and lawes to runne in contempt And both the one and the other is to be founde fault with if it be not tempered Saul was reprehended of God because hee slewe not Amelec And the Prophet sayd to Achab that he should die because hee had pardoned Benadad the King of Siria who had deserued death as also because he caused Naboth to be murthered The holie scripture doth also teache vs that the wrath of God is appeased by the punishment of the wicked and that his vengeance extendeth ouer all people for their iniquitie and contrariewise his blessing doeth spreade it selfe vppon whome soeuer hee chasteneth The wicked shalbe afraide and kept backe but the righteous shal bee preserued from the contagion of them that worke iniquitie For this cause the booke of the lawe founde againe in the time of Iosias is called the booke of the alliance of the Lorde the which hee commaunded the Priestes to deliuer to the King Samuel followinge this rule put it into the handes of Saul and according vnto the tenure thereof Iosias yeelded himselfe the feodarie and vassal of the Lorde Likewise the lawe which was giuen in the Arke was called the couenant of the Lorde And Salomon saide vnto God Lord thou hast chosen mee to raigne ouer thy people and to iudge ouer thy sonnes and daughters For this cause our Kings were euer willing that none should regarde the pardones they yeelded if they were grounded vppon so yll a foundation As also Micheas the Prophet detesteth and curseth in the name of God all such as obey the wicked ordinances of Kinges who for this cause haue had especiall care and commaundement to administer iustice esteeming themselues rather armed with the sworde to chastise the wicked then to repulse their enimies and are the ministers of God for the peoples benefite as the Apostle sayeth And to this ende they establish good and learned Iudges in all places that are voyde of passions if they followe the lawes otherwise they shoulde bringe into the flocke the Wolfe which they ought to chase away and render themselues culpable of the death of those innocentes that such pardoned men shoulde kill and so grace should neuer be without crueltie CHAP. XXVI The definition of Lying THE Philosophers were neuer wont to content themselues in declaring the propertie of vertues except they opposed vnto them their contrarie vice to the ende that the lothsomnes thereof being wel regarded the other mought be found more agreable So haue we of purpose discoursed of the trueth before we com to shew the vice of lying the which we may define by a contrary significatiō vnto the truth whē one speaketh of things vncertain contrarie to that which one knoweth making thē seeme other then they are S. Augustin writeth to Cōsentius that it is a false significatiō of spech with a wil to deceiue And when one speaketh more or lesse then is in deede it is a member of iniustice turning topsie turuie all humane societie and the amitie due vnto our neighbour for since that speach is giuen vnto vs to make manifest what we thinke and to instruct his vnderstanding of whome wee speake It is a foule fault to abuse it and to behaue our selues in other sort towardes our neighbour then we willingly woulde he shoulde towardes vs for as much as hee which desireth and expecteth from vs the trueth is deceiued and led into an errour and hauing afterwardes in time discouered the lye he will no more beleeue vs and wee shal lose the meanes to be able to instruct for euer For lyars only gaine this that albeit they say and speake the trueth yet shal they neuer be beleeued And in the holy scripture idolatrie hipocrisie superstition false weights false measures and al cosinages are called lying to the end that by so disformed a name we should the rather eschewe them The lyar is detested of God and called double of heart and toung because he speaketh one thing and doeth an other And for verie good respect sundrie of the auncient doctors haue written that the trueth being depraued there are ingendred an infinite number of absurdities heresies scismes and contentions And Socrates was wont to saye that it proceeded from a good will to enforce it selfe to remoue the foolish opinions of men and that it was not possible for him to approue a lye nor to dissemble the trueth And Homer writeth of the great and valiant Captaine Achilles that he did more hate and abhorre lying then hell or death And it is written in the olde and newe testament that God doeth abhorre all lying and that the true are gratious in his sight yea that a theefe is better than a man that is accustomed to lye And lying is contrarie to nature ayded by reason and seruaunt or handmayd to the trueth It is writen in Leuiticus Yee shall not steale neither deale falsly neither lye one to another CHAP. XXVII The effectes of Lying PHilo in his first booke of the contemplatiue life setteth downe all kind of wickednes to proceede from lying as all good doth from the trueth And if wee wel consider the causes of the seditions troubles heresies and quarels which alter whole estates publike quiet and mans conuersation we shall finde all to proceede from the infected fountaine of lying And that Achab and the most part of the Kings of Israel the Emperours Nero Commodus Maximinus Iulius Valencius and sundrie other as well of olde time as of ours haue thereby beene ruyned Gehazi the seruant of Elisha was stroken with a leprosie Ananias Saphira fell downe dead Haman was hanged on the tree he had prepared for Mardocheus The hande of Ieroboam was dryed vp Craesus King of Lidia draue awaye Solon reiecting the trueth he had tolde him which for all that afterwardes saued his life and Dionisius the tyrant of Sicil not being able to make his profite of that which Plato had declared vnto him nor to wash away the stayne of tyrannie was constrained in his banishment to confesse that that which he had hearde of Plato made him the better able to carrie so great a change Thorough a lye Ioseph was cast in prison and S. Chrisostome sent into banishment and an infinite number of other holy and great personages haue beene maruelously afflicted and manie realmes and common wealthes haue euen had the verie beginning of their ruine from thence The saide Chrisostome in the 28. Homelie vppon Iohn sayeth that nothing is so vnfirme or vnconstant as lying for what ayde or piller so euer it can come by it weakeneth so as it causeth it to fall of it selfe CHAP. 28. The punishments of Lying IT is written in the Prouerbs He that speaketh lyes shal not escape and in the booke of wisedome The mouth that speaketh lies slayeth the soule and in Ecclesiasticus The condition of liars are vnhonest and their shame is euer with them
