as an innocent and that the Emperour Valent had iudged euill and like a tyraunt For the innocencie of the good is the great enemy of the euill At the same time when Theodosius demaūded baptisme according to the saying of Prosper in his cronicle he sayd vnto the bishop whiche should baptise him these wordes O byshop sainct Roger I doe coniure thee by the creatour whiche made vs and doe desire thee for the passion of Iesu Christe who redemed vs to geue me the water of baptisme for I haue made a vowe to become a Christian if god graunted me victory Wherefore I wyll accomplishe my vowe for those thinges whiche necessitie causeth vs to promyse our owne free wyll ought to accomplishe I am sory with all my heart that beynge a Christian I can liue no longer and sith it is so I offer my life for his sake and into his mercifull handes I commende my soule I leue a sonne of myne who is called Theodosius and if the fatherly loue begile me not I thinke he wyll be a vertuous and stoute young man and besides that he wil be wise and sithe by thy handes he hath bene baptised I require thee holy father that thou through thy wysedome wilt bring him vp in the true faith for if he be a good Christian I trust in god he will be a great man in the Empire This Theodosius was the father of the great Emperour Theodosius so that the father was a Christian and the sonne a Christian Not longe after the Emperour Valent had caused Theodosius which was father to the great Emperour Theodosius to be executed Valent by the commaundement of God was by the Gothes persecuted and in th end put to death and truly this was the iust iudgement of god For he of right should suffer death him selfe whiche vniustly procureth the death of others Rufinus in the seconde booke of his histories saith that after the tyraunt Thirmus was put to death by the captaine Theodosius and that the Emperour Valent had caused this Theodosius to be put to death and that the same Valent was slaine of the Gothes the Romains created a king in Afrike whose name was Hismarus called for a right Christian in that time which was from the buylding of Rome .377 There was in the citie of Carthage a holy byshop called Siluanus a man in humaine and deuine letters excellently well learned and sithe the kyng was so iuste and the byshop so holy both the faith encreased and also the affayres of the common weale prospered For commonly the warres beginne rather through the pride of the highest then through disobedience in the lowest Therefore this holy byshop and good Christian king being desirous in their tyme to geue good example to the subiectes and for the time to come to leaue good preceptes they celebrated in the citie of Bona a counsaile with all the byshoppes of Affryke in the whiche kyng Hismarus was in persone For in auncient coūselles the kynges were not onely there in persones but also al the lordes and hie estates of their Realmes Amongest many excellent thinges which Rufinus mentioneth that were ordayned in this place it semed good vnto me to remember here these few to the ende christian princes nowe present may see what deuout christians those kinges were in times paste ¶ A collection or Purport of the counsell of Hyponense THese were the thinges which in the sacred counsayle of Hyponense were ordeined where there was in persone the catholyke kyng Hismarus and the relygious byshoppe Siluanus and in that whiche was ordeined the kinge spake in some of theym and dooth counsaile in other some Because in suche semblable affayres it is both mete and requisite that the royall preheminens be reuerenced and the auctoritie of the Churche not diminished We ordeine that from two yeares to two yeares all the Byshoppes Abbottes and prelates of our Realme doe assemble and celebrate a prouintial counsaile and that in this counsayle there be no temporall matters spoken of but of the disorders and misgouernaunce of Churches for the Churche is not lost for the lacke of scarsitie of money but for the to great aboundance of riches We ordeine and all prelates which are now and shal be here after we desire that when they will cal any counsaile in our Realmes that before the celebracion of the same they certifye vs leste that vnder the couler or cloke of a holy counsaile there shoulde some suspicious assembly be had We ordaine that from henceforth the Princes and great Lordes be bounde to repaire to the sacred counsaile wyth all the company of the holy Bishoppes For it were more mete they should come to destroye false heretikes in winning their soules then to fyght agaynst their enemyes in losinge their lyues We ordeine that the Prince whyche commeth not to the counsailes through negligence that vnto hym the Sacrament of the body of Christe be not ministred vntyll the next counsell be celebrated And if perchaunce he refuse not to come throughe negligence but throughe malyce we will that thenne they proceade against him as a suspect parson in the faith of Christe For the Christian Prince that of malyce onely committeth an offence is not parfitte in the holy catholyke fayth We ordaine that at the firste assemblie of the counsaile all the prelates togethers openlye and afterwardes eche one by hym selfe priuatelye shall saye the crede singynge the whyche thinge finished the Kynge hym selfe alone shall saye the crede lykewise For if the prince be suspected of the holy catholyke fayth it is vnpossible that hys people should be good Christians We ordaine that in thys counsaile the prelates haue lybertye and aucthoritie to saye vnto the kyng that that is comelye and decente and the kynge likewise to saye in the counsayle what hee thinke best soo that the prelates might tell the king without feare of hys lytell care he hath in destroyenge the heretikes and heresies of his realme and likewise the king might tell the prelates their neglygence that they vse in the charge of their flocke For the end and intencion of counsayles oughte not to be any otherwise then a scourge for offences paste and a reformacion of the euils to come We ordaine that all the princes of Affricke immediatly before they do any other thinge in the morning do openly and dilygently come to morning prayer and we wil also that ther be present al his courtiers and priuate counsellours which with them ought to enter into counsaile For that creature can not giue any good counsaile who hath not reconsiled himselfe vnto god before We ordaine that the Archbishoppes Bishoppes and Abbottes continually duringe the time of the counsaile do euery daye confesse them selues to almighty god seruing him deuoutly and that one of them do preach to the people gods word For if euery prelate be bound to giue good example alone then being altogether they shal giue it much better We ordaine the princes asmuch as lyeth in
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
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
In this case lette no manne saye I am excepted for vntyll thys daye there hath noo Prynce nor Knyghte beene seene but hathe trauayled vnder thys yooke I warne and praye and importunatelye requyre you all that you be loyall and faythefull seruauntes to the ende you may deserue to haue louing Lords For generally the prince that is wicked causeth his subiects to rebel the sedicious subiect maketh his lord to become a tiraunt It is a great thing to the people that their Princes be good or euil For there are no Princes so stable nor so temperate that alwayes will dissemble the euil nor there is no gouernor so very a tyraunte but sometimes wil acknowledge the good Oftimes god suffereth that ther be Emperours in the Empire kinges in realmes and gouernors in the prouinces Lordes in the cities and prelates in the churches not al only as that common wealth desireth nor as the good gouernmente requyreth but as the offence of the multitude deserueth For now a dayes we se many the haue the charge of soules in the church which deserue not kepe the sheape in the field That to be true plainly it doth appeare For such do not gouerne but disorder they do not defend but offend they do not resist the enemyes but ingage sel the innocent they are no iudges but tirannes they are not gentil pastores but cruel hangmen they are not incre asers of the common wealthe but distroyers of iustice they are not ordeynors of lawes but inuentors of trybutes their hartes wake not to good but to inuent and worke al mischefe and finally God sendeth vs such prelates and gouernors not for that they shoulde be mynisters of his lawes but for that they should be scourges for oure offences ¶ That in a publike weale there is no greater destruction then where princes dayly consent to new orders and chaunge olde customes Cap. xxix IN the first booke of the Kinges the viii Chapter of the holye and sacred scripture is sayde that Samuel when he was old in his steade placed his two sonnes to gouerne the people whose names were Iohel and Abiah for that naturally the fathers are desirous to aduaunce their children to honor The sonnes of Samuell were residente and helde the iudgemente in the citye of Beersheba whyche was the fortheste parte of Iudea and the olde Samuel wente to dwell in the citie Ramah The honorable and moste aunciente menne amonge the people of Ierusalem assembled togither and decreed to send Embassadors to Samuel which should be the wisest men of all the Sinagoge For the auncientes in those dayes were so circumspect that they neuer committed any affayres of the common wealthe into the handes of yonge men The auncientes then being arriued at Ramah spake these wordes vnto Samuel Samuel thou art now old and for thy yeres thou canst not gouerne the people therfore thou lyke a pytefull father hast committed the gouernmente of the people into the handes of thy children Wherfore we let the know in this case that thy children are couetous First they do receiue brybes of the suters And secondarilye they do great iniurie to the people Therfore we are come to require the to giue vnto vs a king that may gouerne vs and that might leade vs in battaile For we wil no more iudges to iudge vs but kinges for to gouerne vs. The aged Samuel hearinge the imbassage was ashamed of that the auncientes of Iudea had told him First seing his children to be euill Secondarily because they would take their offices from them And truly herein Samuell had iust occasion both to be ashamed also sorye For the vyces wickednes of the yong children are swords that passe throughe the hartes of the old and aunciente fathers Samuel seing that the Hebrues were determined to depriue theym of their office and gouernement of the people had none other remedye but euen to make his mone to god of his griefe god hearing his complaintes said vnto him Samuel be not sad nor lament not for their demaunding a kinge as they do they do not mislike thy parson but they dispraise my prouydence maruel not though they forsake thy children for they are somwhat to yong sith they haue forsaken me their god worship false idolles Syth they demaund a king I haue determined to giue them one but first tel tow thē the cōdicions of the king which are these The king whom I wil geue you shall take your chyldren with your chariottes beastes shal sende them loden with burdens And yet therwith not contented he shall make your children postes by the wayes tribunes cēturions in his battailes shal make them laborers and gardyners in his gardins he shal make them sowe his sedes past his bread and furbishe his harnes and armour You shal haue besides delicate tender doughters the which you shal litle enioy for the king that I wil geue you shal commaund them to kepe attend those that are wounded in the warres he shal make them cookes in his pallace and caters of his expences The king that I wil geue you if he hādel your sonnes and doughters euil much worse he wil handle your goods For on the beastes fertile feldes that you haue his herd shal fede he shal gather the best grapes of your vines he shall chose of your oliue trees the best olyues oyles and if anye fruit afterwards remaine in your feilds he wil they shal be gathered not by you but of his workemen afterwards the king that I wil geue you shal oppresse you much more For of euery pecke of corne you shal geue him one of tenne shepe you must nedes geue him one so that of al things which you shal gather against your wylles you shal giue the tenth of your slaues the king shal be serued soner then you and he shal take al your Oxen that labour and trauaile in your owne possessions shal bring them to ploughe in his owne ground and tenements So that you shal pay tribute and the king shal take his owne profite for the wealth and commoditie of his pallace And al thys which I haue rehersed before the King shal haue whom I wil geue you The historye which here I haue declared is not Ouide neither yet the Eglogges of Virgil ne yet the fayninge of Homer but it is the sentence the very worde of god O mortal ignoraunce that we demaund and know not why nor wherfore to whom nor wher neyther when we demaund which causeth vs to fall into sondry errors For few men are so wise that they offend not in chosing that they can aske with reason The Hebrues asked as they thinke the better and god geueth them the worse they aske one to gouerne them and god gyueth them a Tiraunt to destroy them they aske one that should maintayne them in iustice and he threatneth them with tiranny they require one that should geue them
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
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
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
