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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A18883	Those fyue questions, which Marke Tullye Cicero, disputed in his manor of Tusculanum: written afterwardes by him, in as manye bookes, to his frende, and familiar Brutus, in the Latine tounge. And nowe, oute of the same translated, & englished, by Iohn Dolman, studente and felowe of the Inner Temple. 1561; Tusculanae disputationes. English	Cicero, Marcus Tullius.; Dolman, John, of the Inner Temple.	1561 (1561)	STC 5317; ESTC S107988	158,994	448

in complayning his blyndenes But Homere faynīg Poliphemus to haue bene a rude and a huge gyant maketh him talking wyth a ramme commending his good chaūce for that he could see to go where he woulde and touche what he listed And trulye that talke was well applyed to such a person For he was no wiser then the ramme wyth whom he talked But in deafenes what euell is there Marcus Crassus was somewhat deafe But there was one thing worse than that belonging to him Namelye that he had an euell reporte Although that trulye in my opinion was wythout cause Our Epicures can not vnderstande nor speake Greeke Neyther the Greeke Epicures latine They therefore were deafe in these mens language And likewise these men in theyrs And all men in those languages whiche they vnderstand not are no better thā deafe But some man will say They can not heare the sweete noyse of any instrument No more can they the gratinge or iarring of a sawe when he is whe●ted neyther the squeakynge of a pigge when he is sticked neyther when they are disposed to take theyr rest the roaringe of the mayne sea And if they 〈◊〉 so greatly delyghted wyth songes and instrumentes they oughte to consider that afore anye suche thinges were inuented there were manye wyse men that ledde a happye lyfe And also that there may be farre greater pleasure taken in readinge then hearings suche toyes Furthermore as we did afore commende vnto blynde men the pleasures of the eares so we maye vnto deafe men commende the pleasures of the eyes And furthermore who soeuer can commen secretelye with his owne conscience he shall not neede the talke of another Nowe let all these miseries be put together So that some mā lacke both his syght and hearinge and furthermore be payned wyth extreame gryefe in his body whych both of themselues are able at the first to kil a man or els if they tary any thinge longe do pricke a man more vehementlye then that he should haue occasion to abide thē yet what neede we to trouble oure selues Inasmuch as there is alwayes a hauen baye readye for vs. Death I meane the euerlastinge home of oure body when it is once past sence Theodorus whē Lisimacus threatned him that he would put him to death sayde Surely youre power is great if you be able to do asmuche as a Cantarides Paulus whē Perses desired him that he might not be led in his triumph answered That is in your choyce Of death we spake much the first day whē we disputed purposely of it sumwhat also the next day whē we entreated of gryefe we sayd thereof which who soeuer doth remember there is no doubt but he wil either wishe for death or at the least wise not feare it I thinke that herein we ought to kepe that custome which the Grecians vse in their feastes for they haue such a terme Eyther let him drink or els depart And but right For eyther let him wyth other kepe feloweship in drinkinge or els least he being sober should be in the companye of dronkardes he must departe before So likewise the iniuries of fortune which we cā not abide we ought to auoyde by flight The same that Epicurus sayeth Hieronimus also affirmeth almost with the selfe same wordes Therfore if these philosophers which think vertue of it selfe to be of no force that al that which we cal honest and laudable is but a vaine thing only coloured with a fayre name if these men neuerthelesse thinke that a wyse man is alwayes happy what thē should we looke for of Socrates Plato other more excellēt philosophers Of y t whiche some saye that the goodes of the minde are of such excellencie that they blemishe all the goodes of the bodye of fortune And some other count these to be no goods at al but place al things in y ● minde only Whose controuersie Carneades was wonte to finishe like an honourable iudge For he said that there was no cause of controuersie betwixt thē although those things which the peripatetike● did cal goods y t Stoikes did count but cōmodities so y ● the Peripatetikes did attribute no more to ryches good health and other suche like then the Stoikes when it comes to the pdndering of the thinge it selfe and not of the word And as for the philosophers of other sectes howe they can haue any place in this opinion let them selues see Yet I am glad that they professe some thinge worthye the name of philosophers of the ablenes of a wise man to liue well But inasmuch as in the morninge we must go from hēce let vs nowe penne out these our fyue dayes disputations I trust that I shall at the laste haue some leasure to set theym abrode For wherein may I better employe this litle leasure that I haue And to my frende Brutus we will sende these fiue bookes by whom I was not