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 tiraunt which was in Cicilia asking him why he possessed the Realme so longe by tirannye Phalaris aunswered hym agayne in another Epystle in these fewe wordes Thou callest me tyraunt bicause I haue taken this realme kept it this .32 yeres I graunt the quod he that I was a tiraunte in vsurpyng it For no manne occupyeth another mannes ryght but by reason he is a tyraunte But yet I will not agree to be called a tyraunte sithe it is nowe .xxxii. yeares sins I haue possessed it And though I haue atcheued it by tyrannie yet I haue gouerned it by wisedome And I let thee to vnderstande that to take an other mans goods it is an easie thing to conquer but a hard thing to kepe an easy thing but to kepe them I ensure the it is very hard The Emperour Marcus Aurelius maried the doughter of Antonius Pius the 16. Emperour of Rome and she was named Faustina who as sole heire had the Empire so through mariage Marcus Aurelius came to be Emperour this Faustine was not so honest and chast as she was faire and beautifull She had by him two sonnes Commodus and Verissimus Marcus Aurelius triumphed twise once when he ouercame the Perthians and an other time when he conquered the Argonantes He was a man very wel learned and of a deepe vnderstanding He was as excellent both in the Greke and latin as he was in his mother tongue He was very temperate in eating and drinking he wrote many thinges ful of good learning swete sentences He dyed in conquering the realme of Pannonia whiche is now called Hongarie His death was asmuch bewayled as his lyfe was desired And he was loued so intierlye in the citye of Rome that euery Romane had a statue of him in his house to th ende the memorie of him among them should neuer decay The which was neuer red that they euer did for any other king or Emperoure of Rome no not for Augustus Cesar who was beste beloued of all other Emperours of Rome He gouerned the empire for the space of 18. yeres with vprighte iustice and dyed at the age of 63 yeres with much honour in the yere clymatericke which is in the 60. and 3. yeres wherein the lyfe of man ronneth in great peril For then are accomplyshed the nine seuens or the seuen nynes Aulus Gelius writeth a chapiter of this matter in the boke De noctibus Atticis Marcus Aurelius was a prince of lyfe most pure of doctrine most profound of fortune most happie of all other princes in the world saue only for Faustine his wife and Commodus his sonne And to the ende we maye see what Marcus Aurelius was from his infancie I haue put here an epistle of his which is this ¶ Of a letter whych Marcus Aurelius sent to his frend Pulio wherein hee declareth the order of hys whole lyfe and amongest other thinges he maketh mencion of a thyng that happened to a Romaine Censor with hys host of Campagna Cap. ii MArcus Aurelius only Emperour of Rome greteth the his old frend Pulio wisheth health to thy parson and peace to the commen wealth As I was in the temple of the vestall virgens a letter of thine was presented vnto me which was writen long before and greatly desired of me but the best therof is that thou wryting vnto me briefly desirest that I should writ vnto the at large Which is vndecent for the authoritie of him that is chiefe of the empire in especial if such one be couetous for to a prince there is no greater infamy then to be lauishe of words and scant of rewards Thou wrytest to me of thy griefe in thy legge and that thy wounde is great and truly the payne thereof troubleth me at my hart and I am righte sory that thou wantest that which is necessarie for thy health and that good that I do wishe the. For in the ende all the trauailes of the life may be endured so that the body with diseases be not troubled Thou lettest me vnderstande by thy letters that thou art arriued at Rhodes and requireste me to write vnto the howe I lyued in that place when I was younge what time I gaue my minde to studie likewise what the discourse of my life was vntil the time of my being Emperoure of Rome In this case trulye I meruell at the not a lytle that thou shouldest aske me such a question and so muche the more that thou diddest not consider that I cannot without great trouble and paine answere thy demaunde For the doinges of youthe in a younge man were neuer so vpright and honest but it were more honesty to amend them then to declare them Annius Verus my father shewing vnto me his fatherly loue not accomplishing yet fully 13 yeres drew me from the vices of Rome and sent me to Rhodes to learne science howbeit better acccompanyed with bookes then loden with money where I vsed suche dilygence and fortune so fauoured me that at the age of 26. yeres I red openly natutall and moral philosophy and also Rethoricke and ther was nothing gaue me such occasion to study and read bookes as the want of moneye for pouertie causeth good mens children to bee vertuous so that they attaine to that by vertue which others come vnto by riches Trulye frende Pulio I found great want of the pleasures of Rome specially at my first comminge into the I le but after I had redde philosophie 10 yeares at Rhodes I toke my selfe as one borne in the countrey And I thinke my couersacion among them caused it to seme no lesse For it is a rule that neuer faileth that vertue maketh a straunger grow natural in a straunge country and vyce maketh the natural a straūger in his owne country Thou knowest wel how my father Annius Verus was 15. yeres a captaine in the frontiers against the Barbarous by the commaundement of Adrian my lorde and maister and Antonius Pius my father in law both of theym prynces of famous memorie which recōmended me ther to his old frendes who with fatherly counsel exhorted me to forget the vyces of Rome and to accustome me to the vertues of Rhodes And trulye it was but nedeful for me for the naturall loue of the countrye oft tymes bringeth domage to him that is borne therein leadinge his desier stil to retourne home Thou shalt vnderstand that the Rhodians are men of much curtesy requyting beneuolence whych chaunseth in few Iles because that naturally they are personnes deceitful subtile vnthankeful and ful of suspiciō I speake this bycause my fathers frends alwaies succoured me wyth counsayle and money which two thinges were so necessarie that I could not tell which of them I had most nede of For the straunger maketh his profit with moneye to withstand disdainfull pouertie and profitteth him selfe with counsell to forget the swete loue of his country I desired then to reade philosophy in Rhodes so long as my father continued
haue no other way to descend but to fall is much lyke to that of the famyliars of Princes And therefore my lord I woold wysh you woold procure you such faythfulll frends about you that they hauyng regard and care of your person shoold always hold you by the gown for fallyng And not such as after they had let you fall woold then lend you their hands to help you vp agayn 6 All bee it the thyngs of the sowl shoold bee preferred beefore all others of thys worldly lyfe yet neuerthelesse I wyll bee content so that you haue as great care and consideration of your conscience as you haue of your honor All whych I was willyng to tell you syr to the end you may better vnderstand that those that are in estimation with the prince though they may benefit by tyme in takyng their tyme yet tyme dooth neuer benefyt by them at all 7 You must euer doo good to your vttermost power and neuer doo dyspleasure to any though it lye in your power and that you haue iust cause For the tears of the poore that are iniuryed and the lamentable cryes and playnts of the oppressed may possibly one day ascend to the presence of the tribunall seat where god shall sitt in his maiesty demaundyng iustyce and vengeaunce agaynst you and also come to the ears of the prince to cause you to bee hated of hym for euer 8 Touching the fauor you will shew to any eyther in offices or other benefits you will beestow on any man take heede you always rather preferre honest and true Christians then your own neere kynsmen or frends For a man may lawfully make his frend partaker of hys goods but not of hys conscience 9 In your councels you geeue in any wise bee not to much affectioned in them neither scorne with those that contrary your oppinion Bee not proud and seuere to those you doo commaund neither doo any thing wythout good aduyce and consideration For al beeit in princes courts euery mā dooth admire and beehold the excellency and woorthynes of the person yet are those always that are most in fauor of the Prince more noted regarded and sooner accused then others 10 Yf you wyll not erre in the counseils you shall geeue nor fayl in those things you enterprise Imbrace those that tell you the truth and reiect and hate those whom you know to bee flatterers and dissemblers For you shoold rather desire to bee admonished of the thing present then counselled after the dammage receiued Although wee suppose assuredly all these things aboue written are not lykely to happen nor come euen so to passe as I haue spoken yet may yt please you syr to remember they are not therefore impossible For spitefull fortune permitteth oft tymes that the sayles which the lyghtnyng and boysterous tempests could not break and teare in peeces are afterwards vpō a soden euen in the sweete of the mornings sleepe eche man taking his rest leauing the seas beefore in quiet calme all to shyuered and torn a sunder Hee that meaneth to geeue another a blow allso the more hee draweth back hys arme with greater force hee striketh And euen so neyther more nor lesse saieth fortune with those on whom for a time shee smyleth For the lenger a mā remaineth in her loue and fauor the more cruel and bitter shee sheweth her self to him in the end And therefore I woold aduise euery wise and sage person that when fortune seemes best of all to fauor him and to doo most for him that then hee should stand most in feare of her and least trust her deceipts Therefore Sir make no small accompt of this my booke litle though it bee For you know that doubtles as experience teacheth vs of greater price value is a litle spark of a Dyamond then a greater ballasse It forceth lyttle that the booke bee of small or great volume syth thexcellency thereof consysteth not in the number of leaues more or lesse but only in the good and graue sentences that are amplie writen therein For euery author that writeth to make his booke of great price and shew ought to bee brief in his woords and sweete and pleasant in his matter hee treateth of the better to satisfy the mynd of the reader and also not to bee tedious to the hearer And Sir I speak not without cause that you shoold not a lytle esteeme this small treatise of myne since you are most assured that with tyme al your things shall haue end your frends shall leaue you your goods shal bee deuided your self shall dye your fauor and credyt shall dimynish and those that succeede you shal forget you you not knowing to whom your goods and patrimony shall come and aboue all you shall not know what condicions your heires and children shall bee of But for this I write in your Royall history and Chronicle of your lawdable vertues and perfections and for that also I serue you as I doo with this my present woork the memory of you shall remain eternized to your Successors for euer Chilo the philosopher beeyng demaunded whether there were any thing in the world that fortune had not power to bring to nought aunswered in this sort Two things onely there are which neyther tyme can consume nor fortune distroy and that is the renowne of man wrytten in bookes and the veritie that is hidden For allthough troth for a tyme lye interred yet yt resurgeth agayn and receyueth lyfe appearing manyfestly to all And euen so in like case the vertues wee fynd wryten of a man doo cause vs at this present to haue him in as great veneration as those had in his tyme that best knew him Read therefore Sir at times I beeseech you these wrytyngs of myne allbeeit I feare mee you can scant borrow a moment of tyme with leysure once to looke vppon yt beeing as I know you are allways occupyed in affaires of great importaunce wherein mee thinketh you shoold not so surcharge your self but that you myght for your commodyty and recreacion of your spirits reserue some pryuat howers to your self For sage and wise men should not so burden them selues with care of others toyle that they should not spend one hower of the day at the least at their pleasure to looke on their estate and condicion As recoūteth Suctonius Tranquillus of Iulius Cesar who notwythstandyng his quotydian warres hee had neuer let slypt one day but that hee read or wrote some thing So that beeing in his Pauyllyon in the camp in the one hand hee held his launce to assault his enemy and in the other the penne to wryte with all with which hee wrote his woorthy comentaries The reasonable man therefore calling to mynd the streight account that hee must render of him self and of the time hee hath lost shal always bee more careful that hee lose not his time then hee shal bee to keepe his treasure For the wel imployed time is a mean help to his
the dede we employe our thorough power to vice which is an abuse where with al the world is rorrupted and deceiued For heauen is not furnished but with good dedes and hell is not replenished but with euill desires I graunt that neither man nor beaste desireth to dye but all trauaile to th ende they may liue But I aske now this question What doth it auaile a man to desire his life to be prolonged if the same be wicked vngodly and defamed The man that is high minded proude vnconstante cruell disdeinfull enuious ful of hatred angry malicious full of wrath couetous a lier a glutton a blasphemer and in al his doinges disordred why wil we suffer him in the worlde The lyfe of a poore man that for nede steleth a gowne or any other smal trifle is forth with taken away why than is he that disturbeth a whole common wealth left aliue O would to God there were no greater theues in the worlde than those whiche robbe the temporall goodes of the riche that we did not winke cōtinually at them which take away the good renoume aswell of the riche as of the poore But we chastice the one dissemble with the other which is euidētly sene how the thiefe that steleth my neighbours gown is hanged forthwith but he that robbeth me of my good name walketh still before my doore The diuine Plato in the firste booke of lawes sayde We ordayne and commaunde that he that vseth not him selfe honestly and hath not his house wel refourmed his riches well gouerned his family well instructed lyueth not in peace with his neighbours that vnto him be assigned tutours which shal gouerne him as a foole and as a vacabonde shal be expulsed from the people to thintent the common wealth be not through him infected For there neuer riseth contention or strife in a common wealthe but by suche menne as are alwayes out of order Truly the diuine Plato had greate reason in his sayinges for the man that is vitious of his person and doth not trauaile in things touching his house nor kepeth his family in good order nor liueth quietly in the common wealthe deserueth to be banished and driuen out of the countrey Truly we sée in dyuerse places madde menne tied and bound fast which if they were at libertie would not doe suche harme as those that dayly walke the streates at their owne willes and sensualitie There is not at this daye so greate or noble a Lorde nor Lady so delicate but had rather suffer a blowe on the head with a stone than a blot in their good name with an euill tongue For the wounde of the heade in a moneth or two maye well be healed but the blemmishe of their good name duringe life will neuer be remoued Laertius saith in his booke of the lyfe of Philosophers that Diogenes beinge asked of one of his neighboures what they were that ordeyned the lawes aunswered in this wise Thou shalt vnderstande my friende that the earnest whole desire of our forefathers and all the intention of the Philosophers was to instructe them in their common wealth how they ought to speake how to be occupied how to eate how to slepe howe to treate how to apparaile how to trauaile and how to rest and in this consisteth all the wealth of worldly wisedome In déede this Philosopher in his aunswere touched an excellent pointe for the lawe was made to no other ende but to bridell him that liueth without reason or lawe To menne that wil liue in reste and without trouble in this life it is requisite necessarye that they chose to them selues som kinde and maner of liuinge whereby they may mainteyne their house in good order and conforme their liues vnto the same That estate ought not to be as the folly of their parson doth desire nor as may be most pleasaunte to the delightes of the body but as reason teacheth them and God commaundeth them for the surer saluacion of their soules For the children of vanitie embrace that onely which the sensuall appetite desireth and reiecte that which reason commaundeth Since the time that trées were created they alwayes remayning in the firste nature vntil this present day doe beare the same leafe and frute which things are playne sene in this that the palme beareth dates the figge trée figges the nut trée nuttes the peare trée peares the apple trée apples the chesnutte trée chesnuttes the Oke acornes and to conclude I saye all thinges haue kepte their firste nature saue onely the sinfull man which hath fallen by malice The planettes the starres the heauens the water the earth the ayre and the fier the brute beastes and the fishes al continewe in the same estate wherein they were first created not complayninge nor enuying one the other Man complayneth continually he is neuer satisfied and alwayes desireth to chaunge his estate For the shepherd woulde be a husbandman the husbandman a squier the squier a Knight the knight a King the king an Emperour Therefore I say that few is the number of them that seke amendment of life but infinite are they that trauaile to better their estate and to encrease their goodes The decaye of the common wealth at this present through all the worlde is that the dry and withered okes which haue bene nourished vpon the sharpe mountaynes woulde nowe seme to be daynetie date trées cherished in the pleasaunt gardeins I meane that those which yesterday coulde haue ben pleased with dry acornes in a poore cottage at home at this day wil not eat but of delicate disshes in other mens houses abroade What estate menne ought to take vppon them to kepe their conscience pure and to haue more reste in their life a man cannot easely describe For there is no state in the Church of God but men may therin if they will serue God and profite them selues Nor there is no kind of life in the world but the wicked if they perseuer and continew therin may sclaunder their persons and also lease their soules Plinie in an epistle that he wrote to Fabatus his friēd saith There is nothing among mortal men more common and daungerous than to geue place to vayne imaginacions whereby a man beleueth the estate of one to be much better than the estate of an other And hereof it procedeth that the worlde doth blinde men so that they wil rather seke that which is an other mans by trauaile and daunger than enioy their owne with quiet and rest I say the state of Princes is good if they abuse it not I say the state of the people is good if they behaue them selues obediently I say the estate of the rich is good if they wil Godly vse it I say the estate of the religious is good if they be able to profit others I say the estate of the communaltie is good if they will contente them selues I saye the state of the poore is good if they haue pacience For it is no
merite to suffer many troubles if we haue not pacience therin During the time of this our miserable life we cannot denay but in euery estate there is bothe trouble and daunger For then onely our estate shal be perfit when we shal come gloriously in soule and body without the feare of deathe and also whan we shall reioyce without daungers in life Retourninge agayne to our purpose mightie Prince although we all be of value little we all haue little we all can attaine little we all know little we al are able to doe little we all do liue but little Yet in all this little the state of Princes semeth some great and high thing For that worldely men say there is no such felicitie in this life as to haue authoritie to commaunde many to be bounde to obey none But if either subiectes knewe how dere Princes by their power to commaunde or if Princes knewe howe swete a thinge it is to liue in quiet doutelesse the subiectes would pitie their rulers and the rulers would not enuy theyr subiectes For ful few are the pleasures which Princes enioy in respecte of the troubles that they endure Sithe then the estate of Princes is greater than al that he may doe more than all is more of value than all vpholdeth more than all and finally that from thence procedeth the gouernement of all it is more nedefull that the house the person and the life of a Prince be better gouerned and ordred than all the reste For euen as by the yard the marchante measureth al his ware so by the life of the Prince is measured the whole common weale Many sorowes endureth the woman in nourishing a waywerde childe great trauaile taketh a scholemaister in teaching an vntowarde scholler much paine taketh an officer in gouerning a multitude ouergreate howe greate than is the paine and peril whereunto I offer my selfe in takinge vpon me to order the life of such a one vpon whose life hangeth all the good state of a common weale For Princes and great Lords ought of vs to be serued and not offended we ought to exhort them not to vexe them we ought to entreate them not to rebuke them we ought to aduise them and not to defame them finally I say that right simple recken I that surgiō which with the same plaisters he layed to a hard héele séeketh to cure the tender eyes I meane by this cōparison that my purpose is not to tel princes and noble men in this booke what they be but to warne them what they ought to be not to tell them what they doe but to aduise them what they ought to doe For that noble man which will not amende his lyfe for remorse of his owne conscience I doe thinke that he wil amende it for the writing of my penne Paulus diaconus the historiographer in the second booke of his commentaries sheweth an antiquitie right worthy to remember and also pleasaunt to reade Although in dede to the hinderaunce of my selfe I shall reherse it It is as of the henne who by longe scraping on the donghill discouereth the knife that shall cut hir owne throte Thus was the case Hannibal the moste renowmed Prince and captayne of Carthage after he was vainquished by thaduenturous Scipio fled into Asia to kinge Antiochus a Prince then liuinge of great vertue who receiued him into his realme tooke him into his protectiō and right honourably enterteyned him in his house And certes king Antiochus did herein as a pitefull Prince for what can more beautifie the honor of a Prince than to succor nobilitie in their nedefull estate These two Princes vsed diuers exercises to spende the time honorably thus they diuided tyme. Sometime to hunt in the mountaines otherwhile to disporte them in the fieldes oft to vewe their armies But mostly they wente to the scholes to heare the Philosophers And truly they did like wise skilfull men For there is no hower in a daye otherwise so well employed as in hearinge a wise pleasaunt tonged man There was at a time in Ephesus a famous philosopher called Phormio which openly red and taught the people of that realme And one day as these twoo Princes came into the schoole the philosopher Phormio chaunged the matter whereupon be red and of a sodayne began to talke of the meanes and wayes that Princes ought to vse in warre of thorder to be kepte in geuing battaile Such so straunge and high phrased was the matter which he talked of that not onely they merueiled which neuer before sawe him but euen those also that of longe tyme had dayly hearde him For herein curious and flourisshing wittes shewe their excellency in that they neuer wante fresh mater to entreate vpon Greatly gloried the king Antiochus that this philosopher in presence of this straunge prince had so excellentlye spoken so that straungers might vnderstand he had his realme stored with wise mē For couragious and noble princes esteme nothing so precious as to haue men valiāt to defend their frontiers and also wise to gouerne their commō weales The lecturered king Antiochus demaunded of the prince Hannibal howe he liked the talke of the philosopher Phormio to whome Hannibal stoutely aunswered and in his aunswere shewed him self to be of that stoutnes he was the same day whā he wanne the great battayle at Cannas For although noble harted and couragious princes lose all their estates and realmes yet they will neuer confesse their hartes to be ouerthrowen nor vaynquisshed And these were the words that at that time Hannibal said Thou shalt vnderstande kinge Antiochus that I haue séene diuers dotinge olde men yet I neuer sawe a more dootarde foole than Phormio whom thou causest such a great philosopher For the greatest kinde of foly is whan a man that hath but a little vaine science presumeth to teach not those which haue only science but also such as haue most certeine experience Tel me kinge Antiochus what harte can brooke with pacience or what tonge can suffer with silence to sée a sely man as this philosopher is nourished all his life time in a corner of Grece studieng philosophie to presume as he hath done to talke before the prince Hannibal of the affaires of warre as though he had bene either lorde of Affrike or captayne of Rome Certes he either full little knoweth him self or els but little estemeth vs. For it appeareth by his vaine words he would seme to know more in matters of warre by that he hath red in bookes than doth Hannibal by the sundry and great battayles which he hath fought in the fieldes O king Antiochus how far and how great is the difference betwene the state of philosophers the state of captaynes betwene the skill to reade in schole and the knowledge to rule an armie betwene the science that these wise men haue in bookes and thexperience that thothers haue in warre betwene their skil to write with the penne and ours to fight
and proud entreprise for a man to take vpon him with a penne to gouerne the cōmon wealth with a prince to reasō of his life For in dede men are not perswaded to liue wel by faire words but by vertuous dedes And therfore not with out cause I say that he is not wise but very arrogāt that dare presume vnasked to giue a prīce counsail For princes in many thinges haue their mindes occupied haughtely bent som of them also are affectioned where as we peraduenture thinke to haue them mercifull we finde thē more angry heauy against vs. For counsaile doth more harme than profite if the giuer therof be not very wise he also which receiueth it very pacient I haue not ben a prince to know the trauailes of princes nor am not as president to counsel princes yet I was so bolde to cōpile this booke it was not vppon presumption to counsaile a prince so much as by an humble sorte to giue mine aduise For to giue counsel I confesse I haue no credite but to giue theim aduise it suffiseth me to be a subiecte What the order is that I haue taken in this boke how profitable it is to all men how vnpleasaunt to no man how holsome profound doctrine in it is conteined how the histories be herin applied I wil not that my pen do write but they thē selues shal iudge which shal reade this worke We se it oft com to passe that diuers bokes do lose their estimation not for that they are not very good excellēt but because the auctour hath ben to presumptuous vainglorious For in my opinion for a man to praise his owne writinges much is nothing els but to giue men occasion to speake euil both of him of his worke Let no man thinke that I haue written thys which is written without great aduisement and examination I do confesse before the redemer of the whole world that I haue cōsumed so many yers to seke what I shold write that this .ii. yers one day hath scarsely escaped me wherin my pen hath not don his dutie to write or correct in this worke I confesse that I toke great paine in writing it for of trueth it hath ben written twise with mine owne hand and thrise with another mans hand I confesse I haue red searched in diuers sondrie partes many and good strange bokes to th end I might finde good and pleasant doctrine besydes that I trauailed much to set apply the histories to the purpose For it is an vnsemely thing to apply an history without a purpose I had great respecte in that I was not so briefe in my writinges that a man might note me to be obscure nor yet in anye thing so long that a man shold sclaunder me with to much talke For al the excellēcie of writing consisteth where many goodly sentences are declared in few apte wordes For oft times the long stile is lothsom tedious both to the hearers readers Nero that emperour was in loue with a lady in Rome named Pompeia that which in beauty to his fātasie exceded all other In the end partely with intreaty partely with money presētes he obteined of her the he desired For in this case of loue wher prayers importunities be paciētly hard resistance doth lacke The inordinate loue that Nero bare to Pompeia proceded of the yelow here 's she had which wer of the colour of amber in prayse of them he cōpiled diuers sondry songes in heroical meter with an instrument sang thē himself in her presence Nero was a sage prince wise excellētly well learned in the latin tong also a good musiciā yet Plutarche in his boke of the gests of noble womē to declare the vaniti lightnes of Nero reciteth this history describīg Pōpeia said the her body was smal her fingers lōg her mouth proper her eye lyds thin her nose sōwhat sharpe her téeth smal her lips red her neck white her forhead brod finally her eies great rowlin her brest large wel propocioned what thinke you wold Nero haue don if he had so affectionatly set his fātasy vpō al other her beautiful properties sins that for the loue alonly of her yelow locks he was depriued both of his wisdom also sences For vain light mē loue cōmēly not that which reasō cōmaūdeth but that which their appetite desireth The loue of the emperor encreased with foly so much that not only he coūted seuerally al that héere 's that his louer Pōpeia had on her head but also gaue to euery heere a proper name in praise of euery one of thē made a song in somuch that this effeminat prince spēt more time in bāketting plaieng with his louer Pōpeia thā he did to reforme amend the faultes of the cōmon welth Yea his foly so much surmoūted al reasō that he cōmaunded a cōbe of gold to be made therw t he himself cōmed her yelow locks And if it chaūsed that any one here in kemīg fel of he by by caused it to be set in gold offred it vp in the tēple to the goddes Iuno For it was an anciēt custome amōg the Romains that the things which they entierly loued whether it wer good or euil should be offred vp to their gods And whan it was once knowen that Nero was so in loue with these héere 's of Pompeia which wer of the colour of amber al the ladies endeuoured thē selues not only to make artificially their here of that colour but also to were their garmentes and other attyres of the same colour in somuche that bothe men and women did vse collers of amber brooches ringes set with amber al their other Iewels were of amber For alwayes it hath ben sene euer shall be that those things wherunto the prince is most addicted the people folow aboue al other couet the same Before this Emperour Nero plaied this light part in Rome the amber stone was had in little estimacion after that he set so muche by it there was no precious stone in Rome so much estemed Yea furthermore the marchant gained nothinge so much whether it were in gold or silke as he did in the amber stones nor brought any kind of marchaundise to Rome more precious or more vendible than that was I doe meruelle at this vanitie forasmuch as the children of the world do loue desire labor more to folow the straunge foly of an other than to furnish supply their own proper necessitie Therefore retourning againe to my purpose most excellent prince by this example you may coniecture what I would say that is that if this writing were accepted vnto princes I am assured it woulde be refused of no man And if any man would slaunderously talke of it he durst not remembring that your maiestie hath receiued it For those things which princes
learned and the other very eloquente and thus it came to passe that in liuinge they folowed Plato and in eloquence of speache they did imitate Callistratus For there are diuers menne sufficiently well learned whiche haue profounde doctrine but they haue no waye nor meanes to teache it others Demosthenes hearing Calistratus but ones was so far in loue with his doctrine that he neuer after hearde Plato nor entred into his scole for to harken to any of his lectures At which newes diuers of the sages of Grecia marueiled much seing that the tonge of a man was of such power that it had put all their doctrine to scilence Although I apply not this example I doute not but your maiestie vnderstandeth to what end I haue declared it And moreouer I say that although Princes haue in their chambers bookes so well corrected and men in their courtes so wel learned that they may worthely kéepe thestimacion which Plato had in his schole yet in this case it shoulde not displease me that the difference that was betwen Plato and Calistratus should be betwene Princes and this booke God forbidde that by this sayeng men should thinke I meane to disswade Princes from the company of the sage men or from reading of any other booke but this for in so doinge Plato shoulde be reiected which was diuine and Calistratus embraced which was more wordly But my desire is that sometime they would vse to reade this booke a little for it may chaunce they shal finde some holsome counsayle therein which at one tyme or other may profite them in their affaires For the good careful Princes ought to graffe in their memory the wise sayings which they reade forget the canekred iniuries wronges which are done thē I do not speake it without a cause that he that readeth this my writing shall finde in it some profitable counsaile For all that which hath bene writen in it hath bene in euery worde sentence with great diligence so wel weyed and corrected as if therein onely consisted the effecte of the whole worke The greatest griefe that learned menne feele in their writing is to thinke that if there be many that view their doings to take profit therby they shall perceiue that there are as many moe which occupy their tonges in the sclaunder and disprayse thereof In publishinge this my worke I haue obserued the maner of them that plant a new gardein wherein they set Roses which giue a pleasaunt sauour to the nose they make faire grene plattes to delight the eyes they graft fruitful trées to be gathered with the handes but in the end as I am a man so haue I written it for menne and consequently as a man I may haue erred for there is not at this daye so persite a painter but another will presume to amende his worke Those which diligētly wil endeuour themselues to reade this booke shall find in it very profitable counsailes very liuely lawes good reasons notable sayinges sentences very profound worthy examples histories very ancient For to say the trueth I had a respect in that the doctrine was auncient the stile new And albeit your maiesty be the greatest Prince of all Princes and I the least of all your subiectes you ought not for my base condicion to disdayne to cast your eyes vppon this booke nor to thinke scorne to put that thing in proofe which semeth good For a good letter ought to be nothing the lesse estemed although it be written with an euill penne I haue sayde and will say that Princes and greate Lordes the stouter the richer and the greater of renoume they be the greater nede they haue of all men of good knowledge about them to coūseil them in their affaires and of good bookes which they maye reade and this they ought to do aswel in prosperitie as in aduersitie to the end that their affaires in time conueniente may be debated and redressed For otherwise they shoulde haue time to repent but no leasure to amende Plinie Marcus Varro Strabo and Macrobius which were historiographers no lesse graue than true were at greate controuersie in prouinge what thinges were most autentike in a common weale and at what time they were of all menne accepted Seneca in a pistle he wrote to Lucillus praysed without cessing the common wealth of the Rhodiens in the which with much a doe they bent them selues altogether to kepe one selfe thinge and after they had therupon agréed they kept and mainteyned it inuiolately The diuine Plato in the sixte booke entituled De legibus ordeyned and commaunded that if any citizen did inuente any new thing which neuer before was reade nor harde of the inuentour thereof should first practise the same for the space of .10 yeares in his owne house before it was brought into the common wealth and before it shold be published vnto the people to th ende if the inuencion were good it should be profitable vnto him and if it were noughte that than the daunger and hurte therof should lighte onely on him Plutarche in his Apothemes saith that Licurgus vpō greauous penalties did prohibite that none should be so hardye in his common wealthe to goe wanderinge into straunge countreys nor that he shoulde be so hardy to admit any straungers to come into his house and the cause why this lawe was made was to th ende straungers shoulde not bringe into their houses thinges straunge and not accustomed in their common wealthe and that they trauailing through straunge contreis shoulde not learne newe customes The presumption of menne now a dayes is so great and the consideracion of the people so small that what so euer a man can speake he speaketh what so euer he can inuente he doth inuente what he would he doth write and it is no marueill for there is no man that will speake againste them Nor the common people in this case are so lighte that amonges them you may dayly sée new deuises and whether it hurt or profit the common wealth they force not If there came at this day a vayne man amonges the people which was neuer sene nor hearde of before if he be any thing subtile I aske you but this question shal it not be easy for him to speake and inuente what he listeth to set forth what he pleaseth to perswade that which to him séemeth good and al his saienges to be beleued Truly it is a wonderfull thinge and no lesse sclaunderous that one shoulde be sufficient to peruerte the sences and iudgementes of all and all not able to represse the lightnes and vanitie of one Things that are newe and not accustomed neither princes ought to allowe nor yet the people to vse For a newe thinge oughte no lesse to be examined and considered before it be brought into the common wealth than the greate doutes whiche aryse in mennes myndes Rufinus in the prologue of his seconde booke of his apologie reproueth greately the Egyptians because they
I am sory they know so much only for that they subtilly disceiue and by vsury abuse their neighbours and kepe that they haue vniustly gotten and dayly getting more inuenting new trades Finally I say if they haue any knowledge it is not to amend their life but rather to encrease their goods If the diuil could slepe as men do he might safely slepe for wheras he waketh to deceiue vs we wake to vndoe our selues wel suppose that al these heretofore I haue sayd is true Let vs now leue aside craft take in hand knowledge The knowledge which we attaine to is smal that whych we shold attaine to so great that al that we know is the least part of that we are ignoraunt Euen as in things natural the elamentes haue their operacions accordyng to the variety of time so moral doctrines as the aged haue succeded and sciences were discouered Truly al fruites come not together but when one faileth another commeth in season I meane that neyther al the Doctours among the Christians nor al the phylosophers among the gentyles were concurrant at one time but after the death of one good ther came another better The chiefe wysedome whych measureth al thyngs by iustyce and disparseth them accordyng to his bounty wyl not that at one time they should be al wyse men and at an other time al simple For it had not ben reason the one should haue had the fruite and the other the leaues The old world that ran in Saturnes dayes otherwyse called the golden world was of a truth muche estemed of them that saw it and greatly commended of them that wrote of it That is to say it was not gilded by the Sages whych did gilde it but because there was no euyl men whych dyd vngild it For as thexperience of the meane estate nobility teacheth vs of one only parson dependeth aswel the fame and renoume as the infamy of a hole house and parentage That age was called golden that is to saye of gold and this our age is called yronne that is to say of yron This dyfference was not for that gold then was found now yron nor for that in this our age ther is want of theym that be sage but because the number of them surmounteth that be at this day malicious I confesse one thing and suppose many wil fauour me in the same Phauorin the philosopher which was maister to Aulus Gellius and his especial frend sayde ofttimes that the phylosophers in old time were holden in reputacion bycause ther were few teachers and many learners We now a daies se the contrary for infinite are they whych presume to be maysters but few are they whych humble theym selues to be scholers A man maye know how litle wise men are estemed at this houre by the greate veneracion that the phylosophers had in the old tyme. What a matter is it to se Homere amongest the Grecians Salomon amongest the Hebrues Lycurgus amongest the Lacedomoniens Phoromeus also amongest the Grekes Ptolomeus amongeste the Egiptians Liui amongeste the Romaynes and Cicero lykewyse amongeste the Latines Appolonius among the Indians and Secundus amongest the Assirians How happy were those philosophers to be as they were in those dayes when the world was so ful of simple personnes and so destitute of sage men that there flocked greate nombers out of dyuers contries and straung nacions not only to here their doctrine but also to se their persons The glorious saint Hierome in the prologue to the bible sayth When Rome was in her prosperitie thenne wrote Titus Liuius his decades yet notwithstaÌ„ding men came to Rome more to speake with Titus Liuius then to se Rome or the high capitol therof Marcus Aurelius writing to his frend Pulio said these words Thou shalt vnderstand my frend I was not chosen Emperour for the noble bloude of my predecessours nor for the fauoure I had amongest them now present for ther were in Rome of greater bloud and riches then I but the Emperour Adrian my maister set his eyes vpon me and the emperour Anthony my father in law chose me for his sonne in law for no other cause but for that they saw me a frend of the sages an enemy of the ignoraunt Happie was Rome to chose so wise an emperoure and no lesse happye was he to attaine to so great an empire Not for that he was heire to his predecessoure but for that he gaue his mynd to study Truly if that age then were happie to enioye hys person no lesse happie shal ours be now at this present to enioy his doctrine Salust sayth they deserued great glory whych did worthy feates and no lesser renowme merited they whych wrote them in high stile What had Alexander the great ben if Quintus Curtius had not writen of him what of Vlisses if Homere hadde not bene borne what had Alcibiades bene if Zenophon had not exalted him what of Cirus if the philosopher Chilo had not put his actes in memory what had bene of Pirrus kinge of the Epirotes if Hermicles cronicles were not what had bene of Scipio the great Affricane if it had not bene for the decades of Tâ—tus Liuius what had ben of Traiane if the renowmed Plutarche had not bene his frend what of Nerua and Anthonius the meke if Phocion the Greke had not made mencion of them how should we haue knowen the stout courage of Cesar and the great prowesse of Pompeius if Lucanus had not writen them what of the twelue Cesars if Suetonius tranquillus hadde not compiled a booke of their lyues and how should we haue knowen the antiquityes of the Hebrues if the vpright Iosephe had not ben who could haue knowen the commyng of the Lombardes into Italy if Paulus Diaconus had not writ it how could we haue knowen the comming in the going out and end of the Gothes in Spayne if the curious Rodericus had not shewed it vnto vs By these things that we haue spoken of before the readers may perceyue what is dew vnto the Historiographers who in my opinion haue left as great memorye of theym for that they wrote with their pennes as the prynces haue done for that they dyd with their swordes I confesse I deserue not to be named amongest the sages neyther for that I haue wryten and translated nor yet for that I haue composed Therfore the sacred and deuyne letters set a side ther is nothing in the world so curiouslye wryten but neadeth correction as I say of the one so wil I say of the other and that is as I wyth my wyl do renounce the glorye which the good for my learning woulde gyue me so in like maner euyl men shal not want that agaynst my wil wil seke to defame it We other writers smally esteme the labour and paynes we haue to wryte although in dede we are not ignoraunt of a thousand enuyous tongues that wyl backbite it Many now a dayes are so euil taught
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
here engraued rest That only was Camillus daughter deere Twyse twentie yeres and fixe she hath possest A couert lyfe vn touchte of any feere The king of Trinacry could not her moue To tast the swete delight of wedlockes bande Nor trayne by sute her sacred mind to loue â—nclosde in breest so deepe did chastnes stand But oh greate wrong the crawling wormes her do To gnawe on that vnspotted senceles corse That rage of youth spent vndefiled so VVyth sober life in spite of Cupides force And this was written in heroycal verse in the Greeke tongue with a maruelouse haughtie stile But to our mater ye shal vnderstand that the Romaynes kepte a certayne Lawe in the 12. tables the woordes wherof were these We ordeyne and commaund that al the Romaynes shal for euer haue specyall priuiledge in euery such place where theyr auncestoures haue done to the Romayne people any notable seruice For it is reason that where the citizen aduentureth hys lyfe there the citie should do him some honor after hys death By vertue of this lawe all the familie of Camilli euer enioyed the keping of the hyghe Capitoll for that by hys force and pollicye he chased the french men from the siege Truely it is not vnknoweÌ„ that this noble knight and valyant captayne Camille dyd other thynges as great and greater than this but because it was done within the circuite of Rome it was estemed aboue all hys other actes and prowes And herein the Romaynes swarued not farre from reason for that amongest all princelye vertues is estemed to be the chiefest and worthyest whych is employed to the profyt of the comon wealth The Romayne Croniclers wyth teares cease not to lameÌ„t the ruine of their countrye seynge that varietie of tyme the multytude of tyrauntes the crueltye of cyuill warres were occasion that the aunciente state of the Romayn gouernment came to vtter destruction and in steede therof a new and euyl trade of lyfe to be placed And hereof no man ought to maruaile for it chaunseth throughout al realmes and nacions by oft chaunging gouernours that among the people dayly spryngeth sondry new vices Pulio sayth that for no alteracion whych befell to the common weale for no calamitye that euer Rome suffred that priuiledge was taken away from the Image of Camilli I meane the gouernment of the high Capitol except it were in the time of Silla the consul when this familye was soore persecuted for none other cause but for that they fauoured the consull Marius Thys cruel Silla beinge deade and the piteful Iulius Cesar preuailinge al the banyshed men frome Rome returned home agayne to the commonne wealthe As touchinge the auncestours of the Emperoure Marcus Aurelius what hath bene their trade of lyfe estate pouertye or riches standinge infauour or displeasoure what prosperitie or aduersitie they haue had or suffred we fynde not in wrytinges thoughe with greate dilygence they haue bene serched for And the cause hereof was for that the auncient writers of the Romaine histories touched the lyues of the emperours fathers specially when they were made princes more for the good merites that were in the children then for the great estimacioÌ„ that came from the fathers Iulius Capitolinus saith that Annius Verus father of Marcus Aurelius was Pretor of the Rhodian armies and also wardein in other frontiers in the time of Traian the good Adrian the wyse and Antonye the mercifull Whiche Emperours trusted none with theyr armies but discrete and valiaunt men For good princes chose alway suche captaines as can with wisedome guide the armye and with valiauntnes giue the battaile Thoughe the Romaynes had sondrye warres in diuerse places yet chefelye they kept great garrisons alwayes in foure partes of the world That is to saye in Bizance which now is Constantinople to resist the Parthiens in Gades whiche now is called Galiz to withstand the Portugales in the riuer of Rein to defend them selues from the Germaines and at Colosses whiche now is called the I le of Rhodes for to subdue the Barbariens In the moneth of Ianuary when the Senate distributed their offices the dictatoure being appointed for 6. monethes and the. 2. Consulles chosen for one yere incontinently in the .3 place they chose 4. of the most renowmed personnes to defende the sayd 4 daungerous froÌ„tiers For the Romaynes neither feared the paynes of hell nor trusted for reward in heauen but sought by all occasions possible in their life to leaue some notable memory of them after their deathe And that Romaine was counted most valiante of the Senate best fauoured to whom they committed the charge of the moste cruell and daungerous warres For their strife was not to beare rule and to be in office to get mony but to be in the frontiers to ouercome their enemies In what estimacion these 4. frontiers wer we may easely perceiue by that we see the most noble Romaines haue passed som part of their youth in those places as captaines vntill such time that for more weyghtie affaires they were appointed from thense to some other places For at that time there was no worde so greauous and iniurious to a citezin as to saye go thou hast neuer ben brought vp in the warres and to proue the same by examples the great Pompey passed the winter season in Constantinople the aduenturous Scipio in Colonges the couragious Caesar in Gades and the renowmed Marius in Rhodes And these 4. wer not only in the frontiers afore sayde in their youthe but ther they dyd such valiaunt actes that the memory of them remayned euermore after their death These thynges I haue spoken to proue sythe wee fynde that Marcus Aurelius father was captaine of one of those .4 frontiers it followeth that he was a man of singuler wisedome and prowesse For as Scipio sayde to his frende Masinissa in affrike it is not possible for a Romaine captayne to want eyther wisedome or courage for thereunto they were predestined at their birthe We haue no autentike authorities that showeth vs from whence when or howe in what countreis and with what personnes this captaine passed his youth And the cause is for that the Romain Croniclers wer not accustomed to write the thynges done by their prince before they were created but only the actes of yonge men whiche from their youth had their hartes stoutlye bent to great aduenturs And in my opinion it is wel done For it is greater honor to obteine an empire by policie wisedom then to haue it by discent so that ther be no tirannie Suetonius Tranquillus in his first boke of Emperours counteth at large the aduenturous enterprises taken in hand by Iulius Caesar in his yong age how farre vnlikely they wer from thought that he should euer obtayne the Roman Empiree writing this to shew vnto princes how earnestlye Iulius Cesars harte was bent to winne the Romayne Monarchie and likewise how wisdom fayled him in behauing him selfe therein A philosopher of Rome wrote to Phalaris
all perill and daunger The Romaines being aduertised of their gentlenes by the messengers which were come safe aliue did so muche reioyce that they ordeined in Rome that the nobles of Liparie shuld be made Senatours of Rome all the others shoulde be confederate of aliaunce vnto thē And they caused further that two priestes of Lipari should always remain in the temple of Iupiter whiche priuilege was neuer graunted to any other straungers but to them only For the Romaines had so great zeale loue to their gods that in the seruices of the temples they trusted none but those which were natiue auncient of Rome and also were both wyse and vertuous When Quintus Fabius Publius Decius were in the warres against the Samnites Toscanes and likewyse against the Vmbres many marueilous terrible signes were sene in Rome which thinges did not onely feare those that sawe them but also those which heard of thē Vpon which occasion the Romaines and the Romaine matrones both night and daye offered great sacrifices to the gods For they saide if we can once pacifie the wrath of the gods in Rome we shall neuer neade to feare our enemies in the fielde The thing was this that as the Romaine matrones went visiting the temples to appease the ire of the gods many Senatours wyues came to the temple of chastitie to offer sacrifice For in the time of the puissant power of the Romaines the women did sacrifice in the temples of the gods At that tyme came Virginea the daughter of Aureus Virgineus the Consul Plebeian the which was forbiddē to do sacrifice for that she was none of the Senatours wiues but a Plebeian as much to saie as a craftes womā no gentilmans daughter borne For the noble women were had in so great veneration so highly estemed that al the other semed in respect of thē but handmaides sclaues The noble Romaine Virginea seing her to be so repulsed disdained of the other matrons made of her own propre house a sēple to the goddesse of chastitie and with much deuotion reuerence honoured her The whiche thing being published abroade throughout Rome many other women came thither to doe sacrifice likewise For fortune is so variable that oftentimes those which of pryde haue forbidden vs their houses come after by humilitie to serue vs at ours For this cause this Virginea the foundresse was so greatly praysed that the Romaines in her life made her patrice that is a noble Romaine and after her death caused her image and statue to be made and set vp in the high Capitoll and aboue this image were grauen certaine Greeke letters the effecte whereof was this Patrice the great this Image doth present That in her life did giue with mynde deuout The Gods her house and therfore to them went When liuely breth by death was chased out Of all these hystories aboue named Titus Liuius maketh mencion in his first decade the seconde fift and ninth booke though he declareth thē more at large yet this shal suffice for my purpose I haue sought among the gentils these few exāples to reproue christiā princes to th end they might se how studious feruent our fathers were in the seruice of their Idols cōtrariwise how cold negligēt we are to honour serue our true liuing god It is a shame to tell how the auncient Romains with all their hartes did serue the gods without any vnderstanding how those which are christiās for the most part serue the true God not in truthe but with hypocrisie and dissimulation Fo the children of this worlde will take no paynes but for to prouoke the pleasures of the body Many wondred for what occasion God did so muche for them and they did nothing for God To this may be aunswered that if they had knowen one true God all the sacrifices they hadde done to their other gods they would haue done to him only and as God is iust so he rewarded them in their temporall prosperities not for that they did well but for that they desired to doe well For in our deuine lawe God doth not regard what we are but what we desire to be Christian princes maruayle muche what the occasion should be that they are not so fortunate as the Gentils were To this may be answered that either they be good or euill If they be good truly God should do them wrong if for the paiment of their faithful seruices he should recompence thē with those worldly vanities For without doubt one onely louing countenaunce of god in the worlde to come is more worth then all the temporall goods of this world present But if these suche great lordes be euil in their personnes ambitious in gouerning their dominions not pitifull to wydowes and fatherlesse not fearfull of god nor of his threatninges and moreouer neuer to haue mynde to serue him but only when they see them selues in some great ieopardie in suche case God will not heare them and muche lesse fauour them For without doubt the seruice is more acceptable whiche of free wyll proceadeth than that whiche of necessitie is offred ¶ For fiue causes princes ought to be better Christians then their subiectes Cap. xx IN myne opinion Princes ought and are bounde to be vertuous for fiue causes I saye vertuous in that they should loue and feare God For he onely may be called vertuous which in the catholique faith of the church and in the feare of God hath alwayes remayned constant First princes should feare loue serue and loue one onely god whom they worshippe for that thei acknowledge him onely and none other to be the head both of heauen and earth For in the ende there is nothing so puissaunt but is subiecte to the diuine power And truly the prince is is great perill of damnation of his soule if in his gouernemēt he hath not alwayes before his eies the feare and loue of the supreme prince to whom we must render of all our doynges an accōpt For the prince hath great occasion to be vicious thinking that for the vice he shall not be chastised I haue redde in diuerse sundry writinges and I neuer founde one auncient prince to be contented with one only god but that they had serued many gods Iulius Caesar caried fiue gods painted in a table and Scipio the great caried seuen portered in mettall And furthermore they were not contented to haue many but yet in sacrifices and seruices they offred vnto them all The Christian princes whiche kepe and haue but one very true and omnipotent god are so vnthankefull that they thinke it muche to serue and giue acceptable seruice vnto him And though peraduenture some saie that it is more painefull to serue one true god then all these false gods to this I aunswere That to serue them it is both trauaile paine but to serue our god it is both ioye and felicitie For in seruing those it