of speech that will not holde his peace for feare of any when it should be time to speake and you shall finde in him such a courage and vertue as Diogenes the Cinike had that is to say a Dogge louer of mankind and this dogge shal be capable of reason that for your sake will barke against any other and against you to if you doe ought woorthy of blame euer for all that vsing prudence and discretion and hauing regarde to the time and season when he ought to performe his duetie Then Titus prayde him he would with speede bestowe that dogge vppon him that was so compagnable and loyall to whom he would giue leaue not only to barke when he should doe ought worthie of reprehension but also to bite him if he sawe him doe any thing vnworthy his aucthoritie He likewise neuer vsed such violence crueltie or tyrannie as did his brother Domitian For in trueth when the people of Rome and other nations yeelded the soueraigne power and right which they had vnto Monarches they neuer ment to put their liberty into their hands that would rather vse violence and passion then reason and equitie but to yeelde themselues to the tuition of such a one as would gouerne according to lawes reason and iustice And it is not possible that this first ordinance could be made without the consent of the subiectes for otherwise it could not be grounded vpon a lawfull Empire or kingdome but vpon an vnlawfull and tyrannicall vsurpation and it is necessarie that such a consent should retaine the nature of a contract in good fayth and a bonde counterchangable As wee see it in like sorte practised at this day in the greatest part of kingdomes and Empires that are in Christendom that it is the only foundation which mainteyneth them as Plutarke writeth the posts pillars which vpholde an estate Neither are Princes able without necessitie to dispence with the othe they take at their coronation and with the obligation which they owe to God and their subiects And according as Aristotle Herodotus Tacitus Demosthenes and Cicero haue written the first souerainitie proceeded from the good will and well liking of such as for their commoditie quiet and suertie submitted themselues to such as excelled in heroical prowes the better to be able to maintayne their ciuill societie thorough lawes And that he in whom was not founde the cause of this originall and image of safetie iustice clemencie and diuine bountie was a person vnworthie of such honour causing an infection to the body of the whole publicke weale And most notable is the saying of king Cyrus that it appertayned to none to cōmand but such as excelled their subiects in bountie goods of the minde The great King of Sparta Agesilaus aunswered those that so highly commended the magnificence greatnesse of the K. of Persia VVherefore is he greater then I except he be more iust then I For a king ought to cause him selfe to be loued and admired of his subiectes thorough the vertuous examples of his good life And Plutarke in the life of Pirrhus writeth that the Kinges tooke an oth that they should gouerne according to their lawes and that in so doing the people would obey thē Now we must needes confesse that they are giuen of God who as Daniel witnesseth establisheth and putteth downe Kings And Ieremiah writeth that he will bestowe kingdomes on whom it him best liketh And God sayth in the Prouerbes Through me kings raygne and Princes iudge the earth and if they do not he threatneth them in Iob that he will loose their celer and guirde their loynes with a girdle And the Queene of Saba sayde to Salomon that God had set him in his throne as Kinge insteede of the Lorde God to execute iudgement and iustice The which more plainely Salomon speaketh in his booke of wisedome Lorde thou hast choosen me to rule ouer thy people and to iudge thy sonnes daughters And the people is called the heritage of the Lorde and the King the gouernour of this heritage the guide light of Gods people And Aristotle in the fift booke of his Politiques sheweth that kinges often times tooke certaine offycers to conteine them in their duetie as did the Ephores about the kinges of Sparta The which Caesar declareth was greatly obserued among the Gaulois yeelding an example of Ambiorix and Vercingentorix The oth the greatest part that the Christian kings toke was I will minister lawe iustice protection aright to euery one And Zonarus wrote after Xenephon that the kings of Persia shewed them selues more subiect to lawes thē Lords had more feare shame to breake the lawes then the people had to be punished what they had offended And God instructing Ioshua what he shuld do aboue all things cōmanded him that the booke of the lawe should not depart out of his mouth but that he shuld meditate therin day night that he might obserue and doe according to all that is written therein For then should hee make his way prosperous and haue good successe Then it followeth in the text that the people promised to obey him in all As Xenophon writing of the commonwealth of the Lacedemonians sayth that monthly the kings did sweare to guide thēselues according to the lawes and the Ephores toke oth in the peoples behalfe that vpon that cōdition they would maintaine thē And S. Paul saith that euery power is of God whose seruants they are for the benefit of their subiects consequently they are bound to follow his wil rule giuē by Moses And the meanes which are of succession or election depend of the diuine prouidence which causeth thē to prosper Dauid hūbled himselfe to what was his dutie office making alliance with the deputies of the people and describeth the dutie of a good king in the 72.82 101. Psalmes And whilest he Salomon Ioas Ezechias other liued wel they continually prospered but falling from that fell into many miseries Pericles was cōmended for that as often as he put on his gowne he saide vnto himselfe remember that thou dost cōmand ouer a free nation ouer Athenians and ouer Greekes The which christian Princes haue more occasion to speak and obserue Agapet sayd of Iustinian that he maystred his pleasures being adorned with the crowne of temperaunce and clad with the purple of iustice And Ammian writeth that a Kingdome or Dukedome is nought else then the care of an others safetie and that where the lawe doth not gouerne there ruyne is at hande As Antiochus sayde to his sonne Demetrius that their kingdome was a noble slauerie And Plutarke in the life of Nicias reciteth the sayinge of Agamemnon in Euripides VVe liue to outwarde shew in greatnesse state and might Yet in effect we are you knowe but peoples seruants right Titus Liuius writeth that the Carthaginians punished their rulers
with ones disaduantage and not to giue place to the importunate 24 Examples of euils hapned to breakers of promise and of that which dependeth thereupon 26 Effects of the truth with exhortation not to change the statutes or lawes and not to daunce vpon holy dayes prayse of Frenchmen and a solution of that for which they are blamed 29 Of the meanes to withstande inconstancie and lightnesse and not to take in hande warre or fight without necessitie of the point of honour that one ought not to deferre a good purpose that the reading of good bookes giueth hardinesse and prudence that one ought not too hastely proceed in criminal iudgement that one ought to flie euill and seducing companies with other instructions to nobilitie worthie to be noted 42 That the truth findeth good that which many feare and flye and giueth contentment 51 Of the care which men haue had that youth might be instructed in the truth 60 Howe requisite it is to speake little and not to blase a secrete with aduise vppon newes inuented and of that which is to be spoken 61 That aswell of friendes as enemies one should learne the truth 68 That it is needefull to reade hystories there to see the trueth which one is a frayde to speake with aduise vppon the reading of all bookes and of the conquestes of Frenchmen of the meanes to keepe them and to assure a victorie of the dutie of a captayne and of that which is to be considered in examples and alterations 69 That one ought not to suffer himselfe to be deceiued by prayses nor be carryed away from modestie and that honour dependeth vpon vertue with aduise vpon the same or vpon the reproches or lyes of the people and howe much it is requisite to commaunde ones selfe 74 That without the