they are occasion that dyuers others spend asmuch tyme in readyng their iests and mockries as they woold otherwise haue imployed in doctrine of great profyt and edifying the which to excuse and defend their error say they dyd not write them for men to take profyt thereby but onely to delight and please the readers to passe the time away meryly Whom wee may rightly aunswer thus that the readyng of yll and vayn bookes can not bee called a pastime but aptly a very losse of tyme. And therefore Aulus Gellius in the fyfteenth of his booke writeth that after the romayns vnderstoode the orators and poets of Rome did geeue them selues to write vain voluptuous and dishonest bookes causing enterludes and poetical commedies to bee played they dyd not onely banysh them from Rome but also out of al the parts of Italy For yt hee seemed not the Romayn grauyty neither was it decent for the weale publyk to suffer such naughty bookes among them and much lesse to beare with vitious and lasciuious gouernors And if the Romain paynyms left vs this for example how much more ought wee that are christians to continew and follow yt synce they had no other bookes to read saue onely histories and wee now a days haue both histories holy scriptures to read which were graunted vs by the church to the end by the one wee myght take some honest pleasure and recreation and with the other procure the health of our soules O how farre is the cōmon wealth now a days dygressed from the wee write and counsel sence wee see playnly that men occupy them selues at this present in readyng a number of bookes the which onely to name I am ashamed And therefore sayd Aulus Gellius in his forteenth booke that there was a certayn phylosopher wrote a booke of hye and eloquent stile but the subiect very hard dyffuse to vnderstand the which Socrates and other phylosophers hearyng of commaundid immediatly the booke to bee burned and the author to bee banyshed by whych example wee may well perceyue that in that so perfyt and reformed vniuersyty they woold not onely suffer any lasciuious or vitious booke but also they woold not beare with those that were to hawty and vayn glorious in their stiles and whose matter were not profytable and benefyciall to the publyk weale That man therefore that walloweth in idlenes lappe and that vouchsafeth not to spend one hower of the day to read a graue sentence of some good booke wee may rather deseruedly call hym a brute beast then a reasonable creature For euery wise man ought to glory more of the knowledge hee hath then of the aboundaunce of goods hee possesseth And it can not bee denied but that those which read vertuous bookes are euer had in better fauor and estimacion then others For they learn to speak they passe the tyme without trouble they know many pleasaunt thyngs which they after tel to other they haue audacyty to reprooue others euery man delyteth to heare them and in what place or company so euer they come they are always reuerenced honored aboue others euery man desyreth their knowledge and acquaintaunce and are glad to ask them councel And that that is yet of greater credyt to them is that they are not few in nūber that trusteth them with their body and goods And moreouer I say that the wise and learned man which professeth study shall know very well how to councel his frend and to comfort him self at all tymes when neede dooth serue which the foolysh ignoraunt person can not doo for hee can not onely tell how to comfort the afflycted in aduersity but also hee can not help hym self in hys own proper affaires nor take councell of him self what is best to doo But retorning agayn to our purpose wee say beecause wee woold not bee reprooued of that wee rebuke others of wee haue beene very cyrcumspect and aduised and taken great care and payns in our studdy that al our bookes and workes wee haue publyshed and compiled should bee so exactly doone that the readers might not fynd any ill doctrine nor also any thyng woorthy reproofe For the vnhonest bookes made by lasciuious persons doo geeue deseruedly euident token to the readers to suspect the autors and troubleth the iudgements of those that geeue attentyue eare vnto them And therefore I councell and admonish him that will enterprise and take vppon him to bee a writer and setter foorth of bookes that hee bee wise in his matter hee sheweth and compēdious in the woords hee writeth and not to bee lyke to dyuers wryters whose woorks are of such a frase and style as wee shal read many times to the midst of the booke ere wee fynd one good and notable sentence so that a man may say that all the frute those reap for their pain watches and trauayl is no other but onely a meere toy and mockry they beeing derided of euery man that seeth their woorks That autor that vndertaketh to write and afterwards prostrateth to common iudgement the thing hee wryteth may bee assured that hee setteth hys wittes to great traueyl and study and hasardeth his honor to present peryll For the iudgement of men beeing varyable and dyuers as they are in deede many times they doo meddle and enter into iudgement of those things whereof they are not onely not capable to vnderstand but also lesse skylfull to read them Now in the booke wee haue set out of the dyal of prynces in that other wee haue translated of the life of the romayn emperors and in this wee haue now set foorth of the fauored courtier the readers may bee assured they shal fynd in thē goodly and graue sentences whereby they may greatly profyt and they shall not read any woords superfluous to comber or weery them at all For wee dyd not once licence our penne to dare to write any woord that was not first waied in trew balance and meat by iust measure And God can testify wyth vs that without doubt wee haue had more payn to bee brief in the woords of our bookes wee haue hytherto made then wee haue had to gather out the inuention and graue sentences thereof For to speak good woords and to haue good matter and wise purposes is the poperty of one that naturally is modest and graue in his actions but to write breefely hee must haue a deepe vnderstanding When at the font of the printers foorme wee first baptised the booke of Marcus Aurelius wee there intituled it the Dyal of princes and this therefore that wee haue now made added to yt wee will call yt for more breefenesse the fauored courtier which portendeth the whetstone and instructyon of a courtier For if they will vouchsafe to read and take the frutefull councells they fynd written herein they may assure them selues they shall awake out of the vanyties they haue long slept in and shall also open their eyes to see the better that
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
throughe thys wicked vice Chap. xiii That it is not fit for courtiers to bée to couetous if they meane to keape themselues out of many troubles and daungers Chap. xiiii That the fauoured of the courte shoulde not trust to muche to their fauour and credit they haue nor to the great prosperity of their lyfe a worthy chapter and ful of good doctryne Chap. xv The auctor admonysheth those that are in fauour and great with the prince that they take hede of the deceipts of the world and learne to liue and dye honourably and that they leaue the court before age ouertake them Chapter xvi Of the continencie of fauoured courtiers and how they ought to shonne the company and conuersacion of vnhonest women to be careful quickly to dispatch al suche as sue vnto them Chap. xvii That the nobles and beloued of princes excede not in superfluous fare that they be not to sumptuous in their meates A notable chapter for those that vse to much delicacye and superfluity Chap. xviii That the fauoured of princes ought not to be dishonest of their tongues nor enuious of their words Chap. xix A comendacion of trouth which professed courtiers ought to imbrace and in no respect to be found defectiue in the contrarye tellynge one thinge for another Chap xx The end of the table of the fourth Booke Heare beginneth the table of the letters translated out of Spanishe vvhich vvere not in the Frenche Copye OF a huge monster whych was sene in Scicilli in the tyme of Marcus Aurelius Chap. i. Of that whych chaunced vnto a neighboure of hys in Rome in the tyme of his Empyre Chap. ii How Marcus Aurelius the Emperoure soughte the wealth of hys people and how hys people loued hym Chap. iii. How at the intercession of many which the Empresse hadde sent the Emperoure graunted hys doughter Lucilla lycence to sport her selfe at the feastes Chap. iiii Of the sharpe woordes whyche Marcus Aurelius spake to hys wyfe and too hys doughter Chap. v. The Emperour exhorteth hys wyfe to take awaye all occasions of euil from her doughter wher in is declared the frailetye of the tender fleshe Chap. vi Of the wysedom of Marcus Aurelius in procuryng husbandes for his doughters Chap. vii Of a letter whych the Emperour Marcus Aurelius sent to hys especial frend to comfort hym in his troubles Chap. viii A letter sent by the Emperour Marcus Aurelius to Censorius that was so sorowful for the death of his sonne worthy to be red and noted Chap. ix A letter sent by Marcus Aurelius Emperour to Censorius of the newes whych at that tyme were at Rome Chap. x. Of a sharpe letter full of reprehensions sent by the Emperour Marcus Aurelius to the amourous ladyes of Rome because in his absence they deuised a playe of hym Cap. xi Of a letter which he sente to his louer Bohemia for that she desired so earnestlye to go wyth hym to the warres wherein is to be noted the great folly of yong men the lytle shame of euyl women Cap. xii The aunswere of Bohemia to the Emperour Marcus Aurelius wherin is expressed the great malyce and litle pacience of an euyl woman Chap. xiii Of a letter whych the Emperour Marcus Aurelius sent to the lady Macrine the Romayne of whom beholdyng her at the window he became enamoured which declareth what force the beauty of a fayre woman hath in a weake man Chap. xiiii Of an other letter whyche the Emperour sent to the lady Macrine wherein he expresseth the firie flames which consume sonest the gentle harts Chap. xv Of a letter which the Emperour Marcus Aurelius sent to the beautiful ladye of Lybia wherin he reproueth that loue is natural and that the most part of the philosophers and men haue bene by loue ouercome Chap. xvi The ende of the table The first booke of the Diall of princes vvith the famous Booke of Marcus Aurelius wherein be entreateth what excellencie is in the prince that is a good Christian and contrariwyse what euils do folowe him that is a cruell tyrante ¶ Where the Authour speaketh of the birth and lynage of the wyse Philosopher and Emperour Marcus Aurelius And he putteth also at the beginning of this Booke thrée Chapters wherin he entreateth of the discourse of his life for by his Epistles and doctrine the whole of this presente woorke is proued Cap. i. AFter the death of the Emperoure Antonius Pius in the 695. yeares from the foundation of Rome and in the 173. Olimpiade Fuluius Cato Gneus Patroclus then being consulles the fourth daie of October in the highe Capitoll of Rome at sute of the whole Romaine people with thassent of the sacred Senate Marcus Aurelius Antonius was proclaymed Emperoure vniuersall of the whole Romaine monarche This noble prince was naturally of Rome borne in the mount Celio on the sixt daye before the Kalendes of May which after the Latines accounte is the .xxvi. day of April His Graundefather was called Annius Verus and was chosene senatoure in the tyme of the Emperours Titus and Vespasian hys greate graunde fathere was named Annius Verus whiche was borne in Spayne in the free towne of Gububa whenne the warres were moste cruel betwene Caesar and Pompeius at what time many Spanyardes fled to Rome and manye Romaynes ranne into Spayne By this meanes this Emperour had a greate graundfather a Romayne and a greate graundmother a Spanyard Hys father was named Annius Verus after his grandfather and great grandfather by reason wherof the auncient historiographers call him Marcus Antonius Verus And true it is that the Emperour Adrian called him Marcus Verissimus for that he neuer forged lie nor swarued at anye tyme from the trueth These Annij Veri wer a kinred in Rome as Iulius Capitolinus reporteth which vaunted themselues to come of Numa Pompilius and Quintus Curtius the famous Romaine which to worke the Romaine people safetie and his owne person euerlasting memorie willingly threw him selfe into the lake which afterwards was called Curtius That as then was sene in Rome This Emperours mother was called Domitia Camilla as recounteth Cinna in the bookes that he wrote of Romain pedigrees That stocke of Camilli was in those dayes highly honoured in Rome for that they conueighed their dissent from that Camillus whych was the renowmed and valiaunt Romain captayne who deliuered Rome when the Gavvles had taken it and besieged the Capitoll The men that sprange of this linage bare the name of Camilli for remēbrance of this Camillus And the woman that came of the same stocke kepte the name of Camille in memorie of a doughter of the sayde Camillus Thys Camilla refused mariage and chose to liue amonge the vessall virgines and ther longe space remayned enduring a sharpe and hard lyfe And she was so vertuous a Romayne and precise in her life that in the time of Seuerus Emperour of Rome her tombe was honoured as a relique whereon was engraued this Epitaphe Camilla lo doth