in great felicitie than the poore labourer who liueth in extreme misery And also we see it eftsones by experience that the sodaine lightning tempestes and the terrible thonder forsaketh the small lowe cotages battereth forthwith the great sumptuous buildinges Gods wil determination is that for as much as he hath exalted them aboue al others somuch the more they should acknowledge him for lorde aboue all others For god did neuer create high estates because they should worke wickednes but he placed them in that degree to th end they should therby haue more occasion to do him seruice Euery prince that is not a good Christian a feruente louer of the catholike faith nor will haue any respect to the deuine seruice let him be assured that in this world he shall loase his renowme and in the other he shall hazarde his soule For that all euill Christians are the parishioners of hell ¶ The authour proueth by twelue examples that princes are sharply punished when they vsurpe boldly vpon the churches and violate the tēples Cap. xxiii ¶ Why the children of Aaron were punished IT is now time that we leaue to perswade with wordes reasons and to begin to proue that which we haue said by some excellēt histories notable examples For in th end the hartes of mē are stirred more through some litle examples then with a great multitude of words In the first booke of the Leuitici the .x. chap is declared how in the time of Moyses the sonne in law of Iethro priest that was of Media who was chiefe prince of all the image of Seph with whom the brother of Mary the Iepre had charge of the high priesthod For among al the lawes where god at any time put his handes vnto he prouided always that some had the gouernement of ciuile affaires and others thadministration of the deuine misteries This high priest had then two children whose names were Nadab Abihu which two were yonge beautiful stout sage during their infancy serued their father helped him to do sacrifice For in the old law they suffred that priestes should not onely haue wiues children but also that their children should succede thē in their temples and inherite their benefices There came a great mischaunce for the two childrē being apparailed in whyte their bodies bound with stoels their handes naked in one hand holding a torche in thother the senser being negligent to light the new fyre contrary to that the law had ordeined taking coles which were prohibited a marueilous thing was sene in the sight of the people which was that sodainly these two children fel flat on the earth dead al their sacrifice burned Truly the sentēce was marueilous but it was iust enough For they wel deserued to lose their liues sithen they durst sacrifice the coles of an other This thing semed to be true for those yonge children saued their soules made satisfaction of the fault with their liues but other wicked men god permitteth to liue a short time because they shal loose their soules for euer ¶ The cause why the Azotes were punished THe realme of Palestine being destitute of a kyng at that time an honourable old man gouerned the realme whiche was father to two knightes named Albino and Phinides for at that tyme the children of Israell were not gouerned by kinges that did moleste them by iniuries but by sage men whiche did mainteine theym by iustice It chaunced that the Azotes made warre against the Palestines and were a kynde of the Arabians stoute and warrelyke the whiche fought so couragiously that the Palestines and Hebrues were constrayned to bringe their Arke into the middes of the battaile whiche was a relicke as a man should haue put the holy sacrament to deuide a great multitude of people But fortune shewed her countenaunce vnto them so frowningly that they were not onely ouercome but also were spoyled of the Arke whiche was their chiefe relicke And besides that there were .400 Palestines slayne The Azotes caried awaye the Arke ful of relicks vnto their temple in the citie of Nazote and set it by Dagon their cursed Idol The true God whiche wyll not suffer any to be coequall with him in comparison or in any thing that he representeth caused this Idoll to be shaken throwen downe and broken in pieces no man touching it For our god is of suche power that to execute his iustice he nedeth not worldly helpe God not contented thus though the Idoll was broken in pieces caused those to be punished likewyse whiche worshipped it in suche sorte that all the people of Azote Ascalon Geth Acharon and of Gaza whiche were fiue auncient and renowmed cities were plaged both man and woman inwardly with the disease of the Emerodes so that they could not eate sitting nor ryde by the wayes on horsebacke And to th ende that al men might see that their offences were greauous for the punishment they receiued by the deuine iustice he replenished their houses places gardeins seedes and fieldes full of rattes And as they had erred in honouring the false Idoll and forsaken the true god so he would chastise them with two plagues sending them the Emerodes to torment their bodies and the rattes to destroye their goodes For to him that willingly geueth his soule to the deuill it is but a small matter that god against his wyll depriue him of his goodes This then being thus I would nowe gladly knowe whether of them committed moste offence eyther the Azotes whiche set the Arke in the temple whiche as they thought was the moste holiest or the Christians whiche without the feare of God robbe and pylle the Churche goodes to their owne priuate commoditie in this worlde Truly the lawe of the Azotes differed as muche from the Christians as the offence of the one differeth from the other For the Azotes erred not beleuing that this Arke was the figure of the true God but we beleue it and cōfesse it and without shame committe against it infinite vices By this so rare sodaine a punishement me thinkes that Princes and great Lordes should not onely therfore acknowledge the true god but also reuerence and honour those thinges which to him are dedicated For mans lawes speaking of the reuerence of a Prince doe no lesse condemne him to die that robbeth his house then him whiche violently layeth handes on his persone ¶ The cause why Prince Oza was punished IN the booke whiche the sonne of Helcana wrote that is the seconde booke of the kynges and the sixt Chapter he saieth that the Arke of Israell with his relikes which was Manna the rodde and two stones stode in the house of Aminadab whiche was the next neighbour to the citie of Gibeah the sonne of Esaye who at that tyme was kyng of the Israelites determined to transpose the relickes into his citie and house for it semed to him a great infamy that to a mortall
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
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
as one but men do tourne from vice to vertue from vertue to vice The good Emperour Marcus Aurelius did deuid the time by time so that though he had time for him selfe he had time lykewise to dispatche his owne and others affaires for the man that is willing in a small time dispatcheth much busynes the man which is necligent in a longe tyme doth lytel This was the order that the Emperour Marcus Aurelius toke in spendyng his time He slepte .7 houres in the nighte and one hower reasted hym selfe in the day In dyning and suppynge he consumed onely .2 howers and it was not for that he toke great pleasure to be longe in eatinge but bycause the philosophers whyche disputed before his presence were occasion to prolonge the time For in .17 yeares they neauer saw hym at meate but one or other redde vnto him some booke or elles the philosophers reasoned before hym philophye As he hadde manye realmes and prouinces so he appointed one hower for the affaires of Asia for Affryke one hower and for Europe another hower and for the conuersacion of his wife children and family he appointed other .2 howers of time he had another hower for extraordinary affaires as to here the complaintes of the greued the quarrelles of the poore the complaintes of the widowes and the robberies done to the orphanes For the mercifull prince geueth no lesse eare vnto the poore which for want can doe lytell then to the riche which for aboundance can do much He occupyed all the residew of the day and night to rede bokes write workes to make meter and in studyng of other antiquities to practyse with the sage and to dyspute with the philosophers and fynally he toke no tast of any thing so muche as he dyd to talke of science Vnlesse the cruell warres dyd let hym or suche lyke affaires troubled him ordynarily in winter he went to bed at .9 of the clocke and awaked at .4 and bycause he would not be idle he had alway a boke vnder his beddes hed and the residue of the day he bestowed in readyng The romans had an auncient custome to beare fyer before them that is to wete a torche lyghte in the daye and a lampe burnyng in the night in their chambers so that wakyng they burned waxe and fleapyng they hourned oyle And the cause why the Romans ordeyned that the oyle should be made of olyue and the waxe made of bees which was vsed to be borne before the princes was to the end they should remember that they ought to be as gentell and louing as the oyle of Olyue is swete and as profytable to the common wealth as the Bees are He did rise at .6 of the clocke and made him selfe ready openlye and with a gentle countenaunce he asked them that were about hym wherin they had spente all the nyght and declared vnto them then what he had dreamed what he had thought and what he had red when he was readye he washed his face with odiferous waters and loued veray wel swete sauoures For he had so quycke a sent that he was much offended when he passed by any stincking place In the mornyng he vsed to eate .2 morsels of a lectuary made of Sticades and dranke .3 sponefulls of maluesey or els two droppes of Aqua Vite bycause he had a colde stomacke for that he gaue hym selfe so muche to studye in tymes past We se it by experience that the greate studentes are persecuted more with sycknes then any others for in the swetenes of the scyence they knowe not how their lyfe consumeth If it were in the sommer season he went in the mornyng to recreate him selfe to the ryuer of Tiber and walked there a fote for .2 howers and in this place they talked with hym that had busines and trulye it was a great policie for wher as the Prince doeth not syt the sewtour alwayes abridgeth his talke And when the day began to wax hot he went to the hight capitol where al the Senate taried for him from thence he went to the Coliseo wher the imbassadours of the prouinces wer there remained a great part of the day afterwardes he went to the chappel of the vestal virgines ther he hard euery nation by it selfe accordyng to the order which was prescribed He dyd eate but one meale in the daye it was veray late but he did eate wel not of many diuers sortes of meates but of fewe and good For the aboundaunce of diuerse and straunge meates breadeth sondry dysseases They sawe him once a weke go thoroughe Rome and if he wente anye more it was a wonder at the whyche tyme he was alwayes without companie both of his owne and also of straungers to thentente all poore men myghte talke with him of their busines or complaine of his officers for it is vnpossible to reforme the common wealthe if he which ought to remedy it be not informed of the iniuryes done in the same He was so gentle in conuersacion so pleasaunt in wordes so noble amongest the great so equall with the least so reasonable in that he dyd aske so persyte in that he dyd worke so patiēt in iniuries so thankefull of benefittes so good to the good and so seuere to the euill that all loued him for beyng good and all the euill feared him for being iuste A man oughte not lytell to esteme the loue that the people bare to this so good a Prince and noble Emperour forsomuch as the Romans haue bene thus that for the felicitye of their estate they offered to their gods greater sacryfyce then they dyd in any other prouinces And Sextus Cheronensis sayeth that the Romains offered more sacrifyces to the gods because they should lengthen the lyfe of the Emperour then they dyd offer for the profyte of the common wealthe Trulye their reason was good for the Prynce that leadeth a good lyfe is the harte of the common wealthe But I doe not maruaile that the Emperour was so well wylled and beloued of the Romayn empire for he had neuer porter to hys chamber but the .2 howers which he remained with his wyfe Faustine Al this beyng past the good Emperour went into his house into the secretest place he had accordyng to the councel of Lucius Seneca they key whereof he alone had in his custodye and neuer trusted any man therwith vntyll the hower of hys death and then he gaue it to an old auncient man called Pompeianus sayeng vnto hym these wordes Thou knowest ryght wel Pompeianus that thou beyng base I exalted the to honor Thou beyng poore I gaue the riches Thou being persecuted I drewe the to my pallas I beyng absente committed my hole honoure to thy trust thou beyng old I maryed the with my doughter and doe presently gyue the this key Behold that in geuing the it I giue the my harte lyfe For I will thou know that death greueth me not so much nor the losse of my
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
honnye and she wrote two others the one of the vanities of youth and the other of the miseries of age This woman dyd read openly natural morall Phylosophye in the Scholes of Athens for the space of fiue twenty yeres she made forty bookes she had a hundred tenne philosophers to her Scholers she dyed being at the age of seuentie and seuen yeres the Athenians after her death engraued on her graue these words THe slised stones within their bowels keape Wise Aretha the great and only wight That forceth enuie gentle teares to weape For Grekes decay on whom the losse doth light The eye of fame the hart of vertues life The head of Grece lie here engraued lo more heauenly forme then had that heauenly wife Which vndermind the phrigies ioyes with woe Within the chest of her vnspotted minde Lay Thirmas troth and eke her honest faith Within her hande as by the gods assinde Stoode Aristippus penne that vertue wayeth Within the dongeon of her body eke Imprisonde was wise Socrates his soule That liude so well and did so wisely speke That follies brest he could to wisdome toule Within her head so ouer heapt with witt Lay Homers tongue to stayne the poetes arte Erst was the golden age not halfe so fitt For vertues Impes as when her life did parte As Marcus Varro sayeth the sectes of the philosophers were more then .lxx. but in the ende they were reduced into seuen and in the ende they were brought into thre sects chiefly That is to wete Stoicques Peripaeticques and Pithagoricques Of these pithagoricques Pithagoras was the prince Hyzearcus Annius Rusticus and Laertius with Eusebius and Boccace all affirme one thinge whereunto I did not greatly geue credite which is that this philosopher Pithagoras had a sister not onely learned but if it be lawfull to speake it excellently learned And they saye that not she of Pithagoras but Pithagoras of her learned philosophie And of truthe it is a matter whereof I was so greatly abashed that I can not tell who could be maister of such a woman since she had Pithagoras the great philosopher to her scholler The name of the woman was Theoclea to whom Pithagoras her brother wrote sent a letter when he red philosophie at Rhodes and she at Samothracia doinge the like The Pistle was thus as foloweth ¶ Of a letter whiche Pithagoras sent to his sister Theoclea he being in Rhodes she in Samothracia reading both philosophie Cap. xxix PIthagoras thy brother and disciple to thee Theoclea his sister health and increase of wisedome wysheth I haue red the booke whiche thou diddest sende me of fortune and misfortune from the beginning to the end and nowe I knowe that thou art no lesse graue in making then gracious in teaching The which doth not chaunce very oft to vs which are men and much lesse as we haue sene to you women For the philosopher Aristippus was rude in speaking profound in writing Amenides was briefe in wryting and eloquent in speaking Thou hast studied and written in such sorte that in the learning that thou shewest thou seamest to haue read all the philosophers and in the antiquities that thou doest declare it semeth that thou hast sene all the time past Wherein thou beinge a woman shewest thy selfe more then a woman because the nature of women is to caste their eies only in that that is present and commonly to forget that that is past They tell me that thou doest occupye thy selfe nowe in writing of our countrey And truly in this case I can not say but that you haue matter enough to wryte on For the warres and trauayles of our tymes haue bene suche and so great that I had rather reade them in bookes then see them with my eyes And if it be so as I suppose it is I beseche thee hartely and by the immortall Gods I coniure thee that in writing the affaires of thy coūtrey thou doest vse thy penne discreatly I meane that thou doe not in this case bleamyshe thy wryting by putting therein any flatterie or lesinge For oftetimes Historiographers in blasinge more then trouth the giftes of their countrey cause worthely to be suspected their wryting Thou knowest very well how that in the battayle paste the Rhodians were ouercome and that ours remained victorious Me thinketh thou shouldest not in this case greatly magnifie extolle or exalt ours because in the ende they fought to reuenge their iniury neither thou oughtest to blame the Rhodians for they did not fight but in the ayde of Rome I speake this my Syster because for to defende their own women shewe them selues Lyons and for to defende the thinges of an other man men shew them selues chickens For in the ende he onely maye be counted strong the whiche defendeth not his owne house but which dieth defending his and another mans I wyll not denie the naturall loue of my countrey nor I wyll not denie but that I loue them that wryte and speake well thereof but me thinketh it is not reason that they should disprayse the goodnesse and truthe of other countries nor that they should so highly comend the euill and vilenes of their owne For there is not in the world this daye so barren a Realme but maye be commended for some thing therein nor there is so perfite a nation but in some thinges maye be reproued Thou canst not deny me but that amongest thy brethren I am the eldest and thou canste not deny but that amongest all thy disciples I am the yongest and since that for being thy disciple I ought to obey thee thou like wyse for that I am thy eldest brother oughtest to beleue me By the fayeth of a people I doe councell thee my syster that thou doe trauayle muche to be profound in thy words vpright in thy life and honest of thy persone and besides al this true in thy writing For I let thee vnderstande that if the body of the man without the soule is litle regarded I sweare vnto thee that the mouthe of a man without truthe is muche lesse esteamed ¶ The authour foloweth his purpose perswading princesses and other ladies to endeuour them selues to be wyse as the women were in olde tyme. Cap. xxx THis therefore was the letter the whiche Pithagoras sente to his syster Theoclea whereby is shewed the great humilitie of him and the hyghe eloquence of her Hiarcus the Greke and Plutarche also in the booke of the gouernement of princes saye that Pithagoras had not onely a sister whiche was called Theoclea of whom he learned so muche philosophie but also he had a doughter the wisedome and knowledge of whome surmounted her aunte and was equall to her father I thinke it no lesse vncredible which is spoken of the doughter then that whiche is spoken of the aunte whiche is that those of Athenes did reioyce more to heare her speake in her house then for to heare Pithagoras reade in the schole And it ought to
wisest but these of our daies cōtend who shal be fairest For at this day the ladies would chose rather to haue the face adorned with beautie then the heart endued with wisedome The auncient ladies contented which should be better able to teache others but these ladies nowe a daies contend how they may moste finely apparel them selues For in these daies they geue more honour to a woman richely appareled then they geue to an other with honestie beautified Finally with this worde I doe conclude and let him marke that shall reade it that in the olde time women were such that their vertues caused al men to kepe silence and now their vices be such that they cōpell al men to speake I will not by this my word any man should be so bolde in generally to speake euil of all the ladies for in this case I sweare that there are not at this day so many good vertuous women in the world but that I haue more enuy at the life they lead in secreat then at al the sciences whiche the auncient women red in publike Wherfore my pen doth not shewe it selfe extreme but to those which onely in sumptuous apparell and in vayne wordes do consume their whole lyfe and to those whiche in readyng a good boke wold not spend one only houre To proue my intencion of that I haue spoken the aboue written suffiseth But to the ende princesses and great ladies maye se at the lest howe muche better it shal be for them to know litel then to haue and possesse much and to be able to do more I will remembre thē of that whych a Romaine woman wrate to her children wherby they shal perceyue how eloquent a woman she was in her sayinges and how true a mother in her counsel For in the end of her letter she perswadeth her children to the trauailes of the warre not for any other cause but to auoyd the pleasures of Rome Of the worthines of the ladye Cornelia and of a notable epistle she wrote to her .ii. sonnes which serued in the warres Tyberius and Caius diswadyng them from the pleasures of rome and exorting them to endure the trauailes of warre Chap. xxxi ANnius Rusticus in the boke of the antiquities of the Romaines saith that in Rome ther wer .v. principal linages that is to wete Fabritij Torquatij Brutij Fabij and Cornelij thoughe there were in Rome other newe linages wherof ther were many excellent personages yet alwayes these which came of the .v. linages were kept placed and preferred to the first offices of the common wealth For Rome honored those that were present in such sort that it was without the preiudice of those that are gone Amongest those .v. linages the romaines alwayes counted the Cornelij most fortunat the which were so hardy and couragious in fight and so modest in lyfe that of theyr familie there was neuer found any cowardly man in the feld nor any defamed woman in the towne They saye of this linage of the Cornelij amonge many other there were .iiii. singular and notable women among the whiche the chiefe was the mother of Gracchi whose name was Cornelia and liued with more honour for the sciences she red in Rome then for the conquestes that her children had in Affricke Before her children wer brought into the empire they talked of none other thing but of their strēgth hardines throughout all the worlde and therfore a Romaine one daye asked this woman Cornelia wherof she toke most vaine glory to se her selfe mistres of so many disciples or mother of so valiant children The lady Cornelia aunswered I doe esteme the science more whiche I haue learned then the Children whyche I haue brought forth For in the end the children kepe in honour the lyfe but the disciples continue the renowne after the death And she sayd further I am assured that the disciples dayly will waxe better and better and it maye bee that my Children wil waxe worse and worse The desyres of yong men are so variable that they daily haue newe inuentions With one accord all the wryters do greatly commende this woman Cornelia inespecially for being wyse and honest and furthermore bycause shee red philosophy in Rome openlye And therfore after her death they set vp in Rome a Statue ouer the gate Salaria whereupon there was grauen this Epigrame This heape of earth Cornelie doth encloose Of wretched Gracches that loe the mother was Twyse happye in the sckollers that she choose Vnhappye thrise in the ofspringe that she has AMong the latines Cicero was the Prince of al the Romaine rethorike and the chiefest with his pen inditing of Epystles yet they say that he did not only se the writinges of this Cornelia but red them and did not onely read them but also with the sentences therof profited him selfe And hereof a man ought not to meruaile for there is no man in the world so wise of him selfe but may furder his doynges with the aduice of another Cicero so highly exalted these writinges that he said in his rethorike these or such other like wordes If the name of a woman had not bleamyshed Cornelia truly she deserued to be head of all philosophers For I neuer sawe so graue sentences procede from so fraile flesh Since Cicero spake these wordes of Cornelia it can not be but that the writinges of such a woman in her time were very liuely and of great reputacion yet notwithstāding there is no memory of her but that an author for his purpose declareth an epistel of this maner Sextus Cheronensis in his booke of the prayse of women reciteth the letter whiche she sente to her children She remaynyng in Rome and they beyng at the warres in Affrike The letter of Cornelia to her .ii. sonnes Tiberius and Caius otherwise called Gracchi COrnelia the Romaine that by thy fathers side am of the Cornelij one the mother syde of the Fabij to you my .ii. sonnes Gracchii which are in that warres of Affrik such health to you do wish as a mother to her childrē ought to desire Ye haue vnderstode right well my children how my father died I being but .iii. yeres of age and that this .xxii. yeares I haue remained wydow and that this .xx. yeares I haue red Rethorike in Rome It is .vii. yeres sins I sawe ye and .xii. yeares sins your bretherne my children dyed in the great plage You know .viii. yeres ar past since I left my study and came to se you in Cicilia bycause you should not forsake the warres to come se me in rome for to me could come no greater paine thē to se you absent from the seruice of the common welth I desire my children to shew you how I haue passed my life in labour trauaill to the intent you should not desire to spēd youres in rest and idlenes For if to me that am in rome there can want no trobles be ye assured that vnto you which are in the warres shall
to moch aboundaunce and libertie of youth is no other but a prophesie manifest token of disobedience in age I knowe not why princes and great lordes do toile and oppresse so much and scratche to leaue their children great estates and on the other syde we see that in teachyng them they are and shew theim selues to negligent for princes great lordes ought to make account that all that whych they leaue of their substaunce to a wicked heyre is vtterly lost The wise men and those which in their coÌ„sciences are vpright and of their honours carefull oughte to be very diligent to bring vp their children chiefly that they consyder whether they be mete to inherite their estates And if perchaunce the fathers se that their children be more giueÌ„ to follie then to noblenes and wysdome then should I be ashamed to se a father that is wise trauaile al the dayes of his life to leaue much substaunce to an euill brought vp child after his death It is a griefe to declare and a monstrous thyng to se the cares whych the fathers take to gather ryches and the diligence that children haue to spende them And in this case I saye the sonne is fortunate for that he doeth inherite and the Father a foole for that he doth bequeth In my opinion Fathers ar bound to enstructe theyr Children well for two causes the one for that they are nearest to them and also bycause they ought to be theyr heyres For truely with great greyfe and sorow I suppose he doth take his death which leaueth to a foole or an vnthrifte the toile of all his life Hyzearcus the Greeke hystorien in the booke of his antiquities and Sabellyquus in his generall history sayeth that a father and a sonne came to complaine to the famous phylosopher and auncient Solon Solinon the sonne complayned of the father and the father of the sonne First the son informed the quarel to the Phylosopher sayeng these wordes I complayne of my father bycause he beyng ryche hath dysheryted me and made me poore and in my steade hath adopted another heyre the whyche thyng my father oughte not nor cannot doe For sence he gaue me so frayle flesh it is reason he geue me hys goods to maintayne my feblenes To these wordes aunswered the father I complayne of my sonne bycause he hathe not bene as a gentle sonne but rather as a cruell enemye for in all thynges since he was borne he hath bene disobedient to my will wherfore I thought it good to dysheryte hym before my death I woulde I weâ—e quite of all my substaunce so that the goddes hadde quyte hym of hys lyfe for the earthe is very cruell that swalloweth not the chyld alyue whyche to hys father is dysobedyent In that he sayeth I haue adopted another chyld for myne heyre I confesse it is true and for somuche as he sayeth that I haue dysinheryted hym and abiected hym from my herytage he beynge begotten of my owne bodye hereunto I aunswere That I haue not disinheryted my sonne but I haue disinheryted his pleasure tothentent he shal not enioy my trauaile for there can be nothing more vniust then that the yonge and vitious sonne should take his pleasure of the swette and droppes of the aged father The sonne replyed to his father and sayd I confesse I haue offended my father and also I confesse that I haue lyued in pleasures yet if I maye speake the trueth thoughe I were disobedient and euill my father oughte to beare the blame and if for this cause he doeth dysherite me I thynke he doth me great iniurye For the father that enstructed not hys sonne in vertue in hys youthe wrongfullye dysheryteth hym though he be disobedient in hys age The father agayne replyeth and saieth It is true my sonne that I brought the vp to wantonly in thy youth but thou knowest well that I haue taughte the sondrye tymes and besydes that I dyd correcte the when thou camest to some discretion And if in thy youth I dyd not instructe the in learnyng it was for that thou in thy tender age dydest wante vnderstandyng but after that thou haddest age to vnderstand discrecion to receiue and strength to exercyse it I began to punyshe the to teache the and to instructe the. For where no vnderstandyng is in the chyld there in vaine they teache doctrine Sence thou arte old quoth the sonne and I yong sence thou arte my father and I thy sonne for that thou hast whyte heres of thy bearde and I none at all it is but reason that thou be beleued I condemned For in this world we se oftetimes that the smal aucthoryty of the parson maketh hym to lose hys great iustyce I grauÌ„t the my father that when I was a childe thou dydst cause me to learne to reade but thou wylte not denye that if I dyd coÌ„mit any faulte thou wouldest neauer agree I should be punyshed And hereof it came that thou sufferyng me to doe what I woulde in my youth haue bene dysobedient to the euer since in my age And I saye to the further that if in this case I haue offended trulye me thinketh thou canst not be excused for the fathers in the youthe of their children oughte not onely to teache them to dispute of vertues and what vertue is but they ought to inforce them to be vertuous in dede For it is a good token when youth before they know vyces hath bene accustomed to practice vertues Both parties thou diligentlie hard the good Philosopher Solon Solinon spake these wordes I geue iudgement that the father of thys child be not buried after hys death and I commaunde that the sonne bycause in hys youth he hath not obeyed his father who is olde should be dysinheryted whiles the father lyueth from all hys substaunce on suche condition that after hys death hys sonnes should inheryte the heritage and so returne to the heires of the sonne and line of the father For it were vniust that the innocencie of the sonne should be condempned for the offence of the father I doe commaunde also that all the goods be committed vnto some faithful parson to th end they may geue the father meate and drinke durynge hys lyfe and to make a graue for the sonne after hys death I haue not with out a cause geuen suche iudgement the which comprehendeth lyfe and death for the Gods wyll not that for one pleasure the punyshement be double but that we chastyse and punyshe the one in the lyfe takynge from hym hys honour and goods and that we punyshe others after there death takyng from them memorye and buriall Truly the sentence which the Philosopher gaue was graue and would to God we had him for a iudge of this world presentlye for I sweare that he should finde many children now a dayes for to disheryte and mo fathers to punishe For I cannot tell which is greater the shame of the children to disobey their fathers or
be feared mynystringe extreame iustice Thâ—y tâ—ke vppon them the estates of greate lords they liue of the swet of the poore they supply with malice that which they want in discrecion and that which is worst of all they myngle another mans iustice with their own proper profyte Therfore here more what I wil say vnto thee that these cursed iudges seinge them selues pestred with sundrye affaires and that they want the eares of knoweledge the sailes of vertue and the ankers of experience not knowing howe to remedy such smal euils they inuent others more greater they disturbe the coÌ„mon peace only for to augment their owne particuler profyt And finally they bewayle theire owne domage and are dyspleased withe the prosperity of an other Nothing can be more iust that since they haue fallen into offyces not profitable for them they do suffer though they would not great domages so that the one for taking gifts remaine slaundered and the other forgeuing theÌ„ remayneth vndone Harken yet I wil tell thee more Thou oughtest to knowe that the beginnings of these Iudges are pryde ambition their means enuy and malice and their endinges are death and destruccion For the leaues shall neuer be grene where the rootes are dry Yf my counsel should take place in this case suche Iudges should not be of counsayle with princes neyther yet should theye be defended of the pryuate but as suspecte men theye shoulde not onelye be caste from the common wealthe butte allso theye shoulde suffer death It is a great shame to those which demaund offyces of the Senate but greater is the rashnes and boldenes of the counsailers whyche doe procure them and we may say both to the one and to the other that neither the feare of god dothe withdrawe them nor the power of Princes dothe bridell them nor shame dothe trouble them neyther the common wealthe dothe accuse them and fynallye neyther reason commaundeth them nor the lawe subdueth theÌ„ But harke and I will tell thee more Thou oughtest alwaies to knowe what the fourme and maner is that the Senatours haue to deuide the offices for somtimes they geue them to theire frindes in recompence of theire frindship and other times they geue them to their seruauntes to acquite their seruices and sometime allso they geue them to solicitours to the end theye shall not importune them so that fewe offices remaine for the vertuous the whiche onely for beinge vertuous are prouided O my frinde Antigonus I let you to wete that since Rome dyd kepe her renowme and the common wealth was well gouerned the dylygence whiche the Iudges vsed towardes the Senate to the ende theye mighte geeue them offices the selfe same oughte the Senate to haue to seke vertuous men to commit suche charge into theire handes For the office of iustice oughte to be geuen not to him whiche procurethe it but to him that best deserueth it In the yeare of the foundacion of Rome .6 huÌ„dreth 42. yeares the Romaine people had manye warres throughout al the world To wete Chaius Celius againste those of Thrace Gneus Cardon his brother against the Sardes Iuniê° Scilla against the Cymbres Minutius Rufus against the Daces Scruilius Scipio against the Macedonians and Marius Consull againste Iugurtha kynge of Numidians and amongest all these the warre of the Numidians was the most renowmed and also perylous For if Rome had many armies against Iugurtha to conquere him Iugurtha hadde in Rome good frindes whiche did fauour him King Boco at that time was kinge of Mauritanes who was Iugurthas frinde in the end he was afterwards the occasion that Iugurtha was ouerthrowen that Marius toke him These two kinges Marius the CoÌ„sull brought to Rome triumphed of them leadinge them beefore his triumphaunt chariot their neckes loden with yrons their eies ful of teares The which vnlucky fortune al the Romaines which beheld lamented toke great pytye of the staungers whom they heard The nighte after the triumphe was ended it was decreed in the Senat that Iugurtha should be beheaded leauing king Boco aliue depryued of his countrey And the occasion therof was thys The Romaines had a custome of longe time to put no man to execucion beefore that first with great dyligence they had looked the auncient bookes to se if any of their predecessoures had done any notable seruice to Rome whereby the poore prisoner might deserue his pardon It was founde written in a booke which was in the highe Capitoll that the graundefather of kynge Boco was very sage and a special friende to the Romayne people and that once hee came to Rome and made dyuers Orations to the Senat and amongst other notable sentences there was found in that booke that he had spoken these wordes Woe be to the that realme where all are such that neither the good amongest the euill nor the euill amongest the good are knowen Woe vppon that realme which is the enterteiner of al fooles and a destroier of all sages Woe is that realme where the good are fearefull and the euill to bolde Woe on that realme where the pacient are despysed and the sedicious commended Woe on that realme whiche distroie the those that watche for the good and crowne the those that watche to doe euill Woe to that realme where the poore are suffered to be proude and the riche tiraunts Woe to that realme where all knowe the euil and no man doth follow the good Woe to that realme what so manye euil vices are openly committed withe in an other countrey dare not secretly be mencioned Woe to that realme where all procure that they desire where all attaine to that theye procure where all thinke the that is euill where all speake that they thinke finally where al may doe that which they will In such and so vnfortunate a realme where the people are so wicked let euery man beware he bee not inhabitaunt For in shorte time they shal se vpon him eyther the yre of the gods the fury of the men the depopulation of the good or the desolation of the tyrauntes Diuers other notable things were conteyned in those oracions the which are not at this present touching my letter But for asmuch as we thought it was a verye iuste thing that they should pardon the follye of the nephewe for the desertes of the wise grandfather Thou shalt reade this my letter openlye to the Pretours Iudges which are resydente there and the case shal be that when thou shalte reade it thou shalt admonishe them that if they will not amende secretlye we will punishe them openlye I wrote vnto thee the last daye that as touchynge thy banyshement I woulde be thy frinde and be thou assured that for to enioye thy olde friendeshyppe and to perfourme mye woorde I wyll not let to daunger mye parsone I wrytte vnto Panutius my secretary to succoure thee with two thousande Sesterses wherewith thou mayest relieue thy pouertye and from hence I sende thee
as if it were his owne To thys I aunswere that I am not myghtye ynough to remedy it except by my remedye there shoulde spring a greater inconuenience And since thou hast not bene a Prince thou couldest not fall into that I haue nor yet vnderstand that whych I saie For princes by theire wisedome knowe manye thinges the whych to remedy they haue no power So it hath beene so it is so it shal be so I founde it so I keepe it so wil I leaue it them so I haue read it in bookes so haue I seene it with my eyes so I heard it of my predecessours and finallye I saye so our fathers haue inuented it and so wyll wee theire children sustaine it and for this euyll wee will leaue it to our heires I wyll tell thee one thinge and imagine that I erre not therein whych is consideringe the great dommage and lytle profyte which the men of warre doe bringe to our common wealth I thynk to doe it and to sustaine it either it is the folly of menne or a scourge geuen of the gods For there can be nothinge more iust then for the goddes to permit that we feele that in our owne houses whiche we cause others in straunge houses to lament All those thinges I haue written vnto thee not for that it skilleth greatly that thou knowe them but that my harte is at ease to vtter them For as Alcibiades saide the chestes and the hartes ought alwaies to bee open to theire frendes Panutius my secretary goeth in my behalfe to visite that land and I gaue him this letter to geue the with two horses wherewith I think thou wilt be contented for they are gennettes The weapons and ryches whyche I tooke of the Parthes I haue nowe deuyded notwtstanding I doe sende thee .2 Chariottes of them My wyfe Faustine greeteth thee and I sende a riche glasse for thy doughter and a Iewell with stones for thy sister No more but I beseche the Gods to geeue thee a good lyfe and mee a good death ¶ The admonition of the Aucthour to Princes and greate Lordes to thintent that the more they growe in yeares the more they are bounde to refraine from vyces Cap. xvii AVlus Gelius in hys booke De noctibus Atticis sayeth that there was an auncient custome amongest the romaynes to honour and haue in great reuerence aged men And this was so inuiolate a law amongest them that there was none so noble of bloode and lynage neyther so puissaunt in ryches neither so fortunate in battayles that should goe before the aged men which were loden with whit heares so that they honoured them as the gods and reuerenced them as theire fathers Amongest other the aged menne had these preheminences that is to wete that in feastes they sate highest in the triumphes they went before in the temples they did sitte downe they spake to the Senate before all others they had their garments surred they might eat alone in secrat and by theire onlye woorde they were credited as witnesses Fynally I saye that in all thinges they serued them and in nothinge they annoyed them After the people of Rome began warre wyth Asia they forsooke all theire good Romayne customes immediatlye And the occasyon hereof was that since they had no menne to sustaine the common wealth by reason of the great multytude of people which dyed in the warre they ordeyned that al the yong menne should mary the yong maides the wydowes the free and the bonde and that the honour whyche hadde bene done vntyll that tyme vnto the olde menne from henceforthe shoulde be done vnto the maried menne though they were yong So that the moste honoured in Rome was hee not of moste yeares but he that had most children This lawe was made a little before the firste battaile of Catthage And the custome that the maried menne were more honoured then the old menne endured vntill the tyme of the Emperour Augustus whiche was such a frende of antiquyties that hee renewed all the walles of Rome with newe stones and renewed all the auncient customes of the common wealth Licurgus in the lawes whiche hee gaue to the Lacedemonians ordayned that the young menne passinge by the olde shoulde doe them greate reuerence whē the olde dyd speake then the younger shoulde bee sylent And he ordained also that if any olde man by casualtye dyd lose hys goods and came into extreame pouertie that he shoulde bee sustained of the comon wealth and that in suche sustentacion they shoulde haue respecte not onely to succour him for to sustaine hym but further to geue him to lyue competently Plutarche in hys Apothegmes declareth that Cato the Censoure visitinge the corners of Rome founde an olde manne sittinge at his doore weepinge and sheddinge manye teares from hys eyes And Cato the Censoure demaundynge hym why hee was so euyll handeled and wherefore he wepte so bitterlye the good olde manne aunswered hym O Cato the Gods beinge the onelye comfortours comforte thee in all thy tribulations since thou arte readye to comforte mee at this wofull hower As well as thou knowest that the consolations of the harte are more necessarye then the phisike of the bodye the whiche beeynge applyed sometymes doeth heale and an other tyme they doe harme Beholde my scabbed handes my swollen legges my mouth without teethe my peeled face my white beard and my balde heade for thou beinge as thou arte descreete shouldest be excused to aske mee why I weepe For menne of my age thoughe they weepe not for the lyttle they feele yet they ought to weepe for the ouermuche they lyue The manne which is loden with yeares tormented with diseases pursued with enemyes forgotten of his frendes visited with mishappes and with euill wyll and pouertie I knowe not why hee demaundeth long life For there can be no sharper reuengemēt of vyces whych we commit then to geue vs long lyfe Though now I am aged I was yong and if any yong manne should doe me anye iniurye truelye I would not desire the gods to take his lyfe but that they woulde rather prolonge his lyfe For it is a great pitie to heare the man whyche hath lyued longe account the troubles whiche he hath endured Knowe thou Cato if thou doest not knowe it that I haue lyued .77 yeares And in thys tyme I haue buried my father my graundefather twoe Auntes and .5 vncles After that I had buried .9 systers and .11 Brethren I haue buried afterwardes twoe lawfull wyfes and fyue bonde women whyche I haue hadde as my lemmans I haue buryed also .14 chyldren and .7 maryed doughters and therewith not contented I haue buryed .37 Nephues and .15 Nieces and that whyche greaueth me moste of all is that I haue buryed two frendes of myne one which remained in Capua the other which was residente here at Rome The death of whom hath greued me more then all those of my aliaunce and parentage For in the worlde there is no
so much the more were the philosophers deuided amongest them selues When they were so assembled truely they did not eate nor drinke out of measure but some pleasaunt matter was moued betwene the masters and the scollers betwene the yong and the olde that is to wete which of them coulde declare any secrete of phylosophye or anye profound sentence O happy were such feastes and no lesse happy were they that thether were bidden But I am sory that those whiche nowe byd and those that are bidden for a trouth are not as those auncients were For there are noe feastes now adays of phylosophers but of gluttons not to dispute but to murmour not to open doubtfull things but to talke of the vices of others not to confirme aunciente amities but to begynne newe dissensions not to learne any doctrines but to approue some nouelty And that whiche worste of all is that the olde striue at the table with the yonge not on hym whiche hathe spoken the moste grauest sentence but of hym whyche hathe dronke moste wyne and hathe rinsed most cuppes Paulus Diaconus in the historye of the Lumbardes declarethe that foure olde Lumbardes made a banket in the whiche the one dranke to the others yeres and it was in this manner Theye made defyaunce to drinke two to twoe and after eche man had declared howe many yeres olde he was the one drāke as manye times as the other was yeares olde and likewise his companion pledged him And one of these foure companions had at the leaste 58. yeares the second .63 the thyrde .87 the fourthe .812 so that a man knowethe not what they did eate in this banket eyther litle or muche but we knowe that hee that dranke least dranke 58. cuppes of wine Of this so euill custome came the Gothes to make this lawe which of manye is reade and of fewe vnderstanded where it sayeth We ordeyn and commaūd on payne of deathe that no olde man drinke to the others yeres being at the table That was made because they were so muche geuen to wyne that they dranke more ofte thenne they did eate morselles The Prynces and greate Lordes whyche are nowe olde oughte to bee verye sober in drinkynge synce theye oughte greatlye to be regarded and honoured of the yonge For speakinge the truthe and withe libertie whan the olde man shall bee ouercome with wine he hath more necessitie that the yong man leade him by the arme to his house then that hee shoulde take of his cappe vnto hym or speake vnto hym with reuerence Also prynces and greate lordes oughte to be verye circumspecte that whenne theye become aged theye bee not noted for yonge in the apparayle whiche theye weare For althoughe that for wearinge a fyne and riche garmente the prynce dothe not enriche or enpouerishe his common wealthe yet we cannot denye but that it dothe much for the reputacion of his persone For the vanytie and curiositie of garments dothe shewe great lightnes of minde According to the varietye of ages so ought the diuersitie of apparaile to bee whiche semethe to bee verye cleare in that the yonge maydes are attyred in one sorte the maried women of an other sorte the widdowes of an other And lykewise I woulde saye that the apparayle of children oughte to be of one sorte those of yonge men of an other and those of olde men of an other whyche oughte to bee more honester then all For men of hoarye heades oughte not to be adourned withe precious garmētes but withe verteous workes To goe cleanlye to be well apparayled and to be well accompanied we doe not forbydde the olde especiallye those whych are noble and valyaunt men but to goe to fine to go with great traynes and to goe verye curious wee doe not allowe Let the olde men pardon mee for it is not the office but of yonge fooles For the one sheweth honestye and the other lightnes It is a confusion to tell it but it is greater shame to doe it that is to weete that manye olde men of oure time take noe small felicitye to put caules on theire heades euerye manne to weare iewels on theire neckes to laye theire cappes withe agglettes of golde to seeke oute dyuers inuencions of mettall to loade theire fingers wythe riche ringes to goe perfumed wythe odiferous fauoures to weare newe fashioned apparayle and fynallye I saye that thoughe theire face bee full of wrincles they can not suffer one wrincle to be in theire gowne All the auncient historiens accuse Quintus Hottensius the Romayne for that euerye tyme when hee made hym selfe readye he hadde a glasse beefore hym and as muche space and tyme had hee to streyghten the plaites of his gowne as a woman hadde to trymme the heares of her heade This Quintus Hortensius beinge Consul goynge by chaunce one day through Rome in a narrowe streat met wythe the other Consul where throughe the streightnes of the passage the plaightes of his gowne weare vndone vppon whych occasion hee complayned to the senate of the other Consull that he had done hym a greate iniurye sayinge that he deserued to lose hys lyfe The authoure of all this is Macrobius in the thyrde booke of the Saturnales I can not tell if I be deceiued but we maye saye that al the curiositye that olde men haue to goe fine wel appareled and cleane is for no other thinge but to shake of age and to pretende righte to youthe What a griefe is it to see dyuers auncient men the whiche as ripe figges do fal and on the other side it is a wonder to see howe in theire age they make them selues yonge In this case I saye woulde to god we might see them hate vices and not to complaine of the yeares which theye haue I praye and exhorte princes and greate lordes whom oure soueraigne lorde hathe permitted to come to age that theye doe not despise to be aged For speaking the truthe the man whiche hathe enuye to seeme olde doth delight to liue in the lightnes of youthe Also man of honour oughte to be verye circumspecte for so muche as after theye are beecome aged theye bee not suspected of theire friends but that both vnto their friends foes they be counted faythfull For a lye in a yonge mannes mouthe is but a lye but in the mouthe of an olde manne it is a heynous blasphemye Prynces and great lordes after they are become aged of one sorte they oughte to vse them selues to geue and of thother to speake For good prynces oughte to sell woordes by weighte and geeue rewardes withoute measure The auncient oftentymes complayne sayinge that the yonge will bee not conuersaunt with them and truely if there be anye faulte therin it is of them selues And the reason is that if sometimes theye doe assemble togethers to passe awaye the tyme if the olde man set a talkinge he neuer maketh an ende So that a discrete man had rather go .xii. miles on foote then to heare an olde man