truth there is nought else but darknesse and confusion and howe much the philosophers haue laboured to finde it out and howe farre wide they haue beene of it 80 Of disguisinges done to Princes and what is their dutie for their honour and quiet of their subiectes and of the miseries of the wicked of the obseruation of ordinances and of that which mainteineth or altereth an estate 83 That Princes ought to haue about them good councellours which may not spare to tell them the trueth and that their lyfe ought to serue as a rule and instruction to their subiectes not to graunt to any vniust thinge of excessiue giftes an aduertisement to such as are in fauour of warnings and that in all actions of importance one ought to take councell without trusting to his owne sufficiencie 95 That one ought not to iudge too readely of another 108 Of reprehensions and force of the truth with a description of detraction 109 That anger hindereth the truth of the euils which it bringes with it and of the meanes to resist it 113 Of the error of some authors which haue praysed promise breakers and the cruell of punishments of such what our gettinges and dealing with the great ought to be aduertisements to the readers and of pardonings 119 The definition of lying 127 The effectes of lying 128 The punishments of lying 129 That the periured and plasphemers are detestable lyers and the paynes for them 130 That lying in doctrine is most pernitious and that one ought carefully to search for the truth 134 That those which defer their amendment doe wrappe themselues in a daungerous lye 142 That ignorance is a lye and the gappe of great inconuenience 148 That one ought not rashly to borrowe money nor answere for another man for feare of lying 153 Of lying ingratitude 155 That lying hath made Poets and painters to be blamed and of the garnishing of houses 159 Of backebiters mockers and euill speakers and why the Comedians stage players and iuglers haue beene reiected 161 That accusers talebearers false pleaders and curious persons are of the same brotherhoode of lying 165 Of flatterers 168 That enuie is a miserable lye and of the meanes to remedy it 171 Howe pride ambition vaine boasting and presumption are lying and howe all passions leade cleane contrarie to what they pretende and who may be termed men of humilitie and of the meane which conteyneth vs therein 174 That painting is lying 183 That witches southsayers sorcerers and vserers are replenished with lying and how a man may exempt himselfe from them 185 Of the punishmentes which haue befallen vnto such as haue giuen eare vnto malitious surmises reiecting the truth 190 That we must auoyde sutes in lawe because of the lying and cawtell of the practisioners 192 That it is a lying in Iudges to receiue presents and what exercise is to be required to be meete with auarice buying of offices and couetousnesse 198 That it is a lye to be intemperate drunke excessife whoremonger player and ydle and to say that one would be in health of musicke Phisicke as wel for the bodie as the soule 209 What we ought to iudge of certaine examples of lying 225 Of the meanes howe to render a nation true and happie and of the bringing vp of youth 227 Of certaine pointes which might be added to this discourse 236 The conclusion 245 Politique discourses vpon Trueth and Lying CHAP. I. That the trueth is a vertue most praiseworthie by what it may be discerned and of that which hindereth the knowledge therof AMong the vertues contained in moral Philosophie the Trueth hath euer been esteemed as one of the moste praise worthie The which Plato called the fountaine of all goodnes and S. Augustine in his booke of the Citie of God ordaineth it as the King and faith as the foundation and piller of Iustice and all commen wealthes for so much as there is nothing more proper to man being formed according to the image of God than in his words and manners to approche him the nearest that he is able to make his words serue for no other ende than to declare his good intent meaning whereby he may be better able to informe his neighbour Agathius hauing written of the manners religion of the Persians saith that they had two gods as Marcion Manichaeus the heretikes haue heretofore helde the one good creator and aucthor of all good and of the light whome they called by the name of truth the other wicked aucthor of al euil resembling him to darkenes and ignorance And Martir intreating of the West Indies declareth that a certaine old man of the same countrie praying the first discouerer of them to behaue himself courteously shewed him that the soules of men departing their bodies passed by two wayes as also Philemon and Plato in his Phedon and tenth booke of his Common wealth hath written The one darke and obscure thorough which the soules of all cruell men wade grieuously tormented The other shining cleare full of all happinesse ordained for those that loue peace trueth and quietnes This the holie scripture ought more deepely to impresse into
piller defence And that which Dauid song that he whose heart is fixed beleeueth in the Lord wil not be afraide of any euill tydings Aristotle Pindarus Tacitus Salustus Cato were wont to say that it was a harder matter to gouerne a mans selfe wel in prosperitie then in aduersitie because often times prosperitie is accompanied with pride ignorance wantonnesse contempt of others licentiousnes intemperance and other vices which prouoke the wrath of God wheras aduersitie doth quicken our slepie spirites incourageth vs to modestie to feare praise cal vpon God to take better counsell reforme our life as a French Poet wrote that aduersitie and contrarie fortune did profit men more and do them more good then the sweet pleasant for by the latter they learn but ignorance through aduersitie are taught knowledge Which also Isocrates most learnedly intreated of in his Areopagitique thinking it a verie hard matter to iudge which of the two either pouertie or riches a man ought to leaue behind him to couet for his children The which made Aristides Curius an infinite number of other to liue in a verie base condition the which Demosthenes Lucain called a singuler gift of God and vnknown of men And Plutarque had reason to write that Lisander did more hurt the Lacedemonians in sending them store of riches and pretious mouables then Sylla did the Romanes in consuming the reuenues of their treasor And Plinie in his seuenth booke declareth what a number of men haue beene euen lost thorough too much wealth And the wise man sayeth in the Prouerbs that fooles are clean ruined through prosperitie and the end of all ioy is sorrow And the said Isocrates entreating of peace is of opinion that it is a most hard matter to gouerne ones selfe well in great estates and dignities the which he compareth to a courtisan and strumpet who entiseth to her loue the vnwise as a bait to the ruine both of their bodie soule and declareth that men are often times more sharpe addicted to euil matters superfluous rather then to the good necessarie And in what is to be desired they haue want of iudgement He likewise describeth how much more pleasant happie their life is which are accustomed to litle then other to great riches And Seneca aloweth the saying of Demetrius that nothing is more vnhappie then him who neuer knewe what euil fortune or aduersitiement and that the more torments be endured the more honor and that the more yll that happeneth vnto vs the more God is mindfull of vs as the Psalmist saieth In this life fewe are