight toke a Cesarian knight prysonner who being ledde prisonner by the frenchmen sayde Chaos Cesar whyche is to say Let Caesar alone Which the Gaulloys hearing the name of Caeser let the prysoner escape and without any other occasion he fel besides his horse Now then let princes and great lordes se how lytle it auayleth the valiaunt man to be faire or foule sith that Iulius Caesar being so deformed only wyth naming his name caused all men for feare to chaunge their countenaunce Hannibal the aduenturous Captaine of Carthage is called monstruous not only for his deedes he did in the world but also for the euyl proporcion of his bodye For of hys two eyes he lacked the right and of the two feete he had the left foote croked and aboue al he was lytle of body verye fyerse cruell of countenaunce The deedes and conquestes which Hannibal did among the people of Rome Titus Liuius declareth at large yet I wyll recite one thing which an historiographer declareth and it is this Frontine in the booke of the stoutnes of the Penians declareth that in xvii yeres that Hannibal warred with the Romaines he slew so great a nomber that if the men had bene conuerted into Kyne and that the bloud which was shed had bene turned into wine it had bene sufficient to haue fylled and satisfyed his hole armye being 80. thousand foote men and 17 thousande horse men in his campe I demaunde nowe howe many were at that tyme faierer and more beautifull of their bodies and countenaunce then he was whose beautie at this daye is forgotten where as his valiauntnes shall endure for euer For there was neuer prince that lefte of him eternall memorie onely for beinge beautifull of countenaunce but for enterprysinge great thinges with the sworde in the hand The great Alexander was no fairer nor better shapen thē an other man For the chronicles declare of him that he had a litle throte a great head a blacke face his eies somewhat troubled the bodie litle and the members not well proporcioned and with all his deformitie he destroyed Darius king of the Perses and Meedes and he subdued al the tyrauntes he made him selfe lorde of all the castles and tooke many kynges and disherited and slewe mightie Lordes of great estates he searched all their ryches and pylled all their treasours and aboue all thinges all the earth trembled before him not hauinge the audacitie to speake one worde against him ¶ Of a letter the Emperour Marcus Aurelius wrote to his Nephew worthy to be noted of all young gentlemen Cap. xlii SExtus Cheronensis in his seconde booke of the lyfe of Marcus Aurelius declared that this good Marcus Aurelius had a syster called Annia Milena the whiche had a sonne named Epesipus who was not onely nephewe but also disciple to Marcus Aurelius And after he was created Emperour he sent his nephewe into Grece to studye the Greeke tongue and to bannyshe him from the vices of Rome This
Prince be prosperous shall it not be better to kepe him in the same prosperity to associate him selfe with a wyse man rather then to put his trust in a foole and malicious person Yf a prince be destitute of money cannot perchaunce a wise man find him better meanes to get it theÌ„ a foole which doth nothing but aske If a prince wil passe the time away shall not he be more comforted with a wise man that rekeneth vnto him the sauorye histories done in times past then harkening a foole speakyng folishely declaring thinges dishonestly with the sayenges of the malicious of the tyme present That that I speake of surgians the selfe same I speake of foles For I do not say that they keape them for their pastime though truly we might better say to loase their time then to passe their time For that may iustly be called time lost which is spent without the seruice of God profite of theyr neighbours That which I most maruel at is not so much for the great authority the fooles haue in the pallaces of princes great lordes as for the litle succour credite which wise men haue among them For it is a great iniury the fooles should enter into the palace of princes euen vnto their bed side and that one wise maÌ„ may not nor dare not enter into the halle So that to the on there is no dore shut and to the other there is no gate open We which are at this present of right do commend those that were before vs for no other cause but that in times past though the sages were few in nomber the world was replenished with barbarous people yet the sages of those barbarous people were greatly estemed and had in reuerence And this custome endured long tyme in Grece that when a philosopher passed by a Greke he rose and spake vnto hym and he might not sit for the contrary al those which shal liue here after will reproue vs which are at this presente Forasmuch as we haue so great a multitude of sages and do not liue amongest barbarous but amongest Christians and it is a grefe to see and shame to write how litle wise meÌ„ are estemed For at this day throughe oure offences not those which haue most science but those which haue most ryches in the common wealthe doe commaund I know not whether the deuine wisdom hath depriued theÌ„ or that the worldly malice hath lost the tast of them For now a dayes ther is no sage that liueth al alone to be wise but it is necessary for him to trauaile how to gaine his liuing for necessitie enforceth him to violate the rules of true philosophy O world world I know not how to escape thy handes nor how the simple man ideote defendeth him selfe out of thy snares when the sage and wyse men yea with al their wisdome can scarsely set their foote sure on the ground For al that wise men of this world know is litle ynough to defend them from the malitious Readyng that which I read of time past and seing that which I se of time present I am in doubte which was greater the care that vertuous princes had in seekyng out sages to counsell theÌ„ or the great couetousnes that others haue at this present to discouer mynes and treasures Speaking therfore in this matter as I thinke I desire that those which haue the charge of gouernement whether he be prince prelate or priuate parson I passe not that they once may haue about them sage meÌ„ that be wise in dede and that they would loue them aboue all the treasour they had heaped For in the end of good counsaill there commeth profite and much treasour is a token of great daunger In the old time when vertuous Princes died and that they lefte their children for successours in their Realmes besides that forasmuch as they saw their children yong euill instructed in the affaires of their realmes they committed them to tutours that should teache theÌ„ good workes doctrine rather than they would giue them surueyours whych should encrease augment their cofers and rentes For truly if the common wealth be defended with great treasures it is not gouerned with good counsayles The princes which are yong accustomely are giuen to vyces for in the one part youth reigneth on the other part honesty wanteth And to such truly vices ar very daungerous specially if they want sages to counsaile theÌ„ to keape them from euil company For the couragious youth will not be brydeled nor their great libertie can be chastysed Princes without doubt haue more nede of wyse men about them to profyte them in their counsailes then any of all their other subiectes For synce they are in the view of all they haue lesse licence to commyt vice than any of all For if they doe behold all and that they haue auctoritie to iudge all will they nill they they are beholden and iudged of all Princes ought to be circuÌ„spect whom they trust with the gouernemeÌ„t of their realmes and to whom they commytte the leading of their armies whom they send as embassatours into straunge countreys and whom they trust to receiue and keape their treasurs but much more they ought to be circumspecte in examinyng of those whom they choose to be their counsalours For looke what he is that counsaileth the Prince at home in his palace so likewyse shall his renowne â—e in straunge countreis and in his owne common wealthe Why should they not then willingly examin and correct their own proper palace Let princes know if they doe not know that of the honestie of their seruauntes of the prouidence of their counsayles of the sagenes of their personnes and of the order of their house dependeth the welfare of the common wealth For it is impossible that the braunches of that tree whose rootes are dried vp should be sene to beare grene leaues How the Emperour Theodosius prouided wise men at the houre of his death for the edification of his .2 sonnes Archadius and Honorius xliiii Chap. IGnatius the Hystorian in the boke that he made of the .2 Theodosij of the .3 Archadij and of the .4 Honorii declareth that the first and great Theodosius being fyftie yeares old and hauing gouerned the Empire .11 yers lyenge on his death bed called Archadius and Honorius his .2 sonnes and committed them to Estilconus and Ruffinus to be instructed and ordeined them lykewise for gouerners of their estates and signories Before that the father dyed he had now created his children Cesars beyng then of the age of .17 yeares Therfore the father seynge them not as yet rype nor able to gouerne their Realmes and signories he committed them vnto maisters and tutours It is not alwayes a generall rule though one be of .25 yeares of age that he hath more discretion to gouerne realmes then another of .17 For dayly we see that we allow and commend the .10 yeares of one
and reproue the .40 yeares of an other Ther are many princes tender of yeres but ripe in counsailes and for the countrary there are other princes old in yeares yong in counsailes When the good Emperour Vespasian died they determined to put his sōne Titus in the gouernement of the empire or some other aged Senator because they said Titus was to yong And as they were in controuersie of the matter the Senatour Rogerus Patroclus said vnto the Senate For my parte I require rather a Prince which is yong and sage then I do a prince which is old and foolysh Therfore now as touchyng the children of Theodosius one day Estilconus the tutour of Archadius speaking to a greke philosopher very sage whose name was Epimundus sayde thus vnto him Thou and I long time haue bene acquainted together in the palace of the emperour Theodose my lord who is dead and we ar aliue thou knowest it had bene better that we .2 had died and that he had liued For there be many to be seruauntes of princes but there ar few to be good princes I feele no greater griefe in this world than to know many princes in one realme For the man whiche hath sene many princes in his lyfe hath sene many nouelties and alterations in the common wealth Thou knowest well that when Theodosius my maister died he spake to me these wordes the which wer not spoken without great sighes and multiplienge of teares O Estilconus I dye and am going into an other world wherin I shall giue a streighte accompte of the Realmes and seignories which I had vnder my charge And therfore when I thinke of myne offences I am meruelously afrayed But when I remember the mercy of God then I receiue some conforte and hope As it is but mete we should trust in the greatnes of his mercy so likewise is it reason we should feare the rigour of his iustice For truly in the christian law they are not suffred to liue as we which are Princes that liue in delightes of this world and afterward without repentaunce to goe streighte to Paradyse Then when I thinke of the great benefittes which I haue receiued of God and of the great offences which I haue committed when I thynke of the long tyme I haue lyued and of the litle which I haue profited also that vnprofitably I haue spent my time On the one part I am loath to dye for that I am afrayed to come before the tribunall seate of Iesus Christ and on the other part I would liue no lenger because I do not profit The mā of an euil life why doth he desire to lyue any longer My lyfe is now finished the tyme is shorte to make amendes And sithe god demaundeth nought els but a contrite harte with all my harte I doe repente and appeale to his iustice of mercie from his Iustice to his mercy because it maye please him to receiue me into his house and to giue me perpetuall glorie to the confusion of al my synnes and offences And I protest I dye in the holy catholike faith commend my soule to god my body to the earth to you Estilconus Ruffinus my faithful seruauntes I recōmende my dere beloued children For herby the loue of the childrē is sene in that the father forgetteth thē not at the houre of his death In this case of one only thing I doe warne you one only thing I require you one only thing I desire you one onely thing I cōmaund you that is that you occupye not your mindes in augmentinge the Realmes seignories of my childrē but only that you haue due respect to giue thē good education vertuous seruāts For it was only the wise men which I had about me that thus long haue mainteined me in this great auctoritie It is a goodly thing for a prince to haue stoute captains for the warres but without comparison it is better to keape haue wise men in his palace For in the end the victory of the battaille consisteth in the force of many but the gouernement of the common weale oftentimes is putte vnder the aduise of one alone These so dolefull and pitiefull wordes my lord and maister Theodosius spake vnto me now tell me Epimundus what I should doe at this present to fulfill his commaundement For at his harte he had nothing that troubled him so much as to thinke whether his children would vndoe or encrease the cōmon wealthe Thou Epimundus thou art a Grecian thou art a philosopher thou hast vnderstandyng thou art an olde seruaunt thou arte my faithfull frend therfore for al these thinges thou art bound to giue me good healthful counsaile For many times I haue heard Theodosius my maister say that he is not accompted sage which hath turned the leaues of many bookes but he which knoweth and can geue good healthful counsailes Epimundus the philosopher aunswered to these wordes Thou knowest wel Lord Estilconus that the auncientes and great Philosophers ought to be brief in wordes and very parfect in their workes For otherwise to speake muche worke litle semeth rather to be done like a tyraunt then like a greeke philosopher The Emperour Theodosius was thy Lord and my frend I say frend because it is the libertie of a greeke Philosopher to acknowledge no homage nor seruice to any superiour For he in his hart can haue no true sciēce that to rebuke the viicous kepeth his mouth shut In one thing I cōtent my selfe in Theodose aboue al other princes which were in the Romaine empire and that is that he knew and talked wisely of al his affaires and also was very diligēt to execute the same For all the fault of Princes is that they are prompte bold to talke of vertues and in executing them they are very slacke fearefull For such Princes can not continew in the vertue which they doe commende nor yet resyste the vyce which they do dispraise I graunt that Theodosius was an executour of iustice mercifull stoute sober valiaunt true louyng thankfull and vertuous and finally in all thinges and at all times he was fortunate For fortune oftentimes bringeth that to Princes which they will and desire yea many times better then they looke for Presuppose it to be true as it is most true that the time was alwayes prosperous to the Emperour Theodosius yet I doubte whether this prosperity wil continew in the succession of his children For worldlye prosperitie is so mutable that with one only man in a moment she maketh a thousande shrewde turnes and so much the more it is harde to continue stedfast in the second heyre Of slowe and dull horses come oftentimes couragious and fyerse coltes and euyn so of vertuous fathers come children euill brought vp For the wicked children inherite the worste of the father whiche is ryches and are dysenherited of the best whiche are vertues That whiche I perceyue in this matter as
realme but that first he had bene brought vp in the studies of Grece I will not denie that all the renowmed tyrauntes haue not bene nourished in Scicile but also thou shalt not deny me that they were not borne in Grece Therfore see and beholde to whom the fault is from the mother whiche bare them or froÌ„ the nurse which gaue theÌ„ suck I do not say that it shal be but I say that it may wel be that if I were there in Grece I should be a better philosopher than thou if thou were here in Agrigentine thou wouldest be a worser tyraunt thaÌ„ I. I would thou shouldest thinke that thou mightest be better in Grece where thou art and that I might be worse in Agrigentine where I am For thou dost not so muche good as thou mightest doe and I do not so much euil as I may do The conning man Perillus came into these partes and hath made a Bul wherin he hath put a kind of torment the most feare fullest in the world and truly I caused that that which his malyce had inuented should be of none other than of himselfe experimented For there is no iuster law that when any workeman haue inuented engins to make other men dye then to put them to the torments by them inuented to know the experience in them selues I beseche the hartely to come and se me and be thou assured thou shalt make me good For it is a good signe for the sicke when he acknowledgeth his sicknes to the Physitian I saye no more to the but that once againe I returne to solicite the that thou faylest not to come to se me For in the end if I do not profite of the I am sure thou shalt profite by me and if thou winnest I cannot lose ¶ How Philippe kyng of Macedonia Alexander the great the king Ptolomeus the king Antigonus the king Archelaus and Pâ—rrus kynge of the Epirotes were all great louers and frendes of the sages Cap. xlvii IF Quintus Curtius deceiue me not the great Alexander sonne to kyng Philyppe of Macedome dyd not deserue to be called great for that he was accompanied with thousands of men of warre but he wanne the renowne of great for that he had more philosophers on his counsaile then all other princes had This great prince neuer toke vpon him warres but that firste the order of executyng the same shoulde before his presence be examyned of the sages and wise philosophers And truly he had reason For in affaires wher good counsaile haue proceded they may alwayes loke for a good end These Historiographers whych wrote of great Alexander as wel the Grecians as the Latines knowe not whether the fiersnes wherwith he stroke his enemyes was greater or the humanitie wherewith he embraced his counsayle Though the sage philosophers whych accompanied the great Alexander were many in nombre yet notwithstandyng amongest all those Aristotle Anaxarcus and Onosichrates were his most familiars And herein Alexander shewed hymselfe very wise For wise princes ought to take the counsaile of many but they ought to determine and conclude vpon the opinion of few The greate Alexander did not contente himselfe to haue sages with hym neyther to sende onlye to desire those whiche were not his but oftentymes himselfe in personne woulde goo see theym vysite theym and counsayle with theym Saying that the Princes whiche are the seruauntes of sages come to be made maisters and Lordes ouer all In the time of Alexander Magnus Diogenes the philosopher lyued who neither for entreatye nor yet for any promises made would come to see Alexander the great Wherfore the great Alexander went to se him and when he had desired him to go with him and acompany him Diogenes aunswered O Alexander since thou wilte winne honoure in keapinge of menne in thy companye it is not reason that I shoulde loose it to forsake my study For in folowing the I shall not folow my selfe and being thyne I shal cease to be myne Thou arte come to haue the name of the greate ALEXANDER for conqueringe the worlde and I haue attayned to come to renowme of a good Phylosopher in flyeng the world And if thou dost ymagine that thou hast gotten and wonne I thinke that I haue not erred nor lost And since thou wilt be no lesse in aucthoritye then a king do not thinke that I wil lose the estimacion of a philosopher For in the world there is no greater losse vnto a man then when he looseth his proper lybertie When hee had spoken these wordes Alexander said vnto them that were about him with a loude voyce By the immortall gods I sweare and as god Mars rule my handes in battaile if I were not Alexander the greate I would be Diogenes the Philosopher And he sayd further in myne opinion there is no other felycitie vpon the earth then to be Alexander king who commaundeth al or to be Diogenes to commaund Alexander who commaundeth all As king Alexander was more familyar with some philosophers then with others so he estemed some bookes more then others And they say he read oftentimes in the Iliades of Homere which is a booke where the storye of the destruction of Troy is and that when he slept he layde vnder his head vpon a bolster his sword and also his booke When the great king Alexander was borne his father King of Macedonie did two notable things The one was that he sent many and very riche giftes into the I le of Delphos wher the Oracle of Apollo was to the end to present theym with him and to praye him that it would please him to preserue his sonne The other thing that he did was that immediatly he wrote a letter to the greate Philosopher Aristotel wher in he sayd these words ¶ The letter of king Philippe to Aristotle the philosopher PHilippe king of Macedonie wisheth healthe and peace to the Philosopher Aristotel which readeth in the vniuersitie of Grece I let the vnderstand that Olimpias my wife is brought to bedde of a goodly man child wherof both she and I and all Macedonie do reioyce For kinges realmes ought to haue great ioy when there is borne any sonne successour of the naturall prince of the prouince I render thankes vnto the immortall gods haue sent many great giftes to the Temples and it was not so much for that I haue a sonne as for that they haue giuen him vnto me in the time of so great and excellent philosopher I hope that thou wilt bringe him vp and teache him in such sort that by heritage he shal be Lord of my patrimonye of Macedonie and by desert he shal be lorde of all Asia so that they should call him my sonne and the his father Vale foelix iterumque vale Ptolomeus father in lawe who was the viii kinge of the Egiptians did greatly loue the sages as wel of Caldea as of Grece and this thinge was estemed for a great vertue in king Ptolome
For there was asmuch enuy betwene the Philosophers of Greece and the sages of Egipt as betwene the captaines of Rome and the captaines of Carthage This Ptolome was very wise and did desire greatly to be accompained with philosophers and after this he learned the letters of the Latynes Caldes and Hebrues For the which cause though the kinges named Ptolomei were .11 in nombre and all warrelyke men yet they put this for the chiefe and captaine of all not for the battayles which he wanne but for the sentences which he learned This king Ptolomeus had for his famyliar a philosopher called Estilpho Megarense who was so entierlye beloued of this prince that laying aside the gentlenes and benifites which he shewed him he dyd not only eate with the king at his table but oftentimes the king made him drincke of his owne cuppe And as the fauours which princes shew to their seruauntes are but as a watche to proue the malycious it chaunsed that when this king gaue the phylosopher to drincke that whyche remayned in his cuppe an Egiptian knight moued with enuye sayd vnto king Ptolome I thinke Lord how that thou art neuer satisfyed with drinking to leaue that whiche remayneth in the cuppe for the philosopher to drinke after the. To whom the king aunswered Thou sayst wel that the phylosopher Estilpho is neuer fylled with that which I do giue him For that which remayneth in my cuppe doth not profite him so much to drinke as the phylosophye which remayneth in hym should profite the if thou wouldest take it The king Antigonus was one of the moste renowmed seruauntes that kinge Alexander the great euer had who after his death enherited a great part of his empire For how much happie the king Alexander was in his lyfe so much he was vnhappie at the tyme of his death because he had no children whych might enherite his goodes and that he had such seruauntes as spoyled him of his renowme This king Antigonus was an vnthrift and excessiue in all vyces But for all that he loued greatly the Phylosophers which thing remayned vnto him from kinge Alexander whose palace was a scoole of all the good Phylosophers of the world Of this ensample they may se what great profite ensueth of bringing vp of them that be yonge for there is none that euer was so wicked or enclyned vnto euyl but that in longe contynuannce may profyte somewhat in his youth This kyng Antigonus loued ii philosophers greatly the which florished in that tyme that is to wete Amenedius Abio of which ii Abio was wel learned very poore For in that time no phylosopher durst openly read phylosophy if he were worth any thing in temporall goodes As Laertius sayth and as Pulio declareth it better in the booke of the rulers and noble men of the Greekes The scholes of the vniuersytie were so correct that the Phylosopher whych knew most had least goodes so that they did not glorifie of any thing els but to haue pouertye and to know much of philosophy The case was such that the philosopher Abio was sicke and with that sicknes he was so vexed that they might almost see the bones of his weake body The king Antigonus sēt to visite him by his owne sonne by whom he sent hym much money to he helpe him wyth all For he lyued in extreame pouerty as it behoued the professours of Philosophy Abio was sore sicke being aged and croked and though he had made himselfe so leaue with sicknes yet notwithstanding he burned always vpon the weeke of good life I meane that he had no lesse courage to dispise those giftes then the kinge Antigonus had nobles to send them This Philosopher not contented to haue despised these giftes in such sort said vnto the sonne of Antigonus who brought theym Tell king Antigonus that I giue him great thankes for the good enterteinment he gaue me always in my life and for the giftes he sendeth me now at my death For one frende can doo no more to an other thanne to offer him hys parsonne and to departe withe his proper goodes And tell the kynge thy father that I maruayle what he shoulde meane that I nowe beinge foure score yeres of age haue walked al my lyfe time naked in this world should now be laden with vestures money since I must passe so streight a goulfe in the sea to goe out of this world The Egiptians haue a custome to lighten the burden of their camels when they passe the desertes of Arabia which is much better then to ouercharge them I meane that he only passeth without trauayle the daungers of the lyfe which bannisheth from him the thought of temperal goods of this world Thirdly thou shalt say to the king thy father that from henceforth when any man will dye he do not succour nor healpe him with money gold nor riches but with good and ripe counsayle For gold wil make him leaue his lyfe with sorow and good counsail-will moue him to take his death with pacience The fift king of the Macedonians was called Archelaus who they say to be the grandfather of kinge Philip father of the great Alexander This kinge bosteth himselfe to descend from Menelaus king of the Grecians and principall captaine which was at the distruction of Troy This kyng Archelaus was a great frend to the sages and amongest others there was a Poete with him called Euripides who at that tyme had no lesse glory in his kind of Poetrie then Archelaus in his kingdome being kyng of Macedonia For now a days we esteme more the sages for the bookes which they wrote then we do exalt kynges for the realmes which they ruled or the battayles whych they ouercome The familiarity whych Euripides had wyth the kyng Archelaus was so streight and his credite wyth Archelaus was so great that in the Realme of Macedonie nothyng was done but first it was examined by the hands of this phylosopher And as the simple and ignoraunt would not naturally be subiecte to the sage it chaunsed that one nyght Euripides was talkyng a long time wyth the kyng declaring vnto hym the auncient hystoryes and when the poore Poete would depart to go home to his house hys enemyes espyed him and let hungrye dogges fly vpon hym the whych dyd not only teare hym in peces but eate hym euery morsell So that the intraylles of the dogges were the wofull graue of the myserable poete The king Archilaus being certifyed of this woful case immedyatly as sone as they told hym was so chafed that almost he was bereft of hys sences And here at merueile not at al. For gentle hartes do alter greatly when they are aduertysed of any sodayne myshappe As the loue whych the kyng had to Euripides in hys lyfe was much so lykewyse the sorow whych he felte at hys death was very great For he shed many teares from hys eyes he cut the heares of hys head he rounded his beard he chaunged the
apparayle whych he weare and aboue all he made as solempne a funeral to Euripides as if they had buried Vlisses And not contented wythal these thyngs he was neuer mery vntil such tyme he had done cruel execuciō of the malefactours For truly the iniury or death whych is done vnto him whom we loue is no other but as a bath and token of our owne good willes After iustice was executed of those homycides and that some of the bones all gnawen of the dogges were buryed a Grecian knight sayd vnto kyng Archelaus I let the know excellent kyng that all Macedonia is offended with the because that for so small a losse thou haste shewed so greate sorow To whom kynge Archelaus aunswered Among sages it is a thinge sufficientlye tried that noble hartes oughte not to shewe theymselues sadde for mishappes and sodaine chaunces For the king being sadde his realme can not and though it might it ought not shew it selfe mery I haue heard my father say once that princes should neuer shedde teares vnlesse it were for one of these causes 1 The first the Prince should bewaile the losse and daunger of his common wealth for the good Prince ought to pardon the iniuryes done to his parson but to reuenge the least act done to the common wealth he ought to hasarde himselfe 2 The second the good prince ought to lamente if any man haue touched his honour in any wise for the Prince which wepeth not droppes of bloud for the thinges touchinge hys honoure deserueth to be buryed quycke in his graue 3 The third the good Prynce ought to bewayle those whych can lytle and suffer muche For the Prynce whych bewayleth not the calamities of the poore in vaine and without profite lyueth on the earth 4 The fourth the good Prince ought to bewayle the glory and prosperity wherin the Tiraunts are For that prince whych wyth tyrannye of the euil is not displeased wyth the hartes of the good is vnworthye to be beloued 5 The fift the good Prynce ought to bewayle the death of wise men For to a Prynce there can come no greater losse then when a wyse man dyeth in his common wealth These were the words which the king Archelaus aunswered the Grecian knight who reproued him because he had wept for the death of Euripides the phylosopher The auncient Historiographers can say no more of the estimacyon whych the Phylosophers and wyse men had as well the Greekes as the Latynes but I wyl tell you one thinge worthy of noting It is wel knowen through all the world that Scipio the Ethnicke was one of the worthyeste that euer was in Rome for by hys name and by hys occasion Rome gotte such a memorye as shall euermore endure And this was not only for that he cōquered Affrycke but for the great worthynes of hys person Men ought not to esteme a lytle these two giftes in one man that is to wete to be happie and aduentures For many of the auncientes in times past wanne glory by their swords after lost it by their euil liues The Romaynes historographers say that the first that wrote in heroical meeter in the Latin tongue was Ennius the poete the workes of whom was so estemed of Scipio the Ethnicke that when this aduenturous so lucky Romaine dyed he commaunded in hys wil and testament that they should hange the image of thys Ennius the Poet ouer his graue By that the great Scipio did at his death we may wel coniecture how great a frend he was of sages in his life since he had rather for his honor set the statue of Ennius on his graue thā the banner wherwith he wanne and conquered Affricke In the time of Pirrus which was king of the Epirotes great enemy of the Romaines florished a philosopher named Cinas borne in Thessalie who as they say was the disciple of Demosthenes The historiographers at that time did so much esteme this Cinas that they sayd he was the maister measure of mans eloquence For he was very pleasaunt in words profound in sētences This Cinas serued for 3. offices in the palace of king Pyrrus 1 First he made pastime at his table in that he dyd declare for he had a good grace in thinges of laughter 2 Secondarily he wrote the valyaunt dedes of his history for in his stile he had great eloquence and to write the truth he was a witnes of syght 3 Thirdly he went for embassadoure in affaires of great importaunce for he was naturally subtyle and wittie and in dispatching busines he was very fortunate He vsed so many meanes in his busines and had so great perswasion in his wordes that he neuer toke vpon him to speake of thinges of warre but either he set a longe truce or els he made a perpetual peace The king Pyrrus sayd to this Cynas O Cinas for thre thinges I thanke the immortal gods 1 The first for that they created me a king and not a seruaunt for the greatest good that mortal men haue is to haue lyberty to commaund many and not to be bound to obey any 2 The second I thanke the immortal gods for that they naturaly made me stout of hart for the man which wyth euery tryfle is abashed it were better for him to leaue his life 3 The third I giue the immortal gods thankes for that in the gouernment of my common wealth and for the great affaires and busines of my real me as wel in warres as in other thinges they gaue me such a man as thou art in my company For by thy gentle speach I haue conquered and obtained many Cyties which by my cruell sword I could neuer wynne nor attayne These were the wordes which Pyrrus sayd to his frend Cinas the Poete Let euery Prince know now how great louers of wise men those were in tymes past and as vppon a sodaine I haue recyted these few examples so with smal study I could haue heaped infynite Historyes FINIS The ende of the firste Booke The Seconde booke of the Diall of princes vvherein the Authoure treateth howe Princes and greate Lordes shoulde behaue theym selues towardes their wyues And howe they ought to noryshe and brynge vp their Children ¶ Of what excellencye mariage is and wheras common people marie of free will Princes and noble men oughte to marye of necessitie Cap. i. AMonge all the frendships and companyes of this lyfe ther is none so naturall as that betwene the husbande and the wife lyuing in one house for all other compagnies are caused by free wil only but this procedeth both by wil necessity Ther is at this day no Lion so fierce no Serpent so venimous no Viper so infectiue no Aspicke so mortall neyther any beast so tirrible but at the least both male female do once in the yere mete conioyne and thoughe that in brute beastes there lacketh reason yet notwithstandynge they haue a naturall instinction to assemble themselues for the
