mother in the chariot to the temple So after that the feast was ended the mother not knowyng how to requite the benefite of her children with many teares beesought the goddesse Iuno that shee with the other gods woold bee contented to geeue her .ii. children the best thing that the gods coold geeue to their frends The goddesse Iuno aunswered her that shee was contented to require the other gods and that they woold doo it And the reward was that for this noble fact the gods ordeyned that Cleobolus and Biton shoold sleepe one day well and in the morning when they shoold wake they shoold dye The mother pitifully beewayling the death of her children and complaining of the gods the goddesse Iuno sayd vnto her Thou hast no cause why to complayn sins wee haue geeuen thee that thou hast demaunded and hast demaunded that which wee haue geeuen thee I am a goddesse and thou art my seruaunt therefore the gods haue geeuen to thy children the thing which they count most deare which is death For the greatest reuenge which amongst vs gods wee can take of our enemies is to let them liue long and the best thing that wee keepe for our frends is to make them dye quickly The auctor of this history is called Hisearchus in his politikes and Cicero in his first book of his Tusculanes In the I le of Delphos where the Oracle of the god Apollo was there was a sumptuous temple the which for want of reparacion fell down to the ground as often times it chaunceth to high sumptuous buyldings which from tyme to tyme are not repayred For if the walles dungeons castels and strong houses coold speak as well woold they complayn for that they doo not renew them as the old men doo for that wee doo not cherish them Triphon and Agamendo were two noble personages of Greece and counted for sage and rich men the which went vnto the temple of Apollo and buylt it new agayn as well with the labor of their persons as with the great expenses of their goods When the buylding was atchiued the god Apollo said vnto them that hee remembred well their good seruice wherefore hee woold they shoold demaund him any thing in reward of their trauail and with a good will it shoold bee graunted For the gods vse for a little seruice to geeue a great reward Triphon and Agamendo aunswered vnto the god Apollo that for their good will for their trauell and for their expenses they demaunded no other reward but that it woold please him to geeue them the best thing that might bee geeuen vnto man and that vnto them were most profit saying that the miserable men haue not the power to eschew the euill nor wisedom to choose the good The god Apollo aunswered that hee was contented to pay them their seruice which they had doon and to grant them that which they had demaunded By reason whereof Triphon and Agamendo hauing dyned sodeinly at the gates of the temple fell down dead So that the reward of their trauell was to pluck them out of their misery The end to declare these two examples is to th end that al mortal men may know that there is nothing so good in this world as to haue an end of this lyfe and though to lose it there bee no sauor yet at the least ther is profit For wee woold reproue a traueler of great foolishnes if sweating by the way hee woold sing and after at his iorneys end hee shoold beegin to weepe Is not hee simple which is sory for that hee is comen into the hauen is not hee simple that geeueth the battell and fighteth for that hee hath got the victory Is not hee stubbern which is in great distresse and is angry to bee succored Therefore more foolish simple and stubbern is hee which traueleth to dye and is loth to meet with death For death is the true refuge the perfect health the sure hauen the whole victory the flesh wythout bones fysh wythout scales and corne without straw Fynally after death wee haue nothing to beewail and much lesse to desire In the tyme of Adrian the emperor a philosopher called Secundus beeing marueilously learned made an oration at the funerall of a noble Romayn matrone a kinswoman of the emperors who spake exceeding much euill of lyfe marueilous much good of death And when the emperor demaunded him what death was the philosopher answered Death is an eternal sleepe a dissolucion of the body a terror of the rich a desire of the poore a thing inheritable a pilgrymage vncertain a theef of men a kynde of sleaping a shadow of lyfe a seperacion of the lyuing a company of the dead a resolution of all a rest of trauels and the end of all ydle desires Fynally death is the scourge of all euyll and the cheef reward of the good Truely this philosopher spake very well hee shoold not doo euill which profoundly woold consider that hee had spoken Seneca in an epistle declareth of a philosopher whose name was Bassus to whom when they demaunded what euil a man can haue in death since men feare it so much hee aunswered If any domage or fear is in him who dyeth it is not for the fear of death but for the vyce of him which dieth Wee may agree to that the philosopher sayd that euen as the deaf can not iudge harmony nor the blynd colours so lykewise they cannot say euill of death in especially hee which neuer tasted it For of all those which are dead none returned again to complayn of death and of these few that lyue all complayn of lyfe If any of the dead returned hyther to speak with the liuing and as they haue proued it so they woold tel vs. If there were any harm in secret death it were reason to haue some fear of death But though a man that neuer saw hard felt nor tasted death dooth speak euil of death shoold wee therefore fear death Those ought to haue doon some euil in their life whych doo fear and speak euill of death For in the last hour in the streight iudgement the good shal bee knowen and the euill discouered There is no prince nor knight rich nor poore whole nor sick lucky nor vnlucky whych I see with their vocacions to bee contented saue only the dead which in their graues are in peace and rest and are neyther couetous proud negligent vayn ambitious nor dissolute So that the state of the dead ought to bee best since wee see none therin to bee euil contented And since therefore those which are poore doo seeke wherewith to enrich them selues those which are sad doo seeke wherby to reioice and those which are sick doo seeke to bee healed why is it that those which haue such fear of death doo seeke some remedy against that fear In this case I woold say that hee which will not fear to dye let him vse him self well to liue For the giltles
prince ordeyned hys lyfe in suche sorte that in his absence thinges touchinge the warre were well prouided and in hys presence was nothynge but matters of knowledge argued It chaunsed one daye as Marcus Aurelius was enuironed with Senatours Philosophers phisitions and other sage men a question was moued among them howe greatly Rome was chaunged not onelye in buyldinges whyche almoste were vtterlye decayed but also in maners whiche were wholly corrupted the cause of all thys euill grewe for that Rome was full of flatterers and destitute of those whiche durste saye the trueth These and suche other lyke words heard the emperour toke vp his hand and blessed him and declared vnto them a notable example sayeng In the first yere that I was coÌsull there came a poore villayne from the riuer of Danubye to aske iustice of the Senate agaynst a Censour whyche dyd sore oppresse the people and in dede he dyd so well propounde hys complaint and declare the follye and iniuryes whych the iudges dyd in hys countrey that I doubt whether Marcus Cicero could vtter it better wyth hys tonge or the renowmed Homer haue written it more eloquently with his penne This villayne had a small face great lippes hollow eyes hys colour burnte curled heare bareheaded hys shoes of a Porpige skynne hys coate of gotes skynne hys girdell of bull russhes a longe bearde and thicke hys eye breyes couered hys eyes the stomacke the neck couered wyth skynnes heared as a beare and a clubbe in hys hand Without doubt when I sawe him enter into the Senate I imagined it had beene a beast in fourme of a man and after I hearde that whyche he sayde I iudged hym to be a God if there are Gods amongest menne For if it was a fearfull thyng to beholde hys personne it was no lesse monstrous to heare his wordes At that tyme there was greate prease at the dore of the Senate of manye and dyuers personnes for to solicite the affaires of theire prouinces yet notwithstanding this villayne spake before the others for twoe causes The one for that men were desyrous to heare what so monstrous a man woulde say the other because the Senatours had this custome that the complayntes of the poore should be hearde before the requestes of the riche Wherfore this villayne afterwardes in the middest of the Senate began to tel his tale and the cause of hys comminge thither in the whiche he shewed him selfe no lesse bolde in woordes then he was in his attyre straunge and saide vnto them in thys sorte O fathers conscripte and happy people I Mileno a ploughman dwelling nere vnto the ryuer of Danube doe salute you worthye Senatours of Rome which are conuented here in this Senate I besech the immortal gods my tong this day so to gouerne that I may say that which is coÌuenient for my countrey and that they helpe you others to gouerne well the common wealth For wythout the healpe of God we can neither learne the good nor auoid the euill The fatale destines permittinge it and our wrathefull Gods forsakinge vs our mishappe was suche to ye others fortune shewed her self so fauourable that the proud captaines of Rome byforce of armes toke our countrey of Germany And I saye not without a cause that at that tyme the gods were displeased with vs for if we Germaines had appeased our Gods ye Romaynes might well haue excused your selues for ouercomminge of vs. Greate is youre glorye O Romaynes for the victories ye haue had and tryumphes whiche of manye realmes ye haue conquered but notwithstanding greater shall your infamy be in the worlde to come for the cruelties whiche you haue committed For I let you knowe yf you do not knowe it that when the wicked went before the triumphing chariots sayeng lyue lyue inuincyble Rome on the other syde the poore captyues went sayeng in theire hartes iustice iustice My predecessours enhabited by the ryuer of Danubye for when the drye earth annoyed them they came to recreate them selues in the freshe water and if perchaunce the vnconstant water dyd annoy them then they woulde returne againe to the mayne lande And as the appetites and condicions of men are variable so there is a tyme to flye from the lande to refreshe our selues by the water And tyme also when we are annoyed with the water to retourne agayne to the lande But howe shall I speake Romaynes that whyche I woulde speake your couetousenes of taking other mennes goods hath bene so extreme your pryde of commaunding straunge countreis hath bene so disordinate that neither the sea can suffise you in the depenes thereof neyther the lande assure vs in the fieldes of the same O how great comforte it is for the troubled men to think and be assured that there are iust gods the which will do iustice on the vniust For if the oppressed menne thought them selues not assured that the gods would wreke their iniury of theire enemies they with their owne handes woulde destroy them selues The ende why I speake this is for so much as I hope in the iust gods that as you others with out reason haue cast vs out of our houses so by reason shal others come after vs and cast you others out of Italy Rome bothe There in my countrey of Germany we take it for a rule vnfallyble that he whiche by force taketh the good of another by reason ought to lose his owne proper right And I hope in the gods that that which we haue for a prouerb in Germany you shal haue for experience here in Rome By the grosse woordes I speake by the strange apparell which I weare you may well immagine that I am some rude vââlaine or barbarous borne but yet notwithstandinge I want not reason to know who is iust and righteous in holdyng his owne and who is a tyraunt in possessing of others For the rude menne of my profession though in good stile they cannot declare that whiche they would vtter yet notwithstandinge that we are not ignoraunt of that whiche ought to bee allowed for good nor whiche ought to bee condemned for euill I woulde saye therfore in this case that that which the euyll with all their tiranny haue gathered in many daies the gods shall take from them in one houre and contrarywyse all that which the good shall lose in many yeres the gods will cestore it them in one minute For speaking the trueth the euill to prosper in ryches is not for that the gods will it but that they doe suffer it and though at this houre we complaine disseÌbling we suffer much but the tyme shal come that will paye for all Beliue me in one thing O Romaynes and doubt not therin that of the vnlawfull gaine of the fathers foloweth after the iust vndoing of their children Manye often tymes doe marueile in my countrey what the cause is that the gods doe not take from the wicked that which they winne immediatlye as soone as
the Egiptians nor Licurgus to the Lacedemonians nor Plato to his disciples nor Apolonius to the poets of Nemsis nor Hiarcus to the Indians coold euer tech it them and much lesse coold they tell how to fynd any way to write it in their bookes of common wealth The cause why these famous men did not fynd it was beecause this science coold not bee learned by studying of dyuers bookes nor by traueling through dyuers countreys but only by framing great suites and processes and by infinite charge and expence of money Happy yea truely most happy were those ages in whych they neither knew nor coold tell what strife or contentionment For in deede from that tyme hetherto the world hath fallen to decay and cheefely since men haue growen to quarel and contend ech other with his neighbor Plato was wont to say that in that comon weale where there were found many Phisitians it was also an euydent token that there were many vicyous people and lykewise wee may say that in the city where there are many suters it is to bee thought it folowes also that there are many yll disposed people That only may bee called a blessed and fortunat common weale where men lyue quietly and haue not to doo with Iustices nor iudges For it is a true rule when phisitians are much frequeÌted and iudges much occupyed that amongst that people there is lyttle health and lesse quiet But to returne to the troubles of our suters I say that the disciples of the famous Philosopher Socrates were not bound to bee sylent in Athens aboue two yeres but the vnfortunat suters were bound to hold their peace tenne yeres if their sutes did continue so long For albeeit the Iudge doo them open iniury yet they may not seeme to complayn but rather say hee thinketh hee hath doon him the best iustice in the world And if for his mishapp or plague of his offences hee woold not so approue and speak them let him bee assured the Iudge will perceiue it by his countenaunce and afterwards lett hym know it by his iudgement Some suters say they are great sinners and I say they are saints For of the seuen dedly sinnes that are committed only of three they are but to bee accused For in the other iiii although they woold they doo not geeue him tyme nor leaue to offend How can the suter euer offend in Pryde since hee must poore man goe from house to house with hys capp in his hand and all humility to solicite his cause How can hee euer offend in Auarice syth hee hath not many tymes a peny in his purse to by him his dyuer nor to pay for the infinit draughts and coppyes proceeding out of the Chauncery How can hee offend in Sloth and ydlenes sith hee consumeth the long nights only in sighes and complaynts and the whole day in trotting and trudging vp and down How can hee offend in Gluttony since hee woold bee content to haue only to suffyse nature and not to desyre pyes nor breakfastes nor to lay the table euery day That sinne they most easely and commonly offend in is Ire and in deede I neuer saw suter pacieÌt and although hee bee angry wee may not maruell at yt a whit For if euer once in the end of half a yere hee happen to haue any thyng that pleaseth hym I dare bee bound euery weeke after hee shall not want infinit troubles to torment and vex hym These men also offend much in enuy for in deed there is no man that pleades but ys enuious and thys proceedeth many tymes to see an other man by fauor dispatched of hys sute that hath not contynued only two moneths in court a suter and of hys that hath continued aboue two yeres synce yt beganne not a woord spoken They offend also in the sinne of backbyting and murmuryng agaynst their neyghbors For they neuer cease complayning of the partiality of the Iudges of the slouthfulnes and tymorousnes of his Counseller that pleades hys cause at the barre of the little consideration of the attorny of the payments of the notary and of the small curtesies or rather rudenes of the officers of the Iudge So that it may well bee sayd that to striue in law and to murmure are nere kinsfolkes togeethers The Egiptians were in tyme past plaged only wyth tenne plagues but these miserable woful suters are dayly plaged with a thowsand torments And the difference beetwixt their plague these is that the Egiptians came from the diuine prouydence and these of our poore suters from the inuention of mans malyce And it is not without cause wee say that it is mans inuention not diuine For to frame inditements to geene delays to the party to allege accions to deny the demaund to accept the proofe to examin witnesses to take out proces to note the declaration to prolong the cause alleging well or prouing yll to refuse the iudge for suspect to make intercession to take out the copy of the plea and to call vppon it agayn wyth a 1500. dudles Surely all these are things that neither god commaundeth in the old testament neither Ihesus Christ our sauiour dooth allow in his holy Gospell The writings of Egipt although they were to the great losse and detriment of the seignory of the Egiptians yet were they neuerthelesse very profitable for the liberty of the Egiptians But the miserable playntifes are yet in an other greater extremity for notwithstanding the plagues and miseries the poore wretches suffer daily yet do they leaue their soules buried in the courts of Chauncery and cannot notwithstanding haue their goods at liberty And if the plague of the Egiptians was by ryuers of blood froggs horse flyes death of cattell tempests leprosy locusts mists flyes and by the death of the first borne children The plague of the plaintifes is to serue the presidents to beare with the auditors to intreat the notaries to make much of their clarks to please the counsellers to follow their heeles that must open their cause to pray the vsshers to borow money to goe from house to house to sollicite their attorneys all these things are easy to tell but very hard to suffer For after they are once prooued and tryed by experience they are enough to make a wyse man contented rather to lose a peece of hys ryght then to seeke to recouer it by any such extremity For hee may bee well assured that hee shall neuer want fayre countenaunce sugred woords and large promyses but for good dooings it is a maruelous woonder if euer they meete togeethers And therefore beefore all other thyngs it is necessary hee pray to God for hys own health and preseruation and next to him for the preseruacion and long continuaunce of the Iudge if hee will obteyn his suite Therefore I aduise him that hath not the Iudge for hys frend to beeware as from the deuyll hee doo not commence any suite beefore him For to dispatch him the
take to their custody we are bouÌd to defend it is not lawfull for vs to diminish their credite Suppose that this my worke were not so profound as it might be of this matter nor with such eloqueÌce set out as many other bokes are yet I dare be bolde to say that the prince shal take more profit by reading of this worke than Nero did by his loue Pompeia For in the end by reading and studieng good bookes men tourne become sage and wise and by keping il company they are counted fooles vitious My meaning is not nor I am not so importunat and vnreasonable to perswade princes that they should so fauour my doctrine the it should be in like estimacion now in these partes as the amber was there in Rome But that which only I require demaund is that the time which Nero speÌt in singing telling the héere 's of his loue Pompeia should now be employed to redresse the wrongs faultes of the common wealth For the noble worthy prince ought to employ the least part of the day in the recreation of his person After he hath giueÌ audience to his counsaylours to the embassadours to the great Lordes prelates to the riche and poore to his owne countrey men and straungers after that he be come into his priuy chamber then my desire is that he would reade this treatise or some other better than this for in princes chambers oftentimes those of the priuie chaÌber and other their familiares loase great time in reciting vayne and trifling maters and of small profit the which might better be spent in reading some good booke In al worldly affaires that we do in al our bookes which we compile it is a greate matter to be fortunate For to a man that fortune doth not fauour diligence without doute can little auaile Admitte that fortune were against me in that this my worke should be acceptable vnto your maiestie without comparison it should be a great grief dishonor vnto me to tel you what should be good to reade for your pastime if on thother parte you woulde not profite by mine aduise For my mind was not only to make this booke to the end princes should reade it for a pastime but to that end in recreating theÌ selues somtimes they mought thereby also take profit Aulus Gellius in the. 12. chapter of his thirde booke entituled De nocte attica said that amongs al the schollers which the diuine Plato had one was named Demosthenes a man amongest the Gréekes moste highly estemed of the Romaynes greatly desired Because he was in his liuing seuere and in his tonge and doctrine a very saâire If Demosthenes had come in the time of Phalaris the tiraunt whan Grecia was peopled with tirau tes and that he had not bene in Platoes tyme when it was replenished with Philosophers truelye Demosthenes had bene as cleare a lanterne in Asia as Cicero the greate was in Europe Greate good happe hath a notable man to be borne in one age more then in any other I meane that if a valiaunt Knight come in the tyme of a couragious and stout prince such one truly shal be estemed and set in great authoritie But if he come in the time of an other effeminate and couetous prince he shall not be regarded at al. For he wil rather esteme one that wil augment his treasour at home than him that can vanquishe his enemies in battayle abrode So likewise it chaunseth to wise and vertuous men which if they come in the time of vertuous and learned princes are estemed and honoured But if they come in tyme of vayne and vitious princes they make small accounte of them For it is an auncient custome amonge vanities children not to honor him which to the common wealth is most profitable but him whiche to the prince is most acceptable The ende why this is spoken Most pusant Prince is because the twoo renoumed philosophers were in Grece both at one time and because the diuine philosopher Plato was so much estemed and made of they did not greatly esteme the philosopher Demosthenes For the emineÌt and high renoume of one alone diminisheth the fame estimacion amoÌg the people of many Although Demosthenes was such a one in dede as we haue sayd that is to witte eloquent of tonge ready of memory sharpe and quicke of witte in liuing seuere sure and profitable in geuing of counsaile in renoume excellent in yeres very auncient and in philosophie a man right wel learned Yet he refused not to goe to the scholes of Plato to heare morall philosophie He that shall reade this thinge or heare it ought not to merueile but to folow it and to profit likewise in the same that is to vnderstande that one philosopher learned of an other and one wise maÌ suffered him selfe to be taught of an other For knowledge is of such a qualitie that the more a man knoweth dayly there encreaseth in him a desire to knowe more All thinges of this life after they haue bene tasted and possessed cloyeth a man wearieth and troubleth him true science onely excepted which neuer doth cloy weary nor troble them And if it happen we wery any it is but the eyes which are weried with lokinge and reading and not the spirite with féeling and tastinge Many Lordes and my familiar friendes doe aske me how it is possible I shoulde liue with so much study And I also demaunde of them how it is possible they should liue in such continuall idelnes For considering the prouocacion and assaultes of the flesh the daungers of the world the temptacions of the deuil the treasons of enemies importunities of friendes what hart can suffer so great and continual trauaile but onely in reading comforting him selfe in bookes Truely a man ought to haue more compassion of a simple ignoraunte man than of a poore man For there is no greater pouerty vnto a man than to lacke wisdome whereby he should know how to gouerne him selfe Therefore folowinge our matter the case was such one day Demosthenes going to the schole of Plato sawe in the market place of Athens a greate assembly of people which were hearing a philosopher newely come vnto that place he spake not this without a cause that there was a greate companye of people assembled For that naturallye the common people are desirous to heare new and straunge things Demosthenes asked what philosopher he was after whome so many people went and when it was aunswered him that it was Calistratus the philosopher a man which in eloquence was very swéete and pleasaunt he determined to staie and heare him to th ende he woulde knowe whither it were true or vayne that the people tolde hym For oftentymes it happeneth that amonge the people some gette them selues greate fame more by fauour than by good learninge The difference betwixte the diuine Philosopher Plato and Calistratus was in that Plato was exceadinglye well
learned and the other very eloquente and thus it came to passe that in liuinge they folowed Plato and in eloquence of speache they did imitate Callistratus For there are diuers menne sufficiently well learned whiche haue profounde doctrine but they haue no waye nor meanes to teache it others Demosthenes hearing Calistratus but ones was so far in loue with his doctrine that he neuer after hearde Plato nor entred into his scole for to harken to any of his lectures At which newes diuers of the sages of Grecia marueiled much seing that the tonge of a man was of such power that it had put all their doctrine to scilence Although I apply not this example I doute not but your maiestie vnderstandeth to what end I haue declared it And moreouer I say that although Princes haue in their chambers bookes so well corrected and men in their courtes so wel learned that they may worthely kéepe thestimacion which Plato had in his schole yet in this case it shoulde not displease me that the difference that was betwen Plato and Calistratus should be betwene Princes and this booke God forbidde that by this sayeng men should thinke I meane to disswade Princes from the company of the sage men or from reading of any other booke but this for in so doinge Plato shoulde be reiected which was diuine and Calistratus embraced which was more wordly But my desire is that sometime they would vse to reade this booke a little for it may chaunce they shal finde some holsome counsayle therein which at one tyme or other may profite them in their affaires For the good careful Princes ought to graffe in their memory the wise sayings which they reade forget the canekred iniuries wronges which are done theÌ I do not speake it without a cause that he that readeth this my writing shall finde in it some profitable counsaile For all that which hath bene writen in it hath bene in euery worde sentence with great diligence so wel weyed and corrected as if therein onely consisted the effecte of the whole worke The greatest griefe that learned menne feele in their writing is to thinke that if there be many that view their doings to take profit therby they shall perceiue that there are as many moe which occupy their tonges in the sclaunder and disprayse thereof In publishinge this my worke I haue obserued the maner of them that plant a new gardein wherein they set Roses which giue a pleasaunt sauour to the nose they make faire grene plattes to delight the eyes they graft fruitful trées to be gathered with the handes but in the end as I am a man so haue I written it for menne and consequently as a man I may haue erred for there is not at this daye so persite a painter but another will presume to amende his worke Those which diligeÌtly wil endeuour themselues to reade this booke shall find in it very profitable counsailes very liuely lawes good reasons notable sayinges sentences very profound worthy examples histories very ancient For to say the trueth I had a respect in that the doctrine was auncient the stile new And albeit your maiesty be the greatest Prince of all Princes and I the least of all your subiectes you ought not for my base condicion to disdayne to cast your eyes vppon this booke nor to thinke scorne to put that thing in proofe which semeth good For a good letter ought to be nothing the lesse estemed although it be written with an euill penne I haue sayde and will say that Princes and greate Lordes the stouter the richer and the greater of renoume they be the greater nede they haue of all men of good knowledge about them to couÌseil them in their affaires and of good bookes which they maye reade and this they ought to do aswel in prosperitie as in aduersitie to the end that their affaires in time conueniente may be debated and redressed For otherwise they shoulde haue time to repent but no leasure to amende Plinie Marcus Varro Strabo and Macrobius which were historiographers no lesse graue than true were at greate controuersie in prouinge what thinges were most autentike in a common weale and at what time they were of all menne accepted Seneca in a pistle he wrote to Lucillus praysed without cessing the common wealth of the Rhodiens in the which with much a doe they bent them selues altogether to kepe one selfe thinge and after they had therupon agréed they kept and mainteyned it inuiolately The diuine Plato in the sixte booke entituled De legibus ordeyned and commaunded that if any citizen did inuente any new thing which neuer before was reade nor harde of the inuentour thereof should first practise the same for the space of .10 yeares in his owne house before it was brought into the common wealth and before it shold be published vnto the people to th ende if the inuencion were good it should be profitable vnto him and if it were noughte that than the daunger and hurte therof should lighte onely on him Plutarche in his Apothemes saith that Licurgus vpoÌ greauous penalties did prohibite that none should be so hardye in his common wealthe to goe wanderinge into straunge countreys nor that he shoulde be so hardy to admit any straungers to come into his house and the cause why this lawe was made was to th ende straungers shoulde not bringe into their houses thinges straunge and not accustomed in their common wealthe and that they trauailing through straunge contreis shoulde not learne newe customes The presumption of menne now a dayes is so great and the consideracion of the people so small that what so euer a man can speake he speaketh what so euer he can inuente he doth inuente what he would he doth write and it is no marueill for there is no man that will speake againste them Nor the common people in this case are so lighte that amonges them you may dayly sée new deuises and whether it hurt or profit the common wealth they force not If there came at this day a vayne man amonges the people which was neuer sene nor hearde of before if he be any thing subtile I aske you but this question shal it not be easy for him to speake and inuente what he listeth to set forth what he pleaseth to perswade that which to him séemeth good and al his saienges to be beleued Truly it is a wonderfull thinge and no lesse sclaunderous that one shoulde be sufficient to peruerte the sences and iudgementes of all and all not able to represse the lightnes and vanitie of one Things that are newe and not accustomed neither princes ought to allowe nor yet the people to vse For a newe thinge oughte no lesse to be examined and considered before it be brought into the common wealth than the greate doutes whiche aryse in mennes myndes Rufinus in the prologue of his seconde booke of his apologie reproueth greately the Egyptians because they
were to full of deuises and blamed much the Grecians because they were to curious in speaking fine wordes aboue all other he greately prayseth the Romaynes for that they were very harde of belife that they scarcely alweyes credited the sayings of the Grekes and because they were discrete in admitting the inuencions of the Egyptians The author hath reason to prayse th one and disprayse thother For it procedeth of a light iudgement to credite al the thinges that a man heareth and to doe al thinges that he séeth Returninge therefore now to our matter Marcus Varro sayde there were .5 thinges in the worlde very harde to bringe in whereof none after they were commonly accepted were euer lost or forgotteÌ for euen as things vainely begoÌ are easely left of so things with great feare accepted with much diligence are obserued The first thing that chiefly thoroughout al the world was accepted was al men to liue togethers that is to say they should make places townes villages cities common wealthes For according to the saying of Plato the first best inuentours of the coÌmon welth were the antes which according to thexperieÌce we sée do liue togethers trauaile togethers do go togethers also for the winter thei make prouisioÌ togethers furthermore none of these antes do geue theÌ selues to any priuat thing but al theirs is brought into their coÌmoÌ welth It is a meruelous thing to behold the coÌmoÌ welth of the antes how netely they trim their hilles to beholde howe they swepe away the graine when it is wet and how they drye it whan they fele any moisture to beholde how they come from their worke and how the one doth not hurt the other And to behold also how they doe reioyce the one in the others trauaile and that which is to our greatest confusion is that if it come so to passe 50000. antes will liue in a little hillocke togethers and two men onely cannot liue in peace and concorde in a coÌmon wealth Woulde to God the wisedome of men were so great to kepe them selues as the prudence of the antes is to liue Whan the world came to a certayne age mens wittes waxed more fine than tirantes sprange vp which oppressed the poore theues that robbed the riche rebelles that robbed the quiet murderers that slew the pacient the ydell that eate the swete of other mens browes all the which thinges considered by theÌ which were vertuous they agréed to assemble liue together that therby they might preserue the good and withstande the wicked Macrobius affirmeth this in the seconde booke of Scipions dreame saying that couetousnes and auarice was the greatest cause why men inuented the commoÌ wealth Plinie in the seuenth booke .56 chap. sayth the first that made small assembles were the Atheniens and the first that builte great cities were the Aegyptians The seconde thinge that was accepted throughout all the worlde were the letters whiche we reade whereby we take profite in writinge Accordinge whereunto Marcus Varro saith the Aegyptians prayse them selues and say that they did inuente them and the Assyrians affirme the contrary and sweare that they were shewed firste of all amongst them Plinie in the seuenth booke saith that in the first age there was in the alphabet no more than 16. letters that greate Palamedes at the siege of Troye added other .4 and Aristotle saithe that immediatly after the beginninge there were founde .18 letters And that afterwardes Palamedes did adde but .2 and so there were 20. and that the Philosopher Epicarmus dyd adde other two which were .22 it is no great matter whether the Aegyptians or the Assyrians first founde the letters But I say and affirme that it was a thing necessary for a common wealth and also for thencrease of man knowledge For if we had wanted letters and writings we could haue had no knowledge of the tyme past nor yet our posteritie coulde haue ben aduertised what was done in our dayes Plutarche in the second booke entituled De viris illustribus and Plinie in the seuenth booke and .56 chapiter doe greately prayse Pirotas bycause he firste founde the fier in a flinte stone They greatly commended Protheus bicause he inuented harneis and they highly extolled Panthasuca bicause she inuented the hatchet They praysed Citheus because he inuented the bowe and the arrowes they greatelye praysed Pheniseus because he inuented the crosse bowe and the slinge They highly praysed the Lacedemonians because they inuented the helmet the spere and the sword They commende those of Thessalia bicause they inuented the combate on horseback and they commende those of Affrike because they inuented the fight by sea But I doe prayse and continually will magnifie not those which founde the arte of fightinge and inuented weapons to procure warre for to kill his neighbour but those which found letters for to learne science to make peace betwene two princes What difference there is to wet the penne with inke and to paynte the spere with bloud to be enuironned with bookes or to be laden with weapons To study how euery man ought to liue or els to goe priuely and robbe in the warres to lie in waight to kill his neighbour There is none of so vaine a iudgement but wil praise more the speculation of the sciences than the practise of the warre Because that in the end he that learneth sciences learneth nought els but how he and others ought to lyue And he that learneth warlike feates learneth none other thinge than howe to sley his neighbour and to destroye others The thirde thinge that equally of all was accepted were lawes For admit that al men now liued togethesr in common if they would not be subiect one to another there woulde contention arise amongest them for that accordinge to the sayinge of Plato there is no greater token of the distruction of a common weale than whan many rulers are chosen therein Plinie in his seuenth booke .56 chapter sayth that a Quéene called Ceres was the first that taught them to sowe in the fieldes to grinde in milles to paste and bake in ouens and also she was the first that taught the people to liue according to the lawe And by the meanes of all these thinges our forefathers called her a goddesse Since that time we neuer haue sene heard nor red of any realme or other nation aswell straunge as barbarous what so euer they were but haue had lawes whereby the good were fauoured and also institutions of greuous paynes wherewith the wicked were punished Although truely I had rather and it were better that the good shoulde loue reason than feare the lawe I speake of those which leaue to doe euill workes for feare onely of fallinge into the punishementes appointed for euill doers For although men approue that which they doe yet God condemneth that which they desire Seneca in an epistle he wrot to his friend Lucille sayde these wordes Thou writest vnto me Lucille that those of
in nothing delighted so much as by straunge hands to put men to death and to dryue away flies wyth his owne hands Smal is the nomber of those that I haue spoken in respect of those which I could recite of whom I dare say affirme that if I had bene as they I cannot tel what I would haue done or what I should haue desired but this I know it would haue bene more paynes to me to haue wonne the infamy that they haue wonne then to haue lost the lyfe that they haue lost It profyteth hym lytle to haue his ponds ful of fish his parkes ful of deere whych knoweth neyther how to hunte nor how to fysh I meane to shew by this that it profiteth a man lytle to be in great authority if he be not estemed nor honored in the same For to attayne to honour wysedome is requisite to kepe it pacience is necessarye Wyth great consyderacions wyse men ought to enterpryse daungerous thyngs For I assure them they shal neuer winne honour but wher they vse to recouer slaunder Returnyng therfore to our matter Puisaunt prynce I sweare durst vndertake that you rather desyre perpetual renowne through death then any idell rest in this life And hereof I do not merueile for ther are some that shal alwayes declare the prowesses of good prynces others which wyl not spare to open the vyces of euyl tiraunts For although your imperial estate is much your catholike person deserueth more yet I beleue wyth my hart se with these eyes that your thoughts are so highly bent vnto aduenturous dedes your hart so couragious to set vpon them that your maiestie litle estemeth the inheritaunce of your predecessours in respect of that you hope to gaine to leaue to your successours A captaine asked Iulius Cesar as he declareth in his commentaries why he trauailed in the winter in so hard frost in the sommer in such extreme heate He aunswered I wyl do what lyeth in me to do and afterward let the fatal destinies do what they can For the valiaunt knyght that gyueth in battayle thonset ought more to be estemed then fickle fortune wherby the victory is obtayned sins fortune gyueth the one aduenture gydeth the other These words are spoken like a stout valyaunt captayne of Rome Of how many prynces do we read whom trulye I muche lament to see what flatteries they haue herd wyth their eares being aliue and to redde what slaunders they haue susteyned after their death Prynces and great lords shold haue more regard to that whych is spoken in their absence then vnto that which is done in their presence Not to that whych they heare but to that whych they would not heare not to that whiche they tel them but to that which they would not be told of not to that is wryten vnto them being aliue but to that which is wryten of them after their death not to those that tell them lyes but to those whych if they durst would tel them trouth For men manye times refrayne not their tongues for that subiects be not credited but because the prince in his auctority is suspected The noble vertuous prince shold not flit from the trouth wherof he is certified neyther with flateryes lyes should he suffer himselfe to be deceiued but to examine himselfe se whether they serue him with trouth or deceiue hym with lyes For ther is no better witnes iudge of truth lyes then is a mans owne conscience I haue spoken al this to thintent your maiesty myght know that I wil not serue you wyth that you should not be serued That is to shew my selfe in my wryting a flaterer For it wer neither mete nor honest that flateries into the eares of such a noble prynce shold enter neither that out of my mouth which teach the deuine truth such vaine tales should issue I say I had rather be dispraysed for trew speaking then to be honoured for flatery lieng For of truth in your highnes it shold be much lightnes to heare them in my basenes great wickednes to inuent them Now againe folowing our purpose I say the historyes greatly commend Licurgus that gaue lawes to the Lacedemonians Numa Pompilius that honoured and adourned the churches Marcus Marcellus that had pitye on those whych were ouercome Iulius Cesar that forgaue his enemyes Octauius that was so welbeloued of the people Alexander that gaue rewards and giftes to al men Hector the Troyane because he was so valiaunt in warres Hercules the Thebane because he emploied his strength so wel Vlisses the Grecian because he aduentured himselfe in so many daungers Pirrhus king of Epirotes because he inuented so many engins Catullus Regulus because he suffered so many torments Titus the Emperour because he was father to the Orphanes Traianus because he edified sumptuous goodly buildings The good Marcus Aurelius because he knew more theÌ al they I do not say that it is requisyte for one prynce in these dayes to haue in him all those qualyties but I dare be bold to affirme this that euen as it is vnpossible for one prince to folow al so likewise it is a great slaunder for him to folow none We do not require princes to do al that they can but to apply themselues to do some thing that they ought And I speake not without a cause that whych I haue sayd before For if princes did occupy themselues as they ought to do they shoulde haue no tyme to be vycious Plynie saith in an epistle that the great Cato called Censor did were a ring vpon his fynger wherin was wryten these wordes Esto amicus vnius inimicus nullius which is be frend to one enemy to none He that would depely consider these few words shal find therin many graue sentences And to apply this to my purpose I saye the prince that would wel gouerne his common weal shew to al equal iustyce desire to possesse a quiet lyfe to get among al a good fame that coueteth to leaue of hymselfe a perpetual memory ought to embrace the vertues of one and to reiect the vices of al. I alow it verye wel that princes should be equal yea surmount many but yet I aduise theym not to employ their force but to folow one For ofteÌtimes it chaunseth that many which suppose themselues in their life to excel al when they are dead are scarcely found equal to any Though man hath done much blased what he can yet in the ende he is but one one mind one power one byrth one life and one death Then sithen he is but one let no man presume to know more then one Of al these good princes which I haue named in the rowle of iustice the last was Marcus Aurelius to thintent that he should weaue his webbe For suppose we read of many prynces that haue compyled notable things the whych are to be redde and knowen
but al that Marcus Aurelius sayd or dyd is worthy to be knowen necessary to be folowed I do not meane this prynce in his heathen law but in hys vertuous dedes Let vs not staye at hys belyef but let vs embrace the good that he did For compare many chrystians wyth some of the heathen loke howe farre we leaue them behynd in faith so farre they excel vs in vertuous works Al the old prynces in times past had som phylosophers to their familiars as Alexander Aristotle King Darius Herodotus Augustus Pisto Pompeius Plauto Titus Plinie Adrian Secundus Traian Plutarchus Anthonius Apolonius Theodotius Claudius Seuerus Fabatus Fynally I say that philosophers then had such authority in princes palaces that children acknowledged them for fathers and fathers reuerenced them as maysters These sage meÌ wer aliue in the coÌpany of princes but the good Marcus Aurelius whose doctrine is before your maiestie is not aliue but dead Yet therfore that is no cause why his doctrine shold not be admitted For it may be paraduenture that this shal profit vs more which he wrate with his hands then that which others spake with their tongues Plutarche sayth in the time of Alexander the great Aristotle was aliue and Homere was dead But let vs see how he loued the one reuerenced the other for of truth hee slept alway with Homers booke in his hands waking he red the same with hys eyes alwayes kept the doctrine therof in his memory layed when he rested the booke vnder his head The which priuiledge Aristotle had not who at al times cold not be heard much lesse at al seasons be beleued so that Alexander had Homere for his frend and Aristotle for a maister Other of these phylosophers wer but simple men but our Marcus Aurelius was both a wyse phylosopher and a valiaunt prynce and therfore reason would he should be credited before others For as a prince he wyl declare the troubles as a phylosopher he wil redresse them Take you therefore Puisaunt Prince this wise phylosopher and noble emperour for a teacher in your youth for a father in your gouernment for a captayne general in your warres for a guide in your iourneys for a frend in your affayres for an example in your vertues for a maister in your sciences for a pure whyte in your desyres and for equal matche in your deedes I wil declare vnto you the lyfe of an other beinge a heathen and not the lyfe of an other being a chrystian For how much glory this heathen prince had in this world being good and vertuous so much paynes your maiestie shal haue in the other if you shal be wicked and vycious Behold behold noble prince the lyfe of this Emperour you shal se how clere he was in his iudgement how vpright in hys iustyce howe circumspect in hys life how louing to his frends how pacient in his troubles how he dissembled with hys enemies how seuere agaynst Tyraunts how quyet among the quiet how great a frend to the sage and louer of the simple how aduenturous in his warres and amyable in peace and aboue al thinges how high in words and profound in sentences Many tymes I haue bene in doubt with my selfe whether the Eternal maiesty which gyueth vnto you princes the temporal maiestie to rule aboue al other in power and authorytie did exempt you that are princes more from humaine frayltye then he did vs that be but subiects and at the last I knew he did not For I see euen as you are chyldren of the world so you do lyue according to the world I see euen as you trauaile in the world so you can know nothing but things of the world I se because you liue in the fleshe that you are subiect to the myseryes of the fleshe I see though for a tyme you prolong your lyfe yet at the last you are brought to your graue I see your trauaile is great and that within your gates there dwelleth no rest I se you are cold in the wynter and hote in the sommer I se that hunger feeleth you and thirst troubleth you I se your frendes forsake you and your ennemyes assault you I se that you are sadde and lacke ioy I se you are sicke and be not wel serued I see you haue muche and yet that which you lacke is more What wil ye se more seyng that princeâ die O noble princes great Lordes syns you must die and become wormes meat why do you not in your lyfe tyme serche for good counsayle If the prynces and noble men commit an ârroure no man dare chastice them wherfore they stand in greater nede of aduyse counsaile For the trauailer who is out of his waye the more he goeth foreward the more he errethe If the people do amisse they ought to be punyshed but if the prince erre hee shoulde bee admonished And as the Prynce wyl the people shoulde at his handes haue punyshment so it is reason that he at their hands should receyue counsayle For as the wealthe of the one dependeth on the wealthe of the other soo trulye if the prince bee vycious the people can not be vertuous If youre maiestie wyl punyshe your people with words commaund them to prynt this present worke in their harts And if your people would serue your hyghnes with their aduise let them likewyse beseche you to reade ouer this booke For therin the subiectes shal fynd how they may amende and you Lordes shal se al that you ought to do wdether this presente worke be profytable or noo I wyll not that my penne shal declare but they whyche reede it shall iudge For we aucthours take paines to make and translate others for vs vse to giue iudgement and sentence From my tender yeres vntil this present I haue liued in the world occupieng my selfe in reading and studieng humaine deuyne bookes and although I confesse my debilitie to be such that I haue not reade so much as I might nor studied so much as I ought yet not withstandinge al that I haue red hath not caused me to muse so muche as the doctrine of Marcus Aurelius hath sith that in the mouth of an heathen god hath put such a great treasor The greatest part of al his workes were in Greke yet he wrote also many in latin I haue drawen this out of greke throughe the helpe of my frends afterwards out of latin into our vulgare tongue by the trauaile of my hands Let al men iudge what I haue suffred in drawing it out of Greke into latin out of the latin into the vulgar and out of a plaine vulgar into a swete and pleasaunt style For that banket is not counted sumptuous vnlesse ther be both pleasaunt meates and sauory sauces To cal sentences to mynd to place the wordes to examine languages to correct sillables what swette I haue suffred in the hote sommer what bytter cold in the sharpe wynter what
I am sory they know so much only for that they subtilly disceiue and by vsury abuse their neighbours and kepe that they haue vniustly gotten and dayly getting more inuenting new trades Finally I say if they haue any knowledge it is not to amend their life but rather to encrease their goods If the diuil could slepe as men do he might safely slepe for wheras he waketh to deceiue vs we wake to vndoe our selues wel suppose that al these heretofore I haue sayd is true Let vs now leue aside craft take in hand knowledge The knowledge which we attaine to is smal that whych we shold attaine to so great that al that we know is the least part of that we are ignoraunt Euen as in things natural the elamentes haue their operacions accordyng to the variety of time so moral doctrines as the aged haue succeded and sciences were discouered Truly al fruites come not together but when one faileth another commeth in season I meane that neyther al the Doctours among the Christians nor al the phylosophers among the gentyles were concurrant at one time but after the death of one good ther came another better The chiefe wysedome whych measureth al thyngs by iustyce and disparseth them accordyng to his bounty wyl not that at one time they should be al wyse men and at an other time al simple For it had not ben reason the one should haue had the fruite and the other the leaues The old world that ran in Saturnes dayes otherwyse called the golden world was of a truth muche estemed of them that saw it and greatly commended of them that wrote of it That is to say it was not gilded by the Sages whych did gilde it but because there was no euyl men whych dyd vngild it For as thexperience of the meane estate nobility teacheth vs of one only parson dependeth aswel the fame and renoume as the infamy of a hole house and parentage That age was called golden that is to saye of gold and this our age is called yronne that is to say of yron This dyfference was not for that gold then was found now yron nor for that in this our age ther is want of theym that be sage but because the number of them surmounteth that be at this day malicious I confesse one thing and suppose many wil fauour me in the same Phauorin the philosopher which was maister to Aulus Gellius and his especial frend sayde ofttimes that the phylosophers in old time were holden in reputacion bycause ther were few teachers and many learners We now a daies se the contrary for infinite are they whych presume to be maysters but few are they whych humble theym selues to be scholers A man maye know how litle wise men are estemed at this houre by the greate veneracion that the phylosophers had in the old tyme. What a matter is it to se Homere amongest the Grecians Salomon amongest the Hebrues Lycurgus amongest the Lacedomoniens Phoromeus also amongest the Grekes Ptolomeus amongeste the Egiptians Liui amongeste the Romaynes and Cicero lykewyse amongeste the Latines Appolonius among the Indians and Secundus amongest the Assirians How happy were those philosophers to be as they were in those dayes when the world was so ful of simple personnes and so destitute of sage men that there flocked greate nombers out of dyuers contries and straung nacions not only to here their doctrine but also to se their persons The glorious saint Hierome in the prologue to the bible sayth When Rome was in her prosperitie thenne wrote Titus Liuius his decades yet notwithstaÌding men came to Rome more to speake with Titus Liuius then to se Rome or the high capitol therof Marcus Aurelius writing to his frend Pulio said these words Thou shalt vnderstand my frend I was not chosen Emperour for the noble bloude of my predecessours nor for the fauoure I had amongest them now present for ther were in Rome of greater bloud and riches then I but the Emperour Adrian my maister set his eyes vpon me and the emperour Anthony my father in law chose me for his sonne in law for no other cause but for that they saw me a frend of the sages an enemy of the ignoraunt Happie was Rome to chose so wise an emperoure and no lesse happye was he to attaine to so great an empire Not for that he was heire to his predecessoure but for that he gaue his mynd to study Truly if that age then were happie to enioye hys person no lesse happie shal ours be now at this present to enioy his doctrine Salust sayth they deserued great glory whych did worthy feates and no lesser renowme merited they whych wrote them in high stile What had Alexander the great ben if Quintus Curtius had not writen of him what of Vlisses if Homere hadde not bene borne what had Alcibiades bene if Zenophon had not exalted him what of Cirus if the philosopher Chilo had not put his actes in memory what had bene of Pirrus kinge of the Epirotes if Hermicles cronicles were not what had bene of Scipio the great Affricane if it had not bene for the decades of Tâtus Liuius what had ben of Traiane if the renowmed Plutarche had not bene his frend what of Nerua and Anthonius the meke if Phocion the Greke had not made mencion of them how should we haue knowen the stout courage of Cesar and the great prowesse of Pompeius if Lucanus had not writen them what of the twelue Cesars if Suetonius tranquillus hadde not compiled a booke of their lyues and how should we haue knowen the antiquityes of the Hebrues if the vpright Iosephe had not ben who could haue knowen the commyng of the Lombardes into Italy if Paulus Diaconus had not writ it how could we haue knowen the comming in the going out and end of the Gothes in Spayne if the curious Rodericus had not shewed it vnto vs By these things that we haue spoken of before the readers may perceyue what is dew vnto the Historiographers who in my opinion haue left as great memorye of theym for that they wrote with their pennes as the prynces haue done for that they dyd with their swordes I confesse I deserue not to be named amongest the sages neyther for that I haue wryten and translated nor yet for that I haue composed Therfore the sacred and deuyne letters set a side ther is nothing in the world so curiouslye wryten but neadeth correction as I say of the one so wil I say of the other and that is as I wyth my wyl do renounce the glorye which the good for my learning woulde gyue me so in like maner euyl men shal not want that agaynst my wil wil seke to defame it We other writers smally esteme the labour and paynes we haue to wryte although in dede we are not ignoraunt of a thousand enuyous tongues that wyl backbite it Many now a dayes are so euil taught
here engraued rest That only was Camillus daughter deere Twyse twentie yeres and fixe she hath possest A couert lyfe vn touchte of any feere The king of Trinacry could not her moue To tast the swete delight of wedlockes bande Nor trayne by sute her sacred mind to loue ânclosde in breest so deepe did chastnes stand But oh greate wrong the crawling wormes her do To gnawe on that vnspotted senceles corse That rage of youth spent vndefiled so VVyth sober life in spite of Cupides force And this was written in heroycal verse in the Greeke tongue with a maruelouse haughtie stile But to our mater ye shal vnderstand that the Romaynes kepte a certayne Lawe in the 12. tables the woordes wherof were these We ordeyne and commaund that al the Romaynes shal for euer haue specyall priuiledge in euery such place where theyr auncestoures haue done to the Romayne people any notable seruice For it is reason that where the citizen aduentureth hys lyfe there the citie should do him some honor after hys death By vertue of this lawe all the familie of Camilli euer enioyed the keping of the hyghe Capitoll for that by hys force and pollicye he chased the french men from the siege Truely it is not vnknoweÌ that this noble knight and valyant captayne Camille dyd other thynges as great and greater than this but because it was done within the circuite of Rome it was estemed aboue all hys other actes and prowes And herein the Romaynes swarued not farre from reason for that amongest all princelye vertues is estemed to be the chiefest and worthyest whych is employed to the profyt of the comon wealth The Romayne Croniclers wyth teares cease not to lameÌt the ruine of their countrye seynge that varietie of tyme the multytude of tyrauntes the crueltye of cyuill warres were occasion that the aunciente state of the Romayn gouernment came to vtter destruction and in steede therof a new and euyl trade of lyfe to be placed And hereof no man ought to maruaile for it chaunseth throughout al realmes and nacions by oft chaunging gouernours that among the people dayly spryngeth sondry new vices Pulio sayth that for no alteracion whych befell to the common weale for no calamitye that euer Rome suffred that priuiledge was taken away from the Image of Camilli I meane the gouernment of the high Capitol except it were in the time of Silla the consul when this familye was soore persecuted for none other cause but for that they fauoured the consull Marius Thys cruel Silla beinge deade and the piteful Iulius Cesar preuailinge al the banyshed men frome Rome returned home agayne to the commonne wealthe As touchinge the auncestours of the Emperoure Marcus Aurelius what hath bene their trade of lyfe estate pouertye or riches standinge infauour or displeasoure what prosperitie or aduersitie they haue had or suffred we fynde not in wrytinges thoughe with greate dilygence they haue bene serched for And the cause hereof was for that the auncient writers of the Romaine histories touched the lyues of the emperours fathers specially when they were made princes more for the good merites that were in the children then for the great estimacioÌ that came from the fathers Iulius Capitolinus saith that Annius Verus father of Marcus Aurelius was Pretor of the Rhodian armies and also wardein in other frontiers in the time of Traian the good Adrian the wyse and Antonye the mercifull Whiche Emperours trusted none with theyr armies but discrete and valiaunt men For good princes chose alway suche captaines as can with wisedome guide the armye and with valiauntnes giue the battaile Thoughe the Romaynes had sondrye warres in diuerse places yet chefelye they kept great garrisons alwayes in foure partes of the world That is to saye in Bizance which now is Constantinople to resist the Parthiens in Gades whiche now is called Galiz to withstand the Portugales in the riuer of Rein to defend them selues from the Germaines and at Colosses whiche now is called the I le of Rhodes for to subdue the Barbariens In the moneth of Ianuary when the Senate distributed their offices the dictatoure being appointed for 6. monethes and the. 2. Consulles chosen for one yere incontinently in the .3 place they chose 4. of the most renowmed personnes to defende the sayd 4 daungerous froÌtiers For the Romaynes neither feared the paynes of hell nor trusted for reward in heauen but sought by all occasions possible in their life to leaue some notable memory of them after their deathe And that Romaine was counted most valiante of the Senate best fauoured to whom they committed the charge of the moste cruell and daungerous warres For their strife was not to beare rule and to be in office to get mony but to be in the frontiers to ouercome their enemies In what estimacion these 4. frontiers wer we may easely perceiue by that we see the most noble Romaines haue passed som part of their youth in those places as captaines vntill such time that for more weyghtie affaires they were appointed from thense to some other places For at that time there was no worde so greauous and iniurious to a citezin as to saye go thou hast neuer ben brought vp in the warres and to proue the same by examples the great Pompey passed the winter season in Constantinople the aduenturous Scipio in Colonges the couragious Caesar in Gades and the renowmed Marius in Rhodes And these 4. wer not only in the frontiers afore sayde in their youthe but ther they dyd such valiaunt actes that the memory of them remayned euermore after their death These thynges I haue spoken to proue sythe wee fynde that Marcus Aurelius father was captaine of one of those .4 frontiers it followeth that he was a man of singuler wisedome and prowesse For as Scipio sayde to his frende Masinissa in affrike it is not possible for a Romaine captayne to want eyther wisedome or courage for thereunto they were predestined at their birthe We haue no autentike authorities that showeth vs from whence when or howe in what countreis and with what personnes this captaine passed his youth And the cause is for that the Romain Croniclers wer not accustomed to write the thynges done by their prince before they were created but only the actes of yonge men whiche from their youth had their hartes stoutlye bent to great aduenturs And in my opinion it is wel done For it is greater honor to obteine an empire by policie wisedom then to haue it by discent so that ther be no tirannie Suetonius Tranquillus in his first boke of Emperours counteth at large the aduenturous enterprises taken in hand by Iulius Caesar in his yong age how farre vnlikely they wer from thought that he should euer obtayne the Roman Empiree writing this to shew vnto princes how earnestlye Iulius Cesars harte was bent to winne the Romayne Monarchie and likewise how wisdom fayled him in behauing him selfe therein A philosopher of Rome wrote to Phalaris
