wyshe and much more destitute of men then I woulde it were And therefore seeing there is nothing els to be expected at the handes of them that are nowe present but meare toyes and trifles yet yf there be any thyng alleaged by them whiche eyther they haue founde out them selues or borowed of the auncient wryters that may aswage thy greefe do not reiect it nor say as do the vnlearned this thou haddest out of the Philosophers For then wyl I answere thee with Cicero I thought thou wouldest haue sayde of whores and bawdes And to say the trueth where shoulde a man fishe or hunt but where fishes and wylde beastes are in the waters and wooddes Where is golde to be digged or precious stones to be gathered but where they growe For they are to be founde in the veines of the earth and vpon the shoares of the sea Where are marchandizes to be had but of merchantes Where pictures and images but of paynters and keruers And last of al where wylt thou expect Philosophical sawes but at the Philosophers handes Whiche although they lye hyd vp by them in their treasuries and were first founde out by them neuerthelesse the same are set open and expounded by other and that paraduenture more playnely or more pithily or more breefely or lastly disposed in some other order and methode promising lyke hope vnto al that heare them but bringing successe vnto fewe For such is the force of order and good ioyning as Horace very wel declareth in his Poeticalles that one matter being diuersly told representeth a greater grace vnto the mind of the hearer yea though it be a common thing that is told such noueltie may be added vnto that which is old and such light vnto that whiche is euident and suche beawtie vnto that whiche is fayre whiche I haue not nowe vttered as lackyng some other place more conuenient therevnto but because thou ministredst occasion at this present For I woulde not haue thee doo as it is the maner of blinde and ignorant pryde to disdayne vulgare and vsuall thynges whiche thou hast heard once and neuer vnderstoode Feare I yeelde vnto thee for I see that thou art very redie in these admonitions although far from effect to me wardes for I feare death yet neuerthelatter Reason There be certayne thynges in name and opinion of men greater then in effect certayne afarre of haue seemed terrible whiche at hande haue been ridiculous It were no wysedome to beleeue the vnexpert there is not one of these defamers of death that can speake any thyng to the purpose for being vnexpert he can learne nothing at all neyther can he be instructed in any matter by one that is vnexpert also Aske a question of a dead man he wyl answere nothyng and yet it is he that knoweth the trueth They wyl babble most that knowe death least and prophecie most vaynely of it wherein they haue least skyll Whereby it commeth to passe that by some death is made the most manifest thyng and of othersome the most hydden secret and this coniecturall case is diuersly tossed in suspition But in doubtfull matters it is good to cleaue to the best opinion and to holde that whiche shall make the minde rather merrie then dumpyshe Feare My soule feareth death Reason If in respect of it selfe that feare is vayne for that the soule is immortall But yf in respect of the bodye it is a thanklesse pittie to be careful of it enimie But if it feare to be dissolued it is to much in loue with it owne prison and bondes whiche were but a verie foolyshe affection Feare I am troubled with the feare of death Reason All fooles are afearde to dye and noe marueyle for all their felicitie is in theyr bodye whiche doubtlesse is by death extinguished And therefore not without cause good men are sorie to heare of theyr ende and heauie to beholde it For this is the nature of man that he can not lyue without desyre not to be vnhappie It becommeth a learned man who maketh no other accompt of his bodye then of a vyle Drudge and fylthie Carkasse whose dilligence and loue and hope and studie is wholy reposed vpon his minde to esteeme of the death of this bodye none otherwise then as of his departure in the morning out of some vnpleasant and noysome lodging Feare I can not choose but feare death Reason Thou mayest refuse to feare the departure out of this lyfe yf thou canst hope or wyshe for the entrance into an other For hereof it is that the same feare ryseth And although there be commonly diuers causes alleaged of the feare of this departure neuerthelesse they vanishe away when the hope of that other life is laide before the eyes Feare I dread death Reason The dread thereof is specially engendred by the lacke of meditating thereon and the sudden necessitie of dying whiche in a learned and wyse man is most shameful but specially in an olde man whose whole course and order of lyfe yf he be learned and wyse indeede ought to be a continuall meditation of death Whiche if it seemed so vnto the auntient Philosophie what may it nowe appeare vnto your new deuotion which is the hygh Philosophie and the true wisedome Consider the maner of them that are commaunded vpon a sudden to goe some far iourney how sadde and careful they are to make vp their carriage and how they complaine at their departure and in a maner repine that they had no longer warning before so that as soone as their backes are turned they thinke vpon necessaries which they haue forgotten and are discontented therewith Now there is no way longer then to dye none harder as they say none more noysome for Theeues none more obscure none more suspicious nor more vncertaine which though it wanted al these yet is it vnreturneable By meanes whereof ye ought to be the more diligent least haply ye forgette any thing for that when ye are once departed from hence ye can no longer doo as they that occupie other trades or vndertake whatsoeuer other iourney that is to say commit suche thynges by their letters or messengers vnto their freendes to see vnto as they them selues haue left forgotten For ye are not able to sende any message backe nor to stay in the place where ye were nor to returne agayne Ye must needes goe hence it is not possible for you to returne ye must needes goe thyther Souldiers from whence it is not needefull that ye come backe agayne Thus in Seneca sayde the Romane Captayne to his men and thus also sayth your Captayne to you And therefore seeyng ye must needes depart and come no more and that the necessitie of your iourney is very certayne but the houre of death vncertayne this is your onely remedie to be alwayes readie in mind to answere when ye are called and to obey when ye are commaunded and when all thinges are disposed in good order at your Captaines fyrst