foure times Censor and in the end he was with much shame banished from Rome wherwith to reueng this iniury he came with a great power army against Rome for the proud hart wounded with iniury is neuer quiet in his life time vntyl he se his enemyes destroyed or that on them he hath taken vengeance Quintus Marcius being very nigh to the gates of Rome was most instantlye requyred that he wold not distroy his mother Rome but he toke no regard nor would condiscend to any request vntil such time that his mother issewed with a niece of his whom he loued entierly At whose intercession teares he left his anger raised his siege from Rome for many are ouercome soner wyth teares then wyth importunate reasonable requestes The ladies of Rome vsed much to haue their heares long and yellowe and to weare their wastes high and streight And as the Niece of Quintus Marcius was great bigge with child the day that the peace was made betwene Quintus Marcius Rome lacinge her selfe to hard in her attire to seme more proper comely she long before her time was delyuered of a creature the case was so woful vnfortunate that the creature deliuered dyed the mother lost her lyfe and the mother losyng her lyfe sodainlye her graundmother fel dead to the ground through which occasion al the ioy and mirth was turned into sorow sadnes For it is commenly sene when the world is in the greatest ioy then fortune sodainly turneth it into sorow The aucthors hereof are Tibulus and Porphirius both Grecians ¶ The aucthour foloweth and declareth other inconueniences and vnluckye chaunces which haue happened to women with child Chap. x. THe warres of Tarent being ended immedyatly begonne the warres of Carthage of whych so long tedious warres the possession of the Isles of Maiorica Minorica were occasion forsomuch as the one would take it and the other defend it This warre endured wel nyghe the space of 40. yeres for oft tymes the wastes and domages which are done in the warres are greater then the profite for which they contend The first captayne in this warre of the Romaines was Gaius Duellus and the fyrst of the Carthaginiens was Hammon the whych wyth their shyppes fought on the sea of Sicili the whych was very cruel for there they feared both the fury of the sea and also the cruelty of the pike the which two things put mans life in great daūger Of thys cruel battaile the Romaine captaine remayned victorious forasmuch as he drowned 14 shippes and toke other 30. he slew 3. thousande men and brought 3. thousand Carthaginiens prysoners and thys was the first victory that the Romaynes had by sea And that that the Romaynes most reioysed at was that by sea also they remained conquerers The captaine Gaius Duellus departyng from Sicili came to Rome wher he had a sister no lesse vertuous then rych and beautifull in whose house he lodged where he made a costly supper to al the senatours of Rome to al the captaines whiche came wyth hym from the warres for the vicious men knew not wherin to shew their loue to their frendes but by inuiting them to costly bankettes The sister of the captaine Gaius Duellus for ioye of his comming and for the pleasure of the banquet feast which was made in her house did eate more then she was accustomed also more then it behoued one in her case so that in the presence of al she began to annoy the bidden gestes for she not onely vomited out the meate of her stomake but also the bloud of her vaines and therwithal most vnluckely brought forth her fruite which she had in her intrailes wherwith immediatly after the soule departed from the body and so died Truly this case was no lesse lamentable then the others for so much as Gaius lost his sister the husband lost his wife his child the wife the child lost their liues and for that that Rome lost so noble and excellent a Roman aboue al for that it so chaunced in such a time of so great ioy and pleasure For there can come no vnluckier newes then in the time of much mirth to heare tel of any great mischaunce Of this matter mention is made in Blundus in the booke of the declination of the Empire The second warre of Afrike which was betwene Rome and Carthage was the. 540. yeres after the foūdation of Rome wherin were captaines Paulus Emilius and Publius Varro the which two consulles fought the great and famous battaile of Cannas in the prouince of Apulia I say famous because Rome neuer lost such nobilitie and Roman youth as she lost in that day Of these two coūsulles Paulus Emilius in the battaile was slaine and Publius Varro ouercome and the couragious Hannibal remained conquerour of the field wherin died .xxx. senatours and 300. officers of the senate and aboue .xl. thousand fotemen thre thousand horsemen finally the end of al the Romain people had bene that day if Hannibal had had the wit to haue folowed so noble a victory as he had the corage to giue so cruel a battaile A litle before that Publius Varro departed to goe to the warres he was maried to a faire young Romain called Sophia with in seuen monethes she was quicke as newes was brought her that Paulus Emilius was dead her husband ouercome she died sodenly the creature remaining aliue in her body This case aboue al was very pitiful in that that after he him selfe was vanquished that he had sene his compaignion the consul Emilius slaine with so great a numbre of the Romaine people fortune would that with his owne eies he should beholde the intrailes of his wife cut to take out the child likewise to se the earth opened to bury his wyfe Titus Liuius saith that Publius Varro remained so sorowful in his harte to see him self ouercome of his enemies to see his wife so sodainly so vnluckely strikē with death that al the time that his life endured he neither comed his beard slept in bed nor dined at the table hereat we ought not to marueile for a man in his hart may so be wounded in one houre that he shal neuer reioyce all the daies of his life If we put no doubtes in Titus Liuius the Romains had long tedious warres against the Samnites which indured for the space of .lxiii. yeres continually vntill suche time as the consull Ancus Rutillus which was a vertuous man did set a good appointment of peace betwene the Samnites the Romains for the noble stout harts ought always by vertue to bring their enemies to peace These warres therefore being so cruell obstinate Titus Venurius Spurius Posthumius which were Romain captains were ouercom by Pontius the valiant captain of the Samnites who after the victory did a thing neuer sene nor hard of before That is to
so swift as he that is naked Aristotle in the sixt booke de Animalibus saith when the Lionesse is bigge with whelpe the Lyon doth not only hunt for her him self but also both night daye he wandreth continually about to watche her I meane that princesses great Ladies when they be with child should be of their husbande 's both tended serued for the man can not do the woman so great a pleasure before her lieng down as she doth to him when she bringeth forth a sonne Considering the daunger that the woman abideth in her deliuerance beholding the paines that the husbād taketh in her seruice without cōparison that is greater which she suffereth then that which he endureth For when the womā deliuereth she doth more then her power and the husband though he serueth her well doth lesse then his dutie The gentle and louing husband ought not one moment to forsake his wife specially when he seeth she is great for in the law of a good husbād it is written that he should set his eies to behold her his handes to serue her he should spende his goods to cherishe her should geue his harte to cōtent her Let not men thinke it paines to serue their wiues when they are with childe for their labour consisteth in their strengthe but the trauell of their wiues is in their intrailes And that whiche is moste pitifull is that when the sorowfull women will discharge their burden on the earthe they often times bryng them selues vnto the graue The meane women of the Plebeians ought no lesse to be reproued for that when they are with childe they would be exempted from all busines of the house the whiche neither they them selues ought to desire nor yet their husbandes to suffer For idlenesse is not only an occasion not to deserue heauen but also it is a cause whereby womē ofte times haue ill successe in their trauaile For considering bothe the deintie Ladie with childe that hath her pleasure and doth litle and on the other side the poore mans wyfe whiche moderatly laboureth you shall see that the great Ladies for all their pleasures abydeth more daunger then the other doth with all her labour The husbande ought to keape his wyfe from takyng to muche paines for so ought he to doe and the wyfe lykewyse ought to flee to much pleasure for it behoueth her For the meane trauaile is no other but occasion of a safe deliuerie The women with childe also ought to take hede to them selues and in especially noble and great ladies that they be not to gredy nor hasty in eating For the woman being with childe ought to be sobre and the woman whiche is a great eater with great paines shall liue chaste Women with childe ofte times doe disordre them selues in eating licorous meates and vnder the colour of feedinge them selues and their infant they take to excessiuely which is not onely vnholsome for the childe but also dishonour for their mothers For truly by the great excesse of the mother being with child commeth many diseases to the infant when it liueth The husbande 's also ought neither to displease nor greue their wiues specially when thei see them great with child for of truth ofte times she deliuereth with more daunger by reason of the offences that mē do vnto them then by the abondaunce of meates which they doe eate Though the woman when she is with childe in some thinges doth offend her husband yet he like a wise man ought to forbeare her hauing respect to the child wherwith she is great and not to the iniurie that she hath committed for in th end the mother can not be so great an offender but that the childe is muche more innocent For the profe of this it neadeth not bookes to reade but only our eies to see how the brute beastes for the moste parte when the females are bigge doe not touche them nor yet the females suffer thē to be touched I meane that the noble and high estates ought to absent them selues from their wiues carnally beyng great with child and he that in this case shal shewe him selfe moste temperate shall of all men be deamed most vertuous I do not speake this to thend it should bind a man or that it were an offence then to vse the company of his wyfe but vnto men that are vertuous I geue it as a counsel For some things ought to be done of necessitie others ought to be eschewed for honestie Diodorus Siculus saith that in the realme of Mauritania there were so few men so many women that euery man had fiue wiues where there was a law amōgest them that no man should mary vnder thre wiues furthermore they had a wonderful folishe custome that when any husband died one of these women should cast her selfe quick in to the graue be buried with him And if that within a moneth she did it not or that she died not by iustice she was then openly put to death saiyng that it is more honestie to be in company with her husband in the graue then it is to be alone in her house In the Isles of Baliares the cōtrary is sene for there increase so many men and so few women that for one woman there was seuen men and so they had a custome specially amongest the poore that one woman should be maried with fiue men For the ryche men sent to seke for women in other straunge Realmes wherfore then marchauntes came heuie loden with women as now they do with marchaundise to sell Vpon which occasion there was a custome in those Isles that for as muche as there were so fewe women when any woman with chylde drewe nere the seuen monethes they were seperated from their husbandes and shut and locked vp in the Temples where they gaue them suche thinges as were necessary for them of the commen treasure For the auncientes had their goodes in suche veneration that they would not permitte any personne to eate that whiche he brought but of that whiche vnto the goddes of the Temple was offered At that tyme the Barbarous kepte their wyues locked in the churche because the gods hauing them in their Temples should be more mercifull vnto them in their deliuery and also to cause them to auoyde the daungers at that tyme and besydes that because they tooke it for a great vilany that the women during that tyme should remaine with their husbandes The famous and renowmed philosopher Pulio in the fift booke De moribus antiquorum said that in the Realme of Paunonia whiche nowe is Hongarie the women that were great with childe were so highly estemed that when any went out of her house al those which met with her were bounde to returne backe with her in such sorte as we at this present do reuerence the holy Comunion so did these Barbarous then the women with child The women of Carthage being with child whē Carthage was
wyfe and children as that I cannot carye my bookes into the graue Yf the Gods had geuen me the choyse I had rather chose to be in the graue inuyroned with bookes then to lyue accompanyed wyth fooles for if the dead doe rede I take them to be alyue but if the lyuing doe not reade I take them to be deade Vnder this key which I gyue the remayneth many Greke Hebrue latine and Roman bookes and aboue all vnder this key remayneth al my paynes swet and trauayles al my watchinges and labours where also thou shalte fynde bokes by me compyled so that though the wormes of the yearth doe eate my body yet men shall fynde my harte hole amongest these bokes Once againe I doe require the and saye that thou oughtest not a lytell to esteame the key which I giue the for wise men at the hower of their death alwayes recommed that whiche they best loue to them which in their liues they haue most loued I doe confesse that in my studie thou shalte fynd many thinges with myne owne hand written and wel ordered and also I confesse that thou shalte find many thinges by me left vnpersit In this case I thinke that though thou couldest not wryte them yet thou shalt worke thē wel notwithstandynge and by these meanes thou shalte get reward of the Gods for workyng them Consyder Pompeian that I haue ben thy lorde I haue ben thy father in law I haue bene thy father I haue bene thy aduocate and aboue all that I haue bene thy speciall frend which is most of all for a man ought to esteme more a faithful frend then all the parentes of the world Therfore in the faith of that frendshyp I require that thou kepe this in memory that euen as I haue recommended to others my wife my children my goods and ryches So I do leaue vnto the in singular recommendacion my honoure For prynces leaue of them selues no greater memorye then by the good learning that they haue wrytten I haue bene .18 yeares emperour of rome and it is .lx. and .iii. yeares that I haue remayned in thys wofull life during whiche time I haue ouercome many battailles I haue slayne many pirattes I haue exalted many good I haue punished manye euil I haue wonne many realmes I haue distroyed many tirauntes But what shal I do woful man that I am sithe all my compagnions which were witnesses with me of al these worthy feates shal be my compagnions in the graue with the gredy wormes A thousand yeares hence when those that are now alyue shal then be dead what is he that shal say I saw Marcus Aurelius triumphe ouer the Parthians I saw him make the buildings in Auentino I saw him welbeloued of the people I saw him father of the orphanes I saw him the scourg of tiraūtes truly if al these thinges had not ben declared by my bookes or of my frendes the dead would neuer haue rysen agayn to haue declared them What is it for to se a prince from the time he is borne vntil the time he come to dye to se the pouerty he passeth the perilles he endureth the euil that he suffereth the shame that he dyssembleth the frendeshyp that he fayneth the teares which he sheaddeth that sighes that he fetchith the promises that he maketh and doeth not endure for any other cause the mysteries of this life but onely to leaue a memorye of him after his death There is no prince in the worlde that desireth not to keape a good house to keape a good table to aparrel him selfe rychely to pay those that serue hym in his house but by this vaine honour they suffer the water to passe thorough their lippes not drinking therof As one that hath proued it it is reason that I be beloued in this case and that is that the entent of princes to conquere straunge Realmes and to permit their owne to suffer wronges is for no other thyng but because that the commendacions which they speake of the princes past they should lykewyse talke the same of them that be to come Concluding therfore my mynde and declaring my intencion I say that the Prince that is noble and desireth to leaue of him selfe some fame let hym consider and se what it is that those can write of him which writ his history for it profiteth litel that he atchieue greate affayers by the swerde if there be no writer to sette them fourth with the penne and afterwardes to exalte them with the tonge These wordes thus spoken by the noble Emperour Marcus Aurelius he gaue the key of his studye to the honourable old man Pompeianus that toke all the wrytinges and put them in the high Capitol where the Romans honored them as the christians the holye Scriptures all these writynges besydes many others peryshed in rome when by the Barbarous it was dystroyed For the Gothes vtterly to extinguishe the name of rome distroyed not onely the walles therof but also the bokes that were therein and trulye in this case the Goothes shewed more crueltye to the Romans then if they had slayne the children of their bodies or bet downe the walles of their Cities For without doubte the lyuelye letter is a moresewerer wytnes of renowme that alwayes speaketh then eyther the lyme sand or stone wherwith fortresses are buylded Of the importunate suete of the Empresse Faustine to the Emperour Marke Aureille Concerning the key of his closet Chap. xiiii VVe Haue declared howe the Emperoure Marcus Aurelius had his studie in the secretest place of al the palace and how that he him selfe did kepe the key It is to be vnderstande that he would neuer let his wife hys children nor any other of his familier frendes come into it for he said I had rather suffer that they shoulde take from me my treasoures then that any man should turne the leaues of my bookes It chaunced that on a daye the Empresse Faustine being great with child importuned the Emperour muche by all the meanes she could that he would be so fauourable vnto her as to gyue her the key of his studye and it is no meruaile for naturallye women dispise that which is geuen them and lust forth at that is denayed them Faustine instantly besoughte him not once but manye times not onely with fayer wordes but with aboundaunt teares alleagynge vnto him these reasons I haue requyred the sondrye tymes that thou wouldest gyue me the key of thy chamber and thou haste by iestinge made frustrate my request the whych thou my Lorde oughte not to haue done consyderynge that I am with childe for oftetimes it chaunceth that that wherfore the husbande reioyceth this daye tomorow he doeth lamente Thou oughtest to remember that I am that Faustine the renowmed the which in thy eyes am the fairest and of thy tonge haue bene most commended of thy parson I was best beloued and of thy harte I am most desired then since it is true that thou hast
of kyng Arthebanus had nourished his sonne they coulde not haue robbed it in the cradell nor these twoo princes had not bene slayne in battayle nor the common wealth had not bene destroied nor Alexander had not entred into the lande of another nor had not come to conquere the contrey of Italy nor the dead corps had not wanted his graue for oftetimes it chaunceth for not quenching a litle coale of fier a whole forest house is burned The deuine Plato among the Grekes and Licurgus among the Lacedemonians commaunded and ordeined in all their lawes that al the Plebeical women those of meane estate should nourishe al their children and that those which were princesses and great ladies should at the least nourishe their eldest and first begotten Plutarche in the booke of the reigne of princes saieth that the sixt kyng of the Lacedemonians was Thomistes the whiche when he died lefte two children of which the second inherited the realme because the Quene her selfe had brought it vp and the first did not inherite because a straūge nource had geuen it sucke and brought it vp And hereof remained a custome in the moste parte of the realmes of Asia that the childe whiche was not nourysshed with the pappes of his mother shoulde inherite none of his mothers goodes There was neuer nor neuer shal be a mother that had suche a sonne as the mother of God which had Iesus Christe nor there was neuer nor neuer shal be a sonne which had suche a mother in the worlde But the infante would neuer sucke other milke because he would not be bounde to call any other mother nor the mother did geue him to nourish to any other mother because that no other woman should call him sonne I doe not marueile at al that princesses and great ladies doe geue their children forth to nourishe but that which moste I marueile at is that she whiche hath conceiued and brought forth a child is a shamed to geue it sucke and to nourishe it I suppose that the ladies doe thinke that they deserue to conceiue them in their wombes and that they sinne in nourishing them in their armes I can not tell how to wryte and much lesse howe to vtter that which I would say which is that women are now a daies come into such folly that they thinke and esteme it a state to haue in their armes some litle dogges they are ashamed to nourish geue the childrē sucke with their own breastes O cruel mothers I cannot thinke that your hartes can be so stony to endure to see and keape fantasticall birdes in the cages vnhappy Monkeis in the wyndowes fisting spaniels betwene your armes and so neglect and despise the swete babes casting them out of your houses where they were borne and to put them into a straunge place where they are vnknowen It is a thing which cannot be in nature neither that honestie can endure conscience permit nor yet consonant either to deuine or humaine lawes that those which God hath made mothers of children shoulde make them selues nourses of dogs Iunius Rusticus in the third booke of the sayings of the auncientes saith that Marcus Porcio whose life and doctrine was a lanterne and example to al the Romain people as a man much offended saied on a day to the senate O fathers conscripte O cursed Rome I can not tell what nowe I shoulde saye sithe I haue sene in Rome suche monsterous thinges that is to wete to see women cary Parrottes on their fistes and to see women to nourishe dogges geuing them mylke from their owne breastes They replied in the senate and sayde Tell vs Marcus Porcio what wouldest thou we should doe whiche lyue nowe to resemble our fathers whiche are dead Marcus Portio aunswered them The woman that presumeth to be a Romaine Matrone ought to be founde weauing in her house and out of that to be found in the temple praying to God and the noble and stoute Romane ought to be foūd in his house reding bookes and out of his house fighting in the playn fielde for the honour of his countrie And suer these were wordes worthy of suche a man Annius Minutius was a noble Romaine and captaine of great Pompeius who was a great friende to Iulius Caesar after the battaile of Farsaliae for he was an auncient and on that could geue good councell wherefore he neuer scaped but that he was chosen in Rome for Senatour Consul or Censor euery yeare for Iulius Caesar was so mercifull to them that he pardoned that those whiche had bene his moste enemies in the warres were of hym in peace best beloued This Annius Minutius then beinge chosen Censor within Rome which was an office hauing charge of iustice by chaunce as he went to visite the wyfe of an other frende of his the whiche laye in child bedde because she had great aboundaunce of mylke he founde that a litle pretie bitche did sucke her vpon the whiche occasion they saye he said these wordes to the Senate fathers conscripte a present mischiefe is nowe at hande according to the token I haue sene this daye that is to wete I haue seene a Romaine woman denie her owne chyldren her mylke and gaue to sucke to a filthy bitche And truly Annius had reason to esteme this case as a wonder for the true and swete loues are not but betwene the fathers and children and where the mother embraceth the brute beaste and forsaketh her naturall childe whiche she hath brought foorth it cannot be otherwyse but there either wysedome wanteth or folly aboundeth for the foole loueth that he ought to despise and despiseth that whiche he ought to loue Yet thoughe the mothers wyll not geue their children sucke they oughte to doe it for the daunger whiche may come to the helthe of their personnes for as the womē which bryng forth children do lyue more healthful then those which beare none so these which do nourish them haue more health then those which doe not nourishe them For although the brynging vp of children be troublesome to women it is profitable for their healthe I am ashamed to tell it but it is more shame for ladies to do it to see what plasters they put to their breastes to drie vp their milke and hereof commeth the iust iudgement of God that in that place ofte tymes where they seke to stoppe their mylke in the selfe same place they them selues procure their sodaine death I aske now if women doe not enioye their children being younge what pleasure hope they to haue of them when they are olde What a great comforte is it for the parentes to see the younge babe when he wyll laughe howe he twincleth his litle eies when he wyll weape how he wyll hange the prety lippe when he woulde speake howe he wyll make signes with his lytle fyngers when he wyll goe howe he casteth forwarde his feete and aboue all when he beginneth to bable howe he doubled in his
dothe determine to drie and shut vp the fountaines of milke whiche nature hath geuen her she ought to be very diligent to serch out a good nource the which ought not only to content her self to haue her milke whole but also that she be good of lyfe For otherwise the child shall not haue so muche profit by the milke which he sucketh as the nource shall do it harme if she be a woman of an euil life I do aduise princesses and great dames that they watche diligently to know what their nources are before they commytte their children to them for if such nources be euil and slaundered they are as serpentes which do byte the mother with their mouth and do stinge the child with her taile In my opinion it were lesse euill the mother should suffer that her childe should perish in deliuering it then for to kepe in her house an euill woman For the sorow of the death of the child is forgotten and brought to nought in time but the slaunder of her house shall endure as long as she liueth Sextus Cheronensis sayeth that the Emperour Marcus Aurelius commaunded his sonne to be broughte vp of a woman the which was more faire then vertuous And when the good Emperour was aduertised therof he dyd not only send her from his pallace but also he banished and exyled her froÌ„ Rome swering that if she had not nouryshed his sone with her pappes he woulde haue commaunded her to haue bene torne in pieces with beastes For the woman of an euil renowme may iustly be condempned and put to death Princesses and great ladies ought not greatlye to passe whether the nources be faire or foule for if the milk be swete whyt and tender it littel skilleth though the face of the nource be whit or blacke Sextus Cheronensis saieth in the booke of the nourture of children that euen as the blacke earth is more fertill then is the white earthe so likewise that woman which is browne in couÌ„tenaunce hath alwaies the most substaunciall milke Paulus Diaconus in hys greatest history sayeth that the Emperour Adocerus did mary him selfe with the daughter of an other emperour his predecessour called Zeno the Empresse was called Arielna The whych in bringing forth a Sonne had a woman of Hungarye marueylous fayre to nourishe it the case succeded in such sorte that the nource for being faire had by that emperour .iii. children the one after the other his wofull wife neuer had any but the first alone A man ought to beleue that the empresse Arielna did not only repent her selfe for taking into her house so faire a nource but also was sory that euer she had any at all syth the rybald therby was mystresse in the house she remained without husband all her life I do not say it for that ther are not many foule women vitious nor yet because ther are not many faire women vertuous but that princesses and great ladies accordyng to the qualities of their husbandes ought to be profitable and tender nources to bring vp their childreÌ„ For in this case there are some men of so weake coÌ„plection that in seyng a litell cleane water immediatly they dye to drinke therof Let therfore this be the first couÌ„sell in chousing nources that the nource before she enter into the house be examined if she be honest vertuous For it is a tryfell whether the nource be faire or foule but that she be of a good life and of an honest behauiour Secondarily it is necessary that the nource which nourisheth the child be not only good in the behauiour of her life but also it is necessary that she be hole as touching the bodily health For it is a rule vnfallible that of the milke which we do suck in our infancy dependeth all the corporall health of our life A child geueÌ„ to the nource to nourish â–ª is as a tree remoued froÌ„ one place to an other And if it be so as in dead it is it behoueth in al pointes that if the earth wher in it shal be new put were no better that at the lest it be not worse for thys should be a great crueltie that the mother beyng hole strong and well disposed should geue her child to a leane womaÌ„ to nource which is feable sore and diseased Princesses and great laâ—es do chose leane womâ—n weake and sycke for to nourishe their infantes And in that they do fayle it is not for that they would erre but it is bycause that such feable and weake nources by a vaine desire they haue to be nources in a gentilmaÌ„s house on the one part they say they will litel money on the other parte they do make great sutes What a thing is it when a princesse or a noble woman is deliuered of a child to se the deuyses of other women among them selues who shal be the nource and how those the whyche neuer nourished their owne children do preserue the milke to nouryshe the children of others To procure this thing for women â–ª me thinketh it proceadeth of aboundaunce of folly and to condescend to their requestes me thinketh it is for wante of wisedome They looke not alwayes to the manners and habilitie of the nource how apte she is to nource their childe but how diligent she is in procurynge to haue it to nourishe They care not greately whether they be good or no for if the firste be not good they will take the second and if the second pleaseth them not they will haue the thirde and so vpwardes vntill they haue founde a good nource But I let you to wete you princesses and great ladies that it is more daunger for the children to chaunge diuerse mylkes then vnto the old men to eate dyuerse meates Wee see dayly by experience that without coÌ„parison there dieth more children of noble women then children of women of the meaner estate And we will not say that it is for that they do flatter their children more nor for that the wiues of labourers do eate fine meates but that it chauÌ„ceth oft times that the children of a poore woman doth neither eat nor drinke but of one kinde of meate or milke in .ii. yeares and the childe of a Ladye shall chaung and alter .iii. nources in .ii. monethes If princesses and great ladies were circumspect in chousing their nources and that they did loke whether they were hole without diseases and honest in their maners and would not regarde so much the importunitie of their sutes the mothers should excuse them selues from many sorowes the children likewise should be deliuered from many diseases One of the most renowmed princes in times past was Titus the sonne of Vaspasyan and brother of Domitian Lampridius saieth that this good Emperour Titus the most parte of his lyfe was subiect to greuous diseases and infirmities of his persoÌ„ne and the cause was for that when he was yong he was geuen to a syck nourse to be nourished so that