but also before them he did dishonour hym and shame him to his power whiche thinge made him vtterly to dispaire For there is nothing that spiteth a man more then to haue before hys enemies any iniurie or dishonoure done vnto him of his superiour The empresse Sophia therfore deserued great reproche for speakinge suche dishonest wordes to Narsetes to send him to thread the nedels in that occupacion where the damsels wrought For it is the duty of a noble princesse to mitigate the ire of Princes when they are angry and not to prouoke them further to anger Narsetes then alwaies dowting the empresse Sophia neuer after retourned into Naples where she was but rather came from Naples to Rome a yeare before the Lumbardes came into Italy where he receiued all the sacramentes and like a deuout ChristiaÌ dyed His body was caried to Alexandria in a coffine of siluer al sette with precious stones and ther was buried And a man cannot tel whither the displeasour were greater that all Asia had not to see Narsetes aliue or the pleasour that Sophia had to see him deade For the vnpacient hart especially of a woman hath no rest vntill she see her enemye dead ¶ Of a letter the Emperour Marcus Aurelius sente to the Kynge of Scicile in which he recordeth the trauailes they endured togethers in their youth and reproueth him of his small reuerence towardes the temples Chapter xvii MArcus Aurelius sole Emperour of Rome borne in mouÌte Celio called the old tribune wisheth health and long lyfe to the Gorbin Lord kynge of Sicile As it is the custome of the Romaine Emperoures the firste yeare of my reigne I wrate generallye to all that I le the seconde yeare I wrate generallye vnto thy courte and palace and at this presente I write more particulerlye to thy parsone And although that Princes haue greate Realmes yet they ought not therfore to cease to coÌmunicate with their old frendes Since I toke my penne to write vnto the I stayed my hande a great while from writing and it was not for that I was slouthfull but because I was a shamed to see all Rome offended with the. I let the to weâe most excellent prince that in this I say I am thy true frend for in my hart I fele thy trouble and so sayd Euripides that whiche with the harte is loued with the hart is lamented But before I shew thee the cause of my writing I will reduce into thy memory some thinges past of our youth and therby we shall see what we were then and what we are now for no man dothe so muche reioyce of his prosperitie present as he whiche calleth to minde his miseries past Thou shalt call to minde most excellent Prince that we two togethers did learne to reade in Capua and after we studyed a litle in Tarentum and from thense we went to Rhodes where I redde Rhethorike and thou hardest philosophie And afterwardes in the ende of x. yeres we went to the warres of Pannonia where I gaue my selfe to musike for the affectioÌs of yong men is so variable that daily they would know straunge realmes and chaunge offices And in all those iourneis with the forse of youth the swete company with the pleasaunte communicacion of sciences and with a vaine hope we did dissemble our extreme pouerty which was so great that many times and ofte we desired not that whiche manye had but that litle which to few abounded Doest thou remember that when we sayled by the goulfe Arpin to goe into Helesponte a long and tempestuous torment came vpon vs wherin we were taken of a pirate and for our raunsome he made vs rowe about .ix. monethes in a gally wheras I cannot tell whiche was greater either the wante of bread or the abundaunce of stripes whiche we alwaies endured Hast thou forgotten also that in the citie of Rhodes when we were beseged of Bruerdus puissaunt kyng of Epirotes for the space of fourtene monethes we were tenne withoute eatyng fleshe saue onely .ii. cattes the one whiche we stole and the other whiche we bought remember that thou and I being in Tarent were desired of our host to go to the feast of the great goddesse Diana into the whiche temple none coulde enter that day but those which were new apparelled And to say the trouthe we determined not to go thither thou because thy garmentes were torne and I because my shoes were broken and that bothe the tymes we were sicke in Capua they neuer cured vs by dyet for our dyseases neuer proceded of excesse but of extreame hunger An often times Retropus the phisician for his pleasour spake to vs in the vniuersitie and sayd Alas children you dye not through surfeting and muche eatinge And truly he sayde trouth for the contrey was so dere and our mony so scarse that we did neuer eate vntyl the time we could endure no lenger for famine Dost thou not remember the great famine that was in Capua for the which cause we were in the warre of Alexandria wherin my fleshe dyd tremble remembring the great perilles whiche we passed in the goulfe of Theberynthe What snowes all wynter what extreme heate all sommer what general famine in the fieldes what outragious pestilence amongest the people and worste of all what persecution of straungers and what euill will we had of ours remember also that in the citie of Naples when we made our prayer to the profetesse Flauia she told vs what shoulde become of vs after we lefte our studies She tolde me that I should be an Emperour and sayde that thou shouldest be a kynge To the whiche aunswere we gaue suche credite that we toke it not onelye for a mocke but also for a manifest iniurye And nowe I doe not merueile in that then we bothe marueled wonderfull muche For enuyous fortune practised her power more in pluckyng downe the ryche then in setting vp the poore Beholde excellente Prince the greate power of the goddesse the whele of fortune the variety of times who would haue thought when I hadde my handes all rough and scuruy with rowing in the galley that betwene those handes the scepter of the Romayne Empire should haue ben put who would haue thoughte when I was so sicke for lacke of meat I should euer haue surfited by to muche eating who would haue thought when I could not be satisfied with cattes fleshe that I shoulde haue then glutted with to moch dainty meates who wold haue thought at that time when I left going into the temple because my shoes were broken that another tyme should come when I shoulde ryde triumphyng in chariotes and vppon the shoulders of other menne who woulde haue thought that that which with my eares I hard of the prophetesse in Campagnia I should see here with my eyes in Rome O how many dyd hope at the time we were in Asia to be gouernours of Rome and lords of Sicille which not only fayled of the honour that they desired
muche as is possible doe our commendacions and these Popingeys Faustine presenteth vnto her Marcus the Romaine Emperour wryteth to thee with his owne hande ¶ Howe the Gentils honoured those whiche were deuout in the seruice of the Gods Cap. xix THE auncient Romayne historiographers agree that at the beginninge there were seuen kynges whiche gouerned Rome for the space of .xxiiii. yeares The seconde whereof was named Pompilius who amongest all the other was moste highly estemed for none other cause but for that he was a great worshipper of the Gods and a sumptuous builder of the temples For the Romaine princes were as much beloued for seruing the gods as they were honoured for vanquishing their enemies This man was of suche sorte that he allowed Rome wholy for the Gods and made a house for him selfe without the citie For it was an auncient lawe in Rome that no man should be so bolde to dwell in any house consecrated for the Gods The fifte kyng of the Romaines was Tarquinius Priscus And as Tarquinius Superbus was vitious and abhorred of the people so was this vertuous and welbeloued of the gods and was greatlye praysed in al his doynges because he feared God and continually visited the temples and not contented with those whiche were finished but buylte also in the highe Capitoll the sacred temple of Iupiter For that no Prince could buylde any house in Rome for hym selfe vnlesse firste he made a temple for the Gods of the common wealth This temple was had in so greate reuerence that as the Romaines honoured Iupiter for the God aboue all other Gods so was that temple estemed aboue al other temples In the warres betwene the Falisques and the Carpenates two Romaine captaines were vanquished of the whiche the one named Gemetius died whereupon rose suche a great feare among them that many flyeng from the warres came backe agayne to Rome For the victorious hath alwayes this priuiledge that thoughe they be fewe yet they are alwayes feared of them that be ouercome This occasion moued the Romaines to chose newe captaines and truly they did lyke wyse men For oftentimes it happeneth by alteringe the captaines of the warres fortune likewyse chaungeth her doinges And the captayne that was elected for the warres was Marcus Furius Camillus who though he were stoute and hardy yet before he went to the warres he offered great sacrifices to the Gods and made a vowe that if he returned to Rome victorious he would buylde a solempne temple For it was the custome in Rome that immediatly when the Romaine captaine would enterpryse to doe any notable thinge he shoulde make a vowe to buylde temples Nowe when Camillus retourned afterwardes victorious he did not onely buylde a temple but also furnished it with all maner of implementes thereunto belongyng whiche he gotte by spoyle and vanquishing his enemies And sithe he was for this reprehendid of some saying that the Romaine captaines shoulde offer their hartes to the Gods and deuide the treasours among the Souldiours he answered these wordes I like a maÌ did aske the gods but one triumphe and they like gods gaue me many Therfore considering this it is but iust sithe I was briefe in promysinge that I shoulde be large in perfourminge For euen as I did thanke theÌ for that they gaue me double in respect of that I demaunded so likewise shal thei esteme that which I do giue in respect of that which I promised At that time when the cruel warre was betwixt Rome the citie of Neye the Romains kept it besieged fiue yeres togethers in th end by policy toke it For it chaunseth sondry times in warre that that citie in shorte time by pollycy is won which by great strength a long time hath bene defended Marcus Furius dictatour of Rome at that time captaine commaunded a proclamation to be had through his hoste that incontinently after the citie was taken none should be so hardy as to kyll any of the citezens but those which were found armed Which thing the enemies vnderstanding vnarmed them selues all so escaped And truly this example was worthy of noting For as the captaines ought to shew them selues fierce cruell at the beginning so after the victory had of their enemies they should shewe them selues meke pitifull This dictatour Camillus for an other thing he did was much coÌmended aboue the residue That is to wete he did not only not consent to robbe the temples nor dishonour the gods but he him selfe with great reuerence toke the sacred vessels of the temples the gods which wer therin especially the goddesse Iuno brought theÌ al to Rome For amongest the auncieÌtes there was a law that the gods of them which were vanquished shoulde not come by lot to the captaines being conquerours Therefore he made in the mount Auentino a sumptuous teÌple wherin he placed al the gods togethers with all the other holy reliques which he wan For the greater triumphe the Romains had ouer their enemies so much the better they haÌdled the gods of the people vanquished Also you ought to know that the Romains after many victories determined to make a crowne of gold very great and ryche and to offer it to the god Apollo But sithe the common treasour was poore because there was but litle siluer lesse gold to make that crown the Romaine matrons defaced their Iewels ouches of gold siluer to make the crown with all For in Rome there neuer wanted money if it were demaunded for the seruice of gods to repaire temples or to redeme captiues The Senate estemed the well willing hartes of these women in such sort that they graunted them thre thinges that is to wete to weare on their heads garlandes of flowers to go in chariottes to the common places to go openly to the feastes of the gods For the auncieÌt Romains were so honest that they neuer ware gold on their heads neither went thei at any time to the feastes vncouered A man ought not to maruaile that the Romaines graunted such priuileges vnto the auncient matrones of Rome For they vsed neuer to be obliuious of any benefite receyued but rather gentill with thankes and rewardes to recompence the same An other notable thing chaunsed in Rome which was that the Romains sent two tribunes the which were called Caulius Sergius into the I le of Delphos with great presentes to offer vnto the god Apollo For as Titus Liuius saith Rome yerely sent a present vnto the god Apollo Apollo gaue vnto the Romaines counsaile And as the Tribunes went out of the way they fell into the handes of pirats rouers on the sea which toke them with their treasours and brought them to the citie of Liparie But the citizens vnderstanding that those presentes were coÌsecrated to the god Apollo did not onely deliuer them all their treasure againe but also gaue theÌ much more and guydes therwith to conduicte them safely both going and comming from
to be blamed for those which haue credit for their euil are many and those whych haue power to do well are very fewe ¶ Of the golden age in times past and worldly miserie which we haue at this present Cap. xxxi IN the first age golden world al liued in peace ech man toke care for his owne lands euery one planted sowed their trees corne eueryone gathered his frutes and cut his vynes kned their breade and brought vp their children and finally all liued by their owne proper swette trauaile so that they all liued without the preiudice or hurt of any other O worldly malice O cursed wicked world that thou neuer sufferest things to remaine in one estate and thought I cal the cursed maruaile not therat for when we are in most prosperitie then thou with death persecutest vs most cruelly Without teares I say not that I wil say that 2000 yeres of the world wer past before we knew what the world ment god suffering it and worldly malice inuenting it ploughes were turned into weapons oxen to horses goades to lances whippes to arrowes slinges to crosbowes simplycitye into malice trauaile into Idlenes rest to paine peace to warre loue to hatred charitie to crueltie Iustice to tyranny profite to domage almes to theft aboue al fayth into Idolatrie And finallye the swete they had to profite in their owne goods they tourned to bloud sheading to the domage of the comon wealth And herein the world sheweth it selfe to be a world herein worldly malice sheweth it selfe to be malicious in somuch as the one reioyceth the other lamenteth the one reioceth to stomble to the end the other may fall breake his necke the one reioyceth to be poore to the end the other maye not be riche the one reioyseth to be dispraised to the end the other may not be honored the one delighteth to be sad to the ende the other shoulde not be merye to conclude we are so wicked that we banishe the good from our owne house to the end that the euill might enter in at the gates of an other man When the creator created the whole world he gaue to eche thinge immediatly his place that is to wete he placed intelligence in the vppermoste heauen he placed the starres in the firmament the planettes in the orbes the byrdes in the ayre the earth on the center the fyshes in the water the serpentes in the holes the beastes in the mountaines and to al in generallye he gaue place to reste them selues in Now let princes and great Lordes be vaine glorious sayenge that they are Lords of the earth for truly of all that is created god only is the true Lord therof because the miserable man for his part hath but the vse of the fruit for if we thinke it reasonable that we should enioy the profite of that which is created then were it more conuenient we should acknowledge god to be the Lord therof I do not deny but confesse the God created al things to the end they should serue man vpoÌ condicion that maÌ shold serue God likewise but wheÌ the creature riseth against god immediatly the creator resisteth against man For it is but reason that he be disobeyd who one only coÌmaundemeÌt wil not obey O what euil fortune hath the creature only for disobeying the comaundement of his creator For if man had kept his coÌmaundement in Paradise god had conserued to the world the signorie but the creatures whome he created for his seruice are occasion to him of great troubles for the ingratitude of benefit heapeth great sorow to the discret hart It is great pitie to behold the man that was in paradise that might haue bene in heauen now to se him in the world aboue al to be interred in the intrailes of the earth For in terrestiall paradise he was innocent in heauen he had bene blessed but nowe he is in the worlde enuirouned with cares and afterwardes he shal be throwen into hys graue and gnawen of the wormes Let vs nowe see the disobedience wee hadde in the commaundemente of GOD and what fruite we haue gathered in the world For he is very simple that dare commit any vice taking no delight nor pleasure therof in his body In my opinion through the sinnes whiche our forefathers committed in paradise the seruitude remaineth in vs their children which are on the earth For so much as if I entre into the water I drowne if I touche the fire I burne if I cone neare a dog he biteth me if I threaten a horse he casteth me if I resiste the wynde it bloweth me downe if I persecute the serpent he poysoneth me if I smite the beare he destroieth me and to be brief I saie that the man that without pitie eateth men in his life the wormes shal eate his intrailes in the graue after his death O princes great lordes lode your selues with cloth of gold heape vp your great treasours assemble many armies inuente Iustes Torneis seke your pastimes reueÌge your selues of your enemies serue your selues with your subiectes marrye your children to mighty kinges set them in great estate cause your selues to be feared of your enemies imploye your bodies to al pleasures leue great possessions to your heires rayse sumptuous buildinges to leaue memory of your persons I sweare by him that shal iudge me that I haue more compassion to see your sinfull soules then I haue enuy to see your vicious liues For in the end all pastimes will vanishe away and they shal leaue you for a gage to the hungry wormes of the earth O if princes did consider though they haue bene borne princes created norished in great estates that the day thei are borne death immediatly commeth to seke the end of their life and taketh them here and there when they are whole when they are sicke now tombling then rising he neuer leaueth them one houre vntill their woful burial Therfore sith it is true as in dede it is that that whiche princes possesse in this life is but small that which they hope in the other is so great truly I marueile why princes the which shal lie so straight in the graue dare liue in such so great largenes in their life To be riche to be lordes to haue great estates men should not therof at al be proude since they see how fraile mans condicion is for in th end life is but lone but death is enheritage Death is a patrimonie heritage which successiuely is inherited but life is a righte which daily is surrendred For death counteth vs somuche his owne that oftimes vnwaâes he coÌmeth to assault vs life taketh vs such straungers that oftetimes we not doubting therof it vanisheth away If this thing theÌ be true why wil princes great lordes presume to coÌmaunde in a straunge house which is this life as in their own house which is the
speake litle to write briefly so that for writing of letters they wyll he be brief for conquering of straunge realmes they doe not rebuke him although he be long Wise men should desire that their princes be of a gentle coÌdition to the end they fal not to tyranny That they haue their mind vncorrupted to minister to all equall iustice that their thought be good not to desire straunge realmes that they haue their hartes voide frome wrathe that they be sound within to pardon iniuries that they loue their subiectes to be serued of them that thei know the good to honour them that they know the euil to punish them as for the surplus we litle regard whether the king go fast whether he eate much or write brief For the daunger is not in that which is in the lack of his person but is in the negligence that he vseth in the common wealth I haue receiued my frend Pulio great comfort of thy letter but much more I should haue receiued of thy presence for the letters of auncient frendes are but as a remeÌbraunce of time past It is a great pleasure to the mariner to talke of the perils past being in the hauen to the captaine to glorie of the battaile after the victory I meane aboue al pleasure this is the greatest to men being now faithful frendes to talke of the trauaile and dauÌgers which they passed when they were young meÌ Beleue me in one thing and doe not doubt therof There is no man that knoweth to speake that knoweth to possesse nor that can iudge or take any pleasure neither that knoweth well how to kepe the goods which the gods haue geuen him vnlesse it be he that hath bought it derely with great trauaile For with al our hartes we loue that thing which by our own proper trauaile we haue gotten I aske thee one thing who is he that oweth most to the gods or that is most estemed amongest men of Traian the iuste whiche was brought vp in the warres of Dace Germany and Spaine or of Nero the cruell whiche was nourished in all the deliciousnes of Rome Truly the one was none other then a Rose among briers and the other was but a nettel among flowers I speake this because the good Traian hath gouerned his life in such sort that alwayes they will smell the rose by the pleasaunt sauour but the cruell Nero hath left the sting with the nettell of his infamy I will not speake all because many are were made good but for the most part the princes which were brought vp deliciously gaue euery maÌ occasion that al should be offended for the euil gouernaunce of their liues in their realmes and because they neuer experimented any kinde of trauaile in them selues they do litle esteme the paines of another I wil not that thou thinke my frend Pulio that I haue forgotten the time that is past though the gods brought me to the empire present For though we togethers were tossed with the tormentes of youthe yet nowe we maye repose our selues in the caulmes of our age I doe remember that thou and I did study in Rhodes in letters and after we had so wen weapons in Capua it hath pleased the Gods that the seedes of my fortune should rype here in Rome and to thee and to others better then I fortune would not geue one onely eare I doe not geue the licence that thy thought be suspitious of me sithe thou of my harte arte made a faithfull frende for if vnconstant fortune doth truste me to gather with trauayle the grape know thou that here in my palace thou shalt not want of the wyne The gods will not suffer that nowe in this moment thou shouldest finde my harte shutte from thee whose gates I founde alwayes for the space of twenty yeares open vnto me Sithe that my fortunes brought me to the Empire I haue alwayes had two thinges before myne eyes that is to wete not to reuenge my selfe of myne enemies neither to be vnthankefull to my frendes For I praye to the gods daily rather then hereafter through vnthankefulnes my renowme should be defamed that euen nowe with forgetfulnes my bodye should be buried Let a man offer to the Gods what sacrifices he will let him doe as muche seruice to men as he can yet if he be vnthankefull to his frende he oughte in all and for all to be vtterly condemned Because thou shouldest see my frende Pulio how greatly the auncient frende ought to bee estemed I will declare thee an example of a Philosopher the which to heare thou wilt somewhat reioyce The auncient histories of the Grecians declare that among the seuen sages of Grece there was one named Periander who was prince and gouernour a greate whyle and he had in hym suche liuelines of spirite on the one side and suche couetousnes of worldly goods on the other side that the historiographers are in doubte whether was the greater the philosophie that he taught reading in the scholes or the tyranny that he vsed in robbing in the common wealth For truly the science whiche is not grounded of trougthe bringeth great domages to the person In the seconde yeare of my empire I was in the citie of Corinthe where I sawe the graue whiche conteined the bones of Periander where about was ingrauen in Greke verses and olde letter this Epitaphe WIthin the compasse of this narrowe graue Wretched Periander enclosed lies Whose cruell factes could Grece alone not haue So small a soyle his hunger could suffise ¶ Here lodgeth eke lo Periander dedde His filthie fleshe the hungrie wormes doe eate And liuing he with Orphelines goods was fedde His gredie guttes did craue suche deintie meate ¶ The tyraunt Periander stayeth here Whose life was buylte to hinder all the rest And eke whose death suche prefite large did beare As brought reliefe to him that had the lest ¶ Here wicked Periander resteth nowe His life did cause great peopled realmes decaye His death that forste his liuing sprite to bowe Assurde them life that stoode in brittell staye ¶ The curssed Periander here doth lie Whose life did shed the poore and simple blood And eke that clambe to riches rule so hie By others swette that sought for wasting good ¶ Of Corinth lo here Periander rest To seeme for iust that equall lawes did frame Yet flytting from the square that they possest By vertues dome deserude a tyrauntes name ¶ The catiue Periander sleepeth here That finisht hath his foure score yeares with shame And though his lyfe that thousandes bought so deere Be faded thus yet bloometh still his blame THere were mo letters on the graue but because it was alone in the fielde the great waters had worne it so that scarcely the letters coulde be red and truly it was very olde in his time it semed to be a sumptuous thing but the negligence of reparation lost it quite and it is not to be marueyled at
is but it greueth me that in this conflict I haue neither vnderstanding nor yet sence to tast nor that I haue time enoughe to thanke the. For I let the know that ther is no tongue can expresse the griefe which a man feeleth when he ought forthwith to dye I die and as thou seest they kil me only for that I am vertuous I feele nothing that tormenteth my hart so much as king Cadinus my brother doth for that I can not be reuenged For in myne opinion the chiefe felycitie of man consisteth in knowing and being able to reuenge the iniurye done without reason before a man doth end his lyfe It is a commendable thing that the philosopher pardon iniuries as the vertuous philosophers haue accustomed to do but it should be also iust that the iniuries which we forgiue the gods should therwith be charged to se reuengment For it is a hard thing to se a tiraunt put a vertuous man to death and neuer to se the tiraunte to come to the lyke Me thinketh my frend Pulio that this philosopher put all his felycytie in reuenging an iniurye during the like in this world Of the Sarmates THe mount Caucasus as the Cosmographers say doth deuide in the middest great Asia the which beginneth in India and endeth in Scithia and according to the varietie of the people which inhabyte the vyllages so hath this mount diuerse names and those which dwel towards the Indians differ much from the others For the more the countrey is ful of mountaines so much the more the people are Barbarous Amongest al the other cyties which are adiacent vnto the same there is a kinde of people called Sarmates and that is the countrie of Sarmatia which standeth vpon the riuer of Tanays There grow no vynes in the prouince because of the great cold it is true that amonge all the orientall nacions there are no people which more desire wine then they do For the thyng which we lacke is coÌmonly most desired These people of Sarmatia are good men of warre thoughe they are vnarmed they esteme not much delicate meates nor sumptuous apparaile For al their felicytie consisteth in knowing how they might fil them selues with wine In the yere of the foundacion of Rome .318 our auncient fathers determined to wage battaile agaynst those people and other Barbarous nations and appointed a Consull called Lucius Pius And sith in that warres fortune was variable they made a truce and afterwardes all their captaines yelded themselues their countrey into the subiectioÌ of the Romaine empire only because the Consul Lucius Pius in a banket that he made filled them with wine After the warres were ended al the land of Sarmatia subiect the Consul Lucius Pius came to Rome for rewarde of his trauaile required the accustomed triumphe the which was not only denied him but also in recompense of his fact he was openly beheaded by the decre of all the Senate about his graue was written this Epitaphe WIthin this tombe Lucius Pius lyes That whilome was a Consul great in Rome And daunted eke as shame his sclaunder cries The Sarmates sterne not by Mauors his dome ¶ But by reproofe and shame of Romayne armes He vanquishte hath not as the Romaynes vse But as the bloody tyrauntes that with swarmes Of huge deceites the fyerse assaultes refuse ¶ Not in the warres by byting weapons stroke But at the boorde with swete delighting foode Not in the hasard fight he did them yoke But feding all in rest he stole their bloode ¶ Nor yet wyth mighty Mars in open fielde He rest their lyues with sharpe ypersing speares But with the pusshe of dronken Bacchus shielde Home to hye Rome the triumphe lo he heares THE sacred Senate set this epitaphe here because al Romaine captaines should take example of him For the maiestie of the Romaines consisteth not in vanquishing their enemyes by vyces and deliciousnes but by weapons and prayers The Romaynes were very sore greued with the audacitie of this Consul Lucius Pius and not contented to haue beheaded him and to haue set on his graue so defamous a tytle but made proclamacion forthwith throughout Rome by the sounde of a trumpet howe al that whyche Lucius Pius had done the sacred senate condemned for nothing and shoulde stand to no effete For there was an auncient law in Rome when they beheaded any man by iustice they should also take away the aucthoritie he had in Rome And not contented with these thinges the sacred senate wrote to the Sarmates that they did release them of their homage making themselues subiectes of the Romaynes wherfore the restored theim agayne to their lybertie They did this thing because the custome amonge the stoute and valiaunt Romaines was not to get nor winne realmes in makinge their enemyes druncke with delycate wines but in shedding their proper bloude in the plaine field I haue told the this my frend Pulio because the Consull Lucius Pius did perceiue that the Sarmates put all their filicitye to ingurge them selues with wine ¶ Of the Philosopher Chilo IN the 15. Dinastia of the Lacedemonians and Deodeus beinge kyng of Medes Gigion being kyng of Lides Argeus being king among the Macedonians and Tullius Hostilius kyng of the Romaynes in the Olimpiade ⪠27. there was in Athens a philosopher borne of Grece whose name was Chilo one of the .7 sages which the Grekes had in their treasure In that time there was great warres betwene the Atthenians and the Corinthians as we may perceiue by the Greeke histories whiche we see written Since Troye was destroyed there was neuer peace in Greece for the warre betwixte the Greekes and Troyans was neuer so great as that which afterward they made amonge themselues Sithe the Grekes were now wise men they did deuide the offices of the comon wealth acording to the abilytie of euery person that is to know that to the stout and hardy men they gaue the gouernement to the sage they recommended the imbasies of straunge countryes And vpon this occasion the Athenians sent the philosopher Chilo to the Corinthians to treat of peace who came vnto the citie of Corinthe Bechaunce on that day ther was celebrated a great feast wherfore he found all men plaieng at dyce the women solacing them selues in the gardeins the priestes shâtte with the crosse-bowes in the temples the senatours played in the consistorye at tables the maisters of fence played in the streates to conclude he found them al playeng The philosopher seing these thinges without speakinge to any man or lighting of on his horse returned into his countrey without declaringe hys message when the Corinthians went after him asked him why he did not declare the cause of his comming he aunswered Frendes I am come from Athens to Corinthe not without great trauayle now I returne from Corinthe to Athens not litle offended ye might haue sene it because I spake neuer a word to any of you
are pardoned in tyme which by reason could neuer take end Others sayd that for to appease the enemyes it was good to offer money because moneye doth not only breake the feminate and tender hartes but also the hard and craggy rockes Others saied that the best remedie was to set good men to be mediatours betwene them in especially if they were sage and wise men for the honest faces stout hartes are ashamed when they are proferred money and the good do humble them selues by intreaty These meanes well considered and the remydies wel soughte out to make frendes there are none so ready so true as mariage for the mariage done sacramentally is of such so great excellency that betwene some it causeth perfite frendship betwene others it appeaseth great iniuries During the time that Iulius Cesar kept him selfe as father in law to the great Pompeius that Pompeius helde himselfe his sonne in law ther was neuer euil wil nor quarels betwene theÌ but after that Pompeius was deuorced from the house of Cesar hatred enuy enimities engendered betwene them in such sort that they contended in suche so cruell warres that Pompeius against his wil lost his head also Iulius Cesar shortned his life When those that dwelled in Rome rauished robbed the doughters of the Sabines if after they had not chaunged their counsel of theues to become husbandes without doubt the Romaines had bene all destroyed for the Sabines had made an othe to aduenture both their goodes and their lyues for to reueng the iniuries done vnto them their doughters and wiues but by the meanes of mariage they were conferred in great amity and loue For the Romaines receued in mariage the doughters of the Sabines whom before they had rauished Greater enimity ther caÌnot be then that of god towards men through the sinne of Adam notwithstanding ther neuer was nor neuer shal be greater frendship then that which was made by the godly maryage and for greater aucthority to confirme mariage the sonne of god woulde that his mother should be maried and afterward he himselfe was present at a mariage where he turned the water into wine though now a days the euil maried men do turne the wine into water He doth not speake here of religious personnes nor men of the Church neither of those which are closed in deuout places for those fleing the occasions of the world and chosing the wayes lesse daungerous haue offered their soules to god with their bodyes haue done him acceptable sacrifices For ther is difference betwene the relygion of Christ and the sinfull Sinagoge of the Iewes for they offered kyddes and muttons but here are not offered but teares and sighes Leauyng therfore all those secretes apart which men ought to leaue to God I say and affirme that it is a holy and commendable counsel to vse his profite with the Sacrament of mariage the which though it be taken of al voluntaryly yet Princes great lordes ought to take it necessarily For the prynce that hath no wife nor chyldren shal haue in his realme much grudgyng and displeasure Plutarche in the booke he made of mariage sayth that amongest the Lidiens ther was a law wel obserued and kept that of necessity their kings and gouernours should be maried they had such respect to this thing and were so circumspect in this matter that if a prince dyed and left his heire an infant they would not suffer him to gouerne the realme vntil he were maried And they greatly lamented the day of the departing of their Quene out of this lyfe for with her death the gouermente ceased the royal aucthorytie remained voyd and the common wealth with out gouernment so long tyme as the king deferred to take another wyfe so they were some times without kyng or gouernment For princes are or ought to be the mirrour and example of al to lyue honest and temperate the which cannot welbe done vnlesse they be maried or that they se themselues to be conquerers of the flesh being so they are satisfyed but if they be not maried and the flesh doth assault them then they lyue immedyatly conquered Wherfore of necessity they must go by their neighbours houses or els by some other dishonest places scattered abrode to the reproch and dyshonour of them and their kindredes and oftentymes to the great peryl and daunger of their parsonnes ¶ Of sundry and diuerse lawes which the auncientes had in contractinge matrimony not only in the choise of women but also in the maner of celebrating mariage Cap. iii. IN al nacions and in al the Realmes of the world mariage hath alwayes bene accepted and maruailously commended for other wyse the world had not ben peopled nor yet the nomber of men multyplyed The auncientes neuer disagreed one from another in the approbation and acception of mariage but ther was amongest them great difference strife vpon the contractes ceremonies and vsages of the same For they vsed as muche difference in contractinge matrimony and chosinge their wyues as these Epicures doe desire the varietie of sundry delicate meates The deuine Plato in his booke he made of the common wealth did councel that al things should be common and that not onely in brute beastes in mouables and heritages but also that women should be commen for he saide that if these twoo wordes thine and mine were abolisshed and out of vse there shoulde not be debates nor quarelles in this worlde They call Plato deuine for many good thinges whiche he spake but nowe they may call him worldly for the councell profane whiche he gaue I can not tell what beaste lines it may be called nor what greater rewdenes may be thought that the apparrell shuld be proper and the wyues commen The brute beaste doth not knowe that whiche came out of her belly longer then it sucketh of her breastes And in this sorte it would chaunce to men yea and worse to if women were commen in the common wealth For though one shoulde knowe the mother whiche hath borne him he should not knowe the father that hath begotten him The Tharentines whiche were well renowmed amongest the auncientes and not a litle feared of the Romaines had in their citie of Tharente a lawe and custome to marie them selues with a legittimate wife and to begette children but besides her a man might yet chose twoo others for his secret pleasures Spartianus saide that the Emperour Hellus Verus as thouching women was very dissolute and since his wife was younge and faire and that she did complaine of hym because he ledde no honest lyfe with her he spake these wordes vnto her My wyfe thou haste no cause to complayne of me synce I remayne with thee vntill suche tyme as thou arte quicke with chylde For the residue of the tyme we husbandes haue licence and priuilege to seke our pastimes with other women For this name of a wyfe conteyneth in it honour
whereby they may beare and suffre quietly suche great troubles For at this daye there is no husbande so louing nor so vertuous in whom the wife shall not finde some euill conditions First of al wiues ought to endeuour them selues to loue their husbandes vnfainedly if they desire their husbandes should loue them without dissimulation for as we see by experience mariage is seldome broken through pouertie nor yet continued with riches For the euill maried folkes through debate and strife be separated in on week where as by good and true loue they are preserued all the dayes of their life To eate drie and vnsauory meates they vse to take salte for to amende it I meane that the burdens of matrimonie are many and troublesome the whiche all with loue onely maye be endured For as Plato the deuine philosopher sayeth one thinge oughte not to be called more painefull then an other for the labour we thereunto employ but for the great or small loue that thereunto we haue Though some sondry thyngs be troublesome and tedious yet when with loue it is begonne it is easely folowed and ioyefully achieued for that trauayle is nothyng noysome where loue is the mediatour I knowe right well and doe confesse that the counsell whiche I geue to women is sharpe that is for an honest woman to loue a dissolute man for a sage wyfe to loue a foolishe husbande for a vertuous wyfe to loue a vitious husbande For as dayly experience sheweth there are some men of so foolish conditions other women of so noble conuersation that by reason apparant they ought to take them for mistresses rather then they should accepte them for husbandes Although this in some particuler cases is true I saye and affirme that generally all women are bounde to loue their husbandes since that willingly and not by compulsion they were not enforced to take them for in like manner if the mariage pleased not the woman she hath not so much cause to complaine of her husbande for asking her as she hath reason to complayne of her owne selfe that accepted hym For the misfortunes that by our folly doe chaunce though we haue cause to lamente them we ought also to haue reason to dissemble them Be the man neuer so wylde and euill brought vp it is impossible if the wife loue him but he must nedes loue her againe And though perchaunce he can not force his euill condition to loue her yet at the leaste he shall haue no occasion to hate her The whiche ought not to be litle estemed for there are many wyues not onely of the Plebeians but also of the noble dames that coulde be content to forgeue their husbandes all the pleasure they should doe them and also all the loue that they ought to shewe if they would refraine their tongues from speaking iniurious wordes and kepe their handes from dealinge lothsome stripes We haue many notable examples in histories of manye noble and stoute Ladies as well Grekes as Romaines whiche after they were maried had so great faithfulnes and bare suche loyaltie to their husbandes that they not onely folowed them in their trauailes but also deliuered them in their daungers Plutarche in the booke of noble women declareth that the Lacedemonians keping many nobles of the Athenians prisoners whiche at that tyme were their cruell and mortall enemies and beinge iudged to die their wyues concluded to goe to the pryson where they laye and in the ende they obtayned of the Gayler thereof that they myght goe in and talke with their husbandes for in dede the teares were many that before them were shed the giftes were not fewe whiche vnto them were offered The wiues therefore entring into the pryson did not onely chaunge their apparell with their husbandes but also the libertie of their personnes for they went out as women and the women in their steades remained there as men And when they brought out these innocent wyues from pryson to execute iustice supposing they were men the Lacedemonians vnderstandinge the faithfulnes of the women determined that they should not only be pardoned but also that they should be greatly rewarded and honoured for the good examples of other women to whom they were maried The auncient and great renowmed Panthea when newes was brought her that her husbande was dead in the battayle she her owne selfe determined to goe seke him out with hope that as yet he was not vtterly dead and fynding him dead with the bloud of him she washed all her body and likewyse her face stryking with a knife her selfe to the harte and imbracing her husbande she yelded vp the ghost so togethers they were caried to the graue Porcia the doughter of Marcus Porcia the great when she hearde that her husband Brutus was taken and slayn she felte for that newes so great sorowe that all her frendes seinge her take the matter so greuously hidde from her all Irone where with she might kill her selfe and did laboure to kepe and preserue her from daungers wherein she might fall and shorten her life For she was so excellent a Romaine and so necessary to the common wealth that if they had lamented the death of Brutus her husband with teares of their eies they ought to bewayle the losse of his wife Porcia with droppes of bloud in their hartes Porcia therefore feeling in her selfe a wofull and afflicted harte for the death of her entierly beloued husband to declare that that whiche she did was not fained nor for to please the people but to satisfie her great marueilous loue since she founde neither sworde nor knife to kill her selfe nor corde to hange her selfe neither welle to drowne her in she went to the fire and with as great pleasure did eate the hote firie coales as an other would haue eaten any delicate meates We may say that such kinde of death was very straunge and newe whiche the Romaine founde to encrease augmente and manifest her loue Yet we can not denie but that she wanne to the posteritie of her name a perpetuall memorie For as a noble dame she would quenche with coles of fire her burning harte that enflamed was with firie brondes of loue As Diodorus Siculus saith it was a lawe custome amongest the Lidians to mary them selues with many wiues and whan by chaunce their husbande 's died the wiues which they had met together and fought in some plaine place And the women which remained only aliue and of the conflict had the victory cast them selues into the graue of their husbande so that those women then fought for to die as men nowe fight for to liue ¶ Of the reuenge a woman of Grece toke of him that had killed her husband in hope to haue her in mariage Cap. v. PLutarche in the booke that he made of the noble and worthy women declareth a thing worthy of rehersall and to be had in memory In the citie of Galacia were two renowmed citezens whose names
gladsome mynde he trained was to spend Synce that his youth which slippeth loe by stelth To waite on me he freely did commend Since he such heapes of lingring harmes did wast Aye to contente my wanton youthly wil And that his breath to fade did passe so fast To glut their thrust that thus his bloud did spill Though great the dutie be which that I owe Vnto his graued ghost and âindred moulde Yet loe me seames my duetie well I showe Perfourming that my feble power coulde For since for me vntwined was his threede Of giltles life that ought to purchase breath Can reasons doome conclude I ought to dreede For his decaye to clyme the steppes of death In wretched earth my father graued lyes My deere mother hath ronne her rase of life The pride of loue no more can dawnt mine eies My wasted goodes ar shronke by fortunes strife My honours sone eclipsed is by fate My yong delight is loe fordone by chaunce My broken life these passed happes so hate As can my graued hart no more aduaunce And nowe remaines to duetie with my phere No more but refuse loe my yrkesome life With willing mynde followed eke with drere Whiche I resigne as sitteth for a wife And thou Sinoris whiche Iunos yoke doest craue To presse my corps to feede thy liking lust The route of Homers gods the graunt to haue In steade of roiall feates a throne of dust In chaunge of costlie robes and riche araie A simple winding sheete they deigne the giue And eke in stede of honest wedlockes staie They singe thy dirge and not vouchsaue the liue In place of himens hie vnfiled bedde They laie thée vp in closure of thy graue In steed with precious meates for to be fedde They make the wormes for fitter praie thee haue In steed of songe and musikes tuned sowne They waite on thée with loude lamenting voice In chaunge of ioyfull life and hie renowne Thy cruell death may sprede with wretched noise For you great gods that stalled be on hie Should not be iust ne yet suche titles clame Vnles this wretche ye ruthles cause to die That liueth nowe to sclaunder of your name And thou Dian that haunted courtes doost shonne Knowst with what great delight this life I leaue And when the race of spending breath is donne Will perse the soile that did my phere receaue ¶ And if perchaunce the paled ghostes despise Suche fatall fine with grudge of thankeles minde Yet at the least the shamefast liuing eies Shall haue a glasse rare wysely giftes to finde Wherein I will that Lucres secte shall gase But none that lyue like Helens line in blase AND when the praier was ended that this faire and vertuous Camma made she dranke and gaue to drynke to Sinoris of this cuppe of poyson who thought to drynke no other but good wyne and water and the case was suche that he died at noone daies and she likewyse in the eueninge after And truly her death of all Grece with as great sorowe was lamented as her life of all men was desired Princesses and great Ladies may moste euidently perceiue by the examples herein conteyned howe honest and honourable it is for them to loue and endeuoure them selues to be beloued of their husbandes and that not onely in their lyfe but also after their deathe For the wyfe to serue her husbande in his life seameth oft tymes to proceade of feare but to loue and honour him in his graue proceadeth of loue Princesses and great Ladies ought not to doe that which many other women of the common people doe that is to wete to seke some drinkes and inuente some shamefull sorceries to be beloued of their husbandes for albeit it is a great burden of conscience and lacke of shame in lyke maner to vse such superstitions yet it should be a thing to vniust and very slaunderous that for to be beloued of their husbandes they should procure to bee hated of God Truly to loue to serue and contente God it is not hurtefull to the woman for that she should be the better beloued of her husbande but yet God hathe suffered and doth permitte oftetymes that the women beinge feble deformed poore and negligent should be better beloued of their husbandes then the diligent faire and ryche And this is not for the seruices they doe to their husbandes but for the good intention they haue to serue loue God whiche sheweth them this especiall fauour for otherwyse God doth not suffer that he being with her displeased she should lyue with her husbande contented If women would take this councell that I geue them in this case I wil teache them furthermore a notable enchauntement to obteine the loue of their husbandes whiche is that they be quiet meke pacient solitary and honest with which fiue herbes they may make a confection the which neither seene nor tasted of their husbands shal not onely cause them to be beloued but also honoured For women ought to knowe that for their beautie they are desyred but for their vertue onely they are beloued ¶ That Princesses and great Ladies ought to be obedient to their husbandes and that it is a great shame to the husbande that his wyfe should commaunde him Cap. vi MAny auncient historiographers trauailed greatly and consumed long tyme in wryting to declare what authoritie the man ought to haue ouer the woman and what seruitude the woman oweth to the man and some for to auaunce the dignitie of the man and others to excuse the frailtie of the woman alleged such vayne thinges that it had bene more honour for them not to haue written at all then in suche sorte as they did For it is not possible but the wryters should erre whiche wryte not as reason teacheth but rather as their fantasie leadeth Those that defende the frailtie of the women saied that the woman hath a body as a man she hath a soule as a man she hath reason as a man dieth as a man and was as necessarie for generation as man she liueth as a man and therefore they thought it not mete that she should be more subiect to man then man to her for it is not reason that that whiche nature hath made free should by any lawes of man be made bond They saide furthermore that God created not the creatours but to augmente the generation of mankinde and that in this case the woman was more necessary then the man for the man engendreth without payne or trauayle but the woman is deliuered with perill and daunger and with payne and trauayle norysheth vp the childe Wherfore it seameth great vnkindnes and crueltie that the women whiche are deliuered with peryll and daunger of their lyues and brynge vp their chyldren with laboure and toyle of their bodyes should be vsed of their husbandes as sclaues They sayed further that men are those that cursse that moue seditions that make warres that mayntayne enmytie that weare weapons that sheade mans bloude
she goeth out of the house she ought to thinke that her maydens will stray abrode the children wil ronne out to play the varlettes and seruaunts wil be out of order the neighbours wil take occasions to speake euill and that which is worst of al some will steale the goodes out of the house and the others wil speake euyl of the renowne of the wife Oh god giueth a goodly gift grace to that man which hath such and so good a wife that of her owne nature loueth to kepe her selfe within the house And truly I say that such one doth excuse many griefes saueth much money For she spendeth not the goodes in apparel nor giueth occasion to men to iudge euil of her personne The greatest debate that is betwene man and wife is for that he desireth to get and kepe his goodes to bringe vp his chyldren and to maintaine his family and on the other part that she desireth to spend all vppon apparell For women in this case are so curious in louinge of themselues that they would absteine from meates that should mainteyne their life onlye to bye a new gowne to set out their pride Women naturally do loue to keape and wil not spend any thinge except it be in apparell For euery houre that is in the day and the night they desire to haue a new gowne to chaunge My entencyon is not to speake of apparell only but to perswade Princesses and great Ladyes that they would kepe themselues in their houses and in so doing they should excuse these superfluous wastes expenses For her neighbour seing her better apparelled then she is loketh vpon her husband as she were a Lyon It chaunceth oftentymes I would to god I had no cause to speake it that if by chaunce there commeth anye great or solempne feast or mariage she wil neuer loke louyngly on his face before he hath geuen her a new gowne to her backe and when the poore gentleman hath no money to paye of necessity he must runne in credit And when the vanytie of the woman is past then the time of payment draweth nere and they come to arest all his goodes so that they haue cause to lament one hole yeare for that whych they haue spent in one houre Women seldome contende for that one is fairer more nobler of lynage better maried or more vertuous then an other but onely for that an other goeth better apparailed then she For touching apparell there is no woman caÌ endure that an other meaner woman shoulde make comparison with her nor that in like maner her equal should excell her Lycurgus in the lawes that he gaue to the Lacedemonians commaunded that their wiues should not goe out of their houses but at dyuers solempne feastes in the yere For he sayde that the women ought to be makinge their prayers in the Temples to the gods or els in their houses bringing vp their children For it is not honest nor commendable that the wife shold passe her time abroade trotting from strete to strete as common women I say that the Princesses and great Ladies are much more bound to kepe them selues at home in their houses then other women of meaner degre without a cause I speake it not for therby they shal get them more reputacion For ther is no vertue wherby the woman winneth more reputacion in the common wealth then alwayes to be sene resident in her house I say also that a wife ought the most part of her time to keape her house bycause she hath lesse occasion then other haue to go abroade For if the poore wife the Plebian go out of her house she goeth for no other cause but for to seke meate but if the riche and noble woman goeth out of her house it is for nothing but to take her pleasure Let not princesses maruel nor let not great ladies wonder if they dispose their feete to trotte occupye their eyes to behold though their ennemyes and neighbours with cankered hartes doth iudge them and with euil tongues defame them for the fond dedes that women do maketh men to be rash of iudgement I like it wel that the husbands should loue their wiues that they should comfort them and make much of them and that they should put their trust in them but I do discommend that the women should go gadding abroad in visitacion from house to house that their husbands dare not gaine say them For admyt that they be good in their personnes yet in this doing they giue occasion for men to esteme them vaine and light Seneca saieth in an epistel that the great Romaine Cato the censor ordeyned that no woman shold go out of her house being alone if perhappes it were in the night she should not go alone without company that the company shold not be such as she would chose but such as her husband or parent would assigne so that with the same couÌtenaunce we behold now a comen woman with the selfe same lookes then we beheld her that went oft out of her house Noble ladies which loue their honour ought greatly to consider way the great incoÌueniences that may ensue by often gadding abroad for they spend much to apparel them they lose much time in trimming them they kepe gentlewomen to wait vpon them they wil striue with their husbands to goe whiles she is out of the dores the house shal be euil kept and al the enemyes frendes therby haue matter wherupon to talke finally I say that the woman that goeth out of her house doth not wey the losse of her honour so much as she doth the pleasure she taketh abroad Presuming as I presume to write with grauitie I say that I am ashamed to speake it yet for al that I wil not refraine to write of the walkes of these dames that visite desire to be visited amongest whom ther is moued oftentimes such vaine coÌmunication that it causeth their husbands to become ennemyes and on the other parte they remember more the gossippinges that they haue to go then their sinnes which they ought to lament ¶ Of the commodities and discommodities which folowe Princesses and great Ladyes that go abroade to vysite or abyde in the house Cap. viii LUcretia by the consent of all was counted the cheafest of all other Matrones of Rome and not for that that she was more faire more wise of greater parentage or more noble But because she did withdrawe her selfe from company and abode solitary For she was such a one that in the heroical vertues there could be nothing more desired nor in womens weakenes there was nothinge in her to be amended The historye of the chast Lucretia is euident in Titus Liuius that when the husbandes of diuers Romaines came home from the warres to their houses they founde their wiues in such sort that some were gasing out of the windowes others devising vainely at their doores others in the field wandering others
a man haue hys desire that is to say to haue his wife great with child and redy to bring forth good fruite afterward to se the woful mother through some sodeine accident peryshe the innocent babe not to be borne When the woman is healthful bigge with child she is worthy of great reproch if eyther by runnyng leaping or dauncing any mischaunce hap vnto her And truly the husband hath great cause to lament this case for without doubt the gardiner fealeth great grefe in his hart when in the prime time the tre is loden with blosomes and yet by reason of some sharpe and bitter froste it neuer beareth fruit It is not only euyl that women should runne leape when they are bigge great with chyld but it is also dishonest and specially for great Ladies for alwayes women that be common dauncers are esteamed as light housewiues The wiues in general princesses and great ladies in particuler ought to go temperately to be modest in their mouinges for the modeste gate argueth discretnes in the person Al women naturally desire to be honoured reuerenced touching that I let them know that ther is nothing which in a common wealth is more honor for a woman then to be wise ware in speaking moderate quyet in going For it is vnpossible but that the woman which is lyght in her going and malycious in her talking should be dispised and abhorred In the yere of the foundacion of Rome .466 the romaines sente Curius Dentatus to make warre agaynst king Pirrus who kept the city of Tharent did much harme to the people in Rome for the Romaines had a great corage to conquere straunge realmes therfore they could haue no pacience to suffer any straunger to inuade theirs This Curius Dentatus was he which in the end ouercame king Pirrus was the fyrst that brought the Oliphantes to Rome in his tryumphe wherfore the fiercenes of those beasts astonyed the Romaine people much for they weyed lytel the sight of the kyngs loden with irons but to se the Oliphants as they did they wondered much Curius Dentatus had one only sister the which he intierly loued They wer seuen children two of the which dyed in the warres other thre by pestilence so that ther were none left him but that sister wherfore he loued her with al his hart For the death of vnthriftye children is but as a watch for childreÌ vnprouided of fauoures This sister of Curius Dentatus was maried to a Romaine consul was conceiued gone .7 moneths with child and the day that her brother triumphed for ioy of her brothers honor she leaped daunced so much that in the same place she was deliuered so vnluckely that the mother toke her death the chyld neuer lyued wherupon the feast of the triumphe ceased and the father of the infant for sorow lost hys speach For the hart which sodainly feleth grefe incontinently loseth vnderstanding Tibullus the Grecian in the third booke De casibus triumphi declareth the hystorie in good stile how and in what sorte it chaunced Nyne yeares after that the kings of Rome weare bannyshed from the rape that Tarquine dyd to the chast Lucretia the Romaine created a dignytie whiche they called DICTATVRA and the Dictatoure that hadde this office was aboue al other lord chiefe for the Romaines perceiued that the common wealth could not be gouerned but by one head alone And because the Dictatour had so great aucthority as the Emperour hath at this present to th end they should not become tirauntes they prouided that the office of the Dictatoursship should last no longer then vi moneths in the yeare the which past and expired they chose another Truly it was a good order that that office dured but vi moneths For oft tymes princes thinkinge to haue perpetual aucthority become necligent in vsing iustice The first dictatour in Rome was Largius Mamillus who was sent against the Volces the which at that time were the greatest enemies to the Romaines for Rome was founded in such a signe that alwayes it was beloued of fewe and abhorred of many As Titus Liuius saith this Largius Mamillus vanquished the Volces triumphed ouer theym in the end of the warre distroyed their mighty citye called Curiola and also distroyed and ouerthrewe many places and fortresses in that prouince for the cruel hartes do not only distroy the personnes but also take vengeaunce of the stones The hurtes which Largius Mamillus did in the country of the Volces were maruelous and the men which he slewe were many and the treasories he robbed were infinite and the captiues which he had in his triumphe were a great nomber amongest whom inespecial he brought captiue a noble mans doughter a beautiful gentlewoman the which he kept in his house for the recreacion of his person for the aunciente Romaines gaue to the people al the treasours to maintayne the warre they toke to them selues al the vycious things to kepe in their houses The case was that this damsel being with child Largius Mamillus brought her to solace herselfe in his orchard wher were sondry yonge fruites and as then not ripe to eate wherof with so great affection she did eate that forthwith she was delyuered in the same place of a creature so that on the one part she was delyuered and on the other part the chylde died This thinge chaunsed in the gardeins of Vulcan two dayes after the triumphe of Largius Mamillus a ruful and lamentable case to declare forasmuch as both the child that was borne the mother that was delyuered and also the father that begat it the selfe same day dyed and were buried all in one graue and this thing was not wythout great waylyng lamenting throughout al Rome For if with teares their lyues myght haue bene restored wythout doubt none of them should haue ben buried The first sonne of Rome which rebelled against rome was Tarquin the proud The second that wythstode Rome being as yet in Lucania was Quintus Marcius The third that went agaynst Rome was the cruel Silla The domages which these thre did to their mother Rome were such and so great that the thre seueral warres of Affricke were nothing to be compared to those thre euil children for those enemyes could scarcely se the walles of Rome but these vnnatural chyldreÌ had almost not left one stone vpon another A man ought not greatly to esteme those buildings that these tirauntes threw to the ground nor the buildings that they distroyed neither the men that they slew nor the women that they forced ne yet the orphanes which they made but aboue al things we ought to lament for that that they brought into Rome For the comon wealth is not distroyed for lacke of riches sumpteous buildings but because vices abound vertuous want Of these thre Romaynes he whose name was Quintus Marcius had ben consul thrise once Dictatour
so swift as he that is naked Aristotle in the sixt booke de Animalibus saith when the Lionesse is bigge with whelpe the Lyon doth not only hunt for her him self but also both night daye he wandreth continually about to watche her I meane that princesses great Ladies when they be with child should be of their husbande 's both tended serued for the man can not do the woman so great a pleasure before her lieng down as she doth to him when she bringeth forth a sonne Considering the daunger that the woman abideth in her deliuerance beholding the paines that the husbaÌd taketh in her seruice without coÌparison that is greater which she suffereth then that which he endureth For when the womaÌ deliuereth she doth more then her power and the husband though he serueth her well doth lesse then his dutie The gentle and louing husband ought not one moment to forsake his wife specially when he seeth she is great for in the law of a good husbaÌd it is written that he should set his eies to behold her his handes to serue her he should spende his goods to cherishe her should geue his harte to coÌtent her Let not men thinke it paines to serue their wiues when they are with childe for their labour consisteth in their strengthe but the trauell of their wiues is in their intrailes And that whiche is moste pitifull is that when the sorowfull women will discharge their burden on the earthe they often times bryng them selues vnto the graue The meane women of the Plebeians ought no lesse to be reproued for that when they are with childe they would be exempted from all busines of the house the whiche neither they them selues ought to desire nor yet their husbandes to suffer For idlenesse is not only an occasion not to deserue heauen but also it is a cause whereby womeÌ ofte times haue ill successe in their trauaile For considering bothe the deintie Ladie with childe that hath her pleasure and doth litle and on the other side the poore mans wyfe whiche moderatly laboureth you shall see that the great Ladies for all their pleasures abydeth more daunger then the other doth with all her labour The husbande ought to keape his wyfe from takyng to muche paines for so ought he to doe and the wyfe lykewyse ought to flee to much pleasure for it behoueth her For the meane trauaile is no other but occasion of a safe deliuerie The women with childe also ought to take hede to them selues and in especially noble and great ladies that they be not to gredy nor hasty in eating For the woman being with childe ought to be sobre and the woman whiche is a great eater with great paines shall liue chaste Women with childe ofte times doe disordre them selues in eating licorous meates and vnder the colour of feedinge them selues and their infant they take to excessiuely which is not onely vnholsome for the childe but also dishonour for their mothers For truly by the great excesse of the mother being with child commeth many diseases to the infant when it liueth The husbande 's also ought neither to displease nor greue their wiues specially when thei see them great with child for of truth ofte times she deliuereth with more daunger by reason of the offences that meÌ do vnto them then by the abondaunce of meates which they doe eate Though the woman when she is with childe in some thinges doth offend her husband yet he like a wise man ought to forbeare her hauing respect to the child wherwith she is great and not to the iniurie that she hath committed for in th end the mother can not be so great an offender but that the childe is muche more innocent For the profe of this it neadeth not bookes to reade but only our eies to see how the brute beastes for the moste parte when the females are bigge doe not touche them nor yet the females suffer theÌ to be touched I meane that the noble and high estates ought to absent them selues from their wiues carnally beyng great with child and he that in this case shal shewe him selfe moste temperate shall of all men be deamed most vertuous I do not speake this to thend it should bind a man or that it were an offence then to vse the company of his wyfe but vnto men that are vertuous I geue it as a counsel For some things ought to be done of necessitie others ought to be eschewed for honestie Diodorus Siculus saith that in the realme of Mauritania there were so few men so many women that euery man had fiue wiues where there was a law amoÌgest them that no man should mary vnder thre wiues furthermore they had a wonderful folishe custome that when any husband died one of these women should cast her selfe quick in to the graue be buried with him And if that within a moneth she did it not or that she died not by iustice she was then openly put to death saiyng that it is more honestie to be in company with her husband in the graue then it is to be alone in her house In the Isles of Baliares the coÌtrary is sene for there increase so many men and so few women that for one woman there was seuen men and so they had a custome specially amongest the poore that one woman should be maried with fiue men For the ryche men sent to seke for women in other straunge Realmes wherfore then marchauntes came heuie loden with women as now they do with marchaundise to sell Vpon which occasion there was a custome in those Isles that for as muche as there were so fewe women when any woman with chylde drewe nere the seuen monethes they were seperated from their husbandes and shut and locked vp in the Temples where they gaue them suche thinges as were necessary for them of the commen treasure For the auncientes had their goodes in suche veneration that they would not permitte any personne to eate that whiche he brought but of that whiche vnto the goddes of the Temple was offered At that tyme the Barbarous kepte their wyues locked in the churche because the gods hauing them in their Temples should be more mercifull vnto them in their deliuery and also to cause them to auoyde the daungers at that tyme and besydes that because they tooke it for a great vilany that the women during that tyme should remaine with their husbandes The famous and renowmed philosopher Pulio in the fift booke De moribus antiquorum said that in the Realme of Paunonia whiche nowe is Hongarie the women that were great with childe were so highly estemed that when any went out of her house al those which met with her were bounde to returne backe with her in such sorte as we at this present do reuerence the holy Comunion so did these Barbarous then the women with child The women of Carthage being with child wheÌ Carthage was