if thou be euill lyfe shal bee euyl imployd on thee and if thou bee good thou oughtest to die imediatly and because I am woors thē all I liue lōger then all These woordes which Adrian my lord sayed doe plainely declare and expresse that in short space the pale and cruel death doth assaulte the good and lēgthneth life a great while to the euil The opinion of a philosopher was that the gods are so profound in their secrets high in their misteryes and so iust in their woorks that to men which least profit the common wealth they lengthen lyfe longest and though he had not sayd it we others see it by experience For the man which is good and that beareth great zeale and frendship to the common wealth either the gods take him from vs or the enemies do sley him or the daungers doe cast him away or the the trauailes do finish him When great Pompeius Iulius Cesar became enemyes from that enmite came to cruel warres the cronicles of that time declare that the kings and people of the occidental part became in the fauour of Iulius Cesar and the mightiest most puisaunte of al the oriental parts came in the ayd of great Pompeius beecause these two Princes were loued of few and serued and feared of al. Amongst the diuersity and sundry nations of people which came out of the oriental part into the host of the great Pompeius one nation came maruelous cruel barbarous which sayd they dwelled in the other side of the mountayns Riphees which go vnto India And these barbarous had a custome not to liue no longer then fifty years therfore when thei came to that age they made a greater fier and were burned therin aliue and of their owne willes they sacrificed them selues to the gods Let no man bee astoined at that wee haue spoken but rather let them maruel of that wee wyl speak that is to say that the same day that any man had accomplished fifty years immediatly hee cast him self quick in to the fier and the parents children and his freends made a great feast And the feast was that they did eat the fleash of the dead half burned and drank in wyne and water the asshes of his bones so that the stomak of the children beeing aliue was the graue of the fathers beeing dead All this that I haue spoken with my toung Pompeius hath seen with his eies for that some beeing in the camp did accomplish fifty years bycause the case was straunge hee declared it oft times in the Senate Let euery man iudge in this case what hee will and condemne the barbarous at his pleasure yet I wyll not cease too say what I think O golden world which had such men O blessed people of whom in the world to come shal bee a perpetuall memory What contēpt of world what forgetfulnes of him self what stroke of fortune what whip for the flesh what litell regard of lyfe O what bridell for the veruous O what confusion for those that loue lyfe O how great example haue they left vs not to feare death Sithens those heeare haue wyllingly dispised their own liues it is not to bee thought that they died to take the goods of others neither to think that our life shoold neuer haue end nor our couetousnes in like maner O glorious people and .10 thousand sold happy that the proper sensuallyty beeing forsaken hath ouercome the natural appetyte to desire to liue not beeleeuing in that they saw and that hauing faith in that they neuer saw they striued with the fatall destines By the way they assalted fortune they chaunged life for death they offred the body to death and aboue al haue woon honor with the gods not for that they should hasten death but because they should take away that which is superfluus of life Archagent a surgiō of Rome and Anthonius Musus a phisition of the Emperor Augustus and Esculapius father of the phisick shoold get litel mony in that country Hee that thē shoold haue sēt to the barbarous to haue doone as the Romaynes at that tyme did that is to wete to take siroppes in the mornings pylls at night to drynk mylk in the morning to noynt them selues with gromelsede to bee let bloud to day and purged to morrow to eat of one thing and to abstein from many a man ought to think that hee which willingly seeketh death wil not geue mony to lengthen lyfe ¶ The Emperor concludeth his letter and sheweth what perilles those old men lyue in which dissolutely like yong children passe their days and geeueth vnto them holsome counsell for the remedy therof Cap. xxii BVt returning now to thee Claude to thee Claudine mee thinketh that these barbarous beeing fifty years of age and you others hauing aboue thre score and 10. it should bee iust that sithens you were elder in years you were equal in vertue and though as they you wyl not accept death paciently yet at the least you ought to amend your euel liues willingly I do remember that it is many years sithens that Fabritius the yong sonne of Fabritius the old had ordeyned to haue deceiued mee of the which if you had not told mee great inconueniences had hapned and sithens that you did mee so great a benefit I woold now requite you the same with an other like For amongst frends there is no equal benifit then to deceyue the deceyuer I let you know if you doo not know it that you are poore aged folks your eyes are soonk into your heads the nostrels are shutt the hears are white the hearing is lost the tonge faltreth the teeth fall the face is wrincled the feete swoln the stomak cold Finally I say that if the graue could speak as vnto his subiects by iustice hee myght commaund you to inhabit his house It is great pity of the yong men and of their youthfull ignorante for then vnto such their eyes are not opened to know the mishaps of this miserable life when cruell death doth end their dayes and adiorneth thē to the graue Plato in his book of the common wealth sayd that in vaine wee geeue good counsels to fond light yongmen For youth is without experiēce of that it knoweth suspicious of that it heareth incredible of that is told him despising the counsayl of an other and very poore of his own Forsomuch as this is true that I tell you Claude and Claudine that without comparison the ignorance which the yong haue of the good is not so much but the obstinacion which the old hath in the euel is more For the mortal gods many times do dissemble with a .1000 offeces committed by ignorance but they neuer forgeeue the offence perpetrated by malice O Claude and Claudine I doo not meruel that you doo forget the gods as you doo which created you and your fathers which beegot you and your parēts which haue loued you and your frends which haue
shoold bee lesse euil for vs to haue him our enemy then to account of him as of our deere frend Him whom wee wil choose for our faithfull frend amongst other maners and condicions hee must chiefely and beefore all bee indued with these that hee bee curteous of nature faier spoken hard and stout to indure payn pacient in troubles sober in dyet moderate in his woords graue and rype in his counsels and aboue all stedfast in frendship and faithfull in secrets And whom wee shall fynd with these laudable vertues and conditions adorned him may wee safely take and accept for our frend But if wee see any of these parts wanting in him wee ought to shon him as from the plague knowing for certeinty that the frendship of a fayned and fantasticall frend is much woorse and perilous then the enmity of a knowen and open enemy For to the hands of one wee commit our hart and faith and from the deceipts and treasons of the other wee defendour selues with our whole force power Seneca wryting to his deere faithful frend Lucillus sayth vnto hym I pray thee O Lucillus that thou order determyne thine affaiers by thaduise counsel of thy frend but also I doo remember thee that first thou see well what maner of frend thou hast chosen thee for there is no marchandise in the world this day that men are so soone beegyled in as they are in the choise of frends Therefore the graue sentence of Seneca wysely wayed wee shoold assent with him in oppinion that sith no man byeth a horse but hee first causeth him to bee ridden nor bread but first hee seeth and handleth it nor wyne but hee tasteth it nor flesh but first hee wayeth it nor corne but hee seeth a sample nor house but that hee dooth first value it nor Instrument but first hee playeth on it and iudgeth of his sound yt is but reason hee shoold bee so much the more circumspect beefore he choose his frend to examin his lyfe and condicion since all the other things wee haue spoken of may bee put in dyuers houses and corners but our frend wee lodge and keepe deerely in our proper bowels Those that write of the emperor Augustus say that hee was very straunge and scrupulous in accepting frends but after hee had once receyued theÌ„ into his frendship hee was very constant and circuÌ„spect to keepe them For hee neuer had any frend but first hee had some proofe and tryall of him neither woold hee euer after forsake him for any displeasure doon to him Therefore yt shoold always bee so that true frends shoold bere one to an other such loue and affection that the one beeing in prosperity should not haue occasion to complayn of him self in that hee did not reliue his frends necessity beeing in aduersity nor the other beeing poore and needy shoold grudge or lament for that his frend beeing rich and welthy woold not succor him with all that hee might haue doone for him For to say the truth where perfect frendshyp is there ought no excuse to bee made to doo what possible is the one for the other The frendship of young men cometh commonly or for the most parte at the least by beeing companyons in vyce and folly and such of right ought rather to bee called vacabonds then once to deserue the name of true frends For that cannot bee called true frendship that is continued to the preiudyce or derogation of vertue Seneca wryting agayn to Lucillus sayth these woords I woold not haue thee think nor once mistrust O my Lucillus that in all the Romayn empire I haue any greater frend then thou but with all assure thy self that our frendship is not so streight beetwene vs that I woold take vppon mee at any tyme to doo for thee otherwyse then honesty shoold lead mee For though the loue I bere thee hath made thee lord of my lyberty yet reason also hath left mee vertue free ¶ The aucthor proceedeth on Applyeng that wee haue spoken to that wee will now declare I say I wil not acknowledge my self your seruant for so shoold I bee compelled to feare you more then loue you much lesse will I vaunt my self to bee your kinsman for so I shoold importune and displease you and I will not brag that heeretofore wee haue been of familier acquaintance for that I woold not make any demonstration I made so lyttle account of you and lesse then I am bound to doo neither will I bost my self that I am at this present your famyliar and welbeeloued for in deede I shoold then shew my self to bee to bold and arrogant but that that I will confesse shal bee that I loue you as a frend and you mee as a kinsman al bee it this frendship hath succeeded dyuersly tyll now For you beeing noble as you are haue bountifully shewed your frendship to mee in large and ample gyfts but I poore and of base estate haue only made you sure of myne in woords Plutarche in his Polytikes sayd That it were farre better to sell to our frends our woorks and good deeds whether they were in prosperity aduersity or necessity then to feede them with vayn flattering woords for nothing Yet is it not so general a rule but that sometymes it happeneth that the high woords on the one syde are so profitable and the woorks so few and feeble on the other syde that one shal bee better pleased and delighted with hearing the sweete and curteous woords of th one then hee shal bee to bee serued with the cold seruyce and woorks of the other of small profyt and value Plutarch also in his booke De animalibus telleth vs that Denis the tyrant beeing one day at the table reasoning of dyuers and sundry matters with Chrisippê° the philosopher it chaunced that as hee was at diner one brought him a present of certen suger cakes wherefore Chrisippus cesing his former discours fell to perswade Denys to fall to his cakes To whom Denys aunswered on with your matter Chrisippus and leaue not of so For my hart is better contented wyth thy sweet and sugred woords then my tong is pleased with the delycate tast of these mountayn cakes For as thou knowest these cakes are heauy of digestion and doo greatly annoy the stomake but good woords doo maruelously reioyce and comfort the hart For this cause Alexander the great had the poet Homer in greater veneration beeing dead then all the other that were alyue in hys tyme not for that Homer euer did him seruyce or that hee knew him but only beecause of his lerned bookes hee wrote and compyled and for the graue sentences hee found therein And therefore hee bare about him in the day tyme the booke of the famous deedes of Troy called the Illiades hanged at his neck within hys bosom in the night hee layd it vnder his bolster at hys beddes head where hee slept In recompence therefore syr of the many
vain and dishonest thoughts from him they will teach him to subdue and resyst all sodein passions and motions moued of choller by them they shal winne good frends and learn also neuer to bee troublesome or enemy to any they will make him forsake all sinne and vice declaring to him what good woorks hee shall follow and what hee shal most fly and eschew they will let him vnderstand how hee shall humble and beehaue him self in prosperity and they will also comfort him in his aduersity to keepe him from all sorow and dispayre For though a man bee neuer so carefull and circumspect yet hath hee always neede of the councell of an other in his affaires if therefore such person haue not about him good vertuous sage men how can it otherways bee but that hee must stumble oft and fall down right on his face hauing no man to ayd or help him Paulus Diaconus sayeth that albeeit the Affricans were wylde and brutish people yet had they withstandyng a law amongst them that the senators amongst them coold choose no other senator if at the electiō there were not present a philosopher So it happened one day amongst the rest that of many philosophers they had in Carthage amongst them was one named Apolonius Who ruled for the space of three score and two years all their senat with great quyet and to the contentacion of all the senators which to shew them selues thankfull to him erected in the market place so many images of him as he had gouerned their common weale years to the end the fame and memory of hym should bee immortall and yet they dyd dedycate to their famous Anniball but onely one image and to this philosopher they set vp aboue three score Alexander the great when hee was most bent to bluddy warres went to see and speak with Diogenes the philosoper offring him great presents and discoursyng with him of dyuers matters So that wee may iustly say this good prince of hym self tooke payns to seek out wise men to accompany him electing by others choise and aduise all such as hee made his captayns to serue him in the warres It is manyfest to all that Dionisius the Siracusan was the greatest tyraunt in the world and yet notwithstanding his tyranny it is a wonder to see the sage and wise men hee had continually in his court with him that that makes vs yet more to wonder of him is that hee had them not about him to serue him or to profyt one iot by their doctrine and councell but onely for his honor and their profyt which enforceth mee to say concurring with this example that syth tyrants dyd glory to haue about them wise woorthy men much more shoold those reioyce that in their woorks and deedes are noble and free harted And this they ought to doo not onely to bee honored with them openly but also to bee holpen with their doctrine councels secretly And if to some this shoold seeme a hard thyng to follow wee will say that woorthy men not beeing of ability and power to mainteyn such wise men ought yet at least to vse to read at tymes good and vertuous bookes For by readyng of bookes they reap infynyt profyt as for example by readyng as I say these good authors the desire is satisfyed their iugement is quickned idlenes is put away the hart is disburdened the time is well imployed and they lead their lyfe vertuously not beeing bound to render account of so many faults as in that tyme they myght haue committed And to conclude it is so good an exercise as it geeueth good examples to the neyghbor profyt to hym self and health to the soule Wee see by experience after a man taketh vppon hym once the study of holy scriptures and that hee frameth hym self to bee a diuyne hee will neuer wyllyngly thencefoorth deale in other studies and all beecause hee will not forgoe the great pleasure hee receyueth to read those holly sayyngs And that causeth that wee see so many learned and wise men for the more part subiect to dyuers diseases and full of melancoly humors For so sweete is the delight they take in their bookes that they forget and leaue al other bodely pleasure And therefore Plutarke wryteth that certayn Phylosophers beeing one day met at the lodgyng of Plato to see hym and demaūdyng him what exercise hee had at that tyme Plato aunswered them thus Truely my brethern I let you know that euen now my onely exercise was to see what the great poet Homer sayd And this hee told them beecause they tooke hym euen then readyng of some of Homers bookes and to say truly hys aunswer was such as they shoold all looke for of hym For to read a good booke in effect is nothyng els but to heare a wyse man speak And yf this our iudgement and aduise seeme good vnto you wee would yet say more that you shoold profyt more to read one of these bookes then yow should to heare speak or to haue conference wyth the autor hym self that made yt For it is wythout doubt that all wryters haue more care and respect in that their penne dooth wryte then they haue in that their tongue dooth vtter And to the end you should not thynk wee can not proue that trew that wee haue spoken I doo you to wytte that euery autor that wyll wryte to publysh hys dooyng in prynt to lay yt to the shew and iudgement of the world and that desyreth thereby to acquire honor and fame and to eternyse the memory of hym turneth many bookes conferreth wyth other wyse and learned men addycteth hym self wholly to hys booke indeuoureth to vnderstand well oft refuseth sleepe meat and drynk quyckneth hys spyrits dooyng that hee putteth in wrytyng exactly with long aduise and consideracion whych hee dooth not when hee dooth but only speak and vtter them though oft in deede by reason of his great knowledge in speach vnwares there falleth out of hys mouth many goodly and wise sentences And therefore god hath geeuen hym a goodly gift that can read and hym much more that hath a desyre to studdy knowyng how to choose the good bookes from the euill For to say the troth there is not in this world any state or exercyse more honorable and profytable then the study of good bookes And wee are much bound to those that read more to those that study and much more to those that wryte any thing but mostly doubtles to those that make compile goodly bookes those of great and hye doctrine For there are many vayn and fond bookes that rather deserue to bee throwen in the fyer then once to bee read or looked on For they doo not onely shew vs the way to mock thē but also the ready mean to offend vs to see them occupy their brayns best wyttes they haue to write foolish and vayn thyngs of no good subiect or erudicion And that that is woorst of al yet
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
short tyme wee afterwards haue infinite greefes and trobles with a sower sawce to oure no smal payne And therfor Aristotell mocking the Epicuriens sayd that they vpon a tyme went all into the temple togethers beseeching the gods they would geeue them necks as long as the cranes and herens that the pleasure and tast of the meates should bee more long beefore yt came into the stomack to take the greater delight of their meate complayning of nature that shee had made their necks to short affirming that the only pleasure of meats cōsisted in the swallowing of yt downe which they sayd was to soone Yf wee saw a man euen vpon a sodein throw al his goods into the sea or riuer would wee not imagine hee were mad or a very foole Yes vndoutedly Euen such a one is hee that prodigally spendith al his goods in feasting and bancketing And that this is true doo wee not see manifestly that all these meates that are serued to noble mēs boordes to day and to morrow cōueighid into the priuy from the eaters by their page or seruāt Suerly mans stomack is nothing els but a gutt or tripe forsed with meate bread and wyne a pauemēt fyld with wyne lees and a vessel of stincking oyle a recepit of corrupt ayre a synke of a kitchin and a secret place wherinto wee cast all our goods and faculty as into the ryuer And therfore Esay sayd that all these noble cityes of Sodome and Gomorra by this only curse did incurre into such execrable sinnes for which afterwards they were distroied and this was euen through excesse of eating and drinking and to much ydlenes and it is no maruel For it is an infallible thing that where ydlenes and glottony reigneth there must needes come some yll end to that man The Greekes the Romans the Egiptians the Scithes although they were detected of many other sinnes and vices yet were they alwais sober temperat in eating drinking Iustin that wrot of Trogus Pompeius reciteth that among the Scithes which were the rudest and most barbarous that came into Asia vsed to reproue those that let go wind to chastise punish those that vomited saying that breaking wynd vomiting came only of too much eating drinking Plutarche in his Apothegmes sayd that there was a philosopher in Athens called Hyppomachus that was so great an enemy to Gluttony that hee vsed in his colledge such so great an abstinence that his disciples by that were knowen amongst all the other philosophers And not for no other thing but to see them buy their cates prouision to lyue with all for they neuer bought meats to fatt them keepe them lusty but only to susteyn nature that but lyttle The Romains made dyuers lawes in the old tyme to expell out of their cities dronkards Gluttons whereof wee wil recite some vnto you to th end that those that shall read our present writings shall both know and see what great care our forfathers tooke to abolish this horible vyce of gluttony First ther was a law in Rome called Fabian law so called because Fabian the consull made it in which it was prohibited that no man shoold so hardy in the greatest feast hee made spend aboue a hundred sexterses which might bee in value a hundred peeces of .vi. pence salets all other kynds of fruit not comprysed within the same And immediatly after that came out an other law called Messinia which the consull Messinius made By which they were also inhibited in all feastes to drink no strange wynes which only were permitted to bee geeuen to those that were disseased After which folowed also an other law Licinia made by the cōsull Licinius forbidding in all feasts all kinds of sawces beecause they incite appetit are cause of a great expence An other law Emillia of Emilius the consull also commaunding the Romains shoold bee serued in their bankets but only with fyue sorts of diuersities of meats because in them there shoold be sufficient for honest refection no superfluity to fill the belly And then was there the law Ancia made by Ancius the consull charging al the Romains to indeuour to learn all kynd of sciences except cookry For according to their saying in that house where there was a cooke those of the house became poore quickly their bodyes diseased their mynds vitious and altogeether geeuen to Gluttony After this law there came forth an other called Iulia of Iulius Cesar cōmanding all romains that none shoold bee so hardy to shut their gates when they were at dinner and it was to this end that the censors of the city might haue easy accesse into their houses at meal tyme to see if theyr ordinary were respondent to their ability And there was also an other law made afterwards called Aristimia of Aristmius the consull by which it was enacted that it shoold bee lawfull for euery man to inuite his frends to dinner to hym at noone as they liked prouided that they supped not together that night And this was established thus to cut of the great charge they were at with theyr suppers For the Romayns exceeded in superfluity of daynty fyne meats and more ouer they sat to long gulling eating at their suppers Of all these laws heretofore recited were auctors Aulus Gelius and Macrobius And for this was Caius Gracchus well reputed of of the Romays who not withstanding hee had been consull indyuers prouinces and that many tymes was a man of great grauity auctority in Rome yet hee woold neuer keepe cook in his house but when hee was at Rome his wife was his only cooke traueling his hostesse of his house where hee lay dressed hys meat Marcus Mantius in tymes past made a book of dyuers ways how to dresse meat and an other of the tastes sawces diuers maners of seruing of them in at the bankets and a third book how to couer the table sett the stools in order order the cubberd also how seruants shoold wayt geeue their attendance at the table which three bookes were no sooner imprinted and published but presently publikly they were burned by the senat of Rome and if his aucthor had not quickly voided Rome fled into Asia hee had accōpanyed his books in the fyer The auncient writers neuer seased to reproue enough Lentulus Cesar Scilla Sceuola and Emilius For a banket they made in a gardein of Rome where they eat no other meats but black byrds torteises mallard nettles pigs brayns and hares in sawce But yf the Romain writers wrot in these days I doo not beleeue they woold reproue so simple a banket made by so noble famous persons as they were For now a days they doo so farre exceed in variety of dishes at noble mens bourds that neither they haue appetite to eat nor yet they can tell the names of the dishes But now retourning to our purpose I say the intent
euery man enuieth Certainly against enuy is no fortresse nor caue to hyde nor highe hyll to mounte on nor thicke woode to shadowe in nor shippe to scape in nor horse to beare away nor money to redeme vs. Enuy is so venemous a serpente that there was neuer mortall man among mortalles that could scape from the byting of her toothe scratching of her nayles defyling of her feete and the castinge of her poyson I sweare to thee my frend Piramon that such as fortune lifteth vp with great ryches she full of crueltie sonest ouerthroweth Enuy is so enuious that to them whiche of her are most denied and set farthest of she geueth most cruell strokes with her feete This vnhappy enuy prepareth poyson secretely for them that enioye great pleasures I haue red diuerse bookes of Hebrewe Greke Latine and Caldei And also I haue spoken with many excellent wyse men to see if there might be founde any remedy against an enuious man I confesse the truthe reade all that can be read and imagen all that can be demaunde all that can be demaunded and ye shall finde none other cure against this cursed enuy but to banishe vs fro all the prosperitie and to dwell in the house of aduersitie O howe vnhappy are they that be in prosperitie for iustly they that be set vp in high estate cannot flie from the peril of Scilla without falling into the daunger of Caribdis They cannot scape the peryll without casting their treasures into the sea I saye that the malady of enuy wyl not suffer them to scape from death and the medecine that is applied to them wyll not assure their life I cannot determine whiche is the best or to saye more properly the worste extreame misery without the daunger of fortune or extreame prosperitie that is alwayes threatned to fall In this case to be so extreame I wyl not determine sithe in the one is a perilous life and in the other renoume is sure I shall tell thee what wyse Cicero sayde when he was pursued with many at Rome Beholde you Romaines I holde you not for so good nor my selfe so euill to saye the trouth alwayes nor alwayes to make lies I am certaine that ye beare me no enuy for that I am not as ye be but it is because ye can not be as I am In this case I had rather that my enemies had enuy at my prosperitie then my frendes at my pouertie This Oratour spake after the appetite of them that be in prosperitie leauing to geue remedie to them that be sorowefull And after this Cicero had sene the fieldes of Farsale he tooke other councell and remedy suche as pleased him in Rome For though Caesar had graunted him his goodes yet that turned not his credence and renowme Surely frende Piramon I knowe no remedy to geue thee against enuy sith thou seest al the world ful therof We see how we be the sonnes of enuy we liue with enuy die with enuy he that leueth moste riches leueth the greatest enuy The auncient wyse men counsailed riche men that they should haue poore folkes nere them and they admonished the poore that they should not dwell nere to the riche And truly it is good reason For the riches of riche mē is the seede of enuy to the poore And because the poore man lacketh and the riche hath to muche causeth discorde among the people I sweare by the gods immortall frende Piramon though they that be euill would that I sweare falsely as muche as riches with thought nourisheth couetise so much the enuious nourisheth enuy therby I tel the one thing and that is that it is no good councell to flie enuy to auoyde the vertue contrary to the same Homer saith that in his time there were two Grekes extreame in all extremities the one was extreame in ryches and therefore he was persecuted by enuy that was Achilles and the other was sore noted of malice but no man had enuy at him and that was Thiestes Certainly I had rather be Achilles with his enuy then Thiestes without it Thou knowest wel that we Romaines searche not but for rest in our life for honor after death And sith it is so it is not possible but the mā that euery man enuieth his renowme ought to be exalted in the reste of his life And sithe I see those two thinges in thee such as be my frendes taketh litle thought for that thine enemies murmure against thee Thou wrytest to me how they of Lions doe well and are mery except thy selfe that art heuy and full of pensiuenes And sith they shew not to haue pleasure at thy displeasure shew not thy self displeased with their pleasure For it may chaunce one day they shal be sorowfull when that thou arte mery and so thou shalt be quite with them In an euil persone there can be no greater euill nor in a good mā a greater faulte then to be displeased with another mans wealthe to take pleasure af another mans harme And in case that all doe vs domage with enuy yet much more a frend then the enemy For of mine enemy I will beware for feare I wil withdrawe but my frende with his amitie may beguile me I by my fidelitie shall not perceiue Among all mortall enemies there is none worse then a frende that is enuious of my felicitie Piramon my frend I wil conclude if thou wilt withdraw thy self fro enemies then kepe cōpany with thine own familiar frendes I wote not what to write more to thee but with al my harte I lament thy heuines Thou knowest howe thy niece Brusia slew with a dagger her owne husband I was very sory for her death and for the renowme that she left behinde her Flauius Priscus thine vncle is newly made censoure The proces betwene thy brother Formio Britio is determined by the senate and it pleaseth me right well that they be frendes and euery man well contented The booke intituled the consolation of heauines I haue ended and layde it in the capitol I haue written it in Greke and that is the cause that I sent it not to thee But I doe sende thee a riche swerde a faire girdle Faustine my wyfe doth salute thee sendeth thy wife two sclaues The gods be my kepers comfort thee in thy present heuines Marke the man fortunate to Piramon sore discomforted ¶ A letter sent by the Emperour Marcus Aurelius to Catullus Censorius that was so sorowefull for the death of Verissimus the Emperoures sonne worthy to be red and noted Cap. viii MArke the younge and newe Censour saluteth thee olde and aunciente Catullus I haue wrytten two letters to thee and thou hast made aunswere to none of them If it be because thou couldest not I holde my peace if it be because thou wouldest not then I complayne me if it be for forgetfulnes thē I accuse thee if it be because thou settest litle by me then
take to their custody we are bouÌ„d to defend it is not lawfull for vs to diminish their credite Suppose that this my worke were not so profound as it might be of this matter nor with such eloqueÌ„ce set out as many other bokes are yet I dare be bolde to say that the prince shal take more profit by reading of this worke than Nero did by his loue Pompeia For in the end by reading and studieng good bookes men tourne become sage and wise and by keping il company they are counted fooles vitious My meaning is not nor I am not so importunat and vnreasonable to perswade princes that they should so fauour my doctrine the it should be in like estimacion now in these partes as the amber was there in Rome But that which only I require demaund is that the time which Nero speÌ„t in singing telling the héere 's of his loue Pompeia should now be employed to redresse the wrongs faultes of the common wealth For the noble worthy prince ought to employ the least part of the day in the recreation of his person After he hath giueÌ„ audience to his counsaylours to the embassadours to the great Lordes prelates to the riche and poore to his owne countrey men and straungers after that he be come into his priuy chamber then my desire is that he would reade this treatise or some other better than this for in princes chambers oftentimes those of the priuie chaÌ„ber and other their familiares loase great time in reciting vayne and trifling maters and of small profit the which might better be spent in reading some good booke In al worldly affaires that we do in al our bookes which we compile it is a greate matter to be fortunate For to a man that fortune doth not fauour diligence without doute can little auaile Admitte that fortune were against me in that this my worke should be acceptable vnto your maiestie without comparison it should be a great grief dishonor vnto me to tel you what should be good to reade for your pastime if on thother parte you woulde not profite by mine aduise For my mind was not only to make this booke to the end princes should reade it for a pastime but to that end in recreating theÌ„ selues somtimes they mought thereby also take profit Aulus Gellius in the. 12. chapter of his thirde booke entituled De nocte attica said that amongs al the schollers which the diuine Plato had one was named Demosthenes a man amongest the Gréekes moste highly estemed of the Romaynes greatly desired Because he was in his liuing seuere and in his tonge and doctrine a very saâ—ire If Demosthenes had come in the time of Phalaris the tiraunt whan Grecia was peopled with tirau tes and that he had not bene in Platoes tyme when it was replenished with Philosophers truelye Demosthenes had bene as cleare a lanterne in Asia as Cicero the greate was in Europe Greate good happe hath a notable man to be borne in one age more then in any other I meane that if a valiaunt Knight come in the tyme of a couragious and stout prince such one truly shal be estemed and set in great authoritie But if he come in the time of an other effeminate and couetous prince he shall not be regarded at al. For he wil rather esteme one that wil augment his treasour at home than him that can vanquishe his enemies in battayle abrode So likewise it chaunseth to wise and vertuous men which if they come in the time of vertuous and learned princes are estemed and honoured But if they come in tyme of vayne and vitious princes they make small accounte of them For it is an auncient custome amonge vanities children not to honor him which to the common wealth is most profitable but him whiche to the prince is most acceptable The ende why this is spoken Most pusant Prince is because the twoo renoumed philosophers were in Grece both at one time and because the diuine philosopher Plato was so much estemed and made of they did not greatly esteme the philosopher Demosthenes For the emineÌ„t and high renoume of one alone diminisheth the fame estimacion amoÌ„g the people of many Although Demosthenes was such a one in dede as we haue sayd that is to witte eloquent of tonge ready of memory sharpe and quicke of witte in liuing seuere sure and profitable in geuing of counsaile in renoume excellent in yeres very auncient and in philosophie a man right wel learned Yet he refused not to goe to the scholes of Plato to heare morall philosophie He that shall reade this thinge or heare it ought not to merueile but to folow it and to profit likewise in the same that is to vnderstande that one philosopher learned of an other and one wise maÌ„ suffered him selfe to be taught of an other For knowledge is of such a qualitie that the more a man knoweth dayly there encreaseth in him a desire to knowe more All thinges of this life after they haue bene tasted and possessed cloyeth a man wearieth and troubleth him true science onely excepted which neuer doth cloy weary nor troble them And if it happen we wery any it is but the eyes which are weried with lokinge and reading and not the spirite with féeling and tastinge Many Lordes and my familiar friendes doe aske me how it is possible I shoulde liue with so much study And I also demaunde of them how it is possible they should liue in such continuall idelnes For considering the prouocacion and assaultes of the flesh the daungers of the world the temptacions of the deuil the treasons of enemies importunities of friendes what hart can suffer so great and continual trauaile but onely in reading comforting him selfe in bookes Truely a man ought to haue more compassion of a simple ignoraunte man than of a poore man For there is no greater pouerty vnto a man than to lacke wisdome whereby he should know how to gouerne him selfe Therefore folowinge our matter the case was such one day Demosthenes going to the schole of Plato sawe in the market place of Athens a greate assembly of people which were hearing a philosopher newely come vnto that place he spake not this without a cause that there was a greate companye of people assembled For that naturallye the common people are desirous to heare new and straunge things Demosthenes asked what philosopher he was after whome so many people went and when it was aunswered him that it was Calistratus the philosopher a man which in eloquence was very swéete and pleasaunt he determined to staie and heare him to th ende he woulde knowe whither it were true or vayne that the people tolde hym For oftentymes it happeneth that amonge the people some gette them selues greate fame more by fauour than by good learninge The difference betwixte the diuine Philosopher Plato and Calistratus was in that Plato was exceadinglye well
were to full of deuises and blamed much the Grecians because they were to curious in speaking fine wordes aboue all other he greately prayseth the Romaynes for that they were very harde of belife that they scarcely alweyes credited the sayings of the Grekes and because they were discrete in admitting the inuencions of the Egyptians The author hath reason to prayse th one and disprayse thother For it procedeth of a light iudgement to credite al the thinges that a man heareth and to doe al thinges that he séeth Returninge therefore now to our matter Marcus Varro sayde there were .5 thinges in the worlde very harde to bringe in whereof none after they were commonly accepted were euer lost or forgottē for euen as things vainely begō are easely left of so things with great feare accepted with much diligence are obserued The first thing that chiefly thoroughout al the world was accepted was al men to liue togethers that is to say they should make places townes villages cities common wealthes For according to the saying of Plato the first best inuentours of the cōmon welth were the antes which according to thexperiēce we sée do liue togethers trauaile togethers do go togethers also for the winter thei make prouisiō togethers furthermore none of these antes do geue thē selues to any priuat thing but al theirs is brought into their cōmō welth It is a meruelous thing to behold the cōmō welth of the antes how netely they trim their hilles to beholde howe they swepe away the graine when it is wet and how they drye it whan they fele any moisture to beholde how they come from their worke and how the one doth not hurt the other And to behold also how they doe reioyce the one in the others trauaile and that which is to our greatest confusion is that if it come so to passe 50000. antes will liue in a little hillocke togethers and two men onely cannot liue in peace and concorde in a cōmon wealth Woulde to God the wisedome of men were so great to kepe them selues as the prudence of the antes is to liue Whan the world came to a certayne age mens wittes waxed more fine than tirantes sprange vp which oppressed the poore theues that robbed the riche rebelles that robbed the quiet murderers that slew the pacient the ydell that eate the swete of other mens browes all the which thinges considered by thē which were vertuous they agréed to assemble liue together that therby they might preserue the good and withstande the wicked Macrobius affirmeth this in the seconde booke of Scipions dreame saying that couetousnes and auarice was the greatest cause why men inuented the commō wealth Plinie in the seuenth booke .56 chap. sayth the first that made small assembles were the Atheniens and the first that builte great cities were the Aegyptians The seconde thinge that was accepted throughout all the worlde were the letters whiche we reade whereby we take profite in writinge Accordinge whereunto Marcus Varro saith the Aegyptians prayse them selues and say that they did inuente them and the Assyrians affirme the contrary and sweare that they were shewed firste of all amongst them Plinie in the seuenth booke saith that in the first age there was in the alphabet no more than 16. letters that greate Palamedes at the siege of Troye added other .4 and Aristotle saithe that immediatly after the beginninge there were founde .18 letters And that afterwardes Palamedes did adde but .2 and so there were 20. and that the Philosopher Epicarmus dyd adde other two which were .22 it is no great matter whether the Aegyptians or the Assyrians first founde the letters But I say and affirme that it was a thing necessary for a common wealth and also for thencrease of man knowledge For if we had wanted letters and writings we could haue had no knowledge of the tyme past nor yet our posteritie coulde haue ben aduertised what was done in our dayes Plutarche in the second booke entituled De viris illustribus and Plinie in the seuenth booke and .56 chapiter doe greately prayse Pirotas bycause he firste founde the fier in a flinte stone They greatly commended Protheus bicause he inuented harneis and they highly extolled Panthasuca bicause she inuented the hatchet They praysed Citheus because he inuented the bowe and the arrowes they greatelye praysed Pheniseus because he inuented the crosse bowe and the slinge They highly praysed the Lacedemonians because they inuented the helmet the spere and the sword They commende those of Thessalia bicause they inuented the combate on horseback and they commende those of Affrike because they inuented the fight by sea But I doe prayse and continually will magnifie not those which founde the arte of fightinge and inuented weapons to procure warre for to kill his neighbour but those which found letters for to learne science to make peace betwene two princes What difference there is to wet the penne with inke and to paynte the spere with bloud to be enuironned with bookes or to be laden with weapons To study how euery man ought to liue or els to goe priuely and robbe in the warres to lie in waight to kill his neighbour There is none of so vaine a iudgement but wil praise more the speculation of the sciences than the practise of the warre Because that in the end he that learneth sciences learneth nought els but how he and others ought to lyue And he that learneth warlike feates learneth none other thinge than howe to sley his neighbour and to destroye others The thirde thinge that equally of all was accepted were lawes For admit that al men now liued togethesr in common if they would not be subiect one to another there woulde contention arise amongest them for that accordinge to the sayinge of Plato there is no greater token of the distruction of a common weale than whan many rulers are chosen therein Plinie in his seuenth booke .56 chapter sayth that a Quéene called Ceres was the first that taught them to sowe in the fieldes to grinde in milles to paste and bake in ouens and also she was the first that taught the people to liue according to the lawe And by the meanes of all these thinges our forefathers called her a goddesse Since that time we neuer haue sene heard nor red of any realme or other nation aswell straunge as barbarous what so euer they were but haue had lawes whereby the good were fauoured and also institutions of greuous paynes wherewith the wicked were punished Although truely I had rather and it were better that the good shoulde loue reason than feare the lawe I speake of those which leaue to doe euill workes for feare onely of fallinge into the punishementes appointed for euill doers For although men approue that which they doe yet God condemneth that which they desire Seneca in an epistle he wrot to his friend Lucille sayde these wordes Thou writest vnto me Lucille that those of
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
but al that Marcus Aurelius sayd or dyd is worthy to be knowen necessary to be folowed I do not meane this prynce in his heathen law but in hys vertuous dedes Let vs not staye at hys belyef but let vs embrace the good that he did For compare many chrystians wyth some of the heathen loke howe farre we leaue them behynd in faith so farre they excel vs in vertuous works Al the old prynces in times past had som phylosophers to their familiars as Alexander Aristotle King Darius Herodotus Augustus Pisto Pompeius Plauto Titus Plinie Adrian Secundus Traian Plutarchus Anthonius Apolonius Theodotius Claudius Seuerus Fabatus Fynally I say that philosophers then had such authority in princes palaces that children acknowledged them for fathers and fathers reuerenced them as maysters These sage meÌ„ wer aliue in the coÌ„pany of princes but the good Marcus Aurelius whose doctrine is before your maiestie is not aliue but dead Yet therfore that is no cause why his doctrine shold not be admitted For it may be paraduenture that this shal profit vs more which he wrate with his hands then that which others spake with their tongues Plutarche sayth in the time of Alexander the great Aristotle was aliue and Homere was dead But let vs see how he loued the one reuerenced the other for of truth hee slept alway with Homers booke in his hands waking he red the same with hys eyes alwayes kept the doctrine therof in his memory layed when he rested the booke vnder his head The which priuiledge Aristotle had not who at al times cold not be heard much lesse at al seasons be beleued so that Alexander had Homere for his frend and Aristotle for a maister Other of these phylosophers wer but simple men but our Marcus Aurelius was both a wyse phylosopher and a valiaunt prynce and therfore reason would he should be credited before others For as a prince he wyl declare the troubles as a phylosopher he wil redresse them Take you therefore Puisaunt Prince this wise phylosopher and noble emperour for a teacher in your youth for a father in your gouernment for a captayne general in your warres for a guide in your iourneys for a frend in your affayres for an example in your vertues for a maister in your sciences for a pure whyte in your desyres and for equal matche in your deedes I wil declare vnto you the lyfe of an other beinge a heathen and not the lyfe of an other being a chrystian For how much glory this heathen prince had in this world being good and vertuous so much paynes your maiestie shal haue in the other if you shal be wicked and vycious Behold behold noble prince the lyfe of this Emperour you shal se how clere he was in his iudgement how vpright in hys iustyce howe circumspect in hys life how louing to his frends how pacient in his troubles how he dissembled with hys enemies how seuere agaynst Tyraunts how quyet among the quiet how great a frend to the sage and louer of the simple how aduenturous in his warres and amyable in peace and aboue al thinges how high in words and profound in sentences Many tymes I haue bene in doubt with my selfe whether the Eternal maiesty which gyueth vnto you princes the temporal maiestie to rule aboue al other in power and authorytie did exempt you that are princes more from humaine frayltye then he did vs that be but subiects and at the last I knew he did not For I see euen as you are chyldren of the world so you do lyue according to the world I see euen as you trauaile in the world so you can know nothing but things of the world I se because you liue in the fleshe that you are subiect to the myseryes of the fleshe I see though for a tyme you prolong your lyfe yet at the last you are brought to your graue I see your trauaile is great and that within your gates there dwelleth no rest I se you are cold in the wynter and hote in the sommer I se that hunger feeleth you and thirst troubleth you I se your frendes forsake you and your ennemyes assault you I se that you are sadde and lacke ioy I se you are sicke and be not wel serued I see you haue muche and yet that which you lacke is more What wil ye se more seyng that princeâ— die O noble princes great Lordes syns you must die and become wormes meat why do you not in your lyfe tyme serche for good counsayle If the prynces and noble men commit an â—rroure no man dare chastice them wherfore they stand in greater nede of aduyse counsaile For the trauailer who is out of his waye the more he goeth foreward the more he errethe If the people do amisse they ought to be punyshed but if the prince erre hee shoulde bee admonished And as the Prynce wyl the people shoulde at his handes haue punyshment so it is reason that he at their hands should receyue counsayle For as the wealthe of the one dependeth on the wealthe of the other soo trulye if the prince bee vycious the people can not be vertuous If youre maiestie wyl punyshe your people with words commaund them to prynt this present worke in their harts And if your people would serue your hyghnes with their aduise let them likewyse beseche you to reade ouer this booke For therin the subiectes shal fynd how they may amende and you Lordes shal se al that you ought to do wdether this presente worke be profytable or noo I wyll not that my penne shal declare but they whyche reede it shall iudge For we aucthours take paines to make and translate others for vs vse to giue iudgement and sentence From my tender yeres vntil this present I haue liued in the world occupieng my selfe in reading and studieng humaine deuyne bookes and although I confesse my debilitie to be such that I haue not reade so much as I might nor studied so much as I ought yet not withstandinge al that I haue red hath not caused me to muse so muche as the doctrine of Marcus Aurelius hath sith that in the mouth of an heathen god hath put such a great treasor The greatest part of al his workes were in Greke yet he wrote also many in latin I haue drawen this out of greke throughe the helpe of my frends afterwards out of latin into our vulgare tongue by the trauaile of my hands Let al men iudge what I haue suffred in drawing it out of Greke into latin out of the latin into the vulgar and out of a plaine vulgar into a swete and pleasaunt style For that banket is not counted sumptuous vnlesse ther be both pleasaunt meates and sauory sauces To cal sentences to mynd to place the wordes to examine languages to correct sillables what swette I haue suffred in the hote sommer what bytter cold in the sharpe wynter what
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
The fifthe was that they whiche had charge of bringinge vp of children shoulde not be vicious For there is nothinge more monstruous and more sclaunderous then he that is maister of children should be subiecte and seruaunt to vyces How thinkest thou my frende Pulio whan al these thinges were obserued in Rome Thinkest thou that the youthe was so dissolute as at this present thinkeste thou in deede that it is the same Rome wherin in times past were so notable good and auncient men beleuest thou that it is that Rome wherin in the golden age the olde men were so honest and the children so well taught the armies wel ordered and the iudges and Senatours so vpright and iuste I call God to witnes and sweare to the that it is not Rome neyther hath it any likenes of Rome nor yet anye grace to be Rome and he that would say that this Rome was the old Rome knoweth lytle of Rome The matter was this that the auncient and vertuous Romaynes being dead it semeth to the gods that we are not yet woorthye to enioye their houses So that eyther this is not Rome or els we be not the Romaines of Rome For considering the prowesse and vertuous deedes of the auncient Romaines and wayeng also our dissolute lyues it wer a very great infamy for them to call vs their successours I desier my frend Pulio to write vnto the all these thinges to th end thou mayest se what we were and what we are For great things haue neede of great power and require a long tyme before they can growe and come to their perfection and then afterward at one moment with one blow they fal downe to the ground I haue bene more tedious in my letter than I thoughte to haue bene and now I haue told the that which wyth dyligence by reason of my great affayres in thre or foure tymes I haue wryten of that that wanteth in thine and is to much in myne we shal make a reasonable letter and since I pardon the for being to briefe pardon thou me also for being to long I saw the ones enquire for vnicornes horne in Alexandry wherfore now I send the a good peece and likewise I send the a horse which in my iudgement is good Aduertise me if thy doughter Drusilla be alyue wyth whom I was wont to laugh and I wyll healpe her to a mariage The immortall gods kepe the O my Pulio thy wife thy stepmother and thy doughter and Salut them all from me and faustine Marke of Mounte Celio Emperour of Rome with his owne hand wryteth vnto the. ¶ Of the excellency of christian religion whych manyfesteth the true God and disproueth the vanitye of the auncyents hauyng so many Gods And that in the olde tyme when the enemyes were reconcyled in their houses they caused also that the gods should embrace eche other in the Temples Cap. iiii HE that is the onely diuyne worde begotten of the Father lorde perpetuall of the Hierarchies more aunciente then the heauens Prince of all holynesse chiefe head from whom all had their begynning the greatest of all gods and creatore of all creatures in the profundnesse of his eternall sapience accordeth all the harmony and composition of Christian religion This is suche a maner of sure matter and so well laid that neyther the miseries which spring of thinfections of naughty Christians can trouble nor yet the boysterous windes of the heretiques are able to moue For it wer more likely that heauen and earthe shoulde both perishe then it should suspend for one daye and that ther sholde be no Christian religion The auncient godds whyche were inuentours of wordly thinges as the foundacion of their reproued sectes was but a flienge sande and an vnstable ground ful of daūgerous erronious abuses so some of those poore wretches lokyng perhappes lyke a shippe ronning vppon a rocke suspectynge nothyng were drowned Other like ruyned buildynges were shaken in sonder and fell downe dead finally these gods whiche onely bare the name of gods shal be for euermore forgotten But he onely shal be perpetual whiche in god by god thorough god hath his beginninge Many and sundry were the multitude of the nacions whiche haue bene in times past That is to wyt the Sirians the Assirians Persiās Medians Macedoniās Grecians Cythians Arginians Corinthiās Caldeās Indiās Athenians Lacedemonians Africans Vandales Svveuians Allains Hongarians Germaignes Britons Hebrevves Palastines Gentiles Iberthailides Maurians Lucitanians Gothes and Spaniardes And truely in all these loke howe greate the difference amongest them in their customes and maners was so much diuersitie was of the ceremonies which they vsed and of their gods which they honoured For the gentiles had this errour that they sayd one alone was not of power sufficient to create suche a multitude as were created If I were before al the sages that euer were they would not say the contrary but without cōparison the gods whome they worshypped and inuented were greater in multitude then the realmes and prouinces whiche they conquered and possessed For by that folie the auncient poetes durst affirme in their writinges that the gods of one nation and countrey wer mortal enemies to the gods of another prouince So that the gods of Troye enuied the gods of Grece more then the princes of Grece enuied the princes of Troye What a strange thinge was it to see the Assirians in what reuerence they worshypped the god Belus The Egiptiās the god Apis. The Caldeans the god Assas The Babiloniās the deuouring dragon The pharaones the statue of gold The Palestines Belzebub The Romaines honoured the god Iupiter The Affricās the god Mars The Corinthians the god Apollo The Arabians the God Astaroth The Arginians the Sonne Those of Acaia the Moone The Cidonians Belphegorn The Amonites Balim The Indians Baccus The lacedemonians Osiges The Macedonians did sacrifice to Marcury The Ephesians to their goddesse Diana The Grekes to Iuno The Armenians to Liber The Troiās to Vesta The Latins to Februa The Tarentines to Ceres The Rhodians as saieth Apolonius Thianeus worshypped the God Ianus and aboue all thinges wee oughte to meruaile at this That they striued oftentimes amongest them selues not so muche vpon the possessions and signories of Realmes as vppon a certaine obstinacie they had to maintaine the gods of the one to be of greater power then the others For they thoughte if their gods were not estemed that the people should be impouerished vnfortunate and persecuted Pulio in his second booke De dissolatione regionum orientarum declareth that the first prouince that rebelled againste the Emperour Helius Adrianus which was the fiftenth Emperour of Rome was the land of Palestine against the which was sent a captaine named Iulius Seuerus a manne of great courage and verye fortunate and aduenturous in armes This captaine did not only finishe the warres but he wrought such an outragious destruction in that land that he besieged 52. cities and raced them to the ground
