his diuine power And of the superstition of the false and faigned goddes chap 9. fol. 20. How there is but one true God and how happy those Realmes are which haue a good Christian to be their King How the Gentiles affirmed that good Princes after their death were changed into gods and the wicked into Deuils which the Authour proueth by sundry examples chap. 10. fol. 23. Of sundry gods which the Ancients worshipped Of the offices of those gods How they were reuenged of such as displeased them And of the twentie elected gods chap. 11. fol. 26. How Tiberius was chosen Gouernour of the Empire and afterward created Emperour onely for being a good Christian And how God depriued Iustinian the younger both of his Empire and senses because he was a perfidious heretique chap. 12. fol. 29 Of other more naturall and peculier gods which the ancient people had and adored chap. 13. fol. 32 What words the Empresse Sophia spake to Tiberius Constantinus then being Gouernour of the Empire reprouing him for lauishly consuming the Treasure of the Empire gotten by her chap. 14. fol. 36 The answere of Tiberius to the Empresse Sophia Augusta declaring that Noble Princes neede not hoord vp treasures And of the hidden treasure which this good Emperour foundeby reuelation in the Palace where he remayned chap. 15. fol. 38 How the Captayne Narsetes ouercame many Battailes onely by reposing his whole confidence in God And what hapned to him by the Empresse Sophia Augusta relating the vnthankfulnesse of Princes towards their seruants chap. 16. fol 41 Of a letter which the Emperour Marcus Aurelius sent to the King of Scicille remembring the trauels they had endured together in their youth and reprooning him for his small reuerence to the Temples ch 17 fo 46 The Emperours prosecution in his Letter admonishing Princes to bee fearefull of their Gods And of the sentence which the Senate gaue vpon the King for pulling down the church ch 18 f. 49 How the Gentiles honoured those that were deuout in the seruice of their gods chap. 19 fol 52 Of fiue causes why Princes ought to be better christians then their subiects ch 20 fol. 55 What the Philosopher Bias was Of his constancy when hee had lost all his goods And of the ten lawes he gaue deseruing to be had in perpetuall memory chap 21 59 Questions demanded of the Philosopher Bias. fol. 61 The lawes which Bias gaue to the Prienenses 62 How God from the beginning punished men by his iustice and especially those Princes that despised his church how all wicked Christians are Parishioners of hel ch 22 63 Of twelue examples why Princes are sharply punished when they vsurpe boldly vpon churches and violate their temples ch 23 65 Why the children of Aaron were punished eodem The cause why the Azotes were punished eodem The cause why Prince Oza was punished 66. Why King Balthazar was punished 67 Why King Ahab was punished 69 Why King Manasses was punished cod Why Iulius Pompey Xerxes Cateline Germanicus Brennus were punished 70 How Valentine the Emp. because he was an euil Christian in one day lost both the Empire and his life ch 24 72 Of the Emp. Valentinian Gratian his son which raigned in the time of S. Ambrose and because they were good Christians were alwayes fortunate and how God giueth victory to Princes more by the teares of them that pray then thorow the weapons of thē that fight ch 25 76 Of the goodly Oration which the Em Gratian made to his Souldiers before hee gaue the battell ch 26 78 Of the Captaine Theodosius who was father to the great Emp. Theodosius died a good Christian Of the K. Hismarus and the Bishop Siluanus and the lawes which they made and established ch 27 60 What a happy thing it is to haue but one Prince to rule the publike weale for there is no greater enemy to the Common-weale then he which procureth many to commaund therein ch 28 84 That in a publike weale there is no greater destruction then where Princes dayly consent to new orders and make an alteration of ancient customs ch 29 f. 88 When Tirants began to raigne and vpon what occasion commaunding and obeying first began and how the authority which a Prince hath is by the ordināce of God chap. 30 91 Of the golden age in times past and worldly misery at this present ch 31 94 How K. Alexander the Great after hee had ouercome K. Darius in Asia went to conquer the great India and of that which hapned to him with the Garamantes and that purity of life hath more power then force of warre ch 32 96 Of an Oration which one of the Sages of Garamantia made vnto K. Alexander a good lesson for ambitious mē ch 33. 98 A continuation of the sage Garamants Oration and among other notable matters he maketh mention of seuen lawes which they obserued chap. 34 101 That Princes ought to consider for what cause they were made Princes What Thales the Philosopher was of 12 questions demāded of him his answer c. 35. 104 What Plutarch the Philosopher was Of the wise words he spake to the Emperour Traiane how a good Prince is the head of the publique-weale chap. 36. fo 108 As there are two Sences in the Head Smelling and Hearing So likewise a Prince who is the head of the Common-weale ought to heare the complaints of all his subiects and should know them all to recompence their seruices ch 37. fol. 111 Of the great Feast which the Romaines celebrated to the God Ianus the first day of Ianuary And of the bounty and liberality of the Emperour Marcus Aurelius the same day chap. 38 114 Of the answer which the Emperour Marcus Aurelius made to the Senatour Fuluius before all the Senate beeing reproued by him for the familiarity hee vsed to all men contrary to the maiesty and authority of the Romane Emperour wherein hee painteth enuious men ch 39 fol. 118 Of a Letter which the Emperour Marcus Aurelius sent to his friend Pulio declaring the opinion of certaine Philosophers concerning the felicity of man chap. 40. 124 Of the Philosopher Epicurus fol. 129 Of the Philosopher Eschilus 131 Of the Philosopher Pindarus 132 Of the Philosopher Zeno 133 Of the Philosopher Anacharsis 134 Of the Sarmates 135 Of the Philosopher Chilo 137 Of the Philosophers Crates Stylphas Simonides Gorgias Architas Chrysippus Antistenes Sophocles Euripides Palemon Themistocles Aristides and Heraclius 138. 139 That Princes and great Lords ought not to esteeme themselues for being fayre and well proportioned chap. 41 140 Of a letter written by the Emperour Marcus Aurelius to his Nephew worthy to be noted of all young Gentlemen chap. 42 146 How Princes and great Lords in olde time were louers of men that were wise and learned chap. 43 153 How the Emperor Theodosius prouided wise men at the houre of his death for the education of his two noble sonnes Archadius and Honorius chap. 44 158
that infamed Idoll and violated the sacred Temples For to God this is the most haynous offence to forsake the holy Catholike faith in his life and to despaire in his mercy at the houre of his death Would to God wee had so much grace to acknowledge our offences as God hath reason to punish our sins For if it were so then wee would amend in time to come and God would graunt vs a general pardon for all that is past I see one thing wherin as I thinke I am not deceiued which is this that the fraylties and miseryes which we cōmit wee thinke them naturall and in the satisfaction and amendment of the same wee say they are strange so that we admit the fault and condemne the paine which thereby we doe deserue The secret iudgements of God doe suffer it and our offences do deserue it I doe not denie but that the euill may holde and possesse this life at their pleasure but I sweare vnto them when they shall least thinke of it they shall lose theyr life to their great displeasure for the pleasures of this life are so vnconstant that wee scarce beginne to taste them when they fade out of our sight It is a rule infallible which both of the good and euill hath bin proued that all naturallie desire rather to abound then to want all that which greatly is desired with great diligence is searched and through great trauell is obtained and that thing which by trauell is attained with loue is possessed that which by loue is possessed with much sorrow is lost bewailed lamented For in the end wee cannot deny but that the watry