and pay Paul accounting all fish which commeth to the net getting it by hooke or by crooke some out of Iudas bag and some out of the diuels budget for I haue seene a man of warre as hungry vpon a poore Fisherman as they would be on a Carioke as those that haue seene men of warre haue seene how vnconscionably Rufus the ruffian and his fellows haue dealt with those poor Fishermen whose whole estate for maintenance both for their wifes and children did relie vpon the gains which the poore men by great paines did get with their bote yet so hard-hearted haue these men of war beene vnto those poore Fishers that neither for the teares of the olde men which for griefe would beate their heads against the shippe side yet neither this nor the pittifull complaint of the yong men for all their yeelding and kneeling yet would they take away their fish their meat and drinke and their cloths from their backes their sailes from their yards yet not so contented but in the end set them ashore and either finke their boate or burne him aboord the man of warre to the vtter vndoing of many a poore man now iudge whether it be possible that these goods so gotten can prosper for they are gotten with no better a conscience then a strumpet getteth her money and therefore it will prosper no better for looke what a strumpet getteth of twenty shee spendeth it vpon one which shee doth loue and affect aboue all the rest euen so many souldiers and men of warre what spoyles they get they are not long in spending of it but as the Prouerbe goeth Light come and light goe ill got and wickedly spent for they put it into a bottomlesse bagge which neuer holdes thrist long Loe thus my opinion you haue heard and I yeeld vp my verdict thus That the goods which is gotten by the warres is ill gotten and hee which hath but one peny worth of ill gotten goods in his house God will send a curse vpon all the rest then let vs pray for peace rather then warres and euery man learne to labor with his hands to maintaine spending wherefore set thy wittes and thy hands to labour and turne ouer the leafe I meane learne a new lesson for looke what is gotten with labour will bee spent with discretion or else kept with warinesse and so I greete not onely Plimmouth alone but all Deuonshire and Cornewall with as many kinde commendations as it is possible for my Penne to expresse and all I protest with true loue from my heart and so I leaue you with a thousand Farewells to you all Your euer-louing friend IOSEPH SVVETNAM The Authors Conclusion NOw gentle Reader I doe intreate thee to beare with my rudenesse I am no Scholler for I do protest I neuer went to Schoole six moneths in all my life nor I neuer did write one line of this Booke by the direction of any other teacher nor did I euer aske the opinion of any other Professor since the time that I was first taught and that was when I was yong and then I had some of my skil in London and some in other places where it was my chance to trauell Againe I did write this Booke by peece-meale for after I first beganne I lest off writing a weeke and sometimes a moneth together before I writ againe and so forgetting oftentimes what I had written before Againe some chiefe notes I haue left out which I thought I had written of before wherefore they shall follow in my second Booke Now Gentle Reader for thy benefit I haue begunne if there be any other that find fault and cannot amend it let them iudge of their wit that heare them talke but if I shall heare those my selfe speake against this Booke which doe not goe about to amend it then if they were as good as George a Greene yet would I not be feared with deedes much lesse with words but will answer them not onely with words but with weapons for this Booke was printed in haste at the carnest request of some friends of mine Also I wrote it to profite those that can not come where Teachers are and againe there are few which teach this Arte that doe trauell the reason is as I thinke they are little set by when they come into the country amongst you Now it is not enough to haue this booke in thy pocket but to exercise thy body with all that thereby thou maist haue the perfect skill thereof in thy head and so praying thee to excuse me in the grosse penning of it and beare with me a little the rather in that I was neuer Scholler as I said before and as it plainely appeareth by the grosse penning of it but my folly herein shal be vpon my head yet I pray thee let it passe a little the rather and giue it your good word for because I haue taken paines in hope to doe thee good but not for any gaine I protest before God but onely because I know it so laudable an exercise and more commendable then any other wee see daily these bookes scoffed at which were made by learned and good Schollers for if there were one which excell ten thousand yet euery one will not speake well of him but he shall haue in spight of his teeth back-biters and fault-finders much more my selfe being the lest of ten thousand must not stabbe euery one which