onely moued but also prouoked to wryte of philosophy Wherein howe much we shal profyte other men I can not well say But for mine owne sharpest sorowes and sondry troubles that on all sides compassed me I could finde no better remedye FINIS ¶ Faultes escaped in printing In the fyrst booke fol.   page line 3 2 7 for vnto read till 8 2 2 for Hea. reade Mar. 9 1 8 for also reade aske 10 1 23 for members read numbers 12 2 20 for maye read any 13 2 8 for where read are 14 2 4 for his read this 14 1 23 for foolishe read foolishely 15 2 16 for hearty read hauty 18 2 1 for which read when 20 2 8 for exhaltacions read exha●● 21 1 1 for as read and lations 22 2 8 for bound reade boared 24 2 9 for selfe reade soule 29 2 12 for Nectari read Nectar 31 2 17 for nowe read newe 32 2 17 for motion read mixtion ●6 2 8 for Aecus read Aeacus In the second booke fol.   pa. li. 2 2 12 for wits read which ● 2 16 for which reade wittes   2 22 for Peripatician and Academians read Peripate●●kes and academikes In the third booke fol. pa. li.   5 2 22 for as read are 8 12 9 for excutue read execute 11 1 7 for we reade no 12 1 11 for bed read beard 20 2 14 for goodnes read goodes 34 2 1 for delayed read deluded 37 1 9 for countenaunce read continuaunce 39 1 6 for beare read minister 39 1 20 for confirme read conforme 40 2 11 for mourne read mourning In the fourth booke fol. pa. li.   2 2 1 for lined read lyued 4 2 1 for cunning read liuing 10 1 10 for feare read ioye 10 1 23 for sonoe read soone 17 1 21 for for read or 28 2 19 for valiunt read valiaunt ❧ In the fift booke fol. pa. li.   8 2 16 for so read also 12 2 7 for line read li●e 27 2 3 for thitherto read hitherto Wordes left out ❧ In the first booke 16. leafe first page 11. line betwixt for and what bring in for 19. fol. 2. pa. 13. li. betwixt but and he bring in he thought 23. foli 1. pa. 4. line betwixte feare and for bring in What terroure I pray you or what feare 43. fol. 1. pa. 19. line betwixt such and as bringe in that In the second booke 4. fol. 2. pa. 2. li. betwixt me and inasmuch bring in for 4. fol. 2. pa. 22. li. betwixt custome and Peripatetikes bring in of the In the third booke 6. fol. 1. pa. 26. li. betwixt is and written bring in not .16 fol. 2. pa. 24. line betwixt in and thinkinge bringe in two poyntes the one in withdrawyng our minde from the. 27. fol. 2. pa. 12. li. betwixt kinde that bringe in is 35. fol. 1. pa. 16. lin betwixt that is bryng in it In the fourth booke 11. fol. 2. page .17 li betwixt minde to bring in they defyne 13. fol. 2. page 22. line betwixt comparison maye bring in of diseases of the body 34. fo 1. pa. 1. line betwixt that therabout bringe in there is anye loue of whoredome And. In the fyft booke 18. fol. 2 page 6. line betwixte voyde and feare bryng in of ¶ Imprinted at Londō in Fletestrete nere to S. Dunstons church by Thomas Marshe

¶ Those fyue QVESTIONS which Marke Tullye Cicero disputed in his Manor of Tusculanum Written afterwardes by him in as manye bookes to his frende and familiar Brutus in the Latine tounge And nowe oute of the same translated englished by Iohn Dolman Studente and felowe of the Inner Temple 1561. ¶ Imprinted at Londō in Fletestrete nere to S. Dunstons church by Thomas Marshe ❧ TO THE RYGHTE reuerende father in God Iohn Bishoppe of Sarum Iohn Dolman his dayly oratour wysheth continuaunce of health with encrease of honour RIght honourable when as partly by the counsel of them that might commaund me and partlye by mine owne consent I left the vniuersity and began to apply my selfe to the studye of the common lawes of this realme I felt my selfe chiefelye hindred therein with the entermedlīg of those studies the which not without great delight I had afore time vsed The whych because I was lothe to continue to the defrauding of the expectation of those with whom to trifle it had bene impietie I minded to take my farewell of some such part of philosophye as both might be most profitable to the quiete leading of my life to whatsoeuer trade I should giue my selfe and also should be so pleasaunt that it might euen cloy me with delight Whiche my desyre to satisfye when I sought many bookes yet found I none more meete thē this Which whiles I redde I must needes confesse that I was neuer more delighted with any worke except it were the sacred volume of the holye Scriptures Wherfore when I had perused it ouer and founde suche profyte and pleasure therein as it were not possible to finde the like in anye Ethnike wryter I wyshed all men the lyke delyght as the reading of it brought vnto me And because I coulde not mysdoubt but the learned had already tried into thintente that the vnlearned also might haue some fruicion therof and that our coūtrey might at length flowe with the workes of philosophye I endeuoured my selfe althoughe not eloquentlye yet playnely to translate the same into our englishe tounge And considering that there was none more meete to haue the protection of so graue and learned a worke thē your honour remembring also that the first attempte of the same parte of philosophye translated by maister Grimoald passed forth vnder the protectiō of one of that honourable vocation to the whiche also it