me so depely in hart why then doubtest thou to shew me the writtinges of thy study Thou doest communicate with me the secretes of the empire and thou hydest from me the bokes of thy study Thou hast geuen me thy tender harte of flesh and now thou deniest me thy harde key of yron now I must neades thinke that thy loue was fayned that thy words were doble and that thy thoughtes wer others then they seamed For if they had ben otherwise it had ben vnpossible thou shouldest haue denaied me the key that I do aske the for where loue is vnfayned thoughe the requeste be merilye asked yet it is wyllyngly graunted It is a commen custome that you men vse to deceiue vs symple women you present vs great gyftes you gyue many fayre wordes you make vs faier promyses you saye you will do marueiles but in the end you doe nothing but deceiue vs for we are persecuted more of you then of any others When men in such wyse importune the women if the women hadde power to denaye and withstande we shoulde in shorte space brynge ye vnder the yoke and leade you by the noses but when we suffer oure selues to be ouercome then you beginne to forsake vs and despise vs. Let me therfore my Lorde see thy chamber consyder I am with childe and that I dye onlesse I see it If thou doest not to doe me pleasure yet do it at the least because I may no more importune the. For if I come in daunger thoroughe this my longing I shall but lose my lyfe but thou shalte loose the childe that should be borne and the mother also that oughte to beare it I know not why thou shouldest put thy noble harte into such a daungerous fortune whereby both thou and I at one time shoulde peryshe I in dyeng so yong and thou in losyng so louynge a wyfe By the immortall gods I do beseche the and by the mother Berecinthia I coniure the that thou geue me the key or that thou let me enter into the studye and stycke not with me thy wyfe in this my small request but chaunge thy opinion for all that which without consideracion is ordeyned by importunate sewte may be reuoked We see dayly that men by reading in bookes loue their children but I neauer sawe harte of man fall in such sorte that by readyng and lokyng in bookes he should despyse hys children for in the end bookes are by the wordes of others made but children are with their owne proper bloud begotten Before that any thinge of wysedom is begon they alwayes regard the inconuenyences that maye folowe Therefore if thou wilte not geue me this key and that thou arte determyned to be stoberne still in thy will thou shalt lose thy Faustine thou shalte lose so louyng a wyfe thou shalte lose the creature werwith she is bigge thou shalte lose the aucthoritie of thy palace thou shalte geue occasion to all Rome to speake of the wickednes and this grefe shall neauer departe from thy harte for the harte shall neuer be comforted that knoweth that he onely is the occasion of hys owne griefe Yf the Gods doe suffer it by their secreate iudgementes and if my wofull myshappes deserue it and if thou my Lord desirest it for no other cause but euen to do after thy wil for denayeng me this key I should dye I would wyllingly dye But of that I thinke thou wilt repente for it chaunceth oftetymes to wysemen that when remedy is gone the repentaunce commeth sodeinlye And then it is to late as they saye to shutte the stable dore when the steade is stollen I marueill much at the my Lorde why thou shouldest shew thy selfe so froward in this case since thou knowest that all the time we haue bene togethers thy wil and myne hath alway bene one if thou wilte not geue me thy key for that I am thy welbeloued Faustine if thou wilte not let me haue it sinse I am thy deare beloued wyfe if thou wilte not geue it me for that I am great with childe I beseche the geue it me in vertue of the auncient law For thou knowest it is an inuiolate law among the Romaines that a man caÌnot denay his wife with child her desiers I haue sene sondry times with myne eyes many women sew their husbandes at the law in this behalfe and thou Lorde commaundest that a man should not breake the pryuileges of women Then if this thing be true as it is true in dead why wilte thou that the lawes of strang children should be kepte and that they should be broken to thine owne children Speakyng according to the reuerence that I owe vnto the thoughe thou wouldest I wil not thoughe thou doest it I will not agree therunto and though thou doest commaund it in this case I wil not obey the. For if the husband doe not accept the iuste request of his wyfe the wyfe is not bounde to obey the vniust commaundement of her husbande You husbandes desier that your wyues should serue you you desier that your wiues should obey you in all and ye will condiscende to nothing that they desyer Ye menne saye that we women haue no certeintie in our loue but in dead you haue no loue at all For by this it appeareth that you loue is fained in that it no longer continueth then your desires are satisfyed You saye furdermore that the women are suspytious and that is true in you al men may see and not in vs for none other cause there are so manye euell maried in Rome but bycause their husbandes haue of them suche iuell opinions There is a great dyfference betwene the suspition of the woman and the ielousye of the man for if a man will vnderstande the suspition of the woman it is no other thynge but to shewe to her husbande that she loueth hym with all her hearte For the innocente women knowe no others desire no others but their husbandes only and they woulde that their husbandes should knowe none others nor serche for anye others nor loue any others nor will anye others but them onely for the hearte that is bente to loue one onely would not that into that house should enter anye other But you men knowe so manye meanes and vse so manye subtelties that you prayse youre selues for to offende them you vaunt youre selues to deceiue them and that it is trewe a man can in nothynge so muche shew his noblenes as to susteyne and fauoure a Cortisan The husbandes pleaseth their wyues speakynge vnto them some merye wordes and immediately their backes being tourned to another they geue bothe their bodyes and their good I sware vnto the my Lorde that if women had the libertie and aucthoritye ouer men as men haue ouer women they should fynde more malice dysceiptfulnes and crafte by them committed in one daye then they should fynde in the women all the dayes of their lyfe You men saye that women are euill speakers it is true
in dede that youre tonges are none other but the stynges of serpentes for ye doe condempne the good men and defame the Roman women And thynke not yf you speake euill of other women to excuse your owne for the man that by his tonge dyshonereth straunge women doeth not so much iuel as he doeth by defamyng his owne wyfe by suspytion For the husbande that suspectith hys wyfe geueth all men licence to accompt her for noughte Sythe we women goe lytell oute of the house we trauayle not farre and sithe we see fewe thinges thoughe we woulde we cannot be euill tonged but you menne heare muche you see muche you know muche you wander abrode muche and continually you murmure All the euill that we selye women can do is to listen to our frendes when they are vexed to chide oure seruauntes when they are necligent to enuye our neighbours if they be faier and to cursse those that doeth vs iniurye finallye thoughe wee speake euill we cannot murmure but at those that dwelleth in the same streate where wee dwell But you menne defame youre wyues by suspition you dyshonoure youre neyghbours in youre wordes you speake agaynste straungers wyth crueltye you neyther keape faythe nor promyse to youre wyues you shewe youre selues extreme agaynste youre enemyes you murmoure bothe at those that bee presente and also at them that be absente finally on the one parte you are so doble and on the other parte you are so vnthankefull that to those whom you desire you make faire promyses those whose bodyes you haue enioyed you littel esteame I confesse that the woman is not so good as she oughte to be and that it is necessarye that she should be kepte in the house and so she shall leade a good lyfe and beyng of good lyfe she shall haue good renowme and hauing good renowme she shal be wel willed but if perchaunce any of those do want in her yet for all that she oughte not to be reiected of her husbande For the frailenes that menne finde in women is but litell but the euils that women tast in men is veraye great I haue talked lenger then I thought and haue sayed more boldly then I ought but pardon me my lord for mine intentioÌ was not to vexe the but to perswade the. For in the end he is a foole that taketh that for iniury whiche passeth betwene the man and the wyfe in secreat I sticke alwayes to my first poynt and if it neade once againe I require the that thou wilte geue me the key of thy studye if thou do otherwise as thou mayst thou shalt do such a thyng as thou oughtest not to doe I am not angry so much for that thou doest as for the occasioÌ thou geuest me Therefore to auoyde the peril of my deliuery and to take from me all susspition I praye the my lorde deliuer me the key of thy study for otherwise I cannot be perswaded in my harte but that you haue a woman locked in your study For men that in their youth haue bene vnconstant thoughe the apparell that they haue be not worne yet notwitstandynge they desire to haue new Therfore once againe to preserue me from perill in my deliuery and to lyghten my hart of this thought it shal be well done that you let me enter into your studie The aunswere of the Emperour to Faustine concerning her demaunde of the key of the studdie Chap. xv THe Emperour hearing the wordes of Faustine and seyng that she spake them so ernestly that she bathed her wofull wordes with bitter teares determined also to aunswere her as ernestlye and sayd vnto her these wordes Wife Faustine thou hast told me all that thou wouldest and I haue heard al thy complaint Therfore I desire the now to haue asmuch pacience to here my aunswer as I haue had paine to heare thy demaunde And prepare thy eares to here my wordes as I haue listned mine to heare thy folly For in like matter when the tong doth applie it selfe to speake any word the eares ought immediatly to prepare them to heare it for to make aunswere For this is most sure that he that speaketh what he would shall here what he would not Before I tell the what thou arte and what thou oughtest to be I will first tel what I am and what I ought to be For I wil thou vnderstaÌd Faustine that I am so euil that that the which mine enemyes doth report of me is but a trifle in respect of that which my familiers frendes woulde say if they knew me To the end the prince be good he ought not to be couetous of tributes neither proud in commaundementes nor vnthanckefull of seruices nor to be forgetfull of the temples he ought not to be deaffe to here griefes coÌplaints quarells nor cruel to orphanes nor yet necligeÌt in affaires And the man that shall want these vices shall be both beloued of men fauoured of the gods I confesse first of all that I haue bene couetous For in dede those which with troubles annoy princes lest with money serue them most are of all other men beloued best Secondarily I confesse that I am proude For there is no prince at thys day in the world so brought vnder but when fortune is most lowest he hath hys harte very haughtie Thirdly I confesse that I am vnthankful for amongest vs that are princes the seruices that they doe vnto vs are greate and the rewardes that we geue vnto them are litell Forthly I do confesse that I am an euill founder of temples or amoÌngest vs princes we do not sacrifice vnto the gods very oft vnlesse it be when wee see our selues to be inuironned with enemies Fiftly I confesse that I am necligent to heare the plaintes of the oppressed for flatterers haue towardes their princes more easy audience by their flattery then the poore pleadyng to declare their complaintes by truth Sixtly I confesse that I am carelesse for the orphanes for in the courtes and pallaces of princes the riche and mightie are most familiar but the miserable and poore orphanes are scarcely hearde Seuenthly I confesse that I am necligent in dispatching poore mens causes for princes ofte times not prouidyng in time for their affaires many and great perilles ensueth to their Realmes Mark here Faustyne how I haue told the what according to reason I ought to be what accordyng to the sensualitie I am and meruayle not thoughe I confesse mine errour For the man that acknowlegeth his faulte gyueth hope of amendement Let vs now come to talke of the and by that I haue spoken of me thou maiest iudge of thy selfe For we men are so euill coÌditioned that we behold the vttermost the offences of an other but we wil not heare the faultes of our selues It is a true thing my wife Faustine that when a woman is mery she always speaketh more with her âong then she knoweth in her harte For women light of tong
crueller enemy to man nor more troublesome to liue with all then the woman is that he kepeth in his house for if he suffer her once to haue her owne wyll then let him be assured neuer after to bring her vnto obedience The younge men of Rome folowe the Ladies of Capua but they may well repente them for there was neuer man that haunted of any longe tyme the company of women but in the ende to their procurement either by death or with infamie he was defaced For the Gods esteme the honour aboue all thinges and as they suffer the wickednes of the euyll men so we see the sharpe punishementes that they ordeine for them I am well assured Faustine of one thing and I doe not speake it by heare saye but because continually I haue proued it and it is that the husband which condiscendeth to all that the wyfe desireth causeth his wife to doe nothing of that her husband commaundeth For there is nothing that kepeth a womaÌ more vnder obedience to her husband then when oft times he denieth with sharpe wordes her vnlawfull request In my opinion it is muche crueltie of the barbarous to kepe as they do their wiues like sclaues but it is muche more folly of the Romaines to kepe them as they doe like Ladies The fleshe ought not to be so leane that it be in eating drie nor yet so fat that there be no leane but it would participate both of the fat and of the leane to the intent it might geue the more nourishement I meane that the man of vnderstanding ought not to kepe his wyfe so shorte that she should seme to be his seruaunt nor yet to geue her so muche libertie that she becommeth his mistresse For the husbande that suffereth his wife to commaunde more then she ought is the cause why he him selfe afterwardes is not estemed as he should be Beholde Faustine you women are in all thinges so extreame that for a litle fauour you waxe proude and for a litle displeasure you become great enemies There is no woman that willingly can suffer to haue any superiour nor yet scarcely can endure to haue any equal for we see that you loue not the highest nor desire to be loued of the lowest For where as the louers be not equal there their loue can not be perfite I knowe well Faustine that thou doest not vnderstande me therefore harken what I doe tell thee more then thou thinkest and more then thou wouldest O what and howe many women haue I sene in Rome the which though they had two thousand pound of rent in their houses yet they had thre thousand follies in their heades and the worste of all is that oftetimes her husbande dieth and she looseth her rente yet for all that ceasseth not her folly Nowe listen Faustine and I will tell thee more All women will speake and they will that others be silent All wil commaunde and will not that they be commaunded All wil haue libertie and they wil that al be captiues to them Al wil gouerne and wil not be gouerned Finally they al in this one thing agree and that is that they will cherishe theym that they loue and reuenge theym of those that they hate Of that whiche before is saide it may be gathered that they make fooles and sclaues of the young vaine men which folow them and persecute the wise men as enemies that flie them For in the end where as they loue vs moste their loue may be measured but where as they hate vs leaste their hate exceadeth reason In the Annales of Pompeius I remember I haue redde doe note one thinge worthy of knowledge that when Pompeius the great passed first into Asia as by chauÌce he came by the mountaines of Rypheos he founde in those places a Barbarous nation that liued in the sharpe mountaines as wilde beastes and doe not marueile that I doe call them beastly that liue in those mountaines For as the sheepe cowes that feade on the fine grasse haue their wolle softe and fine so the men which are brought vp in the sharpe wylde mountaines vse themselues after a rude behauiour These Barbarous had therfore a lawe among them that euery neighbour had in those mountaines two caues for the sharpnes of the hylles permitted not that they should haue any houses Therefore in one caue the husbandes the sonnes and the seruauntes were and in the other his wife his doughters and his handemaydes abode they did eate togethers twise in the weeke they slept togethers other twyse in the weeke and al the residue of the time they were seperate the one from the other The great Pompeius asked them what the cause was why they liued so sithe it was so that in all the world there was neuer sene nor redde such extreme lawe nor so straunge a custome The historie saith in that place that an auncient man aunswered him saying beholde Pompeius that the gods haue geuen short life vnto vs that be present in respect of that whiche he gaue to our fathers that are past and since we lyue but fourty or fiftie yeres at the vttermost we desire to enioye those daies in peace for the life is so shorte and oure trouble so longe that we haue small tyme to reioyce in peace after we retourne from the warres It is true that amongest you Romaines whiche enioye pleasure and richesse life seameth to short but vnto vs that haue toyle with pouertie lyfe semeth to longe For through out all the yeare we neuer keape suche solempne feastes as when one passeth out of his life Consider Pompeius that if men liued many yeares there should be time to laugh weepe to be good and to be euill to be poore and to be ryche to be mery and sadde to lyue in peace and warre but why wyll men seeke contention in their lyfe synce it is so shorte In keping with vs as you doe our owne wyues in liuing we should die for the nightes should passe in hearing their coÌplaintes and the dayes in suffering their brawlinges but keping them as we doe we see not their heauy countenaunce we heare not the cryeng of our chyldren we heare not their greuous complaintes nor listen vnto their sorowefull wordes neyther we are troubled with their importunate sutes and yet the chyldren are nouryshed in peace and the father foloweth the warre so that they are well and we are better This was the aunswere that this olde man gaue at the requeste of the great Pompeius Truly Faustine I saye that though we call the Messagetes Barbarous in this case they knowe more then the Latynes For he that is free from a brawling woman hath escaped no small pestilence I ask thee nowe Faustine synce those barbarous coulde not agree nor would not haue their wyues with them in those sharpe mountaines howe shall we other agree and please you that lyue in these pleasures in Rome One thing I wil tel thee Faustine
the immortall Gods I swere vnto the that I had rather haue bene maried with a Moore of Calde that is so foule then beinge maried as I am with a Romaine being very faier for she is not soo faire and white as my life is wofull and blacke Thou knowest well Faustine that when Drusio spake these wordes I did wype the teares from his eyes and I gaue him a worde in his eare that he should procede no further in this matter for such women ought to be chastened in secrete and afterwardes to be honoured openly O thou art infortunate Faustine and the Gods haue euill deuided with the geuing the bewtye and riches to vndoe thy selfe and denayeng thee the best whiche is wisedome and good condicions to kepe thy honour Oh what euyl lucke commeth vnto a man when God sendeth him a fayer doughter vnlesse furthermore the gods do permyt that she be sage and honest for the woman which is yong folyshe and faier distroyeth the common wealth and defameth al her parentage I say vnto the againe Faustine that the Gods were very cruel against thee since they swallowe the vp by the goulfes wher all the euil perisheth and toke from the all the sayles and owers whereby the good do escape I remained xxxviii yeres vnmaried and these vi yeres only which I haue bene maried me thinketh I haue passed vi hundreth yeres of my life for nothing can be called a tormente but the euyl that man doth suffer that is euyl maried I wil ensuer the of one thinge Faustine that if I had knowen before which now I know and that I had felte that whiche now I fele though the gods had commaunded me and the emperour Adrian my Lord desired me I had not chaunged my pouertie for thy riches neither my rest for thy Empyre but since it is fallen to thine and myne euyl fortune I am contented to speake lytel and to suffer much I haue so muche dissembled with the Faustine that I can no more but I confesse vnto the that no husband doth suffer his wife so much but that he is bound to suffer her more considering that he is a man that she is a woman For the man which willingly goeth into the briers must thinke before to endure the prickes The woman is to bold that doth contend with her husband but the husband is more foole which openly quarrelleth with his wife For if she be good he ought to fauour her to the end she may be better if she be vnhappie he oughte to suffer her to th end she be not worse Trulye when the woman thinketh that her husband taketh her for euil it is a great occasion to make her to be worse for women are so ambitious that those which comonly are euyl wil make vs beleue that they are better then others Beleue me Faustine that if the feare of the gods the infamy of the person and the speach of men do not refraine the woman al the chastisements of the world wil not make her refraine from vyce for all things suffereth chastisemente and correction the woman only except the which must be wonne by intreaty The hart of the man is very noble and that of the woman very delycate bycause for a lytle good he wil geue a great reward and for a great offence he wil geue no punishment Before the wise man marieth let him beware what he doth and when he shall determine to take the companye of a woman he ought to be lyke vnto him that entereth into the warre that determineth with himselfe to suffer al that may happen be it good or euil I do not cal that life a warre without a cause which the euyll maried man leadeth in his house for women do more hurt with their tongues then the enemyes do with their swordes It is a great simplycitie for a wise man to make accompt or esteme the simplycitie of his wife at euery time for if they would marke and take hede to that which their wife doth or sayth I let them know that they shal neuer come to an ende O Faustine if the Romaine woman would alwayes one thing that they would procure one thing that they would be resolued in one thing though it were to our great charges we would haue pleasure to condiscend vnto their desires but what shal we do sinse that which now pleaseth you a while after dipleaseth you that which you aske for in the morning ye wil not haue at none that which you enioye at none days do trouble you in the night that which in the night you loue ye care not for in the morninge that which yesterday ye greatly estemed to day ye asmuch despise If ye desired to see a thing the last yeare this yere ye wil not heare talke of it that which before made you to reioyce doth nowe make you to be sad that which ye were wont and ought to lament at the selfe same thinge a man seeth you laughe Finally ye women are as children which are appeased with an aple and casteth the golde to the earthe not wayeng it I haue dyuers times thought with my selfe if I could say or write any good rule in keping the which I might teach men to be quiet in their house And by my counte I find hauing experimented it also with the Faustine that it is vnpossible to geue a rule to maried men and if a man could geue them they should scarcely profite therwith sinse their wiues lyue without rule But notwithstanding that I wil declare some rules how the maried folkes shold kepe themselues in their houses and how they shall if they lyst auoide strifes and debates betwene them For the husbandes and the wiues hauyng warres together it is impossible there should be peace in the common wealth And thoughe this present writynge hath not profited me vnluckey and vnfortunate man yet it may profite others which haue good wyues For oft times the medycen whiche profiteth not for the tender eyes suffiseth to heale the hard heales I know wel Faustine that for that I haue sayd and for that I wil say vnto the thou and others such like shall greatly enuye me Ye will marke the words that I speake more then the intencion that I meane but I protest before the Gods that in this case my end is for none other intent but to aduertise the good wherof there are a great manye and to punyshe the euyl whych are many moe And though perchaunce neyther the one nor the other wil beleue that my intencion in speaking these thinges was good yet therfore I wyl not cease to know the good from the euyl and to choose the euil from the good For in my fantasy the good wife is as the feasaunt whose feathers we lytle esteame and regard much the bodye but the euyll woman is as the Marterne whose skynne we greatly esteme and vtterly despise the fleshe I wil therfore declare the rules wherby the husbands may liue in peace
condicion I say not al that if a man giue not spedely that whiche they desire they chaunge their coullour their eyes looke read their tongues runne quycke their voyces are sharpe they frete with them selues they trouble their neighbours abroade and are so out of order that no man dare speake vnto them within You haue this good trade among ye womeÌ that vnder coullour of being with child you wil that we husbands graunt ye al your desires When the sacred senate in the time of the valyaunt Camillus made a law in the fauour of the Romaine Matrones with child the women at that time longed not so much as they do at this present but I can not tel what this presently meaneth that al ye are annoynted with that that is good that ye are all desirous of that that is euyl I wil tel the Faustine the occasioÌ why this law was made in Rome therby thou shalt se if thou deseruest to enioy the priuyledge therof or no For the lawes are but as yokes vnder the which the euyl doth labour and they are winges wherwith the good doth flye The case therof was such that Camillus the valyaunt captaine went forth to the warres he made a solempne vow to the mother Berecinthia that if the gods gaue him the vyctorie he would offer vnto her an Image of siluer and after Camillus wanne the victory that he would haue accomplished his vow to the mother Berecinthia nother he had any riches nor Rome had any siluer For at that time Rome was rich of vertues and poore of money And know thou Faustine that our auncieÌt fathers were deuout towards the gods curious in repairing the temples the which they estemed to be great deuocions they were in such sort obserued of their vowes that neither for slouth nor pouerty they would obmitte their promises towards their gods And in these things they were so precise that they graunted to no man any triumphe onlesse he did sweare that he had vnto the gods made a vow afterward also proued how he performed it At that time florished in Rome manye vertuous Romaynes and manye greeke phylosophers manye hardye Captaynes and manye sumptuous buildinges and aboue all thinges Rome was vnpeopeled of malyces and adorned with vertuous Ladies The Historiographers made and not withoute a cause greate accompte of these vertuous matrones For the commonne wealthe hathe as muche neade of vertuous women as the warres haue of valyaunte Captaynes They beynge therefore as they weare soo vertuous and noble Matrones without the motion of anye woman determined all to go into the high Capitoll ther to offer al their Ieuelles and treasours that they had their cheynes their ringes their garmentes their bracelettes their girdels their buttons and hangers of golde of siluer and precious stones of all sortes with al their tablettes The Annales of this time say that after the Romaine women had layed so greate a multitude of riches at the feete of the sacret senate in the name of them all one of them spake whose name was called Lucina said in this sort Fathers coÌscript esteme not much these our Iewelles which we geue you to make the ymage of the mother Berecinthia but esteme much this that we willynglye put in ieopardye our husbandes and children to win you the vyctory And if in this case you accept our poore seruyce haue no respect to the lytel which we do offer but to the great which if we were able we would giue Truly the Romains though the treasure which their wiues offered was great Yet notwithstaÌding they did more esteme the good wil wherwith they gaue it then they did the giftes them selues For ther was so much in dede that sufficed both to make the ymage of the goddesse Berecinthia and also for a long time to maintaine the warres Therfore from that day that those matrones presented their Iewelles in the highe Capitoll the senate foorthwith in remembraunce of the gentlenes graunted them these fiue thinges as a priuyledge For at that time Rome neuer receyued seruice or benefyt of any person but she rewarded it with double payment The first thing that the senate graunted the Romaine women was that in the day of their burial the Oratours might openly make oracions in the praise of their lyues For in old time men vsed neyther to exalt theym when they were dead nor yet to accompany them to their graues The second thing that was graunted them was that they might syt in the temples for in the old time when the Romaynes did offer sacrifices to their gods the aged did alwayes syt the priestes kneele the maried men did leane but the women though they were of noble and high linage could neither be suffered to talke sit nor to leane The third thing that the senate graunted the women of Rome was that euery one of them might haue .ii. rich gownes and that they should not aske the Senate leue to weare them for in the olde time if any women were apparelled or did bye any newe gowne withoute askinge licence of the Senate shee shoulde immedyatlye loose her Gowne and bycause her husbande did condiscende vnto the same he was bannyshed the common wealthe The fourth thing which they graunted them was that they shold drinke wine when they were sicke for there was in Rome a custome inuyolable that thoughe their lyfe was in hazard they durst not drinke wine but water For when Rome was wel corrected a woman that druncke wine was asmuch slaundered among the people as if she had committed adulterye towardes her husband The fift thing graunted by the senate vnto the women was that a man might not denay a Romaine being with chyld any honest and lawful thing that she demaunded I cannot tell why the auncientes of Rome esteamed more women with child then others that had no children Al these fiue things were iustly graunted to the Matrones and noble Romaine Ladyes And I can tel the Faustine that they were of the Senate most willingly graunted For it is reason that women which in vertues do excell should with all meanes be honoured I wil tel the Faustine the especiall cause that moued the Romaynes to graunte vnto you Matrones this last pryuyledge that is to wete that a man cannot denay them any thinge being with child Thou oughtest to know that the others aswel Grekes as Latynes did neuer giue lawes nor institutions vnto their people without great occasions For the great multitude of lawes are comonly euill kept and on the other part are cause of sondrye troubles We cannot denaye but that the auncientes did wel auoyde the great nomber of institucions For it is better for a man to lyue as reason commaundeth him then as the lawe constrayneth him The case therfore was that in the yere of the foundacion of Rome .364 Fuluius Torquatus then being Consul in the warre againste the Volces the knightes of Mauritania broughte to Rome an huge monster with
this good Emperour sucking her dugge but a while was constrained to passe all his lyfe in paine Thirdely Princesses great Ladies ought to know and vnderstand the complexion of their children to the end that accordyng to the same they myghte seke pitieful nources that is to wete if the child wer cholorycke flegmaticke sanguine or melancolye For looke what humour the child is of of the same qualitie the milke of the nource should be If vnto an old corrupted maÌ they ministre medecines conformable to hys diseases for to cure hym why then should not the mother seeke a holesome nource to the tender babe agreable to his complexion to nourish hym And if thou sayest it is iuste that the flesh old and corrupted be susteined I tel the likewise that it is much more necessary that the children should be curiously well nourished to multiplye the world For in the end we do not say it is time that the yong leaue the bread for the aged but contrarye it is time that the old leaue the bread for the yong Aristotle in the booke De secretis secretorum Iunius Rusticus in the .x. boke de gestis Persarum say that the vnfortunat king Darius who was ouercome by Alexander the great had a doughter of a merueilous beautie And they saye that the nource which gaue sucke to this doughter all the time that she did nourishe it did neither eate nor drinke any thing but poison and at the end of .iii yeares when the child was weyned plucked from the dugge she did eate nothing but Colubers and other venemous wormes I haue heard say many times that the Emperours had a custome to nourish their heires children with poysons when they were yong to the entent that they should not be hurt by poyson afterward wheÌ they wer old And this errour commeth of those which presume much and know litel And therfore I say that I haue heard say without sayeng I haue read it For some declare histories more for that they haue heard say of others then for that they haue read them selues The truth in this case is that as we vse at this present to were Cheynes of gold about our necks or Iewels on our fingers so did the Gentils in times past a rynge on their fingers or some Iewel in their bosome replenished with poison And bycause the Panims did neither feare hel nor hope for heauen they had that custome for if at any times in battaile they should find them selues in distresse they had rather end their liues with poison then to receyue any iniury of their enemies Then if it were true that those Princes had bene nourished with the poison they would not haue caried it about theÌ to haue ended their lyues Further I saye that the princes of Persia did vse when they had any child borne to geue him milke to sucke agreable to the complectioÌ he had Since this doughter of Darius was of melancholye humour they determined to bring her vp with venim and poyson because all those which are pure malancolye do liue with sorow dye with pleasure Ingnacius the Venetian in the life of the .v. emperours Palleolus which wer valiaunt emperours in Constantinople saieth that the second of the name called Palleolles the hardie was after the .xl. yeares of his age so troubled with infirmities and diseases that alwayes of the .xii. monethes of the yeare he was in his bed sycke ix monethes and beyng so sicke as he was the affaires and busines of the empire were but slenderly done loked vnto For the prince can not haue so small a feuer but the people in the commen wealth must haue it double This Emperour Palleolus had a wyfe whose name was Huldouina the which after she had brought all the Phisitions of Asia vnto her husbande and that she had ministred vnto him all the medecins she could learne to healpe him and in the end seyng nothing auaile ther came by chaunce an olde woman a Gretian borne who presumed to haue great knowlege in herbes and sayd vnto the empresse noble Empresse Huldouina If thou wilt that the Emperour thy husband doe liue longe see that thou chafe angre and vexe him euerye weeke at the least twyse for he is of a pure malancoly humour and therfore he that doth him pleasure augmenteth his disease he that vexeth him shal prolong his life The empresse Huldouina folowed the counsel of this Greeke woman which was occasion that the emperour lyued afterwardes sounde and hole many yeres so that of the .ix. monethes which he was accustomed to be sicke euery yeare in .xx. yeares afterwardes he was not sicke .iii. monethes For wher as this Greke woman commaunded the empresse to angre her husbande but twise in the weeke she accustomeablye angred hym .iiii. times in the daye Fourthly the good mother ought to take hede that the nource be verye temperate in eatyng so that she should eate litell of diuerse meates and of those few dishes she should not eate to much To vnderstand that thyng ye must know that the white milke is no other then blod which is soden and that whiche causeth the good or euill bloud commeth oft tymes of no other thyng but that eyther the personne is temperate or els a glutton in eating and therfore it is a thyng both healthfull and necessary that the nource that nourisheth the child do eate good meates for among men and women it is a general rule that in litle eating ther is no daunger and of to much eating there is no profit As all the Philosophers saye the wolfe is one of the beastes that deuoureth most and is most gredyest and therfore he is most feared of al the sheppardes But Aristotle in his third booke de Animalibus sayeth that when the wolfe doth once feele her selfe great with yong in all her lyfe after she neuer suffereth her selfe to be couppled with the wolfe againe For otherwyse if the wolfe should yearely bryng forth .vii. or .viii. whealpes as commonly she doth and the shepe but one lambe there woulde be in shorte space more wolues then shepe Besides all this the wolfe hath an other propertie whyche is that though she be a beast most deuouryng and gredy yet when she hath whealped she eateth very temperately and it is to the end to nouryshe here whealpes and to haue good milke And besydes that she doth eate but once in the day the whych the dogge wolfe doth prouide both for the byche and her whealpes Truly it is a monsterous thyng to see and noysome to heare and no lesse sclaunderous to speake that a wolfe whyche geueth sucke to .viii. whealpes eateth but one onely kynde of meate and a woman whych geueth sucke but to one chylde alone will eate of eyght sortes of meates And the cause hereof is that the beast doth not eate but to susteine nature and the woman doth not eate but to satisfie her pleasure Princesses and great Ladies ought to
and the house wherein she dwelleth euell combred For suche one doeth importune the lorde trobleth the ladye putteth in hazard the childe and aboue all is not contented with her selfe Finallye fathers for geuynge to much libertie to their nources oftetimes are the cause of many practises which they do wherwith in the end they are greued with the death of their children which foloweth Amongest all these which I haue red I saye that of the auncient Romaine princes of so good a father as Drusius Ge manicus was neuer came so wycked a sonne as Caligula was beyng the fourth Emperour of Rome for the historiographers were not satisfyed to enryche and prayse the excellencies of hys father neither ceased they to blame and reprehende the infamyes of his sonne And they say that hys naughtines proceadeth not of the mother which bare hym but of the nource which gaue hym sucke For oftimes it chaunceth that the tree is grene and good when it is planted and afterwardes it becommeth drye and wythered only for beyng caryed into another place Dion the greke in the second boke of Cesars sayeth that a cursed woman of Campania called Pressilla nouryshed and gaue sucke vnto thys wycked childe She had agaynst al nature of women her breastes as heary as the berdes of men and besides that in runnyng a horse handelyng her staffe shoting in the Crosbowe fewe yong men in rome were to be compared vnto her It chaunced on a time that as she was geuyng sucke to Caligula for that she was angry she tore in peces a yong child with the bludde there of annoynted her breastes and so she made Caligula the yong childe to sucke together both blud and milke The sayed Dion in hys booke of the lyfe of this Emperour Caligula sayeth that the women of Campania whereof the sayed Prescilla was had this custome that when they would geue their teat to the childe firste they dyd anoynte the nipple with the bludde of a hedge hogge to the end their children myght be more fyerce and cruell And so was this Caligula for he was not contented to kyll a man onely but also he sucked the bludde that remayned on his swerde and lyked it of with his tong The excellent Poet Homer meanyng to speake playnely of the crueltyes of Pirrus sayed in his Odisse of him suche wordes Pirrus was borne in Grece nourished in Archadye and brought vp with tigers milke whiche is a cruel beast As if more plainelye he had sayed Pirrus for beyng borne in Grece was Sage for that he was brought vp in Archadie he was strong and couragyous and for to haue sucked Tigars milke he was veray proude and câuell Hereof maye be gathered that the great Gretian Pirrus for wantinge of good milke was ouercome with euell condicions The selfe same historian Dion sayeth in the lyfe of Tiberius that he was a great dronckarde And the cause herof was that the nource dyd not onelye drynke wyne but also she weined the child with soppes dypped in wyne And wythout doubte the cursed woman had done lesse euill if in the steade of milke she had geueÌ the child poison wythout teachinge it to drinke wine wherfore afterwardes he lost his renowme For truly the Romayne Empire had lost lytell if Tiberius had died beyng a child and it had wonne muche if he had neauer knowen what drinkyng of wyne had mente I haue declared all that whyche before is mencioned to thentente that Princesses and great Ladyes myghte be aduertised that sinse in not nouryshyng their children they shewe them selues crewel yet at the least in prouidyng for them good nourses they should shew them selues pitifull For the children oftetymes folow more the condicion of the milke which they sucke then the condicion of their mothers whyche broughte them forth or of thâir fathers whych begot them Therfore they oughte to vse much circumspectioÌ herin for in them consisteth the fame of the wyues the honoure of the husbande and the wealth of the children Of the disputations before Alexander the great concernyng the time of the suckyng of babes Chap. xxii QVintus Curtius sayeth that after the great Alexander whych was the last kyng of the Macedonians and first Emperour of the grekes hadde ouercome kynge Darius and that he sawe hym selfe onely lorde of all Asia he went to rest in babylon for among menne of warre there was a custome that after they had ben long in the warres euery on should retire to his owne house King Philip whych was father of kyng Alexander always councelled his sonne that he should lead with him to the warres valiaunt captaines to conquere the world and that out of his realmes and dominioÌs he should take chose the wysest men and best experimented to gouerne the empire He had reason in such wyse to councell hys sonne for by the councell of Sages that is kept and mainteined whych by the strengthe of valiaunt men is gotten and wonne Alexander the great therefore beyng in Babilon after he had conquered all the countrye since all the citye was vitious and hys armye so long without warres some of his owne men began to robbe one another others to playe their owne some to force women and others to make banquettes and feastes and when some were droncke others raysed quarels striffes and dyscentions so that a man could not tell whether was greater the ruste in their armours or the corruptions in their customes For the property of mans malice is that when the gate is open to idlenes infynite vyces enter into the house Alexander the great seing the dyssolution which was in his armye and the losse which myght ensewe hereof vnto his great empire commaunded streightly that they should make a shew and iuste thoroughe Babilon to the end that the men of warre should excersise their forces thereby And as Aristotle sayethe in the booke of the questions of Babylon the turney was so muche vsed amongest them that sometimes they caryed awaye more dead and wounded men then of a bloudy battaile of the enemy Speaking accordyng to the law of the gentiles whiche loked not glorie for their vertues nor feared hell to dye at the torney the commendemant of Alexander was veray iuste for that doyng as he dyd to the armye he defaced the vyce whych dyd wast it and for him selfe he got perpetuall memorye and also it was cause of muche suretye in the common weale This good Prince not contented to excersise his armye so but ordeined that daily in his presence the philosophers should dispute and the question wherin they shold dyspute Alexander him selfe would propounde ⪠wherof folowed that the great Alexander was made certayne of that wherin he doubted and so by his wisedom all men exercysed their craftes and wittes For in this tyme of idlenes the bokes wer no lesse marred with dust because they were not opened then the weapons were with rust which were not occupied There is a booke of Aristotle intituled the
Cynna Catullus The Mauritaines whiche at this present are called the realmes of Maruechi were in tymes past warlyke men of whom the Romaines had greate victories and the more valiaunt the men wer in the warres so much more superstitious their wiues were in sorceries charmes and enchauntements For the husband that is long absent from his wife ought not to maruaile though in her be found some faultes Cicero in the booke De natura deorum and muche more at large Bocas sayeth that as many men and women as were in that realme so many Gods there were among the people For euery one had one perticuler God to him selfe so that the God of the one was not the God of the other And this was to be vnderstand in the weke daies For in the holy and festiuall daies they had other Gods the which altogethers they dyd honour The maner that they had in chosyng Gods when a woman was with child was this She went to the sacrificer of the idoll and told him that she was great with child and besought him to geue her a god for her childe And the sacrificer gaue her a lytell idoll of stone gold siluer or of woode the which the mother hanged at the necke of the child And as often as the child dyd sucke the dugge so ofte the mother putteth the idoll one his face For otherwyse she had not geuen hym a droppe of mylke to sucke vnlesse first she had consecrated to the God the mylke of her breste That which I haue spoken is litle in respect of that I will speake whiche is that if perchaunce the chylde died before the time or that any younge man by some perylous myshappe died before he was somewhat aged the fathers and kinsmen of the dead did assemble and came to the Idoll of him and eyther stoned it honge it drue it brent it or els they caste it into the deape well sayinge that sithe the Gods did kyll man without reason that they might lawfully kyl them by iustice The same Bochas in the seconde booke De natura Deorum saieth that the Allobroges had a custome that those whiche were priestes of the Gods should from the wombe of their mothers be chosen vnto that dignitie And assone as the childe was borne before he tasted the mylke of the breste they caried it into a priestes house for they had a custome that the man which had tasted the thinges of the worlde merited not to serue the Gods in the temples One of the lawes that the sayed priestes had was that not onely they could not by violence shed any bloud nor yet see it neyther touche it so that immediatly as the prieste should by chaunce touche mannes bloud euen so sone he loste his priesthode This lawe afterwardes was so narrowely loked vnto that the priestes of the Allobroges dyd not onely not shedde drinke nor touche mans bloude when they were nowe men but also when they were litle infants those that should be priests they gaue them no milke of the breaste at al. And this was their reason That to sucke milke was no other but to drinke whyte bloude for white milke is but sodden bloude and redde bloud is but rawe mylke Pulio in the booke De educandis pueris saieth that the auncientes had a certaine kinde of reedes that breaking it in sondre there issued white mylke wherewith they accustomed to nourishe their children but let it be as it is that this lawe prohibite children their mylke which here after should be made priestes of the temples me thinketh it is a tricke rather of superstitious Sorcerers then of religious priestes For there is neither deuine nor humaine lawe that wyll forbidde or prohibite anye suche thinge without the whiche mans life can not endure These were the maners and customes that the auncientes had in the nouriture of their children And in dede I marueile not at that they did for the Gentils estemed this cursed Idoll for as great a God as we Christians doe the true and liuyng God I was willing to declare all these antiquities to the ende that princesses and great ladies should haue pleasure in reading them and knowing them but not to that ende they should imitate and folowe them in any kynd of thing For according to the faithe of our Christian religion as sure as we be of the offences that those did vnto God through folowinge those superstitions so sure we are of the good seruices whiche we doe vnto God in forsakyng them Howe longe tyme the mothers ought to geue their chyldren sucke and what age they ought to weyne them not for that whiche I haue redde nor for that whiche I haue demaunded in this case I am able to aunswere but for as muche as Aristotle saieth in the booke aboue named that the chylde at the moste ought to sucke but twoo yeares and at the leaste one yeare and an halfe For if he sucke lesse he is in daunger to be sicke and if he sucke more he shal be alwayes tender I wyll not omitte that whiche Sextus Cheronensis saieth in the fourth booke of his common wealth And hereof Boccace also maketh mention in the thirde booke De natura Deorum that when Alexander the great passed into India amongest other renowmed Philosophers there was one with hym called Arethus who as by chaunce he was in Nissa an auncient citie of India there came a man of that Countrey to shewe him suche antiquities as were there Arethus the Philosopher behelde them as a sage and wyse man For the simple man onely beholdeth the doinges and howe they seme but the sage man enquireth and demaundeth of the causes and from whence they came Amonge other thinges he shewed this good Philosopher a great house being in the ende of the citie and therein were many women whereof euery one of them had a chambre and in euery chambre there was twoo beddes and adioyning to the one herbes were sowen in maner of nettels and adioyning to the other there was a kynde of twigges as of Rosemary and in the myddes of the house there were many graues of small chyldren The Philosopher Arethus asked why that house was so great and the Indian aunswered This house is to nourish the chyldren whiche are orphanes when they be of their parentes or frendes abandoned For it is a custome in this citie that immediatly when the father of one chylde dieth the citie then taketh hym for her sonne And from that tyme forwarde he is called the childe of the citie whiche nourisheth hym and not the chylde of the father whiche begotte hym Arethus the Philosopher secondarely asked him why there were so many women in that house without any man among them whereunto the Indian aunswered in this countrey there is a custome that the women are seuered from their husbandes all the tyme they geue their children sucke For the wyll of our God is that the woman be not in company with her husbande after she is with
as he sayd that the tongue is moued by the mocions of the soule that he whiche had no tongue had no soule And he which hath no soule is but a brute beast and he that is a beast deserueth to serue in the fields among brute beasts It is a good thing not to be domme as bruyte beastes are and it is a greater thing to speake as the reasonable men do but it is muche more worthye to speake wel as the eloquent philosophers do For otherwise if he which speaketh doth not wey the sentences more then the wordes ofte tymes the popingayes shal content them more which are in the cage then the men which do read in scooles Iosephus in the booke De bello Iudaico saith that king Herode not onely with his personne and goodes but also with all his frendes and parentes folowed and gaue ayde to Marcus Anthonius and to his louer Cleopatra howbeit in the end Octauian had the vyctorie For the man which for the loue of a woman doth enterprise conquestes it is impossible that eyther he loose not his lyfe or els that he lyue not in infamy Herode seing that Marcus Anthonius was dead determyned to go towardes the Emperour Octauian at whose feete he layd his crowne and made a notable oration wherein he spake so pleasaunt wordes and so hyghe sentences that the Emperour Octauian did not only pardon him for that he was so cruell an enemye but also he confirmed him againe into his Realme and toke him for his deare and special frend For among the good men and noble hartes many euil workes are amended by a few good words If Blundus in the booke intituled Roma triumphante do not deceiue me Pirrus the great king of the Epirotes was stout and hardy valiaunt in armes liberal in benefites pacient in aduersityes and aboue al renowmed to be very swete in wordes and sage in his aunswers They sayd that this Pirrus was so eloquent that the man with whom once he had spoken remayned so much his that from that time foreward in his absence he toke his part and declared his life and state in presence The aboue named Blundus saied and Titus Liuius declareth the same that as the Romaynes were of al things prouided seing that king Pirrus was so eloquent they prouided in the senate that no Romaine Embassadour shold speake vnto him but by a third person for otherwise he would haue perswaded them through his sweate woordes that they shoulde haue retourned againe to Rome as his procurers Soliciters Albeit Marcus Tullius Cicero was Senatour in the Senate consul in the Empire rich amongest the rich and hardy amongest men of warre yet truly none of these qualyties caused him eternal memorie but only his excellent eloqueÌce This Tullius was so estemed in Rome for the eloquence of his tongue only that oft times they hard hym talke in the Senate iii. houres togethers without any man speakinge one word And let not this be lytle estemed nor lightly passed ouer for worldlye malyce is of such condicion that some man may more easely speake 4. howers then another man shal haue pacience to heare him one minute Anthonius Sabellicus declareth that in the time of Amilcares the Affricans a Philosopher named Afronio florished in great Carthage who being of the yeres of 81. dyed in the first yeare of the warres of Punica They demaunded this Phylosopher what it was that he knew he aunswered He knew nothing but to speake wel They demaunded him againe what he learned he aunswered He did learne nothinge but to speake wel Another time they demaunded him what he taught he aunswered He taught nothing but to speake wel Me thinketh that this good phylosopher in 80. yeres and one said that he learned nothing but to speake wel he knew nothing but to speake wel that he taught nothing but to speake wel And truly he had reasoÌ for the thing which most adorneth mans life is the sweate pleasaunte tongue to speake wel What is it to see ii men in one councel the one talking to the other the one of them hath an euyll grace in propounding and thother excellent in speaking Of such there are some that in hearing theym talke .iii. houres we would neither be trobled nor weryed and of the contrarie part there are others so tedyous and rude in their speache that as sone as men perceiue they beginne to speake they auoyde the place And therfore in mine opinyon ther is no greater trouble thenne to herken one quarter of an houre a rude man to speake and to be contrarye ther is no greater pleasure thenne to heare a dyscreate man though it were a whole weke The deuyne Plato in the Booke of Lawes sayd that there is nothynge whereby a manne is knowen more thenne by the woordes he speaketh for of the woordes whyche we heare hym speake we iudge his intention eyther to be good or euil Laertius in the lyfe of the Phylosophers sayeth that a yong child borne at Athens was brought vnto Socrates the great phylosopher being in Athens to the end he shold receiue him into his company teach him in his scoole The yong chyld was straunge and shamefaste and durst not speake before his maister wherfore the philosopher Socrates said vnto him speake frend if thou wilt that I know the. This sentence of Socrates was very profound and I pray him that shal reade this wryting to pause a while therat For Socrates wil not that a man be knowen by the gesture he hath but by the good or euyl wordes which he speaketh Though eloquence and speaking wel to euery man is a cause of augmenting their honour and no dimynissher of their goodes yet withoute comparison it shineth muche more and is most necessarie in the pallaces of Prynces and great Lordes For men which haue common offices ought of necessity harken to his naturall contrymen also to speake with straungers Speking therfore more plainly I say that the Prince ought not to trauaile only to haue eloquence for the honour of his person but also it behoueth him for the comon wealth For as the prince is but one and is serued of all so it is vnpossible that he haue so much as wil satisfye and content them al. And therfore it is necessarie that he requyte some mith money that he content others with good wordes For the noble hart loueth better a gentle worde then a reward or gift with the tongue of a rude man Plato Liuius Herodotus Vulpicius Eutropius Diorus Plynie and many other innumerable auncient historyographers do not cease to prayse the eloquence of greeke princes and latynes in their workes O how blessed were those tymes when ther were sage princes and discrete lords truly they haue reason to exalt them For many haue obteyned and wonne the royal crounes and septures of the Empire not so much for the great battailes they haue conquered nor for the highe bloud and generacion from whence
want no perils For in warres renoune is neuer sold but by weight or chaunged with losse of lyfe The yong Fabius son of my aunt the aged Fabia at the .iii. CaleÌdes of March brought me a letter the whych you sent and truely it was more briefe then I would haue wyshed it For betwene so dere children and so louinge a mother it is not suffered that the absence of your parsonnes shoulde be so farre and the letters whyche you write so briefe By those that goe from hence thyther I alwayes do sende you commendations and of those that come from thence hyther I doe enquire of newes Some saye they haue sene you other tell me they haue spoken with you so that with thys my hart is somwhat quieted For betwene them that loue greatly it may be endured that âhe sight be seldome so that the health be certain I am sole I am a widow I ãâã aged and now all my kinred is dead I haue endured many trauailes in Rome and the greatest of all is my children of your absence For the paine is greater to be voide of assured frendes theÌ assault is daungerous of cruel enemies Since you are yong and not very ryche since you are hardy and brought vp in the trauailes of Afrike I do not doubte but that you doe desire to come to Rome to se and know that now you are men whiche you haue sene when you were children For men doe not loue their countrey so much for that it is good as they do loue it for that it is naturall Beleue me children ther is no maÌ liuing that hath sene or hard speake of Rome in times past but hath great griefe sorow and pitie to se it at this present For as their hartes are pitiefull and their eyes tender so they can not behold that without great sorow which in times past they haue sene in great glory O my children you shal know that Rome is greatly chaunged from that it was wont to be To reade that that we do reade of it in times past to se that whyche we se of it now present we must nedes esteme that whiche the auncientes haue writen as a gest or els beleue it but as a dreame Ther is no other thing now at Rome but to see iustice corrupted the commen weale oppressed lyes blowen abroade the truth kept vnder the satires silent the flatterers open mouthed the inflamed personnes to be Lordes and the pacient to be seruauÌtes and aboue al and worse then all to se the euil liue in rest contented and the good troubled displeased Forsake forsake my children that citie where the good haue occasioÌ to weape the euil haue liberty to laugh I can not tel what to say in this mater as I would say Truly the coÌmon weale is at this day such so woful that eche wise man without coÌparison wold haue greater pleasure to be in the warres of Affrik then in the peace at Rome For in the good war a man seeth of whom he shold take hede but in the euil peace no maÌ knoweth whom to truste Therefore my children since you are naturall of Rome I wil tel you what Rome is at this present I let you know that the vestall virgines are now dissolute the honour of the gods is forgotten the profit of the coÌmon weale no maÌ seketh of the excercise of chiualry ther is no memory for the orphanes widowes ther is no man that doth aunswere to ministre iustice thei haue no regard the dissolute vices of the youth ar without measure Finally Rome that in times past was a receypt of all the good vertuous is now made a denne of al theues vitious I feare me I feare me least our mother rome in shorte time wil haue some sodein great fal And I say not without a cause some great fall for both men Cities that fall froÌ the top of their felicity purchase greater infamy with those that shal com after theÌ the glory that they haue had of theÌ that be past Peraduenture my childreÌ you desire to se the walles buildinges of Rome for those thinges which childreÌ se first in their youth the same they loue kepe alwaies in memory vntill their age As the auncient buildinges of rome are destroyed the few that ar now builte so would I you should loose your earnest affection to come to se theÌ For in dede the noble hartes are ashamed to se that thing amisse which they caÌ not remedye Do not thynke my chyldren thoughe Rome be made worse in maners that therfore it is diminished in buildinges For I let you vnderstand if you know it not that if a wall doth decay there is no man that doth repaire it If a house fall ther is no man that wil rayse it vp again If a strete be foule ther is no man that wil make it cleane If the riuer cary awaye any bridge there is no man that will set it vp again If any antiquitie decaye ther is no man that wil amend it If any wood be cut ther is no man that wil kepe it If the trees waxe old ther is no man that will plant theÌ a newe If the pauement of the streates be broken ther is no man that wil ley it again Finally ther is nothing in Rome at this day so euil handled as those thinges whiche by the commoÌ voices ar ordered These thinges my childreÌ though I do greatly lament as it is reason yet you ought litle to esteme them al but this al only ought to be estemed with droppes of bloud to be lamented That now in Rome when the buildinges in many places fal downe the vices all wholy together are raised vp O wofull mother Rome since that in the the more the walles decay the more the vices increase Peraduenture my childreÌ since you are in those frountiers of Affrike you desire to se your parentes here in Rome And therat I meruaile not for the loue which our naturall countreye do gyue the straung countrey can not take awaye All those which come from those parties doe bring vs no other certaine newes but of the multitude of those which dye are slain in Afrik therfore since you send vs such newes froÌ thence loke not that we should send you any other then the like from hence For death hath such auctoritie that it killeth the armed in the warres sleyeth the quiet in peace I let you know that Licia your sister is dead Drusio your vnckle is dead Torcquatus your neyghbour is dead His wife our cousin her .iii. doughters are dead Fabius your great frend is dead Euander his childreÌ ar dead Bibulus which red for me in the chaire the last yere is also dead Finally ther are so many so good with al that be dead that it is a great shame pitie to se at this present so many euill as do liue Know ye my children that all