and enuied at hym that he should graunt lyfe vnto hymselfe And to conclude he findeth that only enuie was the cause of his death whiche Caesar hym selfe did not dissemble as we sayde erewhyle For what coulde he other feare or why could he not abyde hym to be his prince by whom not long before he was banyshed the senate and committed to pryson So that he that slue not hym selfe in so great and present an iniurie why shoulde he nowe slaye hym selfe for a vayne feare or false opinion of pryde or crueltie What terror was there expressed in Caesars face that he shoulde seeke to auoyde the same by death who not only of all men but of al Tirantes and Prynces was the most gently and mercifull For although Cato had neuer seene any more myghtie yet truely in that age had he seene many more cruel but truely neuer sawe he any more merciful And therefore ryghtly sayeth another excellent wryter famous both for credite and eloquence It seemeth vnto me sayth he that Cato sought an occasion to dye not so muche to escape Caesars handes as to folowe the decrees of the Stoykes whom he immitated and by some notable deede to leaue his name famous vnto posterytie What harme woulde haue happened vnto him if he had lyued I do not perceyue For suche was the clemencie of Caius Caesar that in the greatest heate of the ciuile warres he would seeme to do nothing els but to deserue wel of the common wealth prouiding alwayes for the safetie of Cicero and Cato Loe behold another cause of his death beside enuie to wit a vayne follie both which were farre vnwoorthy of the person of Cato and yet neyther of them sufficient to preuent a mans owne death Sorowe I had rather dye then lyue thus Reason Howe knowest thou whether this lyfe whiche seemeth greeuous vnto thee be desired of many or enuied of the most But your impatiencye maketh all thynges more greeuous Sorow I desire to dye Reason As from the feareful to force the feare of death so to wreast from the desperate the hatred of lyfe is a hard matter Neuerthelesse this is the effect of our remedie to beare this lyfe with indifferencie and to looke for death valiantly Of Death The .cxix. Dialogue SOROWE I Dye Reason Now thou art come to the last cast nowe canst thou neyther feare death nor wyshe for it of both whiche thou hast alredie wearied me in many discourses next before written Hereafter thou shalt neyther be in sorowe nor in paine neyther be subiect to the defaultes of the body nor minde neyther shalt thou be wearied with the tediousnesse of any thing nor with sickenesse nor with olde age nor with deceites of men nor with the varietie of fortune al whiche yf they be euyl then is the ende of euyl good Not long since thou complaynedst of al these and nowe thou findest fault with the ende of them beware that thou seeme not iniurious for beyng sory for the begynning of a thing and the endyng of the same Sorowe I dye Reason Thou shalt walke the way of thy fathers or rather the broade and worne way of thy predicessors haddest thou rather that there shoulde happen vnto thee some peculiar accident I wote not what Goe forward on thy way thou needest not be a frayde of goyng amisse thou hast so many leaders and companions of thy iourney Sorowe Alas I dye Reason If there be any that hath cause to weepe when he dyeth he ought to be ashamed to haue laughed when he lyued knowyng that he had cause at hand and alwayes hanging ouer his head ful soone to make hym weepe whose laughter doubtlesse was not farre disioyned from weeping Sorowe I dye Reason He is not to be suffred that be waileth the estate of his owne kynde Thou shouldest not dye vnlesse thou were mortal But if thou be sorie because thou art mortal thou hast no cause to complayne when thou surceasest to be that which thou wast agaynst thy wyl Thou shouldest haue lamented at the begynnyng when thou beganst to be that whiche thou wouldest not but now thou oughtest to reioyce for that thou begynnest to be immortal Sorowe I dye Reason Al these that lately stoode about thy bed and moreouer al that euer thou hast seene or heard or read of and as many as euer thou wast able to knowe since thou wast borne as many as euer heretofore haue seene this lyght or shal hereafter be borne in al the worlde and to the worldes ende either haue or shal passe through this iorney Beholde in thy minde as wel as thou canst the long troupes of them that are gone before or of those that shal folowe hereafter and also the number not small of thy companions and coequales in yeeres who dye with thee euen at this presente and then I thinke thou wylt be ashamed to bewayle a common case with thy pryuate complayntes when as among so many thou shalt not finde one whom thou mayest enuie at Sorowe I dye Reason This is to be impassible and to goe about to shake of the yoake both of fortune and death a double great good whiche no prosperitie can geue vnto any lyuing creature Thinke with thy selfe howe many and howe great cares howe many paynefull traueyles there were remayning yet vnto thee yf thou lyuedst I say not an infinite lyfe but the space of a thousand yeeres when as there is alotted vnto thee a lyfe but onely of one dayes space wherein yf thou make an indifferent estimation thou shalt perceyue the toyles and wearisomenesse of this short transitorie and vncertayne lyfe and also thine owne greefes and vexations whiche thou hast susteyned Sorow I dye Reason In suche forte ye bewayle death as though lyfe were some great matter whiche yf it were then were the flyes and emmotes and spyders partakers of the same If lyfe were alwayes a commoditie then were death euermore a discommoditie whiche sometyme is founde to be a great benefite when as it delyuereth the soule from intollerable euyles or dischargeth or els preserueth the soule from sinne that is to come whiche is the greatest euyl of all But as vertue is onely a great thyng among you so yf this lyfe be considered by it selfe as it is it is the stoare house of innumerable miseries for the shuttyng vp whereof whoso is sorowfull the same taketh it not well that euyles doo surcease and hateth quyetnesse and he that coueteth the same it must needes be that he couet the ende of a payneful and troublesome lyfe Then yf there be noneother ende of toyles and euyles why doest thou weepe for it That day is nowe at hande which yf it were prolongued thou wouldest wyshe for it and perhaps suche is the worlde the power of fortune so great and her chaunces so variable that thou hast oftentymes alredie wished for it Sorowe I dye Reason Nay rather thou departest out of an earthly and transitorie house vnto the heauenly and euerlastyng habitation