eies do manifestly shew the sorrowfull harts To the fine wits and stout harts this is a continuall torment and endles paine and a worme that alway gnaweth to call to minde that he must lose the ioyfull life which he so entirely loued tast the fearfull death which so greatly he abhorred Therfore to proue this matter which I haue spoken of before it is but reason that Princes knowe if they doe not know that men as the diuine Prouidence exalteth them to high Estates they not deseruing them So likewise his rigorous iustice will bring thē to nought if they bee vnthankfull for his benefits For the ingratitude or benefits receiued maketh that man not worthy to receyue any moe The more a man throgh benefits is bound the more grieuous punishment if he be vnthankfull hee deserueth All wise men should finde if they apply their mindes therevnto that in chastising God calleth those offences first to his minde which are furthest from the thoughts of men For before the Tribunall of God our secret faults are alwayes casting out bloud to the end hee should execute on our person open iustice And further I say that in this case I do not see that the Prince is exempted more though hee liue in great felicitie then the poore labourer who liueth in extreame miserie And also we see it eft-soones by experience that the sudden Lightning Tempests and terrible Thunder forsaketh the small and lowe Cottages and battereth forthwith the great and sumptuous buyldings Gods will and determination is that foras-much as hee hath exalted them aboue all others so much the more they should acknowledge him for Lord aboue all others For GOD did neuer create high Estates because they should worke wickednes but he placed them in that degree to the end they should thereby haue more occasion to doe him seruice Euery Prince that is not a good Christian a seruent louer of the Catholike faith nor wil haue any respect to the Diuine seruice let him be assured that in this world hee shall lose his renowme and in the other he shall hazard his soule For that all euill Christians are the Parishioners of Hell CHAP XXIII The Anthour proueth by twelue examples that Princes are sharpely punished when they vsurpe boldly vpon the Churches and violate their temples Why the children of Aaron were punished IT is now time that wee leaue to perswade with wordes and reasons and to beginne to proue that which we haue sayd by some excellent histories and notable examples For in the end the hearts of men are stirred more through some little examples then with a great multitude of words In the first booke of Leuiticus the 10. Chapter is declared how in the time of Moses the sonne in law of Iethro the Priest that was of Media who was chiefe Prince of all the lynage of Seph with whom the brother of Mary the Leper had charge of the high Priesthood For among all the lawes where God at any time put his hands vnto hee prouided alwayes that some had the gouernement of ciuill affayres and others the administration of the diuine misteries This high Priest then had towe children whose names were Nadab and Abihu which two were yong and beautifull stout and sage and during their infancie serued their Father helped him to doe sacrifice For in the old law they suffered that Priests should not onely haue wiues children but also that their children should succeed them in their Temples and inherite their benefices There came a great mischance for the two children being apparrelled in white their bodies bound with stolles their hands naked in one hād holding a Torch and in the other the Sencer being negligent to light the new fire and contrary to that the law had ordayned and taking coales which were prohibited a maruellous thing was seene in the sight of the people which was that sodenly these two childrē fel flat on the earth dead and all their sacrifice burned Truly the sentence was maruellous but it was iust in ough For they well deserued to loose their liues sithence they durst sacrifice the coales of an other This thing seemed to be true for these young children saued theyr soules and made satisfaction of the fault with their liues but other wicked men God permitteth to liue a short time because they shall loose their soules for euer The cause why the Azotes were punished THe Realme of Palestine being destitute of a King at that time an honorable olde man gouerned the realme which was Father to two Knights named Albino and Phinides for at that time the children of Israel were not gouerned by Kings that did molest them by iniuries but by sage men which did maintaine them by iustice It chaunced that the Azotes made warre against the Palestines and were a kind of the Arabians stout and warlike the which fought so couragiously that the Palestines and Hebrewes were constrained to bring their Arke into the middest of the Battell which was a Relicke as a man should haue put the holie Sacrament to deuide a great multitude of people But Fortune shewed her countenaunce vnto them so frowningly that they were not onely ouer-come but also were spoyled of the Arke which was their chiefe relicke And besides that there were 4000. Palestines slaine The
Azotes carryed away the Arke full of Relickes vnto their temple in the Cittie of Nazote and set it by Dagon theyr cursed Idoll The most High true God which will not suffer any to be coequall with him in comparison or in anie thing that hee representeth caused this Idol to be shaken thrown downe and broken in pieces no man touching it For our God is of such power that to execute his Iustice he needeth not worldly helpe God not contented thus though the Idoll was broken in pieces but caused those to bee punished likewise which worshipped it in such sort that al the people of Azotes Ascalon Geth Acharon and of Gaza which were fiue auncient and renowmed Citties were plagued both man and woman inwardly with the disease of the Emerodes So that they could not eate sitting nor ride by the wayes on horse-backe And to the end that all men might see that their offences were grieuous for the punishment they receyued by the diuine Iustice he replenished their Houses Places Gardens Seedes and Fields full of Rats And as they had erred in honouring the false Idol and forsaken the true God So hee would chastice them with two Plagues sending them the Emerodes to torment their bodyes and the Rats to destroy their goods For to him that willingly giueth his soule to the diuel it is but a small matter that God against his will depriue him of his goods This then being thus I would now gladly knowe whether of them committed most offence Eyther the Azotes which set the Arke in the Temple which as they thought was the most holiest or the false Christians which with a Sacrilegious boldnesse dare attempt without anie feare of GOD to robbe and pill the Church goods to theyr owne priuate commoditie in this world Truely the Law of the Azotes differed as much frō the Christians as the offence of the one differeth from the other For the Azotes erred not beleeuing that this Arke was the Figure of the True God but we beleeue it and confesse it and without shame cōmit against it infinite vices By this so rare and seuere a sudden punishment mee thinks the Princes great Lords should not only therefore acknowledge the True God but also Reuerence and honour those things which vnto him are dedicated For mans lawes speaking of the reuerence of a Prince doe no lesse condemne him to die that robbeth his house then him which violently layeth hands on his person ¶ The cause why Prince Oza was punished IN the booke which the sonne of Helcana wrote that is the second booke of the Kings and the vi Chapter hee saith That the Arke of Israel with his Relikes which was Manna the rodde and two stones stood in the house of Aminadab which was the next neighbour to the citie of Gibeah the sonne of Esay who at that time was King of the Israelites determined to transpose the Relikes into his Cittie and house For that it seemed to him a great infamy that to a mortal Prince a house should abound for his pleasures to the immortall God there should want a Temple for his reliques The day therefore appointed when they should carrie the Relique of Gibeah to Bethlehem there met thirty thousand Israelites with a