hath pleased god after sondry troubles to call you I thought it my dutye in respecte of manye benefites by your lordship on me bestowed to dedicate vnto you this my simple trauayle Thinking y t nothinge coulde be vnwelcome to your honour that sauoured Tullie Whom I am not ignoraunt howe much you were wonte to esteeme Wherfore I hope that lykeas your lordshippe was wont to be delyghted with the Romane Tullye euē so this englishe Tullie although not adourned with like eloquence by the translator yet varieng nothing in sēse you wil not disdayne Knowynge that this simple scolers gyfte contayneth the signifyeng of as hearty good will towardes your honoure as those greater presentes to whyche craue requyting Thus lothe to trouble your lordshippe any longer wyth a vayne number of wordes because manye wordes ofte cause many trippes I commende vnto your lordeshippe the fauourable iudgemente of this my simple trauayle to be perused at such time as it shall seeme best both for your leasure and pleasure Written frō the inner temple the .xiiii. of Iuly The preface to the Reader IF thankefulnes for so simple desert may cause the to requite him wyth any part of the like gentlenes who toke vpon him this trauayle suche as it is onely for thy commoditie gentle reader then staye a while from the reading of Tullie and hearken fauourablie to this litle cōmunication that I craue at thy handes I minde onely to excuse my selfe briefeli vnto the and so to dismisse the. The matters which I thinke colourablie may and will be obiected vnto me are these Firste the lacke of yeares and eloquence to attempt the translation of so weyghtye a booke as the very sages of the vniuersitie haue let lye still euen from the time that it was first writtē vnto this daye Then the prophaning of the secretes of Philosophy whiche are esteemed onelye of the learned and neglected of the multitude And therfore vnmeete to be made commen for euerye man First as for mine owne vnablenes for yeares I aunswere by Plato and this mine authour that I knowe nothinge but that whiche my soule nowe setled in my body recounteth as thinges learned before And the soule shal neuer haue the body more apte to whatsoeuer thinge it listeth to dispose him then in his youthe whyche is in maner the greenenesse of the same Since therfore the bodye whych hath no knoweledge but by reason of the soule is in youth most apte and able to execute the inuentions of the same what cause is there whye the wit beinge one of the principall partes of the soule should not chiefelye in this nimblenes of the bodye vtter her force and vertue Then as for lacke of eloquēce First this I thinke they wil al graūt That it is not possible for any man to expresse the writinges of Tullie in Englishe so eloquently as he hath vttered the same in latine Then for mine owne translation forasmuche as it must of necessity be either more simple then the stile of Tullie or els more foolishe and ful of croked termes for Tullies meane none can attaine I had rather to be partener of the fauour due to simplicity and plainenes then with foolyshe and farre fet wordes to make my translatiō seeme more darke to the vnlearned more foolishe to the wise By which my playnenes withoute counterfaite eloquence if I haue gotten no other commoditye yet thus muche I am sure of that I haue thereby escaped the iust reproofe that they deserue whiche thinke to cloke their ignoraunce wyth inkehorne termes For vnlesse it were in such thinges as the Lodgicians terme names of arte for the whych we haue no proper Englyshe words I haue vsed none but the playne and accustomed termes Now as touching the second obiection which containeth the vnprofitable disclosing of the miseries of lady Philosophye as mayster Grymoalde termeth her I thynke that suffycientlye satysfyed yf they consyder that besydes the raskall multitude and the learned sages there is a meane sort of men which although they be not learned yet by the quicknes of their wits can conceiue al such poyntes of arte as nature coulde giue To those I saye there is nothing in this book to darke Especially inasmuche as the reading of one booke will open an other And thus in my opinion I am discharged of vnprofitable reuealinge of the secretes of philosophye Inasmuche as both I hope it shall do muche good to this sort of men afore mencioned and also I am sure it can be nothing hurtful to the learned But shal much more enflame all liberall wittes wyth the