this good Emperour sucking her dugge but a while was constrained to passe all his lyfe in paine Thirdely Princesses great Ladies ought to know and vnderstand the complexion of their children to the end that accordyng to the same they myghte seke pitieful nources that is to wete if the child wer cholorycke flegmaticke sanguine or melancolye For looke what humour the child is of of the same qualitie the milke of the nource should be If vnto an old corrupted mā they ministre medecines conformable to hys diseases for to cure hym why then should not the mother seeke a holesome nource to the tender babe agreable to his complexion to nourish hym And if thou sayest it is iuste that the flesh old and corrupted be susteined I tel the likewise that it is much more necessary that the children should be curiously well nourished to multiplye the world For in the end we do not say it is time that the yong leaue the bread for the aged but contrarye it is time that the old leaue the bread for the yong Aristotle in the booke De secretis secretorum Iunius Rusticus in the .x. boke de gestis Persarum say that the vnfortunat king Darius who was ouercome by Alexander the great had a doughter of a merueilous beautie And they saye that the nource which gaue sucke to this doughter all the time that she did nourishe it did neither eate nor drinke any thing but poison and at the end of .iii yeares when the child was weyned plucked from the dugge she did eate nothing but Colubers and other venemous wormes I haue heard say many times that the Emperours had a custome to nourish their heires children with poysons when they were yong to the entent that they should not be hurt by poyson afterward whē they wer old And this errour commeth of those which presume much and know litel And therfore I say that I haue heard say without sayeng I haue read it For some declare histories more for that they haue heard say of others then for that they haue read them selues The truth in this case is that as we vse at this present to were Cheynes of gold about our necks or Iewels on our fingers so did the Gentils in times past a rynge on their fingers or some Iewel in their bosome replenished with poison And bycause the Panims did neither feare hel nor hope for heauen they had that custome for if at any times in battaile they should find them selues in distresse they had rather end their liues with poison then to receyue any iniury of their enemies Then if it were true that those Princes had bene nourished with the poison they would not haue caried it about thē to haue ended their lyues Further I saye that the princes of Persia did vse when they had any child borne to geue him milke to sucke agreable to the complectiō he had Since this doughter of Darius was of melancholye humour they determined to bring her vp with venim and poyson because all those which are pure malancolye do liue with sorow dye with pleasure Ingnacius the Venetian in the life of the .v. emperours Palleolus which wer valiaunt emperours in Constantinople saieth that the second of the name called Palleolles the hardie was after the .xl. yeares of his age so troubled with infirmities and diseases that alwayes of the .xii. monethes of the yeare he was in his bed sycke ix monethes and beyng so sicke as he was the affaires and busines of the empire were but slenderly done loked vnto For the prince can not haue so small a feuer but the people in the commen wealth must haue it double This Emperour Palleolus had a wyfe whose name was Huldouina the which after she had brought all the Phisitions of Asia vnto her husbande and that she had ministred vnto him all the medecins she could learne to healpe him and in the end seyng nothing auaile ther came by chaunce an olde woman a Gretian borne who presumed to haue great knowlege in herbes and sayd vnto the empresse noble Empresse Huldouina If thou wilt that the Emperour thy husband doe liue longe see that thou chafe angre and vexe him euerye weeke at the least twyse for he is of a pure malancoly humour and therfore he that doth him pleasure augmenteth his disease he that vexeth him shal prolong his life The empresse Huldouina folowed the counsel of this Greeke woman which was occasion that the emperour lyued afterwardes sounde and hole many yeres so that of the .ix. monethes which he was accustomed to be sicke euery yeare in .xx. yeares afterwardes he was not sicke .iii. monethes For wher as this Greke woman commaunded the empresse to angre her husbande but twise in the weeke she accustomeablye angred hym .iiii. times in the daye Fourthly the good mother ought to take hede that the nource be verye temperate in eatyng so that she should eate litell of diuerse meates and of those few dishes she should not eate to much To vnderstand that thyng ye must know that the white milke is no other then blod which is soden and that whiche causeth the good or euill bloud commeth oft tymes of no other thyng but that eyther the personne is temperate or els a glutton in eating and therfore it is a thyng both healthfull and necessary that the nource that nourisheth the child do eate good meates for among men and women it is a general rule that in litle eating ther is no daunger and of to much eating there is no profit As all the Philosophers saye the wolfe is one of the beastes that deuoureth most and is most gredyest and therfore he is most feared of al the sheppardes But Aristotle in his third booke de Animalibus sayeth that when the wolfe doth once feele her selfe great with yong in all her lyfe after she neuer suffereth her selfe to be couppled with the wolfe againe For otherwyse if the wolfe should yearely bryng forth .vii. or .viii. whealpes as commonly she doth and the shepe but one lambe there woulde be in shorte space more wolues then shepe Besides all this the wolfe hath an other propertie whyche is that though she be a beast most deuouryng and gredy yet when she hath whealped she eateth very temperately and it is to the end to nouryshe here whealpes and to haue good milke And besydes that she doth eate but once in the day the whych the dogge wolfe doth prouide both for the byche and her whealpes Truly it is a monsterous thyng to see and noysome to heare and no lesse sclaunderous to speake that a wolfe whyche geueth sucke to .viii. whealpes eateth but one onely kynde of meate and a woman whych geueth sucke but to one chylde alone will eate of eyght sortes of meates And the cause hereof is that the beast doth not eate but to susteine nature and the woman doth not eate but to satisfie her pleasure Princesses and great Ladies ought to
is as yet vnborne and dead it is a wonderfull thinge for a man that wil curiously note and marke thinges to see the brute beastes that all the tyme they bryng vp their litell ones they will not consent to accompanie with the males nor the males wil follow the females and that that is most to be noted yet is to see what passith betwene byrdes for the she sparrowe will not suffer the male in any wise to towche or come nere her till her litle ones be great and able to flye and moch lesse to sit apon any egges to hatch them till the other be fled and gone Plurarche in the .vii. of his regiment of princes saieth that Gneus Fuluius Cosin germain of Pompeius beyng consull in Rome fell in loue with a yong mayden of Capua being an orphane whether he fled for the plague This maiden was called Sabina when she was great with child by this consull she brought forth a doughter whom they called faire Drusia and truly she was more coÌ„mended for her beautie theÌ„ for her honesty For oftetimes it happeneth that the faire and dishonest women leue their children so euyll taught that of their mothers they inherite litel goods much dishonour This Sabina therfore being deliuered as it was the custome of Rome she did with her owne brestes nourish her doughter Drusia during that which time she was gotten with chyld by one of the knightes of this Consul to whom as to hys seruaunt he had geuen her to kepe Wherfore when the Consull was hereof aduertised and that notwithstandyng she gaue her doughter sucke he commaunded that the knight should be immediatly beheded his louer Sabina forthwith to be cast into a wel The day of execution came that both these parties should suffer wherfore the wofull Sabina sent to beseche the consul that it would please him before her death to geue her audience of one sole word that she would speake vnto hym the which being come in the presence of them all she sayed vnto him O Gneus Fuluius knowe thou I did not cal the to th ende thou shuldest grauÌ„t me lyfe but because I would not dye before I had sene thy face thoughe thou of thy selfe shuldest remember that as I am a fraile woman and fel into sin with the in Capua so I might fal now as I haue done with another in Rome For we women are so fraile in this case during the time of this our miserable life that none can keape her selfe sure from the assaultes of the weake fleash The coÌ„sul Gneus Fuluius to these wordes aunswered the gods immortal knoweth Sabina what grefe it is to my wofull harte that I of thy secret offence shuld be an open scourge For greater honesty it is for men to hyde your frailnes then openly to punyshe your offences But what wilt thou I should do in this case considering the offence thou hast comitted by the immortal gods I sweare vnto the againe I sweare that I had rather thou shouldest secreatly haue procured the death of some man then that openly in thys wise thou should haue slaundered my house For thou knowest the true meaning of the common prouerbe in rome It is better to die in honour then to liue in infamie And thinke thou not Sabina that I do codemne the to die because thou forgotest thy faieth vnto my person and that thou gauest thy self to hym whiche kepte the for sinse thou werte not my wyfe the libertie thou haddest to come with me froÌ„ Capua to Rome the selfe same thou haddest to go with another froÌ„ rome to Capua It is an euil thing for vitious men to reproue the vices of others wherin they theÌ„ selues are faultie The cause why I coÌ„dempne the to die is for the remeÌ„braunce of the old law the which coÌ„maundeth that no nourse or woman geuyng sucke should on paine of death be begotten with child truly the law is veray iust For honest women do not suffer that in geuyng her child sucke at her breast she should hide another in her intrailes These wordes passed betwene Gneus Fuluius the consul and the ladye Sabina of Capua Howbeit as Plutarche saieth in that place the consul had pitie vpon her shewed her fauoure banishyng her vpon condicion neuer to retourne to Rome againe Cinna Catullus in the forth boke of the .xxii. consulles saieth that Caius Fabricus was on of the most notable consulles that euer was in rome was sore afflicted with disseases in his life onely because he was nouryshed .iiii. monethes with the milke of a nource being great with child for feare of this they locked the nource with the child in the teÌ„ple of the vestal virgines wherfor the space of .iii. yeres they wer kepte They demauÌ„ded the consul why he did not nourish his children in his house he aunswered the children being nourished in the house it might be an occasion that the nource should be begotten with child and so she should distroye the children with her corrupt milke furder should geue me occasion to doe iustice vpon her person wherfore keaping them so shut vp we are occasion to preserue their lyfe and also oure children from peril Diodorus Siculus in his librarie and Sextus Cheronensis sayth in the life of Marcus Aurelius that in the Isles of Baleares ther was a custome that the nources of yong children whether they were their owne or others should be seuered from their husbandes for the space of .ii. yeares And the woman whych at that tyme though it were by her husbande were with child though they did not chastice her as an adultresse yet euery man spake euill of her as of an offender Duryng the tyme of these ii yeres to the end the husband should take no other wife they commaunded that he shold take a concubine or that he should bye a slaue whose companye he myghte vse as hys wyfe for amongest these barbarous he was honoured most who had .ii. wyues the one with childe and thother not By these examples aboue recyted Princesses and great Ladies may see what watche and care they ought to take in chousyng their nources that they be honest sinse of theÌ„ dependeth not onlye the healthe of their chyldren but also the good fame of their houses The seuenth condicion is that princesses and great Ladyes ought to see their nources haue good condicions so that they be not troblesome proude harlots lyers malicious nor flatterers for the viper hath not so muche poyson as the woman whyche is euell conditioned It litell auayleth a man to take wyne from a woman to entreate her to eate litel and to withdraw her from her husband if of her owne nature she be hatefull and euell maâ—â—red for it is not so great daunger vnto the child that the nource be a dronckard or a Glutton as it is if she be harmefull and malicious If perchaunce the nource that nourisheth the chylâ—e be euell conditioned trulye she is euell troubeled
questions of Babilon where is sayed that Alexander propounded the Philosophers disputed the pryncipalles of Persia replied and Aristotle determined And so continued in disputations as long as Alexander dyd eate for at the table of Alexander one day the captaines reasoned of matters of warre and another day the Philosophers dysputed of their philosophie Blundus sayeth in the booke intituled Italia Illustrata that amonge the Princes of Persia their was a custome that none could sit downe at the table vnlesse he were a kyng that had ouercome an other kyng in battaile none coulde speake at their table but a Philosopher And truly the custome was veray notable and worthy to be noted for there is no greater follie then for any manne to desire that a Prince shoulde reward him vnlesse he know that by hys workes he had deserued the same Kynge Alexander dyd eate but one meale in the daye and therefore the firste question that he propounded vnto them was That the man which did not eate but once in the day at what houre it was best to eate for the health of his personne and whether it shold be in the mornyng none dayes or nyght This question was debated among the philosophers wherof euery one to defend his opinion alleaged many foundacions For no lesse care haue the Sages in their mindes to issewe out of them disputations victorious then the valiaunt captaines haue in aduenturing their persones to vanquyshe theyr enemyes It was determined as Aristotle maketh mētion in his Probleames that the man whyche eateth but once in the daye shoulde eate a litell before nyght for it auayleth greatly to the health of the body that when the digestion beginneth in the stomacke a man taketh hys first steape The second question that Alexander propounded was what age the child should haue when he should be weyned from the dugge And the occasion of this question was for that he had begoten a yong doughter of a Quene of the Amazones the whiche at that tyme dyd suche and for to knowe whether it were tyme or not to weyne her there was great dysputations For the childe was nowe great to sucke and weake to weyne I haue declared this history for no other purpose but to shew howe in Babilon this question was disputed before kyng Alexander that is to wete how many yeares the chyld ought to haue before it were weyned from the teate for at that tyme they are so ignoraunt that they cannot demaunde that that is good nor cōplaine of that whych is nought In that case a man ought to know as the tymes are variable and the regions and prouynce dyuers so lykewyse haue they sondrye wayes of bryngynge vp and nouryshyng their chyldren For there is asmuche dyfference betwene the contryes of one from the contries of others in dyeng and buryeng the dead bodyes as there hath ben varyeties in the worlde by waye of nouryshyng and bryngyng vp of children Of sondrye kindes of sorceries charmes and witchecraftes whych they in olde time vsed in geuing their children sucke the which Christians ought to eschewe Chap. xxiii IT is not muche from our purpose if I declare here some olde examples of those whych are paste Strabo in hys boke de situ Orbis sayeth that after the Assirians whych were the first that reigned in the world the Siconians had signorie whych lōge tyme after were called Archades whych were great and famous wrastlers and scolemasters at the fence from whom came the best and first masters of fence the whyche the Romaynes kepte alwayes for their playes for as Trogus Pompeius sayeth the romaynes founde it by experience that ther wer no better men in weighty affaires then those of Spaine nor no people apter to plaies and pastimes then those of Archadia As those Siconians were auncient so they were marueilously addicted to follyes and superstitious in theyr vsages and customes for among other they honored for their god the Moone And duryng the time that she was sene they gaue their children sucke imagenyng that if the Moone shyned vpon the breastes of the mother it would do much good vnto the child The auctour herof is Sinna Catullus in the boke De educandis pueris And as the same historian sayeth the egiptians were great enemyes to the Siconians so that all that whych the one dyd alowe the others dyd reproue as it appereth For asmuche as the Siconians loued oliues and achornes they were clothed with lynnen and worshypped the Moone for theyr god The Egiptians for the contrary had no olyues neyther they nourished any okes they dyd were no lynnen they worshypped the sonne for their god and aboue all as the Siconians dyd geue theyr chyldren sucke whyles the Moone dyd shyne so the egyptians gaue theyr chyldred sucke whyles the sonne dyd shyne Amonge other folyes of the Caldians this was one that they honoured the fier for their god so that he that was not maried could not lighte fier in hys house bycause they sayed the custodye of Goddes shoulde be committed to none but to maryed and auncient men They had in mariages suche order that the daye when any children dyd marie the priestes came into his house to lyghte new fier the which neuer ought to be put out vntill the houre of his death And if perchaunce during the life of the husband and of the wife they should finde the fier ded and put out the mariage betwene them was dede and vndone yea thoughe they had ben .xl. yeares togethers before in such sorte And of this occasion came the prouerbe which of many is redde and of fewe vnderstanded that is to wete prouoke me not so muche that I throwe water into the fier The Chaldeans vsed such wordes when they woulde deuorce and seperate the mariage for if the woman were ill contented with her husbande in castinge a lytel water on the fier immediatelye she myghte marye with another And if the husbande in lyke maner dyd putte oure the fier he mighte with another woman contracte mariage I haue not bene maried as yet but I suppose there are manye christians whych wysheth to haue at this present the liberty of the Caldes for I am wel assured there are manye men which would cast water on the fier to escape from their wiues also I sweare that their would be a number of women whiche would not onely put out the fier but also the ashes imbers coles to make thē selues fre and to be dyspatched of their husbandes and inespecially from those whiche are ielous Therfore returnyng to oure matter the Chaldeans made before the fier all notable thinges in their lawe as before their God For they dyd eate before the fier they slepte before the fier They did contracte before the fier and the mothers dyd neuer geue the children sucke but before the fier For the milke as they imagined dyd profite the child when it sucked before the fier which was their god The aucthour of this that is spoken is
Cynna Catullus The Mauritaines whiche at this present are called the realmes of Maruechi were in tymes past warlyke men of whom the Romaines had greate victories and the more valiaunt the men wer in the warres so much more superstitious their wiues were in sorceries charmes and enchauntements For the husband that is long absent from his wife ought not to maruaile though in her be found some faultes Cicero in the booke De natura deorum and muche more at large Bocas sayeth that as many men and women as were in that realme so many Gods there were among the people For euery one had one perticuler God to him selfe so that the God of the one was not the God of the other And this was to be vnderstand in the weke daies For in the holy and festiuall daies they had other Gods the which altogethers they dyd honour The maner that they had in chosyng Gods when a woman was with child was this She went to the sacrificer of the idoll and told him that she was great with child and besought him to geue her a god for her childe And the sacrificer gaue her a lytell idoll of stone gold siluer or of woode the which the mother hanged at the necke of the child And as often as the child dyd sucke the dugge so ofte the mother putteth the idoll one his face For otherwyse she had not geuen hym a droppe of mylke to sucke vnlesse first she had consecrated to the God the mylke of her breste That which I haue spoken is litle in respect of that I will speake whiche is that if perchaunce the chylde died before the time or that any younge man by some perylous myshappe died before he was somewhat aged the fathers and kinsmen of the dead did assemble and came to the Idoll of him and eyther stoned it honge it drue it brent it or els they caste it into the deape well sayinge that sithe the Gods did kyll man without reason that they might lawfully kyl them by iustice The same Bochas in the seconde booke De natura Deorum saieth that the Allobroges had a custome that those whiche were priestes of the Gods should from the wombe of their mothers be chosen vnto that dignitie And assone as the childe was borne before he tasted the mylke of the breste they caried it into a priestes house for they had a custome that the man which had tasted the thinges of the worlde merited not to serue the Gods in the temples One of the lawes that the sayed priestes had was that not onely they could not by violence shed any bloud nor yet see it neyther touche it so that immediatly as the prieste should by chaunce touche mannes bloud euen so sone he loste his priesthode This lawe afterwardes was so narrowely loked vnto that the priestes of the Allobroges dyd not onely not shedde drinke nor touche mans bloude when they were nowe men but also when they were litle infants those that should be priests they gaue them no milke of the breaste at al. And this was their reason That to sucke milke was no other but to drinke whyte bloude for white milke is but sodden bloude and redde bloud is but rawe mylke Pulio in the booke De educandis pueris saieth that the auncientes had a certaine kinde of reedes that breaking it in sondre there issued white mylke wherewith they accustomed to nourishe their children but let it be as it is that this lawe prohibite children their mylke which here after should be made priestes of the temples me thinketh it is a tricke rather of superstitious Sorcerers then of religious priestes For there is neither deuine nor humaine lawe that wyll forbidde or prohibite anye suche thinge without the whiche mans life can not endure These were the maners and customes that the auncientes had in the nouriture of their children And in dede I marueile not at that they did for the Gentils estemed this cursed Idoll for as great a God as we Christians doe the true and liuyng God I was willing to declare all these antiquities to the ende that princesses and great ladies should haue pleasure in reading them and knowing them but not to that ende they should imitate and folowe them in any kynd of thing For according to the faithe of our Christian religion as sure as we be of the offences that those did vnto God through folowinge those superstitions so sure we are of the good seruices whiche we doe vnto God in forsakyng them Howe longe tyme the mothers ought to geue their chyldren sucke and what age they ought to weyne them not for that whiche I haue redde nor for that whiche I haue demaunded in this case I am able to aunswere but for as muche as Aristotle saieth in the booke aboue named that the chylde at the moste ought to sucke but twoo yeares and at the leaste one yeare and an halfe For if he sucke lesse he is in daunger to be sicke and if he sucke more he shal be alwayes tender I wyll not omitte that whiche Sextus Cheronensis saieth in the fourth booke of his common wealth And hereof Boccace also maketh mention in the thirde booke De natura Deorum that when Alexander the great passed into India amongest other renowmed Philosophers there was one with hym called Arethus who as by chaunce he was in Nissa an auncient citie of India there came a man of that Countrey to shewe him suche antiquities as were there Arethus the Philosopher behelde them as a sage and wyse man For the simple man onely beholdeth the doinges and howe they seme but the sage man enquireth and demaundeth of the causes and from whence they came Amonge other thinges he shewed this good Philosopher a great house being in the ende of the citie and therein were many women whereof euery one of them had a chambre and in euery chambre there was twoo beddes and adioyning to the one herbes were sowen in maner of nettels and adioyning to the other there was a kynde of twigges as of Rosemary and in the myddes of the house there were many graues of small chyldren The Philosopher Arethus asked why that house was so great and the Indian aunswered This house is to nourish the chyldren whiche are orphanes when they be of their parentes or frendes abandoned For it is a custome in this citie that immediatly when the father of one chylde dieth the citie then taketh hym for her sonne And from that tyme forwarde he is called the childe of the citie whiche nourisheth hym and not the chylde of the father whiche begotte hym Arethus the Philosopher secondarely asked him why there were so many women in that house without any man among them whereunto the Indian aunswered in this countrey there is a custome that the women are seuered from their husbandes all the tyme they geue their children sucke For the wyll of our God is that the woman be not in company with her husbande after she is with
as he sayd that the tongue is moued by the mocions of the soule that he whiche had no tongue had no soule And he which hath no soule is but a brute beast and he that is a beast deserueth to serue in the fields among brute beasts It is a good thing not to be domme as bruyte beastes are and it is a greater thing to speake as the reasonable men do but it is muche more worthye to speake wel as the eloquent philosophers do For otherwise if he which speaketh doth not wey the sentences more then the wordes ofte tymes the popingayes shal content them more which are in the cage then the men which do read in scooles Iosephus in the booke De bello Iudaico saith that king Herode not onely with his personne and goodes but also with all his frendes and parentes folowed and gaue ayde to Marcus Anthonius and to his louer Cleopatra howbeit in the end Octauian had the vyctorie For the man which for the loue of a woman doth enterprise conquestes it is impossible that eyther he loose not his lyfe or els that he lyue not in infamy Herode seing that Marcus Anthonius was dead determyned to go towardes the Emperour Octauian at whose feete he layd his crowne and made a notable oration wherein he spake so pleasaunt wordes and so hyghe sentences that the Emperour Octauian did not only pardon him for that he was so cruell an enemye but also he confirmed him againe into his Realme and toke him for his deare and special frend For among the good men and noble hartes many euil workes are amended by a few good words If Blundus in the booke intituled Roma triumphante do not deceiue me Pirrus the great king of the Epirotes was stout and hardy valiaunt in armes liberal in benefites pacient in aduersityes and aboue al renowmed to be very swete in wordes and sage in his aunswers They sayd that this Pirrus was so eloquent that the man with whom once he had spoken remayned so much his that from that time foreward in his absence he toke his part and declared his life and state in presence The aboue named Blundus saied and Titus Liuius declareth the same that as the Romaynes were of al things prouided seing that king Pirrus was so eloquent they prouided in the senate that no Romaine Embassadour shold speake vnto him but by a third person for otherwise he would haue perswaded them through his sweate woordes that they shoulde haue retourned againe to Rome as his procurers Soliciters Albeit Marcus Tullius Cicero was Senatour in the Senate consul in the Empire rich amongest the rich and hardy amongest men of warre yet truly none of these qualyties caused him eternal memorie but only his excellent eloquēce This Tullius was so estemed in Rome for the eloquence of his tongue only that oft times they hard hym talke in the Senate iii. houres togethers without any man speakinge one word And let not this be lytle estemed nor lightly passed ouer for worldlye malyce is of such condicion that some man may more easely speake 4. howers then another man shal haue pacience to heare him one minute Anthonius Sabellicus declareth that in the time of Amilcares the Affricans a Philosopher named Afronio florished in great Carthage who being of the yeres of 81. dyed in the first yeare of the warres of Punica They demaunded this Phylosopher what it was that he knew he aunswered He knew nothing but to speake wel They demaunded him againe what he learned he aunswered He did learne nothinge but to speake wel Another time they demaunded him what he taught he aunswered He taught nothing but to speake wel Me thinketh that this good phylosopher in 80. yeres and one said that he learned nothing but to speake wel he knew nothing but to speake wel that he taught nothing but to speake wel And truly he had reasō for the thing which most adorneth mans life is the sweate pleasaunte tongue to speake wel What is it to see ii men in one councel the one talking to the other the one of them hath an euyll grace in propounding and thother excellent in speaking Of such there are some that in hearing theym talke .iii. houres we would neither be trobled nor weryed and of the contrarie part there are others so tedyous and rude in their speache that as sone as men perceiue they beginne to speake they auoyde the place And therfore in mine opinyon ther is no greater trouble thenne to herken one quarter of an houre a rude man to speake and to be contrarye ther is no greater pleasure thenne to heare a dyscreate man though it were a whole weke The deuyne Plato in the Booke of Lawes sayd that there is nothynge whereby a manne is knowen more thenne by the woordes he speaketh for of the woordes whyche we heare hym speake we iudge his intention eyther to be good or euil Laertius in the lyfe of the Phylosophers sayeth that a yong child borne at Athens was brought vnto Socrates the great phylosopher being in Athens to the end he shold receiue him into his company teach him in his scoole The yong chyld was straunge and shamefaste and durst not speake before his maister wherfore the philosopher Socrates said vnto him speake frend if thou wilt that I know the. This sentence of Socrates was very profound and I pray him that shal reade this wryting to pause a while therat For Socrates wil not that a man be knowen by the gesture he hath but by the good or euyl wordes which he speaketh Though eloquence and speaking wel to euery man is a cause of augmenting their honour and no dimynissher of their goodes yet withoute comparison it shineth muche more and is most necessarie in the pallaces of Prynces and great Lordes For men which haue common offices ought of necessity harken to his naturall contrymen also to speake with straungers Speking therfore more plainly I say that the Prince ought not to trauaile only to haue eloquence for the honour of his person but also it behoueth him for the comon wealth For as the prince is but one and is serued of all so it is vnpossible that he haue so much as wil satisfye and content them al. And therfore it is necessarie that he requyte some mith money that he content others with good wordes For the noble hart loueth better a gentle worde then a reward or gift with the tongue of a rude man Plato Liuius Herodotus Vulpicius Eutropius Diorus Plynie and many other innumerable auncient historyographers do not cease to prayse the eloquence of greeke princes and latynes in their workes O how blessed were those tymes when ther were sage princes and discrete lords truly they haue reason to exalt them For many haue obteyned and wonne the royal crounes and septures of the Empire not so much for the great battailes they haue conquered nor for the highe bloud and generacion from whence