after their death were changed into gods the wycked into deuils whych thing the Auctoure proueth by soundry examples Cap. x. ALthough the common opinion of the simple people was that ther were many gods yet not withstandinge al the Phylosophers affyrmed that ther was but one God who of some was named Iupiter the whiche was chiefe aboue al other gods Others called him the first intelligence for that he had created al the world Others called him the first cause because he was the beginner of all things It semeth that Aristotle vnderstode this thinge and was of this opinion forasmuch as he sayth in his .12 booke of his metaphisickes All superiour and inferiour thinges wold be well ordered and many thinges muche better by tharbitrement of one then by the aduice of many Marcus Varro in hys booke De theologia mistica Tullius in hys booke De natura Deorum although these were gentyles and curious enoughe of the Temples yet they do mocke the gentiles whych beleued ther were manye gods that Mars Mâ—rcury and lykewyse Iupiter the whole flocke of gods which the gentyles set vp wer al mortal men as we are But because they knew not that ther wer good nor bad angels nor knew not that ther was any paradise to reward the good nor hel to torment the euil They held thys opinion that the good men after their death wer gods and the euyl men deuils And not contented with these folysh abuses the deuil brought them into such an errour that they thought it consisted in the Senates power to make some gods and other deuils For when ther dyed at Rome any Emperour if he had bene wel willed of the Senate immediatly he was honoured for a god and if he died in dyspleasure of the Senate he was condemned for a deuyl And to the end we do not speake by fauour but by writting Herodian sayth that Faustine was the doughter of Antonius Pius wife of Marcus Aurelius which wer Emperours the one after the other And truly ther wer few eyther of their predecessours or of their successours which wer so good as they wer and in myne opinion more better therfore was she made a goddesse and her father a god An Emperour that coueteth perpetual memory must note 5. thinges which he should haue in his life That is to saye pure in lyfe vpright in iustice aduenturous in feates of armes excellent in knowledge and welbeloued in his prouinces which vertues were in these 2. excellente Emperors This Empresse Faustine was passing fayre and the wrytters praise her beauty in such sorte that they sayde it was vnpossible for her to be so beautiful but that the gods had placed som deuine thing in her Yet not with standing this added therunto it is doubtful whether the beauty of her face was more praysed then the dishonestie of her lyfe discommended For her beauty maruelously amazed those that saw her her dishonesty offended them moch that knew her Yet after the Emperour Marcus Aurèlius had triumphed ouer the Parthians as he went visitinge the prouinces of Asia the goodlye Faustine in 4. daies dyed in the mounte Taurus by occasion of a burnynge feuer and so annealed was caried to Rome And since she was the daughter of so good a father and wife of so dearely beloued an Emperour amonges the Gods she was canonyzed but consideringe her vnconstant or rather incontinent lief it was neuer thought that the Romaines would haue done her so much honor Wherfore the Emperour reioysed so much that he neuer ceased to render thankes vnto the Senate For truely the benefite ought to be acceptable to him that receiueth it especially whan it commeth vnloked for The contrary came to the death of Tiberius third Emperour of Rome which was not only killed and drawen throughe the streates by the Romans but also the priestes of all the Temples assembled together and openly prayed vnto the gods that they would not receiue him to them and prayed to the infernal furyes that greauously they would torment him sayinge it is iustly required that the Tirant which dispraiseth the life of the good in his life should haue no place amoÌ„gest the good after his death Leauing the common opinion of the rude people whiche in the olde time had no knowledge of the true god declaring the opinion of Aristole which called god the first cause the opinion of the Stoickes which called him the firste intelligeÌ„ce and the opinion of Cicero which vnder the colour of Iupiter putteth none other god but him I saye and confesse according to the religion of christian faith there is but one only God which is the creatour of heauen and earth whose excellency and puissaunt maiestie is litle to that our tong can speake For our vnderstaÌ„ding can not vnderstand nor our iudgemeÌ„t can determine neither our memory can comprehende and much lesse our tonge can declare it That which princes and other faithful ought to beleue of god is that they ought to know god to be almighty and incomparable a god immortall incorruptible immouable great omnipotent a perfite and sempiternall God for all mans power is nothing in respecte of his diuine maiesty I saye that our lord god is the onely hyghe god that if the creature hath any good it is but a meane good For a man comparing wel the good which he possesseth to the misery and calamitie whiche persecute him with out doubte the euill which foloweth him is greater then the good which accompanieth him Also our god is immortall and eternall which like as he had no beginning so shall he neuer haue ending And the contrarye is to the miserable man which if some see him borne others see him dye For the byrth of the children is but a memory of the graue to the aged Also God onely is vncorruptible the which in his beyng hath nother corruption nor diminution but al mortall men suffer corruption in their soules throughe vyce and in their bodyes through wormes for in the end no man is priuileged but that hys bodye is subiecte to corruption and hys soule to be saued or damned Also God is no chaungelyng and in this case thoughe he chaungeth his worke yet he chaungeth not his eternall counsayle But in men it is all contrarye for they oftetimes beginne their busynes with grauitye and afterward chaung theyr counseill at a better tyme and leaue it lyghtlye I haue now shewed you that God only is incomprehensible the maiestie of whom can not be attained nor his wisedome vnderstanded which thing is aboue mans intelligence For there is no man so sage nor profound but that an other in an other tyme is as sage and profound as he Also God onely is omnipotent for that he hath power not only ouer the lyuinge but also ouer the dead not onely ouer the good but also ouer the euill For the man which doth not feele his mercy to giue him glory he wil make him feele his
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
ende of her lyfe Therfore why should I bewayle her death synce the gods haue lent her life but vntyll this daye The greate estimation that we haue of this life causeth that death semeth vnto vs sodayne and that the lyfe vnwares with death is ouertaken but these are wordes of the children of vanitie for that by the wyl of the gods death visiteth vs and against the wylles of men lyfe forsaketh vs. Also my chyldren be vertuous philosphers and albeit they be nowe in the handes of tyrauntes we oughte not therefore to call them captiues for a man may not call him a captiue whiche is laden with irons but him whiche is ouerwhelmed with vices And although the fire haue burnt my house yet I knowe not why I ought to be sad for of truthe it was now olde and the wynde did blowe downe the tyles the wormes did waste the woode and the waters that ran downe perished the walles and it was old and lyke to fall and perchaunce would haue done greater displeasure For most commonly enuy malice and olde houses sodainely without any warning or knocking at the doore assaulteth menne finally there came the fire whiche quited me of many troubles First of the trouble that I should haue had in repairing it secondarely it saued me money in pluckinge it downe thirdly it preserued me and myne heires from muche coste and many daungers For oftentimes that whiche a man consumeth in repayring an olde house would with auauntage by hym a newe Also those whiche saye that for the taking away of my goodes I lacke the goodes of fortune such haue no reason so to thinke or saye For fortune neuer geueth temporall goodes for a proper thing but to those whome she list and when she will dispose them therfore when fortune seeth that those men whome she hath appointed as her distributers doe hourde vp the same to them and to their heires then she taketh it from them to geue it to an other Therefore by reason I should not cōplayne that I haue lost any thing for fortune recommendeth vnto an other the temporall goodes but I cary pacience and Philosophie with me so that they haue discharged me from all other and haue no more charge but for my selfe alone Laertius declareth in his fift boke of the sayings of the Gretians That this Bias determined to goe to the playes of Mounte Olimpus whereunto resorted people of all nations and he shewed hym selfe in this place of so highe an vnderstanding that he was counted supreame and chiefe of all other philosophers and wonne the name of a true philosopher Other philosophers then beinge in the same playes Olimpicalles asked him many questions of sondry matters whereof I wyll make mention here of the chiefest ¶ The questions demaunded of the Philosopher Bias. THe first question was this Tell me who is the vnhappiest man in the worlde Bias aunswered He is moste vnhappy that is not paciente in aduersities For men are not killed with the aduersities they haue but with the impacience whiche they suffer The second was what is most hardest troublesome to iudge he answered There is nothing more difficulte then to iudge a contention betwixte two friendes For to iudge betwene two enemies th one remaineth a frend but to be iudge betwene two friendes the one is made an enemy The third was what is moste hardest to measure whereunto Bias aunswered Ther is nothing that needeth more circumspection then the measuring of time for the time shold be measured so iustly that by reason no time should want to do wel nor any time should abound to do euill The fourth was what thing is that that nedeth no excuse in the accomplishment therof Bias answered the thing that is promised must of necessity be parformed for otherwise he that doth lose the creadite of his word shoulde lose more then he that should lose the promise to him made The 5 was what thinge that is wherin the men aswell good as euill should take care Bias aunswered men ought not in any thinge to take so greate care as in sekinge counsayle and counselours for the prosperous times cannot be maintayned nor the multitude of enemyes resisted if it be not by wise men and graue counsayles The sixte was what thing that is wherin men are praised to be negligent he aunswered in one thinge only men haue lycence to be neglygente and that is in chosing of frendes Slowly ought thy frendes to be chosen and they neuer after for any thing ought to be forsaken The seuenth what is that which the afflyeted man doth most desire Bias aunswered It is the chaunge of fortune and the thing which the prosperous man doth most abhorre is to thinke that fortune is mutable For the vnfortunate man hopeth for euery chaunge of fortune to be made better and the wealthye man feareth through euery chaunge to be depriued of hys house These wer the questions which the philosophers demaunded of Bias in the playes of the mount Olimpus in the 60 Olimpiad The philosopher Bias liued 95. yeres and as hee drew nere his death the Prienenses shewing them selues to be maruelous sorofull for the losse of suche a famous man desired him earnestly to ordeine some lawes wherby they myght know howe to chose captaynes or some Prince whiche after hym mighte gouerne the Realme The phylosopher Bias vnderstandinge their honeste requestes gaue theym certaine lawes in fewe woordes whiche folowe Of the whyche the deuine Plato maketh mencion in his booke De legibus and lykewise Aristotle in the booke of Occonomices ¶ The Lawes whych Bias gaue to the Prienenses WE ordeine and commaunde that no man be chosen to be prince amonge the people vnlesse he be at least 40 yeres of age For gouernours ought to be of such age that nether youth nor small experience should cause theym to erre in their affaires nor weakenes through ouermuch age should hinder them from taking paines We ordeine and commaund that none be chosen amongest the Prienenses gouernour if he be not wel learned in the greke letters For there is no greater plague in the publik weale then for him to lack wisedome whych gouerneth the same We ordeine and commaunde that ther be none amongest the Prienenses chosen gouernour vnlesse he hath bene brought vp in the warres 10. yeres at the leaste For he alone dothe knowe how precious a thing peace is whych by experience hath felte the extreme miseryes of warre We ordeine and commaund that if any haue bene noted to be cruel that he be not chosen for gouernour of the people For that man that is cruel is likely to be a tyrant We ordeine comaund that if the gouernor of the Prienenses be so hardy or dare presume to breake the aunciēt lawes of the people that in such case he be depriued from thoffice of the gouernour and lykewise exiled from the people For there is nothing that destroyeth soner a publike weale then to ordeine new and fond lawes and
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