great number of Noble men which came with the King besides a greater number of strangers For in such a case those are more which come of their owne pleasure then those which are commaunded Besides all the people they say that all the Nobility of the Realme was there to the end the relique should bee more honoured and his person better accompanied It chanced that as the Lords and people went singing and the King in person dancing the wheele of the Chariot began to fall and go out of the way the which prince Oza seeing by chance set to his hand and his shoulder against it because the Arke where the Relique was should not fall nor breake yet notwithstanding that suddenly and before them all hee fell downe dead Therefore let this punishment be noted for truly it was fearefull and ye ought to thinke that since God for putting his hand to the Chariot to holde it vp stroke him with death that a Prince should not hope seeking the destruction and decay of the Church that God will prolong his life O Princes great Lords and Prelates sith Oza with such diligence lost his life what doe yee hope or looke for sith with such negligence yee destroy and suffer the Church to fall Yet once againe I doe returne to exclaime vpon you O Princes and great Lords sith Prince Oza deserued such punishment because without reuerence hee aduanced himselfe to stay the Arke which fell what punishment ought yee to haue which through malice helpe the Church to fall Why King Balthasar was punished DArius King of the Perses and Medes besieged the auncient City of Babylon in Chaldea whereof Balthasar sonne of Nabuchodonozar the great was King and Lord who was so wicked a child that his father being dead hee caused him to be cut in 300. peeces gaue him to 300. hawkes to be eaten because hee should not reuiue againe to take the goods riches from him which he had left him I know not what father is so foolish that letteth his Son liue in pleasures and afterwards the entralles of the Hauke wherewith the sonne hawked should be the wofull graue of the Father which so many men lamented This Balthasar then beeing so besieged determined one night to make a great feast and banquet to the Lords of his Realme that came to ayde him and in this he did like a valiant and stout Prince to the end the Perses and Medes might see that hee little esteemed their power The noble and high hearts do vse when they are enuironed with many trauels to seeke occasions to inuent pleasures because to their men they may giue greater courage and to their enemies greater feare He declareth of Pirrus King of the Epirotes when hee was besieged very straightly in the City of Tharenta of the Romane Captaine Quintus Dentatus that then hee spake vnto his Captaines in this sort Lordes and friendes bee yee nothing at all abashed since I neuer here before saw ye afraid though the Romans haue compassed our bodies yet we haue besiged their harts For I let you to know that I am of such a complection that the straighter they keepe my body the more my heart is at large And further I say though the Romanes beate downe the walles yet our hearts shall remaine inuincible And though there bee no wall betweene vs yet wee will make them know that the hearts of Greekes are harder to ouercome then the stones of Tarentine are to be beaten downe But returning to King Balthasar The banquet then being ended and the greatest part of the night beeing spent Belthasar the King being very well pleased that the banquet was made to his contentation though he
places are Arbours and Gardeins to wofull and heauie hearts A slaue hath nothing to care for but himselfe alone but you that be princes haue to satisfie and please all men For the Prince should haue a time for himselfe and also for those which are about him The diuine Plato said well that hee that should haue the least parte of a Prince and belonging to a Prince ought to be the Prince himselfe For to that ende the Prince should bee all his owne he ought to haue no part in himselfe Though a slaue work trauel in the day yet he sleepes without care in the night but you Princes passe the time in hearing importunate suites and the nights in fetching innumerable sighs Finally I say that in a slaue be it well or be it euill all his paine is finished in one yeare or is ended at his death but what shall a wofull Prince doe when he dyeth If he were good there is but a short memory of his goodnesse and if hee hath beene euill his infamy shall neuer haue end I haue spoken these things to the end that great and small Lords and seruants should confesse and acknowledge the true Seigniory to be onely vnto him who for to make vs Lords aboue became a seruant heere beneath CHAP. XXX When the Tyrants beganne to ratgne and vpon what occasion commaunding and obeying first begann And how the authority which the Prince hath is by the ordinance of God CEasing to speake any further of the Poeticall Histories and auncient faynings and speaking the truth according to the diuine Histories the first that did liue in this World was our Father Adam who did eate of the fruite forbidden and that not so much for to trespasse the commaundement of one as for not to displease his wife Eue For many now a dayes had rather suffer theyr conscience a long time to bee infected then one onely day to see theyr wiues displeased The first homicide of the worlde was Caine The first that dyed in the World was Abel The first that had two wiues in the World was Lamech The first City of the World was by Enoch built in the fields of Edon The first Musition was Tubalcaim The first which sayled in the World was Noe The first Tyrant of the World was Nembroth The first Priest was Melcrisedech The first King of the World was Anraphel The first Duke was Moyses The first which was called Emperour in the World was Iulius Caesar For vntill this time they which gouerned were called Consuls Censors and Dictators And from Iulius Caesars hitherto haue beene called Emperours The first battell that was giuen in the world as wee reade was in the wilde valleyes which now they call the dead and salt sea For a great part of that that then was the maine land is novv the dead sea The holy Scriptures cannot deceyue vs for it is full of all truth and by them it is declared that eighteene hundred yeares after the World beganne there was no battell assembled nor company that met to fight in the field for at that time when they had no ambition nor couetousnesse they knew not what battell meant It is reason therefore that in this writing we declare the cause why the first battell was fought in the world to the end Princes may thereof bee aduertised and the curious Reader remaine therein satisfied The manner was this that Bassa being King of Sodome Bersa King of Gomorrhe Senaab King of Adamee Semebar King of Seboime and Vale King of Segor were all fiue Tributaries to Chodor Lanmor King of the Elamites which fiue Kings conspired against him because they would pay him no tribute and because that they would acknowledge no homage vnto him For the realmes paying tribute haue alwayes rebelled and sowed sedition This rebellion was in the 13 yeare of the raigne of Chodor Laomor King of the Elamites and immediately the yeare following Anraphel king of Sernaar Arioch king of Ponte and Aradal King of the Allotali ioyned with Chodor Laomor All which together beganne to make warres to destroy Cities and Countries vpon their enemies For the olde malice of the warre is That where they cannot haue their enemies which are in the fault they put to sacke and destroy those which are innocent and guiltlesse So the one assaulting and the other desending in the end all come to the field they gaue battell as two enemies and the greatest part was ouercome of the fewest and the fewest remayned victorious ouer the greatest which thing God would suffer in the first battell of the world to the end Princes might take example that all the mishappes of the Warres come not but because they are begun of an vniust occasion If Chodor Laomor had helde himselfe contented as his Predecessors did and that hee had not conquered Realmes in making them subiect and had not caused them to pay tribute neyther they vnto him would haue denyed reason nor hee with them would haue