wee thinke wee neuer haue inough wee thinke all to mutch that is spent wee take litle pleasure in any thing wee thinke the world is changed and that it is far worse then it was when wee were younge only bicause our bodies are changed and our vitall heat so vanished away that nothing seemeth pleasaunt vnto vs though it bee the same it was woont to bee so that wee thinke the alteration to bee in the thing when it is in our selfe And then not onely our memory fayleth our wits waxe weake and returne to infancy againe but our bodies also are broken with cares taken with crampes shaken with paulseies tormented with the stone lamed with the goute dried with dropsies our sight waxeth dim our hearing deafe our smelling smal our tasting vntoothsome our feelinge feable yea all our sences are almost without sence yet we are loth to die leaue our worldly mucke the feare of approching death doeth dayly daunt vs and at length his deadly dartes doe vtterly distroy vs And surely the consideration of this our miserable estate doth so resolue mee into sorrow that if your presence did not sprinkle mee with some deawe of delight I should hardly frame my wittes to procure you pleasure by any pleasant history but rather continew a dolorous discourse of our calamity And yet the history I meane to tell shall not bee altogether estraunged from the argument of my former discourse but though it manifest not our manyfolde misery yet shall it at least set foorth the frailty of our felicity The history is this The flowrishynge common wealth of Athens had to their prince one Pandion whose estate bothe fortune beutified with great wealthe and God blessed with goodly children to wit two daughters of excellent beutie the eldest named Progne the youngest Philomela Now fame béeyng a tatlyng Goddesse blazed the brute of Progne abreade into diuers countries vntill at length the rumour of her renoâ—me ronge about the eares of Tereus kynge of Thrace who béeynge a younge lustie gallant made no great account of the commendations whiche were giuen her knowyng if hée were disposed to marrie hée might make his choyce amongst a great number as good as shée was and more nere neighbours vnto him then Athens was But destinies so draue that shortly after this on a night in his sleape hée séemed to sée her stand apparently before him only a stronge imagination assurynge him that it was shee which sight sunke so deeply into his heart and brought him sutch excessiue delight that hee presently awaked and missyng the partie that procured him such pleasure his ioy was tournd to anoy neither coulde hee euer after that finde any contentation in any thought or deed but only in this determination to goe haue a true sight of her whose seemyng shadow had so dazeled his eyes and with all speed repayred his shippes and prepared al thyngs necessary for sutch a voyage and by the help of good wynde and will shortly arriued there where his hart had already cast anker and sent ambassadours to the kyng to certifie him of his commynge who receyued him with royaltie fit for his regall estate And at the first incountry of the two princes Tereus sayde My commyng vnto you O noble prynce is not as an open enemie to inuade you for you see I am vnarmed neither as a secret traytour to intrap you for you know I am your freend but that you may not meruayle at my sodayne cummyng you shall vnderstand it is to sée your daughter the Lady Progne for you shall soone perceyue I pretende well vnto her Pandian answered As most worthy prince the cause of your comming is friendly so can I not but friendly accept it and how much I thinke my selfe honoured therby so mutch I count my selfe bound vnto you And after a litle parlee passed betweene them of the estates of their realmes and manners of their countreies Pandion preferred him to the sight of his daughter whom after Tereus had saluted with a curteous conge hee entred into discoursing with in this sort If faire Lady I should tell the truth of my comming into this country I thinke you would take it but for a trifling toy yea if I should in woords plainly set downe y cause of this my interprised iourney and the case which through your meanes I remaine in I doubt you would neither beleeue the cause neither reléeue my case for y the straungnesse of the one would bréed great incredulity for the other the small acquaintance I haue with you lesse deserts towards you can craue smal curtesy yet if it please you to know neither the desire to see this country neither the renoume of your vertue beauty brought me hither for though the report therof be great yet now I se I must néedes say y fame hath rather framed your praise maliciously then reported it truly for one good part reported to bée in you I perceiue by your countenance such confluence of good conditions that I can not but counte the rumor which run of you rather sparing speeche then right reporte But the cause of my hasty comminge and heauy case is this it pleased the goddes to presente your seemely selfe to my presence in the same louely likenesse wherin you are at this present what time I tooke sutch veiwe of your sweete face that approchinge this daye to your fathers palaice béefore I knew who you were what you were or where you were as you looked if you remeÌ„ber it out at your chamber window I said to my seruaÌ„ts loe yonder standes the péereles peragon princely Progne and since y sight in my sléepe I take the heauens to witnesse I neuer inioyed one quiet sleepe but continued in coÌ„templation how I might be placed in possession of that personage which draue me into sutch admiration Now seinge it pleased the gods thus miraculously to moue mée to traueile to see you and seeing the sight of your sweete face hath fast fettred my fancy in links of loue these may bee humbly to desire you neither to resist the motion of the goddes neither to reiecte the deuotion of my good wil. And if I haue preferred your loue before all the Ladies of my owne land if I make you that profer which many princes haue pressed for if neither wearines of way neither perils of sea could prohibite mee from pursuing your good will if I bee content to resigne my kingdome liberty and all that I haue into your handes I shall desire you not to coÌ„temne my curtesy but to counteruaile my paine and to returne my goodwill with like loue and affection This request also resteth to make vnto you that you driue mee not of with trifeling delayes for neither will the extremity of my perplexity permit longe delay neyther will the estate my kingdome standeth in suffer mee longe to bee away Progne hearing the ernest sute of this prince and seeinge nothing in him to be misliked considering also what
haste his request required stood not vpon the nice termes of her virginity but with a reuerence of maiesty made him this answere Most worthy prince whatsoeuer were the cause of your comming into this countrey the kinge my father hath to holde himselfe mutch beeholding to your maiestie that it would please you too do him the honour to visite him but touching the cause you pretend I doubt not but your wisdome knoweth that dreames are doubtfull and visions are altogether vaine and therfore I must craue pardon if I hardly beleeue y vpon so light a cause you would vndertake sutch heauy trauayle and I mutch muse that in your sleepe the goddes had no seemelier sight then my selfe to present vnto you but whether beefore you came hether the goddes moued your minde or whether beeing here your owne fancy forced your affection towards mee assure your selfe this if your loue bee as loyall as your wordes seeme wonderfull in shewing the originall therof you shal not finde mee either so discourteous as to contemne your goodwill either so vngratefull as not to requite it mary as I may which is for your harty goodwil to giue you my hart for any benefit of my body it is not in mee to bestow on you for if you do mee that iniury to exacte any thing at my handes lasciuiously honesty will not allow it whose boundes I meane not to transgresse and if you doe mee that honour to pursue my good will in the way of mariage perchance my parents will not permit it who onely haue power to place mee at their pleasuer So that as the one halfe and moytie of mee is not mine so the other part if your goodwill bee as greate as you pretend shal bee yours Presently vpon this he preferred his sute to her parentes who were no lesse glad of sutch a sonne in law then hee of sutch a wife And so out of hand y mariage with great solemnity was celebrated Which done hee ioyfully departed from his sorowfull father in law and in short time safely lande with his wife in his owne land where they liued together the space of fiue â–ª yéeres in sutch ioy as they commonly inioy who cary fortune as it were vpon their shoulders and abound in al thinges which they can wish or desire But see the frailty of our felicity marke the misery which mortall men are subiect to A man would haue thought this maried couple in loue so loyall in estate so high in all thinges so happy had bene placed in perpetuity of prosperity But alas what estate hath fortune euer made so inuencible which vice can not vanquish Who hath euer bene established in sutch felicity but that wickednesse can woorke his ouerthrow What loue hath euer beene so fast bound but by lust hath been loâ—sed Yea the most faithfull bond of frendship betwéene Tytus and Gysippus thorow luste was violated the most natural league of loue betweene Antiochus and his owne sonne through lust was broken and this moste loyall loue betweene Tereus and Progne through lust was turnd to lothsome hate For it fortuned that Progne after they had bene maried together a whyle entred into greate desire to see her sister Philomelia and lay very importunately vpon her husband to go to Athens and request her father Pandion to let her come vnto her Tereus loued his wife so intirely that hee would deny her nothinge but presently imbarkte him selfe and went to fetch Philomela vnto her And beeing arriued at Athens hée made Pandion priuy to y cause of his comming The olde man was assailed with great sorrowe to thinke hee must parte from his faire Philomela the only stay and comfort of his olde yeeres but Tereus intreated so ernestly that hee could not denie him easely and Philomela was so desirous to see her sister that had so louingely sent for her that shee hung about her fathers necke kist him and vsed al the flatteries shee could to force him to yeelde his consent to her departure wherwith hee béeinge vanquished with weeping eyes in great griefe and dolour delyuered his daughter to Tereus saying It is not my daughter onely I deliuer you but mine owne life for assure your selfe my life can not last one minute longer then I shall heare shee doth well and if her returne beâ— not with speede you shall heare of my speedy returne to the earth from whence I came Tereus desired him to bee of good chere promisinge to be as carefull of her well dooing as if shee were his owne sister or childe Where vpon the olde man blessinge his daughter gaue her vnto him But like a simple man hee committed the seely sheepe to the rauening Woulfe Nay there was neuer blouddy tiger that did so terribly teare the litle Lambe as this tiraunt did furiously fare with faire Philomela For beeing in ship together hee began filthily to fixe his fancy vpon her and castinge the feare of god front before his eies rootinge the loue of his wife out of his heart contemninge the holy rites of matrimony and the sacred state of virginity hée fell to fleshly daliance with her and attempted to win that point of her which shée held more dere and precious then her life and which ought to bée of curious regard to al women of honest behauiour But hauing no other weapon but wéepyng to defende her selfe by pitiful exclemations and cries shée kept him from satisfiyng his insaciable desire But as the rauenyng Woulfe hauing seazed in his tearyng clawes some seely Lambe séekes some den to hide him in that nothyng hinder him from quietly inioyinge his pray so hée was no sooner arriued on the coastes of his owne countrey but that hée secretly conuayed her to a graunge of his owne far from any towne or citie there by force filthily deâ—lowred her The poore mayde thus piteously spoyled so soone as her greif would giue her leaue to speake spit foorth her venome agaynst his villanie in this sort Ah most tirrannous Traytor hast thou thus betrayed my father and sister haddest thou no other to worke thy wickednesse on but mée who was the iewell of my father and the ioy of my sister and now by thy meanes shal be the distruction of the one and the desolation of the other O that my handes had strength to teare these starynge eyes out of thy hatefull head or that my mouth were able to sounde the trumpet of this thy trumpery either to the court of my sister or country of my father that thei might take reuenge on thy villanie O cursed bée the wombe from whence thou camst and the paps whiche gaue thee sucke O cursed bée the cause of thy conception and the Father that begat thée who if hée neuer otherwise in his life offended yet doth hée deserue to bée plonged in the most paynfull pit of Hell only for begetting so wicked a sunne Tereus not able to indure this talke and fearyng least her words might bewray his wickednesse made no