whereby they may beare and suffre quietly suche great troubles For at this daye there is no husbande so louing nor so vertuous in whom the wife shall not finde some euill conditions First of al wiues ought to endeuour them selues to loue their husbandes vnfainedly if they desire their husbandes should loue them without dissimulation for as we see by experience mariage is seldome broken through pouertie nor yet continued with riches For the euill maried folkes through debate and strife be separated in on week where as by good and true loue they are preserued all the dayes of their life To eate drie and vnsauory meates they vse to take salte for to amende it I meane that the burdens of matrimonie are many and troublesome the whiche all with loue onely maye be endured For as Plato the deuine philosopher sayeth one thinge oughte not to be called more painefull then an other for the labour we thereunto employ but for the great or small loue that thereunto we haue Though some sondry thyngs be troublesome and tedious yet when with loue it is begonne it is easely folowed and ioyefully achieued for that trauayle is nothyng noysome where loue is the mediatour I knowe right well and doe confesse that the counsell whiche I geue to women is sharpe that is for an honest woman to loue a dissolute man for a sage wyfe to loue a foolishe husbande for a vertuous wyfe to loue a vitious husbande For as dayly experience sheweth there are some men of so foolish conditions other women of so noble conuersation that by reason apparant they ought to take them for mistresses rather then they should accepte them for husbandes Although this in some particuler cases is true I saye and affirme that generally all women are bounde to loue their husbandes since that willingly and not by compulsion they were not enforced to take them for in like manner if the mariage pleased not the woman she hath not so much cause to complaine of her husbande for asking her as she hath reason to complayne of her owne selfe that accepted hym For the misfortunes that by our folly doe chaunce though we haue cause to lamente them we ought also to haue reason to dissemble them Be the man neuer so wylde and euill brought vp it is impossible if the wife loue him but he must nedes loue her againe And though perchaunce he can not force his euill condition to loue her yet at the leaste he shall haue no occasion to hate her The whiche ought not to be litle estemed for there are many wyues not onely of the Plebeians but also of the noble dames that coulde be content to forgeue their husbandes all the pleasure they should doe them and also all the loue that they ought to shewe if they would refraine their tongues from speaking iniurious wordes and kepe their handes from dealinge lothsome stripes We haue many notable examples in histories of manye noble and stoute Ladies as well Grekes as Romaines whiche after they were maried had so great faithfulnes and bare suche loyaltie to their husbandes that they not onely folowed them in their trauailes but also deliuered them in their daungers Plutarche in the booke of noble women declareth that the Lacedemonians keping many nobles of the Athenians prisoners whiche at that tyme were their cruell and mortall enemies and beinge iudged to die their wyues concluded to goe to the pryson where they laye and in the ende they obtayned of the Gayler thereof that they myght goe in and talke with their husbandes for in dede the teares were many that before them were shed the giftes were not fewe whiche vnto them were offered The wiues therefore entring into the pryson did not onely chaunge their apparell with their husbandes but also the libertie of their personnes for they went out as women and the women in their steades remained there as men And when they brought out these innocent wyues from pryson to execute iustice supposing they were men the Lacedemonians vnderstandinge the faithfulnes of the women determined that they should not only be pardoned but also that they should be greatly rewarded and honoured for the good examples of other women to whom they were maried The auncient and great renowmed Panthea when newes was brought her that her husbande was dead in the battayle she her owne selfe determined to goe seke him out with hope that as yet he was not vtterly dead and fynding him dead with the bloud of him she washed all her body and likewyse her face stryking with a knife her selfe to the harte and imbracing her husbande she yelded vp the ghost so togethers they were caried to the graue Porcia the doughter of Marcus Porcia the great when she hearde that her husband Brutus was taken and slayn she felte for that newes so great sorowe that all her frendes seinge her take the matter so greuously hidde from her all Irone where with she might kill her selfe and did laboure to kepe and preserue her from daungers wherein she might fall and shorten her life For she was so excellent a Romaine and so necessary to the common wealth that if they had lamented the death of Brutus her husband with teares of their eies they ought to bewayle the losse of his wife Porcia with droppes of bloud in their hartes Porcia therefore feeling in her selfe a wofull and afflicted harte for the death of her entierly beloued husband to declare that that whiche she did was not fained nor for to please the people but to satisfie her great marueilous loue since she founde neither sworde nor knife to kill her selfe nor corde to hange her selfe neither welle to drowne her in she went to the fire and with as great pleasure did eate the hote firie coales as an other would haue eaten any delicate meates We may say that such kinde of death was very straunge and newe whiche the Romaine founde to encrease augmente and manifest her loue Yet we can not denie but that she wanne to the posteritie of her name a perpetuall memorie For as a noble dame she would quenche with coles of fire her burning harte that enflamed was with firie brondes of loue As Diodorus Siculus saith it was a lawe custome amongest the Lidians to mary them selues with many wiues and whan by chaunce their husbande 's died the wiues which they had met together and fought in some plaine place And the women which remained only aliue and of the conflict had the victory cast them selues into the graue of their husbande so that those women then fought for to die as men nowe fight for to liue ¶ Of the reuenge a woman of Grece toke of him that had killed her husband in hope to haue her in mariage Cap. v. PLutarche in the booke that he made of the noble and worthy women declareth a thing worthy of rehersall and to be had in memory In the citie of Galacia were two renowmed citezens whose names
in their gardeynes banqueting others in the market byeng and others in the middes of the streates here and there gaddyng but the famous Lucretia was found in her house alone weuing in silke so that she flyeng company for that she would not be sene made her selfe in her honour and renowne better to be knowen I wil giue an other counsell to Princesses and great Ladyes the which I am willyng to giue so I wishe they would be as desyrous to receiue that is to wete if they will be estemed and counted for honest women that they must kepe them selues from euil company For thoughe the stinking carreine doth no harme because we eate it not yet the vnsauorye sent therof annoyeth vs by smelling The honour of women is so delicate a thing that if we giue them lycence to go abrode to vysite women we must also giue them leue to be visited of men For that one Dame should visite an other it semeth much charitie but that men should vysite women I cannot but thinke it much dishonestye In the presence of their husbandes and nere kynnesfolkes they may be visited and talked withall and this is to be vnderstode of approued and honest personnes not withstanding I say if the husband be not at home I would it shold be compted sacrilege if any man passe the thresshold of the doore to visite the wife Plutarche saith in the booke of the prayses of women that the wiues of the Numydians when their husbandes were gone out of their houses kept their gates shut locked them selues in their houses and they had a lawe that what so euer he were that knocked at the dore beyng shutte without calling he should haue his righte hand cutte of Cicero in the booke of his lawes saieth that amongest the Romaines ther was an auncient law and much vsed that if perchaunce any woman did owe any monye to any man and that the husbande beinge the detter were out of his house the creditour should not aske his wife the debt bycause that vnder the couller of recouering the goodes he should not dishonour her in her fame I would say therefore that if the creditour was not permitted in Rome to recouer his good for that the wife was not of her husbande accompanyed muche lesse they woulde giue lycence to visite a woman alone For it were more reason that the creditour shoulde enter for to recouer his goodes then thou shouldest enter onlye for thy pastime The deuine Plato in the bookes of the common wealth sayth and by profound reasons perswadeth the wiues of Grece that they haue no secret frendes but that euery one kepe this saying in memory for a principal that the woman ought not to haue any other frend but her husband For women oughte not to haue lycence to make frendes nor condicions to make ennemyes Princesses and greate Dames oughte to consider that euery one of them geueth their bodies their goodes and their liberty to their husbands Then since it is so I say that with the lybertie she ought also to geue him her will For it lytel auaileth the man and the wife that their goodes be common if their willes be priuate For to the end that god be serued and the people edified both ought in one house to abide at one table togethers to eate in one bedde to slepe and besides this they both ought one thinge to loue For if the man and the wife in loue do differ in their lyues they shal neuer be quiete I admonysh desire and counsel all women if they wil be wel maried that they thinke it good that their husband wil that they prayse al that he prayseth that they proue al that he proueth that they content them selues with that wherwith their husbandes are contented aboue al that they loue no more then their husbandes shal loue for otherwise it might be that the wife should set her eyes vpon one and the husband ingage his hart to an other Plutarche in the booke of his pollytikes sayth that a woman after she is maried hath nothing propre for the day that she contracteth mamariage she maketh her husband the only Lord of her goodes her libertie and of her personne So that if the wife willeth any other thing then that which the husband willeth if she would loue any other thing then that that her husband loueth we wil not cal her a true louer but an open thefe for theaues do not so much harme to robbe the husband of his moneye as the wife doth in withdrawing from him her hart If the woman wil lyue in peace with her husband she ought to marke wherunto he is enclyned for so much as if he be mery she ought to reioyce and if he be sadde she must temper her selfe if he be couetous she should kepe if he be prodigall she shoulde spend if he be vnpacient she should dyssemble and if he be suspected she must beware For the woman which is wise and sage if she can not as she would she ought to wyl what she may Wel whether the husband be euil inclined or in his condicions euyl manered I sweare that he cannot suffer that his wife shold haue any other louers For though the man be of a meane stocke he had rather alwayes that his wife should loue him alone then the best of the nobilitie in the towne One thing I cannot dissemble bycause I se that god is therwith offended Which is that many Ladyes make their excuses through sicknes because they would not past once in the weke come to here seruyce and yet we se them busye dayly trotting about to vysite their frendes and the worst of al is that in the morning for cold they wil not ryse to go to the churches and yet afterwardes in the heate of the daye they go a gaddyng from house to house wheras they are often tymes vntyl night I would that the Ladyes would consider with theym selues before they should go out of their houses on visitacion to what end they go abroad and if perchaunce they go abroad to be loked on let them know for a sewerty that ther be few that wil prayse their beautye but ther be manye that will dyscommend their gaddyng And wherfore do these Dames assembel together for some graue matters I warrant you shal I tel you it is eyther to banquet with some dainty dishes to talke of their petigres to deuyse of their husbands to see who hath the best gowne to note who is euil attired to flatter the faire to laugh to scorne the foule to mourmure of their neighbours and that which is worst of al that they them selues which speake euyll of them that are absent do gnaw the one the other with enuye Seldome tymes it chaunceth that the Dames chide not with their husbands after that in this sort they haue bene together for somuche as the one noteth the euil apparel the other babblyng they note the one to be a foole and the other
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
that the doughters should inherit the goodes for to mary them selues with all Truly this law was very iust for the sonne that hath alwayes respect to the enheritaunce will not haue to his father any great confidence For he ought to be called a valiant Romaine knight that with his life hath wonne honour and by the sword hath gotten riches Since you are in straung realmes I praye you hartely that you be conuersaunt with the good as good brethren remēbring alwayes that you wer my children and that I gaue you both sucke of myne owne propre breastes And the daye that I shall here of your disagrement the same day shal be the end of my life For the discord in one citie of parentes doth more harme then a hole armie of enemys It is good for you my childrē to liue in loue concord togethers but it is more requisit to kepe you with the Romaine knightes The which with you you with thē if you do not loue together in the warres you shall neuer haue the vpper hand of your enemies For in great armies the discordes which rise emongest thē do more harme then the enemys do against whō they fight I think wel my children that you wold be very desirous to know of my estate that is to wete whether I am in health whether I am sick whether I am poore whether I am pleased or whether I am miscontented In this case I know not why you shold desire to know it since you ought to presuppose that accordyng to the troubles which I haue passed the miseries that with mine eyes I haue sene I am filled with this world for wise men after .50 yeres and vpwarde ought rather to apply their mindes how to receiue death thē to seke pleasurs to prolong life When mans flesh is weake it always desireth to be wel kept euen vnto the graue And as I am of flesh bone so I do feale the troubles of the world as al mortal men do But for al this do not think that to be pore or sick is the greatest misery neither thinke that to be hole riche is the chefest felicity for ther is none other felicity of the old fathers but for to se their childrē vertuous In my opiniō it is an honour to that countrey that the fathers haue such children which wil take profit with their counsell contrary wyse that the children haue such fathers which can giue it them For the child is happy that hath a wise father more happy is the father that hath not a folish sonne I do write oft times vnto you my children but there is a law that none be so hardy to write to men of war in the field except first they inrowle the letters in the senate Therfore since I write vnto you more letters then they would