these and many others which ye left aliue ful high in rome are now become wormes meat ful low vnder the yearth death also doth summon me vnto the graue If you my childreÌ did consider what shal become of you herafter truly you will thinke it better to weape .1000 yeares with the dead then to laugh one houre with those that be aliue Remembryng that I baâe ye in great payne and haue nourished you in great trauell that ye came of my proper intrailles I would haue you as children about me for the confort consolation of my paines But in the end beholdyng the prowesses of those that are paste that bindeth their heires I am coÌtent to suffer so long absence your persons only to the end you may get honour in chiualrye For I had rather here tell you should liue like knightes in Afrik theÌ to se you vtterly lost here in Rome My childreÌ as you are in the warres of Afrike so I doubt not but that you desire to se the pleasurs of rome for ther is no man in this world so happy but at his neyghbours prosperity had som enuy enuie not the vitious nether desier to be amoÌg vices for truly vices ar of such a coÌdition that they bring not with theÌ so much plesure wheÌ they com as they leaue sorow behind theÌ wheÌ they depart for that true delight is not in the pleasure which sodeÌly vanisheth but in the truth which euermore remaineth I thank the immortal gods for all these thinges first for that they made me wise not folish for to a woman it is a small mater to be called so fraile that in dede she be not folish The secoÌd I thank the gods bicause in al times of my troubles they haue geueÌ me pacieÌce to endure theÌ for the maÌ only in this lif may be called vnhappy to whom the gods in his troubles hath not giueÌ pacience The third I thank the gods for that those .lxv. yeares which I haue liued I neuer hytherto was defamed for the woman by no reason can coÌplaine of her fortune if in none of her troubles she hath loste her honour The fourthe I thanke the Gods that in this forty yeres I haue lyued in Rome remained widow ther was neuer man nor woman the contended with me for since we women profite litle the commoÌ wealth it is but reason that she whych with euill demeanoures hath passed her lyfe shoulde by iustice receaue her death The fift I giue the gods tankes that they gaue me children the whych are better contented to suffer the trauailes of Affrik theÌ to inioy the pleasurs of Rome Do not counte me my childreÌ for so vnlouing a mother that I wold not haue you alwayes before my eyes but considering that many good meÌs children haue bene lost only for being brought vp in the excessiue pleasures of Rome I do content my selfe with your absence For that man that desireth perpetuall renowne thoughe he be not banished he ought to absent him self froÌ his natiue countrey My deare children I most earnestly desire you that always you accoÌpanie your selues with the good with the most auncientes and with those which ar graue most expert in councel and with those that haue most sene the world and do not vnderstand most of the world by those that haue sene most countreis For the rype councel proceadeth not from the man that hath traueiled in many contreis but from him that hath felte him selfe in many daungers Since the nature of the countrey my children dothe knocke with the haÌmer at the gate of the hart of man I feare that if you come and se your frendes parentes you shal always lyue in care pensifnes and being pensife you shal always lyue euil coÌtented you shal not do that whiche becommeth Romain knights to do And you not beyng valiaunt knightes your enemies shal alwayes reioice ouer you your desires shall neuer take effect for of those men which are careful heauy proceadeth always seruices vnworthy I desire you hartely by this present letter I counsell you that you wil not in any wise seke to come to rome for as I haue saied you shal know few of those that did know you for eyther they are dead or banished poore or sicke aged or coÌme to nought sad or euil coÌtented so that sithens you are not able to remedy their grefes it is best you should not come hyther to se their troubles For no man coÌmeth to Rome but to weape with the liuing and to sigh for theÌ that be dead Truly my children I know not what pleasure is in Rome that should cause any good man to come hyther and to forsake Affrik for if there you haue enemies here you shall want frendes If you haue the sworde that perceth the body we haue that tong here that destroyeth the renowme If you be vexed with the theues of Affrike we are wounded with the traitours Flatterers and liers of Italy If you lack rest we haue here to much trouble Finallye seyng that that I doe se in Rome and hearynge that which I heare of Affrik I commende your warre and abhorre our peace If you do greatly esteme that which I haue sayd esteme much more that whiche I shall say which is that we alwayes here that you are conquerours of the Africkans you shall here always that we are conquered by vyces Therfore if I am a true mother I had rather se you winne a perpetuall memory amonge straungers theÌ to liue with infamy at home in your couÌtrey Peraduenture with hope that you shal enherit some goodes you wil take occasioÌ to come to Rome When this thing shall come to your mindes remember my children that your father being aliue had not much and that vnto your mother being a widow many thinges wanted And remember that your father bequethed you nothing but weapons and know that from me you shall enherite nothing but bookes For I had rather leaue my children good doctrine wherby they may liue them euil riches wherby they may perysh I am not riche nor I neuer trauailed to be rich and the cause was that I saw many mens children vndone only through the hope they had to enherite their pareÌtes goods and afterward went a huntinge after vices For they seldome times do any worthy feates which in their youth enherit great treasurs This thing therfore being true as it is in dead I do not say only that I would watche and toile as many do to get riches and treasurs but also if I had treasour before I would gyue them vnto you I would as the philosopher did cast theÌ into the fyre For I had rather haue my children pore and vertuous in Affrike theÌ riche and vitious in Rome You know very wel my children that there was amongest the Tharentins a law wel obserued that the sonnes shoulde not inherit any other thyng of their fathers but weapons to fight and
of such a qualitie that it foloweth new inuentions and despiseth auncient customes All the people therfore gathered togethers the good philosopher Phetonius set vp in the middest of the market place a gybet hoote yrons a swerd a whip and fetters for the feete the whiche thyng done the Thebains were no lesse as they thought slaundered theÌ abashed To the which he spake these wordes You Thebains sente me to the Lacedemonians to the entent I should learne their lawes and customes and in dede I haue bene ther more then a yere beholdyng al thinges very diligentely for we Philosophers are bound not onely to note that whyche is done but also to know why it is done knowe ye Thebains that this in the aunswere of my Imbassage That the Lacedemonians hang vpon this Gybet theues with this same sworde they behede traytors with these hoote Irons they torment blasphemers and lyers with these roddes they whippe vacabondes and with these Irons do keape the rebels and the others are for players and vnthriftes Finally I say that I do not bryng you the lawes written but I bring you the Instrumentes wherwith they are obserued The Thebains were abashed to se these thinges and spake vnto hym such wordes Consider Phetonius wee haue not sent the to the Lacedemonians to bring instrumentes to take away life but for the good lawes to gouerne the common wealth The philosopher Phetonius replyed again aunswered Thebains I let you wete that if ye know what we philosophers knew you shold see how far your mindes wer from the truth For the Lacedemonians are not so vertuous thoroughe the lawes whych wer made of them that be dead as for the meanes they haue sought to preserue them that be alyue For maters of Iustice consiste more in execution then in commaundyng or ordeinynge Lawes are easely ordeyned but with difficultie executed for there are a thousande to make them but to put them in execution there is not one Ful lytle is that whych men knowe that are present in respect of that those knewe which are past But yet accordyng to my litle knowledge I proffer to gyue as good lawes to you Thebains as euer wer obserued among the LacedemoniaÌs For there is nothing more easy then to know the good and nothynge more commen then to folow the euill But what profiteth it if one will ordeyne and none vnderstand it Yf ther be that doth vnderstand theÌ there is none that excuteth them Yf there be that executeth them there is none that obserueth theÌ Yf there be one that obserueth them ther is a thousand that reproueth them For without comparison mo are they that murmure grudge at the good then those whych blame and despise the euyll You Thebains are offended bycause I haue brought suche Instrumentes but I let you wete if you wyll neyther Gybet nor sworde to kepe that which shal be ordeyned you shall haue your bookes full of lawes and the common wealth full of vices Wherfore I sweare vnto you that there are mo Thebains whiche folowe the deliciousnes of Denis the tyraunt then there are vertuous men that folowe the lawes of Lycurgus If you Thebains do desire greatly to know with what Lawes the Lacedemonians doe preserue their common wealthe I will tel you them all by worde and if you will reade them I will shew you them in writyng But it shal be vpon condition that you shall sweare all openly that once a daye you shall employ your eyes to reade them and your parsonnes to obserue them For the prince hath greater honour to se one onely law to be obserued in dede then to ordeyne a thousand by wryting You ought not to esteame muche to be vertuous in harte nor to enquire of the vertue by the mouth nor to seeke it by labour and trauaille of the feete but that whyche you ought greatly to esteame is to know what a vertuous lawe meaneth and that knowen immediatly to execute it and afterwardes to kepe it For the chefe vertue is not to do one verteous work but in swet and trauayl to continue in it These therfore wer the wordes that this philosopher Phetonius sayde to the Thebains The whyche as Plato sayeth estemed more his wordes that he spake then they dyd the lawes whyche he brought Truly in my opinion those of Thebes are to be praysed and commended and the philosopher for his wordes is worthy to be honoured For the end of those was to searche lawes to liue well and the ende of the Philosophet was to seke good meanes for to kepe them in vertue And therfore he thought it good to shew theÌ and put before their eyes the gibbet and the sword with the other instrumentes and tormentes For the euill do refraine from vice more for feare of punyshement then for any desire they haue of amendement I was willyng to bring in this Historie to th ende that all curious and vertuous men may see and know how litell the auncientes did esteme the beginnynge the meane and the ende of vertuous workes in respect of the perseueraunce and preseruacion of them Commyng therfore to my matter whych my pen doth tosse and seke I aske now presentely what it profiteth princes and great ladyes that God do gyue them great estates that they be fortunate in mariages that they be all reuerenced and honored that they haue great treasures for their inheritaunces and aboue al that they se their wiues great with child that afterwardes in ioy they se them deliuered that they se theyr mothers geuing their childreÌ sucke finally they se them selues happy in that they haue found them good nources helthful honest Truely al this auaileth litle if to their children when they are yong they do not giue masters to enstruct theÌ in vertues and also if they do not recomend them to good guides to exercise theÌ in feates of Chiualry The fathers which by syghes penetrat the heaueÌ by prayers importune the Liuing god only for to haue children ought first to thinke why they wil haue childreÌ for that iustly to any man may be denayed which to an euil end is procured In my opinion the father ought to desire to haue a child for that in his age he may susteine his life in honour that after his doth he may cause his fame to liue And if a father desireth not a son for this cause at the least he ought to desire him to the end in his age he may honour his horye hed and that after his death he may enheryte his goodes but wee see few children do these thynges to their fathers in theyr age if the fathers haue not taught them in their youth For the fruite doeth neuer grow in the haruest vnlesse the tree dyd bere blosommes in the spryng I see oftentimes many fathers complaine of their Children sayenge that they are disobedient and proude vnto theim and they doe not consydre that they them selues are the cause of all those euilles For
to moch aboundaunce and libertie of youth is no other but a prophesie manifest token of disobedience in age I knowe not why princes and great lordes do toile and oppresse so much and scratche to leaue their children great estates and on the other syde we see that in teachyng them they are and shew theim selues to negligent for princes great lordes ought to make account that all that whych they leaue of their substaunce to a wicked heyre is vtterly lost The wise men and those which in their coÌsciences are vpright and of their honours carefull oughte to be very diligent to bring vp their children chiefly that they consyder whether they be mete to inherite their estates And if perchaunce the fathers se that their children be more giueÌ to follie then to noblenes and wysdome then should I be ashamed to se a father that is wise trauaile al the dayes of his life to leaue much substaunce to an euill brought vp child after his death It is a griefe to declare and a monstrous thyng to se the cares whych the fathers take to gather ryches and the diligence that children haue to spende them And in this case I saye the sonne is fortunate for that he doeth inherite and the Father a foole for that he doth bequeth In my opinion Fathers ar bound to enstructe theyr Children well for two causes the one for that they are nearest to them and also bycause they ought to be theyr heyres For truely with great greyfe and sorow I suppose he doth take his death which leaueth to a foole or an vnthrifte the toile of all his life Hyzearcus the Greeke hystorien in the booke of his antiquities and Sabellyquus in his generall history sayeth that a father and a sonne came to complaine to the famous phylosopher and auncient Solon Solinon the sonne complayned of the father and the father of the sonne First the son informed the quarel to the Phylosopher sayeng these wordes I complayne of my father bycause he beyng ryche hath dysheryted me and made me poore and in my steade hath adopted another heyre the whyche thyng my father oughte not nor cannot doe For sence he gaue me so frayle flesh it is reason he geue me hys goods to maintayne my feblenes To these wordes aunswered the father I complayne of my sonne bycause he hathe not bene as a gentle sonne but rather as a cruell enemye for in all thynges since he was borne he hath bene disobedient to my will wherfore I thought it good to dysheryte hym before my death I woulde I weâe quite of all my substaunce so that the goddes hadde quyte hym of hys lyfe for the earthe is very cruell that swalloweth not the chyld alyue whyche to hys father is dysobedyent In that he sayeth I haue adopted another chyld for myne heyre I confesse it is true and for somuche as he sayeth that I haue dysinheryted hym and abiected hym from my herytage he beynge begotten of my owne bodye hereunto I aunswere That I haue not disinheryted my sonne but I haue disinheryted his pleasure tothentent he shal not enioy my trauaile for there can be nothing more vniust then that the yonge and vitious sonne should take his pleasure of the swette and droppes of the aged father The sonne replyed to his father and sayd I confesse I haue offended my father and also I confesse that I haue lyued in pleasures yet if I maye speake the trueth thoughe I were disobedient and euill my father oughte to beare the blame and if for this cause he doeth dysherite me I thynke he doth me great iniurye For the father that enstructed not hys sonne in vertue in hys youthe wrongfullye dysheryteth hym though he be disobedient in hys age The father agayne replyeth and saieth It is true my sonne that I brought the vp to wantonly in thy youth but thou knowest well that I haue taughte the sondrye tymes and besydes that I dyd correcte the when thou camest to some discretion And if in thy youth I dyd not instructe the in learnyng it was for that thou in thy tender age dydest wante vnderstandyng but after that thou haddest age to vnderstand discrecion to receiue and strength to exercyse it I began to punyshe the to teache the and to instructe the. For where no vnderstandyng is in the chyld there in vaine they teache doctrine Sence thou arte old quoth the sonne and I yong sence thou arte my father and I thy sonne for that thou hast whyte heres of thy bearde and I none at all it is but reason that thou be beleued I condemned For in this world we se oftetimes that the smal aucthoryty of the parson maketh hym to lose hys great iustyce I grauÌt the my father that when I was a childe thou dydst cause me to learne to reade but thou wylte not denye that if I dyd coÌmit any faulte thou wouldest neauer agree I should be punyshed And hereof it came that thou sufferyng me to doe what I woulde in my youth haue bene dysobedient to the euer since in my age And I saye to the further that if in this case I haue offended trulye me thinketh thou canst not be excused for the fathers in the youthe of their children oughte not onely to teache them to dispute of vertues and what vertue is but they ought to inforce them to be vertuous in dede For it is a good token when youth before they know vyces hath bene accustomed to practice vertues Both parties thou diligentlie hard the good Philosopher Solon Solinon spake these wordes I geue iudgement that the father of thys child be not buried after hys death and I commaunde that the sonne bycause in hys youth he hath not obeyed his father who is olde should be dysinheryted whiles the father lyueth from all hys substaunce on suche condition that after hys death hys sonnes should inheryte the heritage and so returne to the heires of the sonne and line of the father For it were vniust that the innocencie of the sonne should be condempned for the offence of the father I doe commaunde also that all the goods be committed vnto some faithful parson to th end they may geue the father meate and drinke durynge hys lyfe and to make a graue for the sonne after hys death I haue not with out a cause geuen suche iudgement the which comprehendeth lyfe and death for the Gods wyll not that for one pleasure the punyshement be double but that we chastyse and punyshe the one in the lyfe takynge from hym hys honour and goods and that we punyshe others after there death takyng from them memorye and buriall Truly the sentence which the Philosopher gaue was graue and would to God we had him for a iudge of this world presentlye for I sweare that he should finde many children now a dayes for to disheryte and mo fathers to punishe For I cannot tell which is greater the shame of the children to disobey their fathers or
the negligence of the fathers in bringing vp their childreÌ Sextus Cheronensis in the second boke of the sainges of the Philosophers declareth that a citezen of Athens sayed on daye to Dyogenes the Phylosopher these wordes Tel me Diogenes what shall I doe to be in the fauour of the gods and not in the hatred of men for oft tymes amonges you Philosophers I haue hard saye that there is great difference betwene that that the Goddes wil and that which men loue Diogenes aunswered Thou speakest more then thoughtest to speake that the gods will one thinge and men another for the gods are but as a center of mercy and men are but as a denne of malice if thou wilte inioye rest in thy dayes and keape thy lyfe pure and cleane thou must obserue these thre thinges The first honour thy gods deuoutly For the man which doeth not serue and honour the gods in all his enterprises he shal be vnfortunate The second be very diligent to bring vp thy children well For the man hath no enemy so troublesome as his owne son if he be not wel brought vp The third thyng be thankefull to thy good benefactours and frendes For the Oracle of Apollo sayeth that the man who is vnthankefull of all the worlde shal be abhorred And I tell the further my frend that of these thre thinges the most profitable though it be more troblesome is for a manne to teache and bring vp his children well This therefore was the aunswere that the Philosopher Diogenes made to the demaunde of the Cytezen It is great pytie and griefe to see a yonge child how the bloud doth stirre him to se how the fleshe doth prouoke him to accomplishe his desire to se sensualyte go before and he himselfe to come behinde to se the malicious world to watche him to se howe the deuill doth tempt him to se how vyces bynde him and in all that whych is spoken to se how the father is negligent as if he had no children wher as in deed the old man by the few vertues that he hath had in his youth may easely know the infirmites and vices wherewith his sonne is compassed If the expert had neuer ben ignoraunt if the fathers had neuer ben children if the vertuous had neuer ben vicious if the fyne wittes had neuer ben deceiued it were no meruaile if the Fathers were negligent in teachyng their children For the lytell experience excuseth men of great offences but synce thou arte a father and that fyrst thou were a sonne synce thou arte old and hast ben yong and besides al this synce that pride hath enflamed the lechery hath burned the wrath hath wounded the negligeÌce hath hindred the couetousnes hath blinded the and glotonie surfeted the tell me cruell father since so manye vices haue reigned in the why hast thou not an eye to thy childe whom of thy owne bloud thou hast begotten And if thou doest it not bycause he is thy childe thou oughtest to do it bycause he is thy nearest For it is vnpossible that the child whych with many vyces is assaulted and not succoured but in the end he should be infamed and to the dishonour of the father most wickedly ouercome It is vnpossible to kepe flesh well fauored vnlesse it be first salted It is vnpossible that the fishe should liue without water It is vnpossible but that the Rose should wyther whiche is of the thorne ouergrowen So like it is vnpossible that the fathers should haue any comforte of their chyldren in their age vnlesse they haue instructed them in vertue in their youth And to speake further in this matter I saye that in the Christian catholike religion where in dede there is good doctrine ther alwayes is supposed to be a good conscience Amongest the wryters it is a thinge well knowen howe Eschines the philosopher was banished from Athens and with all his family came to dwell at Rhodes The occasion was because that he and the philosopher Demosthenes were in great contention in the common wealth Wherefore the Athenians determined to banish the one and to keape the other with them And truly they dyd well for of the contentions and debates of sages warres most commonly aryse amongest the people This philosopher Eschines being at Rhodes banished amongest others made a solempne oration wherein he greatly reproueth the Rhodians that they were so negligente in brynging vp their children saiyng vnto them these wordes I let you vnderstande Lordes of Rhodes that your predecessours aduaunced them selues to discende and to take their beginning of the Lides the whiche aboue all other nations were curious and diligent to bring vp their children and hereof came a lawe that was among them which sayed We ordeine and commaunde that if a father haue many chyldren that the moste vertuous should enherite the goods and riches and if there were but one vertuous that he alone should inherite the whole And if perchauÌce the children were vitious that then al should be depriued from the heritage For the goods gotten with trauaile of vertuous fathers ought not by reason to be inherited with vitious children These were the wordes that the philosopher spake to the Senate of the Rhodes and because he sayde in that Oration many other thinges whiche touche not our matter I wyll in this place omitte them For among excellent wryters the wryting loseth muche authoritie when the authour from his purpose digresseth into an other matter To saye the truthe I doe not maruayle that the children of princes and great lordes be adulterers and belly gods for that on the one parte youth is the mother of Idlenes and on the other litle experience is the cause of great offences And furthermore the fathers being once dead the children enherite their goodes as quietly being loden with vices as if in dede they were with all vertues endued If the younge children did knowe for a certaine that the lawes of the Lydes should be obserued that is to witte that they shoulde not enherite vnlesse they be vertuous it is vnpossible but that they would leade a good life and not in this wyse to runne at large in the worlde For they doe absteine more from doing euill fearyng to lose that whiche they doe possesse then for any loue to doe that whiche they ought I doe not denaye but according as the natures of the fathers is dyuers so the inclinations of the chyldren are variable For so muche as some folowyng their good inclination are good others not resisting euil sensualities are euill But yet in this matter I saye that it lieth muche in the father that doeth brynge them vp when as yet they are younge so that the euill whiche nature gaue by good bryngyng vp is refrayned For oftetymes the good custome doeth ouercome all euill inclination Princes and great lordes that wylbe diligent in the instruction of their chyldren ought to enforme their maisters and tutors that shall teache theim to what vyces and
vertues their children are moste inclined and this ought to be to encourage them in that that is good and contrary to reproue them in all that is euill For men are vndone for no other cause when they be olde but for that they had so much pleasures when they are younge Sextus Cheronensis in the seconde booke of the saiynges of the auntientes saieth that on a daye a citezen of Athens was byenge thinges in the market and for the qualitie of his persone the greatest parte of them were superfluous and nothing necessary And in this case the poore are no lesse culpable then the ryche and the ryche then the poore For that is so litle that to susteyne mans lyfe is necessary that he which hath lest hath therunto superfluous Therfore at that tyme when Athens and her common wealth was the lanterne of all Grece there was in Athens a lawe long vsed and of great tyme accustomed that nothing should be bought before a philosopher had set the pryce And truly the lawe was good and would to God the same lawe at this present were obserued for there is nothing that destroyeth a coÌmon wealth more then to permitte some to sell as tyrauntes and others to buye as fooles When the Thebane was buying these thinges a philosopher was there present who sayed vnto him these wordes Tell me I praye thee thou man of Thebes wherefore doest thou consume and waste thy money in that whiche is not necessary for thy house nor profitable for thy persone the Thebane aunswered him I let the knowe that I doe buye all these thynges for a sonne I haue of the age of .xx. yeares the whiche neuer did thinge that seamed vnto me euill nor I neuer denayed hym any thing that he demaunded This philosopher aunswered O howe happy were thou if as thou arte a father thou were a sonne and that which the father saieth vnto the sonne the sonne would saye vnto the father but I am offended greatly with that thou hast tolde me For vntill the childe be .xxv. yeares olde he ought not to gaynesaye his father and the good father ought not to condescende vnto the appetites of the sonne Nowe I call the cursed father since thou arte subiect to the wyll of thy sonne and that thy sonne is not obedient to the wyl of his father so that thou alterest the order of nature For so muche as the father is sonne of his sonne and the sonne is father of his father But in the end I sweare vnto thee by the immortall Gods that when thou shalt become old thou shalt weape by thy selfe at that whiche with thy sonne thou diddest laughe when he was younge Though the wordes of this philosopher were fewe yet a wyse man wyll iudge the sentences to be many I conclude therfore that princes and great lordes ought to recoÌmende their children to their maisters to th ende they may teache them to chaunge their appetites and not to folowe their owne wil so that they withdrawe them from their own will and cause them to learne the aduise of an other For the more a man geueth a noble man sonne the brydle the more harder it is for them to receiue good doctrine ¶ Princes ought to take hede that their children be not brought vp in vayne pleasures and delightes For oftetimes they are so wicked that the fathers would not only haue them with sharpe discipline corrected but also with bitter teares buried Chap. xxxiii BY experience we see that in warre for the defence of men rampiers fortes are made according to the qualitie of the enemies those which sayle the daungerous seas doe chose great shippes whiche may breake the waues of the raging Sea so that all wyse men according to the qualitie of the daunger doe seke for the same in time some remedy Oftetymes I muse with my selfe and thynke if I coulde finde any estate any age any lande any nation any realme or any worlde wherein there hath bene any man that hath passed this life without tasting what aduersitie was for if suche a one were founde I thinke it should be a monstrous thing throughout all the earth and by reason both the dead and liuing should enuie hym In the ende after my counte made I finde that he whiche yesterdaye was ryche to daye is poore he that was hole I see hym to daye sicke he that yesterdaye laughed to daye I see hym wepe he that had his hartes ease I see hym nowe sore afflicted he that was fortunate I see hym vnlucky finally hym whom we knewe aliue in the towne now we see buried in the graue And to be buried is nothing els but to be vtterly forgotten for mans frendshyp is so frayle that when the corps is couered with earth immediatly the dead is forgotten One thinge me thinketh to all men is greuous to those of vnderstandyng no lesse payneful whiche is that the miseries of this wicked worlde are not equally deuided but that oftetymes all worldly calamities lieth in the necke of one man alone For we are so vnfortunate that the world geueth vs pleasures in sight troubles in profe If a man should aske a sage man now a daies who hath liued in meane estate that he would be contented to tel him what he hath paste since three yeares that he began to speake vntill fifty yeares that he began to waxe olde what thinges thinke you he would tel vs that hath chaunced vnto him truly al these that here folowe The grefes of his children the assaultes of his enemies the importunities of his wife the wantonnes of his doughters sicknes in his person great losse of goods general famine in the citie cruel plagues in his couÌtrey extreme colde in wynter noysome heate in sommer sorowful deathes of his frendes enuious prosperities of his enemies finally he wil say that he passed such so many thinges that oftimes he bewailed the wofull life desired the swete death If the miserable man hath passed such things outwardly what would he saye of those which he hath suffred inwardly the whiche though some discrete men may know yet truly others dare not tell For the trauailes which the body passeth in fifty yeres may wel be counted in a day but that which the hart suffereth in one day cannot be counted in a hundred yeres A man cannot denay but that we would couÌte him rashe which with a rede would mete an other that hath a sword him for a foole that would put of his shoes to walke vpoÌ the thornes But without coÌparison we ought to esteame him for the most foole that with this tender fleshe thinketh to preuaile against so many euil fortunes for without doubt the man that is of his body delicate passeth his life with much paine O how happy may that maÌ be called which neuer tasted what pleasure meaneth For men whiche from their infancy haue bene brought vp in pleasures for want of wisdome know not how to
And the cause whye I was willing ther should be none in the common wealth was for that ther was not riches in Rome sufficient to acquite the desarts of the Romaine chiualry And if you esteme an honorable office to be a Tribune Millitaire since you caÌnot al haue it me thinketh you shold al want it For amonge the noble men Plebeians it is not mete that one alone should enioy that which many haue deserued This history Sabellicus declareth allegeth Pulio for his aucthor reciteth that for this good worke that Camillus did in Rome that is to wete to set the great the smal at one he was aswel beloued of that romaines as he was feared of the enemies And not without a iust cause for in my opinyon it is a greater vertue to pacify his owne then to robbe straungers As touching the office of this Tribune wherupon this great coÌtencion rose in Rome I caÌnot tel which was greater the folish rashnes of the knights to procure it or the wisedom of Camillus to abbolish it For to say the truthe the arte of cheualrie was inuented more to defend the common wealth then to byde at home haue the charge of iustice For to the good knight it semeth better to be loden with weapoÌs to resist enemyes then to be enuyroned with bokes to determyne causes Returning therfore to that whych the people sayd against the souldiors it was ordayned by the consent of al that in Rome an office should be erected and that he which should haue it should haue the charge to go through Rome to se what they were in Rome that did not instruct their children in good doctrine and if perchaunce he found any neighbours child that was euyl taught he chastised and banished the father And truly that punishment was very iust for the father deserueth more punyshment for that he doth therunto consent then the child deserueth more the offences which he doth comit When Rome was Rome that of al the world the common wealth therof was comended they chose for an officer therin the most auncient vertuous Romaine who was called the general vysiter of the childreÌ of Rome it semeth to be true for somuch as he whych had this office one yere hoped to be consul dictatour or censor the next As it appeareth by Marcus Porcio who desired to be corrector of the childreÌ afterwards succeded to be censor of the Romaine people For the Romaynes dyd not offer the office of iustice to any man vnlesse he had had experience of al offices Patricius Senensis in the booke of the common wealth saith that before the warres were betwene Carthage Rome the comon wealth of Carthage was very wel gouerned as it be semed such a noble citie but it is an auncient preuiledge of the warre that it kylleth the persones consumeth the goods aboue al engendreth a new passion miserie in the end destroyeth al good aunciente customes The Carthagians therefore had a custome that the chyldren and especially those which were of honest men should be put in the temples from iii. yeres tyl .xii. so from .xii. til xx they learned crafts sciences occupacions and from .xx. vntil .xxv. they instructed them in the feates of warre at the end of xxx yeres they gaue themselues to mariage ⪠For amoÌgest them it was a law inuiolable that no man shold mary vntil he were xxx yeres of age the women xxv And after that they were maried the moneth folowing they ought to present themselues before the Senate ther to chose what kind of estate they would take vpon them to liue in and what their minds most desired that is to wete if they would serue in the Temples folow the warre or trauayle the seas or get their lyuing by land or follow their occupacion which they had learned And loke what estate or office that day they chose the same they kept occupyed during their lyfe truly the law was very good bycause such chaunge of estates offices in the world are occasion that presently so many come to destruction Al the excellent and auncient Princes had many great philosophers for their masters this seameth to be true by this that kyng Darius had Lichanius the phylosopher for his mayster The greate Alexander had Aristotel the phylosopher for hys master Kinge Artaxerces had Pindarus the phylosopher for his mayster The aduenturous and hardye captayne of the Athenians Palemo had Xenocrates the Phylosopher for his maister Xemiades only kyng of the Corinthians had Chilo the phylosopher for hys mayster and tutour to hys chyldren Epamynundes prince of the Thebaines had for his maister and councelloure Maruchus the Phylosopher Vlisses the Greke as Homere sayth had for his mayster and companyon in hys trauayles Catinus the phylosopher Pirrus whyche was kynge of the Epirotes and greate defendoure of the Tharentines had for hys maister and chronicler Arthemius the phylosopher Of whom Cicero speaketh ad atticum that his sword was sharper to fighte then his penne ready to write The great kyng Ptholomeus Philadelphus was not onely scholer of the most singuler Phylosophers of Grece but also after he was king he sent for 72. phylosophers wych were Hebrues Cirus kyng of the Persians that destroyed the great Babylon had for his mayster Pristicus the Phylosopher Traian the Emperour had Plutarche for hys mayster who dyd not only teach hym in hys youth but also wrote him a booke how he ought to gouerne hym selfe his common wealth By these few examples which I haue expressed and by many other whych I omit Princes at this present may se how carefull princes were in tymes past to geue their chyldren wyse and learned men O prynces and great lordes synce you that are at thys present do presume and take vppon you that whyche your forefathers dyd I would that now you would consyder who brought them to so high estate and who leaueth of them eternal memory For wythout doubt noble men neuer wanne renowme for the pleasures they had in vyces but for the trauailes they had in vertues Againe I say that princes in tymes past were not famous for theyr stoutnes and apt dysposicion of theyr bodyes neyther for discent of hygh and noble lynage nor yet for the possession of many realmes or heaping vp of great treasours but they wanne obtayned immortal renowme for that their fathers in theyr youth put them vnder the tuicioÌ of wise and learned tutours whych taught them good doctrine when they were of age gaue them good counsaylers to gouerne the common wealth Laertius in the lyfe of the phylosophers Boccase in the boke of the lynage of gods say That among the phylosophers of Athens there was a custome that no straung phylosopher should reade in their scholes before he weare first examyned in natural and moral phylosophy for amonge the Grekes it was an auncyent prouerbe that in the schole
be called prosperous whych hath in it many people but that which hath in it few vices Speakyng therfore more perticulerly the cause that moued me to put you from me is bycause in the day of the great feast of god Genius you shewed in the presence of the senate your litle wisedom and great foly for so much as all men did behold more the lightnes of your parson then they did the follies of the iuglers If perchaunce you shewed your folly to th entent men should thinke that you were familiar in my royal pallace I tell you that the errour of your thought was no lesse then the euil and example of your work for no man ought to be so familiar with princes but whether it be in sporte or in earnest he ought to do him reuerence Since I geue you leaue to departe I know you had rather haue to helpe you in your iorney a litle money then many councelles but I will geue you both that is to wete mony for to bring you to your iournies end and also counsels to the end you may lyue And meruail not that I geue counsel to them that haue an office to councel others for it chaunceth oftetimes that the phisition do cure the diseases of others and yet in dede he knoweth not his owne Let therfore the last word counsell be when you shal be in the seruices of princes and great lordes that first you labour to be couÌted honest rather then wise That they do chose you rather for quiet men then for busy heades and more for your fewe woordes then for your much bablyng For in the pallace of Princes if the wise man be no more then wise it is a great happe if he be moch estemed but if he be an honest man he is beloued and wel taken of all That Princes and other noble men ought to ouer see the tutours of their children least they conceale the secret faultes of their scollers Chap xxxvii VVe haue before rehersed what conditions what age and what grauity maisters ought to haue which should bring vp the children of Princes Now reason would we shold declare what the counsels should be that princes shold geue to the maysters and tutours of their children before they ought to geue them any charge And after that it is mete we declare what the counsel shal be whyche the mayster shall geue to hys dyscyple hauyng the gouernement of hym For it is vnpossible ther should happen any misfortune wher rype counsel is euer present It shal seame vnto those that shal profoundly consider this matter that it is a superfluous thing to treate of these thinges for either princes chose that good or els they chose the euil If they chose not good maisters they labour in vaine to geue theÌ good counsel for the folish maiser is lesse capable of couÌsel theÌ the dyssolute scoler of holsome admonitioÌ If perchaunce princes do make elections of good maisters then those maisters both for them selues and also for others ought to minister good counsels For to geue councell to the wyse man it is either a superfluous dede or els it coÌmeth of a presumptuous man Though it be true that he whych dare geue councel to the sage man is presumptuous I saye in lyke maner that the dyamonde beyng set in gold loseth not his vertue but rather increseth in pryce value I meane that the wiser a man is somuche the more he oughte to desire to knowe the opinion of another certainly he that doeth so cannot erre For to none his owne councell aboundeth somuch but that he nedeth the counsell and opinion of another Though princes and great lordes do se with their eyes that they haue chosen good maisters and tutors to teache their children yet they ought not therfore to be so negligent of them selues but that sometimes they may geue the maysters counsell For it maye be that the maysters be both noble and stout that they be auncient sage moderate but it may be also that in teaching children they are not expert For to masters and tutours of princes it is not somuche necessary that science doth abounde as it is shame that experience shoulde want When a riche man letteth out his farme or maner to a farmor he doth not only consider with him selfe before what rent he shall pay hym but also he couenanteth with hym that he shall keape his groundes well fensed and ditched and his howses well repaired And not contented to receiue the thirde parte of the frute of his vine but also he goeth twyse or thrise in a yeare to visite it And in seyng it he hath reason for in the end the one occupyeth the goods as tenaunte and the other doth viewe the grounde as chefe lord Then if the father of the family with so great diligence doeth recoÌmend the trees and the grouÌd to the labourer how much more ought the father to recoÌmend his children to the maisters for the father geuing couÌcell to the maister is no other but to deliuer his child to the treasurer of scieÌce Princes and great lords caÌnot excuse them selues of an offence if after that they haue chosen a knight or gentleman for to be maister or els a learned wise man to be tutour they are so necligeÌt as if they neuer had had children or did remember that their childreÌ ought to be their heires certainly this thing shold not be so lightly passed ouer but as a wise man which is careful of the honor profit of his child he ought to be occupied aswel in taking hede to the maister as the maister ought to be occupied in taking hede to the child For the good fathers ought to know whether the maister that he hath chosen can coÌmaund and whether his child wil obey One of the notablest princes among the auncientes was Sculeucus king of the AssiriaÌs and husband of Estrabonica the daughter of Demetrius kyng of Macedony a lady for her beauty in al Grece the most renowmed thoughe of her fame in dede she was not very fortunat This is an olde disease that hapneth alwayes to beautiful women that ther be many that desire them mo that slaunder them This king Seuleucus was first maryed with another woman of whom he had a sonne called Antigonus the whyche was in loue with the second wife of his father that is to wete with the quene Estrabonica and was almost dead for loue The whiche the father vnderstandyng maried his sonne with her so that she that was his stepmother was hys wife and she that was a faire wyfe was a faire doughter he which was hys sonne was made his sonne in lawe he which was father was stepfather The aucthor herof is Plutarke in his liues as Sextus Cheronensis saith in the third boke of the sayenges of the grekes The king Seuleucus laboured diligently to bring vp his son Antigonus well wherfore he sought him .ii. notable maisters the one a greke
and more profyte of the scoller he maye be soner vertuous then vitious For there is more courage required in one to be euil then strenght in another for to be good Also the maisters commenly haue another euill property worse then this whyche is they beare with their scollers in some secreat vices when they are yong from the whiche they cannot be withdrawen afterwarde when they are olde For it chaunceth oftetimes that the good inclination is ouercome by the euill custome and certainly the maisters whych in such a case should be apprehended ought to be punished as traitors pariured For to the mayster it is greater treason to leaue his disciple amongest vices then to delyuer a forte into the handes of the enemyes And let no man maruaill if I call such a mayster a treator for the one yeldeth the forte whych is but of stones builded but the other aduentureth hys sonne who is of his proper body begotten The cause of al this euill is that as the children of Princes ought to enherite realmes and the children of greate lordes hope to inherite the great estates so the maisters are more couetous then vertuous For they suffer their puples to runne at their own willes wheÌ they be yong to thend to winne their hartes when they shal be olde so that the extreame couetousnes of the maisters now a dayes is suche that it causeth goodmens sonnes commonly to be euil and vitious O tutors of princes and maisters of great lordes I do admonyshe you and besides that I counsell you that your couetousnes deceiue you not thynkynge that you shal be better estemed for being clokers of vices then louers of vertues For there is none old nor yong so wicked but knoweth that good is better then euill And further I say to you in this case that oftetimes God permitteth when those that wer children become old their eyes to be opened wherby they know the harme that you haue done them in suffering them to be vitious in thier youth at what tyme your dutye had bene to haue corrected their vices You thought by your goods to be honored for your flattery but you find the contrary that you are despised worthely For it is the iust iudgement of god that he that committeth euill shall not escape without punyshment and he that consealeth the euill committed shal not liue vndefamed Diadumeus the Historiographer in the lyfe of Seuerus the .xxi. Emperour de clareth that Apuleius Rufynus who hadde ben consull twise and at that tyme was also tribune of the people a man who was very aged and likewise of greate aucthoritie thoroughe oute Rome came one daye to the Emperour Seuerus and sayed vnto him in this sorte Moste inuicte Prince alwayes Augustus know that I had .ii. children the whiche I committed to a mayster to bring vp and by chaunce the eldest increasinge in yeares and diminishing in vertues fell in loue with a Romaine ladye the which loue came to late to my knowledge for to such vnfortunat men as I am the disease is alwayes past remedy before the daunger thereof commeth to our knowledge The greatest grefe that herein I fele is that his mayster knew and consealed the euill and was not onely not a meanes to remedye it but also was the chefe worker of the adultery betwene them to be committed And my sonne made hym an oblygation wherin he bounde hym selfe if he woulde bryng hym that romaine lady he would geue hym after my death the house and herytages whych I haue in the gate Salaria and yet herwith not contented but he and my sonne together robbed me of much money For loue is costlye to hym that maynteineth it and alwayes the loues of the children are chargefull to the fathers Iudge you now therefore noble Prince thys so heinous and slaunderous cause for it is to muche presumption of the subiecte to reuenge any iniury knowyng that the lorde hym selfe will reuenge all wronges When the Emperour Seuerus hadde vnderstode this so heynous a case as one that was both in name and dede seuere commaunded good inquisition of the matter to be hadde and that before his presence the shoulde cause to appeare the father the sonne and the mayster to the ende eche one should alledge for his owne right for in Rome none could be condemned for anye offence vnlesse the plainetife had first declared the faulte before hys presence and that the accused shold haue no tyme to make hys excuse The trueth then knowen and the offenders confessyng the offences the Emperour Seuerus gaue iudgement thus I commaunde that this mayster be caste alyue amonge the beastes of the parke Palatine For it is but mete that beastes deuoure hym whyche teacheth others to lyue lyke beastes Also I doe commaunde that the sonne be vtterly dysinheryted of all the goodes of hys father and banyshed into the Iles Balleares and Maiorques For the chylde whiche from hys youth is vitious oughte iustlye to be banyshed the countrey and dysherited of hys fathers goods This therfore of the maister and of the sonne was done by the complaint of Apuleius Rufinus O howe vnconstant fortune is and howe oft not thynkyng of it the threde of lyfe doth breake I saye it bicause if this maister had not bene couetous the father hadde not bene depriued of his sonne the childe hadde not bene banished the mother had not bene defamed the common weale had not bene slaundered the master of wylde beastes hadde not bene deuoured neyther the Emperour hadde bene so cruell agaynst them nor yet their names in Hystories to their infamies hadde alwayes continued I doe not speake thys without a cause to declare by writyng that whyche the euyll do in the world For wyse menne ought more to feare the infamye of the litle penne then the slaunder of the bablyng tongue For in the ende the wicked tongue can not defame but the lyuynge but the litle penne doth defame them that are that were and the shal be To conclude thys my mynde is that the mayster shoulde endeuour hym selfe that hys scooller shoulde be vertuous and that he doe not dispayre though immediately for hys paines he be not rewarded For thoughe he be not of the creature let hym be assured that he shal be of the creatour For God is so mercyefull that he ofte tymes takynge pitie of the swette of those that be good chastneth the vnthankfull and taketh vpon him to require their seruices Of the determination of the Emperour when he committed his childe to the tutours whyche he had prouided for his education Chapter xxxviii CInna the Hystorien in the first booke of the times of Comodus declareth that Marcus Aurelius the Emperour chose .xiiii. masters learned and wise men to teache hys sonne Comodus of the whyche he refused fyue not for that they were not wyse but for that they were not honeste And so he kepte these nyne onely whyche were both learned in the sciences and also experte in bringyng vp the chyldren of
shall esteme it more that when I doe geue you my sonne to teache I geue you more then if I gaue you all the ryches of the Realme For in him that hath the reformacion of the childes life dependeth the fame of the Father after he is deade So that the Father hathe no greater renowme then to see hys chylde leade an honeste lyfe I praye the Gods that they maye be so mercyful and the fatall destinies so fortunate that if tyll thys time you haue watched to teache the children of others that from hence forwarde you watche to teache thys my sonne Comodus whyche I truste shal be to the comforte of all For the thynge that is vniuersally good to all oughte to be preferred before that whyche tendeth but to the commoditie of some You see my frendes that there is a greate difference to teache the chyldren of Prynces and to teache the children of the people the cause hereof is that the greatest parte of those come to the scooles and vniuersities to learne to speake but I doe not geue you my sonne Comodus to the ende you should teache hym to speake many wordes but that you should learne him to do good workes For all the glorye of the Prynces is that in the workes whyche he doth he be vprighte and in the woordes that he speaketh he be very discrete After that the children haue spente manye yeares in scooles after their Fathers haue spente muche money vppon them yf perchaunce the chylde can dispute in Greeke or Latin anye thyng at all thoughe he be lyghte and vitious the Father thynketh hys goodes well imployed For in Rome nowe a dayes they esteme an Oratour more whyche can doe nought but bable then a philosopher whyche is vertuous O wofull men that now lyue in Rome and muche more wofull shall those be whyche hereafter shall succede For Rome is no more that Rome whyche it was wont to be that is to wete that the fathers in olde tyme sente their children to scooles and studies to learne them to be silent and nowe they sende them to learne to speake to muche They learned them then to be sage and temperate and nowe they learne them to be dissolute And the worste of all is that the scooles where the sage and pacient were wont to be and from whence issued the good and vertuous workes are nowe full of bablynge Oratours and none issue oute from thence at this present but the euill and vitious So that if the sacred Romain lawes are exalted once in a weeke with their tongues they are broken tenne tymes in the daye in their workes What will you I say more since I can not tel you any thing without hurting my mother Rome but that at this present al the pleasures of vain men is to see their children ouercome others by disputing but I let you vnderstand that all my glory shal be when my son shal surmount others not in wordes but in silence not to be troublesome but to be pacient not in speakyng subtill wordes but in doing vertuous workes For the glorie of good menne is in workyng muche and speakyng littell Consider my frendes and do not forget get it that this daye I committe my honour vnto you I put into your handes the estate of Comodus my sonne the glory of Rome the rest of the people which are my subiectes the gouernement of Italye which is your countrey and aboue all I referre vnto your discretions the peace and tranquillitie of the hole common wealth Therefore he that hath suche a charge by reason ought not to slepe For as the wise men say to great trust is required much diligence I will saye no more but that I would my sonne Comodus shoulde be so well taught that he should haue the feare of god and the science of philosophers the vertues of the auncient Romaynes the approued councell of the aged the corage of the Romaine youth and the constancy of you whiche are his masters Fynally I would that of al the good he shold take the good as of me he ought to take the heritage and succession of the Empyre For he is the true prince and worthy of the empyre that with his eyes doth beholde the great signories he ought to enherite and dothe employe his harte howe to gouerne it wherby he shal lyue to the great profit of the common wealth And I proteste to the immortall gods with whom I hope to goe and to the goodnes of my predecessours whose faith I am bound to kepe I proteste to the Romaine lawes the whyche I dyd sweare to obserue in the conquest of Asia wherein I bound my selfe to continue and to the frendeshyppe of the Rhodiens the whiche I haue offered my selfe to kepe to the ennemitye of the Affricans the whyche not for me but for the oth of my predecessours I haue bounde my selfe to mainteine And I proteste vnto the vessell of the hyghe Capitall where my bones ought to be burnt that Rome do not complaine of me beyng alyue nor that in the worlde to come she curse me after my death If perchaunce the prince Comodus my sonne by his wicked lyfe should be occasion of the losse of hinderaunce to the common wealth And thoughe you whych are his masters vndoe it for not geuyng hym dew punishement and he thoroughe hys wicked gouernement destroye it yet I discharge my selfe by all these protestations that I haue made whyche shal be witnesses of my will For the father is bound no more towardes his child but to banyshe hym from his pleasures and to geue him vertuous masters And if he be good he shal be be the glory of the father the honor of him selfe the wealth of you and the profite and comoditie of the hole common wealth That tutours of Princes and noble mens children ought to be very circumspect that their scollers doe not accustome them selues in vices whilles they are yonge and speciallye they must kepe them from foure vices Chap. xxxix THe good and experte Surgeons vnto greate and daungerous woundes do not onelye applye medycynes and oyntementes whyche doe resolue stop but also do minister other good playsters for to restraine and heale them And verelye they shewe them selues in the one no lesse sage then in the other experte for as greate dylygence ought to be had to preserue the weake fliesh and to purge the rotten wounde to the end it maye be healed so lykewise the wyse trauailers learne diligentely the waye before they take vppon them any iourney that is to wete yf there be any daungers in the waye eyther of robbynge or sleyinge wherein there is anye by pathe that goeth oute of the hyghe waye Truly he that in this point is circumspecte is woorthy to be counted a sage man For accordyng to the multitude of the perylles of the world none can be assured vnlesse he know first where the daunger is wherin he may fal To shew therfore that which by these parables I meane
wealthe where the gouernours and iudges thereof doe not cast theire eyes but vnto them whâe they ought to chastise where they doe not thynke in theire harte but howe they maye enryche theire coffers where they doe not occupye theire handes but to take brybes and doe not passe the tyme but in bankettes And I sayde not wythout a cause bankettes For there are manye iudges whyche imploye they re studye more to geate frindes to mayntayne theire state proudlye then for to read bookes to iudge mennes causes vprightly The iudge which neuer readeth the iudge whiche neuer studieth the iudge whiche neuer openeth boke the iudge which is neuer in his house the iudge which day night robbeth howe is it possible that he execute one true iustice There can bee no greater feare in a man nor sclaunder more greate in the common welth then when the iudge who ought to iudge and chastise the offences of others is alwaies ouerwhelmed with vices him selfe The iudge which presumeth to be good and wil be good and desireth to be good a manne shoulde finde him no where vnlesse he be studying in his house or sitting in the place of iustice Let not princes trust vppon this when they prouyde iudges and gouernours for to iudge saieng that if they fynde any euill they wil soone cut him of for suche are so euil that if they want to meanes to get to those offices they shal want no cautils nor corrupt frindes to suborne them therein When princes great lordes shall finde anye iudge euill I counsaile them to auoide him immediatlye or that they shewe them selues not contented with his dooinges for suche one shal forthwith enforce him selfe to doe iustice with intencion that those of the common wealth myght desire him to be theire iudge Although my penne doth reproue these Iudges whiche are negligent and carelesse the whiche neither by knowledge can iudge nor with stoutnes punishe The iudges whiche iudge and gouerne ought not to be with all so familiar that all dare take vppon them to aske him for in this case if some commend his gentle coÌuersacion others will blame his parciall iustice I counsaile admonishe and require Princes that they content them selues not only to be true pitifull honeste and vertuous nor yet to be iuste but that it is as well necessarie they be obseruers of iustice For let them knowe that there is great difference betwene him that is iust and an other that doth minister iustice for to the prince that is good commeth honour to his parsonne but from him that ministreth iustice commeth profite to his common wealth Peraduenture it is no wonder to see the Prince that will tell no lye and to see his ministers not to speak one truthe peraduenture I do not thinke my self sclaundered to se the prince temperate in eatinge and to see all his seruauntes distempered bothe wythe eating and drinkinge peraduenture and it is no cause to muse vppon to see the princes chaste and honeste and to see theire seruauntes in fleshe filthye and dissolute peraduenture it is no cause to meruaile to see the prince iuste and to loue iustice and that verye fewe of hys ministers doe minister it The ende why all these thinges are spoken is to aduertise Princes that they bee not so carefull to bee chaste sober true and iust but that they know whether theire gouernoures and iudges are corrupted couetous gredy vnshame faste lyers or brybers For if it toucheth vs much that oure Princes be good so much more it toucheth vs that the ministers be not euil One of the things wherein princes ought to prouyde with their iudges and gouernours is that by no meanes they suffer theire lawes and auncient customes to bee broken in theire common wealthe and that in theire steedes straunge customes bee not introduced For the comminaltye is so variable in that they saye and so light in that they aske that they woulde daylye see a newe kinge and hourely chaunge a newe lawe Plinie in an epistle that he writeth to Escario saieth Optime apud Persas capitalem per legem fuit prohibitum nouos aut peregrinos mores inducere As if he spake more plainelye Amongest the Perses it was a lawe inuiolable that no man shoulde bringe into the common wealth anye straunge custome for suche an offence they shoulde paye none other raunsome but the losse of theire heades As menne dayly doe diminishe in vertue vnlesse by force they bee witholden and augment in vanitie so they woulde inuent newe deuyses and straunge customes wherewith men shoulde be decayed and the common wealthe destroyed For straunge meates doe alter mennes stomackes When those of Creta were vngentlye vsed of the Rhodiens they did not praye to theire godes to sende them pestylence warre famin or sedition amonge theire enemies but that they woulde suffer some euil maners to bee brought in amongest theire people Let not those thinke that shall reade this that it was a small curse those of Creta desired and that it was a small reuenge whiche God gaue them of theire enemyes if he gaue them that whiche they dyd requyre For from warres famin and pestylence some maye escape but with the newe and straunge deuyses we see all perishe Of manye thinges the Historians doe reproue the Emperour Sergius Galba and for one alone they doe praise him whiche is that he neuer consented that in Rome anye newe lawe shoulde bee made nor anye olde custome broken And hee commaunded that those shoulde bee greuouslye punished whiche brought in anye newe lawe and hee rewarded those whiche put hym in mynde of anye olde custome the whiche he commaunded to bee obserued It is a mockerye yea better to saye a sclaunder to see that some younge iudges will doe that of the common wealthe whiche a Taylour dothe of a gowne that is to saye to tourne hym within and without before and behynde whiche they ought not to doe nor the people to consent thereunto For the Prince dothe not sende them to make lawes nor to bringe in newe orders but to the ende that they doe onelye preserue the common wealthe in theire good customes Princes ought also to take greate care that vnto lyttle and greate riche and poore they minister equall iustice sithe there is no dyuyne nor humayne lawe that geueth them power and aucthoritie to corrupt it for if a Prince cannot wythout reason dispose his owne goods much lesse he can make lawes and sell iustice We doe not denye a Prince but that he is lorde of beastes of fysh of byrdes of mynes of mountaines of seruaunts and of fyeldes finallye that hee is lorde of the sea and lande but therefore we will not graunt hym that he is lorde of iustice For there is none other true Lorde of iustice but God whiche is the selfe same iustice When a Prince dyeth and maketh his will hee saieth I leaue all my realmes seignories to the prince my sonne and legittimate heire and doe leaue vnto
