whether new frēdes being not vnworthy of Frendship ought to bee preferred and more set by then the old as we vse to set more store by younge Horses then wee doe by olde ones A doubt doubtlesse vnsemely for a mā to stand vpon For there ought not to be saciety of frendship as there is of other thinges The oldest like olde Wynes ought to be pleasaūtest true is the old common Prouerbe that wee must eate manye Bushels of Salte together with those with whom wee shall throughlye perfourme all the partes of Freendeshyppe But newe Acquaintaunces if there bee hope that they wyll as younge towardly shootes and fructifying budds bringe foorthe fruict are not surely to bee refused but yet notwithstāding old familiaritye muste still bee continued in his due place and estimation For the force of Auncientnesse and Custome is exceedinge greate And as touchinge the Horse wherof I spake erewhile if there bee no cause of lette to the contrary there is no man but had leyfer occupie him whom hee hath beene vsed vnto then one that is straunge to hym and vntamed And not onelye in this which is a liuing Creature doeth Custome beare greate Swaye but in thynges also that are without Lyfe is it of the lyke force For euen in Hyllyshe and Wyelde Countryes wherein wee haue of a long dwelled we haue a pleasure delight still to continue But this is a very high pointe in Frēdshyp that the Superiour is equal with the Inferiour For there be oftentymes certain preheminences as that was of Scipio in our fraternitie Hee neuer aduaunced nor preferred hymselfe before Philus neuer before Rutilius neuer before Mummius neuer before his other freends of baser calling But Q. Maximus his brother a man doubtles right excellent but yet nothing like him beecause he was his Elder he reuerēced as his better and was willing that all hys freendes should fare the better by him Which thing is both to bee done to be imitated of all men that if they surmount their freendes in any excellencye of Vertue Witte and Fortune they should imparte the same to theyr freendes and communicate it ioyntlye with their Familiers as if they bee borne of baser parētage if they haue kinredde of smaller power and abilitie eyther in mind or substaūce thei ought to enlarge encrease their wealth and to be an honour and dignitie to their estate As we do read in Fables of some which hauīg continued for a certaine time in the state of meane seruauntes because their lignage Stocke was not knowen but after that they were knowen and found to be the Sōnes either of Gods or of Kinges did yet stil beare a zealous goodwil towardes the Sheepeheardes whom many yeares they tooke to be their own fathers Which thing surelye is muche more to be done towardes our true and well knowen fathers For then speciallye is the fruict of all witte Vertue excellencie taken when it is bestowed on him that is neerest to vs alied Euen as they therefore which in the familiaritye of entier Frendshippe bee superiours higher in degree ought to abase make themselues equal with their inferiors so ought not inferiors to be greued if their frends either in wit state or dignity do excell and go beyond them Of which sort many either are whyninge for somewhat or els doe twighte vpbrayde their Benefites namelye if they thincke they haue ought that they may say they haue done for their freendes curteously freendly and with some paynes and crauayle These vpbrayders of pleasures are surelye an odious kinde of people which pleasures he ought to remember on whō they were bestowed not hee that did bestowe them Wherfore as they which bee Superioures and of higher calling ought in Freendshippe to abase themselues So after a force should Inferiours aduaūce and put foorth themselues For there be some which make Frendeshyp vnpleasaunt yrkesome when as they thinck themselues to be cōtemned not cared for Which thinge happneth almoste to none but to suche as thinck themselues worthy to be contemned whiche muste not only by words but also by deedes be reclaymed from that opinion And first a man must doe asmuche for his frend as he is possibly able next asmuch as that party whō he loueth would further is able to discharge For a man cannot bring al his frends though he be neuer in such high authoritie himselfe to honorable aduauncemente as Scipio was able to make Rutilius Consul but his brother Lucius hee could not Yea admit that you could prefer your freend to what you lust yet must ther be a respect had how he is able to discharge the place of his preferment Wee must also thinke that Frendshyp can not be but in wittes Ages throughly stayed fully growen Neyther stādeth it vppon anye point of necessitie that they which in their boyes age phāsied others for some common delighte whiche they had together