resteth for mee onely to beewayle my euill hap to lament my luckelesse loue and neuer to attempt that I am like neuer to attaine vnto By this time the earth was couered with a darke mantell and by reason that the Sun was departed out of our Horizon the light of the starres which the Sun lendeth them béegan to appeare in the firmamente where vpon this poore passionate louer weried with woe disposed him selfe to rest but hee whose bane loue hath brued neither by night nor by day neither in company nor solitary neither sléeping nor waking can take any rest or quiet For hee was no sooner in a slumber but the goddesse of his deuotions presently presented her selfe béefore him sayinge Myne owne why doest thou thus torment thy selfe for my sake who suffer no litle greife to see thy great sorrow wherfore be bolde to aske any thing at my hands honestly and bee sure I will graunt it willingly for I perswade my selfe the heauens haue reserued mee for thée Icilius hearinge as hée hoped this heauenly voice and séeing as hée thought that saint by his bed side with open armes reached to imbrace her but béeinge awaked with open eyes hée saw hee was deceiued which sodaine fall from heauen to hell tooke away his breath from him for a while but béeing come to him selfe hée began to cry out in this carefull manner O God is it not sufficient to vexe mée with vanities in the day time vnlesse thou torment mée with visions also in the night haue I not woe inough awake but that béesides I must haue sorrow in sleepe What gréeuous offence haue I committed that deserueth sutch gréeuous punishment if this bée the rewarde of them that loue woe woe bée to them that hate thou hast commaunded vs all to loue one another and if thou thus punishe the fulfillers of thy law what shall béecome of the transgressors therof but if thou bee disposed to punish mée and displeased with my deedes neuer suffer mée hereafter to do any thynge but cast mée into sutch a sleepe wherin I was erwhile and therein let mée continue continually O happy was Endymion who longe time inioyed the like sleepe O ten times happie are the dead if death bée any thynge like this sleepe But O hundred times vnhappie am I to whom wakyng is waylefull wheras to all thynges els it is ioyfull But was this but a vision which deluded mee was it but a dreame whiche I doated on And if it were but a dreame doth it portend nothyng and may there be effect in dreames Yea god wot commonly the contrary or as Cato saith wée sée sleeping that which wée wish for wakyng So that neither in dreaming nor doing neither in sleepyng nor séeyng neither in thinkyng nor sayinge finde I any cause of comfort or see any signe of solace This youthe passed his time so longe in these and sutch like passions that the carefull cariage of his eyes bewrayed his carefull minde and his pale countenance his painfull case Which a special fréend of his perceiuyng tooke sutch compassion and pitie on his painfull state that hée sought all meanes possible to sift out the cause of his sorrow to the intent to séeke some medicine for his maladie And hauyng oportunitie of time and place hée brake with him in this sorte Good freende if I should shew you what great sorrow I sustayne by your heauinesse you would perchaunce iudge my words to proceede rather of flattery and trifling then of truth but no more but trie how willyng I wil be to ease your payne and by that iudge how greatly it gréeueth mee But how great so euer my gréeif bee my wonder is more then great to sée you transfourmed from the estate of a pleasant Gentleman into sutch solitarie regardes that you séeme rather a Tymon of Athens then a courtier of Italy and so mutche the more cause I haue of meruayle by how mutch lesse I sée any apparent cause which should worke any sutch alteration in you For if want of worldly wealth coulde worke your woe why you want nothyng if you would eate golde as they say you might haue it If losse of freendes molest you why you haue an infinite number whiche loue you intirely If you bee disposed to trauayle to see straunge countries your parents wil bee well pleased with your departure If you bee wearie of your single life your freendes will foorthwith prouide for your Marriage If any repulse receyued of any dayntie dame doo daunt you why the Goddes them selues haue suffred the like as Daphne a seely damsel refused the God Phoebus Syrinx a simple mayde reiected the God Pan with infinite other If you haue fixed your fancie in place you thinke impossible to possesse why you haue reason to rule your affection you haue wit to compasse your desire you haue fréends to further it you want nothynge to finish it With this his colour beegan to chaunge and hee fetcht a deepe sighe or two whereby his freend perceiued hee had touched the cause of his calamitie and sore of his sorrow praying him very ernestly to vnfolde the secrets of his thoughtes vnto him sayinge two wittes are better then one and that which you blinded perchaunce by loue can not see I stirred vp by desire to doo you good may perceiue And for secrecy in your affaires assure your selfe that neuer Pithias to his Damon Pylades to his Orestes nor Gysâ—ppus to his Titus was more true then I will bee to you And though your learninge and wit to knowe what is best for your owne behalfe bee far better then mine yet the simplenesse of my wit shal bee supplied with the sincerenesse of my will which shal be alwayes so ready prest to pleasure you that if my seruice may satisfie you you shall commaund mee if my company may content you I will neuer be out of your sight if I may any way stand you in any steede account mee your owne only Icilius hearing this friendly discourse could not but say in his heart O friend vnfained O loue most loyall O curtesy incomparable and imbracinge fast his freend in his armes sayd if al the miseries in the world did muster in multitudes about mee yet this thing only is of force to fence mee from their furies to thinke I inioy so firme a friend as your selfe are and if I may liue but to requite some part of your good wil it is the second felicity I loke for in this life But touching the cause of my perplexity I must craue pardon if I make courtsy to disclose it for that many euils cary this nature rather to bee concealed with griefe then reuealed in hope of releife And as a greene wound by taking the aire spredeth farther abroad and is the hardlier healed so I thinke my tormente and greife beeinge once discouered would not bee so easely cured If sayth his frend the originall of your euil proceede of loue as in my fancy it doth then vndoubtedly the
cast out of her minde the liking shée had conceiued of him and therfore humbly craued pardon if sayth shee it bée an offence to loue him honestly which deserueth it worthily But her father in a fury flunge from her sayinge shée should neuer inioy him with ioye and that shee should neuer finde any more fatherly furtherance at his handes then the greatest enemy hee had The younge princesse perceiuinge her fathers goodwill thus alienated from her reposed her onely comforte and confidence in Admetus hoping that hée would stande her in stéede of both a freind phere and father And with as conuenient spéede as shee could wrought a letter to him to this ende If most péerelesse prince necessity or loue had law I might bée thought perchaunce to transgresse the law and limyttes of modesty in first giuinge the onset where as I ought not easely to haue yelded béeing assaulted But séeinge necessity and lacke of oportunity by reason of the rigour of the warres perchaunce causeth you to conceale that which you would discouer and vehemente loue and feruent desire forceth mée to discouer that which I should conceale I thinke it lesse offence by this meanes to supplye your wante and satisfie mine owne desire then by standing vpon the nice termes of my maidens estate to suffer both of vs to pine away in paine for lacke of béeing priuy to eche others minde and purpose Therfore you shall vnderstand the cause of my writing is this What time your good hap I hope was to bee at my fathers court I did perceiue if desire to haue it so did not deceiue mée that your affection was great towardes mee and that you seemed not a litle to bee pinched with my payne to ease you of which greife I thought it my duty to certify you that the certaine hope which I therby conceiued of your loue and good will did presently restoare mée to perfect health and further to let you vnderstand that the only cause of my sicknesse was the first sight which I had of you and the dispaire that I should neuer bee so fortunate as to obtaine you Now as the same hand which did hurt mee did helpe mee so if I haue any way wounded you I shal bee ready to make you what playster it please you to heale your hurt And iudginge the sincerity of your minde by the cléerenesse of mine owne conscience I commit my selfe wholy into your handes presuminge thus far of your perfect loue towardes mee that you will not any way seeke the disperagement of mine honour which I hold far more deere then loue or life but accept mee for your lawfull and louing spouse And that way you only and at any time shall dispose of mee at your pleasure My father by ill fortune hath found out our loue and stormeth greatly therat so that I thinke his haggard hart is by no meanes to bee reclaimed But I thinke indirect dealinge by the daughter may bee vsed when the father by rage rather then reason is ruled Therfore if you thinke so good I will secretly conueigh my selfe to what place you will haue mee but I commit this matter to your wisdome and my selfe to you remayninge yours onely and euer ALCEST Now Admetus euer after his returne from the court of Lycabas was driuen into sutch dolefull dumpes and gouerned his charge of men with sutch heauy cheere that his father examining him very stractly of the cause therof inforced him to confesse his carefull case Which hee no sooner heard but hee forthwith discharged him of his charge saying hee was fitter to bee one of Cupids carpet captaines then to march vnder the mainly ensigne of Mars and that he would haue no sutch lasciuious knights is his army For sayth hee if any part of the body be putrified it must bee cut of for feare of infectinge the whole body And tolde him plainly if hée went forward with his folly hée woulde neuer take him for his sonne neither should hee euer succéed in the kingdome by this consent The younge prince withdrew himselfe out of his fathers presence and got him to his pauilion or tente where hée was no sooner sadly set downe but hée was presented by a trusty messenger with the letter of Alcest which so soone as hee had red hee séemed to bee rapt into the thirde heauen but considering on the other side the difficulty of reapinge the fruites of his loue and wayinge the perill of his fathers displeasure hée was throwen into the déepest dungeon of hell And as a boate borne by the tide against the winde féeleth double force and is compeld to yéelde both to winde and waue so this young prince béeinge driuen by the force of loue againste the minde and pleasure of his father felte double dolour and was tormented with both But at length loue gat the victory and all other doubtes cast aside hee returned his Misteris this answere Who was euer exalted to the highest degrée of happinesse and driuen to the deepest extremitie of euill at once but I who euer flowrished in felicitie and faded in miserie together but I who was euer placed in paradise and plunged in perplexitie ioyntly but I for heauen it selfe cannot yeelde mée better blisse then the consent of your goodwill and loue most peerlesse prince princely péece and hell it selfe cannot yéelde mee more bitter bale then to bée destitute of meanes to inioy the fruites of your fauour and benefite of your beutie If Craesus came and offered mee all his wealth if Alexander yeelded mée his empire if Iuno came from heauen with her kingdomes Pallas with her wisdome or Venus with her Helen assure thy selfe sweet Mistris that neither any one of them neither all of them together should bee so gratefully or gladly receiued of mee as the profer which your letters haue made mee And canst thou deare wenche prefer my loue before thine owne life my plesure before thy fathers displeasure my contentment before thine owne commoditie and shall any doubt of daunger driue mee from the dutie whiche I ought to doe vnto thee No let father fret let freindes frowne let lyuing bee lost let kingdome bee made from mee let hap what hap wil thou hast promised to bee mine and I protest by the heauens to bee thine What though the kinge your father bee greatly incensed agaynst mee what care I for any mans freindship if I haue your fauour What though the way vnto you bee longe and daungerous What passe I to passe a thousande perils to pleasure you what though mine enemies lie in wayte for mee What way I to be hewen in an hundred peeces in your presence Yea if I had a thousand liues I thinke the loosinge of them all litle inough to requite the greate goodwill and curtesie you haue shewed mee But meethinkes I heare you say the spendyng or losse of my life is the greatest losse and euill that possibly can happen vnto you and therefore I must take heede how I hazarde it