waged battell For thorow the couetousnesse of the one and the ambition of the other enmities grew betweene the people This considered which wee haue spoken of Sygnorie and of those which came into contentions for signories Let vs now see from whence the first originall of seruitude came and the names of seruantes and Lordes which were in the old time and whether seruitude was by the discorde of vertuous men first brought into the World or else inuented by the ambition of tyrants for when the one commaundeth and the other obeyeth it is one of the nouelties of the world as the holy Scripture declareth vnto vs in this manner The holy Patriarch Noah had three sons which were Sam Ham and Iaphet and the second sonne which was Ham begot Cusn and this Cusn begotte Nimrod Nimrod made himselfe a Hunter of wilde beasts in the woodes and mountaines Hee was the first that beganne to play the Tyrant amongst men enforcing their persons and taking their goods and the Scripture called him Oppressor hominum which is to say an Oppressor of men For men of euill life alwaies commit much euill in a Common-wealth He taught the Chaldeans to honor the fire hee was the first that presumed to be an absolute Lord and the first that euer required of men homage and seruice This cursed tyrant ended his life in the golden World wherein all things were in common with the Common-wealth For the Auncients vsed their goods in common but their wils onely they reserued to themselues They ought not so thinke in a light matter for his persō to haue been a tyrant but they ought to think it a greater matter to haue beene a rebel in a Common-wealth much more they ought to esteeme it as an euill matter in him which hath beene as hee was a disturber of the good customes of his country but the most vniust of all is to leaue behind him any euil custom brought into the common wealth for if hee deserue great
thee I shall not follow my selfe and beeing thine I shall cease to bee mine Thou art come to haue the name of the Great Alexander for conquering the world and I haue attained to come to renowme of a good Phylosopher in flying the world And if thou dost imagine that thou hast gotten and wonne I thinke I haue not erred nor lost And since thou wilt be no lesse in authoritie then a King doe not thinke that I will lose the estimation of a Phylosopher For in the world there is no greater losse vnto a man then when hee looseth his proper libertie When he had spoken these words Alexander saide vnto them that were about him with a lowde voyce By the immortall Gods I sweare and as god Mars rule my hands in Battell if I were not Alexander the Great I would bee Diogenes the Phylosopher And hee saide further In mine opinion there is no other Felicitie vpon the earth then to bee King Alexander who commaundeth all or to bee Diogenes to commaund Great Alexander who commaundeth all As king Alexander was more familiar with some Philosophers then with others so hee esteemed some bookes more then others And they say he read oftentimes in the Iliades of Homer which is a booke where the story of the destruction of Troy is and that when he slept he layd vnder his head vpon a bolster his sword and also his booke When the great King Alexander was borne his father Philip king of Macedonia did two notable things The first was that hee sent many and very rich gifts into the I le of Delphos where the Oracle of Apollo was to the ende to present them with him and to pray him that it would please him for to preserue his sonne The other thing that hee did was that immediately hee wrote a letter to the great Philosopher Aristotle wherin he sayd these words The letter of King Philip to Aristotle the Phylosopher PHilip King of Macedonia wishes health and peace to the philosopher Aristotle which readeth in the Vniuersitie of Greece I let the vnderstand that Olympias my wife is brought to bedde of a goodly man childe whereof both she and I and all Macedonia do reioyce For kings and Realms ought to haue great ioy when that there is borne a sonne sueccssour of the natural prince of the prouince I render thankes vnto the immortall gods and haue sent many great gifts to the Temples and it was not so much for that I haue a son as for that they haue giuenhim vnto me in the time of so great and excellent Philosopher I hope that thou wilt bring him vp teach him in such sort that by heritage hee shall be Lord of my patrimony of Macedonia and by desert he shall be Lord of Asia to that they should call him my sonne and thee his father Vale foelix iterumque vale Ptolomeus father in law who was the eight king of the Aegyptians did greatly loue the Sages as well of Caldea as of Greece and this thing was esteemed for a great vertue in king Ptolome For there was as much enuy betweene the phylosophers of Greece and the Sages of Egypt as betweene the Captaines of Rome and the Captaines of Carthage This Ptolome was very wise and did desire greatly to bee accompanied with Phylosophers and after this hee learned the letters of the Latines Caldes and Hebrues for the which cause though the kings named Ptolomei were eleuen in number and all warrelike men yet they put this for the Chiefe and Captaine of all not for battels which hee wanne but for the sentences which he learned This king Ptolomeus had for his familiar a Philosopher called Estilpho Magarense who was so entirely beloued of this Prince that laying aside gentlenesse and benefits which hee shewed him hee did not onely eate with the king at his table but oftentimes the king made him drink of his owne cup. And as the sauours which Princes shew to their seruants are but as a watch to proue the malitious it chanced that when this king gaue the philosopher to drinke that which remayned in his cuppe an Egyptian knight moued with enuy sayde vnto King Ptolome I thinke Lord how thou art neuer satisfied with drinking to leaue that which remaineth in the cuppe for the Philosopher to drinke after thee To whom the king answered Thou sayst well that the Phylosopher Estilpho is neuer filled with that which I doe giue him For that which remaineth in my cup doth not profite him so much to drinke as the Phylosophy which remaineth in him should profite thee if thou wouldst take it The king Antigonus was one of the most renowmed seruants that king Alexander the great euer had who after his death enherired a great part of his Empire for how much happy the king Alexander was in his life so much hee was vnhappy at the time of his death because he had no children which might enherite his goods and that hee had such seruants as spoyled him of his renowme This king Antigonus was an vnthrist and excessiue in all vices But for all hee loued greatly the phylosophers which thing remained vnto him from king Alexander whose pallace was a schoole of al the good phylosophers of the world Of this ensample they may see what great profite ensueth of bringing vp of them that bee yong for there is none that euer was so wicked or inclined vnto euill but that in long continuance may profite somwehat in his youth This king Antigonus loued two philosophers greatly the which florished in that time that is to say Amenedius and Abio of which two Abio was wel learned and very poore For in that time no phylosopher durst openly reade philosophy as if hee were worth any thing in temporall goods As Laertius sayth and as Pulio declares it better in the book of the rulers and noble men of the Greekes The Schooles of the Vuiuersitie were so correct that the philosopher which knew most had least goods so that they did not glorifie of any thing eise but to haue pouertie and to know much of philosophy The case was such that the phylosopher Abio was sicke and with that sickenes he was so vexed that they might almost see the bones of his weake bodie The king Antigonus sent to visite him by his owne sonne by whom hee sent him much money to helpe him withall For hee liued in extreame pouertie as it behoued the professors of phylosophy Abio was sore sicke being aged and crooked and though he had made himselfe so leane with sicknesse yet notwithstanding he burned alwayes vpon the weeke of good life I meane that he had no lesse courage to despise those gifts then the king Antigonus had nobles to send them This Phylosopher not contented to haue despised those gifts in such sort sayd vnto the sonne of Antigonus who brought them Tell king Antigonus that I giue him great thankes for the good entertainement hee gaue me alwayes
