vpon him to suffer most cruel death for our saluation And to pay as Esay saith The price of our redemption Also by the Scriptures wee know what other benifites soeuer the Lord hath doone for vs Beside the scripture teacheth vs how we ought to loue God with al our hart with all our minde with all our forces that we ought rather to die a glorious death then to offend him with a sinfull life this he meaneth when he saith The dreame is forgottē quite that soone thou shalt forgoe For our life is compared to a sleepe which we shal leaue before we be aware as Innocentius saith in a booke that he wrote of the wretchednes of the state of man where he hath these words Tel me my brother what goodnesse doest thou finde in these worldly delights What doeth thy glory profite thee What doeth thy pleasures auaile thee These be not they that can deliuer thee from death nor defend thee from the wormes For he that late was lustie and glorious in his Pallace lieth nowe dead and stinking in his Sepulchre he that late was tickled with the delightes of the bed lyeth nowe torne a sunder with the wormes in his graue What meanest thou to be proude being but wormes meate and ashes Why moylest thou for riches that shall shortly be distributed to the poore As the Prophet saith They slept their sleepe those that were lately riche haue nowe nothing in their handes There true wisdome knowledge of God and skill in the scripture bringeth vs to this vnderstandyng by this a man knoweth how to serue God not regarding this transitorie life which passeth as a sleepe or a dreame 14. To Gentlemen it doeth belong To knowe the artes diuine Where knowledge chiefly floorisheth And learning best doeth shine Assuredly he well deserues To haue the vpper seate That garnished with wisedome is And deckt with learning great IN this Prouerbe the Marques sheweth what maner of men ought to seeke for learning and vnderstanding and for the better vnderstanding hereof we must consider that there be artes Mechanicall and arts Liberal Artes Mechanical are those that are vsed by men of base condition as Shoemakers Taylours Carpenters Smithes and all other that are handicraftesmen Arts Liberal are those learnings and sciences wherunto liberal or free men that is noble men or Gentlemen applie them selues as the seuen Liberal sciences therfore they are called liberal or free that bestow their time in these knowledges because they be not of base minde nor estate neither are they subiect or bounde to anie vyle occupation And therefore in the olde time there were none brought vp in learning but onely the children of noblemen and Gentlemen and therefore saith the Prouerbe To Gentlemen it doeth belong to know the artes diuine That is to say to suche men as are of good estate and condition Traian as Policrates in his sixth booke writeth who was a Spaniarde and Emperour of Rome in a letter that he writeth to the Frenche king perswadeth him to bring vp his children in the knoweledge of the liberall artes saying that a kinge without learning is like an Asse with a crowne therefore the kinges and Emperours in the olde time did commit their children to the best learned men that they coulde get Traian was brought vp with Policrates The emperor Nero with Seneca great Alexander with Aristotle To whom as Policartes in the forsaid booke saith King Phillip vppon the birth of his sonne Alexander wrote his letters in this sort Phillip the king sendeth greeting to Aristotle the Philosopher I vnderstande that I haue a sonne borne for which I geue thankes to the Gods not so much for his birth as that he hapned to be borne in thy time by whom I trust to haue him so brought vp that he shal be woorthie to succeede me in my kingdome and dominions The Prouerb saith further That he deserueth preheminence that is garnished with wisdome and learning And assuredly looke what difference there is betwixt perfection and imperfection and betwixt darknesse and light so great is the diuersity betwixt a learned man and an ignorant because we should vnderstande what great honour he deserueth that is beautified with learning and wisedome both Daniel in his seconde vision and S. Ierome in his preface to the Bible doe witnesse that the learned and the wise shall shine as the brightnesse of the firmament and those that haue instructed many in godlynesse shall glister like the starres for euer and euer And therfore great preheminence doeth he deserue that is garnished with wisedome and learning 15 The head and spring of goodnesse al Is wisedome that doeth shewe The meanes for to discerne the trueth And vertue pure to knowe Who so beginneth in his youth In vertue to delight No doubt but when he comes to age Will leade his life aright The Paraphrase IN this Prouerbe the Marques sheweth that one of the principall causes of wisedome and knowledge is to feare God as Salomon in his prouerbes saith The beginning of wisdome is the feare of God and wisedome knowledge the foolish doe abhorre and therfore he saith That wisedome is more woorth then the weapons of the mightie of greater value then precious stones more fine thē pure gold For by wisedome we are able to discerne betwixt good and euill betwixt vertue and vice to which ende leauing to speake of the doctrine and rules of the holy Scripture whereby we are taught to flee from all sinne and wickednesse and to embrace and followe vertuousnesse Aristotle hath written three bookes In the one of them he entreateth of the rules and orders that are requisite for the guiding of a countrey and citie which booke is called the Politiques In the other he sheweth howe a man ought to gouerne his house his wife and his children this booke is called the Aeconomikes The thirde teacheth how a man shoulde gouerne him selfe wherein there is a medlie of rules obseruations by which a man may knowe the vertuous and discerne and seuere them from the vices And specially in this booke he sheweth that all maner of vertues are gotten by vse and custome and that a man by vsing a long time to liue vertuously it commeth at length to bee naturall vnto him and although a man be naturally enclined to vice yet yf he accustome him selfe to vertue he shall leaue his euill inclination and become vertuous And this is it that the Prouerbe sayeth Who so beginneth to liue well in his youth it is a signe that he shall not doe amisse in his age But it is not one vertuous act alone that can be called a beginning as Aristot saith no more then can one swallow shew a spring And the greatest presumption by which we may cōiecture as Aristotle in the second of his Ethickes sayeth whether a man shall proue vertuous or no is the pleasure or the heauinesse that he taketh in his
great griefe and mourning bewailed his offence Hee committed adulterie with the wife of Vrias who was mother to Solomon for the which greeuous offence the Lorde was more offended with him then for all that euer hee did as is to be seene at large in his life The Doctour SExtus Tarquinius was the sonne of Tarquinius the King as Liuie in the first of his Decades writeth The like is affirmed by Saint Augustine in his boke of the Citie of GOD Valerius Maximus and many other auncient writers No lesse was Lucretia famous for her vertue then was this Tarquine to be abhorred for his wickednesse Amongst many that haue written of the woorthinesse of this Ladie none doeth so greatly delite me as M. Iohn Galensis in a booke that hee wrote of the foure principal vertues whō I only determin to folow His words as I haue translated thē out of the Tuscan tongue are these Well woorthie of immortall and euerlasting remembraunce is the noble vertuous Lady Lucretia Who refusing to liue any longer did rip out the stain of the villany and violence done vnto her with the death of her owne person The maner wherof S. Augustine telleth in his boke of the citie of God saying that Sextus Tarquinius came with Collatinus the husbande of Lucretia to a house of his called Collatinū where they found Lucretia vertuously disposed amongst her maidens and women the only Paragon of her time most commended of all others was this Lucretia Whom when the sonne of Tarquinius king of the Romans had throughly behelde he was presently inflamed with disordinate and wicked loue towardes her whereuppon within a fewe dayes after accompanied only with one man he returneth vnknowne to Collatinus vnto the aforesaide place where he was honourably entertained and receiued of Lucretia who made him great cheare and lodged him according to his estate supposing that she had had her friende and not her enimie in her house Tarquinius being now a bed al a fire with the flames of beastly desire perceiuing that they were all fast a sleepe in the house taking his swoorde in his hande leapeth out of his bed and goeth directly to the chamber of Lucretia whom he founde fast a sleepe where laying his hande vpon her brest he said vnto her Lie stil Lucretia I am Sextus Tarquinius yf thou makest any noise thou shalt die for it Wherewithall the Lady beeing with great feare awaked and seeing no succour about her nor any waye too escape death Tarquinius beginneth to disclose vnto her his great affection and somtime with faire woordes intreating her and sometime againe terribly threatning her assaieth all the waies that he can deuise to bryng her to graunt to his desire But when he saw that she was by no waies to be remooued from her stedfast and chaste minde and that the terrour of death coulde nothing preuaile he casteth about againe and thinkeeth to boorde her on an other side and saith vnto her I will tel thee what I will doe if thou wilt not consent vnto me I wyll first kill thee and afterwards kill an euil fauoured knaue that I haue heere in the house and laye him in bedde with thee whereby it shal be reported to the worlde that thou wert taken in shameful and filthie adulterie And with this feare he ouercame the chaste minde of the vertuous Ladie and hauing obteined his desire with great disdaine departed Wherewith the poore Lucrecia beeing now ouerwhelmed with sorowe and pensiuenesse for her great and greeuous mishappe sendeth with al speede possible to her father her husbande and all other their friendes at Rome earnestly desiring them to come vnto her with as muche haste as they coulde VVho when they were come Lucrecia all heauie and sorowfull in her bedde at their entring into the house fell into a great weeping and when her friendes began to salute her and to bid her bee of good comfort Alas quoth she What comforte can there be to a woman that hath lost her chastitie and lookeing stedfastly vppon her husbande shee cried out and saide O Collatinus the feete of a straunger hath been in thy bed But I sweare vnto thee of a trueth only the body is defiled for the mind was neuer consenting and that shal my death presently declare And therefore I require you all to shewe your selues men and not to suffer this horrible act to remaine vnpunished Sextus Tarquinius was he whom I receiued not as an enimie but as a supposed friende who hath this laste night depriued me and you also yf you be men of al ioy VVhen shee had vttered these wordes they all beganne to comfort her and to tel her that her offence was nothing beeyng forced and constrained thereunto and that where there was no consent there coulde be no offence VVhereunto Lucrecia replied and saide As for that looke you to those thinges that concerne your selues I though I dooe cleare my selfe of beeing guiltie of any offence yet doe I not discharge my selfe of punishment There shal neuer chaste woman take occasion to be euyll by the example of Lucrecia And with these wordes plucking out a knife that she had secretly hidden and thrusting it to her hart she fell downe dead whereat both her husbande and Brutus her father makyng great lamentation presently drewe out the knife out of the wounde being al stained embrued with blood which knife Brutus takyng in his hande sware to reuenge the iniurie and the death of his daughter and to destroy both Tarquin the king his wife and his children either by fyer by swoord or by al the waies that he might and neuer to suffer any of the kindred to reigne in Rome VVith which he gaue the knife to Collatinus and so from one to another Whereby this mourning chaunged into wrath and desire of reuenge they all made promise to folowe Brutus and taking with them the body of Lucretia they brought it to Rome and laide it in the middest of the market place to the ende that the horrour of so strange a facte might stirre vppe the people to reuenge it At the sight wherof the people were straight in armes and folowing Brutus they thrust out of Rome Sextus Tarquinius who after miserably died in prison 4◠No lesse was worthie Scipio Commended for the deede That from his chaste and worthie mind Did worthily proceede Then for his valiant manly actes Esteemed in his daies By which he to his Countrey got A neuer dieyng praise The Paraphrase of the Marques COrnelius Scipio as Valerius rehearseth in his thirde booke hauing taken the Citie of Carthage was tolde by his souldiours that in the sacke of the Towne there was taken a young maiden of woonderful beauty great parentage who was affianced to a Gentleman of the nobilitie which as soone as he vnderstoode he commaunded that the Damsel her husbande and her parentes should be brought before him and caused the young maide safe and vntouched to be deliuered vnto them
Brutus and Cassius as is more at large set foorth by Eutropius in his booke of the Emperours of Rome Valerius Maximus doeth also recorde the same and Iohn Boccace in his booke of Ladies where he entreateth of the vertues of women commending Porcia the daughter of Cato and wife of this Brutus The Paraphrase of the doctour IN this Prouerbe the Marques proueth by familiar example that which hee hath shewed in the Prouerbe before by naturall reason For as Aristotle saith in the second of his Rhethorikes In the workes and actions of men that which commeth after doeth commonly resemble that which hath been done before therfore it is a cōmon vse with writers when they woulde perswade or haue their doinges well thought of to bring in examples of thinges that in the like case haue happened And for the same cause the Marques hath in this Prouerbe made mention of that which happened to Iulius Caesar whose doinges are largely set out by Lucan in his booke that hee wrote of the ciuill warres This Iulius Caesar by force and tyrannie sought to aspire which nothing appertained vnto him to the gouernement of Rome and subdued and ouercame both Pompey and all his fauourers who fought for the lawes and liberties of their countrie In the prosecuting whereof Caesar slue manie disinherited a great sorte and iniuried a number And for the mainteining of this his tyrannicall iurisdiction hee was forced to make himselfe to be feared to the intent hee might keepe them from rebelling But for al that euer he could doe two gentlemē citizens of Rome whose names were Brutus and Cassius conspired against him and in the Parliament house where he mistrusted no such thing sette vpon him and siue him giuing him as it is written foure and twentie woundes whereof he presently died and therefore the Prouerbe sayeth Great Caesar as the stories tell and so saieth Lucan most cruelly was slayne Although hee was a mightie Prince and had a strong and a puysant garde yet at the time that Brutus and Cassius trayterously murdered him they found him without anie of his friendes or seruantes all alone It followeth Who on the earth so mightie is that when hee is alone can of him selfe doe anie more then can a seelie one That is to say though a man be neuer so mightie yea though he be a king of many landes and countries yet is he but a man and for his owne person can doe no more then a man maie doe And although we reade in the second booke of the Kinges that the person of a King in an armie is of more value then a thousand souldiers and that the death of a Prince or a Captaine is more hurtfull to an armie then the death of a thousand others because of the worthinesse of the Prince or Captaine yet as S. Hierom in one of his Epistles affirmeth though in the ordering of a battaile the worthinesse of a Prince or a Captaine is chiefly considered when it comes to the fight not the degree but the dooinges of euerie partie is respected for when it commeth to the shout the force and prowesse of euerie one is his safegarde be he King or Emperour If he fight not as he ought to doe he is of none account And though he be neuer so valiant being but one man he can as the Prouerb is do no more then an other man. 4. Howe many haue I