desire of knoweledge when they shall see so worthye matters contayned in one litle boke of that which we terme philosophy or learning Besides these there are yet other faultes as the misprinting of manye wordes and the yll printing of some greeke wordes in latin letters of the verses also otherwyse then they shoulde be red But the blame thereof I vtterlye refuse Inasmuch as euerye man knoweth that it doth nothinge pertayne vnto me Neuertheles as for the firste whych contayneth the misprintinge of wordes thou shalt finde them all corrected in the ende of the booke So that if thou list to reade it without desire of faulte findinge thou mayst firste amende all those faultes with thy pen in the margeant of thy booke whiche in the ende of the booke be corrected And so haue the sense perfecte And as for the two last they were caused by necessitie The one for lacke of a Greeke letter and thother for want of a smaller letter to print the verses in a lesse roame And for other faultes that maye be found in my verses I truste they wyll pardon me who may meruaile howe so sodaynely I am become a versifier But I beseche thee gentle reader to place eche mannes faulte by him selfe that I may be forced to father no other mans faultes then mine owne Which as I knowe to be more then I would they were so I shall desire the to weygh them with gentlenes Knowynge that if such as haue greater knoweledge to set forthe thinges more exactlye should heare my plainenesse not ouermuche discommended they then should be much more prouoked wyth hope of the meruaylous fame that their doings should deserue if they listed to employe some paynes in attempting the like Of the whych as I know there is a great number in both the vniuersities inespetially so I woulde wyshe that eyther they ceassyng any longer to enuie knoweledge to our Englyshe tounge would staine the same with better or els that they woulde not disdaine to forde their fauourable wordes to suche as expresse their good will in the same althoughe not so well as it might be yet as theyr eloquence will permit them And thus muche to the learned reader whom I make the iudge of my worke thoughe I permit the reading of it to all other But nowe thou vnlearned reader forasmuch as whatsoeuer I dyd I dyd it for the desyre I had to profyte thee it shall be thy part of the worst to thinke the best For had it not bene for thy commoditye I could wel enough haue suppressed mine ignoraunce wyth sylence and so by concealinge that lytle whyche I knowe although not blased my simple skil yet wel haue auoyded the necessitie of excuse in such thynges as I deserue reprehension But so muche I tendered thy profyte that I had rather to saie somewhat although not so perfectly as some other mighte then for lacke of my litle labour to let so wor●hy as booke lye vnknowen vnto the. Thus whiles I studye to profyte thee I am fayne to submitte my doynges to the iudgemente of euerye curious carper Wherefore inasmuch as I haue brought the who towardes these thinges wast no otherwise then blind by my trauaile to the sight hereof and caused the to be rid frō blindenes which is so lothsome a thing that it is almoste growen into a prouerbe that a blinde man would be glad to se his nighest felowe hanged because the he shoulde see then trulye thoughe I craue no prayse at thy handes because it is a token of ignoraunce to be praysed of the ignorant yet I may be bold to desire so much of the as Apelles cōmaunded the foolishe shoomaker to performe Who when as he behelde the picture of a man drawen by Apelles so liuelye that the senses of man would haue doubted whether it were a picture or a liuing creature not contented wyth the syghte of it whyche was more meete for a prince to behold then him began to finde faulte with his showe Apelles knowynge that he was a shomaker toke it in good part wyth the pensile amended the fault But the shoemaker by likelihood sum what proud that he was able to finde faulte wyth Apelles workes came agayne the seconde daye And began to disprayse the proportion of his face Wherewithall Apelles being muche moued stept forth and sayde No farther then thy shoe sowter Shewynge thereby that no man oughte to talke farther then his skill will beare him Megabizes esteemed Alexander as a prince whiles he stoode in his scoole and saide nothinge But when he began to talke of thinges whyche he knewe not he said vnto him that euen his litle children would laughe hym to scorne Wherfore shortlye to make an ende and to sende the to Tullye Do thou neyther praise nor disprayse farther then thy conning wil beare the For they are both alike faultes But rightly weyghe and remember the wordes of Tullie to whom I now send the to enioy such pleasure as at the fyrste whiles I my selfe red him I frendelye wished vnto thee THE FIRST BOOKE of the report of those Questions which Marke Tullye Cicero disputed in his manor of Tusculanū treatinge whether death be euell yea or no. BEING OF LATE wholy or els for the most part ridden of my causes of Plea and Parlyamente matters deare frēd Brute I referred my selfe chiefly by your councell to those studyes whyche concealed in my minde suspended for a seasō and for a long space discontinued I haue nowe reuiued And forasmuche as the right trade and order of all those artes whych pertayne to the framinge of a perfect life is conteyned in the studye of wisedome which is named philosophye I thoughte good to endite the same in the Latine tounge not for that I thought it could not be so wel vnderstoode either in the Greeke or by the teachers of the same language but because my iudgemente hathe bene euer such that our countreymen haue either inuented and founde out thinges more wisely then the Greekes or at the least that suche as they had taken of theym they had made farre more perfect especially if the thinges were suche as they estemed worthy theyr trauaile and paynes For in maners orders of liuinge and maynteyning of householde We truly behaue our selues both farre better than they and also more liberall And as for the comen wealth our forefathers haue gouerned it with muche more politike orders and lawes What should I saye of warfare in the which our countreymen passed truly in manhode but much more in pollecy But as for the giftes of Nature and such thinges as they might attaine vnto without learning neyther the Greekes neyther yet any other nation may well be compared with them For what so greate grauitye what so notable constancye stoutenesse of stomake honestye or truste what so passinge vertue in all kynde of poyntes hath bene found in any nation that it maye for the same be compared with oure auncesters In learninge and all kyndes of

