theim that were with him But when his companions were minded to returne into their countrey and asked him whether he would haue any thinge conueied home he willed theim to reporte this as Vitruuius rehearseth That they ought to prepare such possessions and such prouision for their children as if they suffered shippewrake might swimme to the shoore with them For they be the true staies of our life which neither the stormes of fortune neither the chaunge of common weales ne yet the iniquitie of warre can harme But how muche the studies of humanitie haue alwaye from the beginnynge holpen common weales hereby we maie perceiue because no manne can more perfitely reason and decide of the vertue and happines whiche we seke in the societie of menne then he that hath the knowledge of such thinges as belong to god and manne By the guidynge whereof he perceyueth what is right what conscionable what iuste what it is to helpe one another and what is required to aduaunce the common weale whereby not onely good gouernement is fortified but also lawes the whole frame of kepyng a ciuill order is established For no man euer well adourned any Citie that hath not had the knowledge of these thinges So that he semed to haue aunswered verye wiselye whiche saide that this was the principall praise of Philosophers that they coulde write lawes and builde cities Suche a manne was Zaleucus at Locrus Charondas among the Catinians Philolaus amonge the Thebanes Plato to the Magnesians Draco and Solon to the Athenians Pittacus to the Prienians Androdamas to the Tracians and other lawe makers in other places as Aristotle hath left in writynge Moreouer Horace testifieth that the Poetes were wonte to call menne into townes from their wilde and sauage life and to shew them a trade of good liuinge in these verses The sacred prophete of the Gods sometime that Orpheus hight The vgglie shapen vvilde vvoode men subdued and put to flight Thereof vppe spronge the fable first that he the Tygers tamde And rampyng Lyons had by notes of ciuill musicke framde Amphion ehe that Thebes builte by sounde of harpe vvas saied To haue removde the senselesse stones and vvhere he vvoulde them laied The former vvisedome taught from priuate publike thinges to deme And hovve vve shoulde before prophane the sacred thinges esteme From vvanderyng lust eke to abstaine and bridebed lavves to haue To builde vp tovvnes for our defence and Lavves in vvoode to graue Thus sprong vp honour first to men and high renouvmed name Thus first encreast the prophetes praise and eke the Póétes fame For this is the studie for the zeale whereof good men haue not onely forsaken their riches but also them selues sekyng that whiche was for the common profite and might lincke men together by lawe this doe they call Philosophie vnto whom Tullie dothe speake on this wise O Philosophie the leader of our life the emplantour of vertue the weeder out of vyces what shoulde either I or the whole life of man be withoute thee Thou hast brought foorthe Cities thou hast assembled menne before dispersed into a societie of life thou ioynest them firste in houses then in marriages last of all in the communitye of learnyng and languages Thou hast bene the founder of lawes thou the maistres of maners and discipline Hereupon sayeth Plato that that common weale is happy where either Philosophers raigne or the kinges and rulers be studious of Philosophie Moreouer vnlesse there be practised in the common weale the doctrine of true religion and Godlinesse the discipline of good behauioure and the balaunce of Iustice what shall it be els but a conuocacion of wicked men wherein riote licenciousnes filthinesse beastlinesse intemperancie vngodlines and all kinde of viciousnes for vertues take place and beare swaye whiche neuertheles men of excellent learnynge and cleannesse of life may by conueniente meanes rote out and by openynge the right waye of vertue bringe menne to ciuilitie and nurture As be the professours of diuinitie whose vocation is to sette forthe Goddes worde Lawyers whiche decide what is agreable to reason and cōscience which shew what is right and what wronge and foresee that menne be not more senselesse and sauage then brute Beastes For the waies of men in this poincte dooe differ from the dennes caues couertes filthines of other liuing Creatures because they ought to be strengthened by reason onely and so to passe foorthe vnto the degrees of humanitie But ymagine a citie to be well peopled fortified faire builded but yet geuen to ydolatrie and wickednesse as Cayrum and the more is the pitie Constantinople and many other kingdomes seigniories and subiect to the Turkes tyranny Such be preserued and for the moste parte dooe most flourishe not onely by the kinges power and sworde but more by the instinct of nature whiche reason frameth and moueth to the societie of life that is by ordinaunce of lawes whereby euerie man is commaunded to liue and to obey higher powers For the Turke althoughe he hath forbidden his subiects al other kinde of learning yet he suffreth as thei saie houses of lawe that thereby the people may be prouoked to ciuilitie and be kept in doing their duetie And surely vnlesse the zeale of furtheryng one another and the wealthe and worshippe of the common weale had bene by common consent of all men established through the settyng on of suche as be studious of wisedome iustice and humanitie neither Carthage neither Athenes ne yet Rome the Ladye of the whole worlde nor other notable common weales could haue common vnto so greate famousnesse To the whiche learned men did not only prescribe lawes and the rule of liuyng wel but also gouerned the same with great honour Neither were they therewith content but set forth bokes wherin thei wrote preceptes of liuing not onely to their owne Citezins but to the profitynge of all countreys and their whole posteritie enfourming them with like traines of learning men worthy to receiue the rewarde of their trauailes and writinges to be well spoken of amongest good men to be reported to haue farre passed all other For the learned saieth Daniel shal shine like the brightnes of the firmament and they that instruct manie to righteousnesse as starres for euer Moreouer wisedome wherewith the multitude of people is knit together and ruled is holpen by the experience of many thinges mēnes natures and worldly affaires whiche thei shall the readier attaine vnto who haue trauailed in readyng of histories and chronicles whiche God would haue to be set before vs as an ensample of life whereby wee might vnderstande his goodnesse his loue towarde mankinde some taste of vertue and order of gouernement to the entent we might learne to receiue soche thinges as doe prepare vs to blessednesse and to eschue soche thinges as bee dishonest and vnsemelie for a ciuill liuer But there be certaine Touneshippes and Villages where none
of his bokes writen concernyng the common weale doeth argew that men in the beginnyng of many farmes and vplandishe houses builded borough tounes called in Latine Pagi of the Doriane Greke worde Pages whiche signifieth a Spryng bicause some suche tounes were first planted nigh to some sprynges whervnto thei appoincted eche their shires liberties that the borderers might haue more quietnes occasion of peace whervpon also shires of greate countries emong latin writers be called by the name of Pagi â–ª as Cesar writeth that Swicerlande is deuided into fower Pagi I meane shires whiche bee in seuerall after the fower principall Boroughes thereof But when as by reason of the greate encrease of meÌ„ mo thynges were required as necessarie to a ciuill life and discipline thei thought it good to builde citees and to seke a more commodious habitacion which we vse to terme halfe of our life whose enhabitauntes bee called citezens bicause thei repaire together into a citee Now this woorde Ciuitas in Latine hath diuers significatioÌ„s For if we take it grossely and materially it shal signifie nothing els but materiall buildyng of walles houses whiche is also called Vâ—bs in Latine of Vrbus the crokyng of a Plough For tholde fathers as Marcus Varro hath left in writing wer wont after the maner of Thetrurians to appoincte out their citees thus At a daie thought conuenient by their Sothsaiers thei would yoke an ore and a cowe togither in a Plough whiche had a Brasen culter the Cowe for religioÌ„ sake on the nearer side and so coueryng their heades with their gowne skirtes cast a furrowe namyng the place whence thei digged and trenched vp the moulde a ditche or trenche on the inside wherof thei erected their walles that their citees might be fortified without strengthened bothe with a ditche and a wall Whiche Ouide in his booke intituled de fastis doeth pretily in these twoo verses descriue Then vp he rent a trenche with Plowe where he the walles would frame An oxe and cowe bothe white as snowe were yoked for the same Whervpon it is the maner that as citees appoincted out by the Plough be thought to be builded with a certain religiousnesse so when thei be raced vp again thei be as it wer prophaned by the ouer ruÌ„nyng of a plough Whiche thyng we read in writyng that Scipio Africanus practised vppon the high walles of Carthage and Frederike the Emperour surnamed Barbarossa vpon Millaine a citee of Lumbardie whiche bothe wer laied flat with the grounde Now seyng the citee retcheth no farther then the walles it is to bee vnderstande that when wee giue and bequethe â–ª by legacie to any all our gooddes in the citee that the lawe meaneth all that is within the wall and not that is in the suburbes There be therefore three Latines woordes whiche in signification be in maner one Ciuitas whiche taketh name of the Citezes repaire Vrbs bicause it beginneth solempnly by the tournyng of a Plough Oppidum bicause that beeyng entrenched with ditche and wailes it healpeth to saue thynges that be necessary for the inhabitauntes Mannes pollicie therefore did not onely builde citees bicause thei be conuenient for the leading of a ciuill life but for a defence against inuasion of enemies rouers Whervpon from the beginnyng the walles were helde as holie whiche who so rashely in olde tyme past ouer it cost hym his head For the whiche cause we read in