seene by loue aduaunced hye But many more I haue beheld cast downe for tyranny For vertuous minds in bōdage brought will slacke no time but trie By all the force and meanes they can to come to libertie The Paraphrase FOr the proofe and confirmation of that which goeth before the Marques affirmeth that he hath seene in his time great numbers aduaunced and set vp by loue and manie ouerthrowne and tumbled downe that haue sought to rule by feare which proofe in hauing had the experience is the truest and certainest that may be For easier shall we be deceiued by olde recordes or sooner erre in trusting our owne naturall reason then faile in knowledge of the truth in a thing that we haue had experience of And therefore is it commonly sayd that experience is the mother and mistresse of all things and as Aristotle in the first of his Phisickes sayeth If any that be wise doe erre touching their opinions in learning they may well be called backe againe and brought to the knowledge of the truth by natural reason and perswasion But he that denieth that which he seeth with his eyes heareth with his eares and knoweth by the triall of his other senses with suche a one we ought not to dispute For he that denieth his senses is altogeather without sense And therfore the proofe that is made by experience is most strong and assured The Marques saieth that in his time he hath seene many aduaunced by loue Loue bringeth with it vnitie Peace concorde where feare alwaies causeth hatred as is witnessed afore by the testimonie of Tullie in his booke of Friendship howe great the force of friendshippe and concorde is may easily be knowne by the harmes that arise of discention and discorde Which our Sauiour in the Gospel expresly sheweth where he saith That euery kingdome diuided within it selfe shal be destroyed and come to nothing suche as liue in peace and amitie do prosper and encrease And Salust in the conspiracie of Cateline saith that by loue and concord the smallest thinges that be encrease and growe to be great where by discorde great and mightie thinges decay come to nothing For vertuous minds in bōdage brought will slacke no time to trie by al the force and meanes they can to come to libertie It is lawful for euery man by the lawe of nature to defend his life his goodes and his good name by al the meanes waies that he may Insomuch as if any man will kill me it is lawful for me for the safegard of my lyfe to kill the partie that doth so assault me neither ought I to forbeare as the lawiers saie till I be stricken or hurt for it is yenough for me the feare that I am in to be murthered and that yf I kill him not I am sure to be slaine my selfe In so much that it hath been the opinion of some Doctours That if I stande in feare of a mightier man then my selfe and knowe that whersoeuer he meete mee he will kill me and am not able to stand vppon my guard nor to bande with him in this case I am not bounde to forbeare but may kill him at the best aduantage that I can take him The lyke opinion is of some Doctors that yf I be wrongfully deteyned in prison and stande in feare of some violence or vniustice that in this case I may lawefully breake prison and if a iudge shall wrongfullie condemne me whereby I shall greatly bee damnified in my person and that the execution be out against me it shall be lawfull
whom he would haue abused was to hard for him For the traines and pathes of pickthankes are not for wise men to fall in but for grosse heads and simple people Tullie in his Inuectiue that he made against Salust hath these wordes I haue seene saith he many that in telling of other mens faultes haue more offended the hearers then did they that committed the faultes And therefore Backbiters whether their accusations bee false or true are not to be suffered Since as Tullie saieth They more offende the mindes of such as heare them with their spitefull and euill speech then doe those that commit the euill in deede And therfore wise men ought greatly to shunne to stop their eares against all Clawbackes taletellers and backbiters and not only to banish them but all vaine and idle talke as Saint Bernard writeth in an Epistle touching the gouernment of a house to a gentleman called Raymond wherein he sheweth what wayes hee ought to vse to auoyde all Parasites and gesters saying Whensoeuer thou art troubled with Coxecombes counterfaits or gesters make as if thou diddest heare them and let thy minde be vpon other matters for if thou once answere them and seeme to take pleasure in them thou shalt neuer be rid of them thou shalt shewe thy selfe to be but a light fellowe in seeming to take pleasure in any such follyes shalt be forced to giue them rewards loosing and casting away in so doeing whatsoeuer thou giuest 8. Assuerus if he had not heard eche part with equall eare Had greatly abusde the sword that he for iustice due did beare And into errour fallen which straight he would haue wisht vndone So had the guiltlesse creature died that no offence had doone The Paraphrase of the Marques ASsuerus was a man of so great power amongst the heathen that he was accounted for a Monarch or ruler of the world and as it is written in the Booke of Hester Haman beeing in speciall fauour with the King taking a displeasure against the Iewes who liued vnder the gouernmeÌ„t of Assuerus procured the Kings displeasure greately against them but especially against Mardocheus so as hee appointed him to be hanged And as it was a custome that Assuerus alwayes vsed to haue many times read vnto him a Booke wherein was contained the seruices that any of his subiects or any other had done vnto him where happely he chaunced to heare a speciall seruice that Mardocheus had done vnto him what seruice it was I leaue here to speake off beeing a matter commonly knowne to all such as haue beene studious in the scriptures This being vnderstood of the king and at the earnest request of Hester hee commaunded that Haman should bee trussed vppe vpon the same Gallowes that hee had prepared for Mardocheus whereby according to the saying of Dauid Hee fell into the same pitte that hee had digged for other With this Prouerbe agreeth the saying of Solon That euery well guyded common wealth standeth vppon twoo feete the one the right foote is the bountifull rewarding of those that haue doone good seruice the other the left foote is the punishment and correction of all disordered persons and offenders What Prince soeuer wanteth either this bountie in rewarding or iustice in punishing his common wealth shall alwayes be lame and halting and the good deedes and seruice of the subiectes ought euermore to bee recorded and many times read to the Prince and the parties them selues continually to bee examined The Doctour IN this prouerbe the Marques sheweth by examples that which he hath taught in the prouerbe before and to this intent he bringeth in the story of king Assuerus which story is written at large in the Booke of Hester which is one of the Canonicall bookes of the holy Scripture Of which to make you here a shorte relation you shall vnderstand that this Assuerus was one of the greatest mightiest Princes that was in the world and as it is written was Lord of an hundred and xxvii Prouinces who toke to wife Hester a Iewish woman and of the linage of the Iewes whom hee very entirely loued This Queene had an vncle with whom shee had been brought vp called Mardocheus who vsed to come dayly to the Court to learne and vnderstande how the world weÌ„t with the Queene his Neece and as the story telleth the Queâ—ne beeing so aduised by Mardocheus did not discouer what country man he was neither was it knowen that he was her vncle This King Assuerus had one that was very great about him called Haman who bare all the sway in the Kings house and as the whole company aswell the greatest as the meanest gaue honor and reuerence to Haman beeing so commanded by the King only Mardocheus would neither honor him nor doe him any reuerence notwithstanding that the Kings seruaunts had many times blamed him for not honouring of Haman nor making obeisance to him as the rest of the Court ' both did and the king had commanded and because they sawe that he would take no warning they complained to Haman of him who casting his eye vpon the Iewe and perceiuing plainely that he vsed no reuerence towardes him conceiued a great hatred against him and for the displeasure that he bare him deuised howe he might procure the destruction aswell of all the Iewes as of Mardocheus and therevpon tolde the King that throughout all his dominions there swarmed a lewde and a contemptuous kinde of people beeing authors of new sects and Ceremonyes and dispisers of his Maiesties lawes and ordinaunces which was a thing not before seene that such a kinde of people should be suffered to liue within his dominions made humble request to the King that hee might haue licence and authoritie from him to destroy them promising thereby to bring to the Kings cofers an infinite masse of treasure The King answeared him that he freely gaue him the treasure that he spake off and for the people hee bad him doe with them what he thought good and gaue him his ring from his finger that he might send out letters for the execution of his commaundement Whervpon Haman in great haste caused letters to be directed to all the Prouinces and Cities within the Kinges dominions that they should at a day appointed set vpon the Iewes and destroy them taking all their goods and not leauing one of theÌ„ aliue which newes when they came to the eares of Mardocheus were not very pleasant vnto him whereupon he hied to the Queene and perswaded her to goe with great spede to the King and to sue for pardon for her woful countrymen which at the first she refused to doe by reason of a law that if any should presume to enter the Kinges chamber without licence or speciall commaundement except the King did holde out in signe of clemencie the goldeÌ„ scepter that he held in his hand should presently dye for it Notwithstanding at the earnest request of Mardocheus after that she al the
thy desertes and make thee an example to all vnfaythfull varlets So that Archita chose rather to leaue the greate negligence and euill dealing of his Stewarde vnpunished then hastily and furiously to correct him in his wrath The same Valerius doeth also in the same booke tell vs that this Archita beeing extreeme angrie with one of his seruantes for a villaynous part that hee had played woulde not in anie wise punishe him himselfe but committed the punishment of him to Spensippus a friend of his to the ende that he not mooued with wrath shoulde vse measure and temperance in the corecting of him Seneca writeth also of the verie same Archita in his thirde Booke of Anger that being on a time greatly offended with one of his slaues hee caused him to bee stripped starke naked thinking to haue scourged him and as hee was readie to strike him hee plucked backe his hande and restrained himselfe wherewith a friend of his happening to come in and asking what the matter was I thought quoth hee to haue scourged this fellowe but feeling my selfe to bee in a rage I thought it no meete thing to punishe anie man in mine anger And this is the meaning of the Prouerbe where it sayeth That moderate Correction is good and free from blame And when it is out of measure deserues reproch and shame 28 The man that seekes to make amends â–ª refuse not to relieue Nor let it euer thee delight the wofull wretch to grieue A base and beastly minde it is to follow him that flies And valiant is it to assaile the tyrant that destroyes The Paraphrase IN this Prouerbe the Marques sheweth how men ought to behaue themselues towards such as haue offended and are sorowfull for it For according to the saying of the Prophet God desireth not the death of a sinner but to haue him to turne and be saued And the chiefest lesson that olde Anchises as Virgil in the sixth book of his Eneados writeth did will his sonne to take heede vnto was to seeke in all his exploites to mainteine peace as much as he might to pardon such as were sorrowful for that they had done and to vse the swoorde against proude and disdainfull tyrants And to say true it is not the part of a man to persecute any man that is in miserie to followe him that flieth nor to striue with such as are weake and vnable And therefore Iob sayth vnto God Wilt thou shew thy power against a leafe that trembleth with the winde And persecute a straw that is drie and withered Meaning that it was not a thing beseeming the maiestie of God who was almightie to persecute so miserable a creature as he was And the Prouerbe sayeth That it is a point of manhood to assaile him that mindeth to doe mischiefe And to inuade with the sworde as Anchises sayeth to Enaeas the proude and contemptuous persons not suffring them to vse their tyrannous minde in doing of euil as the Ciuill lawe teacheth touching the duetie and behauiour of a Conquerour or gouernour that they ought to take such order in euerie Prouince that the wealthie the mightie oppresse not the poore the needie and that they hinder not such as go about to defende and chearish them And this is the verie meaning of the Prouerbe where it sayeth That it is the signe of a valiant minde to resist all such as seeke to doe wrong 29. It doth declare a noble minde for to forgiue a wrong And with a perfect pacience to forbeare and suffer long The mercie that with measure meetes is vertue great to praise Restorer of thy state with life and lengthner of thy dayes The Paraphrase AMong the rest of the vertues that Aristotle in the fourth Booke of his Ethickes speaketh of Magnanimitie or greatnesse of minde is one And the speciall grace of this vertue is that such as haue it can not bee touched with anie iniurie or reproche For if iniurie bee offered vnto them a noble minde maketh no accompt of it but rather disdaines him that offereth it as a vile and an vnwoorthie person Tullie writeth in his Booke of the vertues of Caesar that hee was of so greate a courage and so noble a hart that where hee was verie mindefull of all other thinges hee neuer would remember any iniurie doone vnto him And Saint Augustine in one of his Epistles saith that he that hath a greate minde and a noble and gentlemanly heart doeth not onely not beare in memorie an iniurie doone vnto him but also denieth that he receiued anie iniurie And Seneca in one of his Epistles sayth that if a man of a noble and valiant minde be at anie time iniured he ought to behaue himselfe as Plato did who when one had giuen him a blowe in the mouth neither sought for amendes nor laboured to reuenge but denied that anie iniurie was done vnto him The same Seneca in his booke of wrath telleth that the Atheniens hauing sent their Ambassadours to king Phillip the king after their message declared required of them to knowe what thing he might doe that might be most acceptable to the people of Athens Wherwith one churlishe knaue amongst them called Democritus stepped foorth and tolde him that the greatest pleasure that he coulde doe to the citie of Athens was to goe hang him selfe and when all the companie that stood by were greatly offended with this lewde answere and were about to haue torne him in pieces the king woulde by no meanes that they should hurt him but let him alone and sayd vnto the Ambassadours Goe tell your maisters of Athens that much more proude are they that doe vtter such woordes then those that heare them and not reuenge them neyther is there any other cause of this but the modest clemencie and vertue 30. What man is there aliue that may So great offender be But if that he be iudged by rules of loue and charitie His trespasse shall appeare such as May pardon well deserue For mercie is the shield that doeth The guiltie onely serue The Paraphrase SAint Isidorus saith Euill is that iustice that pardoneth not the frailtie of man And a little after Doe not desire to condemne but to correct and amende Beware of rigour in the executing of iustice and thinke of mercie in geuing of sentence And Saint Gregorie in his Pastorall sayeth That iustice without mercie and mercie without iustice are both vnperfect And therefore although a man haue offended and done amisse if he be not frowarde obstinate and without grace being iudged with loue and charitie his offence shall be founde tollerable and the seueritie of iustice beng tempred with pitie shall bring the offendour to repent and amende 31. I alwayes iudge him worthy prayse that pardoneth gratiously For mercie doubtlesse is to man a crowne of honour high On the other side I doe mislike the sworde with blood to stayne The stroke whereof vniustly dealt cannot be called agayne The Paraphrase TO forgeue and