in Huntinge and Tenis playe should still take them as their verye deare Freendes whom they then loued and fauoured because they tooke pleasure in the same delightes that thei themselues did For so should Nurses and ouerseers of Chyldren by reason of olde acquaintaunce chalenge verye much who in deede muste not bee neglecttd or sleightly passed vppon but yet are after an other sorte to bee loued and regarded For otherwise Freendeshippe cannot long continue stedfast For vnlyke manners pursue vnlyke delightes the dissimilitude whereof disseuereth Frendshippes Neyther is it for any other cause that goodmen cānot bee freendes with the naughty and wicked then for that there is such greate oddes and difference in maners affections betwene them as possibly can bee It may also be geeuen for a good lesson in Frendship that no man through a certaine intemperate and fonde goodwil do binder as many times it happeneth the great profices that mighte redound to his freend For to come again to Fables Neoptolemus should neuer haue wonne Troye if hee wauld haue bene ruled by Lycomedes with whō he was brought vp going about with manye teares to disswade and hinder him from that iourney And manye times there happen such greate occasions of waightye affaires that Frendes must needes departe one from an other the which hee that would goe about to hinder because forsooth he can not wel forbeare his companye is both a weakelinge a Cockeney natured person and consequentlye in Freendshippe is vniuste and vnreasenable And in al things good consideration must be had both what thou doest request of thy freend and what thou suffrest to bee obteyned at thy handes There is also somtimes as it were a certain calamity or mishap in the departure from frendes euen necessary for nowe I turne my speache from the famlliarities that is among Wisemen to the Frendshippe that is among the vulgare sorte of people The faultes committed by
Sabine I am vsuallye wont to put in practise and euery daye I throughly furnishe my Boorde wyth my Neighbours where we passe awaye the time together in talkinge of manye and sundrye matters euen tyll it be farre in the night But there is not so great tickling as it were an itch of Pleasures in Old men I beleeue it wel nay there is not so much as any desire thereto For nothinge is greuous or beauilye taken of a man which hee neyther desireth nor careth for Very wel did Sophocles aunswere a certayne man which asked him beinge now greatly striken in yeares whether hee vsed Venereall act or Carnal company with women God forbid que he that I should vse any such thing for I haue willinglye renounced and fledde from all such lasciuiousnes as from a beastly and furious Mayster For to them that are desirous of such thinges the lacke and want thereof is peraduenture odious and greuous But to them which are fullye glutted and satisfied therewith it is more pleasure to want then to haue them how be it he that forceth not for athing lacketh it not And therfore not to care for it I saye is greater pleasure then to haue that fruition of it Now if youthful Age delight enioy these foresayd Pleasures the reason is first because it is more wylling to ensue small matters of light importaunce as afore wee haue sayd and afterwards such thinges as Oldage if it fully enioy not yet doth it not altogether lacke And like as hee which sitteth vppon the first and chiefest Bench doth better behold and is more delighted to see* Ambiuius Turpio and yet is bee also delyghted whych sitteth vpon the hyndermost and last Bench of al euen so Adolescency more néerely beholdinge Pleasures doth perhaps more frolicklye delite and ioye in them But yet Oldage beholding the same aloofe and farre of hath as much delectation therein as is sufficient But what a singuler commoditye is this that the Mind being as it were freed and worne oute of the seruice thraldome of Sensualitie Ambition Contention Quarrelling and all filthy Affections kepeth itselfe within his boūdes and lyueth as the Prouerbe sayth with itselfe But if it be furnished as it were nourished with the foode of some Study and learning then truly is there nothinge more pleasaunt then is a quiet Oldage Wee sawe C. Gallus the Familier Frend of thy father O Scipio continuallye to applye and as it were to dye in his earnest study of measuring of* Heauen and* Earth How often hath that next Morning come vpō him ere he had fullye finished that thing which he had begonne to describe the night before How often did nighte surprise him when as hee had begonne anye thing in the morning What a singuler delighte was it vnto him when as be long before prognosticated and foretolde vnto vs the Eclipses both of the Sunne and Moone What diligēce bestowed hee in lighter matters and