way of marriage do but so mutch as touche one of these tender péeces they crie phy away away but let one that is married or one that meaneth not marriage dally with them why they are as lose of their lippes and as frée of their flesh as may bee For let a man béehaue himselfe towardes them accordyng to the common course of curtesie hée shall obtayne any thyng of them for they know hée is soone lost if hée bée not soone loued but let one direct his doynges by the lyne of loue and bée drawne into great depth of affection towardes them why they will raygne like princes ouer him yea they will make him glad of one glaunce of goodwill giuen by the eye for they know a litle thyng pleaseth a foole and they thinke him to fast hampred in folly to giue them the slip on the sodayne And bicause they count the number of suters a great testimony to their bentie proufe of theyr perfection they vse twentie shiftes to haue if it bée possible twentie suters some they féede with lookes some with loue some with promises some with practises some with vowes some with vewes some with triflinge some with truth some with woordes some with workes some with kisses some with curtesy some with witte some with wyles some with fayth some with fraude some one way some another so that by their willes they will haue as many suters as themselues haue sleightes to entertaine them And yet these girles on Gods name are to younge to haue a husband they are loth to leaue suckinge their dame But ah blasphemous beast that I am to cast sutch diuelish doubtes of her honesty whose very countenance containeth continency in it whose visage seemes to bee without vice and lookes without lust Is it likely shée will yéeld her body to bée abused by any who wil not suffer her selfe to bée vsed by any And she y will not enter into modest matrimony is it likely shee will fall into filthy fornication No I thinke her to bée as frée from folly as I thinke my selfe far from wisdome who seeme to doubt of her honest dealing bicause shée wil not yéelde consent to my hastie meaning What know I whether shee be consecrated alreadie to some other saint which if it bée so with what reason can I looke to reape any thynge at her handes but a repulse For as gorged Hauks will stoupe to no lure so a woman vowed already to another man the sickenesse of other suters will not cure or it may bée thus that as the Fauconer when hee first draweth his Hauke out of the mew giueth her washt and vnpleasant meates to make her after like better of better meates so perchaunce her pollicie bée first to féede mée with bitter brothes that hereafter dayntie fare may more delight mée and now to tosse and torment me with the rigorous stormes of repulse that hereafter the caulme of her consent may the better content mee For springe time would neuer seeme so pleasaunt vnto vs but by reason of the sharpe winter which went before peace would not so mutch please vs but by reason that warre beefore spoyled and wasted our country So that if shée bée coy of consent to make mée inioy the greater ioy may I thynke my selfe misused Againe would I haue her so light of loue to yéelde to the firste onset No shée deserueth to bee pursued with endlesse paine yea and I will trauayle in continuall toyle but her good will I will attaine Now as the good Spaniell hauing sprung the partridge ceaseth not to raunge the fieldes and beate the bushes vntill hee haue retriued it againe to serue the Hauk which flew at it so hee hauing once séene this saint sought all occasions to come to the sight of her againe and if it were possible surely to seaze vpon her Now it pleased fortune to bee thus frindly to further his purpose with this oportunitie Ther was in the cittie a very solemne wedding sumptuously celebrated where hée by inquiry learned that his Misteris was wherevpon hée assembled his companyons together and prepared themselues the same night to goe thither in a maske and béeing come to the house after they had marched vp and downe the great chamber y first masker hauing taken the bride hée being the second addressed him selfe to his Misteris with great deuotion and when the sownd of the instrumentes ceased hee entred into reasoning with her in this sorte Good Misteris you haue allowed to your lot in stéed of a masker a mourner and for one to delight you with plesaunt discourse you shall haue one to weary you with ruâ—ull requestes for you shall vnderstande I am your careful Curiatius whom nothing but the consent of your good will can cure and hauing no other way to aspire to your spéeche I thought beste vnder this disguised sorte to discipher plainly vnto you the constancy of my good will towardes you And if I could in woordes set forth but halfe the heauinesse which since the first sight of you hath sunke into my breast I hope your hart would not bée so hard frozen but that the shininge sun of pity would thaw it againe For if plaintes may proue my paine I haue still continued in carefull cries if sighes may shewe my sorrow the smoake of them hath reached to the skies if teares may trie my truth the water hath flowen as a sloud from my eyes And as these thinges haue passed heretofore to my paine so if hereafter the sheddinge of my bloud may shew my constancy or woorke your contentation any way assure your selfe I will bee so prodigall therof that your selfe shall haue iust cause to say I liued only to serue you and died to doe you good By this time the instrumentes sowned another measure at the ende wherof shee began to reply in this sorte Sir I am sory you haue taken so great paine for so litle thanke for if the end of your maske bee to make mée marche vnder Venus banner yea or Iunoes either your successe wil be sutch that you shall haue cause to count this your labour lost and that you haue cast away so mutch cost And for my part I promise you I had rather haue bene matcht with a mery masker then a leude louer for the one might delight mee whereas the other doth ut spight mee And if as you say you maske without mirth so assure your selfe on the other side I daunce without delight neither can it but greatly greiue mee to bee troubled with so vnreasonable a sutor whom no reasonable answere will satisfie This rigorous replie of his Misteris conuerted him from a masker to a Mummer for hee was strooke so dead herewith that the vse of his tounge vtterly fayled him But at length béeing come to himself againe hee entred into this vehemency with her O Gentlewoman suffer not the bright sunne of your beauty to bee eclipsed with cruelty contaminate not your cumlinesse with coynesse remember
the report of the porte and house which I mayntaine be not greate yet it is sutch that it sendeth me many guestes in the yéere it pleased this Cephalus to soiourne the space of thrée or foure dayes with mee and in way of talke to pas away the time hée made relation at large vnto mee of his country of his condition and state of his speciall place of abode and dwelling of his landes and liuing and sutch like I demaunded of him whether hee were married saying all those thinges béefore rehearsed were not sufficient to the attaininge of a happy life without a beutiful saire and louing wife With that hée fetcht a deepe sigh sayinge I haue Sir I would you knew a wife whose beuty resēbleth y brightnesse of the sunne whose face doth disgrace all the ladies of Venice yea Venus herselfe whose loue was so excéedinge great towardes mee that béefore I was married vnto her hauinge occasion to goe in Ambassage to the Turke shee almost died at my departure and neuer was rightly reuiued till my returne Good God sayd I how canne you bée so longe absent from so louinge a wife How can any meate doe you good which shee giueth you not How can you sleepe out of her armes It is not lawfull sayth hee for euery man to doe as hee would I must doe as my businesse bindeth mée to doe Besides that euery man is not of like minde in like matters Lastly it is one thing to haue bene happy it is another thing to bée happy For your businesse sayd I it séemeth not to bée great by the good company whiche I thanke you you haue kept mée this foure daies For your minde I know no man that would willingly bée out of the company of sutch a wife For your present happinesse in déed it may bee your wife is dead or that her loue is translated from you to some other No sayth hée shée liueth and I thinke loueth mee but what good doth golde to him that careth not for it And can you sayd I not care for sutch a golden girle Then may I say you haue a wife more faire then fortunate and shée a husbande more fortunate then faythfull Alas sayth hee with teares in his eyes it is my great care that I doe so litle care but no more hereof I beseech you But my bloud beeing inflamed with the commendation which hée gaue to your beuty and pityinge your case to haue so careles a husbande ouer you I lay very importunately vpon him to impart the whole matter vnto mee with mutch adoe I wrung these wordes from him Sir sayth hee I shall desire you to impute my doings not to my fault but to the fates and to thinke that whatsoeuer is done ill it is done against my wil. It is so that I remained married with my wife the terme of two whole yeeres what time I did not only make of her but I made a goddesse of her and rather doltishly doated on her then duely loued her now whether it were the punishment of the gods for my fonde Idolatry committed vnto her or wehther they thought her to good for mée or whether the destinies had otherwise decréed it or whether loue be lost when fancy is once fully fed or whether my nature bée to like nothing long I know not but at the two yeeres ende I beegan sodainly in my harte to hate her as deadly as beefore I loued her déepely yea her very sight was so lothsome vnto mée that I could not by any meanes indure it And bicause her freindes are of great countenance and I had no crime to charge her withal I durst not séeke diuorcement but priuily parted from her pretendinge vrgent affaires which constrained mée therto Hereafter I meane to béestow my self in the warres vnder the Emperour not minding to returne while shée liueth And for my maintenance there I haue taken order secretly with my freinds to conueigh vnto mee yeerely the reuenewes of my lande Thus crauing your secrecy herein I haue reuealed vnto you my carefull case The straungnesse of this tale made mee stand a while in a maze at length I greatly began to blame his disloyalty to conceiue without cause so great disliking where there was so great cause of good likinge But Gentlewoman to confesse the truth vnto you my loue by this time was so great towardes you that I neuer perswaded him to returne vnto you meaning my selfe to take that paine and knowinge him better lost then found being no better vnto