they do send lesse then I desire Thoughe this law be painefull to mothers which haue children yet we must confesse it is profitable for the weale publik For if a man should write to one in the warre that his family is not well he would forsake the warres to remedye it Yf a man wryte vnto him that it is prosperous he hath then a desire to enioye it Be not displeased my children thoughe all the letters I do sende vnto you come not to your handes For all that I do not cease to visite the temples for your owne health nor yet to offre sacrifices to the Gods for your honour For if we do please the gods we haue not cause to feare our enemies I say no more in this case my children but that I beseche the immortall Gods that if your lyues maye profyte the common wealth then they shorten my dayes and lēgthen your yeres but if your lyues should be to the domage of the common wealth then those immortall gods I desire that first I may vnderstand the end of your dayes before that the wormes should eate my flesh For rather then by your euill lyfe the glory of our predecessours should be bleamished it were much better both your liues wer ended The grace of the Gods the good renowme amongest men the good fortune of the Romains that wisedom of the greekes the blessing of Scippio of al other your predecessours be alwayes with you my children Of the education and doctrine of children whiles they are yong Wherein the auctour declareth many notable histories Chap. xxxii ALl mortall men which will trauell and see good fruite of their trauell ought to do as the chefe artificer did that painted the world For the man that maketh god the head of his workes it is vnpossible that he should erre in the same That whych we beleue and reade by wrytinge is that the eternall created the world in short space by his mighte but preserued it a lōg time by his wisedome Wherof a man may gather that the time to do a thing is short but the care and thought to preserue it is long We see daily that a valiaunt captaine assaulteth his enemies but in the end it is god that giueth the victorye but let vs aske the conquerour what trauell it hath bene vnto him or wherin he hath perceaued most daunger that is to wete either to obteine the victory of his enemies or els to preserue them selues amongest the enuious and malicious I sweare and affirme that such a knight wil swere that ther is no comparison betwene the one and the other for by the bloudy sweard in an houre the victorye is obteined but to kepe it with reputation the swete of al the life is required Laertius in the booke of the lyfe of the philophers declareth and Plato also hereof maketh mention in the bookes of hys common wealth that those of Thebes vnderstandyng that the Lacedemonians hadde good lawes for that whych they were of the godes fauoured and of menne greatly honoured determined to send by common assent and agreement a wise philosopher the beste esteamed amongest them whose name was Phetonius to whome they commaunded that he should aske the lawes of the Lacedemonians and that he shoulde be verye circumspecte and ware to see what their rules and customes were Those of Thebes were then very noble valliant and honest so that their principal end was to come to honour renowme to erect buildinges to make them selues of immortall memory for beyng vertuous For in buildyng they were very curious and for vertues they had good Philosophers The philosopher Phetonius was more thē a yeare in the realme of the Lacedemonians beholding at sondry times all thinges therin for simple men do not note thinges but onely to satisfye the eyes but the wise menne beholdeth them for to know and vnderstand their secrettes After that the philosopher had well plainely sene and behelde all the thinges of the Lacedemonians he determined to returne home to Thebes and beyng arriued all the people came to see him and here him For the vanitie of the common people is
chose the good for lack of force cannot resiste the euil which is the cause that noble mens children ofttimes cōmit sondrye heynous offences For it is an infallible rule that the more a mā geueth him selfe to pleasures the more he is entangled in vices It is a thing worthy to be noted and woful to see how politike we be to augmente thinges of honour how bolde we be to enterprise them how fortunate to compas them how diligent to kepe them how circumspect to susteine them and afterwarde what pitie is it to see how vnfortunate we are to lose all that whiche so longe time we haue searched for kept and possessed And that which is moste to be lamented in this case is that the goodes and honour are not lost for wante of diligence trauaile of the father but for the aboundaunce of pleasures and vices of the sonne Finallye let the riche man knowe that that which he hath wonne in labour and toyle waking his sonne being euill brought vp shall consume in pleasures sleaping One of the greatest vanities that reigneth at this day among the children of vanitie is that the father can not shew vnto his sonne the loue which he beareth him but in suffering him to be brought vp in the pleasures and vanities of this life Truly he that is such a one ought not to be called a pitifull father but a cruel stepfather for no man wil denie me this but that where there is youth libertie pleasure and money there will all the vices of this world be resident Lycurgus the great king geuer of lawes and sage philosopher ordeined to the Lacedemonians that all the children whiche were borne in cities good townes should be sent to bringe vp in villages till they were .xxv. yeares of age As Liuius saith that the Lygures were which in olde time were confederate with those of Capua and great enemies to the people of Rome They had a lawe amongest them that none should take wages in the warres vnlesse he had bene brought vp in the fieldes or that he had bene a heard man in the mountaines so that through one of these twoo wayes their flesh was hardned their ioyntes accustomed to suffer the heate and the colde and their bodies more mete to endure the trauayles of the warres In the yeare of the foundation of Rome a hundred and fourty the Romaines made cruell warres with the Lygures against whome was sent Gneus Fabritius of the which in the ende he triumphed and the day folowyng this triumphe he spake vnto the Senate these wordes Worthy Senatours I haue bene these fiue yeares against the Ligures and by the immortall gods I swere vnto you that in al this time there passed not one weke but we had either battaile or some perilous skermiche And that whiche a man oughte moste to marueile at is that I neuer perceiued any feare or cowardlynes to be in those barbarous people whereby they were constrained to demaunde peace of the people of Rome These Lygures pursued with suche fearcenes the warres that oftetimes they toke awaye from vs all hope to winne the victory for betwene armies the great might of the one doth put alwayes the others in feare And I wyll tell you fathers conscript their brynging vp to the ende the Romaine youth should take hereby example When they are young they are put to be shepeheardes because they should accustome their fleshe in the mountaines to endure trauaile by the whiche custome they are so much maisters of them selues the countrey being alwayes ful of snowe Ise in the wynter also noisome through the extreame heate in the Sōmer that I sweare by the god Apollo in al this time of fiue yeres of those we haue not sene one prease to the fire in the winter nor couet the shadow in the sommer Do not ye thinke worthy Senatours that I was willing to declare vnto you these thinges in the Senate for any desire I haue that you should esteame any thing the more my triumphe but I doe tell it you to this ende that you may haue an eie and take heade to your men of warre to the ende they may alwayes be occupied and that you suffer them not to be idle For it is more perilous for the Romaine armies to be ouercome with vices then to be disconfited with their enemies And to talke of these matters more at large me thinketh they should prouide commaunde that riche men should not be so hardy to bring vp their children to delicatly for in the ende it is vnpossible that the delicate persone should winne with his handes the honour of many victories That which moued me to saye so muche as I haue sayed worthy Senatours is to the end you may know that the Ligures were not ouercome by the power of Rome but because fortune was against them And since in nothing fortune sheweth her selfe so variable as in the thinges of warre me thinketh that though the Ligures are nowe vanquished ouercome yet notwithstanding you ought to entertaine them in loue to take them for your confederates For it is not good councell to hazarde that into the handes of fortune which a man may compasse by frendship The authour of this whiche is spoken is called Iunius Pratus in the booke of the concorde of Realmes and he saith in that place that this captaine Gneus Fabritius was counted no lesse sage for that he spake then esteamed valiaunte for that he did In the olde time those of the Iles Balleares whiche nowe are called Maiorque and Minorque though they were not counted wyse yet at the least in bringing vp their children they shewed them selues not negligent Because they were brought vp in hardnes in their youth and could not endure all painefull exercises of the warres Those of Carthage gaue fiue prisoners of Rome for one sclaue of Maiorque Diodorus Siculus saith in those Iles the mother did not geue the children bread with their own handes but they did put it on an high pole so that they might see the bread with their eies but they could not reache it with their handes Wherefore when they woulde eate they should firste with hurling of stones or slinges winne it or elles faste Though the worke were of children yet the inuention came of a high wyt And hereof it came that the Balleares were esteamed for valiaunt mē as well in wrastling as in slinges for to hurle for they did hurle with a slinge to hit a white as the Lygures shoote nowe in a crosse bowe to hitte the prick Those of great Britayne whiche nowe we call Englande amongest all the Barbarous were men most barbarous but you ought to knowe that within the space of fewe yeares the Romaines were vanquished of them many tymes For tyme in all thinges bringeth such chaunge alteration that those which once we knew great lordes within a while after we haue sene them sclaues Herodian in his hystory of Seuerus
feuer which I haue I sawe this villaine standing boldely a whole houre on his feete al we beholdinge the earthe as amazed coulde not aunswere him one word For in dede this villaine confuted vs with his purpose astonied vs to se the litle regarde he had of his life The senate afterwardes being al agreed the next day folowing we prouided new iudges for the ryuer of Danuby cōmaunded the villaine to deliuer vs by writing all that he had saide by mouth to the end it might be registred in the booke of good saiyng of straungers which were in the senate And further it was agreed that the saide villaine for the wise wordes he spake should be chosen senatour and of the free men of Rome he should be one and that for euer he should be sustayned with the cōmon treasour For our mother Rome hath alwaies bene praysed estemed not only to acquite the seruices which hath bene done vnto her but also the good wordes which were spoken in the Senate ¶ That princes noble men oughte to be very circumspect in chosinge iudges and offycers for therein consistethe the profyte of the publike weale Cap. vi ALexander the great as the historiographers say in his youth vsed hūting very much specially of the mountains that which is to be marueiled at he would not hunt Deare goats hares nor partriges but Tigers Lyberdes elephants cocodrilles and Lyons So that this mighty prince did not onely shewe the excellency of his courage in conqueringe proude princes but also in chasing of cruel sauage beasts Plutarche in his Apothegmes saiethe that the greate Alexander had a familiar seruaunt named Crotherus to whom often times he spake these words I let the to know Crotherus that the valyāt princes ought not only to be vpright in their realmes which they gouern but also to be circumspect in pastimes which they vse that the auctoritie whiche in the one they haue wonne in the other they do not lose When Alexander spake these wordes truely he was of more auctoritie then of yeares But in the ende he gaue this example more to be folowed cōmanded then to be reproued or blamed I saye to be folowed not in the huntinge that he exercysed but in the great courage which he shewed To the Plebeyans men of base condicion it is a litle thing that in one matter they shew their might in other things they re small power is knowen but to princes greate lordes it is a discommendable thing that in earnest matters any man should accuse them of pryde in thinges of sport they should count them for light For the noble valiaunt Prince in thinges of importaunce ought to shew great wisedome in meane things great stoutnes The case was such that Alexander the great hunting on the wilde mountaines by chaunce met with a cruel Lion as the good Prince would wyn his honor with the Lion also the Lion preserue his own life they were in griepes the one of the other so faste that bothe fell to the earthe where they striued almoste halfe an houre but in the ende the lyon remained there deade and the hardye Alexander escaped all bloudye This huntynge of Alexander and the Lyon thoroughe all Grece was greatlye renowmed I say gretly renowmed because the grauers painters drew a pourtrait forthwith in stone worke of this huntinge the grauers hereof were Lisippus and Leocarcus marueilous grauers of anuk workes which they made of mettall where they liuely set forth Alexander the Lion fighting also a familiar seruant of his named Crotherus being among the dogges beholding thē So that the worke semed not onely to represent an aūcient thing but that the Lyon Alexander Crotherus the dogges semed also to be aliue in the