swelleth the people are astunned his kinsfolk and friendes reioyce at hym He beyng wylled getteth vp into the pulpit ouerloking al from an high confusedly murmureth I can not tel what Then the elder sort of Strines extol him with praise to heauen as one that hath spoken like a god In the meane whyle the belles iangle the trumpets rattle rings flye about kysses are geuen and a peece of a blacke round cloath is hung on his shoulders When this is done the wise man commeth downe that went vp a foole A straunge Metamorphosis which Ouid neuer knew Thus are wyse men made now a dayes but a wise man in deede is made otherwyse Ioy. I am wyse Reason They that thynke very magnificently of themselues boldly do attempt thynges aboue theyr power and faylyng in the myddes of theyr indeuour do learne by their owne peryl or shame howe partial iudges they haue ben in theyr owne causes It were better beleeue me to reiect false opinions to behold a mans owne insolencie to wishe that thou neuer haue occasion to trie thy wisdome which may declare how that thou hast gloryed in nothyng This is a more direct safe meanes to seeke wisedome Ioy. I thinke that I haue atteyned to wisedome Reason But if thou wilt hearken vnto me thou shalt sooner atteyne therunto by rysing vp indeuouryng then by beleeuyng There is nothyng that ryseth higher then painful humilitie Of Religion The .xiii. Dialogue IOY I Glory in my perfect religion Reason There is but one most excellent and perfect religion whiche is established vpon the name of Christ and vpon that most assured rocke al other are vayne superstitions and goinges out of the right way and errours whiche â—eade vnto hel and death not this which is transitorie but the euerlastyng Howe many and what notable men thynkest thou haue suffered this miserable want of true religion who in al other thynges haue excelled the residue They haue cause to lament eternally and thou wheâ—â—â—â— to glory and reioyce not in thy selfe but in hym who hath vouchsafed to preferre thee in so great a matter before those that were far greater then thou then whiche thyng there can no greater nor better be geuen vnto thee in this lyfe Of whiche I would not sticke to speake somewhat more at large vnlesse it were now by heauenly illumination almost knowne to al. Ioy. I am entred into holy religion Reason Holy orders and ceremonies belong only to this religion and of all other they are madnesse and sacrilegious superstitions neyther is it sufficient to be entred Perhaps it is a greater matter then thou thynkest for although it be a pleasant trauayle to a deuout mynd neyther is it yenough to know God which the deuyls doo that hate hym Loue and worshypping are required whiche consist of those thynges whiche I woulde were by men sâ— well fulfylled as they are knowne Ioy. I please my selfe in my true religion Reason To please a mans selfe is to be proude As for this true religion which tyeth thee vnto God GOD vnto thee it engraffeth humilitie in godly mynds and rooteth out pryde In this maner therfore it is lawful for thee to reioyce that by how much the more mery and religious thou art by so much the better thou art more abounding in good workes geuing thanks vnto him who sheweth thee a direct path from this mortal life vnto the life euerlasting Ioy. I thanke God for it I haue obteyned true religion Reason Thou hast said wel god be thanked keepeâ— wel then froÌ„ erroâ—â—s from negligence from sinnes And perswade thy selfe thus if thou haue obteined it and exercise thy selfe therein as it behooueth thee to do then shal the controuersie cease wherof we contended erewhile forasmuch as it is written in holy scripture Godlynesse is true wysedome and by an other also The feare of God is the begynning of wysedome neyther is the same ouer past with scilence by prophane wryters Of which matter Lactantius maketh mention in the seconde booke of his institutions Hermes affirmeth sayth he that they that knowe God are not only safe from incursions of Deuyls but also that they are not tyed by destinie Only godlinesse sayth he is their keeper and defence For a godly man is neyther subiect to the wicked deuyl nor to destinie God delyuereth the godly from all euyll For godlynesse is the only good and felicitie of man And what godlynesse is he sheweth in an other place by these woordes Godlinesse is the science and knowledge of God. He affirmeth also that Asclepius dyd expounde at large the same saying in a certayne princely Oration Thus thou seest howe two most obstinate Paganes doo grope about your trueth Such is the force of trueth that oftentymes it draweth the tongues of the enimies vnto it Of Freedome The .xiiii. Dialogue IOY I Was borne in freedome Reason He is not free that is borne but he that dyeth fortune hath great power ouer hym that is commyng into the worlde but none ouer hym that is dead She ouerthroweth strong Cities She vanquysheth valya nt armyes She subuerteth mightie kyngdomes The graue is an impregnable castle there the wormes beare rule and not fortune Who so therefore haue stept into that lybertie of al men they are free from the insultes of this lyfe Thou boastest thy selfe to be free and knowest not whether thou shalt enter this bay a free man I say not into thy graue but into thy chamber Your libertie whiche hangeth by a weake threede as all your thynges els doo wherein ye