you Shortly after this hee departed from mee towarde the Emperours courte and I tooke my iourney hither as you sée And this is the tale I had to tell you Procris hauinge heard this forged tale with diuers alterations and sundry imaginations with her selfe sometime fearing it was true for that hee rightly hyt diuers pointes which had passed betweene her husband and her sometime thinkinge it false for that shee had firme confidence in her husbandes fayth and loyalty towardes her assoone castinge one likelyhoode one way assoone another another way at length fully resoluing with her self that his wordes were vtterly vntrue shee replied vnto them in this sorte Good God I see there is no wool so course but it will take some colour no matter so vnlykely which with wordes may not be made probable nor nothinge so false which dissembling men will not fayne and forge Shall it sinke into my head that Cephalus will forsake mée who did forsake all my freindes to take him Is it likely hee will leaue country kinsfolke freindes landes liuinge and which is most of all a most louinge wife no cause constrayning him therto But what vse I reasons to refell y which one without eyes may sée is but some coyned deuise to cosen mee No sir knight you must vse some other practise to effect your purpose this is to broad to bée beleeued this colour is so course that euery man may sée it and it is so blacke that it will take no other colour to cloud it the thread of your hay is so big that the Connies see it before they come at it your hooke is so longe that the bayt can not hide it and your deuise is to far fetcht to bring your purpose neere to an ende Gentlewoman sayth Cephalus I see it is some mens fortune not be beléeued when they speake truly and others to bee well thought of when they deale falsely which you haue verified in your husbande and mee who doubte of my wordes which are true and not of his deedes which are false And this I thought at the first which made mee doubte to discloase this matter vnto you for I knowe it commonly to bee so that trauaylors wordes are not much trusted neither great matters soone beleeued But when the time of your husbandes returne is expired and hee not come then will you say that Sir Sulahpec for so turning his name hee termed him selfe tolde you true For my part not withstanding the
are thought to be no sinne So sinne doth soyle the Soule it â—eth in Thus haue I sent you in that booke some fruites of my former folly and in this letter the profession of my present fayth desiring you to vse the one to your honest pleasure and to follow the other to your godly profite I meane â–ª god willing the next spring to goe on pilgrimage with Alexius and if you were so deuoutly disposed I should thinke my selfe most happy to haue sutch a companyon FroÌ„ my lodging in Houlburn this 12. of Iuly Tuus semper aut suus nunquà m Omnia in mundo immunda G. P. The Printer to all Readers of this Booke HAuing sumtime in my custodie this Booke in written hande which by meanes of a special freind of mine was coÌ„mitted vnto mee I was by him eft soones ernestly sollicited to publish the same in printe Who beeing sutch an one whose request I would not willinglie denie I fell to perusâ—nge the woorke and perceyued at the first by the Auctours letter that hee was not wylling to haue it common as thinkinge certaine poynts in it to bee to wanton to bee wrought by that wit which by this woorke appeareth to bee in hym which as I coniecture mooued him to write to his freinde to keepe it priuate to his owne vse as may appeare by his freindes Epistle and his Letter goyng beefore Neuerthelesse to accomplish the desire of the one and not to incurre the displeasure of the other as also to pleasure you the freindly Readers hereof I haue put the same in printe vsing my discretion in omitting sutch matter as in the Aucthours iudgement might seeme offenciue and yet I trust not leauing imperfection in the discourse wherof if I haue not gelded to mutch I thinke I haue deserued the lesse blame And consideryng that in matters of pleasure the Prynter may sooner offende in printyng to mutch then in publishyng to litle I haue applyed my selfe to the contrary hopynge that how mutch the lesse I haue printed reseruynge the discourse perfect so mutch the lesse I shal be blamed for the deede As for the Gentleman that wrote this woorke and his freinde that procured it to bee published as they are vnknowen to mee both so had I conference with neither wherby the lesse I could vse their aduice in abridging any thinge which may bee some cause of the disgracinge of that which doubtlesse the Auctour had penned with great excellency and eloquence If herein as I feare I haue offended I am willing beeynge aduertysed therof to bee refourmed crauinge pardon of him especyally and of all other freindly Readers for the ouersightes whatsoeuer herein committed for whose pleasure and profite I haue left vndoone and doone what soeuer I haue doone in this behalfe I haue also of my selfe added an argument to euery history that the effect of the discourse may bee the more easily caryed away Fare yee hartely well ¶ Sinorix and Camma SINORIX cheif gouernour of Sienna in Italy glauncynge his eyes vpon the glitteryng bewtie of Camma wife to Sinnatus a Gentilman of the same citie falleth into extreame loue with her and assaieth sundry waies to win her goodwill But perceiulnge his practices to take no wished effect and supposinge the husbandes life to hinder his loue causeth him to bee murthered by a russian Camma to the intent she might bee reuenged vpon the cheife conspiratour in grauntinge him marriage dispatcheth her selfe in drinkinge to him and him in pledging her in a draught of poyson which she had prepared for that purpose AS amongest all the bondes of beneuolence and good wil there is none more honorable auncient or honest then Mariage so in my fansie there is none that doth more firmely fasten and inseparably vnite vs together then the same estate doth or wherein the fruites of true freendship do more plenteously appeare In the Father is a certayne seuere loue and carefull good will towardes the childe the childe beareth a fearefull affection and awfull obedience towards the Father the Master hath an imperious regarde of the seruant the seruant a seruile care of the master The frendship amongest men is grounded vppon no law and dissolued vpon euery light occasion the good will of kinsfolke is commonly colde as mutch of custome as of deuotion but in this stately state of Matrimonie there is nothing fearefull nothing fayned all things are done faithfully without doubting truely without doublyng willingly without constraint ioyfully without complaint yea there is sutch a generall consent and mutuall agréement between the man and wife that they both wish and will couet and craue one thing And as a sience grafted in a strange stalke their natures being vnited by grothe they béecome one and together beare one fruite so the loue of the wife planted in the breast of her husband their harts by continuance of loue become one one sence and one soule serueth them both And as the sience seuered from the stocke withereth away if it bée not grafted in some other so a louing wife seperated froÌ„ the societie of her husband withereth away in woe and leadeth a life no lesse pleasant then death as the sequele of this history shall shew wherin you shall sée a meruaylous Mirrour of blessed Matrimony and a terrible tipe of beastly tyrannie In the Citie Sienna was a married couple the husbande named Sinnatus the wife called Camma who as they were by estate worshipfull by vertue honorable and by goodnesse gracious so were they in ritches fortunate in children fruitfull in friends flowrishinge and in loue so loyall eche to other that they long time led a louinge and quiet life together but either fortune enuying their prosperity or the diuell displeased with their vertuous life or God disposed to try their truth and make them patterns to their posterity conuerted this hapy life to heauy estate and raysed vp one Synorix to raze and beat down the firme foundacion of their faithfull buildinge and bydinge together For this Sinorix glauncing his gazing eyes on the blazinge beuty of Camma receiued so déep an impression of her perfection in his hart that immediatly he fixed his fancie vpon her comely corps And beinge the chiefe ruler of the citie hee perswaded him self that there was none in the city so stout but would stoup to his lure nor none so faire but would faine imploy them selues to pleasure him but on the other side the renowmed vertue of Camma came to his minde which perswaded an impossibility to his purpose and floting thus betwéene hope and dispaire he entred into these termes O miserable wretch that I am to whom shall I addresse my complaintes is it the heauenly powers and goddes of loue that haue depriued mee of my sences and shewed their deuine working in mée or is it the hellish Hags and spirites of spight that haue bereeued mée of reason executed their cruelty on mée is it loue that leadeth me to this lust or is it hate that haleth
effect and séeyng the cause of this chaunce was good I doubt not but the effect wil folow accordyngly and if any euill do insue therof I trust it will light on my head through whose negligence it happened Agrip. answered As I know not the cause so I feare not the effect greatly and in deed as you say hethervnto you haue had the worst of it for that thereby you haue been put to double paynes If that bée all saith hée rather then it shalbée sayd any euill to haue insued of this chaunce I will perswade my selfe that euery payne whiche you shall put mee to shal be double delight and treble pleasure vnto mee You must vse sayth shee then great eloquence to your selfe to perswade you to sutch an impossibility Oh if it please you sayth hee there is an oratour which of late hath taken vp his dwelling within mee who hath eloquence to perswade mee to a far greater matter then this If sayth shee hee perswade you to thinges no more behouseful for your selfe then this if you follow my counsayle you shall not giue him house roome long Madame sayth hee it is an assured signe of a free and freendly minde to giue good counsayle but it is harde for one in bondage and out of his owne possession to followe it For what knoweth your honour whether hée haue already taken intire possession of the house wherin hée is which if it bee so what wit is able to deuise a writ to remoue him from thence If sir sayth shée hée entred by order of law and payd you truely for it it is reason hée inioy it marie your folly was greate to retaine sutch a tenant but if hée intruded himselfe by force you may lawfully extrude him by strength In déede sayth hée hée entred vi et armis forcibly but after vpon certaine parlance passed betwéene vs I was content hée should remaine in peacible possession marie hee hath payd mee nothinge yet but hee promiseth so frankely that if the perfourmance follow a house with beames of beaten golde and pillers of precious stones will not counteruaile the price of it yea if I were placed in quiet possession therof I would thinke my self ritcher I wil not say then the Emperour but which is most then god him selfe who possesseth heauen and earth and as the hope of obtayning the effecte of that promise heaueth mee vp to heauen so the doubt to bee deceiued therof driueth mee downe to hell And what ioyly fellow sayth shee is this that promiseth so frankely will hée not promise golden hils and perfourme durty dales Would to god sayth hee your semely selfe were so well acquainted with him as I am then would I make you iudge of the worthynesse of the thinge hee hath promised for that you know the goodnes thereof none better The lady smellinge the drift of his deuises and seeinge the ende of his talke seemed to tend to loue and that touching her owne selfe thought not good to draw on their discourse any longer but concluded with this answere As I am altogether ignorant what your obscure talke meaneth so care I not to bee acquainted with any sutch companion as your Landlord is for so methinkes by you I may more fitly call him then terme him your tenaunt and so departed away into her lodginge Germanicus likewise his Misteris beeing gone gat him to his chamber to entertaine his amarous conceites and béeing alone brake forth into these wordes O friendly fortune if continually hereafter thou furiously