Valerius writeth in his first booke that the women of Rome to keepe themselues chast and sober did neuer drinke wine Of such sobernes temperance was the greate Alexander as Vegetius writeth in his booke Of the art of warres that he was so farre from setting his delight in eating drinking that he neuer vsed to eate but as he trauailed We likewise reade that hard by the campe of Hanniball there grew an appletree being as ful of apples as it might hang And so great was the continence and temperance of the souldiers that the tree after their departure remained as full of fruite as it was when they firste encamped For they counted it a greate shame and dishonour to eate any thing that was deyntie while they were in the fielde And of Iulius Caesar the Emperour wee reade that his dyet was grosse and common as herringes sprattes cheese and greene figges that he did eate at all times and in all places whensoeuer he was hungry and with this temperance and modestie he bridled the furie and disorder that followeth of to much eating and drinking For the bellie being stuffed with good meates and wines doeth presently yeeld to the rage of riot and Lecherie And therefore sayeth Solomon in his Prouerbes That wine ought not to be geuen to Princes For where drunkennesse hath place no secrete can bee kept And therefore the Prouerbe sayeth Temperance stayeth the raging lust of youth and of small and temperate feeding there ariseth neither disordinate lust nor other euill Saint Augustine did euer vse to saie that he liued not to eate but did eate for to liue and this is the Temperance which as the Prouerbe sayeth is woorthie of honour 36. But seeldome pouertie is seene such persons to molest As are of heedfull gouernement aud slouthfulnesse detest But idlenes and gluttonie where once they doe infect No vertue euer doe regarde nor honour doe respect The Paraphrase SAint Bernarde in an Epistle that hee writeth of the ordering and gouerning of a house to one Raimond a gentleman doth specially amongst other things exhort him to haue a careful eye to his liuing and to his expenses and to take heede that his receits be greater then his charges For if his expenses and his reuenues be one as much as the other hee shall bee sure to bee ouershoes and vndone before he be aware and therefore his counsell is that he that is wise shoulde alwayes set his bellie and his purse at discorde and vppon their strife be taught to knowe whose parte he shoulde take The belly proueth his purpose by the present delight that he feeleth and the purse prooueth his by the trial of the present harme and the miserie to come and farre better is it for a man to prouide and be carefull before hee come in neede then to seeke for helpe when hee is in miserie And this is it that is meant by the Prouerbe That pouertie is seeldome knowne to come to a person of good gouernement And gluttonie and sloth where they once come haue neuer regarde to Nobilitie For as Sainte Bernarde saieth The negligence and pouertie of the Maister of the house is as it were a burning and consuming fire in the toppe of it 37 His time he may not idlely spend that seeketh for to gaine For knowledge is not gotten but by industrie and payne So oughtest thou for to rule thy life and order such to keepe As thou preferre a gaineful watche before a harmefull sleepe The Paraphrase SOlomon in his Prouerbes willeth the slugard the loyterer that he go to the Emoth and consider her order and her tratrauayls which hauing neyther Captaine nor gouernour seeketh and prouideth in Sommer for her liuing and gathereth and layeth vp in the Haruest time as much as shall suffise hee to liue by in the winter And sayth that if a man will take paynes be diligent his haruest shal flow like a foūtayne and pouertie shal presently flie from him and therefore doth the Prouerbe bid To preferre a gaynefull watche before a harmeful sleepe For learning is not to be got without trauell for all men haue not knowledge by the inspiration of the holy Ghost But he that will atteine to knowledge must seeke and take paines for it and he that will come to be able to liue must as the Prouerbe saith preferre a good watching before an euil sleepe 38. For procreation onely and encrease of mortall kinde Forsake the chast virginitie with wise and sober minde Consider that this vaine delight was once the wofull fall Of Solomon for which he lost both wit and grace and al. The Paraphrase of the Marques THe perfection and profoundnesse of Solomon the king of Israel as wel in natural iudgement as in knowledge of the lawe is both at this day sufficiently knowne and shal be alwaies hereafter manifest who in his latter age being waxen effeminate and altogether ruled by women laied aside his obedience to GOD and became an idolatour as may be seene at large in the booke of the kinges The Doctour THe Marques hauing in his Prouerbs before declared the inconueniences that men fall into by gluttonie and excesse in eating and drinking doeth shewe vs in this Prouerbe and a fewe that folowe the inconueuiences and harmes that proceede of carnall and fleshly lust For where as men cannot liue for euer nor alwaies continue and that it is incident and common to them that some be borne and some die it is therefore of necessitie prouided by nature that men should haue the company and vse of women and so breake the bondes of virginitie And this ought to be doone with great modestie and consideration as the Prouerbe heere sheweth For a man to lie with any other then his owne wife though it be with intent of encreasing the worlde is hainous and deadly sinne Yea yf a man lie with his owne wife vpon a fleshly desire and not for procreation hee doeth offend For a man ought not to haue the vse of a woman for any other end then for the encreasing of posteritie Or for auoiding of whoredome he may vse his own wife And those that doe otherwise doe fal into that filthie sensualitie that brought Solomon to all his miserie wherof the Marques hath partly spoken aboue 39. And for the selfesame greeuous sinne Was Dauid brought full lowe And in the midst of mortall plagues was taught his fault to knowe ▪ The loftie Tarquin in his pride Was punished therfore And from the stately gates of Rome Was thrust for euermore The Paraphrase of the Marques DAuid that most holy Prophete and king of Israel after Saul was a man that did many woorthie and notable acts and a man of great wisedome hee doeth greatly set foorth the glory and Maiestie of GOD in his Booke of Psalmes Notwithstanding hee dyd greeuously fall and offende in fleshly and beastly affection committyng moste horrible adulterie howbeit hee afterwardes turned to GOD with great repentance and with
bee a meanes to discredite him when hee shoulde not be able to performe that which he promised He aunsweared them that it was not conuenient that any person shoulde departe from the face of a Prince with a discomforted and heauie hearte It is also reported of him that beyng set at Supper and calling to remembrance that he had not bestowed any thing vpon any man that day looking with a discontented countenaunce hee saide vnto those that were with him Alas my friends I haue vtterly lost this day meaning that the time is neuer well spente of Princes wherin they are not geuing to some bodie 64. But Midas with his masse of golde was had in great disdayne And he and al his treasures thought to be but fond and vayne The fowle vnprincely answeare of Antigonus the king With stayne vnto his state his name to infamie did bring The Paraphrase MIdas as Ouid in his Metamorphosis declareth was king of Phrigia who receiued with great interteinement the Gods Iupiter and Mercury as they happened to come by him who willing to make him some recompence for his good will towardes them bade him to aske of them whatsoeuer hee most desired Midas being a most miserable wretch and couetous as the Diuell desired of them that whatsoeuer he touched and whatsoeuer touched him might presently turne into golde which was by and by graunted him whereby he became in a short time to bee wonderfull riche but when the foole was in the middest of his Paradise the very drinke and meate that should sustayne him turning into gold he died as it is reported of famishment The moral of this tale I here meane not to meddle with because it hath been touched by many greate and learned Philosophers and Poets It suffiseth to knowe that it noteth and reprooueth the shamefull and most wicked vice of couetousnesse and filthie auarice Antigonus the king is greatly blamed of Seneca in his booke of Benefites of whom he writeth that when a poore man desired of him a great quantitie of golde he made answer that it was a great deale too much and not meete for him to require and when the poore soule desired him to giue him but a pennie he answered againe how that was too small a thing for a king to giue And thus not regarding how foully this dishonorable niggardlines pinchpining doth blemish the name of a Prince the couetous Antigonus made these answers to the poore miserable felow which deserue for euer to be recorded as a foyle counter shewe to the noble Emperours Alexander and Titus 65. I lyke not him that 's prodigal nor such I list to prayse And yet the man that well deserues I hurt not any wayes The troth is that I much mislike to liue in neede and want But ten times more a miser that is couetous and scant The Paraphrase THE Prodigall man as Aristotle in the fourth booke of his Ethikes sayth is he that spendeth more then is needefull where it is needelesse Who perceyuing the vertues of the liberall man that spendeth that which is meete and where it behoueth and that the couetuous miser is condemned for not spending that which hee ought taketh himselfe straightwayes for a liberall and a vertuous Gentleman and sayeth that hee vseth monie as it ought to bee vsed And this is a vice greatly to bee auoyded for the meane betwixte these two extremes of Prodigalitie and Couetuousnesse is the vertue Liberalitie Howebeit true it is as Aristotle sayeth the lesser vice of the twayne and more to bee borne withall is Prodigalitie For the prodigall man profiteth those to whom hee geueth although hee hurteth himselfe But the Churle and the miser neither profiteth himselfe nor anie man els Besides hee that is prodigall will sooner come to be vertuous and liberal thē the couetous for two reasons The one is that by reason of his greate expenses falling in to neede and want he will quickely see what hurt he receiueth by too much spending and will from that time forwarde learne to bee wiser and to keepe his money the better The seconde is that with the time of his spending hee waxeth aged and people in their olde yeeres be more sparing and thriftie then in their youth because the hope of gaming is nowe taken from them whiche in youth doeth alwayes encourage them But the couetous person cānot be brought to the vertue by neither of these reasons For the older he waxeth the more miser he waxeth and therefore if wee mislike a man that by reason of his prodigalitie commeth to be poore we ought a great deale more to detest a Misar that by couetousnes groweth to be rich For as Salust saith in his booke of Catiline Couetuousnesse hath vtterly banished both faith and honestie and cleane destroyed all artes and knowledges Whereby it hath brought in pride crueltie contempt of God and a generall Merchandise of suche thinges as shoulde freely bee geuen Couetousnesse is alwayes infinite and neuer satisfied with abundaunce nor diminished with want And therefore Though the prodigall bee to bee mislyked in necessitie and want yet ten times worse a miser that is couetous and scant 66. The great Darius easllyer was destroyde for all his might And of his valiant aduersary subdued and put to flight Then might Fabricius moued be with couetous desire Whose hart with filthy auaryce coulde not be set on fire The Paraphrase FRabricius beside a number of other his noble vertuous and worthie actes excelled in the vertue of liberalitie of whō it is reported by Valerius in his nienth booke that when he was presented by the state of Beneuento with a great masse of monie hee returned the embassadoures with their treasure home agayne as one that contented himselfe with the benefite of his Temperance and helde himselfe satisfied with that small wealth which hee had supposing it to bee a sufficient riches For hee did alwayes saie that riches consisted not in much hauing but in little coueting 67 To helpe a man in miserie our dutie vs doeth binde And not to doe it when we may is odious and vnkinde A noble minde will neuer stayne it selfe with such a blotte Nor suffer such a great offence nor such a filthie spotte The Paraphrase THE Prophet Dauid saieth in his Psalter Blessed is that man that hath compassion vppon the poore and the needie For in the time of his necessitie the Lorde shall deliuer him And Solomon in his Prouerbes sayth That who so hath pitie vppon the poore and relieueth them lendeth vppon vsurie to GOD who shall restore him with great gayne that which hee hath disbursed And therefore the Prouerb saieth To helpe a man in miserie our dutie vs doth bind Where Duetie is taken for a woorke of Mercie as Seneca accounteth it in his Booke of Dueties and farther it saith Not to succour when we may is odious and vnkind For as Solomon in his Prouerbs saith Whosoeuer stoppeth his eare at the crie of the poore shall crie
his time To these foure and to the two others Don Iohn and Don Hurtado he left such Lordshippes rents reuenewes as made fiue great houses besides his owne principall house FINIS ⧠The first Chapter of Loue and Feare 1. My sonne whom I doe dearly loue Vnto my wordes geue eare ▪ Seeke not by rigour for to rule Nor gouerne men by feare ▪ Loue and thou shalt beloued be And by the same shalt doe Such worthie things as hated thou shalt neuer attaine vnto The Paraphrase EVery wyse Oratour as Tullie in his booke de Oratore teacheth ought principally ▪ in whatsoeuer matter he dealeth to consider three things That is to make all those that shall eyther heare his speach or reade his workes to be well willing vnderstanding and mindefull The speaker shall make his audience well willing when he laboureth to obteyne their fauour and good wil towardes him For no man wil gladly geue eare to such a man as he is afore euil perswaded of he maketh his hearers to vnderstād when he declareth the matter that hee meaneth to entreate off in shewing that it shal be profitable commodious he causeth them to be attentiue or mindeful when he mooueth or stirreth them vp by good meanes inductions to be readie to heare not hauing their minds caried away with anie other matters All these points hath this learned gentleman folowing this inscription obserued in al his discourse But especially in this first Prouerbe he hath obserued the first in making him that shal reade him wel minded towardes him procuring his fauour goodwil in calling him by the name of his sōne beloued For as the Ciuil law sayth we can name no man by a more sweet or better name thē to call him our sonne He maketh him to vnderstand in shewing him howe to direct or order his life amōgst the people he maketh him attētiue in these wordes where he saith Geue eare And the meaning and matter of this Prouerbe is the most sweet gracious behauiour that men of all degrees ought to vse in their conuersation And if so be that men of gret estate calling ought to vse this gētle behauiour much more ought they that are of meane degree to do it And therfore Seneca in the speach that he hath with the Emperour Nero as he bringeth in in his 9. Tragedie when the Emperour did striue to gouerne rather by feare then by loue and commaunded sundrie things to be done by force and disorder to the ende the people should feare him because Seneca did therefore greately blame him the Emperour tolde him that whatsoeuer he did he ought by reasō for to do for the sword was it that defēded the Prince Seneca answeared that the faith and true allegiance of his subiects would better defend him The Emperour replied That it is good that the Prince bee feared Seneca answeareth it is better that he be beloued The naked sword saith Nero shal make them doe what I wil haue thē Beware saieth Seneca you neuer fall into suche an errour The Emperour answereth I wil force the people to feare mee Surely saith Seneca that which you force and compell the people to doe they will verie hardly suffer And therefore it is not meete that anie person as is sayde