will speake in discommendations both of me and my Booke but if I may escape handwhich are vsually contemnors of such laudable exercises then I accompt that I haue made a good hand For herein I haue showen but my owne opinion and iudgement in setting out this booke now I doe not say it is other mens opinions for none but my selfe was counsell nor had any hand in this matter therefore I make no question that other men are of other mindes yet obseruing these rules and bearing these lessons in memory they may serue thy turne aswell as they haue serued mine all the daies of my life hetherto but yet beleeue what you list of it and leaue what you like not now if in my good intention and true meaning I bee vndeseruedly wronged I thinke it wil be by none but such pot-companions which cudgell there wits and beate their braines to shift for mony to that vse which often-times makes the sonne so hardy as to call his father knaue or worse Now if my booke doe come vnto the view of any such I will impute it vnto the Idlenesse of their braine or vnto the spitefulnesse of an enuious minde which will neuer commend nor allow any other mans man-hood opinion or iudgement to bee so good as their owne not much like vnto the proude Pharizee who said that his life in all respect was better then any other now mistake mee not for I doe not say so because you should thinke that this worke cannot bee mended for it is farre from my thought to thinke that this booke is so wel penned as to be without fault or to please all neither is it so wel as it might haue beene if my leisure would haue serued me to amend some faults which I know in it my selfe indeed I must confesse that there are many in this land of this noble and worthy art besides my selfe which might haue taken this matter in hand because many of them are more fit both for wisdome and learning but I see they haue not gone about it wherefore if any blame me for shewing my good will I hope those which haue knowen mee and seene my behauiour wil answere for me with reasonable speech against those which obiect against me no if reason will not rule them but like Balaams Asse will striue against weapons then I pray you referre the quarrell vnto my selfe and let me answere my owne wrong which I haue done them heerein for I had rather loose my life in defence of my reputation and credit if there were such a danger in fighting then my friend should loose one drop of bloud in my quarrell therefore while I am liuing wrong me not for hee which fighteth for another seeketh his owne destruction so praying you if I haue offended any let me answere it my selfe while I am liuing for when I am dead hee deales vnchristianlike that will abuse me and so I rest Thine euer to helpe thee hereafter in what I may Thy friend IOSEPH SVVETNAM
THE SCHOOLE OF THE NOBLE and Worthy Science of Defence Being the first of any English mans inuention which professed the sayd Science So plainly described that any man may quickly come to the true knowledge of their weapons with small paines and little practise Then reade it aduisedly and vse the benefit thereof when occasion shal serue so shalt thou be a good Common-wealth man liue happy to thy selfe and comfortable to thy friend Also many other good and profitable Precepts and Counsels for the managing of Quarrels and ordering thy selfe in many other matters Written by IOSEPH SVVETNAM LONDON Printed by NICHOLAS OKES 1617. ⧠TO THE HIGH AND MIGHTIE PRINCE CHARLES PRINCE OF WALES DVKE OF CORNEwale Yorke Albany and Rothesay Marques of Ormount Earle of Rosse and Baron of Armanoch high Seneschal of Scotland Lord of the Isles and Knight of the most Noble order of the Garter MOst Gracious and Noble Prince the many great and kinde fauours which I receiued from the hands of your late Brother deceased vnto whom I was tutor in the skill of weapons to my no little credit which makes me now turne backe to shew my loue in a small measure vnto your Princely selfe and yet it is as much as I am able a bunch of grapes is but a small present and yet King Philip of Macedon did receiue them and accept them and the rather because a poore man presented them and therefore J trust your Highnesse will more esteeme the good-will of the giuer then the value of the gift Three things did chiefly encourage me to publish it vnder the glorious name of your gracious Highnesse The first is in regard of your Highnesse deepe desire to gaine experience in all Arts and Sciences the which is seene by jour Graces fauouring and furthering any man which is endued with any good quality therein rightly resembling a branch of the same Stocke from whence your Excellency sprang of whom in my next Epistle to the Reader I will speake more at large But at this time for doubt of beeing offensiue with the renewing of olde griefes I stand in a maze like vnto that childe who being asked whether he loued his father or his mother best stood mute as doubting how to answer for feare of displeasing the one of them euen so in this place will J. Now the second