frowne vpon mée yet shall I all the dayes of my life count my selfe bound vnto thee for the onely pleasure which this day thou hast done mee in giuinge mee occasion of talke with her whose aungels voice made sutch heauenly harmony to my heauy heart that where before it was plunged in perplexity it is now placed in felicity and where before it was oppressed with care it is nowe refreshed with comfort Yea euery louely lookes of her is able to cure mee if I were in most deepe distres of moste daungerous disease euery sweete woord proceeding from her sugred lips is of force to fetch mee from death to life But alas how true do I trie that saying that euery commodity hath a discommodity annexed vnto it how dooth the remembraunce of this ioy put mee in minde of the annoy which the losse of this delight will procure mee Yea it maketh all my sences shake to thinke that some other shall inioy her more woorthy of her then my selfe and yet who in this court nay in all Christendome nay in the whole worlde is worthy of her No if shée neuer haue any vntill shée haue one worthy of her euery way shee shall neuer haue any And shall I then beeing but a poore gentleman seeke to insinuate my selfe in place so high Shall I by my rude attempt purchase at least the displeasure of her friendes and parentes and perchaunce hers also whom to displease would be no lesse displeasant vnto mée then death Alas and must loue needes bee rewarded with hate Must curtesy néedes bée counteruayled with crueltie Must goodwil needes be returned with displeasure Is it possible y bounti should not abide where beuty doth aboūd that curtesy should not accompany her comlinesse Yes I am sure at the least she wil suffer me to loue her though her younge yeeres high estate will not suffer her to loue mee though shée will not accept me for husband yet I am sure shee will not reiecte mée for seruaunt and though shee will not receiue my seruice yet I doubt not but shee will courteously take the tendringe therof vnto her And touchinge her parentes displeasure what care I to procure the ill will of the whole world so I may purchase her good will. Yea if I should spend the most precious bloud in my body in the pursuite of so pereles a péece I would count it as welbestowed as if it were shed in the quarrell of god my prince or country For shée is the goddesse whom I wil honour with deuotion shée is the prince whom I will obey with duty shee is the country in whose cause and quarrell I will spend life liuing and all that I haue Neither is there mutch cause why her friendes should storme much at the matter for though my lands reuenewes are not great yet am I of y bloud royall nere kinsman to themperour who wil not suffer me to want any thing pertayning to my estate degree Why Alerane a youth like my self practised the mightie emperour Otho his daughter darling Adalesia stole her away married her and do I sticke to attempt the like with one of far meaner estate though of far more worthinesse And though frowning fortune tossed him for a while in y tempestious seas of aduersiti yet at the length he arriued at the hauen of happy estate and was reconciled to the good grace and fauour of the Emperour againe And though at the first my
disalow mariage and that you pretend otherwise in words then you intend to doo in workes I am content to giue you the honour of the fielde and thus far to yéelde my consent to your opinion that virginity considered of it owne nature simply without circumstance is better then Matrimony but bicause the one is full of perill the other full of pleasure the one full of iepardy the other full of security the one as rare as the blacke swan the other as common as the blacke crow of good thinges I thinke the more common the more commendable If sayth shée I haue gotten any conquest hereby I am to thanke mine own cause not your curtesy who yéeld when you are able to stand no longer in defence Nay Madame say not so sayth hée for in that very yelding to your opinion I proued mariage better then virginity for that is more common neither would I haue you turne my scilence in this matter into lacke of science and knowledge or reprehend mée if I spare to inforce further proufe in a matter sufficiently prooued already no more then you would rebuke a Spanniel which ceaseth to hunt when hée séeth the Hauke seazed on the Partridge But you may meruaile madame what is the cause that maketh mée perswade you thus earnestly to mariage which as mine owne vnworthinesse willeth mée to hide so your incomparable curtesy incourageth me to disclose which maketh mée thinke that it is no smal cause which can make you greately offended with him who beareth you great goodwil and that what sute soeuer I shal prefer vnto you you wil either graunt it or forgiue it pardon it or pitie it Therfore may it please you to vnderstand y since not long since I tooke large view of your vertue and beauty my hart hath beene so inflamed with the bright beames therof that nothing is able to quenche it but the water which floweth from the fountayne that first infected mée and if pity may so mutch preuaile with you as to accept mée I dare not say for your husband but for your slaue and seruaunt assure your selfe there shall no doubt of daunger driue mée from my duty towardes you neither shall any Lady whatsoeuer haue more cause to reioyce in the choice of her seruaunt then your selfe shall for that I shall account my life no longer pleasaunt vnto mée then it shall be imployed in your seruice Agrippina dying her lily chéekes with Vermilion red and castinge her eies on the grounde gaue him this answere As I am to yéeld you thankes for your goodwill so am I not to yéeld consent to your request for that I neither minde to marry neither thinke my self worthy to retain any sutch seruaunt but if I were dispoled to receiue you any way I thinke the best manner meane inough for your worthynesse Immediatly here vpon there came company vnto them which made them brake of their talke and Agrippina béeing got into her chamber began to thinke on the sute made vnto her by Germanicus and by this time Cupid had so cunningly carued and ingraued the Idoll of his person and béehauiour in her heart that shée thought him worthy of a far more worthy wife then her selfe and perswadinge her selfe hy his woordes and lookes that his loue was loyall without lust true without triflinge and faythfull without faygninge shée determined to accept it if her parentes would giue their consent therto Now Germanicus nothinge dismayed with her former deniall for that it had a curteous close so soone as oportunity serued set on her againe in this sort Now Madame you haue considered my case at leasure I trust it will stand with your good pleasure to make mee a more comfortable answere I béeseech you sir sayth shee to rest satisfied with my former answere for other as yet I am not able to make you Alas Madame sayth hée the extremity of my passion will not suffer long prolonginge of compassion wherfore I humbly beseech you presently to passe your sentence either of bale or blisse of saluation or damnation of life or death for if the heauens haue conspired my confusion and that you meane rigorously to reiecte my good will I meane not long to remaine aliue to trouble you with any tedious sute for I account it as good reason to honour you with the sacrifice of my death as I haue thought it conuenient to bestow vpon you the seruice of my life Alas sir sayth shée this iesting is nothing ioyfull vnto mée and I pray you vse no more of it for the rememberaunce of that which you speake of in sporte maketh mée séele the force therof in good ernest for a thousand deaths at once can not bée so dreadful vnto mée as once to thinke I should liue to procure the death of any sutch as you are If sayth hée you count my wordes sporte iest and daliance assure your selfe it is sport without pleasure ieste without ioy and daliance without delight as tract of time shall shortly try for true But if you loue not to heare of my death why like you not to giue mée life whiche you may do only by the consent of your good will. Why sir sayth shee you know my consent consisteth not in my selfe but in my parents to whom I owe both awe and honour therfore it bée hooueth you first to séeke their consent Why Madame sayth hée shall I make more account of the meaner partes then of the heade you are the heade and cheife in this choice and therfore let mée receiue one good worde of your good wil and then let heauen and earth doo their woorst It is not the coine countenance or credite of your parentes that I pursue for to winne sutch wealth as your good will. I could bée content to leade a poore life all the dayes of my life so that you bée maintayned according to your will and worthinesse Well saith shée séeing I am the only marke you shoot at assay by all the meanes you may to get my freindes good will and if you leuell any thinge strait you shall not misse mée Germanicus vpon this procured the Emperours letters to her father in his beehalfe who hauinge perused those letters sayd hée trusted the Emperour would giue him leaue to dispose of his owne accordinge to his owne pleasure and that his daughter was to nere and deere vnto him to see her cast away vpon one who for lacke of yéeres wanted wisdome to gouerne her and for lacke of landes liuyng to maintaine her and calling his daughter béefore him hée béegan to expostulate with her in this sorte Daughter I euer here tofore thought you would haue been a solace and comfort to my olde yéeres and the prolonger of my life but now I se you will increase my hoarie heares and bee the hastner of my death Doeth the tender care the careful charge and chargeable cost which I haue euer vsed in bringyng you vp deserue this at your handes that you should passe a
the maine shete of her minde and by the anckers of aduise so stayed her course that no wynde which my wilfull youthe could blow could cause her any thinge to bow or wauer and by assuringe her to a large ioynter hée was chosen to rule her sterne wher the other was kept stil vnder the hatches Who all this while that they were concluding the contracte was in his chaumber busily deuisinge verses in the praise of his Misteris but hearing of the sory successe of his sute by a handmaide of the Gentlewoman hée was so confounded in him selfe that his inuencion was cleane marred and his deuise vtterly dasht yea hée was so far from writinge that hée had not a woord to saye or a thought to thinke And surely in my iudgment hée reaped the right reward of his doatinge desire for there only grafts of greife must néedes grow where sutch raw conceite doth set and sutch rashe consent dooth sowe For neyther was his loue grounded vpon vertue wherwith shee was not indued neither vpon beauty wherwith shee was not adorned For neither can cruelty be cloaked vnder vertue neither the treason of vntruth couered vnder beuty for the disposition of the minde followeth the constitucion of the body so that it was his own selfe will and fond fancy that drewe him into sutch depth of affection and therefore with greife was faigne to gather the fruites of his folly And beeing come to him selfe hee began to rage in this sort And is my true loue thus triflyngly accounted of Shall hée with his trash more preuayle then I with my truth And will shée more respect gayne then good will O iniquitie of times O corruption of manners O waueryng of women Bée these the fruites of thy fayre lookes Is this the hap of the hope thou puttest mée in Is this the delight of the daliance thou vsedst with mee Here in truly thou mayst bée fitly resembled to the Cat whiche playeth with the Mouse whom straight shée meaneth to slay or to the Panther who with his gay colours swéet smell allureth other beastes vnto him and béeyng within his reache hée rauenously deuoureth them But if I should set thée foorth in thy colours I thinke the sauage beastes would bee lothe to bee likened vnto thee for crueltie thou mayest compare with Anaxarete who suffred Iphis to hange himself for her sake for inconstancie with Cressed who forsooke her trustie Troylus for pride with Angelica who contemned all men for treason with Helen who ran away with Paris from her husbande Menelaue But what rashnesse is this in mee to rage and rayle agaynst her whereas it is loue and the destines that haue decréed my distruction For Marriages are guided by destiny and God hath indued women with this propertie