trust is always waueryng and bryttle Ioy. I am a free man. Reason For this cause I suppose thou callest thy selfe a free man because thou hast no maister but heare what Annaeus Seneca sayeth Thyne age is prosperous sayth he perhaps it wyll so continue knowest thou not at what age Hecuba and Craesus and the mother of Darius and Plato and Diogenes came into bondage By these examples he admonishyth thee There be many other examples of Seneca eyther concealed or not knowne Dooest thou not remember how Attilius Regulus though vnworthy yet susteyned this reproche Hast thou forgotten Valerianus that was of latter yeeres whereof the one of whom I spake last was a captayne and the other a prynce of the people of Rome and anon the one made slaue to the Carthagians the other to the Persians and this man cruelly put to death the other consumed with long and miserable seruitude What shall I say of the kynges of Macedonia and Numidia Perses on the one side and Siphan on the other who both fell downe from the top of theyr kyngdomes into the Romanes fetters I omit the auncient fall of kynges and princes Thyne age hath seene some thrust out of the court into pryson and the same man also both first a kyng and last a bondslaue For euery one is by so muche the more miserable in bondage by howe much he was the more happy in freedome Be not proude therefore
agaynst enimies then agaynst vices He that hateth another man fyrst geueth a wounde to his owne soule and next many tymes vnto his owne body For to much greedinesse to hurt and strike others hath layde foorth many vnaduised and naked vnto theyr enimies Thus euermore the first part of al mischiefes turneth vppon the aucthours thereof and some tyme the last part when many tymes he remayneth vnhurt agaynst whom the mischiefe was first prepared Sorowe Warres ryse agaynst me on euery syde Reason The people of Rome was neuer more famous and holy then when they were busied in many and great warres Their peace was the beginning of their mischiefe for with it entred flattering lasciuiousnesse a pestilent enimie vnto vertue Sorowe I haue great enmitie Reason Great enmitie many tymes hath been the beginnyng of great friendshyp Sorowe I haue enimies Reason Haue also trustinesse and mercifulnesse as for other matters whatsoeuer shal happen prouide that thou be theyr superiours in curtesie and vertue There is also right iustice to be vsed with a mans enimies with whom so behaue thy selfe that thou doubt not but that thou mayest be reconciled into friendshyp with them And know that this is more holsome counsell then was Biants who wylleth a man so to loue his friendes that he remember also that they may become his enimies whiche saying although it be commended of others yet neyther I nor Tullie doo lyke of it For in deede it is a very poyson in friendshyp wherefore in hatred a man ought to think on loue not in loue to thinke on hatred and truely Aristotles counsell in his Rethorickes is farre to be preferred before Byas aduice A man shoulde not as men commonly speake loue as though he shoulde hate but rather hate as though be shoulde loue Whereof Arislotle wrytyng reproueth Bias hymselfe and also his subtyle and malicious counsell Sorowe I haue enmities Reason But haue them agaynst thy wil let a louyng hart of peace dwell alwayes in thine armed breast and so goe to warre that thou mayst seeme to be constrayned thervnto least haply humanitie geue place vnto hatred or least thou studie more for reuenge then for glory or health Thou knowest that Hanibal was more hateful to the Romanes then was Pyrrhus when as both of them were enmities and Pyrrhus first inuaded Italy but not to the entent to destroy it vtterly as dyd Hannibal but only to requyre it We must conquere by all the meanes we can that in euery action true vertue may appeare so that it may seeme that nothyng els is sought for by war then honest peace Of occasion lost to reuenge The .xxxiij. Dialogue SOROWE I Haue lost my wyshed occasion to reuenge Reason From whom sinne is taken nothyng is taken but much is added for certayne thynges which men haue to be taken from them is a gayne but to withstand them that they may not be had at al is a greater vauntage Sorowe I haue lost the meanes to be reuenged Reason An happy losse to loose that whiche may hurt thee Sorowe I am prohibited of my hoped and wished reuenge Reason The chiefest point is to haue a minde not to doo euyl the next to be prohibited Sorowe I must of necessitie loose occasion of reuengement Reason If it be a notable kynde of reuenge not to haue a wyll to reuenge it is an excellent necessitie not to be suffered to reuenge It is the chiefest point willingly to embrace vertue the next to be constrayned therunto Sorowe I am sory that reuenge is taken from me Reason The tyme wyll come peechaunce shortly when thou mayest reioyce and that thou wouldest not wyshe that it had hapned otherwyse Many when they come by occasion vnto any thing at length they begyn to haue will vnto it and to loue it and theyr liking groweth vpon necessitie and when it beginneth to be a wyl it surceasseth to be a necessitie Sorowe I thought I could haue ben reuenged but I could not Reason Not to be able to doo euil is a great power this qualitie is proper vnto the almightie Sorowe Present reuenge is fallen away from me Reason Thinke that thou hast let fal a snake out of thy hand take heede that he creepe not into thine hand agayne There is nothyng so coutrary vnto a man as vngentlenesse By this he surceasseth to be a man whiche to be so the name it selfe declareth there is no sicknesse so contrary no not death it selfe For death hapneth by the course of nature but this far contrariwise To shew crueltie vnto a man is contrary vnto the nature of a man although it were deserued a man ought not to folowe the motion of a wounded mynd and by the remembrance of a priuate griefe to forgeat the instinct of the common nature Sorow I shall be sory for euer that I was restrayned from reuenge Reason Perhaps thou shalt reioyce for euer How often thinkest thou after enmitie layd a part and friendshyp concluded haue some abhorred theyr friendes in the middest of theyr embrasinges thus thinking with them selues this