cause of this my Dedication vnto your Excellency is in respect of my vehement loue wherto in duty I am bound vnto your Princely selfe and thirdly that it may passe vnder your Highnesse protection the better to shroud it selfe from backe-biters and fault-finders least amongst such it be taken vp like a friendlesse vagarant Oh therefore let it find fauour J humbly intreate your Highnesse although it can little pleasure your Princely selfe yet it may stead many others and so doubting least J haue troubled your Highnesse ouer long J will therefore heere drawe the Curtaines and commit your Highnesse to the Protection of the Almighty who euer blesse preserue and keepe your Highnesse with long life and prosperous health and happinesse to the worlds end By your Highnesse to be commanded so long as I liue Ioseph Swetnam An Epistle vnto the common Reader IN setting out of a booke friendly Reader this I know that there is no better a thing to be obserued then order for except there be an order in all things all runneth to confusion but what doe I meane to talke of orders which am no Scholler nor haue no learning but only a little experience which God and nature hath bestowed vpon me As it is vnpossible to build a Chuch without lyme or stone no more can a workman worke without tooles yet to auoide idlenesse somthing I will make of it although I cannot make it sound to so good a tune as I would for want of learning for I was neuer at Oxford but while I baited my horse nor at Cambridge but while one Sturbridge faire lasted wherefore if you doe examine mee concerning learning I shall answer you as the fellow did the gentleman who asking him the way to London a poke full of plumbes sir said he or as he which came from a Sermon was asked what he heard there he said it was a good Sermon and the Preacher spake well but he could not tell one word what hee said no more can I answer one word scholler-like or according to learning yet both at Oxford and Cambridge I looked vpon the Schollers and they looked vpon me and so I became a little the older but neuer the wiser wherefore if I should continue tempering this booke so long till I had put it in order I should resemble those which doe make their apparell so long of the newest fashion vntil they are quite out of fashion or like as the fidlers doe their strings who wrest them and temper them so long vntill they bring them out of all time tune and reason least I should doe so I will let it goe with this drafte as it is but gentle Reader looke not heere to gather grapes of thornes nor figs of thistles nor of a wild and a barren tree nothing else but wilde and barren fruit yet amongst dust sometimes there are pearles found and in hard rockes gold and stones of great price I haue heere as it were mixed wheat and rye barlye and oates Beanes and Pease altogether now take a little paines to separate that graine which thou likest best for thine owne benefit I giue thee here a friendly caueat to prepare thy selfe in a readines for although thou art at quiet now yet dost thou not know how soone thou shalt be vrged to take weapons in hand as my selfe and many others haue beene when I least thought vpon it therefore to haue iudgement and skill in weapons is good although thou neuer haue occasion to vse it The Prouerbe saith cunning is no burthen the same mouth which at one time saith I will liue quietly for I will make no brawles with any yet at another time he again will say oh that I had skill for then wold I bee reuenged on such a one that hath iniuriously wronged me Therfore for such a cause be prepared before hand for if the King were sure that he should neuer haue wars what neede had he then to prouide armour and weapons but in the time of peace hee prouideth himselfe the wise Mariner prouides in a calme for a storme for things doubtfull are to be dreadfull It is better to liue in feare then in security and to this purpose Tully hath a prety saying which goeth thus hee which desireth peace let him prouide for wars but I feare mee that the tyde will be spent before I can double this point and therefore here I will cast anchor and will ride in this rode something longer then I would for feare least I cast my barke away on a lee shore for want of water these words of warinesse doe I vse because there are many which no