to bee wedded to their wils Neither doth loue learne of force the knots to knit shée serues but those which feele sweet fancies fit for as streames can not bée made to run against their course so vnwilling loue with teares nor truth cannot bée won So that this only choice is left for mée either to die desperately or to liue lothsomely and as the birde inclosed in cage the cage doare béeing set open and the Hauke her ennemy sitting without watching for her betwéene death and prison piteously oppressed standeth in doubt whether it bée better stil to remaine in prison or to goe forth to bee a pray for the hauke so stande I in doubt whether it bée better by loosing life to get liberty or by lyuinge to become thrall and bond and liue in continuall torment and vexation of minde For loue hath taken so déepe roote in mee that neither reason can rule neither wisdome wield my witched will. But as the bytinge of a mad dogge rageth and rankleth vntil it haue brought the body bitten to bane so the poyson of loue is so spread into euery part of mee that it will vndoubtedly bringe mee to death and distruction O cruell captaine cupid is this the pay thou giuest thy souldiours O vaine Venus is this the victory thou vouchsafest thy champions Wouldest thou haue bene content thy darlinge Adon should rigorously haue reiected thee when thou wert furiously inflamed with his loue But the parish priest forgetteth that euer hee was clarke and those that bée in happines themselues way not the heauinesse of other Yea perchaunce thou fauour the falshood of this woman the rather for that thou thy self playedst the false harlot with thy husband Vulcan the smith and madest him a forked toole more then before hée had in his shop but remember yet how hée tooke thee and the adultrour Mars tardie in your trechery and lechery together starke naked in an iron nette and then called all the goddes to take view of your victous conuersation to thy vtter shame and confusion And so it may fall out that this your pupill may so longe delight in deceit that shee may bee taken in the net which shee layeth to intangle other But what meane I to blaspheme against the gods who doe but punnish mee iustly for louing so lightly and ouely mine owne careles faut is the cause of this curelesse fate Wherefore O death to thee I make ernest request that thou wilt speedily send Atropos vnto mee to cut in sunder the twyst of my troublesome life and seing my loue doth loth mee good death doe thou desire mee I know thou sentst out processe for mee euen in my swath cloutes and now I beeseeche thee serue it on me when I am most willinge and ready to appeare beefore thy presence While this foreldrue gentleman continued in these carefull contemplations the mariage was consummated betweene the widdow and Amphiaraus who liued quietly together about a yeere or two shee shewinge a presentiall obedience towardes him and hee bearinge an ordinary affection towardes her but in short time it pleased god to giue occasion to try the trechery of the one to worke the distruction of the other For it fell so out that Adrastus king of y Argiues was vpon vrgent causes mooued to infer war vpon the Thebanes and in mustringe his men hee thought Amphiaraus a meete man to make one of his captaines and willed him to prepare him selfe for that voyage who beeing well seene in astronomy and other secret sciences knew if hee went to the warres hee should not returne aliue for which cause hee couertly hid himselfe in his owne house makeing only his wife priuy therto Now the kinge takinge muster of his men missed Amphiaraus and knowing the cause of his absence was in great rage sayinge hee thought hee had had no sutch cowardes in his kingdome and promised great rewardes to them that could bring tidings of him Eriphile hauinge intelligence of this riche reward promised was merueylously set on sier in the desire therof notwithstandinge she was plentifully indued with ritches yet was she in desire as greedy as if she had been in estate most needy and as dropsy pacients drink and still be
her father Virginius Apius answered that hee thought it good the matter should hange in suspence vntill the returne of her supposed father but it was no reason but that hee who pretended yea and had prooued to haue sutch right to her should haue her in his custody vntill the matter were more examined and vpon his honour hée promised shee should bee foorth comminge to appeare at the time of her fathers approche The people hearinge this iniurious iudgment of Appius rather murmured at it then durst make resistance against it by reason wherof Marcus Cloudius béegan to draw the maid to bee defloured as the tiger in Hyrcane wooddes haleth the lambe to bée deuoured But god the righter of al wrongs and protector of all pure virgins preuented the perill which hong ouer her head sent home from the warres to succour her her vncle Numitorius and her spouse Icilius who hearinge the haynousnesse of the matter presently presed to the place where Appius sate in iudgement but hee commaunded his officers to kéepe Icilius backe whervpon Icilius inueighed against him in this sort Albeit O Appius by force you keepe mee from keepeinge mine owne out of your handes yet shall you not stay my toung from detecting the villany which you indeuour to doe For the truth is this virgin is betrothed to mée and my minde is to marrie her a chast maide therfore assure your selfe if it lie in mee to let shee shal not remaine one minute of an houre out of her fathers house Is it not sufficiente for you to depriue the people of the cheife pillors of their liberty but that our wiues and children also must liue in slauery to your tirranny Exercise your cruelty on our bodies at least let chastity bee in safety Ought princes to giue light of life to their people and wil you make your selfe a mirrour of mischeife to your posterity But if you minde to take her away from vs by force and from her her virginity neuer thinke to doe it while I haue any breath left in my body for in this iust cause and quarrell of my wife life shall sooner leaue mee then loyalty Appius thinkinge the power of Icilius would preuaile aboue his for that the multitude meruaylously inclined to his side sayd hée would haue another time to represse the rebellious rage of Icilius and touchinge the maide for her fathers sake hee was content to defer the pronouncinge of sentence against her vntill the nexte court day that her father might bee present in the meane while hée would intreate Marcus Cloudius to forbeare his right but if her father came not by the next court day hee would defer the execution of iustice for no mans plesure Presently vpon this hee dispatched letters to the captaine generall of the army that hee should not in any wise dismisse Virginius or suffer him to come home but Icilius had sent for him with such spéede that he had leaue to depart beefore those letters came to the captayne so it pleased god to preuent the pollicy and wicked purpose of Appius Now Virginius béeinge come to Rome went with his daughter to the iudgement place and did there lamentably implore the helpe of the people sayinge while I with the rest of the souldiours haue hazarded our liues in the defence of you and your children I am in daunger to haue mine owne daughter dispoyled wheras by my helpe our city is preserued from enemies I my selfe am brought to sutch misery as if it were taken by our enemies and vtterly razed to the ground For what greater villany can bée done to the vanquished then to sée béefore their eyes their wiues and children desloured and defiled But neighbours and freindes if you suffer mée to sustaine this iniury assure your selues your staffe standeth next to the dore and looke no longer to bée husbands ouer your wiues and parentes ouer your children then it shall please these tirantes to giue you leaue Any euill at the first entring in of it may easely bée auoyded but let one or two presidentes passe patiently without resisting and it will run into a custome and from thence to a law and you will neuer bée able after to rid your handes of it And if your owne safety driue you not to succour mée yet let my old yeeres my hoary heires the honest port which I haue euer maintained and the chast life of my daughter moue you to put to your handes to helpe redresse my wronge By this time Appius was come to the iudgement place with a great troupe of armed men and séeing Virginius there contrary to his expectation and perceyning no colour of law could cloud his dooings hée set down his owne will for a law and sayd hée would defraud Marcus Cloudius no longer of his right and séeinge the maide was conuicted by proufe and witnes to bée his bond maid he gaue sentence that he should presently haue her away not suffering her father to alleage any thing for her fréedome Virginius seeing this extreeme dealing of Appius threatningly shooke his hands at him saying I haue béetrothed my daughter to Icilius not to thee O Appius I haue brought her vp to bee an honest maried woman not thy harlot What doest thou thinke vnder the pretence of bondage to make her bound to thy beastlinesse Appius not regarding his rayling caused his officers to make the multitude giue place to Marcus Cloudius that hee might quietly cary away his bond mayd by reason wherof Virginia was left voide of helpe and rescue which her father perceiuing and séeing him self not able to deliuer her out of her enemies handes to defer the time hopinge still for helpe hée vsed this pollicy hée desired Appius hee might haue his daughter aside and betwéene her nurce and her examine the matter that if it were found hée were but her fained father hée might the more willingly depart with her Which béeing by Appius graunted they thrée went aside together where Virginia fell downe vpon her knees and made this ruthles request vnto her father I perceiue deare father it is not without great cause that the philosophers were of this opinion that the greatest felicity is neuer to bée borne and the second soone to die now séeing by your meanes I am depriued of the first I beseech you by your meanes let mee inioy the second and to counteruayle the lucklesse and lothsome life which you haue giuen mée vouchsafe to bestow on mee an honourable death And as by your fatherly care I haue continued a continent virgin hetherto so by your furthering aide I praye you let mee dye an honest mayde presently least my life hereafter contaminate y commendation of my life heretofore and seeing I can bee no longer suffred to liue honestly good father let mee die honourably For an honourable death is alwayes to bee preferred beefore an infamous life of euils the least is to bee chosen and death of body is to bee counted a lesse euill then distructiō