of lesse importaunce but yet verye quicke and wittye How greatly did Naeuius reioyce in his Comedy called the Punique VVarres How ioyed Plautus in his Comedy Truculentus How in his Pseudolus I also saw old* Liuius who hauinge set foorth a Comedye seuen yeares beefore I was borne when Cethegus and Tuditanus were Consulles lyued fyll I was a pretye Stripling What shoulde I speake of the profounde studie of P. Licinius Crassus both in the Canon and also in the Ciuyle Lawe Or of this our P. Scipio who was this other daye created highe Priest But yet all these whom I haue named wee sawe to bee Oldmen most earnestly enflamed with these kynde of studies As for M. Cethegus whom Ennius doth verye well tearme the Marowe or Pyth of Lady * Suada howe studiously did wee see him busied in Oratorie beinge euen an Oldman What Pleasures therefore of Banquettes or Playes or Harlottes are comparable to these Pleasures And these are the studies of learning which in men of wisdome and good inclinatiō do grow euen as they themselues doe in Age so that that saying of Solon is verified which hee vttered in a certaine Verse as before I haue declared That hee waxed older and older by learning euery day more and more Then which Pleasure of the mynde there can none doubtlesse bee greater I come now to the Pleasures which Husbandmen haue wherewith surelie I am incrediblie delited which neither are impeached nor hyndered with any Oldage and in my phansie do approch neerest vnto the lyfe of a Wiseman For their dealing trade is with the Earth with neuer refuseth to bee vnder their commaundement subiection and euer repayeth that which it afore receiued with asurplusage vsury albeit somtimes with lesse but for that most part with greater gain encrease Albeit in deede not that fruits only but that power nature of the Earthe itselfe is it with delyteth me which when it hath receiued that Seede cast vpō it into her lap being by tillage wel ploughed manured doth first for a time keepe it closely couered ouer with barowing whyth is therupō called Occatio and afterwards being warmed with moisture her therishmēt she maketh it to sprout and shoote vp bringeth out of it a greene blade which being strengthned staied with the smal stringes at that rote of the stēmes doth by lyttle and little grow vp to a cōuenient bignesse and standing vpright vpon a knottye straw ful of ioyntes is when it draweth toward rypenesse inclosed within Huskes Out of the whych when it peepeth it bringeth foorth the Corne handsomelye set in thorder of an Eare and to saue it from being pecked out by small Byrdes it is rampyered fenced with a Trench or Walle of the Awnes or Beardes What shoulde I speake of the Graffinge springinge vp and encrease of Vynes I cānot be ynough delighted therein because I would you should know the quietnesse and delectation of myne Old-age I doe omit the force and Vertue of al these thynges which the Earth bringeth forth how out of one poore kernel of a Figge or out of one seely grayne of a Grape or out of the smallest seedes of other Fruites and Plantes it doth procreate and bring foorth such great Boles and Stemmes The small twygs the Gryftes the Stalkes the plātable Vynes the platted stayes for theym to runne along vpon the old Wyne stockes doe not these cause any mā to delite therein with a kinde of admiration The Vyne whiche naturallye is fallinge if it be not vnder propped shoared vp lyeth flat vpon the ground but the same to rayse vppe itselfe claspeth and with his Tendrells as it were with handes holdeth faste what soeuer it catcheth The which creeping and spreading itselfe sundrye wayes that Husbandmans skilfull Arte doth with his pruninge toole restrayne and cut of least it should with superfluous Braunches be ouer growen spread too much euery waye
deale better thereof iudged Let no man at my death lament Nor weepe when I am laid in Graue For why in lyfe aye permanent I sure am lastinge Fame to haue Such death in his opinion is not to be lamented and bewayled which is exchaunged for Immortality Now as touchinge the Griefe or Agonies of dying if there be any certes they endure but for a small space especiallye in an Oldman and after Death the same Sense is eyther such as is blessed and optable or els is it none at all But Adolescencie ought to enure itselfe in this Meditation still to dispise Death without which Meditation no man can haue a quiet mynde For surely dye we muste and vncertaine are wee whether euen this verye present daye Therfore who is hee which euery hower standing in feare of Death can haue his mynde in any reste and tranquillitye whereof there needeth no very long discourse to be sith I well remember not onelye L. Brutus who in the quarell of his Country was slayne the two Decij