they are dyssended ▪ as for the wisedom and eloquence which they had Marcus Aurelius was natural of Rome borne in mount Celio he was poore in patrimony and of base lynage lytel in fauour lefte and forsaken of his parentes and besides al this only for beinge vertuous in his lyfe profound in doctrine and of so high eloquence the Emperour Anthonius called Pius gaue him his daughter Faustine for wife who being reproued of many bycause he gaue his doughter to so poore a philosopher aunswered I had rather haue a poore philosopher then a riche foole Pulio in his seuenth booke of the Romaine lawes sayth that in Rome ther was a law very wel kept obserued of the consulles by a custome brought in that the Dictatours Censors and Emperours of Rome entered into the Senate once in the weke at the least and in this place they should geue and render accompt in what state the common wealth remayned O would to God that at this present this law were so kept and obserued for ther is none who doth minister so good iustice as he which thinketh to giue accompt of his doings They say that Calligula the fourth Emperoure of Rome was not only deformed infamous and cruel in his lyfe but also was an Idiote in eloquence and of an euyl vtteraunce in his communycacion So that he among al the Romaine princes was constrayned to haue others to speake for him in the Senate This wickedman was so vnfortunate that after his cruel and infamous death they drew him throughout Rome and set vppon his graue this Epitaphe ¶ Calligula lyeth here in endles sleape That stretchte his raigne vpon the Empires heade Vnfytte for rule that could such folly heape And fytte for death wher vertue so was dead I Cannot tel why princes do prayse them selues to be strong and hardy to be wel disposed to be runners to iust wel and do not esteame to be eloquent sinse it is true that those giftes do profite them only for their life but the eloquēce profiteth them not only for to honour their life but also to augment their renowme For we do reade that by that many Princes dyd pacifye great sedycions in the common wealth and besides that they deserued immortall memorie Suetonius Trancquillus in the firste booke of Cesars sayth that the aduenturous Iulius Cesar being as yet but 16. yeares of age when there dyed in Rome an aunt of his called Cornelia at her buriall he made an oracion in the which he being so yong shewed marueilous great eloquence which was so accepted that day in al people that in the end euery man iudged him to be a valiaunt Romane captaine And as Appianus declareth they say that Silla spake these wordes That which I perceiue of this yong man Caius Cesar is that in the boldnes of his tongue he declareth how valiaunt he ought to be in his person Let therfore Princes and great Lords se how much it may profite them to know to speake wel and eloquently For we se no other thing dayly but that a man of base lynage by his eloquence commeth to be exalted and the other which of lynage is nobly borne for wante of speaking wel and being eloquent is the first that discendeth most vilest of al other Thentencion wherupon I wrate these things was for no other but to admonishe perswade and pray al princes and great lordes that whiles their children are yong they should put them to wise and learned men to the end they should teache them not only how they ought to liue but also how they ought to speake For to personnes of estate it is a great infamy to do or to inuent to do a thing and afterward not to know how to geue a reason therof Polidorus in the third booke of his commentaries sayth that when the Lacedemonians were put to flyght by the Athenians in Rota Millina it is called Millina bycause the battaile was in the riuer of Milline the Lacedemonians sent a phylosopher called Heuxinus to treate of peace with the Athenians who made such an eloquent oracion to the Senate of Athens that hee dyd not only obtaine the peace which he desired for his country but for himselfe also he wanne perpetual renowme At the phylosophers retourne the Athenians gaue him a letter which sayd in this sort ¶ Of a letter whiche the Athenians sente to the Lacedemonians Cap. xxvi THe Senate people and Sages of Athens wisheth healthe to the persons and peace to the common wealth of you of the senate and people of the Lacedemonians We take the immortal gods to recorde that in the laste battaile we had no lesse dyspleasure to se ye ouercome then on the contrary we had pleasure to se vs remaine victorious For in the end the daungers and inconueniences of the cruel warres are so great that the euill and daunger is certeine to them that are vanquished and the profite is doubtful to them that haue ouercommed We would gladly that that which now ye wil ye would haue willed soner that which now ye require demaund that before ye had requyred and demaunded But what shal we do sinse it was ordeined to your and our woful destenies that he should loose the battaile and that we of your losse can take no profite For it is a rule vnfallible that al that which the gods haue ordeyned no worldly wight can amende nor humaine power resist Ye demaund that warre may cease and leaue of and that we take truise for .iii. monethes and that during this time peace concord may be concluded To this we make aunswere That the senate of Athens hath not accustomed to graunt peace afterwards for to retourne to warre For amongest vs Athenians we haue an auncient law that freely we do accept the cruel warre and liberallye we doe graunt perpetual peace In our scoles and vniuersities we trauaile to haue Sages in time of peace for to helpe vs with their counsayles in the time of warre And they do counsaile vs that we neuer take vpon vs truse vpon suspect condicion And in dead they counsaile vs well For the fayned and dyssembled peace is muche more perrillous then is the manifest warre The philosopher Heuxinus your embassadour hath spoken to vs so highly and eloquentlye in this Senate that it semed to vs very vniust if we should deny him and gaine say that he requireth vs. For it is much more honestye to graunt him peace whiche by sweete and pleasaunt words doth demaund it then him which by force and sharpe sword doeth requyreth it Let the case therfore be that the Senate people and Sages of Athens haue ordeyned that warre do cease with the Lacedemonians and that al discordes contencions dissentions and debates do end that perpetual peace be graunted vnto them And this thing is done to the end al the world should know that Athens is of such courage wythe the hardy and so very a frend to the Sages that she knoweth
say the tongue of our mother to the end we shold take it of the mother which bringeth vs forth of the nource whiche giueth vs sucke And in this case we haue lesse neade of the mother then of the nourse For the children before they knowe their mothers which brought them into the world do cal the nourse mother which gaue them sucke Plutarche in the second booke of the regiment of princes saith that one of the greatest thinges the Romaynes had in their comon weale was that of al the languages maners which they spake throughout the hole earth they had Collegies and Scholes in Rome so that were he neuer so Barbarous that entred into Rome immedyatly he founde that vnderstoode him The Romaynes vsed that craft and subtiltie to the end that when Rome sent Embassages into straunge countries or that some straunge countries came to Rome they would that the interpretours and brokers should be of theyr owne nacion and not of a straunge tongue or countrey And the Romaynes truly had reasonne for the affaires of greate importaunce are oftentymes craftely compassed by a straunge tongue A manne wil maruaile greately to reade or heare this that I speake whyche is that the women whyche nourishe the children of Prynces be eloquente And truly he that at this doth meruaile hath sene lytle and read lesse For I cannot tel which was greater the glory that the auncientes had to enioy so excellent women or the infamy of them that are present to suffer dishonest harlottes I wil not deny when I drew neere this matter that my spirite weare not in great perplexitie First to se in this my wrytinge of what women my penne shoulde write that is to wete the dissolute vyces of women which I haue sene or els the prowesses and vertues of women wherof I haue reade Finally I am determined to entreate of our graine and corne and to leaue the rotten straw on the earth as without profite For the tongue which is noble ought to publyshe the goodnes of the good and honest women to the end that al know it for the contrary the frailenes of the wicked ought to be dissembled and kept secret to the end that no man folow it Men which are sage and noble treating of women are bounde to serue them to vysite them to preserue them to defend them but in no wise they haue licence to sclaunder them For the man which speaketh of the fraylenes of women is like vnto him that taketh a sword to kil a flye Therfore touching the matter Princesses and great Ladyes ought not to cease to teache their yong children al that they can sonnes or doughters And they oughte not to deceiue them selues saying that forasmuch as their doughters are women they are vnable to learne sciences For it is not a general rule that al mē children are of cleane vnderstanding nor that al the doughters are of rude spirite and witte For if they and the others did learne togethers I thinke there would be as many wise women as there are foolishe men Thoughe the world in times past did enioy excellent women ther was neuer any nacion had such as the Grekes had For though the Romaynes were glorious in weapons the Grekes were of immortal memorie of letters I wil not denay that in the common wealth of Rome ther hath not bene nourished taught manye women of greate scyence but that the difference of the one and the others was that the Grecian women were learned in Philosophy and the Romaine women in Rethoricke and Poetrie And hereof came that in Athens they esteamed to know howe to teache well and in Rome they vaunted how to speake wel Euphronius in the thirde booke of the Romaine gestes sayth that in the third yere of the Consulshipe of Lelius Sylla by chaunce a Greke Embassadour and an embassadour of Rome were at words in the Senate of the Rhodians and the Greke Embassadour sayd to the Romaine Embassadour It is true that amongest ye other Romaynes ye are aduenturous in armes but for al that ye are vnable in scyences For truly the women of Grece know more in letters then the men of Rome in weapons As sone as the Senate of Rome vnderstode these words immediatlye hereupon grew the cruel warres betwene Rome and Carthage about the posession of Scicil. And no man ought hereat to meruaile for in the end we se moe warres aryse by iniurious wordes then for to recouer the good that is lost The Romaynes and the Grecians therfore being ready the one to defye the other the Rhodians came in the myddest and kept them from such debate and in the end appointed them in this sort That is to wete that as this iniurye should by weapons haue bene determined they ordeyned that by the disputacions of women it shoulde be argued And truly the Romaines were counsayled well for it was greater shame to the Greekes to be ouercome with the tongues of women then with the swordes of men The case therof was such that by appointmente assembled at Rhodes tenne Romaine women and tenne Greke women All women very wel learned the which in their chayres reade certaine lessons euery one after other and afterwardes the one disputed againste the other of sundry and diuers maters And finally there was betwene theym great difference for the Grekes spake very high thinges not so profounde but with an excellent style We ought not to marueile that such giftes were in those women For we dayly se it by experience that profound science and high eloquence seldome meeteth in one personage The Grekes were verye wel pleased to heare the Romaine women the Romaines remained astonied to heare the Grekes And vpon this occasion the Rhodians iudged in this sort that euery one of them should be crowned with a crowne of Laurel as vanquisshers And they iudged that in graue sentences the Grecians had the best and in eloquent speache the Romaines had the victorie As the aboue named Euphronius saythe these disputacions being ended the Romaine women returned to Rome and the Greke women to Grece wher they were receyued with such triumphe and glorie as if they had wonne a battaile The senate of the Rhodians for the memorye of those women in the place of the disputacions caused to be set vp twenty mighty pyllers in euery one of the which were the names of the women Which was so sumptuous a building that in Rhodes there were none vnto it saue only the great Collyseo Those pillers stoode vntil the time of Heliogabalus Emperour who was so euyll that he inuented new vyces and destroyed the auncient memories The writers which wrote in that time declare yet an other thing wherin the women of Grece were differente from the women of Rome That is to wete that the Greke women were found more fayrer then the Romaine women but the Romaines had a better grace and more riche in apparel then the Grekes They sayd also that the Grekes
were more hardy stout then the Romaynes but the Romaynes were more honest pleasaunt and gracious then the Grekes And if this be true I do counsayle princesses and great Ladyes that they haue no more enuye at the honesty of the Matrones of Rome then at the boldnesse of the ladyes of Grecia For women were not borne to sley men in the warre but to spinne sow and liue wel like good housewiues in the house ¶ That women may be no lesse wise then men though they be not it is not through default of nature but for want of good bringing vp Cap. xxviii CEasing to speake ingenerally it is but reason we speake particulerly and that we reduce to memorye some aunciente histories of wise and discrete women aswel Grekes as Romaines and for that these Ladyes seing what others were in tymes past may know what theyr duty is at this present In mine opinion the duty that the meÌ„ of this present haue to folow the corage that the auncients had in fighting the selfe same desire ought womeÌ„ of this present to haue to folow the auncient women in deuout liuing For ther is no good thinge in the world at this present daye but the like hath bene sene of our auncients heretofore When any sodaine new vnacustomed thing doth happen men that neuer saw the like vse to say that there was neuer the lyke in the world yet in dede they say not true For though the thinge be vnto them new it is through their ignoraunce and simplenes whiche neyther haue reade it by them selues nor heard it of others For this excellencye hath the man that is learned that for what so euer he heareth or sayth he is nothing abashed at Since women now a dayes are so ignoraunt that scarcely any of them can reade wel he that shal reade this wil maruaile why I do perswade them to learne But the truth knowen what the auncients were and what they did know from this time forwarde I beleue they woulde greatly reproue the women of this present For the time which the auncient women spent in vertues and studies these of this present consume in pleasures and vyces Boccace in the boke of the praise of women sayth that Lucyus Sylla was a great compagnion of Marius the Consul in the time of the warre of Iugurtha and was no lesse a frend of Caius Cesar in the time of the first ciuill warres My penne neadeth not to be ocupied to write any thing of the life of Sylla For al the historiographers do not only reproue the cruelties which he vsed to his enemyes but also condempne him for the lytle fayth he obserued his frends This Consul Sylla had thre doughters the one of them was named Lelia Sabyna the which of al the Sisters was leste fayre but amongest al the Romaines she was most sagest For she red openly in Rome in a chayre both Greeke and Latyn After the warres of Mithridates Lucius Sylla came to Rome wher he beheaded thre thousand Romaynes which came to salute him although before by his word he had assured them al. And in deade also iustely Lucius Sylla had bene vtterly vndone for his fact if his doughter had not made to the Senate a wise oration For oft times it chaunceth that the wisedome of the good child doth remedy the follye of the wicked-Father The historians say that this Lelya Sabyna had not only a great grace in readyng but also she had much excellency in writing For she wrote many letters and Orations with her owne hand which her Father Lucius Sylla afterwardes learned by hart and as he was in dede quycke of sprite so he vsed to recyte them to the Senate alwaies for his purpose And let no man maruaile hereat for ther are some of so grose vnderstaÌ„ding that that which they write and study they can scarsely vtter and others againe are of such lyuely wyttes that of that onely which they haue heard it seameth meruailous to heare with what eloquence they wil talke Bycause Sylla had such and so excellent a doughter in his house he was esteamed for a sage and wise Councellour throughout al the common wealth He was counted verye absolute in executing strong in mayntaynynge and for right eloquent in speakinge Finally of this came thys auncyente prouerbe which sayth Lucius Sylla gouerneth his owne countreye wyth the eloquence of hys Tongue and is Lorde of straunge nacions by the force of his sworde What the great Plato hath bene and what great aucthoritie he hath had amongest his countrie men and amongest the straungers it is apparent for so much as the Greekes do acknowledge him of al other Philosophers to be the Prince and likewise the Latynes by one consent cal him deuine And me thinketh that in doing this they do no philosopher iniurie for as Plato in his lyfe time had great modestie so truly in his writing he exceaded mans capacitie And Historian called Hyzearchus declareth that Lasterna and Axâ—othea were two Grekes very well learned and amongest the scollers of Plato chiefely renowmed The one was of so parfect a memorie the other of so high an vnderstanding that Plato oft times beinge in the chayre and these two not ready he would not beginne to read And being asked wherfore he read not his lecture he aunswered I wil not read for that ther wanteth here vnderstanding to conceiue and also memorie to retaine Meaning that Lasterna was absent that Axiothe was not yet come The wisedome of those two women ought to be much synce Plato without them woulde not vtter one word vnlesse they were present in his schole For Plato esteamed more the vnderstandyng and memorye of those two women alone then he did the Phylosophy of his other Scollers together Aristippus the philosopher was Scholler to Socrates and of the moste renowmed of Athens He had a doughter called Aretha the which was so wel learned in Greke and Latyn letters that the common renowne said the soule of Socrates was entred into Aretha and the cause that moued them to say this was because she redde and declared the doctrine of Socrates in such wise that it seamed to most men she had rather write by hand then learne by study Boccace in the second boke of the praise of women sayth that this Aretha was so excellent a woman that she did not only learne for her selfe but also to teache others did not only teache in diuers Scholes but also she wrote many and sundry bookes one inespecially in the prayse of Socrates an other of the maner of bringing vppe children an other of the warres of Athens an other of the tyrannical force an other of the common wealth of Socrates an other of the infelicities of womeÌ„ an other of the Tyllage of the auncientes an other of the woÌ„ders of mount Olympus an other of the vaine care of the Sepulcre an other of the prouisioÌ„ of the Antes an other of the workmanshippe of the Bees in
honnye and she wrote two others the one of the vanities of youth and the other of the miseries of age This woman dyd read openly natural morall Phylosophye in the Scholes of Athens for the space of fiue twenty yeres she made forty bookes she had a hundred tenne philosophers to her Scholers she dyed being at the age of seuentie and seuen yeres the Athenians after her death engraued on her graue these words THe slised stones within their bowels keape Wise Aretha the great and only wight That forceth enuie gentle teares to weape For Grekes decay on whom the losse doth light The eye of fame the hart of vertues life The head of Grece lie here engraued lo more heauenly forme then had that heauenly wife Which vndermind the phrigies ioyes with woe Within the chest of her vnspotted minde Lay Thirmas troth and eke her honest faith Within her hande as by the gods assinde Stoode Aristippus penne that vertue wayeth Within the dongeon of her body eke Imprisonde was wise Socrates his soule That liude so well and did so wisely speke That follies brest he could to wisdome toule Within her head so ouer heapt with witt Lay Homers tongue to stayne the poetes arte Erst was the golden age not halfe so fitt For vertues Impes as when her life did parte As Marcus Varro sayeth the sectes of the philosophers were more then .lxx. but in the ende they were reduced into seuen and in the ende they were brought into thre sects chiefly That is to wete Stoicques Peripaeticques and Pithagoricques Of these pithagoricques Pithagoras was the prince Hyzearcus Annius Rusticus and Laertius with Eusebius and Boccace all affirme one thinge whereunto I did not greatly geue credite which is that this philosopher Pithagoras had a sister not onely learned but if it be lawfull to speake it excellently learned And they saye that not she of Pithagoras but Pithagoras of her learned philosophie And of truthe it is a matter whereof I was so greatly abashed that I can not tell who could be maister of such a woman since she had Pithagoras the great philosopher to her scholler The name of the woman was Theoclea to whom Pithagoras her brother wrote sent a letter when he red philosophie at Rhodes and she at Samothracia doinge the like The Pistle was thus as foloweth ¶ Of a letter whiche Pithagoras sent to his sister Theoclea he being in Rhodes she in Samothracia reading both philosophie Cap. xxix PIthagoras thy brother and disciple to thee Theoclea his sister health and increase of wisedome wysheth I haue red the booke whiche thou diddest sende me of fortune and misfortune from the beginning to the end and nowe I knowe that thou art no lesse graue in making then gracious in teaching The which doth not chaunce very oft to vs which are men and much lesse as we haue sene to you women For the philosopher Aristippus was rude in speaking profound in writing Amenides was briefe in wryting and eloquent in speaking Thou hast studied and written in such sorte that in the learning that thou shewest thou seamest to haue read all the philosophers and in the antiquities that thou doest declare it semeth that thou hast sene all the time past Wherein thou beinge a woman shewest thy selfe more then a woman because the nature of women is to caste their eies only in that that is present and commonly to forget that that is past They tell me that thou doest occupye thy selfe nowe in writing of our countrey And truly in this case I can not say but that you haue matter enough to wryte on For the warres and trauayles of our tymes haue bene suche and so great that I had rather reade them in bookes then see them with my eyes And if it be so as I suppose it is I beseche thee hartely and by the immortall Gods I coniure thee that in writing the affaires of thy coūtrey thou doest vse thy penne discreatly I meane that thou doe not in this case bleamyshe thy wryting by putting therein any flatterie or lesinge For oftetimes Historiographers in blasinge more then trouth the giftes of their countrey cause worthely to be suspected their wryting Thou knowest very well how that in the battayle paste the Rhodians were ouercome and that ours remained victorious Me thinketh thou shouldest not in this case greatly magnifie extolle or exalt ours because in the ende they fought to reuenge their iniury neither thou oughtest to blame the Rhodians for they did not fight but in the ayde of Rome I speake this my Syster because for to defende their own women shewe them selues Lyons and for to defende the thinges of an other man men shew them selues chickens For in the ende he onely maye be counted strong the whiche defendeth not his owne house but which dieth defending his and another mans I wyll not denie the naturall loue of my countrey nor I wyll not denie but that I loue them that wryte and speake well thereof but me thinketh it is not reason that they should disprayse the goodnesse and truthe of other countries nor that they should so highly comend the euill and vilenes of their owne For there is not in the world this daye so barren a Realme but maye be commended for some thing therein nor there is so perfite a nation but in some thinges maye be reproued Thou canst not deny me but that amongest thy brethren I am the eldest and thou canste not deny but that amongest all thy disciples I am the yongest and since that for being thy disciple I ought to obey thee thou like wyse for that I am thy eldest brother oughtest to beleue me By the fayeth of a people I doe councell thee my syster that thou doe trauayle muche to be profound in thy words vpright in thy life and honest of thy persone and besides al this true in thy writing For I let thee vnderstande that if the body of the man without the soule is litle regarded I sweare vnto thee that the mouthe of a man without truthe is muche lesse esteamed ¶ The authour foloweth his purpose perswading princesses and other ladies to endeuour them selues to be wyse as the women were in olde tyme. Cap. xxx THis therefore was the letter the whiche Pithagoras sente to his syster Theoclea whereby is shewed the great humilitie of him and the hyghe eloquence of her Hiarcus the Greke and Plutarche also in the booke of the gouernement of princes saye that Pithagoras had not onely a sister whiche was called Theoclea of whom he learned so muche philosophie but also he had a doughter the wisedome and knowledge of whome surmounted her aunte and was equall to her father I thinke it no lesse vncredible which is spoken of the doughter then that whiche is spoken of the aunte whiche is that those of Athenes did reioyce more to heare her speake in her house then for to heare Pithagoras reade in the schole And it ought to
wisest but these of our daies cōtend who shal be fairest For at this day the ladies would chose rather to haue the face adorned with beautie then the heart endued with wisedome The auncient ladies contented which should be better able to teache others but these ladies nowe a daies contend how they may moste finely apparel them selues For in these daies they geue more honour to a woman richely appareled then they geue to an other with honestie beautified Finally with this worde I doe conclude and let him marke that shall reade it that in the olde time women were such that their vertues caused al men to kepe silence and now their vices be such that they cōpell al men to speake I will not by this my word any man should be so bolde in generally to speake euil of all the ladies for in this case I sweare that there are not at this day so many good vertuous women in the world but that I haue more enuy at the life they lead in secreat then at al the sciences whiche the auncient women red in publike Wherfore my pen doth not shewe it selfe extreme but to those which onely in sumptuous apparell and in vayne wordes do consume their whole lyfe and to those whiche in readyng a good boke wold not spend one only houre To proue my intencion of that I haue spoken the aboue written suffiseth But to the ende princesses and great ladies maye se at the lest howe muche better it shal be for them to know litel then to haue and possesse much and to be able to do more I will remembre thē of that whych a Romaine woman wrate to her children wherby they shal perceyue how eloquent a woman she was in her sayinges and how true a mother in her counsel For in the end of her letter she perswadeth her children to the trauailes of the warre not for any other cause but to auoyd the pleasures of Rome Of the worthines of the ladye Cornelia and of a notable epistle she wrote to her .ii. sonnes which serued in the warres Tyberius and Caius diswadyng them from the pleasures of rome and exorting them to endure the trauailes of warre Chap. xxxi ANnius Rusticus in the boke of the antiquities of the Romaines saith that in Rome ther wer .v. principal linages that is to wete Fabritij Torquatij Brutij Fabij and Cornelij thoughe there were in Rome other newe linages wherof ther were many excellent personages yet alwayes these which came of the .v. linages were kept placed and preferred to the first offices of the common wealth For Rome honored those that were present in such sort that it was without the preiudice of those that are gone Amongest those .v. linages the romaines alwayes counted the Cornelij most fortunat the which were so hardy and couragious in fight and so modest in lyfe that of theyr familie there was neuer found any cowardly man in the feld nor any defamed woman in the towne They saye of this linage of the Cornelij amonge many other there were .iiii. singular and notable women among the whiche the chiefe was the mother of Gracchi whose name was Cornelia and liued with more honour for the sciences she red in Rome then for the conquestes that her children had in Affricke Before her children wer brought into the empire they talked of none other thing but of their strēgth hardines throughout all the worlde and therfore a Romaine one daye asked this woman Cornelia wherof she toke most vaine glory to se her selfe mistres of so many disciples or mother of so valiant children The lady Cornelia aunswered I doe esteme the science more whiche I haue learned then the Children whyche I haue brought forth For in the end the children kepe in honour the lyfe but the disciples continue the renowne after the death And she sayd further I am assured that the disciples dayly will waxe better and better and it maye bee that my Children wil waxe worse and worse The desyres of yong men are so variable that they daily haue newe inuentions With one accord all the wryters do greatly commende this woman Cornelia inespecially for being wyse and honest and furthermore bycause shee red philosophy in Rome openlye And therfore after her death they set vp in Rome a Statue ouer the gate Salaria whereupon there was grauen this Epigrame This heape of earth Cornelie doth encloose Of wretched Gracches that loe the mother was Twyse happye in the sckollers that she choose Vnhappye thrise in the ofspringe that she has AMong the latines Cicero was the Prince of al the Romaine rethorike and the chiefest with his pen inditing of Epystles yet they say that he did not only se the writinges of this Cornelia but red them and did not onely read them but also with the sentences therof profited him selfe And hereof a man ought not to meruaile for there is no man in the world so wise of him selfe but may furder his doynges with the aduice of another Cicero so highly exalted these writinges that he said in his rethorike these or such other like wordes If the name of a woman had not bleamyshed Cornelia truly she deserued to be head of all philosophers For I neuer sawe so graue sentences procede from so fraile flesh Since Cicero spake these wordes of Cornelia it can not be but that the writinges of such a woman in her time were very liuely and of great reputacion yet notwithstāding there is no memory of her but that an author for his purpose declareth an epistel of this maner Sextus Cheronensis in his booke of the prayse of women reciteth the letter whiche she sente to her children She remaynyng in Rome and they beyng at the warres in Affrike The letter of Cornelia to her .ii. sonnes Tiberius and Caius otherwise called Gracchi COrnelia the Romaine that by thy fathers side am of the Cornelij one the mother syde of the Fabij to you my .ii. sonnes Gracchii which are in that warres of Affrik such health to you do wish as a mother to her childrē ought to desire Ye haue vnderstode right well my children how my father died I being but .iii. yeres of age and that this .xxii. yeares I haue remained wydow and that this .xx. yeares I haue red Rethorike in Rome It is .vii. yeres sins I sawe ye and .xii. yeares sins your bretherne my children dyed in the great plage You know .viii. yeres ar past since I left my study and came to se you in Cicilia bycause you should not forsake the warres to come se me in rome for to me could come no greater paine thē to se you absent from the seruice of the common welth I desire my children to shew you how I haue passed my life in labour trauaill to the intent you should not desire to spēd youres in rest and idlenes For if to me that am in rome there can want no trobles be ye assured that vnto you which are in the warres shall