man I wished at the Deuyl and I lacked but litle of bryngyng my wicked desire to effect O happie chaunce to howe good a part hast thou conuerted my cruell meanyng Sorowe I cannot be suffered to wreake my iust wrath Reason A man shall scarce fynde iust anger forasmuche as it is written Mans anger woorketh not the righteousnesse of God and agayne it is said by an other Anger is a short madnesse It is best therefore not to be angrie at all and next not to reuenge but to bridle anger that it cary not away the mynde whyther as it is not seemely the thirde is not to be able to reuenge if thou wouldest Sorow I haue lost notable occasion to be reuenged Reason Pardon which is more notable is left vnto thee and also forgetfulnesse which is most notable of all The same made Iulius Caefar renowmed among all Princes Great innumerable were this worthie Emperours conquests his triumphes most glorious his excellencie in chiualrie incomparable his wyt most excellent his eloquence notable the nobilitie of his progenie the beautie of his personage the valure of his inuincible mynde surpassing but when thou hast heaped togeather all his commendations thou shalt finde nothyng in hym more excellent then his mercifulnesse and forgetfulnesse of offences which although it procured vnto hym the cause of his death so that the saying of Pacunius was iustly song at his buriall It was my fortune to saue some that there might some lyue to destroy me neuerthelesse since that he must of necessitie die in suche a cause death was in a maner to be wyshed Of the peoples hatred The .xxxiiij. Dialogue SOROWE THe people hate me Reason Then hast thou the ende of the multitudes fauour whereof I forewarned thee to wit hatred for loue Sorowe The people hate me without a cause Reason Thou woondrest that they hate thee without a cause who
very fewe among many are able to say so for of so many thousand thousandes as are borne howe many are there that atteyne to olde age And of them that do howe many lyue out the lawful tyme that they may be called old Sorowe I am very olde Reason It is a myracle to meete with a verie old man specially if a man thinke with hym selfe with how many dangers on steppes he hath passed to that age The great rarenesse of olde folke is a great argument of the manyfolde chaunces of this mortal lyfe Sorowe I am olde Reason Thou hast runne an hard and daungerous race it were marueyle but that by this tyme beyng weerie and desirous to rest thou were glad to see the ende so nigh Sorowe I am soone waxen olde Reason The course of your lyfe is sometyme short sometyme very short neuer long alwayes hard rough and vncertayne the last part whereof is olde age and the ende death what cause hast thou here to complayne alone Art thou waxen old By this time then thou oughtest to haue fulfilled the dueties of life and now rest thy self seing thou art come to the end thereof That traueiler were worse then mad that being weerie and weakened with his long iourney woulde be content to goe backe agayne There is nothyng more acceptable to them that are weerie then their Inne Sorowe I am aged Reason The toyles of thy lyfe haue been pleasant vnto thee belike if thou be sorie thou hast passed them Sorowe I am an olde man. Reason If thou haddest a delyte to lyue loe thou hast lyued what needes thou must do thou hast fulfilled And who is so mad that wylbe sorie for the doing of that whiche he wyshed vnlesse he perceyue that he wyshed a misse or reioyceth not that that is done alredy that might not be left vndone nor be done without great trauayle And therefore on euery side thou hast cause to reioyce whether thou hast obteyned thy wyshed desire or accomplyshed thy necessarie and payneful duetie Sorow I am in yeeres and olde age hath chased away the delites of the body Reason Enioy the pleasures of the minde which are as many and truely more permanent and do neuer depart but when the soule departeth to her they cleaue her they folowe But bodilye pleasures when they come they bring offence and when they depart they leaue behinde them cause of repentance shame and sorowe Reioyce that thou art discharged and free from them and geue thankes to thy deliuerer for bringing thee out of the handes of thine enimies and causing thee do folowe thy duetie which thou haddest deferred and neglected Sorow I am olde and want mine accustomed pleasures Reason Accustome thy selfe then to new for olde age hath it proper pleasures whiche when thou hast tasted thou wylt loath those whiche thou hast lost if thou mightest euen rufe to returne vnto them Sorow I am olde and gray headed Reason The reuerende hoarie heares of a vertuous olde man carie with them not onely more aucthoritie but also honest delite then al the filthy pleasures of young men neyther be thou greeued at the changyng of their colour For whose senses are so corrupted or iudgment blynded that he woulde not rather beholde baskets ful of white Lilies then hutches full of blacke coales And yf he were to be transfourmed had not rather be made a whyte swanne then a blacke crowe Sorowe I am olde and the filthy wrincles haue furrowed my face Reason The forrowed lande bryngeth foorth the ranker corne and the lyfe that hath been wel instructed yeeldeth the ryper and pleasanter fruite in olde age If the wrincles of thy face offende thee frame the countenance of thy minde vnto more comlinesse whiche wyll neuer be deformed with wrincles nor altered with yeeres but rather encrease by continuance and to be short wyl do thee more honour if thou neglect it not Sorowe I am olde and become so wrincled and euyl fauoured that I scarce knowe my selfe Reason I tolde thee at the begynning of this Nowe thou wylt haue lesse desire to looke in a glasse lesse please thine owne perhaps but much lesse the eyes of wanton women whom to haue a desire to delite I cannot easily determine whether it tast of greater vanitie then lasciuiousnesse But they that séeke for trustinesse for constancie for grauitie for wysedome do hope more assuredly to fynde them among these wrincles then where the forehead and cheekes be playne and smoath and soft Sorow I am aged and the sweetest part of my lyfe haue I left behynd me Reason Nay surely the sowrest for