to morowe withdrawe them selues to goe into those temples and there offer their vowes For nothing in the worlde happeneth to men more then the wante of wytte and vnderstanding howe to gouerne them selues lyue in quiet They had also an other God Volunus and a goddesse called Voluna these two had the charge of affiaunce in wedlocke and therfore they were twoo because the one should healpe the man and the other should helpe the woman The maner was such that during the time of their mariage ech of them ware the image of their owne god about their neckes and those were of golde or syluer And after they were maried the bridegrome gaue vnto his spouse the goddesse Voluna and the bride vnto her husbande the god Volunus At suche times as the consulles were created at Rome and the kings banished and before the comming of the Emperours a litle before the Cornelians moued ciuill commocions in Rome there was one Consull amongeste all these whose name was Balbus It is sayde he was the first that builded the temple of Volunus and Voluna It did stande in the nynth warde of the citie neare vnto the gate Corinthia and was called Scripta Balbi And nighe vnto it was an other building called Theatrum Balbi All the Consuls Senatours noble and renowmed barons were maried in the Temple which Balbus builte That night that Pompey the great maried Iulius Caesars daughter there were some that saide that Pompey refused to marie her in the temple of the gods Volunus and Voluna whereupon they diuined straight that the mariage would not indure long betwixt them As writeth Publius Victor in his thirde booke De nuptijs antiquorum The auncient Pagans honoured a god called Agrestes as muche to saye as the god of fieldes and fruites to him they offred no sacrifice but twyse in the yeare that is to wete in seede time and in haruest The Phrigians that is the Troyans and Cicilians greatly obserued this god Agrestes and it was for that in those twoo countries there was gathered suche plentie of corne to make bread that Phrigia was the great garner of Asia and Trinacria that was Cicilia was the corne house of Europe They had another god called Belus which was patrone of men of warre For euen as the Christians when they come to the poynte to geue the battayle make their praiers vnto god so likewyse the auncientes in the same pointe did knele downe and recommende them selues to god Belus Liuie declareth that in all other thinges which were done and wherof the Romaine knightes were accused in the battaile of Cannas against Hannibal was for that they did not recommende them selues at all to the god Belus when they should giue battayle saying the Carthagians remayned conquerours because they a litle before honoured the god Mars the Romaines were vanquished for that they offred no sacrifice to god Belus When Pirrus king of the Epirotes that is of Albanie came into Italie and that the Romaynes were aduertised he brought with him many engins and subtile inuentions for the warre they agreed to buylde a Temple for the god Belus within the walles of Rome in the nynth warde nere the gate Carmentalle it was named Edes Beloe in the fronte whereof was a marueylous sumptuous and stately pyller wherein was grauen thorder of battayle The Gentiles had another god called the god of victorie to whome the Romaines more then any other nation did sacrifices to th ende they might obtayne victorie of their enemies Of this god Victoria there was many magnificall temples in Rome but the chiefest and the greatest was adioyning to the gate Venia in the twelfte warde in the place called Della victoria It was builte in the yeare of the foundation of Rome foure hundreth thre score and seuentene And it was for thoccasion of the victorie that Appius Claudius and Quintus Fabius had in Scicill the firste tyme the Romaine people foughte against the Affricanes Herones being king Of this warre and victorie rose the cruell long and perillous warres betwene Rome and Affrike There was another god amongest the gods whome the auncientes called Honorius whiche had the charge that the Inkeapers should honour and gently intertaine Pylgrimes and straungers so that they should be well handled through the prouinces and realmes whereby they passed And there was a custome in Rome that euer when any Romaine should goe any vyage his wyfe immediatly should go to the temple of god Honorius to doe her sacrifices In the fiftene yeare after that Hannibal passed into Italie the Romains knewe by a prophecie that as sone as they brought the image of the goddesse Berecinthia mother of all the gods into Rome so sone Hannibal shoulde retire out of Italy And to bryng this to passe the Romaines sent their Embassadours into Phrigia whiche is one parte of Asia to th ende they shoulde brynge the goddesse Berecinthia to Rome And because their Embassadours should go well and retourne safe and that in comming and going throughe the Realmes they should entertaine them well and doe them honoure they buylt a tēple for the god Honorius within the walles of Rome in the fourth warde in a place whiche they called Forum Transitorium ¶ Of other more naturall and peculiar Gods whiche the auncient people had Cap. xxii AND because it should not be to tedious a thing to name all the gods whiche the Gentiles worshipped and semblably in whose tyme and reigne they honoured them moste and what Realmes were more replenished then others and furthermore for what causes so many temples and buyldynges were ordeyned and erected for them I wyll make mention onely of those Goddes whiche were called naturall Gods and particuler Gods and declare why the Gentiles honoured them And this onely moueth me to it because those whiche shall see this my wrytinge maye knowe what a speciall grace God hathe giuen to them whiche are borne in the tyme of the Christian lawe Knowe you therefore that the god Esculanus was the god of Mines of golde and syluer Pecunia was the goddesse of metalles and they prayed vnto her to geue them treasures and ryches Fessoria was the goddesse of trauaylours and Pylgrimes and they prayed to her that she would not suffer them to be wery that trauayled on foote Pelonia was a goddesse whiche had the charge to dryue the ennemies out of the lande Esculapius was the god and patrone of sicke men and if the maladie were great they called vppon the God Apollo whiche was father to Esculapius Spinensis was a god whome the auncientes prayed to kepe the corne from thistles and thornes Rubigo was a god which kepte the Vines from wormes and the corne from locustes Fortuna was the goddesse of good fortune and to her the auncient wyues of Rome made a temple in the tyme of Silla and Marius Muta was the goddesse to whome the auncientes praied that she would not suffer their ennemies to speake when they would speake euill
an auncient malediction on riches hydde and treasours buried which Epimenides casteth out sayinge these words All the treasours hurded vp by the couetous shal be wasted by the prodigall You say through that I wast in few dayes you shall haue neither to giue to wast nor yet to eate at the yeres ende To this I aunswere most gracious princesse that if you had bene as ready to releue the poore as you Iustinian were dilygent to robbe the riche then you should iustly haue complayned and I worthely might haue repented Tyll now we haue not sene but that of the riche you haue made poore notwithstanding this yet you haue not gotten enoughe to buyld an Hospital for the poore You say the Princes to resist their enemyes haue neede of greate treasours To this I aunswere if Princes be proud gready and of straunge realmes ambicious it is most certaine that they nede great treasours to accomplishe their disordinate appetites For the end of a tyraÌ„nous prince is by hooke or by crooke to make him selfe riche in his lyfe But if the Prince be or wil be a man reposed quyte vertuous paciente peaceable and not couetous of the good of an other man what nede hath he of great treasours For to speake truly in princes houses ther is more offence in that that auaunceth then in that that wanteth I wil not wast many words in aunsweringe sithe I am muche more liberal of dedes then of wordes but I conclude that ther is no Prince which in vertuous dedes wasteth so much but if he wil he may spend much more For in the end princes become not poore spending their goodes vpon necessaries but for wasting it vpon things superfluous And take this word for al that for this he shal not be the porer but rather the richer For it is a general rule in Christian reglion the god wil giue more to his seruaunts in one houre theÌ„ they wil wast in 20. yeres Iustinian was Emperour .11 yeres who being a foole and obstinate in the heresye of Pellagien died to the great offence of the Romaine people whose death was asmuch desired as his life abhorred For the tirannous prince that maketh many wepinge eyes in his life shall cause many reioysing harts at his death Iustinian being dead Tiberius was elected Emperour who gouerned the empire through so great wisedom and iustice that no maÌ„ was able to reproue him if the histories in his time did not deceiue vs. For it seldoÌ„ hapeneth to a prince to be as he was vpright in iustice pure in life clene in conscience For few are those princes which of some vices are not noted Paulus Diaconus in his 18 boke of the Romain gestes declare a thing merueilous which be fell to this emperour at that time and very worthy to know at this present And it is that in the Citie of Constantinople the Romaine Emperours had a palace very sumptuous and besemyng the auctoritie of the imperiall maiesty which was begonne in the time of Constantine the greate and afterwardes as the succession of good or euyll Emperours was so were the buildings decayed or repayred For it is the deede of a vertuous Prince to abolyshe vices of the common wealth and to make greate and sumptuous buildinges in his country This Emperour Tiberius hadde spent treasours to redeme poore captiues to build hospitalles to erect monasteries to marie and prouide for the Orphanes and widowes in this he was so prodigall that it came almost to passe that he had nothing to eate in his palaice And truly this was a blessed necessitie For catholike Princes ought to thinke that well employed which in the seruice of Christ is bestowed And hereof the Emperoure was not ashamed but thought it a great glory and that which onely greued him was to see the Empresse reioyce so much at his miserye For the high and noble hartes which feele them selues wounded do not so much esteme their owne paine as they do to see their enemyes reioyce at their griefe God neuer forsoke theym that for his sake became poore as it appeareth by this It chaunced one day that euen as the Emperour Tiberius walked in the middest of his palace he saw at his feete a marble stone whiche was in fourme of the crosse of the reademer of the world And because it had bene to vniuste a thing as he thoughte to haue spurned that with his feete wherwith we trust from our enemyes to be defended he caused the stone to be taken vp not thinking any thing to be ther vnder and immediatly after they found an other wherin likewise was the forme of the crosse and this beyng taken vp they founde an other in lyke maner and when that was pluct vp from he bottome there was found a treasor which conteyned the some of 2. millions of Duckettes for the which the good Emperour Tiberius gaue vnto all mighty god most high thankes and wheras before he was lyberal yet afterwardes he was much more bountiful For all those treasours he distrybuted amongest the poore and needye people Let therfore mighty princes and great lords see reade and profit by this example and let them thinke them selues assured that for geuing almes to the poore they nede not feare to become poore for in the end the vycious man caÌ„not cal him self rich nor the vertuous man can counte him selfe poore ¶ How the Chefetaine Naâ—setes ouercame manye battailes only for that his whole confidence was in god And what happened to him by the Empresse Sophia Augusta wherin may be noted the vnthankefulnes of Princes towardes their seruauntes Cap. xvi IN the yere of the incarnacion of Christ 528 Iustinian the great being Emperour who was the sonne of Iustines sister his predecessour in the Empyre the histories say in especially Paulus Diaconus in the 18. booke Degestis Romanorum that ther was a knighte of Greece in Rome who from hys tender yeres hadde bene broughte vppe in Italye He was a man of meane stature of a colericke complexcion and in the Lawe of Christe verye deuoute whyche was no small thinge For at that tyme not onelye manye knightes but almoste all the Bishoppes of Italye were Arrians This knightes name was Narsetes and because he was so valliant in armes and so aduenturous in warres he was chosen Chefeteyne generall of the Romane Empire For the Romaines had this excellency that when they had a valiaunt and stoute captaine although they might haue his weighte of gold giuen them they would neuer depart from his person He enterprised so great thinges he ouercame such mighty realmes and had suche notable victories ouer his enemyes that the Romaines said he had in him the strength of Hercules the hardinesse of Hector the noblenes of Alexander the policye of Pirrus and the fortune of Scipio For many of the vaine gentils held opinion that as the bodyes dyd distribute their goodes in the lyfe so did the soules parte their giftes after the deathe This
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
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
is more worth then either the longe staues of the Romaines or the eloquent tongues of the Greekes Therefore touching my matter this philosopher Thales was the firste that founde the pole called the north starre to sayle by and the firste that founde the deuision of the yeares the quantitie of the Sonne and the Moone and the firste that sayde soules were immortall and that the worlde had a soule And aboue all he would neuer mary for the care to content the wyfe and the thought to brynge vp the children doth muche dull the wyttes of wyse men This philosopher Thales was very poore wherefore some disdayninge hym for his pouertie to declare and shewe that he was more ryche then all they he bought the next yeare all the Olyues he coulde get for by Astronomie he knewe that in the thirde yeare there woulde be a great wante and scarsitie thereof throughout all the countrey Wherefore all were compelled to come to him for Oliues whiche at his owne price he solde and in this sorte he shewed them that mocked him that he wyllingly despysed ryches and louingly imbraced pouertie For he that willingly in this world is poore ought not to be called poore This philosopher Thales was a mirror amōgst the sages of Grece was greatly reuerenced of all the kinges of Asia highlye renowmed in Rome And further he was so wise and had so redy a wit that to all sodaine questions he was demaunded he gaue present aunswere furthwith which thing declared him to be of a marueilous wytte and truly it was a great matter For the most parte of mortal men can not tel how to aunswere nor what to demaunde Many and diuerse questiōs we asked him as Diogenes Laertius affirmeth in the answering wherof he shewed great wysedome the treasure of memory and subtiltie of vnderstanding First he was asked what god was Thales answered of all the most antiquities God is the moste auncient thing For all the auncientes past neither sawe him take beginning nor those which shal come shal se him haue ending Secondarily he was asked what thing was moste beautiful he aunswered the worlde because no artificiall painting could make the like Thirdly he was asked what was the greatest thing to that he aunswered place wherein all thinges doe stande For the place whiche conteineth all of necessitie must be greater then all Fourthly it was asked him who knoweth moste he aunswereth that no man was wyser then tyme because tyme alwayes onelye inuented newe thinges and is he whiche renueth the olde Fiftly they asked him what was the lightest thinge he aunswered the wytte of man because that without trauayle and daungers it passeth the sea to discouer and compasse all the whole earth Sixtly they asked hym what was the strongest thing he sayde the man that is in necessitie for necessitie reuiueth the vnderstanding of the rude and causeth the cowarde to be hardy in peryll Seuenthly they asked him what was the hardest thing to knowe he answered for man to know him selfe for there should be no contentions in the worlde if man knewe him selfe Eightly they asked him what thing was swetest to obteine he aunswered desire for the man reioyseth to remembre the paines past and to obtaine to that whiche he desyreth present Ninthly they asked him when the enuious man is quiet he aunswered when he seeth his enemy dead or vtterly vndone For truly the prosperitie of the enemy is a sharpe knife to the enuious harte Tenthly he was asked what mā shuld do to liue vprightly he answered to take the coūcel to him self which he geueth to an other For the vndoing of al men is that they haue plenty of councell for others want for them selues The eleuenth question was they asked him what profite he hath that is not couetous wherunto he answered that such a one is deliuered from the tormentes of his auarice and besides that he recouereth frendes for his persone for ryches tormenteth the auaricions because he spendeth them not The .xii. they asked him what the prince should doe to gouerne others he answered he ought firste to gouerne him selfe and then afterwardes to gouerne others For it is vnpossible the rodde should be right wher the shadow is croked By the occasion of this last aunswere I did bring in here all these questions to the end princes and rulers might see how that euery one of thē is as the rod of iustice and that the common wealth is none other but a shadowe of them which in al and for all ought to be right For immediatly it is perceiued in the shadowe of the common wealth if the iustice or lyfe of him whiche gouerneth be out of his order Therefore concluding all that I haue spoken before if a prince would aske me why he is a prince I would tel him in one word only that he which is the highe prince hath made you a prince in this world to the end you should be a distroyer of heretykes a father of orphanes a frend of sages a hater of malicyous a scourge of tirauntes a rewarder of good a defender and protector of Churches a plague of the wicked a onely louer and frend of the common wealth and aboue al you ought to be an vpright mynister of iustice beginning first with your parson pallace for in all thinges amendment is suffered except in iustice which ought to be equal betwene the prince and the common wealth ¶ What Plutarch the Philosopher was Of the wise words he spake to Traian the Emperoure And howe the good Prince is the head of the publike weale Cap. xxxvi IN the time of Traian the Emperour ther flourished in his court a Philosopher named Plutarch a man very pure and of good lyfe wise in science wel estemed in Rome For Traian the Emperour desyred greatlye to haue wyse men in his company and to make notable and sumptuous buildings in euery place wher he came It is he which wrote the lyues of many noble Grekes and Romaynes and aboue all he made a booke entytuled the doctrine of Prynces whych he offered to the Emperour Traian in the which he sheweth his vertues the zeale which he had to the common wealth the highnes of his eloquence and the profoundnesse of his knowledge For he was elegant in writing and pleasaunt in speakyng and among all other thinges which he wrote in his booke were these wordes folowing worthy to be noted and written in golden letters and they are such I let the to wete Lord Traian that thou and the Empire are but one misticall bodye in maner and fourme of a liuely body for they ought to be so agreable that the Emperour should reioyce to haue such subiectes and the Empyre ought to be glade to haue such a Lord. And to the end we may describe the mistical body which is the Empire in the fourme and shape of an natural man you shal vnderstand that the head which is aboue al is the prince which
now are deuided to many depended then only of hym yet he neuer had porter of his gate nor chamberlayne of hys chamber and for any affaires that euer he had to do with manye men were they neuer so great he was neuer longer then one daye about them For trulye if I may say it that prynce is not worthy to be beloued that is scarse of hys wordes vnto those whych faythfully serue hym with workes for wyse prynces should be quicke in hearing and graue in determining For many come to speake wyth princes which thinke that their counselles shal not be accepted nor their requestes graunted yet they desire importunately to be hard of trouth the prince ought to here them for the heuy hart with sorowes burdened when it is heard is greatly lightned I wold know why the sence of smellynge is only in the head and not in the feete nor in the handes neyther in any other part of the body truly it signifyeth nought els but that it apperteineth to the Prince which is head of al to here and know al therfore it is necessarye he be informed of all their lyues For the prynce cannot gouerne his common wealth well vnlesse he knoweth the perticularities therof It is necessarye that the prince knowe the good to the ende he may prefarre them for that common wealth is greatly slaundered wherin the euyll are not punished nor the good honoured It is necessary the prynce know the sage to counsel with them for the auncyente Romaynes neuer admitted any for councellours but those which with philosophy wer adorned It is necessary he know the euyl for to correct them for ther is a great disorder in that common wealth wher without any shame the wickednes of the wycked is cloked and vnpunyshed It is necessarye the prynce doe know those that are able to teache for in the court of the Romayne princes there were alwayes captaines which taught shewed how to handel their weapons and wise men which taught instructed them scienses It is necessarie the prince know the poore of his realme for to ayde and succor them for the princes should so gouerne their common wealth that amonge the riche nothing should abound nor among the poore any thing should want It is necessarie the prince know the presumptuous malicious for to humble them for the poore by enuye and the rich by pride heretofore haue destroyed great common wealthes It is necessarie the prince know the peace kepers for to kepe and maintaine theim in peace for it is the deutye of a prince to plucke downe the stout stomackes of the proude and to giue winges of fauour to the humble It is necessary that the prince know them which haue done him seruice to the end they may be rewarded according to their merites for the stout and noble hart for litel fauoure shewed vnto him bindeth himselfe to accomplishe great thinges It is necessarie the prince knowe the noble men of his realme to the end that at time of neade he mighte retaine and take them into his seruice for it is but mete that the man which is adorned with vertue and nobilitie be preferred aboue all other in the common wealthe Finally I say the prince should know the murmerers neuer to creadite them and likewise to know those that tell the truth alwayes to loue them For none should be more familyar then the wise man to gyue him counsell and the vpright man to tel the truth And contrarywise none ought to be more abhorred of the prince then the flatterer and ignoraunt man O how necessarie it is for a prince to know and vnderstand all things in his Realme to thend no man mighte deceiue him as they do now a dayes For the moste part of princes are deceiued for none other cause but for that they wyll not be councelled and informed by wise discrete men For many croutche vnto princes with faire words as though they ment him good seruice but their entent is contrarie by dysceite to get an office and seke their owne profite Helius Spartianus saith that Alexander Seuerus the xxv Emperoure of Rome was a man very stout and vertuous and amongest all other thinges they greatly commended him because in his chamber he had a famyliar booke wherin he had wryten all the nobles of his Realme and Empire and when any office was voide they sayd nothinge els to him but that it was voide for the Emperour did not graunt it to him that sought it but by the secrete informacion of hys booke to him that deserued it I wyl sweare and all other princes shal affirme the same that thoughe they erre in dystributynge their offices they do not erre for that they would erre Yet they cannot denye but that they erre greuously for that they wil not be informed though they be informed yet it were better they were not informed at al for he shal neuer geue the Prince good nor parfect counsel whych by that counsel intendeth to haue some proper interest The chiefest thynge of Prynces is to know how to chose the best in prosperytye and how to auoyde the worste in aduersytye and to know also how to rewarde the good men lyberallye And truly in thys case Prynces should haue more consideracyon to them which haue done them worthy seruyce then to the importunytyes of hys famyliar frendes for he shal thanke the seruaunt that procureth it but not the Prynce that geueth it Al that we speake is to no other purpose but to perswade that syth the prince is Lord of al it is reason that he be informed of the state and condicion of al. For otherwise he shal be disceyued by a thousand malicious harts which are in the common wealth Therfore to conclude I say if the prince be not informed of the life of al the skinne wil seame fleshe the braine meate the straw corne the brasse gold the gaull hony the dregges good wine I meane in deuyding his offices thinking to hit the white he shal ofttymes mysse the butte ¶ Of the great feast the Romaynes celebrated to the god Ianus the first day of Ianuarye and of the bountye and liberalitye of the Emperoure Marcus Aurelius the same daye Cap. xxxviii AMonge the Solempne Feastes whych the auncient Romaynes vsed this was one to the God Ianus the which they celebrated the first daye of the yere which now is the firste of Ianuarye for the Hebrues beganne their yeare in March and the Romaynes beganne at Ianuarye The Romaynes painted this GOD with two faces sygnyfyenge therby the end of the yeare past and the beginning of the yeare present To this god Ianus was dedicated in the cytie of Rome a sumptous Temple whiche they called the Temple of peace and was in great reuerence throughout all the citye for the citezens on this daye offered greate giftes and sacrifices because he should defend them from their enemyes For there is no nacion nor people to whom warre
wel of the father whiche is dead as of the children whyche are alyue is that Theodose was vertuous in deede and the children are capable to follow both good and euill and therfore it is requisite that you nowe goe aboute it For the prince whyche is yonge is in greate perill when in hys youth he begynneth not to folowe the steppes of vertue To speake particulerly of Archadius and Honorius I let the know Estilconus that it is a thyng superfluous to talke of it for I should loase my tyme because the thynges of Prynces are very delicate and though we haue lycence to prayse theyr vertues yet we are bounde to dissemble their faultes As a sage father Theodose desire that to giue his childreÌ„ good doctrine always to accoÌ„pany them But I as a frend do counsaile the that thou kepe them froÌ„ euil For in the end al is euil to accompany with the euil forsake the good but the worse euill pursueth vs rather by the presence of the euill than by the absence of the good It may wel be that one beyng alone without the company of the good may yet notwithstandyng be good but for one that is accompanied with euil men to be good of this I greatly doubte For the same day that a man accompanieth him selfe with the vicious the selfe same day he is bound to be subiecte to vice O Estilconus since thou so much desirest to accomplishe the commaundement of thy lord and maister Theodose if thou canst not cause that Archadius and Honorius which are yong princes doe accompany with the good yet at the least withdraw them from the company of the euil For in the courtes of princes vicious men are none other but solicitours in this world to attempte others to be vitious How many what solicitours haue we seene thou and I in Rome the which forgetting the affayres of their Lordes did solicite for them selues vices and pleasurs I will not tell what seruauntes of princes haue bene in times past but what they were what they are euery man may easely see I will tell the only not of those whiche ought to be counsellours of princes but also of those whyche ought not to liue in their courtes For the counsellers and officers of princes ought to be so iust that sheares can not finde what to cut away in their lyues nor that ther neadeth any nedle or thred to amend their fame If thou Estilconus haste hard what I haue sayd marke now what I wyll saye and keape it in memory for peraduenture it may profite the one daye In the courtes of princes proude men ought to haue no familiarity nor enterteinement For it is vnsemely that those which are not gentle in wordes shuld commaund those that haue not their hartes ready to obey should be familier with the prince In the courtes of princes ther ought not to be of counsaile much lesse familiar enuious men for if enuie reigne amongeste Princes and counsailours there shall alwayes be discentions in the coÌ„mon wealth In the courts of princes hasty men ought not to haue familiaritie for oftentimes it chaunceth that the impacieÌ„ce of the counsellers causeth the people to be euill content with their princes In the courtes of princes ther ought not to be familiar nor of counsaile gready nor couetous men for the Princes giue great occasion to the people to be hated because their seruauntes haue alwayes their handes open to receyue bribes In the courtes of princes ther ought not to be familiar fleshelye men for the vice of the fleshe hath in it so litle profite that he that is wholie ouercome ther with is or ought to be to the prince alway suspected In the palace of a king ther ought not to be drunkerdes nor gluttons for wheras the familiers ought principaly to serue their princes with good couÌ„saile in mine opinion a maÌ„ being full surcharged with exces is more like to bealche breake wind after his surfette then able to gyue any profitable counsaile in the common wealth In the palace of princes ought not to be resient nor familiar blasphemers for the man whiche is a seruaunt and openlye dare blaspeme his creator will not spare in secret to speake euyll of hys Lorde In the palace of princes ought not to be of counsail nor familiar the negligent and delicat persons For ther is nothing next vnto the deuine prouidence that healpeth princes more to be puissaunt and mightie then when their seruauÌ„tes are faythful and diligent In the palace of princes defamed men ought not to haue familiaritie for the prince can not excuse him selfe to be thought culpable when they doe rebuke him if in his house he mainteyne seruauntes which openly are defamed In the palace of princes they ought not to suffer Ideotes fooles for the reâ—ames are not loast for that the princes are yong vncircumspect and vitious but for that their counsaylours are simple and malitious Wo wo be to the land where the lord is vitious the subiect sedicious the seruaunte couetous and the counsailour simple and malicious For thaÌ„ the common wealth perisheth when ignoraunce malice reigneth in the Prince and gouernour of the same These wordes passed betwene the noble knight Estilconus and the wise Philosopher Epimundus vpon the bringing vp of those .2 princes Archadius and Honorius And because that princes and prelates might see whiche now haue the charge to gouerne people how muche the auncientes dyd desire to haue sage men aboute them notwithstandynge that I haue spoken I will shewe you here some notable and auncient examples Howe Cresus king of Lydia was a great frende and louer of Sages Of a letter the same Cresus wrote to the Philosopher Anacharsis And of an other letter of the Philosophers answer agayne to the Kyng Chap. xlv IN the yeare of the creation of the worlde 4355. and in the thirde age Sardanapalus being kinge of the Assirians Ozias king of the Hebrues and Elchias being hygh byshop of the holy temple at that time when Rea the mother of Romulus lyued in the second yeare of the first Olimpiade the great and renowmed realme of Lydes had beginning as Plinie in the fyfte booke of the natural history saieth Lidia is in Asia Minor and first was called Meonia and afterwardes was called Lidia and now is called Morea This Realme of Lydes had many worthy cities that is to wete Ephese Colose Aclasomena and Phoreâ— The first kinge of Lydes was Ardisius a man of great courage and a Greeke borne and reygned .36 yeare The second was Aliaces who reygned 14. yers The third was Meleus and he reygned .12 yeares The fourth was Candale and reigned .4 yeares The fifte was Ginginus and reygned .5 yeares The syxte was Cerdus and reygned .6 yeares The .vii. was Sadiates and reygned .15 yeares The .viij. was Aliates he reygned .49 yeares and the .ix. was Cresus and reigned .15 yeares of this kyng Cresus Xenophon
declareth that he was more valiaunte in feates of warre then comely of personage For though he was lame of one foote bleamished of one eye lackyng one eare and of bodye not muche bygger than a dwarfe yet for all thys he was a iuste manne verye constant stoute mercyfull couragious and aboue all he was a great enemy to the ignoraunt and a specyall frende to the sage Of thys Kynge Cresus Seneca speaketh in hys booke of clemencie and sayeth that the sages were so entierly beloued of hym that the greekes whyche hadde the fountaine of eloquence dyd not call hym a louer but entitled hym the loue of sages For neuer no louer dyd so muche to attayne to the loue of hys ladye as he dyd to drawe to hym and to hys countreye sage menne Thys kynge Cresus therefore beyng lorde of many Barbarous nations the whiche loued better to drinke the bloude of the innocent then to learne the science of the wise lyke an excellent Prince determined for the comfort of his person and remedye of his common wealth to searche out the greaetst sages that were in Grece At that tyme flourished the famous and renowmed philosopher Anacharsis who though he was borne brought vp amonges the Scithies yet he was alwaies resident notwithstāding in Athens For the vniuersitie of Athens dyd not despise those that were Barbarians but those that were vitious The king Cresus sent an embassatour in great auctoritie with riches to the Phylosopher Anacharsis to perswade and desire him and with those giftes and presentes to present him to the end it myght please him to come and see his person and to sette an order in his common wealth Cresus not contented to send him giftes which the imbassatour caried but for to let him vnderstande why he dyd so wrote hym a letter with hys owne hand as hereafter foloweth The letter of kyng Cresus to Ancharsis the Philosopher CResus kyng of Lydes wysheth to the Anacharsis great Philosopher which remainest in Athens health to thy person and encrease of vertue Thou shalte see howe well I loue the in that I neuer saw the nor knew the to write vnto the a letter For the thinges whiche with the eyes haue neuer bene sene seldome times with the hart are truly beloued Thou doest esteme litle as truth is these my small giftes and presentes which I send the yet I praye the greatly esteme the will and hart wherwith I doe visite the. For noble hartes receyue more thankefully that whych a man desireth to gyue them then that which they doe giue them in dede I desire to correcte thys my Realme and to see amendement in the common wealth I desire some good order for my person and to take order touchyng the gouernement of my palace I desire to communicate with a sage som thinges of my lyfe and none of these thinges can be done without thy presence For there was neuer any good thyng made but by the meane of wisdom I am lame I am crooked I am balde I am a counterfeyte I am black and also I am broken finally amongest all other men I am a monster But all these imperfections are nothyng to those that remayne that is to wete I am so infortunate that I haue not a Philosopher with me For in the world ther is no greater shame than not to haue a wyse man about him to be conuersaunt withall I count my selfe to be dead though to the symple fooles I seme to be alyue And the cause of my death is because I haue not with me some wyse person For truly he is only aliue amongest the lyuyng who is accompanied wyth the sages I desire the greatly to come and by the immortall gods I coniure the that thou make no excuse and if thou wilt not at my desire do it for that thou art bound For many men oftentimes condescend to do that whych they would not more for vertues sake then to satisfye the demaunde of any other Thou shalt take that which my embassatour shal giue the and beleue that which he shall tell in my behalfe and by this my letter I do promise the that when thou shalt ariue here I wil make the treasourer of my coffers only coūsailour of mine affaires secretary of my coūsail father of my childrē refourmer of my realm maister of my person gouernour of my cōmō wealth finally Anacharsis shal be Cresus because Cresus may be Anacharsis I saye no more but the gods haue the in their custodie to whome I praye that they may hasten thy commynge The imbassatour departed to goe to Athens bearyng with him this letter and many iewels and bagges of gold and by chaunce Anacharsis was reading in thuniuersity at the arriual of the imbassatoure to Athens Who openly said and dyd his message to Anacharsis presenting vnto hym the giftes and the letter Of whiche thinge all those of the vniuersitie marueiled for the barbarous princes were not accustomed to seke philosophers to gouerne their cōmon wealth but to put them to death and take from them their liues After the great philosopher Anacharsis had hard the embassage sene the giftes and receiued the letter without alteryng his countenaunce or elacion of his person impedimente in his tong or desire of the riches immediately before all the philosophers said these wordes which heare after are writen The letter of the Philosopher Anacharsis to the king Cresus ANacharsis the least of the philosophers wisheth to the Cresus most mightye and puissaunt king of Lides the health whiche thou wisshest hym and the increase of vertue which thou sendest him They haue told vs many thinges here in these parties aswel of thy realme as of thy person and there in those parties they say many thinges as wel of our vniuersity as of my selfe For the harte taketh greate pleasour to knowe the condicions and liues of all those in the world It is wel done to desier and procure to know all the liues of the euill to amend our owne It is wel done to procure and knowe the liues of the good for to follow them but what shall we do since now a dayes the euill doe not desire to knowe the liues of the euil but for to couer them and kepe them secrete and do not desier to know the liues of the good for to followe them I let the know king Cresus that the philophers of Greece felte not so muche payne to be vertuous as they felte in defendyng thē from the vicious For if a man once behold vertue immediatly she suffreth to be taken but the euil for any good that a man can doe vnto them neuer suffereth them selues to be vanquished I beleue well that the tirannye of the Realme is not so great as they talke of here neyther oughtest thou lykewyse to beleue that I am so vertuous as they reporte me to be there For in mine opinion those whiche declare newes of straunge countries are as the poore which were their garmentes al to
chaunseth but that one of the parties are deceiued ¶ Of the wysedome and sentences of Phalaris the tyraunt and howe he putte an Artisan to death for inuentinge newe tormentes Cap. xlvi IN the laste yeare of the Latines and in the firste yeare of the Romaynes Ezechias beinge kyng of the Iewes and Azarias great Bysshoppe of the holy temple Abacuck Prophet in Iewry and Merodach beyng kynge in Babilon and when the Lacedemonians buylte Bizaunce whiche nowe is Constantinople Phalaris the famous tyraunt was then lyuinge Of this Phalaris Ouide saieth that he was deformed in his face spoore blynde of his eyes and exceading couetous of riches and neuer obserued any thynge that he promysed He was vnthankefull to his frendes and cruell to his ennemies finally he was such a one that the tyrannies which seuerally were scattered in others in hym alone were altogethers assembled Amongest all the iniquities that he inuented and amongest all the tyrannies that he committed he hadde one vertue very great whiche was that euen as he was onely head of all tyrannies so was he chiefe louer and frende of al philosophers and sage men And in all those sixe and thirty yeares whiche he gouerned the realme by tyranny they neuer founde that any man touched his bearde nor that any man satte at the table with him spake vnto him or slepte in his bed nor that any man sawe in his countenaunce any mirthe vnlesse it were some philosopher or sage man with whome and to whom he liberally put his body in truste And they sayde that this Phalaris saide oftentimes The prince that absenteth him selfe from sage men and accompanieth with fooles I saye vnto him though he be a prince of his common wealth he is a cruell tyraunt of his person For it is a greater paine to lyue among fooles then to die amongest sages Pulio in the sixte booke De gestis Romanorum saieth that a worthy and excellent painter presented a table to Octauian the Emperour wherein were drawen all the vertuous princes and for their chefetaine Octauian the Emperoure was drawen at the foote of this table were all the tyranous Princes paynted of the whiche Phalaris was chiefe and captaine This table vewed by Octauian the Emperour he commended the worke but he disalowed the intention thereof saiyng me thinketh it not mete that I beinge aliue should be set chiefe and princicipall of all the vertuous menne that are deade For during the time of this wicked lyfe we are all subiecte to the vices of weake and feble fleshe Also it seameth vnto me an vniuste thing that they should put Phalaris for principall and captaine of all the tyrauntes since he was a scourge and enemy to fooles and ignoraunt men and so earnest a louer and frende of sages and wyse philosophers The fame of this cruell tyraunte Phalaris beinge knowen and his extreame cruelties he vsed spred through all Greece A neighbour and artificer of Athens called Perillus a man very excellent in metalles and a great worker in works of fountaines came to Phalaris the tyraunt saying that he would make suche a kinde of torment that his harte should remayne reuenged and the offender well punished The matter was that this workeman made a bull of brasse wherein there was a gate by the whiche they put the offender and in putting the fier vnder the bul it roared and cried in maner as it had bene aliue whiche thing was not onely a horrible and cruell tormente to the myserable creature that endured it but also it was terryble to hym or those that sawe it Let vs not marueile neyther at the one nor at the other for truely the pitefull harte whiche is not fleshed in crueltie hath as muche pitie to see an other man suffer as of the sorrowe and tormente whiche he hym selfe feeleth Phalaris therfore seing the inuention of this tormente whereof the inuentour hoped great rewarde prouided that the inuentoure of the same should be put within the bull and that the crueltie of the tormente shoulde be experimented in none saue onely on the inuentour Truly in this case Phalaris shewed him self not a cruel tyraūt but rather a mercifull Prince and a sage Philosopher for nothyng can be more iuste then that the inuention of the malice be executed on the frayle fleshe of the inuentoure Nowe because Phalaris was a great frende of sages the philosophers of Grece came oftentymes to see hym whiche were verye gently receiued of hym Though to saye the truthe they profited more with his goodes then he did with their phylosophie This tyraunte Phalaris was not onely a frende of sages but also he was very well learned and depelye seene in morall philosophie The whiche thing appeareth well in the epistles whiche he wrote with his owne hande I can not tell wherein he shewed hym selfe greater either in the sentences and doctrines whiche he wrote with his penne or in the slaughter and cruelties whiche he did with his sworde O howe many companions had Phalaris the tyraunt in this case in tymes passe and that as I woulde there were none also at this time present whiche in their pleasaunte wordes did not resemble the Emperoure Nero. I neuer reade other thynge of those that are gone neyther haue I seene otherwyse of those that are present but many they are that blase vertues and infinite whiche runne after vices For of truth we are very lighte of tongue and to feble of fleshe The Epistles whiche this Phalaris wrote are knowen to all men I meane of those which knowe Greke or laten and for those that knowe them not I was wylling to drawe these that are present and to put them in our vulgare tongue for twoo causes The one to the ende princes myght see howe good a thynge it is to be sage and howe tyrauntes were praysed for being Sages and geuing good counsayles The other to the ende the people mighte see howe easie it is to speake well and howe harde it is to woorke well For there is nothyng better cheape in the worlde then counsayle The sentences therefore of the Epistles of Phalaris are these whiche followe in such sorte as I could moste briefly gather them to reduce them in good and profitable stile to wryte them The particuler loue whiche princes shew to one more then an other breadeth oftentimes muche enuie in their Realmes For the one being loued and the other hated of this commeth hatred of hatred cōmeth euil thoughtes of euyll thoughtes proceadeth malice and of malice commeth euyl wordes the whiche breake out into worse deedes Finally when a prince sheweth not to equalles his fauoure indifferently he setteth fyre in his cōmon wealth Princes ought to forbidde and Sages ought not to consente that rebelles and quarellers should trouble those whiche are quiet and peace makers for when the people rise immediatly couetousnes is awaked When couetousnes groweth iustice falleth force and violence ruleth snatchynge reigneth lecherie is at lybertie the euyll haue power
apparayle whych he weare and aboue all he made as solempne a funeral to Euripides as if they had buried Vlisses And not contented wythal these thyngs he was neuer mery vntil such tyme he had done cruel execuciō of the malefactours For truly the iniury or death whych is done vnto him whom we loue is no other but as a bath and token of our owne good willes After iustice was executed of those homycides and that some of the bones all gnawen of the dogges were buryed a Grecian knight sayd vnto kyng Archelaus I let the know excellent kyng that all Macedonia is offended with the because that for so small a losse thou haste shewed so greate sorow To whom kynge Archelaus aunswered Among sages it is a thinge sufficientlye tried that noble hartes oughte not to shewe theymselues sadde for mishappes and sodaine chaunces For the king being sadde his realme can not and though it might it ought not shew it selfe mery I haue heard my father say once that princes should neuer shedde teares vnlesse it were for one of these causes 1 The first the Prince should bewaile the losse and daunger of his common wealth for the good Prince ought to pardon the iniuryes done to his parson but to reuenge the least act done to the common wealth he ought to hasarde himselfe 2 The second the good prince ought to lamente if any man haue touched his honour in any wise for the Prince which wepeth not droppes of bloud for the thinges touchinge hys honoure deserueth to be buryed quycke in his graue 3 The third the good Prynce ought to bewayle those whych can lytle and suffer muche For the Prynce whych bewayleth not the calamities of the poore in vaine and without profite lyueth on the earth 4 The fourth the good Prince ought to bewayle the glory and prosperity wherin the Tiraunts are For that prince whych wyth tyrannye of the euil is not displeased wyth the hartes of the good is vnworthye to be beloued 5 The fift the good Prynce ought to bewayle the death of wise men For to a Prynce there can come no greater losse then when a wyse man dyeth in his common wealth These were the words which the king Archelaus aunswered the Grecian knight who reproued him because he had wept for the death of Euripides the phylosopher The auncient Historiographers can say no more of the estimacyon whych the Phylosophers and wyse men had as well the Greekes as the Latynes but I wyl tell you one thinge worthy of noting It is wel knowen through all the world that Scipio the Ethnicke was one of the worthyeste that euer was in Rome for by hys name and by hys occasion Rome gotte such a memorye as shall euermore endure And this was not only for that he cōquered Affrycke but for the great worthynes of hys person Men ought not to esteme a lytle these two giftes in one man that is to wete to be happie and aduentures For many of the auncientes in times past wanne glory by their swords after lost it by their euil liues The Romaynes historographers say that the first that wrote in heroical meeter in the Latin tongue was Ennius the poete the workes of whom was so estemed of Scipio the Ethnicke that when this aduenturous so lucky Romaine dyed he commaunded in hys wil and testament that they should hange the image of thys Ennius the Poet ouer his graue By that the great Scipio did at his death we may wel coniecture how great a frend he was of sages in his life since he had rather for his honor set the statue of Ennius on his graue thā the banner wherwith he wanne and conquered Affricke In the time of Pirrus which was king of the Epirotes great enemy of the Romaines florished a philosopher named Cinas borne in Thessalie who as they say was the disciple of Demosthenes The historiographers at that time did so much esteme this Cinas that they sayd he was the maister measure of mans eloquence For he was very pleasaunt in words profound in sētences This Cinas serued for 3. offices in the palace of king Pyrrus 1 First he made pastime at his table in that he dyd declare for he had a good grace in thinges of laughter 2 Secondarily he wrote the valyaunt dedes of his history for in his stile he had great eloquence and to write the truth he was a witnes of syght 3 Thirdly he went for embassadoure in affaires of great importaunce for he was naturally subtyle and wittie and in dispatching busines he was very fortunate He vsed so many meanes in his busines and had so great perswasion in his wordes that he neuer toke vpon him to speake of thinges of warre but either he set a longe truce or els he made a perpetual peace The king Pyrrus sayd to this Cynas O Cinas for thre thinges I thanke the immortal gods 1 The first for that they created me a king and not a seruaunt for the greatest good that mortal men haue is to haue lyberty to commaund many and not to be bound to obey any 2 The second I thanke the immortal gods for that they naturaly made me stout of hart for the man which wyth euery tryfle is abashed it were better for him to leaue his life 3 The third I giue the immortal gods thankes for that in the gouernment of my common wealth and for the great affaires and busines of my real me as wel in warres as in other thinges they gaue me such a man as thou art in my company For by thy gentle speach I haue conquered and obtained many Cyties which by my cruell sword I could neuer wynne nor attayne These were the wordes which Pyrrus sayd to his frend Cinas the Poete Let euery Prince know now how great louers of wise men those were in tymes past and as vppon a sodaine I haue recyted these few examples so with smal study I could haue heaped infynite Historyes FINIS The ende of the firste Booke The Seconde booke of the Diall of princes vvherein the Authoure treateth howe Princes and greate Lordes shoulde behaue theym selues towardes their wyues And howe they ought to noryshe and brynge vp their Children ¶ Of what excellencye mariage is and wheras common people marie of free will Princes and noble men oughte to marye of necessitie Cap. i. AMonge all the frendships and companyes of this lyfe ther is none so naturall as that betwene the husbande and the wife lyuing in one house for all other compagnies are caused by free wil only but this procedeth both by wil necessity Ther is at this day no Lion so fierce no Serpent so venimous no Viper so infectiue no Aspicke so mortall neyther any beast so tirrible but at the least both male female do once in the yere mete conioyne and thoughe that in brute beastes there lacketh reason yet notwithstandynge they haue a naturall instinction to assemble themselues for the