sooner out of the shell but are cast away like an addle egge Therefore I would not haue yong sprigs spoiled in the blosome I meane I would not haue yong branches or young entereres into the world imbarke themselues in the ship of fooles for feare least they cast themselues away in a manner before they haue had any beginning for I haue knowen many blasted in the budding in a manner before they came to know cheese from chalke onely for want of instruction and likewise some againe haue perished and yet not for want of instruction but they haue knowen what was good for them and yet would not seek it but haue delaid the meanes as many delay their repentance till the latter day or till it be too late not much vnlike a sluggard which rowsing himselfe and looking abroad in the morning he seeth that it is high time to rise yet sluggishly he lyeth downe againe to sleepe and so forgetteth himselfe euen so many perish some for want of good counsell and some for lacke of forecasting a mischiefe before it doe light vpon them It is said that we must not tempt God Math. 4. but I hold it a tempting of God to presume wholly vpon him for all occasions whatsoeuer without seeking other meanes which is commonly known and by God prepared for vs as if we were sicke men we ought to take the Physitians counsell and if wounded we must seeke for helpe of a Chyrurgian if our house be on fire we must powre on water and if we fall in a ditch we must not lye still without vsing other meanes besides saying God helpe vs but for this and all other things God hath appointed meanes we must seek and then no doubt God will giue his blessing with it but wee must not presume how carelesly soeuer we liue or how desperately soeuer we dye nothing can hinder vs of our saluation but so far deceiued I feare me are such that there is a thunderbolt of mischiefe prepared for their ignorāce herein Our Sauior Christ would not presume so much of the mercy of God the Father as when he was vpon the pinacle to cast himselfe downe but hee came downe by other meanes for the stayres were made for the purpose God the father might otherwise haue saued Noah without any Arke if it had pleased him but Noah had warning that such a thing should be whereupon he sought a meanes to saue himselfe by making the Arke therefore he that will not be prepared before hand with oyle in his Lampe or with skill in his weapons when there is meanes to be found he may be shut out of heauen as the fiue foolish virgins were if hee chance to bee slaine suddenly as many a man hath been by dying without repentance Indeed if there were no meanes then if we did with humblenesse come vnto God no doubt then I say but God would miraculously defend his seruants as hee did the children of Israel when their enemies were behind them and the red sea before them then there was no meanes nor helpe left them but only in the Lord but then the Lord stopped not his eares nor shortned not his armes but gaue them passage with his outstretched arm thorow the red sea and then againe they being in the wildernesse there was neither meate nor drinke and then and there againe the Lord sent them foode from heauen and he also made the hard rockes gush foorth riuers of water The Mariner in distresse throweth ouer boord the Marchants goods which are in ship and yet then finding small hope of life he cutteth down the masts of the ship and so he throweth them and the sayles ouer-boord which should be the onely meane to bring them to land but then these Mariners being bereft of al hope they rely wholly vpon God which neuer leaueth in distresse those which trust in him but then he miraculously doth defend them and bring them into a safe harbor contrary vnto mans expectation So not onely here in this place but as I goe on I will shew some examples out of the booke of God and from the Philosophers and other Schoole men and the application to be applied vnto our selues for there is nothing written but hath beene written for our learning and of those we are to learne counsell of which haue runne through the brambles briers and the mischiefe of the world Then be not wise in thine owne conceit for S. Iohn and Paul saith that the wise are catched in their owne craftinesse Iohn 9. 13.1 Cor. 3.19 If the wise are catched what then will become of the ignorant and foolish not onely of this profession but of all ethers for there are many of all trades which doe thinke their owne wit best and hating to bee reformed but I wish such to take heede of ignorance pitfall least they fall into the springle with the woodcocke for who is so bold as blind bayard But as some men of all trades with small skill doe goe on and liue by their trades and yet in a manner but botchers euen so I haue often hard many a man say that with a little skill they haue saued their liues being put vnto tryall for those which are in danger of drowning will catch at a straw to saue their liues but for the most part it so falleth out that if the father or the master be a coward or vnskilfull in his weapons then the sonnes of that Father or the seruants of that Master seldome prooue good soldiers not much vnlike that saying of the Prophet when the mother is an Hitite and the Father an Ammorite the child seldome prooues an Israelite Ezekiel 45. Then we must not follow or goe on being led on blindfoldly by a cowardly sort of people which will say that a good eye or a good heart is all that belongs vnto the defence of a mans body these are they which professing themselues to be wise are become fooles Rom. 1.22 Or they may be compared vnto those which talke of Robin hood and yet neuer shot in his bow so this trumpe haue I cast in your way Then shew not thy selfe worse then a beast for beast haue wit to find out remedies to couer their griefe for loath I am to leaue you any starting holes to wind out at but that you may keepe the high beaten way least in seeking by-wayes you wander quite out of the way yet mistake me not in thinking that hereby I seeme to hale thee on for thy owne good like a beast for I doe but lead thee with the cords of loue and wish thee to taste of this my opinion which I haue new broached And I make no doubt but in tryall it will be no whit distasting vnto thee for by experience I speake it that aboue all skill is the key of the worke as the eye to the body or as the Captaine to the souldiers or the pilot to the ship if the eye bee darke in walking the body falleth