exempted from affliction be it in minde body or goods And albeit that God delighteth to doe good as Ieremias sayeth Chapter 32. yet doeth hee sometime what is not proper vnto him as to afflict to finish his worke and what good hee pretendeth to doe sayeth Esay Chap. 21. Saint Paul 1. Cor. 11. Heb. 12. And Osea writeth Chap. 2. that God wil stop the waye with thornes and make a hedge which leadeth to destruction to make vs returne vnto him Afflictions instruct vs to patience hope Rom. 5. They make vs humble incline vs to obey God Psalm 119. they retaine vs back from pleasures worldly things make vs haue recourse to God Which hath moued some to name affliction the saulce of prayer as appetite is of meate Moreouer we perceiue thereby that God hath a care of vs and doeth not account vs vnworthie of his visitations often times doth recompense vs doubly as we read in Ioseph Iob others And S. Paul saieth that they are not to bee compared to the glorie promised vs. It is not to be doubted but a sensible man will carrie him selfe euen in eche fortune promising no certaintie at all vnto himselfe in matters of this worlde beeing by nature so vncertaine And hauinge considered the vnstablenesse of humane things and the fatherly care which it hath pleased God to take of his hee cannot bee surprised at vnawares as in a suddaine incursion of the enimie And knowing hee holdeth all thinges from God as borowed ware hee rendreth them voluntarily and without griefe when hee which lent them doeth redemaunde them giuing him thankes for the time it hath pleased him to suffer him to enioy them that hee might not be founde vngratefull They also which desire but little cannot want much leading their barbarous and coueting passions by reason as the maisters voyce maketh the dogge to couche Sainct Chrisostome intreating of couetous desires sayeth that as the forme of the shooe is the foote and if it bee greater then it shoulde bee bee it of veluet or of cloth of golde yet is it vnfit so the bodie ought to bee the forme of whatsoeuer wee possesse And if wee swarne from this forme and vsage then is there nought els but a confusion disorder superfluitie abuse and excesse And oftentimes lacke of experience and want of good discourse and not knowing wel how to apply our selues to the present state causeth vs to wrap our selues in an infinite number of passions and tormentes Wee ought then earnestly to desire this trueth to the ende wee should not bee dismayde if God doe not suffer vs to wallowe and tumble in too much ease Besides wherefore doeth wealth serue but onely as a testimonie of his fauour and an occasion to acknowledge it from him well to vse it to his honour and releaue of our neighbour And Apollonius had reason to saye that vertue and riches were two contrarie thinges and that the one encreasing the other was euer diminished And as the greater wee see our shadowe the nearer we draw towards night so must we feare least the more that we see our selues charged with honors wealth the further off trueth the light estrange themselues from vs. And Platon in the fourth of his lawes thinketh it a matter vnpossible for a man to bee both honest and riche Diogenes was wont to say that vertue neuer found any place in a rich citie or house and that it was a great happines to haue both wealth and vnderstanding Seneca wrote that he was a mightie man who esteemed himself poore amidst plentie of riches and did not in respect of them carry himselfe more loftely but that he who had none at all went a great deale more surely and in greater safetie following that which our Sauiour taught vs when he called the poore in spirit blessed And as men in olde time euer helde in suspition the ende of their fortune so haue they done in great prosperitie as King Amisias saied to Policrates seeing that one had brought him backe againe his ring which he flong into the maine sea These good happes do not please me because I feare me they wil turne into calamities miseries as afterwards it befel
other greater authours then they are condemned of lying as we haue marked in the Spaniardes before which haue written the history of the new world and of the west Indies who couer and make lesse their owne excesse and incredible vilanies the greatest part of them beeing reuenged and punished thorough the iust iudgement of God The Englishmen haue somewhat runne awry in handling the affaires on this side the sea Paulus Iouius was wont to say that to doe fauour to such great personages as gaue him pensions he set thinges downe in such sort as they that liued in that time were well inough able to discouer them mary the posterity should hold them for true And in truth sundrye historiographers of all times thorough ignoraunce hatred couetousnes or ambition take a colour to warrant their lying and disguising vpon a beleefe they haue that few shall bee able to discerne their coseninges And for because thorough this error of discourse they name sundry wise and prudent which in deed haue beene most wicked and blame french men that haue bene vertuous of a good conscience and haue ended their liues honestlye and laudablye condemning them of fole hardines and vice men ought therin to carry a good sound and right iudgement Considering that such authours doe not alwaies measure the maners and actions of men according to the vnmooueable rule of the worde of God and morall philosophy nor distinguish the vitious by the intention or conscience but onely by the issue dexteritie and industrye or rather subtiltye of such as know how to applie each thing to the end which they pretend neuer regarding whether it be honest laudable and iuste or no. They do not in respect of the french men referre any of their actes at all to vertue if they be not led thereto by that which they account prudence but rather to rashnes as they doe in regarde of their owne nation imputing their owne actes of cowardnesse basenes of minde disceat dissembling treason crueltie disloyaltie infidelity and ambition to wisedome and prudence Neuerthelesse here we may well consider for what cause they haue made the like comparison of french men that Antigonus did of Pirrhus to a gamester whome the dise fauoured well but knew not how to serue him selfe of those chaunces that happened vnto him for that loke what he got by the effect he loste thorough hope coueting in such sort what he had not that he cleane forgot to assure himselfe of what he had gained because they are more ready to get then wise to keepe and that by feates of armes they make braue conquestes but they preserue them but a while not knowing that a countrye conquered by such as obserue not discipline is both vnprofitable and hurtfull Therefore they coniecture that valour and dexteritie in armes is a greate matter but that nobility not brought vp in learning nor in reading of histories hath not this wisedome to moderate it selfe and to prouide by suche meanes as they ought to take to bee able in peace to conserue what they haue conquered and suffer themselues to bee led by the coloured wordes of their enemies who after that the firste fire and french boyling is extinguished they know wel inough how to vse their occasion and serue their owne turnes with the ignoraunce of such as esteeme nought but armes without running ouer the courses held by their auncestors in keeping their conquestes and vsing of their victories as we haue but too manye examples which is the cause that Caesar writeth in his Commentaries that french men are more hardie and couragious