who gallopinge their horses voluntarily gaue themselues to Death M. Regulus who willingly went and yelded himselfe to punishment because hee woulde not forswere himselfe but keepe touch promise euen with his very Enemies the two Scipioes which stopped the passage and way of the * Carthaginians euen with their owne bodyes thy Graūdfather L. Paulus who through the rashnesse of his * Copertner and fellowe in Office was in that ignominious dishonorable ouerthrow at Cannas slayne and manquelled M. Marcellus whose dead Corps his most cruell * Enemye suffered not to lacke honorable interrement but also how oure Legions and common Souldiers haue couragiously and stoutlye aduentured manye tymes into such places whence they neuer thought againe to returne alyue as in my Boke of Originalles I haue declared Shall therfore Oldmen whych hee learned and skilfull feare that thing whych young Striplinges and the fame not onelye vnlearned but rude and rusticall also do contemne and sette at naughte But a sacietie of all thinges in mine opinion causeth a sacietie of lyfe There be some delightes peculier to Childhood Shal tall Striplinges Youngmen addict themselues thereunto semblablye There bee also some appropriat vnto youthful Adolescency Shall rype and consistent Age whyche is tearmed the Middle Age of man desire the same And there bee of this same middle Age some Studies which Oldage careth not for And there bee some last of all peculier to Oldage Therfore as the delightes of these former Ages do decay and come to an end so do these of Oldage dye and vanish awaye also Which when it happeneth then doth sacietye of lyfe bringe a rype and conuenable tyme to dye For trulye I see no cause to the contrarye but that I dare bee bolde to declare vnto you al that I thincke iudge of Death namely for that I seeme the deeper to see into it because I now approach drawe somwhat neere vnto it And verelye OP Scipio C. Laelie I do beleeue that your noble Fathers which were Gentlemen both right honourable and my most deare Frendes are yet still alyue and doe lyue such a lyfe as in deede is alone to be accoūpted Lyfe For so long as wee are enclosed with in the Prison or frame of our bodyes we must needes discharge some actions euē of necessitie and are dryuen to doe some such Functiōs as are vnauoydable For the mynd or Soule being heauenly and inspired into Mā from aboue is depressed as it were forcibly throwen down to the Earth being a place to Diuine nature Eternitie quight contrary But I thincke that the Immortall Goddes inspired Myndes into Humane Bodies to the ende there should bee some to inhabite the Earth who beholdynge the Order of the Bodyes Celestial should imitate the same in the course of their lyues and in Constancy And not onely reason and disputatiō enforceth me so to beleeue but the noblenesse also and Authoritye of renowmed Philosophers For I haue beene in place where I haue heard that Pythagoras and his Scholers the Pythagorians being dwellers here almost endenizoned among vs for they were once termed Italiā Philosophers neuer made any doubt in the matter but that we had our myndes or Soules tipped and deriued from the very vniuersall diuinitye of God. There were moreouer shewed vnto mee those pointes which Socrates euen hee which by the Oracle of Apollo was adiudged the Wisest man in the worlde disputed and spake the last day of his lyfe concerning the Immortalirye of the Soule What needeth many wordes I am thus perswaded and thus do I thinke sith there is so greate celeritye of mens Myndes so good remēbrance of things passed so great insighte and forecaste of thinges to come so many Artes so manye Sciences and so many inuentions that the Nature which vnderstandeth conteyneth the knowledge of al these thinges cannot bee mortall And sith the mynde is euer mouinge and hath no beginninge of motion because it moueth itselfe so shall it neuer haue anye ende of motion because it shall neuer leaue nor depart from itselfe And sith the Nature of the mynd is simple and hath nothinge annexed wyth it whiche is vnlike or discrepante from itselfe that therefore it is indiuisible forsomuche as it is indiuisible therefore can it neuer dye And that this serueth for a greate Argument to proue that men know sundry thinges before they be borne because young Children learning hard Artes do so quickly conceiue and apprehend the knowledge of innumerable thinges in such sorte that they seeme not then first to learne them but to renew them fresh againe into memory Al these in a manner bee Plato hys reasons In Xenophō also we read that Cyrus the Elder lyinge on his death Bedde spake these woordes Do not thincke my deare chyldren that when I am gone frō you I shal be no where or broughte to nothing For in