the Romaine historie that Romulus slue his brother Remus and that the first walles of Roome was mortessed with brothers bloode Howbeeit Marcus Tullius thynketh that deede rather to haue come vpoÌ„ a desire of rule then reuengement for vnhallowing the wall For Romulus seyng it to be more profitable for hymself to gouerne alone then with any other slue his brother preteÌ„ding an honest cause whiche was the walbreche beyng in deede neither allowable ne yet sufficient Bicause in common gouernement nothyng is profitable if it bee vnhonest and contrary to vertue This Citee we maie call a ioynyng togither of houses enuironed with walles fitlie and commodiously erected bothe for the leadyng of a ciuill life and repellyng the inuasions of enemies Where note that Cain builded in Eden a countrey liyng Eastward the first citee afterward named Babilon and called it after the name of his sonne Enoch Enochia as the holy Moses witnesseth and Iosephus also followyng hym in his firste booke of his antiquities where afterwarde Nembrothe foolishlie purposyng to preuente the daunger of water would haue builded a Toure farre retchyng aboue mannes sight but by the confusion of tongues was let of his enterprise Whereby it should not seme to be true as well nigh al y e Greke and Latine writers doe fable that Cecrops builded the first citee and named it after his owne name Cecropia whiche afterward was called Athens vnlesse you will alledge that it was the first citee builded in Grece But these thinges doe not so muche beloÌ„g vnto our purpose consideryng it is inough for the place to knowe that maÌ„ could not so conueniently haue entred societie of life vnles he had had citees as it were a schoolyng place to learne vertue in Therefore to saue our houses to saue our children and wiues and finally for the safetie of the whole common weale Citees muste neades haue been builded for the defendyng of whose walles it doeth staÌ„d vs in hande to fight no lesse then for our selues Now the second signification of Ciuitas is when it betokeneth the people whereof the materiall citee doeth consiste for whose behoufe it was first builded and this kind of citee doe I most driue at in this treatise Which is no other thyng but a number of men coupled by the bonde of societie and lawe wherein thei bee trained vp by a discipline of lawe and maners one to dooe that is profitable to an other and to liue well Whereof is wrought that moste comly frame whiche we call a common weale For a citee must so bee appoincted that nothyng be lackyng that maie appertaine to the preseruacion therof that is rekened necessary for leadyng this our mortall life well and honest vsyng this societie wherevnto nature inwardly hath addressed vs whiche Aristotle alloweth for the best as for whiche the assembles repaires and resortes of men be reserued The commodities and vse of this citee Moses Lycurgus Oraco whose lawes bicause of their seuere orderyng of thynges be saied to be written with blood Zaleucus CaroÌ„das Socrates Plato Aristotle Panetius doe euidently teache and all thei whose chief care was to set furthe and enlarge common weales by their vertue wisedome iudgemente and good ordinaunces Whiche vse if it dooe at any tyme light emong vs one will profite an other quietnes of life shall ensue it shall be easie to get our liuyng one by an other lawes shalbe obeied eche manne without force shall haue his owne and nothyng shall bee doen to
to honoure and preferment causeth vs to be desierous to continue in the retinue of great Princes euen vntill our deathes daie Which we reade that not onely learned and vnlearned men haue done but also great Philosophers For the court hath alwaie bene so estemed that me to make their abode therin haue bene willyng to leaue not onely Philosophie but also all libertie So Aristippus the Philosopher whom all colour eche estate euery thing became as Horace writeth folowed Dionisius y e Syracusan chosing rather to flatter him theâ— to take the commoditie of his owne profession so that Diogines Cinicus might wel be alowed for terming him the kinges Dogge For it fortuned once that Aristippus scorned Diogenes for eating wortes saiyng if thou wouldest be about the king thou shouldest not eate these wortes Naie saied Diogenes if thou couldest finde in thine harte to eate wortes thou wouldest not â—â—atter the kinge As for Aristotle I neade not to speake whiche did not lease his good houres with Alexander but enstructed him in learnynge and thereby gote so great knowledge of all liuyng creatures as no Philosopher the like which thinge Plinie saieth may easely be proued by the fiftie bokes which he hath written of liuing creatures So we do se that Princes in our time do regarde worthy men not as by flatterie to purchase preferment but if nede be sincerely to geue them good counsell from the which he is easelye withdrawen whiche hath not the true waie of vertue set before his eyes but endeuoureth to liue to him self and turneth the most profitable kinde of life vnto the most shamefull vse of vanitie For there bee many by-pathes which do leade courtiers out of the right waie so that they neither embrace ne dooe that which they knowe to be bothe good nedefull to be doen but thei se vertue and pine away euen at the sight therof For there is not one of them but he hath in his mouth nothing els but godlines iustice equitie temperaunce the other vertues whereof they neuer put the least poinct in practise but endeuour them selues to vse collusion and to deceiue other by some subtile fetch and sleighty policie whiche a man maie well call Smoke-sellers So Vetronius Turinus which perswaded al men that Alexander Seuerus did all thinges by hys counsell for so muche as he solde that which was vncertaine whether it might come to passe or no to receiue a rewarde woorthy of his crafty dealyng was burned the Crier criynge before him hee is punished with Smoke which solde smoke Flatterie also and curriyng of fauour is a most pernicious euill whiche Mamertius calleth a priuie poyson wherewith Princes mindes beyng infected are prepared to this that suche thinges as be true they will holde as false and such as be false they wil holde as true wherewith a good Prince most of all other ought not to be lightly ledde For as Epicharmus saieth the sinnowes and ioinctes of wisedome be not to beleue rashelye Howbeit this enormitie raigneth beareth a great swaie in courtes Whereupon certain thinke this latten worde Adulatio whiche signifieth flatterie to be deriued from the courte as it were Adaulatio in Greke called Colachia Speusippus Platoes successoure defined it to be a conuersation of euil begon and attempted for pleasure and deceipte so that for fawnynge it is enforced to alow that whiche is againste nature So Praxaspes warned Cambises the Persian king not so much to vse drinking of wine But he afterwarde swilling more then he was wont in his dronkennes commaunded his sonne who hadde chidde him to be brought forth and to stande with his lift hande lift aboue his heade so when he had strokeÌ„ hym to the harte with an arrow he commaunded his breast to be opened and the arowe to be shewed to the father askyng him whether his hande were not stiddie inoughe for all his drunkennesse who denied that Appollo him selfe coulde haue geuen a surer stripe Ye see howe that he which is stained with the vice of flattery can neither speake nor answere vncorruptly Much lesse theÌ„ can a flatterer either couÌ„sel y â— he knoweth to be beste or affirme it to be true Therefore Antisthenes saied that it was better to light amonge rauens then among flatterers for that Rauens deuoured the dead but flatterers the quicke Neither was it vnproperly spoken of Nicesias whiche when Alexander draue awaâ—e the Flies whiche as he saied did bite him Naye rather quoth he driue awaie them which bite you sorer in sucking out your very bloud Noting thereby flatterers which sucke a great deale more the any flie For they be the kinges euill so much the lesse to be borne withall because that they crepyng in priuelie dooe not onely bringe Princes into mistrust but they theim selues proue vnfaithfull more folowynge their owne desire and gaine then caring either for the honestie or profite of the comminaltis And neades must y â— superiour powers as Maximus Tyrius saith oppresse the subiectes where flattery taketh place whiche groweth not onely to the subuersion of theÌ„ selues but also oftentimes to the destruction of the hole king dome Yet some princes there haue bene which would not geue eare to this cankerde euill to the ende they woulde not admit any thing whereby they should debase their owne worthines As were Augustus Cesar Adrian Alexander Iuliane Antoninus Pius certaine other worthy Princes whiche deserued well of mankinde not to mencion Princes of our time which so detest this vile vice of flatterye that they shall after their death leaue a worthye memoriall of their name For better it is as Ecclesiastes saieth to be by a wise man rebuked theÌ„ bi the flattery of foles to be deceiued Secondly ambicion causeth men to neglect the execution of their duetye not without their worthy reprehensioÌ„ For he that is desierous of honour and dignitie dothe more endeuour to this ende how to get al mennes fauour then to do his duetie vprightlye and honestly towarde any manne Whereas suche as doe entende to profite the common weale muste obserue these peceptes of Plats One that they so tender the profite of the subiectes that what soeuer they do they driue it to that ende forgettynge their owne commodities the other that they see vnto the whole bodie of the common weale least while they defende anye one parte they do neglect the rest which he dothe not that is ledde with desire of honoure for harde it is for one that desiereth honour to kepe equitie Therefore ambicion is a very pestilent thinge in a common weale whiche the Romaynes persecuted so manye waies as infamous bicause it goeth not forward by way of law but sometime attempteth by force sometime by disceit as Tullie saieth in his Oracion against Sallust For the most part it is coÌ„pared vnto marketting assembles wherein it was wonte to be exercised for nedes must he that bieth sell saied Alexander the