of him hee is bound to giue it her straight if hee can and though shee frowne vppon him yet hee may not bee angrie with her so that the Courtyer must needes imploy his whole person and goods in seruing of her that hee loues For the Courtyer that is marryed surely it is not fit for him to loue any other woman then his wife neyther is it honest for the woman to be serued with any married courtyer For these manner of loues are to no other ende but for him to be merry with her and for her to get somewhat of him Let the Courtyer be very wise and beware that he doe not loue and serue such a gentlewoman whom he cannot obtaine to his wife For otherwise it should be a great corsiue to his heart and a more shame to see another before his eyes to enioy her and eate of that fruite which hee had now to his great coste and charges made now a fruitfull Orch-yard And if it happen that his Mistresse whom he serueth be nobly borne very fayre of complexion pleasant of condition of good grace and behauiour in her conuersation very wise fine in her doings hee may bee well assured hee shall neuer forget this griefe and sorrow and so much the more if hee did loue her with all his heart and vnfainedly There is great difference between that we lose and that wee haue For if the heart lament for the losse of that wee haue it bewayleth bitterly to lose that wee loue Also the Courtier must be aduised that hee tell not to any that his wife hath told him or any thing that hath passed secretly between thē For women are of such a quality that for any thing they doe they would neuer heare of it againe willingly and those secrets that another commits to them of trust they can neuer keepe them secret There is a Law common between women and their Louers for if they goe abroad their louers must attende vpon their persons and if they buy any thing in the streete as they goe they are bound to pay for it And if they be too late abroad they must prouide them of torches to bring them home with and when the Court remoueth frō place to place theirs is the charge to defray their expences by the way and if any doe them iniury they are bound to reuenge their quarrell If they fall sicke they must doe them a thousand pleasures and seruices if any challenge bee made in Court of tilt turney or barriers they must bee the first and best mounted and armed aboue others if they may possible with all not forgetting their Ladyes colours and deuise offering themselus nobly to performe the challenge giuing them to vnderstand that for their sakes they neyther feare to aduenture their liues nor spare for any charge to doe them all honour and seruice with out doubt wee may speake it truely that hee putteth himselfe to great perill and danger whatsoeuer hee bee that serueth women But when the wise Courtier is now become a seruaunt to any Lade hee must beware in any case hee entertaine or serue any other then his mistresse for if hee did it otherwise hee should raise a mortall hate and discorde betweene these women by reason whereof many slaunders broiles might ensue It is a naturall thing to all women that to hate any man a hundred will come to agree in one opinion but to loue him you shall not finde two of one minde The good Courtier must couet the best he can to be alwayes at the making ready of the King and at meat and that for two causes The one for that hee may be ready to doe him seruice and the other for that at such a time they shall haue an apt time to treate with the Prince in any thing hee will if he haue any occasion of busines with him And when the King is eyther at his meate or that hee bee putting on his apparrell let the good Courtier be circumspect he come not too neere the Table where he sitteth nor that hee touch the Kings apparell he weareth on for no man ought once to presume to bee so hardy to meddle with his meate or his apparrell vnlesse he be Shewer or Chamberlaine And if in this time of repast or making him ready there were present any Iesters or fooles that sayd or did any thing to make them laugh The good Courtier must take heede that hee laugh not too loud as in such cases many are wont to doe For in such a case the Prince would be better pleased at the modesty of the Courtier then at the knauery of the foole The honest Courtier must not haue a foole his friend nor his enemy for to make him his friend hee is too dishonest and to be his enemy hee is too vile and cowardly I wish the Courtier not to bee angry with him what soeuer he doth for many times it happeneth that the friendshippe of a wise man doth not so much benefite or pleasure as the enmity and displeasure of one of these fooles doth hurt And if hee will giue them any thing as he must needes let him beware he giue him not occasion to condemne his conscience and that hee stoppe their mouthes For the Courtier that is Christian shall giue as much more to the poore to pray to God for him as hee shall giue to others to speake well of him to the king When the King sneeses and that the Courtier bee present hee must straight put off his cappe and bowe himselfe in a manner to the ground but for all that hee must take heed he say not Christ helpe you or God blesse you or such other like For to doe any maner of courtesie or honor is pertinent onely to Courtiers But to say Christ helpe or God blesse you is the Country manner And if the King by chance should haue any hayre or feather to flye vppon his clothes or any other filthy thing about him none but the chamberlaine onely should take it away and none other Courtier should once presume to take any thing from his backe or to touch his garment neyther any other person vnlesse it were in case to defend him When the king is set at the table the Courtier may not come into the Kitchen nor much lesse leane vpon the surueying boorde For though hee did it perhaps but to see the order of the suruey and seruice of the Prince yet it may bee suspected of some hee meant worser matter and and thereby they should iudge ill of him If the Prince haue a felicity in hawking the Courtier must endeauour himselfe to keepe a cast or two of good Falcons and if in hunting then he must haue good Greyhounds And when hee is eyther a hawking or hunting with the King hee must seeke to serue him so diligently that day that he may both find him game to sport with and procure for himselfe also fauour at the Princes hand Many
although it may be borne betweene men of like degree and coequalitie yet is it not tollerable between the prince the fauored of the Prince But rather euery day houre moment that the Fauoured Courtyer entreth into the Princes pallace or into his priuy-chamber hee ought euer to doe it with as great curtesie reuerence humilitie and honour and in speaking to the King as if hee had neuer spoken with him nor seene him So that hee should let all men see that though it please the Kings Majesty to make of him and to accept him into his fauour yet that hee leaue not to serue him and doe him that duety that all other seruants doe and are bounde to doe The safest and most certaine way to maintaine those that are sublimated and exalted in the Courtes of Princes and to raise vp and bring those to aucthority that are lowe and of base condition is that the esteemed repute himselfe euer a Seruant and that the seruant neuer vaunt nor boast himselfe to be fauoured or esteemed The familiars of Princes ought euer to beware that there come no complaints of them to the Princes care For as a drop of Water by Time and continuall Fall commeth to pierce the hardest stone so it might happen that the numbers of complaints might bee occasion for the prince to withdrawe his fauor and loue from the Courtier againe If his only seruices were sufficient to induce the Prince to fauor loue him so the number of his subiects coÌ„plaints against him were occasion enough to make him mislike him and and put him out of fauor clean changing his loue and fauor to hate and discredite For it is a certaine thing that when the Prince doth looke well into his owne doings he had rather