if the Captaine be ignorant then doe the Souldiers march disorderly or if the Pilot bee vnskilfull the ship sailes in danger but as I was about to tell you of a sort of logger-headed asses which further more will perswade their familiar friends by telling them that skill will doe them no good for when they haue learned skill and afterwards when they shall haue occasion to vse their weapons then such dunces will say that skill will be forgoten little thought vpon Also they say that a man with a sword will cut off thy rapier at one blow but I say this is a most cowardly kind of ignorāce for if a skilfull man doe hold the rapier it is not a hundred blows with a sword can doe a rapier any harme no although they light vpon him Therefore those which will perswade any from learning skill with weapons for the defence of their bodies may fitly be compared vnto the false Prophets amongst the Iewes which perswaded them that they should not feare nothing but peace peace peace when the Assyrians were in a readinesse to cut their throats as in the 6 of Ieremy the 14 there you may read it therefore a prouident care ought to bee had as Iehosaphat did when he feared the Moabits to come vpon him 2 Chron. 20.3 Dauid liued securely in Ierusalem and without feare which made him forget God as in the 2. Sam. 11. the whole Chapter is worth the reading doth not the wisest man that euer wrote say that there is a time of war and a time of peace Eccle. 3.8 If a man did know what howre the theefe would come he would surely watch wherefore be aduised to deale wisely but not like vnto Pharaoh for he said let vs deale wisely when he dealt most foolishly Exodus 1.10 and so we will goe on In reading ouer diuers Hystories I thereby vnderstanding the noble acts and also noting the manly mind of these who liued many hundred yeeres agoe whose fame shall neuer dye whereas cowardly dastards which neuer bent their studies in marshall exploits such I say at their death their fame dyeth with them and so they are quickly raked vp in the ashes of forgetfulnesse and buried in the valley of obliuion So that if a man wold goe search for the pedigree of their gentility they shall finde it laid vp in a beggars box or as the Charter of a City written in dust whereas on the other side the valiant and gallant minded men although they dye yet in their life time their manly acts and valiant deedes which they worthily performed some in the warres and some at single combat and some at other honorable and laudable exercises whereby they merited to themselues immortall fame for euer for to some no exercise nor weapon came amisse as in stead of many examples these two out of the book of God shall be sufficient Dauid with his sling as Hercules with his Club and Sampson with his Iaw-bone or any other weapon which came next to his hand but loth I am to trouble you with so long an Epistle or Preface yet for an Introduction to the rest something I must say and most of that which I haue and will say is so necessary as the rest although it be longer then I would but we will now to the matter Then thus by reason of diuers errors which are in sundry mens teaching of this noble arte of defence I therefore being pricked forward by the earnest request of some of my friends to describe the rules of weapons which I by my study haue inuented and by practise brought to perfection and likewise for my countries benefit I meane to better the vnskilfull in knowledge I haue thought it good to open plainly the best grounds which belongeth to our English weapons that are now in vse so far as my simple inuention by great practice hath attained vnto Another reason which moued me hereunto was where some doe find out many hidden secrets which they bury in the earth againe with their bodies or else if they make it known it shall bee to such a faithfull friend as they loue and affect dearely all writers that euer wrote did write either for profit or pleasure some to profit others and some to pleasure themselues and some haue wrote common and necessary things for their owne posterity after them I write but of common things yet not so common as necessary and therefore my meaning is to make my secret study known so plainly as I can vnto all the world for the benefit of many thousand yet vnborne for euery man hath or should haue skill in his weapons