same chase Whē Alexander fought with the Lyon ther came an Embassatour from Sparthes to Macedonia who spake to Alexander these wordes Woulde to god immortall prince that the force you haue vsed with the Lyon in the mountain you had imployed against some prince for to be Lorde of the earth By the wordes of the Embassatour the deedes of Alexander may easely by gathered that as it is comly for Princes to be honest valiaunt and stout so to the contrary it is vnsemely for them to be bolde and rashe For thoughe princes of their goodes be lyberall yet of their lyfe they oughte not to be prodigall The diuine Plato in the tenth booke of his laws saieth that the .2 renowmed Philosophers of Thebes whose names were Adon Clinias fell at variaunce withe them selues to know in what thing the prince is bound to aduenture his life Clinias said that he ought to dye for any thing touching his honour Adon saide the contrarye That he should not hazarde his life vnles it were for maters touching the affaires of the common wealth Plato saieth those .2 philosophers had reason in that they saide but admit that occasion to dye shoulde be offred the prince for the one or the other he ought rather to dye for that thing touching iustice then for the thinge touchinge his honour For there is no great difference to dye more for the one then for the other Applying that we haue spoken to that we will speake I say that we do not desire nor we wil not that princes and greate lordes doe destroy them selues with Lions in the chase neither aduenture their persones in the warres nor that they put their liues in peril for the common weale but we only require them that they take some paines and care to prouide for thinges belonging to iustice For it is a more naturall hunting for princes to hunt out the vicious of their common weales then for to hunt the wilde bores in the thicke woodes To the end princes accomplish this which we haue spoken we wil not aske them time when they ought to eat slepe hunt sport recreate thē selues but that of the foure and twenty houres that be in the daye and nyghte theye take it for a pleasure and commoditie one houre to talke of iustice The gouernement of the commonweale consisteth not in that they should trauaile vntil they sweate and molest theire bodies shed theire bloude shorten theire lyues and lose theire pastimes but all consistethe in that they shoulde be dylygent to forsee the domages of their common wealth and likewise to prouyde for good mynysters of iustice We doe not demaunde Prynces and greate lordes to geue vs theire goodes nor we forbydde them not to eate to forsake slepe to sporte to hunte nor to putte theire lyues in daunger but we desyre and beseeche them that theye prouyde good mynysters of iustice for the common wealthe Firste they oughte to be very dyligente to serche them oute and afterwards to be more circūspect to examine thē for if we sighe withe teares to haue good Prynces we oughte muche more to praye that wee haue not euill offycers What profytethe it
like losse to that where a man loseth hym whom entierlye he loueth and of whom also he is derelye beloued The fatal destenies oughte to content them selues to haue annoyed mye house with so manye mysfortunes But after all this and aboue all this theye haue lefte me a wicked nephewe whiche shall bee myne heire and theye haue lefte vnto mee that all mye life I shall lament O Cato for that thou owest to the common wealthe I doe desire thee and by the immortall goddes I doe coniure thee that since thou arte a vertuous Romaine and censor of the people that thou prouyde for one of these two thinges that is to wete that this mye Nephewe doe serue mee or els ordeine that I dye forthewith For it is a greate crueltye that those doe pursue me whiche are aliue since it is nowe 40. yeares that I ceased not to bewaile the deade Cato beinge well enfourmed of that the olde man had tolde him and since he founde al that true whiche he spake he called vnto his presence the yonge Nephew and sayde vnto him these wordes If thou were suche a childe as thou oughtest to bee thou shouldest excuse mee of payne and thy selfe of trauaile But since it is not so I praye thee take that pacientlye that I shall commaunde thee and be thou assured that I will not commaund thee any thing that shal bee againste iustice For the vicious yonglinges as thou art ought to be more ashamed of the youthefullnes theye haue commytted then for the punishement whiche is geeuen vnto them Firste I commaunde thow bee whipte beecause thou arte dysobedyent and troublesome to thy graundefather Secondlye I commaunde that thou bee banished the limittes of Rome because thou arte a vicious yonge man Thyrdly I commaund that of all the goodes thou hast enherited thou shalt be disenherited because thou doest not obey thy graundfather And the cause why I geue suche seuere sentence is to the end that from heÌ„sforthe the yong shal not disobey the aged and also that those which haue enheryted great treasours shall not think that men shall permit them to bee more vicious then others Phalaris the tiraunt wryting to a frend of his which was very aged said these wordes the which rather semed spoken of a Philosopher then of a tirant I haue meruailed at thee am offeÌ„ded with the my friend Vetto to know as I do that in yeares thou arte verye aged and in workes verye yonge and also it greeueth mee that thou hast lost the credite of knoweledge in the schooles It greeueth mee more that through thee the priuilege shoold be lost which the old men haue accustomed to haue in Grece that is to wete that all the theeues all the periured and all the murderers were more sure when by white heares theye semed to be olde when they reteyred to the aulters of the temples O what goodnesse O what wisedome what valyauntnes and what innocencye oughte the aged men to haue in the auncient tyme since in Rome theye honoured them as goddes and in Grece theye priuileged those white heares as the temples Plinie in an epistle hee wrote to Fabatus sayeth that Pirrus king of the Epirotes demaunded a philosopher which was the best cytye of the worlde who aunswered The best cytye of the worlde is Molerda a place of three hundreth fyers in Achaia beecause all the walles are of blacke stones and all those whiche gouerne it haue hoarye heades And further hee sayde Woe bee vnto thee Rome Woe bee vnto thee Carthage woe bee vnto thee Numancia woe bee vnto thee Egypte and woe bee vnto thee Athens fyue cytyes whiche count them selues for the beste of the worlde whereof I am of a contrarye oppynion For theye auaunte them selues to haue whyte walles and are not ashamed to haue yonge Senatoures Thys phylosopher sayde verye well and I thynke noe manne wyll saye lesse then I haue sayde Of thys woorde Senex is deryued the name of a Senatoure for so were the gouernoures of Rome named because the fyrste Kynge that was Romulus chosé a hundred aged men to gouerne the common wealth and commaunded that all the other Romayne youthe shoold employe them selues to the warres Since wee haue spoken of the honour whyche in the olde tyme was geeuen to the auncient men it is reason wee knowe now from what yeare they counted men aged to the ende they shoolde bee honoured as aged men For the makers of lawes when they hadde established the honours whych ought to bee done to the aged dydde aswell ordeyne from what daye and yeare theye shoolde beeginne Dyuers auncyent Philosophers dyd put syx ages from the tyme of the byrthe of man till the houre of deathe That is to wete chyldehood which lasteth till seuen yeares Infancy whiche endureth vntill seuentene yeares Youth which continueth till thirty yeares Mannes estate which remayneth till fyftye and fyue yeares Age whyche endureth till three score and eyghtene yeares Croked age which remaineth till death And so after man had passed fiue and fyftye yeares they called hym aged Aulus Gelius in his tenth booke in the xxvii Chapter saieth that Tullius Hostillius who was kynge of the Romaines determined to count all the old and yonge whiche were amongest the people and also to know whych shoold bee called infaunts whych yong and whych olde And there was noe lytle dyfference amongest the Romayne Phylosophers and in the end it was decreed by the kyng and the Senate that men tyll seuenteene yeares shoold bee called infaunts and tyll syx and forty shoold bee called yong and from syx and forty vpwardes they shoold bee called olde If wee wyl obserue the lawe of the Romaynes wee know from what tyme wee are bound to call and honor the aged men But addyng hereunto it is reason that the olde men know to what prowesses and vertues they are bound to the ende that wyth reason and not wyth faynyng they bee serued For speakyng the trueth yf wee compare duty to duty they old men are more bound to vertue then the yong to seruice Wee can not denay but that all states of natyons great small yong and olde are bound to bee vertuous but in this case the one is more to bee blamed then the other For oftentimes if the yong do offend it is for that hee wanteth experience but if the olde man offend it is for the abundaunce of mallice Seneca in an Epystle sayde these woordes I let thee weete my friend Lucillus that I am very much offended and I do complayne not of any friend or foe but of my selfe and â—â—â—â—e other And the reason why I thynk thus is that I see my selfe olde in yeares and yong in vices so that lytle is that wherein I haue serued the gods much lesse is that I haue profyted meÌ„ And Seneca saith further he whiche praysethe hym selfe moste to be aged and that woulde be honoured for beinge aged oughte to be temperate in eatinge honest in apparayle
neuer had any one thought of their dead fathers Hee which of pure couetousnes and misery suffreth him self to dye for hunger and cold I think hee hath small deuotiō to geeue almes and much lesse to doo any man good If the couetous man say vnto vs that that which hee keepeth is for no other cause but to buyld a sumptuous chappell and to leaue of them some memory to this I aunswer That if such one doth it with his own proper swet and maketh restitucion of all the euill that hee hath doon it shal bee sanctified of all good men commended but if the couetous will that many liue in great pouerty only to make a rich tomb god doth not commaund that neither doth the church admit it for sacrifice done to god with the cryes and swet of others is not acceptable If the couetous tell vs that though they heap treasures it is not but at their death to distribute it to the poore and to bee brought honestly to the ground I say that I commend this purpose so his intent bee accordingly performed but I am sory the couetouse man shoold think hereby to merit and that hee shoold thus discharge the wickednes of his lyfe for the distribution of a lytle mony after his death I woold think it more sure that princes and great lords shoold spend their goods to mary poore maydens beeing orphans in their lyfe then to commaund money to bee dealt after their death For oft tymes the heirs or their executors the body interred doo little performe the will of the testator and much lesse obserue the legacyes beequethed though it bee to the vtter vndooing of the poore orphans O what guerdon and commendacion deserueth hee that iustly and truely dischargeth the legacies of the dead and of the surplus if any bee or with their own releeue the orphans and mary the poore maydens keeping them from the vyces of this world Suppose that a couetous man chaunceth to traffique at Medine in Spaine at Lions in Fraunce at Lisbone in Portingal at London in England at Andwarp in Flaunders at Millain in Lombardy at Florence in Italy at Palermo in Scicil at Prage in Boeme and at Buda in Hungary finally with his eies hee hath seene all Europe and by trafique hee hath knowledge of all Asia Admit now that in euery place hee hath gotten goods and that which hee hath gotten was not with whole cōscience but according to the companies so hath the offences been dyuers In this case if at the hour of death when the couetous man deuydeth hys money beetweene the children hee might also deuyd his offences so that hee dispossessing him self of the goods might therby bee free from the offences then it were well But alas it is not so for the wicked children lyue tryumphing on the earth with the goods and the miserable father goeth weepyng to hell wyth his sinnes ¶ Of a letter which the Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrot to his frend Cincinatus who beeing a Romayn knight became a marchaunt of Capua wherin hee toucheth those gentlemen whych take vpon them the trade of marchandise against their vocation It is deuyded into .iii. Chapters Cap. xxv MArck the Emperor with his brother Annius Verus fellow in the Empire wisheth to thee Cincinatus of Capua health to thy person and grace against thy euill fortune From the feast of our mother Berecinthe I haue seene neither seruaunt of thy house nor read any letter of thy hand which thing maketh mee suspect greatly that thy health is in daunger or that thou mistrustest our frendship for earnest frendship requireth dayly communication or visitation I pray thee bee not so careles from henceforth and doo not forget vs in such wise I mean that thou wilt come and see vs or at the least that thou wilt write vnto vs often for the letters of faithful frends though vtterly they doo not take from vs the desire of the presence yet at the least they make vs hope for a meeting I know that thou maist answer mee that in the common wealth of Capua thou art so busyed that it is impossible thou shooldst write vnto mee heereto I answer thee That in no affaires thou canst bee so occupied that it bee a lawful let not to communicat or write vnto thy frend For wee may wel call the tyme which wee liue to bee wel employed which is spent in the seruice of god and in the conuersation of our frends All the residue that wee wast in talking traueling sleeping eating and resting wee ought not to write it in the booke of lyfe but in the register of death For al bee it that in such