all the whyle that I haue beene with you you did neuer see my Mynd but yet by those noble Acts which I haue atchieued you did well ynough vnderstand that in this Bodye of myne there was a Mynde Beleeue therefore that I haue the selfe same Minde stil although visiblie with youre eyes you see it not Neither would the honourable memorialles of noble Personages remayne after their Deathes if their worthy mynds should atchieue no such notable enterprise for the which we should the lōger celebrate the memorye of theym when they bee dead and gone Trulye it woulde neuer sinke in my brayn that mens Mindes or Soules only lyued whyle they remayned in mortall Bodies and that beinge departed oute of them they vtterly dyed Neither that the mynde is Doltish and foolish when it is set at libertye and departed out of a foolishe Bodye but when it beinge clerely rid from all admixtion of the Bodye beginneth once to bee pure sound then is it wise
do pollute with bawdry and whoredome that the dishonestie and shame of the lecherous fact is equall and all one What is there no difference wyll some say whether a man kyll his owne Father or els some cōmon Seruaunt If you meane these two comparisons barelye and simplye it is harde to bee iudged of what sort they bee For if it be of itselfe simplie an horrible offence for one to kil his Father then the * Saguntines who had leyfer their Parentes should dye being free and vnbāquished then to lyue in seruitude and slauerye were Parricides Therfore in some case the Sonne may vereue the Father of his lyfe without offence many times a poore drudge or slaue maye not be brought to his death without great wrong and iniurye The cause therfore and not the nature of the fact maketh the difference herein which when it is occasioned by the one then is the same committed more readilye but if it bee conioyned to both then must the faults be needes equall Notwithstanding herein they do differ that in killinge a Slaue if it be don iniuriouslye there is but one single offence commited but in killing taking awaye the lyfe of a Father there are many faultes for therein is an vnnatural dealing shewed to him that begatte thee that fostered and brought thee vp that instructed and taught thee that placed thee in good state to lyue in the cōmon Wealth and furnished thee wyth houses and necessaries Hee is notoryous for the multitude of Offences which taketh away frō his Father that which hee himselfe receiued of him and therefore deserueth a great deale more punishmente But in the rare and course of our lyfe wee oughte not to wayghe and consider what punishment is meete and due for euery faulte but to looke and perpende what is lawful and permitted for euery man to do To do that which behoueth not to bee done wee ought to thinck to bee an offence but to doe anye thinge which is prohibited and vnlawfull we ought to iudge and accoumpt a detestable and cursed deede Is this to bee so precisely taken for euery light matter and small trespasse Yea trulye for wee cannot ymagine a meane of the thinges but wee may bridle our affections and keepe our Myndes in a meane and measure If a Stage player do neuer so lyttle in his gesture misse and transgresse the notes of measure or erre in pronouncing some one syllable in a Verse long which should bee short or contrary wise that short which should be long he is hissed at and with clapping of handes driuen from the Stage and wilt thou saye that thou shouldest erre and offend so much as in one syllable in thy lyfe which ought to be more moderate then anye gesture and more inculpable then anye Verse I cannot abide to heare a Poet make a fault in his Verse though it be but a trifling matter and shall I heare a Citizen skanne vpon his fingers his faultes which in the societie of Lyfe hee hath committed Which if they seeme to bee shorter yet how can they seeme to bee lighter sithence euerye offence and sinne commeth by the perturbation of reason and order For Reason Order being once broken and perturbed there can nothing bee added whereby it may seeme that the Offence may any whitte more bee encreased The Fourth Paradoxe wherein is proued that all Fooles bee madde and distraught frō their right myndes couertly taunting Clodius and by him all others of like maners and conditions BVt I will manifestlye by necessary Argumēts prooue thee not a Foole as thou art often not a wicked Villayn as thou art alwayes but a franticke Sotte a starke madde Ideot Shall the mynd of a Wiseman which is garded and on euery side fenced in with graue counsell and aduice patient bearing suffering al such chaūces as are incident to mā contēpt of Fortune finally with al other Vertues as it were with a Rāpier or a wall bee vanquished and ouerthrowen which cannot be so