be be loued of all then serued of one alone The honored Fauorite of the Court may not so much regarde the honour and credit he is called to by his prince as the basenes and pouertie he was in when it pleased the king to like of him and that he came first acquainted with the King For if he did otherwise it might so happen that like as Fortune had brought him to that high estate hee had So Pride might ouerthrow him againe and bring him as low as hee was before For I should haue saide more truely a great deale saying That it would haue made him fall downe right beeing the propertie of Fortune to suffer the baser sort whom she hath caled to honour onely to returne them to their meane estate calling they were of at first and neuer to leaue the fauored of the Prince and men of aucthoritie nor neuer satisfied till shee hath throwne them downe headlong into extreame misery neuer to rise againe Agathocles first the sonne of a Potter and afterwards made king of Scicilia whilst hee liued hee euer vsed this manner that in his treasurie or iewell house yea and also at his Table amongst all his cups and dishes of gold and siluer hee had also some of Earth amongst them and beeing asked the occasion why in so great a Treasurie and masse of golde and siluer he had so vile and base a thing as Earth Hee aunswered thus I drinke in golden cups and eate in Earthen dyshes to giue thankes vnto the Gods which of a Potters-sonne that I was brought mee to this Royall estate of a mighty King And I do it also to haue euer more cause to bee humble and lowly and to flye Pryde For it is an easier thing and more likelyer for a king to become a Potter then for a Potter to attain to the greatnes state of a king These wordes of Agathocles were euer worthie to bee noted and had in â—â—nory since we see plainly that to giue a man a fall a little stone sufficeth to make vs stumble and fall to the ground but to rayse vs vp againe wee must needes helpe vs with power of handes and feet It may well be that this braue Courtier and fauoured of the Court before hee came to this degree of honour was but of a meane house and bâ—fuly borne and besides that esteemed of few for his nobilitie of bloud of an vnknowne Countrey of poore parents of small substance and no better nor otherwise fauoured of fortune in his birth or linage of all which things he hath no cause to be ashamed but rather to glory praise God For hee shall euer bee more esteemed in the Court and wel thoght of to remember from whence hee came and to regarde his first estate then hee shall if he waxe glorious high minded by reason of the fauour he is at this present vtterly forgetting his first rising Titus Liuius reciteth that the renowmed Romane Quintus Cincinnatus before he came to bee made Captaine of Rome hee was taken out of the fields a labouring man plowing tilling the ground And this so noble a person beeing occupied in great affayres of the common weale eyther in prouisions or munitions or in expeditions of warre was wont to sigh before all the Captaines and say Alas who could tell me now any newes how my Beefes doe in my graunge my sheepe in the mountaines and whether my seruauntes haue prouided them of Hay and Pasture for to keepe them the next yeare Surely it is to be thought that whosoeuer speakes these wordes with his mouth must needes haue little pride in his heart And vndoubtedly hee proued his words true and shewed that hee spake as hee thought and in good earnest without intent of iest since afterwards returned home againe to follow the plough to plant his vines and to see his owne thinges gouerned leauing behinde him a perpetuall testimony of his noble and worthy doings And his common Weale also greatly enriched by his famous acts Saul was King of Israel and taken fot a God and was annointed of Samuel his Father a poore husbandman of the Countrey and hee from his youth brought vp in that trade for to holde the plough and yet when hee was King he neuer disdayned for to plough his ground to sow his oates and to driue his beasts now to pasture then home againe So that the good King did glory this day to holde the plough and to morrow to fight with his sword When Fortune therfore sheweth her selfe enemy to any and that from great dignity and high calling shee ouerthroweth him and bringeth him to low and meane estate It is then that he hath good cause to complain of fortunes cruelty and to bewayle his wretched happe ashamed to see his lothsome misery But when shee worketh contrarily and from mean estate brings him to great honour and credite that must needes be great honor and glory to him Therefore I say let them beware that beare rule and authority in the Court that they be not proud glorious high minded neither otherwise detected of any kinde of vice though they be neuer so much in fauour and estimation Sith Fortune sheweth most
then all others and otherwise to fall in disgrace and to make the Prince forget all the good seruice he hath don him his whole life time hee need but the least displeasure and fault he can commit Eusenides was maruellously beloued with Ptolomey who after Fortune had exalted and brought him to honour and that he was grown to great wealth sayde one day to Cuspides the Philosopher these words O my friend Cuspides tell mee I pray thee of thy faith is there any cause in mee to be sadde sith Fortune hath placed me in so great authoritie and honour as she can deuise to doe and that the King Ptolomey my Lorde hath now now no more to giue me he hath already beene so bountifull to me To whom the Philosopher aunswered saying O Eusenides if thou wert a Philosopher as thou art a beloued seruant thou wouldest tell mee an other tale then that thou tellest mee now For although King Ptolomey hath no more to giue mee knowest thou not that spightfull fortune hath power to take away from thee many things For the noble heart feeleth more griefe and displeasure to come downe one stayre or steppe then to clime a hundred Not many dayes after these words passed betweene Cuspides and Eusenides it happened that one day King Ptolomey found Eusenides talking with a Lemman or Curtesan of his which hee loued dearely whereat hee was so much offended that hee made her straight drinke a cuppe of poyson and caused him to bee hanged before his owne gates The Emperour Seuerus had one in so great fauour and credit which was called Plautius and he loued him so extreamely and trusted him so much that he neuer read letter but Plautius must reade it and hee neuer graunted commission or licence to any man but it must passe vnder Plautius Seale neither did hee euer graunt anything but at the request of Plautius nor did make warres or peace without the counsell and aduise of Plautius The matter fell out so that Plautius entring one night into the Emperours Chamber with a priuy coate his ill happe was such that a little of his breast before was open whereby was spyed the male which Bahhian seeing being the Emperours eldest Sonne sayde vnto him these sharpe words Tell me Plautius Doe those that are beloued of Princes vse to come into theyr Bed-Chambers at these howers Armed with yron-coates I sweare vnto thee by the immortall Gods and so let them preserue me in the succession of the Empyre That since thou commest with yron thou shalt also dye with yron Which presently tooke place For before hee went out of the Chamber they strake off his head The Emperour Commodus that was sonne of the good Emperour Marcus Aurelius had a Seruant called Cleander a wise and graue man olde and very pollitike but withall a little couetous This Cleander was oft times requested of the Praetorian company that is to say of the whole band of souldiers that he would commaund they might be payd their pay due vnto them and to perswade him the better to pay it they shewed him a bill signed from the Emperour to which he answered That the Emperour had nothing to do in the matter For althogh he were lord of Rome yet had he not to deale in the affayres of the Common-weale These discurteous and vnseemely wordes related to the Emperour Comodus and perceyuing the small obedience and respect of duty that Cleander shewed to him hee commaunded forthwith he should be slaine to his great shame and that all his goods should be