then fine in warre which they make great account of ioynct that they giue them selues more to the hope which they take of conquering then they doe to anye feare of losing Euery man confesseth that men differ from beastes in reason if this good nature be not manured with the reading of histories good letters what other thing is it thē a pretious stone hid in a donghil We ought to account the saying of K. Theodoric true that what was begon with good aduise prudence preserued with care is of long lasting strong And if victories be not made sure with temperance prudence they dim through some vnloked for accident the glorye which was before gotten and in short time loseth the whole fruit through insolency carelesnes delicacies arrogancy violentnes of taking vp of lodging yet to be well entreated in capacity of a gouernor couetousnes confusiō to make no distinction betwene persons in giuing taking away or changing and somtime a cōmandement amisse conceaued an ordinance ill executed rashnes vanity of speach carrieth the victorye awaye cleane vnto such as before seemed already vanquished And a marueilous prudence is required to foresee an innumerable number of other accidentes in matters of warre and sometime to apply counsell to necessitye beeing no lesse the dutye of a valiaunt Captaine to shew him selfe wyse in his actions then couragious to the end hee approoue deliberation lesse difficile and daungerous and cleane reiecte all rashe counselles attendinge likewyse the oportunities of times and ripenesse of occasions not for all that presupposing for certayne those perilles that are vncertaine beeing more afrayde then he ought calling hope no lesse to his counsell then feare Cirus likewise in the ende of the seuenth booke of the Pedion of Xenophon thought it a matter more laudable to keepe then to get because often tymes in conquestes is nothinge but hardinesse but a bodie can not conserue what hee hath taken without temperaunce continence care and diligence besides valour And as it is a greater greefe to become poore then neuer to haue beene riche so is it to lose more bitter then neuer to haue gotten I doe not thinke that garrisons serue to so great an ende as if the conquerours shew them selues meeke and louers of good thinges and that no thing can succeede well to suche as abandon vertue and honestie Aristotle dedicatinge his Rhetorique to Alexander writeth vnto him that as the bodye is entertayned thorough a good disposition so is the witte by discipline and erudition which were the causes that not onelye hee had euer an addresse to doe well but also to conserue what he had gotten It is likewise requisite that we put the sayde reading in vse and practise thereby to becomme more vertuous wise and aduised and that we conferre thinges passed with the present and such as might ensue and to apply examples to the rule of veritye iustice and equitye And albeit that Sainct Augustine attributed much to histories yet doth he adde that hee can not see how all that which is written by the witte of man can bee in euerie point true consideringe that all men are lyers and that it commeth to passe often tymes that they which follow the reason of man in anye historie builde vppon the brutes of the vulgar sorte and are abused by the
passions of sundrie men which report nothinge of certayne Notwithstandinge they are to bee excused if they keepe a libertye and write not to the ende to deceaue But in the holye historie they oughte to feare no such thinge since that it proceedeth of the holye Ghoste and thence a man maye take out certayne witnesses and soueraigne arrestes Now that wee may the better reape our profite out of Historyes we must consider the beginning and motyfe cause of all enterprises the meanes which therin they haue held and afterwardes the issue thereof which cannot possibly be good proceeding from an euil beginning And after hauing known the root and causes therof we must iudge what may happen in like cases and consider other circumstances which bewtifie the actions and referre all to the glory of God through whose bountie the euents haue succeeded well and gloriously to the ende wee may render prayses and thankesgeuing vnto him which are due vnto him for asmuche as by weake and vyle persons hee oftentimes compasseth high and mightie things And because that whatsoeuer thinges are written afore time are written for our learning We ought to apply vnto our selues whatsoeuer we read and to behold as in a looking glasse our own affections to the end we might follow good and eschew euill and cleane remoue from vs all disguising and corruption and aboue all things we ought to acknowledge the iudgementes of God against the wicked and contemners of his law And for because that great dangers ensue those which indifferently gouerne them selues by examples I thought good to aduertise that it is diligently to be considered whether there be a concurrence of lyke reasons not onely in generall but also in particular It is also necessary to rule ones selfe as prudently as they did whom we would imitate and to demaund of God like successe And in our enterprises we must not onely consider the superficies and beginnyng of thinges but to looke more inwardly what may happen in time We must not likewise take too exactly what is written by ancient Historiographers but conferre them with the newe hauing regard to the great chaunges which happen in all countreyes and that there are fewe Cities or Nations which hold theyr former name nor their auncient seates and fashions otherwise we should wander awry and iudge amisse And this consideration of the vnstablenesse subuersions dissipations and lamentable chaunges of sundry peoples and families ought to prepare vs to beare all accidentes sent from God knowing that this life is but a sorrowfull exile subiect to stormes and continuall tempestes and that there is no seate nor hauen sure but in the heauenly and eternall lyfe to the which the sonne of God our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ hath prepared the way for vs and let vs humbly beseeche him to guide vs therein CHAP. 18. That one ought not to suffer him selfe to be deceiued by praises nor be carried away from modesty and that honour dependeth vpon vertue with aduise vpon the same or vpon the reproches or lyes of the people and how much it is requisite to commaund ones selfe WHo so woulde not swarue from the truth ought not to be mooued with praises which for the most part are disguised for as Sainct Augustin hath written He which often praiseth one abuseth him self confirmeth an errour and proueth in the end a lyer and he which is praised becommeth thereby a great deale more vaine And Dion sayd the ouer great praises and honours out of measure carrie with them a misknowledge lightnes and insolensie yea among such persons as of them selues are modest ynough because they are perswaded that they deserue them and euery man pleaseth them and puffeth them vp as Xenophon wryteth though in deed they might well be termed mockeries And such excessiue honours are neither more nor lesse then as portractures ill proportioned which fall to the grounde of them selues as the three hundred statuas of Demetrius which neuer engendred either rust or filth beeing in his owne life tyme broken in peeces And those likewise of Demades were bruysed made to serue for chamberpots and basins in close stooles and so haue sundry other princes their monuments beene serued The inhabitants of the city of Pilles in their counsels