the reasons shall follow as occasion shall serue hereafter more at large but as yet I know the greatest number are blinded in an ignorant conceit I meane such as doe thinke to ouercome their enemies if occasion doe serue by quicknesse of the eye or by a kind of valorous resolution which for the auoiding of this and such like abuses I haue here and there put downe sundry reasons in this booke although they be not in order yet take a little paines to seeke them out for I wrote this booke at such leasurable fits as time would permit me now for affection sake some will say it is well done and others againe will say it is reasonable and indifferent and so I pray you let it passe for if I should perceiue it shold goe for starke nought then should I account my time and labor very ill bestowed but yet this I know if it were ten times worse then it is yet would it be welcom to a number of my old friends and familiar acquaintance such as were the cause of this my idle time spending who were earnest with me for the setting foorth of this worke Lo this is the anchor whereon my hope dependeth but yet I make a doubt least that my booke may light into the hands of some enuious mates who neuer knew me yet will not sticke to say vpon the very first fight oh this is such a mans worke I know well enough what hee could doe and yet will not fully giue vp their verdit but onely shake the head with a wry mouth and a smiling countenance throwing it from them and so seeming by their silence that they could further disgrace mee but will not Indeed it is a more easier matter for such to find fault with a part of my booke then to amend the whole but I could wish such learne before they take vpon them to controule but those which are wise and kind will accept of my good will for I haue giuen out this but as a theame let a wiser then I rime vpon it and although it seeme but as it were a glimpse of the noble Art of defence in regard of the substance yet some will perceiue day at a little hole wherefore trauell further in it till you find out the substance like a good Surgion search the wound to the bottome before thou
serue thee for thy true defence whilest thou liuest against all other guards It is but little auaileable to thee if thou see a good Scriuener write except thou take the penne and practise to write as hee doth euen so it booteth thee but little that wouldest be skilfull of thy weapon if thou dost see two skilfull men play except thou take weapons and practise to do as they haue done before thee Againe it is not enough for him that would write well to write his copie but once ouer and so leaue no more must thou if thou wilt haue skill in thy weapons thou must not giue ouer with playing of one bowt but thou must exercise it many times and practise it often And if a man write well and exercise it neuer so much yet hee can neuer exceed well written euen so in skill of weapons a man may be perfect and play well but when thou hast learned the true and perfect skill with thy weapons thou maist exercise for thine health and recreation but thou shalt neuer passe that word well plaid Also he which writeth much and doth not regard his coppie but writeth after his owne will I thinke it were strange for such a Scholler to write well but he will alwaies write a ragged hand euen so hee that getteth him hilts and cudgells and goeth about to learne of his owne head without direction of one that is skilfull it were better that he had neuer played if afterwards he goe to learne for he must first vnlearne that which he hath learned which will bee very hard to be done without great paines taking Now he which writeth a good Secretarie hand and then afterwards he goeth to learne Roman hand or Court hand or any other the like hee doth not thereby loose his Secretary but if hee can write all kinde of hands then may he vse most that which hee liketh best or thinketh fittest euen so he which hath by his practise gotten good skill and yet being of an other mans teaching it is of an other manner of teaching and I will not say but that it may be so good or better then mine yet hee which learneth my rules or followeth my directions it can not hinder him any whit at all but if hee haue once gotten them by good and perfect practise if hee like them not may goe to his olde fashion againe or learne of any other afterwards Yet againe as the obseruing of a true distance in a Scriuener betweene euery line is commendable in his writing so it be done without ruling of it which commeth by much practise euen so in true skill in sight distance is a most excellent thing and the principallest thing of all next vnto the guard to be obserued and kept and it must be gotten by great practise Againe when you learne to write at the first you write leasurely but with much practise your hand cometh to be swifter euen so with often vse of thy weapon thy hand will come to defend either blow or thrust more readily or more speedily then at the first beginning of thy practise albeit thou be shewen how to defend