especially suche gouernours as are vertuous and iust should vrge or force any thing agaynst the good will of the people much lesse that priuat persons should in their conuersation one with an other doe it For as Seneca in his thirde Epistle sayeth whereas hee sheweth the deliberation that a man ought to haue in the getting and keeping of his friende If thou wilt be beloued loue or as the Prouerbe sayeth By loue thou shalt doe that hated thou shalt neuer attayne vnto For there is nothing in the world that is sought with loue either by the prince of his subiecte the Lorde of his tenant or the friend of his familiar but it is easily obteined For as Virgill saith in his Bucolikes Loue ouercōmeth al thinges insomuch is for the great loue that the Almightie bare vnto mankinde hee sent his only begottē sonne to take our flesh vppon him and to die for vs that he might beare our faults and infirmities as Esai saith and suffer for our offences And therefore if loue coulde cause God to abase himselfe to be conuersant with man and to doe that which might chiefly auayle vs being euerlasting and most perfect and we mortall and imperfecte what shall it not doe in the companie and conuersation of one man with an other Whereuppon Valerius in his thirde booke in the title of Loue and delight writeth that Damon and Pithias two of Pythagoras his schollers bare so great loue and affection one to the other as when Dionisius of Sarragos would haue put one of them to death he seeyng that there was no remedie but needes he must dye required that hee might haue libertie to goe home to dispose set in order suche thinges as hee had promising to put in sureties for his returne at what day soeuer he woulde appoint him Dionisius supposing that none so faithfull a friēd could be found that in such a case woulde become suretie to the hazard of his life and all that he had aunsweared that he was content to giue him leaue time to goe to his house so that he put in such suretie as hee promised whereuppon he left him for suretie his other friende And as the last day was now come wherein the condemned person was bound to returne to suffer his determined death all those that were present did count a great follie in him that woulde in suche a case become suretie hazard his life for an other how great soeuer the friendship was betwixt them But the partie that was suretie did no whitte distrust the fidelitie of his friende nor repent him any whitte of his suretyshippe Nowe as they were all gaping and gasing to see the ende of the matter at the last day and euen in the last houre commeth the condemned man wherat Dionisius was greatly astonished and for the great faithfulnes loue that he saw betweene them pardoned the partie that he had condemned and desired them both that they woulde vouchsafe him for a third into their friendship Wherby it is euident that loue is of so greate a force that it forceth such men as be true friends to venter giue their liues the one for the other So that very well saith the Prouerbe Loue and thou shalte beloued bee For Seneca in his thirde Epistle affirmeth that nothing doeth more trouble a man in his prosperitie and wealth then to thinke that they can neuer bee to him good and faithfull friendes to whom he himselfe hath neuer been good Howe manie kindes of Friendshippes there bee and howe some bee friendes for Commoditie sake others for pleasure and delight others for vertue and honestie howe some bee sworne friendes and what difference there
is betweene Loue and Friendship because I will make no long processe I leaue here to speake of Of all which both Aristotle in his eight booke of his Ethickes Tullie in his booke of Friendshippe and Seneca in his nienth Epistle do largely and thorowly discourse I should also here declare how we shoulde behaue our selues in getting of friendes and hauing once gotte them howe to continue them Whereof Seneca intreateth in his 3. Epistle whyther for auoiding tediousnes I referre the Reader 2. Who can assoile the man that 's dread from care and deadly feare If any reason minde or witte in him that dreads appeare Esteeme and thou shalt be esteemed for feare is to the sense A griefe that cannot be exprest a deadly pestilence The Paraphrase IN this prouerbe the Marques his minde is to prooue by natural reason that which he hath written in the former prouerbe that is that men ought to be gētle and eurteous in their conuersations and that they ought not to doe anie thing by force or feare but rather by loue and gentlenes He also setteth down the inconuenience that foloweth to him that had rather be feared then loued saying Who can assoyle the man that is dread from care and deadly feare c. For if he that feareth haue not altogether lost his discretion and vnderstanding he wil not feare him that he feareth For he may esily vnderstand that he that liueth in dread will seeke by all the meanes to be deliuered of him that he feareth For feare as Aristotle saith in the 3. booke of his Ethiks is a continuall looking for the harme that shal happen According to which such as feare others do continually looke to receiue harme at the handes of those whom they feare or to escape the euill that they looke for They imagine how they may preuent in doing of euill them of whom they thinke to receiue euill And therefore in the speache that Thyestes the Sonne of King Pelops hath with his sonne Philistines where his sonne requireth him to forsake the place of his banishment and to come and gouerne and liue together with his brother Araeus as Seneca sheweth in his seconde Tragidie where Thyestes doth shew the reasons that moueth him rather to liue in a poore estate then to be a man of greate place authority saying While I liued in princely state and maiestie I was neuer free from fearing of those that feared me yea and many times I was afraide of the very sword that hung by mine owne side least in the ende I should come to be slayne with it And afterwarde Oh what a great happines is it not to be feared of anie to sleepe soundly vpon the grounde and to eate in safety the meate that is prouided Poison is presented in golden cuppes meaning that it is not geuen to the poore labourer that drinketh in earth or wood but to great estates that drinke in golde geuen by those that feare them and by such as they haue good cause to feare And therefore Tullie saieth in his booke of Friendship that in the life of Tyrantes which be such as gouerne by force and feare more then by loue there can be neither faith loue nor stedfast friendshippe To the Tyrant all thinges are suspicious and euerie thing ministreth vnto him occasion of sorrowe and care And it followeth Who can loue him whom he feareth or him of whō he knoweth he is feared With this agreeth that which Boetius in his third booke of Comfort writeth that such as are guarded with men of warre stand in dread of those whom they seeme to make affraide And therfore wel sayth the Prouerbe That feare is a deadly griefe vnto the sense Which is verified as well in the person that feareth as in him that is feared It is written of Dionisius as Boetius in his 3. booke of Comforte witnesseth that hee was a great Tyrant and such a one as by tyranny and crueltie subdued many countries and did manie harmes and mischiefes who as he sought to gouerne by tyrannie and force it is most like hee was rather feared then beloued It is written that a special friende of his comming to see him told him that he had great cause to thinke him selfe happie in that he had atteyned to so greate and so hygh estate as hee was in Dionisius made no answere at all but bad him to dinner where ouer the chaire where his ghest should sit he caused to be hanged by a verie smal thred a weightie and a sharp pointed sword in such sort as his friend being set the sword hung directly ouer the crowne of his head so as if the thred brake it was sure to run thorow him thus caused him to sitte down to dinner who al the while that he sat sweat for feare least the thread breaking the sword should fal vpō him destroy him Dionisius caused him with sundrie dishes to be deintily and delicately serued the borde being taken vp he asked his ghest if hee had not pleasantly dined Who answeared him what pleasure coulde I haue at mymeate seeing the swoorde by so small a stay hanging ouer my head and still looking for the losse of my life whensoeuer the thred should breake Loe saith Dionisius such is the life of all tyrantes who for the mischiefes and tyrannies that they have doon and for feare of those whom they haue offended and wronged doe liue continually in feare and in dread and doe looke euerie howre for eyther death or some great danger touching the which I haue made a more large discourse in my Commentaries vpon the Prouerbes of Seneca in the Prouerbe that beginneth He that alwaies feareth is euerie day condemned To the which because I wil not be long I referre the reader since the Marques hath well concluded in this Proueth where he sayth Esteeme and thou shalt be esteemed meaning that it lyeth in thine owne power to be feared or to be loued and that feare is a deadly grief to the sense of which euerie man will seeke to ridde him selfe with as much speede as he may 3. Great Caesar as the stories tell most cruelly was slaine And yet the woorthiest conquerour that in the world did raigne Who on the earth so mightie is that when he is alone Can of himselfe doe any more then can a seely one The Marques CAesar most woorthie prince he that is heere mencioned was called by the name of Iulius and of others Caius the selfe same that passed the Rubicon against Pompey as Lucan writeth in his booke of the Ciuill-warres who after the death of Pompey and Cato triumphing with great pomp in the citie of Rome and taking into his handes the common treasurie behaued himselfe with such pride and outrage towarde the Citizens that they coulde by no meanes abide him and as his hautinesse was thought of them intollerable they conspired to kill him which treason of theirs they did no long time delay The chiefe of this conspiracie were
for me to assemble my friendes and my kinsmen and to resist the officer vsing all the meanes I maye to saue my bodie and my goodes yea I may hurt the other in the defence of my goodes and the sauing of my credite For as the Doctours saye if I remaine in anie place and knowe that mine enemie is comming to doe me some mischiefe and that it shall bee greatly hurtfull and against my credite to go from the place that I neede not to depart but maye well tarie there and if the other assault mee if I kill him I am not to bee punished And the reason is that for the greate feare that I am in it is lawfull for mee to saue my selfe and my credite as well as I may And this is it that the Prouerbe meaneth that vertuous mindes in bondage brought And therefore hee sayeth Vertuous or good men because the iniurie is not so great that is done to a raskall or a lewde person as that which is done to a vertuous or a godly man And though such a man of a vertuous minde will beare as much as maye bee yet beeing vniustly wronged and euill dealt withall and put in feare hee slackes no time to trie by all the meanes and wayes he can to come to libertie 5. O sonne be milde and amiable lay loftie lookes aside The hautie and disdainfull man the Lorde can not abide Of wicked and malicious men auoide the companie For all their doings tende to strife and ende with villanie The Paraphrase IN this Prouerbe the Marques goeth aboute to beate downe all manner of hautinesse and pride of minde shewing the greate misliking that the Lorde hath of all such as are prowde and disdainfull As Dauid in his Psalme sayeth That the Lorde resisteth the prowde and giueth grace to those that bee humble and meeke And Solomon in his Prouerbes affirmeth that after pride commeth alwaies a fal he that hath an humble heart shal come to great honour this is it that the Prouerbe meaneth That euery man ought to be amiable That is gentle and lowly in his speach not hautie not proud nor disdainful It is writtē in a booke of the commendations of Caesar that he neuer said to any Gentleman get you away But come you hither And in the first booke of the worthie acts of Philosophers it is written that the great Caesar passing by a court of iudgement where haply was arrained an ancient Gentleman that had somtime serued him in his warres which Gentlemā when he perceiued the Emperour cried vnto him beseeched him to alight to helpe him that he might be deliuered frō his false accusers the Emperor willed a learned aduocate that stood by to take his cause in hande to do the vttermost he coulde for him for his sake The poore Gentleman seeing the matter so put of said with a loude voice Caesar when you were in the field like to be troden downe of your enimies I did not in your danger serue you by a Proctor but with the great hazard of my own life I fought for the defence of your person at which bāquet I receiued these wounds for you there withal shewed his woūded body Which words when Caesar had heard without any pride or disdain he presently alighted cōming himselfe to the barre defēded his cause For he thought it a part not onely shamefull but most vnthākful if he should not haue done as he did And when the whole assembly did greatly wonder at this noble worthy deed he said that the Prince that sought not to bee beloued of his subiects did neuer truly loue thē and to this end the Prouerb sheweth what great good it bringeth to be louing and not high minded how greatly God doth hate the proud and the disdainful who much displeaseth our Lord as is said before And Seneca in his first Tragedie saieth That the gracious righteous God doth alwaies hunt persecute the proude The Prouerbe saith Forth of wicked malitious men auoide the cōpany For al their doings tend to strife and ende with villanie There is nothing that more disquieteth and troubleth the cōpanie conuersation of one man with an other then a brauling or a contētious person neither doth any thing more alure men to company one with another thē curtesie and gentle behauiour and therfore Chilo that was one of the vii wise men of Athens demaūding whether of the twaine were best for a man to be wrangling and contentious or milde and quiet It was answered him that the better was he that was milde and quiet For the friends and neighbours of such a man did rather honour him then feare him 6. And let your answeres still be such as may procure good will As best beseemes a gentleman not froward rude nor ill O sonne howe little doth it cost at all times well to speake Howe little againe doth it auaile with wordes thy wrath to wreake The Paraphrase IN this Prouerbe the Marques sheweth the order that men ought to haue in their answeres when they be spoken to and that howsoeuer it goeth with vs we ought continually to bee curteous and gentle in our speach And it is one of the principall graces that men can haue of God as Dauid in his Psalmes witnesseth Thy mouth is full of grace therefore the Lord hath blessed thee And though a man fal out wrangle with thee yet if thou answerest him gently and mildly not proudly nor frowardly thou shalt a great deale sooner pacifie him For as Solomon in his Prouerbs saith A soft vorde wil breake the bone and a sweete peach doth pacifie wrath As Seneca in its first boke that he wrote of Anger Wrath shewing that great Princes ought to bee gracious gentle in their answeres bringeth for example the King Antigonus who hauing caused his men to march an vnreasonable iournie in a day when that they all weery and ouerlaboured were come to the place where they should encampe he made them without giuing them any rest euery man with great and heauy burdens to marche whiche was a great way farther close to the wall of a towne that he ment to besiege and as the poore men beeing ouerladen went rayling and curssing of the King because hee had made them to take such an vnreasonable iournie and after had caused them to marche with so extreame burdens not suffering them any whitte to rest the King perceiuing it chaunged his apparell and keepeing company with those that were scarse laden and those that did moste reuile him he helped them to carry their burdens and as the souldiers felt themselues greatly eased by his company they mused what he was that was amongst them and so busy to helpe them for the knewe him not by reason he had so disguised him selfe at the last being importunate with him to tel what he was You haue hitherto saith he cursed and rayled at the king