confiscate Alcimenides was a great renowned King among the Greekes as Plutarch writeth of him and hee fauoured one Pannonius entirely well to whom only hee did not commit his person his trust but also the whole affaires and doings of the common weale and hee might dispose of the goods of the king at his will and pleasure without leaue or licence So that all the Subiects found they had more benefite in seruing of Pannonius then in pleasing of the King Therefore the King and the beloued Pannonius playing at the ball together they came to contend vpon a Chase and the one sayde it was thus the other sayde it was contrary and as they were in this contention the king commaunded presently those of his guarde that in the very place of the Chace where Pannonius denyed they should strike off his head Constantius the Emperour also had one whome hee liked very well and made much of called Hortentius which might well bee counted a Princes darling for hee did not onely rule the affayres of the common weale of the pallace of warres his goods and person of the Emperour but also hee was euer placed aboue all the Ambassadours at his table And when the Emperour went in progresse or any other iourney he euer had him to his bedfellow Thus things being in this state I tell you it happened that one day a Page giuing the Emperour drinke in a glasse the glass by mishappe fell out of the Pages hand and brake in pieces whereat the Emperour was not a little displeased and offended And euen in this euill and vnhappy howre came Hortensius to the king to present him certaine billes to the signe of hasty dispatch which was a very vnapt time chosen and the Emperour yet contented to signe it could neyther the first nor the second time because the penne was ill fauouredly made the inke so thicke that it woulde not write which made the king so angry that euen presently for anger he commaunded that Hortensius head should be strucken off But to the end wee may come to the knowledge of many things in few words I will shew you how Alexander the Great slew in his choller his deere accounted Cratherus and Pirrhus king of the Epirotes Fabatus his Secretary The Emperour Bitillion his greatest friend Cincinnatus Domitian the Emperour Rufus of his Chamber Adrian the Emperour his onely fauoured Ampromae Dâ—cclesian his friende Patritius whom he loued as himselfe and alwayes called him friend and companion Diadumeus Phamphilion his great Treasurer for whose death hee was so sorrowfull that hee would haue made himselfe a way because he caused him to be so cruelly slaine All these aboue named and infinit others also some were Masters some Lordes some kings and som of great authority and fauour about Princes by whose tragicall histories and examples wee may plainely see that they did not onely loose their goods fauor and credit but also vpon very light occasions were put to death by sword Therefore mortall men should put no trust in worldly things sith that of little occasion they become soone great and of much lesse they suddenly fall and come to worse estate then before And therefore king Demetrius asking one day Euripides the Philosopher what hee thought of humane debility and of the shortnesse of this life answered Mee thinkes O king Demetrius that there is nothing certaine in this vnstable life sith all men liuing
no man in this world was so free as he that neuer suffered Fortune to enter into his gates I haue been desirous to tell you of these things because that such as are in fauor and credit with Princes shold not reckon too much of their fauour neyther that those that are not in fauour with them should be sorie for it a whit For the great authoritie and credite that a man hath by the Court is in this mortall life in the ende nothing else then as a little worm in an apple a wizell in the corne and a magot in pease which without seem very good and within they are all rotten eaten Princes authoritie aboue all others is most supream for they are not subiect to the Censors and Iudges to reproue them of their wordes and sayings neither to magistrates to whom they should render vp any accounts of their doings whereof proceedes that as they haue free-will to loue so haue they a free libertie to hate and absolute power to punish Therefore those that are in fauor in Court and they that shall read this wrytings of mine must well consider what we meane by all those things we haue spoken whereby they shall easily know that Princes are no lesse apte to hate him to day they loued yesterday then to loue him to morrowe whom they hated the other day The first and chiefest point the Courtyer ought to obserue is to feare GOD aboue all and to follow the profession and life of a good Christian For in the ende they liue in Court with more safety hauing a good and pure conscience then with all the great credite and fauour they can haue And therfore let euery Courtyer belieue me as well in fauor as out of faour That it is the best surest way to obtaine the goods of this world as also for the preseruation of their soules to esteeme and make account of holie Scriptures Gods commandements And if hee doe otherwise it shall happen many times vnto him that in the dispatch of his weyghtiest affaires and needefull businessos euen when hee shall thinke his matters brought to a prosperous ende and that it is without all doubt of dispatch then steps in crooked fortune with her wonted poison against him and either makes him in a manner beginne his suite new againe or at least ouerthrow it quite For there are in Princes Courts many times certaine suites that haue a good and better end then looked for and contrarily many others that are at the point of dispatching and yet by sinister accident clean ouerthrowne and succeeding contrary to their assured expectation And yet notwithstanding it seemeth to the suiter that the cause hereof commeth eyther through the soliciters negligence and default and litle care to follow it or else through the malice and ill will of the fauoured of the Court that tooke vpon him the suite and yet neyther the one nor the other was cause of the disorder but onely the diuine prouidence of God to admonish vs that in all our actions and doings it little preuayleth vs to moue the King or his Officers in all our matters if we doe not deserue at Gods hands to obtaine it And therefore sayde the diuine Plato in his Timeon that those that haue honour and prosperity in this life haue as much neede of good counsell as the poore afflicted creatures haue of help and remedy And surely it was wisely and profoundly spoken of him For as neede and misery in this wretched life bringeth men to despayre so likewise we see prosperity induce men to forget themselues and their state And that which I haue hitherto spoken of and that I hope yet to speak none can vnderstand nor conceiue but such as once in their time in their Nauigation had a fortunate and prosperous Winde And afterwardes turning contrary euen at the Shore side haue cast them on Rockes and vtterly perished them To the end that those in reading my wrytings may yet lament and mourne for pittie where the others can but onely reade and goe no further If we compare and put together the Rich with the poore the sorrowfull with the merry the Fortunate with the vnfortunate the fauoured with the banished the vertuous and noble with the vicious and defamed wee shall finde without doubt the number of those farre greater that could rise againe beeing downe and had taken a fall then those that keepe themselues in the authoritie and fauour that Fortune had brought them to I haue not saide it a fewe times but euery moment I would returne to say it againe that this Trayterous worlde in all his doings is so deceytfull and Fortune in all that shee promiseth so doubtful that they make them belieue whom they make Rich beloued and raise to high estate that they doe it but to honour them and afterwards contrarily they spinne a thousand deceipts and trumperyes to make them sooner fall to the ground Surely I haue seene but fewe and I remember I haue read of none vnto whom Fortune euer shewed herselfe so benigne and curteous that euer put a man in his chiefest toppe of prosperitie and fauour but in fewe dayes after she tooke his life