and though thou haue the reason perfectly in thy head and knowest when an other doeth it well yet without practise thou canst neuer be skilfull in defence of thy selfe Also hee which writeth and with his penne doth sputter his paper with incke a Scholler will thinke if it be not a great blot it is a small matter but a Scriuener will say it is a great fault euen so if thy weapon or any part of thy body be out of the right place yea though it be but a little yet it will seeme to him that hath skill as much as a great blotte doth to a Scriuener in a coppie Booke Moreouer he which learneth to write must continually looke to his coppie and must write according to it for one letter or one line well written is better then a great deale of incke and paper spoiled and not one letter well made euen so one blow or one thrust performed orderly I meane in his due time and likewise to the right place is better then an hundred vnorderly done Furthermore if in writing an Obligation a Scriuener doe write one letter of Roman hand and another of Secretary another of Court hand it will not be seemely nor commendable but with what hand you beginne with to end with the same euen so you may frame your selfe somtimes into one guard and sometimes into an other taking heed alwayes that you obserue the same defence which belongeth to the guard for if you are in one guard and you vse the defence of another so you may deceiue your selfe for euerie guard differeth in defence and offence and betwixt euerie blow and euery thrust and euerie guard which I haue heere described in this Booke there is as great oddes as is betwixt Secretarie hand Court hand and Roman hand nay the seuerall difference of guards are more in number then there are seuerall kindes of hands in writing yea many more then any Fidler can play lessons vpon his instrument and the nature of the guards do differ as much as one lesson from another wherefore those that thinke one defence serueth for defence of all guards are asmuch deceiued as they that thinke there is but one kinde of lesson to be played vpon all instruments for that seuerall kindes of lessons are to be played vpon all instruments are infinite euen so the seuerall guards for defence and offence are not to be numbred for betweene the true skill in weapons and the false are an hundred of each at the least and the contrariest and the most vnseemely euery man hath by nature but the best and surest way is to be learned by Art of them that are skilfull wherfore see euery mans iudgement For as thou mayest heare at one Sermon that which thou shalt neuer heare againe euen so thou maiest learne of one teacher that thou canst not learne of another for euerie one that practiseth naturall play without direction of one that is skilfull such a one in his practise will haue one foolish tricke or other which when they haue by common practise long vsed will hardly be withdrawne from it as for example some will be setting their foote vpon their weapons as if it were to stretch him when hee was right before but they do it of a foolish custome that they learne of themselues likewise some will puffe and blow like a broken winded horse when they are at play and some will daunce and keepe a trampling with their feete and some will flourish and wauer with their weapons some will whistle and some will be blabbring of spittle in their mouthes and putting out their tongues and some againe will runne about as though they could stand on no ground and it is as hard to wrest or driue them from such vnseemely customes as it is to driue a dogge from a peece of bread Yet many doe
through watch and ward if thou do chance to trauell in the night by occasion and thou bee late from thy lodging at such a time this is a principall weapon and shall more preuaile then thy Sword or any other weapon whatsoeuer Againe a faire tongue is an excellent weapon if thou hap in a drunken company and there fall to quarrelling in such a case if thou draw thy weapon it were as if a man should quench a great fire with a bundle of slaxe for at such a time and in such a company if a man draw his weapon he may as soone be killed as kill for drunkards and madde men are all alike during time of the drinke Also a faire tongue is a principall weapon to carry with thee if thou chance to trauell into anie strange countrey for if an iniurie be offered in a place where thou art not acquainted or vnknowne thou maiest be oppressed with more then one for birds of a feather will holde together and many will hold on the bigger side for where the hedge is lowest the beasts will soonest get ouer but in such a case be well armed with patience for thy Buckler and a faire tongue for thy Sword and thy hand readie on thy hatte to doe reuerence to euerie vassall although thou be a Gentleman for the richest man that is and the strongest man that euer was did and must pocket vp an iniurie in his owne Countrey much more it is lesse disgrace to thee to put vp an iniurie in a strange place if an occasion be offered then rather