before the heade magistrates encountred all attemptes against the lawes all ready established At Locrus a notable citie of the Epizephirians whiche firste as Strabo writeth vsed certain written lawes there was an order taken that none shoulde be suffered to attempt renuynge of anye lawe contrary to the auncient ordinaunces vnlesse he woulde venter his necke in a halter to the ende that if it might seeme commodious to the common weale he might escape if not he should straightway be stranguled with the same halter the loope thereof beinge harde pulled together Therefore the firme and vniforme order of gouernaunce maketh the estate to continue vnchaunged which is the best and surest in the best kinde of rule as most coÌ„mon weales do euidently declare Although as men be now a daies minded it be hard to kepe y â— same because of the troubles of sedicion and intemperancy of the people Wherefore in default of a gouernour some free cities vse to take themperour or some other kinge or foraine prince for their defendour whereby bothe the people maie be kept in awe and they theim selues preserued Moreouer in some common weales it hath bene an auncient custome that certaine of the base people and brotherhodes of artificers shoulde be as assistantes to the counsailours to so that nothinge be called contrarie to the common profite of the Citezines and lawes of the countrey vnknowynge to the people as the Tribunes were wonte to do among the Romayns And as it marueilously furthereth concord and quietnesse in a Citie and as it were nourisheth the same that the common money so farre as belongeth to receites and expences be noted to the comminaltie so where a fewe were they neuer of so greate estimacioÌ„ and deserued neuer so wel of their countrey do the same after their owne willes it stirreth greate troubles and hath bene the vtter vndoing to sundrye that peraduenture neuer offended Therefore the wittiest counsell that I can finde is for so much as accordyng to Tirence saiyng sundrye diet causeth sundrye vsage and eche daie hath inough for her owne euill for a season to deferre those thinges which withoute great disturbance can not be sodenly altered Therefore the administrations of common weales as they be nowe adaies appointed seeme to be mixed with the three kindes of gouernement that is to saie Monarchie the best mennes rule and the peoples guidyng For so as it were one hande washeth an other and one man aideth an other specially in such thinges as ought not to be hidde For there be manye priuye thinges in Cities and profitable in common whiche must be committed but to fewe whiche in this pointe so much commendeth and approueth the faithfulnes dignitie and honest behauiour of the officers that thei be thereby voide of suspicion Albeit no man euer yet so ruled in the worlde but he founde certaine felowmates whiche would misconstre and finde fault with his doinges whom the clearer a mans conscience is the soner he will despise As for good mennes reporte he neuer neadeth to cast any such feare For good men alway take good thinges in good parte and as Tullie saieth The better a man is the lesse dooeth he suspect other to be euill Contrariwise he that is euill can not speake well of other but measureth al menne by him selfe And then saied Alexander the Macedonian plaiest thou the king in dede wheÌ„ doing well thou arte misreported neither yet ceaseth God to preserue his magistrate or minister euen in the middest of all his trouble Neither is it to be thought that it can naturallye come to passe that one common weale can abide the three estates I meane of one alone of the best and of the peoples gouernement as to haue so many particuler heades in it whereof eche shall haue the aucthoritie but a measure must be had and eche regarde his own priuate charge Of which thing we may take an example at this vniuersal frame of the worlde wherein the Philosophers by all their search could not finde any more but one Lorde and king And as sainct Austen saieth Plato did not thinke that there was anye moe Gods but one the aucthour of al natures Which thing a man may also see in Bees which wil haue no moe kinges in their swarme but one about whoÌ„ they cluster whom they compasse in and reuerence as Plinie full well teacheth in hid naturall historie Althoughe Aristotle ledde by some greater experience thinketh that sometime they do folowe diuers guides whiche being altogether do make the nomber of one swarme whiche thing the Bee kepers as I my selfe haue heard them oft times saie do graunt if so be that the hiues be able to receiue diuers swarmes Therefore howe diuerse so euer the estates of gouernours be whiche rule in one common weale yet their eyes must loke vpon one as chiefe in aucthoritie to whoÌ„ in weightie affaires thei must haue a recourse as vnto a Moses So that in euerye well gouerned citie none other thinge is to be loked for but that wee with most quietnes that can be being obedient to our ruler because he is ordeined by God do seke the common wealth and the onely glory of God whether the rule be gouerned by one as a king by the better fort by the mightier power or ioyned with diuers and sundrye Whiche neither Aristotle him selfe dooeth in all poinctes disalow but reasoneth as though after a sort it maie be accompted as one of the best rules in a common weale For there is nothing so perilous but if a manne vse it well it may be bothe quiet and safe and contrariwise there is nothing so good but it shal haue wonderfull euill happe if you do not cease to abuse it Wherefore it lieth in vs to employ gouernement although it be a difficult thinge either to a good or an euil ende The argument of the fourth booke That in a common weale it behoueth magistrates to passe other in vprightnesse of life and maners and to be fauourers of the aduauncement of the common profite THe worthy Plato whose coÌ„panion Tullie professeth him selfe to be in his bookes whiche he wrote touching a common weale as Plinie reporteth in his preface to Vaspasian semeth wel to haue saied that commoÌ„ weales be distinguished accordynge vnto the nature of men the decent order whereof we doe measure by the magistrate that ruleth Whiche if he be good it can not otherwise be but that the Citie shall appeare to be very well ordered But if he be vnprofitable and dissolute it straightwaies lighteth vpon the Citizins whom he infecteth and maketh much worse for so muche as a naughty Rauen can not but laye a naughty egge Neither was there euer scholemaster that made good scholers who was him selfe vntemperate and negligent in teachyng Wherefore not euerye one of base condicion must be admitted to beare ofâ—ice but must be chosen amongest such as haue wel gouerned their owne houshold Like
And as Columella writeth in old time men liued happelie and so shall thei also in tyme to come without any practise of plaies and interludes or pleadyng in lawe but it is manifest that men can neither liue no yet be nourished without soche as tille the yearth Wherefore it wer a marueilous strauÌ„ge thing if that this trade of enlarging and kepyng liuelihode should be despised whiche is a fautles facultie forsomoche as Cato writeth that soche menne as be herein occupied dooe thinke least harme whiche is next to wisedome and furthest vnacquainted with olde age euer flourishinge euer healthfull and serueth bothe for profite and pleasure Concerninge whiche matter Marcus Varro is aucthour that moe then fiftie Grecians haue written whole volumes amongest whom he reakeneth Hiero the Sicilian Hesiâ—de the Aâ—â—rean Democritus the naturall Philosopher Xenophon scholer to Socrates Aristotle Theophraste and other famous men also Mago the Carthaginian a man of high parentage whiche brought scatered matters in his own naturall language into xxviij bokes whiche Cassius Dionisius tourned into Greke and finallye Decius Sillanus traunslated theim into the latine tongue by the counsailes commaundement Yea the latines also did not omitte the preceptes of husbandrie as Marcus Cato the Censoâ—re two Sasernes the father and the sonne Sâ—rofâ— Tremellius whiche wrote eloquently of that argument as Columella dothe reporte Marâ—us Terentius Varro whiche in his extreme old age I meane being past â—oursâ—ore yeres attempted to publishe bokes touchyng the same Virgil whiche garnished it in verse Collumella Palladius Rutilius Taurus whiche added thereunto pretie notes concerning monthlie traueling aboute husbandrie applied to the obseruacion of the times And Plinie the second in his naturall historie hath learnâ—dlye compacted their preceptes together As for example the maisters iye best husbandeth the grounde Nothinge is lesse expedient then to till your ground exceadingly well well to till it is good but exceadinglye well is hurtefull as who shoulde saâ—e there must be a meane vsed in al thinges The Bailieâ—e of a farme shoulde be the first vppe and the laste in bed And hereupon it is saied that an husbandman should be a greate seller but no great bâ—ier and shoulde get plentifull gaine of that whiche he loketh for out of the grounde whiche fruite S. Iames writyng to the. xij tribes that were dispersed calleth preciouse saiyng thus Beholde the husbandman looketh for the precious fruite of the yearth For as Cato saieth in Tullie those be the profites those be the pleasures of husbandmen whiche neither be hindered by olde age and approche â—ighest vnto the life of a wise man For they haue to do with the earth whiche neuer refuseth to be subiecte to mannes commaundement neither yeldeth that againe whiche she receiueth without encrease sometime more sometime lesse whereunto if you adde the vertue of things that come forthe of the earth nothinge is more profitable nothing more soueraigne sence that we see that of so little a graine of a â—â—gge or kernell of a grape and the verie small sedes of other kindes of fruites and trees there growe so greate stockes and boughes sence that the store houses of a diligente and painefull husbande man be alwaies furnished with greate pleÌ„tie of wine oyle honie victualles and to be shorte euerie corner of his farme place is well â—â—uffed For he hathe good store of porke lambe kidde Oxen veaâ—e henne gose chicken and other fatte Pultrie milke chese butter honie apples â—eares