was done for his misteris sake yf not hee was beecome a carpet Knight if hee fell out with any it was some open enemie to his priuye friend if hee were friendes with all men hee durst displease none least they should detect his doinges to her if hee went curiously in his apparel it was to please his misteries if negligently hee liued in absence if hee ware his haire longe hee mourned beecause hee coulde not bee admitted if shorte he was receiued into fauour if he bought her any apparrell or any other prety trifling trickes it was to please her and a bable for the foole to play with if hee bought her nothinge hee had inough to do to maintaine other in brauery if he entertained any seruant hee was of his misteris preferment if hee put away any hee had some way offended her if hee commended any man hee was out of question his baude if hee praysed any woman shee was no doubte his whore and so of all other his thoughtes wordes and déedes she made this suspicious suppose and ielous interpretation and as the Spider out of most sweet flowers sucketh poyson so shee out of his most louing and friendly déedes towards her picked occasions of quarrell and conceyued causes of hate And so long shee continued in these carefull coniectures that not onely her body was brought low by reasō that her appetite to meate failed her but also she was so disquieted in minde that she was in a manner beesides her selfe whereupon in great pensiuenesse of hart shee fell to preaching to her selfe in this sorte Ah fonde foole wilt thou thus wilfully woorke thine owne wrack and ruine if thy husbande commit treason against thée wilt thou commit murther vpon thy selfe if he consume himselfe away with whores wilt y then consume thy selfe away with cares wilt thou increase his mischief with thine owne misery if he be so wickedly bent it is not my care can cure him for that whiche is bred in the bone will not out of the flesh If hee bee disposed to deale falsly with mée it is not my wary watching which wyll ward him from it for loue deceiued Argus with his two hundred eies If hee should bee forbidden to leaue it hee will vse it the more for our nature is to runne vpon that which is forbidden vs vices the more prohibited the more prouoked and a wilde coult the harder he is rained the hotter he is If I should take him tardy in it it would but encrease his incontinent impudency for beeing once knowne to haue transgressed the lawefull limits of loue and honesty hee would euer after bee carelesse of his good name which hee knew hee could neuer recouer againe And why should I séeke to take him in it should I séeke to know y which I ought not to séeke no not so mutch as to thinke on was euer wight so bewitched to run headlong vpon her owne ruine So long as I know it not it hurteth mee not but if I once certainly knew it God knoweth how sodainly it would abridge my dayes And yet why should I take it so gréeuously am I the first that haue bene so serued Hath not Iuno her selfe sustained the like iniury But I reason with my self as if my husband were manifestly conuicted of this crime who perchaunce good Gentleman bée as innocent in thought as I wrongfully thinke him to bée nocent in déede for to consider aduisedly of the matter there is not so mutch as any likelyhood to lead mee to any sutch leud opinion of him hee vseth mee honestly hee mantayneth mée honorably hée loueth mee better then my leude dealinge toward him hath deserued No it is mine owne vnworthynesse that maketh mee thinke I am not worthy the proper possession of so proper a Gentleman it is myne owne lustful desire that maketh mee afrayde to loose any thing it is myne owne weakenesse y maketh mée so suspicious of wronge it is mine owne incontinency which maketh mée iudge him by my selfe Well the price of my preiudiciall doings towardes him is almost paide and if paine be a punishment then haue I indured a most painfull punishment but let this déere bought wit doe mee some good let mee now at length learne to bee wise and not to thinke of euils before they come not to feare them béefore I haue cause not to doubte of them in whom is no doublynge nor to mistruste them in whom is no treason and faithfully to loue him that vnfainedly loueth mée After this shee indeuoured to do sutch fonde toyes foorth of her head for a while shée liued louingly and quietly with her husband but sodaynly by reason of one looke which hée cast vpon one of his neighbours shée fell into her olde vayne of vanitie agayne And as second fallynge into sicknesse is euer most daungerous so now her folly was growen to sutch furie and her disease so incurable that shée could not conceale it any longer but flatly tolde her husbande to his teeth that she thought hee did misuse her Cephalus knowyng his owne innocencie and seeyng her imbecillitie gently prayed her not to conceiue any sutch euill opinion of him saying If neither regarde of God neither respect of men neither reuerence of the reuerent state of marriage could feare mée from sutch filthinesse yet assure your selfe the loyal loue I beare you would let mee from sutch lasciuiousnesse For béeleeue me your person pleaseth mee so well that I thinke my selfe sweetly satisfied therewith Yea if Venus her selfe should chaunce vnto my choice I am perswaded I should not prefer her béefore you For as her beutie would intisingly draw me to her so my dutie wold necessarily driue mee to you Therfore good wife trouble not your selfe with sutch toyes which will but bréede your owne vnrest and my disquiet your torment my trouble yea and in time perchance both our vntimely deathes Let Deinyra bée a president for you who suspecting her husband Hercules of spouse breache sent him a shert died with the bloud of the Centaure Messus who tolde her that shert had vertue to reuiue loue almost mortified but Hercules had no sooner put it on but it stocke fast to his flesh fried him to death as if it had been a furie of hell Which when shée knew with her owne hands shée wrought her owne destruction See y vnworthy end which that monster ielousy brought this worthy couple too foresee sweet wife that it bring not vs to the like bane These wordes could worke no effect with her but rather increased her suspition perswading her selfe that as in faire painted pots poyson ofte is put and in goodly sumptuous sepulchers rotten boanes are ryfe so fairest wordes are euer fullest of falshood Yea the more curteous hée shewed him selfe the more culpable shee thought him to bée Which Cephalus seeing bicause hee would take away all causes of suspition abandoned all good company and spent his time so lytarily hunting in the wooddes and séekinge the spoyle of
On her chéekes the Lilly and the Rose did striue for interchange of hew her haire cumly curld glistered lyke golde her pierceinge eies twinckled like starres her alabaster teeth stoode as a ranke of precious pearles her ruddy lippes were soft and sweete her handes fine and white yea all her partes so perfectly proportioned that nature sought to winne great commendation in caruing so cunningly so curious a carkas But as a rusty Rapier is no trusty Rampier to defende a man though the Scabbord bee of fine veluet so a woman with foule conditions is coursly to bee accounted of though her face bee faire and body bewtifull But destinies so draue that this King by chaunce cast a glaunce vpon this gorgious goddes and at the first view was so vanquished by vanitie that hee thought his life no longer pleasaunt vnto hym then hee was in her sight And fayled not dayly familierly to frequent the misteris company for the maides cause And hauing attempted her chastitie by shewing her his great goodwyll by beestowinge on her great giftes by large promises of preferment and many other meanes and neuerthelesse fayling of his purpose in pensiue perplexitie fell to parley with himselfe to this purpose I euer heretofore thought a Princes life to bee voyde of strife and that they had alwaies passed their time in pleasure without paine but now I sée wee are subiect to sorow so soone as the meanest subiect we haue Lykewise beefore this I was of opinion that number of frindes aboundinge in wealth abidinge in health and sutch lyke things which pertaine to the body were sufficient to attaine to a happy life in this lyfe but now I see it is the minde whiche maketh mirth and stirreth strife yea the contented minde is the onely ritches the onely quietnes the onely happinesse Good God how vnsauery seeme those sweete meats vnto mee wherein I was woont to delight how vnpleasāt are y sports wherin I was woont to take pleasure how cūbersome is y cōpany which was woont to content mee no game glads mee no daunsing delights mee no iusting ioyes mée no playes please me no triumphes no shewes no hauking no hunting no nothing vnder the Sunne doth solace mee And would I know the cause why I haue not a contented minde the perfect parts of Pasiphae do so diuersly distract my minde that only her sight is swéete onely her company is comfortable onely her presence is pleasaunt vnto mee And would I know the cause why in her y fates haue fixed my felicitie in her the heauens haue heaped my happinesse with her must I liue and without her must I die Why I haue pursued her goodwil with praiers and with presentes with loue and with liberalitie with gifts and with goodwill and yet am neuer the néere And would I know the cause why I sought not her goodwill in the way of marriage Only marriage is the meane only wedlock must locke and lincke vs together And shal I so much debase the height of my estate as to match in mariage with so meane a mate as though many princes haue not as meanely matcht themselues as though the Gods thēselues haue not maried with earthly creatures And for my Pasiphae though shee bee inferriour to me in parentage yet in personage shee is good inough for God himselfe And for her dowry or wealth what neede I way it who haue the most part of the world vnder my dominion no there shall no regard of honour or respecte of ritches detaine mee from that which doth only containe the contentment of my minde And in this minde ment to attempt her in the way of marriage but runninge frō Charibdis hee rusht vppon Scilla flying from one rocke hee fell vppon another thinkinge to quench the coales of his desyre hee fell into hot flames of burninge fier as hereafter you shall heare Now so soone as hee had oportunitie offered him hee made Pasiphae partaker of his purpose in these termes Séeing the onely touchstone to trie true and loyall loue from lothsome lust is marriage I meane if you bee content to consent therto to seale the sincere affectiō I beare you with the sacred ceremonyes and holly rites of matrimony and as I haue preferred your loue beefore all worldli respects so I trust you wil return my loue with such loyalty that I shall haue cause to count my selfe as well matcht as if I had married with the greatest princesse in the world Pasiphae hearing these wordes was so rauished with ioy that shée could not on the sodaine make the kinge an answere but hauing chaunged colour twice or thrise from red to white and from white to red in token of a minde mooued with hope assayled with feare and passioned with pleasure at length shée sayd vnto him As most worthy prince I euer thought my selfe far vnworthy of any sutch honour so if it please your highnes plainly to heare the truth I euer thought my selfe far to worthy to yéeld to your desire in the way of wickednesse which was the cause I made so course account of your curtesy heretofore But seeinge it hath pleased you to lodge your loue thu◠low and to thinke mée worthy the honour of wedlocke with so worthy a wight assure your selfe your maiesty shall finde mée in loue so loyall and in obedience so dutifull towardes you that in the one I wil supply the part of a louing wife and in the other satisfie the duty of a diligent handmayd Neither would I you should thinke that it is the name of a queene or estate of a prince y winneth mee thus willingly to your will for I know that name to bee vaine and that estate full of paine but it is your exceedinge loue towardes mee O noble prince that linketh my lykinge with yours it is your incomparable curtesy which forceth mee to yeelde the forte of my fayth and virginity into your handes For as the sunne the higher it doth ascende in the firmament the more heate it doth extend to the earth so vertue and curtesy in the more high and princely person it is placed the more force it hath to win the wils binde the heartes of people to imbrace it And as my loue is grounded vpon your vertue so I trust so to behaue my selfe that hereafter you shall haue as great lyking to my conditions and vertue as now you haue loue to my colour and beuty that when yéeres shal take away the pleasure of y one you may take delight solace in the other The king was so déepely delighted with this dutifull discourse that hee had not a woorde to reply but satisfiyng him selfe for the time with a few swéete kisses presently gaue commaundement to his officers to make preparation for the sumptuous celebrating of his mariage which shortly after was consummated with sutch royalty as is requisite in a matter of sutch maiesty So this married couple consumed two or three yeres in the highest degrée of happinesse But the sunne