and one of the greatest defeatings or auoydings as the Lawyers say of any proces is if iudgemēt haue been prooued or done without deliberation And therefore the Prouerbe sayth See that you take good deliberation in iudgement 10. The deed that 's done by good aduice doth alwayes firmely stand And seldome seene to craue amendes at any second hand Be ruled by counsaile euermore whatsoeuer thou dost intend And from thy side let neuer goe thy faythfull aged friend The Paraphrase THe Marques in this Proueth concludeth two things The first is the effect that followeth when a thing is done with good deliberation and brought to passe by good aduise and counsaile the seconde is whose aduise and coūsaile in our doings we ought to follow Touching the first Solomon in his Prouerbes saith The determinations of a man neuer come to good where counsaile is not afore had The deuises that are executed by good aduise are alwayes perfect good And Seneca saith Do al thy things by good aduise thou shalt neuer repent them For a man not taking coūsaile nor aduise in that which he intendeth it is not possible for him that he should foresee the errours that he shal fal in And falling therein for want of good foresight counsaile it must needes be that he must repent himselfe and say I had not thought so great a mischiefe woulde haue folowed And as Valerius writeth that Scipio of Affrica was wont to say It was an euill fauoured a shameful thing for a man in any matter especially in such as belong to a man of warre to say I would not haue thought it For such things as are to be done with the sword ought well to be thought of before For the errours that in warres are cōmitted can neuer as Scipio saith be amended And as Vegetius in his booke that he made Of the knowledge of the Warres affirmeth There is no other reason to be yeelded why the Romanes did subdue the whole worlde conquered wheresoeuer they came but because they did al that they did by great deliberation aduise being verie skilfull well trained in such things as belonged to the warres For what saith he was a handful of poore Romanes to the infinite numbers of the Frenchmen or what could so slēder a power preuaile against the great forces puissance of the Germanes Certaine it is that the Spaniards were more in nūber and of greater strength force thē were the Romanes They were alwayes behind the Affricanes both in wealth policies And no mā doubteth but the Greeks were farre beyond them in grauitie wisedom Yet alwayes did the souldier of Rome preuaile because of his skill being continually trained daily exercised in the warres For there could nothing hap in any skirmish or battel wherew t they had not long time afore been acquainted Certaine it is as the Prouerb saith that that which is done by deliberation cōmeth not to craue amendment at the second hande and that from this counsaile and aduise the olde stager ought neuer to be shut out For as Aristotle sayth in the first of his Ethickes The yong man by reason of his small experience can haue no great knowledge in anie matter and therfore not able to giue anie good coūsaile And beside in his booke of Rethorike In mans affaires and actions the thinges that haue passed be cōmonly like to the thinges that after happen and as the young man hath had no experience of such thinges as haue happened before so can hee neuer bee able to iudge of the things that shall after fal out therefore the auncient mē are alwayes able to giue better counsaile And therefore Roboam the sonne of Solomon for taking the aduise of yong men and refusing the olde and expert fellowes did verire worthily forgoe tenne partes of twelue of his kingdome as shal hereafter be more at large declared And though young men are by reason of strength and lustinesse more able and fitte for the fight than are the olde men yet as Tullie in his booke of Age saith The great and notable exploites are neuer done by force nor agilitie of body but by counsaile aucthoritie secresie And among the principal causes that we reade why Alexander had alwaies the victory and the better hand it was the chiefe that he went alwaies accompanied with graue auncient counsellours For as Trogus Pompeius in his eleuenth booke writeth That Alexander whensoeuer he was in any iourney of great daunger he neuer called to counsel nor made priuie to his doinges the young and lusty Gallantes but the olde expert souldiers that had folowed the warres with his father and with his vncle whom he vsed not so muche for souldiers as for gouernours And it is saide that those whom he put in his battailes were commonly of the age of threescore yeeres vpwarde to the entent that none of them should thinke to run away but to ouercome and trusting more to their handes then their feete shoulde set their whole mindes vpon the victory And when diuers of his old souldiours desired him that they might depart to rest and refreshe them selues offering him their sonnes that were young and lustie to serue in their places It is saide that he answered I had rather to haue about me the well experienced grauitie of aged men then the frowardenesse and vnaduised rashnesse of young men And thus did Alexander attaine to whatsoeuer he desired and was in all his doinges honourable and vertuous because he neuer suffered as the Prouerbe sayeth The olde man to depart from his side 11 So long the common wealth of Rome Did floorishe strong and glad As they their aged senatours At home in honour had But when that Tirantes once began To rule and beare the sway They neuer any conquest made But lost from day to day The Paraphrase IN this Prouerbe the Marques sheweth and prooueth by good example and greate experience of thinges before passed That which before he declared that as long as the Romanes gaue credit to the aduise and counsaile of their aged Fathers so long they prospered and did well and when they once ceassed so to doe their honour presently ceassed and came to nought They were gouerned in those dayes by a certaine companie of men called Senators which woorde and name commeth of the Latine woorde Senex which signifieth aged In what sorte and by what meanes the Romanes prospered is plainely declared by Iudas Machabee in the first boke of the Machabees where he saith The Romanes by their wisedome and sober behauiour possessed the whole worlde and ouerthrewe the Princes that rebelled against them and made Tributaries Galacia and Spaine subdued and overcame the king of the Persians and Antiochus the king of Asia hauing in his company a hundred and thirtie Elephants sacked al their cities and made Tributarie vnto them all their Dominions and brought into subiection al the countries rounde about them as wel farre as neare
forsaken and reiected of his people as is mencioned in the Prouerbe 19. My sonne serue God with all thy heart for why his wrath from hie Doth fall and whiske through all the worlde in twinkling of an eie For when he list he casteth downe such as he blessed late And doth aduaunce the godly man to great and hie estate The Paraphrase THe Marques sheweth in this Prouerbe the profite and commoditie that commeth of seruing and fearing God and the hurtes inconueniences that follow to such as offende him according to the dayly lessons of the church The soueraign power of God is shewed in casting downe the mightie out of their seate which are those that heape to them selues his displeasure and in exalting the humble and the meeke which are those that feare him For as Dauid in one of his Psalmes sayth The Lord throweth downe one and lifteth vp an other for the vessell is in the hand of God And of such as serue and feare God he sayth I haue not seene the iust forsaken nor his seede begging their breade And of those that offende and fall into his displeasure he saith I haue seene the wicked in prosperitie and flourishing like the Cedars in Libanus and within a while I went by the place where he was and beholde he was perished and not to be seene And therefore well saith the Prouerbe The Lord bringeth the mightie to the ground that offendeth him prouoketh his displeasure aduaunceth to honour the poore man that feareth him And vpon this is the whole Scripture in a maner grounded that is to wit that God promiseth euerlasting ioy sufficiencie of worldly goods to all those that serue him and euerlasting destruction both of life and goods to those that offend and prouoke his wrath 20. Be conformable to the time and season that dooth fall For otherwise to be is cause of griefe and losse of all Abhorre presumption as a monster and an enimy To knowledge that is onely light and lampe of magestie The Paraphrase IT is written of Dauid the King that for feare of falling into the hands of Saule he fled into an other countrey neere adioyning where they well vnderstood that hee was annointed king ouer Israel And when they had taken him and brought him before the King of the countrie whose name was Achis because they should not detaine him in prison nor gratifie Saule with the deliuery of him hee fayned him selfe to bee mad and wryed his mouth as one that had been possessed with a spirite and fomed at the mouth this was counted for a great wisedome and discretion in Dauid because he framed him selfe according to the time and season whereas if he had doone otherwise he had cast away him selfe And Cato saith That it is a great pointe of wisedome to counterfaite follie in some place and in an other place It is good for a man to seeme half out of his wit enraged when time and reason requires As Aristotle in his third Booke of Ethicks witnesseth where he speaketh of Fortitude At some time againe it shall behooue him to shew him selfe to be humble and meeke yea and also fearefull as Aristostle in the very same booke writeth The like is to bee obserued in the vertues of Temperaunce Liberalitie and all other vertues in knowledge of which circumstances Wisedome doth chiefly consist Againe the Prouerbe sayeth That a man ought to abhorr presumption as the enemy and contrary to the cleare Lampe of Knowledge VVherevpon Sainct Hierome in one of his Epistles writeth after this sorte Amongst all other things that the Romaines wisely deuised this was one That whensoeuer any of their Captaines returned with victory to Roome least he shoulde be puft vp with pride and vainglory for the worthynesse of his person or brought into a fooles paradise forgetting himselfe for the great honor and triumph that was done vnto him they thought good that as they honoured him three maner wayes for the ouerthrowe that hee wan so the selfe same day to make him remember him selfe and to let fall his Pecockes taile they likewise dishonored him with thre notable dispights The honor which was doone to all conquerours that they did vnto him was in three manners The first was that all the people of the Citie came out to meete and receiue him with great ioy and gladnesse The seconde all the Prisoners that he had taken went before his Chariot with their hands bound behinde them The third they put vpon him a shert of the God Iupiters and set him in a Chariot of Golde which was drawen with foure white Horses in which sorte they caried him to the Capitoll with great honor ioy and showtes of the people And with these three sortes of honor they ioyned these three reproches to the end hee shoulde not wax proude nor insolent The firste was they placed by him cheeke to cheeke a ragged and an vnseemely knaue and thus they did to signifie that any man though his state were neuer so base nor miserable might by vertue attaine to the like honour The second this beggerly companion did nowe and then buffet him to the ende he should not be too proude of his honour and euer as he strake him badde him to remember that hee was a man and should dye The thirde dishonour was that it was lawfull for euery man to giue him the shamefullest woordes they coulde deuise And this the Romaines did as I saide before to the ende the Conquerour should abhorre presumption which is the aduersarie of the Knowledge that clere and comfortable light 21. For time is it that all things makes and time doth all things marre And when dame Fortune pleased is such things as hurtfull are Fall out to our commoditie and many times doe please While such things as cōmodious are doe turne to our disease The Paraphrase THis is the onely difference betwixt euerlasting thinges and transitory things The euerlasting things endure for euer the transitory thinges as with time they come so with time they decay therefore in the proueth before the Marques giueth vs aduice and exhorteth vs to bee conformable to the time season And that reason that maketh him so to say is that as a thing is in one time wrought done so is it in an other time vndone destroied For as Solomon in his Eccleastes saith There is a time to be borne a time to die a time to build a time to pluck downe neither ought we as the prouerb saith to be offended if things fal not out according to our desire for when it pleaseth Fortune such things as seeme displeasant vnto vs shall redound to our commoditie For the better vnderstanding wherof we must consider what is the true signification of this word Fortune of which there be many sundry opinions For some those that be heathen people as Boetius in his first booke Of Consolation saith will needs haue this Fortune to be a Lady and
a great goddesse vnder whose gouernment and at whose dispositioÌ„ are all the treasures and riches of the world farther they say that shee hath all maner of persons in the worlde vpon a wheele that her condition and nature for she is a woman is neuer to be long of one minde but somtime of great and honourable personages to make poore and miserable creatures againe of poore miserable caitiues to make hye mightie Princes stil whirling about her vnstedfast wheele as pleaseth her Aristotle hath also the like maner of speach in his Booke Of good Fortune where he affirmeth that there are diuerse and sundry opinions aboute Fortune But all their opinions are farre differing from our Christian faith For as Boetius in his firste Booke Of Consolation And Saint Augustine in the fourth Booke Of the Citie of God doe vnite this Fortune destinie are no other things then the prouidence of God therfore to speake like a good Christian that which the Prouerbe heere saith When as it pleaseth Fortune c. is as much to say as when it pleaseth the prouidence of God the thinges that bee hurtfull vnto vs shall turne to our profit and such things as are profitable to our hurt and destruction Whereof there is a very good example in the holie Scriptures in the first Booke of Moses where it is written that the Children of Iacob for the malice that they bare to Ioseph their brother threw him into a deepe pitte and after solde him to certaine Merchants who solde him to an officer of King Pharaoes that vpon the vnfull accusation of his wife kepte him a long time in Prison from whence hee was sent for by King Pharao and after that hee had declared the meaning of his dreame and foreshewed the comming of the deare and the barren yeares he was made the greatest man aboute him which was the cause that the patriarch Iacob with all his house escaped the great famine came to liue honourably in Aegypt and thus did it please fortune that is to say God that the hurtfull things that is the imprisonment of Ioseph and all the other harmes and miseries that he sustained should turne to the profite of himself his father and his brethren So likewise doe the things that appeare good and profitable many times fall out to bee hurtfull and euill vnto vs as to haue great store of monie is a profitable thing and yet it often falleth that their throates are cut for it that haue it and so doeth a profitable thing become hurtefull 22. My sonne the wiseman and his life still set before thy face And speake no euill of thy Prince in anie secret place Looke that thy toung iudgement both such nets do warily shun For why the very walles them selues Will witnes what is doone The Paraphrase THE Marques in this Prouerbe sheweth that if a man be not able of him selfe to rule and order his life hee should seeke out and set before his eyes same wise and notable man according to whose doings he shuld in euery point frame his life as Seneca writeth to Lucilius it is one of the chiefest lessons that hee could deuise to giue him for the framing of his life aright He willeth him that he shuld alwaies imagine him selfe to bee in the presence of some good man for example sake either Cato or Lelius for ether of them were both vertuous wise and that he should frame al his thoughts and direct all his deedes according to the life and vertues of them and so should he neuer do amisse and this is it that is ment in the