and all other commodities that arise of husbandrie multiplied by the blessyng of God and commyng forthe in due season for mennes behoâ—â— To whom therefore commission was geuen that they shoulde make the earth subiecte vnto theim that they shoulde rule ouer the birdes of the aire the fisshes of the sea and all other creatures whiche are moued vpon the earth acknowlegyng and glorifiynge him that bothe created them and all other thinges Thou must not therefore in anye wise thinke that God hath bestowed vpon thee so greate blessinges out of the earth water and aire to vse theÌ„ as instrumentes of riote but rather in the waie of honestie holines and sobrietie And if it fortune that thou doest vnthaÌ„kfully and leâ—dely misuse the same there shall not be so muche as one chicken which thou hast so riottously eaten and superfluouâ—â—ie consumed for thy lustes sake wherof thou shalt not be coÌ„pelled to giue an accompt For there is nothinge so good nothinge so harmeles but by misusing it maie become hurtefull Moreouer howe necessarie and healthful a gift of the earth wine is it appeareth by the Apostle whiche commaundeth Timothe to drinke moderately thereof for the strengthenyng of his stomacke So that it maie well be saied that nothinge is more necessarie for the bodelye strengthe then wine if it be moderately taken nothinge more pernicious if it be vsed immoderately althoughe it seme to please the appetite And therefore Androcides a verie wise manne writyng to Alexander the greate and by the way touchynge his intemperancâ—e saied O kinge when thou drinkest wine remember thou drinkest the bloude of the earth For as Hemlocke is poyson to manne so is wine poyson to Hemlocke Therefore â—illagâ— of the grounde is not so profitable as nedefull the trauaile whereof Marcus Tullius witnesseth to be the most blessed and most honest of all others Whiche besides the commendacion that hee gaue to housebandrye in his booke that he wrote concernynge olde age called Cato Maior in the firste of his offices he writeth in this maner but of all thinges whereby any thinge is gotten nothing is better nothinge more plentifull nothinge sweeter nothinge worthier a free manne then â—â—llynge of the grounde Whiche reasons moued mâ—n among those artes whiche be exercised with hande firste to place husbandrie whiche is so highly estemed not onely by the labour of men of most famous renowne but hath also bene vsed of sundrie holy men with a greate deale better reason the Aristotle and diuers others repute it which therefore in Gods name doe sequester it from the number of liberall sciences because it kepeth the husbandman occupied onely in traueilynge not permittynge hym to haue any leasure which he maie bestowe in sekyng of true felicitie whereas in dede all his endeuour is to helpe man with the plentifulnesse of his trauaile and to put to his helpyng hande that the prosperous state of the common weale maie be still mainteined The argument of the thirde Chapiter Concernyng workinge of woule â–ª and the partes belonginge theretâ— whiche appertaine to oure garmentes and other like furniture of life NAture the mother of all thinges was not onely contented to yelde vs suche necessaries whereby our bodyes might be releeued our liues susteined but also bequethed vs such artificiall knowledge as whereby we might lead ouer the residue of our life without anye either discommoditie or daunger Whiche althoughe in manie thinges she maie sâ—me a stepdame towardes man yet in this part
of God to whom thei yelde thankes in all for all No iesse then if thei wer idle and deuised a certain kind of felicitie praising the contemplatiue life Whom if I should saie did onely liue vertuously that should be to be spokeÌ„ as perillous as to others in dede preiudiciall Emong handicraftes dooe I place Paintyng although the olde writers reputed it emong liberall sciences as Aristotle in his politiques appoincteth iiâ—j kindes of liberall scieÌ„ces wherin he would haue yong men trained vp emongest whiche he nombreth Paintyng A famous science it is and greatly desired both of kynges and other people whose worthinesse is still preserued through the finesse of goodlie Tables and curious purtreitures set foorthe in gold Neither is it onely merueilous in varietie of colours but also in woorkyng with one coloure it so resembleth nature that nothing is more wonderfull Soche woorkes the Grekes call Monocromata that is wroughte all with one colour In Plinie and Quintiliane bee rehersed certaine kindes of woorke wherein Polignotus and AglaophoÌ„ wer very notable which be called in Greke Catagrapha whiche thei saie that Cimo Cleoneus first inuented wheÌ„ the Images were so pictured and their faces so fashioned that thei would seeme to loke euery waie as thei saie the picture of the virgine Marie is whiche saincte Luke beyng a Phisicion by profession drewe out after whiche there bee now a daies many made like There bee diuers thinges whiche commende Paintyng vnto vs as an excellent and worthy facultie so in old time receiued emong liberall Sciences that gentlemen and worthie personages alwaies exercised thesame and all seruauntes were barred froÌ„ the practise thereof by a speciall acte And whereas Paintyng and Poetrie proceade bothe of nature a Painter and a Poete be bothe so borne and bothe the one and the other mislike moche curiositie beyng content with the onely steight whiche nature hath endowed the partie withall sekyng no forther ornamente then the influence of nature So Plutarche writeth that Poetrie is a speaking picture a picture a dombe Poetrie Whereupon when Apelles woundred moch at a peece of woorke made by Protogenes wrought with greate labour and diligence saied that thei were in all poinctes in maner of like cunnyng but in this thing dooe I farre saied Apelles excelle Protogenes that he cannot let his woorke alone when it is well declaryng that to moche curiositie oftymes dooeth harme as Plinie also witnesseth In whiche science it is harde to iudge whether you maie more wounder at the excellencie and giftes of witte or the sleightenesse and runnyng of the hande wherby Apelles was knowen to Protogenes who was then at Rhodes by a merueilous subtile line whiche he drewe in his table takyng his pencill And it was holden no lesse woorthines to be painted by a cunnyng woorkeman then to bee had in eternall memorie by verse or other writyng And therefore Alexander commaunded as it is commoÌ„ly knowen that none should paint his Image but Apelles none carue it but Pyrgoteles none engraue it in brasse but Lyfippus There be a great noÌ„ber of ensamples whereby this facultie hath gote immortall fame not by excellent workes onely but also by bookes written of the same For Apelles Antigonus and Xenocrates published this arte in writyng and of the Germaines Albert Durer of Nuremberge a famous Painter wrote fower bookes of the institucions of Geometrie very profitable to Painters Imagemakers Masons Brasiers Carpenters and all soche as will trie their worke by Compas Rule Line or any other certain measure or cunninglie handle lines vtter faces of woorkes or whole and massie bodies whiche bookes be also tourned into Latine After this followeth the arte of Buildyng whiche he shall beste atchieue that is of a ready witte earnest studie excellent learnyng and greate experience But this builder whom we must haue in so high admiracion must be graue and of a perfecte iudgemente and verie prompte in deuise A science wonderfull necessarie as without whiche there can neither tounes houses nor any other frame bee erected nor edified For this feate of buildyng as Marcus Vitriuius writeth is a science garnished with diuers disciplines and poinctes of learning by the iudgement whereof al those workes be perfited whiche other sciences bryng forth whiche hath twoo groundes the frame and deuise The frame we call that whiche is made by hande a continued and frequented conceipt of practise Deuise is that whiche by cunnyng and reason of proporcion can descriue and open the thinges framed So hereby it moste euidently appereth that neither a man can be a cunnyng builder without knowledge of learnyng by onely experieÌ„ce neither by onely deuise and learning without experience But who so knitteth bothe these poinctes together as a man bothe learned by practise and practised by learnyng shall beare the price and haue his knowlege by aucthoritie allowed As for learnyng in this poinct a man is then to be thought sufficiently instructed therein if he be skilfull in painting seen in Geometrie not ignoraunt in the perspectiues learned in Arithmetike rife in histories and well studied in Philosophie As for paintyng he shall thereby be able by picture to descriue vnto you the plotte of any piece of woorke Geometrie sheweth the vse of the rule and compasse The perspectiues teache hym in buildyng to cast his worke after this or that aspecte of the heauen By the knowlege of Arithmetike he shal readily caste what charges his buildyng will stande hym in how by measure to declare his reason and finally all the moste difficulte questions of proporcioÌ„s It is moreouer manifeste that histories dooe declare many waies how to garnishe the woorkemanship of buildyng whereby through diligence the cause of euery thyng maie readily bee opened Whiche thing euery manne confesseth maie more euidently bee shewed by Philosophie There be diuers other sciences as Mustcke Phisicke Lawe and Astronomie whiche Vitruuius saieth and that very well are sometime to bee required in a builder but Leo Baptiste a Florentine holdeth them not to be so necessarie bicause a singuler good builder maie well inough be without theÌ„ Now this knowlege of buildyng is therefore to be had in estimacion least the citezens through naughtie buildyng of their houses manours be enforced to susteiâ— great charges bicause it is not so priuatly as coÌ„monly hurtful to the comly view of a citee by meanes of ruinous and vnperfect buildynges desaced whiche thing the ciuill lawe doeth prohibite vtterlie so moche materiall it is for citezens well maâ—cred bothe in life and condicions to bee planted in a faire builded citee where houses be bothe artificially builded and in rankes proporcionably matched For there is a wise saiyng that a coÌ„modious dwelling place is halfe a mannes liuyng so that it be not builded for a fonde brauerie but for that ende whiche the vse of mannes life and the order of the arte it self requireth And here