merite The contrary ought and may be saied of those whych are euill maried whom we wil not cal a compaigny of sayntes but rather a house of deuylles For the wife that hath an euil husbande may say she hath a deuyl in her house and the husband that hath an euil wife let him make accompt that he hath hel it selfe in his house For the euyl wyues are worse then the infernal furyes Because in hel ther are none tormented but the euil only but the euil woman tormeÌ„teth both the good and the euyl Concluding therfore this matter I say also and affirme that betwixt the busband and the wife which are wel maryed is the true and very loue and they only and no others may be called perfite and perpetuall frendes The other parentes and frendes if they do loue and praise vs in our presence they hate vs and dispise vs in our absence Yf they giue vs faire wordes they beare vs euill hartes finally they loue vs in our prosperitye and forsake vs in our aduersity but it is not so amongest the noble and vertuous maried personnes For they loue both within and without the house in prosperity and in aduersitie in pouertie and in riches in absence and in presence seing them selues mery and perceiuing them selues sad and if they do it not trulye they ought to doo it for when the husband is troubled in his foote the wyfe ought to be greued at her hart The fourth commodity of mariage is that the men and women maryed haue more aucthority and grauity then the others The lawes whych were made in old time in the fauour of mariage were many and diuerse For Chapharoneus in the lawes that he gaue to the Egiptians commaunded and ordeyned vpon greuous paynes that the man that was not maried should not haue any office of gouernment in the common wealth And he sayd furder that he that hath not learned to gouerne his house can euil gouerne a commoÌ„ wealth Accordyng to the lawes that he gaue to the Athenians he perswaded al those of the comon wealth to marie themselues voluntarily but to the heddes and captaines which gouerne the affaires of warre he commaunded to marye of necessity sayeng that to men which are lecherous God seldome giueth victories Licurgus the renowmed gouernour and geuer of the lawes of the Lacedemonians commaunded that al captaines of the armyes and the priestes of the Temples should be maried sayeng that the sacrifyces of maried men were more acceptable to the gods then those of any other As Plynie sayth in an epistle that he sent to Falconius his frende rebuking him for that he was not maried where he declareth that the Romaynes in old time had a law that the dictatoure and the Pretor the Censour and the Questor and al the knightes should of necessity be maried for the man that hath not a wife and children legittymate in his house cannot haue nor hold greate aucthority in the common wealth Plutarche in the booke that he made of the prayse of mariage sayth that the priestes of the Romaynes dyd not agre to them that were vnmaried to come and sytte downe in the Temples so that the yong maydens prayed without at the church dore and the yonge men prayed on their knees in the temple only the maried men were permitted to sitte or stande Plynie in an epistle that he wrote to Fabatus hys father in law sayth that the Emperour Augustus had a custome that he neuer suffered any yonge man in his presence to sitte nor permitted any man maried to tel his tale on foote Plutarche in the booke that he made in the prayse of women sayth that since the realme of Corinthe was peopled more with Bachelours then with maried men they ordeyned amongest theym that the man or woman that had not bene maried and also that had not kept chyldren and house if they lyued after a certaine age after their death shoulde not be buried ¶ The aucthoure folowing his purpose declareth that by meanes of maryage many mortal enemyes haue bene made good and parfite frendes Cap. iii. BY the sundry examples that we haue declared and by al that whych remayneth to declare a man may know wel enoughe of what excellency matrimony is not only for the charge of conscience but also for the thinges touching honour for to say the truth the men that in the common wealth are maried giue smal occasion to be sclaundered haue more cause to be honored We cannot denay but that matrimony is troublesome chargeable to them that be maried for two causes The one is in bringing vp their children and the other in suffering the importunityes of their mothers Yet in fiâ—e we caÌ„not deny but that the good vertuous wife is she that setteth a stay in the house and kepeth her husband in estimacion in the common wealth for in the publike affaires they giue more faith and credit vnto those that are charged with children then vnto others that are loden with yeres The fifth commodity that ensueth matrimony is the peace and reconciliacions that are made betwene the enemyes by meanes of mariage MeÌ„ in this age are so couetous so importune and malicious that there are very few but haue enemyes wherby groweth contencion and debate for by our weaknes we fall dayly into a thousande occasions of enimities and scarcely we can find one to bring vs againe into frendship CoÌ„sidering what men desire what thinges they procure and wherunto they aspire I meruaile not that they haue so few frendes but I much muse that they haue no moe enemyes For in thinges of weight they marke not who haue bene their frendes they consider not they are their neighbours neyther they regard that they are christians but their conscience layd a part and honesty set a side euery man seketh for himselfe and his owne affaires though it be to the preiudice of all his neighbours What frendship can ther be amongest proud men since the one wil go before and the other disdayneth to come behind What frendship can ther be amongest enuyous men â–ª since the one purchasseth and the other possesseth what loue can there be betwene two couetous men since the one dare not spend and the other is neuer satisfyed to hourd and heape vp For al that we can reade se go and trauaile and for al that we may do we shall neuer se nor here tell of men that haue lacked enemyes for eyther they be vycious or vertuous Yf they be euil and vycious they are alwayes hated of the good and if they be good and vertuous they are continually persecuted of the euill Many of the auncient philosophers spent a great part of their time lost much of their goodes to serche for remedies and meanes to reconcile them that were at debate contencion to make them by gentlenes good frends and louers Some said that it was good and profitable to forget the enimities for a time for many things
are pardoned in tyme which by reason could neuer take end Others sayd that for to appease the enemyes it was good to offer money because moneye doth not only breake the feminate and tender hartes but also the hard and craggy rockes Others saied that the best remedie was to set good men to be mediatours betwene them in especially if they were sage and wise men for the honest faces stout hartes are ashamed when they are proferred money and the good do humble them selues by intreaty These meanes well considered and the remydies wel soughte out to make frendes there are none so ready so true as mariage for the mariage done sacramentally is of such so great excellency that betwene some it causeth perfite frendship betwene others it appeaseth great iniuries During the time that Iulius Cesar kept him selfe as father in law to the great Pompeius that Pompeius helde himselfe his sonne in law ther was neuer euil wil nor quarels betwene thē but after that Pompeius was deuorced from the house of Cesar hatred enuy enimities engendered betwene them in such sort that they contended in suche so cruell warres that Pompeius against his wil lost his head also Iulius Cesar shortned his life When those that dwelled in Rome rauished robbed the doughters of the Sabines if after they had not chaunged their counsel of theues to become husbandes without doubt the Romaines had bene all destroyed for the Sabines had made an othe to aduenture both their goodes and their lyues for to reueng the iniuries done vnto them their doughters and wiues but by the meanes of mariage they were conferred in great amity and loue For the Romaines receued in mariage the doughters of the Sabines whom before they had rauished Greater enimity ther cānot be then that of god towards men through the sinne of Adam notwithstanding ther neuer was nor neuer shal be greater frendship then that which was made by the godly maryage and for greater aucthority to confirme mariage the sonne of god woulde that his mother should be maried and afterward he himselfe was present at a mariage where he turned the water into wine though now a days the euil maried men do turne the wine into water He doth not speake here of religious personnes nor men of the Church neither of those which are closed in deuout places for those fleing the occasions of the world and chosing the wayes lesse daungerous haue offered their soules to god with their bodyes haue done him acceptable sacrifices For ther is difference betwene the relygion of Christ and the sinfull Sinagoge of the Iewes for they offered kyddes and muttons but here are not offered but teares and sighes Leauyng therfore all those secretes apart which men ought to leaue to God I say and affirme that it is a holy and commendable counsel to vse his profite with the Sacrament of mariage the which though it be taken of al voluntaryly yet Princes great lordes ought to take it necessarily For the prynce that hath no wife nor chyldren shal haue in his realme much grudgyng and displeasure Plutarche in the booke he made of mariage sayth that amongest the Lidiens ther was a law wel obserued and kept that of necessity their kings and gouernours should be maried they had such respect to this thing and were so circumspect in this matter that if a prince dyed and left his heire an infant they would not suffer him to gouerne the realme vntil he were maried And they greatly lamented the day of the departing of their Quene out of this lyfe for with her death the gouermente ceased the royal aucthorytie remained voyd and the common wealth with out gouernment so long tyme as the king deferred to take another wyfe so they were some times without kyng or gouernment For princes are or ought to be the mirrour and example of al to lyue honest and temperate the which cannot welbe done vnlesse they be maried or that they se themselues to be conquerers of the flesh being so they are satisfyed but if they be not maried and the flesh doth assault them then they lyue immedyatly conquered Wherfore of necessity they must go by their neighbours houses or els by some other dishonest places scattered abrode to the reproch and dyshonour of them and their kindredes and oftentymes to the great peryl and daunger of their parsonnes ¶ Of sundry and diuerse lawes which the auncientes had in contractinge matrimony not only in the choise of women but also in the maner of celebrating mariage Cap. iii. IN al nacions and in al the Realmes of the world mariage hath alwayes bene accepted and maruailously commended for other wyse the world had not ben peopled nor yet the nomber of men multyplyed The auncientes neuer disagreed one from another in the approbation and acception of mariage but ther was amongest them great difference strife vpon the contractes ceremonies and vsages of the same For they vsed as muche difference in contractinge matrimony and chosinge their wyues as these Epicures doe desire the varietie of sundry delicate meates The deuine Plato in his booke he made of the common wealth did councel that al things should be common and that not onely in brute beastes in mouables and heritages but also that women should be commen for he saide that if these twoo wordes thine and mine were abolisshed and out of vse there shoulde not be debates nor quarelles in this worlde They call Plato deuine for many good thinges whiche he spake but nowe they may call him worldly for the councell profane whiche he gaue I can not tell what beaste lines it may be called nor what greater rewdenes may be thought that the apparrell shuld be proper and the wyues commen The brute beaste doth not knowe that whiche came out of her belly longer then it sucketh of her breastes And in this sorte it would chaunce to men yea and worse to if women were commen in the common wealth For though one shoulde knowe the mother whiche hath borne him he should not knowe the father that hath begotten him The Tharentines whiche were well renowmed amongest the auncientes and not a litle feared of the Romaines had in their citie of Tharente a lawe and custome to marie them selues with a legittimate wife and to begette children but besides her a man might yet chose twoo others for his secret pleasures Spartianus saide that the Emperour Hellus Verus as thouching women was very dissolute and since his wife was younge and faire and that she did complaine of hym because he ledde no honest lyfe with her he spake these wordes vnto her My wyfe thou haste no cause to complayne of me synce I remayne with thee vntill suche tyme as thou arte quicke with chylde For the residue of the tyme we husbandes haue licence and priuilege to seke our pastimes with other women For this name of a wyfe conteyneth in it honour
auncient and renowmed oratours of Rome one was called Metellus Numidicus the whiche one daye makinge his oration to the Senate sayde these wordes Worthy Senatours I let you vnderstande that I haue greatly studied what the counselles should be that I ought to geue ye touching mariage For the counsell rashe and sodeyne oftentymes is not profitable I doe not perswade you at all to mary neyther doe saye that ye shall not mary but it is true that if ye can lyue without a woman yee shall be free from many troubles But what shall we doe O ye Romaines synce that nature hath made vs such that to kepe women it is a great trouble and to lyue without them it is more daunger I dare saye if in this case my opinion myght be accepted that it should not be euyll done to resiste the lust since it coÌ„meth by fittes and not to take wiues which are continuall troubles These were the wordes which Metellus Numidicus spake the which were not very acceptable nor pleasaunt to the fathers being in the Senate for they would not that he shuld haue spoken such wordes against mariage For there is no estate in this lyfe wherein fortune sheweth her force more then in this state of matrimonie A man maye proue them in this sort that if the fashions and vsages of the auncientes were diuerse as concernynge ordinaunce truly there was no lesse contrarietie in their contractes and ceremonies Boccase the Florentine in a booke that he made of the mariages of the auncientes reciteth many and sondrie customes that they vsed in making the mariages whereof he telleth some not for to allowe nor maintaine them but to reproue and condemne them For the wryters did neuer wryte the vices of some but onely to make the vertues of others more clerely to be knowen The Cymbres had a custome that when they would marie after the mariage was nowe agreed vpon he that was made sure shoulde pare his nayles and sende them to his wife that should be and she in like sorte sent hers vnto him And then when she of him and he of her had receiued the nayles the one of the other they toke them selues maried for euer and did afterwardes liue together as man and wyfe The Theutonians had a ceremonie that the man that was sure rounded the heere of her to whome he was made sure and she did the lyke vnto him and when the one suffered the other to doe so immediatly they celebrated mariage The Armenians hadde a lawe that the brydegrome should pinche the right eare of the bryde and the bryde should likewyse pinche the lefte eare of the brydegrome and then they tooke them selues maried for euer The Elamites had a custome that both parties whiche were made sure pricked one the others litle finger vntil they bledde the whiche bloud they did sucke naturally and this done they were maried The Numidians vsed that the brydegrome and the bryde shoulde gather together a pece of earth and with their spet tell they tempered it and therewith the one annointed the foreheade of the other so that the mariage betwene theym was to annoynte the one and the other with a litle claye When those of Dace would be maried the brydegrome and the bryde eche one by them selues were brought in chariottes the one metinge the other and when they came togethers the brydegrome gaue a newe name to the bryde and she likewyse to him and from that tyme forewarde they liued as in lawfull matrimony When those of Hungary would marye the one sent vnto the other a familier god made of syluer whom they called Lares and when they had receiued the God of eche other the mariage was finished and they lyued as man and wyfe The Siconians had a custome and lawe that when they should mary the one sent to the other a shooe and that receiued of both they agreed to the mariage The Tharentins had a custome that when they did marie they set them selues at the table to eate and the one did feade the other so that if by mishappe the one should chaunce to feade him selfe that mariage was not estemed for constant nor good The Scithes had a custome and they kept it as a lawe that when men and women should marie as nowe they touche the handes the one of the other so did they them touche with their feete afterwards they set together their knees then they touched with their handes and then they sette their buttockes together and so their heades and in the ende they imbraced the one the other All these ceremonies done the mariages were assured and sufficiently confirmed and so we might saye of many others but to auoyde tediousnes we will folowe our matter ¶ How Princesses and great Ladies ought to loue their husbandes and that loue ought not by coniurations and enchauntementes to be procured but by wisedome honestie and vertue desired Cap. iiii ALl men that desire to achieue and obteyne any worthy thinge in this life inuente and searche many meanes to come thereunto for men by good prouision and circumspection compasse sondrie thinges whiche otherwise they should loose onlesse thei would by force take them As in the mariages of our christian religion wherin we doe not suffer that the man the wife be parentes and nigh of bloud leauing a part that the one is a maÌ„ and the other a woman that the one is strong the other weake oft times it chaunceth that there is betwene the man and the wyfe more contrarietie in conditions then diuersitie in linage I would saye therfore for healthfull counsel necessary aduice to the great dames princesses to al other wiues since they must nedes eate and drinke with their husbandes that they must sleape treate be conuersaunt talke finally liue die with their husbands that they should vse muche diligence to beare with their conditions for to say the trothe the wife ought in all thinges to folowe the conditions of her husband the husbaÌ„d in some thing to beare with the coÌ„ditions of his wife So that she by her pacience ought to suffer the imperfâ—ctions of him and he likewise by his wisdome ought to dissemble the importunities of her and in such sorte they ought to agree loue togethers that all those of the common wealth should reioyce at their behauiours For maried men which are quarellers sedicious persones the neighbours in steade of weeping wailing for the depriuation of their life demaund giftes the one of the other for bringing newes of their 〈◊〉 â—â—mit that the husband be couetous vnthrifty that he be deformed in his body that he be rude in condition base of linage rashe in his speache in aduersities fearefull in prosperities carelesse in the end being as he is husbande we can not denie but in the house he ought to be chiefe maister For the which it is also necessary that we geue now vnto the wyues some healthfull counsell
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
foure times Censor and in the end he was with much shame banished from Rome wherwith to reueng this iniury he came with a great power army against Rome for the proud hart wounded with iniury is neuer quiet in his life time vntyl he se his enemyes destroyed or that on them he hath taken vengeance Quintus Marcius being very nigh to the gates of Rome was most instantlye requyred that he wold not distroy his mother Rome but he toke no regard nor would condiscend to any request vntil such time that his mother issewed with a niece of his whom he loued entierly At whose intercession teares he left his anger raised his siege from Rome for many are ouercome soner wyth teares then wyth importunate reasonable requestes The ladies of Rome vsed much to haue their heares long and yellowe and to weare their wastes high and streight And as the Niece of Quintus Marcius was great bigge with child the day that the peace was made betwene Quintus Marcius Rome lacinge her selfe to hard in her attire to seme more proper comely she long before her time was delyuered of a creature the case was so woful vnfortunate that the creature deliuered dyed the mother lost her lyfe and the mother losyng her lyfe sodainlye her graundmother fel dead to the ground through which occasion al the ioy and mirth was turned into sorow sadnes For it is commenly sene when the world is in the greatest ioy then fortune sodainly turneth it into sorow The aucthors hereof are Tibulus and Porphirius both Grecians ¶ The aucthour foloweth and declareth other inconueniences and vnluckye chaunces which haue happened to women with child Chap. x. THe warres of Tarent being ended immedyatly begonne the warres of Carthage of whych so long tedious warres the possession of the Isles of Maiorica Minorica were occasion forsomuch as the one would take it and the other defend it This warre endured wel nyghe the space of 40. yeres for oft tymes the wastes and domages which are done in the warres are greater then the profite for which they contend The first captayne in this warre of the Romaines was Gaius Duellus and the fyrst of the Carthaginiens was Hammon the whych wyth their shyppes fought on the sea of Sicili the whych was very cruel for there they feared both the fury of the sea and also the cruelty of the pike the which two things put mans life in great daūger Of thys cruel battaile the Romaine captaine remayned victorious forasmuch as he drowned 14 shippes and toke other 30. he slew 3. thousande men and brought 3. thousand Carthaginiens prysoners and thys was the first victory that the Romaynes had by sea And that that the Romaynes most reioysed at was that by sea also they remained conquerers The captaine Gaius Duellus departyng from Sicili came to Rome wher he had a sister no lesse vertuous then rych and beautifull in whose house he lodged where he made a costly supper to al the senatours of Rome to al the captaines whiche came wyth hym from the warres for the vicious men knew not wherin to shew their loue to their frendes but by inuiting them to costly bankettes The sister of the captaine Gaius Duellus for ioye of his comming and for the pleasure of the banquet feast which was made in her house did eate more then she was accustomed also more then it behoued one in her case so that in the presence of al she began to annoy the bidden gestes for she not onely vomited out the meate of her stomake but also the bloud of her vaines and therwithal most vnluckely brought forth her fruite which she had in her intrailes wherwith immediatly after the soule departed from the body and so died Truly this case was no lesse lamentable then the others for so much as Gaius lost his sister the husband lost his wife his child the wife the child lost their liues and for that that Rome lost so noble and excellent a Roman aboue al for that it so chaunced in such a time of so great ioy and pleasure For there can come no vnluckier newes then in the time of much mirth to heare tel of any great mischaunce Of this matter mention is made in Blundus in the booke of the declination of the Empire The second warre of Afrike which was betwene Rome and Carthage was the. 540. yeres after the foūdation of Rome wherin were captaines Paulus Emilius and Publius Varro the which two consulles fought the great and famous battaile of Cannas in the prouince of Apulia I say famous because Rome neuer lost such nobilitie and Roman youth as she lost in that day Of these two coūsulles Paulus Emilius in the battaile was slaine and Publius Varro ouercome and the couragious Hannibal remained conquerour of the field wherin died .xxx. senatours and 300. officers of the senate and aboue .xl. thousand fotemen thre thousand horsemen finally the end of al the Romain people had bene that day if Hannibal had had the wit to haue folowed so noble a victory as he had the corage to giue so cruel a battaile A litle before that Publius Varro departed to goe to the warres he was maried to a faire young Romain called Sophia with in seuen monethes she was quicke as newes was brought her that Paulus Emilius was dead her husband ouercome she died sodenly the creature remaining aliue in her body This case aboue al was very pitiful in that that after he him selfe was vanquished that he had sene his compaignion the consul Emilius slaine with so great a numbre of the Romaine people fortune would that with his owne eies he should beholde the intrailes of his wife cut to take out the child likewise to se the earth opened to bury his wyfe Titus Liuius saith that Publius Varro remained so sorowful in his harte to see him self ouercome of his enemies to see his wife so sodainly so vnluckely strikē with death that al the time that his life endured he neither comed his beard slept in bed nor dined at the table hereat we ought not to marueile for a man in his hart may so be wounded in one houre that he shal neuer reioyce all the daies of his life If we put no doubtes in Titus Liuius the Romains had long tedious warres against the Samnites which indured for the space of .lxiii. yeres continually vntill suche time as the consull Ancus Rutillus which was a vertuous man did set a good appointment of peace betwene the Samnites the Romains for the noble stout harts ought always by vertue to bring their enemies to peace These warres therefore being so cruell obstinate Titus Venurius Spurius Posthumius which were Romain captains were ouercom by Pontius the valiant captain of the Samnites who after the victory did a thing neuer sene nor hard of before That is to
so swift as he that is naked Aristotle in the sixt booke de Animalibus saith when the Lionesse is bigge with whelpe the Lyon doth not only hunt for her him self but also both night daye he wandreth continually about to watche her I meane that princesses great Ladies when they be with child should be of their husbande 's both tended serued for the man can not do the woman so great a pleasure before her lieng down as she doth to him when she bringeth forth a sonne Considering the daunger that the woman abideth in her deliuerance beholding the paines that the husbād taketh in her seruice without cōparison that is greater which she suffereth then that which he endureth For when the womā deliuereth she doth more then her power and the husband though he serueth her well doth lesse then his dutie The gentle and louing husband ought not one moment to forsake his wife specially when he seeth she is great for in the law of a good husbād it is written that he should set his eies to behold her his handes to serue her he should spende his goods to cherishe her should geue his harte to cōtent her Let not men thinke it paines to serue their wiues when they are with childe for their labour consisteth in their strengthe but the trauell of their wiues is in their intrailes And that whiche is moste pitifull is that when the sorowfull women will discharge their burden on the earthe they often times bryng them selues vnto the graue The meane women of the Plebeians ought no lesse to be reproued for that when they are with childe they would be exempted from all busines of the house the whiche neither they them selues ought to desire nor yet their husbandes to suffer For idlenesse is not only an occasion not to deserue heauen but also it is a cause whereby womē ofte times haue ill successe in their trauaile For considering bothe the deintie Ladie with childe that hath her pleasure and doth litle and on the other side the poore mans wyfe whiche moderatly laboureth you shall see that the great Ladies for all their pleasures abydeth more daunger then the other doth with all her labour The husbande ought to keape his wyfe from takyng to muche paines for so ought he to doe and the wyfe lykewyse ought to flee to much pleasure for it behoueth her For the meane trauaile is no other but occasion of a safe deliuerie The women with childe also ought to take hede to them selues and in especially noble and great ladies that they be not to gredy nor hasty in eating For the woman being with childe ought to be sobre and the woman whiche is a great eater with great paines shall liue chaste Women with childe ofte times doe disordre them selues in eating licorous meates and vnder the colour of feedinge them selues and their infant they take to excessiuely which is not onely vnholsome for the childe but also dishonour for their mothers For truly by the great excesse of the mother being with child commeth many diseases to the infant when it liueth The husbande 's also ought neither to displease nor greue their wiues specially when thei see them great with child for of truth ofte times she deliuereth with more daunger by reason of the offences that mē do vnto them then by the abondaunce of meates which they doe eate Though the woman when she is with childe in some thinges doth offend her husband yet he like a wise man ought to forbeare her hauing respect to the child wherwith she is great and not to the iniurie that she hath committed for in th end the mother can not be so great an offender but that the childe is muche more innocent For the profe of this it neadeth not bookes to reade but only our eies to see how the brute beastes for the moste parte when the females are bigge doe not touche them nor yet the females suffer thē to be touched I meane that the noble and high estates ought to absent them selues from their wiues carnally beyng great with child and he that in this case shal shewe him selfe moste temperate shall of all men be deamed most vertuous I do not speake this to thend it should bind a man or that it were an offence then to vse the company of his wyfe but vnto men that are vertuous I geue it as a counsel For some things ought to be done of necessitie others ought to be eschewed for honestie Diodorus Siculus saith that in the realme of Mauritania there were so few men so many women that euery man had fiue wiues where there was a law amōgest them that no man should mary vnder thre wiues furthermore they had a wonderful folishe custome that when any husband died one of these women should cast her selfe quick in to the graue be buried with him And if that within a moneth she did it not or that she died not by iustice she was then openly put to death saiyng that it is more honestie to be in company with her husband in the graue then it is to be alone in her house In the Isles of Baliares the cōtrary is sene for there increase so many men and so few women that for one woman there was seuen men and so they had a custome specially amongest the poore that one woman should be maried with fiue men For the ryche men sent to seke for women in other straunge Realmes wherfore then marchauntes came heuie loden with women as now they do with marchaundise to sell Vpon which occasion there was a custome in those Isles that for as muche as there were so fewe women when any woman with chylde drewe nere the seuen monethes they were seperated from their husbandes and shut and locked vp in the Temples where they gaue them suche thinges as were necessary for them of the commen treasure For the auncientes had their goodes in suche veneration that they would not permitte any personne to eate that whiche he brought but of that whiche vnto the goddes of the Temple was offered At that tyme the Barbarous kepte their wyues locked in the churche because the gods hauing them in their Temples should be more mercifull vnto them in their deliuery and also to cause them to auoyde the daungers at that tyme and besydes that because they tooke it for a great vilany that the women during that tyme should remaine with their husbandes The famous and renowmed philosopher Pulio in the fift booke De moribus antiquorum said that in the Realme of Paunonia whiche nowe is Hongarie the women that were great with childe were so highly estemed that when any went out of her house al those which met with her were bounde to returne backe with her in such sorte as we at this present do reuerence the holy Comunion so did these Barbarous then the women with child The women of Carthage being with child whē Carthage was
Carthage had as great priuileges as now our sanctuaries haue for the safegard of misdoers for in times past al such offēdours as could enter into the house wher a woman lay in child bed should haue ben free frō correction of iustice As Fronto saith in his booke of the veneration of the gods the Galloys Transalpins did not only honour reuerence the womē with child but also with much care diligence watched her deliuery for it litle auaileth the shippe to haue passed safe the daungerous seas if at the shore she be cast away The case was in this sort that al the auncient gentils honoured some gods in their temples kept other in their houses the which were called Lares Penates when any woman began to labour eche neighbour brought his familiar god vnto her to present her with all because they thought that the more gods there were of so much more power they were to kepe her frō perils Speaking like a christian truly those gods were of small value since they could not helpe the woman safely to be deliuered that was in trauaile ¶ What the Philosopher Pisto was and of the rules he gaue concerning women with childe Cap. xii IN the tyme of Octauian the Emperour was a phylosopher called Pisto whiche was of the secte of Pithagoras and when Rome florished he was very familiar with the Emperour Octauian and welbeloued of all the people whiche ought not to be a litle estemed for he which of the prince is most fauoured commonly of the people is moste hated This Emperour Octauian was a prince very desirous of all vertuous thinges so that when he dyned with his captaines he spake of warre when he supped with the sages he reasoned of sciences and he that vttered any dishonest or idle worde in his presence he alwayes afterward toke him as his enemy This Pisto was very graue in weightie affaires very pleasaunt in slentes and iestes ofte times he was demaunded many questiōs of the Emperour whereof the answers of some according to the demaundes and questions here foloweth The Emperour said to Pisto of all these that liueth whom takest thou to be moste foole to whom the Philosopher aunswered In my opinion I take him to be moste foole of whose worde there commeth no profite for truly he is not so very a foole that slingeth stones into the winde as he that vttereth vayne wordes Tell me Pisto whom ought we of right to desire to speake and whom of right to commaunde to be silent he aunswered It is good when speache doth profite and good to kepe silence when speache is hurtfull for the one desiring to mainteine the good and the other to defende the euil warres beginne throughout all the worlde Tell me Pisto from what thing ought the fathers moste to kepe their children he sayd In my opiniō parentes ought in nothing to watche so much as to kepe them from being vicious for the father ought rather to haue his sonne die well then to liue euill Tell me Pisto what shall man do if he be brought to this extremitie that if he speake truthe he condempneth him selfe and if he make a lie he saueth him selfe The vertuous man saide he ought rather to chose to be ouercome by truthe then to ouercome by lies for it is vnpossible that a man which is a lier should continue long in prosperitie Tell me Pisto what shall man doe to obtaine reste he aunswered As I thinke the man can not haue reste vnlesse he forsake worldly affaires for the menne that are occupied with weightie affaires can not be without great cares are alwayes accompanied of great troubles Tell me Pisto wherein a man sheweth him selfe to be most wyse he aunswered There is no greater profe to knowe a wyse man then if he be paciēt to suffer the ignoraunt for in suffering an iniury the harte is more holpen by wysedome then by knowledge Tell me Pisto what is that thing that the vertuous man may lawfullye desire he aunswered All that that is good so that it be not to the preiudice of any other may honestly be desired but in my opinion that onely ought to be desired whiche openly without shame may be demaunded Tell me Pisto what shal men doe with their wiues when they are great with child to cause that the child in safetie may be deliuered he aunswered In the world there is nothyng more perylous then to haue the charge of a woman with child For if the husbande serue her he hath payne trauaile and if perchaunce he doe not contente her she is in daunger In this case the wiues of Rome and their husbandes also oughte to be very diligent and to the thinges folowyng more careful the which I shew them more for counsell then for commaundement For good coūsell ought to haue as much auctoritie in the vertuous as the commaundement hath in the vitious Thou Octauian as thou arte a mercifull and a pitieful Emperour and that kepest thy Nece Cossucia great with childe I know thou desirest that she had presentely good and luckye deliuery and that she were deliuered of her paine all the whyche thou shalte see if thou doest marke these thynges that I will shew the here folowynge First the woman oughte to beware of dauncing leapinge and running for leaping oftentimes maketh man to loose his speache and women with childe to loose their life wherfore it is not reason that the folly of the mother should be permitted to put in hazarde the lyfe of the childe The secound the woman beyng with child ought to beware that she be not so hardye to enter into gardeyns wher there is much frute and that for eating to many she be not yll deliuered for it is no reason that the likerousnes of the mother be punished with the death of the childe The third the woman with child ought to beware of ouer harde lacing herselfe about the midle for many Roman Dames for to seme propre doe weare their gownes so streighte that it is an occasion to kyll their creatures which is a heynous mater that the yonge babe should loose hys lyfe bycause his mother shoulde seme pretye The fourth the women with child ought to beware of eating in a great banket for oftetimes there commeth a sodayne deliueraunce only through eating without measure and it is not mete that for tastinge a thyng of litell value the mother and the child should both loose their liues The fifte the woman beyng with child ought to beware that she giueth no eare to any sodayne newes For she is in more daunger for hearynge a thing that greueth her then for suffering long sicknes that paineth her and it were vniust that for knowing of a trifeling matter the mother that is to be deliuered the child that is to be borne should both in one momēt perish The sixte the woman with child ought to beware that she go not by any meanes to any feastes wher ther
shal be any greate assembly of people for oft times the woman with child seyng her to be to much thrust and preast beyng not able to say I am here may immediatly dye in the place and it is not reason but an vniust thing that the woman for the desire to see the children of others should make of her owne orphanes The seuenth the husband oughte to beware that she being with child be not denayed any honest thing that she do minde for in graunting her it can not cost him moche but in denieng her he may loose much and it should not be iust that since in her bringing forth she honoreth and increaseth the commen wealth of Rome that Rome should condescend that any woman with childe should receyue any hurte or dishonour These be the aunswers that Pisto made to the Emperour Octauian the which he gaue as rules to women with child whiche beyng so kept I doe assure you that the great Ladies shoulde deliuer them selues from many perilles and the husbande 's also should escape from many sorowes Concluding therfore that which aboue is spoken I saye that princesses and greate ladies when they are with child ought to bee more ware and circumspect then other meane women for where man hopeth to haue most profit there oughte he most to be carefull The auctour of this is Pulio in his third boke De moribus antiquorum and sextus Cheronensis in his .5 booke de legibus domesticis Of thre counselles which Lucius Seneca gaue vnto a secretary his frend who serued the Emperour Nero and how the Emperour Marke Aureille disposed all the howers of the daye Chap. xiii THe Emperour Nero had a Secretary called Emilius Varro the whyche beyng in Rome builded a sumptuous house ioyning vnto the gate of Salaria wherunto he inuited one daye Lucius Seneca to a banquet to the end the house might be more fortunate for the Romains had a Prophecye that accordyng to the good or yll lucke of him that first entred into a newe house so should it continually be luckye or vnlucky Lucius Seneca graunted to the request of his frende Emilius Varro and when they had well eaten they went both to see this new building shewyng vnto Lucius Seneca all thinges at the laste the Secretary sayd thus vnto Seneca Those betwene both are for gestes those haulles are for marchauntes and suetors these secrettes are for women those chambers are for knightes those galleries which are couered are to auoyde the sonne this lowest part here is for horses the Cellers are for the buttry in the end he shewed him the whole house for the furnishing wherof there lacked not one iotte After the Secretarye Emilius Varro had shewed him all his house he loked when his gest Seneca would greatly prayse and commend it but he as though he knew nothing sayd vnto Emilius Varro as he went out of the dores whose house is this wherunto Emillius aunswered how now Seneca canst not thou tel I haue employed all my goodes in buildyng this house and haue led the all about to see it and I haue tolde the that it is mine yet doest thou aske me againe whose it is Lucius Seneca aunswered Thou haste shewed vs the house for straungers the house for slaues the house for women the house for horses and in all this house thou hast not shewed me one litel part for thy self but that an other man doth enter into it for if thou hast any interest therin they haue the best therof whiche is the possession I accompt the a wise man I doe accompt the a man of vnderstanding and also I know that withal thy hart thou art my frende and since I haue bene bydden to day by the it is but reason that for to rewarde that whych thou hast done to me I do some seruice vnto the whych shal be to giue vnto the some good counsel For straungers vse to pay for the feast with money vaine men with telling lies bablers by counting vaine tales childrē by flatteries but vertuous men ought to pay bygening good counselles This house hath cost that much paine great griefes much money and if it cost that so much it is but reason that thou inioy the same Take therfore these my thre counselles it may be thou wilte finde thy selfe better contented with those then with the money of straungers for many haue wherwithal to builde a house but they haue not vnderstandyng to gouerne the same The first counsell is though that thou loue thy frende verye well or thy wife aswell yet that thou neuer discouer all the secrettes of thy harte neyther to thy frende nor to thy wyfe But that thou always reserue some particuler vnto thy selfe For Plato sayeth to whom a man committeth his secrettes to him also he giueth his libertie The second counsell is that neyther in priuate busines nor in publicke affaires thou occupye thy selfe so much but at the least thou do reserue .3 houres in the day for thine owne reste The third councel is that thou haue in thy house some secret place wherof thou alone shalt haue the key and therein thou shalte haue bookes wher thou maiest study of thy affaires and also talke with thy frendes Finallye this place shal be a secretory of thy counselles and a rest for thy trauelles These were the wordes that Lucius Seneca spake to his frende Emilius Varro whiche wordes were such as he him selfe was that is to wete of a sage and excellent personnage and thoughe the banquet was riche yet the paymente of Lucius Seneca was much more worth For the minde feleth more tast in the good and rype counsell then the bodie doth in sauory and delicate meates I haue tolde you this example of Lucius Seneca for to tell an other that happened to the Emperour Marcus Aurelius with his wise Faustine And to the end that the order of the matter be not tourned without breaking our Historye first we will declare here the order whiche this Emperour obserued in hys lyfe For the commen wealth shall neuer be well gouerned but where the prince gouerneth well his lyfe Princes of necessitie ought to be wel ordered in their life because they may profite the affaires of the Empire with the perticulers of their house and be cause they should vse the perticulers of their house to the recreacion of their personne and all these thinges ought to be deuided accordyng to time For a good prince ought to lacke no time to do that thinge well which he hath to do nor he oughte to haue any tyme vacant to employe him selfe to vice The worldly call that time good the which is or was prosperous vnto thē they call that time eull which is or hath bene contrary and vnfortunat vnto thē The Creator wil neuer that this sentence be approued by my penne but I call that time good which is imployed in vertues and that time euill that is lost in vices For the times are alwayes
of kyng Arthebanus had nourished his sonne they coulde not haue robbed it in the cradell nor these twoo princes had not bene slayne in battayle nor the common wealth had not bene destroied nor Alexander had not entred into the lande of another nor had not come to conquere the contrey of Italy nor the dead corps had not wanted his graue for oftetimes it chaunceth for not quenching a litle coale of fier a whole forest house is burned The deuine Plato among the Grekes and Licurgus among the Lacedemonians commaunded and ordeined in all their lawes that al the Plebeical women those of meane estate should nourishe al their children and that those which were princesses and great ladies should at the least nourishe their eldest and first begotten Plutarche in the booke of the reigne of princes saieth that the sixt kyng of the Lacedemonians was Thomistes the whiche when he died lefte two children of which the second inherited the realme because the Quene her selfe had brought it vp and the first did not inherite because a straūge nource had geuen it sucke and brought it vp And hereof remained a custome in the moste parte of the realmes of Asia that the childe whiche was not nourysshed with the pappes of his mother shoulde inherite none of his mothers goodes There was neuer nor neuer shal be a mother that had suche a sonne as the mother of God which had Iesus Christe nor there was neuer nor neuer shal be a sonne which had suche a mother in the worlde But the infante would neuer sucke other milke because he would not be bounde to call any other mother nor the mother did geue him to nourish to any other mother because that no other woman should call him sonne I doe not marueile at al that princesses and great ladies doe geue their children forth to nourishe but that which moste I marueile at is that she whiche hath conceiued and brought forth a child is a shamed to geue it sucke and to nourishe it I suppose that the ladies doe thinke that they deserue to conceiue them in their wombes and that they sinne in nourishing them in their armes I can not tell how to wryte and much lesse howe to vtter that which I would say which is that women are now a daies come into such folly that they thinke and esteme it a state to haue in their armes some litle dogges they are ashamed to nourish geue the childrē sucke with their own breastes O cruel mothers I cannot thinke that your hartes can be so stony to endure to see and keape fantasticall birdes in the cages vnhappy Monkeis in the wyndowes fisting spaniels betwene your armes and so neglect and despise the swete babes casting them out of your houses where they were borne and to put them into a straunge place where they are vnknowen It is a thing which cannot be in nature neither that honestie can endure conscience permit nor yet consonant either to deuine or humaine lawes that those which God hath made mothers of children shoulde make them selues nourses of dogs Iunius Rusticus in the third booke of the sayings of the auncientes saith that Marcus Porcio whose life and doctrine was a lanterne and example to al the Romain people as a man much offended saied on a day to the senate O fathers conscripte O cursed Rome I can not tell what nowe I shoulde saye sithe I haue sene in Rome suche monsterous thinges that is to wete to see women cary Parrottes on their fistes and to see women to nourishe dogges geuing them mylke from their owne breastes They replied in the senate and sayde Tell vs Marcus Porcio what wouldest thou we should doe whiche lyue nowe to resemble our fathers whiche are dead Marcus Portio aunswered them The woman that presumeth to be a Romaine Matrone ought to be founde weauing in her house and out of that to be found in the temple praying to God and the noble and stoute Romane ought to be foūd in his house reding bookes and out of his house fighting in the playn fielde for the honour of his countrie And suer these were wordes worthy of suche a man Annius Minutius was a noble Romaine and captaine of great Pompeius who was a great friende to Iulius Caesar after the battaile of Farsaliae for he was an auncient and on that could geue good councell wherefore he neuer scaped but that he was chosen in Rome for Senatour Consul or Censor euery yeare for Iulius Caesar was so mercifull to them that he pardoned that those whiche had bene his moste enemies in the warres were of hym in peace best beloued This Annius Minutius then beinge chosen Censor within Rome which was an office hauing charge of iustice by chaunce as he went to visite the wyfe of an other frende of his the whiche laye in child bedde because she had great aboundaunce of mylke he founde that a litle pretie bitche did sucke her vpon the whiche occasion they saye he said these wordes to the Senate fathers conscripte a present mischiefe is nowe at hande according to the token I haue sene this daye that is to wete I haue seene a Romaine woman denie her owne chyldren her mylke and gaue to sucke to a filthy bitche And truly Annius had reason to esteme this case as a wonder for the true and swete loues are not but betwene the fathers and children and where the mother embraceth the brute beaste and forsaketh her naturall childe whiche she hath brought foorth it cannot be otherwyse but there either wysedome wanteth or folly aboundeth for the foole loueth that he ought to despise and despiseth that whiche he ought to loue Yet thoughe the mothers wyll not geue their children sucke they oughte to doe it for the daunger whiche may come to the helthe of their personnes for as the womē which bryng forth children do lyue more healthful then those which beare none so these which do nourish them haue more health then those which doe not nourishe them For although the brynging vp of children be troublesome to women it is profitable for their healthe I am ashamed to tell it but it is more shame for ladies to do it to see what plasters they put to their breastes to drie vp their milke and hereof commeth the iust iudgement of God that in that place ofte tymes where they seke to stoppe their mylke in the selfe same place they them selues procure their sodaine death I aske now if women doe not enioye their children being younge what pleasure hope they to haue of them when they are olde What a great comforte is it for the parentes to see the younge babe when he wyll laughe howe he twincleth his litle eies when he wyll weape how he wyll hange the prety lippe when he woulde speake howe he wyll make signes with his lytle fyngers when he wyll goe howe he casteth forwarde his feete and aboue all when he beginneth to bable howe he doubled in his