much as exiled and banished out of the Citie For what call you a Citye Is it an whole assemblye of sauage and brutishe lyuers or is it a rabbling rout multitude of Rennegates and Cutthrote Thieues congregated into one place Certes you will say no. Then verilye was not it to bee called a Cittye when as the Lawes were disanulled and abrogated when Iudgementes were layed aside and contemned when the aunciente customes of the Cittye were ceassed and extinguished when the Magistrates were with sweard and strong hand deposed and disfraunchised and the honourable name of Senate no more vsed in the Weale publique Was that flocking rout of Theeues and Ruffians and that swarme of Robbers and Murderers which vnder thy conduct were broughte and set in the * Forum and the residue of the Conspiratours which after the sedicious Furies trayterous vprores of Catiline turned cōformed themselues vnto thy vngracious villany madnes any city Therfore I was not banished out of the Citie which was then none but I was called home restored into that city when there was in the cōmon Wealth a Cōsul which* then was none at all when there was a Senate which while thou barest the swaye was quight decayed when the people might francklye and freelye geeue their voyces and consentes and finallye when the xecution of Iustice Lawe Equitie which bee the Lincks and Bondes of a Citie were reuiued and broughte agayne into fresh remembraunce But behold how little I set by these weapons where with thou mainteinest thy murderous and thieuish lewdnesse I euer made accoūpt that thou diddest meane great mischieuous iniurye towardes mee but I neuer thought that it euer raught or came neere to mee Vnlesse peraduēture when thou diddest beat downe the walles of my House or when thou diddest moste wickedlye set my Mansion on fier thou thoughtest that some of such things as were myne were spoyled ransacked and burned But I doe recken nothing to bee myne neyther can anye Man els cal anye thinge his owne whych may bee taken away or stollen or by anye other meanes loste If thou haddeste berefte mee of my longe continued Constancy of Mynde of my prouident cares of my watchful paynes and my sage counsayle whereby the state of this publique Weale is and hath beene honourablye conserued and mainteined or if thou haddest abolished blotted out the immortal Fame that shall eternallye redound to me for these worthye benefites or which is more if thou haddest bereft mee of that Mind out of which al these Counsailes proceded then woulde I confesse that I had receyued a Wronge at thyne handes But forasmuch as thou neyther diddest neyther yet couldest do this therefore hath thy iniurious dealing toward mee made this my retourne ioyful and glorious and not my departure wretched and miserable Therfore I was euer a Citizen and then especiallye when the Senate dyd wryte
the slip namely when they practise any great matter to the hurt of the coÌ„mon wealth And vnto the euil disposed persoÌ„s must a punishmeÌ„t be deuised no lesse for theÌ„ that partake with others theÌ„ for those that bee the verye Ringleaders Capitaines of mischiefe themselues What Noble man was there in all Greece more renowmed theÌ„ Themistocles Who was of greater power then he who bring Generall in the warres againste the Persians deliuered Greece from Bondage and being afterwarde through enuy banished could not digest and suffer that Iniurye of his vnkinde Country whiche his parte was to haue suffered He playd that like part as Coriolanê° did xx yeres before with vs There was not one maÌ„fouÌ„d that would aid theÌ„ against their couÌ„try therfore both of theÌ„ killed theÌ„selues Wherefore such coÌ„spiracy of naughty persoÌ„s is not only not to be cloked with any preteÌ„ce of FreÌ„dship but is rather with al extremitie to be punished that no maÌ„ may think it lawful to coÌ„sent to his freÌ„d that warreth against his CouÌ„try which thing as that world now beginneth to goe I know not whether it will one day come to passe or no. Verely I haue no lesse care in what state the Common wealthe shal be after my deathe then I haue of the case it standeth in at this present day LET this therfore bee enacted as the firste law of Frendship that wee request at our frendes handes those thinges that be honest and that wee doe for our freendes sakes al thinges that bee reasonnable and that wee do not pinch curtesye in stayinge till wee bee requessted but let vs euer haue an earnest good will to pleasure them let all delayes be set aparte and let vs bee glad in deede freelye to geeue our freende good counsell Let the Aucthoritie of Freendes geuing souÌ„d counsel beare great sway and force in Frendship and let the same be vsed to warne one another not onely plainly but if occasion so