so highlyâ— dooeth he whiche will sell his wares praise the same accordynge to the Poetes saiynge Suche I saye haue brought it into suche a contempt that it is accompâ—ed worthy to be despised filthye vnlawfull and voide of all honestie in so much that the â—â—ebanes as Aristotle witnesseth decreed that no marchant should beare any common office vnlesse ten yeres before he had abstained from buiynge and sellynge and in that tyme pourged him selfe of the suspicion growen of his former liuyng This disceipt fraude pâ—riurie filthines detestable desire of gaine vnhonest spendynge of the time and a mannes earnest pinchinge onelye to seke his owne commoditie to the great detriment and â—inderaunce of others hath brought the name of Marchaundise into so shamefull an ignominie that it is a commâ—n saiyng If a man be not apte to be a catchepolâ— or maâ—e bearer then he is â—itte to be a MarchauÌ„t or a marchantes factour As thougâ— that wer a thing of it selfe â—â—ident and of her owne nature shewed â—o euery man a waye howe to beguilâ— other and a trade of idle liuyng Which thing may yet be holpen if the magistrate will be watchefull and bâ—inge these market runners into an order and prohibite theâ—â— that with such triflynge thinges as they bringe to sale beinge sometime counterfaite sometime to deare they deceiue not suche simple Souâ—es as wyth those their lowde Lyes othes and perswasions be allured and driuen to beleue them And that they seke not to spoile pore men of that whiche they haue painefully gotten And the market beinge thus refoâ—rmed the Citezins maye haue the relieâ—e of those thinges whiche otherwise if they were left free for euery craftye marchauÌ„t to vse at his pleasure might throughe negligence of the officers turne to their great â—inderaunce The argument of the seuenth Chapter That buntynge dotâ—e not onely delight but also profiteâ—h the common weale and then what partes it â—atâ— MANYE Argumentes maye induce vs to beleue that Huntynge hath bene a thinge bothe of muche antiquitie and also founde out by the Goddes For the scripture vseth to call the mightier sort and princes of the people Goddes as suche as be aboue the state of manne and be honoured with diuine adoration In the. xxâ— of Exodus it is written Thou shalt not detract from the Gods neither speake â—uill to the prince of thy people And because men are vainâ— aâ—d without the knowledge of God thâ—i could not vnderstande who God was nâ—ither by markynge his workes learned who was the workeman Therefore they toke the rulers of the wâ—rlde to be Goddes as the wise man saieth whom they also honoured as Goddes with deuine sâ—ruice placed theim in Heauen as them selues best liked and replenished it with such a multitude that those gyantes had possessed the same them selues alone had not the ladders bene remoued so that nowe they can come no nearer to heauen then by lâ—kynge towarde it But to the purpose The holie Scripture testifieth that huntynge was in vse aboute Noes time incontinent after the floud But Nemrode the sonne of chus cosen to Noe by whom the kingdome of Babilon is reported to haue her beginnyâ—g began to be mighty and a strong hunter in the sighte of the Lord so that commonly he was called an hunter Esau also became a skilfull hunter and a cunning husbande man whom Isaac his father therefore preferred before Iacob because he did eat of such thinges as he killed in huntynge whereby it might seme that this game grewe in vse in Syria after that the countreys were deuided amongest Noes children so that hereby it might appeare that Eusebius of Cesarea was moued to saye that the knowledge of huntynge and fisshinge began firste among the Phenicians beinge men of that countrey Xenophon whom thei call the muse of Athens a continuall folower of Socrates doctrine in a notable booke whiche he wrote of huntinge holdeth opinion that it is worthie to be estemed of all younge men and dothe amonge other reasons praise it for this that hereby thei become bothe actiue in the feates of warre and fitter for al other attempts and also learne bothe to saie well and dooe weil The inuencion whereof he ascribeth vnto Dâ—ana and Apollo and affirmeth that the noblest menne that euer were and greatest Iusticiers did exercise theim selues therein as Chiron brother to Iupiter him selfe but not of the whole bloude because that Saturne begate him of Naiades the Nymphe and his folowers Cephalus Aesculapius Nestor Theseus Hippolitus Palamedes Vlisses Diomedes Castor Pollux Machaon Podalyrius Antilochus Aeneas Achilles whiche all were men of famous memorie as well for prowes in warre as other excellent qualities To omitte an infinite number of like sorte as for example Marimilian duke of Austriche and emperour of worthy memorie delited muche therein And oure noble Prince Phillip the Lantgraue of Hessia doth not yeld to anie other in that poincte Furthermore this exercise of huntinge dothe not onely delight albeit some thinke that to be the chiefe poinct that is sought there in but also it is the cause of many commodities For it muche procureth the good health of our bodies and by that holesome exercise mennes senses be made the more fressher and thei lesse fall in age or feablenesse For the sight is thereby made the clearer the hearing easier The sentinge also dooeth declare greate cunning herein that by the donge the hunters sometime maye perceiue where the Beaste is sometyme the pursuite and so then hallowe in the houndes the better to the chase Besides this huntynge is expediente for such as purpose to be warriours For it so enureth theim that thei will not fainte vnder Harneys be the iourney neuer so longe and tedious when as they are able to endure the continuall toilynge whiche they abide in folowinge the game They can the better lye vpon the grounde thei be the readier at the generall or capitaines commaundement in encountring their enemies they do that whiche is bidde them manfully and if they be compelled to recoile and to tourne their backes vppon their enemies they can with a number of their felow souldiours hide them selues in woodes brakes and bie places which they learned by meanes of huntinge and liynge there in waite for their ennemies that pursue theim and knowe not the countrey doe stoutely set vpon them and thei ofttimes put them to the worse and winne the fielde Whiche commoditie the olde fathers perceiuynge caused yonge men to accustome them selues thereunto And although there were greate penurie and dearthe of corne in the countrey yet they thought it good to spare the frutes of the earth till they were full ripe but for all that they did not forbidde hunters to refresh them selues therwith as men that neither hindered their worke nor yet laied in waite for anie thing that the earth brought forth of her owne nature And to be briefe huntynge as it were openeth the entrie to valeantnesse strength of bodie
all deuoures the fame thereof might flake He then appoincted sacred plaies and pastimes there to make VVhiche in remembraunce of his vvorke then Pythya named vvere Agreyng to the Serpentes name that he had vanquisht there By force of hande or svviftest foote or vvheele this vvas the game VVho vvoon a garlande had of bovves Revvarde of vvorthie fame The Grecians also as Strabo writeth solempnelie kept the Nemeane games in the honour of Hercules whiche slue a wilde Lion in a chace of that name There wer also games exhibited in the remeÌ„braunce of those that be dead called Funerall games firste exercised by Acastus in Iotchus and afterward by Theseus in the straighter of Corinthe accordyng to Plinies writyng Sâ—che as Caius Curio is reported to haue set forth at the buriyng of his father a solempne spectacle of fensoplaiers vpon twoo stages of woode erected for that purpose The reste of these spectacles are to be seen in Iultus Pollux Sometymes also games were deuised for exercisyng the bodie that thereby menne might be the stronger and more fitte for the warres soche did Pyrrhus sonne of Achilles the king of the Epirotes firste practise wherein young menne daunced al in complete harneis to thende thei might bee the nimbler whiche vppon this cause thei call the Pyrricall daunce although Strabo and Dyonisius of Halycarnasse doe father it vpon the Candianes At this daie also there bee sondrie games ordeined for the exercise of the bodie and preseruacion of health of no soch daungerous labour as were the wrastlers Champions or sweard plaiers whiche contended for life and death as be the quoites tenesse toppes wheeles shootyng Iuegâ— de Cano boulyng and a greate meany moe all for solace to driue awaie the tyme and to kepe vs froÌ„ sitting and slepyng Whereof the boule is commended singularelie vnto vs by Galene in a booke written thereof for the same purpose Whereof Iulius Pollux in his nineth booke writeth thus this game is called the strong youthfull common game The plaie is this certaine are appoincted to take partes on eche side one againste an other standyng a sonder and then thei drawe a middle line whiche thei cal Scyros at the whiche thei hurle their Boules c. The profit of these plaies doeth appere herein bicause that soche as vse theim haue lesse pleasure and more exercise yea so moderate that it kepeth the body in health and chiefly for that thereby wee auoide excessiue and riottous feastynges and other allurementes to vicious liuyng I will not here recoumpt all the spectacles whiche the glorious Grekes inueÌ„ted either in honour of their goddes or for the memoriall of their benefactours and cause of their preseruacion and safetie whiche the Romaines labouryng to excelle bothe in famousnesse of name and finenes of matter did bestowe so greate expenses so greate substaunce vpon Theatres Amphitheatres couertes Daunsing courtes plottes in the ground garnishinges plaiers apparell raunges and Galaries and finallie the verie games theim selues whose exhibiting was coÌ„mitted to the Aediles charge that a man would wonder that those men whose auncestours were so thriftie so peerelesse for witte did so