those thynges that are most wyshed for are not alwayes best Many haue desired their owne hurte which they would not do were not the saying of the Satirike Poet true There are but fewe that can discerne the true goodes Sorowe I am olde and my pleasant dayes are past Reason The dayes in al tymes are muche one and lyke but mens mindes do varie yea one minde disagreeth from it selfe Hereof it commeth that the madnesse of youth on the one side and the impaciencie of olde age on the other haue in such sort disturbed the iudgement of this lyfe that that is counted good whiche is euyl and that most excellent whiche is woorst of al. As for the dayes they are of them selues al good for asmuch as the kyng and creatour of al worldes is good And although some dayes be hotte and some cold some drye and some moyst some cloudy and some cleare some troublesome and some calme yet yf thou haue a respect vnto the beautie of the whole worlde and the course of nature they be al good But yf they be referred vnto you and your iudgement they are almost al of them euyl sorowful doubtful heauie troublesome careful bitter plaintile lamentable ful of aduersitie Among these thou tellest me a tale of certayne pleasant ones I knowe not what whiche whiles they were present were heauie and not without their complaintes and nothing maketh them now seem pleasant but that they are past and the desire thou hast that they shoulde returne maketh them deare vnto thee and the rather for that perhaps they haue caried away with them some thynges whereby thou settest no small store A foole commonly loueth nothyng but that he hath lost Sorowe I am waren old but O that my young dayes woulde returne agayne Reason O no lesse foolyshe then vayne wyshe as thou meanest but yf thy vnderstandyng were of hygher matters then were it not voyde for it wyl surely come agayne one day and according as it is written Thyne youth shal be renewed as is were the youth of an Eagle Sorowe I am olde and my good tyme is past Reason As euery age is good to the good so is it euyl to the euyll liuers vnto both sure it is but short and very neare to the ende when as the godly shal be rewarded for their vertue and the wycked punished for their sinnes Which is then
fortune that they myght seeme to be vnmindfull of their Empire and ryches and conquestes and so many and great commodities and yet to remember that they were men for whom in this lyfe to looke or hope for perfect and sounde felicitie is but a meere madnesse To mingle the sweete with the sowre is a peculiar medicine agaynst the gout and a common remedie agaynst all diseases which thou shalt fynde to be very effectuall and wylt confesse to be good and vertuous counsayle if thou followe the aduice of that godly olde man who once attayned vnto great prosperitie and afterwarde tasted extreame aduersitie who by meanes of the benefites which he receyued at Gods handes learned to take all affliction in good part although that same hand can neyther make nor geue any euyl but he had only a respect vnto the common opinion of men Sorow The gout keepeth me downe in my bedde as yf I were bounde with knottes that can neuer be vndoone Reason Whyle thou lyes thy minde may stande vp and suruey the whole heauen earth and sea Of Scabbes The Lxxxv. Dialogue SOROWE I Am greeued with paynefull Scabbes Reason I maruel now no longer if thou take in yl part those that be greefes only seeing thou also bewailest that wherewith there is some sweetenesse mingled Sorow I am vexed with the greeuous scab Reason Some say that it is holsome to be scabbed But for that I wyl not cal so woful a thyng by so good a name I tearme it a token of health or the way leading to health It is but a gentle thing for that it is not long in comming foorth whose issuing is somtime ioyned with no small tickling Sorow The dry scab molesteth me Reason Thou needest now no clock nor watch for the same wyl awake thee in the night and cal thee vp vnto thy necessarie honest affayres For there is none so slouthful whom the payneful scab wyl not styr vp and make wakeful Sorow I am vexed with scabbes Reason A base disease but which hath a noble cure labour paine heate bathes watching diet these are medicines against scabbes If these wyl do no good thou must flee to the remedie of pacience which in al diseases is the most profitable salue Sorowe I am troubled with the paynefull and fylthie scab Reason I denie neither of them And whereas Publius sayd that the sore feete of one that had the Gout were a paynefull rest so on my woorde mayest thou say that a payre of scabbed handes are a greeuous businesse But what wylt thou say to this The loathsommer the disease is the comlier is the patience And how yf out of a small discommoditie thou reape great profite This is one of the thinges that especially engender a contempt of this body then whiche is nothing more necessarie for mankind Sorow I am al ouer infected with scabbes Reason That thou art al scabbed I thinke it be too true and I stande in great feare thereof But perhaps this is more then thou wouldest haue sayd For thou meanest it of thy whole body but there is an other kind of inuisible scabbe in your mindes to wit couetousnesse and sensualitie and a certaine vehement uching to reuenge and complaine which the more it is scratched the more it rageth This itche ye neyther feele or craue to haue cured so muche is your care lesse ouer your soules then ouery our bodyes Of watching The .lxxxvi. Dialogue SOROW. I Cannot sleepe Reason Watch then and reioyce that the ryme of thy lyfe is prolonged For betweene sleepe and death there is small difference but that the one lasteth but for a tyme the other is perpetual And therefore I cannot tel whether it be not sayde properly enough that sleepe is a short death and death a long and euerlasting sleepe Sorowe I haue lost my sleepe Reason It must be prouoked agayne not by force but by fayre meanss If thou thinke to procure it it wyl not be constrained Goe some other way to woorke geue rest to thyne head and trouble not thy minde with cares and it wyll come vnlooked for when the minde is loose and the body weerie sleepe wyl came stealyng on Sorowe My sleepes are often broken of Reason Do as