dothe determine to drie and shut vp the fountaines of milke whiche nature hath geuen her she ought to be very diligent to serch out a good nource the which ought not only to content her self to haue her milke whole but also that she be good of lyfe For otherwise the child shall not haue so muche profit by the milke which he sucketh as the nource shall do it harme if she be a woman of an euil life I do aduise princesses and great dames that they watche diligently to know what their nources are before they commytte their children to them for if such nources be euil and slaundered they are as serpentes which do byte the mother with their mouth and do stinge the child with her taile In my opinion it were lesse euill the mother should suffer that her childe should perish in deliuering it then for to kepe in her house an euill woman For the sorow of the death of the child is forgotten and brought to nought in time but the slaunder of her house shall endure as long as she liueth Sextus Cheronensis sayeth that the Emperour Marcus Aurelius commaunded his sonne to be broughte vp of a woman the which was more faire then vertuous And when the good Emperour was aduertised therof he dyd not only send her from his pallace but also he banished and exyled her froÌ„ Rome swering that if she had not nouryshed his sone with her pappes he woulde haue commaunded her to haue bene torne in pieces with beastes For the woman of an euil renowme may iustly be condempned and put to death Princesses and great ladies ought not greatlye to passe whether the nources be faire or foule for if the milk be swete whyt and tender it littel skilleth though the face of the nource be whit or blacke Sextus Cheronensis saieth in the booke of the nourture of children that euen as the blacke earth is more fertill then is the white earthe so likewise that woman which is browne in couÌ„tenaunce hath alwaies the most substaunciall milke Paulus Diaconus in hys greatest history sayeth that the Emperour Adocerus did mary him selfe with the daughter of an other emperour his predecessour called Zeno the Empresse was called Arielna The whych in bringing forth a Sonne had a woman of Hungarye marueylous fayre to nourishe it the case succeded in such sorte that the nource for being faire had by that emperour .iii. children the one after the other his wofull wife neuer had any but the first alone A man ought to beleue that the empresse Arielna did not only repent her selfe for taking into her house so faire a nource but also was sory that euer she had any at all syth the rybald therby was mystresse in the house she remained without husband all her life I do not say it for that ther are not many foule women vitious nor yet because ther are not many faire women vertuous but that princesses and great ladies accordyng to the qualities of their husbandes ought to be profitable and tender nources to bring vp their childreÌ„ For in this case there are some men of so weake coÌ„plection that in seyng a litell cleane water immediatly they dye to drinke therof Let therfore this be the first couÌ„sell in chousing nources that the nource before she enter into the house be examined if she be honest vertuous For it is a tryfell whether the nource be faire or foule but that she be of a good life and of an honest behauiour Secondarily it is necessary that the nource which nourisheth the child be not only good in the behauiour of her life but also it is necessary that she be hole as touching the bodily health For it is a rule vnfallible that of the milke which we do suck in our infancy dependeth all the corporall health of our life A child geueÌ„ to the nource to nourish â–ª is as a tree remoued froÌ„ one place to an other And if it be so as in dead it is it behoueth in al pointes that if the earth wher in it shal be new put were no better that at the lest it be not worse for thys should be a great crueltie that the mother beyng hole strong and well disposed should geue her child to a leane womaÌ„ to nource which is feable sore and diseased Princesses and great laâ—es do chose leane womâ—n weake and sycke for to nourishe their infantes And in that they do fayle it is not for that they would erre but it is bycause that such feable and weake nources by a vaine desire they haue to be nources in a gentilmaÌ„s house on the one part they say they will litel money on the other parte they do make great sutes What a thing is it when a princesse or a noble woman is deliuered of a child to se the deuyses of other women among them selues who shal be the nource and how those the whyche neuer nourished their owne children do preserue the milke to nouryshe the children of others To procure this thing for women â–ª me thinketh it proceadeth of aboundaunce of folly and to condescend to their requestes me thinketh it is for wante of wisedome They looke not alwayes to the manners and habilitie of the nource how apte she is to nource their childe but how diligent she is in procurynge to haue it to nourishe They care not greately whether they be good or no for if the firste be not good they will take the second and if the second pleaseth them not they will haue the thirde and so vpwardes vntill they haue founde a good nource But I let you to wete you princesses and great ladies that it is more daunger for the children to chaunge diuerse mylkes then vnto the old men to eate dyuerse meates Wee see dayly by experience that without coÌ„parison there dieth more children of noble women then children of women of the meaner estate And we will not say that it is for that they do flatter their children more nor for that the wiues of labourers do eate fine meates but that it chauÌ„ceth oft times that the children of a poore woman doth neither eat nor drinke but of one kinde of meate or milke in .ii. yeares and the childe of a Ladye shall chaung and alter .iii. nources in .ii. monethes If princesses and great ladies were circumspect in chousing their nources and that they did loke whether they were hole without diseases and honest in their maners and would not regarde so much the importunitie of their sutes the mothers should excuse them selues from many sorowes the children likewise should be deliuered from many diseases One of the most renowmed princes in times past was Titus the sonne of Vaspasyan and brother of Domitian Lampridius saieth that this good Emperour Titus the most parte of his lyfe was subiect to greuous diseases and infirmities of his persoÌ„ne and the cause was for that when he was yong he was geuen to a syck nourse to be nourished so that
watche narrowly to know wheÌ„ and how much the nources doe eate whiche doe nourish their children For the child is so tender and the milke so delicate that with eatyng of sondrye meates they become corrupte and with eatyng muche they waxe fat If the children suck those which are fatte and grosse they are commonly sicke and if they sucke milke corrupted they ofte tymes go to bed hole and in the mornyng be found dead Isodore in his etimologies saieth that menne of the prouince of Thrace were so cruell that the one dyd eate the other and they dyd not onely this but also furder to shew more their immanitie in the sculles of those that were deade they dranke the bloud of him that was lately alyue Thoughe men were so cruell to eate mennes flesh and to drynk the bloud of the vaines yet the women â—hich nourished their children wer so temperat and moderat in eatyng thaâ—â—hey dyd eate nothyng but nettelles sodden and boyled in goates milke And â—â—ause the women of Thrace were so moderate in eatinge the philosopher Solon Solynon brought some to Athens for the auncientes sought no lesse to haue good women in the commen wealthe then to haue hardy and valiant captaines in the warre The auctoure addeth .iii. other conditions to a good nourse that giueth sucke that they drinke no wine that she be honest and chiefly that she be well conditioned Chap. xxi THe Princesses and great ladies may know by this example what difference there is betwene the women of Thrace which are fed with nettelles only and haue brought forth suche fierce men and the women of our tyme whiche through their delicate and excessiue eatyng bryng forthe suche weake and feable children Fiftly the Ladies ought to be very circumspecte not onely that nources eate not much that they be not gready but also that they be in drinkynge wine temperat the which in old time was not called wine but â—enym The reason hereof is apparant and manifest ynough for if we doe forbyd the fat meates which lieth in the stomacke we should then much more forbidde the moyst wine whyche washeth all the vaines of the body And further I say that as the child hath no other nourishement but the milke only that the milke proceadeth of bloud that bloud is nourished of the wine and that wine is naturally whot from the first to the last I say the woman whyche drinketh wine and geueth the child sucke doth as she that maketh a greate fire vnder the panne wher ther is but a litle milke so that the panne burneth and the milke runneth ouer I will not denaye but that some times it maye chaunce that the child shal be of a strong complexioÌ„ and the nource of a feable and weake nature and theÌ„ the child would more substanciall milke wheÌ„ the womeÌ„ is not able to geue it him In such a case though with other thinges milke may be conferred I allow that the nource drink a litel wine but it ought to be so litel and so well watered that it should rather be to take awaye the vnsauorines of the water then for to tast of any sauour of the wine I do not speake this without a cause for the nource being sicke and feable of her selfe and her milke not substancial it ofte times moueth her to eate more then necessitie requireth and to drinke wine which is somewhat nutritiue so that they supposyng to giue the nource triacle do giue her poyson to destroy her child Those excellent auncient Romaines if they had bene in our time and that we had deserued to haue bene in their time thoughe our time for beyng Christians is better they had saued vs from this trauaile for they were so temperat in eatyng meates and so abstinent in drynkyng wynes that they dyd not only refrayne the drinkyng therof but also they would not abyde to smell it For it was a greater shame vnto a Romayne woman to drynke wyne then to be deuorced from her husbande Dionisius Alicarnaseus in his boke of the lawes of the Romaynes sayed that Romulus was the fyrste founder of Rome and that he occupyed hym selfe more in buildyng houses to amplifie Rome then in constituting lawes for the gouernement of the commen wealth But emongest .xv. lawes which he made the seuenth therof was that no Romaine woman on paine of death shold be so hardy to drinke wine within the walles of Rome The same Historian saieth that by the occasion of this law the custome was in Rome that when any Romain Ladye would drinke wine or make any solempne feast she must nedes goe oute of Rome where euery one hadde their gardens and dwellyng place because the smell also of wine was prohibited and forhidden women within the circuite of Rome If Plinie do not deceyue vs in his .xxiiii. booke of his naturall history It was an auncient custome in Rome that at eche time that parentes met both men and women they did kisse the one the other in the face in token of peace and this ceremony began first for that they would smel whether the woman hadde dronke any wine And if perchaunce she sauored of wine the Censor mighte haue banished her from Rome And if her kinseman found her without Rome he might frely and without any daunger of lawe put her to death because within the circuite and walles of Rome no pryuat man by Iustice could put any Romaine to death As aboue is rehersed Romulus was he which ordeined the paine for dronkardes and Ruptilius was he which ordeined the paine for adulterers And betwene Romulus and Ruptilius there was .xxxii. yeares so that they ordeyned this strayght lawe for dronckardes a long time before they dyd the law for adulterers For if a woman be a dronckarde or harlot truly they are both great faultes and I can not tell whether of them is worst for beyng a harlot the woman loseth her name and for being a dronckard she loseth her fame and the husbande hys goods Then if women for the honestie of their personnes only are bound to be temperat in eating and drincking the woman which nourisheth giueth the child sucke ought to be much more corrected and sober in this case For in her is concurrante not only the grauitie of their personnes but the health and lyfe also of the creature whiche she nourisheth Therfore it is mete that the nource be kepte from wine since the honour of the one and the lyfe of the other is in peryll Sixtly the princesses and great Ladies ought to take hede that their nources be not gotten with child And the reason herof is that in that time wheÌ„ the woman is with child her natural course is stopped and that corruption is mingled with the pure bloud so that she thinking to giue the child mylke to nourish it geueth it poison to destroye it And nothyng can be more vniuste then to put the childe whiche is alredy borne and aliue in daunger for that which
and the house wherein she dwelleth euell combred For suche one doeth importune the lorde trobleth the ladye putteth in hazard the childe and aboue all is not contented with her selfe Finallye fathers for geuynge to much libertie to their nources oftetimes are the cause of many practises which they do wherwith in the end they are greued with the death of their children which foloweth Amongest all these which I haue red I saye that of the auncient Romaine princes of so good a father as Drusius Ge manicus was neuer came so wycked a sonne as Caligula was beyng the fourth Emperour of Rome for the historiographers were not satisfyed to enryche and prayse the excellencies of hys father neither ceased they to blame and reprehende the infamyes of his sonne And they say that hys naughtines proceadeth not of the mother which bare hym but of the nource which gaue hym sucke For oftimes it chaunceth that the tree is grene and good when it is planted and afterwardes it becommeth drye and wythered only for beyng caryed into another place Dion the greke in the second boke of Cesars sayeth that a cursed woman of Campania called Pressilla nouryshed and gaue sucke vnto thys wycked childe She had agaynst al nature of women her breastes as heary as the berdes of men and besides that in runnyng a horse handelyng her staffe shoting in the Crosbowe fewe yong men in rome were to be compared vnto her It chaunced on a time that as she was geuyng sucke to Caligula for that she was angry she tore in peces a yong child with the bludde there of annoynted her breastes and so she made Caligula the yong childe to sucke together both blud and milke The sayed Dion in hys booke of the lyfe of this Emperour Caligula sayeth that the women of Campania whereof the sayed Prescilla was had this custome that when they would geue their teat to the childe firste they dyd anoynte the nipple with the bludde of a hedge hogge to the end their children myght be more fyerce and cruell And so was this Caligula for he was not contented to kyll a man onely but also he sucked the bludde that remayned on his swerde and lyked it of with his tong The excellent Poet Homer meanyng to speake playnely of the crueltyes of Pirrus sayed in his Odisse of him suche wordes Pirrus was borne in Grece nourished in Archadye and brought vp with tigers milke whiche is a cruel beast As if more plainelye he had sayed Pirrus for beyng borne in Grece was Sage for that he was brought vp in Archadie he was strong and couragyous and for to haue sucked Tigars milke he was veray proude and câ—uell Hereof maye be gathered that the great Gretian Pirrus for wantinge of good milke was ouercome with euell condicions The selfe same historian Dion sayeth in the lyfe of Tiberius that he was a great dronckarde And the cause herof was that the nource dyd not onelye drynke wyne but also she weined the child with soppes dypped in wyne And wythout doubte the cursed woman had done lesse euill if in the steade of milke she had geueÌ„ the child poison wythout teachinge it to drinke wine wherfore afterwardes he lost his renowme For truly the Romayne Empire had lost lytell if Tiberius had died beyng a child and it had wonne muche if he had neauer knowen what drinkyng of wyne had mente I haue declared all that whyche before is mencioned to thentente that Princesses and great Ladyes myghte be aduertised that sinse in not nouryshyng their children they shewe them selues crewel yet at the least in prouidyng for them good nourses they should shew them selues pitifull For the children oftetymes folow more the condicion of the milke which they sucke then the condicion of their mothers whyche broughte them forth or of thâ—ir fathers whych begot them Therfore they oughte to vse much circumspectioÌ„ herin for in them consisteth the fame of the wyues the honoure of the husbande and the wealth of the children Of the disputations before Alexander the great concernyng the time of the suckyng of babes Chap. xxii QVintus Curtius sayeth that after the great Alexander whych was the last kyng of the Macedonians and first Emperour of the grekes hadde ouercome kynge Darius and that he sawe hym selfe onely lorde of all Asia he went to rest in babylon for among menne of warre there was a custome that after they had ben long in the warres euery on should retire to his owne house King Philip whych was father of kyng Alexander always councelled his sonne that he should lead with him to the warres valiaunt captaines to conquere the world and that out of his realmes and dominioÌ„s he should take chose the wysest men and best experimented to gouerne the empire He had reason in such wyse to councell hys sonne for by the councell of Sages that is kept and mainteined whych by the strengthe of valiaunt men is gotten and wonne Alexander the great therefore beyng in Babilon after he had conquered all the countrye since all the citye was vitious and hys armye so long without warres some of his owne men began to robbe one another others to playe their owne some to force women and others to make banquettes and feastes and when some were droncke others raysed quarels striffes and dyscentions so that a man could not tell whether was greater the ruste in their armours or the corruptions in their customes For the property of mans malice is that when the gate is open to idlenes infynite vyces enter into the house Alexander the great seing the dyssolution which was in his armye and the losse which myght ensewe hereof vnto his great empire commaunded streightly that they should make a shew and iuste thoroughe Babilon to the end that the men of warre should excersise their forces thereby And as Aristotle sayethe in the booke of the questions of Babylon the turney was so muche vsed amongest them that sometimes they caryed awaye more dead and wounded men then of a bloudy battaile of the enemy Speaking accordyng to the law of the gentiles whiche loked not glorie for their vertues nor feared hell to dye at the torney the commendemant of Alexander was veray iuste for that doyng as he dyd to the armye he defaced the vyce whych dyd wast it and for him selfe he got perpetuall memorye and also it was cause of muche suretye in the common weale This good Prince not contented to excersise his armye so but ordeined that daily in his presence the philosophers should dispute and the question wherin they shold dyspute Alexander him selfe would propounde â–ª wherof folowed that the great Alexander was made certayne of that wherin he doubted and so by his wisedom all men exercysed their craftes and wittes For in this tyme of idlenes the bokes wer no lesse marred with dust because they were not opened then the weapons were with rust which were not occupied There is a booke of Aristotle intituled the
Cynna Catullus The Mauritaines whiche at this present are called the realmes of Maruechi were in tymes past warlyke men of whom the Romaines had greate victories and the more valiaunt the men wer in the warres so much more superstitious their wiues were in sorceries charmes and enchauntements For the husband that is long absent from his wife ought not to maruaile though in her be found some faultes Cicero in the booke De natura deorum and muche more at large Bocas sayeth that as many men and women as were in that realme so many Gods there were among the people For euery one had one perticuler God to him selfe so that the God of the one was not the God of the other And this was to be vnderstand in the weke daies For in the holy and festiuall daies they had other Gods the which altogethers they dyd honour The maner that they had in chosyng Gods when a woman was with child was this She went to the sacrificer of the idoll and told him that she was great with child and besought him to geue her a god for her childe And the sacrificer gaue her a lytell idoll of stone gold siluer or of woode the which the mother hanged at the necke of the child And as often as the child dyd sucke the dugge so ofte the mother putteth the idoll one his face For otherwyse she had not geuen hym a droppe of mylke to sucke vnlesse first she had consecrated to the God the mylke of her breste That which I haue spoken is litle in respect of that I will speake whiche is that if perchaunce the chylde died before the time or that any younge man by some perylous myshappe died before he was somewhat aged the fathers and kinsmen of the dead did assemble and came to the Idoll of him and eyther stoned it honge it drue it brent it or els they caste it into the deape well sayinge that sithe the Gods did kyll man without reason that they might lawfully kyl them by iustice The same Bochas in the seconde booke De natura Deorum saieth that the Allobroges had a custome that those whiche were priestes of the Gods should from the wombe of their mothers be chosen vnto that dignitie And assone as the childe was borne before he tasted the mylke of the breste they caried it into a priestes house for they had a custome that the man which had tasted the thinges of the worlde merited not to serue the Gods in the temples One of the lawes that the sayed priestes had was that not onely they could not by violence shed any bloud nor yet see it neyther touche it so that immediatly as the prieste should by chaunce touche mannes bloud euen so sone he loste his priesthode This lawe afterwardes was so narrowely loked vnto that the priestes of the Allobroges dyd not onely not shedde drinke nor touche mans bloude when they were nowe men but also when they were litle infants those that should be priests they gaue them no milke of the breaste at al. And this was their reason That to sucke milke was no other but to drinke whyte bloude for white milke is but sodden bloude and redde bloud is but rawe mylke Pulio in the booke De educandis pueris saieth that the auncientes had a certaine kinde of reedes that breaking it in sondre there issued white mylke wherewith they accustomed to nourishe their children but let it be as it is that this lawe prohibite children their mylke which here after should be made priestes of the temples me thinketh it is a tricke rather of superstitious Sorcerers then of religious priestes For there is neither deuine nor humaine lawe that wyll forbidde or prohibite anye suche thinge without the whiche mans life can not endure These were the maners and customes that the auncientes had in the nouriture of their children And in dede I marueile not at that they did for the Gentils estemed this cursed Idoll for as great a God as we Christians doe the true and liuyng God I was willing to declare all these antiquities to the ende that princesses and great ladies should haue pleasure in reading them and knowing them but not to that ende they should imitate and folowe them in any kynd of thing For according to the faithe of our Christian religion as sure as we be of the offences that those did vnto God through folowinge those superstitions so sure we are of the good seruices whiche we doe vnto God in forsakyng them Howe longe tyme the mothers ought to geue their chyldren sucke and what age they ought to weyne them not for that whiche I haue redde nor for that whiche I haue demaunded in this case I am able to aunswere but for as muche as Aristotle saieth in the booke aboue named that the chylde at the moste ought to sucke but twoo yeares and at the leaste one yeare and an halfe For if he sucke lesse he is in daunger to be sicke and if he sucke more he shal be alwayes tender I wyll not omitte that whiche Sextus Cheronensis saieth in the fourth booke of his common wealth And hereof Boccace also maketh mention in the thirde booke De natura Deorum that when Alexander the great passed into India amongest other renowmed Philosophers there was one with hym called Arethus who as by chaunce he was in Nissa an auncient citie of India there came a man of that Countrey to shewe him suche antiquities as were there Arethus the Philosopher behelde them as a sage and wyse man For the simple man onely beholdeth the doinges and howe they seme but the sage man enquireth and demaundeth of the causes and from whence they came Amonge other thinges he shewed this good Philosopher a great house being in the ende of the citie and therein were many women whereof euery one of them had a chambre and in euery chambre there was twoo beddes and adioyning to the one herbes were sowen in maner of nettels and adioyning to the other there was a kynde of twigges as of Rosemary and in the myddes of the house there were many graues of small chyldren The Philosopher Arethus asked why that house was so great and the Indian aunswered This house is to nourish the chyldren whiche are orphanes when they be of their parentes or frendes abandoned For it is a custome in this citie that immediatly when the father of one chylde dieth the citie then taketh hym for her sonne And from that tyme forwarde he is called the childe of the citie whiche nourisheth hym and not the chylde of the father whiche begotte hym Arethus the Philosopher secondarely asked him why there were so many women in that house without any man among them whereunto the Indian aunswered in this countrey there is a custome that the women are seuered from their husbandes all the tyme they geue their children sucke For the wyll of our God is that the woman be not in company with her husbande after she is with
as he sayd that the tongue is moued by the mocions of the soule that he whiche had no tongue had no soule And he which hath no soule is but a brute beast and he that is a beast deserueth to serue in the fields among brute beasts It is a good thing not to be domme as bruyte beastes are and it is a greater thing to speake as the reasonable men do but it is muche more worthye to speake wel as the eloquent philosophers do For otherwise if he which speaketh doth not wey the sentences more then the wordes ofte tymes the popingayes shal content them more which are in the cage then the men which do read in scooles Iosephus in the booke De bello Iudaico saith that king Herode not onely with his personne and goodes but also with all his frendes and parentes folowed and gaue ayde to Marcus Anthonius and to his louer Cleopatra howbeit in the end Octauian had the vyctorie For the man which for the loue of a woman doth enterprise conquestes it is impossible that eyther he loose not his lyfe or els that he lyue not in infamy Herode seing that Marcus Anthonius was dead determyned to go towardes the Emperour Octauian at whose feete he layd his crowne and made a notable oration wherein he spake so pleasaunt wordes and so hyghe sentences that the Emperour Octauian did not only pardon him for that he was so cruell an enemye but also he confirmed him againe into his Realme and toke him for his deare and special frend For among the good men and noble hartes many euil workes are amended by a few good words If Blundus in the booke intituled Roma triumphante do not deceiue me Pirrus the great king of the Epirotes was stout and hardy valiaunt in armes liberal in benefites pacient in aduersityes and aboue al renowmed to be very swete in wordes and sage in his aunswers They sayd that this Pirrus was so eloquent that the man with whom once he had spoken remayned so much his that from that time foreward in his absence he toke his part and declared his life and state in presence The aboue named Blundus saied and Titus Liuius declareth the same that as the Romaynes were of al things prouided seing that king Pirrus was so eloquent they prouided in the senate that no Romaine Embassadour shold speake vnto him but by a third person for otherwise he would haue perswaded them through his sweate woordes that they shoulde haue retourned againe to Rome as his procurers Soliciters Albeit Marcus Tullius Cicero was Senatour in the Senate consul in the Empire rich amongest the rich and hardy amongest men of warre yet truly none of these qualyties caused him eternal memorie but only his excellent eloquēce This Tullius was so estemed in Rome for the eloquence of his tongue only that oft times they hard hym talke in the Senate iii. houres togethers without any man speakinge one word And let not this be lytle estemed nor lightly passed ouer for worldlye malyce is of such condicion that some man may more easely speake 4. howers then another man shal haue pacience to heare him one minute Anthonius Sabellicus declareth that in the time of Amilcares the Affricans a Philosopher named Afronio florished in great Carthage who being of the yeres of 81. dyed in the first yeare of the warres of Punica They demaunded this Phylosopher what it was that he knew he aunswered He knew nothing but to speake wel They demaunded him againe what he learned he aunswered He did learne nothinge but to speake wel Another time they demaunded him what he taught he aunswered He taught nothing but to speake wel Me thinketh that this good phylosopher in 80. yeres and one said that he learned nothing but to speake wel he knew nothing but to speake wel that he taught nothing but to speake wel And truly he had reasō for the thing which most adorneth mans life is the sweate pleasaunte tongue to speake wel What is it to see ii men in one councel the one talking to the other the one of them hath an euyll grace in propounding and thother excellent in speaking Of such there are some that in hearing theym talke .iii. houres we would neither be trobled nor weryed and of the contrarie part there are others so tedyous and rude in their speache that as sone as men perceiue they beginne to speake they auoyde the place And therfore in mine opinyon ther is no greater trouble thenne to herken one quarter of an houre a rude man to speake and to be contrarye ther is no greater pleasure thenne to heare a dyscreate man though it were a whole weke The deuyne Plato in the Booke of Lawes sayd that there is nothynge whereby a manne is knowen more thenne by the woordes he speaketh for of the woordes whyche we heare hym speake we iudge his intention eyther to be good or euil Laertius in the lyfe of the Phylosophers sayeth that a yong child borne at Athens was brought vnto Socrates the great phylosopher being in Athens to the end he shold receiue him into his company teach him in his scoole The yong chyld was straunge and shamefaste and durst not speake before his maister wherfore the philosopher Socrates said vnto him speake frend if thou wilt that I know the. This sentence of Socrates was very profound and I pray him that shal reade this wryting to pause a while therat For Socrates wil not that a man be knowen by the gesture he hath but by the good or euyl wordes which he speaketh Though eloquence and speaking wel to euery man is a cause of augmenting their honour and no dimynissher of their goodes yet withoute comparison it shineth muche more and is most necessarie in the pallaces of Prynces and great Lordes For men which haue common offices ought of necessity harken to his naturall contrymen also to speake with straungers Speking therfore more plainly I say that the Prince ought not to trauaile only to haue eloquence for the honour of his person but also it behoueth him for the comon wealth For as the prince is but one and is serued of all so it is vnpossible that he haue so much as wil satisfye and content them al. And therfore it is necessarie that he requyte some mith money that he content others with good wordes For the noble hart loueth better a gentle worde then a reward or gift with the tongue of a rude man Plato Liuius Herodotus Vulpicius Eutropius Diorus Plynie and many other innumerable auncient historyographers do not cease to prayse the eloquence of greeke princes and latynes in their workes O how blessed were those tymes when ther were sage princes and discrete lords truly they haue reason to exalt them For many haue obteyned and wonne the royal crounes and septures of the Empire not so much for the great battailes they haue conquered nor for the highe bloud and generacion from whence
were more hardy stout then the Romaynes but the Romaynes were more honest pleasaunt and gracious then the Grekes And if this be true I do counsayle princesses and great Ladyes that they haue no more enuye at the honesty of the Matrones of Rome then at the boldnesse of the ladyes of Grecia For women were not borne to sley men in the warre but to spinne sow and liue wel like good housewiues in the house ¶ That women may be no lesse wise then men though they be not it is not through default of nature but for want of good bringing vp Cap. xxviii CEasing to speake ingenerally it is but reason we speake particulerly and that we reduce to memorye some aunciente histories of wise and discrete women aswel Grekes as Romaines and for that these Ladyes seing what others were in tymes past may know what theyr duty is at this present In mine opinion the duty that the meÌ„ of this present haue to folow the corage that the auncients had in fighting the selfe same desire ought womeÌ„ of this present to haue to folow the auncient women in deuout liuing For ther is no good thinge in the world at this present daye but the like hath bene sene of our auncients heretofore When any sodaine new vnacustomed thing doth happen men that neuer saw the like vse to say that there was neuer the lyke in the world yet in dede they say not true For though the thinge be vnto them new it is through their ignoraunce and simplenes whiche neyther haue reade it by them selues nor heard it of others For this excellencye hath the man that is learned that for what so euer he heareth or sayth he is nothing abashed at Since women now a dayes are so ignoraunt that scarcely any of them can reade wel he that shal reade this wil maruaile why I do perswade them to learne But the truth knowen what the auncients were and what they did know from this time forwarde I beleue they woulde greatly reproue the women of this present For the time which the auncient women spent in vertues and studies these of this present consume in pleasures and vyces Boccace in the boke of the praise of women sayth that Lucyus Sylla was a great compagnion of Marius the Consul in the time of the warre of Iugurtha and was no lesse a frend of Caius Cesar in the time of the first ciuill warres My penne neadeth not to be ocupied to write any thing of the life of Sylla For al the historiographers do not only reproue the cruelties which he vsed to his enemyes but also condempne him for the lytle fayth he obserued his frends This Consul Sylla had thre doughters the one of them was named Lelia Sabyna the which of al the Sisters was leste fayre but amongest al the Romaines she was most sagest For she red openly in Rome in a chayre both Greeke and Latyn After the warres of Mithridates Lucius Sylla came to Rome wher he beheaded thre thousand Romaynes which came to salute him although before by his word he had assured them al. And in deade also iustely Lucius Sylla had bene vtterly vndone for his fact if his doughter had not made to the Senate a wise oration For oft times it chaunceth that the wisedome of the good child doth remedy the follye of the wicked-Father The historians say that this Lelya Sabyna had not only a great grace in readyng but also she had much excellency in writing For she wrote many letters and Orations with her owne hand which her Father Lucius Sylla afterwardes learned by hart and as he was in dede quycke of sprite so he vsed to recyte them to the Senate alwaies for his purpose And let no man maruaile hereat for ther are some of so grose vnderstaÌ„ding that that which they write and study they can scarsely vtter and others againe are of such lyuely wyttes that of that onely which they haue heard it seameth meruailous to heare with what eloquence they wil talke Bycause Sylla had such and so excellent a doughter in his house he was esteamed for a sage and wise Councellour throughout al the common wealth He was counted verye absolute in executing strong in mayntaynynge and for right eloquent in speakinge Finally of this came thys auncyente prouerbe which sayth Lucius Sylla gouerneth his owne countreye wyth the eloquence of hys Tongue and is Lorde of straunge nacions by the force of his sworde What the great Plato hath bene and what great aucthoritie he hath had amongest his countrie men and amongest the straungers it is apparent for so much as the Greekes do acknowledge him of al other Philosophers to be the Prince and likewise the Latynes by one consent cal him deuine And me thinketh that in doing this they do no philosopher iniurie for as Plato in his lyfe time had great modestie so truly in his writing he exceaded mans capacitie And Historian called Hyzearchus declareth that Lasterna and Axâ—othea were two Grekes very well learned and amongest the scollers of Plato chiefely renowmed The one was of so parfect a memorie the other of so high an vnderstanding that Plato oft times beinge in the chayre and these two not ready he would not beginne to read And being asked wherfore he read not his lecture he aunswered I wil not read for that ther wanteth here vnderstanding to conceiue and also memorie to retaine Meaning that Lasterna was absent that Axiothe was not yet come The wisedome of those two women ought to be much synce Plato without them woulde not vtter one word vnlesse they were present in his schole For Plato esteamed more the vnderstandyng and memorye of those two women alone then he did the Phylosophy of his other Scollers together Aristippus the philosopher was Scholler to Socrates and of the moste renowmed of Athens He had a doughter called Aretha the which was so wel learned in Greke and Latyn letters that the common renowne said the soule of Socrates was entred into Aretha and the cause that moued them to say this was because she redde and declared the doctrine of Socrates in such wise that it seamed to most men she had rather write by hand then learne by study Boccace in the second boke of the praise of women sayth that this Aretha was so excellent a woman that she did not only learne for her selfe but also to teache others did not only teache in diuers Scholes but also she wrote many and sundry bookes one inespecially in the prayse of Socrates an other of the maner of bringing vppe children an other of the warres of Athens an other of the tyrannical force an other of the common wealth of Socrates an other of the infelicities of womeÌ„ an other of the Tyllage of the auncientes an other of the woÌ„ders of mount Olympus an other of the vaine care of the Sepulcre an other of the prouisioÌ„ of the Antes an other of the workmanshippe of the Bees in
Emperour of Rome saieth that an Embassadour of Britayne being one daye in Rome as by chaunce they gaue hym a froward aunswere in the Senate spake stoutely before them all and said these wordes I am sory you will not accepte peace nor graunte truce the whiche thing shal be for the greater iustification of our warres For afterwardes none can take but that whiche fortune shall geue For in the ende the delicate fleshe of Rome shal fele if the bloudy swordes of Britayne wil cut The Englishe historie saieth and it is true that though the countrey be very colde and that the water freseth ofte yet the women had a custome to cary their children where the water was frosen breaking the Ise with a stone with the same Ise they vsed to rubbe the body of the infante to the ende to harden their fleshe and to make them more apt er to endure trauailes And without doubt they had reason for I wyshe no greater penitence to delicate men then in the wynter to see them without fire and in the Sommer to wante freshe shadow Sith this was the custome of the Britayns it is but reason we credit Iulius Caesar in that he saieth in his comentaries that is to wete that he passed many daungers before he could ouercome them for thei with as litle feare did hyde them selues and dyued vnder the cold water as a very man would haue rested him selfe in a pleasaunt shadowe As Lucanus and Appianus Alexandrinus saie amongest other nations whiche came to succour the great Pompei in Pharsalia were the Messagetes the which as they say in their youth did sucke no other but the milke of Camels and eate bread of Acornes These barbarous did these thinges to the ende to harden their bodies to be able to endure trauail and to haue their legges lighter for to rōne In this case we can not cal them barbarous but we ought to cal them men of good vnderstanding for it is vnpossible for the man that eateth muche to runne fast Viriatus a Spanyarde was king of the Lusytaines and a great enemy of the Romains who was so aduenterous in the warre so valiaunt in his persone that the Romains by the experience of his dedes found him vnuincible For in the space of .xiii. yeres they could neuer haue any victory of him the whiche when they sawe they determined to poyson him did so in dede At whose death they more reioysed then if they had wonne the signorie of all Lusitanie For if Viriatus had not died they had neuer brought the Lusitaines vnder their subiection Iunius Rusticus in his epitomie saith that this Viriatus in his youth was a herde man kept cattel by the ryuer of Guadiana after that he waxed older vsed to robbe assault men by the highe wayes And after that he was .xl. yeares of age he became king of the Lusitaines and not by force but by election For when the people sawe theym selues enuirouned and assaulted on euery side with enemies they chose rather stout strong and hardy men for their captaines then noble men for their guydes If the auncient hystoriographers deceiue me not whē Viriatus was a thefe he led with him alwayes at the leaste a hundred theues the whiche were shodde with leaden shoes so that when they were enforced to ronne they put of their shoes And thus although all the daye they wente with leaden shoes yet in the night they ranne lyke swyfte buckes for it is a generall rule that the loser the ioyntes are the more swifter shall the legges be to ronne In the booke of the iestes of the Lumbardes Paulus Diaconus sayeth that in the olde tyme those of Capua had a lawe that vntyl the chyldren were maryed the fathers shold geue them no bedde to sleape on nor permit them to sitte at the table to eate but that they should eate their meates in their handes and take their reste on the grounde And truely it was a commendable lawe for reste was neuer inuented for the younge man whiche hath no bearde but for the aged beinge lame impotent and crooked Quintus Cincinatus was seconde Dictator of Rome and in dede for his desertes was the first emperour of the earth This excellente man was broughte vp in so great trauaile that his hands were found full of knottes the ploughe was in his armes and the swette in his face when he was sought to be Dictator of Rome For the auncientes desired rather to be ruled of them that knewe not but how to plow the ground then of them that delyted in nothing els but to liue in pleasurs among the people Caligula which was the fourth emperour of Rome as they say was brought vp with such cost and delicatnes in his youth that they were in doubt in Rome whether Drusius Germanicus hys father employed more for the Armyes then Calligula hys sonne spent in the cradel for his pleasurs This rehersed agayne I would now knowe of princes great lordes what part they would take that is to wete whether with Cincinatus whych by his stoutnes wanne so many straunge countreys or with Caligula that in hys fylthy lustes spared not his proper sister In myne opinyon ther nedeth no great deliberacion to aunswere this questyon that is to wete the goodnes of the one and the wickednes of the other for there was no battayle but Cincinatus did ouercome nor there was any vyce but Caligula dyd inuent Suetonius Tranquillus in the second booke of Cesars sayth that when the chyldren of the Emperour Augustus Cesar entred into the hygh capitol wher al the senate were assembled the Senatours rose out of their places and made a reuerence to the children the whych when the Emperoure Augustus saw he was much displeased and called them backe agane And on a day being demaunded why he loued his children no better he aunswered in this wise If my chyldren wil be good they shal syt hereafter wher I sit now but if they be euil I will not their vices shold be reuerenced of the Senatours For the aucthoritie grauity of the good ought not to be employed in the seruice of those that be wicked The 26. Emperour of Rome was Alexander the which though he was yong was asmuch esteamed for hys vertues amongest the Romaynes as euer Alexander the great was for hys valiauntnes amongest the Grekes We can not say that long experience caused him to come to the gouernment of the common wealth for as Herodian saith in his syxt booke the day that the Senatours proclamed him emperour he was so lytle that his owne men bare him in their armes That fortunate Emperour had a mother called Mamea the which brought him vp so wel dilygently that she kept alwayes a great gard of men to take hede that no vicious mā came vnto him And let not the diligence of the mother to that child be litle estemed For princes oft times of their owne nature are good by euyl conuersacion
And the cause whye I was willing ther should be none in the common wealth was for that ther was not riches in Rome sufficient to acquite the desarts of the Romaine chiualry And if you esteme an honorable office to be a Tribune Millitaire since you cānot al haue it me thinketh you shold al want it For amonge the noble men Plebeians it is not mete that one alone should enioy that which many haue deserued This history Sabellicus declareth allegeth Pulio for his aucthor reciteth that for this good worke that Camillus did in Rome that is to wete to set the great the smal at one he was aswel beloued of that romaines as he was feared of the enemies And not without a iust cause for in my opinyon it is a greater vertue to pacify his owne then to robbe straungers As touching the office of this Tribune wherupon this great cōtencion rose in Rome I cānot tel which was greater the folish rashnes of the knights to procure it or the wisedom of Camillus to abbolish it For to say the truthe the arte of cheualrie was inuented more to defend the common wealth then to byde at home haue the charge of iustice For to the good knight it semeth better to be loden with weapōs to resist enemyes then to be enuyroned with bokes to determyne causes Returning therfore to that whych the people sayd against the souldiors it was ordayned by the consent of al that in Rome an office should be erected and that he which should haue it should haue the charge to go through Rome to se what they were in Rome that did not instruct their children in good doctrine and if perchaunce he found any neighbours child that was euyl taught he chastised and banished the father And truly that punishment was very iust for the father deserueth more punyshment for that he doth therunto consent then the child deserueth more the offences which he doth comit When Rome was Rome that of al the world the common wealth therof was comended they chose for an officer therin the most auncient vertuous Romaine who was called the general vysiter of the childrē of Rome it semeth to be true for somuch as he whych had this office one yere hoped to be consul dictatour or censor the next As it appeareth by Marcus Porcio who desired to be corrector of the childrē afterwards succeded to be censor of the Romaine people For the Romaynes dyd not offer the office of iustice to any man vnlesse he had had experience of al offices Patricius Senensis in the booke of the common wealth saith that before the warres were betwene Carthage Rome the comon wealth of Carthage was very wel gouerned as it be semed such a noble citie but it is an auncient preuiledge of the warre that it kylleth the persones consumeth the goods aboue al engendreth a new passion miserie in the end destroyeth al good aunciente customes The Carthagians therefore had a custome that the chyldren and especially those which were of honest men should be put in the temples from iii. yeres tyl .xii. so from .xii. til xx they learned crafts sciences occupacions and from .xx. vntil .xxv. they instructed them in the feates of warre at the end of xxx yeres they gaue themselues to mariage ▪ For amōgest them it was a law inuiolable that no man shold mary vntil he were xxx yeres of age the women xxv And after that they were maried the moneth folowing they ought to present themselues before the Senate ther to chose what kind of estate they would take vpon them to liue in and what their minds most desired that is to wete if they would serue in the Temples folow the warre or trauayle the seas or get their lyuing by land or follow their occupacion which they had learned And loke what estate or office that day they chose the same they kept occupyed during their lyfe truly the law was very good bycause such chaunge of estates offices in the world are occasion that presently so many come to destruction Al the excellent and auncient Princes had many great philosophers for their masters this seameth to be true by this that kyng Darius had Lichanius the phylosopher for his mayster The greate Alexander had Aristotel the phylosopher for hys master Kinge Artaxerces had Pindarus the phylosopher for his mayster The aduenturous and hardye captayne of the Athenians Palemo had Xenocrates the Phylosopher for his maister Xemiades only kyng of the Corinthians had Chilo the phylosopher for hys mayster and tutour to hys chyldren Epamynundes prince of the Thebaines had for his maister and councelloure Maruchus the Phylosopher Vlisses the Greke as Homere sayth had for his mayster and companyon in hys trauayles Catinus the phylosopher Pirrus whyche was kynge of the Epirotes and greate defendoure of the Tharentines had for hys maister and chronicler Arthemius the phylosopher Of whom Cicero speaketh ad atticum that his sword was sharper to fighte then his penne ready to write The great kyng Ptholomeus Philadelphus was not onely scholer of the most singuler Phylosophers of Grece but also after he was king he sent for 72. phylosophers wych were Hebrues Cirus kyng of the Persians that destroyed the great Babylon had for his mayster Pristicus the Phylosopher Traian the Emperour had Plutarche for hys mayster who dyd not only teach hym in hys youth but also wrote him a booke how he ought to gouerne hym selfe his common wealth By these few examples which I haue expressed and by many other whych I omit Princes at this present may se how carefull princes were in tymes past to geue their chyldren wyse and learned men O prynces and great lordes synce you that are at thys present do presume and take vppon you that whyche your forefathers dyd I would that now you would consyder who brought them to so high estate and who leaueth of them eternal memory For wythout doubt noble men neuer wanne renowme for the pleasures they had in vyces but for the trauailes they had in vertues Againe I say that princes in tymes past were not famous for theyr stoutnes and apt dysposicion of theyr bodyes neyther for discent of hygh and noble lynage nor yet for the possession of many realmes or heaping vp of great treasours but they wanne obtayned immortal renowme for that their fathers in theyr youth put them vnder the tuiciō of wise and learned tutours whych taught them good doctrine when they were of age gaue them good counsaylers to gouerne the common wealth Laertius in the lyfe of the phylosophers Boccase in the boke of the lynage of gods say That among the phylosophers of Athens there was a custome that no straung phylosopher should reade in their scholes before he weare first examyned in natural and moral phylosophy for amonge the Grekes it was an auncyent prouerbe that in the schole
I saye that the tutors and masters of princes and great Lordes ought not to be contented onely to know what science what doctrine and what vertue they oughte to shewe and teache their scollers but also with greater care and diligence the yought to know from what euils or wicked customes they ought to withdraw thē For when the trees are tender and yong it is more necessary to bowe them and cut of the superfluous braunches with knyues then to gather their furtes with Baskettes Those which take vpon them to gouerne Moyles of great pryse value and those that tame and breake horses of a good race take great paines that such beastes be light that they leape wel and be well made to the sporre and bridel but they take much more paines that they be gentill familiar faithfull and aboue all that they haue no euill qualities Then sith it is so masters ought diligently to watche if they be good that in yong Princes there be no apparaunce of any notable vices For al the vertues which the yong do learne doth not them so much profit as one onely vice doth them hurte if they doe therunto consent knowyng that therby they may be herafter blamed or despised For if any man knew a beast that is wyld and stoburne and not gentill and will bye him at greate pryce suche a one hath his head more full of follyes then of wysedome Albeit that maisters ought to withdraw their scollers from many euil customes amōgest all there ar foure principall in any of the which if the prince be defamed the maister which hath taught him should deserue great punishment For according to the humaine lawes and customes al the domage and harme that the beastes do the vineyarde the keper that hath charge therof shall as he is bound recompence First the maisters ought to refraine in suche sort the tonges of their scollers that neyther in sport nor in earnest they permit thē to tell lyes For the greatest faulte that is in a good and vertuous man is to be briefe in the truth and the greatest villanye that is in a vicious man is to be long in lyes Merula in that .v. booke of Cesars saith that the firste war that Vlpius Traianus made was against Cebalus king of Daces who rebelled against the Romaines and with no smal victorie ouercame the Emperour Domitian in a battaile which they fought togethers For as Nasica sayd the pleasures that Rome had to see many victories were not so greate as the displeasure was whyche she toke to see her selfe once ouercome The good Vlpius Traianus gaue battaile to kyng Cebalus wherin Cebalus was not onely ouercome but also taken and afterwardes broughte before the emperour Traianus whyche sayde vnto him these wordes Speake Cebalus why didest thou rebell agaynst the Romaynes since thou knowest that the Romaynes are vnuincible The kyng Cebalus aunswered him If the Romaines could not be ouercom how did I then ouercome the Emperour Domitian Traian the Emperour sayde vnto hym againe Thou art greatly deceyued kynge Cebalus to thinke that when thou ouercamest the Emperour thou haddest ouercome the Romaines For when that Romulus founded Rome the Gods ordeyned that though their emperour dyed in anye battaile yet not withstandyng it is not to be thought that the empyre is ouercome The Hystoriographers made a great matter of the wordes that this Vlpius Traianus spake For therin he shewed that the Romaine empire was vnuincible After that this kyng Cebalus was dead and that for his desertes he was depriued as the Emperour Traian was a mercifull prince so he prouided that a litel child that Cebalus hadde shoulde be brought vp in his pallace with intention that if the childe became good they woulde geue hym the Realme whiche his father thorough Treason hadde loste For in Rome there was an auncient lawe that all that whiche the father lost by treason the sonne should recouer by hys faithfull actes It chaunced that the good Traian takyng his pleasure in the gardins of Vulcan sawe the sonne of kyng Cebalus and many other yong children of Rome stealynge fruite forth of an orchard and it is no wonder for the Locustes did not so much harme to the Corne as the children do to the fruites when they entre into the orchardes When the emperour afterwardes demaunded him frō whence he came he aunswered from his studye hearyng Rethoricke but in dede he came from stealing of fruite The emperour Traian was so angrie displeased that the child was a lyer that he commaunded he should vtterly be depriued and made voyde of al hope to recouer the realme of his father The Emperour Traian was greatly importuned as well of straung Imbassatours as of hys owne Countrey men that he would chaung that cruel sentence For prynces in a furie do commaund that which when they are pacient they doe vndo The emperour Traian aunswered them if the father of this child which was kyng Cebalus had bene a true prince he had not loste hys lyfe neyther hys Realme nor had not put me th empyre so many times in daunger but since the father was a lyer and the sonne is not true it were to vniust a thynge to render him the Realme For to me it should be great reproche and to our mother Rome as much dishonour that she beyng the mother of truthe shoulde geue realmes to children beyng lyers This was it that Vlpius Traian spake vnto the sonne of kyng Cebalus Marcus Aurelius the .xvii. Emperour of Rome had .ii. sonnes as before we haue rehersed the eldest of the whiche was called Comodus and his father procured greatly to disinherit him of the empire For he would that the second son named Verissimus should haue inherited it and he did not onely determine it but also spake it oft times openly For that thing is with great difficulty dissembled that excessiuely is beloued By chaunce an olde Senator and frend of Marcus the emperour one daye both goyng out of the Senate house sayd vnto him I meruaile at the much most excellent prince why thou doest disherite thy sonne which is eldest to make thine heyre the yongest knowynge that they are both thy sonnes and that the gods haue geuen the no others but them For the good fathers are bound to chasten their children but they haue not licence to disherit them The emperour Marcus Aurelius aunswered him If thou were a greke philosopher as thou art a Romain citizen and if thou knewest the fathers loue towardes hys childe thou wouldest not take pitie one my sonne whiche vndoeth the Empire but thou shouldest haue compassion on me his father which doth disherit him For the chyld scarcely knoweth what he loseth but I that am hys father doe bewayle the domage whyche I doo vnto hym For in the ende there is not in the world so cruel a father but if his sonne should be hurt with the pomell of the swerde in the hande the father would fele incontinentlye 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