profound knoweledge Greece passed vs. Howebe it trulye it was a light worke to excell vs in those thinges in the whyche we did not contend wyth them For where as the Greekes haue had amonges thē the most aunciēt Poetes that euer were counted learned for Homer and Hesiodus lyued afore the buylding of Rome and Archilocus in the time of Romulus we knewe not Poetrye till of late yeares For foure hundred and ten yeares after the buyldinge of Rome Liuius set forth an enterlude Caius Claudius the sonne of Cecus and Marcus Tuditanus beynge Consuls the yeare nexte afore the byrthe of Ennius whyche was more aunciente then Plautus or Neuius Of late yeares therefore Poetes were of oure countreymen both knowen receyued Albeit we find in those histories which were written in the firste foundation of our city that at that time they were wont in bankets to singe certayne songes made of the noble prowes of valiaunt men But that such men were neuer in any estimation we may wel gather by the oration of Cato in the whiche he obiected it as a rebuke to Marcus Nobilior that he had taken wyth him Poetes into his prouince For he had led into Aetolia the poete Ennius as we al wel knowe The lesse therfore that poetes were estemed the lesse men coueted theyr knowledge and yet those fewe that gaue thē selues thereto were nothinge inferioure to the renowne of the Greekes Lykewyse if it had bene counted a quality prayseworthy in Fabius a moo●● noble Prince to paynte should not we haue had in our citie as excellent in that science thinke you as euer was Policletus or Parrhasius Honour bredeth artes and all men are prouoked to studye by fame alwayes those thinges are neglected whiche no man sets by The Greekes thoughte there was great conninge and knoweledge in singinge as well to the instrumentes as alone for that cause Epaminundas in my iudgement the prince of Grece is reported to haue bene conning in singinge to the instrumentes and Themistocles a fewe yeres before for that in a certayne banket he refused the harpe was counted the worse learned Therfore in Greece Musiciās flourished and euerye man learned theyr arte neyther could any be counted wel learned being ignoraunt of the same Geometrye was in greate estimacion emonges theym For the whiche cause there was nothing with them more famous then the Mathematicalles But we haue cōprised the arte of Geometry in the knowledge of measures reasōs of the same But cōtrarywise a perfect orator we haue quickly poolished whō at y e first we had not learned but onely meete to pleade but now neuerthelesse wel learned For we vnderstand y t Galba Africanus Lelius were profound men and he who farre passed theym in age namely Cato very studious after him Lepidus Car●o and bothe the Gracchi but afterward so many and so notable mē euen to this our time that herein eyther not much or els nothing at all we yelded to the Greekes Philosophy hath bene neglected vnto this our age and hath bene hitherto voyde of the light of the latine tounge which now must be opened and reuiued of vs to thintent that if in our businesse we haue somwhat profyted our countrey we maye also do the like by some meanes in this our time of leasure wherein also we ought to take the more paynes because there are certayne Latine bookes written nowe a dayes very vnaduisedlye sette forthe by men honest enough but not sufficiently learned Truly it maye well be that some man maye inuente well and neuerthelesse that which he hathe inuented can not pr●nounce eloquentlye but that anye man should set abrode his owne inuentions which he can neither wel dispose neyther hansomly penne the readynge of the whyche should nothing at all delighte the hearer it is the poynt of such a one as abuseth both leasure and learninge Therfore theyr owne bookes they reade with such as they them selues are neyther doth anye man handle them except suche as would haue the selfe same libertye in writinge graunted them Wherfore if we broughte any helpe by our laboures to the praise of Oratours we will much more dylygently open the fountaynes of Philosophye out of the which neuerthelesse those oure workes of Rethorique dyd flowe But as Arystotle a man of wonderful witte and profound knowledge moued wyth the greate fame and reporte of Isocrates the Rhetorician began bothe to pleade and also to teache yong men and so to ioyne knoweledge with eloquence euen so it likes me neyther to lay apart mine old study of pleading and