my seconde sonne such an estate and duchye and to my doughter suche landes and to all I recommend iustice to the ende they doe obserue it and cause it to bee obserued euerye one in his owne countrey It is muche to note that the father dothe not saie that he leaueth vnto his sonne iustice but that he doth recommend it vnto hym so that the good princes ought to thinke that they haue not inherited iustyce of theire predecessoures in fourme of a patrimonie but that God gaue it vntoo them of truste Prynces of all thinges maye bee called lordes saue onelye of iustice wherof they are but onely ministers We dare boldly saye that the prince or gret lord which iudgeth causes not according to the diuine wil but accordiÌg to theire owne affection we will not call him a iuste iudge but a rouing theefe For the prince is muche worse whiche robbeth god of iustice then the theefe whiche stealeth the goods from menne Suetonius Tranquillus reciteth much wickednes of Domician and the greatest of all was the poore the Orphans and those whiche coulde doe little he alwaies punished the other that were riche and of aucthoritie he pardoned He compounded with some for money and with other he dissembled for fauour Lampridius saide of Alexander Seuerus the .25 Emperour of Rome that he neuer kepte in his courte anye euyll man or suffered any of his parentes to be vicious And when he was demanded on a time why he banished one of his cosyns since he was yong a child he aunswered them whiche entreated him for him and alleged That though he was yonge his cosin yet Charior est mihi respub as if more plainly he had said I haue none other nerer of kinne to me in my palace then the common wealth O high and muche more higher woordes worthy for a truthe to bee written in princes hartes whereby they ought to be aduertised that he said not I take for my kynne one parte of the common wealthe For the prince whiche feareth god and desired to be founde iust as he will indifferentlye bee obeyed of all so ought he equally to administer iustice to all If they wyll not credite me nor my penne let them credit Plato in the bookes of his common wealth who geueth libertie and lycence to all the Plebeyans to the end that euery one doe loue his wife his children and his parentes And this sorte of loue he will not that princes haue to whome he perswadeth that first aboue all thinges they loue theire common wealthe for if the Prince doe loue anye other thinge aboue his common wealth it is vnpossible but that one daye for the loue of that he wil writhe iustice When Plato gaue not lyceÌce to Princes not to enlarge their loue on diuers thinges peraduenture he woulde counsaile them that they shoulde doe some wronges It chaunseth ofte tymes that princes doe omitte iustice not for that they will not administer it but because they will not be enfourmed of thinges whyche they ought to remedye and looke vnto And thys is vnexcusable where he hurteth hys honour and burdeneth hys conscience For at the daye of iudgement thoughe he bee not accused for malyce yet he shal bee condemned for neglygence The prince which is carefull to see and enquire the dominages of his realmes we maye saye that if he doth not prouyde for them it is because he can doe no more but hee whiche is neglygent to see them and knowe them we cannot saye but if hee leaue to prouyde it is for that hee will not The prince or greate lorde whych dare take vppon him suche thynges what name or renowme maye we geue him I woulde not we shoulde call suche a one father of the common wealth but destroyer of hys countrey For there can be no tirannye greater nor more vnequall then for the Phisicion to aske his duetye for hys cure before he hath begone to minister the medicine That Princes and greate lordes desyre to knowe theire reuenewes I alowe them but in that they care not to knowe the dommages of theire common wealthes I doe discommende them For the people paye tribute to theire Princes to the ende they shoulde delyuer them from theire enemies and defende them from tyrauntes For the iudges whyche wil bee euill thoughe I saye muche it will profite lytle but to those whyche desyre to be good that whiche is spoken as I thinke suffyseth Notwithstandinge that whiche is spoken I say that iudges and gouernours ought to consider well with them selues and see if they wil be counted for iust ministers or cruell tirauntes For the office of a tyraunt is to robbe the common wealth and the office of the good Prince is to refourme the people Princes and greate lordes haue more busynes then they thinke they haue to see all those whiche will see them and to heare all those whiche will coÌplain vnto them And the cause hereof is admitte that whiche the subiect demaundeth he presentlye cannot geue nor that whereof he complaineth he cannot remedye yet notwithstandynge they remaine after a sorte contented sayeng that they haue nowe shewed all theire complaintes and iniuries to their princes For the wounded hartes often tymes vtter their inward paines whiche they feele without any hope to receiue comfort of that which they desyre Plutarche in his Apothegmes sayeth that a poore and aged woman desired kyng Philipe of Macedonie whiche was the father of kinge Alexander the greate that he woulde heare her with iustice and sithe she was verye importunate vppon him kyng Philip saied on a daye vnto her I praye the woman be coÌtented I swere by the gods I haue no leasure to heare thy complainte The olde woman aunswered the kinge Beholde king Phillyppe if thou hast not time to heare me with iustice resigne thy kingdome another shall gouerne thy common wealthe ¶ Of an oracion whiche a villayne dwellinge neere to the ryuer of Danuby made before the Senatours of Rome concerning the tyranies and oppressions which their officers vsed in his countrey And the oracion is deuyded into three Chapters Cap. iii. IN the .x. yeare of the reigne of the good emperour Marcus Aurelius there happened in Rome a generall pestilence the whiche being so outragious the good emperour went into Campaigne whiche at that tyme was verye healthfull and without diseases thoughe it was very drye and wanted much of that which was necessarie yet notwithstanding the good Emperour was there with all the principall Senatours of Rome For in tyme of pestilence men doe not seeke where they should reioice their parsonnes but where they maye saue theire lyues Marcus Aurelius being there in Campania was sore vexed with a feuer And as his condicion was alwaies to be amongest Sages so at that tyme hys sickenes required to be visited of phisicions The resorte that he had in hys pallace was verye greate as well of Philosophers for to teache as of phisitions for to dispute For this
And what more to say I know not Romaines of the litle care the goddes do take of the great audacitie that meÌ haue For I see that he which possesseth much doth oppresse hym which hath but litle he that hath but litle waieth not him that hath much So disordered couetousnes striueth with secret malice secret malice geueth place to open theft open robbery no man resisteth therof commeth that the couetice of a malicious man is accomplished to the preiudice of a whole state Harken ye romaines herken by the immortal gods I do coniure you geue eare to that I wil say which is consider wel what you haue doÌâ for the gods wordes be in vaine or els men must haue an ende the worlde in time must nedes fal or els the worlde shal be no worlde Fortune must nedes make sure the pinne of the whele or els that shal be sene which neuer was seene which is that which in .8 yeares ye haue wonne ye shal withein .8 daies lose For nothing can be more iust since ye by force haue made your selues tirants then that the gods by iustice should make ye slaues And do not think ye romains though you haue subdued Germany and be lordes therof that it was by anye warrely industrye for ye are no more warlike no more coragious nor more hardy ne yet more valiauÌt theÌ we Germaines but sins through our offeÌces we haue prouoked the gods to wrath they for the punishmeÌt of oure disordinate vices ordeyned that ye should be a cruel plague scourge to our êsoÌs Do not take your selues to be stroÌg neither repute vs to be so weake that if the gods at that time had fauoured the one part asmuch as the other it might perchance haue happened ye should not haue enioied the spoile For to say the truth ye wan not the victory through the force of weapoÌs that you brought froÌ Rome but through the infynyte vices which ye founde in Germany Therefore since we weare not ouercome for beinge cowards neither for being weake nor yet for beinge fearefull but only for being wicked not hauing the gods fauourable vnto vs what hope ye Romaines to become of you being as you are vicious hauing the gods angry with you Do not think Romaines to be the more victorious for that ye asseÌble great armies or that ye abound in treasures neither for that you haue greater gods in your ayd or that ye build greater teÌples nor yet for that ye offer such greate sacrifices For I let you know if ye do not know it that no man is in more fauor with the gods than he which is at peace with vertue If the triumphes of the conquerours coÌsisteth in nothing els but in subtill wittes politike captaines valiant souldiers great armies wtout doubt it would litle auaile to cary al this to the warre sins afterwards we se by experieÌce that men can do no more but geue the battailes the gods theÌ selues must geue the victories If I be not deceyued I thynke that for our offences we haue sufficientlye satisfyed the gods wrath But truelye I beleue that the cruelties which ye haue done vnto vs and the vnthankefullnesse whiche you haue shewed the goddes though as yet ye haue not payd it that once ye shall pay it And hereafter it may chaunce that as presentlye ye count vs for slaues so in tyme to come ye shall acknowledge vs for lordes Synce the trauaylynge by the waye I haue seene the highe mouÌtaines diuers prouinces sundrye nations countreis so sauage people so barbarous suche and so manye miles as Germany is distaunt from Roome I muse what fonde toye came in the Romaines heades to sende to conquere Germany If couetousnesse of treasures caused it I am sure they spent more money to conquere it and at this present doe spende to kepe it then the whole reuenewes of Germany amountethe or maye amount in manye yeares and perchaunce theye maye lose it before they recouer that they spent to conquere it And if ye say vnto me Romaines that Germanie is not conquered of Rome for euer but that onelye Rome shoulde haue the glorye to be mistres of Germanye this allso I saye is vanitye and follye For litle auaileth it to haue the forts and castels of the people when the hartes of the inhabitauntes are absente If ye saye that therefore ye conquered Germany to amplifie and enlarge the limittes and boundes of Rome allso mee thinkethe this as foolishe an enterprise For it is not the point of wise and valiaunt men to enlarge their dominyons and diminishe theire honour If ye saye ye sent to conquere vs to the end we shoulde not be barbarous nor liue like tirauntes but that you woulde we shoulde liue after your good lawes and customes yf it bee so I am well content But how is it possyble ye should geue laws to strauÌgers wheÌ you break the laws of your own pÌdecessours great shame ought they to haue which take vpoÌ theÌ to correct others when they haue more nede to be corrected theÌ selfes For the blinde man ought not to take vppon him to leade the lame If this be true as presently it is what reason or occasion had proude Rome to take and conquere the innocent Germanye Let vs all go therfore to robbe to kyll to conquere and to spoile sins we see the worlde so corrupte and so far from the loue of god that euery man as we may perceiue taketh what hee caÌ kylleth whom he will and that which worst of all is that neither those which gouerne wil remedy so many euils as are committed neither those which are offeÌded dare complaine Ye chiefe iudges at this day are so harde to bee entreated ye take so litle regard vnto the poore oppressed that they think it more quiet to remaine in trouble at home then to come and put vp theire complaintes before you here at Rome And the cause hereof is that there in theire countrey theye haue but one which pursueth theÌ and here in this senate theye are euil willed of al and that is because he which complaineth is poore and the other whiche is complained on is riche Therefore since fortune would it and the fatall destinies permit it that the proude Rome should be mistresse of our Germanye it is but reason ye should kepe vs in iustice and mainteine vs in peace But you do not so but rather those which come thither do take from vs our goods and ye that are here do rob vs of our good name saying that since we are a people without law without reason without a king as vnknowen barbarous ye maye take vs for slaues In this case ye Romains are greatly deceiued for me thinketh with reason ye can not cal vs wtout reason since we being such as we are and as the gods created vs remaine in our proper countreis without desiring to seeke or inuade foreine realmes For with more reason we mighte
the knighte to be nimble if the horse be not redy what auaileth it the owner of the ship to be sage expert if the Pilot be a foole ignoraunt What profiteth the king to be valiaunt and stout and the Captayne of the warre to be a cowarde I meane by this I haue spokeÌ what profiteth it a Prince to be honest if those which minister iustice be dissolute What profiteth it vs that ãâã prince be true if his officers beliers What profiteth it vs that the prince be sober if his ministers be dronkerds What profiteth it that the prince be gentle louing if his officers be cruell malicious What profiteth it vs that the prince be a geuer liberall an almes man if the iudge that ministreth iustice be a bryber an open thefe What profiteth it that the prince be carefull vertuous if the iudge be negligent and vicious finally I say that it lytel auaileth that the prince in his house be secretly iust if adioyning to that he trust a tiraunt open these with the gouernement of the common weale Princes and great Lordes wheÌ they are within their pallaces at pleasure theire myndes occupyed in hyghe things do not receiue into their secreat companye but their entier frindes Another time they wil not but occupy them selues in pastimes and pleasure so that they know not what they haue to amend in their êsoÌs much lesse that whych they ought to remedy in their common weales I will not be so eger in reprouing neither so satirycal in writing that it should seme I would perswade Princes that theye liue not accordinge to the highnesse of theire estates but accordynge to the life of the religious For if theye will keepe them selues from beinge tyrauntes or beinge outragiouslye vicious we cannot denay them some times to take theire pleasures But mye intention is not so strayghtelye to commaunde Princes to be iuste but onelye to shewe them howe theye are bounde to doe iustice Common wealthes are not loste for that their Princes liue in pleasure but because they haue lytel care of iustice In the ende people doe not murmure when the Prince dothe recreat his person but when he is to slacke to cause iustice to be executed I would to GOD that Princes toke an accompte withe godde in the thynges of theire conscience touchynge the common wealthe as theye doe withe men touchynge theire rentes and reuenewes Plutarche in an Epistle hee wrate to Traiayne the Emperoure sayethe it pleasethe me verye well moste puissaunte Prince that the Prynce be suche one as all maye saye that in hym there is nothynge worthye of reprehension butte addynge thereunto it dyspleasethe mee muche more that he shoulde haue so euill iudges that all shoulde saye in them were nothinge worthye of commendacion For the faultes of Prynces verye well maye bee excused butte the offences of the officers can by noe meanes bee endured Manye Prynces and greate Lordes deceiue them selues in thynkynge that theye doe theire dutye in that theye bee vertuous in theire personnes but it is not so For it suffysethe not a Prynce to drawe vnto hym all vertues butte allso he is bounde to roote all vices oute of the common wealthe Admitte that Princes will not or of them selues cannot gouerne the common wealthe yet let vs desire and admonyshe them to seeke good offycers to doe it for them For the poore Plebeian hathe noe accompte to render but of hys good or euill lyfe butte the Prynce shall render accompte of hys vicious lyfe whiche hee hathe ledde and of the lytle care that hee hath had of hys common wealthe Seneca in an epistle he wrote to a frinde of his named Lucilla sayeth My dere frend Lucilla I would gladly thou wouldest come see me here in Rome but I pray thee recoÌmend to good iudges the I le of Scicile For I would not desire to enioy thy sight if through my occasion that shouldest leaue the commoÌ wealthe out of order And to the entent thou mayest knowe what condicioÌs they ought to haue whom thou shouldest chose for gouernours or iudges I will let thee vnderstand that they ought to be graue in theire sentences iust in theire wordes honest in their workes mercyfull in their iustice and aboue all not corrupted with bribes And if I do aduertise thee of this it is because if thou diddest take care to gouerne thy common wealth well thou shouldest now be circumspect to examine them to whom presently thou must recommende the gouernement therof I woulde saye afterwardes that all that whiche the auncyent Phylosophers haue written in manye bookes and haue lefte by dyuers sentences Seneca dyd reherse in these fewe woordes the whiche are so graue and necessarie that if Princes reteyned them in their memorie to put them in execucion and iudges had them before their eyes for to accomplish them they woulde excuse the common wealthe of dyuers slaunders and theye shoulde allso delyuer them selues from a great burdeyn of theire conscience It is not a thinge voluntarye butte necessarie that the mynysters of iustice be vertuous well established and verye honest For to Iudges nothynge can be more slaunderous and hurtefull then when theye shoulde reprooue yonge men of theire youthe others maye iustlye reprehende them of they re lyghtnes He which hath a publike offyce in the common wealthe and sytteth openlye to iudge therein oughte to obserue a good order in hys persone least he be noted dysolute in hys doynge For the Iudge whiche is wythoute honestye and consideracion oughte to consider wyth hym selfe that if he alone haue aucthoritie to iudge of other mens goodes that there are a thousande whyche wyll iudge of hys lyfe It is not onelye a bourden of conscience to Princes to commit the charge of gouernaunce of the people to dyssolute persones but also it is a greate contempt and dysprayse of Iustice For the senteÌce geeuen of hym who deserueth to be iudged is among the people litel estemed Plutarche in hys Apothegmes sayethe that Phillyppe kynge of Macedony father of the greate Alexander created for iudge of a prouince a freende of his whoe after he sawe him selfe in suche offyce occupyed hym selfe more in kemmynge hys heade then in woorkynge or studyinge hys bookes Kynge Philyppe beynge enfourmed of the vanytye and insolencye of thys iudge reuoked the power whyche he hadde geeuen hym and when he complayned to all of the wronge and griefe whyche was done vnto hym takyng hys office from hym Kynge Phyllippe sayed vnto hym If I hadde geuen the office to thee for none other cause but beinge my friende beeleue mee that nothinge in the worlde coulde haue suffysed to haue taken it from thee beecause I louynge thee so entierlye as I dyd reason woulde not I shoulde haue depriued thee of this office wherewith I honoured thee I gaue thee thys office thinkyng that thou wert vertuous sage honest and allso a man well occupyed and mee thynkethe thou rather occupyest thy selfe in
beeholdynge thye persone then in gouerninge well my common wealthe whyche thou oughtest not to consent vnto and muche lesse doe in dede For the iudge oughte to be so occupyed in the administracion of the common wealth that he shoulde haue noe leysure at anye tyme to keame his heade These wordes the good king Phillip spake vnto the iudge whom he dysplaced of his office for beeynge to fyne and dylygent in keamynge hys heade and trymmynge his persone It is not onelye decent for ministers of iustice to be graue and honest but allso it behouethe them to be true and faithefull For to a iudge whose offyce is to iudge the truethe there can be noe greater infamye then to be counted a lyer When two Plebeians be at variaunce togethers for one thinge they come beefore the iudge for noughte els but that hee shoulde iudge whoe hathe righte and iustice thereunto Therefore if suche a iudge bee not counted true but a lyer all take his iudgement for false so that if the plainetife hathe noe more power he wyll obeye iustice yet at the leaste he wyll blaspheme hym that gaue sentence There are some iudges that presentlye to gette more moneye to drawe vnto them moe friendes and to contynewe allso in their offyces vse suche shamefull shiftes with the poore plainetifes and take so large brybes of the defeÌdaunt that bothe parties are by hym selfe assured of the sentence in their fauoure before he come vnto the barre Manye goe to the houses of iudges some to demaunde others to geue instructions other to woorke deceite others to importune them others to wynne them but fewe goe to vysyte them so that for those such seÌblables I do aduise and admonishe offycers that theye be iuste in theire sentences and vprighte in theire woordes The mynysters of iustice oughte to be suche and so good that in theire lyfe nothynge be woorthye of rebuke neyther in their wordes anye thinge worthye of reproche For if herein theye be not verye circumspect oftentymes that shal happen whiche the goddes woulde not whiche is that to the preiudice of the iustice of another he shall denye the worde of hym selfe It suffysethe not iudges to bee true in theire wordes butte it is verye necessarye that theye bee vpryghte in theire sentences That is to wete that for loue theye bee not to large neither for couetuousnesse theye shoulde be corrupted nor for feare drawen backe nor wythe prayours to be flattered nor withe promysses blynded for otherwise it were a greate shame and inconuenience that the yarde whiche theye carye in theire handes shoulde be streyghte and the lyfe whyche theye leade shoulde bee verye crooked To the ende iustices be vprighte they oughte muche to trauaile to be lyberall I meane in thinges wherein theye ought to geeue sentence It is vnpossible that those whiche haue respecte in theire sentence to fauoure their friendes shoulde not accustomablye vse to be reuenged of their enemies Trulye suche a iudge ought not to be counted iust but a pryuate Tiraunte He that withe affeccion iudgethe and passyon punisheth is greatlye deceyued Those inlyke manner whyche haue aucthoritie to gouerne and doe thynke that for borrowynge a lytle of iustice theye shoulde therebye encrease and multyplye frendes in the common wealthe are muche abused for thys acte beefore menne is so heinous and beefore godde so detestable that thoughe for a space he refrayne hys handes yet in the ende he will extende his power For the redemer of the worlde onelye father of trueth will not permit that suche doe take vppon them the title of iustice which in their offices do shew so extreme wroÌg Helius Spartianus in the lyfe of Antonius sayethe that the good Emperoure going to vysite hys Empyre as he was in Capua and there demauÌding of the state of the Censours whether they were vniust or rightful a man of Capua sayed in this wise by the immortal gods most noble Prince I sweare that this iudge who presently gouerneth here is neither iust nor honest and therefore me thinke it necessarye that we depriue him of his dignitie and I will accompte vnto thee what befel betwene him and me I besought him that for my sake he would grauÌt me .4 thinges which were al vniust he willingly condescended thereunto wherof I had no lesse meruel in my harte then vexacion in my body For when I dyd desire him I thought nothing lesse then to obtein theÌ but onely for the coÌtentacion of those whiche instauntlye desired me to do it And further this Capuan sayed By the GOD Genius I swere likewise that I was not the more fryndely vnto him for that hee sayde he did it for mye sake more then for another for he that to me would graunt these foure it is to be beleued that to others he would graunt foure hundreth For the whiche thou oughtest to prouyde most noble Prince because good iudges oughte to be pacient to heare iust to determine By this notable example iudges ought to haue a great respecte not to those which do desire them but to that which theye demaund For in doing their dutie their enemies will proclaime them iust and contrarywise if they doe that they shoulde not doe theire nerest freendes wil count them tirantes Iudges which pretend fauour to the common wealth to be carefull of their consciences oughte not to content them selues simply to do iustice but that of them selues they should haue suche an oppinion that none durst presume to come and require at their hands any vile or dishonest thing For otherwise if we note the demander to be vnshamefast we muste nedes somewhat suspecte the iudge in his iustice Princes ought also to be very circumspect that the iudges be not only contented to bee iust honest and true but also in them there ought to remaine no auarice nor couetousnes For iustice auarice can seldome dwell in one house Those that haue the charge of the gouernement of the people to iudge causes ought to take great hede that with bribes and preseÌtes they be not corrupted for it is vnpossible but that the same day that riches treasoures in the houses of iudges begin to encrease that the selfe same day the administration of iustice should not decay Licurgus Prometheus Numa Pompilius did prohibite nothing in their law so muche neither for anye other cause theye ordeyned so greauous punishments but to thintent iudges should not be couetous nor yet theues And of trueth they had great coÌsideracion to fore see forbyd it for the iudge that hath receaued parte of the theft wil not geue sentence against the stealers thereof Let not iudges be credyted for saying they receiue no siluer nor golde neyther silkes nor iewels but that they take onely small presentes as fruites foule and other trifles For oftentimes it chaunseth that the iudges doe eate the fruite and the poore suter doth fele the morsell Cicero in the booke of lawes sayethe that Cato the
like losse to that where a man loseth hym whom entierlye he loueth and of whom also he is derelye beloued The fatal destenies oughte to content them selues to haue annoyed mye house with so manye mysfortunes But after all this and aboue all this theye haue lefte me a wicked nephewe whiche shall bee myne heire and theye haue lefte vnto mee that all mye life I shall lament O Cato for that thou owest to the common wealthe I doe desire thee and by the immortall goddes I doe coniure thee that since thou arte a vertuous Romaine and censor of the people that thou prouyde for one of these two thinges that is to wete that this mye Nephewe doe serue mee or els ordeine that I dye forthewith For it is a greate crueltye that those doe pursue me whiche are aliue since it is nowe 40. yeares that I ceased not to bewaile the deade Cato beinge well enfourmed of that the olde man had tolde him and since he founde al that true whiche he spake he called vnto his presence the yonge Nephew and sayde vnto him these wordes If thou were suche a childe as thou oughtest to bee thou shouldest excuse mee of payne and thy selfe of trauaile But since it is not so I praye thee take that pacientlye that I shall commaunde thee and be thou assured that I will not commaund thee any thing that shal bee againste iustice For the vicious yonglinges as thou art ought to be more ashamed of the youthefullnes theye haue commytted then for the punishement whiche is geeuen vnto them Firste I commaunde thow bee whipte beecause thou arte dysobedyent and troublesome to thy graundefather Secondlye I commaunde that thou bee banished the limittes of Rome because thou arte a vicious yonge man Thyrdly I commaund that of all the goodes thou hast enherited thou shalt be disenherited because thou doest not obey thy graundfather And the cause why I geue suche seuere sentence is to the end that from heÌsforthe the yong shal not disobey the aged and also that those which haue enheryted great treasours shall not think that men shall permit them to bee more vicious then others Phalaris the tiraunt wryting to a frend of his which was very aged said these wordes the which rather semed spoken of a Philosopher then of a tirant I haue meruailed at thee am offeÌded with the my friend Vetto to know as I do that in yeares thou arte verye aged and in workes verye yonge and also it greeueth mee that thou hast lost the credite of knoweledge in the schooles It greeueth mee more that through thee the priuilege shoold be lost which the old men haue accustomed to haue in Grece that is to wete that all the theeues all the periured and all the murderers were more sure when by white heares theye semed to be olde when they reteyred to the aulters of the temples O what goodnesse O what wisedome what valyauntnes and what innocencye oughte the aged men to haue in the auncient tyme since in Rome theye honoured them as goddes and in Grece theye priuileged those white heares as the temples Plinie in an epistle hee wrote to Fabatus sayeth that Pirrus king of the Epirotes demaunded a philosopher which was the best cytye of the worlde who aunswered The best cytye of the worlde is Molerda a place of three hundreth fyers in Achaia beecause all the walles are of blacke stones and all those whiche gouerne it haue hoarye heades And further hee sayde Woe bee vnto thee Rome Woe bee vnto thee Carthage woe bee vnto thee Numancia woe bee vnto thee Egypte and woe bee vnto thee Athens fyue cytyes whiche count them selues for the beste of the worlde whereof I am of a contrarye oppynion For theye auaunte them selues to haue whyte walles and are not ashamed to haue yonge Senatoures Thys phylosopher sayde verye well and I thynke noe manne wyll saye lesse then I haue sayde Of thys woorde Senex is deryued the name of a Senatoure for so were the gouernoures of Rome named because the fyrste Kynge that was Romulus chosé a hundred aged men to gouerne the common wealth and commaunded that all the other Romayne youthe shoold employe them selues to the warres Since wee haue spoken of the honour whyche in the olde tyme was geeuen to the auncient men it is reason wee knowe now from what yeare they counted men aged to the ende they shoolde bee honoured as aged men For the makers of lawes when they hadde established the honours whych ought to bee done to the aged dydde aswell ordeyne from what daye and yeare theye shoolde beeginne Dyuers auncyent Philosophers dyd put syx ages from the tyme of the byrthe of man till the houre of deathe That is to wete chyldehood which lasteth till seuen yeares Infancy whiche endureth vntill seuentene yeares Youth which continueth till thirty yeares Mannes estate which remayneth till fyftye and fyue yeares Age whyche endureth till three score and eyghtene yeares Croked age which remaineth till death And so after man had passed fiue and fyftye yeares they called hym aged Aulus Gelius in his tenth booke in the xxvii Chapter saieth that Tullius Hostillius who was kynge of the Romaines determined to count all the old and yonge whiche were amongest the people and also to know whych shoold bee called infaunts whych yong and whych olde And there was noe lytle dyfference amongest the Romayne Phylosophers and in the end it was decreed by the kyng and the Senate that men tyll seuenteene yeares shoold bee called infaunts and tyll syx and forty shoold bee called yong and from syx and forty vpwardes they shoold bee called olde If wee wyl obserue the lawe of the Romaynes wee know from what tyme wee are bound to call and honor the aged men But addyng hereunto it is reason that the olde men know to what prowesses and vertues they are bound to the ende that wyth reason and not wyth faynyng they bee serued For speakyng the trueth yf wee compare duty to duty they old men are more bound to vertue then the yong to seruice Wee can not denay but that all states of natyons great small yong and olde are bound to bee vertuous but in this case the one is more to bee blamed then the other For oftentimes if the yong do offend it is for that hee wanteth experience but if the olde man offend it is for the abundaunce of mallice Seneca in an Epystle sayde these woordes I let thee weete my friend Lucillus that I am very much offended and I do complayne not of any friend or foe but of my selfe and ââââe other And the reason why I thynk thus is that I see my selfe olde in yeares and yong in vices so that lytle is that wherein I haue serued the gods much lesse is that I haue profyted meÌ And Seneca saith further he whiche praysethe hym selfe moste to be aged and that woulde be honoured for beinge aged oughte to be temperate in eatinge honest in apparayle
sober in drinkynge softe in wordes wyse in counsaile and to conclude hee oughte to be very pacient in aduersytye and farre from vices which attempt him Worthye of prayse is the greate Seneca for these wordes but more worthye shall the olde men be if they will conforme their workes according to those wordes For if wee see them abandon vices and geue them selues to vertues we wyll both serue them and honour them ¶ That princes when they are aged should be temperate in eating sober in drinkynge modest in apparell and aboue all true in communicacion Cap. xviii IT is consonaunt to the counsayle of Seneca that the aged shoulde bee temperate in eating whych they ought to do not only for the reputacion of their persons but also for the preseruacion of their liues For the olde men which are drunk and amarous are persecuted with their owne diseases and are defamed by the tonges of other That whiche the auncient men shoulde eate I meane those whiche are noble and vertuous ought to be verye cleane well dressed and aboue all that theye take it in ceason and time for otherwise to muche eatinge of diuers thinges causeth the yonge to bee sicke and enforceth the olde to dye Yong men though they eate dishonestly very hastely and eate speakinge we can do no lesse but dissemble withe them but the olde meÌ whych eate much and hastelye of necessitie we oughte to reproue them For men of honour ought to eate at the table with a great grauitie as if they were in anye counsaile to determine causes It is not my intention to perswade the feble olde men not to eate but to admonishe them to eate no more then is necessarye We doe not prohibite them to eate delicate thinges but to beware of superfluous thinges We doe not counsale them to leaue eatinge hauinge nede but to withdrawe them selues from curiosyties For thoughe it bee lawefull for aged men to eate sufficiente it is not honeste for them to eate to ouercome their stomakes It is a shame to wryte it but more shame ought they to haue whiche doe it whiche is that the goodes whiche theye haue wonne and inheryted by their predecessours theye haue eaten and dronken so that theye haue neyther bought house vyne nor yet maried any doughter but they are naked and theire poore children goe to the Tauernes and Innes and the myserable fathers to the Hospitalles and churches When anye man commeth to pouertye for that his house is burned or his shyppe drowned or that theye haue taken all from hym by lawe or that he hath spent it in pleadyng against hys enemye or anye other inconuenience is come vnto hym mee thinketh wee all are bounde to succoure him and the harte hathe compassion to beeholde hym but hee that spendeth it in apparaile not requysyte to seeke delitious wynes and to eate delicate meates to such one I woulde saye that the pouertye hee suffreth is not sufficiente for his desertes For of all troubles there is none so greate as to see a man suffer the euill whereof he hymselfe hathe bene the occasion Also according to the counsaile of Seneca the auncients ought to be wel aduertised in that they should not onely be temperate in eatyng but also they shoolde be sober in drinking and this both for the preseruacion of their health and allso reputacion of theire honestye For if the olde Phisitions doe not deceiue vs humaine bodies doe drye and corrupte beecause theye drinke superfluously and eate more then nature requireth If I shoulde saye vnto the olde menne that theye shoulde drynke no wyne theye myghte tell mee that it is not the counsayle of a Christian But presuppose theye oughte to drynke and that for noe oppynyon theye shoulde leaue it yet I admonyshe exhorte and desire them that theye drynke lytle and that theye drynke verye temperate For the disordynate and immesurate drynkynge causeth yonge men to bee drunke and the olde men bothe drunke and foolishe O howe muche authoritye loste theye and what grauytye doe honourable and auncient menne lose whiche in drynkinge are not sober Whyche semeth to bee true for asmuche as the man beeinge loden wyth wyne thoughe hee were the wysest in the worlde hee shoulde bee a verye foole that woulde take counsayle of suche one in hys affaires Plutarche in a booke whiche hee made of the fortune of the Romains sayed that in the senate of Rome there was an auncient manne who made greate exclamacions that a yonge man hadde in suche sorte dishonoured him that for the iniuries he hadde spoken hee deserued deathe And when the yonge manne was called for to aunswere to that hee hadde sayde vnto hym he aunswered Fathers conscripte thoughe I seeme yonge vnto you yet I am not so yonge but that I knewe the father of this olde manne who was a vertuous and noble Romayne and somewhat a kynne to mee And I seeynge that his father hadde gotten muche goodes fightynge in the warres and also seeinge this olde manne spending them in eatynge and drinkynge I sayde vnto him one daye I am verye sorye my lorde and vncle for that I heare of thye honour in the market place and am the more sorye for that I see done in thy house wherein we sawe fyftye men armed before in one houre and we nowe see a hundreth knaues made drunke And worse then that as thye father shewed to all those that entered hys house the ensignes hee hadde wonne in the warres so nowe to those that enter into thy house thou shewest them dyuers sortes of wynes My vncle complayned of mee but in this case I make the plaintife iudge againste mee the defendaunt And I woolde by the immortall goddes hee deserued noe more payne for hys woorkes then I deserue by my woordes For yf he had bene wyse hee woulde haue accepted the correction which secretlye I gaue him and had not come openly to declare his faults in the Senate The complaynte of the olde manne beeinge hearde by the Senate and the excuse in lyke manner of the yonge man they gaue iudgement that theye shoolde take all the goods from the olde manne and prouyde hym of a tutour whyche shoulde gouerne hym and hys house And theye commaunded the tutoure that from hence forwarde hee shoolde not geeue him one cuppe of wyne since hee was noted of drunkennesse Of truth the sentence whiche the Senate gaue was verye iuste For the olde manne whiche geeueth him selfe to wyne hathe asmuche neede to haue a gouernoure as an infaunte or a foole Laettius made a booke of the feastes of Phylosophers and declarethe sundrye auncyente bankettes amonge the which he putteth one where were asseÌbled many greate philosophers And admit that the meats were meane simple yet the bidden gestes were sage And the cause why they did assemble was not to eat but to dispute of some graue doctrines whereof the philosophers did somewhat doubte For in those daies the greater the Stoikes the Peripatetikes were in nomber
vertues men ought to vse and the vyces which they ought to eschew Cap. xxvi IN tymes past I beeing yong and thou old I did succor thee with money and thou mee with good counsell but now the world is otherwise chaunged in that thy white hears doo iudge thee to bee old and thy woorks doo cause thee to bee yong Therefore necessity compelleth mee that wee chaÌge our stile which is that I succor thee with good counsell though thou geeue mee no money therfore for I count thy couetousnes to bee such that for all the good counsel couÌselers of Rome the wilt not vouchsafe to geeue one quatrine of Capua Now for the good that I wish thee for that which I owe to the law of frendship I will presently geeue thee a counsel wherby thou mayst know what a good maÌ ought to doo to bee loued of god feared loued of meÌ If the wilt quietly lead thy life in this miserable world retain this well in memory which I write vnto thee First the good deedes thou hast receiued of any those shalt thou remember the wrongs thou hast sustained them shalt thou forget Secondarely esteeme much thy own little way not the much of an other Thirdly the company of the good always couet the conuersation of the euill dayly fly Fourthly to the great shew thy self graue to the small more conuersant Fiftly to those which are present doo always good woorks and of those that bee absent always speak good woords Sixtly way little the losse of fortune esteeme much things of honor The seuenth to win one thing neuer aduenture thou many nor for many things doubtfull doo not thou adueÌture any one thing certain Finally lastly I pray thee aduertise thee that thou haue no enemy that thou keepe but one frend Hee which among the good wil bee counted for good none of these things hee ought to want I know well that thou wilt haue great pleasure to see these my counsels well writen But I ensure thee I shal haue greater pleasure to see them in thy deedes well obserued For by writing to geeue good counsel it is easy but by woorks to folow the same is maruelous hard My faithful frendship to thee plighted thy great ability considered caused mee always for thee in Rome to procure honorable offices by my suyt thou hast been Edite tribune maister of the horses wherin thou behauedst thy self with such wisdom that all the senate therfore yelded mee most harty thanks I procuring them for thee thou for thy self winning such perpetual renowm One thing of thee I vnderstand which with good wil I woold not haue knowen much lesse that any such thing by thee shoold haue been coÌmitted that is to weet that thou leauing thy office of the pretorship in the warre by land hast taken vpon thee traffike of a marchaÌt by sea so that those which in Rome knew thee a knight doo see thee now in Capua a marchant My pen indyting this my letter for a tyme stood in suspence for no other cause but only to see what thing in thee first I might best blame either the noble office which thou didst forsake or the vyle base estate which thou hast chosen And though thou bee so much bereued of thy sences yet call to mynd thy auncient predecessors which dyed in the warres only to leaue their children and nephews armed knights and that thou presently seekest to lose that liberty through thy couetousnes which thei wanne by their valyauntnes I think I am not deceiued that if thy predecessors were reuiued as they were ambicious of honor so woold they bee greedy to eat thee in morsels sinnues bones and all For the children which vniustly take honor from their fathers of reason ought to lose their lyues The castels towns housen mountains woods beasts Iewels and siluer which our predecessors haue left vs in the end by long coÌtinuance doo perish and that which causeth vs to haue perpetuall memory of them is the good renowm of their lyfe And therfore if this bee true it is great shame for the parents to haue such children in whom the renowm of their predecessors dooth end In the florishing time of Cicero the oratour when by his counsell the whole common wealth was gouerned hee beeing then of power both in knowledge and of money Salust said vnto him in his inuectiue that hee was of base stock wherunto hee aunswered Great cause haue I too render thaÌks vnto the gods that I am not as thou art by whom thy high linage is ended but my poore stock by me doth now begin too rise It is great pity to see how many good noble valiant men are dead but it is more greef to see presently their children vitious and vnthrifts So that there remaineth asmuch memory of their infamy as there doth of the others honesty Thou makst mee ashamed that thou hast forsaken to conquer the enemies as a romain knight and that thou art become a marchant as a poore plebeian Thou makest mee to muse a littel my freend Cincinnatus that thou wilt harme thy familiars and suffer straungers to liue in peace Thou seekest to procure death to those which geeue vs life and to deliuer from death those which take our life To rebels thou geeuest rest to the peace makers thou geeuest anoyaunce To those which take from vs our own thou wilt geeue and to those which geeueth vs of theirs thou wilt take Thou condemnest the innocent and the condemned thou wilt deliuer A defender of thy countrey thou wilt not bee but a tirant of thy common welth To al these things aduentureth hee which leaueth weapons and fauleth to marchandise With my self oft times I haue mused what occasion should moue thee to forsake chiualry wherein thou hadst such honor and to take in hand marchandise whereof foloweth such infamy I say that it is asmuch shame for thee to haue gon from the warres as it is honor for those which are born vnto office in the common welth My freend Cincinnatus my end tendeth not to condemne marchandise nor marchaunds nor to speak euill of those which traffick by the trade of bying and selling For as without the valiant knights warre cannot bee atchyued so likewise without the diligent marchants the comon wealth cannot bee maintained I cannot imagin for what other cause thou shooldst forsake the warre traffique marchandise vnlesse it were because thou now being old wantest force to assault men openly in the straits shooldst with more ease sitting in thy chayer robbe secretly in the market place O poore Cincinnatus sithens thou byest cheap sellest deare promisest much performest litle thou byest by one measure sellest by an other thou watchest that none deceiue thee playest therin as other marchants accustom And to conclude I swear that the measure wherwith the gods shall measure thy lyfe shal bee much iuster
then that of thy merits Thou hast taken on thee an office wherwith that which thy coÌpaignions in many days haue robbed thou in one hour by disceit doost get afterwards the time shal come when all the goods which thou hast gotten both by trueth falshod shal be lost not only in an hour which is long but in a momeÌt which is but short Whether wee geeue much wee haue much wee may doo much or wee liue much yet in the end the gods are so iust that all the euill wee doo coÌmit shal bee punished for all the good wee woork wee shal bee rewarded so that the gods oftentimes permit that one alone shall scourge many and afterward the long time punisheth all ¶ The Emperor concludeth his letter and perswadeth his frend Cincinnatus to despise the vanities of the world and sheweth though a man bee neuer so wyse yet hee shall haue need of an other mans counsell Cap. xxvii IF I knew thy wisdom esteemed the world vanities therof so much as the world doth possesse thee and thy days as by thy white hears most manyfestly doth appeere I neede not take the payns to perswade thee nor thou shooldst bee annoied in hearing mee Notwithstanding thou beeing at the gate of great care reason woold that some shoold take the clapper to knock therat with some good counsell for though the raser bee sharp it needeth sometimes to bee whet I mean though mans vnderstanding bee neuer so cleere yet from time to time it needeth counsel Vertuous men oft times do erre not because they woold fail but for that the thiÌgs are so euil of digestioÌ that the vertu they haue suffiseth not to tell them what thing is necessary for their profit For the which cause it is necessary that his will bee brydled his wit fyned his oppinion changed his memory sharpned aboue all now and then that hee forsake his own aduise and cleaue vnto the counsell of an other Men which couet to make high sumptuous fair and large buildings haue grete care that the foundacion therof be surely layd for where the foundacions are not sure there the whole buyldings are in great daunger The maners and conditions of this world that is to weete the prosperous estates whervpon the children of vanity are set are founded of quick sand in that sort that bee they neuer so valyaunt prosperous and mighty a litle blast of wynd dooth stirre them a little heat of prosperity doth open them a showre of aduersity doth wet them and vnwares death striketh them all flatt to the ground Men seeing they cannot bee perpetuall doo procure to continue theÌ selues in raising vp proud buyldings and leauing to their children great estates wherin I count them fooles no lesse then in things superfluous For admit the pillers bee of gold the beams of siluer and that those which ioyn them bee kings and those which buyld them are noble and in that mining they consume a thousand yeres beefore they can haue it out of the ground or that they can come to the bottoms I swere vnto them that they shall fynd no stedy rock nor lyuely mountain wher they may buyld their house sure nor to cause their memory to bee perpetuall The immortall gods haue participated all things to the mortall men immortality only reserued and therfore they are called immortall for so much as they neuer dye and wee others are called mortall bycause dayly wee vanish away O my frend Cincinnatus men haue an end and thou thinkest that gods neuer ought to end Now greene now rype now rotten fruit is seuered from this lyfe from the tree of the miserable flesh esteem this as nothing forsomuch as death is naturall But oft times in the leaf or flower of youth the frost of some disease or the peril of some mishap dooth take vs away so that wheÌ wee think to bee aliue in the morning wee are dead in the night It is a tedious long woork to weue a cloth yet when in many days it is wouen in one moment it is cut I mean that it is much folly to see a man with what toil hee enricheth him self into what perill hee putteth him self to win a state of honor afterwards wheÌ wee think litle wee see him perish in his estate leauing of him no memory O my frend Cincinnatus for the loue that is between vs I desire thee by the immortal gods I coniure thee that thou geeue no credit to the world which hath this condicioÌ to hide much copper vnder little gold vnder the colour of one truth hee telleth vs a thousand lyes with one short pleasure hee mingleth ten thousand displesures Hee beegyleth those to whom hee pretendeth most loue and procureth great domages to them to whom hee geeueth most goods hee recompenseth them greatly which serue him in iest and to those which truely loue him hee geeueth mocks for goods Finally I say that when wee sleepe most sure hee waketh vs with greatest perill Eyther thou knowst the world with his deceyt or not if thou knowest him not why doost thou serue him if thou doost know him why doost thou follow him Tell mee I pray thee wooldst not the take that theef for a foole which woold buy the rope wherwith hee shoold bee hanged the murtherer that woold make the swoord wherwith hee shoold bee beheaded the robber by the high way that woold shew the well wherin hee shoold bee cast the traitor that shoold offer him self in place for to bee quartered the rebel that shoold disclose him self to bee stoned Then I swere vnto thee that thou art much more a foole which knowest the world will folow it serue it One thing I wil tel thee which is such that thou oughtest neuer to forget it that is to weete that wee haue greater need of faith not to beliue the vanities which wee see then to beeleue the great malices which with our ears wee here I retorn to aduise thee to read coÌsider this woord which I haue spoken for it is a sentence of profound mistery Doost thou think Cincinnatus that rych men haue litle care to get great riches I let thee weet that the goods of thys world are of such condicion that beefore the poore man dooth lock vp in hys chests a .100 crowns hee feeleth a thousaÌd greefes cares in his heart Our predecessors haue seen it wee see it presently our successors shal see it that the money which wee haue gotten is in a certein nomber but the cares trauails which it bringeth are infinit Wee haue few paynted houses few noble estats in Rome the wtin a litle time haue not great cares iÌ their harts cruel enmities with their neighbors much euil wil of their heirs disordinat importunities of their frends perilous malices of their enemies aboue al in the Senate they haue innumerable proces oft times to lock a litle good in their chests
from the bottom of his hart fetched a heauy sigh and hee beeing demaunded of those which were at his table why hee sighed so sore hee aunswered Wee haue lost at this day my frends By the which woords the emperor ment that hee counted not that day amongst those of lyfe wherein hee had geeuen no reward nor gyft Truely this noble prince was valyaunt and myghty since hee sighed and had displeasure not for that which in many days hee had geeuen but beecause that one day hee had failed to geeue any thyng Pelopa of Thebes was a man in his time very valiaunt and allso rich sith hee was fortunat in getting liberall in speÌding one asked him why he was so prodigal to geeue hee aunswered If to thee it seemeth that I geeue much to mee it seemeth yet I shoold geue more sithens the goods ought to serue mee not I to honor them Therefore I wil that they cal mee the spender of the goods not the steward of the house Plutarche in his apothemes saieth that kyng Darius floutyng at king Alexander for being poore seÌt to know where his treasures were for such great armies to whoÌ Alexander the great auÌswered Tel king Darius that hee keepeth in his cofers his treasures of metal that I haue no other treasures then the harts of my frinds And further tel him that one man alone can rob al his treasures but hee al the world can not take my treasures froÌ mee which are my frinds I durst say affirming that Alexander sayd that hee caÌnot bee called poore which is rich of frinds neither can hee bee called rich which is poore of frinds For wee saw by experience Alexander with his frinds toke kyng Darius treasures from him king Darius with all his treasures was not puissauÌt inough to take Alexanders frends from him Those which of their natural inclinacion are shamefast in estate noble they ought aboue all things to fly the slauÌder of couetousnes for wtout doubt greater is the honor which is lost then the goods that are gotten If princes and great lords of their own natural dispositions bee lyberal let theÌ follow their nature but if perchaunce of their own nature they are enclined to couetousnes let them enforce their wil. And if they wil not doo it I tel them which are present that a day shal come wheÌ they shal repent for it is a general rule that the disordinat couetousnes doo raise against them selues al venemous tongues Think that wheÌ you watch to take mens goods the others watch in like maner to take your honor And if in such case you hazard your honor I doo not think that your life caÌ be sure for there is no law that dooth ordein nor pacience that can suffer to see my neighbor liue in quiet by the swet of my brows A poore man esteemeth asmuch a cloke as the rich man doth his delicious life Therefore it is a good consequent that if the rich man take the gown from the poore the poore man ought to take life froÌ the rich Phocion amongst the Greeks was greatly renowmed this not so much for that he was sage as for that hee did despise al worldly riches vnto whom when Alexander the great king of Macedony had sent him a hundreth marks of siluer hee said vnto those that brought it Why dooth Alexander seÌd this money vnto mee rather then to other philosophers of Grece they auÌswered him He dooth send it vnto thee for that thou art the least couetous most vertuous Then aunswered this philosopher Tel Alexander that though he knoweth not what belongeth to a prince yet I know wel what perteineth to a philosopher For the estate office of philosophers is to dispise the treasures of prynces the office of princes is to ask counsel of philosophers And further Phocion said you shal say also to Alexander that in that hee hath sent mee hee hath not shewed him self a pitiful frend but a cruel enemy for esteeming mee an honest man such as hee thought I was hee shoold haue holpen mee to haue been such These woords were worthy of a wise man It is great pity to see valyaÌt noble men to bee defamed of couetousnes only for to get a few goods hee abaseth him self to vile offices which appertein rather to mean parsons then to noble men valiant knights Whereof ensueth that they liue infamed al their frends slauÌdered Declaring further I say that it seemeth great lightnes that a knight shoold leaue the honorable state of chiualry to exercise the handycraft of husbandry that the horse shoold bee changed into oxen the speres to mattocks the weapons into plows Finally they doo desire to toyl in the field refuse to fight in the frontiers O how much some knights of our time haue degenerated froÌ that their fathers haue ben in times past for their predecessors did aduaÌce them selues of the infidels which in the fields they slew their children brag of the corne shepe they haue in their grounds Our auncient knights were not woont to sigh but when they saw theÌ selues in gret distres their successors weepe now for that it rained not in the month of May. Their fathers did striue which of them could furnish most men haue most weapons keepe most horses but their children now adaies contend who hath the finest witte who can heape vp greatest treasour who can keepe most sheep The auncients stryued who should keepe most men but these worldlings at this day striue who can haue greatest reuenues Wherefore I say synce the one dooth desyre asmuch to haue great rents as the other dyd delyght to haue many weapons it is as though fathers shoold take the sweord by the pomell and the children by the scaberd All the good arts are peruerted and the art of chyualry aboue all others is despysed and not wythout cause I called it an art for the auncyent phylosophers consumed a great tyme to write the lawes that the knights ought to keepe And as now the order of the Carthagians seemeth to be most streight so in times past the order of knighthod was the streightest To whom I swere that if they obserued the order of chiualry as good and gentill knights there remayned no time vacant for them in life to be vitious nor wee should accuse them at their death as euil christians The trew and not fayned knight ought not to be prowd malicious furious a glutton coward prodigal nigard a lyer a blasphemer nor negligent Finally I say that all those ought not to bee iudged as knights which haue golden spurs vnlesse hee hath there with an honest life O if it pleased the king of heauen that princes would now adays examin as straitly those which haue cure of souls as the Romains dyd those which had but charge of armies In old time they neuer doubbed any man knight vnlesse he were of noble blood proper of
are old For how can hee loue hys health which hateth vertu All that which I haue spoken heere beefore is to the end you may know and beeleeue that I am sick and that I cannot write vnto the so loÌg as I would and as thou desirest so that hereof it followeth that I shall bewayle thy payne and thou shalt bee greeued with my gowte I vnderstood here how at the feast of the god Ianus through the running of a horse great stryfe is rysen beetweene thee and thy neighbour Patriciê° And the brute was such that they haue confiscated thy goods battered thy house banished thy children depriued thee from the Senate for x. years And further they banished thee out of Capua for euer haue put thy felow in the prison Mamortine so that by this lytle fury thou hast cause to lament all the dayes of thy lyfe All those which come from thens doo tell vs that thou art so wofull in thy hart and so chaunged in thy parson that thou doost not forget thy heauy chaunces nor receiuest consolation of thy faithfull freends Think not that I speak this that thou shouldest bee offended for according to the often chaunges which fortune hath shewed in mee it is long since I knew what sorow ment For truly the man which is sorowfull sigheth in the day watcheth in the night delyteth not in company and with only care hee resteth The light hee hateth the darkenes hee loueth with bitter tears he watereth the earth with heuy sighes hee perceth the heaueÌs with infinite sorows he remembreth that that is past and forseeth nothing that that to coÌe is Hee is displeased with hym that dooth comfort hym and hee taketh rest to expresse his sorowes Fynally the vnfortunat man is coÌtented with nothing and with hym self continually hee doth chafe Beeleue mee Domitiê° that if I haue well touched the condicions of the sorowfull man it is for no other cause but for that my euill fortune hath made mee tast them all And herof it commeth that I can so wel dyscribe them for in the end in things which touche the sorrows of the spiryte and the troubles of the body there is great dyffereÌce from hym that hath read them and from hym that hath felt them If thou dydst feele it there as I doo fele it heer it is suffycient to geeue thee and thy frends great dolor to think that for so small a trifle thou shouldest vndoo thee and all thy parentage And speaking with the trouth I am very sory to see thee cast away but much more it greeueth mee to see thee drowned in so litle a water When men are noble and keepe their harts high they ought to take their enemies agreable to their estates I meane that when a noble man shal aduenture to hazard hys person and hys goods he ought to doo it for a matter of great importaunce For in the end more defamed is hee that ouercommeth a laborer then hee which is ouercome with a knight O how variable is fortune and in how short space dooth happen an euill fortune in that which now I wyll speake I doo condemne my self and accuse thee I complayne to the Gods I reclayme the dead and I call the lyuing to the end they may see how that before our eyes wee suffer the greeses and know them not with the hands wee touch them and perceue them not wee goe ouer theÌ and see them not they sound in our eares and wee heare them not dayly they doo admonysh vs and wee doo not beeleue them fynally wee feele the peryl where there is no remedy of our greefe For as experyence dooth teach vs with a lytell blast of wynde the fruit doo fall with a lytell spark of fyer the house is kyndled with a lytell rock the shipp is broken at a lytell stone the foot doth stumble with a lytell hook they take great fysh and with a lytell wound dyeth a great person For all that I haue spoken I meane that our lyfe is so frayl and fortune so fykcle that in that parte where wee are surest harnessed wee are soonest wouÌded Seneca wrytyng to hys mother Albina which was banished froÌ Rome sayd Thou Albina art my mother and I thy sonne thou art aged and I am not yong I neuer beeleued in fortune though shee woold promise to bee in peace with mee And further hee sayd al that which is in mee I count it at the dysposition of fortune aswell of ritches as of prosperitye and I keep them in such a place that at any hour in the night when shee listeth shee may carye them away neuer wake mee So the though shee cary those out of my cofers yet shee should not rob mee of this in my intrails With out doubt such woords were merueylous pythy and verye decent for such a wise man The Emperor Adryan my Lord did weare a rynge of gold on his fynger which hee sayd was of the good Drusius Germanicus and the woord about the ring in latin letters sayd thus Illis est grauis fortuna quibus est repentina Fortune to them is most cruell whom sodenly she assaulteth Wee see oftentimes by experience that in the fystula which is stopped and not in that which is open the Surgion maketh doubt In the shallow water and not in the deepe seas the Pilot despayreth The good man of armes is more afrayd of the secreate ambushment then in the open battayle I mean that the valiant man ought to beware not of straungers but of his owne not of enemyes but of frends not of the the cruel warre but of the fayned peace not of the manyfest domage but of the pryuy perill O how manye wee haue seene whome the myshaps of fortune coold neuer chaunge and yet afterward hauyng no care she hath made them fall I ask now what hope can man haue which wyll neuer trust to the prosperity of fortune Since for so lyght a thing wee haue seene such trouble in Capua and so great losse of thy person and goods If we knew fortune wee woold not make so great complaynt of her For speakynge the trouth as she is for all and would contente all though in the end she mock all shee geeueth and sheweth vs all her goods and wee others take them for inherytaunce That which shee lendeth vs wee take it for perpetuall that which in iest she geeueth vs wee take it in good earnest in the end as she is the mocker of all so shee goeth mockyng of vs thinkynge that she geeueth vs another mans and she taketh our owne proper I let thee wete that knowing that of fortune which I know I fear not the turmoyles of her traueyles neyther dooth her lightnings or thuÌders astony mee nor yet wyll I not esteme the pleasantnes of her goodly fayr flatteryes I wyll not trust her sweete reioysings neither wyll I make accompt of her frendshyps nor I wyll ioyne my selfe with her enemyes nor I wyll take any
dysburthen thee of this charge And since it is vnpossyble for mee I send thee this letter wherein perchaunce thou shalt finde some coÌfortable woords For thow knowst that if the trew frends cannot doo that which they ought yet they doo accomplish it in dooyng that they can If my memory deceyue mee not it is well two and thirty yeares since wee two haue knowen togethers in Rome duryng the which fortune hath made here beetween vs dyuers alteracions in the whych time I neuer saw thee one day contented For if thow were sad nothyng dyd make thee mery but were as a man without tast and if thow were ioyfull thou esteemedst it lytle as a man beeyng troubled Therefore if the trueth bee so as in deede it is that in trauayles thow were loden with sorows and in prosperities thow were euill content so that of nothyng in the world thow takest any tast why is it my frend Torquatus that now agayn thow art in dyspaire as if thow cammest new into this world Thou dydst reioyce thy self .xxxii. yeares with the tryumphs and prosperyty of Rome and thou complainest onely of three moneths that fortune hath been contrary vnto thee O Torquatus Torquatus doost thow know that the wise men in whom wisedome reigneth haue more feare of two vnhappy days in this lyfe then of two hundreth of prosperous fortune O how many haue I seene goe out of their prosperyties with the charges of another man and their own proper vices so that the vayn glory and the fayling prosperity endured few days but the griefe of that they haue lost and the enmyties which they haue recouered endure many yeares The contrary of all this commeth to infortunat men which escape out of their tribulacions spoyled of vyces enuyronned with vertues persecutours of euill zelers of good frends of all and enemies of none contented with theirs and not desyryng others fynally they are scaped wisely from the snare and haue gathered the rose not hurting them selues with the pricks What wylt thow that I say more vnto thee but that the most fortunat are vanquyshed in peace and the vnfortunat are conquerers in warre One of the sentences which most haue contented mee of those which the auncyents haue spoken is this of the deuine Plato That those which are in prosperyty haue no lesse nede of good counsaile then the vnhappy haue of remedy For no lesse doo they trauayle which goe always in the playn way then those which mount on the sharp craggy mountayn Accordyng to that I haue gathered of thy letter mee seemeth that when wee hope most rest greatest trauaile hath succeeded to thee And hereof I doo not maruell nor thow oughtst not to bee offended For as experience teacheth vs when the trees haue the blossomes then they are most subiect to the frost And when glasses are drawen out of the furnace they breake The captayns hauing wonne the victory doo dye When they will put the key in the doore the house dooth fall The pyrats perish withyn the kenning of land By that I haue spoken I mean that when wee thynk to haue made peace with fortune then shee hath a new demaund ready forged All new chaunges of fortune causeth allway new payn to the parson but oftentymes it is cause of more great fortresse For the tree beareth not so much fruit where it fyrst grew as there where it is agayn planted and the sauors are more odiferous when they are most chafed I mean that men of hye thoughts the more they are wrapped in the frownings of fortune the more valiaunt and stout they shew them selues The man vtterly is foolysh or hath great want of vnderstandyng who hopeth at any time to haue perfect rest immaginyng that the world will geeue no assault vppon hym but that the time shall come wherein hee shall bee without care and feare This myserable lyfe is of such condicion that dayly our yeares doo diminish and our troubles encrease O Torquatus by the immortall gods I doo desire thee and in the faith of a frend I doo require thee thow beeing born in the world nouryshyng thy self in the world lyuing in the world beeing conuersaunt in the world beeing a chyld of the world and following the world what dydst thow hope of the world but things of the world Peraduenture thow alone wilt eat the fleash without bones geeue battaile without peryll trauaile wythout payn and sayle by the sea without dauÌger I mean that it is vnpossible for mortall men to lyue in the world vnlesse they wyll beecome subiect to the sorows of the world The world hath allways been the world and now the world shall bee after vs and as a world shall handell the worldlyngs The wyse men and those which of their estates are carefull are not contented to see nor superfycially to know the things but rather way them profoundly I say this beecause if thow knewst thy debylyty and knewst fortune and her chaunge if thow knewst the men and their malyces if thow knewst the world and his flatteryes thow shooldst wynne no lytle honor where as otherwise thou mayst chaunce to get infamy Wee are now come to so great folly that wee wyl not serue the Gods which haue created vs nor abstain from the world which persecuteth vs. And the best is that hee not wyllyng vs but rather reiectyng vs wee say that of our own willes wee will loue serue hym yet knowyng that those which longest haue serued the world doo goe out of hys house most bytterly lamentyng Oftentymes I stay to thynk that according to the multitude of men which follow the world beeyng allways euyll handled of the world if the world dyd pray them as hee dooth annoy them yf hee dyd comfort them as hee dooth torment them yf hee kept them as hee banysheth them yf hee exalted them as hee abuseth them yf hee receyued them as hee expelleth them yf hee dyd contynew them as hee consumeth them I thynk that the Gods should not bee honored in heauen nor the Temples woorshypped in the earth O Torquatus my frend that which now I wyll say of thee thow mayst say of mee That is to weete how much wee put our confydence in fortune how lewdly wee passe our days and how much wee are blynded in the world yet for all that wee credyt his woord as much as though hee had neuer mocked any ¶ Marcus Aurelius goeth on with hys letter and by strong and hygh reasons perswadeth all that lyue in the world not to trust the world nor any thing therein Cap. xlij TEll mee I pray thee Torquatus what wylt thou heare more What wilt thou see more and what wylt thou know more to know the world seeing how vntill this present thow hast beene handled of the world thou demaundest rest and hee hath geeuen thee trouble Thou demaundest honor and hee hath geeuen thee infamy Thou demaundest riches hee hath geeuen thee pouerty Thou demaundest ioy hee hath geeuen thee