prouerbe Follow the wise man and his lawe The law of the wiseman is his discretion for as Aristotle saieth The iust and the vertuous man is a lawe vnto him selfe for hee measureth the times disposeth his things according as the time and reason doth require And the Prouerbe saith more Speake thou no euill of thy Prince according to the doctrine of the Apostle Sainct Paule We are bound to feare God and to honour the King. We ought to serue the King as our naturall Lorde and wee offende God grieuouâ—ly in dissobeying of him In so much as some Doctors of law are of opinion that whosoeuer obeyeth not the Kinges commaundement findeth deadly according to that is written in the second of the Kings Hee that obeyeth not the Prince shall dye for it And therefore as it is a grieuous and greate sacriledge to blaspheme the name of God so is it a damnable and horrible offence to speake euill of the King and against such as shall so offende it is very well prouided bothe by the constitutions of the Emperours and by the lawes and statutes of Spaine And the Marques sayth That wee ought not onely to forbeare to speake euill of the Prince abroade and in company whereby it may come to his eare but also wee ought not to do it in secrete For Solomon sayth in his Prouerbs Speake no euill of the Prince iu any wise for if thou doest be sure the verie birdes of the ayre will disclose it The Byrdes of the ayre as some Doctoures teache are the Spyrtes and Diuelles according to the saying of our Lorde and Sauiour in the Gospel where hee telleth the parable of the seede that fell by the highe waye and the Byrdes of the ayre deuoured it The The birdes of the Aire saith our Sauiour are the lewde and wicked spirits that take out of the heart of man the worde of god And in this sorte is the aforesaide allegation to be vnderstoode that the birdes of the aire will discouer it that is to say the wicked spirites who shall reueale the treason that thou haste spoken in secret and this is it that the Prouerb meaneth when it saith The very walles will witnes beare The third Chapter of Iustice 23. From Iustice see thou varrie not for duetie loue nor feare Let no good turne at any time procure thee to forbeare Or for to swarue in any point from sentence iust and right In giuing dewe correction to the faithlesse fautie wight The Paraphrase AS Aristotle in the first Booke of his Ethicks affirmeth that the cleerest most bewtifull vertue of all others is Iustice whose brightnesse doth farre exceede either the day starre or the euening starre and therefore he saith That Iustice comprehendeth in it self all other vertues And Saint Augustine saith in his fourth Booke Of the Citie of God that Iustice beeing taken away the kingdomes of the earth are nothing else but greate companyes of theeues nor the companyes of theeues any other then small kingdomes And therefore saith the wise man in his Ecclesiastes Follow iustice all you that are Iudges on the earth Whosoeuer is a Iudge ought to bee as a Balance and iust weight in all his doinges and neither for feare friendship nor any other respect to forbeare the executing of vpright Iustice And therefore Valerius sheweth in
his sixth booke that where as a certaine Iudge forbare to do iustice because of the loue that he bare to the partie that was accused Cambises caused his skin to be plucked ouer his eares to be nayled to the bench where hee sat commaunding his sonne to be set in the place and to giue the sentence that his father should haue giuen which was suche a terror to all those that came after that frō that time forwarde they could neuer bee brought by feare or friendship to giue any other iudgement then that which was iust and vpright And so hath God in his lawes commaunded Thou shalt doe Iustice to the pore aswel as to the mightie neither shalt thou haue any respect of persōs One of the seuen wise men of Athens as it is written in the liues of the Philosophers was wont to say that the lawes where good Iusticers wanted were like vnto Eobwebs where flyes and such weake Creatures doe hange and stick fast but the great and the strong doe breake thorow without any stop Who soeuer wil deale in iustice as he ought to do must haue no respecte of persons but must punish aswel the euil doeings of the great ones as the offences of the meanest sort 24. This is the iust and certaine line that safely vs doth guide And shewes the true and perfect path by measure truely tryed She chosen was by God him selfe sent downe from heauen hye The Prophet doth confirme ▪ that she descended from the skye THe Marques here sheweth how great the excellency of Iustice is and Tully writeth in the dreme of Scipio that for such as haue well gouerned in the cōmon welth and vprightly truely administred Iustice there is prepared in an other worlde more hyer and glorious places then for vs because of the labours toyles that they haue sustained for the preseruing of their country And as Aristotle writeth in his Ethicks Iustice is an externall good and is properly to giue to euery man that whiche is his There are many that can vse them selues well in such matters as touch their owne cōmoditie but not in things that are to the behoof of others And therfore Iustice is a most excellent vertue and the very line and straight path that leadeth vs to heauen as the Prophet saith Righteousnes which is God loketh cōtinually downe from heauen for to giue euery man according to his deserts glory rewarde to such as do wel and correction punishmēt to such as haue done euil And y al men are bound to do Iustice Elianus proueth by a prety tale in his story of the Romanes where hee sheweth that Traian the Emperour going with a great armie against his enimies there meeteth him a widowe that with piteous cryes and lamentatiōs falling downe at his fete besought him that she might haue Iustice of certain that had slaine her sonne Traian made her aunswere that as soone as he returned from his iourney hee would doe her iustice And what saith shee If you neuer returne who shall doe mee iustice That shall quoth Traian my successor The widdowe answered What is that to thee if thy successor doe wel when thou art to receiue the rewarde of thine owne doings and are bounde to doe me iustice thy successor shal be bounde to doe Iustice to such as suffer wrong in his time neither shall the iustice of an other man bee an excuse for thee The Emperor being touched with these words alighted from his horse departed not frō thence till hee had thorowly satisfied the poore woman For the continuall remembrance of which his worthy deed the people set vp his image in brasse in the middest of Rome because he shewed the true and perfect Iustice that was elected by God. 25. Howe worthie was the famous act of Lentus noble knight Who all affection set aside and loue forgotten quight Contented was though guiltlesse he of anie trespasse donne The cruel torturs of the lawe to suffer with his sonne The Marques LEntus as Valerius in his sixth booke declareth was a Senatour of Rome by whom the citie was strengthened with good and profitable lawes Amongst a number of others he made a law that whosoeuer was taken in adultrie should lose his eyes It happened that a sonne of his was taken for the same offence Vpon whom when the father obseruing the lawes that hee had made would without qualifying or discharging of any point presently haue executed the punishmēt the whole citie being moued with compassion towardes the yong man did earnestly sue for his pardon with whose importunate and instant requests the father being ouercome graunted Yet because the offence should not remaine vnpunished he first caused one of his owne eies to be plucked out and after one of his sonnes which both is and ought to be a great example to all such as beare the sworde of Iustice 26. Frondinus to the ende he would preserue the lawe he made Without delay did cast himselfe vpon the piercing blade And therefore ought we to enforce our selues to liue vpright If that we will correctours be of others ouersight The Marques FRondinus was a Citizen of Rome as Valerius in his sixth booke and Iohn Galensis in a Breuiate that he made of the foure principall vertues writeth Contentions quarellings arising many times amongs the Citizens of Rome about the debating of their matters there was a law made amongest them that whosoeuer should come to the Capitol with a weapon should suffer death Frondinus forgetting himselfe comming from the felde with his sworde about him came into the Capitoll which when one of the standers by perceiued he blamed him and tolde him that he had broken the lawe that hee made Nay quoth he thou shalt see that I will confirme the lawe that I made and sodainly thrust himselfe thorowe with his owne swoorde whereas hee might well with some colourable reason haue escaped the punishment The fourth Chapter of Pacience and moderate Correction 27. Be not to hastie nor to quicke in rage without respect But beare a tēperate hand when thou the offender dost correct For moderate correction is good and free from blame Where crueltie that doth exceede deserues reproch and shame THe Marques doth shewe the moderation that a man ought to haue in giuing of correction and sayth Whensoeuer we punish the euill doings of any man wee ought not to doe it furiously nor hastily but with temperance and reason whereof Valerius hath diuers notable examples but specially in his fifth booke he writeth of one Archita of Toranto a man of great possessions that hee was a long time absent from his Countrey about the studie of Pythagoras his doctrine And when hee returned home had surueyed his manours and possessions he found thē to be greatlie spoyled and decayed wherevpon calling to him his steward he said vnto him Surely if I were not at this present furiously bent against thee I woulde punish thee according to
shew mercie to such as offend we are stirred vp both by the lawe of nature the holie Scriptures and the gracious admonition of our Sauiour The lawe of nature doeth moue vs to bee mercifull as Seneca in his firste booke of Mercie writeth and hereof we haue a naturall example in the king of Bees whom nature hath framed without a sting hauing taken away his weapon to the ende hee shoulde be neither fierre nor cruell nor a reuenger of iniuries and that men might take examples of these little poore creatures The Scripture mooueth vs to mercie as it appeareth in the Epistle of Saint Iames where he saith that iudgement shal◠be geuen without mercie to such as shewe no mercie Our Sauiour exhorteth vs to mercie where hee saieth Blessed are all those that are mercifull for they shal obteine mercie The Prouerbe saith That the punishment of the sword is misliked for if it bee once done it is past all redresse And therefore Salust in the Conspiracie of Catiline sayeth that wee ough◠to trie euery way that may be before we come to the sworde euen as the Phisitions doe who vseth all the medicines that may be before they cut of the member And if so be that Princes may geue sufficient correction without the death of the offendour they ought to doe it For if it be once done it is to late to say I woulde it were not 32. I do not meane that lothsome crimes and hainous pardon craue Or that the wholsome lawes or good decrees restraint shoulde haue For such a man ought not to liue as murdereth wilfully True iustice alwaies doth commaund that he that killes shal die The Paraphrase IN this Prouerbe are limited and interpreted the Prouerbes that goe before For such as ought to forgeue are either priuate persons or officers in the common wealth As they be priuat persons they are boūd to release the extremity but not the iniurie for they may require a recompence at the law But if they doe not their reward shal be the greater According to the saying of our Sauiour in his Gospel Forgiue and you shall be forgiuen And touching the examples that are in the prouerbs that goe before if they be officers and in authoritie they cannot pardon an offence that is doone against a common wealth nor trespasse that is done betwixt neighbours But they may vse a moderation and discretion according to the circumstances of the matter as if the partie grieued be a slaue or free born if he be a gentleman or a cōmon person if the offence were in words or vpō proposed malice or ignorātly not wilfully done if he murdered with poyson or with the swoord In such cases the Iudges and those that be in authoritie are woont to haue great consideration for he that killeth with poyson by treason or secretly his offence is more horrible thē his that killeth by chācemedlie And therefore it is prouided by the lawes of Spaine that if the Prince vppon speciall consideration doeth pardon a man that hath killed suche cases are alwayes excepted for hee that murdereth after anie of the aforesaide manners is not to be suffered nor pardoned and this is the effect of the Prouerbe 33. To pardon such a kinde of man were verie crueltie And quite contrary to the rule of all humanitie Nor name of pitie doeth deserue that suffers vilannie But is the ouerthrowe of lawes and all authoritie The Paraphrase THe meaning of this Prouerbe is declared in the Prouerbe that goeth before For it is a greate crueltie and contrarie to al humanitie to pardon such a one as murdereth by treason or villanously and it woulde be the decay and destruction of all iustice and authoritie For as S. Augustine in his booke Of the citie of God saith Iustice is of such an excellencie as the lewdest people that be cannot liue without it much lesse those that be good vertuous Likewise Saint Augustine as hath been alleaged before sayth Take iustice away and your kingdomes are nothing else but greate companies of theeues and therefore it is ordayned in the statutes of Spaine that if there be in anie Prouince or Countrie great numbers of euill disposed persons and if they happen to take one of them though the partie deserue not to die yet it shall bee lawfull for the Iustice to hang him for a terrour and example to the others And if he otherwise do it deserues not the name of pittie But of euill sufferance and the hinderance and ouerthrowe of lawes and authoritie The fifth Chapter of Temperance 34. As much as it deserueth praise with temperance to feed Which doth our mortall life sustaine and serueth for our need So much abhorred ought to be the greedy glutton great That thinkes there is no other life but for to drinke and eate The Paraphrase IN this Prouerbe and certaine others that followe the Marques sheweth the order that we ought to obserue in eaeating and drinking and these two being the chiefest sustainers of our life a man hath as much a doe as may bee to vse a moderation and temperance in them For as Aristotle in the second boke of his Ethicks saith These two do onely sustaine our mortall life and are alwayes desired as things of moste pleasure and because wee haue so great delight in them as the things wherewith wee haue been accustomed from our birth it is very hard and painefull to be restrained of them But those that exceede and obserue no measure therein are counted of Aristotle in the first of his Ethickes to liue like Dogges and to choose the life of monsters The same Aristotle in his Ethicks telleth vs of a great glutton that was called Philoxenus who put all his felicitie in eating and drinking and the earnest request that hee made to the Gods was that they would make his neck as long as a Cranes necke to the ende his delight might be the greater in the long goyng downe of his meate and his drinke For he tooke that for the chiefest pleasure that was 35 Great honour doth this temperance deserue at all assayes Sith it a vertue alwayes is of great and speciall praise For heate and furie great it doeth by honestie asswage And stayes the frantike flame that in the youthfull yeares doth rage The Paraphrase VVE do read that many haue greatly offended more by excesse in eating drinking then for any other offence For example sake let vs looke vppon our first Father Adam who for a gluttonous desire of eating brought both himselfe and al his posterity to destructiō Lot the brother to Abraham by too much drinking as it is writtē in Genesis shamed not to lye with two of his daughters And therfore is Temperance sobrietie worthie of greate honour being a vertue of greatest commēdation The maides of Rome that were appointed to attend vpon their Gods to the ende they shoulde be sober temperate did neuer eat more thē three meales in a weeke and