vertues their children are moste inclined and this ought to be to encourage them in that that is good and contrary to reproue them in all that is euill For men are vndone for no other cause when they be olde but for that they had so much pleasures when they are younge Sextus Cheronensis in the seconde booke of the saiynges of the auntientes saieth that on a daye a citezen of Athens was byenge thinges in the market and for the qualitie of his persone the greatest parte of them were superfluous and nothing necessary And in this case the poore are no lesse culpable then the ryche and the ryche then the poore For that is so litle that to susteyne mans lyfe is necessary that he which hath lest hath therunto superfluous Therfore at that tyme when Athens and her common wealth was the lanterne of all Grece there was in Athens a lawe long vsed and of great tyme accustomed that nothing should be bought before a philosopher had set the pryce And truly the lawe was good and would to God the same lawe at this present were obserued for there is nothing that destroyeth a cōmon wealth more then to permitte some to sell as tyrauntes and others to buye as fooles When the Thebane was buying these thinges a philosopher was there present who sayed vnto him these wordes Tell me I praye thee thou man of Thebes wherefore doest thou consume and waste thy money in that whiche is not necessary for thy house nor profitable for thy persone the Thebane aunswered him I let the knowe that I doe buye all these thynges for a sonne I haue of the age of .xx. yeares the whiche neuer did thinge that seamed vnto me euill nor I neuer denayed hym any thing that he demaunded This philosopher aunswered O howe happy were thou if as thou arte a father thou were a sonne and that which the father saieth vnto the sonne the sonne would saye vnto the father but I am offended greatly with that thou hast tolde me For vntill the childe be .xxv. yeares olde he ought not to gaynesaye his father and the good father ought not to condescende vnto the appetites of the sonne Nowe I call the cursed father since thou arte subiect to the wyll of thy sonne and that thy sonne is not obedient to the wyl of his father so that thou alterest the order of nature For so muche as the father is sonne of his sonne and the sonne is father of his father But in the end I sweare vnto thee by the immortall Gods that when thou shalt become old thou shalt weape by thy selfe at that whiche with thy sonne thou diddest laughe when he was younge Though the wordes of this philosopher were fewe yet a wyse man wyll iudge the sentences to be many I conclude therfore that princes and great lordes ought to recōmende their children to their maisters to th ende they may teache them to chaunge their appetites and not to folowe their owne wil so that they withdrawe them from their own will and cause them to learne the aduise of an other For the more a man geueth a noble man sonne the brydle the more harder it is for them to receiue good doctrine ¶ Princes ought to take hede that their children be not brought vp in vayne pleasures and delightes For oftetimes they are so wicked that the fathers would not only haue them with sharpe discipline corrected but also with bitter teares buried Chap. xxxiii BY experience we see that in warre for the defence of men rampiers fortes are made according to the qualitie of the enemies those which sayle the daungerous seas doe chose great shippes whiche may breake the waues of the raging Sea so that all wyse men according to the qualitie of the daunger doe seke for the same in time some remedy Oftetymes I muse with my selfe and thynke if I coulde finde any estate any age any lande any nation any realme or any worlde wherein there hath bene any man that hath passed this life without tasting what aduersitie was for if suche a one were founde I thinke it should be a monstrous thing throughout all the earth and by reason both the dead and liuing should enuie hym In the ende after my counte made I finde that he whiche yesterdaye was ryche to daye is poore he that was hole I see hym to daye sicke he that yesterdaye laughed to daye I see hym wepe he that had his hartes ease I see hym nowe sore afflicted he that was fortunate I see hym vnlucky finally hym whom we knewe aliue in the towne now we see buried in the graue And to be buried is nothing els but to be vtterly forgotten for mans frendshyp is so frayle that when the corps is couered with earth immediatly the dead is forgotten One thinge me thinketh to all men is greuous to those of vnderstandyng no lesse payneful whiche is that the miseries of this wicked worlde are not equally deuided but that oftetymes all worldly calamities lieth in the necke of one man alone For we are so vnfortunate that the world geueth vs pleasures in sight troubles in profe If a man should aske a sage man now a daies who hath liued in meane estate that he would be contented to tel him what he hath paste since three yeares that he began to speake vntill fifty yeares that he began to waxe olde what thinges thinke you he would tel vs that hath chaunced vnto him truly al these that here folowe The grefes of his children the assaultes of his enemies the importunities of his wife the wantonnes of his doughters sicknes in his person great losse of goods general famine in the citie cruel plagues in his coūtrey extreme colde in wynter noysome heate in sommer sorowful deathes of his frendes enuious prosperities of his enemies finally he wil say that he passed such so many thinges that oftimes he bewailed the wofull life desired the swete death If the miserable man hath passed such things outwardly what would he saye of those which he hath suffred inwardly the whiche though some discrete men may know yet truly others dare not tell For the trauailes which the body passeth in fifty yeres may wel be counted in a day but that which the hart suffereth in one day cannot be counted in a hundred yeres A man cannot denay but that we would coūte him rashe which with a rede would mete an other that hath a sword him for a foole that would put of his shoes to walke vpō the thornes But without cōparison we ought to esteame him for the most foole that with this tender fleshe thinketh to preuaile against so many euil fortunes for without doubt the man that is of his body delicate passeth his life with much paine O how happy may that mā be called which neuer tasted what pleasure meaneth For men whiche from their infancy haue bene brought vp in pleasures for want of wisdome know not how to
Emperour of Rome saieth that an Embassadour of Britayne being one daye in Rome as by chaunce they gaue hym a froward aunswere in the Senate spake stoutely before them all and said these wordes I am sory you will not accepte peace nor graunte truce the whiche thing shal be for the greater iustification of our warres For afterwardes none can take but that whiche fortune shall geue For in the ende the delicate fleshe of Rome shal fele if the bloudy swordes of Britayne wil cut The Englishe historie saieth and it is true that though the countrey be very colde and that the water freseth ofte yet the women had a custome to cary their children where the water was frosen breaking the Ise with a stone with the same Ise they vsed to rubbe the body of the infante to the ende to harden their fleshe and to make them more apt er to endure trauailes And without doubt they had reason for I wyshe no greater penitence to delicate men then in the wynter to see them without fire and in the Sommer to wante freshe shadow Sith this was the custome of the Britayns it is but reason we credit Iulius Caesar in that he saieth in his comentaries that is to wete that he passed many daungers before he could ouercome them for thei with as litle feare did hyde them selues and dyued vnder the cold water as a very man would haue rested him selfe in a pleasaunt shadowe As Lucanus and Appianus Alexandrinus saie amongest other nations whiche came to succour the great Pompei in Pharsalia were the Messagetes the which as they say in their youth did sucke no other but the milke of Camels and eate bread of Acornes These barbarous did these thinges to the ende to harden their bodies to be able to endure trauail and to haue their legges lighter for to rōne In this case we can not cal them barbarous but we ought to cal them men of good vnderstanding for it is vnpossible for the man that eateth muche to runne fast Viriatus a Spanyarde was king of the Lusytaines and a great enemy of the Romains who was so aduenterous in the warre so valiaunt in his persone that the Romains by the experience of his dedes found him vnuincible For in the space of .xiii. yeres they could neuer haue any victory of him the whiche when they sawe they determined to poyson him did so in dede At whose death they more reioysed then if they had wonne the signorie of all Lusitanie For if Viriatus had not died they had neuer brought the Lusitaines vnder their subiection Iunius Rusticus in his epitomie saith that this Viriatus in his youth was a herde man kept cattel by the ryuer of Guadiana after that he waxed older vsed to robbe assault men by the highe wayes And after that he was .xl. yeares of age he became king of the Lusitaines and not by force but by election For when the people sawe theym selues enuirouned and assaulted on euery side with enemies they chose rather stout strong and hardy men for their captaines then noble men for their guydes If the auncient hystoriographers deceiue me not whē Viriatus was a thefe he led with him alwayes at the leaste a hundred theues the whiche were shodde with leaden shoes so that when they were enforced to ronne they put of their shoes And thus although all the daye they wente with leaden shoes yet in the night they ranne lyke swyfte buckes for it is a generall rule that the loser the ioyntes are the more swifter shall the legges be to ronne In the booke of the iestes of the Lumbardes Paulus Diaconus sayeth that in the olde tyme those of Capua had a lawe that vntyl the chyldren were maryed the fathers shold geue them no bedde to sleape on nor permit them to sitte at the table to eate but that they should eate their meates in their handes and take their reste on the grounde And truely it was a commendable lawe for reste was neuer inuented for the younge man whiche hath no bearde but for the aged beinge lame impotent and crooked Quintus Cincinatus was seconde Dictator of Rome and in dede for his desertes was the first emperour of the earth This excellente man was broughte vp in so great trauaile that his hands were found full of knottes the ploughe was in his armes and the swette in his face when he was sought to be Dictator of Rome For the auncientes desired rather to be ruled of them that knewe not but how to plow the ground then of them that delyted in nothing els but to liue in pleasurs among the people Caligula which was the fourth emperour of Rome as they say was brought vp with such cost and delicatnes in his youth that they were in doubt in Rome whether Drusius Germanicus hys father employed more for the Armyes then Calligula hys sonne spent in the cradel for his pleasurs This rehersed agayne I would now knowe of princes great lordes what part they would take that is to wete whether with Cincinatus whych by his stoutnes wanne so many straunge countreys or with Caligula that in hys fylthy lustes spared not his proper sister In myne opinyon ther nedeth no great deliberacion to aunswere this questyon that is to wete the goodnes of the one and the wickednes of the other for there was no battayle but Cincinatus did ouercome nor there was any vyce but Caligula dyd inuent Suetonius Tranquillus in the second booke of Cesars sayth that when the chyldren of the Emperour Augustus Cesar entred into the hygh capitol wher al the senate were assembled the Senatours rose out of their places and made a reuerence to the children the whych when the Emperoure Augustus saw he was much displeased and called them backe agane And on a day being demaunded why he loued his children no better he aunswered in this wise If my chyldren wil be good they shal syt hereafter wher I sit now but if they be euil I will not their vices shold be reuerenced of the Senatours For the aucthoritie grauity of the good ought not to be employed in the seruice of those that be wicked The 26. Emperour of Rome was Alexander the which though he was yong was asmuch esteamed for hys vertues amongest the Romaynes as euer Alexander the great was for hys valiauntnes amongest the Grekes We can not say that long experience caused him to come to the gouernment of the common wealth for as Herodian saith in his syxt booke the day that the Senatours proclamed him emperour he was so lytle that his owne men bare him in their armes That fortunate Emperour had a mother called Mamea the which brought him vp so wel dilygently that she kept alwayes a great gard of men to take hede that no vicious mā came vnto him And let not the diligence of the mother to that child be litle estemed For princes oft times of their owne nature are good by euyl conuersacion
And the cause whye I was willing ther should be none in the common wealth was for that ther was not riches in Rome sufficient to acquite the desarts of the Romaine chiualry And if you esteme an honorable office to be a Tribune Millitaire since you cānot al haue it me thinketh you shold al want it For amonge the noble men Plebeians it is not mete that one alone should enioy that which many haue deserued This history Sabellicus declareth allegeth Pulio for his aucthor reciteth that for this good worke that Camillus did in Rome that is to wete to set the great the smal at one he was aswel beloued of that romaines as he was feared of the enemies And not without a iust cause for in my opinyon it is a greater vertue to pacify his owne then to robbe straungers As touching the office of this Tribune wherupon this great cōtencion rose in Rome I cānot tel which was greater the folish rashnes of the knights to procure it or the wisedom of Camillus to abbolish it For to say the truthe the arte of cheualrie was inuented more to defend the common wealth then to byde at home haue the charge of iustice For to the good knight it semeth better to be loden with weapōs to resist enemyes then to be enuyroned with bokes to determyne causes Returning therfore to that whych the people sayd against the souldiors it was ordayned by the consent of al that in Rome an office should be erected and that he which should haue it should haue the charge to go through Rome to se what they were in Rome that did not instruct their children in good doctrine and if perchaunce he found any neighbours child that was euyl taught he chastised and banished the father And truly that punishment was very iust for the father deserueth more punyshment for that he doth therunto consent then the child deserueth more the offences which he doth comit When Rome was Rome that of al the world the common wealth therof was comended they chose for an officer therin the most auncient vertuous Romaine who was called the general vysiter of the childrē of Rome it semeth to be true for somuch as he whych had this office one yere hoped to be consul dictatour or censor the next As it appeareth by Marcus Porcio who desired to be corrector of the childrē afterwards succeded to be censor of the Romaine people For the Romaynes dyd not offer the office of iustice to any man vnlesse he had had experience of al offices Patricius Senensis in the booke of the common wealth saith that before the warres were betwene Carthage Rome the comon wealth of Carthage was very wel gouerned as it be semed such a noble citie but it is an auncient preuiledge of the warre that it kylleth the persones consumeth the goods aboue al engendreth a new passion miserie in the end destroyeth al good aunciente customes The Carthagians therefore had a custome that the chyldren and especially those which were of honest men should be put in the temples from iii. yeres tyl .xii. so from .xii. til xx they learned crafts sciences occupacions and from .xx. vntil .xxv. they instructed them in the feates of warre at the end of xxx yeres they gaue themselues to mariage ▪ For amōgest them it was a law inuiolable that no man shold mary vntil he were xxx yeres of age the women xxv And after that they were maried the moneth folowing they ought to present themselues before the Senate ther to chose what kind of estate they would take vpon them to liue in and what their minds most desired that is to wete if they would serue in the Temples folow the warre or trauayle the seas or get their lyuing by land or follow their occupacion which they had learned And loke what estate or office that day they chose the same they kept occupyed during their lyfe truly the law was very good bycause such chaunge of estates offices in the world are occasion that presently so many come to destruction Al the excellent and auncient Princes had many great philosophers for their masters this seameth to be true by this that kyng Darius had Lichanius the phylosopher for his mayster The greate Alexander had Aristotel the phylosopher for hys master Kinge Artaxerces had Pindarus the phylosopher for his mayster The aduenturous and hardye captayne of the Athenians Palemo had Xenocrates the Phylosopher for his maister Xemiades only kyng of the Corinthians had Chilo the phylosopher for hys mayster and tutour to hys chyldren Epamynundes prince of the Thebaines had for his maister and councelloure Maruchus the Phylosopher Vlisses the Greke as Homere sayth had for his mayster and companyon in hys trauayles Catinus the phylosopher Pirrus whyche was kynge of the Epirotes and greate defendoure of the Tharentines had for hys maister and chronicler Arthemius the phylosopher Of whom Cicero speaketh ad atticum that his sword was sharper to fighte then his penne ready to write The great kyng Ptholomeus Philadelphus was not onely scholer of the most singuler Phylosophers of Grece but also after he was king he sent for 72. phylosophers wych were Hebrues Cirus kyng of the Persians that destroyed the great Babylon had for his mayster Pristicus the Phylosopher Traian the Emperour had Plutarche for hys mayster who dyd not only teach hym in hys youth but also wrote him a booke how he ought to gouerne hym selfe his common wealth By these few examples which I haue expressed and by many other whych I omit Princes at this present may se how carefull princes were in tymes past to geue their chyldren wyse and learned men O prynces and great lordes synce you that are at thys present do presume and take vppon you that whyche your forefathers dyd I would that now you would consyder who brought them to so high estate and who leaueth of them eternal memory For wythout doubt noble men neuer wanne renowme for the pleasures they had in vyces but for the trauailes they had in vertues Againe I say that princes in tymes past were not famous for theyr stoutnes and apt dysposicion of theyr bodyes neyther for discent of hygh and noble lynage nor yet for the possession of many realmes or heaping vp of great treasours but they wanne obtayned immortal renowme for that their fathers in theyr youth put them vnder the tuiciō of wise and learned tutours whych taught them good doctrine when they were of age gaue them good counsaylers to gouerne the common wealth Laertius in the lyfe of the phylosophers Boccase in the boke of the lynage of gods say That among the phylosophers of Athens there was a custome that no straung phylosopher should reade in their scholes before he weare first examyned in natural and moral phylosophy for amonge the Grekes it was an auncyent prouerbe that in the schole
dent of his blade at his harte In this case I sweare vnto the by the immortall gods that I do that whyche I would not do and I take that from him whyche I woulde not take For Anthonius my lorde and father in lawe gaue me the empire for no other cause but bycause he neuer found in me any lye and for this occasion I doe depriue my sonne from it for that I neuer found in him any trueth For it is not mete that the Empire being geuen vnto me for that I was true should be left inheritage to him that is a lier For in the ende it is better that the sonne do lose the heritage then the father shoulde lose his renowme By these two examples those whiche are the tutors and maisters of princes and great lordes may see how to be diligent to kepe them from lyes whilest they are yong and it ought to be in such sorte that neither in pastime neither in earnest aunswering they should be suffered once to tell a lye For those that for their pleasure were accustomed to lye in their youth will not fayle for their profite to lye in their age Secondarely the tutors and maysters ought to keepe their disciples that they be no gamesters and that they doe not accustome them selues in theyr youth to be vnthriftes for it is a great token of the decay of the Empire when the Prince in his youth is affectionated to play Experience sheweth vs that playe is a vice as Seneca sayeth whiche hath the propertie of a raging dogge with whome if a man be once bitten vnlesse he hath present remedie forthe with he runneth madde and the disease also continueth with him vncurable vntill the houre of his death Players not without a cause are compared to madde dogges for al those that vse it hurt theyr conscience lose their honour and consume theyr substance It chaunseth oft that in that wherin maysters should be most circonspecte they for the most parte are most negligent that is to wete that vnder the coullet of som honest recreation they agree to their scollers to vse some pastyme which if therin be conteyned no commendable exercise the children ought not to vse it nor yet the tutors to suffer it For vice is of such a propertie that if a chylde in hys youth dare playe apointe it is to be feared when he commeth to yeares he will playe hys cote Wayinge the matter more depely and aggrauating this vice I saye further and affirme that when the children of Princes and great Lordes playe a man ought not to make account of that which they may winne or loose for that of all miseryes were most misery if therefore my penne shoulde forbidde them play For play ought not to be forbidden to yong children for the money that they lose but for the vyces whiche they winne thereby and for the corrupte maners which therin they learne Octauian who was the second Emperour of Rome and one of the fortunatest Emperours that euer was among all his vertues was noted of one thing onely which is that from his youth he was to much geuen to play at tennis Of the which vice he was not onely admonished secreatly but also was forbidden it openly For as Cicero sayth in hys booke of lawes when the Emperour was noted of any open vice they might boldely reproue him in the open Senate When Octauian was for this vice reproued by the Senate they sayde he spake these wordes You haue reason O fathers conscript in takyng from me my pastime for it is necessary that the vertues of princes should be so many that all men might prayse them and their vices so fewe that no man might reproue them These wordes were notable and worthy of suche an excellent prince For in the ende consideringe their delicate and wanton brynging vp together with the libertie that they haue we ought to thanke and commende them for the good woorkes whiche they doe and moste of all to reioyce for the vices whiche they wante To our matter therfore amongest the other wicked vices that children get in their youth when they are players this is one that they learne to be theues and lyers For the money that they playe-to demaunde it their fathers they are afrayde and ashamed and of their owne proper goodes as yet they haue none in their handes Wherefore a man may easely conclude that if children playe of necessitie they must steale The sixe and thirty Emperour of Rome was Claudius Luganus a man verye temperate in eating moderate in apparell vprighte in iustice and very fortunate in chiualrie for he did not onelye repulse the Gothes from Illiria but also vanquished in a battayle the Germaines wherein were slayne aboue a hundred thousande This battayle was nere vnto the lake Veracus in a place called Luganus and for a memory of that great battayle and victory they called him Claudius Luganus For it was a custome among the Romaines that according to the good or euyll workes that princes did so they were iudged and knowen by suche surnames whether it were good or euyll This Emperour had but one onely sonne the whiche was a prince comely of personage and liuely of vnderstanding but aboue all thynges geuen to playe so that these good giftes whiche nature gaue him to woorke in vertue he misused alwayes in playe And amongest younge men he desyreth rather to haunte vyce then among the philosophers to learne vertue And hereat a man ought not to marueyle for all men of great courage vnlesse they be compelled to doe vertuous actes doe exercise of themselues many detestable vices It chaunced when this young prince had no more to playe nor gage he robbed out of his fathers chamber a ryche iewell of golde whereof also his maister was preuy And when the knowledge thereof came to the princes eares he immediatly disherited his sonne of the Empire and caused the head of the maister to be cut of his body all those likewyse that plaide with him to be banished the countrey This acte made euery man afrayde for correction executed after a good sorte hath this propertie that it encourageth the good to be good and feareth the wycked from their wickednes Merula in the tenth booke of Caesars where as at large he mentioneth this matter saieth that the Romaines estemed more the banishemente of those players from Rome then to haue drouen out the Gothes from Illiria and to saye the trouthe they had reason For a prince deserueth a greater crowne of glorie to banishe the vitious from his pallace then he doeth for chasing the enemies out of his dominion ¶ Of two other vices perillous in youthe whiche the maisters ought to kepe them from and that is to be shameles in countenaunce and addicted to the luste of the fleshe Cap. xl THirdly tutors ought to trauayle that the children whiche they haue in charge be not light and worldly nor that they doe consent that they be to bolde or shameles
And I saye that they doe not suffer them to be to light or vnconstant for of younge men inconstant and light commeth oftētimes an olde man fonde and vnthriftie I saie that they doe not suffer them to be to rashe for of to hardy young men commeth rebellious and seditious persones I say that they doe not consent they be shamelesse for of the vnshamefastnes commeth sclaunderous persones Princes and great lordes ought to haue much circumspection that their children be brought vp in shamefastnes with honestie For the crowne doth not geue so much glory to a kyng nor the head doth more set forth the man nor the iewell more adourne the breast nor yet the scepter more become the hande then shamefastnes with honestie beutifieth a younge man For a man of what estate so euer he be the honestie which he sheweth outwardly doth hide many secret vices wherewith he is endued inwardly In the time of the reigne of the emperour Helius Pertinax the nyntenthe Emperour of Rome two consulles gouerned the commō welth the one named Verus and the other Mamillus one daye they came to the Emperour and were humble suiters to his highnes besechinge him that it would please hym to receiue their two children into his seruice the eldest of the whiche passed not as yet twelue yeares of age the whiche request after the Emperour had graunted the fathers were not negligent to bryng them vnto hym and being come before his presence each of them made an oration the one in Latine and the other in Greke Wherewith the Emperour was greatly pleased and all the residue amased for at that time none serued the Romaine princes but that he were either very apte to cheualry or els toward in sciences As these two children in the presence of the Emperour made their orations the one of thē behelde the Emperour in suche sorte that his eies neuer went of him neither once moued his head to loke down to the earth and the other contrary behelde the earth alwayes neuer lift vp his head during his oration Wherewith the Emperour being a graue man was so highly pleased with the demeanours of this child that he did not onely admitte him to serue him at his table but also he suffred him to enter into his chambre and this was a preferment of great estimation For princes did not vse to be serued at their tables nor in their chambers with any vnlesse they were of his owne kynred or auncient seruauntes And concerning the other childe whiche was his compaignion the Emperoure retourned againe to his father saiynge that when hereafter he shoulde bee more shamefast he woulde receiue hym into his seruice And certainly the Emperoure had reason for good and graue princes ought not to be serued with light and shameles children I woulde nowe demaunde fathers whiche loue their children very well and woulde they shoulde be worthy what it auaileth their children to be faire of countenaunce well disposed of body liuely of sprighte whyte of skinne to haue yellowe heere 's to be eloquent in speache profounde in science if with all these graces that nature geueth them they be to bolde in that they doe and shamelesse in that they saye the authour hereof is Patritius Senesis in the firste booke De rege regno One of the moste fortunate princes was the great Theodosius the whiche amongest all other vertues had one moste singuler which was that he was neuer serued in his pallace with any young man that was vnshamefast or seditious nor with an olde man which was dishonest For he said oftetimes that princes shall neuer be well beloued if they haue about thē liers or sclaūderers This good emperour spake as a man of experience and very sage for if the counsellers and familiars of princes be euil taught and vnpacient they offende many and if they be liers they deceiue all and if they be dishonest they sclaunder the people And these offences be not so great vnto them that committe them as they be vnto the prince whiche suffreth them The emperour Theodose had in his pallace two knightes the one called Ruffinus and the other Stelliconus by whose prudence and wisdome the cōmon wealth was ruled and gouerned And as Ignacius Baptista saieth they twoo were the tutors gouernours of the children of Theodose whose names were Archadius and Honorius For as Seneca saieth when good princes do die they ought to be more carefull to procure maisters and tutors whiche shall teache their children then to procure realmes or kingdomes for to enriche them These twoo maisters Stelliconus and Ruffinus had in the pallace of Theodose eche of them a sonne the which were maruellous wel taught and very shamefast and for the contrary the two princes Honorius and Archadius were euill manered and not very honest And therfore the good emperour Theodose tooke these children oftetimes and set them at his table and contrary he woulde not once beholde his owne Let no man marueile though a prince of suche a grauitie did a thing of so smal importaunce for to say the truthe the shamefast children and wel taughte are but robbers of the hartes of other men Fourthly the tutors and maisters of princes oughte to take good heade that when the younge princes their schollers waxe great that they geue not them selues ouer to the wicked vice of the fleshe so that the sensualitie and euill inclination of the wanton childe ought to be remedied by the wisedom of the chaste maister For this cursed fleshe is of suche condition that if once by wantonnes the wicket be opened death shall soner approche then the gate shal be shut agayne The trees which budde and caste leaues before the time our hope is neuer to eate of their fruite in season I meane that when chyldren haunte the vice of the fleshe whyles they be young there is small hope of goodnes to be loked in them when they be olde And the elder we see them waxe the more we may be assured of their vices And where we see that vice encreaseth there we may affirme that vertue diminisheth Plato in his seconde booke of lawes ordeyneth and commaundeth that younge men shoulde not marye before they were .xxv. yeares of age and the younge maydens at .xx. because at that age their fathers abide lesse daungers in begetting them and geuing of them lyfe and the children also which are borne haue more strength against the assaultes of death Therefore if it be true as it is true in dede I aske nowe if to be maried and get children whiche is the ende of mariage the Philosophers doe not suffer vntill suche time as they be men then I say that maisters ought not to suffer their schollers to haunte the vices of the fleshe when they be chyldren In this case the good fathers oughte not alone to committe this matter to their tutors but also thereunto to haue an eye them selues For oftetimes they wyll saye they haue bene at their