wee shall write but such as they shal finde vs so shall wee bee iudged And that which is most fearfull of all the execucion and sentence is geeueÌ in one day Let princes and great lords beeleeue mee in this Let them not leaue that vndoon till after their death which they may doo during their lyfe And let them not trust in that they commaund but in that whiles they liue they doo Let them not trust in the woorks of an other but in their own good deedes For in the end one sigh shal bee more woorth then all the frends of the world I counsel pray and exhort all wise and vertuous men and also my self with them that in such sort wee liue that at the hour of death wee may say wee liue For wee cannot say that wee lyue wheÌ wee liue not well For all that tyme which without profit wee shall liue shall bee counted vnto vs for nothing ¶ Of the death of Marcus Aurelius the Emperor and how there are few frends which dare say the truth to sick men Cap. xlix THe good Emperor Marcus Aurelius now beeing aged not only for the great yeres hee had but also for the great trauels hee had in the warres endured It chaunced that in the .xviii. yere of his Empire and .lxxii. yeres from the day of his birth and of the foundation of Rome .v. hundreth xliii beeing in the warre of Pannony which at this tyme is called Hungary beeseeging a famous citie called Vendeliona sodaynly a disease of the palsey tooke him which was such that hee lost his life and Rome her Prince the best of lyfe that euer was born therein Among the heathen princes some had more force then hee other possessed more ryches then hee others were as aduenturous as hee and some haue knoweÌ as much as hee but none hath been of so excellent and vertuous a lyfe nor so modest as hee For his life beeing examined to the vttermost there are many princely vertues to follow few vices to reproue The occasion of his death was that going one nyght about his camp sodeinly the disease of the palsey tooke him in his arme so that from thence forward hee coold not put on his gown nor draw his sword and much lesse cary a staffe The good emperor beeing so loden with yeres and no lesse with cares the sharp winter approching more and more great aboundance of water and snow fell about the tenis so that an other disease fell vppon him called Litargie the which thing much abated his courage and in his hoast caused great sorow For hee was so beeloued of all as if they had been his own children After that hee had proued all medicins and remedies that coold bee found and all other things which vnto so great and mighty princes were accustomed to bee doon hee perceiued in the end that all remedy was past And the reason hereof was beecause his sicknes was exceeding vehement he him self very aged the ayer vnholsom aboue al beecause sorows cares oppressed his hart Without doubt greater is the disease that proceedeth of sorow then that which proceedeth of the feuer quartain And thereof ensueth that more easely is hee cured which of corrupt humors is full then hee which with profound thoughts is oppressed The emperor then beeing sick in his chamber in such sort that hee coold not exercise the feats of arms as his men ranne out of their camp to scirmidge the Hungarions in lyke maner to defend the fight on both parts was so cruell through the great effution of blood that neither the hungarion had cause to reioyce nor yet the romayn to bee mery Vnderstanding the euil order of his specially that .v. of his captains were slain in the conflict that hee for his disease coold not bee there in person such sorows persed his hart that although hee desired foorthwith to haue dyed yet hee remained two days three nights without that hee woold see light or speak vnto any man of his So that the heat was much the rest was small the sighs were continuall and the thirst very great the meat lytle and the sleepe lesse and aboue all his face wrynkled and his lips very black Sometimes hee cast vp his eyes and another tyme hee wrong his hands always hee was sylent and continually hee sighed His tong was swollen that hee coold not spit and his eyes very hollow with weeping So that it was a great pity to see his death and no lesse compassion to see the confusion of his pallace and the hinderaunce of the warre Many valiant captains many noble Romayns many faithfull seruaunts and many old frends at all these heauines were present But none of them durst speak to the Emperor Marke partly for that they tooke him to bee so sage that they knew not what counsel to geeue him and partly for that they were so sorowfull that they coold not refrayn their heauy tears For the louing and true frends in their lyfe ought to bee beeloued and at their death to bee beewailed Great compassion ought men to haue of those which dye not for that wee see them dye but beecause there are none that telleth them what they ought to doo Princes and great lords are in greater perill when they dye then the Plebeyans For the counsaylour dare not tell vnto his Lord at the hour of death that which hee knoweth and much lesse hee will tell him how hee ought to dye and what things hee ought to discharge whiles hee is aliue Many goe to visit the sick that I woold to god they went some other where And the cause heereof is that they see the sick mans eyes hollow the flesh dryed the arms without flesh the colour enflamed the ague continuall the payn great the tong swollen nature consumed and beesydes al this the house destroyed and yet they say vnto the sick man bee of good cheere I warrant you you shall liue As yong men naturally desire to liue and as death to all old men is dredfull so though they see them selues in that dystresse yet they refuse no medicine as though there were great hope of lyfe And thereof ensueth oftentymes that the miserable creatures depart the world without confessing vnto god and making restitutions vnto men O if those which doo this knew what euil they doo For to take away my goods to trouble my person to blemish my good name to sclaunder my parentage and to reprooue my lyfe these woorks are of cruell enemyes but to bee occasion to lose my soul it is the woorke of the deuill of hell Certeinly hee is a deuyll whych deceiueth the sick with flatteries and that in steede to healp hym to dye well putteth him in vayn hope of long lyfe Heerein hee that sayth it winneth lyttle and hee that beeleeueth it aduentureth much To mortall men it is more meete to geeue counsels to reform their consciences with the truth then to hasard their houses
the gods onely which had no beginning shall haue also no endyng Therefore mee thinketh most noble prince that sage men ought not to desire to lyue long For men which desire to liue much eyther it is for that they haue not felt the trauailes past beecause they haue been fooles or for that they desire more time to geeue them selues to vices Thou mightst not complayn of that sins they haue not cut thee in the flower of the herb nor taken thee greene from the tree nor cut in thee in the spring tide and much lesse eat the eager beefore thou were ripe By that I haue spoken I mean if death had called thee when thy lyfe was sweetest though thou hadst not had reason to haue complayned yet thou mightst haue desired to haue altered it For it is a great grief to say vnto a yong man that hee must dye and forsake the world What is this my lord now that the wall is decayed ready to fall the flower is withered the grape dooth rotte the teeth are loose the gown is worn the launce is blunt the knife is dull and doost thou desire to return into the world as if thou hadst neuer knowen the world These lxii yeares thou hast liued in the prison of thys body wilt thou now the yron fetters haue rot thy legges desire yet to length thy days in this so woful prison They that wil not be coÌtented to lyue lx years fyue in this death or to dye in this lyfe will not desire to dye in lx thousand years The Emperour Augustus octauian sayd That after men had lyued .l. years eyther of their own will they ought to dye or els by force they shoold cause them selues to bee killed For at that time all those which haue had any humain felicity are at the best Those which liue aboue that age passe their days in greeuous torments As in the death of children in the losse of goods importunity of soÌne in laws in mainteining processes in discharging debts in sighing for that is past in bewailing that that is present in disseÌbling iniuries in hearing woful news in other infinit trauails So that it were much better to haue their eies shut in the graue then their harts bodies aliue to suffer so much in this miserable life Hee whom the gods take from this miserable life at the end of 50. years is quited from al these miseries of life For after that time hee is not weak but crooked he goeth not but rouleth hee stumbleth not but falleth O my lord Mark knowest thou not that by the same way whereby goeth death death cometh Knowst not thou in like maner that it is 52. years that life hath fled from death and that there is an other time asmuch that death goeth seeking thy life and death going from Illiria where hee left a great plague and thou departing from thy pallayce ye .ii. now haue met in Hungary knowst not thou that where thou leapedst out of thy mothers intrails to gouern the land immediatly death leaped out of his graue to seeke thy life Thou hast always presumed not onely to bee honored but also to bee honorable if it bee so synce thou honoredst the Imbassadours of Princes which did send them the more for their profyt then for thy seruice why doost thou not honor thy messenger whom the gods send more for thy profyt then for their seruices Doost thow not remember well when Vulcane my sonne in law poysoned mee more for the couetousnes of my goods then any desire hee had of my life thou lord diddest come to comfort mee in my chamber and toldst mee that the gods were cruell to slea the yong and were pytiful to take the old from this world And thou saydst further these woords Comfort thee Panutius For if thow were born to dye now thou diest to liue Sins therefore noble prince that I tell thee that which thow toldst mee and counsaile thee the same which thou couÌsayledst mee I render to thee that which thow hast geeuen mee Fynally of these vines I haue gathered these clusters of grapes ¶ The aunswer of the emperour Marcus to Panutius his secretory wherein hee declareth that hee tooke no thought to forsake the world but all his sorow was to leaue beehynd hym an vnhappy chyld to enheryt the Empire Cap. lij PAnutius blessed bee the milk thou hast sucked in Dacia the bread which thou hast eaten in Rome the learning which thou hast learned in Greece the bringing vp which thou hast had in my pallace For thou hast serued as a good seruant in life and geeuest mee counsayl as a trusty frend at death I commaund Commodus my sonne to recompence thy seruice and I beseech the immortal gods that they acquite thy good counsayls And not wythout good cause I charge my sonne with the one and require the gods of the other For the payment of many seruices one man alone may doo but to pay one good counsayl it is requisyt to haue all the gods The greatest good that a frend can doo to his frend is in great wayghty affayres to geeue him good and holsome counsayl And not without cause I say holsome For commonly it chaunceth that those which think with their counsayl to remedy vs do put vs oftentimes in greatest perils All the trauayles of lyfe are hard but that of death ys the most hard and terrible Al are great but this is the greatest All are perillous but this is most perillous All in death haue end except the trauayl of death whereof wee know no end That which I say now no man perfectly can know but onely hee which seeth him self as I see my self now at the point of death Certainly Panutius thou hast spoken vnto mee as a wise man but for that thou knowst not my grief thow couldst not cure my disease for my sore is not there where thou hast layd the playster The fistula is not there where thou hast cut the flesh The opilation is not there where thou hast layd the oyntments There were not the right vayns where thou dydst let mee blood Thou hast not yet touched the wound which is the cause of all my grief I mean that thou oughtst to haue entred further with mee to haue knowen my grief better The sighes which the hart fetcheth I say those which come from the hart let not euery man thynk which heareth theÌ that he can immediatly vnderstand them For as men can not remedy the anguishes of the spirit so the gods likewise woold not that they shoold know the secrets of the hart Without fear or shame many dare say that they know the thought of others wherein they shew them selues to bee more fooles then wise For since there are many things in mee wherein I my self doubt how can a straunger haue any certayn knowledge therein Thow accusest mee Panutius that I feare death greatly the which I deny but to feare it as maÌ I doo confesse For
for that they were vertuous By the immortall Gods I sweare vnto thee that when they came from the warre of Parthia triumphed in Rome confirmed the Empire to my sonne if then these nat nat had not withstoode mee I had left Commodus my sonne poore wyth hys vices and woold haue made heire of all my realmes some vertuous man I let thee to weete Panutius that fyue thyngs oppresse my hart sore to the which I woold rather see remedy my self then to commaund other to remedy it The first for that in my lyfe time I can not determyn the proces that the vertuous wydow Drusia hath with the senat Beecause since shee is poore and deformed there is no man that will geeue her iustice The second beecause I dye not in Rome And this for none other cause then that with the sound of the trumpet shoold bee proclaymed that all those which haue any quarell or debt against mee and my famyly should come thither to bee payd or satisfyed of their debts and demaunds The thyrd that as I made fower tyraunts to bee put to execucion which commytted tyranny in Asia and Italy so it greeued mee that I haue not also punished certayn Pyrats which roued on the seas The fowerth for that I haue not caused the Temple to bee fynished which I dyd beegynne for all the gods For I might haue sayd vnto them after my death that since for all them I haue made one house it were not much that any of them shoold receiue one into his which passe thys lyfe in the fauor of gods and wythout the hatred of men For dying after this sort men shal susteyn our honours and the gods shall prouide for our soules The fyfth for that I leaue in life for my onely heire Commodus the prynce yet not so much for the destruction which shall come to my house as for the great domage which shall succeede in the common wealth For the true princes ought to take the domages of their persons lyght and the domages of the common wealth for the most greeuous O Panutius let therefore thys bee the last woord which I will say vnto thee that is to weete that the greatest good that the Gods may geeue to the man that is not couetous but vertuous is to geeue hym good renowne in lyfe and afterwards a good heire at our death Fynally I say that if I haue anything to doo with the gods I require and beeseech them that if they should bee offended Rome slaundered my renowme defamed and my house demynished for that my sonne bee of an euill lyfe that they wyll take from hym lyfe beefore they geeue mee death ¶ Of the woords which the Emperour Marcus Aurelius spake vnto his sonne Commodus at the hower of death necessary for all yong gentlemen to vnderstand Cap. liiij SInce the dysease of Marcus Aurelius was so extream that in euery hower of his lyfe hee was assaulted with death after hee had talked a long tyme with Panutius his secretary hee commaunded his sonne Commodus to be wakened who as a yong man slept soundly in his bed And beeing come beefore his presence al those which were there were moued immediatly with coÌpassion to see the eies of the father all swollen with weeping and the eies of the chylde closed with ouermuch sleepe They could not waken the chylde hee was so careles and they could not cause the goodfather sleape hee tooke so great thought All those which were there seeing how the father desired the good lyfe of the sonne and how lytel the sonne wayed the death of his father had compassion of the old man and bare hate to the wicked chylde Then the good Emperour casting his eies on high and directing his woords to his soÌne sayd When thou were a chylde I told thy maisters how they ought to bring thee vp after that thou dydst waxe greater I told thy gouernors how they shoold counsaile thee And now will I tel thee how thou with them which are few and they with thee beeing one ought to gouern and maintayn the common wealth If thou esteeme much that which I wil say vnto thee my sonne know thow that I will esteeme it much more that thow wilt beeleue mee For more easely doo wee old men suffer your iniuryes then yee other yong doo receyue our counsailes Wysedome wanteth to you for to beeleeue vs yet yee want not boldnesse to dishonor vs. And that which is woorst the aged in Rome were wont to haue a chayr of wysedome and sagenes but now a days the yong men count it a shame and folly The world at this day ys so chaunged from that it was wont to bee in tymes past that all haue the audacity to geeue counsaile and few haue the wisedome to receyue it so that they are a thowsaund which sell counsailes there is not one that buyeth wisedom I beleeue wel my soÌne that according to my fatal destinies thy euill manners litle shal that auaile which I shal tel thee For since thou wooldst not credyt these woords which I spake vnto thee in my life I am sure that thou wilt litle regard them after my death But I doo this more to satisfy my desyre and to accomplish that which I owe vnto the common wealth than for that I hope for any amendment of thy lyfe For there is no grief that so much hurteth a person as when hee him self is cause of his own payn If any man dooth me an iniury if I lay my hands vppon him or speak iniurious woords vnto him my hart is foorthwith satisfyed but if I doo iniury to my self I am hee which wrongeth am wroÌged for that I haue none on whom I may reuenge my wroÌg and I vexe chafe with my self If thou my sonne bee euill after that thou hast enheryted the empire my mother Rome wil complain of the gods which haue geeuen thee so many euil inclinacions Shee wil coÌplayn of Faustine thy mother which hath brought thee vp so wantonly shee will complayn of thee which hast no will to resist vice but shee shall haue no cause to complayn of the old man thy father who hath not geeuen thee good counsailes For if thou hadst beeleeued that which I told thee men woold reioyce to haue thee for their lord and the gods to vse thee as their minister I cannot tel my sonne if I bee deceiued but I see thee so depriued of vnderstanding so vncertayn in thy woords so dissolute in thy maners so vniust in iustice in that thou desirest so hardy in thy duty so negligent that if thou chaunge alter not thy maners men wil hate thee and the gods will forsake thee O if thou knewst my sonne what thyng it is to haue men for enemies and to bee forsaken of the gods by the faith of a good man I sweare vnto thee that thou wooldst not onely hate the seignory of Rome but with thy hands also thou wooldst
to take if ther by hee think hee may bee healed I pray thee I exhort thee I aduise thee my soÌne that thy youth beeleue mine age thy ignorancy beeleue my knowledge thy sleepe beeleue my watch the dimnes of thy eyes beeleue the clearnes of my sight thy imaginacioÌ beeleue my vertue thy suspicion beeleue my experieÌce For otherwise one day thou shalt see thy selfe in soÌe distresse where smal time thou shalt haue to repent none to find remedy Thou maist say vnto mee my sonne that sins I haue beene yong I let thee to bee yong that when thou shall bee aged thou wilt ameÌd I answer thee that if thou wilt liue as yong yet at the least gouerne thy self as old In a prince which gouerneth his common wealth wel mani myseries are dissembled of his parson Euen as for mighty affaires ripe couÌsayles are necessary so to endure the troubles of the empire the person needeth some recreacion For the bowe string which always is stretched either it lengthneth or it breaketh Whether princes bee yong or old there can bee nothing more iust then for the recreacioÌ of them selues to seeke some honest pastimes And not without a cause I say that they bee honest For sometimes they accompany with so dishonest persons and so vnthrifty that they spend their goods they loose their honor weary their persons more than if they were occupied in the affaires of the common wealth For thy youth I leaue thee children of great lords with whom thou maist past the tyme away And not without cause I haue prouided that with thee they haue beene brought vp from thy infancy For after thou camest to mannes estate enheriting my goods if perchauÌce thou wooldst accompany thy selfe with yong men thou shouldst find them well learned For thy warres I leaue thee valiaunt captaines though indeede things of war are beegoon by wisdome yet in the end the issue faleth out by fortune For stuards of thy treasures I leaue thee faithful men And not wtout cause I say they are faythfull For oftentimes greater are the theeues which are receyuers tresorers then are they that doo robbe among the people I leaue thee my sonne expert auncieÌt men of whome thou maist take couÌsaile with whome the maist coÌmunicat thy trobles For there can bee fourmed no honest thing in a prince vnlesse hee hath in his coÌpany auncieÌt men for such geeue grauity to his parsoÌ auctority to his pallace To inueÌt theaters to fish ponds to chase wild beasts in the forrests to renne in the fyelds to let thy haukes fly to exercise weapoÌs al these things wee can deny thee as to a yong maÌ the beeing yong mayst reioyce thy self in al these Thou oughtst also to haue respect that to ordeine armies inueÌt warrs folow victories accept truces coÌfirm peace raise brutes to make laws to promote the one put downe the others to punish the euill first to reward the good the counsaile of al these things ought to bee taken of cleare iudgements of persons of experience of white heads Thinkest thou not that it is possible to passe the time with the yong to counsail with the old The wise and discreete princes for all things haue time inough if they know well how to measure it Bee ware my sonne that they note thee not to vse great extremities For the end occasion why I speake it is beecause thou shouldst know if thou knowest not that it is as vndecent a thing for a prince vnder the colour of grauity to bee ruled gouerned wholy by old men as vnder semblaunce of pastime alwayes to accompany hym selfe with the yong It is no general rule that all yong men are light nor all old men sage And thou must according to my aduise in such case vse it thus if ani old man lose the grauity of his age expulse him from the if that find any yong men sage dispise not their counsaile For the bees doo draw more hony out of the tender flowers then of the hard leaues I doo not condemne the aged nor I doo commend the yong but it shal bee wel doone that alwayes thou choose of both the most vertuous For of troth there is no company in the world so euil ordered but that there is meane to liue with it without any suspicion so that if the yong are euil with folly the old are worse through couetousnes On s againe I retourne to aduertise thee my sonne that in no wise thou vse extremity For if thou beeleeue none but yong they will corrupt thy maners with lightnes if thou beeleeue none but the old they will depraue thy iustice through couetousnes What thing can bee more monstruous then that the prince which commaundeth all should suffer him to bee commaunded of one alone Beeleeue mee sonne in this case that the gouernments of many are seldome times gouerned wel by the head of one alone The prince which hath to rule gouerne many ought to take the aduise and counsaile of many It is a great inconuenience that thou beeing lord of many realmes shouldst haue but one gate wherin all doo enter into to doo their busines with thee For if perchauÌce hee which shall bee thy familiar bee of his owne nature good and bee not mine enemy yet I would bee afraid of him beecause hee is a freend of mine enemies And though for hate they doo mee no euil yet I am afraid that for the loue of an other hee will cease to doo mee good I remember that in the annalles of Pompeius I found a litle booke of memoryes which the great Pompeiê° bare about him wherin were many things that hee had read other good counsayles which in diuers parts of the world hee had learned and among other words there were these The gouernour of the common wealth which committeth al the gouernment to old men deserueth very litle hee that trusteth al yong is light Hee that gouerneth it by him selfe alone is beeyonde him self hee which by him self others doo gouerne it is a wise prince I know not whither these sentences are of the same Pompeius or that hee gathered them out of soome booke or that any philosopher had told him them or some freend of his had geeuen him them I meane that I had them writteÌ with his hands and truely they deserued to bee written in letters of gold When thy affaires shal bee weighty see thou dispatche theym alwayes by counsayle For when the affaires bee determined by the counsaile of many the fault shal bee deuided among them all Thou shalt find it for a truth my sonne that if thou take counsaile of many the one wil tel the inconuenience the other the peril other the feare the other the domage the other the profit the other the remedy finally they will so debate thy affaires that playnly thou shalt know the good see the daunger therof I
yron age alas there is no such kynd of amity as that wee haue spoken of More then this that there is no frend will part with any thing of his to releeue his frend much lesse that taketh care to fauor him in his trobles but if there bee any such that will help hys frend yt is euen then when tyme serueth rather to pity and lament him then to ayd or succor him It is a thing woorth the knowledge that to make a true and perpetuall frendship wee may not offer to many persons but according to Seneca his saying who saith My frend Lucillus I councell thee that thou bee a true frend to one alone and enemy to none for nombers of frends brings great incumbrance which seemeth somewhat to diminish frendship For who that considereth the liberty of the hart it is impossible that one shoold frame and agree wyth the condicions of many and much lesse that many shoold content them with the desiers and affections of one Tully and Salust were two famous orators amongst the Romayns and great enemies beetwene them selues and duryng thys emulation beetweene them Tully had purchased all the Senators frendship and Salust only had no other frend in all Rome but Mark Anthony alone And so these two great Orators beeing one day at woords togeethers Tully in great anger sayd to Salust what force or power art thou of or what canst thou doo or attempt against mee sith thou knowst that in all Rome thou hast but one only frend Mark Antony and I no enemy but one and that is hee To whom Salust answered Thou gloriest O Tully that thou hast no mo but one only enemy and afterwards iests at mee that I haue no more frends but only one but I hope in the immortall Gods that this only enemy thou hast shal bee able enough vtterly to vndoo thee and this my sole frend that I haue shal bee sufficient to protect and defend mee in al my causes And shortly after these woords passed beetween them Mark Antony shewed the frendship hee bare to the one and the enimity hee had to the other for hee caused Tully to bee put to death and raysed Salust to great honor A frend may well impart to the other all his own as bread wyne money tyme conuersation and such lyke but hee cannot notwithstandyng geeue him part of his hart for that suffereth it not to bee parted nor deuyded beecause it can bee geeuen but to one alone This graunted to bee true as needs it must doubtles that the hart can not bee deuyded but only geeuen to one then is it of necessity that hee that will seeke to haue many frends must needs repair to the shambels to prouyde him of many harts Many vaunt them selues and think it a glory to haue nombers of frends but let such well consider to what vse that legendary of frends do serue them they shall then easely fynd they stand them in no other steed but to eat to drink to walk to babble and to murmure togeethers and not one to help the other with their goods fauor and credit at their neede nor frendly to reprooue them of their faults and vyces whych doubtles ought not to bee so For where true and perfect frendship raygneth neither I wish my frend nor hee with mee shoold dissemble any fault or vyce Ouide sayth in his booke de arte amandi that the law of true vnfayned loue is so streight that no frendship but myne in thy hart shoold herber and in myne shoold lodge none others loue but thine for loue is none other thing but one hart lyuing in two bodies two bodies obeying one hart In this world there is no treasure coÌparable to a true sure frend syth to a faith full frend a man may safely discouer the secrets of hys hart beewray vnto him hys gryping greeues trusting him with his honor comitting to his guyd custody all his goods hee shall succor him in his misery counsell him in peril reioyce at his prosperity and mourn at his aduersity and in fyne I conclude such a frend neuer werieth to serue him in his lyfe nor to lament him after his death I graunt that gold and siluer is good kynsfolks are good and money is good but true frends exceede them all without comparison For all these things cannot warrant vs from necessitie if synister fortune plunge vs into it but rather encrease our torment and extremitie Also they doo not reioyce vs but rather heap further greefes vppon vs neither doo they succor vs but rather ech hour geeue vs cause to complayn much lesse doo they remember and aduise vs of that that is good but still doo deceiue vs not dyrectyng vs the right way but still bringing vs out of our way and when they haue lead vs awry out of the high way they bring vs into desert woods and hygh and daungerous mountayns whereof necessity wee must fal down hedlong A true frend is no partaker of these conditions but rather hee ys sory for the lest trouble that happeneth to hys frend hee feareth not neither spareth hys goods nor the daunger of his person hee careth not to take vppon hym any painfull iorney quarels or sutes nor yet to put his lyfe in euery hasard of death And yet that that is most of all to bee esteemed is that lyke as the hart and bowels euer burn with pure and sincere loue so dooth hee wish and desire wyth gladsome mynd to bere the burthen of all hys frends mishaps yea more then yet spoken of Alexander the great offered great presents to the Philosopher Zenocrates who woold not vouchsafe to receiue them much lesse to beehold them And beeing demaunded of Alexander why hee woold not receyue them hauyng poore kinsfolks and parents to beestow them on hee aunswered him thus Truely I haue both brothers and sisters O Alexander yet I haue no kinsman but him that is my frend and one only frend I haue who hath no neede of any gyfts to bee geeuen him For the only cause why I choose him to bee my sole and only frend was for that I euer saw him despise these worldly things Truely the sentence of this good philosopher Zenocrates is of no small efficacy for him that will aduysedly consider of it sith that not seeldom but many times it happeneth that the great troubles the sundry daungers and the continuall necessities and miseries wee suffer in this vale of misery haue for the most part proceeded from our parents and afterwards by our frends haue been mediated and redressed Therefore since wee haue thought it good and necessary to choose a frend and that hee bee but one only ech man must bee wise lest in such choise hee bee deceiued For oft tymes it happeneth that those that take litle regard herein graunt their frendship to such one as is to couetous impacient a great babbler seditious and presumptuous and of such condicions that sometyme it
shoold bee lesse euil for vs to haue him our enemy then to account of him as of our deere frend Him whom wee wil choose for our faithfull frend amongst other maners and condicions hee must chiefely and beefore all bee indued with these that hee bee curteous of nature faier spoken hard and stout to indure payn pacient in troubles sober in dyet moderate in his woords graue and rype in his counsels and aboue all stedfast in frendship and faithfull in secrets And whom wee shall fynd with these laudable vertues and conditions adorned him may wee safely take and accept for our frend But if wee see any of these parts wanting in him wee ought to shon him as from the plague knowing for certeinty that the frendship of a fayned and fantasticall frend is much woorse and perilous then the enmity of a knowen and open enemy For to the hands of one wee commit our hart and faith and from the deceipts and treasons of the other wee defendour selues with our whole force power Seneca wryting to his deere faithful frend Lucillus sayth vnto hym I pray thee O Lucillus that thou order determyne thine affaiers by thaduise counsel of thy frend but also I doo remember thee that first thou see well what maner of frend thou hast chosen thee for there is no marchandise in the world this day that men are so soone beegyled in as they are in the choise of frends Therefore the graue sentence of Seneca wysely wayed wee shoold assent with him in oppinion that sith no man byeth a horse but hee first causeth him to bee ridden nor bread but first hee seeth and handleth it nor wyne but hee tasteth it nor flesh but first hee wayeth it nor corne but hee seeth a sample nor house but that hee dooth first value it nor Instrument but first hee playeth on it and iudgeth of his sound yt is but reason hee shoold bee so much the more circumspect beefore he choose his frend to examin his lyfe and condicion since all the other things wee haue spoken of may bee put in dyuers houses and corners but our frend wee lodge and keepe deerely in our proper bowels Those that write of the emperor Augustus say that hee was very straunge and scrupulous in accepting frends but after hee had once receyued theÌ into his frendship hee was very constant and circuÌspect to keepe them For hee neuer had any frend but first hee had some proofe and tryall of him neither woold hee euer after forsake him for any displeasure doon to him Therefore yt shoold always bee so that true frends shoold bere one to an other such loue and affection that the one beeing in prosperity should not haue occasion to complayn of him self in that hee did not reliue his frends necessity beeing in aduersity nor the other beeing poore and needy shoold grudge or lament for that his frend beeing rich and welthy woold not succor him with all that hee might haue doone for him For to say the truth where perfect frendshyp is there ought no excuse to bee made to doo what possible is the one for the other The frendship of young men cometh commonly or for the most parte at the least by beeing companyons in vyce and folly and such of right ought rather to bee called vacabonds then once to deserue the name of true frends For that cannot bee called true frendship that is continued to the preiudyce or derogation of vertue Seneca wryting agayn to Lucillus sayth these woords I woold not haue thee think nor once mistrust O my Lucillus that in all the Romayn empire I haue any greater frend then thou but with all assure thy self that our frendship is not so streight beetwene vs that I woold take vppon mee at any tyme to doo for thee otherwyse then honesty shoold lead mee For though the loue I bere thee hath made thee lord of my lyberty yet reason also hath left mee vertue free ¶ The aucthor proceedeth on Applyeng that wee haue spoken to that wee will now declare I say I wil not acknowledge my self your seruant for so shoold I bee compelled to feare you more then loue you much lesse will I vaunt my self to bee your kinsman for so I shoold importune and displease you and I will not brag that heeretofore wee haue been of familier acquaintance for that I woold not make any demonstration I made so lyttle account of you and lesse then I am bound to doo neither will I bost my self that I am at this present your famyliar and welbeeloued for in deede I shoold then shew my self to bee to bold and arrogant but that that I will confesse shal bee that I loue you as a frend and you mee as a kinsman al bee it this frendship hath succeeded dyuersly tyll now For you beeing noble as you are haue bountifully shewed your frendship to mee in large and ample gyfts but I poore and of base estate haue only made you sure of myne in woords Plutarche in his Polytikes sayd That it were farre better to sell to our frends our woorks and good deeds whether they were in prosperity aduersity or necessity then to feede them with vayn flattering woords for nothing Yet is it not so general a rule but that sometymes it happeneth that the high woords on the one syde are so profitable and the woorks so few and feeble on the other syde that one shal bee better pleased and delighted with hearing the sweete and curteous woords of th one then hee shal bee to bee serued with the cold seruyce and woorks of the other of small profyt and value Plutarch also in his booke De animalibus telleth vs that Denis the tyrant beeing one day at the table reasoning of dyuers and sundry matters with Chrisippê° the philosopher it chaunced that as hee was at diner one brought him a present of certen suger cakes wherefore Chrisippus cesing his former discours fell to perswade Denys to fall to his cakes To whom Denys aunswered on with your matter Chrisippus and leaue not of so For my hart is better contented wyth thy sweet and sugred woords then my tong is pleased with the delycate tast of these mountayn cakes For as thou knowest these cakes are heauy of digestion and doo greatly annoy the stomake but good woords doo maruelously reioyce and comfort the hart For this cause Alexander the great had the poet Homer in greater veneration beeing dead then all the other that were alyue in hys tyme not for that Homer euer did him seruyce or that hee knew him but only beecause of his lerned bookes hee wrote and compyled and for the graue sentences hee found therein And therefore hee bare about him in the day tyme the booke of the famous deedes of Troy called the Illiades hanged at his neck within hys bosom in the night hee layd it vnder his bolster at hys beddes head where hee slept In recompence therefore syr of the many
thyng wherein they lyue so long deceyued And allbeeyt in deede this present woork sheweth to you but a few contriued lines yet god him self dooth know the payns wee haue taken herein hath been exceedyng great and this for two causes th one for that the matter is very straunge and dyuers from others thother to thynk that assuredly it should bee hated of those that want the taste of good discypline And therefore wee haue taken great care it should come out of our hands well refoormed and corrected to the end that courtiers might fynd out many sentences in yt profitable for theÌ and not one woord to trouble them Those noble men or gentlemen that wil from hencefoorth haue their children brought vp in princes courts shall fynd in this kooke all things they shall neede to prouide them of those also that haue been long courtiers shall fynd all that they ought to doo in court And such also as are the best fauored of princes and cary greatest reputacion of honor with them shall fynd likewise excellent good councells by meane whereof they may always maynteyn and continue them selues in the cheefest greatnes of their credit and fauor so that it may wel bee called a mitridatical electuary recuering and healing all malignaunt opilations Of all the bookes I haue hitherto compyled I haue dedicated some of them to the Imperiall maiesty others to those of best fauor credit with him where the readers may see that I rather glory to bee a satire then a flatterer for that in al my sentences they can not fynd one cloked woord to enlarge and imbetter my credit and estate But to the contrary they may read an infynyt number of others where I doo exhort them to gouern their persons discreetly and honorably and to amend their lyues thencefoorth Whan I imprinted the Dyal of princes together with Marcus Aurelius and brought them to lyght I wanted not backbyters and detracters that beeganne foorthwith to teare mee in peeces neither shal I want at this present as I beeleeue such as will not spare wyth venomus tongues to poyson my woork But lyke as then I litle wayd their sclaunderous speaches of mee euen so much lesse doo I now force what they can say against mee beeing assured they shal fynd in the end they haue yl spoken of mee and my poore woorks proceedyng from them rather of a certayn enuy that gnaweth their hart then of any default they fynd in my doctryne comforting my self yet in the assuraunce I haue that al their spight shal one day haue an end and my woorks shal euer bee found good and perdurable Here endeth the Argument ¶ The fourth booke of the Dyall of Princes Compiled by the Lord Antony Gueuara Bysshop of Mondogueto ¶ That it is more necessary for the courtyer abydyng in court to bee of lyuely spirit audacity then it is for the souldior that goeth to serue in the warres Cap. i. PLutarch Plinie and Titus Liuius declare that kyng Agiges one day requested the oracle of Appollo to tell hym who was the happiest man in the world to whom aunswer was made that it was a man they called Aglaon bee knowen of the gods and vnknowen of men This kyng Agiges makyng then search for this man thorough all Greece who was called Aglaon found at length that it was a poore gardyner dwellyng in Archadia who beeing of the age of three score years and twoo neuer went aboue a myle from his house keepyng hym self and his famyly contynually wyth hys onely labor and tyllage of hys gardeyn Now all bee it there were in the world of better parentage and lynage then hee better accompanyed of seruaunts and tenaunts better prouyded of goods and ryches hygher in dygnyty and of greater authoryty then hee yet for all this was this Aglaon the happyest of the world And thys was for that hee neuer haunted Prynces courts neyther by enuy to bee ouerthrowen nor yet by auaryce to bee ouercome For many tymes it chaunceth to men that when they would least geeue them selues to acquayntaunce then come they most to bee knowen and when they make least account of them selues then commeth there an occasyon to make them to bee most reputed of For they wynne more honor that dispyse these goods honors and ryches of thys world then those doo that continually gape and seeke after the same And therefore wee should more enuy Aglaon wyth hys lytel gardeyn then Alexander the great wyth hys myghty Asia For trew contentacion consysteth not in hauyng aboundaunce but in beeyng contented with that lytle hee hath Yt is a mockry and woorthely hee deserueth to bee laughed at that thynketh contentacion lyeth in hauyng much or in beeyng of great authoryty for such ways are redyer to make vs stumble yea and many tymes to fall down ryght then safly to assure vs to goe on our way The punyshment that God gaue to Cain for murderyng of his brother Abel was that his body contynually trembled and hee euer after wandered thorough the world so that hee neuer found ground wheare hee might enhabyt nor house where hee might herber And albeeit this malediction of Cain was the fyrst that euer god ordeyned I durst affirme notwythstandyng that it remayneth as yet vntyll this present day amongst courtyers syth wee see them dayly traueyle and runne into straunge countreis dayly chaungyng and seekyng new lodgyngs Which maketh mee once agayn to say that Aglaon was counted happy for that onely hee neuer romed farre froÌ hys house For to say truely there is no mysery comparable to that of the courtier that is bound dayly to lye in others howses hauyng none of hys own to goe too And hee onely may bee called happy that putteth not hym self in daunger to serue others Iulius Cesar beeyng councelled to wayt vppon the consull Silla to the end that by seruyng or beeyng about hym hee myght doo hym self great good and yt myght bee very profytable to hym aunswered thus I sweare by the immortall gods I wyll neuer serue any on hope to bee more woorth and greater then I am For thys I am suer of that where lyberty is exiled there myght nor power can preuayle Hee that forsaketh his own countrey where hee lyued at ease and in health and the place where hee was knowen and beeloued the neyghbors of whom hee was visyted the frends of whom hee was serued the parents of whom hee was honored the goods wherewith hee mayntayned him self hys wife and children of whom hee had a thousand pleasures and consolations and that commeth to serue and dye in the court I can not say otherwise of hym but that hee is a very foole or that hee commeth to doe penaunce for some notable cryme hee hath commytted And therefore not wythout great cause was thys name of court whych in our tongue sygnyfyeth short adhibited to the pallace of prynces where all things in deede are short onely enuy and malice excepted which contynue long Hee
the courtyer bee present hee must strayght put of his capp and bowe hym selfe in maner to the ground but for all that hee must take heede hee say not christ helpe you or god blesse you or such other lyke For to do doo any maner of curtesy or honor is only pertynent to courtiers But to say christ helpe or god blesse you is the couÌtry maner And if the Kyng by chaunce should haue any heare or feather or flee vpon his clothes or any other filthy thynge about him none but the chamberlein only should take it away and none other courtier should once presume to take any thing from his back or to touch his garment nether any other person vnles it were in case to defend him When the Kyng is set at the table the courtier may not come into the kitchin nor much lesse leane vpon the surueying boorde For though hee did yt perhaps but to see the order of the suruey and seruice of the prince yet yt may bee suspected of some hee ment some worser matter and therby they should iudge ill of him If the prince haue a felicity in hawking the courtier must indeuor him selfe to keepe a cast or two of good fawlcons if in huÌting then hee must haue good greyhounds And whan hee is eather a hawking or huÌting with the kyng hee must seeke to serue him so diligently that day that hee may both fynd him game to sport with and procure for him selfe also fauor at the princes hand Many tymes princes are so earnest of their game and so desirous to kill that they hunt that they are wont boldly to chase the beasts they hunt and pursue them so that oftymes they lose the sight of all the rest In such a case the good courtier must euer haue his eyes vpon him and rather seeke to follow the kyng then to take pleasure in hunting of other beastes For in that case yt shall bee a better hunting for him to fynd out the kyng and to bee with him then hee should take pleasure in beeing alone with the hart Yt may happen lightly that the Kyng gallopping his horse vpon the rockye stones hee might stumble at such a stone as both the kyng and his horse should come to the ground and at that tyme it could not bee but very profitable for the courtier to bee present For yt might so happen that by meanes of the princes fal hee beeing redy to helpe him hee might thenceforth beeginne to grow in fauor and credit with the prince The most parte of those that delyght to goe a hunting are wont comonly to eate theyr meat greedely and drinke out of measure and beesids to shoute and make a wonderfull noyse as they were out of their wits which things the graue and wise courtier should not doo for they are rather fit for vacabonds and Idle persons that setteth not by their honesty then they are for the honest courtier that only desireth and indeuoureth by modest wise bee hauiour to beecome great and in fauor ¶ Of the great paines and trobles the courtier hath that is toild in sutes of law and how hee must suffer and beehaue him self with the iudges Cap. x. THere are in the court also dyuers kynds of men that bee not courtiers and princes seruants but onely are courtiers of necessity by reason of sutes they haue with the councell And these maner of courtyers haue asmuch neede of councell as of helpe for hee that hath his goods in hasard hath also his lyfe in ieopardy To speak of the dyuers and suttle ways of suffring it is no matter woorthy to bee written with black ynk but only with lyuely blood For in deede if euery one of these suters were forced to abyde for his faith and beleeue those pains troubles and sorows that hee dooth to recouer his goods as much cruelty as tortures shoold Vagliadoti and Grauata haue as euer had Rome in times past In my oppinion I think it a hell to continue a long suter And surely wee may beleeue yea and swere to that the martirs executed in old tyme in the primitiue church which were many in nomber did not suffer so much neither felt such grief to lose their life as dooth now a days an honest man to see him self depriued of all his faculties It is a great trouble and charge to recouer any thing but in the end of these two effects a wyse man suffreth and feeleth more the displeasures hee receiueth then hee dooth the goods hee spendeth And in my iudgement to stryue and contend is nothing els but to bring matter to the hart to sigh and lament to the eyes to weepe to the feete to goe to the tongue to complain to the hands to spend to intreat his frends to fauor his cause and to commaund his seruaunts to bee carefull and diligent and his body to labor continually Hee that vnderstandeth not the condicions of contention I wil let him know they are these Of a rych man beecome poore of a mery man to bee made melancholy of a free man a bond man of a liberall man a couetous man of a quiet man an vnquyet person and of a hatefull a desperat person How is it otherwise possible but the haples suter must beecome desperate seeing the iudge looke vppon hym with frowning cheere his goods to bee demaunded of him wrongfully and that now it is so long a tyme hee hath not beene at home and knoweth not yet whether sentence shal bee geeuen with him or against him and besydes all this that the poore man in his lingring suite hath spent so much that hee hath not left him six pence in his purse If any of these troubles bee enough to bring a man to his end much more shal they bee to make the poore man desperat and wery of his lyfe So dyuers are theffects and successe seene in matters of suite that many tymes there is no witt able to direct them nor goods to bring them to end Nay wee may boldly truely say that the laws are so many and diffuse of them selues and mens iudgements so simple to vnderstand them that at this day there is no suite in the world so cleere but there is found an other law to put that in doubt and make it voyd And therfore the good and yll of the suter consisteth not so much in the reson hee hath as in the law which the Iudge chooseth to geeue iudgement of It is well that the suter beleeue and think that hee hath right but the cheefest thing of importance is that the iudge also desire that hee haue his right For that Iudge that fauoreth my cause and desyreth to doo mee iustice hee will labor study to seeke out some law that shal serue my turne to restore mee again to my right To contend is so profound a science that neither Socrates to the Athenians nor Solon to the Greekes nor Numa Pompilius to the Romains nor Prometheus to
better eyther hee will fynd the means to make his case very dark or at least hee will prolong his suite as long as it please It skilleth not much whether the iudges bee old or yong men for both wyth the one and the other the poore playntife hath enough to doo If they bee old men a man shall trauell long ere hee will heare his cause If they bee yong men hee shall wayt long also ere hee can informe them of the very poynts of his case An other great discommodity yet foloweth these old Iudges that beeing euer sickly and of weak nature they neuer haue strength nor tyme in maner to examyn their cases And as those that haue lost now a great peece of their memory only trusting in forepassed expences they presume to dispatch their sutes as lyghtly without further looking into them or throughly examining them as if they had already aduisedly studyed them And peraduenture their case is of such importaunce that if they had looked vppon it very well they coold scantly haue told what to haue said in it And I woold not that when my case shoold bee determined and iudgement geeuen vppon my matter that the Iudge shoold benefit him self only with that hee had seene or read beefore For although experience bee a great help for the Iudge to geeue the better Iudgement vppon the matter yet notwithstanding hee is to study a new to vnderstand the merits of the cause It is also a great trouble and daungerous for a man to practise wyth new Iudges and to putt their matters into their hands who only were called to the place of a Iudge beeing thought learned and fitt for yt and so brought to rule as a magistrate For many tymes these yong Iudges and new phisitians although they want not possibly knowledge yet they may lacke a great deal of practyse and experience which is cause that the one sort maketh many lose their lyues beefore they come to ryse infame and the other vndoo many a man in making him spend all that euer hee hath There is yet besydes an other apparaunt daunger to haue to doo wyth these new and yong experienced iudges for when they come to sit newly in iudgement with their other brethren the Iudges hauyng the law in theyr mouth to serue all turnes they doo but only desire and study to wynne fame and reputation amongst men and thereby to bee the better reputed of hys brethren And for this cause only when they are assembled together in place of iustyce to geeue iudgement of the plees layd beefore them they doo then only enlarge them selues in alleging many and dyuers oppinions of great learned men and booke cases So that the heerers of them may rather think they haue studyed to shew their eloquence and learning then to open the decision and iudgement of the cases they haue beefore them And for fynall resolution I say that touching plees and sutes I am of oppinion they shoold neyther trust the experience of the old Iudge nor the learnyng and knowledge of the yong But rather I recken that man wyse that seeketh by lyttle and lyttle to grow to an honest end and agrement wyth hys aduersary and that taryeth not many yeares to haue a long yea and possible an vncertain end Also I woold exhort the poore pleyntyfe not to bee ouer curious to vnderstand the qualityes of the Iudge as a man woold say If hee bee old or yong yf hee bee learned or priuileged yf hee bee well studyed or but little yf hee bee a man of few or many woords yf hee bee affected or passioned tractable or self willed for possibly beeyng to inquisitiue to demaund of any of these thyngs it myght happen though hee dyd it vnwarrs yet hee shoold fynd them afterwards all heaped togeethers in the parson of the Iudge to hys hynderance damage in decydyng his cause The wise suter shoold not only not seeke to bee inquisitiue of the Iudge or his condicions but also if any maÌ woold seme to tel him of him hee shoold geeue no eare to him at all For if it come to the iudges ears hee inquireth after his maner of lyuing and condition hee will not only bee angry with him in hys mynd but wil bee also vnwillyng to geeue iudgement in his fauor The poor suter shall also meete with terrible iudges seuere intractable collerick incommunicable and inexorable and yet for all this hee may not looke vppon his nature nor condicion but only regard his good conscience For what neede hee care if the Iudge bee of seuere and sharp condicion as long as hee may bee assertained hee is of good conscience It is as needefull for the vpright and good Iudge to haue a good and pure conscience as it is to haue a skylfull head and iudgement in the lawes For if hee haue this without the other hee may offend in mallyce and if hee haue that without the other hee may offend also in ygnoraunce And if the suter come to speak wyth the Iudge and hee by chaunce fynd him a sleepe hee must tarry tyll hee awake and yf then hee will not or hee cannot geeue eare vnto him hee must bee contented And yf hee caused his man to say hee were not within notwythstanding the suter saw him hee must dissemble yt yea if the seruaunts geeue him an yll aunswer hee must take it in good woorthe For the ware and politike suter must not bee offended at any thyng that is doon or sayd to hym tyll hee see the diffinitiue sentence geeuen with him or against him It is a maruelous trouble also to the suter to choose his Counseller For many tymes hee shall choose one that shall want both law and conscience And some others shall choose one that though on the one syde hee lack not law yet on the other hee shal bee without both soule and conscience And this is apparantly seene that sometyme for the gayn of twenty nobles hee shall as willingly deny the troth and goe against his own conscience as at an other tyme hee will seeke to mayntain Iustice It is true there are many other counsellers also that are both wise and learned and yet notwithstandyng they know the law they can by no means frame it to his clyents case wanting deuyse and conueyaunce to ioyn them togeether And so yt happeneth many tymes that to compare it to his clyants case hee conueyth him so vnfitly as of a playn case it was beefore it is now made altogeether a fold of infinite doubts I graunt it is a great furtheraunce to the clyants to haue a good wise counseller but it is a great deale more for their profit yf they can geeue a sound and profound iudgement of his case For yt is not enough for the counseller to bee able to expound the law but it is beehouefull for him to apply yt to hys purpose and to apt it to tyme and place accordyng to the necessity of his cause
I haue knowen counsellers my self that in theyr chayers and readyngs in their halles haue seemed Egles they haue flowen so hygh in their doctrin and interpretations but afterwards at the barre where they plead and in the face of the court where they shoold best shew them selues there they haue prooued them selues very capons And the only cause of this is beecause they haue gotten by force of long trauell and continuall study a knowledge to know to moote and read ordinaryly their booke cases in their chayers by common practyse and putting of them ech to other But when they are taken out of that common trade and hygh beaten way and brought to a lytle path way strayghted to a counsellers roome at the barre to plead his clyants straunge and vnknowen case much contrary to their booke cases beefore recyted then stript of their common knowledge and easy seat in chayer they stand now naked on their feete before the iudgement seat lyke senceles creatures voyd of reason and experyence But now to supply these imperfeccions of our raw counsellers and to further also our Clyents cause the better wee will that the Clyent bee liberall and bountifull to hys counseller thereby the better to whet his wytt and to make him also take payns to study his case throughly beeing true that the counseller geeueth law as hee hath reward And that the counseller also bee carefull of hys Clyants cause and to goe thorow wyth that hee taketh vppon him and truely to deserue that hee taketh of euery man For els they will say and who can blame the poore soules they are better takers then good dispatchers A foule blott to so great a vertue But well wee will compare them to their brothers the phisitians who deale with their sick pacients as the lawiers with their poore clyants For if you geeue him not a peece of gold or two in his hand at ech tyme of his visitation to restore the languishing body hee careth as lyttle for the preseruation of his health whether hee lyue or dye as the lawier dooth for his claynts case whether it goe with him or against him More ouer my penne ceaseth not to wryte of the great troubles displeasures iorneys expenses and trauels that the poore suters haue with their counsellers dayly as with theyr atturneys Soliciters clarks officers registers and sealers for want of matters to write on but only for that they are so odious matters and so foule examples that they deserue rather to bee remedied then written Therefore leauing this law discurse and returning agayn to the pryuate affaiers of the courtier abyding still in court I say That the courtier must learn to know the noble men and cheef officers of the Prince As the lord chaunceller The lord Treasorer The lord marshall The lord Steward The lord Chamberlain The lord Priuy seal The Treasorer The Controller The maister of the horse The vice Chamberlayn the Secretary the captayn of the gard and the Coferer And hee need not force to wey their stock and family whether they were ritch or poore humble or proud stout or fearfull nor regard their qualities and complexions much lesse their persons saue only their aucthority and office they haue And to say truely it cannot bee chosen but wee must come before these Iudges and officers sometymes to beseech and pray them now for our own priuat causes then for the mysrule and offence of our seruaunts and also for the importunancy of our frendes in their matters to labor them for iustice and fauor And for this cause mee thinkes it is a wise part of the courtier to gett into fauor with the counsell and other officers of Iustice and to obtain their good willes with continuall attendaunce of them in dooing them seruyce at a neede and also to entertayn them wythsome small presents to continue their fauour Fyrst beefore wee beeginne to trouble them wee must bee acquainted wyth them vysit them and present them wyth somewhat For indeede it ys a cold and vnfitt thyng to craue fauor at a Iudges hands whom wee neuer knew nor dyd any seruyce to The wyse courtyer must beeware also not to importune the noble men and his frends so much that for euery tryflyng thyng hee woould haue them goe to the iudges to solicite and intreat for hym which I speak beecause I know there are some such indiscreat persons that dayly doo importune the iudges so much and for such trifles that afterwards with shame they are repulsed and denyed in matters of great waight and importaunce And there are some also that solicite their matter with grauity and others with importunyty to whom I wyllbee so bold to say and tell them of it also that importunacy sheweth the simplicitie of the suter and grauity the honesty of the woorthy knyghts gentleman courtier It is but well doone and meete for the courtier that is a suter to bee diligent to sollicite his cause and to follow yt thoroughly but yet wythout troubling or importuning too oft the iudges For if once the iudges know him for an importunate and cumbersome suter they will not onely not speak with him when hee comes but also they will not let hym come in at the gate when they see him comming to them And if hee happen to goe home to the iudges house and that hee tell his tale to him standyng let him not in no wise care to syt down and that hys woords hee speak to hym bee few and his memoriall hee geeues him breefe For obseruyng this order hee shall at that tyme bee easily yea willingly and courteously hard of hym and shall make him think that hereafter also hee will vse the lyke order wyth hym When hee seeth that the iudge is troubled and that his head is occupyed let him in no case at that present offer to trouble him or to speak to hym in his matter For admit hee were contented to heare you quyetly though half vnwillyng and to suffer you to tell your tale yet is it impossyble hee should wholly vnderstand your case his head beeing otherwyse occupyed And it is needefull also to shew you that though the iudge seeme to bee a lytle melancony or collerick yet the suyter neede not let for that to speak to him to open hys case yea and to seeke to hold in wyth hym styll For many tymes wee see the melancony and ill disposed natures appeased and ouercome with the courteous and gentle conuersation I remember touchyng this matter I went once to the court to solicite the iudge to pray hym to dispatch my frends matter and that hee myght haue iustyce And tooke my frend with mee And the iudge aunswered vs both that withall hys hart hee would dispatch hym and sware and sware agayn to him that hee should haue iustice that with right good wyll hee woould keepe his right all hee could Nay sir sayd my frend to him whom the case touched I thank you syr very much that you