ordained moste mightie honours for Theopompus he wrote backe vnto them that time was accustomed to increase honours moderately bestowed and to deface the immoderate When Niger was chosen Emperour they recited certayne verses in his praise but hee sayde that they ought rather to prayse Hanniball or the prowesse of some other great captaynes to the ende they might be imitated and that it was a mockery to prayse men while they liued which peraduenture might alter And that there was great presumption that either they did it for feare or for hope to obtayne somwhat of them and that for his part he rather desired to be fauoured and loued during his life and praysed after his death Other were wont to saye that they neuer acknowledged such prayses but wished to God that they were worthye of them Bracidas his mother was highly commended for aunswearing the embassadours of Thrace comforting her for the death of her sonne affirminge that he had not left his like behinde him that shee knew well ynough that the citye of Sparta had manye Citizens a great deale more worthie and valiaunt then him As Antigonus sayde vnto a Poet who called him the sonne of the sunne that hee whiche emptied his close stoole knew well ynough there was no such matter The shadow shunneth those which follow it and followeth those which shunne it and so fareth it with prayse Sigismond the Emperour stroke one that praysed him too much saying that he bitte him So was it likewise reported by Iustinian When they offered to Titus a crowne of golde togeather with great praises for his taking of Ierusalem he aunsweared that he himselfe was not the authour thereof but that GOD serued him selfe thorough his handes in that he made manifest his anger agaynste the Iewes As much is sayde of Fabritius for the deliuerie of Greece and of Timoleon for restoring Sicilie to libertye And Antistenes commaunded his children neuer to conne any thankes for praysing of them for often tymes it is with men as with an number of beastes which suffer a man to doe with them what he will yea to tumble and drale them on the grounde as long as hee tickleth them Galien entreating howe the sickenesse of the minde might be discerned wryteth that he learned of his father to despise glorye as an intisement to euill and ennemye to truth And Iosephus wryteth that honours bestowed on young men are as matches of follie and rashnes And in our french tongue we call offices and dignities charges And Varro in his fourth booke of the Latin tongue writeth that this name of honour proceedeth from a name which
receaued an iniurye ought to keepe and obserue as aboue I haue touched and it is onelye longe sufferinge that in the ende byteth And to pardon is a signe of a heroicall and noble heart and as Homer wryteth the more excellent a man is the lesse is his anger burninge and euerye gentle hart is easelye contented Sainct Paule wryteth to the Collossians As the elect of God holye and beloued put on tender mercy kindenesse humblenesse of minde meekenesse long suffering forbearing one an other and forgiuing one an other if anye man haue a quarrell to an other euen as Christ forgaue you euen so doe yee And aboue al these thinges put on loue which is the bonde of perfection And let the peace of God rule in your hearts to the which yee are called in one body and be yee amiable They ought to be accounted wise who knowing how apt of their owne inclination they be to choler vse notwithstandinge such remedies as they thinke fit to retyre themselues either in bearing patiently forgetting pardoninge moderating of them selues without beeinge too much mooued or breaking that which is easie to be dashed in peeces of a seruaunt as did Calias and Cotis or in burning their enemies letters before they see them as Pompei did those of Sertorius and Caesar those of Pompei The holye scripture doth often times exhort vs to forbeare one an other And whereas Saint Paule writeth that we shoulde portion a like to one an others charges hee vnderstandeth infirmities Dion after hee had restored his countrie againe to libertye was counselled to put to death one of the greatest enemies that he had now fallen into his handes but he sayd that he had long agoe learned to surmount wrath enuy and all euill will whereof the proofe consisted in behauing ones selfe temperatelye and courteouslye towardes his enemies and that he rather chose to surmount in bountye and courtesie then in power reuenge proceeding from a base minde We ought then to shun all suspicion of contempt and audacity rather casting the fault vppon the ignoraunce mistaking or lacke of those which haue offended vs to the ende we may escape that vengeaunce which is so often forbidden of the Lorde and which proceedeth from the same spring as doth the iniury and offence Notwithstanding that anger is not to be blamed which is vsed sometimes to make men amende when they haue done a fault For as Aristotle writeth in the fourth of his Morales euen as disordinate anger is a fault so is sometime the want of moderate choler or rather hatred of vice And it seemeth that they which are not angrye when it is required at their handes to feare offendours are very euill aduised and expose them selues to manye iniuries For this cause Plato called anger the sinew of the soule for that it serued to encrease valour being moderate and temperate And Aristotle writeth that it is an armour to vertue but such a one as rather mooueth vs then is ought mooued it selfe Lactantius in his booke intituled of the wrath of God c. 17. writeth that it is necessary that those thinges which are nought should displease such as are vertuous persons and that hee which is displeased at euill should be mooued when he seeth it wrought so wee doe decline to vengeaunce not because men haue offended vs but to the end discipline may be kept maners corrected and licentiousnes repressed This kinde of choler is lawfull which as it is necessarye to man for the amendment of lewdnesse so is it found in God of whome man taketh example for as much as we ought to chastise our subiectes so ought God to represse the vices of each one And to bring this to passe it is necessarye that he be angry and that it is naturall and good to be mooued and stirred to wrath Therefore anger ought to be defined a motion of the spirite lifted vp for the repression of sinne For the definition which Cicero maketh of the desire of reuenge is not much different from this but that anger which we call choler or fury ought not to fall within man being a thing vicious vnprofitable Notwithstanding I am of opinion that the diuines will not be of Lactantius his mind in that he attributeth any passion to God for he worketh nothing either with greef or paine The old prouerb holdeth that an Ant will be angry and yet we are not able to discerne when she is moued much lesse in God whose workes are vnsearcheable and passe the capacitye of our vnderstanding Albeit the holy scripture doth often apply it selfe to our fashion of speach who trouble our selues with passions in taking pitie or in punishing or in seeing some disorder And S Paule writeth that of our own nature we are the children of wrath from whence we are deliuered by Christ Iesus our mediatour Dauid sayde Psa 103. that God hath not dealt with vs after our sinnes nor rewarded vs after our iniquities And Psal 86. he calleth him a pitifull God and mercifull slow to anger and great in kindnes and truth And Psal 145. That the Lord is good to all and his mercies are ouer all his workes The which is likewise repeated in Exodus 34 Numbers 14. Nehemiah 9. Ieremiah 15 Ioel 2. Ionas 4 Nahum 1. A man ought diligently to take heede how he committeth those sinnes which prouoke the wrath of God especially to be no idolatour Deu. 9. 