deuotions in the temples when in dede they haue offered veneriall sacrifice to the Courtisan The vyce of the fleashe is of suche condition that a man can not geue hym selfe to it without grudge of conscience withoute hurte of his renowme without losse of his goodes without shortenynge of his lyfe and also without offence to the common wealth for oftetymes men enclyned to suche vyce doe rebell trouble and sclaunder the people Seneca satisfied me greatly in that whiche he wryteth in the seconde booke De Clementia to Nero where he sayeth these wordes If I knewe the Gods would pardon me and also that men woulde not hate me yet I ensure thee for the vylenes thereof I would not synne in the fleashe And truly Seneca had reason for Aristotle sayeth that all beastes after the acte of venery are sory but the Cocke alone O gouernours and maisters of great princes and lordes by that immortall God whiche created vs I coniure you and for that you owe to the nobilite I desyre you that you wyll brydle with a sharpe snaffle your charge and geue them not the rayne to followe vyces for if these younge chyldren lyue they wyll haue tyme enough to searche to followe to attayne and also to caste of those yokes For through our frayletie this wicked vyce of the fleashe in euery place in al ages in euery estate and at all tymes be it by reason or not is neuer out of ceason What shall I saye to you in this case if the chyldren passe the furiousnes of their youthe without the brydle then they be voyde of the loue of God they followe the trompet of sensualitie after the sounde whereof they runne headlong into the yoke and lose that whiche profiteth to wynne that whiche hurteth For in the carnall vices he that hath the least of that that sensualitie desireth hath muche more thereof then reason wylleth Considering that the maisters are negligent the children bolde their vnderstandynges blynded and seing that their appetites doe accomplyshe beastly motions I aske nowe what remayneth to the chylde and what contentation hath he of suche filthe and naughtines Truly since the fleashly and vicious man is ouercome with his appetite of those that escape beste I see none other fruite but that their bodies remayne diseased and their vnderstanding blynded their memory dulled their sence corrupted their wil hurted their reason subuerted and their good fame lost and worste of all the fleashe remaineth always fleshe O how many yoūg men are deceiued thinking that for to satisfie by once engaging them selues to vices that from that time forward they shal cease to be vicious the which thing not only doth not profite them but also is very hurtefull vnto them For fier is not quenched with dry woode but with cold water But O god what shal we do since that now a daies the fathers do as much esteme their childrē for being fine bold miniōs amōg womē as if thei wer very profond in sciēce or hardy in feles of arms that which is worst thei ofttimes make more of their bastards gottē in adultry thē of their legitimate child cōceiued in matrimony what shal we say thē of mothers truly I am ashamed to speake it but thei shold be more ashamed to do it which is because they would not displease their husbāds thei hide the wickednes of their children they put the children of their harlottes to the norse they redeme their gages they geue them money to playe at dyce they reconcile them to their fathers when they haue offended they borowe them money to redeme them when they are indebted finally they are makers of ther bodies and vndoers of their soules I speake this incidently for that the maisters would correcte the children but the fathers and mothers forbydde them For it litle auayleth for one to pricke the horse with the spurre when he that sitteth vpon him holdeth hym backe with the brydle Therefore to our matter what shal we do to remedie this il in the young man which in his fleshe is vitious Truly I see no other remedye but with moiste earth to quenche the flaming fier and to keape him from the occasions of vice For in the warre honour by tarrying is obteyned but in the vice of the fleshe the victorie by flying is wonne The ende of the seconde booke The thirde booke of the Diall of princes with the famous Booke of Marcus Aurelius wherein he entreateth of the vertues whiche Princes ought to haue as Iustice peace and magnificence ¶ How Princes and great Lordes ought to trauaile to administer to all equall Iustice Cap. i. EGidius Figulus one of the most famous renowmed Philosophers of Rome saide that betwene .2 of the zodaicall sygnes Leo Libra is a virgin named Iustice the which in tymes passe dwelled amonge men in earth and after she was of them neclected she ascended vp to heauen This Philosopher would set vs vnderstand that iustice is so excellent a vertue that she passeth all mens capacitie synce she made heauen her mansion place could fynde no man in the whole earth that would entertayne her in hys house During the tyme that menne were chaste gentle pitiefull pacient embracers of vertue honest and true Iustice remained in the earthe with them but since they are conuerted vnto adulterers tyraunts geuen to be proud vnpacient lyers and blasphemers she determined to forsake them and to ascend vp into heauen So that thys Philosopher concluded that for the wickednes that men commit on earthe Iustice hath lept from them into heauen Though this seme to be a poeticall fiction yet it comprehendeth in it hygh and profound doctrine the which seemeth to be very clere for where we se iustice there are fewe theues few murderers fewe tyrants few blasphemours Finally I say that in that house or common wealth where iustice remaineth a man cannot cōmit vice much lesse dessemble with the vicious Homer desyrous to exalt iustice could not tell what to say more but to call kinges the children of the great god Iupiter and that not for the naturalitie they haue but for the offyce of iustice whyche they minister So that Homer concludeth that a man ought not to call iust princes other but the children of god The deuine Plato in the fourth booke of his cōmon wealth saieth that the chiefest gift god gaue to men is that they beyng as they be of such vyle cley should be gouerned by iustice I would to God all those which reade thys writyng vnderstood right well that which Plato said For if men were not indued wyth reason and gouerned by iustice amongest all beastes none were so vnprofytable Let reason be taken from man wherwyth he is indued and iustice whereby he is gouerned then shall men easely perceiue in what sort he wyll lead his lyfe He cannot fyght as the Elephant nor defend hym selfe as the Tygre nor he can hunte as the Lyon neyther labour as the Oxe
and that whereby he should profyte as I thynke is that he should eate Beares Lyons in his lyfe as now he shal be eatē of wormes after his death All the Poets that inuented fictions all the Oratours which made Orations al the Philosophers which wrote bookes al the sages which left vs their doctrynes and all the Princes which instituted lawes ment nothing els but to perswade vs to think how briefe vnprofitable this lyfe ys howe necessary a thing iustice is therein For the filth corrupcion which the body hath without the soule the selfe same hath the common welth wythout iustice We cannot deny but that the Romaynes haue bene proude enuyous aduouterers shamelesse ambicious but yet with all these faultes they haue bene great obseruers of iustice So that if god gaue the so many tryumphes beyng loden and enuironned with so manye vices it was not for the vertues they had but for the great iustice which they did administer Plinie in hys second booke saieth that Democritus affirmed there were two gods which gouerned the vniuersall worlde that is to wete Rewarde and Punishement Whereby we may gather that nothing is more necessary then true and right iustice For the one rewardeth the good the other leaueth not vnpunished the euill Saint Austyne in the fyrst booke De ciuitare dei sayeth these words Iustyce taken awaye what are realmes but dennes of theues truely he had great reason For if there were no whips for vacabondes gags for blasphemers fynes for periury fyre for heretiques sworde for murderers galouse for theues nor prison for rebelles we may boldly affirme that there woulde not be so manye beastes on the mountaines as there woulde be theues in the cōmon wealth In many thinges or in the greatest parte of the common welth we see that bread wyne corne fyshe woll and other thinges necessary for the lyfe of the people wanteth but we neuer sawe but malicious menne in euerye place dyd abounde Therefore I sweare vnto you that it were a good bargayne to chaunge all the wycked menne in the common wealth for one onlye poore sheepe in the sylde In the comon wealth we see naught els but whippyng dayly beheddyng slayinge drownyng and hanginge but notwithstandyng this the wicked whiche remayne styll are so many in nomber that if all those shoulde be hanged that deserue it by iustyce a man could not fynd hangmen sufficient nor gallowses to hange them vppon Admitte according to the varietie of realmes prouinces that dyuers lawes and customes haue bene instituted therein Yet for a truth there was neuer nor neuer shal be found any nation or common wealthe in the worlde so barbarous but hath bene founded of iustice For to affirme that menne can bee preserued wythout iustice is as muche as to saye the fishe can liue wythout water Howe is it possible that a common wealth may liue without iustice sith without her cannot bee ruled one onelye personae Plinie in an epistle saieth that he him selfe hauinge the charge of a prouince in Affrike demaunded an olde man and in gouernement experte what he myght doe to administer iustice well the aged manne aunswered Doe iustice of thy selfe yf thou wilt be a minister thereof For the good iudge wyth the ryght yarde of hys owne lyfe ought to measure the whole state of the common wealth And he sayde further if thou wylt be right wyth menne and clean before god beware of presumpcion in thyne offyce For the proude and presumptuous iudges often tymes doe contrary in their wordes and also exceade in theire deedes Plinie also saieth that he profited more with the counsayle thys olde man gaue hym then wyth all that euer he had reade in his bookes O to howe muche is he bounde that hath taken vppon him to administer iustice For if such one be an vpright man hee accomplisheth that whereunto he is bounde but if suche one of hym selfe bee vniuste iustlye of god he ought to bee punished and lykewyse of menne to bee accused When prynces commaund their seruaunts or subiectes any thing that they cannot accomplish them in such sorte as they had charge to do then he ought to haue them excused those excepted whiche gouerne realmes prouinces For no man leaueth to administer iustice but for want of knowledge or experience or els through aboundaunce of affection or malice If a captaine lose a battaile he may excuse hym self saying his men were fled when they shoulde haue assaulted their enemies A poast may excuse hi self for that the waters we◠so high A hunter may say the beast is escaped another way others such like but a gouernour of a common wealth what excuse can he haue that he dothe not iustice Conscience ought to burden hym also he ought to be ashamed to take vpon him the charge of any thing if he doute to bring it to effecte for the shamefast faces haute courages either ought to put that in execution which they take vpon them or els they ought to shew a lawful cause why it tooke no effect Let vs know first what iustice is then we shall knowe what is mete for the administracion therof The office of a good iudge is to defend the common welth to help the innocent to ayde the simple to correcte the offender to honour the vertuous to help the orphanes to do forthe poore to bridel the ambicious finallye by iustice he ought to geue eche one his owne to dispossesse those which hold any thing wrongfully of others When a prince commaundeth any man to take the charge of iustice such one doth not seeke it of him selfe if perchaunce afterwardes he did not in all points vprightly in the administracion therof he might haue some excuse saying that though he hath accepted it it was not with minde because he woulde erre but because with good will he would obey What shall we saye of manye which without shame without knowlege without experience without conscience do procure the office of iustice O if princes knew what they geue whē they geue the charge to any to gouerne the common wealth I sweare vnto you that they were better to giue them goods to fynd them for .20 yeres then for to trust them wyth the charge of iustice .20 daies What a thing is it to see some men shamelesse dishonest great talkers gluttons ambitious couetous the whiche wythout anye reasonable cause aucthority or knowledge demaunde of prynces an office of iustice as if by iustice they dyd demaund their own Would to god the geuer would haue an eye to those whych in this wyse do demaunde But what shal we say of those that doe sollicite thē procure thē importune them beseche them more then that euen as wythout shame they do demaund it so wythout conscience lykewyse they buy it There remayneth in this case more as yet that is that if those cursed men do not attayne to that whych they demaunde
Censour being very aged the Senatour sayed vnto him one day in the Senate Thou knowest now Cato that presentlye we are in the Calendes of Ianuarie wherein we vse to deuide the offices amonge the people Wherefore we haue determined to create Manlius Calidanus Censours for this yeare wherefore tell vs if they be as thou thinkest able and sufficient to supply that rome Cato the Censour aunswered them in this wise Fathers conscripte I let you were that I doe not receiue the one nor admit the other For Manlius is very riche and Calidanus the citizeine extreame poore and truely in bothe there is greate perill For we see by experience that the riche officers are to muche subiect to pleasures and the poore officers are to muche geuen to auaryce And further he saide in this case me thinketh that your Iudges whom ye ought to choose should not be so extreame poore that they shoulde wante wherewith to eate neither so riche that they shoulde surmount in superfluity to geeue them selues to muche to pleasures For menne by greate aboundaunce become vicious and by great scarsitie become couetous The Censor Cato being of suche aucthoritie it is but reason that wee geeue credite to his woords since he gouerned the romaine Empire so long space though indede all the poore be not couetous nor all the riche vicious yet hee spake it for shys intent because bothe those Romaynes were noted of these ii vices For the poore desire to scrape and scratche and the riche to enioye and kepe Whiche of those twoe sortes of men princes should chose I cannot nor dare not rashely determine And therefore I doe not counsaile them either to despise the poore or to choose the riche but that they geue the auctoritie of iustice to those whom they knowe to be of good conscience and not subiect to couetousnes For the iudge whose conscience is corrupted it is vnpossible he should minister equall iustice A man maye geue a shrewed gesse of suspicion in that iudge whether he be of a britell conscience or no yf he see him procure the office of iustice for him selfe For that manne whiche willinglye procureth the charge of conscience of another commonlye lyttle regardeth the burthen of his owne ¶ Of a letter which themperour Marcus Aurelius wrote to Antigonus his frend answering an other which he sent hym out of Scicile wherin he aduertised him of the crueltie of the romaine Iudges and this letter is deuyded into .5 Chapters Cap. vii MArcus Aurelius companion in the empire tribune of the people present lye being sicke wissheth vnto thee Antigonus healthe and comforte in thy banishement To flye the extreame heate of Rome and to reade some bookes which are brought me from the realme of Palestine I am come hether to Capua and forthe haste I made to ryde greate iourneis the ague hath ouertaken mee whiche is more troublesome then perillous For it taketh me wyth colde and plucketh my appetite from me The .20 daye of Ianuary I receiued thy second letter and it hapned that thy letter and my feuer tooke me bothe at one instaunt but the feuer greued me in suche wise that I coulde not longe endure to reade thy letter Mee thinketh we haue no staye nor meane thou being so briefe and I so longe for my longe letter hath taken thy greauous sorowes from the but thy shorte letter coulde not take my feuer from me Now that my mynd is beating of thy trauaile the desire whyche I haue to remedy it is enflamed I woulde tell the one thinge and succour thee with some counsaile but I fynde that the consolation whiche thou wantest I cannot geue the and that whiche I can geue the thou nedest not In this letter shal not be written that which was in the firste but herein I will trauaile the best I can to aunswere thee I will not occupye my selfe to comfort thee because I am so out of course with this dysease that I haue neither wil to write ne yet an◠fauoure in anye pleasant thinges If perhappes this letter bee not sauory so compendious neither so comfortable as those which I was woase to write vnto thee attribute not the blame vnto my good will which desireth to serue the but to the sickenes that geueth no place thereunto For it suffiseth the sicke to be contented with medecynes without satisfyinge theire fryndes If thy comfort consisted in writing many letters offering the many worde truelye I woulde not sticke to doe that for all my feuer But it neither profiteth the nor satisfieth me since I haue lyttle to profer the muche Talkinge nowe of this matter I doe remember that the auncient lawes of the Rhodians saide these wordes Wee desire admonishe all menne to visite the captiues the pilgrimes and the comfortlesse and further we ordeine comaund that none in the common wealth be so hardye to geue counsaile vnlesse therwith he geue remedy For to the troubled harte wordes comforteth litle whē in them there is no remedye Of a truthe the lawe of the Rhodians is good the Romaine whiche shall obserue them much better Assure thy self that I am very desirous to see thee also I knowe that thou wouldeste as gladlye speake vnto me to recount me all thy griefes Truelye I doe not meruayle because the wounded hart quieteth him self more declaring his owne griefes then hearinge another mannes consolations Thou writest vnto mee of sondrye thinges in thy letter the effecte whereof that thou certifiest mee is that the iudges and officers in that realme be verye rygorous and extreame and that therefore the Cicilians are greatlye displeased with the Senate Hitherto thou hast neuer tolde me lye the whiche moueth mee to beleue all that thou writest nowe in thy letter Wherefore I take it for a thinge moste true that for asmuch as all those of Cicil are malicious and enuyous they geue the iudges iust occasion to be cruell For it is a generall rule where men are out of order the ministers of iustice ought to be rygorous And thoughe in other realmes it chaunsed not it is to be beleued that it is true in this realme wher of the auncient prouerbe saieth All those whiche enhabite the Iles are euill but the Cicillians are worste of all At this daye the wicked are so mightye in theire malices and the good are so much diminished in theire vertues that if by iustyce there were not a brydel the wicked woulde surmount all the world and the good shoulde vanishe immediatlye But retourninge to our matter I saye that consideringe with what and howe manye euylles we are enuiroined and to howe manye miseries wee are subiecte I doe not meruaile at the vanities that menne committe but I am ashamed of the crueltie whiche our iudges execute So that we maye rather call them tyrauntes which kill by violence then iudges which minister by iustice Of one thing I was greatly astonyed and almost past my sence which is that iustice of right
as if it were his owne To thys I aunswere that I am not myghtye ynough to remedy it except by my remedye there shoulde spring a greater inconuenience And since thou hast not bene a Prince thou couldest not fall into that I haue nor yet vnderstand that whych I saie For princes by theire wisedome knowe manye thinges the whych to remedy they haue no power So it hath beene so it is so it shal be so I founde it so I keepe it so wil I leaue it them so I haue read it in bookes so haue I seene it with my eyes so I heard it of my predecessours and finallye I saye so our fathers haue inuented it and so wyll wee theire children sustaine it and for this euyll wee will leaue it to our heires I wyll tell thee one thinge and imagine that I erre not therein whych is consideringe the great dommage and lytle profyte which the men of warre doe bringe to our common wealth I thynk to doe it and to sustaine it either it is the folly of menne or a scourge geuen of the gods For there can be nothinge more iust then for the goddes to permit that we feele that in our owne houses whiche we cause others in straunge houses to lament All those thinges I haue written vnto thee not for that it skilleth greatly that thou knowe them but that my harte is at ease to vtter them For as Alcibiades saide the chestes and the hartes ought alwaies to bee open to theire frendes Panutius my secretary goeth in my behalfe to visite that land and I gaue him this letter to geue the with two horses wherewith I think thou wilt be contented for they are gennettes The weapons and ryches whyche I tooke of the Parthes I haue nowe deuyded notwtstanding I doe sende thee .2 Chariottes of them My wyfe Faustine greeteth thee and I sende a riche glasse for thy doughter and a Iewell with stones for thy sister No more but I beseche the Gods to geeue thee a good lyfe and mee a good death ¶ The admonition of the Aucthour to Princes and greate Lordes to thintent that the more they growe in yeares the more they are bounde to refraine from vyces Cap. xvii AVlus Gelius in hys booke De noctibus Atticis sayeth that there was an auncient custome amongest the romaynes to honour and haue in great reuerence aged men And this was so inuiolate a law amongest them that there was none so noble of bloode and lynage neyther so puissaunt in ryches neither so fortunate in battayles that should goe before the aged men which were loden with whit heares so that they honoured them as the gods and reuerenced them as theire fathers Amongest other the aged menne had these preheminences that is to wete that in feastes they sate highest in the triumphes they went before in the temples they did sitte downe they spake to the Senate before all others they had their garments surred they might eat alone in secrat and by theire onlye woorde they were credited as witnesses Fynally I saye that in all thinges they serued them and in nothinge they annoyed them After the people of Rome began warre wyth Asia they forsooke all theire good Romayne customes immediatlye And the occasyon hereof was that since they had no menne to sustaine the common wealth by reason of the great multytude of people which dyed in the warre they ordeyned that al the yong menne should mary the yong maides the wydowes the free and the bonde and that the honour whyche hadde bene done vntyll that tyme vnto the olde menne from henceforthe shoulde be done vnto the maried menne though they were yong So that the moste honoured in Rome was hee not of moste yeares but he that had most children This lawe was made a little before the firste battaile of Catthage And the custome that the maried menne were more honoured then the old menne endured vntill the tyme of the Emperour Augustus whiche was such a frende of antiquyties that hee renewed all the walles of Rome with newe stones and renewed all the auncient customes of the common wealth Licurgus in the lawes whiche hee gaue to the Lacedemonians ordayned that the young menne passinge by the olde shoulde doe them greate reuerence whē the olde dyd speake then the younger shoulde bee sylent And he ordained also that if any olde man by casualtye dyd lose hys goods and came into extreame pouertie that he shoulde bee sustained of the comon wealth and that in suche sustentacion they shoulde haue respecte not onely to succour him for to sustaine hym but further to geue him to lyue competently Plutarche in hys Apothegmes declareth that Cato the Censoure visitinge the corners of Rome founde an olde manne sittinge at his doore weepinge and sheddinge manye teares from hys eyes And Cato the Censoure demaundynge hym why hee was so euyll handeled and wherefore he wepte so bitterlye the good olde manne aunswered hym O Cato the Gods beinge the onelye comfortours comforte thee in all thy tribulations since thou arte readye to comforte mee at this wofull hower As well as thou knowest that the consolations of the harte are more necessarye then the phisike of the bodye the whiche beeynge applyed sometymes doeth heale and an other tyme they doe harme Beholde my scabbed handes my swollen legges my mouth without teethe my peeled face my white beard and my balde heade for thou beinge as thou arte descreete shouldest be excused to aske mee why I weepe For menne of my age thoughe they weepe not for the lyttle they feele yet they ought to weepe for the ouermuche they lyue The manne which is loden with yeares tormented with diseases pursued with enemyes forgotten of his frendes visited with mishappes and with euill wyll and pouertie I knowe not why hee demaundeth long life For there can be no sharper reuengemēt of vyces whych we commit then to geue vs long lyfe Though now I am aged I was yong and if any yong manne should doe me anye iniurye truelye I would not desire the gods to take his lyfe but that they woulde rather prolonge his lyfe For it is a great pitie to heare the man whyche hath lyued longe account the troubles whiche he hath endured Knowe thou Cato if thou doest not knowe it that I haue lyued .77 yeares And in thys tyme I haue buried my father my graundefather twoe Auntes and .5 vncles After that I had buried .9 systers and .11 Brethren I haue buried afterwardes twoe lawfull wyfes and fyue bonde women whyche I haue hadde as my lemmans I haue buryed also .14 chyldren and .7 maryed doughters and therewith not contented I haue buryed .37 Nephues and .15 Nieces and that whyche greaueth me moste of all is that I haue buryed two frendes of myne one which remained in Capua the other which was residente here at Rome The death of whom hath greued me more then all those of my aliaunce and parentage For in the worlde there is no
the prince all their goods but also they must them selues in parson hazard their lyues If they tell vs that that they keepe is to geeue and dispose for their soules at their dying day I say it is not only want of wisdome but extream folly For at the hour of death princes ought more to reioyce for that they haue geeuen then for that at that time hee geeueth O how princes and great lords are euyll counsailed since they suffer them selues to bee slaundered for beeing couetous only to heap a lyttle cursed treasure For experience teacheth vs no man can bee couetous of goods but needs hee must bee prodigal of honor and abandon liberty Plutarche in the booke which hee made of the fortune of Alexander sayth that Alexander the great had a priuat seruaunt called Perdyca the which seeyng that Alexander liberally gaue all that which by great trauel hee attayned on a day hee said vnto him Tell mee most noble prince sithens thou geeuest all that thou hast to others what wilt thou haue for thy self Alexander aunswered The glory remaineth vnto mee of that I haue wonne gotten the hope of that which I wil geeue winne And further he said vnto him I wil tel thee true Perdyca If I knew that men thought that all that which I take were for couetousnes I swere vnto thee by the god Mars that I woold not beat down one corner in a town and to winne all the world I woold not go one days iourney My intention is to take the glory to my self and to deuyde the goods amongst others These woords so high were woorthy of a valyant and vertuous prince as of Alexander which spake thē If that which I haue read in books do not begyle mee that which with these eies I haue seene to become rych it is necessary that a man geeue for the princes and great lords which naturally are geeuen to bee liberall are alwaies fortunat to haue It chaunceth oft tymes that some man geeuing a little is counted liberall an other geeuing much is counted a nigard The which proceedeth of this that they know not that liberality nigardnes consisteth not in geeuing much or lytle but to know well how to geeue For the rewards and recompences which out of tyme are distributed do nother profit them which receiue them neither agree to him which geeueth them A couetous man geeueth more at one tyme then a noble and free hart doth in .20 thus saieth the common prouerb it is good comming to a niggards feast The difference beetwene the liberality of the one and the mysery of thother is that the noble and vertuous doth geeue that hee geeueth to many but the nigard geeueth that hee geeueth to one onely Of the which vnaduisement princes ought greatly to beware For if in such case one man alone shoold bee found which woold commēd his liberality there are ten thousand which woold condemne his couetousnes It happeneth oft times to princes and great lords that in deed they are free to recompence but in geeuing they are very vnfortunat And the cause is that they geeue it not to vertuous persons and well cōdicioned but to those which are vnthankfull and do not acknowledge the benefit receyued So that in geeuing to some they haue not made them their frends and in not geeuing to others they haue made them their enemies It suffyseth not to princes great lords to haue great desire to geeue but to know when how or where to whom they ought to geeue For if they bee accused otherwise to heap vp treasures they ought also to bee condemned for that they do geeue When a man hath lost all that hee hath in play in whoors in bankets and other semblable vyces it is but reason they bee ashamed but when they haue spent it like noble stout and liberal men they ought not to bee discontented for the wise man ought to take no displesure for that hee loseth but for that hee euil spendeth and hee ought to take no pleasure for that hee geeueth but for that hee geeueth not well Dion the grecian in the lyfe of the Emperor Seuerus saith that one day in the feast of the God Ianus when hee had geeuen dyuers rewards and sundry gifts as well to his own seruaunts as to strangers and that hee was greatly commended of all the Romains hee said vnto them Do you think now Romains that I am very glad for the gifts rewards and recompenses which I haue bestowed and that I am very glorious for the praises you haue geeuen mee by the god Mars I swere vnto ye and let the god Ianus bee so mercifull vnto vs all this yere that the pleasure I haue is not so great for the I haue geeuen as the grief is for that I haue no more to geeue ¶ The auctour foloweth his intencion and perswadeth gentlemen and those that professe armes not to abase them selues for gaines sake to take vpon them any vyle function or office Cap. xix PLutarche in his Apothemes declareth that king Ptolomeus the first was a prince of so good a nature and so gentle in conuersation that oft times hee went to supper to the houses of his familiar frinds and many nights hee remayned there to sleap And truly in this case hee shewed him self to bee welbeeloued of his For speaking according to the trueth a prynce on whose lyfe dependeth the hole state of the common wealth ought to credit few was the table and allso fewer in the bed Another thing this Ptolomeus did whych was when hee inuited his frends to dinner or supper or other straungers of soome hee desired to borow stooles of thothers napkins of others cups and so of other things for hee was a prodygall prince For all that his seruaunts in the morning had bought beefore the night folowing hee gaue it away One day al the nobles of his realm of Egipt assembled togethers and desired him very earnestly that hee woold be more moderat in geeuing for they said through his prodygality the hole realm was impouerished The king aunswered You others of Egipt are marueylously deceiued to think that the poore and needy prince is troubled In this case I dare say vnto you that the poore and needy prince ought to think him self happy for good princes ought more to seeke to enrich others then to heap vp treasures for them selues O happy is the common wealth whych deserueth to haue such a prince and happy is that tongue which coold pronounce such a sentence Certainly this prince to all princes gaue good example and counsel that is to weete that for thē it was more honor and also more profit to make others rich thē to bee rich them selues For if they haue much they shal want no crauers and if they haue lytle they shal neuer want seruaunts to serue them Suetonius Tranquillus in the booke of Cesars sayeth that Titus the Emperour one night after supper
within a yere shee is met in euery place of Rome what auaileth it that for few days shee hydeth her self from her parents and frends and afterwards shee is found the first at the theaters what profiteth it that widows at the first doo morne and go euil attired and afterwards they dispute and coÌ„plain of the beauty of the romayn wiues what forceth it that widows for a certein tyme doo keepe their gates shutt and afterwards their housen are more frequented then others What skilleth it that a man see the widows weep much for their husbands and afterwards they see them laugh more for their pastymes Fynally I say that it lytle auaileth the woman to seeme to suffer much openly for the death of her husband if secretly shee hath an other husband all ready found For the vertuous and honest wydow immediatly as shee seeth an other man alyue shee renueth her sorow for her husband that is dead I will shew thee Lady Lauinia a thing that beefell in Rome to the end thou think not I talk at pleasure In the old time in Rome ther was a noble and woorthy Romayn Lady wife of the noble Marcus Marcellus whose name was Fuluia And it happened so that this woman seeing her husband buryed in the field of Mars for the great greef shee had shee scratched her face shee ruffled her hear shee tore her gown and fell down to the earth in a found by the reason wherof two Senators kept her in their arms to th end shee shoold torment her self no more To whom Gneus Flauius the Censour said Let Fuluia go out of your hands shee will this day doo all the penaunce of wydows Speaking the trueth I know not whether this Romain spake with the Oracle or that hee were a deuine but I am assured that al hee spake came to passe For that this Fuluia was the wyfe of so excellent a Romayn as the good Marcus Marcellus was I woold that so vnlucky a chaunce had not happened vnto her which was that whyles the bones of her husband were a burning shee agreed to bee maried to an other and which was more to one of the Senators that lyfted her vp by the armes shee gaue her hand as a Romayn to a Romayn in token of a faithfull mariage The case was so abhominable that of all men it was dispraised that were present and gaue occasion that they neuer credit wydows afterwards I doo not speak it Lady Lauinia for that I think thou wilt doo so For by the faith of a good man I swere vnto thee that my hart neyther suspecteth it nor yet the auctority of so graue a Romayn dooth demaund it for to thee onely the fault shoold remain and to mee the wonder Hartely I commend vnto thee thy honesty whych to thy self thou oughtest and the care whych beehoueth so woorthy and noble a wydow For if thou art tormented wyth the absence of the dead thou oughtst to comfort thee with the reputacion of the lyuing At this present I will say no more to thee but that thy renowm among the present bee such and that they speak of thee so in absence that to the euill thou geeue the brydell to bee silent and to the good spurres to come and serue thee For the widow of euill renowm ought to bee buried quick Other things to write to thee I haue none Secrete matters are daungerous to trust considering that thy hart is not presently disposed to here news It is reason thou know that I with thy parents and frends haue spoken to the Senat which haue geeuen the office that thy husband had in Constantinople to thy sonne And truely thou oughtst no lesse to reioyce of that whych they haue sayd of thee then for that they haue geeuen him For they say though thy husband had neuer been citizen of Rome yet they ought to haue geeuen more then thys onely for thy honest beehauiour My wyfe Faustine saluteth thee and I will say I neuer saw her weepe for any thing in the world so much as shee hath wept for thy mishap For shee felt thy losse which was very great and my sorow whych was not lytle I send thee .iiii. thousand sexterces in money supposing that thou hast wherewith to occupy them as well for thy necessaries as to discharge thy debts For the complaints demaunds and processes which they minister to the Romayn matrons are greater then are the goods that their husbands doo leue them The gods which haue geeuen rest to thy husband O Claudine geeue also comfort to thee his wyfe Lauinia Marcus of mount Celio wyth his own hand ¶ That Princes and noble men ought to despyse the world for that there is nothing in the world but playn disceit Cap. xxxix PLato Aristotle Pithagoras Empedocles Democrites Selcucus Epicurus Diogenes Thales Methrodorus had among them so great contention to describe the world his beginning and property that in maintaining euery one hys oppinion they made greater warres with their pennes then their enemies haue doon wyth their launces Pithagoras sayd that that which wee call the world is one thyng and that which wee call the vniuersall is an other The philosopher Thales sayd that there was no more but one world and to the contrary Methrodorus the astronomer affirmed there were infinit worlds Diogenes sayd that the world was euerlasting Seleucus sayd that it was not true but that it had an end Aristotle seemed to say that the world was eternall But Plato sayd cleerely that the world hath had beginning and shall also haue endyng Epicurus sayd that it was round as a ball Empidocles sayd that is was not as a bowl but as an egge Chilo the philosopher in the high mount Olimpus disputed that the world was as meÌ„ are that is to weete that hee had an intellectible and sensible soule Socrates in his schoole sayth in his doctrin wrote that after .37 thousand yeres all things shoold returne as they had been beefore That is to weet that hee him self shoold bee born a new shoold bee norished shoold read in Athens And Dennis the tyraÌ„t shoold return to play the tyraÌ„t in Siracuse Iuliê° Cesar to rule Rome Hanniball to conquer Italy and Scipio to make warre against Carthage Alexander to fight against king Darius and so foorth in all others past In such and other vayn questions and speculations the auncient philosophers consumed many yeres They in writing many books haue troubled their spirits consumed long tyme trauayled many countreys and suffred innumerable daungers and in the end they haue set foorth few trueths and many lyes For the least part of that they knew not was much greater then all that which they euer knew When I took my penne in my hand to write the vanity of the world my entention was not to reprooue this materiall world the which of the fower elements is compounded That is to weete of the earth that is cold and dry of the water that is moyst