dearelie buie pleasure Whence proceded the Lupercales in the honour of Pan the Saturnales in the honor of Saturn the game of fighting with fistes running with horses the Fenseplaiers and a thousande moe deuises not for pleasure onely but also outragious crueltie as wherein men were constreigned one to runne vpon an other and one to stea an other with deadlie woundes yea forther to encounter with wild beastes and so to looke for presente death A thyng so cruell so abhominable and so beastlike that the eare abhorreth the hearyng and the iye detesteth the sighte thereof But for my purpose at this presente these games whether thei be on stage or on the ground thei ought to bee emong vs Christians cleane chasie ciuill and specially to be set forth by soche as meane bothe to delight and profite For the moste parte of men that be either of aucthoritie or learnyng doe holde soche persones as infamous whiche doe either plaie on stages or exhibite other games for lucre sake And yet twoo emong the Romaines â—lesopus and Roscius menne wounderfull cunning on the stage doe euidentlie declare what wealth and substaunce those kind of plaiers vsed to gaine This Roscius although Tullie iudged that he ought not to haue died bicause of his excellencie in his arte yet it is well knowen that he practised this vnhonest trade of gaine And yet this was a great deale more tollerable in him beyng a manne of great eloquence then that now a daies a great nuÌ„ber of bungling boorders shold be mainteined therwith which be so farre vnlike to the olde Roscius that thei be not worthie to be followed of any Soche pastimes therefore muste bee set foorthe in a common weale as doe minister vnto vs good ensamples wherin delight and profite be matched togither moche lesse then oughte wee to giue eare to mockyng plaies or vnhonest games so mispendyng our tyme and learnyng those thinges that corrupte good maners causyng the audience to departe worse from theÌ„ then thei came to theim Albeit it is a commendable and lawfull thing to bee at plaies but at soche tymes as when we be â—noccupied with graue and seuere affaires not onely for our pleasure and minde sake but that hauyng little to doe we maie learne that whiche shall bee our furtheraunce in vertue So when you heare how PaÌ„philus is raâ—ished with Gliceries loue and the old Cremes vexed bicause his doughter was disdained you must incontineÌ„t thinke with your self what a shamefull reproche it is to be tied with Venus baÌ„des and to trouble your parentes WheÌ„ you heare the vauÌ„tyng Pyrgopolynices whiche with one stroke of his sworde slue so many menne you must straight conceiue how vndecent a thing it is to bee puffed vp with a vain pride in bragging of those thinges whiche will sonet proue a manne a lier then that he maie seme able to performe any parte thereof The raging Hercules whiche violently murthered bothe his wife and children maie serue for a lesson how hainous an offence it is to displease God and to moue hym to indignacion When you see Phedra whiche beyng moued with the furious stinge of Stepmothers loue first caused Hippolitus to be pluckt in peces with his own horses and afterward sore be wailed the same and slue her self ouer his bodie call to remembraunce that a manne priuie to his owne mischeuous doinges is vnquiet and oftimes seketh reuengement vpon himself WheÌ„ Clitemnestra for the loue of Aegistus killed her housebande Agamemnone after his returne from the siege of Troie as the tragicall Poetes doe write you maie vse it for an argumente that the loue of an aduoutresse is so vnpacient and madde that she will not spare neither her owne housebande nor frendes to ease her stomacke Followyng this order there shall
waste of wine the holesome gift of nature dooe consume it awaye from the sicke thirstie and our other brethren which might be releued therewith and so turne it to our damnacion Whiche euill the more offensiue it is the more it bindeth the magistrate to refourme it Therefore let the saiyng of S. Peter bee alwaies fixed before our iyes which is it is inoughe for vs that in our foretyme we fulfilled the will of the gentiles when we were occupied in wantonnesse concupiscence dronkennes surfetinge and wicked worshippynge of images Let euerie man therefore liue the rest of his time in this fleshe accordinge vnto the will of God Whiche thing because it happeneth farre other wise bi meanes of soche manifest misdemeanour it is euidently to be sens what magistrates what couÌ„saillours what censours they be to whom the stroke of the coÌ„mon weale is committed in gouernement Soche as dooe esteme priuate gayne or an accustomed vsage more then the common commoditie whiche causeth the discipline of good behauiour to be neglected Yet not without sure reuengemente whiche wilbe so moche the more rigorous y â— moe do fall by this incurable licenciousnes into Sathans snare and turne their life being thus destitute of all honest conuersacion into the depe dongeon of deathe Learne therefore and take heede ye rulers awake out of this sloÌ„ber and vnderstand how great a charge is committed vnto your gouernment that your citees maie bee trained vp with soche discipline with soche vertuous vsages that euery man maie knowe that the prosperous successe thereof dooeth not consiste in those outwarde thynges but that thei doe tende vpward to the true blisfulnesse and doe their endeuour to winne the price for the whiche thei do runne The argument of the second Chapiter That iniuries whiche be no small prouocacion to inwarde hatred and contencion are not to bee borne withall in a coÌ„mon weale and further how profitable a thing it is to forget old displeasures IEiurie saith Vlpiane is so named bicause it is dooen contrary to right in Latine called Ius for generallie whatsoeuer is doen otherwise then by right order of lawe is holden as an iniurie But that whiche is doen vpoÌ„ despite beareth a peculiare name in Latine is called contumelia that is to saie a reproche or rebuke Whiche Aristotle iudgeth to procede of an open maliciousnes of mynde by these wordes Thei that be exceding riche or exceding mightie of great power be for y â— most part malicious and reprochfull but thei that be verie poore or base be harmefull And this is certaine that the greate wealthie and mightie men be lightlie vicious and disdainfull and the poore and base wilie and deceiptfull Labeo saieth that iniurie is doen after two sortes either by corporalle acte when it passeth by violence or by wordes when it is committed by waie of reproch and vilanie Iniuries and in generall all that is doen contrarie to right although thei dooe trouble the quiete estate of a common weale and beare a certain counteinauÌ„ce of violence yet the further examinyng therof dependeth more vpon the ciuill Lawes then vpon this treatie and argument that I haue taken in hand And therfore I wil not meddle any further then with soche inâ—uries as be dooen either in facte or woordes which bicause thei procede of a contemptuous minde thei seme to detracte somewhat from the libertie whiche nature hath giuen vs and to bryng soche a grief vnto vs as can not otherwise â—e eased and mollified then by aide of iudgement and dread of punishement There hath not been alwaie one certaine kinde of punishement appoincted for iniuries sence the beginnyng as Sertus Cecilius in Aulus Gellius declareth vpon a lawe of the twelue tables thus If one do an other iniurie let him paie therefore for an amercement xxv peeces of coigne called Asses But who is so neadie that he will refraine from doyng of iniuries and maie bee quitie for soche a small recompence And therefore Q. Labeo mislikyng that Lawe as it doeth appere by his bookes whiche he wrote vppon the. xij Tables saieth There was one Lucius Neratius a leude fellow and in deede a very ruffian This roister had a greate delite to flappe free men on the face with his hande and had a pursebearer after hym whom he commaunded to deliuer to the partie so beaten xxv Asses accordyng to the ordinaunce of the twelue Tables Whervpon the Pretoures afterward thought it best to aholishe this Lawe and by decree published that there should be appoincted commissioners thenceforth for the determinyng of iniuries whiche in deede estemed thesame according to right and reason and made the crime to be a notorious infamie to the offendour Whereupon it appereth how carefull the builders of citees alwaies haue been to bridel soch as delited to be iniurious vnto other Whose malice naughtines is not to be borne with al for that thei do breed debate emong the subiectes and make one to fall out with another to the aâ—â—iauÌ„ce of the common traÌ„quilitie For what more pestilent a thing can be stirred in a commoÌ„weale then when inwarde hatred is by little and little rooted out of mennes hartes to open the windowe to newe grudges and malice and to make one so to mistruste another that thereupon sedicions and moche tumult ensueth Therefore for the preseruacion and peaceable continuaunce of the commoÌ„ weale it is neadefull to take awaie the occasions of such contencions and after that those thornes and thistles be pluckt foorthe to laie the groundeworke of peace and quietnes without whiche neither impartyng of commodities ne yet the honourable estate of the common weale can continue Which maie he done two manner of wayes for we appease and determine wronges either by friendely meanes or by order of lawes But for so moche as men be stiffenecked and desierous of reuengment verie fewe wil be content to take wroÌ„g without great sturre and clamour But standynge to moche vpon their reputacion they will seke either by rigorous iudgement or els by corporal punishmeÌ„t to reuenge their quarell Howbeit it wer more coÌ„mendable to forgiue y â— is trespaced against vs then to wearie euerie courte with importunate sutes in sekyng of reuengement and in easiyng our boylyng stomackes The Athâ—ntans also like wise men perceiued that nothing did so disquiet the common traÌ„quilitie as iniuries Therfore when by order of entreatie thei could not reconcile their Citizins to a mutuall loue they ordeined a lawe called the law of forgetfulnes of wronges for that thereby it was commaunded that they all shoulde forget iniuries paste and neuer remember any reproche suffered or done one to another Whiche law was for this consideration commendable for that although the enormitie of this euill spredde so large that it coulde not vtterly be roted out of their mindes yet suche order was taken that neyther by vnlawfull language ne yet by anye presumptions attempt one