serue sharplye and let suche aucthoritie so geeuen be throughly obeyed As for those good felowes whom as I heare say were accouÌ„ted ioly wisemeÌ„ in Greece I thinke they delited in some vncouth wonders But there is nothing wherupoÌ„ they doe not deskant with their quiddities as partlye that wee should eschew Frendshippe with too manye least one man shoulde be driuen to be careful formanye that euerye man shoulde haue fully ynoughe to doe to care for his owne matters that it is a great trouble to be ouermuch encoÌ„bred with other mens dealings that it is a iolye matter to haue that Reynes of Frendship at wil eyther to plucke sâ—reit when a man is disposed or to let goe at large at his own pleasure And that the principallest point of happy life is Quietnesse which the mynde cannot enioye if one should beare al that burden and as it were trauaile with childe for many Another sort they say there be whiche holde a more beastlye opinion then these aboue as I brieflye noted a little before affirming that Frendship ought to bee desired for a stay and a helpe to be had thereby not for any goodwil or hartie loue Therefore by this reckening as euerye one hath of himselfe smallest staye abilitye so should he moste seeke for Frendeshippe And by this meanes it happeneth that seelye women seeke the aide of Frendship more then men and the needye more then the wealthye and the miserablie distressed more then they that be accoumpted fortunate Oh passinge braue wisedome For they seme to take the SuÌ„ne out of the world whiche would take Freendshippe from among vs then the which we haue nothinge eyther better or pleasaunter by the immortall Gods geuen vnto vs. For what maner of Quietnes is this forsooth to see to very pleasaunt but in deede in many respectes to be reiected For it standeth not with reason eyther not to take in hande or beinge taken in hande to leaue of any honest cause or deede because thou wouldest not bee troubled But if wee refuse care wee must then refuse Vertue which must of necessitye with some care despise and hate those things that be contrary to it as for example Goodnes must hate Euilnesse Temperaunce Ryotte Fortitude Cowardise Therefore a man maye see the iust greatlye greeued at matters vniuste the stout at the weake the modest liuers with pranckes vngracious This therefore is the propertie of a well stayed mynde to reioyce at good things to be sory for the contrary Wherfore if griefe of mynde be incideÌ„t to a WisemaÌ„ as in very deede it is excepte wee thincke that humanitie bee cleane dislodged out of his minde what cause is there why wee should vtterlye take away Frendshippe from the life of man because we would take no paines or troubles about it For take awaye the motions of the minde and tell me what difference there is I will not saye beetweene a Beast and a man but euen betweene a man and a Stone or a Log or any other such like thing Neyther are they to be geeuen eare vnto whiche holde opinion that Vertue is hard as it were pronlike which surelye is in many things els but especially in Frendship tender tractable in so much that at the weale of his frend it spreadeth itselfe abroade and at his mishaps shrinketh in again Wherfore this same trouble which must oftentimes be abyden for our frends is not of such force that it should quight take away Frendshippe froÌ„ amonge men no more then Vertue ought to be reiected because it bringeth sundrye cares and greuaunces Seeing therefore that Vertue causeth Freendship as I afore haue declared if any token or significatioÌ„ of vertue appeareth wheruÌ„to a mind seÌ„vlably disposed may apply ioyne itselfe where this thing hapneth ther say I nedes must FreÌ„dship grow For what is so absurd as to bee delyted with manye vayne things as Honor. Glorye Houses Apparell brauerye and deckinge of the bodye and not to be exceedinglye delighted with a Mynde endued with Vertue suche a one as eyther can loue or as I may saye afoord loue for loue againe For there is nothinge more delectable then is the requitall of good will nothing more pleasaunt then is the mutual entrecourse of Freendlinesse and curtesies And if we adde this vnto it whiche maye verye will bée added that there is nothinge whiche so greatly allureth draweth anye thinge vnto it as the likenesse of Conditions doth vnto Freendshippe then surelye must this bee needes graunted true that goodmeÌ„ do loue them which he good haunt together in company as meÌ„ neere ly ioyned together by kinred nature For nothing is more desirous nothiÌ„g is more eager rauenous of his lyke then Nature Wherfore this in my iudgement is a plaine case Fannius and Scaeuola that it cannot choose but there must needes be amonge good men one towardes an other a freendly and hartie well meaninge