yet neuerthelesse to be occupied in this more noble plentifull art For I haue euer iudged that to be perfect Philosophy which could reason of weighty matters as well with great knowledge as also w t perfect eloquence In the which kind of exercise I haue so earnestly laboured my selfe that nowe I durst kepe scooles after the maner of the Greekes As of late after your departure in my manor of Tusculanum beinge accompanied with many of my familier frēdes I assayed what I could do in that maner of reasoninge For as afore I declamed causes so this is my declaming in mine old age I willed any man to propose whatsoeuer he listed to heare debated and thereof I disputed eyther sittinge or walkynge Therfore my disputacions in scooles holden fyue dayes together I haue endyted in as many bookes The order thereof was this That when he who woulde heare anye matter discussed had shewed his owne opiniō of the same then I should hold the contrarye For this is as you knowe ryght well the auncient waye fyrste vsed by Socrates to dispute agaynst all mens opinions For so he thoughte that whatsoeuer was moste true in anye matter might soonest be boulted out But to the intent you may more playnely perceyue our reasons I wyll wryte them as if the matter were doing not telling therefore nowe take you the beginning in this maner ¶ The hearer ¶ Death semeth to me to be a greate euell Marcus To thē do you meane whych are dead or els that must dye Hea. To them both Mar. It is miserable then if it be euell Hea. Yea truly Mar. Then all they whych are already deade and all such as must dye are miserable Hea. So I thinke Mar. There is no man then which is not miserable Hea. None truly Mar. And trulye if you wil in all poyntes firmely hold this opinion all men whiche are borne or shalbe borne are not onelye wretched but also for euer wretched For if you did onely call thē wretches which must dye then should you except none of thē whyche nowe liue for we must all dye but neuerthelesse the end of our misery should be in deathe but forasmuche as such as are dead also are wretched we are borne to continuall miserye For it must nedes be that they are wretched which an hundred yeares past are dead or rather all they whych at anye tyme heretofore were

put vs in good hope if that delight you that our soules may after this life passe into the heuens as a place appoynted for them Hea. Truly it delyghteth me greatlye And assuredly y ● it so is I wil alwayes perswade my selfe Mar. What nede you in this case to requyre my labour am I able in eloquence to excell Plato reade diligently that booke whyche he wrote of the soule so shal you lacke nothinge concerninge the knoweledge of this questiō Hea. I haue done so truly yea and that very often But I knowe not how whiles I reade him I am fully perswaded But after I haue layd asyde the booke begin to thinke with my selfe of the immortality of our soules all my perswasion sodaynelye slips away Mar. Wel sir graunte you that the soules abyde after death or els saye you that they dye with the reste of the body Hea. I graunt that thei remaine Mar. What if they remayne Hea. I graunt they be blessed Mar. What if they dye Hea. Then they be not wretched because they be not For that being therunto costrayned by you I haue already graunted Mar. How then or for what cause do you saye that deathe is euell which eyther shal make vs happy our soules remayninge or els not wretched our sense beinge paste Hea. Shewe therfore fyrste vnlesse it be to paynefull for you that our soules remayne after this life But yf you can not proue that for it is very harde you shall shewe that there is no harme in death For I feare muche leaste it be a griefe I do not meane to lacke sense but that I must lacke sense Mar. To proue this matter which you desyre we may vse as good authoures as may be which in all causes both ought and also is wont to be of great importaunce and fyrst we may confyrme it by all antiquity which the nigher it was to the beginning of the worlde and progenye of the gods so much the better peraduenture did see those thinges whyche were true For emonges those auncyent fathers whō Ennius calleth Cascos this one thinge was comen that there is in death feling and that a man by departing of his life is not so vtterly extinguished that he should altogether peryshe And this may you gather both by many other thinges but chiefly by the lawe of the byshops and ceremonies of burials whiche they beynge most wittye men would neyther with so great care haue obserued neither yet being irreuerently or vnhonestly vsed would so sharpely haue punished except this had bene faste fixed in theyr mindes that death is no destruction vtterly marring and blemishing al thinges but onelye a certayne departure and chaunge of lyfe the whiche to worthye men women is wont to be a guyde into heauen and vicious and il disposed persons did cause to tary on the groūd and neuerthelesse to remayne stil. By this opinion also and by the iudgemēt of our countreymen Romulus in heauens with gods doth passe his time As Ennius the Poete agreeing to comen fame hath writen And frō thence flyeng to vs and so to the West Occeane Hercules is counted so great