to cal a citezin Cateline or Barrabas Cōtrarily what is more pleasaunt then to surname a prince by the title of Salomō Numa Scipio Camillus or some suche other famous prince Wherby thei are sometime called fathers of theyr countrey sometyme the best gouernours likewise when a Citezin is called by the name of Decius Brutus Metellus or Mutius it is certayne that he hath well deserued of the common weale Amonge the Ethnickes it was a busie mattier to procure them that were naturally bente to vyces to leaue them and to emplant in them vertues and to cause them well to lyue among good mē which thing they went about to moue sometime by morall philosophicall preceptes sometyme by Fables sometyme by interludes somtime by dreames of thinges which were thought vppon before and which represent vnto vs the verye resemblance and image of suche thinges wherof we haue ben most careful somtime by pains and tormētes which are prepared in hel for those that be yll liuers here In whiche poynt Socrates was so diligent be it spoken without anye contempte of the other morall philosophers that he was therefore said to haue called Philosophie euen out of heauen Esope also the phrigian fabler went about the same thynge to brynge vs vnto a better conformitie of life and to moue vs therunto by fables of brute beastes And of manie I will tell one or two A certayne euill disposed person wente to Apollo at Delphos and asked him whether that which he had in his hande were aliue or no now had he a quicke sparow in his hande so that if answere had bene made that it had ben alyue he woulde haue wronge his hande together and so haue killed the pore byrde but if aunswere had bene that it had ben deade he woulde haue caste it furthe a liue Therfore Apollo perceyuing the maliciousnes of the man aunswered it is in thy power whether thou wilt shewe it forth aliue or dead And this fable hath this meanyng that it is verie harde for vs to deceyue God which seeth euen our verie thoughtes Another The Lion the Asse and the Fore wente on huntinge and gote a praye which the Asse was appoynted to distribute and so did deuide it into three equall partes but the Lion for that he looked for the greatest porcion stomaking the matter streight wayes deuoured the Asse and bade the foxe make a diuision which heaped all to one for the Lion and reserued little for himselfe Then the Lion asked hym howe he learned so to do by the Asses mishappe quam the Foxe Wherein Esope noted two thinges one that the lionishe societie as the lawier termeth it whiche we haue with men of greate power and auctoritie is alwaye wicked and that by other mens harmes we may learn to be wary and wise Gabrias also ment the same thinge in those his fables comprised in eight verses The Asse cariynge an ymage of siluer the people ranne and worshipped it the Asse thought the worship had bene giuen to him and therefore caste of the parkesadle and woulde no lenger be an Asse but a God but beyng ofte told that he was not a God but that which he caried he left his statelines and fell agayne to his caryage Which fable warneth vs to be content with our owne estate and not lightlie to become hautie of stomake So it fortuned on a time that there was a greate conflicte betwene the beastes and the birdes then the Ostriche which is partelie a byrde and partelie a beast promised to ayde bothe sides conditionallye that whether so euer of the two had the vpper hande she mighte be partaker with thē of theyr victorie But in the meane while she was taken prisoner and by her calamitie taught vs that one man cannot well serue two maysters for either shall he hate the one or faythfullie fauour neyther In this place who so woulde rehearse the Poeticall fables I meane so manie of them as maie sounde vnto the betteringe of our life and declare the originall thereof from the verie grounde of Philosophie shall in dede attempt a worthie thinge but an infinite trauell I therefore will but recken some of them Lycaon the king of Arcadia is saide to be turned into a wolfe and not without a cause for he was a Tyraunte and eruellye murthered those to whom he promised hospitalitie Whiche fable Plato in the eight of his bookes concernyng the best estate of a common weale dothe not holde as vaine but writeth that Princes for their crueltie and tyrannie be turned into wolues more rauenous thē any other beastes Of this Lycaon Duide writeth on this maner Then fraied he fledde and vvhen he founde the silence of the fielde Bevvailyng aye in vaine he seekes vvith tongue his plainte to yelde For yre he vvaxeth then so vvoode that nought may him assvvage His frothing mouthefrettes on the fome and gathereth in the rage Vvith thirst of slaughter yet amonge the beastes he vvorkes despite And as then tyraunt novve a vvoulfe in bloudshed do the delite The Poetes also sain that Vultures in belle do eats vp Titius the great Giauntes his hart bicause he despised the goddes and rauished honest Matrones So thei faine that Tātalus is punished for his couetousnes that he is in perpetual thirst and hūger hauing water vp to his chinne apples hangyng doune euen to his vpper lippe but whē he laboureth either to take water or appels thei flee from him wherby we learne that the couetouse menne euen in the middest of their plentie be pinched with pouertie So Ixion bicause he did vaunte hymself that he had to doe with Iuno is whirled vpon a wheele continually for our learning that no man ought to glorie in his euil doyng So Sisiphus bicause he was a robber and desirous of honour is fained to rowle a stone to the very higheste parte of an hille whiche when it commeth there and falleth doune to the bottome he must still fetch it vp again wherby we maye se that thambitious although they dooe not atteyne to honour yet theyr in ordinate desire is no deale the more aswaged Of whome Ouide after he had descriued the terrible tormentes and fearfull passage downe to Hell wryteth on this wise VVith gripyng gripes is Titius torne and rent his bovvels be And Tantale in thy burnyng thirst thy riuer slippes fro thee Thou vexed arte vvith famine eke and starust fast by thy meate The fruitefull tree doth shrinke avvaye vvhen thou shouldst thereof eate Thou Sisiphus oppressed arte vvith laboures manie one Vvhile vp thou throvvest and takst againe at fall thy rollinge stone Ixion eke vvhom vp and dovvne the vvhirling vvhele doth vvrest Both fleeth and folovveth still himselfe and knovveth no houre of rest Dreames although for the moste parte thei be noted as vaine fansies and ful of lies yet they put vs oft times in minde of manie thinges to come yea sometime they signifie that which is like to ensue alluring
calling ioigne their priuate doynges to the coÌ„mon prefermeÌ„te y â— therby Lawes maie bee applied to the estate of a common weale whiche wee dooe addresse and allowe a greate parte whereof dependeth vpon the Magistrates wisedome as hath heretofore been opened For it can not be that that compaignie shall bee brought to embrace vertue to agre together whose gouernours swarue on the right or lefte side not respectyng the common profite nor yet true godlines but onely seke the baite of vainglorie and allurement of priuate gain giuing no small occasion vnto the people whiche of theimselues bee easely corrupted by the naughtie ensample of others bothe to fall from honeste liuyng and also beyng not therefore punished to bee to moche emholdened and to fall to wilfulnesse Therfore there muste nedes be a prince and magistrate as without whose wisdome and diligent ouersight a Citie can nether be ne yet be preserued but is ruled and strengthned by him as the hole bodie is by the heade in whose gouernemeÌ„t the hole moderation of the common weale consisteth which must not onlie prescribe vnto the people howe they owght to obeye but also how he himselfe ought to rule For who so ruleth well must nedes ones haue obeyd him self and who so hath ben obedieÌ„tly kept vnder semeth worthy to beare rule Therefore he that is vnder muste hope that he must once be aboue he that is aboue thinke with himselfe that he may perhaps once come vnder And this is it that Adrian themperour was wount to saie that he would so rule the coÌ„mon weale as a thing not his own but one to the hole comminaltie naie rather to God himself Wherby the people do not onely obey their magistrate but also by order doe loue reuerence and honour him Which thing Charondas the Catâ—niane lawmaker published to his citizins among their other lawes Plato coÌ„pareth theim to a kinde of wicked Giantes called Titanes which withstand the aunciente orders of their elders Yea the Romayne officers called Decemuiri full wel conteined both these braunches in one lawe by these wordes See that the Magistrates be iuste that thei that beare not office do modestly with all allegeance obey them And for so much as the vertue of the law is to commaunde to forbidde to permit to punishe the same thinges must needes accordingly agree vnto the magistrate Wherupon Chrisippus as Martian reporteth termeth it the Quene leader and gouernour of all thinges whiche prescribeth a rule for the iuste vniuste saying The law is the gouernour of all thinges concerning God and Man For it must be the ouerloker of thinges both good and euill the prince the guide and the rule of the iuste and vniuste For so shall that be well done which is for the common profite when the magistrate diligently and watchefully declareth himself to be a liuing and speaking lawe as without whiche we se the common weale to be sinewlesse and altogither dombe Yea Moses also which knewe god face to face in al his signes miracles appointed wife men and such as feared God in whome there was trueth princes and magistrates ouer the people and commaunded them to here him and to iudge that which was right without ante respecte of personnes were he of that countrey or were he forrenner great or small bicause that iudgement belongeth to God