it is sayde Augustus Caesar was woont to do when thou wakest out of sleepe haue some about thee to renue it agayne by readyng or tellyng of tales But if it be long of earnest and vrgent cares lay them aside and sleepe wyl come of whiche sort of cares Virgil speaketh where he sayth that good cares do breake sweete sleepes Sorowe I can take no rest in sleepe Reason Neyther shalt thou then be terrified with dreadfuldreames nor surprised with suddeyne feare in the night And although Aristotle hold opinion that the visions whiche wyse men see in their sleepe be good true in deede it is Neuerthelesse the one of these who was nothing inferiour vnto hym in wit but of greater aucchorine the other in al respectes his equal in holinesse and pacience whom I mentioned erewhyle endured great extremitie and trouble in their dreames What others haue fealt and suffered euery one is priute vnto hymselfe and can cal his owne bed to wytnesse of the illusions and troubles whiche he hath susteynâ—d Truely the one of these was woont in his latter dayes to be terrified in his dreames as it is wrytten of hym The other I made mention of not long since where I entreated of rest and quietnesse who among other troubles of this lyfe complayneth of his suddayne frightyng in sleepe and the terrour of his visions and drcames Sorowe I slepe not so wel as I was woont Reason Then thou lyuest longer then thou wast woont for thus the learned say that as sleepe is death so watchyng is lyfe Sorow Sickenesse hath dryuen away my sleepe Reason Then health wyl bryng it agayne Sorowe Loue hath bannished my sleepe Reason Thou speakest one thing twyse For loue is a sickenesse and the greatest sickenesse that is Sorowe Feare hath bannished away my sleepe Reason Securitie wyl reuoake it Sorow Olde age hath taken away my sleepe Reason Death approchyng wyl restore it Of the vnquietnesse of dreames The .lxxxvii. Dialogue SOROW. I Am disquieted with dreames Reason If that be true whiche a certayne wyse man sayth that dreames doo folow great cares whiche is also confirmed by your wryters then cut of the cause of the mischeefe abandon cares and dreames wyl vanish away To what purpose serue your manyfold cares whiche are to none effect in so short a lyfe whereof in the begynnyng I promised to entreate and to declare that it is bootlesse to forment it and make it troublesome and through your owne follie to disquiet your rest with dreadâ—full dreames Wyl ye ouercome gods prouidence with your owne counsel and do ye not perceyue howe your madnesse and cousultations of that tyme whiche is not onely beyond your iudgement but also your knowledge are laughed at from an high Neyther
but be reprochful and ignominious for that it is contrarie to the commaundement of the most hygh Lorde agaynst whiche nothyng can be wel done Sorowe I had rather dye then to see the thynges that are lyke to happen shortly Reason It is not the part of a man not to be able with open eyes to behold both faces of fortune it is the part of a woman to turne away the eyes in feare What is the thyng that troubleth thee so muche that nothyng can helpe thee but death only Is it thine owne or thy freendes or perhaps the aduersitie of thine afflicted countrye As for the first two they are but gentle for fortune is not so strong but vertue is able to withstand it the thirde is godly but the loue thereof is fainte and slouthful For the bondage and captiuitie of a mans countrey and the gouernement thereof in manner of a Tirannie is rather to be repelled by death then auoyded by steppyng a side For the first is the part of a man but this tastest of womanyshe imbecillitie Whiche thyng notwithstandyng the same Seneca doth woonderfully extol in the death of Cato in that same his peculiar opinion whereof I spake erewhyle But Cicero thinkyng it sufficient to excuse him only abstaineth from commending him For he sayth that vnto Cato that was a man of such wonderful grauitie and perpetual constancie of nature it was better to dye then to looke the Tyrant in the face whom Brutus notwithstandyng behelde and thought it better to make hym away by kyllyng hym then by kyllyng hym selfe Whiche how wel or ill it was done I do not now dispute But so in deede he did As for Cicero whyle he excuseth Cato he forgetteth his owne more commendable opinion whiche long before he had set downe in his sixth booke De republica of a common-wealth whiche is after this manner folowyng whiles that he bringeth in Publius Scipio Affricanus the younger dreaming howe that he talked in heauen with his father and graundfather and hearyng them speake of the immortalitie of the soule and the felicitie of the other lyfe made hym desirous to dye and brought in his father by and by reprouing the same his fonde and vnprofitable desyre in these woordes It may not be so quoth he for vnlesse God whose churche al this is which thou beholdest doo loose thee out of these bondes of thy bodye thou canst haue none entrance hyther For men were created for this cause that they shoulde beholde the globe whiche thou seest in the middest of this temple whiche is called the earth Wherefore good sonne Publius both thou and also al vertuous men ought to keepe your selues within the custodie of this your bodye and not to depart out of the lyfe of man contrarie vnto his commaundement by whom that lyfe was geuen vnto you least happely ye seeme to forsake the vocation whereunto God hath called you Doo not these woordes of Cicero sufficiently reprooue Cato that is excused And truely yf thou were appoynted by some earthly Prynce or Captayne to keepe a place by defence of armes thou wouldest not dare to depart from thy charge without his lycence whiche yf thou shouldest doo doubtlesse he woulde take it in ill part Howe then woulde the heauenly Emperour take it thynkest thou vnto whom so muche the more obedience ought to be geuen by howe muche God is greater then man There was of late dayes one Stephanus Columnensis a gentleman of auncient vertue who yf lie had lyued had not onely been famous in this age but also in remembrance of al posteritie The same Stephanus beyng besieged by a mightie enimie of his vnto whom he was in power far vnequal committed the defence of one