her husbandes absence to sée a wilde Aegiption with one eye in his forehead whom shee longed to see that women ought to spin with Penelope to spill with Camma to kill with Lucrece to bee slaundred with Susanna with Sauoy and with others to indure any torment rather then to lose one iote of their chastity and honesty Pigmalions friende and his Image PIGMALION a Gentleman of Piemount continuing the space of certaine yeares in honest affection and vertuous loue with PENTHEA wife to Luciano a noble gentleman of the same country is at length by her reiected in respect of a base stranger Pigmalion abandoning the company of all women and giuinge himselfe to the arte of Caruing burneth in loue with an Image whiche himselfe had fashioned whom at his earnest sute Venus transformeth into a faire Mayde and hee taketh her to Wife TO make the reckoning without the host is the way soone to bee â–ª ouershot in the shot to resolue certenly vpon incertenty is the way neuer to be in any certenty to looke for constancy of those y lyke of inconstancy or to determine of those things which are not in our powers to perfourme is nothing els but to bee deceiued of our expectation and to be driuen to alter our determination as the History whiche you shall heare shal yéelde example of both the one and the other In the country of Piemount had his beeinge one Pigmalion a gentleman discended of noble birth indued with perfection of person perfectly pourtraied forth with y lineameÌ„ts of learning so that it was dooubtful whether he were more indebted to fortune for his birth to nature for his beauty or to his parentes for his learninge But as beautie birth ritches and the rest must néedes geue place to learninge so no doubt but his parentes deserued the preheminence of prayse For the other are but dim starres where learninge giueth light And as when the sunne shineth the light of the stars is not séene so where learning appeareth all other giftes are nothing to be accounted of Besides that beeside his learning he was indued with a great dexteritie in all thinges in so mutch as nothing came amisse vnto him whiche was méete for a Gentleman in feates of armes no man more couragious in exercises of the body none more actiue in game or play none more politike amongst the auncient who more graue amongst the youthfull who more merrie so that there was no time no person no place wherto hee aptly applyed not him self By reson wherof he was acceptable to all good companies wel was he that might entertaine him in his hous But most of al he frequeÌ„ted y â—hous of one Luciano a noble Gentleman of the same countri in continuaunce of time grew so farre in familiaritie with his wife that he reposed his onely pleasure in her presence Yea shee had made sutch a stealth of his harts that neither Father nor Mother Sister nor Brother nor all the friends he had in the country beside could keepe him one wéeke together out of her compani Yea this faithful loue hée bare her séemed in a manner to extinguish all naturall loue towards his allies and kinsfolke Who beeinge as they were wont desirous of his company at hauking hunting and sutche like pastimes coulde not by any erauing or importunity obtayne it but being ignorant of the cause they thought it had proceded of this that his minde vpon some occasion had been alienated from them which caused them on the contrarie somewhat to withdrawe their goodwils from him But hee forced litle thereof he cared not whom hee displeased so he might worke her contentation shee was the starre by whose aspect he did direct his doynges she was the hauen wherein he sought to harborough shée was the heauen whyther he coueted to come shee was the saint to whom hée did lend sutch deuotion that hee could finde in his heart to bend no liking to any other whatsoeuer In so mutch y hauing the profer of many ritch maryages hee alway refused them as hauing his hart so replenished with the loue of her y there was no roomth for the loue of any other to remayn within him Now shee on the other side whose name was Penthea béeinge a curteous courtly wenche gaue him sutch freindly entertaynment and vsed him so well in all respectes that her husband excepted shee séemed to holde him most dere vnto her of any wight in the whole world Shée neuer made feast but hée must bee her guest shee neuer rode iourney but he must be her companion shee neuer daunced but hee must direct her shee neuer dised but hee must bee her partner shee in a manner dyd nothing wherin hee did not something Her Husbande all this while beeinge fully assured of her vertue and very well perswaded of the honesty of the Gentleman susspected no euill beetweene them but lyked very well of their loue and familiarity together neither in deede had hee any cause to the contrary For Pigmalion knew her to bee indued with sutch constant vertue that he thought it impossible to allure her to any folly and besides that his loue was so exceedinge great towardes her that hee would not by any meanes bee the cause to make her commit any thinge which might make her lesse worthy of loue then shee was And if at any time as the fleshe is frayle the vehemency of his affection forced him to perswade her to folly he did it so faintly that it might plainly bee perceiued hee was not willing to ouercome For hee deepely doubted that if by the force of her loue towardes him or of his perswasions towardes her shee should haue yeelded the forte of her fayth and chastity in to his handes his loue towards her with the sun beinge at the highest would haue declined and decreased which would haue bene the greatest greife to him in the world No hee liued with sutch delight in the contemplation of her chastity and vertue that hee was voyde not only of Libidinous lust towardes her but also towardes all other women whatsoeuer Yea hee receiued more pleasure of her by imagination then of any other woman by y acte of generation So that betweene these friends was no cause of suspicion no cause of iarre no cause of ielousie but they liued together the space of three or foure yeares in most heauenly hauen of most happie lyfe The floud of their felicity flowed from the fountaine of most faithful friendship the building of their bidinge together was raised on the rock of vertu so y it was to be thought no seas of subtiltie or floudes of fickelnesse coulde haue vndermined it But what perpetuitie is to bee looked for in mortall pretences What constancy is to bée hoped for in kytes of Cressids kinde may one gather Grapes of thornes Suger of Thistels or constancy of women Nay if a man sift the whole sexe thorowly hée shall finde their wordes to bee but winde their fayth forgery
haue heard of some that haue beene so possest with melancholy passions that they haue thought themselues to bee made of glasse and if they had gone in any streete they would not come neere any wall or house for feare of breaking them selues and so it may bee that this Pigmalion thought him selfe some stoane and knowinge that like agree best with their like hee thought he could make no better a match then to match him self to a stone Or it may bee hee was one of those whom after the generall floud as Ouid reporteth Ducalion his wife Pirraha made by casting stoanes at their backes and then no meruaile though hee beare meruaylous affectioÌ„ to stones beeing made of stoanes Or whether his religion were to loue images I know not neither is it any more to be meruayled at in him then in an infinite nuÌ„ber y liue at this day which loue images right well verely perswade theÌ„selues y images haue power to pray for them help them to heauen Or whether it proceeded of this that euery one is lightly in loue with that which is his owne I knowe not but this I read reported of him that when neither by the feelinge of his sences neither by the force of reason â–ª neither by the assistance of time neither by any other meane hee could rid his tender heart of this stoany loue hee tooke his image and layd it in his bed as if it had bene his birde which done hee went to the temple of Venus there sendinge vp sighes for sacrifices and vttering his passions in steed of prayers rufully repentinge his former rebellion against the maiesty of the Goddesse Venus for that hee had blasphemed wickedly against women and neglected the lawes and lore of loue and sought to lodge himselfe in liberty hee humbly requested her now to rue his ruthles case and hee would remaine her thrall all the dayes of his life after And that if it seemed good to her godhead to giue him a wife that shee might bee hee durst not say his image but like vnto his image Venus very wel knowing what he ment by this request remembring also the wrong which Penthea beefore had profred him for that hee loued her loyally the space of three or foure yeres with out any rewarde except it were double disseÌ„bling for his singuler affection therfore had some reason to rage against women as he did she thought her self bound in conscience to cure his calamity and seeinge how Idolatrously hee was addicted to his Image shée put life into it and made it a perfect woman The like miracles wée haue had many wrought within these fewe yeres when images haue béene made to bow their heads to holde out their handes to wéepe to speake c. But to Pigmalion who hauing done his deuotions returned to his lodging and there according to custome fell to kissing his Image which séemed vnto him to blush thereat and taking better taste of her lips they began to waxe very soft and sweete and entringe into deeper dalâ—aunce with her shée bad him leaue for shame and was presently turned to a perfecte proper maide Which hée séeinge magnified the might and power of Venus ioyfully tooke this maide vnto his wife And so they liued together long time in great ioy and felicitie You haue heard Gentlewomen what broad blasphemie y ficklenes of Penthea caused vnworthily to be blown forth against you all wherefore to auoide the like I am to admonish you that you prefer not new fangle freindes beèfore olde faythfull freindes that you neither lightly leaue the one neither lightly loue the other for it is great lightnesse to doe either the one or the other And beesides the incurring of the blot of inconstancy and wauering it is very perilous for you to commit your selues your secrets to those of whose trustines you haue made no trial For all is not golde which glistereth counterfayte coine sheweth more goodly then the good and it is most easy to deceiue vnder the name of a freind The common saying is the chaunge is seldome made for the better and your owne sayinge is that of your seruauntes you had rather kéepe those whom you know though with some faultes then take those whom you knowe not perchaunce with moe faultes How mutch more then ought faythfull freindes to bee kept and accounted of whom you know to bee perfectly good They are not surely for any chance to beè chaunged they are not for any respect to bee reiected they are the only Iewels to bee ioyed in the onely perles to bee preserued the only pillers to bee trusted to Wee like a picture made in marble better then in waxe bicause it will last longer wee like the ritch Diamonde chiefly bicause it lasteth longe and will not lightly lose it bright hew so likewise you ought to like those freindes best which last longest haue liued longest with you For you must coÌ„sider true freinds are not like new garmeÌ„ts which will be the worse for wearing they are rather like the stoane of Scilicia which the more it is beaten the harder it is or like spices which the more they are pounded the swéeter they are or like many wines whiche the older they are the better they are But to leaue true friendship and come to trifling friendship consisting in pleasant priuie practises I would wish those women which deale that way although they beé no sheepe of my flocke yet for their sexe sake I wish them wel I mould I say aduise them to vse wary héed in ridding away those freinds they are weary of It is a daungerous peece of worke and importeth as mutch as their good name commeth to for if they shall without discretion and great cause disclaime a mans freindship it is the next way onlesse his gouernment of himselfe bée very great to make him proclayme what freindship hee hath had of them in times past This was it whiche made Fausline so famous as shee was thiâ— is it which blazed the bruite of Blanch maria thorowe out the world And surely I know not well what counsayle to giue in this case it is a matter of harde digestion to a man to see her become straunge to him who was wonte to bee most familier with him to haue her his enemy who was wont to be his freind Therfore I would aduise them to sticke to their old freindes still but if they cannot frame their fickle nature to sutch firmenes the best way is by litle and litle to estraunge them selues from their freindes to pretend some ernest or honest cause to professe that neuer any other shall possesse that place with theÌ„ to promise that in hart they wil be theirs during life Alexius ALEXIVs giuen ernestly to follow the studie of his booke and the knowledge of the liberall Sciences is diligently exhorted by his father to take a wife whereunto though vnwillinge hee applyeth himselfe and is matched with sutch a one that in respect of