and that whereby he should profyte as I thynke is that he should eate Beares Lyons in his lyfe as now he shal be eatē of wormes after his death All the Poets that inuented fictions all the Oratours which made Orations al the Philosophers which wrote bookes al the sages which left vs their doctrynes and all the Princes which instituted lawes ment nothing els but to perswade vs to think how briefe vnprofitable this lyfe ys howe necessary a thing iustice is therein For the filth corrupcion which the body hath without the soule the selfe same hath the common welth wythout iustice We cannot deny but that the Romaynes haue bene proude enuyous aduouterers shamelesse ambicious but yet with all these faultes they haue bene great obseruers of iustice So that if god gaue the so many tryumphes beyng loden and enuironned with so manye vices it was not for the vertues they had but for the great iustice which they did administer Plinie in hys second booke saieth that Democritus affirmed there were two gods which gouerned the vniuersall worlde that is to wete Rewarde and Punishement Whereby we may gather that nothing is more necessary then true and right iustice For the one rewardeth the good the other leaueth not vnpunished the euill Saint Austyne in the fyrst booke De ciuitare dei sayeth these words Iustyce taken awaye what are realmes but dennes of theues truely he had great reason For if there were no whips for vacabondes gags for blasphemers fynes for periury fyre for heretiques sworde for murderers galouse for theues nor prison for rebelles we may boldly affirme that there woulde not be so manye beastes on the mountaines as there woulde be theues in the cōmon wealth In many thinges or in the greatest parte of the common welth we see that bread wyne corne fyshe woll and other thinges necessary for the lyfe of the people wanteth but we neuer sawe but malicious menne in euerye place dyd abounde Therefore I sweare vnto you that it were a good bargayne to chaunge all the wycked menne in the common wealth for one onlye poore sheepe in the sylde In the comon wealth we see naught els but whippyng dayly beheddyng slayinge drownyng and hanginge but notwithstandyng this the wicked whiche remayne styll are so many in nomber that if all those shoulde be hanged that deserue it by iustyce a man could not fynd hangmen sufficient nor gallowses to hange them vppon Admitte according to the varietie of realmes prouinces that dyuers lawes and customes haue bene instituted therein Yet for a truth there was neuer nor neuer shal be found any nation or common wealthe in the worlde so barbarous but hath bene founded of iustice For to affirme that menne can bee preserued wythout iustice is as muche as to saye the fishe can liue wythout water Howe is it possible that a common wealth may liue without iustice sith without her cannot bee ruled one onelye personae Plinie in an epistle saieth that he him selfe hauinge the charge of a prouince in Affrike demaunded an olde man and in gouernement experte what he myght doe to administer iustice well the aged manne aunswered Doe iustice of thy selfe yf thou wilt be a minister thereof For the good iudge wyth the ryght yarde of hys owne lyfe ought to measure the whole state of the common wealth And he sayde further if thou wylt be right wyth menne and clean before god beware of presumpcion in thyne offyce For the proude and presumptuous iudges often tymes doe contrary in their wordes and also exceade in theire deedes Plinie also saieth that he profited more with the counsayle thys olde man gaue hym then wyth all that euer he had reade in his bookes O to howe muche is he bounde that hath taken vppon him to administer iustice For if such one be an vpright man hee accomplisheth that whereunto he is bounde but if suche one of hym selfe bee vniuste iustlye of god he ought to bee punished and lykewyse of menne to bee accused When prynces commaund their seruaunts or subiectes any thing that they cannot accomplish them in such sorte as they had charge to do then he ought to haue them excused those excepted whiche gouerne realmes prouinces For no man leaueth to administer iustice but for want of knowledge or experience or els through aboundaunce of affection or malice If a captaine lose a battaile he may excuse hym self saying his men were fled when they shoulde haue assaulted their enemies A poast may excuse hi self for that the waters we◠so high A hunter may say the beast is escaped another way others such like but a gouernour of a common wealth what excuse can he haue that he dothe not iustice Conscience ought to burden hym also he ought to be ashamed to take vpon him the charge of any thing if he doute to bring it to effecte for the shamefast faces haute courages either ought to put that in execution which they take vpon them or els they ought to shew a lawful cause why it tooke no effect Let vs know first what iustice is then we shall knowe what is mete for the administracion therof The office of a good iudge is to defend the common welth to help the innocent to ayde the simple to correcte the offender to honour the vertuous to help the orphanes to do forthe poore to bridel the ambicious finallye by iustice he ought to geue eche one his owne to dispossesse those which hold any thing wrongfully of others When a prince commaundeth any man to take the charge of iustice such one doth not seeke it of him selfe if perchaunce afterwardes he did not in all points vprightly in the administracion therof he might haue some excuse saying that though he hath accepted it it was not with minde because he woulde erre but because with good will he would obey What shall we saye of manye which without shame without knowlege without experience without conscience do procure the office of iustice O if princes knew what they geue whē they geue the charge to any to gouerne the common wealth I sweare vnto you that they were better to giue them goods to fynd them for .20 yeres then for to trust them wyth the charge of iustice .20 daies What a thing is it to see some men shamelesse dishonest great talkers gluttons ambitious couetous the whiche wythout anye reasonable cause aucthority or knowledge demaunde of prynces an office of iustice as if by iustice they dyd demaund their own Would to god the geuer would haue an eye to those whych in this wyse do demaunde But what shal we say of those that doe sollicite thē procure thē importune them beseche them more then that euen as wythout shame they do demaund it so wythout conscience lykewyse they buy it There remayneth in this case more as yet that is that if those cursed men do not attayne to that whych they demaunde
the knighte to be nimble if the horse be not redy what auaileth it the owner of the ship to be sage expert if the Pilot be a foole ignoraunt What profiteth the king to be valiaunt and stout and the Captayne of the warre to be a cowarde I meane by this I haue spokeÌ„ what profiteth it a Prince to be honest if those which minister iustice be dissolute What profiteth it vs that 〈◊〉 prince be true if his officers beliers What profiteth it vs that the prince be sober if his ministers be dronkerds What profiteth it that the prince be gentle louing if his officers be cruell malicious What profiteth it vs that the prince be a geuer liberall an almes man if the iudge that ministreth iustice be a bryber an open thefe What profiteth it that the prince be carefull vertuous if the iudge be negligent and vicious finally I say that it lytel auaileth that the prince in his house be secretly iust if adioyning to that he trust a tiraunt open these with the gouernement of the common weale Princes and great Lordes wheÌ„ they are within their pallaces at pleasure theire myndes occupyed in hyghe things do not receiue into their secreat companye but their entier frindes Another time they wil not but occupy them selues in pastimes and pleasure so that they know not what they haue to amend in their ê‘soÌ„s much lesse that whych they ought to remedy in their common weales I will not be so eger in reprouing neither so satirycal in writing that it should seme I would perswade Princes that theye liue not accordinge to the highnesse of theire estates but accordynge to the life of the religious For if theye will keepe them selues from beinge tyrauntes or beinge outragiouslye vicious we cannot denay them some times to take theire pleasures But mye intention is not so strayghtelye to commaunde Princes to be iuste but onelye to shewe them howe theye are bounde to doe iustice Common wealthes are not loste for that their Princes liue in pleasure but because they haue lytel care of iustice In the ende people doe not murmure when the Prince dothe recreat his person but when he is to slacke to cause iustice to be executed I would to GOD that Princes toke an accompte withe godde in the thynges of theire conscience touchynge the common wealthe as theye doe withe men touchynge theire rentes and reuenewes Plutarche in an Epistle hee wrate to Traiayne the Emperoure sayethe it pleasethe me verye well moste puissaunte Prince that the Prynce be suche one as all maye saye that in hym there is nothynge worthye of reprehension butte addynge thereunto it dyspleasethe mee muche more that he shoulde haue so euill iudges that all shoulde saye in them were nothinge worthye of commendacion For the faultes of Prynces verye well maye bee excused butte the offences of the officers can by noe meanes bee endured Manye Prynces and greate Lordes deceiue them selues in thynkynge that theye doe theire dutye in that theye bee vertuous in theire personnes but it is not so For it suffysethe not a Prynce to drawe vnto hym all vertues butte allso he is bounde to roote all vices oute of the common wealthe Admitte that Princes will not or of them selues cannot gouerne the common wealthe yet let vs desire and admonyshe them to seeke good offycers to doe it for them For the poore Plebeian hathe noe accompte to render but of hys good or euill lyfe butte the Prynce shall render accompte of hys vicious lyfe whiche hee hathe ledde and of the lytle care that hee hath had of hys common wealthe Seneca in an epistle he wrote to a frinde of his named Lucilla sayeth My dere frend Lucilla I would gladly thou wouldest come see me here in Rome but I pray thee recoÌ„mend to good iudges the I le of Scicile For I would not desire to enioy thy sight if through my occasion that shouldest leaue the commoÌ„ wealthe out of order And to the entent thou mayest knowe what condicioÌ„s they ought to haue whom thou shouldest chose for gouernours or iudges I will let thee vnderstand that they ought to be graue in theire sentences iust in theire wordes honest in their workes mercyfull in their iustice and aboue all not corrupted with bribes And if I do aduertise thee of this it is because if thou diddest take care to gouerne thy common wealth well thou shouldest now be circumspect to examine them to whom presently thou must recommende the gouernement therof I woulde saye afterwardes that all that whiche the auncyent Phylosophers haue written in manye bookes and haue lefte by dyuers sentences Seneca dyd reherse in these fewe woordes the whiche are so graue and necessarie that if Princes reteyned them in their memorie to put them in execucion and iudges had them before their eyes for to accomplish them they woulde excuse the common wealthe of dyuers slaunders and theye shoulde allso delyuer them selues from a great burdeyn of theire conscience It is not a thinge voluntarye butte necessarie that the mynysters of iustice be vertuous well established and verye honest For to Iudges nothynge can be more slaunderous and hurtefull then when theye shoulde reprooue yonge men of theire youthe others maye iustlye reprehende them of they re lyghtnes He which hath a publike offyce in the common wealthe and sytteth openlye to iudge therein oughte to obserue a good order in hys persone least he be noted dysolute in hys doynge For the Iudge whiche is wythoute honestye and consideracion oughte to consider wyth hym selfe that if he alone haue aucthoritie to iudge of other mens goodes that there are a thousande whyche wyll iudge of hys lyfe It is not onelye a bourden of conscience to Princes to commit the charge of gouernaunce of the people to dyssolute persones but also it is a greate contempt and dysprayse of Iustice For the senteÌ„ce geeuen of hym who deserueth to be iudged is among the people litel estemed Plutarche in hys Apothegmes sayethe that Phillyppe kynge of Macedony father of the greate Alexander created for iudge of a prouince a freende of his whoe after he sawe him selfe in suche offyce occupyed hym selfe more in kemmynge hys heade then in woorkynge or studyinge hys bookes Kynge Philyppe beynge enfourmed of the vanytye and insolencye of thys iudge reuoked the power whyche he hadde geeuen hym and when he complayned to all of the wronge and griefe whyche was done vnto hym takyng hys office from hym Kynge Phyllippe sayed vnto hym If I hadde geuen the office to thee for none other cause but beinge my friende beeleue mee that nothinge in the worlde coulde haue suffysed to haue taken it from thee beecause I louynge thee so entierlye as I dyd reason woulde not I shoulde haue depriued thee of this office wherewith I honoured thee I gaue thee thys office thinkyng that thou wert vertuous sage honest and allso a man well occupyed and mee thynkethe thou rather occupyest thy selfe in
fyre If any man thinke it at the leaste I doe not thynk it that when Licaronicus died all the cruell iudges dyd ende with hym For throughe all the Romayne Empire there was no more but one Licaronicus and at thys presente there is aboue .iii. or .iiii. in euerye common wealth Notwithout teares I speake that whiche I will speake whiche is that in those daies as all the iudges that ministred were pitifull so was this Lycaronicus renowmed for cruell But nowe synce all are cruell we hope in a iudge which is pitefull In the .xii. yere of the foundacion of our mother Rome the first king therof was Romulus who sent a commaundement to al the neighbours and inhabitants there aboutes to the end that all banished menne all those whiche were afflicted all those which were persecuted all those whiche were in necessitie shoulde come to Rome for they shoulde bee defended from their enemies and succoured in theire necessities The fame being spred thoroughout Italy of the pitie and clemency whiche Romulus shewed in Rome if the Anualles of the auncientes do not deceiue vs Rome was more peopled with inhabitauntes in .x. yeares then Babilon or Carthage in a hundred O noble harte of Romulus which such thinges inuented blessed be that tong which commaunded that the famouse Rome with clemency and pitie should be founded In the originall bookes whiche were in the high capitoll once I founde dyuers letters written to the sacred senate and romayne people and in the beginning of the letters the wordes saide thus We the king of Parthes in Asya to the fathers conscripte of Rome and to the happye romaine people of Italie and to all those whiche with the Romayne senate are confederate whyche haue the name of Romaynes and the renoume of clemencye health and tranquillitie to your personnes we doe sende you and desyre the same of the gods for our selues Beholde therefore Antigonus what tytles of clemencye had our fyrst Romaines and what example of clemencye dyd the Emperour leaue for them to come so that synce the barbarous straungers called them pitifull it is not to be beleued that to theire subiects or natural countrey menne they were cruell As the auncientes haue trauailed of al to be beloued so they at this present throughe theire cruelties seeke nothing but to be feared If the gods perhaps should reuyue the dead and should compare the lyuinge before them in iudgement I suppose they would say these are not their children but theire enemies not encresers of the common wealth but destroyers of the people I being xxxvii yeres of age laye in winter season in an yle called Chetyn whiche nowe is called Cipres wherin is a lytle mountaine as yet ful of wood whiche is called mounte of Archady where groweth an herbe called Ilabia whiche the auncientes saye that if it be cut it droppeth bloude and the nature of it is that if one rubbe any manne with the bloud therof hoate although he woulde not yet he shal loue him and if they annoynt him with the bloud that is colde he shall hate him Of this herbe we neede not doubte any thinge at all for I dyd proue it and noynted one with that bloud who sooner lost his lyfe then the loue whiche he bare me There was a kynge in that I le of greate example of lyfe and gretlye renowmed of clemencye though indeede neither by writing nor by wordes I coulde neuer knowe his name but that he was buryed vnder .iiii. pillers in a tombe of marble and about the tombe were engraued these greeke and auncient letters where amongest other thynges these wordes were engrauen THe mighty gods whiles they drew out the leÌ„gth Of my weake yeres to passe the flud of lyfe This rule I had my common wealth to strenght To norishe peace and stint vaine blastes of strife ¶ By vertues waye if ought I could obtaine by vyces pathe I neuer sought to get by dredles peace if I could right attaine by clatering armes blynd hasard could not let ¶ By curteis meanes if I could ouercome By raging threates I heaped vp no dread By secrete shiftes if I might guyde my dome by open force I nowlde the payne were spread ¶ By gentle read if I coulde chastice eke by shaâ—pe waies no further proofe I sought In out warde sight I neuer thought to streeke before I had to couerte chekes them brought ¶ My free consent could neuer vainly beare my tong to tell one swete entysinglye Nor yet my hollow eares would euer heare Theire crooked tales that flatter oft awrye ¶ My schooled harte was alwaies taught to staye From egre luste of others heaped good I forst my selfe his proper wealth to way And stand content as fortunes iudgement stood ¶ My frendes decaye I alwaies watche to aidâ— And recked not for bent of enuies bowe In huge expence I neuer lauish paide my glittering golde nor spared yet to lowe ¶ For greeuous fautes I neuer punisht wight with mynde appeasde but erst I would forgiue my griefe did growe when iust reuenge did highâ— And eke I ioyed to pardon men to lyue ¶ A mortall man amongest blynde heapes of men Nature my mother produced me here And therefore loo enclosed in this den The egre wormes my senseles carcas tere ¶ Amongest the wights that vertue did enhaunce A vertuous life I freely passed on And since that death his kingdome did aduauÌ„ce my heauenly spirite to haunt the gods is gone HOw thinkest thow Antigonus what epitaph was this and what prince ought he to be of whome I shoulde saye his lyfe ought to be glorious and his memory eternall I swere vnto the by the law of a good man and as the gods maye prosper me I tooke not so muche pleasure in Pompey with his Hierusalem in Semiramis with her India in kynge Cirus wyth hys Babilon in Caius Cesar wyth hys Gawles in Scippio with his Affrike as I haue in the kynge of Cipres in his graue For more glory hath that king there in that sharpe mountaine being deade then others haue had in proud Rome being alyue ¶ Marcus Aurelius continueth his letter againste cruell iudges Of the woordes whiche themperour Nero spake concerning iustice and of the instruccion themperour Augustus gaue to a iudge which he sent into Dacya Cap. ix NEyther for that which I write in this letter nor yet for that which king Cirus had in his graue my entencion is not to defende the euill to the ende that for theire euyll deedes and outragiousnes they should not be punished For by this meanes it shoulde be worse for me to fauour them then for them to be euill For they through debilitie do offende and I by malyce do erre But in this case it semeth vnto mee and to all others whiche are of good iudgement that since frailtie in men is natural and the punishement whiche they geeue is voluntarye Let iudges therefore in ministring iustice shewe that they do it for the zeale of the
talke three houres If with such efficacie wee perswade olde men that they be honest in theire apparaile for a truthe we will not geue them licence to be dissolute in their wordes sins there is a great difference to note some man in his apparaile or to accuse him to bee malicious or a bablet For to weare riche apparayle iniuryeth fewe but iniurious wordes hurte manye Macrobius in the firste booke of the dreames of Scipio declareth of a philosopher named Crito who liued a hundreth and fiue yeares and till fyltye yeares he was farre oute of course Butte after he came to bee aged he was so well measured in his eatynge drinking and so ware in his speache that they neuer sawe him doe any thinge worthye reprehension nor heard him speake worde but was worthy of notynge On this coÌ„dicioÌ„ we would geue liceÌ„ce to many the till fifty yeres they should be yoÌ„g so that from thence forth they would be clothed as olde men speake as old meÌ„ they should esteme them selues to be olde But I am sorye that al the spring time dothe passe in flower and afterwardes they fall into the graue as rotten before they finde any time to pull them out The olde doe complain that the yong doe not take theire aduise and theire excuse herein is that in theire wordes theye are to longe For if a manne doe demaunde an olde man his opynion in a case immediatelye hee will beginne to saye that in the life of suche and suche kynges and lordes of good memorye this was done and this was prouyded So that when a yonge man aske them counsaile howe he shall behaue hym selfe with the lyuinge the olde man beginneth to declare vnto him the life of those whiche bee dead The reason whye the olde men desire to speake so longe is that since for theire age they can not see nor goe nor eate nor slepe they woulde that al that tyme theire members weare occupyed to doe their duties al that time theire tonge shoulde be occupied to declare of theire times past All this being spoken what more is to say I knowe not but that we should contente oure selues that the olde men shoulde haue theire fleshe as muche punished as they haue their toÌ„gue with talke martired Though it be very vile for a yong man to speak slander to a yonge manne not to saye the truthe yet this vice is muche more to be abhorred in old princes other noble worshipful meÌ„ which ought not only to thynke it theire dutie to speake truthe but also to punishe the enemies therof For otherwise the noble and valyaunt knyghtes shoulde not lose a lytle of theire aucthoritie if a manne sawe on theire heades but white heares and in theire mouthes founde nothing but lyes ¶ Of a letter of the Emperour Marcus Aurelius to Claudius and Claudinê° reprouinge them beinge olde men for that they lyued youthefullye Cap. xix MArke Emperoure borne in mounte Celio desyreth to yowe my neyghboures Claude and Claudine healthe of youre persones and amendement of youre liues I beeinge as I am at the conquest of Asia and yow remaynynge alwaies in the pleasures of Rome we vnderstande youre newes very late and I thinke oure letters arriue there as late NotwithstaÌ„dynge to all those whiche goe thither I geeue aunsweres for you others and of al those which come hither I demaunde of your healthe And doe not demaunde of others howe well and howe muche I loue you but of your own proper hartes and if your harte saye that I am a feyned friende then I take my selfe condempned If perchaunce youre hartes dothe tell you that I loue you beinge true in dede that I hate you or if I tell you that I hate you beeinge true that I loue you of truthe I woulde plucke suche a harte oute of my body and giue it to be eaten of the beastes For there is noe greater dysceyte then that whiche the man doth to him selfe If a straunger begile me I ought to dissemble it if an enemie deceiue mee I ought to reuenge it if mye fryend misuse me I oughte to complayne of hym but if I doe deceiue my selfe wyth whom shall I comforte my selfe For there is no pacience that can suffer the hart to deceyue him selfe in anye thinge whiche he hathe not deepely considered Peraduenture ye will saye that I doe not esteame you and that I haue not written any letter vnto you of long time To this I aunswere That you doe not attrybute the faulte to mye neglygence but to the greate distaunce of Countreis that there is from hence to Rome also to the greate affayres of Asia For amongest other discommodities the warre hath this also that it depriueth vs of the sweete conuersacion of our countrey I haue alwaies presumed to be youres and at this present am at no mannes pleasure more then at yours And sins you haue alwaies knowen of me what you desired to know I haue espied in you others that whiche of force I must speake For in the end I haue not sene any possesse so much to be worthe so much to know so much nor in all things to be so mighty but that one day he shoulde neede his poore friende The diuine Plato sayde and allso well that the manne whyche louethe with his hart neyther in absence forgetteth neyther in presence becommeth negligent neither in prosperitie he is proude nor yet in aduersitie abiect neyther he serueth for profite nor yet he loueth for gayne and fynallye he defendethe the case of his friende as his owne Diuers haue beene the opinions whiche the auncients helde to affirme for what ende friendes were taken and in the ende they were fully resolued that for .4 causes we ought to chose frindes The first we ought to haue friendes to treate and be conuersant with all for according to the troubles of this life there is no time so pleasauntlye consumed as in the conuersacion of an assured friende The seconde is we ought to haue friendes to whom we may disclose the secretes of our hartes for it ys muche comforte to the wofull harte to declare to his fryende his doubtes if he perceiue that he doth fele them in deede The thirde we oughte to searche and chose friendes to th end they helpe vs in oure aduersities For litle profytethe it my harte that with teares the friendes doe heare all that I bewaile onlesse afterwardes in dede he will take paines to refourme the same The fourth we ought to seke and preserue frindes to th end they be protectors of our goodes and likewise iudges of our euilles for the good frinde is no lesse bound to withdrawe vs from the vices whereby we are sclaundered then to deliuer vs from our enemies by whom we may be slayne The ende whye I tolde you all thys was if that in this letter you chaunce to lyghte of any sharpe worde that you take it pacientlye considerynge that the loue whych I beare yowe dothe
the prince all their goods but also they must them selues in parson hazard their lyues If they tell vs that that they keepe is to geeue and dispose for their soules at their dying day I say it is not only want of wisdome but extream folly For at the hour of death princes ought more to reioyce for that they haue geeuen then for that at that time hee geeueth O how princes and great lords are euyll counsailed since they suffer them selues to bee slaundered for beeing couetous only to heap a lyttle cursed treasure For experience teacheth vs no man can bee couetous of goods but needs hee must bee prodigal of honor and abandon liberty Plutarche in the booke which hee made of the fortune of Alexander sayth that Alexander the great had a priuat seruaunt called Perdyca the which seeyng that Alexander liberally gaue all that which by great trauel hee attayned on a day hee said vnto him Tell mee most noble prince sithens thou geeuest all that thou hast to others what wilt thou haue for thy self Alexander aunswered The glory remaineth vnto mee of that I haue wonne gotten the hope of that which I wil geeue winne And further he said vnto him I wil tel thee true Perdyca If I knew that men thought that all that which I take were for couetousnes I swere vnto thee by the god Mars that I woold not beat down one corner in a town and to winne all the world I woold not go one days iourney My intention is to take the glory to my self and to deuyde the goods amongst others These woords so high were woorthy of a valyant and vertuous prince as of Alexander which spake thē If that which I haue read in books do not begyle mee that which with these eies I haue seene to become rych it is necessary that a man geeue for the princes and great lords which naturally are geeuen to bee liberall are alwaies fortunat to haue It chaunceth oft tymes that some man geeuing a little is counted liberall an other geeuing much is counted a nigard The which proceedeth of this that they know not that liberality nigardnes consisteth not in geeuing much or lytle but to know well how to geeue For the rewards and recompences which out of tyme are distributed do nother profit them which receiue them neither agree to him which geeueth them A couetous man geeueth more at one tyme then a noble and free hart doth in .20 thus saieth the common prouerb it is good comming to a niggards feast The difference beetwene the liberality of the one and the mysery of thother is that the noble and vertuous doth geeue that hee geeueth to many but the nigard geeueth that hee geeueth to one onely Of the which vnaduisement princes ought greatly to beware For if in such case one man alone shoold bee found which woold commēd his liberality there are ten thousand which woold condemne his couetousnes It happeneth oft times to princes and great lords that in deed they are free to recompence but in geeuing they are very vnfortunat And the cause is that they geeue it not to vertuous persons and well cōdicioned but to those which are vnthankfull and do not acknowledge the benefit receyued So that in geeuing to some they haue not made them their frends and in not geeuing to others they haue made them their enemies It suffyseth not to princes great lords to haue great desire to geeue but to know when how or where to whom they ought to geeue For if they bee accused otherwise to heap vp treasures they ought also to bee condemned for that they do geeue When a man hath lost all that hee hath in play in whoors in bankets and other semblable vyces it is but reason they bee ashamed but when they haue spent it like noble stout and liberal men they ought not to bee discontented for the wise man ought to take no displesure for that hee loseth but for that hee euil spendeth and hee ought to take no pleasure for that hee geeueth but for that hee geeueth not well Dion the grecian in the lyfe of the Emperor Seuerus saith that one day in the feast of the God Ianus when hee had geeuen dyuers rewards and sundry gifts as well to his own seruaunts as to strangers and that hee was greatly commended of all the Romains hee said vnto them Do you think now Romains that I am very glad for the gifts rewards and recompenses which I haue bestowed and that I am very glorious for the praises you haue geeuen mee by the god Mars I swere vnto ye and let the god Ianus bee so mercifull vnto vs all this yere that the pleasure I haue is not so great for the I haue geeuen as the grief is for that I haue no more to geeue ¶ The auctour foloweth his intencion and perswadeth gentlemen and those that professe armes not to abase them selues for gaines sake to take vpon them any vyle function or office Cap. xix PLutarche in his Apothemes declareth that king Ptolomeus the first was a prince of so good a nature and so gentle in conuersation that oft times hee went to supper to the houses of his familiar frinds and many nights hee remayned there to sleap And truly in this case hee shewed him self to bee welbeeloued of his For speaking according to the trueth a prynce on whose lyfe dependeth the hole state of the common wealth ought to credit few was the table and allso fewer in the bed Another thing this Ptolomeus did whych was when hee inuited his frends to dinner or supper or other straungers of soome hee desired to borow stooles of thothers napkins of others cups and so of other things for hee was a prodygall prince For all that his seruaunts in the morning had bought beefore the night folowing hee gaue it away One day al the nobles of his realm of Egipt assembled togethers and desired him very earnestly that hee woold be more moderat in geeuing for they said through his prodygality the hole realm was impouerished The king aunswered You others of Egipt are marueylously deceiued to think that the poore and needy prince is troubled In this case I dare say vnto you that the poore and needy prince ought to think him self happy for good princes ought more to seeke to enrich others then to heap vp treasures for them selues O happy is the common wealth whych deserueth to haue such a prince and happy is that tongue which coold pronounce such a sentence Certainly this prince to all princes gaue good example and counsel that is to weete that for thē it was more honor and also more profit to make others rich thē to bee rich them selues For if they haue much they shal want no crauers and if they haue lytle they shal neuer want seruaunts to serue them Suetonius Tranquillus in the booke of Cesars sayeth that Titus the Emperour one night after supper
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
to take if ther by hee think hee may bee healed I pray thee I exhort thee I aduise thee my soÌ„ne that thy youth beeleue mine age thy ignorancy beeleue my knowledge thy sleepe beeleue my watch the dimnes of thy eyes beeleue the clearnes of my sight thy imaginacioÌ„ beeleue my vertue thy suspicion beeleue my experieÌ„ce For otherwise one day thou shalt see thy selfe in soÌ„e distresse where smal time thou shalt haue to repent none to find remedy Thou maist say vnto mee my sonne that sins I haue beene yong I let thee to bee yong that when thou shall bee aged thou wilt ameÌ„d I answer thee that if thou wilt liue as yong yet at the least gouerne thy self as old In a prince which gouerneth his common wealth wel mani myseries are dissembled of his parson Euen as for mighty affaires ripe couÌ„sayles are necessary so to endure the troubles of the empire the person needeth some recreacion For the bowe string which always is stretched either it lengthneth or it breaketh Whether princes bee yong or old there can bee nothing more iust then for the recreacioÌ„ of them selues to seeke some honest pastimes And not without a cause I say that they bee honest For sometimes they accompany with so dishonest persons and so vnthrifty that they spend their goods they loose their honor weary their persons more than if they were occupied in the affaires of the common wealth For thy youth I leaue thee children of great lords with whom thou maist past the tyme away And not without cause I haue prouided that with thee they haue beene brought vp from thy infancy For after thou camest to mannes estate enheriting my goods if perchauÌ„ce thou wooldst accompany thy selfe with yong men thou shouldst find them well learned For thy warres I leaue thee valiaunt captaines though indeede things of war are beegoon by wisdome yet in the end the issue faleth out by fortune For stuards of thy treasures I leaue thee faithful men And not wtout cause I say they are faythfull For oftentimes greater are the theeues which are receyuers tresorers then are they that doo robbe among the people I leaue thee my sonne expert auncieÌ„t men of whome thou maist take couÌ„saile with whome the maist coÌ„municat thy trobles For there can bee fourmed no honest thing in a prince vnlesse hee hath in his coÌ„pany auncieÌ„t men for such geeue grauity to his parsoÌ„ auctority to his pallace To inueÌ„t theaters to fish ponds to chase wild beasts in the forrests to renne in the fyelds to let thy haukes fly to exercise weapoÌ„s al these things wee can deny thee as to a yong maÌ„ the beeing yong mayst reioyce thy self in al these Thou oughtst also to haue respect that to ordeine armies inueÌ„t warrs folow victories accept truces coÌ„firm peace raise brutes to make laws to promote the one put downe the others to punish the euill first to reward the good the counsaile of al these things ought to bee taken of cleare iudgements of persons of experience of white heads Thinkest thou not that it is possible to passe the time with the yong to counsail with the old The wise and discreete princes for all things haue time inough if they know well how to measure it Bee ware my sonne that they note thee not to vse great extremities For the end occasion why I speake it is beecause thou shouldst know if thou knowest not that it is as vndecent a thing for a prince vnder the colour of grauity to bee ruled gouerned wholy by old men as vnder semblaunce of pastime alwayes to accompany hym selfe with the yong It is no general rule that all yong men are light nor all old men sage And thou must according to my aduise in such case vse it thus if ani old man lose the grauity of his age expulse him from the if that find any yong men sage dispise not their counsaile For the bees doo draw more hony out of the tender flowers then of the hard leaues I doo not condemne the aged nor I doo commend the yong but it shal bee wel doone that alwayes thou choose of both the most vertuous For of troth there is no company in the world so euil ordered but that there is meane to liue with it without any suspicion so that if the yong are euil with folly the old are worse through couetousnes On s againe I retourne to aduertise thee my sonne that in no wise thou vse extremity For if thou beeleeue none but yong they will corrupt thy maners with lightnes if thou beeleeue none but the old they will depraue thy iustice through couetousnes What thing can bee more monstruous then that the prince which commaundeth all should suffer him to bee commaunded of one alone Beeleeue mee sonne in this case that the gouernments of many are seldome times gouerned wel by the head of one alone The prince which hath to rule gouerne many ought to take the aduise and counsaile of many It is a great inconuenience that thou beeing lord of many realmes shouldst haue but one gate wherin all doo enter into to doo their busines with thee For if perchauÌ„ce hee which shall bee thy familiar bee of his owne nature good and bee not mine enemy yet I would bee afraid of him beecause hee is a freend of mine enemies And though for hate they doo mee no euil yet I am afraid that for the loue of an other hee will cease to doo mee good I remember that in the annalles of Pompeius I found a litle booke of memoryes which the great Pompeiê° bare about him wherin were many things that hee had read other good counsayles which in diuers parts of the world hee had learned and among other words there were these The gouernour of the common wealth which committeth al the gouernment to old men deserueth very litle hee that trusteth al yong is light Hee that gouerneth it by him selfe alone is beeyonde him self hee which by him self others doo gouerne it is a wise prince I know not whither these sentences are of the same Pompeius or that hee gathered them out of soome booke or that any philosopher had told him them or some freend of his had geeuen him them I meane that I had them writteÌ„ with his hands and truely they deserued to bee written in letters of gold When thy affaires shal bee weighty see thou dispatche theym alwayes by counsayle For when the affaires bee determined by the counsaile of many the fault shal bee deuided among them all Thou shalt find it for a truth my sonne that if thou take counsaile of many the one wil tel the inconuenience the other the peril other the feare the other the domage the other the profit the other the remedy finally they will so debate thy affaires that playnly thou shalt know the good see the daunger therof I
I would not dye For life is so troublesome that it weareth vs death is so doubtfull that it feareth vs. If the gods deferred my death I doubt whyther I should reforme my life And if I doo not amend my lyfe nor serue the Gods better nor profit the common wealth more if that euery tyme I am sick it should greeue me to die I say it is much better for mee now to accept death then to wysh the lengthning of my life I say the life is so troublesome so fyckle so suspicious so vncertayne so importunat finally I say it is a life whithout lyfe that hee is an obstinat foole which so much desireth it Come that that may come for finally not withstanding that I haue spoken I willingly commit my selfe into the hands of the Gods since of necessity I am thereunto constreined For it proceedeth not of a lytle wisedom to receiue that willingly which to doo wee are constrayned of necessity I will not recommend my self to the priests nor cause the oracles to bee visited nor promise any thing to the temples nor offer sacrifices to the gods to the end they should warrant mee from death and restore mee to lyfe but I will demaund and require them that if they haue created mee for any good thing I may not loose it for my euyll lyfe So wise and sage are the gods in that they say so iust true in that they promise that if they geeue vs not that which wee others would it is not for that they wil not but beecause wee deserue it not For wee are so euyl and woorth so litel and wee may doo so lytel that for many good woorks wee deserue no meryt and yet with an euil worke wee bee made vnworthy of al. Since therfore I haue put my selfe in to the hands of the Gods let them doo with mee what they wil for their seruice for in the ende the woorst that they will doo is much better then the world wil doo For all that the world hath geeuen mee hath beene but mockry and deceyte but that which the gods haue geeuen mee I haue gouerned and possessed without suspicion For this last houre my sonne I haue kept the best the most noble and riches iewell that I haue possessed in my life tyme. And I doo protest vnto the immortal gods that if as they doo commaūd mee to dye they would geeue mee lycence to rede in the graue I would commaund it to bee buryed with mee Thou shalt know my sonn that in the .x. yeare of my Empire a great warr arose agaynst the vnruly people of Persia where by euyll luck it was appoynted for mee in person to geeue the battayle the which wonne and al their country destroyed I returned by the old city of Thebes in Aegipte to see if I could finde any antiquity of those in times past In the house of an Egiptian pryest I found a litel table which they hāged at the gate of the kynges pallace the day of his coronatiō And this poore pristes told mee that that which was in this table was writen by a king of Egypt named Ptholomeus Arsasides I beeseech the immortal Gods my sonne that such bee thy woorks as the woords of this table require As emperor I leaue thee heire of many realmes and as a father I geeue thee this table of counsayles The woords which the fathers doo teach vnto the chyldren at the last houre the children ought to keepe continually in their memorye Let this therefore bee my last woord with the Empire thou shalt bee feared through out all the world and with the counsayles of this table thou shalt bee loued of al nations This talk beeing ended and the table geeuen the Emperor turned his eyes lost his senses and for the space of a quarter of an houre lay languishing in extreame payne within a while after yelded vp the ghost In this table weare certain greeke letters which were in meeter and in our tonge signify thus ON honours stall I doo no tirant heaue nor yet the poore suppresse if hee weare iust For riches rule I nould to pardon cleaue For want of wealth nor folow rigours lust For naked loue I neuer spent reward nor would correct for onely enuies heate Of vertues imps I always had regard mischifs mates haue plagd with torment great To others doome I neuer would commit of open right the quarell to decide ne yet of doubtfull strifes in trust of witt The finall end alone I would deuide To them that sought for iustice equall sway her golden rule I neuer did deny ne yet to such for whom desert would lay Their sclender fautes might wel bee slipped by To feele the grife that waued in my minde With others smart I neuer could susteyne nor yet rewardes my princely woordes would binde VVhen sweete delight had chifest ioy to rayne In high estate when most blind fortune smild A reckles lyfe I restles ran not on nor yet when chaunge those happy dayes beegyld to cold despaier my quiet minde was gon By boiling heat of malice endeles fier to vices trayne I cast no egre eye ne yet for lust of pining welthes desire Vnlefull facts I rechles would apply The traitours brest I neuer could embrace nor lend mine eares to swalow flattring talke of vices slaues I wayed not the grace nor left vnsought good will in vertues walke Poore Irus band for that I did reliue VVhos 's needy state dooth stoope in Cresus swaie the greatest gods whose heauenly warck doth griue the proudest crownes was aymy present state FINIS ¶ The fourth booke of the Dyall of Princes Compyled by the right reuerend father in god Antony of Gueuara Byshop of Mondogueto preacher Chronicler and counceller to Charles the fift Emperor of Rome Contayning many instructions and rules for the fauored of the Court beyng once in fauor easely to keepe and continue them selues in fauor still Right necessary profitable for all princes and noble men gentlemen courtiers that seeke to continue them selues in honor and estimacion The Epistle to the Reader WHat detracting tongues report of mee and my first trauell in the translation of this Dyall enlarging them at pleasure to woork my defame disabling my dooing heerein by brute yt was no woork of myne but the fruit of others labor I neede not much force since by dayly proof wee see that yll disposed mynds can neuer frame an honest tongue in head For my obiect and reproofe of this their sclaunderous malignant speeche I can allege curteous reader two principall causes which thou reading and iudging with indifferency mayst easely approoue yf I shoold seeme to glose with thee First the basenes of my style the playn and humble woords couched in the same the mean rude and yll contryued sentences layd beefore thee togeether with the simple handelyng of the whole playnly sheweth to thee whence they are and easely acquainteth thee with the curious translator Who protesteth
good turns I haue receiued at your hands I was also willyng to compyle and dedicate this my lytle treatise to you the which I present you wyth all my desyres my studyes my watches my swett and my troubles holding my self fully satisfyed for all the payns I haue taken so that this my simple trauell bee gratefull to you to whom I offer yt and to the publyke weale profitable Beeing well assured if it please you to trust mee and credyte my wrytyng you shall manifestly know how freely I speak to you and lyke a frend and not deceiue you as a flatterer For if the beeloued and fauored of princes chaunce to bee cast out of fauor it is beecause euery man flattereth hym and seeketh to please him and no man goeth about to tell him troth nor that that is for his honor and fittest for him Salust in his booke of the warres of Iugurtha sayth that the hygh heroycall facts and noble deedes were of no lesse glory to the historiographer that wrote them then they were to the captayn that dyd them For it happeneth many tymes that the Captayn dying in the battell hee hath woone lyueth afterwards notwythstandyng by the fame of his noble attempt and this proceedeth not only of the valyaunt deedes of armes hee was seene doo but also for that wee read of him in woorthy authors which haue amply written thereof Wee may well say therefore touching this matter that aswell may wee take hym for a true frend that geeueth good counsell as hee whych dooth vs great pleasure and seruyce For according to the oppinion of the good Marcus Aurelius who sayd to his secretary Panutius that a man with one pay may make full satisfaccion and recompeÌ„ce of many pleasures and good turns shewed but to requyte a good counsell dyuers thanks and infinite seruices are requisite If wee wil credit the auncient historiographers wee shall fynd it true that the vertuous emperors the fortunate kyngs and the valyaunt Captains when they shoold enterprise to goe conquer their enemies either they sought for some philosopher or they choose some other honest learned man of whom they tooke councel touching all their affayrs beefore they prest any soldiers Comparing the tymes past with the tymes present wee think that haue read some what that the tyme past was as pure grayn and this now as chaffe and straw the one as the tyme calme and still in the sea and this as wauering and tempesteous that then the fyne and pure mettall and this now the drosse thereof The other the marie and this the bones the one the cleer day and the other the dark night For in these days in princes courts and noble mens houses they glory more to haue a scoffing knaue or iester to make them laugh then they recken of a graue and wyse man to geeue them counsell Alexander the great in all hys warres woold always bee accompanyed with the wyse Aristotle Cyrus kyng of Persia with the philosopher Chilo Kyng Ptolomie wyth Pithinus the philosopher Pirrhus kyng of Epyre wyth Zatirus Augustus themperor wyth Symonides Scipio thaffrican wyth Sophocles Traian themperor wyth Plutarche Antonius themperor wyth Gorgias now all these famous princes caried not with theÌ„ so many learned philosophers to fyght in battell with armed weapon in hand like other their soldiers but only to vse their couÌ„cel aduice So that the great battels they ouerthrew and the woorthy victories they wanne with the noble tryumphs doon was as much by the graue counsell of these good and wise Philosophers as by the force of their army and prowes of their Captayns The greatest good turn and benefit one frend can doo for an other is to know to geeue good counsell to his frend in his greatest neede and not without cause I say to know to geeue counsell For it happeneth oft tymes that those that thought to haue geeuen vs good remedy by their counsell wanting in deede discrecion and iudgement in the same haue caused vs to runne into further daungers And therefore Seneca beeing once demaunded of themperor Nero what hee thought of Scipio thaffrican Cato the censor answered him in this maner I think it was as necessary that Cato was born for the comon wealth as Scipio for the warres for the good Cato wyth his prudent counsell expelled vice out of the wealth publike and the other with his noble courage and great armies did euer wythstand the force of the enemies According to the saying of Seneca let vs also say after him that hee is very arrogant that presumes to geeue an other counsell but with all wee say agayn that if the counsell bee found good hee hath geeuen to his frend in his neede and necessity asmuch praise deserueth hee that gaue it as hee that knew how to take it Now after thexample of the auncient philosophers which went to the warres not to fight but only to geeue counsell I will syr for those things that pertayn to your seruyce and profit take vppon mee the offyce of a philosopher and for the first doctrin of my philosophy I say that if it please you to receiue these counsels whych my penne dooth write to you at this present I promise you and by the faith of a christian man I swear that they shal bee such excellent helps to you for the preseruation of your credyt and fauor you are now in as you may bee enriched by the true and diligent seruice of your seruaunts For if a man woold with an oth ask the trueth of Plato Socrates Pithagoras Diogenes Licurgus Chilo Pittachê° and of Apolonius and also of all the vniuersity and company of the other philosophers they woold swere and affirm that the felicity of man consisteth not in great might in great aucthority and possessions but only in deseruing much For the honor fauor and dignityes of this mortall lyfe are more to bee praised and had in veneratioÌ„ when they are placed in a condigne and woorthy person then they are beeing possessed of an vnwoorthy and graceles man allotted to hym not by vertue but by fortune And therefore your aucthority beeing great at this present exalted thereto by gods diuine will and prouydence and now in the hyghest degree of prosperity I woold wish you my good lord lesse then any other courtier to trust to fortunes impery For yf the earthquakes sooner bryng to ground the proud and stately Pallaces then the mean and low howses if ofter fall on the highest mountayns the dreadfull lightnings and tempests then on the lowest hilles if among the greater multitude of people the plagues bee rifer then amongst the fewer nomber yf they vse rather to spread their netts and lay the byrdlyme on the green and thickst bows then on the dry and wythered sticks to snare the sely byrds withall If always the stillest seas doo foreshew to vs a greater tempest following and if that long health bee a watch vnto a great and daungerous sicknes ensuyng by this