and not to man He also commaunded the kynge alreadie created that when he should sit in the seate of his kingdome he shoulde drawe out the Deuteronomie of the lawe and haue it with him and reade it al the daies of his life that he might learne to feare the Lorde his God and to kepe the wordes which are writen in the lawe The Lord said also to Iosue which after the death of Moses was commaunded to leade the people ouer Iordane let not the booke of this lawe departe out of thy mouthe but thou shalt thinke vpon it daie and night to the entent thou maiest kepe and performe al that is writen therin then shalt thou directe thy waie and vnderstand it Do you not se howe Kinges Princes and gouernours be commaunded to haue the lawes of God before their iyes to rule gouerne the people after theÌ„ and accordyng as their vocation requireth to directe their wayes Wherunto if you will ioyne those thinges whiche are commaunded Christianes so doe which in our religion must neades be done onles we will be secluded and banished from that heuenly kingdom whiche we all with a godlie and earnest desire looke for nothing then shalbe waunting which maie apperteyne to the true ornament and setting furth of the common weale For politicque lawes and ordenaunces must so be tempered that they be not contrarie or disagreable to the lawes ordinaunces of God for that citie maie ill seme sufficiently fenced which is onlie ledde by constitutions of man and casteth her hole eye onelie vpon her owne profite without respect of her neighbour not regarding those thinges which by gods mouth are ordeined as neadfull both for them that rule and for them that obey Certainlie it maye well be a whited toumbe set furth with colours to delite the beholders but it shalbe no commoÌ„ weale truely institute as in which those preceptes of liuinge be chiefelie lackyng which the societie of our life chiefelye requireth For so muste we entre with a mutuall consent into this politicque order of life and kepe vs in the same that we maye not swarue from the coÌ„munion of the holie church whose heade is Christ and we his membres Wherfore we ought not to stickein the allâ—remeÌ„tes or vaine triâ—â—es of this wicked world but refoâ—â—me our life iâ—â—ewnes of minde as sainct Paule writeth that we may proud what is the good well likyng and perfit will of god our father to whose onelie pleasure we be bounde to lyue through Iesus christ our onelie redeamer and Sauiour whiche cannot 〈…〉 es we kepe his commaundementes And therfore in euery part of our life must we set them before our eies that we maie learne to obeye his will and to exercise charitie one to an other which doth nothing wrongfully nothinge that is contrarye to a politicque order whereby we shall truely and face to face afterward see that whiche we now in this mortall life â—beyng honestly and godlily associated see obscurelye and as it were in a glasse Therfore so must ciuile ordinaunces be proponed that they be not seuered from the lawes of God And like as no house no citie no countrey no kind of men can longe continue without the defende of lawes politicque so can thei not staÌ„de without the knowledge tutele and protection of goddes lawe for to discerne a man from a brute beaste to cause him to leade his life agreable to reason and nature it maie certainly be brought to passe by ordinaunce of ciuill lawes for so muche as men desirous of wisedome and vnderstanding be reported by the
heauen there to inhabite but bicause they receiued not the true doctrine of man the lawe giuen concerning regeneracion they were brought to naught and did not attayne vnto that felicitie and happie estate whereof they assured themselues nether did thei knowe God but declining into a reproued sense be decaied vtterly be become cleane desolate Whiche lest it do also chaunce vnto vs that doe vse our common weales to moche addict vnto the ordinaunces of mâ—n good heede ought to bee taken that our race maie bee soche that we maie winne the price and beare that for our cognisaunce for the ende whereof this our ciuill life was firste institute and ordeined Whiche openeth this passage from this corruptible citee vnto the vncorruptible and will declare that wee haue not been idle workemen in the vineyarde of our heauenlie father For so ought we to spende our tyme so to seke to beautifie our common weales that we doe not forget the will of God so ought we to heare Goddes worde that it be fixed in our hartes and bryng forthe fruicte that it be not choked with any worldlie cares After this sort shall the Merchaunte wheÌ„ he selleth his wares remeÌ„ber his brother by whose hinderauÌ„ce he ought not to be furthered The Ploughman as he is earyng the ground shall syng the glory of God and doe his daiely endeuour to tille the yearth and to prouide corne and grain for the sustenaunce of his neighbour He that hath riches shall bestowe theim vppon the neady and shal esteme theÌ„ as though he had none shewyng hymself chearefull when he giueth hauyng theÌ„ alwaie readie to releiue his brother withall in his necessitie The poore shall thanke God for his pouertie he shall be content with bread and water as Diogenes was and giue thankes for thesame whiche is therefore iudged to be wealthie bicause he measureth wealthe not by possessions but by a minde that is free from all coueteous desires Thus wee maie discourse through all the giftes of bodie and mynde and all mennes doynges and take hede that in these outward and visible things we doe not seke onely that whiche is externall and corruptible but rather that whereby wee maie haue stedfaste hope to attain the true blessednes after this life The argument of the fifth Chapiter That our ciuill life ought to tende toward the true felicitee that by the vniformitie of all our doynges a brotherlie loue and perfect peace maie reigne â—mongest â—s with a generall repeticion of thynges necessarie LVciane that famous Clerke albeeit he was not earnestlie bent to any religion yet was he verie subtile in discernyng mennes maners and in iudgyng of their errours by accusyng all the sectes of Philosophers as vaine maie stande for a proofe that the mosâ—e of their tradicions be grounded vpon vncertenties and mere fantasies For Pithagoras gloriyng in his owne deuised passyng of soules bragged that he should be immortalle and take vpon hym sondrie kyndes of shapes Diogenes called hym self a citezein of the worlde he willed men to bee free to caste of their fine raimentes and to put on a cloke like his to professe pouertie to labour to lye on the grounde to drinke water to eate soche meate as came to hande to neglecte money to care neither for wife children nor countrey to dwell in a Tunne to haue a scrippe full of hoppes and bokes written on the backsides and beyng in this estate he helde hymself more fortunate then the kynge of Persia The Cyrenaikes although thei professed the contempte of all thinges yet by all meanes thei sought carnall delectacion thei were riottous banquetters and inordinate swilpottes Democritus coumpted all that menne did as vaine and alwaies laught Heraclitus contrariwise alwaies wepte bicause he sawe the estate of manne so miserable and subiect to fortune wherein is alwaies some thyng that deliteth some thyng that offendeth knowledge and ignoraunce greatenes and smalnes hautenes and basenes constancie and inconstancie and he saied that all thynges in the worlde were but as a spectacle of vanitie therefore he willed all men to weepe still euen from their childhoode Socrates deuisyng a newe common weale whervnto he made also Lawes after his owne mynde thought it beste that women should be common And therefore he taught that the figures formes whiche he imagined of the yearth the heauen the sea and all other thinges were without this vniuersall frame of the worlde and that so thei were no where whiche he did onely see with the iyes of his minde and thereby thought that there were twoo sortes of all thinges Luciane reprehendeth Epicurus saiyng that he was more vicious then either Cyreneus or Democritus his maisters bicause he was a manne that was delicious and giuen onely to belyioie and had a greate delite in eatyng swete and licorous thinges But Chrisippus the Stoike in subtilitie of disputacione was very captious against his aduersaries teaching what was an accident and what more then an accidente as he that limpeth on one legge then hurteth his foote againste a stone this limpehaulte is an accidente but the hurte more then an accident he also teacheth that the wiseman alone practiseth vsurie and vsurie vpon vsurie whiche thing he attempteth to proue by a formall argumente What should I speake of the Sceptikes of whom Pirrhias was the chief For he leasted at theim as menne without all sense and iudgement whiche neither could heare nor see any thing as men that thought that there was nothing whereof thei could pronounce any certaintie but waighed mennes reasons in an euen ballance and when thei had tried that thei wer al of one weight thei could not tell whiche was the truest But this one thing he saied thei knewe verie well that thei knewe nothyng in verie deede Neither did he moche spare the Peripatetikes whiche were Aristoteles scholers who vsed to teache walkyng in his schoole as menne that vaunted that thei had a singuler sharpnes of witte aboue others declaryng that man was a liuyng creature naturallie risible but that an Asse was a beast whiche could neither laugh builde nor saile How long a Gâ—aâ—te liueth how farre the sunne beames pearce into the sea how the infaunte is shapen in the mothers wombe and what kind of soule Oisters haue whether heaueÌ„ be w tin any limitacioÌ„ of place or no Whether the celestiall Spheires haue any mouers or no. Here if ye list to recouÌ„pt al the philosophers fantastical opinioÌ„s you shall vnderstand that their doctrine is very vain and easie to bring men into a fooles paradise of whom the Apostle biddeth vs to beware whiche himself reasoned against the Epicures and Stoike Philosophers at Athenes which contraried the woorde of God and he declared all their tradicions to be mere vanities But I will not reprehend all the Philosophers doctrine as vnprofitable and altogether deceiptfull for somoche as thei inuented many