in And therefore the Prouerbe saieth that the woman is not vnprofitable nor vnperfect Neither ought we to thinke that because some women haue been to blame therefore they are all to be condemned For as the nurse sayth to Hippolytus as Seneca in his fourth Tragedie sheweth where Hippolitus saith that if there had neuer been other euill woman but Medea the wife of Aegeus her onely villanies were sufficient to cause all other women to be abhorred Wherto the nurse answereth that it were greatly against reason that the offence of one or two should be the blame of all the rest And therefore sayeth the Prouerbe that notwithstanding the faultes of a fewe the vertues of women haue been highly commended and set out with the pen. 47. For setting here aside that sweete and blessed worthie rose That ouer all the rest doth shine and farre beyonde them goes The daughter of the thundring God and spouse vnto the hiest The light and lampe of women all who bare our sauiour Christ 48. Manie Ladies of renowne and beautifull there bee That are both chast and vertuous and famous for degree Amongst the blessed holy saintes full many a one we find That in this cōpasse may be brought for liues that brightly shinde 49. What should I of Saint Katheren that blessed martyr tell Among the rest of Virgins all a flowre of preecious smell Well worthy of remembrance is her beawty and her youth And eke no lesse deserueth praise her knowledge in the trueth The Marques SAint Katherin was a virgin and a holy Martyr and among the whole company of Saintes of speciall commendation touching whose life and death beeing a thing so commonly knowne I refer the Reader to the booke called The Flower of Saints 50. We finde that Hester wanted neither beawtie great nor grace Whose noble minde was ioyned with the fauour of her face Of Iudith likewise doe we reade the bewtie great to bee And how she vertuously behaude her selfe in eche degree The Paraphrase of the Marques HEster the Queene was the wife of King Assuerus of whom it shall not bee needefull to speake much considering that in the Paraphrase to the prouerbe of Assuerus in the beginning of the Booke there hath been enough saide It is sufficient to knowe that she was a holy woman and a deuout seruaunte of God as appeared by her vertuous life and by the earnest Prayers that shee made vnto God in the case of Hamon and Mardocheus Iudith as her Booke testifieth which is one of the 24 bookes of the Bible was reputed among the Iewes for a woman of singular wisdom and of great honestie in life who slewe the great Holofernes that being sent by the King Nabuchodonosor with a great and puisant Campe had besieged the Citie of Ierusalem as her Booke at large declareth where it also appeareth by what great policicie after shee had slaine him shee conueyed his hed passing thorowe the watch of the Camp to the aforesaid Citie This only fact renowmed Prince strake such a feare and terrour to the harts of the enemies as they speedily and without order to their great losse brake vppe their siege So as shee is greatly commended in the Scripture for her beautie and for her noble and valiant stomacke 51. The famous worthy women that among the heathen warre No reason that of good reporte among the rest we barre For why their valure and renoume was woundrous in their dayes And therefore not to be depriude of due deserued praise 52. In Athens and in Thebes too wer Ladyes great of fame The Troians Sabynes Greeks Arge had many a worthy dame The Laurentines the Amasons may triumph for the same And Rome of vertuous women can remember many a name 53. No fairer creatures coulde be seene then Vagnes and Diana Daphnes Dido Anna and the vertuous Lucretia Nor vnrembred let wee passe Virginia the same Whose passing chastitie procurde her euerlasting fame The Paraphrase VAgnes as Statius in his Booke of the Warres betwixt the Thebanes and the Argians reporteth was the cheefe among the Argian Ladies that went altogether to King Creon with humble petition for the deliuery of the dead bodyes of their husbandes and kinsemen that were slaine at the battaile of Thebes fighting against Ethiocles the Sonne of Oedippus and nephew to King Layus who was of the linage and stock of Cadmus Who hauing receiued a flat denyal went altogither to Theseus that then was Duke of Athens declaring vnto him with great exclamation the great crueltie and extremitie that was showed vnto them Theseus who was then newly come from the warres of the Amasons as Iohn Boccace the poet of Florence in his Booke of Theseus at large discribeth vowed that before he entred the Citie he would go out of hand with his whole forces against Creon requiring him yet before by his Embassadours to graunt vnto the poore Ladyes this their so iust and reasonable request which when he disdainfully refused to doe hee made warres vpon him and slew him wherby the gentlemen of Argos by the industrie and diligence of the vertuous Vagnes came in the ende to bee honourably buryed At the ende of this battaile wherin Creon was slaine by the handes of Theseus beginneth the story of Arcyt and Palemon the seruants and great louers of Emilia the sister of Hypolitus which because of the tediousnes and that the matter maketh nothing to our purpose I heere passe ouer Diana was counted the goddesse of Chastitie a Lady that set all her delight vpon the feeld in the chase and hunting of wilde beastes Lucretia and other the famous Ladies of Rome are sufficiently mencioned as wel by Lyuy and Valerius in their storyes as by Saint August a man of more credit in his Boke Of the Citie of God and Iohn Boccace in the fall of Princes and commendation of woorthy women where it is shewed how she beeing the wife of Collatinus was violently forced by Sextus Tarquinius wherevpon with a knife or a swoord shee slewe her selfe saying I free my selfe from the faulte but not from punishement which I heere but briefely touch because I haue writen thereof before in the story of Sextus Tarquinius Daphnis was daughter to Peneus a Virgin dedicated to Diana the Lady of Chastitie who as Ouid writeth beeing greatly desired of Phebus and not consenting nor able to withstande the force of her furious louer commending her selfe to all the gods but specially to Diana whom shee serued was as the Poets faine transformed into the Laurell a tree of continuall greenenesse sweete of sauour and of a delectable shadowe The morall whereof beeing declared by diuers Authors as Fryer Thomas of Capua in his Moralls vpon the Metamorphosis Iohn Boccace in his Genealogie of the heathen gods and Maister Iohn the Englishman commenting vppon the same Booke I heere leaue to declare as a thing to long to entreate off It may suffice that shee was counted among the heathen for a mayden of singular beawtie Anna was
thee And those that praise themselues because as Tullie sayth it seemeth to proceede of pride doe thereby bring themselues into hatred and euill will. So as if any man shall set soorth his owne doings to the ende to bee commended honoured and shall thereby be reputed to bee a man of great vanitie and folly his errour as the Prouerb saith shal appeare to be great 61. Such things as wonderfull do seeme but seld or neuer tell For all men haue not heades alike To iudge thy credite well And many wordes to vse doth shew no great perfection T is better for to shew thy deedes and let thy tongue alone The Paraphrase THe chaunces that are wonderfull are those that doe seldome happen which though a man hath seene with his own eies yet will not the common people who neuer beleeue more then is subiect to their grosse senses giue credite to him that shall report them but shall bee counted a liar and vaine prater for telling of them And therefore if a man be not driuen by necessitie to tell it it is much better for him to keepe his tongue For as Isocrates sayeth I haue manie time repented for woordes that I haue spoken but for keeping silence neuer And euerie mans perfection doeth rather stande in the proofe of his workes then in his words according as Saint Luke writeth in the beginning of the Actes of the Apostles touching our Sauiour where he sayeth that our Lorde Iesus Christ beganne to do and to teach where he placeth his workes before his woordes which is the meaning of the Prouerbe And manie woordes to vse doeth shewe no great perfection t is better c. The sixth Chapter of Liberalitie and Franknesse 62. Be franke and free at all assayes with speede bestowe thy gift The goodliest grace in giuing is to be short and swift Well vnderstand the qualitie of that thou doest bestowe Which seene thou shalt be able soone the quantitie to knowe The Paraphrase AS Seneca sayeth in his booke of Benefites wee are not borne to liue onely to our selues but to benefite and profite our kinsmen our friendes our neighbours yea and euerie other person that we can Sith nature as the ciuill law saith hath linked all men in a consanguinitie and duetie eche to other And therefore we are bound being of abilitie to be liberall and bountifull to such as liue in wante and necessitie though as the Doctours say it ought to bee done by order and degrees as first to consider our parents next our children then our kindred and after them our friends and so thorowout as they be in degree And if so bee we haue some of our kindred that be of the householde of fayth and others that be not the Apostle willeth vs if our power be not sufficient to serue them both rather to relieue those that be of the fayth then the others and this great vertue Liberalitie hath as Aristotle writeth in the fourth of his Ethickes certaine circumstances As that hee that giueth ought to consider to whom he giueth and to what end he giueth and to looke that the things which hee giueth be not of the basest of his substance as Caine did who offered vnto God the verie worst and vilest of his flocke whereas Abel offring the best that hee had his Sacrifice was accepted Caines refused Likewise he is to consider to whom he giueth For to giue to such as haue no neede is to cast away that which is giuen It must also be knowne whether the partie to whom we giue be able to woorke and can by his labour sufficiently maintaine himselfe For to giue to such a one were to rob another that is not able to labour nor hath any meane to gette his liuing and yet as the lawiers say if a man be well borne and descended of a good house so as he cannot considering his parentage without great shame disparagement giue himself to anie base trade of life although he be of abilitie for bodie to trauell and labour yet is it a good turne to relieue him because he is in the same case with him that can neither labour nor hath means to get his liuing for with his honesty he cannot abase himselfe to any vile occupation and therfore is to be considered Moreouer we ought to regard the manner and intent of our liberalitie which ought not to bestowed for anie vaunt or vayneglorie as appeareth by the exāple in the Gospel where our Sauiour beeing present in the temple there cōmeth in together to offer a proude wealthy Pharisey and a poore vertuous widdowe The riche Miser offereth of his great substance great and precious presentes the poore widowe turneth out of the bottome her purse and her hart a poore sillie Farthing Our Lord demaundeth which of the twayne had offered most and gaue sētence with the poore widow because the mind of the giuer who onely gaue it in respect of the seruice of God not for anie vaunt or vaineglory as the riche man did Beside al this we ought to geue that which we geue with a willing a cheerful minde as the Apostle saieth For the Lorde doeth loue a cheerfull giuer and such a one as is not slacke nor slowe in the bestowing of his benefites For he giueth double as the cōmon prouerb is that giueth soone as Solomon saith in his prouerbs Say not vnto the pore man go come againe to morrow when it is in thy hand to helpe him presently For as Aristotle in the fourth of his Ethicks saith Liberality standeth not in the giuing of many sumptuous gifts but in the habit of him that giueth whatsoeuer it be that is giuē that is to say in the cheerfull bountiful mind of the giuer which all are here briefly comprehended by the Marques Be franke and free c. 63. By worthy liberalitie great Alexander wan His fame and high renowne when all the worlde he ouerran And likewise Titus for his frankenes great and actes of fame Amongst the worthy conquerours obteind a woorthy name The Paraphrase ALexander king of the Macedons and one of the 3. monarchies of the world was a Prince of great liberality and franknes of whom Seneca writeth in his Booke of Benefites That when as a poore minstrell came vnto him beseeched him to bestowe a pennie vpon him the king presently gaue him a whole towne and when the poore felow halfe astonied tolde that so greate a gifte was not fitte for him Alexander answered him hee did not regarde what was meete for suche a fellowe to receiue but what was seemely for so greate a Prince to geue Titus was Emperour of Rome a Prince of a noble minde and of greate liberalitie who as it is reported by Eutropius in his life and other auncient Authours had proclaimed that whosoeuer had anie sute vnto him what soeuer it were it should be graunted when some of his counsell misliking it had tolde him that it woulde
his felicitie in so fickle an estate that he knoweth can not long time endure to behaue him so fondly for the small time that he is heere as to liue hereafter in torments that shall neuer ende 71 The more thou gettest continually the more thou still doest craue Nowe iudge of twaine which is the best if that thou reason haue To be a Lorde of riches great with griefe and toile and care Or quietly to liue content with small and decent share The Paraphrase SVbstaunce and riches doe neuer satisfie the appetite nor desire but as Cassiodorus writeth in an Epistle as in a dropsie which is a disease that causeth cōtinuall thirste the more a man drinketh the thirstier he remaineth So yf couetousnesse be not bridled the more riches we get the more wee desire and therfore the Prouerb heere willeth that a man shoulde waie with himselfe whether it be better to possesse great riches with trouble and tormente or to enioye a reasonable liuing with contentation and quietnesse For as Seneca in his Epistle to Lucilius saith There is no man that is loued or fauoured of God but he that contemneth and despiseth riches The possession whereof saith Seneca I doe not take from thee but would that thou shouldest enioy thē without feare which to attaine vnto thou hast no other way but to liue happily quietly with thē esteeming them as thinges transitorie that soone may be forgone And he that possesseth them in suche sort possesseth them with quietnesse and contentation 72. The riches that we heere possesse With hast away doe flee And as the tides with floods and ebbes They mooue continually Seeke thou the treasures of the minde Which stande like brasen walles Both firme and sure a safe defence Whatsoeuer thee befalles THe riches wealth of the worlde are the thinges that are most accounted of amongst the goodes of fortune which do sometime encrease sometime decrease as Boetius in the person of Fortune speaketh saying that the seruantes which are these temporall goodes doe stil attend vppon their mistres which is Fortune with whom they do alwaies both come and goe and therfore saith Boetius that Fortune hath the whole worlde vpon her tottering wheele bringing whom shee list aloft and casting others downe making poore men of suche as were riche and riche men of suche as were poore And therefore the Marques heere warneth vs that we apply all our forces to the obteining of morall goodes that is to say Vertues which are in deede the perfection of the Soule as Aristotle in his boke of the Soule writeth And these saith the Prouerbe stande like brasen walles both firme and sure a safe defence whatsoeuer thee befalles as muche to say as they neuer leaue nor forsake a man As Tullie declareth in his Paradoxes where he bringeth in Bias the Philosopher one of the seuen wise men of Athens who when the Citie was taken by a Tirant and the people fleeing hadde taken with them as muche as they coulde carry only Bias medled with nothing and when one of his neighbours did aske him howe chaunce he tooke none of his goodes with him he answeared him that all which was his he carried about him not counting any thing to be his but the vertues of the minde esteeming the goodes of the worlde to belong as wel to any others And this is the meaning of this prouerb Seeke thou the treasures of the minde c. 73 Seeke not ambitiously to reigne nor rule with tirranny But both her woorkes and waies see that thou shunne aduisedly And choose the meane estate