will dispatch mee quickly but wheare you say that you haue a great desire to keepe my right and iustice I vtterly appeale from that sentence For I come not syr and yf it please you to folow your heeles and to wayte vpon you to solicite my cause to the end you should keepe my ryght and deteigne yf from mee but that you shoold geeue yt to mee For I êmis you this syr if you once geeue it mee I mean neuer to trouble your woorship hereafter with the keeping of it agayn but wil discharge you quite And now after al these things we haue spokeÌ I coÌclude that who so euer curseth his enemy seeketh reueÌge of an iniury doon him let him not desire to see hym poore and myserable neyther hated nor ill willed of any other dead nor banished but let him onely beeseech god to plague hym with some ill sute For a man cannot deuise to take a greater reuenge of his enemy theÌ to see him entangled in a vile sute to follow the court or to attend in chauncery ¶ The auctor chaungeth his matter and speaketh to the beeloued of the court admonishyng them to bee pacient in their troubles that they bee not partiall in thaffaires of the common weale Cap. xi THe courtier shall doo well and wysely and cheefely if hee bee noble beeloued to passe ouer the iniuries doone hym and to beare them pacyently neuer to geeue any woords to any that shall offend him For the officers of princes can by no other means so well assuer their offices and autority they haue as by dooyng good continually to some and to suffer others no way makyng any countenaunce of displeasure for the iniuries doone hym by others And yf yt happen as many tymes yt dooth that a folower and hanger on of the court hauyng spent all that hee hath and dryuen now to seeke a new banck chaunce to speak dyshonest woords and frame great quarells against the kyngs officers in thys case the courtier and wise offycer should neuer aunswer him wyth anger and displeasure and much lesse speak to hym in choller For a man of honor and respect wyllbee more greeued wyth a dishonest woord that is spoken agaynst him then hee wil bee for the denyall of that hee asketh Those that are beeloued and beelyked of prynces aboue all other thyngs ought to bee very pacient courteous and gentle in all things For all that the followers of the court and suters can not obteyn in the court let them not lay the fault to the prince that denyed yt them but onely to the fauored of the prince and those about him for that they neuer mooued yt to the kyngs maiesty nor once thought of the matter as the poore suters supposed they had The payns and troubles of court are infynyt and insupportable For how quyet so euer the courtier bee they wyll trouble and molest him if hee bee pacyent they willbee impacyent and in stormes saying that such a man spake ill of hym and seekes contynually to defame hym Whych things wee wyll the courtyer heare wyth paciens and dissemble with wisedome For the wise courtyer should not bee angry for the ill woords they speak of hym but onely for the vile and wycked actes they doo to hym Let not the courtyer and beelyked of the prynce bee deceyued in thynkyng that dooyng for this man and for that man and in shewyng them fauor that for all hee can bynd or stay their tongues that they speak not ill of hym and their harts that they hate them not extreamly For the enemy receyueth not so much pleasure of that the courtyer geeueth hym as hee dooth greef and dyspleasure for that that is beehynd yet in the courtiers hands to geeue hym Now in the pallace of prynces it is a naturall thyng for eche man to desire to aspire and to creepe into the princes fauor to bee able to doo much and to bee more woorth then others and to commaund also and as there are many that desire it so are they very few in number that by their vertues and demeryts obteyn that fauor It is a thing most suer and vndoubted that one alone enioying his princes grace and fauor shal bee hated in maner of the most part of the people The more they bee rych noble and of great power that are beeloued and accepted of princes so much the more ought they to bee circumspect and to lyue in feare and doubt of such disgraces and mysfortunes that may happen to them syth euery mans eye is vppon them and that they are enuyed for that they can doo much and desire also to take from them that autority and credit they haue and to spoyle them of such treasure as they possesse or haue gotten by the princes fauor And in this case the beelyked of the court must not trust in the pleasures hee hath doone them neyther in the fauor hee hath shewed them much lesse in the fayned frendshyp they seeme to beare hym and that hee thinks hee hath gotten of them neyther must hee must to much hys frends neighbors and kynsfolks no nor hys own brethren But let hym bee assured that all those that are not in lyke fauor and estimation that hee is bee hee of what degree or parentage hee willbee yea and as neere a kynne as may bee they wyll all bee in that his very mortall foes Authoryty to coÌmaund beeyng the cheef and hyghest poynt of honor and whereto euery man seekes to aspire and whych was cause that Pompey beecame the deadly enemy of Iulius Cesar hys father in law Absalon of Dauid hys naturall father Romulus of his brother Remus Allexander of Darius who shewed hym self to fore a father in loue in bryngyng on hym vp and Marke Antony of Augustus Cesar hys great frend So that I say yt may well bee sayed that after dysdaigne and cankered Ire haue once possest the delycat brest of man onely concernyng honor and commaundement it is neuer thencefoorth recured of that infested sore neyther by gyfts and promisses and much lesse by prayers and requests It is true the accepted of the prynce may well bee free from all thirst and hunger colde and heet warres plague and pouerty and from all other calamytyes and troubles of thys our wretched lyfe but hee shall neuer bee free from detractions of venemous and wycked tongues and from spyghtfull and enuyous persons For no lesse ys enuy ioyned to fauor then is thirst to a burnyng ague In this case yt is impossible but that the courtier should receyue many tymes displeasure and disgraces in the court but not to geeue eare to these detracters and yll speakers of men To remedy these things the courtier must needes seeme to let them know by hys lookes and aunswers that hee is more offended with them that come tell him these lewd tales then with those that indeede did truely report theÌ of hym This couÌcell would I geeue the courtier that
and all his power comming against mee And not only the realmes of Asia shall fight for mee but also I will commaund the ground that I tread on to ryse against him But what was the fattal end of Pompeies pryde His captains lost the battell his children their Realmes and seignories and hee in fyne his head Rome her liberty and his frends their lyues Themperor Domitian also was so vicious in his dooings and so proud in his thoughts that hee openly commaunded the gouernors and magistrats of his realm in all their edicts and proclamations to say these woords Domitian our god our prince commaundeth that this thing bee doon But loe the fynall end of his pryde in taking vppon him the name of a god by consent and counsell of his wicked wife Domitia hee had seuen deadly wounds geeuen him in his bedd with a dagger And thus wofully hee ended his glorious lyfe Plutarch recounteth also that king Demetrius was the proudest prince that euer raigned For hee was not contented to see him self serued of al men like a great mighty prince as hee was but hee made them also honor him as a god And hee woold not suffer any straunge imbassatours to come into his presence but they shoold bee appareled lyke priests Aman was also very familier wyth the king Assuerus and although all those of his realm did him great seruyce and that straungers had him in great veneration and did honor him maruelously yet was there a glorious Mardocheus that woold neuer doo him reuerence nor once put of his capp to hym by reason whereof thys Aman that was in so great fauor commaunded a gybbet of fyfty yards high to bee set vp for Mardocheus whom hee woold haue hanged on that gibbet to bee reuenged on him for the iniury hee had doon him But the diuine will of God was such Fortune dyd permit it that on the same galloes Aman thought to haue putt Mardocheus to death on the self same himself was hanged Themistocles and Aristides were two famous men among the Greekes and because they were both great Prynces and Philosophers and had in great reputation of all those that knew them there was such a secret emulation and ambition betweene them the one to raigne ouer the other that both aspyring eche to commaund other there folowed great disorders and oppressions of the subiects of their commonweal Wherefore Themistocles moued with pity and compassion of so great a tyraunt whych for their sakes theyr commonweal indured one day in the market place beefore all hys people wyth a lowd voyce spake these woords Know you O you people of Athens that if you doo not lay hands on my exceeding presumption and on the ouergreat ambition of Aristides that our gods wil bee offended the temples will fall down to the hard foundation our treasures wil bee consumed our selues destroyed and our common weales brought to vtter ruyn and decay Therefore once agayn good people I say brydle brydle these our inordinat and vnspeakable affections beetymes lest the rayns layd on our neckes wee runne to farre O golden woords of a prince and woorthy eternall fame Lucanus also when hee woold reproue the presumption and pryde of the Romayn princes sayd that Pompei the great coold neuer abyde to haue any for his compagnion or equall with him within Rome And Iulius Cesar also woold neuer suffer that there shoold bee any greater in the world then hym self And therefore to discourse a lyttle of this abhominable and horrible vyce of pryde wee haue not wythout great reason layd beefore you these approued examples beefore wee beginne to reprooue it For in all things thexamples wee shew you are wont to moue vs more then the reasons wee seeme to tell you of For that that I haue seene for that I haue read and for that that I haue hard say also of others I am most assured and resolued thereof that by the only cause of this wycked sinne of pryde proceedeth the ruyn and vtter decay of all our greatest things and affairs of our lyfe for by all other sinnes a man may in deede descend and declyne from his degree and state of honor and estimacion but by this only sinne hee cannot chose but hee must fall down flat to the grownd They fynd out the middest and center of the earth the depth of the sea and the highest tops of Riphei mountains the end of the great mount Caucasus and the beginning of the great fludd Nile and only the little hart of man touching desire to rule commaund can neuer fynd end Thinsatiable couetousnes is such that it cannot bee contented with the things wee haue but only with those wee repute of lesse price Lykewise ambition and pryde to coÌmaund cannot bee conteined within bounds but only by obeying For neuer no vyce can haue end if hee that hath it dooth not leaue it and banish it from him After Alexander the great had conquered all Asia and had subdued the great India hee was one day reproued of the great Philosopher Anacharses who told him these woords Sith thou art now O Alexander lord of all the earth why doost thou weary thy self so much in thy affairs as no payn seemeth troublesom to thee To whom Alexander answered Thou hast told mee many times Anacharses that besides this world there are also three others And if it bee so as thou sayst how great a reproche and infamy were it to mee that beeing three other worlds I shoold bee lord but only of one Therefore I doo dayly sacrifyce to the gods that though they take mee out of the lyfe of this world yet at least that they wil not deny mee of so glorious a conquest I confesse that the Scriptures excepted I haue no woords so ryfe in memory as these whereby may easely bee perceiued that to quiet and content a proud hart the seignory of the whole world is not yet sufficient and how ended the pryde of this glorious prince euen thus Hee that hoped to coÌquer bee lord of the three other worlds dyd not rule this one only aboue .iii. yeres Wee may boldly say this swere it may also playnly proue it to any that desire to see it that hee wanteth both wit knowledge that taketh vpoÌ him to bee proud and presumptuous For the more hee looketh into him self and considereth and reconsidereth his state and calling what hee is hee shall fynd in him a thowsand occasions fit to humble him but neuer a one only to make him proud and haughty How great rych myghty noble and woorthy so euer the parson bee euery tyme that wee happen to see him and that wee haue no acquayntaunce of hym And that wee desyre to know what hee is wee doo not ask of what element of what sea of what fyre of what planet of what clymat of what sunne of what moone nor of what aier but only of what countrey hee is of and where hee was borne For
enryched by his famous acts Saul was king of Israell taken for a god was anointed of Samuell his father a poor husbaÌdman of the countrey hee froÌ his youth brought vp in that trade to hold the plough yet when hee was king hee neuer disdeined to plough his ground to sow his otes and to dryue hys beastes now to pasture them home again So that the good king did glory this day to hold the plough and to morow to fyght with his swoord When fortune therefore sheweth her self enemy to any and that from great dignity and high cal shee ouerthroweth him and bringeth him to low and mean estate it is then that hee hath good cause to complain of fortunes cruelty and to bewail his wretched happ ashamed to see his lothsom misery But when shee woorketh contrarily and from mean estate brings him to great honor credit that must needes bee great honor and glory to him Therefore I say let them beware beware that bear rule and aucthority in the court that they bee not proud glorious and high mynded neither otherwise detected of any kynd of vyce though the bee neuer so much in fauor and estimation Sith fortune sheweth most her spight against the proud and disdainfull hart rather then to the huÌble and meeke To stopp the enemies mouth there can bee found no better means then for the derlyng of the court not to bee too proud and presumptuous since no man is found so mad or foolish in the same as once to dare to say I accuse this man because hee is in fauor and estimation but hee may boldly doo it when hee seeth in deede that hee is a proud glorious foole If wee see the fauored of the court offended one with the other wee will say it is but heat if wee see him eat to much wee will say it is but of a good stomack If hee ryse late wee will excuse him and say it was late ere hee went to bedd and that hee was wery with watching If hee play oft wee wil say hee dooth it for pastime yf hee bee careful in keeping that hee hath together that hee is wise and pollytike if hee speak much that hee is a pleasant man geeuen to bee mery yf hee speak litle that hee is wise and modest yf hee speÌd much that hee is liberal and bountiful but if hee bee glorious proud what shal a man say on him with what honest mean can wee excuse him Surely let others looke For I know not Truely for all other faults and errors of men they may honestly bee excused saue only that of pryde For though many tymes wee commit other offences it is but through frailty but if wee offend in pryde it commeth of a great folly want of discretion And for the contrary the lowly curteous condition of the courtier doo not only depresse resist the detractions and murmurings of their enemies but dooth inforce them against their willes to say wel of theÌ For god dooth suffer many times that the peruerse nature condition of one is subdued ouercome by the good gentle vsage of an other Therefore the beloued of court shoold take great heede that they shew not them selues proud in their woords much lesse in their ceremonies which they vse in the court as in going vp the stairs in entring in at the doores in taking the stoole to sitt down also in putting of his cap. And though perhaps hee that shall read these our aduertisments will thynk them rather precepts for children then for men yet I will aunswer him neuertheles that they are very necessary for those that are in fauor in the court and for all other courtiers without the vse of which hee may happely noorish a venemous Serpent in his brest And therefore not without great reason wee haue spoken that wee haue that of too little heede taking sometymes there may folow great trouble to the fauored courtier For many tymes they murmure more against him in not putting of his capp when hee is curteously saluted then they doo if they deny their fauor when they are requested If one courtier leaue to doo curtesie to an other they say hee dooth yt not for that hee beareth him yll will but for want of bringing vpp But if hee bee great with the king then they say it is not for want of good maner but for that hee is too proud To say truely it is an vnhappy life the life of the beloued in the court sith they attribute all their faults and errors to folly although they committed them rather through negligence and want of foresight then of pretensed malyce or yll will as it is taken and thought Gneus Flaccus a noble Romayn going in company with other Romains to visit a sick man and comming also an other romain to see the same sick person lykewise and being no place commodious in the chaumber wher the last might sit down neither any stoole left to sitt down vppon they say hee rose of on his stoole and gaue him place that came last The which humanity and curtesy was afterwards published among al the Romains and after also greatly praysed of the wryters And the Romains also beeing very true graue curious and woorthy of great faith and credit in all that they wrote it is to bee credited that that act of curtesy was much noted and esteemed sith they woold wryte it in the most noble and heroycall acts of their common weale When the fauored courtier is accompanied with knights and gentlemen of the court that brings him to the court and it happen any to goe vp the degrees before him hee shoold not passe for that much lesse shew any token that hee made any rekening of it For to say troth it is no great matter for him to goe vp beefore him on the degrees of stone sith hee went beefore all on the degrees of fauor What matter is it to the fauored or officer of the court to see an other enter in at the staier doore beefore him if afterwards when they shall come where the king is hee shall goe into the priuy chamber as one that in deede is in fauor and beloued and the other shal stand wythout like a sheep And to conclude I say if I were in the nomber of those that are thus belyked and fauored of the king I woold in the kings chamber vse my fauor and credit and abrod all curtesy and ciuility ¶ That it is not fitt for courtiers to bee too couetous if they mean to keepe them selues out of many troubles and daungers Cap. xiiii AVlus Gelius and Plinie render true testimony in their writings that the honesty of the Romains was so great in their eating and their modesty in their mainteining of them selues such that they did not suffer any romain citezen to haue any moe houses then one to dwell in nor but one gown to put on his back one horse to ryde
to those whom they loued least For it happeneth many times that the sonne which he loued woorst inheryteth hys goods and that sonne whych hee loued best and made most of remayneth poore Therefore contynuyng styll our matter I say that I know not the cause why the fauored of the court desire to bee so rych couetous and insatiable syth they alone haue to get the goods where afterwards to spend them they haue neede of the counsell and aduise of many Let not those also that are in fauor with the prince make too great a shew openly of their riches but if they haue aboundaunce let them keepe it secret For if their lurking enemies know not what they haue the woorst they can doo they can but murmur but if they see it once they will neuer linne til they haue accused him To see a courtier buyld sumptuous houses to furnish them with woonderfull rich hangyngs to vse excesse prodigalitie in their meates to haue their cubberds maruellously decked with cups and pots of gold and siluer to see infinit presents brought into his house and to bee greedy of mony in taking and to haue a great trayn of seruants to wait vppon them al these are things not onely to make them murmur repine at but also whan tyme and place serueth to condempne and accuse them to the prince And this were but lytle to murmur at them and accuse them so that they dyd not defame them and diminish their honor and reputacion For they tell yt abrode afterwards eyther that they are corrupted with presents or that they doo robbe and steale from the prince their maister And therefore I returne once agayn to admonish them and specially the officer of the court that they shall not neede neyther is it requisit they make any ostentacion of their riches if they bee wise at least For besydes that euery body will murmur agaynst hym they wyll not spare to bring it to the princes eares quyckly so that by mysfortune yt myght happen to him that the kyng would doo that with his seruaunt the hunter dooth oft with his beasts hee taketh that many tymes hee cheerisheth hym and geeueth him meat to eat not to bring him vp but to fatte hym and kyll him for his own eating ¶ That the fauored of the court shoold not trust too much to their fauor and credyt they haue nor to the great prosperity of their life a woorthy chapter and full of good doctrine Cap. xv WHat reputacion Paul the apostle had amongst the christians the like had the great Cato the iudge among the Romains who in the progression of his life proceeded so honestly in the gouernment of the publike weale was so iust that hee deserued that this Epitaphe should bee written vppon his pallace gate O Cato great whose euerlasting fame Amid the earth still liues with honor dew was nere none could the oppresse with shame for iudgement wrong whereby the giltles rue VVas nere none durst presse to thee with suyts or fill thy hands with bribes or flatter thee wherby thou shouldst not shew the woorthy fruits of iustice zeale as iudges all shoold bee Among all the noble and renowned Romains hee onely would neuer suffer stature or Image of his to bee set vp in the high Capitol Whereat diuers marueling and imagynyng dyuersly what was his meaning hee beeyng one day in the senat sayd to them these woords openly I will they shall seeke the good woorks I haue doon by which I did deserue that my Image should be erected in the Capitol then to geeue them cause to goe search inquier what lynage I was of what was my life with intent to pull down my Image For yt happeneth many tymes that those whom vnconstaunt fortune froÌ mean and low estate hath raysed to high degree and steppe of honor doo become afterwards by the same occasion rather defamed then praysed For there are many that are reuerenced and honored openly by reason of their honor and dignity they haue at this present of whom they make a iestyng stock afterwards when they see them fall Lucan sayeth that Pompeius woold say many tymes whan hee would speak of these worldly things my frends I can tell you a trew thyng whereby you may know the lytle occasion wee haue to trust humayn felycityes Example you may see in mee whych attayned to the Romayn Empire without any hope I had euer to come vnto yt afterwards also not mystrusting any thyng euen sodeinly it was taken from mee and I depryued of yt Lucius Seneca beeing banyshed from Rome wrote a letter to his mother Albuina in which hee did both comfort her and him self and wrote thus O my deere mother Albuina I neuer in all my life beleeued or trusted vnstable fortune although there haue been many peaces and leagues made betwyxt her and our house For if at a tyme the trayteresse consented that for a space I should bee quyet and at rest shee did it not of good wyll shee had to leaue to pursue mee but to geeue mee a more cloked security For wheÌ shee seeth wee think our selues assured then with al her force fury shee geueth vs the assault as if shee came to assault the enemies camp And I tel thee further yet good mother that al the good shee wrought in mee and the honor shee heaped on mee al the faculties aboundaunce of riches shee brought to my house shee told mee shee gaue mee them freely but I always aunswered her I did accept them in way of imprest not of gift Her promisses therefore she offered mee the honor shee layd vpon mee the riches shee gaue mee shee layd theÌ vp in such a corner of my house that eyther by day or by night shee might at her pleasure when she would take them al from mee wtout that shee should trouble at al therefore my iudgement or that shee should sorow my hart awhit And because thou shooldst know how I did esteeme of fortune I tel thee that I euer thought it good neuer to let any thing come wtin mee nor into my hart but only neere vnto mee so I was conteÌted to esteeme it kepe it vnder good safty but not that I therefore applyed and gaue all my affection and mynd to yt I was glad to haue fortune my frend but if I lost her I was neuer sory for her Fynally I conclude that when shee came to assault mee to robbe my house shee might well conuey all that was put in the arke but not that shee could euer cary away the least sigh of my hart They say that kyng Phillip father of Alexander the great beeing aduertised of three great victories happened in sundry places to his army kneeled down on both his knees and holding hys hands vp to the heauens sayd O cruell fortune O mercifull gods O my good luck I beseech you most humbly that after so great a glory and victory as this
you haue hitherto geeuen mee you will moderate your correction and punishment which after this I looke for that you wil geeue mee that you punish mee with pyty and not with vtter destruction and ruyn And yet hee added this furder to his woords Not without cause I coniure thee O fortune doo beeseech you immortal gods that you will punish mee fauorably but not to vndoo mee because I am assured that ouermuch felicity and prosperyty of this life is no more but a prediction and presage of a great calamity ill ensuyng happe Truely al the examples aboue recited are woorthy to bee noted to bee kept always beefore the eyes of our mynd sith by them wee come to know that in the prosperity of this our thrawled life there is litle to hope for much to bee afrayd of It is true wee are very frayle by nature since we are borne fraile wee liue frayl and dayly wee fall into a thowsand fraylties but yet notwithstanding wee are not so frayl but wee may if wee will resist vice And all this commeth onely because one sort of people foloweth an other but one reason seeldome foloweth an other If wee fall if wee stomble if wee bee sick if wee break our face are wee suer that seruing as wee doo the world that the world will recure remedy vs No sure it is not so For the remedy the world is woont to geeue to our troubles is euer notwithstanding greater trouble then the first So that they are like to searing yrons that burn the flesh and heale not the wound For the world is full of guile disceyt subtill to deciue but very slow to geeue vs remedy And this wee see plainly For if it perswade vs to reuenge any iniury receyued it dooth it only in reuenging of that to make vs receiue a thousand other iniuries And if sometimes wee think wee receiue some comfort of the world of our payns and troubles of the body it afterwards ouer lodeth our mynds with a sea of thoughts cogitacions So that this accursed and flattering world maketh vs beleeue and perswadeth vs the right perfyt way in the end wee are cast vnwares into the nettes of all wickednes priuily layd to snare vs. How great so euer a man bee in fauor with the kyng how noble of blood how fyne of wyt how ware so euer hee bee let euery man bee assured that practiseth in the world hee shall in the end bee deceyued by him For hee costeth vs very deere wee sell our selues to him good cheap I told you but litle to tell you wee sold our selues good cheap for I should haue sayd better in saying wee haue geeuen our selues in pray wholly to him without receiuing any other recompence And in deede they are very few and rare that haue any reward of him infinit are they that serue him without any other recompence more then a foolish and vayn hope O trayterous world in how short a time doost thou receiue vs and afterwards with a glimse of an eye sodeinly doost put vs from thee thou gladdest and makest vs sorofull thou callest vs to honor and abasest vs thou punishest vs doost vs a thousand pleasures And fynally I say thou doost make vs so vile and poysonest vs with thy vile labors that wythout thee wee are yet euer with thee and that that greeues vs woorst of all ys that hauing the theefe in the house wee goe out of the house to geeue him place and make him owner When the world knoweth one once that is proud and presumptuous hee procureth him honor to another that is couetous riches to an other that is a glutton good meats to an other that is carnall the commodity of women to an other that is idle quiet and ease all thys dooth the traterous world to the end that after as fysh whom hee hath fed hee may lose the net of sinne vpon vs to catch vs in If wee would resist the first temptacions the world offereth vs it is impossyble hee durst so many times assault vs. For to say truely by our small resistaunce increaseth his ouer great audacity I woold these louers of this world woold but tel mee a litle what reward or what hope they can hope of him why they should suffer so many incombers broiles and troubles as they doo To think the world can geeue vs perpetual life it is a mockry and extreame madnes to hope of it For wee see when life is most deere to vs and that wee are lothest to leaue the world then ariueth death in an vnhappy hower to swallow vs vp and to depriue vs of all thys worldly felicity To hope that the world will geeue vs assured mirth this ys also a madnes For the days excepted wee must lament the due hours allotted out to coÌplain alas wee shal see a small surplus of time left to laugh and bee meery I can say no more but exhort euery man to looke well about him what hee dooth and that hee bee aduised what hee thinketh For when wee thynk and beleeue wee haue made peace with fortune euen then is shee in battell against vs. And I doo assuredly beleeue that that I now prepare my self to speak euen presently shal bee read of many but obserued of few and that is that I haue seene those come out of their own propre houses moorning lamenting that had spent and consumed all their time in laughing and making good cheere seruing this miserable world Which is but only a geeuer of al euels a ruyn of the good a heap of sinne a tyrant of vertues a traytor of peace and warre a sweete water of errors a riuer of vices a persecutor of the vertuous a combe of lyes a deuiser of nouelties a graue of the ignorant a cloke of the wicked an ouen of lechery and fynally a Caribdis where all good and noble harts doo perish and a right Silla where all noble desires and thoughts are cast away togeethers For it is most certayn that this worldling that is not content with this world and that leaueth his fyrst state and that taketh vppon him a new maner of life and chaungeth from house to house and contrey to contrey hee shall neuer notwithstanding content him self nor quyet his mynd And the cause heereof is that if a worldling depart out of his house neuer to come agayn into it there are yet at hand immediatly other tenne licentious persons that doo but watch to enter into his house Speaking more particulerly I say that in the court of prynces they account them happy and fortunat that bee in fauor with the prince that haue great affairs in court that bee rich and of power that bee serued and honored of euery man and that take place and goe beefore euery man So that it may bee sayd that the common people doo not call those fortunat that deserue to bee fortunate but onely those that haue
inough But the auncient phylosophers were not of this mynd and much lesse are the wise men vertuous men at this day For wee see that in the court of prynces many rather lack fauor then lyfe and others lack both fauor and lyfe togethers and others not onely their lyfe and fauor but also all their goods and faculties So that all that that their fauor and credit haue geeuen them in many yeares and by sundry greefes and troubles they come afterwards to lose them euen vppon a sodeyn and in short time I graunt notwithstanding that it ys a great honor profyt and furtheraunce for the courtier to bee in his princes fauor but neuertheles hee cannot deny mee but that it is a daungerous thing also For naturally a great famyliarity bringeth also a great enuy wyth yt syth the beloued of the prince is commonly ill willed of the common weale And that that is yet most daungerous is that to obtayn the sauor of hys prince hee must so behaue him self that his seruice must bee more rare better and exquysite then all others and otherwise to fall in disgrace and to make the prynce forget all the good seruice hee hath doone hym hys whole life tyme hee neede but the least displeasure and fault hee can commit Eusenides was maruelously beloued with Tolomey who after fortune had exalted and brought him to honor and that hee was growen to great wealth sayd one day to Cuspides the phylosopher these woords O my frend Cuspides tell mee I pray thee of thy fayth is there any cause in mee to bee sad syth fortune hath placed mee in so great autoryty and honor as shee can deuise to doo and that the kynk Tolomey my lord hath now no more to geeue mee he hath alredy beene so bountyfull to mee To whom the philosopher aunswered saying O Eusenides yf thou wert a phylosopher as thou art a beeloued seruaunt thou wouldst tell mee an other tale then that thou tellest mee now For although kyng Tolomey hath no more to geeue thee knowst not thou that spyghtfull fortune hath power to take away from thee many thynges For the noble hart feeleth more greefe and displeasure to come down one staire or step then to clymme vp a hundred Not many days after these woords passed betweene Cuspides and Eusenides yt happened that one day Kyng Tolomey found Eusenides talkyng with aleman or curtesan of hys which hee loued deerely whereat hee was so much offended that hee made her straight drink a cuppe of poyson and caused him to bee hanged before his own gates The emperor Seuerus had one in so great fauor and credit which was called Plautius hee loued hym so extreamely trusted him so much that hee neuer read letter but Plautius must read it and hee neuer graunted commissyon or lycence to any man but it must passe vnder Plautius seale neither dyd hee euer graunt any thyng but at the request of Plautius nor dyd make warres or peace without the counsell and aduice of Plautius The matter fel out so that Plautius entring one night into the emperors chamber armed with a priuy cote his yll hap was such that a litle of his brest before was open whereby was spyed the mayle which Bahhian seeyng beyng the emperors eldest sonne sayd vnto hym these woords Tell mee Plautius doo those that are the beloued of prynces vse to come into they re bed chamber at these howers armed with Iron coate I sweare to thee by the Immortall gods and let them so preserue mee in the succession of the Empire that syth thou comest armed with Iron thou shalt also dye with Iron Which presently tooke place For before hee went out of the chamber they strake of his head The Emperor Comodus that was sonne of the good Emperor Marcus Aurelius had a seruaunt called Cleander a wise and graue man old and very pollytyck but with all a litle couetous This Cleander was oft times requested of the pretoryne compaigny that is to say of the whole band of souldiours that hee woold commaund they might bee payd their pay dew to them and to perswade him the better to pay it they shewed him a bill signed from the Emperor to which bill hee aunswered That the emperor had nothing to doo in the matter For although hee were lord of Rome yet had hee not to deale in the affaires of the common weale These discourteous and vnseemely woords related to the emperor Comodus and perceiuing the small obedyence and respect of duty that Cleander shewed to him hee coÌmaunded foorth with hee should bee slayn to his great shame that all his goods should bee confiscat Alcimenides was a great renoumed kyng among thee Greekes as Plutark writeth of him and hee fauored one Pannonius entierly wel to whom only hee did not commit his person his trust but also the whole affaires and dooings of the the comon weale hee might dispose of the goods of the kyng at his wil and pleasure without leaue or licence So that al the subiects found they had more benefit in seruing of Pannonius then in pleasyng of the Kyng Therefore the king the beloued Pannonius playing at the balle togethers they came to contend vppon a chase and the one sayd it was thus the other sayd it was contrary and as they were in this contention the kyng commauÌded presently those of his gard that in the very place of the chase where Pannonius denied they should strike of his head Constantius the Emperor also had one whom hee lyked very well and made much of called Hortentius which in deede might well bee counted a princes derling for hee dyd not onely rule the affaires of the common weale of the pallace of warres his goods and person of the emperor but also hee was euer placed aboue all the Imbassatours at his table And when the emperor went in progresse or any other iorny hee euer had him to his bedfellow Thus things beeing in this state I tel you it happened that one day a page geeuing the emperor drink in a glasse the glasse by myshap fell out of the pages hand and brake in peeces whereat the emperor was not a litle displeased and offended And euen in this euil vnhappy hower came Hortentius to the Kyng to present hym certayn bylles to signe of hasty dyspatch which was a very vnapt tyme chosen and the emperor contented yet to signe yt could neither the first nor the second tyme because the penne was ill fauordly made and the ink so thyck that yt would not wryte whych made the kyng so angry that euen presently for anger hee commaunded Hortensius head to bee striken of But to the end wee may come to the knowledge of many things in few woords I wyll shew you how Alexander the great slew in hys choller hys deere accounted Cratherus and Pirrhus Kyng of the Epirotes Fabatus hys secretory The Emperor Bitillion hys greatest frend Cincinatus Domitian the emperor Rufus of his
another beside her self for shee ceaseth not to defaÌe him to follow the other to rayse a sclauÌder amoÌgst her neighbors to coÌplaine to his freÌds to bewray the matter to the iustice to quarel with officers alwayes to haue spies for hym in euery place as if hee were one of her mortal enemyes O I woold to god the courtier would as much esteeme of his coÌscieÌs as his louer maketh accoÌpt of his parsoÌ happy were hee For I dare assure him if he know it not that shee spieth out al the places hee goth so couÌts euery morsel of meat hee eateth becoÌmeth ielious of al that hee dooth of all those whose coÌpany hee frequeÌteth yea shee deuiseth imagineth all that hee thinketh So that hee that seeketh a cruel reueÌge of his enemy cannot doo better theÌ êswade induce him to loue one of these wel coÌditioned womeÌ Now let him think that hee hath great warres that by his euil hap hath made her his enemy which heretofore hee so eÌtierly loued For any maÌ that exteemeth his honor reputacioÌ dooth rather feare the euil tongue of such a womaÌ theÌ the sweord of his enemy For an honest maÌ to striue coÌteÌd with a womaÌ of such quality is eueÌ asmuch as yf hee woold take vpon him to wash an asses head Therefore hee may not set me to make accoÌpt of those iniuries doon him or euel words shee hath spoken of him but rather seeke to remedy it the best hee caÌ that shee speak no more of him For womeÌ naturaly desire to enioy that persoÌ they loue wtout let or interruption of any to pursue to the death those they hate I woold wysh therfore the fauored of priÌces such as haue office dignity in the court that they beware they incurre not into such like errors For it is not sitting that meÌ of honor such as are great about the prince shoold seeme to haue more lyberty in vice theÌ any other neither for any respect ought the beloued of the prince to dare to keepe coÌpany much lesse to haue freÌdship with any such coÌmoÌ defamed womeÌ syth the least euel that can coÌe to theÌ they caÌnot bee auoided But at the least hee must charge his coÌscieÌs trouble his freÌds wast his goods coÌsume his êson lose his good fame ioyning with al these also his coÌcubine to bee his mortal enemy For there is no womaÌ liuiÌg that hath any measure in louiÌg neither end in hatiÌg Oh how wareli ought al meÌ to liue specialy wee that are in the court of princes for many womeÌ vnder the color of their autority office goe oft tymes to seek theÌ in their chaÌbers not only as huÌble suters to sollycyte theire causes but also liberaly to offer theÌ their êsoÌs so by that colour to coÌclude their practises deuyses So that the decisioÌ coÌclusioÌ of processe which they fain to solycite shal not goe with him that demaunds there goods of theÌ but rather with him that desires but their parsoÌs to spoile theÌ of their honor Now the princes officers must seeke to bee pure clene froÌ al these practises of these comoÌ struÌpets much more froÌ those that are suters to theÌ haue maters beefore theÌ For they should highly offeÌd god coÌmit great treasoÌ to the King if they should send those weomeÌ froÌ theÌ that sued vnto theÌ rather dishonored defamed theÌ honestly dispatched of their busines And therfore hee bindeth him self to a maruelous inconuenieÌce that falleth in loue with a woman suter For euen froÌ that instant hee hath receued of her the sweete delights of loue eueÌ at the present hee byâdeth him self to dispatch her quickly to end al her sutes not wtout great greefe I speake these woords There are many women that come to the court of princes to make vnreasonable dishonest sutes which in the end notwtstaÌding obtaine ther desire And not for any ryght or reasoÌ they haue to it saue only they haue obtained that thorough the fauor and credit they haue won of the fauored courtier or of one of his beloued So as wee see it happeÌ many tymes that the vniust fornication made her sute iust resonable I should lye and doo my selfe wrong mee thinks yf I should passe ouer with silence a thing that happened in the emperors court touching this matter in the which I went one day to one of the princes cheefe officers best beeloued of hym to sollycyte a matter of importauÌce which an hostes of myne should haue before him And so this fauored courtier great officer after hee had hard of mee the whole discourse of the matter for full resolution of the same hee axed mee yf shee were yong fayre I auÌswered hym that shee was reasonable fayre of good fauor Well than sayth hee bed her com to mee I wil doo the best I can to despatch her matter with speade for I wyl assure you of this that there neuer caÌe fayre woman to my hands but shee had her busines quickly dispatcht at my haÌds I haue knowne also many womeÌ in the court so vnhonest that not conteÌted to folow their owne matters would also deale with others affayrs gaine in soliciting their causes so that they with their fyne words franke offer of there parsons obtayned that which many tymes to men of honor great autorytye was denyed Therfor these great officers fauored of priÌces ought to haue great respect not only in the coÌuersatioÌ they haue with these womeÌ but also in the honest order they ought to obserue in hering theyr causes And that to bee done in such sort that what so euer they say vnto theÌ may bee kept secret prouided also the place where they speake with them bee open for other suters in like case ¶ That the nobles beloued of princes exceede not in superfluous fare that they bee not too suÌptuous in their meates A notable chapter for those that vse too much delicacye and superfluity Chap. xviii ONe of the greatest cares and regard the nature layd vpon her self was that men could not lyue wtout sustinaÌce so that so long as wee see a maÌ eat yea if yt were a thousaÌd yeares wee might bee bold to say that hee is certainly alyue And hee hath not alone layd this burdeÌ vpon meÌ but on brute bests also For wee see by experience that some feedeth on the grasse in the fyelds some liues in the ayre eating flyes others vpon the wormes in carin others with that they fynd vnder the water And finally ech beast lyueth of other and afterwards the wormes feede of vs al. And not oÌly reasonable meÌ brute beasts lyue by eating but the trees are norrished therby wee see it thus that they in stede of meat receyue into theÌ for nutriture the heate of the sunne the teÌperature of the ayre the moysture
that I eat thou shooldst not serue so great a tyraunt as thou doost The excesse of meates ys greater in these days both in quantity and in dressing of them then in tymes past For in that golden age which the philosophers neuer cease to beewaile men had no other houses but naturall caues in the ground and apparelled onely with the leaues of trees the bare ground for their shoes their hands seruing them in steede of cuppes to drink in they drank water for wyne eat toâââs for bread and fruyts for flesh and finally for their bed they made the earth for their couering the sky beeing lodged always at the signe of the starre When the diuine Plato returned out of Cicill into Greece hee sayd one day in his colledge I doo aduertise you my disciples that I am returned out of Cicill maruelously troubled and this is by reasoÌ of a monster I saw there And beeing asked what moÌster it was hee told them that it was Dionisius the tyrant who is not contented with one meale a day but I saw him suppe many tymes in the night O diuine Plato if thou wert alyue as thou art dead and present with vs in this our pestilent age as thou wert then in that golden tyme how many shouldst thou see that doo not onely dyne and suppe wel but beefore dinner breake their fast with delycate meats and wynes and banket after dynner and supper also beefore they goe to bed So that wee may say though Plato saw then but one tyrant suppe hee might see now euery body both dyne and suppe and scant one that conteÌteth hym with one meale a day in which the brute bests are more moderate theÌ reasonable men Syth wee see that they eat but somuch as satisfyeth them and men are not contented to eate inough yea till they bee full but more then nature wyl beare And brute beasts haue not also such diuersity of meats as men haue neither seruants to wayt on them beddes to lye in wyne to drink houses to put their heads in money to spend nor phisitioÌs to purge them as men haue And yet for al these commodities wee see men the most part of their tyme sick And by these things recyted wee may perceyue that there is nothing preserueth so much the health of man as labor nothing consumeth sooner then rest And therefore Plato in his tyme on spake a notable sentence and woorthy to bee had in mynd and that is this That in that city where there are many phisicions yt must needes follow of necessity that the inhabitaunts there of are vicious ryotous persons And truely wee haue good cause to cary this saying away Sith wee see that phisitions commonly enter not into poore mens houses the trauell and exerciseth their body dayly but contrarily into the rych and welthy mens houses which lyue coÌtinually idlely at ease I remember I knew once a gentleman a kynsman of myne and my very frend which hauing taken physyck I came to see how hee did supposing hee had beene syck and demaunding of him the cause of his purgacion hee told mee hee tooke it not for any sicknes hee had but oÌely to make him haue a better appetite against hee weÌt to the feast which should bee a two or three days after And with in syxe days after I returned agayn to see hym and I found him in his bedde very sick not for that hee had fasted too much but that hee had inglutted hym self with the variety of meats hee eat at the feast So it happened that where hee purged him self once onely to haue a better stomack to eat hee needed afterwards a douzen purgacions to discharge his loden stomack of that great surfet hee had taken at the feast with extreme eating And for the fower howers hee was at the table where this feast was hee was lodged afterwards in his chamber for two moneths to pay vsery for that hee had taken yet yt was the great grace of god hee escaped with lyfe For if it bee yll to synne yt vs farr worse to seeke and procure occasions to synne And therfor by consequent the synne of Gluttony is not only dangerous for the coÌsciens hurtfull to the health of the body and a displeasing of god but it is also a worme that eateth and in fine consumeth wholly the goods faculties of him that vseth yt Beesyds that these gurmands receyue not so much pleasure in the eatyng of these dainty morsells as they doo afterwards greefe and displeasure to heare the great accounts of their stewards of their excessyue expensis Yt is a swete delight to bee fed daily with dainty dishes but a sower sawce to those delicat mouthes to put his hand so oft to the purse Which I speake not with out cause syth that as wee feele great pleasure and felicity in those meates that enter into our stomack so doo wee afterwards think that they pluck out of our hart that mony that payeth for those knacks I remember I saw writen in an Inne in Catalogia these woords You that hoste heere must say wheÌ you sit down to your meat Salue regina yea when you are eating Vitae dul cedo yea and when you recken with the host Ad te Suspiramus yea and when you come to pay him Gementes flentes Now yf I would go about to describe by parcells the order and maner of our feasts and banckets newly inuented by our owne nation there would rather appeare matter to you to lament and bewaile then to write And it had been better by way of speach to haue inuented dyuers fashions of tables formes and stooles to sit on theÌ such diuersity of meates to set vpon the tables as wee doo vse now a dayes And therefore by good reason did Licurgus King of Lacedemonia ordeyne comaund that no stranger comming out of a strange country into his should so hardy bring in any newe customes vpon pain that if it were knowen hee should bee streight banished out of the couÌtry and if hee did vse and practise yt hee should bee put to death I will tell you no lye I saw once serued in at a feast xlii sortes and kyndes of meates in seuerall dishes In an other feast of diuers sortes of the fish caled Tuny And in an other feast beeing flesh day I saw dyuers fishes broyled with lard And at an other feast wheare I saw no other meate but Troutes and Lampereis of dyuers kyndes of dressinge And at an other feast wheare I saw only vi persons agree togethers to drink ech of them .iii. pottels of wyne apeece with this condition further that they should bee .vi. howers at the table and hee that drank not out his part should pay for the whole feast I saw also an other feast where they prepared iii. seuerall tables for the bidden guests the one boord serued after the Spanish maner the other after the Italian and the third after the fasshion
short tyme wee afterwards haue infinite greefes and trobles with a sower sawce to oure no smal payne And therfor Aristotell mocking the Epicuriens sayd that they vpon a tyme went all into the temple togethers beseeching the gods they would geeue them necks as long as the cranes and herens that the pleasure and tast of the meates should bee more long beefore yt came into the stomack to take the greater delight of their meate complayning of nature that shee had made their necks to short affirming that the only pleasure of meats coÌsisted in the swallowing of yt downe which they sayd was to soone Yf wee saw a man euen vpon a sodein throw al his goods into the sea or riuer would wee not imagine hee were mad or a very foole Yes vndoutedly Euen such a one is hee that prodigally spendith al his goods in feasting and bancketing And that this is true doo wee not see manifestly that all these meates that are serued to noble meÌs boordes to day and to morrow coÌueighid into the priuy from the eaters by their page or seruaÌt Suerly mans stomack is nothing els but a gutt or tripe forsed with meate bread and wyne a pauemeÌt fyld with wyne lees and a vessel of stincking oyle a recepit of corrupt ayre a synke of a kitchin and a secret place wherinto wee cast all our goods and faculty as into the ryuer And therfore Esay sayd that all these noble cityes of Sodome and Gomorra by this only curse did incurre into such execrable sinnes for which afterwards they were distroied and this was euen through excesse of eating and drinking and to much ydlenes and it is no maruel For it is an infallible thing that where ydlenes and glottony reigneth there must needes come some yll end to that man The Greekes the Romans the Egiptians the Scithes although they were detected of many other sinnes and vices yet were they alwais sober temperat in eating drinking Iustin that wrot of Trogus Pompeius reciteth that among the Scithes which were the rudest and most barbarous that came into Asia vsed to reproue those that let go wind to chastise punish those that vomited saying that breaking wynd vomiting came only of too much eating drinking Plutarche in his Apothegmes sayd that there was a philosopher in Athens called Hyppomachus that was so great an enemy to Gluttony that hee vsed in his colledge such so great an abstinence that his disciples by that were knowen amongst all the other philosophers And not for no other thing but to see them buy their cates prouision to lyue with all for they neuer bought meats to fatt them keepe them lusty but only to susteyn nature that but lyttle The Romains made dyuers lawes in the old tyme to expell out of their cities dronkards Gluttons whereof wee wil recite some vnto you to th end that those that shall read our present writings shall both know and see what great care our forfathers tooke to abolish this horible vyce of gluttony First ther was a law in Rome called Fabian law so called because Fabian the consull made it in which it was prohibited that no man shoold so hardy in the greatest feast hee made spend aboue a hundred sexterses which might bee in value a hundred peeces of .vi. pence salets all other kynds of fruit not comprysed within the same And immediatly after that came out an other law called Messinia which the consull Messinius made By which they were also inhibited in all feastes to drink no strange wynes which only were permitted to bee geeuen to those that were disseased After which folowed also an other law Licinia made by the coÌsull Licinius forbidding in all feasts all kinds of sawces beecause they incite appetit are cause of a great expence An other law Emillia of Emilius the consull also commaunding the Romains shoold bee serued in their bankets but only with fyue sorts of diuersities of meats because in them there shoold be sufficient for honest refection no superfluity to fill the belly And then was there the law Ancia made by Ancius the consull charging al the Romains to indeuour to learn all kynd of sciences except cookry For according to their saying in that house where there was a cooke those of the house became poore quickly their bodyes diseased their mynds vitious and altogeether geeuen to Gluttony After this law there came forth an other called Iulia of Iulius Cesar coÌmanding all romains that none shoold bee so hardy to shut their gates when they were at dinner and it was to this end that the censors of the city might haue easy accesse into their houses at meal tyme to see if theyr ordinary were respondent to their ability And there was also an other law made afterwards called Aristimia of Aristmius the consull by which it was enacted that it shoold bee lawfull for euery man to inuite his frends to dinner to hym at noone as they liked prouided that they supped not together that night And this was established thus to cut of the great charge they were at with theyr suppers For the Romayns exceeded in superfluity of daynty fyne meats and more ouer they sat to long gulling eating at their suppers Of all these laws heretofore recited were auctors Aulus Gelius and Macrobius And for this was Caius Gracchus well reputed of of the Romays who not withstanding hee had been consull indyuers prouinces and that many tymes was a man of great grauity auctority in Rome yet hee woold neuer keepe cook in his house but when hee was at Rome his wife was his only cooke traueling his hostesse of his house where hee lay dressed hys meat Marcus Mantius in tymes past made a book of dyuers ways how to dresse meat and an other of the tastes sawces diuers maners of seruing of them in at the bankets and a third book how to couer the table sett the stools in order order the cubberd also how seruants shoold wayt geeue their attendance at the table which three bookes were no sooner imprinted and published but presently publikly they were burned by the senat of Rome and if his aucthor had not quickly voided Rome fled into Asia hee had accoÌpanyed his books in the fyer The auncient writers neuer seased to reproue enough Lentulus Cesar Scilla Sceuola and Emilius For a banket they made in a gardein of Rome where they eat no other meats but black byrds torteises mallard nettles pigs brayns and hares in sawce But yf the Romain writers wrot in these days I doo not beleeue they woold reproue so simple a banket made by so noble famous persons as they were For now a days they doo so farre exceed in variety of dishes at noble mens bourds that neither they haue appetite to eat nor yet they can tell the names of the dishes But now retourning to our purpose I say the intent
why wee haue layd beefore you these forepassed examples was only to this end to admonish the fauored of princes to looke into them selues that they auoyd this fylthy sinne of gluttony Beeing a foul blott in a courtier to bee counted a greedy gutt Carmarant at hys meat being one whose maners behauior euery man marketh For sure it is more sitting for theÌ to bee moderat sober in eating drinking then others good reasoÌ why For as they are more noble then others so haue thei many that sue vnto them they haue also the weightiest matters of gouernment passing vnder their charge by reason where of if they surcharge them selues with excesse they are then very vnapt to dispatch any matters for much eating causeth sleepe much drinking depriueth them of their iudgement sences both Is it not to be wondered at yea to bee reprooued also to see a magistrat or counceller set in his chair to heere poor mens causes sutes the suter opening his cause vnto him hee sitteth nodding with his head in his bosom redy to sleepe Euen so doo I say like wise that it is a great reproch to the beloued of the prince great damage to the comon wealth that it shoold bee spoken amongst courtiers suters that to day hee was of this opinion to morow hee is of an other So that the courtier or suter shoold haue hope to dispatch that to morow hee coold not doo to day King Phillip father of Alexander the great although hee was a prince noble fortunat yet was hee noted rebuked for drinking of wyne wherof folowed that after hee had geuen iudgement vpoÌ a tyme against a poor wydow womaÌ shee answered streight shee appealed The noble men that were present heering what was said by the king asked her to whom shee woold appele since the king in person gaue sentence of her no other And this was her answer shee made them I appeal to king Philip which is now dronk that when hee is sober hee returne to geeue sentence And as the historiographers say that writeth this history thys poore woman was not deceiued in her appellation at all for after King Philip had reposed slept a little hee reuoked repealed that sentence that hee had before geeuen against her And therefore coÌcerning this matter I say that how wyld or tame so euer a beast bee hee still continueth a beast in his kind only man except who very oft through too much excesse of meat and drynk strayeth so farre from reason forgetting him self that neither he him self nor any other knoweth wel whether hee bee then a man or a beast Those that are the fauored of princes must bee very circumspect that they bee not too sumptuous prodigall in their feasts bankets for that they haue many eyes attendant of them And some will say that they make not these great feasts of them selues but by the gyfts presents of others others will not stick to say that they make it with that they haue robbed of others I wish them in this case that they shoold not hope to excuse themselues by saying that they only feast their kinsfolks familier frends For the enuy that comonly one beareth against the power auctority of a man is so great extreme that it spareth not freÌds remembreth not kinsfolks neither maketh account of the benefits receyued but rather assoon as the bidden guests are departed froÌ his house that bad theÌ they goe talking among them selues murmuring amongst others saying many tymes that it is more woorth that is lost by the vayn lauish expences of the fauored courtier then that that is comoÌly serued to the princes own boord Also I counsell the belyked of princes that they take heede whom they trust whom they inuite to their tables For many tymes if they bee but fower that are bidden one of them sure goeth to eat banket the other three to fleere mock to mark all that is brought in the maner of the seruyce And the woorst is yet that hee shall many tymes bring such to eat with him that woold more willingly eat his flesh then his meat These reputed courtiers must be wel aduised that though they be too delicat superfluous in their meats yet at least that they bridle their tongues For they may bee assured that as their guests they bad goe full paunched from them so cary they away with them all the superfluous vayn woords they hard at the table Besydes that that what so euer the courtier said at the boord reporting it otherwhere they wyll not say that hee spake yt of him self but that the king him self told it him And yet is there a farre greater danger peril then this wee haue spoken of and that is that they will not simply tell that they hard of the beloued courtier but will adde to it of their own heads what they think best what was his meaning in speaking of it So that wee may say that ther are not so many comments vppon the byble as they make gloses vpon the same reports by their rash iudgements and fond interpretacions which they did descant vpon one only woord spoken vnwares perhaps by some at the table of this fauored courtier It is a general custom amongst all estates conditions of people that where there are sumptuous tables and aboundaunce of dishes there the inuyted sitt long at their meat are liberall to speak euill Which sure such as are in fauor with the prince neither ought to doo nor suffer it to bee doon by others at his boord For the good and honorable feast ought only to bee serued with good and dainty meats but in no wise marred with the defaming of his neighbor O how many feasts bankets are made in princes courts where without all coÌparison there are more detractions vsed of their neighbors then there are diuersities of dishes to eat A pernitious thing doubtles and not to bee suffered nor abidden For no man hurteth the reputation of an other with his tongue but with the self same hee condemneth his own conscience and therefore let men bee aduysed of their spech and what they speak of others For it is alwais an easy matter to detract and hinder the fame and reputation of a man but very hard afterwards to satisfy the party Therfore I councell admonish these courtiers that they doo not oft feast others but also that they doo not accept to goe to others tables where they are bidden For they may bee assured that they are beloued of few and hated of all and besides that it might so happen that others shoold bee at the charge of the feast and that they shoold lose their lyues Also let not the fauored courtyer trust those to much that come ordinarily to his table that doo rebydd him again to theirs yea though they seeme euen to bee