and so mightye a god For this cause Bacchus the sonne of Semele is so muche reported And in like maner famous were the .ii. sonnes of Tindareus who not onely in field were helpers of victory to the Romans but also messengers of the same Also Ino the doughter of Cadmus is she not of the Greekes by the name of Leucothea and of our countreymen by the name of Matuta worshipped What the whole heauen to thintent I make no longer discourse is it not replenished with mankinde for if I should assaye to searche auncyente monumentes and put in writing such thinges as be in olde Greeke bookes thē should you wel perceyue that such as we count to be the greatest goddes haue departed out of y e earth into those places of heauen But ignoraunt men that knewe not naturall philosophye whych of late came into vse perswaded them selues so much as they could gather by naturall reason The order and causes of thinges they knewe not They were oftē moued by visions and those chiefelye in the nighte to thinke that such as were dead did liue againe Wherfore like as we se it a very strōg argumēt to beleue that there are gods because there is no nation so cruel neyther yet anye man so beastlye in whose mind there is not fixed some opinion of God Many neuerthelesse haue conceaued diuers foolishe fancies of the gods but yet they graunte all that there is a diuine power and nature Neyther yet doth the communication or agreement of men cause this consent the opinion is cōfirmed by no decrees by no lawes but in euery thing the argement of all nations is taken for the law of nature So likewise in asmuch as all nations haue worshipped their benefactors as gods after theyr death although some more foolyshe then other it is euident that nature hath engraffed in the heartes of all men a natural opinion without perswasiō that our soules are immortall and remayne after this life But who is there that would not bewayle the death of his friend when he thinkes that he is depriued the commodities of this life Take away his fansye and you shall take awaye all mourning For no man mourneth but for his discommodity For we sorowe and are vexed and all our wofull lamentation and sad mourning ryseth hereof that him whom so entirelye we loued we suppose to lacke the commodities of this life and that to feele And these thinges we ymagine onely by the conducting of nature wythout eyther reason or learninge And hereof we wyll talke hereafter But the greatest argument by the whych we may gather that nature it selfe doth priuily thinke of the immortality of our soules is that moste wise men take greatest care for thinges to come after their death Some one sets trees whiche may profyte in an other age as Statius sayeth in his bookes entituled Synephebi to what other ende but for that he knewe that the time to come did also pertayne vnto him for the same cause diuers diligente husbandemen graffe trees whose encrease they shall neuer see And likewyse manye noble men make lawes orders and customes the obseruatiōs of the which they shall neuer beholde What the begettinge of children the spreading of fame the adoptions of children the diligent obseruinge of testamentes the very monumentes Epitaphes of graues what other thing do they signify then that we haue al a respect to y e time to come Besydes this There is no doubte but the tryall of nature oughte to be taken of the best nature But what mens nature is better thē theyrs which thinke theym selues borne to helpe saue and comfort men Hercules is departed frō hence to the gods To them he shoulde neuer haue gone vnlesse whiles he was emonges men he had prepared him selfe a way thither But these are old matters and nowe also sanctifyed by

in the defence of Plato his secte called Academia we haue expressed in our .iiii. bookes entitled Academikes But yet neuertheles so much it lackes y ● I would be angry or displeased if any man should write against the same y ● I wishe it euen with all my hert For philosophy in Greece it selfe had neuer come to suche perfection vnlesse there had bene suche contention and diuersytye amonges the best learned men as concerninge the same Wherfore I desyre all suche as are able to do it that they woulde helpe to take this prayse also from Greece that is already faynted and bring it into this our citye as our auncesters haue already done by al the rest that were worth any payne or trauayle And truly the prayse of Oratoures encreased from a lowe to suche perfectiō that nowe as natures course doth worke in all thinges it beginneth to waxe aged and within this shorte space is lykely to come to nought Wherfore nowe let philosophy begin to be spred in the latine tongue and let vs helpe the encrease thereof altho●gh that for the same we be reproued and refuted Which trulye they can not abyde which bynde them selues to a●ye certayne opinion as men wholye gyuen to the same so that sumtimes they are constrayned to get theym opinion of constancie to maynteyne such thynges as otherwyse they woulde not allowe But I who in al thinges folowe probabilitie and can go no farther thē likelyhode am readye both to wryte agaynst others without any stubbernes and also to be writen agaynst without anye