32. nor to tempt God Exod. 17. Psal 78. nor to murmure against his prouidence Nom. 12. 14. nor to be rebellious Deu. 9. nor to shead the bloud of the innocent Math. 25. nor to molest the widowes and fatherlesse Exod. 22. The holy scripture speaketh of the old and new man and of the circumcision of the heart So meant the Philosophers when they sayde we were made of two partes and that he which made the worse subiect vnto the better was counted continent and contrariwise he which made the brutish and vnreasonable part of his mind to preceed and commaunde the more noble was accounted incontinent and worse then it For this cause is it required that thorough the bit of reason we put backe and tame that felonious courage of ours to submit it vnto the moste milde yoke of the holye lawes of God which so much recommendeth vnto vs peace patience and mercy Valerius and others haue written that iniuries are surmounted thorough courtesie and bountye not by the reuenge of a new hatred And Cicero in his Oration for Murena and Demosthenes particularly in that he made before Alexander the great to hinder the siege of Athenes do amply shew that it is an act nearest approching vnto diuinitye to vanquishe ones owne courage represse his wrath moderate victory amplifie the dignity of ones enemy commande ouer ones selfe and not too much to trust in anger a mortall enemy to counsell For as our sauiour Christ sayde the violent that is to say
detested because thorough such a mischiefe they leade men to destruction turning them from the eternall felicitie and infecte the most pure doctrine which is our spirituall foode and so separate men from the catholicke church without which is no saluation S. Augustin in his 4. booke of the Citie of God reproueth Varro Pontifex Sceuola who were of opinion that it was very expedient men should be deceiued in religiō because that there is no felicitie or rest but in the certaintie thereof and in an infallible truth And Chrisippus said that without diuinitie the doctrine of god none could take any principle at al in the discipline of maners And Polibius sheweth that there was nothing which so much aduāced the Romanes as their religion albeit it was not pure S. Paul writeth to the Corinthians that he had prepared them for one husbande to present them as a pure virgine to Christ And the Prophets cal lying adultery And S. Chrisostome vpō the argument of the Epistle to the Romanes sheweth that al mischeif proceedeth frō the ignorance of the scriptures as our Sauiour Christ imputed vnto the Iewes that they were deceiued not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God Matth. 22. Mark 12. And if it haue been saide of the auntient fathers that the word is a medicine to the greeued spirite a man may well say it is also poison being falsly taught The which moued the prophets Apostles so carefully to warne men to beware of false prophets seducers wolues which speake not by the mouth of God neither are sent by him because there is no cōparison to be made between the straw and the corne nor betweene an infected riuer and a good spring Againe we are exhorted to stand in the wayes behold and to aske for the olde way which is the good way and walke therein to the end we should not wander from that life thorough desearts but find rest for our souls And we read in the Acts of the Apostles that at the end of the sermons euerie man searched the scriptures to see whether those thinges they had harde were so For God by Isaiah sendeth vs backe to the lawe and to the testimonie because if they speake not according to this woorde it is for that there is no light in them as who would saye that they were abused and remayned in darkenesse And S. Peter caught nothing when hee fished by night vntill he cast out his net into the sea at the cōmandement of our Sauiour as some anciēt fathers haue gathered hereon What euer we do without the worde of God profiteth vs nothing and it shall be sayde vnto vs as in the first of Isaiah who hath required these thinges at your handes And if they say that the holy scripture is harde and not easely to be vnderstood God protesteth in Isaiah that he hath not spoken in secrete neither in a place of darkenesse and his doctrine is not obscure nor doubtfull but readie to instruct vs to perfection to lighten vs and guide vs to saluation And in an other place he sayth that the word of God is as the wordes of a booke that is sealed vp to the vnbeleeuers And Saint Paule wrote to the Corinthians that if his Gospel were hid it was hid to the infideles that were lost For this great Prince making his alliance with his subiectes and creatures to saue them deliuered all in cleare and simple termes And Saint Augustine writeth that whatsoeuer appertayneth to saluation is manifestly set downe in the scripture and whatsoeuer is obscure in one place is manifested in another and in the 15. Chapter of the same booke he giueth vs a notable rule howe to discerne figuratiue speeches as if we be commaunded to doe well straight wee are forbid the euill and so is it no figure for in that one shall finde the very scope of the scripture to wit the glory of God and charitie but contrariwise if taken according vnto the letter if it seeme to commaund ill and forbid the good then may we easely iudge it to be a figure whereof he giueth vs sundrie examples And Saint Paul in his seconde to Timothe sheweth that the whole Scripture is giuen by inspiration of God and is profitable to teach to improoue to correct and to instruct in righteousnesse that the man of God may be absolute being made perfect vnto all good workes The holy ghost is likewise called the spirite of prudence and discretion enterteyned by meditating of the scriptures contrary vnto the Philosophers bookes where leaues are onely gathered and not the trewe fruite And after that the Prophet Baruch had set downe what a number of mischeifes grewe by the carelesnesse of hearing of the worde of God and that we should drawe from the fountaine of wisedome he exhorteth vs to Learne where is wisedome where is strength where is vnderstanding that we might knowe also from whence commeth long continuance and life and where the light of the eyes and peace is The holy Scripture is also called the worde of reconciliation of life of peace and of saluation and there is not almost one line thorough out the hole Bible which doth not pull vs by the eare and sleeue to awake vs out of the sleepe of this world and to pull vs out of the clammie vanities wherein wee hange that it may bring vs to the glory and presence of God which is our saluation The which mooued S. Augustine Chrisostome Ierome Theophilact and other doctors to exhort the laytie the simple people artificers and all kinde of persons dayly to exercise themselues in the reading and meditating of the holye scriptures adding that they which haue founde a golde or siluer mine trauayle to digge the earth and endure most pestiferous ouerheating of themselues so as they may gather some fewe drammes of golde and siluer and ought we that haue so riche precious a treasor in the holy scriptures to neglect and not search it out being called therto by God Yea wee see what toyle men take in haruest season and yet howe slacke and sluggish we are to reape our celestiall wheate And the sayde holy scriptures are better vnderstoode of a modest idiote then of an arrogant Philosopher And as Saint Basile wrote the lambe wadeth thorough the streames of the scriptures when the Elephant swimmeth And in 119. Psalme it is saide that this word of God serueth for a rule and correction to youth and lightneth and giueth grace to the humble And the most auncient trueth sayth Tertullian is the most certaine It is also called a testament and alliance because we finde therein the legacye of eternall life and an immortall succession in communicating of all the riches merites and perfections of our Lorde and sauiour Christ Iesus thorough the fayth which we haue in his promises It is giuen vnto vs for a buckler defence and safegarde against all assaultes for a present medicine