among the which t is best to liue So shalt thou passe with pleasure all the time that God doeth giue The Paraphrase A Tyrant is he as Aristotle in the seuenth of his Politiques saith that commeth to the Crowne by force or by pollicie who endureth no longer then he is of force or power as Medea saide vnto Creon in the seconde Tragedie of Seneca Tyrantes and euil gouernours doe not endure for euer and as Agamemnon saith vnto Pyrrus in the speache that they had about the death of Polixena Their gouernmēts that are by force continue no long time but the gentle mild gouernmēt is that which endureth And therefore the Prouerbe saith Seeke not ambitiously to raigne nor rule with tyranny and that we ought to forsake her pathes and her workes and choose to liue among the meanest sort which is the best and the quietest life Which is that which is saide in the Prouerbe before that Seneca wrote in his Epistle to Lucilius That there is no man esteemed or accounted of GOD but those that despise contemne the pompe and wealth of the worlde 74 For thinke not that the loftie state nor throne of high degree Doeth make a man the perfecter or hapier to be It rather doeth his cares encrease and giues him griefe and paine And on his necke that erst was free doeth cast a careful chaine The Paraphrase NOworldly wealth but specially no tyrannicall gouernment can bring a man to perfection or to liue happily but rather draweth with them feare daunger vexation and cares and as Boetius saith The Tirants that are alwaies waited vpon with their guard to terrifie and amase others are alwais afraide them selues of those whō they suppose to feare And Tullie in his booke of Friendship saith that in the life of the Tirant there is neither faith loue nor any long enduring goodwill of euery thing is he ielous and eche thing ministreth vnto him cause of care and disquietnesse And further he saith Who can euer loue him whom he feareth of whom he knoweth that he is feared And this is the meaning of the Prouerbe The loftie states nor throne of high degree doeth make a man c. Touching the which Boetius in his thirde booke of Consolation writeth of Dionisius of Sarogosi who from a meane man was aduaunced to the Crowne to whom when his friende came vpon a time to see him and greatly praised the happinesse of his estate telling him that he ought to account him self most happy that had attained to so high a dignitie Dionisius bidding him to a dinner caused him to sit downe where ouer his head was hanging a terrible Sworde with the point downewarde who with the feare and agonie that he was in for falling of the sworde made but an vnpleasant dinner sitting all the time vpon thornes After he was risen Dionisius asked him yf his dinner were not pleasant vnto him Suche a pleasure quoth the poore fellow GOD keepe me from that euery moment looked to haue a Swoorde vppon my pate and suche quoth Dionisius is the life of euery Tyraunt euen as full of pleasure as hath been thy dinner for the highnesse of his state encreaseth his miserie and chaineth him with the chaine of thraldome touching the which I haue spoken at large before in the second Prouerbe 75 Seeke that which thou maist easily haue and care not for
sayeth in his Gospel That there is no Prophet without honour but in his owne Countrey For his owne kindred and companions for the great disdaine they haue of his estimation doe seeke by all the meanes they can to discredite and deface him which is not for a vertuous minde nor doeth a noble hart beseeme For it is for a noble and gentlemanly hart to behaue himselfe as the good Moyses did who when certaine enuious persons to moue him to displeasure came vnto him and tolde him that two of the common people did prophesie in his tent Moyses verie graciously answered them that he wished to GOD that euerie one of the people were able to prophesie which milde speech proceeded from a noble and a valiant minde 82. Nought else doth enuie bring to passe nor other seede doth sowe Then murders mischiefes cruelties and suttle ouerthrowe As by the Scripture doth appeare where cursed Caine did kill Poore Abel that offended not vpon malicious will. The Paraphrase ABel and Caine were brothers as Moses in the first of his fiue bookes writeth The cruell murther of Caine done vppon Abel and the cause thereof is in the same Booke at large described And therefore to make anie long Paraphrase vpon it were but a thing superfluous And it is well knowne that enuie the roote of mischiefs was the first deuiser of that so shamefull and horrible a fact The tenth Chapter of Thankefulnesse 83. Good turnes that haue been done to thee haue still before thine eie And when to recompence the same it in thy power doth lie Require them with a cheerefull hart And waying well in minde What friendship hath been shewde to thee be neuer thou vnkinde The Paraphrase SEneca in his Epistle to Lucilius writeth that the vnthankefull man is he that returneth a good turne without interest in whose opiniō we are bound not barely to returne the benefite which we haue receiued but to do it with recompence For as Valerius in his fifth booke writeth Hee that doeth not thankefully recompence a good turne doeth clearly bereaue men of the doing and receiuing of pleasures without the which the life of men is rather a death then a life And this is it that the Prouerbe saith Good turnes that haue been done to thee haue stil before thine eie c. 84. O what a shamefull staine it was to Ptolomei the king The noble Pompey traiterously vnto his death to bring And Ezekias for his great vnthankfulnesse did pay When by the wrath of God he should haue died before his day The Paraphrase PTolomey was king of Egypt who as Lucan writeth was seruant to Pompey the Emperour of Rome at whose handes he receiued his kingdome And as the Ciuill warres beganne to waxe hot betwixt the two mightie Princes Cesar and Pompey after the battaile of Pharsalie Pompey retired from the fieldes of Philippos to a place in Lesbos where hee had appointed his wife Cornelia to lie but perceiuing the people of the Countrey not to bee such as hee might trust hee went by Sea from thence to Egypt where he committed himselfe to the handes of Ptolomey who conspiring with Photinus and Achillas two mischieuous persons betraied him and after they had slaine him presented his head vnto Caesar at the sight whereof Caesar as the storie telleth could not refraine from shedding of teares Whervpon maister Frances Petrarch in one of his Sonets thus writeth Caesare poiche'l traditor d'Egitto Lifece il don de l' honorata testa Celando l'allegrezza manifesta Pianse pe gliocchi fuor si come è scritto Which in our vulgare speech is thus Caesar when as the false Egyptian had Presented him with worthie Pōpeys hed Hiding his ioy with coloured coūtnance sad His fained teares foorthwith they say he shed Of the reproches of this Ptolomey all hystories are full And because as I haue said Lucan setteth out this matter more at large it is needlesse to make any long discourse thereof since this Booke requireth no such exquisitenesse nor intreateth of anie forraine storie Ezechias being of the tribe of Iudas was king of Ierusalem the seruāt and greatly beloued of God who when Senacharib king of the Assirians had besieged the Citie fent Rabsacah his messenger vnto him and to the rest of the people willing them to yeeld themselues and promising them their liues threatning them that if they otherwise did he would assuredly put them all to the sworde and that neither their God nor any other God beside should be able to deliuer thē as they might see by the experience of a number of other mightie countreys that he had conquered brought in subiection Ezechias being afrayed of the hugenesse of the armie and of the great power of Senacharib shewed vnto Rabsacah the temple of Ierusalem with all the vessels and ornamentes thereof and all the Iewels of his owne house which had been gottē together and laid vp by his predecessors but the Lord knowing the weaknesse and faintnes of Ezechias and foreseeing that he was determined to yeeld himself into the handes of Senacharib or at his appointment to Rabsaces being greatly offended with him sent vnto him the Prophet Esay to let him vnderstande that he should presently die but such and so great was his sorowfull lamentation and mourning as it pleased the almightie to reuerse the sentēce The eleuenth Chapter of Friendship 85. The man that councell good can giue and will thee reprehend And warne from euery euill act choose thou to be thy friend And thinke thy selfe thrise happy whē thou such a friend canst haue That will thee well instruct and from all ill aduises saue The Paraphrase FRiendship as Aristotle in the eight of his Ethikes sayeth and as hath been sayde afore vpon one of the Prouerbes is of three sortes for delight for profite and for honestie Friendship of delight is the friendshippe of flatterers and iesters which endureth but a small while for when the pleasure ceasseth as testers are not at all times nor of all men liked this friendshippe straight wayes endeth An other friendshippe there is grounded vpon profit and is as Seneca termeth it merchaunt friendshippe for it endureth no longer then there is hope of profite And those that vse this kinde of friendshippe doe it as Seneca sayeth more vpon the profite then in respect of the person The Flye alwayes attendeth vppon the honie and the Woolfe vpon the Carion Which kinde of people are more in loue with the praye and the spoyle then with the man The third kinde of friendship setieth it selfe only vpon honestie and groundeth her selfe vpon vertue and this endureth as wel in aduersitie as in prosperitie This is the allonely true friendship which the Prouerbe counselleth vs to choose and this is that which Aristotle sayeth causeth in friendes but one hart and one minde and this friend whose friendship is grounded vpon honestie is he that wel reprehendeth and is no flatterer nor will consent to any wickednesse
the race And moste approued perfect path of goodnesse and of grace O milde and honourable Age that doest abate the fire Of vicious youth and doest restraine eche lewde and fond desire The Paraphrase THE blessed Apostle telleth vs that as long as wee liue in this worlde we are Pilgrimes and straungers to the Lorde meaning that our true and naturall countrie is that of which Dauid speaketh saying I trust to see the glory of the almightie in the land of the liuing The land of the liuing is the glory of Paradise where who soeuer remaineth doe liue without any dread or daunger of death And as the Apostle sayeth all the while that we are absent from that place wee are aptly here called straungers and pilgrims meaning that as the pilgrim wandreth here and there forth of his Countrey So we are alwayes absent and out of our countrey as long as wee liue in this transitorie life And because that by the meanes of age we draw neare to our owne countrey when we drawe neare to death by which death as Plato saieth in his Phedro the soule atteineth vnto libertie and breaking out from the Gaole of the bodie being deliuered frō sorrow and miserie commeth to her owne quietnesse ioy and solace And therefore we ought not to be displeased at our olde age since that it is the race of goodnesse that is to say the plaine path way by which wee passe from sorrow and trouble to quietnesse and to rest And this is onely to be vnderstood of the modest and well gouerned age for that is shee that abateth the lustes and outrages of youth For there is an age as Aristotle sayeth in the first of his Ethikes that being destitute of all vertue and good behauiour is altogether doting and childish For there is no difference as Aristotle sayth betwixt him that is yong of yeeres and him that is young in behauiour so that the age which shall not be displeasant must be modest and furnished with good behauiour and vertuous exercises and that is the age that doeth abate the fire of vicious youth and doeth restraine eche lewde and fonde desire This age as Tullie in his booke de Senectute writeth doeth alay both lust pride presumption and doeth so enfeeble the force of the flesh as it bringeth a man to bee lowly milde and modest Of this kinde of age also speaketh the Psalme where it sayth When the time of meeknes mildnes shal come then shal we be reformed which time of mildnes is from the age of threescore to threescore and ten which season suffreth not a man to be prowd or disdainful but lowly milde and disposed to vertue And therfore the Prouerbe saith It doeth abate the fire of vicious youth c. 94. This to the vertuous man alone doth giue authoritie And makes him perfite in the pointes of grace and honestie For who is he that in his youth can keepe the perfite way Or measure in his life obserueth or runneth not astray The Paraphrase IT is commanded in the lawe of God that whensoeuer we see an old ancient man we should rise and reuerence him And we finde in the Ciuil law that in the Citie of Rome in the olde time they vsed to worship and reuerence their aged persons and the people of those dayes did yeelde the same honour to suche as were olde as they did to their Iudges and Magistrates and this onely they did in respecte of the honour that their olde yeeres doeth giue them for no young man though his wit be neuer so pregnant or quicke is able to attaine to that vnderstanding that the olde man by his experience hath gotten For as Aristotle in the first and sixteenth of his Ethikes witnesseth the number of yeeres is it that giueth knowledge experience And therefore he sayeth that the yong man can neuer giue anie perfect iudgement of anie thing because he neuer hath had anie great experience And although that in naturall Philosophie and in the liberal artes learnings there needeth nought else but a sharp and quicke conceite and vnderstanding yet in morall Philosophie which is the knowledge by which we learne to liue vprightly and honestly it is not onely enough to haue a good wit capacitie to but also to haue the experience and knowledge of time and such thinges as are done by men of ripe yeares we alwayes presume that they bee done vppon great aduise and deliberation which is nothing so with yong men And therefore vppon great consideration our Sauiour being perfect God and man although in the verie instant that he was conceiued he was perfect in all knowledge vnderstanding did not grow with space of time to more ripe knowledge skill would neither preach nor publishe his doctrine in his yong yeares but at such time as he was come to his perfect age neither doeth the Church receiue for trueth and certaintie anie other things then those which we read to bee done at his full age Wherevpon all such Bookes as are written of suche thinges as hee did in his childehoode and youngest yeares the Church doeth take for Apocripha and counteth them not in the Canon of holy Scriptures And it is good reason that the thinges that are done in vnripe yeares should be of no authoritie since our Sauiour Christ himselfe woulde neither preach nor publish his doctrine till such time as hee was of ripe and perfect age 95. This made the Catoes so renoumed for wisdome great and graue this made the valiant Scipioes so great a name to haue This onely gouernes in the field and giues the victorie And this in peace doth coūtries keepe from all hostilitie The Paraphrase THere is no man as hath bene saide before that attaineth to anie perfection in his doinges and deuises but onelie by long experience of manie yeeres And therefore saieth Aristotle in the sixth of his Ethikes that young men ought alwayes to haue about them olde and auncient men whose counsaile they may vse and whom they ought in al things to beleeue and therfore age is of great account and estimation for it maketh as the Prouerbe here sayeth men to be wise meete to iudge and discrete in gouernment And therefore Trogus Pōpeius in his eleuenth Booke writeth that Alexander whensoeuer hee happened vpon anie desperate aduenture or sawe himselfe in great daunger in the field woulde neuer haue about him anie yong blooddes or hewsters but olde men that were of experience such as had serued his Father and his Grandfather in their warres to the end hee might haue in his companie not onelie Souldiours but directers he sayeth beside that when his old Souldiours had required of him leaue to goe home to rest and refresh their olde and weeried bodies and that they woulde sende in their places their sonnes that were yong and lustie and better able to doe him seruice He answered them that he made a great deale more account of the wise and skilfull