anger If so we maye brynge this kinde of exercise from the Grecians to our countreymen we shall not wante the helpe of the Greke libraries which are stuffed with an iufinite company of bookes wryten of the same matter For manye haue wrytten the same in effect that some others haue done afore them So that the noumber of bookes is infinite The which shal in likewise happen to vs when many geue theym selues to wrytynge But I will assaye chiefelye to prouoke thē to write who being wel learned and instructed with perfect eloquence can endyte philosophye with a good trade and order For there is a certayne sort of men whych wyll needes be counted philosophers that are reported to haue wryten manye latine bookes whiche surelye I do not despise because I neuer redde thē but inasmuche as the aucthours them selues do playnely confesse y ● they can wryte neyther distinctlye orderlye eloquently nor trimlye I assuredlye neglect the readyng of that which shoulde nothynge at all delyght me inasmuche as they care not what they wryte I knowe not why anye man shoulde be bounde to reade thē but suche as ar● of the same opinion that they be For as all men reade Plato and the workes of other scolers of Socrates so likewyse of others that were taughte of them although they agree not in opinion wyth them or at the least wise do not greatly alowe them but Epicurus and Metrodorus none almost handles but suche as be of theyr owne secte so these late latine wryters they onelye reade which thinke the same to be wel and wysely wryten But me semeth that whatsoeuer any man would set abrode ought afore to be commended by the iudgement of suche as are learned And for that cause the aunciēt custome peripatecian and academias to reason on eyther parte of euery question doth maruaylously well like me not onelye for that by no other meanes the truth● of euerye doubtefull question might be tryed but also because there is in it a greate exercyse and practyse of Rhetorique whych Aristotle chiefly vsed and all they that folowed him But in this our time Phil● whom we haue herd appoynted one tyme to teache the preceptes of Rhetorique and an other to declare the rules of philosophy To the whyche order I beynge lykewyse moued of my familyar fryendes spente there in suche leasure as I had in my maner of Tusculanum Wherfore when I had spent the morninge in the studye of Rhetoryke after noone we came downe to our scoole in the which such reasoninge as we had I do nowe expresse not as if I tolde it but euen in maner wyth the selfe same wordes as it was done Therfore whyles we walked we fell into this talke Hea. I can not well expresse howe muche I was delyghted or rather strengthened with your yesterdayes reasonynge For although I am assured that I was at no time to muche desyrous of my lyfe yet neuerthelesse there woulde come come sometime both feare and gryefe to my heart when I thoughte that I should one day lose the fruition of this pleasaunt light and eke of all the commodities of this life Of this trouble assuredly I am nowe so eased that I care for nothinge lesse Mar. It is no maruayle truly For such is the effecte of philosophye it helpeth the minde it taketh a way all vayne care riddes the mind of desyre and driues away feare but this her power is not of like force wyth all men But then it worketh most when it chaunceth on a good nature For stoute men not onely fortune doth helpe as the olde prouerbe is but much more reason Whiche in maner wyth certayne preceptes confyrmeth the strengh of fortitude Nature fyrste made you hye minded and meete to despise all earthlye thinges and for that cause in your stoute stomake ' the perswasion of sufferynge death is lyghtly rooted But thinke you that these selfe same perswasions do so much preuaile wyth them except very fewe of whom they were first inuented reasoned and written No truly For howe manye philosophers shall you finde whose life and behaui●ur is such as reason requireth Or that doth vse theyr teachynge not as a brag and boastinge of knoweledge but as the law and order of good life Or howe manye of theym shall ye fynde that are ruled by theym selues or obeye theyr owne decrees you shall see some of such lyghtnes and arrogācie that it had bene better for them neuer to haue learned Some other couetous men many verye desyrous of glorye and moste of them s●aues of pleasure So that theyr talke and their life seemes meruaylously to differ whiche assuredlye seemes to me a thyng worthye great reproche For like as if one that did professe grāmer should speake false latine or one that would be counted a musician should sing out of tune his fault were so muche the worse because it is in that kynde of knowledge which he professeth so lykewyse a philosopher shewing yll example of liuing is so muche the more to be blamed as he offēdeth in that thing of the which he professeth him selfe a teacher and professinge the arte of lyfe offendeth in his liuinge Hea. Is it not then to be feared least you commend philosophy● wythout a cause For what can be a greater proofe that it is not auaylable then that diuers notable philosophers do lyue abhominably Mar. Truly it is no proofe at all For as all fieldes that