from him or at least in the ende of his iourney shee made him runne into some secret disgrace or mishappe And therefore I would that the Courtyer that obtayneth fauour in the Court and Riches in the Common-wealth that he should reckon and esteeme them as lent him but not giuen him And that he should so gouerne the things of fortune as hee would that man whom hee trusted not at all For as Seneca saith No man is afflicted with Fortune But hee onely that trusteth to her without feare or suspect at all of her For Courtyers and those that are in great fauor and authority ought to know that like as in the deepest seas soonest perish the shippes and as on the highest mountains the Sunne hath alwayes least force and power and as in the greenest boughs is soonest hidden the Fowlers little net to catch the silly Byrdes And as with the fullest bayts of meate the Fish are soonest taken that with great force the wind doth blow on highest trees and as the most prowd and stately buildings the Earth-quake doth most hurt and soonest ouerthrow them Euen so by this I meane that Fortune neuer stroue to throw downe anie but such as she had made great in honour and fauour For I doe not take it for great good lacke though all things succede to be fauoured of the Court better then hee looked for nor to see them brought by their friends to great estate and honour For albeeit fortune for a time dissemble with him it is not for that she hath forgoten him but afterwards to giue him a greater punishment Those that will maruell at that I will speake euen now it proceedes of nothing else but wanting wit and capacitie to vnderstand it There is no greater sicknes in this
their peace and to be as dumbe men By mine aduise I would haue them banished by general counsell out of all Colledges counsels chapters townes and Common-wealthes For wee see dayly by experience that let an apple haue neuer so little a bruise that bruise is inough to rotte him quickly if hee be not eaten in time Demosthenes the Philosopher was of great authority for his person graue in manners and condition and very sententious profound in his words but with these he was so obstinate wilfull and such a talker in all his matters that all Greece quaked for feare of him Whereupon all the Athenians one day assembled in their hall or common house and there they appointed him a great stipend of the goods of the Common wealth telling him that they gaue him this not that he should reade but because hee should holde his peace Also this great and renowmed Cicero that was so valiant and politicke in martiall affayres so great a friend to the Common weale of Rome and moreouer a Prince of Eloquence for the Latine tongue though he was cruelly put to death by Marke Antony it was not for any fact committed against him neyther for any wrong or iniurie hee had done him saue onely for that hee enuyed against him and spake euill of him Also the Noble and famous Poet Salust and famous Orator of Rome was not hated of strangers and not beloued of his owne neighbours for no other cause but for that hee neuer tooke penne in hand to write but hee euer wrote against the one and neuer opened his mouth to speake but hee alwayes spake euill of the other Plutarch touching this matter reciteth in his bookes De Republica that amongst them of Lidia in their publike weale it was holden an inuiolable Law that they should not put a murderer to death for killing of any but that they should onely execute and put him to tortur that would defame his neighbour or in any one Worde seeme to touch him in honour and estimation So that those barbarous Nations thought it more execrable to defame a man then to kill and murther him And therefore I say hee that burneth my house beates my person and robbeth me of my goods must needes doe me great dammage but he that taketh vpon him to touch my honour and reputation with infamy I will say hee offendeth mee much and that so greatlie as he may well stand in feare of his life For there is not so little an offence done to a man of stoute courage but hee carrieth it euer after imprinted in his heart till hee haue reuenged the villany done him euen so in Princes Courts there rise more quarrels and debates through euill tongues and dishonest reports then there dooth for any play or shrewde turnes that are done I know not what reason they haue to strike off his hand that first draweth sword and fauoureth and leaueth him vnpunished that draweth bloud with his il tongue O what a happy good turne were it for the Common weale if as they haue in all Townes and well gouerned policies penall lawes prohibiting for to weare or carry weapon they had like lawes also to punnish detractiue and wicked tongues Surely there can not be so great a blotte or vice in a Noble man Knight or Gentleman of honest behauiour and countenance as to bee counted and reputed a tatler of his tongue and therewithall a detractor of others But let not such deceiue themselues thinking that for their countenance or estates sake they bee priuiledged aboue others at their wills and pleasure to enlarge their tongues on whom they list in such maner but that their inferiours farre will as liberally speake of them yea as much to their reproach as they before had done of them repenting as much of their honesty and credite for their calling beeing in equiualent in estate or degree to them as they doe of their dignity and reputation At that time when I was a Courtier and liued in Princes Court there dyed out of the Court a worthy knight who at his noble funerals was commended of vs al to be a good and deuout Christian and chiefly aboue all his noble and heroicall vertues hee was onely lauded and renowmed for that they neuer heard him speake ill of any man So one of the company that was present hearing this great prayse of him tooke vpon him to say this of him If hee neuer spake ill of any then did hee neuer know what pleasur those haue that speake ill of their enemies Which words when we heard though wee passed them ouer with silence yet was there none but was greatly offended at them and good cause why For to say truly the first degree of malignity is for a man to take a felicity in speaking ill of his neighbour King Darius being at dinner one day there were put foorth of the Waighters and Standers by certain Arguments of the Acts and doings of Alexander the Great in which lispute one Mignus a Captaine of the King and greatly in fauour with him was very earnest against Alexander and went too farre in speech of him But Darius perceiuing him thus passioned sayde to him O Mignus holde thy tongue for I doe not bring thee into the warres with mee that thou shouldest infame Alexander and touch his honour with thy tongue but that thou shouldst with thy sword ouercome him By these examples wee may gather how much wee ought to hate detraction and ill speaking since we see that the very enemies themselues cannot abide to heare their enemies euill spoken off in their presence and this is alwayes obserued of the honourable graue and wise men that are of noble mindes For sure each noble heart disdaineth to bee reuenged of his enemy with his tongue for his iniuries done him if hee cannot be reuenged on him with his sword It is fitting for all in generall to be modest and honest in their speech but much more it is due for him that embraceth the fauour and credite of his Prince For it is his profession to doe good to helpe euery man and to speake ill of no man They haue such Centinels of spies vpon them continually which are officers in Court and about the Prince to marke what they speake and do that treading once awry how little soeuer it bee it is straight blowne into the Princes eares and they perhaps accused of that which they neuer thoght delighting and taking great pleasure to tell openly what they heard them say Such therefore as are dayly Courtiers attending vppon the Prince and in fauour with him must if they meane to continue that fauour and credite be gentle and courteous in their Wordes and bountifull to those that stand in need of them Also the esteemed Courtyer must beware hee doe not speake yll of no man but also that he be not too great a talker For commonly these great talkers besides that they are not esteemed bee also