semblable woorks the body is refreshed yet therwith the heart cannot bee comforted I swere vnto thee therfore my frend that it is impossible the man take any contentation of any worldly thing where the hart is not at rest for our comfort is not in the sinnues or in the bones of the body but in the liuely power of the soul It is long sithens that you and I haue knowen togethers it is long time likewise that I loued thee and thou mee and sith wee are so true old frends it is but reason that with good woorks wee doo renew our frendship For falsly they vsurp the name of frendship which are not cōuersant one wyth the other no more then if they were strāgers The man which speaketh not to mee which wryteth not to mee which seeth mee not which visiteth mee not which geeueth mee not to whom I geeue not I woold not hee were my enemy but it litle auaileth mee that hee call mee frend for perticuler frendship consisteth not in aboundance but that frends doo open their harts and talk with their persons Peraduēture thou wilt say that the great distaunce which is from Rome to that countrey hath beene occasion to deminish our frendship for the noble harts are on fier with the presence of that they loue and haue great paine with the absence of that they desire I aunswer that the farder the delicious wines are sent from the place where they grow the greater strength they haue I mean that heerein true frends are knowen whē their persons are furthest seuered for then are their willes most conioined Tell mee I pray thee Cincinnatus sithens always thou hast found mee a diligent frend in thy seruice why doost thou mistrust my faithfull good will The greene leaues outwardly doo shew that the tree inwardly is not dry I mean that the good woorks outwardly do declare the feruentnes of the hart inwardly If thou Cincinnatus presumest to bee a true frend of thy frend I will thou know this rule of frendship which is Where perfect loue is not there wāteth alway faithful seruice for the contrary hee the perfectly loueth assuredly shal bee serued I haue been am wil bee thyne therfore thou shalt doo mee great iniury if thou art not myne ¶ The Emperor proceedeth in his letter and declareth what
mother in the chariot to the temple So after that the feast was ended the mother not knowyng how to requite the benefite of her children with many teares beesought the goddesse Iuno that shee with the other gods woold bee contented to geeue her .ii. children the best thing that the gods coold geeue to their frends The goddesse Iuno aunswered her that shee was contented to require the other gods and that they woold doo it And the reward was that for this noble fact the gods ordeyned that Cleobolus and Biton shoold sleepe one day well and in the morning when they shoold wake they shoold dye The mother pitifully beewayling the death of her children and complaining of the gods the goddesse Iuno sayd vnto her Thou hast no cause why to complayn sins wee haue geeuen thee that thou hast demaunded and hast demaunded that which wee haue geeuen thee I am a goddesse and thou art my seruaunt therefore the gods haue geeuen to thy children the thing which they count most deare which is death For the greatest reuenge which amongst vs gods wee can take of our enemies is to let them liue long and the best thing that wee keepe for our frends is to make them dye quickly The auctor of this history is called Hisearchus in his politikes and Cicero in his first book of his Tusculanes In the I le of Delphos where the Oracle of the god Apollo was there was a sumptuous temple the which for want of reparacion fell down to the ground as often times it chaunceth to high sumptuous buyldings which from tyme to tyme are not repayred For if the walles dungeons castels and strong houses coold speak as well woold they complayn for that they doo not renew them as the old men doo for that wee doo not cherish them Triphon and Agamendo were two noble personages of Greece and counted for sage and rich men the which went vnto the temple of Apollo and buylt it new agayn as well with the labor of their persons as with the great expenses of their goods When the buylding was atchiued the god Apollo said vnto them that hee remembred well their good seruice wherefore hee woold they shoold demaund him any thing in reward of their trauail and with a good will it shoold bee graunted For the gods vse for a little seruice to geeue a great reward Triphon and Agamendo aunswered vnto the god Apollo that for their good will for their trauell and for their expenses they demaunded no other reward but that it woold please him to geeue them the best thing that might bee geeuen vnto man and that vnto them were most profit saying that the miserable men haue not the power to eschew the euill nor wisedom to choose the good The god Apollo aunswered that hee was contented to pay them their seruice which they had doon and to grant them that which they had demaunded By reason whereof Triphon and Agamendo hauing dyned sodeinly at the gates of the temple fell down dead So that the reward of their trauell was to pluck them out of their misery The end to declare these two examples is to th end that al mortal men may know that there is nothing so good in this world as to haue an end of this lyfe and though to lose it there bee no sauor yet at the least ther is profit For wee woold reproue a traueler of great foolishnes if sweating by the way hee woold sing and after at his iorneys end hee shoold beegin to weepe Is not hee simple which is sory for that hee is comen into the hauen is not hee simple that geeueth the battell and fighteth for that hee hath got the victory Is not hee stubbern which is in great distresse and is angry to bee succored Therefore more foolish simple and stubbern is hee which traueleth to dye and is loth to meet with death For death is the true refuge the perfect health the sure hauen the whole victory the flesh wythout bones fysh wythout scales and corne without straw Fynally after death wee haue nothing to beewail and much lesse to desire In the tyme of Adrian the emperor a philosopher called Secundus beeing marueilously learned made an oration at the funerall of a noble Romayn matrone a kinswoman of the emperors who spake exceeding much euill of lyfe marueilous much good of death And when the emperor demaunded him what death was the philosopher answered Death is an eternal sleepe a dissolucion of the body a terror of the rich a desire of the poore a thing inheritable a pilgrymage vncertain a theef of men a kynde of sleaping a shadow of lyfe a seperacion of the lyuing a company of the dead a resolution of all a rest of trauels and the end of all ydle desires Fynally death is the scourge of all euyll and the cheef reward of the good Truely this philosopher spake very well hee shoold not doo euill which profoundly woold consider that hee had spoken Seneca in an epistle declareth of a philosopher whose name was Bassus to whom when they demaunded what euil a man can haue in death since men feare it so much hee aunswered If any domage or fear is in him who dyeth it is not for the fear of death but for the vyce of him which dieth Wee may agree to that the philosopher sayd that euen as the deaf can not iudge harmony nor the blynd colours so lykewise they cannot say euill of death in especially hee which neuer tasted it For of all those which are dead none returned again to complayn of death and of these few that lyue all complayn of lyfe If any of the dead returned hyther to speak with the liuing and as they haue proued it so they woold tel vs. If there were any harm in secret death it were reason to haue some fear of death But though a man that neuer saw hard felt nor tasted death dooth speak euil of death shoold wee therefore fear death Those ought to haue doon some euil in their life whych doo fear and speak euill of death For in the last hour in the streight iudgement the good shal bee knowen and the euill discouered There is no prince nor knight rich nor poore whole nor sick lucky nor vnlucky whych I see with their vocacions to bee contented saue only the dead which in their graues are in peace and rest and are neyther couetous proud negligent vayn ambitious nor dissolute So that the state of the dead ought to bee best since wee see none therin to bee euil contented And since therefore those which are poore doo seeke wherewith to enrich them selues those which are sad doo seeke wherby to reioice and those which are sick doo seeke to bee healed why is it that those which haue such fear of death doo seeke some remedy against that fear In this case I woold say that hee which will not fear to dye let him vse him self well to liue For the giltles
thyng wherein they lyue so long deceyued And allbeeyt in deede this present woork sheweth to you but a few contriued lines yet god him self dooth know the payns wee haue taken herein hath been exceedyng great and this for two causes th one for that the matter is very straunge and dyuers from others thother to thynk that assuredly it should bee hated of those that want the taste of good discypline And therefore wee haue taken great care it should come out of our hands well refoormed and corrected to the end that courtiers might fynd out many sentences in yt profitable for thē and not one woord to trouble them Those noble men or gentlemen that wil from hencefoorth haue their children brought vp in princes courts shall fynd in this kooke all things they shall neede to prouide them of those also that haue been long courtiers shall fynd all that they ought to doo in court And such also as are the best fauored of princes and cary greatest reputacion of honor with them shall fynd likewise excellent good councells by meane whereof they may always maynteyn and continue them selues in the cheefest greatnes of their credit and fauor so that it may wel bee called a mitridatical electuary recuering and healing all malignaunt opilations Of all the bookes I haue hitherto compyled I haue dedicated some of them to the Imperiall maiesty others to those of best fauor credit with him where the readers may see that I rather glory to bee a satire then a flatterer for that in al my sentences they can not fynd one cloked woord to enlarge and imbetter my credit and estate But to the contrary they may read an infynyt number of others where I doo exhort them to gouern their persons discreetly and honorably and to amend their lyues thencefoorth Whan I imprinted the Dyal of princes together with Marcus Aurelius and brought them to lyght I wanted not backbyters and detracters that beeganne foorthwith to teare mee in peeces neither shal I want at this present as I beeleeue such as will not spare wyth venomus tongues to poyson my woork But lyke as then I litle wayd their sclaunderous speaches of mee euen so much lesse doo I now force what they can say against mee beeing assured they shal fynd in the end they haue yl spoken of mee and my poore woorks proceedyng from them rather of a certayn enuy that gnaweth their hart then of any default they fynd in my doctryne comforting my self yet in the assuraunce I haue that al their spight shal one day haue an end and my woorks shal euer bee found good and perdurable Here endeth the Argument ¶ The fourth booke of the Dyall of Princes Compiled by the Lord Antony Gueuara Bysshop of Mondogueto ¶ That it is more necessary for the courtyer abydyng in court to bee of lyuely spirit audacity then it is for the souldior that goeth to serue in the warres Cap. i. PLutarch Plinie and Titus Liuius declare that kyng Agiges one day requested the oracle of Appollo to tell hym who was the happiest man in the world to whom aunswer was made that it was a man they called Aglaon bee knowen of the gods and vnknowen of men This kyng Agiges makyng then search for this man thorough all Greece who was called Aglaon found at length that it was a poore gardyner dwellyng in Archadia who beeing of the age of three score years and twoo neuer went aboue a myle from his house keepyng hym self and his famyly contynually wyth hys onely labor and tyllage of hys gardeyn Now all bee it there were in the world of better parentage and lynage then hee better accompanyed of seruaunts and tenaunts better prouyded of goods and ryches hygher in dygnyty and of greater authoryty then hee yet for all this was this Aglaon the happyest of the world And thys was for that hee neuer haunted Prynces courts neyther by enuy to bee ouerthrowen nor yet by auaryce to bee ouercome For many tymes it chaunceth to men that when they would least geeue them selues to acquayntaunce then come they most to bee knowen and when they make least account of them selues then commeth there an occasyon to make them to bee most reputed of For they wynne more honor that dispyse these goods honors and ryches of thys world then those doo that continually gape and seeke after the same And therefore wee should more enuy Aglaon wyth hys lytel gardeyn then Alexander the great wyth hys myghty Asia For trew contentacion consysteth not in hauyng aboundaunce but in beeyng contented with that lytle hee hath Yt is a mockry and woorthely hee deserueth to bee laughed at that thynketh contentacion lyeth in hauyng much or in beeyng of great authoryty for such ways are redyer to make vs stumble yea and many tymes to fall down ryght then safly to assure vs to goe on our way The punyshment that God gaue to Cain for murderyng of his brother Abel was that his body contynually trembled and hee euer after wandered thorough the world so that hee neuer found ground wheare hee might enhabyt nor house where hee might herber And albeeit this malediction of Cain was the fyrst that euer god ordeyned I durst affirme notwythstandyng that it remayneth as yet vntyll this present day amongst courtyers syth wee see them dayly traueyle and runne into straunge countreis dayly chaungyng and seekyng new lodgyngs Which maketh mee once agayn to say that Aglaon was counted happy for that onely hee neuer romed farre frō hys house For to say truely there is no mysery comparable to that of the courtier that is bound dayly to lye in others howses hauyng none of hys own to goe too And hee onely may bee called happy that putteth not hym self in daunger to serue others Iulius Cesar beeyng councelled to wayt vppon the consull Silla to the end that by seruyng or beeyng about hym hee myght doo hym self great good and yt myght bee very profytable to hym aunswered thus I sweare by the immortall gods I wyll neuer serue any on hope to bee more woorth and greater then I am For thys I am suer of that where lyberty is exiled there myght nor power can preuayle Hee that forsaketh his own countrey where hee lyued at ease and in health and the place where hee was knowen and beeloued the neyghbors of whom hee was visyted the frends of whom hee was serued the parents of whom hee was honored the goods wherewith hee mayntayned him self hys wife and children of whom hee had a thousand pleasures and consolations and that commeth to serue and dye in the court I can not say otherwise of hym but that hee is a very foole or that hee commeth to doe penaunce for some notable cryme hee hath commytted And therefore not wythout great cause was thys name of court whych in our tongue sygnyfyeth short adhibited to the pallace of prynces where all things in deede are short onely enuy and malice excepted which contynue long Hee