and cold of the ayre that is whot and moyst of fyre that is dry and whot So that taking the world in this sort there is no reason why wee shoold complayn and lament of it since that without him wee cannot lyue corporally When the paynter of the world came into the world it is not to bee beeleeued that hee reproued the water which bare hym when hee went vppon it nor the ayre that ceased to blow in the sea nor the earth that trembled at his death nor the light which seased to lyght nor the stones which brake in sonder nor the fish whych suffred them selues to bee taken nor the trees which suffered them selues to bee drye nor the monuments that suffered them selues to bee opened For the creature knowledged in his creator omnipotency and the creator founded in the creature due obedience Oftentymes and of many parsons wee heere say o wofull world o miserable world o subtyl world o world vnstable and vnconstant And therfore it is reason wee know what the world is whereof the world is from whence this world is wherof this world is made and who is lord of thys world since in it all things are vnstable all things are miserable all disceitfull and all things are malicious which can not bee vnderstanded of this materiall world For in the fyre in the ayre in the earth and in the water in the lyght in the planets in the stones and in the trees there are no sorows there are no miseries there are no disceit nor yet any malyce The world wherein wee are born where wee lyue where wee dye differeth much from the world wherof wee doo complayn for the world agaynst whom wee fight suffreth vs not to bee in quiet one hour in the day To declare therfore my entencion this wicked world is no other thing but the euill lyfe of the worldlings where the earth is the desire the fire the couetice the water the inconstancy the ayre the folly the stones are the pride the flowers of the trees the thoughts the deepe sea the hart Fynally I say that the sonne of this world is the prosperity and the moone is the continuall chaunge The prince of this so euill a world is the deuill of whom Iesus Christ sayd The prince of this world shall now bee cast out and thys the redeemer of the world sayeth For hee called the worldlings and their worldly lyues the world For since they bee seruaunts of sinne of necessity they must bee subiects of the deuyll The pryde the auaryce the enuy the blasphemy the pleasures the lechery the neglygence the glottony the yre the malyce the vanity and the folly This is the world agaynst whych wee fight al our lyfe and where the good are princes of vyces and the vyces are lords of the vicious Let vs compare the trauels which wee suffer of the elements wyth those whych wee endure of the vyces and wee shall see that lyttle is the perill wee haue on the sea and the land in respect of that which encreaseth of our euyll lyfe Is not hee in more daunger that falleth through malyce into pryde then hee which by chaunce falleth from a high rock Is not hee who wyth enuy is persecuted in more daunger than hee that with a stone is wounded Are not they in more perill that liue among vicious men than others that liue among bruit and cruell beasts Doo not those which are tormented with the fire of couetousnes suffer greater daunger then those which lyue vnder the mount Ethna Fynally I say that they bee in greater perils whych with hygh immaginations are blynded then the trees which with the importunat wyndes are shaken And afterwards this world is our cruell enemy it is a deceitfull frend it is that which always keepeth vs in trauell it is that which taketh from vs our rest it is that that robbeth vs of our treasor it is that which maketh him self to bee feared of the good that which is greatly beeloued of the euill It is that which of the goods of other is prodigall and of his own very miserable Hee is the inuenter of all vyces and the scourge of all vertues It is hee which entertaineth al his in flattery and fair speech This is hee which bringeth men to dissention that robbeth the renowm of those that bee dead and putteth to sack the good name of those that bee aliue Fynally I say that this cursed world is hee which to all ought to render accompt and of whom none dare ask accompt O vanity of vanity where all walk in vanity where all think vanity where all cleue to vanity where all seemeth vanity and yet this is lyttle to seeme vanity but that in dede it is vanity For as false witnes shoold hee bere that woold say that in this world ther is any thing assured healthfull and true as hee that woold say that in heauen there is any vnconstant variable or false thing Let therfore vayn princes see how vayn their thoughts bee and let vs desire a vayn prince to tell vs how hee hath gouerned him wyth the vanities of the world For if hee beeleeue not that whych my penne wryteth let him beeleeue that whych hys parson prooueth The woords written in the book of Ecclesiastes are such I Dauids sonne that swaies the kingly seat with hungry thurst haue throwen amid my brest A vayn desire to proue what pleasures great In flying life haue stable foot to rest To tast the sweet that might suffise my will with rayned course to shunne the deeper way whose streams of his delight shoold so distill as might content my restles though to stay For lo queene follies imps through vayn beelief So proudly shape their serch of tickle retch that though desert auailes the waue of grief to science toppe their claimming will doth stretch And so to draw some nice delighting end Of fansies toyl that feasted thus my thought I largely wayed my wasted bounds to bend to swelling realms as wisedoms dyall wrought I ryall courts haue reached from the soyl to serue lodge my huge attending trayn Ech pleasant house that might bee heapt with toy◠I reared vp to weeld my wanton rayn I causd to plant the long vnused vynes to smooth my tast with treasure of the grape I sipped haue the sweete in flaming wynes old rust of care by hidd delight to skape Fresh arbors I had closed to the skies A shrouded space to vse my fickle feete rich gardeins I had dasing still myne eyes A pleasant plot when dainty food was meet High shaking trees by art I stroue to sett to fraight desire with fruit of leeking tast VVhen broyling flame of sommers sunne did hett the blossomd bows his shooting beams did wast From rocky hills I forced to bee brought Cold siluer springs to bayne my fruitful ground Large thrown out ponds I labord to bee wrought where nūbers huge of swimming fish were found Great compast parkes I gloried long to plant
requyreth thee to bee lyke vnto hys inconstancy I woold enter into count not wyth the world which in the end is the world but with the worldlyngs which are in loue with the world For in the end eyther it is good or euyll If the world bee good for them whereof doo they complayne If hee bee euyll why doo they follow hym They can not though they woold deny one of the two errours wherein the worldlyngs fall that is to weete that they serue an euill maister or that they murmour of a good lord Tell mee my frend Torquatus what dydst thow hope synce thow madest so long tyme a countenaunce to the world two thyrty yeares thow hast serued the world and hast beene in hys fauour wherefore it were now hye time that betweene thee and hym were some dyscord For beetweene the graundfathers and the nephews beetween the father and the children beetween the vncles and the nephews dayly wee see great strifes and didst thou think that beetween thee and fortune perpetuall peace shoold bee She gaue not to Belus kyng of the Assirians but .ix years of prosperity To the Queene Semiramis syxe onely To Label king of the Lacedemonians fyue To the kyng of Chaldeans fower To the great Alexander fower To the great Amilcar king of Carthage two To our Iulius Cesar one and to infinit others shee gaue not one If the world were pacyent hee shoold bee no world if the world were constant hee shoold bee no world if the world were sober hee shoold bee no world if the world were true hee shoold bee no world if the world were corrigible hee shoold bee no world fynally I say that for nought els the world is world but beecause there is nothing in him worthy to bee beeloued and many things in it that deserueth to bee reprooued If thou were wise and knewst any thing of the world in all the discourse of those .xxxii. years thou hadst not eaten without care nor hadst gon without guyles and hadst not spoken without suspicion nor slept without assault nor trusted any frend For the warre men doo thynk always wherein their enemies may beeguile them wherein they them selues may fayle and wherein fortune may let them I know not if it bee that the world of hym self bee happy or that the worldlings are fooles For if one straunger one neighbour or our proper brother dooth enuy vs wee wyll neuer though hee doo require vs pardon him and wee cease not to follow the world though wee know hee presecuteth vs. So that wee draw our sweords agaynst flies and wil kill the elephants with needles There is no greater yll in the world then to thynk all things in the world are in extremyty For if wee bee abased wee sigh always to mount and if wee bee high wee weepe allways for feare of fallyng Such ouerthrows hath the world and his snares are so secret that wee are no soner shipped but wee see both our hands and feete entangled in vices by the which our lyberty is brought into such extreme and cruell captiuity that wee beewayle our mishaps wyth roaryng voyce as brute beasts but as men wee dare not once vtter them I know not whereof this commeth for some I see which willingly fall and other I see whych woold recouer them selues I see dyuers that woold bee remedyed and I see all doo complayne but in the end I see no man that dooth amend These thyngs I haue written vnto thee for no other thing but beecause from hence foorth thow shooldst lyue more circumspectly for as thou knowst I say nothyng whereof I haue not had long experyence The colt whych thow hast sent mee is prooued very good especyally for that hee leapeth very well and for the caryer hee is exceedyng ready and hath a comely grace I send thee two thowsād sexterces wherew t thow mayst releeue thy necessityes Fyndyng oportunity as touchyng thy banishment I wyll speak to the senate in thy beehalf I say no more to thee but that the consolacion of the gods and the loue of the gods bee with thee Torquatus The malice of the euil the yre of the furies bee absent from mee Marcus My wyfe Faustine saluteth thee And in her beehalf and myne recommend vs to thy fayre doughter in law Solophonia and thy doughter Amilda Marke of mount Celio writeth to thee Torquate with his own hand ¶ Prynces and noble men ought not to beare wyth iugglers iesters parasytes and common players nor wyth any such kynde of raskals and loyterers And of the laws whych the Romayns made in thys beehalf Cap. xliij LIcurgus Promotheus Solon and Numa Pompilius famous inuenters and ordeyners of laws shewed the subtilty of their wittes and the zeale which they had to their people in ordeining many laws which they taught not only what they ought to doo but that which they ought to fly For the good and expert phisicions doo deserue more praise to preserue vs beefore wee are sick then to heale vs after wee are diseased Plutarche in his apothegmes neuer ceaseth to exalt the Lacedemonians saying that when they did obserue their laws they were the most esteemed of al the greekes and after that they brake them they were the most vylest subiects which euer the Romains had The felicity or infelicity of realms dooth not consist to haue good or euil laws but to haue good or euill princes For litle profyteth vs the law to bee iust if the kyng bee wicked Sextus Cheronensis in the life of Nerua sayth when the romayns and the Greekes had warres togethers that the imbassadours of these two nations were at controuersy which of them shoold haue the Rhodiens to bee their frends the Greeke embassadour said to the Romayn Yee ought not to make your selues egall O Romayns with the Greekes sins the troth is that yee came from Rome to Greece to seeke laws The romain embassadour aunswered him I graunt thee that from Rome wee sent to seeke laws in Greece but thou wilt not denay that from Greece you haue brought the vices to Rome I say vnto thee the trouth that without comparison greater domage haue the vices doon vnto vs then your laws hath profyted vs. Plutarche in an epistle hee wrate to Traiane sayd these woords Thow writest vnto mee most noble prynce that thou art occupyed in ordeyning new laws but in my oppinion it had been much better that thou hadst kept caused to bee kept the old For lytle profyteth it to haue the bookes full of good laws and that the common wealth bee full of euill customes I haue seene very few Princes but to make laws they had hability sufficient and to keep them they haue felt in them selues great debylity and weaknesse Hereof wee haue example For Nero was hee which made the best laws in Rome and that afterwards of lyfe was most corrupt For the gods oftentimes permit that by the hands of some euill men the others shoold bee constrained to bee
to take if ther by hee think hee may bee healed I pray thee I exhort thee I aduise thee my soÌ„ne that thy youth beeleue mine age thy ignorancy beeleue my knowledge thy sleepe beeleue my watch the dimnes of thy eyes beeleue the clearnes of my sight thy imaginacioÌ„ beeleue my vertue thy suspicion beeleue my experieÌ„ce For otherwise one day thou shalt see thy selfe in soÌ„e distresse where smal time thou shalt haue to repent none to find remedy Thou maist say vnto mee my sonne that sins I haue beene yong I let thee to bee yong that when thou shall bee aged thou wilt ameÌ„d I answer thee that if thou wilt liue as yong yet at the least gouerne thy self as old In a prince which gouerneth his common wealth wel mani myseries are dissembled of his parson Euen as for mighty affaires ripe couÌ„sayles are necessary so to endure the troubles of the empire the person needeth some recreacion For the bowe string which always is stretched either it lengthneth or it breaketh Whether princes bee yong or old there can bee nothing more iust then for the recreacioÌ„ of them selues to seeke some honest pastimes And not without a cause I say that they bee honest For sometimes they accompany with so dishonest persons and so vnthrifty that they spend their goods they loose their honor weary their persons more than if they were occupied in the affaires of the common wealth For thy youth I leaue thee children of great lords with whom thou maist past the tyme away And not without cause I haue prouided that with thee they haue beene brought vp from thy infancy For after thou camest to mannes estate enheriting my goods if perchauÌ„ce thou wooldst accompany thy selfe with yong men thou shouldst find them well learned For thy warres I leaue thee valiaunt captaines though indeede things of war are beegoon by wisdome yet in the end the issue faleth out by fortune For stuards of thy treasures I leaue thee faithful men And not wtout cause I say they are faythfull For oftentimes greater are the theeues which are receyuers tresorers then are they that doo robbe among the people I leaue thee my sonne expert auncieÌ„t men of whome thou maist take couÌ„saile with whome the maist coÌ„municat thy trobles For there can bee fourmed no honest thing in a prince vnlesse hee hath in his coÌ„pany auncieÌ„t men for such geeue grauity to his parsoÌ„ auctority to his pallace To inueÌ„t theaters to fish ponds to chase wild beasts in the forrests to renne in the fyelds to let thy haukes fly to exercise weapoÌ„s al these things wee can deny thee as to a yong maÌ„ the beeing yong mayst reioyce thy self in al these Thou oughtst also to haue respect that to ordeine armies inueÌ„t warrs folow victories accept truces coÌ„firm peace raise brutes to make laws to promote the one put downe the others to punish the euill first to reward the good the counsaile of al these things ought to bee taken of cleare iudgements of persons of experience of white heads Thinkest thou not that it is possible to passe the time with the yong to counsail with the old The wise and discreete princes for all things haue time inough if they know well how to measure it Bee ware my sonne that they note thee not to vse great extremities For the end occasion why I speake it is beecause thou shouldst know if thou knowest not that it is as vndecent a thing for a prince vnder the colour of grauity to bee ruled gouerned wholy by old men as vnder semblaunce of pastime alwayes to accompany hym selfe with the yong It is no general rule that all yong men are light nor all old men sage And thou must according to my aduise in such case vse it thus if ani old man lose the grauity of his age expulse him from the if that find any yong men sage dispise not their counsaile For the bees doo draw more hony out of the tender flowers then of the hard leaues I doo not condemne the aged nor I doo commend the yong but it shal bee wel doone that alwayes thou choose of both the most vertuous For of troth there is no company in the world so euil ordered but that there is meane to liue with it without any suspicion so that if the yong are euil with folly the old are worse through couetousnes On s againe I retourne to aduertise thee my sonne that in no wise thou vse extremity For if thou beeleeue none but yong they will corrupt thy maners with lightnes if thou beeleeue none but the old they will depraue thy iustice through couetousnes What thing can bee more monstruous then that the prince which commaundeth all should suffer him to bee commaunded of one alone Beeleeue mee sonne in this case that the gouernments of many are seldome times gouerned wel by the head of one alone The prince which hath to rule gouerne many ought to take the aduise and counsaile of many It is a great inconuenience that thou beeing lord of many realmes shouldst haue but one gate wherin all doo enter into to doo their busines with thee For if perchauÌ„ce hee which shall bee thy familiar bee of his owne nature good and bee not mine enemy yet I would bee afraid of him beecause hee is a freend of mine enemies And though for hate they doo mee no euil yet I am afraid that for the loue of an other hee will cease to doo mee good I remember that in the annalles of Pompeius I found a litle booke of memoryes which the great Pompeiê° bare about him wherin were many things that hee had read other good counsayles which in diuers parts of the world hee had learned and among other words there were these The gouernour of the common wealth which committeth al the gouernment to old men deserueth very litle hee that trusteth al yong is light Hee that gouerneth it by him selfe alone is beeyonde him self hee which by him self others doo gouerne it is a wise prince I know not whither these sentences are of the same Pompeius or that hee gathered them out of soome booke or that any philosopher had told him them or some freend of his had geeuen him them I meane that I had them writteÌ„ with his hands and truely they deserued to bee written in letters of gold When thy affaires shal bee weighty see thou dispatche theym alwayes by counsayle For when the affaires bee determined by the counsaile of many the fault shal bee deuided among them all Thou shalt find it for a truth my sonne that if thou take counsaile of many the one wil tel the inconuenience the other the peril other the feare the other the domage the other the profit the other the remedy finally they will so debate thy affaires that playnly thou shalt know the good see the daunger therof I
saluation the euil gotten good a cause of his eternal dānation More ouer yet what toyle and trauayl is it to the body of the man how much more perill to the liuing soule when hee consumeth his hole days and life in wordly broile and yet seely man hee can not absent him self from that vile drudgery till death dooth sommon him to yeeld vp his accoūt of his lief and dooings And now to conclude my prologue I say this booke is deuided into two parts that is to weete in the first tenne chapters is declared how the new come courtier shall beehaue him self in the princes court to winne fauor credit with the prince the surplus of the woork treateth when hee hath atcheeued to his princes fauor acquired the credyt of a worthy courtier how hee shal then continew the same to his further aduaūcement And I doubt no whit but that my lords gentlemen of court wil take pleasure to read it and namely such as are princes familiars and beeloued of court shall mostly reap profyt thereby putting the good lessons aduertisements they fynd heretofore writen in execucion For to the yong courtiers it sheweth them what they haue to doo putteth in remembraunce also the old fauored courtier lyuing in his princes grace of that hee hath to bee circūspect of And fynally I conclude sir that of al the treasors riches gyfts fauors prosperities pleasures seruices greatnes power that you haue possesse in this mortal transitory life by the faith of a christian I sweare vnto you also that you shal cary no more with you then the onely time which you haue wel vertuously emploied during this your pilgrimage ¶ The Argument of the booke entituled the fauored courtier wheare the author sheweth the intent of his woork exhorting all men to read and study good and vertuous bookes vtterly reiectyng fables and vayn trifflyng stories of small doctrine erudicion AVlus Gelius in his booke De noctibus atticis sayeth that after the death of the great poet Homer seuen famous Cyties of Greece were in great controuersy one with the other ech one of them affirmyng that by reason the bones of the sayd poet was theirs and onely apperteined to them all seuen takyng their othes that hee was not onely born but also norished and brought vp in euery one of them And this they did supposing that they neuer had so great honor in any thing but that this was farre greater to haue educated so excellent and rare a man as hee was Euripides also the philosopher born and brought vp in Athens trauayling in the realme of Macedonia was sodeynly striken with death which wofull newes no sooner came to the Athenians ears declared for a trouth but with al expedicion they depeached an honorable imbasy onely to intreat the Lacedemonians to bee contented to deliuer them the bones of the sayd philosopher protesting to them that if they woold franckly graunt them they woold regratify that pleasure done them and if they woold deny them they should assure them selues they woold come to demaund them with sweord in hand Kyng Demetrius held Rhodes beesyged long tyme which at length hee wanne by force of armes and the Rhodians beeing so stubborn that they would not yeeld by composition nor trust to his princely clemency hee commaunded to strike of all the Rhodians heads and to rase the cyty to the hard foundacions But when hee was let vnderstand that there was euen then in the cyty Prothogenes a phylosopher and paynter doutyng least in executyng others hee allso vnknowen myght bee put to the sweord reuoked his cruel sentence and gaue straight commaundement foorthwith they should cease to spoyle and deface the town further and also to stay the slaughter of the rest of the Rhodiens The diuine Plato beeing in Athens aduertised that in the cyty of Damasco in the realme of Palestine were certayn bookes of great antiquity whych a philosopher born of that countrey left beehynd hym there when hee vnderstoode it to bee true went thither immediatly led with the great desyre hee had to see them and purposely if they dyd lyke him afterwards to buy them And when hee saw that neyther at his sute nor at the requests of others hee could obtein them but that hee must buy them at a great price Plato went and sold all his patrimony to recouer them and his own not beeing sufficient hee was fayn to borrow vpon interest of the cōmon treasory to help him So that notwithstanding hee was so profound and rare a philosopher as in deede hee was yet hee woold sell all that small substaunce hee had only to see as hee thought some prety new thing more of philosophy As Ptholomeus Philadelphus kyng of Egipt not contented to bee so wise in al sciences as hee was nor to haue in his library .8000 bookes as hee had nor to study at the least .4 howers in the day nor ordinaryly to dispute at his meales wyth philosophers sent neuertheles an imbassage of noble men to the Ebrews to desire them they woold bee contented to send him some of the best lerned and wisest men among them to teach him the Ebrew tongue to read to him the bookes of their laws When Alexander the great was born his father kyng Phillippe wrote a notable letter immediatly to Aristottle among other matters hee wrote there were these I doo thee to weete O greatest philosopher Aristotle if thou knowst it not that Olimpias my wife is brought to bed of a sonne for which incessantly I geeue the gods immortal thanks not so much that I haue a sonne as for that they haue geeuen him mee in thy tyme. For I am assured hee shal profit more with the doctrine thou shalt teach him thē hee shal preuail with the kingdoms I shal leaue him after mee Now by the examples aboue recited and by many more we coold alledge wee may easly consider with what reuerence and honor the auncient kyngs vsed the learned and vertuous men of their tyme. And wee may also more playnly see it syth then they held in greater price and estimacion the bones of a dead philosopher then they doo now the doctrine of the best learned of our time And not without iust occasiō dyd these famous heroycal princes ioy to haue at home in their houses abrode with them in the feeld such wise learned men whilst they liued after they were dead to honor their bones and carcases and in dooing this they erred not a iot For who so euer accompanieth continually with graue wise men enioyeth this benefit and priuiledge beefore others that hee shall neuer bee counted ignorant of any Therefore continuing still our fyrst purpose let vs say that who so euer will professe the company of sober and wise men yt can not otherwise bee but hee must maruelously profyt by their comapny For beeing in their company they will put all
vain and dishonest thoughts from him they will teach him to subdue and resyst all sodein passions and motions moued of choller by them they shal winne good frends and learn also neuer to bee troublesome or enemy to any they will make him forsake all sinne and vice declaring to him what good woorks hee shall follow and what hee shal most fly and eschew they will let him vnderstand how hee shall humble and beehaue him self in prosperity and they will also comfort him in his aduersity to keepe him from all sorow and dispayre For though a man bee neuer so carefull and circumspect yet hath hee always neede of the councell of an other in his affaires if therefore such person haue not about him good vertuous sage men how can it otherways bee but that hee must stumble oft and fall down right on his face hauing no man to ayd or help him Paulus Diaconus sayeth that albeeit the Affricans were wylde and brutish people yet had they withstandyng a law amongst them that the senators amongst them coold choose no other senator if at the electiō there were not present a philosopher So it happened one day amongst the rest that of many philosophers they had in Carthage amongst them was one named Apolonius Who ruled for the space of three score and two years all their senat with great quyet and to the contentacion of all the senators which to shew them selues thankfull to him erected in the market place so many images of him as he had gouerned their common weale years to the end the fame and memory of hym should bee immortall and yet they dyd dedycate to their famous Anniball but onely one image and to this philosopher they set vp aboue three score Alexander the great when hee was most bent to bluddy warres went to see and speak with Diogenes the philosoper offring him great presents and discoursyng with him of dyuers matters So that wee may iustly say this good prince of hym self tooke payns to seek out wise men to accompany him electing by others choise and aduise all such as hee made his captayns to serue him in the warres It is manyfest to all that Dionisius the Siracusan was the greatest tyraunt in the world and yet notwithstanding his tyranny it is a wonder to see the sage and wise men hee had continually in his court with him that that makes vs yet more to wonder of him is that hee had them not about him to serue him or to profyt one iot by their doctrine and councell but onely for his honor and their profyt which enforceth mee to say concurring with this example that syth tyrants dyd glory to haue about them wise woorthy men much more shoold those reioyce that in their woorks and deedes are noble and free harted And this they ought to doo not onely to bee honored with them openly but also to bee holpen with their doctrine councels secretly And if to some this shoold seeme a hard thyng to follow wee will say that woorthy men not beeing of ability and power to mainteyn such wise men ought yet at least to vse to read at tymes good and vertuous bookes For by readyng of bookes they reap infynyt profyt as for example by readyng as I say these good authors the desire is satisfyed their iugement is quickned idlenes is put away the hart is disburdened the time is well imployed and they lead their lyfe vertuously not beeing bound to render account of so many faults as in that tyme they myght haue committed And to conclude it is so good an exercise as it geeueth good examples to the neyghbor profyt to hym self and health to the soule Wee see by experience after a man taketh vppon hym once the study of holy scriptures and that hee frameth hym self to bee a diuyne hee will neuer wyllyngly thencefoorth deale in other studies and all beecause hee will not forgoe the great pleasure hee receyueth to read those holly sayyngs And that causeth that wee see so many learned and wise men for the more part subiect to dyuers diseases and full of melancoly humors For so sweete is the delight they take in their bookes that they forget and leaue al other bodely pleasure And therefore Plutarke wryteth that certayn Phylosophers beeing one day met at the lodgyng of Plato to see hym and demaūdyng him what exercise hee had at that tyme Plato aunswered them thus Truely my brethern I let you know that euen now my onely exercise was to see what the great poet Homer sayd And this hee told them beecause they tooke hym euen then readyng of some of Homers bookes and to say truly hys aunswer was such as they shoold all looke for of hym For to read a good booke in effect is nothyng els but to heare a wyse man speak And yf this our iudgement and aduise seeme good vnto you wee would yet say more that you shoold profyt more to read one of these bookes then yow should to heare speak or to haue conference wyth the autor hym self that made yt For it is wythout doubt that all wryters haue more care and respect in that their penne dooth wryte then they haue in that their tongue dooth vtter And to the end you should not thynk wee can not proue that trew that wee haue spoken I doo you to wytte that euery autor that wyll wryte to publysh hys dooyng in prynt to lay yt to the shew and iudgement of the world and that desyreth thereby to acquire honor and fame and to eternyse the memory of hym turneth many bookes conferreth wyth other wyse and learned men addycteth hym self wholly to hys booke indeuoureth to vnderstand well oft refuseth sleepe meat and drynk quyckneth hys spyrits dooyng that hee putteth in wrytyng exactly with long aduise and consideracion whych hee dooth not when hee dooth but only speak and vtter them though oft in deede by reason of his great knowledge in speach vnwares there falleth out of hys mouth many goodly and wise sentences And therefore god hath geeuen hym a goodly gift that can read and hym much more that hath a desyre to studdy knowyng how to choose the good bookes from the euill For to say the troth there is not in this world any state or exercyse more honorable and profytable then the study of good bookes And wee are much bound to those that read more to those that study and much more to those that wryte any thing but mostly doubtles to those that make compile goodly bookes those of great and hye doctrine For there are many vayn and fond bookes that rather deserue to bee throwen in the fyer then once to bee read or looked on For they doo not onely shew vs the way to mock thē but also the ready mean to offend vs to see them occupy their brayns best wyttes they haue to write foolish and vayn thyngs of no good subiect or erudicion And that that is woorst of al yet