bestirre thy selfe with a faire tongue then with thy sword for in such a case thy sword will auaile thee nothing at all Scholer All this while with this weapon you haue not taught me how I should defend my point Maister Now I will tell thee with a faire tongue thou mayest saue thy money many times by promising much and performing little especially where little is deserued for those which deserue little a faire promise will passe in a manner as currant as thy money I haue knowne many Musitions many times paid with faire words and now that it commeth into my minde I will tell thee a tale as I haue heard it reported How King Dyonisius rewarded a crew of Musitions which came to him with excellent Musicke and after the Musicke was ended come againe to me to morrow said the King and I will giue you a thousand talents the which promise sounded to a sweete and pleasant tune in the Musitions eares But in the morning they came expecting the Kings reward according to his promise But the King looked strangely vpon them and asked them what they would haue And it like your Highnesse said one of the chiefest of them we are come for your gracious reward which you promised vs. What was that said the King A thousand talents said the Fidler Why said the King Is not that out of thy head yet thy Musicke is quite out of mine thou pleasedst my eares with thy musick for the present I likewise filled thy eares with a plesant sound of so much mony to our matter againe A faire tongue and kinde behauior winneth fauor both with God and men whereas those which cannot gouerne their tongues are seldome at quiet but always punished or vexed with the Law and troubles in the Lawe consume much money which with discretion might be kept by gouernement of the tongue Now by the hieway if a carelesse roister in his own name require thee to stand and by vertue of his owne warrant doth require thy purse in such a danger and in such a case betake thy selfe to thy weapon rather then trust to thy tong for to speake faire vnto some in such a case will auaile thee nothing at all but yet for all that a faire tongue is as a precious balme to beare about thee although it bee not sufficient to heale wounds yet it may be a preseruatiue to keepe thee without hurts all the comfort thou canst haue of thy dearest friends is but little else thē bodily sustenance nay if thy kind and louing wife which is or should be thy greatst comfort in this life vnder God if she I say do all that euer shee can to pleasure thee yet thou maist hap to find in this booke if thou reade it ouer one lesson or other which may stead thee or do thee more pleasure then all thy other friends for here are many things written by me that peraduenture thou maist seeke after a great while and yet not finde them else-where and so farewell Scholler Yet stay I pray you resolue me in two questions more afore you goe Master What are they Scholler First I would know what oddes a tall man of statute hath against a little mans stature and the oddes that a strong man hath against a weake man Master Indeed these are questions which I did meane to write of in my next booke and therefore will but a little touch them at this time but for my beginning or proofe of this matter the better to encourage little men to take heart of grace and not to dismaied by the high lookes of a tall man nor feared by their great bragges there is an old saying goeth I neuer saw saith the prouerb a little man borrow a stoole to breake a tall mans head and this prouerb runneth throughout the world as the corrant through the Gulfe which our Marrinors doe speake of in the way to wards the Indies Againe it is not common to fee a tall man valorous and skilfull withall but generally little men are valorous although not skilfull now if the tall man be skilfull the little man must for his aduantage suffer the tall man to proffer him play first but then vpon the little mans defence presently with the same motion steppe forth with foote and hand and so by a quicke answere endanger the tall man now if the tall man be not skilfull whereby to steppe forth with his hand and foote together when hee maketh play to the little man then the little man skilfull herein getteth three foote at the least by answering euery assault that the tall man maketh by stepping forth with the foote and hand as beforesaid but this must be thy helpe and this must be thy care though a little man alwaies suffer the tall man to make play first especially if he be skilfull and then be nimble with the answere stepping it home with thy foote and hand together according to my directions following the first picture for what thou wantest in reach is gotten by thy comming There is another old saying going thus a tall man is so faire a marke that a little man skilfull cannot misse him and a short man is so little and so nimble that if he haue but a little skill a tall man cannot hit him for with his weapons and a good guard in a manner hee will couer all his whole body with his weapons Lo this is my opinion