the good to do well and to profit in the exercise of vertue Pouertie to moderate their desires basenes to humble themselues sickenesse to liue patiently and more soberly and al kinds of griefes to make vs runne vnto God and reconcile our selues vnto him and to succour our neighbour in like distresse when God shall haue drawne vs out For I esteeme none good but such as followe trewe riches which are godlinesse and vertue and contrariwise the wicked are fastned to trewe euils that is vice and impietie That was the reason why in the councell of Latran it was enioyned that the sicke man should cal for his spirituall Phisitian Diognes was angrye with such as sacrificed to health and in the meane time liued in all pleasures and idlenesse and sayd that as in a house where much prouision and victuall is are many rats and cats so the body that is replenished with meates drawe sundry diseases vnto it And he called frugalitie the mother of health for which without great neede a man neede not vse laxatiue medicines because they are offensiue to the stomacke and often times breede more superfluities and excrements then they drawe out of the body Plato also in the 8. of his commonwealth councelleth vs not to prouoke sickenesse with phisicke except the disease be most dangerous and vehement It is written of the Emperour Aurelian and sundry other that they neuer called for phisitians or vsed phisicke as at this day most part of the Almanes Zuzers vse but they healed themselues throught good and spare dyet and some of them with a quart of strong wine and spyce And as Herodotus wrote the Babilonians neuer vsed phisicke but all sicke persons were brought into the market place to whom al such as had beene cured of the like disease taught their remedies And there was founde in the temple of Esculapius enregistred all such receites as had beene experimented for to serue in like case For otherwise phisicke consisted in the knowledge of sundry herbes and they were almost all instructed in anatomies and simples as Galen writeth And we see euen very many beastes and birdes to finde out herbes and remedies fit for themselues which they haue taught vnto men with the vse of letting of bloud and glisters Yet they haue alway thought that they are often deceiued when there is nothing but experience without iudgement and contemplation to apply remedies in time and place with other consideration of the age strength or debilitie of person condition maner of liuing the season of the yeare the cause beginning encrease growing and declyning of the disease Asclepiades set all phisicke at nought and counselled only sobrietie to rubbe ouer the whole bodie euery morning and to exercise And some haue compared such as take phisicke to those which driue out the burgesse out of the citie to place strangers there M. Cato feared least the Grecians would sende phisitions to Rome and therefore made some to be banished and driuen thence and expresly forbad his sonne in any wise to vse or deale with thē as appeareth in a letter he wrote vnto him They in like sort of the same professiō which since haue crept into Rome were meere strangers the Romaines themselues hauing beene aboue 600. yeares togither without Phisitians since they haue euen abhorred thē saying their irresolutiō hazardous aduise which was the very cause that they termed thē hangmen theeues and so the most part of the citizens endeuored only to be skilful in simples vsing no other drogues then what proceeded frō nature of their own growing Indeede they had certaine deputies which sent them panniers ful of simples out of the isles which appertained vnto thē as sundry haue written And were it not that I feare being too tedious I could alledge a great nūber of Kings Princes which haue bin very curious in knowing seeking out the property of herbes plants some haue writtē therof to the great profit of their posterity an immortall glory is remained vnto thē Galē himself writeth that sundry emperours haue gratly studied to attaine vnto the knowledg of simples to adorne that art amidst their busines in sundry places entertained arborysts and in their triumphes caused rare plants to be caried The tēple of Esculapius was in old time builded without the citie teaching vs therby how we ought to esloyne our selues frō Phisitians phisick which kind of people Plato could neuer like of except they were surgions meruelous wel experienced thinking it to be a great signe of intēperancy wher he foūd any of the other sort And in his dialogue Philosophus he esteemeth phisick to consist only in opinions vncertaine coniectures Nicocles called Phisitians happy men because the Sunne made manifest what good successe soeuer happened in their cures and the earth buried what fault soeuer they cōmitted And some say they are very angry men when they see their neighbours in health not to need them The said Plato and Cato were likewise wont to say that men in doing nothing learned to do ill And Eccl. coūselleth vs to exercise because Idlenes breedeth much euill slothfulnes pouerty which tēteth vs to do ill as Isocrates wrote And Xenophon exhorted Hierom to spend his time in honest exercises to make both his body and mind better disposed And the Athenians ordined a great punishment for idlenes For this cause Scipio was wont to say that he was neuer lesse in rest then whē he rested himself vnderstāding therby that when he was not busied in publick affaires his owne perticular his study sufficiently held him occupied that in solitarines he cōsulted with himself The wise mē of the Indies called Gymnosophistes so greatly detested idlenes that they caused euery mā to render a perticular account of what he had learned or did euery day We read in S. Ambrose in the 82. Epistle of his 10. booke in S. Ierom in sundry treaties and other ecclesiasticall aucthors that monasteries were first ordained for academies scholes of trauaile and exercise as well of the body as of the mind of learning vertue abstinence fasting patience all good exāple And the word of the Emperour Seuerus was Trauaillons And the Emperours Adrian Antonius Cyrus Sertorius and sundry other captains haue still kept their men of armes and souldiers yea their very horses in continuall exercise trauaile sobrietie And we reade in the Commentaries of Caesar that his souldiers had no other prouision then corne and a little vineger to mingle with their water and that some would neuer suffer any to bring thē wine imagining that that made men more nyce effeminate and lesse able to endure paine and trauaile and sheweth as also did Titus Liuius how they sought to cut off all occasions and meanes of delicatenesse and howe the souldiers were all the day long kept to trauaile in workes