person both whom I reprooued diuers times as hys familiar frend of his prodigall lyuing and ill speakyng And hee made mee thys aunswer ▪ Truely sir those that report that I speak ill of thē it is them selues that doo yt of mee if I follow them therein it is for nothing els but to bee a witnes for thē if any seeke to impugne their saiyngs but suer of my self I neuer vttered or deuised woord that might bee to the preiudice of any O what ill causeth he that speaketh ill of an other hee onely offendeth not that beginneth but hee that assisteth him much more hee that heareth him after publisheth it but aboue all hee that telleth it abrode addeth more then hee hard The fauored of princes must also think that though they are prohibited to speak much yet it is most fyt and decent for them to bee true faithful secretaries For there is no thing the prince priseth more then the secret brest of his fauored courtier And therefore I say not wtout cause that they ought to bee secret but most secret For the esteemed courtier must haue a better consideracion of his princes secrets committed to him then of the benefits hee receiueth of him Suer yt ys no small but a great most necessary vertue in a man to bee close of few woords so secret in deede that hee make no more countenance of that was told him priuily then if he had neuer hard it spokē of I know an other maner of people so prone ro speak ill that they cannot keepe secret their own faults much lesse others faults publishing them in euery corner Cecilius Metellus being asked one day of a Centucion what hee ment to doo the next day followyng aunswered thus Think not Centurion that those things I am determined to doo my hāds shal so lightly discouer for I am of this mynd if I knew that my shirt had any knowledge of that I will doo to morrow I woold put it of throw it straight in the fyer see it burned before my face It is not a like trust to put money into one mans hands of trust to commit secrets to the brest of an other this to bee true wee see it plainly that the prince deliuereth his goods and treasure to the custody of many but his secrets hee commytteth onely to one The fauored of princes ought to bee so secret that what so euer they see the prince doo or say bee it in the presence of dyners and that they are told of it by many Yet they ought not to bee acknowen of it For in deede the prince speaketh many things commonly for his pleasure which being reported agayn of the fauored courtier wil bee thought true most certayn Therefore speakyng generally of this matter I say that surely frendes are greatly bound to keepe the secrets of their frends For that day I discouer my intent to any the self same I make him lord of my liberty Therefore let that man think hee hath woonne a maruelous treasure that hath a secret frend For without doubt it is no such matter of importaunce to keep treasure saflye locked vp in a chest as it is to commit trust secrets to the hart of an other Plutark writeth that the Athenians hauing warres with king Phillip because there came certayn letters of kyng Phillips to their hands intercepted by their scouts directed and sent vnto his wife Olimpa Which they no sooner vnderstoode but they presently returned agayn safely sealed and vntouched of them as they came first vnto them saying that syth by their law they were bound to bee secret they would not reueale the secrets of others notwithstāding they were their mortal enemies as king Phillip was to thē therefore they woold neither see them nor read thē openly Diodorus Siculus sayeth also that among the Egiptians it was a criminall act for any man to bewray the secrets of an other which was prooued trew by thexample of a preest that in the temple of the goddes Isis had deflowered a virgine they both trusting to the fydelitie of an other preest making their loue knowen vnto him euen as they were in Venus sweete delights hee not regarding any lenger their secrets in ipso facto exclamed cried out therupon cōuict apprehēded by the iustice these poore louers were myserably executed this spightful vnfortunat preest condignely banished And this banished preest cōplaining of thiniust sentence saiyng that that hee reueled was in fauor of the religiō for the behoofe of the cōmon wealth the iudge aūswered him thus If thou hadst knowen their offence of thy self wtout their notice geeuē thee thou hadst had reasō to haue cōplained of our sentence but synce they trusted thee with their dooings thou gauest thē thy woord promis to bee secret if thou hadst called to mynd the bond thou were bound to them in that thy self did freely wtout their cōpulsiō submit thy self vnto thou wooldst not once haue dared to haue published the fact as thou hast doon Plutark in his booke de exilio saieth that a man of Athens once demaunded an Egiptian disciple of a philosopher what he had vnder his cloke aūswered him thus Truely thou hast studied litle born away lesse although thou art an Athenian born syth thou seest that I cary secretly that thou demaundst because thou nor no other should know it yet thou askest it of my self what it is that I cary Anasillus that was a captayn of the Athenians was takē of the Lacedemonians put to the torture because hee should tel that hee knew what the king Agesilaus his Land maister did to whom hee gaue this aunswer You Lacedemoniās haue liberty to dismēber mee heaw mee in peces but so haue not I to reuele my lord maisters secrets For in Athens wee vse rather to dye then to be wray the secrets of our frend Kyng Lisimachus entreated the philosopher Philipides very earnestly that hee woold come dwell with him but hee made them this answer I woold bee very glad to bee in your cōpany knowīg you to be a fauorer of philosophy if you wil go to the warres I wil follow you if you trust mee with your goods I wil keepe them carefully faithfully if you haue children I wil teach them with al my hart if you wil vse my counsel in your affairs I wil geeue you the best I can And if you will also geeue mee the charge of your cōmon wealth I wil gouern it with my best discretion Only one thing I wil request you that you wil neuer cōmaund mee that is not to make mee partaker of your secrets For it might happen that what you had told mee in secret your self vnwares at a time might tell it openly and yet not think of it and beeing afterwards told you by some other you woold presently enter into suspect that it came to
neuer toke care for thy absence I alwaies iudged thy persō safe Thē tel me Marke what dost thou now in thy age I thinke thou carieste thy lance not to serue thy tourne in thy warre but to leane on whē the gout taketh the Thy head pece I iudge thou hast not to defend the from stroks of swords but to drinke withal in tauernes I neuer sawe the strike any man with thy sword but I haue sene the kil a thousand womē with thy tongue O malicious Marke if thou wert as valiaunte as thou art spiteful thou shouldest be no lesse feared among the barbarous nacions then thou art abhorred with good reason amongest the Romaines Tel me what thou list but thou canst not deny but both thou hast bene arte a slacke louer a cowardly knight an vnknowen frend auaricious infamed an ennemy to all men frend to none Moreouer we that knew the a lyght yong mā condemne the now for an old doting foole Thou saiest that taking my letter into thy handes forthwith thy hart receiued the hearbe of malyce I beleue the wel vnsworne for any thing touching malyce doth streight find harber in thy brest The beasts corrupted do take poison which the sound of good complection refuseth Of one thing I am sure thou shalt not die of poison For seldom times one poison hurteth another but it driueth out the other O malicious Marke if al they in Rome knew the as wel as the vnhappie Boemia dothe they should se how much the words that thou speakest differ from the intencion of thy hart And as by the bookes thou makest thou meritest the name of a philosopher euen so for the ilnes thou inuentest thou dost deserue the name of a tiraunt Thou saist thou sawest neuer constancy in a womans loue nor end in her hate I ioy not a litle that other ladies in Rome as wel as I doo know thy smal wisedom Behold Marke I wil not mocke the For thou art such a one as neuer deserued that one shold begin to loue nor end to hate Wilt thou haue stabilite in loue and thou vnthankeful of thy seruyce wilte thou serue in mockerie and be beloued faithfully wilt thou enioy the parson without spending any of the goods wilt thou haue no complaints on the thou ceasest not thy malice Thou knowest the il of womē I wil thou know that we be not so folishe as ye wene vs nor thou so wise as thou praisest thy selfe to be Hitherto we haue sene mo men folow the desire of women then women haue liked to folow men I haue sene a thousand times yea thou thy selfe that one man hath not so mighty a hart as to ouercome three wise womē one woman holdeth her selfe strong inough to subdue .iii. C. lighte persons Thou saist thou art ashamed of my lightnes to se me forsake Rome come to the into the warres Great is the loue of the countrey and many leaue much goodes which they haue in straunge landes to lyue poorely in their owne but greater is thy loue sith I would leaue Rome with the delites therin come to seke the in straung lands amonge the rude souldiours O malicious Marke O straunge frend If I leaue Rome it were to goe seke my harte whiche is with thee in the warres And certainly oftentimes when I thinke of thy absence I fall into a swoune as one that hadde no harte but I neuer fynde remedy I thinke oure loue is not like to these beastes whiche haue their myndes only vpon sensual pleasures without the cōioyning of the louing hartes I sweare to the by the goddesse Vestal the mother Berecinthia that thou owest more to me for the loue I haue borne to thee in one day then for the seruice I haue done to thee in .xxii. yeres Behold vnhappy Marke howe much and dearly I loued thee In thy presence I alwayes behelde thee and absent I alwayes thought of thee sleping I dreamed on thee I haue wepte for thy sorowes and laught at thy pleasures and finally al my wealth I wished thee and al thy misfortunes I toke as mine I ensure thee of one thing that I fele not so much the persecution thou hast done to me as I doe the wayling forgetfulnes thou shewest to me It is a great griefe to a couetous man to lose his goodes but without comparison it is a greater torment for the louer to see his loue euill bestowed It is a hurt that is alwayes sore and a payne alwayes paynefull a sorowe always sorowfull and it is a death that neuer endeth O if men knewe howe dearly and faithfully women doe loue when they are bent to loue and with what malicious harte they hate being set to hate I sweare to you ye would neuer company with them in loue or if ye did loue them ye would neuer leaue for feare of their hate And as there is neuer great hate but where there was first much loue euen so thou shalt neuer be greatly hated for that thou wert neuer truly beloued of the ladies The sorowful Boeme hath loued thee xxii yeares of her life and nowe she onely hateth thee till after her deathe Thou sayst I may be eaten for veriuyce and yet would be solde for wyne I knowe I haue erred as one both young and light and when I founde me to straye out of the waye I was to farre gone and my mishappe coulde no other way nor remedy It is a great losse of all losses when there is no remedy I haue offended as a weake and frayle woman but thou as a man strong I erred by simple ignoraunce but thou of a purposed and wilful malice I sinned not knowyng that I did amisse but thou knewest what thou diddest I did credite thy wordes as a faithfull knighte and thou betraidest me with a .1000 lyes as a common lier Tell me diddest not thou seke occasion to come into my mothers house Getulia to entise me her doughter Boemia to thy mynde diddest not thou promise my father to teache me to reade in one yeare and readest me Ouide of the act of loue didest not thou sweare to mary me and after withdrewe thy hande as a false adulterer doest thou not knowe that thou neuer foundest in my persone any vyllany nor in thy mouthe any truthe At the least thou canst not deny but thou hast offended the gods thou art defamed amongest mē odious to the Romains a sclaunderer of the good folkes an example to the ill and finally a traitour to my father a breaker of thy faith to my mother and to me the vnhappy Boemia an vnkynde louer O malicious Marke hast thou not cut me in leaues offering to my father to kepe his vines safe Euell may the chicken truste the Kyte or the Lambes the Wolfe or the Doues the Faucon but thou arte worse to bring vp the doughters of good men O cursed Marke a hurtfull keaper of vines hath the Matrone of Rome founde thee in