his booke De exilio saith that the Lydians had a law that as they sent the condemned murtherers to row in the gallyes so they confyned those that were detractors and yll tongued men into a secrete place farre of from all company the space of half a yere Inso much as many tymes these lewd mates chose rather to row in the galley iii. yeres then to bee exempt from company and speaking with any but syx moneths Much lyke vnto this law dyd Tiberius the emperor make an other and condemned a great talker and rayler of hys tongue and commaunded straightly that hee shoold neuer speak woord the space of a whole yere And as the history saith hee remayned domme neuer spake during the whole terme but yet that hee did with his domnes more hurt with nods signes with his fingers then many other woold haue doon with their yll tongues By these two exaumples wee may see that sith these naughty tongs are not to bee repressed by sylence in secret nor to entreat them as frends nor by doing them good nor by sending them to galleys nor to make them hold their peace and to bee as domme men by my aduyce I woold haue them banished by generall counsell out of al colleges counsels chapters townes and common wealths For wee see daly by experience that let an apple haue neuer so lyttle a broose that broose is enough to âott him quickly if hee bee not eaten in tyme. Demosthenes the philosopher was of great auctority for his person graue in maners condicion very sentencious profound in his woords but with these hee was so obstinate wylfull such a talker in all his matters that all Greece quaked for fear of hym Whereuppon all the Athenians one day assembled in their hall or common house there they appointed him a great stipend of the goods of the common wealth telling him that they gaue him this not that hee shoold read but because hee shoold hold his peace Also this great and renowmed Cicero that was so valyaunt politike in martiall affairs so great a frend to the commoÌ weal of Rome more ouer a prince of eloquence for the latin tong though hee was cruelly put to death by Mark Antony it was not for any fact committed against him neither for any wrong or iniury hee had doon him saue only for that hee enueied against him and spake euyll of him Also the noble poet Salust and famous orator of Rome was not hated of strangers and not beloued of his own neighbors for no other cause but for that hee neuer took pen in haÌd to write but hee euer wrote against the one neuer opened his mouth to speak but hee alwais spake euil of the other Plutarche touching this maiâer reciteth in his books de republica that amongst theÌ of Lidia in their publik weal it was holden an inuiolat law that they should not put a murderer to death for kylling of any but that they should only execut put him to torture that would defame his neighbor or in any one woord seeme to touch him in honor or estimation So that those barbarous nation thought it more execrable so defame a man then to kill murder him And therefore I say hee that burneth my house beats my person robbeth mee of my goods must needes doo mee great dommage but hee that taketh vpon him to touch my honor and reputacioÌ with infamy I wil say hee offendeth mee much that so greatly as hee may well stand in feare of his life For there is not so litle an offence âoon to a maÌ of stout courage but hee carieth it euer after imprinted in his hart till hee haue reuenged the villany doon him euen so in princes courts there the more quarells debates through euil tongues dishonest reports then there dooth for any play or shrewd turnes that are doon I know not what reason they haue to strike of his hand the first draweth sword fauoreth leaueth him vnpunished that draweth blood with his ill tongue O what a happy good turn were it for the common weale if as they haue in al townes well gouerned policies penal laws prohibiting to weare or cary weapon they had like laws also to punish detractiue wicked toÌgues Surely there caÌ bee none so great a blot or vice in a noble man knight or gentleman of honest behauior countenance as to bee counted reputed a tatler of his tongue there wtal a detracter of others But let not such deceiue them selues thinking that for they re countenaunce or estates sake they bee priuileged aboue others at their willes and pleasure to enlarge their tongues on whom they list in such manner but that their inferiors farre will as liberally speak of them yea and asmuch to their reproche as they before had doone of them reputing asmuch of their honesty and credit for their calling being inequiualent in estate or degree to theÌ as they doo of their dignitie reputacion At that tyme when I was a courtier and lyued in princes court there dyed out of the court a woorthy knight who at his noble funeralls was recommended of vs all and praysed in hys lyfe to bee a noble valyaunt woorthy and wise man and a good and deuout christian cheefely aboue all his noble heroycall vertues hee was only landed and renowmed for that they neuer hard him speak ill of any man So one of the company that was present hearing this great prayse of him tooke vpon him to say this of him If hee neuer spake ill of any then did hee neuer know what pleasure those haue that speak ill of their enemies Which woordes when wee hard though wee passed them ouer with silence yet was there none but was greatly offended at them and good cause why For to say truely the first degree of malignitie is for a man to take a felicyty in speakyng ill of his neighbor Kyng Darius being at dinner one day there were put foorth of the weighters and standers by certayn arguments of the acts and dooings of Alexander the great in whych dispute one Mignus a Captayn of the kynge and greatly in fauor with him was very earnest against Alexander went too farre in speach of him But Darius perceiuing him thus passioned sayd to him O Mignus hold thy tong for I doo not bring thee into the warrs with mee that thou shouldst infame Alexander and touch his honor with thy tongue but that thou shouldst with thy sweord ouercome him By these examples wee may gather how much wee ought to hate detraction ill speaking syns wee see that the very enemies theÌ selues can not abide to here their enemies ill spoken of in their presence and this is always obserued of the honorable graue and wise men that are of noble mynds For suer ech noble hart dysdaigneth to bee reuenged of his enemy wyth his tongue for his iniures doon hym if
person both whom I reprooued diuers times as hys familiar frend of his prodigall lyuing and ill speakyng And hee made mee thys aunswer ⪠Truely sir those that report that I speak ill of theÌ it is them selues that doo yt of mee if I follow them therein it is for nothing els but to bee a witnes for theÌ if any seeke to impugne their saiyngs but suer of my self I neuer vttered or deuised woord that might bee to the preiudice of any O what ill causeth he that speaketh ill of an other hee onely offendeth not that beginneth but hee that assisteth him much more hee that heareth him after publisheth it but aboue all hee that telleth it abrode addeth more then hee hard The fauored of princes must also think that though they are prohibited to speak much yet it is most fyt and decent for them to bee true faithful secretaries For there is no thing the prince priseth more then the secret brest of his fauored courtier And therefore I say not wtout cause that they ought to bee secret but most secret For the esteemed courtier must haue a better consideracion of his princes secrets committed to him then of the benefits hee receiueth of him Suer yt ys no small but a great most necessary vertue in a man to bee close of few woords so secret in deede that hee make no more countenance of that was told him priuily then if he had neuer hard it spokeÌ of I know an other maner of people so prone ro speak ill that they cannot keepe secret their own faults much lesse others faults publishing them in euery corner Cecilius Metellus being asked one day of a Centucion what hee ment to doo the next day followyng aunswered thus Think not Centurion that those things I am determined to doo my haÌds shal so lightly discouer for I am of this mynd if I knew that my shirt had any knowledge of that I will doo to morrow I woold put it of throw it straight in the fyer see it burned before my face It is not a like trust to put money into one mans hands of trust to commit secrets to the brest of an other this to bee true wee see it plainly that the prince deliuereth his goods and treasure to the custody of many but his secrets hee commytteth onely to one The fauored of princes ought to bee so secret that what so euer they see the prince doo or say bee it in the presence of dyners and that they are told of it by many Yet they ought not to bee acknowen of it For in deede the prince speaketh many things commonly for his pleasure which being reported agayn of the fauored courtier wil bee thought true most certayn Therefore speakyng generally of this matter I say that surely frendes are greatly bound to keepe the secrets of their frends For that day I discouer my intent to any the self same I make him lord of my liberty Therefore let that man think hee hath woonne a maruelous treasure that hath a secret frend For without doubt it is no such matter of importaunce to keep treasure saflye locked vp in a chest as it is to commit trust secrets to the hart of an other Plutark writeth that the Athenians hauing warres with king Phillip because there came certayn letters of kyng Phillips to their hands intercepted by their scouts directed and sent vnto his wife Olimpa Which they no sooner vnderstoode but they presently returned agayn safely sealed and vntouched of them as they came first vnto them saying that syth by their law they were bound to bee secret they would not reueale the secrets of others notwithstaÌding they were their mortal enemies as king Phillip was to theÌ therefore they woold neither see them nor read theÌ openly Diodorus Siculus sayeth also that among the Egiptians it was a criminall act for any man to bewray the secrets of an other which was prooued trew by thexample of a preest that in the temple of the goddes Isis had deflowered a virgine they both trusting to the fydelitie of an other preest making their loue knowen vnto him euen as they were in Venus sweete delights hee not regarding any lenger their secrets in ipso facto exclamed cried out therupon coÌuict appreheÌded by the iustice these poore louers were myserably executed this spightful vnfortunat preest condignely banished And this banished preest coÌplaining of thiniust sentence saiyng that that hee reueled was in fauor of the religioÌ for the behoofe of the coÌmon wealth the iudge auÌswered him thus If thou hadst knowen their offence of thy self wtout their notice geeueÌ thee thou hadst had reasoÌ to haue coÌplained of our sentence but synce they trusted thee with their dooings thou gauest theÌ thy woord promis to bee secret if thou hadst called to mynd the bond thou were bound to them in that thy self did freely wtout their coÌpulsioÌ submit thy self vnto thou wooldst not once haue dared to haue published the fact as thou hast doon Plutark in his booke de exilio saieth that a man of Athens once demaunded an Egiptian disciple of a philosopher what he had vnder his cloke auÌswered him thus Truely thou hast studied litle born away lesse although thou art an Athenian born syth thou seest that I cary secretly that thou demaundst because thou nor no other should know it yet thou askest it of my self what it is that I cary Anasillus that was a captayn of the Athenians was takeÌ of the Lacedemonians put to the torture because hee should tel that hee knew what the king Agesilaus his Land maister did to whom hee gaue this aunswer You LacedemoniaÌs haue liberty to dismeÌber mee heaw mee in peces but so haue not I to reuele my lord maisters secrets For in Athens wee vse rather to dye then to be wray the secrets of our frend Kyng Lisimachus entreated the philosopher Philipides very earnestly that hee woold come dwell with him but hee made them this answer I woold bee very glad to bee in your coÌpany knowiÌg you to be a fauorer of philosophy if you wil go to the warres I wil follow you if you trust mee with your goods I wil keepe them carefully faithfully if you haue children I wil teach them with al my hart if you wil vse my counsel in your affairs I wil geeue you the best I can And if you will also geeue mee the charge of your coÌmon wealth I wil gouern it with my best discretion Only one thing I wil request you that you wil neuer coÌmaund mee that is not to make mee partaker of your secrets For it might happen that what you had told mee in secret your self vnwares at a time might tell it openly and yet not think of it and beeing afterwards told you by some other you woold presently enter into suspect that it came to
occasion to others to iudge him to be euil Al the losses of temporal goodes that chaunce vnto men in this life oughte not to be coÌpared with a litle blemishe of a mans good name The man that hasardeth for a trifle his good name in this world shall at a huÌdreth shootes scarsly shoote one right And coÌtrariwyse the man that hath lost his honesty and that estemeth not the reputation of his persone truly from him we shall neuer see any good thing proceade Now the emperour like vnto a wise ship-maister fearing after the great calmes some tempestuous storme seing the lightnes of his doughter and vanitie of the mother I meane in the time of this great mirth and gladnes feared lest any infamy should ensewe vnto these two ladies And for a surety he doubted not without a cause for it is an infallible rule of enuious fortune to geue vs in many yeres a litle prosperitie to thinteÌt that afterward sodainly she may bring vs into some great aduersitie By experience we see that the sea is seldome times calme but immediatly foloweth some perilous teÌpest The extreame heate of the day doth prognosticate that terrible thoÌder in the euentide I meane wheÌ fortune doth flatter vs with her golden pilles it is a token that she entendeth to catche vs in her snares The mylner before the bankes broken repareth the dammes The husbandman before it raineth thacketh his house fearing the snow and raine that is to come So lykewise the sage man ought to consider that during this lyfe he hath prosperity but by leaue aduersity as by patrimony Marcus Aurelius among al other men was he that knew how to enioy prosperitie also to preuaile of aduersity Though fortune gaue him much prosperity yet he neuer trusted therin nor for any troubles that euer he receiued in this lyfe he was at any time abashed Of the sharpe words which Marcus Aurelius spake to hys wyfe and to his doughter Cap. v. WHen the tryumphes before named were finyshed this good Emperour being willyng to vnbourden his hart and to aduyse Faustine to teache the youg damosel his doughter and to the end that no man shold heare it he called them a part and sayd vnto them these words I am not contente Faustine with that thy doughter did nor yet with that which thou hast done being her mother The doughters if they wil be counted good children must learne to obeye their fathers and the mothers if they wil be counted good mothers must learne to bring vp their doughters wel When the mother is honest and the doughter shamefast the father is excused in geuyng councel It is great shame to the father being a man that the mother being a womaÌ should chastise his sonne And it is a great reproch to the mother that the doughter should be chastised by the hands of any man There was a law enacted among the Rhodiens that neyther the father should haue to doe wyth the doughters nor the mothers with the sonnes but the men vsed to bring vp the men and the women the women And in such wise that they abyding al in one house it semeth vnto the fathers that they had no doughters and vnto the mothers that they had no sonnes O Rome Rome I bewaile the not for to se the streates vnpauid nor to se the houses so decayed nor to se the battlements so fallen downe nor the timber hewed downe nor for the dyminishing of the habytaunts for al this tyme bringeth and tyme taketh awaye but I wepe for the and wepe for the againe to se the vnpeopled of good fathers and vnprouided in the nourishing of their children Rome began to decay when the disciplyne of sonnes and doughters was enlarged that their brydle was let at lybertye For ther is now such boldnes in boyes and so lytle shamefastnes in girles with dishonesty of the mothers that where as one father suffised for .xx. sonnes and one mother for xx doughters now xx fathers dare scarcely vndertake to bring vp wel one sonne xxx mothers one doughter I say this to you Faustine you remember not how you are a mother for you geue more libertie to your dougher then ought to be suffred And now Lucilla remember not how you are a doughter for you showe to haue more liberty then requireth for a yong mayden The greatest gift that the gods haue geuen to the Matrons of Rome is because that they are women they kepe them selues close and secret and because they are Romaines they are shamefast The day when the women want the fearre of the gods secretly and shame of men openly beleue me they shal eyther faile the world or the world theym The common wealth requyreth it of great necessity that the women which therin enhabyte should be as honest as the captaines valyaunt for the captaines going to warre defend them and the women whych abyde at home conserue them As now .iiii. yeares passed ye saw this great pestilence and I demaund then to haue account of the people and I found that of C. and xl M. honest women .lxxx. M. dyed of .x. M. dyshonest women in maner they scaped al. I cannot tel for which I should wepe eyther for the lacke that we haue of the good vertuous womeÌ in our comon wealth or els for the great hurt domages that these euil wicked women do to the youth of Rome The fyer that brenneth in mount Ethna doth not so much endomage those that dwel in Scicil as one euyl woman doth with in the walles of Rome A fyerse beast and a perillous ennemy to the common wealth is an euyl woman for she is of power to commyt all euyls and nothing apte to do anye good O how many realmes and kingdomes rede we of whych by the euil behauiours of one woman haue bene lost and to resist agaynst them there hath bene nede both of wisedome perils money and force of many men The vyces in a woman is as a grene rede that boweth euery waye but the lightnes and dyshonesty is as a dry kyxe that breaketh in such wise that the more euyl they vtter the more vnlykely is the amendment therof Behold Faustine ther is no creature that more desireth honour and worse kepeth it then a woman and that this is true we se by iustice by orations by writyng and other trauailes man getteth fame renowme but withoute it be by flattering and faire speakyng this houre by auncient writers we caÌ rede of few women or none whych eyther by writyng redyng workyng with nedle spinning or by weauing haue gotten them any great renowme But as I say of one I say of an other certaynely of diuers we rede by keping them close in their houses being wel occupyed in their busines temperate in their words faithful to their husbands wel ordred in their persons peasable with their neighbours and finally for being honest amonge their owne family and shamefast amongest straungers
forsake vs oftentimes some holsome fleshe corrupteth in an euill vessel and good wine sometime fauoreth of the foist I say though that the workes of our life be vertuous yet shal we fele the stench of the weake flesh I spake this Faustine sith that age cannot resist these hot appitites howe can the tender members of youth resist them vnlesse you that are the mother go the right way how should the doughter that foloweth you find it the Romaine matrons if they wil bringe vp their doughters wel oughte to kepe these rules when they se that they would wander abrode that they breake their legges and if they should be gasing then put out their eyes and if they wil lysten stoppe their eares if they wil geue or take cut of their hands if they dare speake sow vp their mouthes if they wyl pretende any lightnes burye them quycke death ought to be geuen to an euyl doughter in stede of her dowry for gyftes geue her wormes and for her house a graue Take hede Faustine if you wil haue much ioy of your doughter take from her the occasions wherby she shal be euyl To vnderset a house behoueth diuers proppes and if the principalles be taken away it wil fal downe I saye you women are so fraile that with kepers with great paine they can keape them selfe and for a smal occasion they wil lose altogether O how many euyl hath there bene not because they would be so but because they folowed such occasions the which they ought to haue eschewed It is at my pleasure to enter into this battaile but yet it is not in my power to attaine the vyctorie it is for me to enter into the sea yet it lyeth not in my handes to escape the peril it is in the hands of a woman to enter into the occasion and after that she is therin it is not in her power to escape from euill to delyuer her from tongues Peraduenture Faustine thou wilt say to me none can speake to your doughter Lucil vnlesse thou hearest it nor se her but thou seest him nor conuey her but thou knowest where nor make any appointment withoute thy consent and yet thou knowest that those whych wil her euyl seke wyth their tongues to dyshonour her and those that with their hartes loue her speake only in their harts We loue in yong bloud in the springing tyme and floryshing youth is a poyson that forthwith spreadeth into euery vaine it is a herbe that entreth into the entrayles a swowning that incontinently mortyfieth al the members and a pestilence that sleeth the harts and finallye it maketh an end of al vertues I know not what I saye but I fele that which I would say for I would neuer blase loue with my tongue except I were sore wounded therwith in my hart Ouide saith in his boke of the art of loue loue is I wot not what it commeth I know not from whence who sent it I wot not it engendreth I know not how it is satisfied I wot not wherwith it is felt I wot not how oft it sleeth I wot not wherfore and finally without breakyng the flesh outwardly loue taketh roote and molesteth the hart inwardly I know not what Ouide meaneth hereby but I trowe when he said these words he was as farre banyshed from him selfe as I am at this tyme from my selfe O Faustine they that loue together vtter the secretes of theyr harts by dyuers wayes and in sleaping they reason speake by sygnes they vnderstand ech other The many words outwardly declare smal loue inwardly and the feruent inward loue kepeth silence outward The entrayles within imbraced with loue cause the tongue outward to be mute he that passeth his lyfe in loue ought to kepe his mouth close And to thintent that ye shal not thinke that I speake fables I wil proue this by auncient histories we find aunciently that in the yere .cclxx. after the foundacion of Rome Etrasco a yong Romaine that was dombe and Verona a fayre Lady of the Latines which was dombe also these two saw ech other on the mount Celâo at the feastes and ther fel in loue togethers and their hartes were as sore fixed in loue as their tongues were tyde from speach It was a maruailous thing to se then fearful to note now that this yonge lady came from Salon to Rome he went from Rome to Salon sundry times by the space of 30. yeres without the knowledge of any parson and neuer spake together It chaunced at the last that the husband of the lady Verona died the wife of Etrasco also and then they discouered their loue and treated a mariage betwene them And these two dombe parsons had issue a sonne of whom descended the noble linage of our Scipions which were more famous in the feates of armes then their father mother were troubled for want of words Then Faustine marke thys thing it had litle auailed to haue cut out the tongues of the two dombe persons to haue remedyed their loue and not to haue cut out their harts And I shal tel you of Masinissa a worthy knight of Numidie and Sophonissa a famous lady of Carthage al only by one sighte as they sawe eche other on a ladder he declareth his desyre vnto her and shee knowyng hys lust breakynge the oores of feare and lyftyng vp the ankers of shame incontinente raysed the sayles of their hartes and wythe the shippes of their persones they ioyned ech to other here may we see how the first sight of their eyes the knowledge of their parsons the consent of their harts the copulacion of their bodyes the decay of their estates and the losse of their names in one day in one houre in one moment and in one step of a ladder were lost what wil you that I say more to this purpose do you not knowe what Heleyne the Greke and Paris the Troyan of two straunge nacions and of farre countreis with one only sight in a temple their willes wer so knit together that he toke her as his captiue and she abode his prisoner In Paris appeared but smal force and in Heleyne but litle resistence so that in maner those two yong persons the one procuring to vanquyshe and the other suffring to be vanquished Paris was cause of his fathers death and they both of their owne deaths losse to their realmes scaunder to al the world Al this loue grew of one onely sight When great kinge Alexander woulde haue geuen battaile to the Amosones the quene captaine of theym no lesse faire then strong and vertuous came to a riuer side the space of an houre eche of theym behelde an other with their eyes withoute vtteringe of anye worde And when they retourned to their tentes their fiersnes was turned into swete wanton amorous wordes When Pirius the faithfull defender of the Tharrentines and renowmed king of Epirotes was in Italy he came into Naples and had not
the vnhappie matrone Lucrece were the cause that she was desired but the beautie of her vysage the grauytie of her personne the honesty of her lyuing the keping of her selfe close in her house the spendyng of her time and credite among her neighboures the great renowne that she had among strauÌgers prouoked the folish Tarquine to comit with her adultrye by force What thinke you wherof came this I shal shew you We that be euyl are so euyl that we vse euil the goodnes of them that be good The fault hereof is not in the Ladyes of Rome but rather in the immortal goddes Their cleane honestye declareth our cruel malice Faustine you say your doughter is to yong to be maried Do you not know that the good father oughte to endoctrine his sonnes frome their age and to prouide for his doughters whyles they be yonge Of a trouth if the fathers be fathers and the mothers mothers as sone as the goddes haue geuen them a daughter forthwith they ought to be myndfull therof and neuer forget it til they haue prouided her a husband The fathers ought not to tary for riches nor the mother for her linage the better to mary them so what with the one and the other the time passeth and the doughter waxeth aged and in this maner they be to old to be maried and to lyue alone they caÌnot so that they themselues liue in paine the fathers in thought and the parentes in suspection least they should be cast away O what great ladyes haue I knowen the doughters of great senatours which not for fault of richs nor of vertues in their persons but al only for differring of time and driuyng from one houre to an other so that at last sodaine death come to the fathers and no prouision was made for the doughters So that some were couered vnder the earth after their death others buried with forgetfulnes being alyue Eyther I lye or els I haue red in the lawes of the Rhodians these wordes We commaund the father in maryinge tenne sonnes to trauaile but one daye but to mary one vertuous doughter let hym trauaile ten yeares yea and hazarde his bodye in the water vppe to the chinne sweate droppes of of bloude alter the stomake disherite all his sonnes lose his goodes and aduenture his person These words in this law were pitiful for the doughters no lesse graue for the sonnes For .x. sonnes by the law of men are bound to go ouer al the world but the doughter by this good law ought not to go out of the house I say moreouer that as things vnstable thret fallyng so likewise it chaunceth to yong damosels which thinketh al their time lost and superfluous vnto the day of their mariage Homere sayth it was the custome of ladyes of Grece to count the yeres of their life not from the time of their birth but from the time of their mariage As if one demaunded a Grecian her age she would aunswere .20 yeres if it were .20 sithe she was maried though it wer .60 yeres sith she was borne Affirming after they had a house to gouerne and to commaund that day she beginneth to liue The Melon after it is ripe and abydeth still in the gardeine cannot escape but eyther it must be gathered or els it rotteth I say the mayden that tarieth long tyll she be maried can not escape eyther to be taken or infamed I wil saye no more As sone as the grapes be ripe it behoueth that they be gathered so it is necessary that the woman that is come to perfect age be maried And the father that doth this casteth peril out of his house bringeth himselfe out of care and getteth much contentacion of his doughter ¶ Of a letter whych the Emperour Marcus Aurelius sent to Piramon hys especial frend to comfort him in his troubles Cap. vii MArke oratour Romaine borne at mount Celio to Piramon of Lion my great frend desireth health to thy person and strengthe and vertue against thy sinister fortune In the thirde kalendes of Ianuarye I receyued thy letter wherby I perceiue thou hast receyued one of myne I regard not much thy words but I esteame greatlye thy meanynge So that without declaring therof I haue gathered the sentence Reason would because I haue writen so often to the that thou shouldeste the better vnderstand me but thou art so slouthful that though I call the thou wilt not heare nor though I strike the thou wilt not fele But now to come to the purpose Thou knowest Piramon how nere we be in parentage auncieÌt in frendship stedfast in loue and tender of herts how faithful in al things wherin one true frend might proue another Thou remembrest well when we were at Rhodes that we dwelled together in one house and did eate at one table al that thou thoughtest I did it in effect and that I sayd thou neuer gainesaydest Certainly thou were in my harte and I in thine entrailes I was thine and thou were myne We being together it semed to al other that we were but one of one wil. What a matter is this Thou writest how thou art heauy yet thou doest not tel the cause why Thou complaynest that thou art almost dead and thou shewest me not who taketh from the thy life If thou wilt not shew to me thy troubles sith thou art my frende I wil thou know that I demaund it of right If thou wilt not I wyl that thou know that the piteful gods haue determyned that al pleasures ioye shal departe from my house and that al heuines sorowes shal be lodged in my person Sith I am prince of al honor in tribulacion if thou wouldest thou canst not escape out of my siegnory For if thou complaine that thou art vnhappye in fortune then I esteme my selfe to be happie in vnhappines I demaund one thing of the when hast thou sene me haue sufficient and thou nede when hast thou sene me slepe and thou wake and when hast thou trauailed and I rested Of trouth sith the goods and persons are their owne proper the trauailes and euil aduentures are alwaies common One thing thou oughtest to know if in myne amytie thou wilt perseuer that all my goodes are thine al thyne euyls are myne sith thou was borne to pleasure I to trouble I say not this fainyngly for thou haste had experience of me that when Maria thy sister died who was no lesse vertuous then faire thou perceiuedst wel when she was with earth couered dead I was with sorowes ouerwhelmed alyue and at the sowne of my teares thine eyes daunced Sythe thou hast such confidence in my person surely thou maist discouer to me thy paine Yet as often as I haue demaunded there hath no famed excuses wanted I require the and desire the againe and in the name of the Gods I pray the and in their names I coniure the that thou powre al thy sorowes into mine
geue sentence against an other for the same offence Me thinke that we beholde our owne faultes as thorowe small nettes whiche cause thinges to seame the lesser but we behold the faultes of other in the water that causeth them to seame greater O how many haue I sene condemned by the Senate for one small faulte done in all their life and yet they them selues commit the same faulte euery houre I haue red that in the time of Alexander the great there was a renowmed pirate on the sea called Dionides which robbed and drowned all shippes that he could get and by coÌmaundement of this good king Alexander there was an army sent forth to take him And when he was taken and presented to Alexander the king saide vnto him showe me Dionides why doest thou spoyle on the sea that no shippe can sayle out of the east into the west for thee The pirate aunswered sayd if I spoyle the sea why doest thou Alexander robbe both the sea and lande also O Alexander because I fight with one ship in the sea I am called a thefe and because thou robbest with two hundred shippes on the sea and troublest all the worlde with .200000 men thou art called an Emperour I sweare to thee Alexander if fortune were as fauourable to me and the gods as extreame against thee they would geue me thine empire and geue thee my litle shippe and then peraduenture I should be a better kinge then thou art and thou a worse thefe than I am These were high wordes and wel receiued of Alexander and of trouth to see if his wordes were correspondent to his promises he made him of a pirate a great captaine of an army he was more vertuous on land than he was cruel on the sea I promyse thee Catullus Alexander did right wel therin and Dionides was to be praised greatly for that he had said Now adaies in Italy they that robbe openly are called lordes and they that rob priuely are called theues In the annales of Liuius I haue red that in the second troublous warre punike betwene the Romaines Carthagians there came an Embassadour Lusitain sent from Spain to treate of accorde of peace When he came to Rome he proued before the senate that sithe he entred into Italy he had bene ten tymes robbed of his goodes and whiles he was at Rome he had sene one of them that robbed him hange vp another that had defended him He seing so euill a deede and howe the thefe was saued without iustice as a desperate man tooke a cole and wrote vpon the gibet as foloweth O gibet thou art planted among theues norished among theues squared of theues wrought of theues made of theues set among theues hanged full of innocentes with innocentes The originall of these wordes are in the history of Liuius where the whole Decade was written with black inke and these wordes with red vermilion I can not tel what other newes I should sende thee but that euery thinge is so newe and so tender and is ioyned with so euill sement that I feare me all will fall sodainly to the ground I tell thee that some are sodainly risen within Rome vnto honour whose fall I dare rather assure then life For al buildinges hastely made can not be sure The longer a tree is kept in his kinde the longer it will be ere it be olde The trees whose fruite we eate in sommer do warme vs in wynter O howe many haue we sene wherof we haue marueyled of their rising and bene abashed of their falles They haue growen as a whole piece and sodainly wasted as a skumme Their felicitie hath bene but a short moment and their infortune as a long life Finally they haue made a mylle and layde on the stones of encrease and after a litle grinding left it vnoccupied all the whole yeare after Thou knowest well my frende Catullus that we haue sene Cincius Fuluius in one yeare made consul and his children tribunes his wyfe a matrone for young maydens and beside that made keper of the capitol and after that not in one yere but the same daye we sawe Cincius beheaded in the place his children drowned in Tiber his wife banished fro Rome his house raced down to the grouÌd and all his goodes confisked to the common treasury This rigorous example we haue not red in any booke to take a copy of it but we haue seene it with our eies to kepe it in our myndes As the nations of people are variable so are the conditions of men diuers And me thinketh this is true seing that some loue some hate that some seke some eschewe and that some sette litle by other make much store In such wise that al can not be content with one thing nor some with al thinges can not be satisfied Let euery man chose as him liste and embrace the world when he wyl I had rather mount a soft pace to the falling and if I can not come therto I wyl abyde by the waye rather then with the sweate to mount hastely and then to tumble downe headlong In this case sithe mens hartes vnderstande it we nede not to wryte further with pennes And of this matter marke not the litle that I doe say but the great deale that I wyl say And sith I haue begon and that thou art in straunge landes I wil write thee al the newes from hence This yeare the .xxv. day of May there came an Embassadour out of Asia saiynge he was of the Isle of Cetin a baron right propre of body ruddy of aspect and hardy of courage He considered being at Rome though the sommers dayes were long yet wynter would drawe on and then would it be daungerous sailyng into this Isle and sawe that his busines was not dispatched On a daie being at the gate of the senate seing al the senatours entre into the Capitol without any armour vpon them he as a man of good spirite and zelatour of his countrey in the presence of vs all sayde these wordes O fathers conscript O happy people I am come from a straunge countrey to Rome onely to see Rome and I haue founde Rome without Rome The walles wherewith it is inclosed hath not brought me hyther but the fame of them that gouerne it I am not come to see the treasoury wherein is the treasure of all Realmes but I am come to see the sacred senate out of the whiche issueth counsayle for all men I came not to see ye because ye vanquishe all other but because I thought you more vertuous then all other I dare well saye one thyng except the Gods make me blynde and trouble myne vnderstanding ye be not Romaines of Rome nor this is not Rome of the Romaines your predecessours We haue heard in our Isle that diuers Realmes haue bene wonne by the valiantnes of one and conserued by the wysdome of all the Senate and at this houre ye are more lyke to lose then to
accompte that we haue gotten that we hope to get Tel me what coÌmeth of these vaine pleasures the time euil spent the fame in way of perdition the goodes coÌsumed the credite lost the goddes offendeth the vertues sclaundered from whence we get the names of brute beastes and sir names of shame Suche be ye and others Thou writest in thy letter howe thou wouldest willingly leue Rome and come to see me in the warres of Dacia Considering thy folly I laugh but knowing thy boldnes I beleue thee And when I thinke on this I tourne to my bosome peruse thy seale doubting whether the letter were thyne or not The vaynes of my hart do chaunge my colour doeth tourne imagening that either shame hath vtterly forsaken thee or els grauitie hath wholy abandoned me for such lightnes should not be beleued but of the like persons Thou knowest wel he that doth euil deserueth punishment soner then he that doth infamy I would aske the whether thou wilt go thou suffredest to be cut as sower grape now thou woldest be sold for good wine thou camest in with cheries yet wouldest remain as quinces We haue eaten the in blossomes thou wilt be like the fruite the nuttes be pleasaunt but the shelles be hard By dong thou were made ripe in thy youthe thou wenest to be in stil Thou art nought els but rotten And if thou be rotten thou art to be abhorred Thou art not content with .xl. yeres which thou hast wherof xxv thou didest passe in tast like to swere wine that is sold or like the meloÌs that be rype melow Art not thou that Boemia which lacketh two teethe before are not thine eies sonken into thy head thy heares whiter thy fleashe wryncled thy hand perished with the gout one ribbee marred with child bearing Whether doest thou desire to go put thy selfe then in a barel cast it into the ryuer so shalt thou become pure white We haue eaten the fresh fish now thou wouldest bring hether the stinking salt fishe O Boemia Boemia in this case I see no trust in youthe nor hope in age For vnder this thy hored age there is hid the panges of fraile youth Thou coÌplainest that thou hast nothing it is an olde quarell of the auncient amorous ladies in Rome that taking all thinges they say they haue left them nothing The cause therof is where you doe lacke credite there ye would haue it accomplished with money Beleue me louing frende the folish estate of vnlawfull gaming both geueth an vnsure state also an euill fame to the persone I knowe not howe thou art so wastful for if I pulled of my ringes with the one hande thou pickedst my purse with the other greater warres haddest thou then with my coffers then I haue now with my enemies I neuer had iewel but thou demaundedst of me thou neuer askedst me thing that I denied thee I find bewayle nowe in my age the high partes of my youth Of trauel pouertie thou complainest I am he that hath great nede of the medicine for this opilation plaisters for the sonne cold water for such a burning feuer Doest thou not wel remember how I did banish my necessitie into the land of forgetfulnes placed thy good wil for the request of my seruice in the winter I went naked in the sommer loded with clothes In the mire I went on foote rode in a faire way When I was sad I laught when I was glad I wept Being afraid I drew out my strength out of streÌgth cowardnes The night with sighes daies in wayling I consumed When thou hadest nede of any thing I robbed my father for it Tel me Boemia with whom diddest thou fulfil thine open follies but with the misorders that I did in secret wote ye what I thinke of the amorous ladies in Rome that ye be mootes in olde garmentes a pastime for light persones a treasure of fooles the sepulcres of vices This that semeth to me is that in thy youth euery maÌ gaue to thee for that thou shouldest geue to euery one nowe thou geuest thy selfe to euery man because euery one should geue them to thee Thou tellest me that thou hast two sonnes lackest helpe for theÌ Geue thaÌkes to the gods for the mercy they haue shewed thee To .xv. children of Fabritius my neighbour they gaue but one father to thine only two sonnes they haue geueÌ .xv. fathers Wherfore deuide them to their fathers euery one shal be wel prouided Lucia thy doughter in dede mine by suspect remeÌbre that I haue done more in marieng of her then thou diddest bringing her forth For in the getting of her thou callest many but to mary her I did it alone Very litle I wryte to the in respect of that I would wryte Butrio Cornely hath spoken much to me on thy behalf he shall say as much to the in my part It is long ago sithe I knew thy impacience I know wel thou wilt sende me another more malicious I pray the sence I write to the in secret discouer me not openly wheÌ thou readest this remeÌbre what occasion thou hast geuen me to write thus Although we be fallen out yet I will sende the money I send the a gown the gods be with thee Boemia and sende me from this warre with peace Marke pretour in Daci to Boemia his louer auncient frend in Rome ¶ The aunswere of Boemia to the Emperour Marcus Aurelius Wherin is expressed the great malice and litle pacience of an euill woman Cap. xii BOemia thine auncieÌt louer to thee Marke of mount Celio her natural enemy desireth vengeance of thy persone euill fortune duryng thy life I haue receiued thy letter therby perceiue thy spiteful inteÌtes thy cruel malices Such naughty persons as thou art haue this priuiledge that sith one doth suffre your villanies in secrete you wil hurt theÌ openly but thou shalt not do so with me Marke Although I am not treasoresse of thy good yet at the least I am of thy naughtines Al that I caÌnot reueÌge with my person I wil not spare to do it with my tongue And though we women for weakenes sake ar easely ouercom in persone yet knowe thou that our hartes are inuincible Thou saiest escaping from a battaile thou receiuedst my letter wherof thou wast sore agaste It is a common thing to them that be slouthfull to speake of loue for fooles to treat of bookes for cowards to blase of armes I say it because the answere of a letter was not nedeful to rehearse to a woman whether it was before the battaile or after I thinke wel thou hast escaped it for thou wert not the first that fought nor the last that fled I neuer saw that go to the warre in thy youth that euer I was feareful of thy life for knowing thy cowardlines I
the thou wilt not se me if I write to the thou wilt make no aunswere And the worst of al is if others do shew the of my grefes thou takest it as a mockerie O that I had so much knowledge wher to complaine to the as thou hast power to cease my plaint then my wisedom should be no lesse praised among the wise then thy beauty amongest the foles I besech the hartely not to haue respect to the rudenes of my reasons but regard the faith of my teares which I offer to that as a witnes of my wil. I know not what profite may come by my harme nor what gaine of my losse thou maist hope to haue nor what surety of my peril thou maist attaine nor what pleasure of my paine thou maiste haue I had aunswere by my messenger that without reading my letters with thy owne hands thou didst rent them in pieces it ought to suffice to thinke how many parsons is tormented If it had pleased you lady Macrine to haue red those few lines you should haue perceiued how I am inwardly tormented Ye women be very extreme for the misaduenture of one man a woman wil complaine of al meÌ in general So ye al shew cruelty for one particuler cause openly ye pardon all mens liues and secretly ye procure death to al. I accompt it nothinge lady Macrine that thou haste done but I lament that which thou causest thy neighbour Valerius to say to me One thing I would thou sholdest remember and not forget that is Sith my libertie is so small and thy power so great that being wholy mine am torned to be thine the more iniurie thou dost to me the more thou hurtest thy selfe since by the I die as thou by me doest liue In this peruers opinion abide not so mayest thou hasarde the life of vs both Thou hurtest thy good name and destroyest my health in the ende thou must come to the same phisicke Pardone me lady Macrine if I saye ought that may offende thee I know ye women desire one thing greatly that is to haue soueraintie of vs and yet not seame so much as by thought to wyshe the same Thou haddest the same of a gentle nature though in dede thou were not so yet thou haddest the same thereof and an auncient good name ought not to be loste with a newe vnkindenes Thou knowest howe coÌtrary ingratitude is to vertue in a vertuous house Thou canst not be called vertuous but if thou be curteous There is no greater ingratitude then not to loue againe Though I visite the and thou not me it is nothing though I remember thee and thou forgettest me it is nothing though I wepe and thou laugh it is nothing though I craue of thee and thou denie me it is nothing though thou owest me and paye me not it is nothing But if I loue thee and thou not me this is a great thing which the eies can neither dissimule nor the hart suffre All the vices in mortall men are to be pardoned because they offende naturally saue onely this discourtesy in women and vngentlenes in meÌ which are counted of malice Diuerse seruices by me done to thee and all the good willes I haue heretofore borne to thee thou onely lady Macrine with one thing rewarde me I praye thee be not slacke to helpe me for I was not so to offer me into peril If thou sayest that Patroclus thy husbande hath the propertie in thee at the least yet receiue me vpon proufe and I will pretende a possession of thee and in this wyse the vayne glorie in being thyne shall hyde the hurt being myne thou makest me maruayle not a litle that for so small a rewarde thou wilt suffer so great an importunitie For certainly we graunte many thynges to an importunate man whiche we deny to a temperate man If thou lady Macrine hopest to ouercome me beholde I yelde me as vanquished If thou wilt lose me I holde me loste if thou wylt kyll me I holde me dead For by the gestures whiche I make before thy gate and the secreate sighes whiche I fetche in my house thou mayest knowe howe greatly I mynde to reste but thy braue assaultes are rather buyldinges to nouryshe death then to coÌforte the lyfe If thou wylt I escape this daunger deny me not remedy For it shal be a greater dishonour for to slea me then shame to saue me It is no iust thing for so small againe to lose so faithfull a frende I wote not howe to make thee my detter nor howe to make thee paye me and the worste of all is I knowe not what to saye nor howe to determine For I was not borne to myne owne wealth but to be faithful in thy seruices And sythe thou knowest whom thou haste trusted with thy message the same I doe trust with this open letter and my aunswere in secrete I doe sende to thee a iewell of pearle and a piece of golde I pray the gods make thee receiue them as willingly as I doe frely sende them Marke Oratour to the inexorable Macrine ¶ Of a letter whiche the Emperour Marcus Aurelius sent to the beautiful lady Liuia wherein he proueth that loue is naturall and that the moste parte of the philosophers and wyse men haue bene by loue ouercome Cap. xv MArke full of sorowe to thee careles Lyuia If thy litle care did lodge in me and my sorowes were harboured in thee thou shouldest then see howe litle the quarell is that I make to thee in respect to the torment I suffer If the flambes issued out as the fire doth burne me within the heauens should perishe with smoke and the earth should make imbers If thou doest well remember the firste time I saw thee in the temple of the virgin Vestals thou being there diddest alwayes praye to the gods for thy selfe and I vpon my knees prayed to thee for me Thou knowest and so doe I that thou diddest offer oyle and hony to the goddes but I did offer to thee teares and sighes It is iust thou geue more to hym that offered his harte then to him whiche draweth money out of his purse I haue determined to wryte to thee this letter whereby thou maieste perceiue howe thou arte serued with the arrowes of my eyes whiche were shott at the white of thy seruice O vnhappy that I am I feare least this present calme doth threaten me with a tempest to come I wyl saye that discourtesy in thee causeth doubtfull hope in me Beholde my misaduenture I had lost a letter and tourning to the temple to seeke it I founde the letter whiche was of some importaunce and had almoste loste my selfe whiche is the greatest thyng Considering my small rewarde I see my eyes the ladders of my hope set on so high a wal that no lesse certaine is my fal then my climming was doubtfull Thou bending downe thy harnes of thy high desertes and putting me to the point of continuall seruice
dothe determine to drie and shut vp the fountaines of milke whiche nature hath geuen her she ought to be very diligent to serch out a good nource the which ought not only to content her self to haue her milke whole but also that she be good of lyfe For otherwise the child shall not haue so muche profit by the milke which he sucketh as the nource shall do it harme if she be a woman of an euil life I do aduise princesses and great dames that they watche diligently to know what their nources are before they commytte their children to them for if such nources be euil and slaundered they are as serpentes which do byte the mother with their mouth and do stinge the child with her taile In my opinion it were lesse euill the mother should suffer that her childe should perish in deliuering it then for to kepe in her house an euill woman For the sorow of the death of the child is forgotten and brought to nought in time but the slaunder of her house shall endure as long as she liueth Sextus Cheronensis sayeth that the Emperour Marcus Aurelius commaunded his sonne to be broughte vp of a woman the which was more faire then vertuous And when the good Emperour was aduertised therof he dyd not only send her from his pallace but also he banished and exyled her froÌ Rome swering that if she had not nouryshed his sone with her pappes he woulde haue commaunded her to haue bene torne in pieces with beastes For the woman of an euil renowme may iustly be condempned and put to death Princesses and great ladies ought not greatlye to passe whether the nources be faire or foule for if the milk be swete whyt and tender it littel skilleth though the face of the nource be whit or blacke Sextus Cheronensis saieth in the booke of the nourture of children that euen as the blacke earth is more fertill then is the white earthe so likewise that woman which is browne in couÌtenaunce hath alwaies the most substaunciall milke Paulus Diaconus in hys greatest history sayeth that the Emperour Adocerus did mary him selfe with the daughter of an other emperour his predecessour called Zeno the Empresse was called Arielna The whych in bringing forth a Sonne had a woman of Hungarye marueylous fayre to nourishe it the case succeded in such sorte that the nource for being faire had by that emperour .iii. children the one after the other his wofull wife neuer had any but the first alone A man ought to beleue that the empresse Arielna did not only repent her selfe for taking into her house so faire a nource but also was sory that euer she had any at all syth the rybald therby was mystresse in the house she remained without husband all her life I do not say it for that ther are not many foule women vitious nor yet because ther are not many faire women vertuous but that princesses and great ladies accordyng to the qualities of their husbandes ought to be profitable and tender nources to bring vp their childreÌ For in this case there are some men of so weake coÌplection that in seyng a litell cleane water immediatly they dye to drinke therof Let therfore this be the first couÌsell in chousing nources that the nource before she enter into the house be examined if she be honest vertuous For it is a tryfell whether the nource be faire or foule but that she be of a good life and of an honest behauiour Secondarily it is necessary that the nource which nourisheth the child be not only good in the behauiour of her life but also it is necessary that she be hole as touching the bodily health For it is a rule vnfallible that of the milke which we do suck in our infancy dependeth all the corporall health of our life A child geueÌ to the nource to nourish ⪠is as a tree remoued froÌ one place to an other And if it be so as in dead it is it behoueth in al pointes that if the earth wher in it shal be new put were no better that at the lest it be not worse for thys should be a great crueltie that the mother beyng hole strong and well disposed should geue her child to a leane womaÌ to nource which is feable sore and diseased Princesses and great laâes do chose leane womân weake and sycke for to nourishe their infantes And in that they do fayle it is not for that they would erre but it is bycause that such feable and weake nources by a vaine desire they haue to be nources in a gentilmaÌs house on the one part they say they will litel money on the other parte they do make great sutes What a thing is it when a princesse or a noble woman is deliuered of a child to se the deuyses of other women among them selues who shal be the nource and how those the whyche neuer nourished their owne children do preserue the milke to nouryshe the children of others To procure this thing for women ⪠me thinketh it proceadeth of aboundaunce of folly and to condescend to their requestes me thinketh it is for wante of wisedome They looke not alwayes to the manners and habilitie of the nource how apte she is to nource their childe but how diligent she is in procurynge to haue it to nourishe They care not greately whether they be good or no for if the firste be not good they will take the second and if the second pleaseth them not they will haue the thirde and so vpwardes vntill they haue founde a good nource But I let you to wete you princesses and great ladies that it is more daunger for the children to chaunge diuerse mylkes then vnto the old men to eate dyuerse meates Wee see dayly by experience that without coÌparison there dieth more children of noble women then children of women of the meaner estate And we will not say that it is for that they do flatter their children more nor for that the wiues of labourers do eate fine meates but that it chauÌceth oft times that the children of a poore woman doth neither eat nor drinke but of one kinde of meate or milke in .ii. yeares and the childe of a Ladye shall chaung and alter .iii. nources in .ii. monethes If princesses and great ladies were circumspect in chousing their nources and that they did loke whether they were hole without diseases and honest in their maners and would not regarde so much the importunitie of their sutes the mothers should excuse them selues from many sorowes the children likewise should be deliuered from many diseases One of the most renowmed princes in times past was Titus the sonne of Vaspasyan and brother of Domitian Lampridius saieth that this good Emperour Titus the most parte of his lyfe was subiect to greuous diseases and infirmities of his persoÌne and the cause was for that when he was yong he was geuen to a syck nourse to be nourished so that
court to chaunge that seruile trade of lyfe for quiet rest at home Thinking assuredly that enioying rest at home in his own house hee myght easely bee damned and abyding the payns and seruyce of court hee beleeued vndoubtedly hee shoold bee saued Surely wee may aptly say that thys old courtier was more then a dotard and that hee had mard the call of his conscyens since hee beleeued it was a charge of conscience to depart the court The aÌbition to doo much the couetousnes to haue much maketh the miserable courtiers beleeue that they haue yet tyme enough to lyue to repent them when they will So that in the court thinking to lyue two yeres only in their age good men they lyue fifty and three score yeres wicked naughty persons Plutarch in his Apothegmes saith that Eudonius that was Captain of the Greekes seeing Xenocrates reading one day in the vniuersity of Athens hee being not of thage of eyghty fyue yeres asked what that old maÌ was it was aunswered him that it was one of the philosophers of Greece who followed vertue and serched to know wherein true philosophy consisted Whereuppon hee aunswered If Xenocrates the philosopher tell mee that hee being now eyghty fyue yeres old goeth to seeke vertue in this age I woold thou shooldest also tell mee what tyme hee shoold haue left him to bee vertuous And hee said more ouer in those yeres that this philosopher ys of it were more reason wee shoold see him doo vertuous things thaÌ at this age to goe and seeke it Truely wee may say the very lyke of our new courtier that Eudonius said of Xenocrates the philosopher the which if hee did look for other three score yeres or three score yeres and tenne to bee good what time shoold remain for him to prooue and shew that goodnes It is no maruel at al that the old courtiers forget their natiue countrey and bringing vp their fathers that begat them their frends that shewed theÌ fauor the seruants that serued them but at that that I doo not only woonder at theÌ but also it geeueth mee cause to suspect them is that I see they forget them selues So that they neuer know nor consider that they haue to doo till they come afterwards to bee that they woold not bee If the courtiers which in princes courts haue been rich noble in auctority woold counsel with mee or at least beleeue my writing they shoold depart from thence in time to haue a long tyme to consider before of death least death vnwares sodeinly came to take executioÌ of their liues O happy thrise happy may wee call the esteemed courtier whom god hath geeuen so much wit knowledge to that of him self hee doo depart froÌ the court before fortune hath once touched him which dishonor or layd her cruell hands vpon him For I neuer saw courtier but in the end did complain of the court of their yll lyfe that they lead in court And yet did I neuer know any person that woold leaue it for any scruple of conscience hee had to remain there but peraduenture if any did depart from the court it was for some of these respects or altogether that is to say Either that his fauor credit diminished or that his money failed him or that some hath doon him displeasure in the court or that hee was driuen from the court or that hee was denyed fauor or that his syde faction hee held with had a fal or for that hee was sick to get his health hee went into the countrey So that they may say hee rather went angry displeased with him self then hee dyd to lament his sinnes If you ask pryuatly euery courtier you shal find none but will say hee is discontented with the court either because hee is poore or afflicted enuyed or yll willed or out of fauor hee wil swere reswere again that hee desyreth nothing more in the world then to bee dismissed of this courtiers trauel painfull life But if afterwards perchaunce a lytle wynd of fauor bee put stirring in the entry of his chaÌberdore it wilsodeinly blow away al the good former thoughts froÌ his mynd And yet that that makes mee wonder more at these vnconstant courtiers vnstable brains is that I see many buyld goodly stately houses in their countrey yet they neither dwel in them nor keep hospitality there They graffe set trees plant fruits make good gardeins and ortchyards and yet neuer go to enioy them they puchase great lands and possessioÌs and neuer goe to see them And they haue offices and dignities geeuen them in their countreys but they neuer goe to exercise them There they haue their frends and parents and yet they neuer goe to talk with them So that they had rather bee slaues and drudges in the court then lords and rulers in their own countrey Wee may iustly say that many courtiers are poore in riches straungers in their own houses and pilgrimes in their own countrey and banyshed from all their kinreds So that if wee see the most part of these courtiers bakbyte murmure complayn and abhorre these vyces they see dayly committed in court I dare assure you that this discontentation dyslyking proceeds not only of these vyces and errors they see committed as of the spight and enuy they haue dayly to see their enemies grow in fauor and credit with the prince For they passe lytle of the vyces of court so they may bee in fauor as others are Plutarch in his booke de exilio sheweth that there was a law amongst the Thebans that after a man was fyfty yeres of age if hee fell sick hee shoold not bee holpen with phisitians For they say that after a man is once aryued to that age hee shoold desire to lyue no lenger but rather to hast to his iorneys end By these exaÌples wee may know that infancy is till vii yeres Childhood to .xiiii. yeres youth to xxv yeres manhod till .xl. and age to three score yeres But once passed three score mee think it is rather tyme to make clean the nets and to content themselues with the fish they haue til now then to goe about to put their nettes in order again to fish any more I graunt that in the court of princes all may bee saued and yet no maÌ can deny mee but that in princes courts there are mo occasions to bee damned then saued For as Cato the Censor saith the apt occasions bring men a desire to doo yll though they bee good of them selues And although some do take vppon them and determyne to lead a godly and holy lyfe or that they shew themselues great hipocrits yet am I assured notwithstanding that they cannot keepe their tongue from murmuring nor their hart from enuying And the cause heereof proceedeth for that there are very few that follow the court long but only to enter into credit and afterwards to waxe rich
and grow in great aucthority Which cannot bee wythout hearing a lytle secrete hate and enuy against those that doo passe them in this fauor and auctority and without suspect and fear of others which in this are their equals companions It were a good counsel for those that haue lyued in the court of princes til they bee growen old grey headed that they shoold determine liue the rest of their yeres as good christiaÌs not to passe them as courtiers so that though they haue geuen the world the meal yet they shoold in thend geeue the bran to Iesus Christ I know euery man desireth to liue in princes courtz yet they promise they wil not dye in court And since it is so mee thinks it is a great folly presuÌption for such men to desire to liue long in such state where they woold not dy for al the gold in the world I haue liued in court many yeres at this preseÌt I haue forsakeÌ it quite wherfore I dare boldly sai that if once a man come to enioy a quiet life and reposed rest I am assured hee woold for euer hate and dislike to bee a courtier longer But alas like as these seÌceles courtiers remember not the lyfe to come but only account of their vain courtly lyfe present reputing that the most blessed and happy of any other So god seeing their folly and fond addicted mynd to the vanity of court to plague them with all and scourge them with their own rodd dooth graunt them no other nor better rest then that they only inioy in princes court and so feedes them with their own humor And therefore it is truely said That rest contentation neuer entreth into a sinners house O you woorthy and noble courtiers O you beloued and fauored courtiers I wil remember you yea and again remember you that you presume not to cutt or pull of the wings of tyme since you neither shall haue tyme nor mean to pluck one fether from him much lesse the least knowledge how to doo it And therefore it is sayd Yll cutteth the knife if the edge bee broken and yll can hee gnaw bones that lacketh his teeth And if it seeme good vnto you and mee also that to day it is tyme to gather the fruit of the vyne of our youth let vs goe now again to seeke it about by the means of our amendement And if the pype or caske wherein wee shoold put our wyne bee fusty with the malignity and peruersnes of our wicked dooings Let vs season them with new and better wyne of good and holy desires And now to conclude if to sequester them selues from court it bee a holsom counsell for courtiers much more holsome and necessary it is for such as bear sway and reputation about the prince For other courtiers dayly lyue in hope to enlarge their countenaunce and credit to grow into fauor and auctority but these darlings and belyked of princes are continually afrayd to fall and vtterly to bee put out of fauor ¶ Of the continency of fauored courtiers and how they ought to shonne the company conuersation of vnhonest women and to bee carefull quickly to dispatch all such as sue vnto them Cap. xvii TItus Liuius and Plutarch wryteth that the Romains had in such veneration those men that lyued chast and those weomen also that professed virgins life that they erected statures of them in the senat house carying them thorough the citie in tryumphant chariots recommending them selues to their deuout prayers and geeuing them great giftes and presents and finally adored them as gods And this was their reason in that they honored them as gods for that they being of flesh lyuing in flesh did leaue to vse the woorks and instinct of the flesh which they held a thing more diuine then humayn Filostratus sayth that Appolonius Thianeus was borne without any payn or grief to his mother in all her trauell And that the gods spake to him in his eare that hee raised the dead to lyfe healed the sick knew the thoughts of men diuined of things to come how hee was serued wyth princes honored of the people and folowed of all the philosophers yet they dyd not make so great a woonder of all these things spoken of him as they did for that hee was neuer maried and more ouer neuer detected with the knowledge of any woman liuing much lesse suspected Whilest Carthage was enuironed with seege one eche syde a virgin of Numidia taken prisoner was presented to Scipio and shee was very faire which Scipio notwithstanding woold not only not deflower but set her at lyberty and maried her very honorably Which act of his was more apprised of the romayn writers theÌ was his conquest of Numidia the restoring of Rome her liberty the destruction of Charthage the socour and relife geeuen to Asia and the enobling of his comon wealth For in all these enterprises hee still fought against others but in the effects of the flesh hee fought agaynst hym selfe And therfor he must needs bee maruelous wise and of good iugement that can subdew the desiers and motions of the flesh For wee doo as much couet to follow these carnall desiers as wee are apt to our meate when wee are a hongred Cruel and bitter are the assauts of the flesh to the spirit and wonderfull is the payn the spirit abideth to resist the motions of the same which by no meanes can bee ouercome but by eschewing the occasions therof As in brideling the desires punishing the flesh liuing with spare diet incresing learning geeuyng hym selfe to teares and all together shutting the gates of our desires O yf this vice of the flesh came of abouÌdance of heate or rage of blood wee might soone remedy yt with letting our selues blood Yf it wer by any sicknes of the hart yt should bee cured by interior medecines Yf of the lyuer wee would refresh it with oyntments If of melancony humor wee would wash away al the opilations If of cholex wee would procure esy purges But alas it is a disease so farr from pitty that it misliketh wee should call for phisitions and cannot abide wee should offer it any remedy It cannot bee denied but that ciuil warr is most greeuous and dangerous in a comon wealth But much more perilous is that at home beetwixt the husband and the wyfe but most ieoperdious of all is that a man hath with him selfe For wee cannot recken any other our enymy but our owne desyers I remember I saw once written in a courtiers house these woords which truly deserued to bee written in golden letters and the woords were these The dredfull warrs that I alas sustaine against my self perforce my self dooth straine where blind desier becomes my mighty so the wreckfull gods vouch saue it doo not so Surely hee that wrote this for his woord mee think hee was no foole nor euil christian syth hee nether sought for mony