him A pilgrime or traueler shal come into a citty wheare hee shal see fayre goodly churches stately buyldinges rich gates high walles pauid streates large market places prouision enough aboundaunce of vittells and nombers of strangers and when hee hath seene all this hee dooth so litle esteeme of thē that to retorne agayne to his poore home hee trauelleth though it bee all the night And therfor wee should not wōder at those that doo not greatly stray from their howse and that are but seldome in many places but wee might well haue him in suspition that continually wandreth through strange contries and howses For notwithstāding the great wonders hee seeth and the greate conuersation of amity that hee hath or can fynde yet in the end they are only the eies that are fed with the sight of others thinges not the hart that is contented with his owne and also to see in princes courts great treasure ritches brings vs comonly more greefe then delight And the more his eye is fed with viewe of the faire dames of court princely pomp therof the greater sorrow assaulteth his harte hee may not still enioy the same And therfor the Renoumed Focion the Athenian captain aunswered once certaine men that said there were to bee solde in the markett place of Athens goodly stones rich Ieweles woorthi the sight howbeeit hard to bee bought beeing held at so hie a price by the marchant that sold thē From my first youth sayd this philosopher I made an oth neuer to goe see any city onles it were to conquer yt yeld yt subiect to mee nor to go see Iewels that I could not buy The great emperor Traian was much comended for that hee neuer tooke toy in his head to go see any thing but for one of these three causes to weete ether to imitate that hee sawe to bye yt or els clerely to conquer yt O worthy words of Focion and Traian very meete to bee noted retained Now to speake more particularly of the trobles daily heaped on their necks that folow court that are to bee lodged in dyuers places and straunge howses I say that if the poore courtier doo depart at night from the court to repaire to his lodging hee fyndeth oft tymes the host of his howse and other his guestes at home alreadie in theire beds and fast asleepe so that it hapneth somtimes hee is fayne to go seeke his bed in an other place for that night And also if hee should rise early in the morning to followe his matters or to wayte vpon his lord our master his host perhaps and his howsehold are not yet awake nor slurring to opē him the doore And further if his host bee angry displeased out of time who shall let him to lock his doores the day once shutt in and who should cōpell him to open his doores beefore brode day Truly it is a great happ to bee wel lodged aboute the courte much more to meete with an honest host For it hapneth oft that the great pleasure and contentacion wee receiue beeing lodged in a faier lodging is lightly taken from vs by the hard intreatie and straight vsage of the host of the same And in this is apparant the vanity fondnes and lightnes of some courtiers that rather desier seeke for a fayre pleasant lodging then for a good and profitable The ambition of the courtier is now growne to so great a soly that hee desireth rather a fayr lodging for his pleasure then a comodious or profitable for his family For admit the harbinger doo geeue them a good and comodious lodging if yt bee not sightly to the eye stand comodiously they can not lyke of yt by no meanes So that to content them the fouriers must needs prouide them of a faire lodging to the eye though litel handsome to lodge in and yet somtymes they wil hard scāt bee pleased with that And if the courtier bee of reputaciō and beeloued in court I pray you what paine and troble shall the poore harbinger haue to content his mynd and to continew in his fauor For beefor master courtier wil bee resolued which of the .ii. lodgings hee will take the fayre and most honorable or the meane most profitable hee bleedeth at the nose for anger and his hart beats and leapes a thowsand tymes in his body For his person would haue the good and comodious lodging his folly the pleasant fayr I neuer sawe dead man complaine of his graue nor courtier content with his lodging For if they geeue him a hall hee will say it wanteth a chimny if they geeue him a chamber hee will say yt lacketh an inner chamber if they geeue him a kitchin hee wil say it is to lowe smoky and that yt wanteth a larder if they geeue him a stable that it wanteth a spence or storehowse if they geeue him the best cheefest partes of the howse yet hee saieth he wanteth small litell houses of office if hee haue accesse to the wel hee must also haue the comodity of the base court And in fyne if they geeue him a low paued hall to coole refreshe him in sommer hee wil also haue a high boorded chamber for the winter possible hee shall not haue so many roomes at home in his owne howse as hee will demaund in his lodging abrode And therfor many things suffereth the courtier in his owne howse that hee wil not beare with al in an inne or an other mans howse And it may bee also that the harbingers haue prouided them of a fayr goodly lodging wheare hee shall comaund both master Stuff and al other things in the howse yet the courtier shal mislike of it fynding faulte it is to farre from the courte reputeth yt halfe a dishonor impayr of his credit to bee lodged so farre of synce others that are beeloued in fauor in court in deede lye hard adioining to the court or at the least not farr of For this is an old sayd troth the neerest lodged to the court comōly the best esteemed of the prince I haue seen many courtiers offer large giftes rewardes to intreat the harbingers to lodge thē neere the court but I neuer saw any that desyred to bee lodged neere the churche this cometh for that thei rather glory to bee right courtiers thē good christians And therfore Blondus reciteth in his booke De declinatione imperii that a gretian called Narsetes a captaine of Iustinian the great was wōt to say oft that hee neuer remēbred hee wēt to the sea nor ētred into the pallace nor beegā any battaile nor coūceled of warres nor mounted a horse back but that first hee went to the church seruid god And therfor by the dooings saiyngs of Narsetes wee may gather that euery good man ought rather to incline to bee a good christien thē to geeue him self to armes
also his apparel and seruants that follow him And I mislike one thing very much that about the court they doo rather honor and reuerence a man braue and sumptuous in apparell being vitious then they doo a man that is graue wise and vertuous And yet neuerthelesse the courtier may assure him self of this that few will esteeme of him ether for that hee is vertuous or nobly borne if hee bee not al so sumptuously apparelled and well accompanied for then only will euery man account and esteeme of him Wherfor I durst take vpon mee to sweare if yt were possible to take oth of our bodyes that they would swere they needed them not much lesse desier so large compassed gownes that euery puff of wynd myght swell them as the sayles of a shippe nether so long that trailyng on the groūd they gather dust and cast it into our eyes Howbeeit I think now adayes these fine men weare then large and wyde and women long with traynes vpon the grounde because in the court and els where no man makes reckning of him that spendeth but orderly and onely vpon necessaries to go clenly withall but him they set by that is prodigall excessiue and superfluous And who that in his dooings and apparell is moderate and proceedeth wisely they hold him in court for a miserable and couetous man and contrarily hee that is prodigall and lauish in expence him they count a noble and worthy person Albeeit the courtier come of a noble house and that hee bee yong of yeares ritch and welthy yet would I lyke better hee should vse rather a certain meane and measure in his apparell wering that that is comly and gentilman like then others of most cost and worship For like as they would count hym a foole for wering that hee could not pay for So they likewise would thinke him simple if hee ware not that that become hym and that hee might easely come by His apparell should bee agreable with his yeares that is to say on the holly dayes some more richer and brauer then on the woorkydayes and in the winter of the whottest furrs in the somer lyght garments of sattin and damask and to ryde with some others of lesser price and more durable For as the wisdome of man is knowen by his speakyng so is hys dyscretyon decerned by his apparell Let not the poore courtyer studdy to weare or deuyse any new or strange fashioned garment for if hee bee of that humor hee shall quickly vndoo him selfe and geeue others occasion also to follow his light and vayne inuention There are now adays found out so many strange wayes to dresse meate and so many fasshions and paterns of apparell that now they haue vniuersities of taylers and cookes What more greater vanity and lightnes can there bee then this that they wil not suffer the mothers gownes to bee made fyt for their doughters saieng that they are old and out of fashion and that they vse now a new kynd of apparel attire farre from the old maner And not withstanding these gownes bee it in maner new good hole cleane ritch and well made and without weme yet their doughters must needes haue new gownes at their mariadge So that wee may aptly say that a new folly seekes alwayes a newe gowne namely when they are light persons without wyt and discretion And I pray you is it not a goodly sight in the court to see a foolish courtier weare a demie cappe scant to couer his crowne of his head to haue his bearde marquizottyd a payr of parfumed gloues on his handes his shooes cut after the best fasshion a litel cutted cape his hose faire pulled out his dublet sleues brauely cut and pinct his rapier and his dagger guilted by his syde and then on the other syde the pestilens of peny hee hath in his purse to blesse him with and beesides hee is deepe in the marchaunts booke for all those things hee hath taken vp of credit of him Their nagges foote clothes would not bee so litell and narrow that should seeme a friars hoode nether so great and large as the foote clothes of bisshops moyles Also the courtier must see that his footecloth bee good hole cleane and without spot not tattered seame rent This wee speake beecause there are soome myserable courtiers that haue their foote clothes thred bare broken and seame rent foule and durty narro and all digged full of holes with theire spurres And therfore no man deseruith to bee called a right courtier onles hee bee fine and nete in his apparell hee weareth also courteous and ciuill in his words and enterteinment And yet touching the rest of the furniture of their horse or gelding their harnes and trappers must bee kept black and cleane and they must looke that the reynes of the bridel bee not broken nor vnsowed which I speake not without cause for there are a nomber of courtiers that at primero will not stick to set vp a iest of a .100 or .200 crownes yet will think much to geeue their poore horskeepers twelue pence to by them a payr of raynes And truly the courtier in my iudgement that is content to tye his hose with vntagged poynts to see his fier smoke whē hee should warme him to ride with brokē reynes and to cut his meat at the table with a rusty knife I would think him base borne and rudely brought vp When the courtier will ryde his horse let him looke euer beefore hee take his back that hee haue all his furniture fyt for him his mayne and taile fynely comed his styrrops bright glistering his stirrop leathers stronge and his sadell well stuffed aboue all let him sitt vpright in his seate and cary his boddy euen swaruing of nether syde holding his legges still and keepe his stirrope For this name to bee called Chiuallier signifieth in our tongue a rider of a horse came first beecause hee could ride and manedge his horse wel And whē hee would sturre his legges to spurre his horse let him beeware hee stoupe not forwards with his boddy and when hee dooth spurre his horse let him not spurre him low but hye in the flanckes and whether hee will runne or stand still with his horse let him alwaies haue his eye vpō the raines that in no case the raines go out of his hand And in geeuing his horse a carere let him not writh his body nor bee to busie in beating or spurring his horse oft For in his carrire to know when to spurre him when to geeue him heade or to pull him back againe and to stoppe him I haue seene many take yt vpon them but fewe in deede that euer were skillfull and could do yt wel Now the courtyer beeing mounted on horse or moile without his rapier by his syde seemeth rather a phisition that goth to visite his sick pacients then a gentilman of the court that for his pleasure and disport rideth abrode through the
sodeinly to rise in fauor and to bee rich al in short time By thys I inferre that the wise man euer desireth first to bee in fauor before hee couet to bee rich but the foole Ideot desireth first to bee rich then in fauor last Not few but many wee haue seen in princes courts which though fortune in short time hath exalted to the first degree of riches made theÌ„ cheefe in fauor yet wtin short space after shee hath made theÌ„ also lose their riches fal from the top of their honor It is most certain that if one haue enemies in the court onely for that hee is infauor hee shal haue as many moe if beeing in fauor hee bee also rich For wee are al of so ill a condicion in things that touch our particular profyt that all that wee see geeuen to others wee think sodeinly taken away from our selues Wee haue heretofore sayd that it is not fit for the courtier and those that are in fauor to coÌ„maund for his profit al that hee list neither al those that hee may And wee now at this present also aduise them to take heede that they doo not accept take al that is offered preseÌ„ted although they may lawfully doo it For if hee bee not wise in coÌ„mauÌ„ding moderatin taking a day might come that he should see himself in such extremity that hee should bee inforced to cal his frends not to couÌ„sel him but rather to help succor him It is true that it is a natural thing for a courtier that hath 20. crownes in his purse to desire sodeinly to multiply it to a .100 from a .100 to .200 froÌ„ 200. to a .1000 froÌ„ a .1000 to 2000. and from .2000 to 10000. So that this poore wretched creature is so blinded in couetousnes that hee knowth not nor feeleth not that as this auar ce ê¯tinually increaseth augmenteth in him so his life dayly diminisheth and decreaseth beesides that that euery man mocks scornes him that thinketh the true coÌ„tentacion consisteth in commaunding of many in the faculty of possessing much riches For to say truly it is not so but rather disordinat riches troubleth greeueth the true contentacion of men and awaketh euer in them dayly a more appetite of couetousnes Wee haue seen many courtiers rich beloued but none in deede that euer was contented or wearied with commaunding but rather his life should faile him then couetousnes O how many haue I seene in the court whose legges nor feete haue ben able to cary them nor their body strong inough to stand alone nor their hands able to wryte nor their sight hath serued them to see to read nor their teeth to speak neither their iawes to eat nor their eares to heare nor their memory to trauaile in any suyt or matter yet haue not their tongue fayled them to require presents and gifts of the prince neither deepe and fyne wit to practise in court for his most auaile and vantage So incurable is the disease and plague of auarice that hee that is sick of that infirmity can not bee healed neither with pouerty nor yet bee remedied with riches Sence this contagious malady and apparant dauÌ„ger is now so commonly knowen and that it is crept into courtiers and such as are in high fauor and great autoritie by reason of this vile sinne of auarice I would counsell him rather to apply him self to bee well thought of and esteemed then to endeuor to haue inough Albeit Queene Semiramis was wife to king Belius and mother of king Ninus and although by nature shee was made a woman yet had shee a hart neuer other wise but valiaunt and noble For after shee was wyddow shee made her self lord by force of armes of the great India and conquered all Asia and in her life time caused a goodly tombe to bee made wheare shee would lyfe after her death and about the which shee caused to bee grauen in golden letters these woords VVho longs to swell with masse of shining gold and craues to catch such wealth as few possest This stately tomb let him in haste vnfold where endles hopes of hatefull coyne doo rest Many days and kings reignes past before any durst open this sepulker vntill the comming of the great Cyrus who commaunded it to bee opened And beeing reported to him by those that had the charge to seeke the treasure that they had sought to the bottomles pyt and wolrds end but treasure they coold fynd none nor any other thing saue a stone wherein were grauen these woordes Ah haples knight whose high distraughted mynd by follies play abused was so â—ych that secret tombs the care as could not bynd but thow wouldst reaue them vp for to be rich Plutarke and also Herodotus which haue both writen this history of Semiramis doo shew affirm that Queene Semiramis got great honor by this gest kyng Cyrus great shame dishonor If courtiers that are rych think beleeue that for that they haue money inough at their wil that therefore they should bee farre from al troubles miseries they are farre deceiued For if the poore soul toile hale his body to get him only that that hee needeth much more dooth the rich maÌ„ torment burn his hart til he bee resolued which way to spend that superfluous hee hath Ihesu what a thing is it to see a rich man how hee tormenteth him self night day imagyning deuising with him self whether hee shal with that money that is left buy leases mills or houses aÌ„nuities vines or cloth laÌ„ds tenemeÌ„ts or pastures or some thing in fee or whether he shal eÌ„rich his soÌ„ne with the thirdes or fifts after al these vain thoughts gods wil is to stryke him with deth sodeinly not onely before he haue determined how hee should lay out or spend this money but also before hee haue made his will I haue many times told it to my frends yea preached it to them in the pulpit and wrytten yt also in my bookes that it is farre greater trouble to spend the goods of this world wel and as they ought to bee spent then it is to get them For they are gotten wyth swet and spent with cares Hee that hath no more then hee needeth it is hee that knoweth wel how to part from them to spend theÌ„ but hee that hath abundaÌ„s more then needeful dooth neuer resolue what hee should doo Whereof followeth many times that those which in his life time were enemies to hym shall happeÌ„ to bee heires after his death of all the goods money hee hath It is a most suer certain custome among mortal men that commonly those that are rych men while they are aliue spend more money vaynly in things they would not that they haue no pleasure in where in they would least lay it out and after their death they leaue the most part of their inheritance
nor by slyght of wytt procured to deceyue or begyle nether hee called his frends to help hym to withstand his enemies but only craued remedy against his vnhonest and vaine desires And vndoubtedly hee had reason For a man may easely absent hym selfe frō his enymys but to fly from hym selfe it is an impossible thing And therfor mee thinkes it is a thing more to bee lamented then writtē to see that a multitude of corporall enymes cannot vanquish and ouercome vs and yet notwithstanding when wee are alone and think nothing of it this only vice of the flesh doth not alone make vs stumble but fall downe ryte on the ground For nether to become religious a priest a fryer nor to dwell in churches nor to bee shut vp in cloysters to sequester our selues from the world nor to chaūge state and condition For all this I saye I see none of all these things helpe vs mortall mē to defend vs from this vyce and sinne But the further wee seeke to fly from yt the more danger wee find to fal in to it And albeit to auoide other vices and synnes it shall suffise vs to bee admonished yet against that alone of the flesh it behoueth vs to bee armed For ther is no synne in the world but that there are meanes for mē to auoid it this only excepted of the flesh where with all wee are ouercome and taken prysoners And to proue this true it is aparant thus Where rayneth pryde but amongst the potentates where enuy but amongst equalls anger but amongst the impatient glotony but amongst gourmans auarice but amongest the rych slothe but amongest the idle And yet for all these the synne of the flesh generally raigneth in al men And therfore for not resisting this abhominable vice wee haue seene Kings lose ther Kyngdoms noblemen ther landes and possessiōs the maried wiues their auowed fayth the religion nonnes their professed virginity so that wee may compare this synne to the nature and condicion of the venomus serpent which beeing aliue stings vs and after hee is dead offendeth vs with his noysome stink Examples by Dauid who for all his wisedom could not preuayl against that synne nor Salomon for al his great knowledge nor Absolon for al his diuine bewty nor Sampson with his mighty force which notwtstanding the great fame they had for their renowmed vertues yet thorough this onely defect they lost al accōpaniyng with harlots licencious weomen Into which shameful felowship fel also Holofernes Annibal Ptholomeus Pirrhus Iulius Cesar Augustus Marcus Antonius Seuerus and Theodotius many other great princes with these aboue recyted the most part of the which wee haue seene depriued of their crownes and afterwards them selues haue come to their vtter shame dishonor on their knees to yeeld them selues to the mercy of these their infamed louers crauing pardō forgeeuenes Many graue writers of the Gretians say that the imbassadors of Lidia comming one day into the chamber of Hercules vpon a sode in to speak with him they found him lying in his curtesans lap shee pulling his rings of on his fyngers hee dressed on hys head with her womenly attier shee in exchange on hers beedect with his royal crown They write also of Denis the Siracusan that albeeit of nature hee was more cruel then the wilde beast yet hee beecame in the end so tractable pleasant by the meanes of a curtisan his frend called Mirta that shee onely did confirme al the prouisions depeches of the affaires of the weale publike hee onely did but ordein and appoint them And if the histories written of the Gothes deceyue vs not wee fynd that Antenaricus the famous kyng of the Gothes after hee had triumphed of Italy that hee had made hymself lord of all Europe hee beecame so farre in loue with a louer of his called Pincia◠that whilst shee combo his head hee made clean her slippers Also Themistocles the most famous captain of the Greekes was so enamored of a woman hee had taken in the warrs of Epirus that shee beeing afterwards very sick when shee purged her self hee woolde also bee purged with her if shee were let blood hee would also bee let blood yet that that is woorst to bee lyked is that hee washed his face with that blood that came out of her arme so that they might truly say though shee were his prisoner yet hee was also her slaue subiect When Kyng Demetrius had takē Rhodes there was brought to him a faire gentlewoman of the cyty which hee made his frend in loue this loue beetwixt them by tyme grew so great that shee shewing her selue vpō a time to bee angry with Demetrius refusing to sit nere him at the table also to ly with him Demetrius vtterly forgetting him self royal estate did not only on his knees pray her to pardō him but also imbrasing her cōueighed her in his armes īto his chamber Myronides the Gretian albeeit hee had made subiect to hym the Kingdome of Boetia yet was hee notwithstanding made subiect with the loue of Numidia his louer Hee enflamed thus with loue of her shee like wise striken with couetous desire of his goods in fine they agreed that hee should geeue her al the spoyle hee had wonne in the warres of Boetia that shee shoold let him lye with her in her house onely one night Annibal made warres seuenteen yeares with the romains in all that time hee was neuer vanquished till that hee was ouercome with the loue of a yong mayden in the City of Capua which prooued a most bitter loue to him sith thereby it happened that where as hee had so many yeares kept in subiection all Italy hee now was made a subiect at home in his own country Plutarke in his booke De republica writeth that Phalaris the tirant woold neuer graunt a man any thing hee desired nether euer denied any thing that a dissolute woman requested No smal but great disorder happened to the comon weale of Rome by the occasion of the Emperor Calligula who gaue but 6000. sexterces onely to repaire the wals of Rome gaue otherwise for surring one gown alone of his lemans a 10000 sexterces By al these exāples aboue resyted wee may easely vnderstād how daungerous a thing it is for the courtier to haue frendship acquaintance with weomen of so vyld a faculty For the woman is of like quality that a knot tyed of cords is which is easely tyed of sundry knots and very hardly afterwards to bee vndoon agayn Heretofore wee haue beesought courtiers the fauored of princes that they shoold not bee so liberall in cōmaunding now once agayn wee pray them to bee ware of fornication adultry for albeeit this sinne of the flesh bee not the greatest in faut yet is it the most daūgerous in fame There is no King prelat nor knight in this world so vicious and dishonest of life but
prince is neuer well obeied onelesse he hath good credēce among his people I say this Faustine because you do one thing in secrete say another openly herein faileth the credence of so high a lady putteth in suspect the auctority of so great an empire If you suppose my good desires be sinister in your hart for the wealth of your owne children how should we hope then in any of your good workes for the children of straungers It semeth to you better to giue your doughter to them that demaund her of the mother and refuse them that the father doth chose Certainly because you are a woman you desire pardon but in that you are a mother you augment your fault Do you not know that mariages are guyded some by fortune and some by vertues wisedome Such as demaund the doughters of the fathers beleue me theyr eyes be more vpon their owne proper vtility then vpon the wealth of another I know wel you bring forth the children but the goddes will mary them syth they haue endewed them with so marueilous beauty Do you not know that the beautye of women setteth straungers on desire and putteth neighbours in suspection to great men it geueth feare to meane men enuy to the parents infamy and peril to the persons them selues with great paine it is kepte that is desyred of many Of truth I say the beauty of women is nothing but a signe for idle folke an early waking for them that be light wheras of straung desires lieth the renowne of themselues and I denye not but that a lyght person sercheth soner a woman with a faire face then one of an honest lyfe But I say that a woman that is maried onely for her beauty maye hope in her age to haue an euyll life It is an infallyble rule that she that was maried for her fayrenesse shal be despised for her foulenesse O what trouble he offereth hymselfe vnto whych marieth a fayre woman It behoueth hym to suffer her pride for beauty folly alway go together Also he must suffer her expences for follye in the heade beauty in the face be two wormes which freate the lyfe and wast the goods Also he must suffer her riots for a faire woman wil that none but she haue her commaundements in the house Also he must suffer her nice minions for many faire women wil passe their lyues in pleasure Also he must suffer her presumption for euery faire woman wil haue prehemenence before al other Finally he that marieth with a faire woman putteth himselfe in great ieopardy And I shal tel you wherfore surely Carthage was neuer so enuyroned with Scipions as the house of a faire woman is with light persons O vnhappie husband when his spirite is at rest and the body sleping then those lyght persons ronne about the house sleying his body with ielosye casting their eyes at the windowes scalyng the walles with ladders singing swete songes playing on dyuerse instruments watching at the gates treatynge with bandes vncoueringe the house and waytinge at euerye corner therof Al these things in case they shoote at the pricke of womans beautie they leaue not to shoote at the butte of the sorowful husbands good name whether this be true or not let them aske my selfe that am maried with your beauty and let them wite of my renowne that go so about the cytie I say much but truly I fele more no man complayneth of the goddes for geuyng him a foule wife amonge his destinies whyte siluer is not wrought but in blacke pitche and the tender tree is not preserued but by the harde barke I saye a man that marieth a foule wife leadeth a sure lyfe let euerye man chose as he lysteth I say a man that marieth a faire wife casteth his good name at hasard and putteth his life in peril Al the infamy of our predecessours stode in exercising of deedes of armes and now al the pastime of the Romaine youthe is to serue Ladies When a woman is bruted to be fayre then euery man goeth thither taketh great payne to serue her the woman wil be sene I say Faustine you neuer saw a damosel Romaine greatly renowmed in beauty but eyther in dede or in suspicion there went some euyl report of her name In that lytle that I haue red I haue herd of diuers fayre women both of Grece Italy Parth Rome and they be not in memorye because they were faire but for the great perils and misaduentures whych through their beautyes chaunced in the world For by reason of their excellent beautyes they were vysited in their owne lands for their infamy shamed through al the world When the realme of Carthage flourished in riches and was fortunate in armes they ruled the common wealth by wyse phylosophers that they repulsed their enemyes by strong armes Arminius the phylosopher was as greatly esteamed among the Carthagians as Homere was amonge the Grekes or Cicero amonge the Romaines He lyued in this world .122 yeres .80 of the which good yeares he lyued most quyetly he was as much turned from women as geuen to his bookes Then the senate seing he had such experience in the affayres of the weale publyke so withdrawen from al natural recreations they desired him with great instaunce to be maried to thintent the memory might be had of so excellēt a wise man in time to come the more importune they were the more he resisted and said I wil not be maried for if she be foule I shal abhorre her Yf she be riche I must suffer her If she be poore I must mainteine her If she be faire I must take hede of her If she be a shrew I cannot suffer her And the lest pestilence of al those is sufficient to slea a M. men With such words this wise man excused himselfe But in the end through great study in his age he lost his sight wherby the solytarines of his swete lybertye constrayned him to take the company of a woman by whom he had a doughter of the whyche descended the noble Amilears of Carthage competitours of the Scipions of Rome The which shewed no lesse worthinesse in the defence of Carthage thē oures did courage in the amplifiyng of Rome Tel me Faustine may not such suspicion fal vpon your doughter though her vertue succour her in the peril and her honestie assure her person I wil discouer a secret thing to you Ther is nothing that can chaunce euyl to a woman if she be enuironed with feminine shamefastnes Greatly they desire and with much importunytie they procure those thinges which highly may be attayned There is nothing soo certaine as this that the wealth of an other is the cause of his owne euil And Faustine ye know that the most honest women by our malyce are most desired Certainly their shamefastnes and keping close be arrowes in defēce of our honestie We reade not that the bloud riches nor beauty of