saluation the euil gotten good a cause of his eternal dānation More ouer yet what toyle and trauayl is it to the body of the man how much more perill to the liuing soule when hee consumeth his hole days and life in wordly broile and yet seely man hee can not absent him self from that vile drudgery till death dooth sommon him to yeeld vp his accoūt of his lief and dooings And now to conclude my prologue I say this booke is deuided into two parts that is to weete in the first tenne chapters is declared how the new come courtier shall beehaue him self in the princes court to winne fauor credit with the prince the surplus of the woork treateth when hee hath atcheeued to his princes fauor acquired the credyt of a worthy courtier how hee shal then continew the same to his further aduaūcement And I doubt no whit but that my lords gentlemen of court wil take pleasure to read it and namely such as are princes familiars and beeloued of court shall mostly reap profyt thereby putting the good lessons aduertisements they fynd heretofore writen in execucion For to the yong courtiers it sheweth them what they haue to doo putteth in remembraunce also the old fauored courtier lyuing in his princes grace of that hee hath to bee circūspect of And fynally I conclude sir that of al the treasors riches gyfts fauors prosperities pleasures seruices greatnes power that you haue possesse in this mortal transitory life by the faith of a christian I sweare vnto you also that you shal cary no more with you then the onely time which you haue wel vertuously emploied during this your pilgrimage ¶ The Argument of the booke entituled the fauored courtier wheare the author sheweth the intent of his woork exhorting all men to read and study good and vertuous bookes vtterly reiectyng fables and vayn trifflyng stories of small doctrine erudicion AVlus Gelius in his booke De noctibus atticis sayeth that after the death of the great poet Homer seuen famous Cyties of Greece were in great controuersy one with the other ech one of them affirmyng that by reason the bones of the sayd poet was theirs and onely apperteined to them all seuen takyng their othes that hee was not onely born but also norished and brought vp in euery one of them And this they did supposing that they neuer had so great honor in any thing but that this was farre greater to haue educated so excellent and rare a man as hee was Euripides also the philosopher born and brought vp in Athens trauayling in the realme of Macedonia was sodeynly striken with death which wofull newes no sooner came to the Athenians ears declared for a trouth but with al expedicion they depeached an honorable imbasy onely to intreat the Lacedemonians to bee contented to deliuer them the bones of the sayd philosopher protesting to them that if they woold franckly graunt them they woold regratify that pleasure done them and if they woold deny them they should assure them selues they woold come to demaund them with sweord in hand Kyng Demetrius held Rhodes beesyged long tyme which at length hee wanne by force of armes and the Rhodians beeing so stubborn that they would not yeeld by composition nor trust to his princely clemency hee commaunded to strike of all the Rhodians heads and to rase the cyty to the hard foundacions But when hee was let vnderstand that there was euen then in the cyty Prothogenes a phylosopher and paynter doutyng least in executyng others hee allso vnknowen myght bee put to the sweord reuoked his cruel sentence and gaue straight commaundement foorthwith they should cease to spoyle and deface the town further and also to stay the slaughter of the rest of the Rhodiens The diuine Plato beeing in Athens aduertised that in the cyty of Damasco in the realme of Palestine were certayn bookes of great antiquity whych a philosopher born of that countrey left beehynd hym there when hee vnderstoode it to bee true went thither immediatly led with the great desyre hee had to see them and purposely if they dyd lyke him afterwards to buy them And when hee saw that neyther at his sute nor at the requests of others hee could obtein them but that hee must buy them at a great price Plato went and sold all his patrimony to recouer them and his own not beeing sufficient hee was fayn to borrow vpon interest of the cōmon treasory to help him So that notwithstanding hee was so profound and rare a philosopher as in deede hee was yet hee woold sell all that small substaunce hee had only to see as hee thought some prety new thing more of philosophy As Ptholomeus Philadelphus kyng of Egipt not contented to bee so wise in al sciences as hee was nor to haue in his library .8000 bookes as hee had nor to study at the least .4 howers in the day nor ordinaryly to dispute at his meales wyth philosophers sent neuertheles an imbassage of noble men to the Ebrews to desire them they woold bee contented to send him some of the best lerned and wisest men among them to teach him the Ebrew tongue to read to him the bookes of their laws When Alexander the great was born his father kyng Phillippe wrote a notable letter immediatly to Aristottle among other matters hee wrote there were these I doo thee to weete O greatest philosopher Aristotle if thou knowst it not that Olimpias my wife is brought to bed of a sonne for which incessantly I geeue the gods immortal thanks not so much that I haue a sonne as for that they haue geeuen him mee in thy tyme. For I am assured hee shal profit more with the doctrine thou shalt teach him thē hee shal preuail with the kingdoms I shal leaue him after mee Now by the examples aboue recited and by many more we coold alledge wee may easly consider with what reuerence and honor the auncient kyngs vsed the learned and vertuous men of their tyme. And wee may also more playnly see it syth then they held in greater price and estimacion the bones of a dead philosopher then they doo now the doctrine of the best learned of our time And not without iust occasiō dyd these famous heroycal princes ioy to haue at home in their houses abrode with them in the feeld such wise learned men whilst they liued after they were dead to honor their bones and carcases and in dooing this they erred not a iot For who so euer accompanieth continually with graue wise men enioyeth this benefit and priuiledge beefore others that hee shall neuer bee counted ignorant of any Therefore continuing still our fyrst purpose let vs say that who so euer will professe the company of sober and wise men yt can not otherwise bee but hee must maruelously profyt by their comapny For beeing in their company they will put all
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
better eyther hee will fynd the means to make his case very dark or at least hee will prolong his suite as long as it please It skilleth not much whether the iudges bee old or yong men for both wyth the one and the other the poore playntife hath enough to doo If they bee old men a man shall trauell long ere hee will heare his cause If they bee yong men hee shall wayt long also ere hee can informe them of the very poynts of his case An other great discommodity yet foloweth these old Iudges that beeing euer sickly and of weak nature they neuer haue strength nor tyme in maner to examyn their cases And as those that haue lost now a great peece of their memory only trusting in forepassed expences they presume to dispatch their sutes as lyghtly without further looking into them or throughly examining them as if they had already aduisedly studyed them And peraduenture their case is of such importaunce that if they had looked vppon it very well they coold scantly haue told what to haue said in it And I woold not that when my case shoold bee determined and iudgement geeuen vppon my matter that the Iudge shoold benefit him self only with that hee had seene or read beefore For although experience bee a great help for the Iudge to geeue the better Iudgement vppon the matter yet notwithstanding hee is to study a new to vnderstand the merits of the cause It is also a great trouble and daungerous for a man to practise wyth new Iudges and to putt their matters into their hands who only were called to the place of a Iudge beeing thought learned and fitt for yt and so brought to rule as a magistrate For many tymes these yong Iudges and new phisitians although they want not possibly knowledge yet they may lacke a great deal of practyse and experience which is cause that the one sort maketh many lose their lyues beefore they come to ryse infame and the other vndoo many a man in making him spend all that euer hee hath There is yet besydes an other apparaunt daunger to haue to doo wyth these new and yong experienced iudges for when they come to sit newly in iudgement with their other brethren the Iudges hauyng the law in theyr mouth to serue all turnes they doo but only desire and study to wynne fame and reputation amongst men and thereby to bee the better reputed of hys brethren And for this cause only when they are assembled together in place of iustyce to geeue iudgement of the plees layd beefore them they doo then only enlarge them selues in alleging many and dyuers oppinions of great learned men and booke cases So that the heerers of them may rather think they haue studyed to shew their eloquence and learning then to open the decision and iudgement of the cases they haue beefore them And for fynall resolution I say that touching plees and sutes I am of oppinion they shoold neyther trust the experience of the old Iudge nor the learnyng and knowledge of the yong But rather I recken that man wyse that seeketh by lyttle and lyttle to grow to an honest end and agrement wyth hys aduersary and that taryeth not many yeares to haue a long yea and possible an vncertain end Also I woold exhort the poore pleyntyfe not to bee ouer curious to vnderstand the qualityes of the Iudge as a man woold say If hee bee old or yong yf hee bee learned or priuileged yf hee bee well studyed or but little yf hee bee a man of few or many woords yf hee bee affected or passioned tractable or self willed for possibly beeyng to inquisitiue to demaund of any of these thyngs it myght happen though hee dyd it vnwarrs yet hee shoold fynd them afterwards all heaped togeethers in the parson of the Iudge to hys hynderance damage in decydyng his cause The wise suter shoold not only not seeke to bee inquisitiue of the Iudge or his condicions but also if any mā woold seme to tel him of him hee shoold geeue no eare to him at all For if it come to the iudges ears hee inquireth after his maner of lyuing and condition hee will not only bee angry with him in hys mynd but wil bee also vnwillyng to geeue iudgement in his fauor The poor suter shall also meete with terrible iudges seuere intractable collerick incommunicable and inexorable and yet for all this hee may not looke vppon his nature nor condicion but only regard his good conscience For what neede hee care if the Iudge bee of seuere and sharp condicion as long as hee may bee assertained hee is of good conscience It is as needefull for the vpright and good Iudge to haue a good and pure conscience as it is to haue a skylfull head and iudgement in the lawes For if hee haue this without the other hee may offend in mallyce and if hee haue that without the other hee may offend also in ygnoraunce And if the suter come to speak wyth the Iudge and hee by chaunce fynd him a sleepe hee must tarry tyll hee awake and yf then hee will not or hee cannot geeue eare vnto him hee must bee contented And yf hee caused his man to say hee were not within notwythstanding the suter saw him hee must dissemble yt yea if the seruaunts geeue him an yll aunswer hee must take it in good woorthe For the ware and politike suter must not bee offended at any thyng that is doon or sayd to hym tyll hee see the diffinitiue sentence geeuen with him or against him It is a maruelous trouble also to the suter to choose his Counseller For many tymes hee shall choose one that shall want both law and conscience And some others shall choose one that though on the one syde hee lack not law yet on the other hee shal bee without both soule and conscience And this is apparantly seene that sometyme for the gayn of twenty nobles hee shall as willingly deny the troth and goe against his own conscience as at an other tyme hee will seeke to mayntain Iustice It is true there are many other counsellers also that are both wise and learned and yet notwithstandyng they know the law they can by no means frame it to his clyents case wanting deuyse and conueyaunce to ioyn them togeether And so yt happeneth many tymes that to compare it to his clyants case hee conueyth him so vnfitly as of a playn case it was beefore it is now made altogeether a fold of infinite doubts I graunt it is a great furtheraunce to the clyants to haue a good wise counseller but it is a great deale more for their profit yf they can geeue a sound and profound iudgement of his case For yt is not enough for the counseller to bee able to expound the law but it is beehouefull for him to apply yt to hys purpose and to apt it to tyme and place accordyng to the necessity of his cause
vppon not aboue two yoke of oxen to till his land Titus Liuius Macrobius Cicero Plutarch Salust Lucan Seneca Aulus Gelius Herodian Eutropius Trebellius Vulpitius and all the other romayn writers doo neuer cease to praise the auncient romain pouerty saying the common wealth of Rome neuer lost one iott of her greatnes honor during the tyme that they went abroad to conquer other realmes and dominions but only since they began to geather treasor together Licurgus the Philosopher who afterwards was king of the Lacedemonians ordeined in his lawes hee made that no neighbor shoold haue any more goods then an other but that all houses lands vynes possessions gold siluer apparell mouables and generally all other things what soeuer shoold bee indifferently holden among them to the common vtilitie of all And beeing asked why hee woold not consent the common weal shoold haue her own priuate commodities and particulers answered thus The payns and trauels men indure in this mortall life and the great troubles disorders that come dayly to the comon weal chaunce not so much for that men haue neede of lyuing to maintain them selues with all but for that they doo desire to leaue to their heirs and successors And therefore I haue appointed euery thing in cōmon amōg subiects because that during their liues they might haue honestly to maintain them selues with all that they shoold leaue any thing to dispose by will after their deaths Herodotus sayth also that it was decreed by thinhabitans of the Iles Baleares that they shoold suffer none to come into theyr countrey to bring them any gold siluer silk iewels or precious stones And this serued them to great profit For by means of this law for the space of .iiii. C. yeres that they had warres with the Romains the Carthagians the Frēch the Spaniares neuer any of these nations once stirred to goe about to conquer their land beeing assured that they had neither gold nor siluer to robbe or conuey from them Promotheus that was the first that gaue lawes to the Egiptians did not prohibit gold nor siluer in Egipt as those of the Iles Baleares did in their territories neither did hee also comand that all thing shoold bee common as Licurgus but only commanded that none in all his kingdom shoold bee so hardy once to gather any masse or quantity of gold or siluer together to hoard it vp And this hee did vpon great penalties for as he said auarice is not showed in buylding of fair houses neither in hauīg rich moueables but in assembling gathering together great treasure laying it vp in their coffers And Plutarche in his booke De consolatione saith also that if a rich man dyed among the Rhodians leauing behind him one only sonne no more suruyuing him they woold not suffer that hee shoold bee sole heyre of all that his father left but they left him an honest heritage lyuing so hys state call to mary him well withall and the rest of all his sethers goods they dissipated among the poore orphans The Lydians that neither were Greekes nor Romains but right barbarous people had a law in their common weal that euery man shoold bee bound to bring vp his children but not to bee at tharges in bestowing them in mariage So that the sonne or daughter that were now of age to mary they gaue them nothing to their mariage more then they had gottē with their labor And those that will exactly consider this lawdable custom shal fynd that it is rather a law of true philosophers then a custom of barbarous people Since thereby the childrē were inforced to labor for their lyuing the parents also were exempted from al maner of couetousnes or auarice to heap vp gold siluer to enrich them selues Numa Pompilius second king of the romains establisher of their laws decrees in the law of the seuen tables which hee made hee left them order only which way the Romayns might rule their comon weal in tranquility put in no clause nor chapter that they shoold make their willes wherby their children might inherit their fathers goods And therfore being asked why hee permitted in his laws euery man to get asmuch goods as hee coold not to dispose them by wil nor leaue them to their heirs Hee answered because wee see that albeeit there are some children that are vnhappy vicious abhominable yet are there few fathers notwtstanding this that will depriue disherit them of their goods at theyr death only to leaue them to any other heir therefore for this cause I haue comaunded that al the goods that remain after the death of the owner of thē shoold bee geuen to the comon weal as sole heir successor of them to th end that if their children shoold become honest vertuous they shoold then bee distributed to them if they were wicked vnhappy that they shoold neuer be owners of them to hurt offend the good Macrobius in his booke De somno Scipionis saith that there was in the old tyme an old and ancient law amōgst the Tuscans duly obserued kept afterwards taken vp of the Romayns that in euery place where so euer it were in town or village within their territories on new yeres day euery man shoold present him self beefore the iudge or magistrate of the place hee was in to geeue him account of his maner of lyfe now hee mainteined himself in this examinatiōs they did accustome to punish him that lyued ydlely with knauery deceipt maintayned them selues as minstrels ruffyans dycers carders iuglers coggers foysters cosiners of men sylching knaues with other loytering vacabōds rogues that lyue of others swett toyl without any pain or labor they take vpon them to deserue that they eat I woold to god if it were his will that this Tuscan law were obserued of christians then wee shoold see how few they be in nomber that geeue them selues to any faculty or science or other trade to lyue by their own trauell industry and how many infinit a nomber they bee that liue in ydle sort The diuine Plato in his Timee sayth that although an ydle man bee more occasion of many troubles inconueniences in a common weal then a couetous man yet is it not alwais greater for the ydle mā that gladly taketh his ease dooth but desire to haue to eat but the couetous man dooth not only desire to eat but to bee rich and haue money enough All the eloquence and pleasant speche that the Orators studyed in their orations the lawyers in their law and the famous philosophers in their doctryne and teaching was for no other cause but to admonish and perswade those of the common weal to take very good heede in choosing of their gouernors that they were not couetous and ambitious in thadministration of their publyke affairs Laertius recyteth also that a
nor by slyght of wytt procured to deceyue or begyle nether hee called his frends to help hym to withstand his enemies but only craued remedy against his vnhonest and vaine desires And vndoubtedly hee had reason For a man may easely absent hym selfe frō his enymys but to fly from hym selfe it is an impossible thing And therfor mee thinkes it is a thing more to bee lamented then writtē to see that a multitude of corporall enymes cannot vanquish and ouercome vs and yet notwithstanding when wee are alone and think nothing of it this only vice of the flesh doth not alone make vs stumble but fall downe ryte on the ground For nether to become religious a priest a fryer nor to dwell in churches nor to bee shut vp in cloysters to sequester our selues from the world nor to chaūge state and condition For all this I saye I see none of all these things helpe vs mortall mē to defend vs from this vyce and sinne But the further wee seeke to fly from yt the more danger wee find to fal in to it And albeit to auoide other vices and synnes it shall suffise vs to bee admonished yet against that alone of the flesh it behoueth vs to bee armed For ther is no synne in the world but that there are meanes for mē to auoid it this only excepted of the flesh where with all wee are ouercome and taken prysoners And to proue this true it is aparant thus Where rayneth pryde but amongst the potentates where enuy but amongst equalls anger but amongst the impatient glotony but amongst gourmans auarice but amongest the rych slothe but amongest the idle And yet for all these the synne of the flesh generally raigneth in al men And therfore for not resisting this abhominable vice wee haue seene Kings lose ther Kyngdoms noblemen ther landes and possessiōs the maried wiues their auowed fayth the religion nonnes their professed virginity so that wee may compare this synne to the nature and condicion of the venomus serpent which beeing aliue stings vs and after hee is dead offendeth vs with his noysome stink Examples by Dauid who for all his wisedom could not preuayl against that synne nor Salomon for al his great knowledge nor Absolon for al his diuine bewty nor Sampson with his mighty force which notwtstanding the great fame they had for their renowmed vertues yet thorough this onely defect they lost al accōpaniyng with harlots licencious weomen Into which shameful felowship fel also Holofernes Annibal Ptholomeus Pirrhus Iulius Cesar Augustus Marcus Antonius Seuerus and Theodotius many other great princes with these aboue recyted the most part of the which wee haue seene depriued of their crownes and afterwards them selues haue come to their vtter shame dishonor on their knees to yeeld them selues to the mercy of these their infamed louers crauing pardō forgeeuenes Many graue writers of the Gretians say that the imbassadors of Lidia comming one day into the chamber of Hercules vpon a sode in to speak with him they found him lying in his curtesans lap shee pulling his rings of on his fyngers hee dressed on hys head with her womenly attier shee in exchange on hers beedect with his royal crown They write also of Denis the Siracusan that albeeit of nature hee was more cruel then the wilde beast yet hee beecame in the end so tractable pleasant by the meanes of a curtisan his frend called Mirta that shee onely did confirme al the prouisions depeches of the affaires of the weale publike hee onely did but ordein and appoint them And if the histories written of the Gothes deceyue vs not wee fynd that Antenaricus the famous kyng of the Gothes after hee had triumphed of Italy that hee had made hymself lord of all Europe hee beecame so farre in loue with a louer of his called Pincia◠that whilst shee combo his head hee made clean her slippers Also Themistocles the most famous captain of the Greekes was so enamored of a woman hee had taken in the warrs of Epirus that shee beeing afterwards very sick when shee purged her self hee woolde also bee purged with her if shee were let blood hee would also bee let blood yet that that is woorst to bee lyked is that hee washed his face with that blood that came out of her arme so that they might truly say though shee were his prisoner yet hee was also her slaue subiect When Kyng Demetrius had takē Rhodes there was brought to him a faire gentlewoman of the cyty which hee made his frend in loue this loue beetwixt them by tyme grew so great that shee shewing her selue vpō a time to bee angry with Demetrius refusing to sit nere him at the table also to ly with him Demetrius vtterly forgetting him self royal estate did not only on his knees pray her to pardō him but also imbrasing her cōueighed her in his armes īto his chamber Myronides the Gretian albeeit hee had made subiect to hym the Kingdome of Boetia yet was hee notwithstanding made subiect with the loue of Numidia his louer Hee enflamed thus with loue of her shee like wise striken with couetous desire of his goods in fine they agreed that hee should geeue her al the spoyle hee had wonne in the warres of Boetia that shee shoold let him lye with her in her house onely one night Annibal made warres seuenteen yeares with the romains in all that time hee was neuer vanquished till that hee was ouercome with the loue of a yong mayden in the City of Capua which prooued a most bitter loue to him sith thereby it happened that where as hee had so many yeares kept in subiection all Italy hee now was made a subiect at home in his own country Plutarke in his booke De republica writeth that Phalaris the tirant woold neuer graunt a man any thing hee desired nether euer denied any thing that a dissolute woman requested No smal but great disorder happened to the comon weale of Rome by the occasion of the Emperor Calligula who gaue but 6000. sexterces onely to repaire the wals of Rome gaue otherwise for surring one gown alone of his lemans a 10000 sexterces By al these exāples aboue resyted wee may easely vnderstād how daungerous a thing it is for the courtier to haue frendship acquaintance with weomen of so vyld a faculty For the woman is of like quality that a knot tyed of cords is which is easely tyed of sundry knots and very hardly afterwards to bee vndoon agayn Heretofore wee haue beesought courtiers the fauored of princes that they shoold not bee so liberall in cōmaunding now once agayn wee pray them to bee ware of fornication adultry for albeeit this sinne of the flesh bee not the greatest in faut yet is it the most daūgerous in fame There is no King prelat nor knight in this world so vicious and dishonest of life but
of the earth and deaw of heauen So that the sustenance for men is called meate and that of plāts trees Increase This beeing true therefore that wee haue spoken wee must needes confesse that to lyue wee must eat and yet with all wee must vnderstand that the synne of gluttony consisteth not in that that wee eat for necessity but onely in that that is eaten with a disordinat appetite and desire And sure now adays men vse not to eat to content nature but to please their lycorous and deinty mouthes Hee that geeueth him self ouer to the desire of the throte dooth not onely offend his stomack and distemper his body but hurteth also his conscience For al gluttons and dronkards are the children or the brothers of synne And I speak but lytle to say that the mouth sinne are cosin germayns togethers for by they re effects and operations mee thinketh them so knyt and combined together as the father and the sonne Syth burning leachery acknowlegeth none other for her mother but onely the insatiable and gurmand throte And the dyuersity of meats is but a continual importunat awaking of dishonest thoughts Doo wee not read of saint Iherom that albeit hee remayned in the wildernes burned of the sunne his face dryed vp and wrinckled barefooted and also bare headed clothed with sackcloth his body scourged with bitter stripes watchinge in the night and fasting in the day cōtinually exercising his penne and his hart in contemplacion and yet for all this greeuous penance hym self confessed that in his sleepe hee dreamed and thought hee was among the courtisans of Rome And saint Paule the apostle who was a man of rare and exquisite knowledge and deserued to see the very secrets of paradise neuer heretofore seen trauailing in his vocation more then any other of the apostels did not hee get his liuing with his own hāds and also went a soote preaching through all the world bringyng infynit barbarous people to the fayth of christ being beaten in the day tyme by others for that hee was a christian and in the night tyme hee beat him self for that hee was a sinner punishing the flesh to make it subiect to the spirit And yet neuertheles hee sayth also of hym self that hee coold not defend him self from dishonest thoughts which did euer let him to preach and pray with a quiet mynd Saint Austin reciteth of him self in his booke de confessionibus that al the while hee inhabited in the deserts hee eat litle wrote much prayd oft and sharply chastised his body with continuall fasts and greeuous disciplines But yet perceauing that notwithstanding all this his dishonest thoughts suppressed hys holy desires hee beganne to crie with a lowd voyce thorough the deserts rocky hills saying O lord my god thou commaundest mee to bee chast but this frayle and accursed flesh can neuer keepe yt And therefore I humbly beseech thee fyrst to indue mee with thy grace to doo that thou wilt haue mee then commaūd mee what shall please thee otherwise I shal neuer doo yt If therefore these glorious saints with their continuall fasts and contemplations and extreame punishing of theyr bodyes could not defend them selues from the burning motion of the flesh how shall wee beleeue that a company of dronkards and gluttons can doo yt which neuer lynne bibbyng and eatyng Wee may bee assured that the lesse wee pamper and feede our bodies with delicacy idlenes the more wee shall haue them obedient and subiect to our willes For though wee see the fier neuer so great flaming yet it quickly wasteth is brought to ashes if wee leaue to put more woode vnto yt Excesse is not onely vnlawful for the boddy but it is also occasion of a thousād dyseases both to the body the soule For to say troth wee haue seene more rych mē dye through excesse thē poore mē of necessity And in my opiniō mee thynkes the sinne of Gluttony neede not to bee otherwise punyshed by diuine iustice syth that of yt selfe yt brīgeth penance inough And to prooue this trew let vs but require these gluttōs to tel vs vpon theyr othes how they fynd thē selues in tēper beeyng ful paūched they wil confesse to vs that they are worse at ease thē yf they had fasted That their mouth is dry their body heauy yl disposed that their head aketh their stomack is colde that their eyes are slepy their bellye 's ful but yet that they desire to drink styll And therefore Diogenes Cinicus deryding the Rodians sayd these woords O you dronken gluttonus Rodians tell mee I beseech you what occasion mooues you to goe to the church to pray to the gods to geeue you health whē at al tymes keeping sober diet you may keepe yt with you And more ouer hee sayd vnto thē also yf you wil bee ruled by my coūcel I tel you you neede not goe to the churches to beseech the gods to graūt you health but onely to pray to them to pardon you your synnes iniquities you dayly cōmit Also Socrates the philosopher was wōt to say to his disciples of the vnyuersity of Athens Remēber O you Athenians that in the wel gouerned pollycies mē lyue not to eat to glut the body but doo onely eat to lyue sustayn the body O graue saiyng of the good philosopher I woold to god euery good christian would cary this lesson in mynd For if wee woold but let nature alone geeue her lyberty dispositiō of her self shee is so honest of such temperaūce that shee will not leaue to eat that that shall suffice her neither wil also trouble vs with that that is superfluous Yet an other foule offence bringeth this vice of Gluttony that is that many put them selues in seruice to wayt on others not somuch for the ordinary fare that is commonly vsed in their house as for the desire they haue to fyll theyr bellies with dainty and superfluous meats And in especiall whē they know they make any mariages or feasts for their frends then they geeue double attendance not consēted alone with that themselues haue eaten but further in remembraunce of the worthy feast committeth to the custody of his trusty cater hys great hose perhaps a two or three days store of those rare dainty dishes which I am ashamed to write and much more ought they to bee ashamed to doo yt For that mā that professeth to bee a mā ought to inforce himself neuer to engage his liberty for that that his sēsual appetite incyteth him to but onely for that that reason byndeth hym to Aristippus the phylosopher washyng lettyse one day with his owne hāds for his supper by chaūce Plautus passing by that way and seeyng hym sayd If thou wooldst haue serued Kyng Dionisius wee should not haue seene thee eat lettises as thou doost now Aristippus aūswered him again O Plautus if thou wert cōtent to eat of these lettyses
of a scorpion the forhead of lead in which was writen in two lines these letters M. N. S. N. I S. V S. which in my opinyō signifieth this This picture hath not so many metalles as his life hath chaunges This done ye went to the riuer tyed it with the head douneward a hole day if it had not bene for the good Lady Messelyne I thinke it had bene tyed ther tyl now And now ye amorous Ladyes haue writen me a letter by Fuluius Fabricius whych greued me nothing but as an amorous man from the hands of ladyes I accept it as a mockery And to the intent I shold haue no laysure to thinke theron ye send to demaund a questiō of me that is if I haue found in my bookes of what for what from whence when for whom how women wer first made Because my condiciō is to take mockes for mockes sith you do desire it I wil shew it you Your frēds mine haue writen to me but especially your imbassadour Fuluius hath instantly requyred me so to do I am agreued with nothyng and wyl hold my peace saue to your letter onely I wyl make aunswere And syth there hath bene none to aske the question I protest to none but to you amorous ladyes of Rome I sende my aunswere And if any honest lady wil take the demaunde of you it is a token that she doth enuy the office that ye be of For of trouth that Lady which sheweth her selfe annoyed with your paine openly from henceforth I condemne her that she hath some fault in secret They that be on the stage feare not the roring of the bul they that be in the dongeon feare not the shot of the cannon I wil say the woman of good lyfe feareth no mans slaunderous tongue The good matrons may kepe me for their perpetual seruaunt and the euyl for their chiefe enemy I aunswere It is expedyent you know of what the first women were made I say that according to the aduersities of nacions that are in the world I find dyuers opinyons in this case The Egiptians say that when the riuer Nilus brake and ouer ranne the earth there abode certaine peces of earth whych cleued together and the sonne comyng to them created many wild beastes amongest whom was found the first woman Note ladyes it was necessarie that the floud Nilus should breake out so that the first woman myght be made of earthe Al creatures are nourished and bred in the intrayles of their mothers except the woman whych was bred without a mother And it semeth most true that without mothers ye were borne for without rule ye lyue and with order ye dye Truly he taketh vpon him a great thing and hath many cares in his mynde muche to muse vpon neadeth much councel neadeth long experience ought to chose amongest many women that thinketh to rule one only wife by reason Be the beastes neuer so wild at length the Lyon is ruled by his keaper the bul is enclosed in his parke the horse ruled by the brydel the lytle hoke catcheth the fysh the Oxe contented to yealde to the yoke only a woman is a beast whych wyll neuer be tamed she neuer loseth her boldnes of commaundyng nor by anye bridel wil be commaunded The gods haue made men as men and beastes as beasts mans vnderstanding very high and his strength of great force yet ther is nothing be it of neuer so great power that can escape a woman eyther with sleight or myght But I say to you amorous ladyes ther is neither spurre can make you go raine that can hold you backe bridel that can refraine you neither fishe hoke ne net that can take you to conclude there is no law can subdue you nor shame restraine you nor feare abashe you nor chastisement amend you O to what great peril putteth he himsselfe vnto the thinketh to rule and correct you For if you take an opinyon the whole world cannot remoue you who warneth you of any thing ye neuer beleue him Yf they geue you good councel you take it not if one threaten you straite you complaine If one pray you then are ye proude if they reioyce not in you then are you spiteful If one forbeare you thē are ye bold if one chastice you straite you become serpents Finally a woman wil neuer forget an iniurie nor be thankeful for a benefite receiued Now a days the most symplyst of al women wil swere that they know lesse then they do but I sweare whych of them that knoweth least knoweth more euil then al men and of trouth that wisest man shal faile in their wisedom Wil ye know my ladyes howe lytle you vnderstand how much you be ingnoraunt that is in matters of importaunce ye determine rashly as if ye had studyed on it a thousand yeres if any resiste your councel ye hold him for a mortal ennemy hardy is that woman that dare giue councel to a man and he more bolde that taketh it of a woman but I retourne and saye that he is a foole whych taketh it and he more foole that asketh it but he most foole that fulfilleth it My opinyon is that he which wil not stomble amongest so hard stones not pricke himselfe amongest such thornes nor styng him with so many nettels let him harke what I wil say and do as he shal se speake wel and worke euil In promysing avow much but in perfourmyng accomplishe litle Finally allow your words and condemne your counsels Yf we could demaund of famous mē which are dead how they liked in their life the councel of womē I am sure they would not now rise againe to beleue them nor be reuiued to here them How was king Philippe with Olimpia Paris with Hellen Alexander with Rofana Aneas with Dido Hercules with Deanyrya Anibal with Tamira Antony with Cleopatra Iulius with Domitian Nero with Agrippina and if you wil not beleue what they suffered with them aske of me vnhappye man what I suffer amongest you O ye women when I remember that I was borne of you I loth my lyfe and thinking how I liue with you I wishe desire my death For ther is no such death to tormente as to haue to do with you contrary no such lyfe as to fly from you It is a common saieng among women that men be very vnthankeful because we were bred in your entrailes We order you as seruauntes Ye say for that ye brought vs forth with peril and norished vs with trauaile it is reason that we shold alwayes employ vs to serue you I haue thought diuers tymes with my selfe from whence the desire that man hath to women cometh Ther are no eyes but ought to wepe nor hart but should breake nor spirite but ought to wayle to se a wyse man lost by a foolish woman The foolyshe louer passeth the day to content hys eyes and the darke night in tormenting himselfe wyth sond thoughtes one
the negligence of the fathers in bringing vp their childrē Sextus Cheronensis in the second boke of the sainges of the Philosophers declareth that a citezen of Athens sayed on daye to Dyogenes the Phylosopher these wordes Tel me Diogenes what shall I doe to be in the fauour of the gods and not in the hatred of men for oft tymes amonges you Philosophers I haue hard saye that there is great difference betwene that that the Goddes wil and that which men loue Diogenes aunswered Thou speakest more then thoughtest to speake that the gods will one thinge and men another for the gods are but as a center of mercy and men are but as a denne of malice if thou wilte inioye rest in thy dayes and keape thy lyfe pure and cleane thou must obserue these thre thinges The first honour thy gods deuoutly For the man which doeth not serue and honour the gods in all his enterprises he shal be vnfortunate The second be very diligent to bring vp thy children well For the man hath no enemy so troublesome as his owne son if he be not wel brought vp The third thyng be thankefull to thy good benefactours and frendes For the Oracle of Apollo sayeth that the man who is vnthankefull of all the worlde shal be abhorred And I tell the further my frend that of these thre thinges the most profitable though it be more troblesome is for a manne to teache and bring vp his children well This therefore was the aunswere that the Philosopher Diogenes made to the demaunde of the Cytezen It is great pytie and griefe to see a yonge child how the bloud doth stirre him to se how the fleshe doth prouoke him to accomplishe his desire to se sensualyte go before and he himselfe to come behinde to se the malicious world to watche him to se howe the deuill doth tempt him to se how vyces bynde him and in all that whych is spoken to se how the father is negligent as if he had no children wher as in deed the old man by the few vertues that he hath had in his youth may easely know the infirmites and vices wherewith his sonne is compassed If the expert had neuer ben ignoraunt if the fathers had neuer ben children if the vertuous had neuer ben vicious if the fyne wittes had neuer ben deceiued it were no meruaile if the Fathers were negligent in teachyng their children For the lytell experience excuseth men of great offences but synce thou arte a father and that fyrst thou were a sonne synce thou arte old and hast ben yong and besides al this synce that pride hath enflamed the lechery hath burned the wrath hath wounded the negligēce hath hindred the couetousnes hath blinded the and glotonie surfeted the tell me cruell father since so manye vices haue reigned in the why hast thou not an eye to thy childe whom of thy owne bloud thou hast begotten And if thou doest it not bycause he is thy childe thou oughtest to do it bycause he is thy nearest For it is vnpossible that the child whych with many vyces is assaulted and not succoured but in the end he should be infamed and to the dishonour of the father most wickedly ouercome It is vnpossible to kepe flesh well fauored vnlesse it be first salted It is vnpossible that the fishe should liue without water It is vnpossible but that the Rose should wyther whiche is of the thorne ouergrowen So like it is vnpossible that the fathers should haue any comforte of their chyldren in their age vnlesse they haue instructed them in vertue in their youth And to speake further in this matter I saye that in the Christian catholike religion where in dede there is good doctrine ther alwayes is supposed to be a good conscience Amongest the wryters it is a thinge well knowen howe Eschines the philosopher was banished from Athens and with all his family came to dwell at Rhodes The occasion was because that he and the philosopher Demosthenes were in great contention in the common wealth Wherefore the Athenians determined to banish the one and to keape the other with them And truly they dyd well for of the contentions and debates of sages warres most commonly aryse amongest the people This philosopher Eschines being at Rhodes banished amongest others made a solempne oration wherein he greatly reproueth the Rhodians that they were so negligente in brynging vp their children saiyng vnto them these wordes I let you vnderstande Lordes of Rhodes that your predecessours aduaunced them selues to discende and to take their beginning of the Lides the whiche aboue all other nations were curious and diligent to bring vp their children and hereof came a lawe that was among them which sayed We ordeine and commaunde that if a father haue many chyldren that the moste vertuous should enherite the goods and riches and if there were but one vertuous that he alone should inherite the whole And if perchaūce the children were vitious that then al should be depriued from the heritage For the goods gotten with trauaile of vertuous fathers ought not by reason to be inherited with vitious children These were the wordes that the philosopher spake to the Senate of the Rhodes and because he sayde in that Oration many other thinges whiche touche not our matter I wyll in this place omitte them For among excellent wryters the wryting loseth muche authoritie when the authour from his purpose digresseth into an other matter To saye the truthe I doe not maruayle that the children of princes and great lordes be adulterers and belly gods for that on the one parte youth is the mother of Idlenes and on the other litle experience is the cause of great offences And furthermore the fathers being once dead the children enherite their goodes as quietly being loden with vices as if in dede they were with all vertues endued If the younge children did knowe for a certaine that the lawes of the Lydes should be obserued that is to witte that they shoulde not enherite vnlesse they be vertuous it is vnpossible but that they would leade a good life and not in this wyse to runne at large in the worlde For they doe absteine more from doing euill fearyng to lose that whiche they doe possesse then for any loue to doe that whiche they ought I doe not denaye but according as the natures of the fathers is dyuers so the inclinations of the chyldren are variable For so muche as some folowyng their good inclination are good others not resisting euil sensualities are euill But yet in this matter I saye that it lieth muche in the father that doeth brynge them vp when as yet they are younge so that the euill whiche nature gaue by good bryngyng vp is refrayned For oftetymes the good custome doeth ouercome all euill inclination Princes and great lordes that wylbe diligent in the instruction of their chyldren ought to enforme their maisters and tutors that shall teache theim to what vyces and
wholly his to dispose and possible as it were his right hand that they be those whom hee happely too hath doone much for in dispatching their affairs For lightly in such lyke feasts treasons poisonings are not practised with the maister of the feast but only with him that waiteth at the table to geeue drink or els by the cooks that dresseth the meat Also let not the courtier trust too much those whom hee hath been in company with all at dyuers feasts where hee neuer had hurt much lesse knew any little occasion to suspect yll of them touching any tresōment towards him For so at a tyme when hee suspecteth least hee may be in most daunger find him self deceiued And therefore by my councell hee shall not easely bee intreated to euery mans boord vnlesse hee bee first well assured of the company that are bidden as also of the seruants that wayt For the holes spaces of the french rydles with which they dust their corne sometimes is euen stopped with the very graines of the same corne and letteth the cleere passage of all the rest One of the greatest troubles or to terme it better one of the greatest daungers I see the fauored courtiers in is this that al the courtiers and in maner all the citizens desire to see them out of fauor or dead by some means For euery man is of this mynd that with the chaunge of things by his fall or death hee hopeth hee shal rise to some better state or happely to catch some part of his offices or lyuings An other mischief inconueniēce yet happeneth to this fauored courtier by haunting others tables that is that many times it chaunceth vnseemly vnhonest woords are let fall at the table perhaps quarel rise vppon it which though hee bee present yet hee can neither remedy nor appease it And because these things were done spoken in the presence of the esteemed of the prince hee that spake them hath credit and those that hard it discried it Yet ys there an other disorder that commeth by these feasts that is that hee that maketh the feast and biddeth guests dooth it not for that they are of hys acquayntaunce his kinsfolks or his faithfull frends nor for that hee is bound and beeholding to them but only to obtayn his desyre in his sutes that hee hath in hand for they are few that seeke to pleasure men but in hope to bee greatly recompenced Therefore those that are in fauor auctority about the prince that accept others bydding sure one of these two things must happen to them Eyther that hee must dispatch his busynes that inuyteth him yea although it be vnreasonable so vniust damnable that obtaining it both hee the fauored courtier goe to the deuyll togeethers for company for the wrong iniury they haue doone to an other or on the other syde refusing to doo it the bydder is stricken dead repenteth his cost bestowed vpon him Aboue all things I chiefly admonish the courtiers and officers of princes not to sell change nor engage their liberties as they doo the same day that they begin to follow such feasts or to receiue gyfts or presents or to lynk them selues in streight frendship with any or to deal parcially in any cause For by these foresaid occasions they shall oft bynd them selues to doo that that shal not bee fitt for them besydes the losse of their liberty they had beefore to doo that was most honest and commendable ¶ That the fauored of princes ought not to bee dishonest of their tongues nor enuyous of their woords Cap. xix ANaxagoras the philosopher disputing one day of the cause why nature had placed the members of mans body in such order as they are and of the property and complexiō of euery one of them and to what end they had been so orderly placed by nature eche member in his place falling in the end to treat of the tong said thus of it You must vnderstand my good disciples that not without art grete mistery nature gaue vs ii feete ii hands .ii. eares ii eyes yet for all this but one tongue whereby shee shewed vs the in our going feeling smelling hearing and seeing wee may bee as long as wee will but in speking wee shoold bee as sparing scant as coold bee alleging further that not without great reason also nature suffered vs to goe open bare faced the eyes the eares the hands the feete other parts of the body bare also except the tongue which shee hath enuironed with lawes inured with teeth and also shut with lips which shee did to geeue vs to vnderstand that there is nothing in this present life that hath more neede of gard defence then hath this our vnbrydled tong And therefore said Pithachus the philosopher that a mans tong is made lyke the yron poynt of a launce can but yet that it was more daungerous then that For the point of the launce can but hurt the flesh but the tongue perseth the hart And truely it was a true saying of this philosopher For I know not that man how vertuous or pacient so euer hee bee but thinks yt lesse hurt the bloody swoord shoold perce his flesh then that hee shoold bee touched in honor with the venimous point of the serpentyen tong For how cruel so euer the wound bee time dooth heal it maketh it well again but defame or infamy neither late nor neuer can bee amēded We see men refuse to goe by water for fear of drowning not to come too neere the fyer for fear of burning not to goe to the warres for fear of killing to eat no yll meats for being sick to clym vp a high for fear of falling to goe in the dark for fear of stumbling to auoid the yll ayer rayn for fear of rewmes and yet I see very few or none that can beware of detractors yll tongs And that this is true I tell you I doo not think that in any thing a man is in such perill and daunger as when hee lyueth accompanyed with men dishonest in their dooings and vyle and naught in their tongues I haue also read touching this matter that Aformius the philosopher being asked what he ment to goe the most part of his tyme amongst the desert mountains in hasard euery hower to bee deuoured of wyld beasts answered thus Wild beasts haue no other weapons to hurt mee but their horns nayls their teeth to deuour mee but men neuer cease to hurt and offend mee with al their whole members And that this is true behold I pray you how they looke at mee with their eyes spurne mee with their feete torment mee with their hands hate mee with their hart and defame mee with their tongue So that wee haue great reason to say that a man lyueth with more security amongst wyld beasts then among malignaunt and enuious people Plutarche in
his booke De exilio saith that the Lydians had a law that as they sent the condemned murtherers to row in the gallyes so they confyned those that were detractors and yll tongued men into a secrete place farre of from all company the space of half a yere Inso much as many tymes these lewd mates chose rather to row in the galley iii. yeres then to bee exempt from company and speaking with any but syx moneths Much lyke vnto this law dyd Tiberius the emperor make an other and condemned a great talker and rayler of hys tongue and commaunded straightly that hee shoold neuer speak woord the space of a whole yere And as the history saith hee remayned domme neuer spake during the whole terme but yet that hee did with his domnes more hurt with nods signes with his fingers then many other woold haue doon with their yll tongues By these two exaumples wee may see that sith these naughty tongs are not to bee repressed by sylence in secret nor to entreat them as frends nor by doing them good nor by sending them to galleys nor to make them hold their peace and to bee as domme men by my aduyce I woold haue them banished by generall counsell out of al colleges counsels chapters townes and common wealths For wee see daly by experience that let an apple haue neuer so lyttle a broose that broose is enough to â—ott him quickly if hee bee not eaten in tyme. Demosthenes the philosopher was of great auctority for his person graue in maners condicion very sentencious profound in his woords but with these hee was so obstinate wylfull such a talker in all his matters that all Greece quaked for fear of hym Whereuppon all the Athenians one day assembled in their hall or common house there they appointed him a great stipend of the goods of the common wealth telling him that they gaue him this not that hee shoold read but because hee shoold hold his peace Also this great and renowmed Cicero that was so valyaunt politike in martiall affairs so great a frend to the commoÌ„ weal of Rome more ouer a prince of eloquence for the latin tong though hee was cruelly put to death by Mark Antony it was not for any fact committed against him neither for any wrong or iniury hee had doon him saue only for that hee enueied against him and spake euyll of him Also the noble poet Salust and famous orator of Rome was not hated of strangers and not beloued of his own neighbors for no other cause but for that hee neuer took pen in haÌ„d to write but hee euer wrote against the one neuer opened his mouth to speak but hee alwais spake euil of the other Plutarche touching this maiâ—er reciteth in his books de republica that amongst theÌ„ of Lidia in their publik weal it was holden an inuiolat law that they should not put a murderer to death for kylling of any but that they should only execut put him to torture that would defame his neighbor or in any one woord seeme to touch him in honor or estimation So that those barbarous nation thought it more execrable so defame a man then to kill murder him And therefore I say hee that burneth my house beats my person robbeth mee of my goods must needes doo mee great dommage but hee that taketh vpon him to touch my honor and reputacioÌ„ with infamy I wil say hee offendeth mee much that so greatly as hee may well stand in feare of his life For there is not so litle an offence â—oon to a maÌ„ of stout courage but hee carieth it euer after imprinted in his hart till hee haue reuenged the villany doon him euen so in princes courts there the more quarells debates through euil tongues dishonest reports then there dooth for any play or shrewd turnes that are doon I know not what reason they haue to strike of his hand the first draweth sword fauoreth leaueth him vnpunished that draweth blood with his ill tongue O what a happy good turn were it for the common weale if as they haue in al townes well gouerned policies penal laws prohibiting to weare or cary weapon they had like laws also to punish detractiue wicked toÌ„gues Surely there caÌ„ bee none so great a blot or vice in a noble man knight or gentleman of honest behauior countenance as to bee counted reputed a tatler of his tongue there wtal a detracter of others But let not such deceiue them selues thinking that for they re countenaunce or estates sake they bee priuileged aboue others at their willes and pleasure to enlarge their tongues on whom they list in such manner but that their inferiors farre will as liberally speak of them yea and asmuch to their reproche as they before had doone of them reputing asmuch of their honesty and credit for their calling being inequiualent in estate or degree to theÌ„ as they doo of their dignitie reputacion At that tyme when I was a courtier and lyued in princes court there dyed out of the court a woorthy knight who at his noble funeralls was recommended of vs all and praysed in hys lyfe to bee a noble valyaunt woorthy and wise man and a good and deuout christian cheefely aboue all his noble heroycall vertues hee was only landed and renowmed for that they neuer hard him speak ill of any man So one of the company that was present hearing this great prayse of him tooke vpon him to say this of him If hee neuer spake ill of any then did hee neuer know what pleasure those haue that speak ill of their enemies Which woordes when wee hard though wee passed them ouer with silence yet was there none but was greatly offended at them and good cause why For to say truely the first degree of malignitie is for a man to take a felicyty in speakyng ill of his neighbor Kyng Darius being at dinner one day there were put foorth of the weighters and standers by certayn arguments of the acts and dooings of Alexander the great in whych dispute one Mignus a Captayn of the kynge and greatly in fauor with him was very earnest against Alexander went too farre in speach of him But Darius perceiuing him thus passioned sayd to him O Mignus hold thy tong for I doo not bring thee into the warrs with mee that thou shouldst infame Alexander and touch his honor with thy tongue but that thou shouldst with thy sweord ouercome him By these examples wee may gather how much wee ought to hate detraction ill speaking syns wee see that the very enemies theÌ„ selues can not abide to here their enemies ill spoken of in their presence and this is always obserued of the honorable graue and wise men that are of noble mynds For suer ech noble hart dysdaigneth to bee reuenged of his enemy wyth his tongue for his iniures doon hym if