turret wherein there seemed to be most danger vnto one of his captaynes of whose trust he was assured This turret being vndermined and secretly shaken by the enimies so that it was in danger of fallyng when as the residue of the garison perceyuing so much forsooke it and perswaded hym also to come downe and prouide for his safety since it was bootelesse to tarrie but vnto him selfe very dangerous or rather present death I wyl not come downe sayde he vnlesse he cal me away who set me here Which being reported vnto Stephanus who also was very careful for the gentleman came running in bast to cal hym away the turret beyng shaken at the very foundation fel downe immediatly with great noyse Thus that trustie defendant was miserably slayne whom his lord and maister beyng scarcely able to finde out among the rubbishe and ruynes of the turret buryed hym with great sorowe and lamentation and whyle he lyued had a dutiful care ouer hym and in his common speeche alwayes aduaunced his fayth with worthy commendation What I meane by these wordes I thinke thou knowest Suche a keeper oughtest thou to be of thy body whiche is committed vnto thy keepyng by God as he was of his turret which was commended to his charge by his lorde and maister Notwithstandyng I am not ignorant howe that the death of Cato was muche commended by many of that age wherein he lyued and very glorious in the common opinion of men And that saying of Iulius Caesar is wel knowen who beyng conquerour and making hast vnto Vtica where Cato had slayne hym selfe and hearyng report of his death Cato quoth he enuyed my glory and I enuie his death Doubtlesse it seemed some excellent thyng whiche so great and glorious a personage enuied at Sorow Then what shoulde let me to folow the death of a wyse man that was enuied at by so great a person and excused and commended of the wyse and to eschewe the innumerable distresses of lyfe by a voluntarie death Truely I had rather dye Reason Beware that thou be not caryed away with the vayne hope of hynges For there be some inferiour in eloquence but superiour in sense whiche neyther commend nor excuse this death of Cato but sharpely reprehende it Among whom Sainct Augustine a most sharpe searcher after the truth disputeth that this was not the cause of the hastenyng of his owne death because he woulde not lyne vnder the empire of Caesar togeather with his sonne forasmuche as he hym selfe was the cause that his sonne fledde to Caesar and in hope of safetie submitted hymselfe to his mercy wherein he was not deceyued Whiche yf he had thought to haue been a shameful thyng would he not haue delyuered his sonne from it as wel as hym selfe eyther by poyson or by sword or by some other kynde of death whatsoeuer Seeing that Manlius Torquatus is commended for killyng his owne sonne for that he had geuen battel to his enimies and vanquished them but contrarie to his fathers commaundement Neyther can it be sayde that it is a more shameful thing to be conquerour ouer a proude enimie then to be subiect to an arrogant conquerour Why then dyd he thinke Caesar woorthy to graunt lyfe to his sonne who thought hym vnworthie
and thy foote beyng vpon the very thresholde thou art sorowfully and vnwyllyngly plucked away and carefully thou lookest behynde thee I wot not wherefore whether forgettyng thy fylthynesse which thou leauest behynde thee or not beleeuyng the great good vnto whiche thou art goyng And truely yf as I sayde before whiche notable men haue also auerred this whiche you cal lyfe be death then it foloweth that the ende thereof whiche is death be lyfe Sorow I dye Reason Thy kyng setteth thee at libertie nowe the bandes and fetters are broken whiche it pleased your louyng father to make mortal and transitorie Whiche I knowing to be specially apperteyning vnto his mercie as Plotinus holdeth opinion and it is confirmed by your wryters I see not whereof thou hast cause to complayne Sorowe I dye Reason Thy kyng calleth thee an happie messenger But thus it is it commeth vnlooked for and vnluckely that happeneth vnto men agaynst their wylles Consent thereunto and then shalt thou begyn to perceyue howe wel thou art dealt withall Then shalt thou reputyng with thy selfe thy departure out of this prison the other euyles of this lyfe which thou fearest prophecying of the commodities whiche death bringeth after the manner of Socrates swan that coulde diuine of heauenly thynges to come and was therefore consecrated to Apollo die singing though not with thy voyce yet in thy minde And vnlesse whiche God forbid the heauie weight of thy sinnes not clensed nor forgiuen do ouermuch presse thee downe do thou that in thy minde which it is read that the emperour Vespasian did in bodie rise vp when thou art a dying and thinke it vnmeete to dye lying neither in this respect ascribe thou lesse vnto thee then he did to himselfe although thou be not a prince as he was For death respecteth no auctorytie it knoweth not princes from other men and is a notable meane to make al estates of one calling after this life There was nothing that Vespasian might doo but it is lawful for thee to do the lyke yea and I trust thou hast somewhat more of the grace of God then he had if thou do not refuse it not for that thou art better then he but because thou art more happie in respect of the free goodwyl loue of God who hath graunted to the litle ones and reuealed to the vnlearned those thynges whiche he denied to the mightie and hyd from the wyse Adde moreouer that it is more profitable and easie for thee to aryse For his endeuour requyred bodily strength which sicknesse weakeneth and death quite extinguisheth but thou hast neede of noneother then the strength of the minde which oftentymes encreaseth the neerer that death is at hand Sorow I dye Reason Why doest thou tremble in safetie and stumble in the playne and stay vpon the side of a sheluing downefall I wyl not here bryng into thy remembrance what the Philosophers do dispute in this poynt For there be many thynges which the troublesomnesse of hym that lyeth a dying and the shortnesse of the tyme wyl not suffer to be done and therefore it ought deepely to be engraffed and rooted in thy mynde whatsoeuer the auncient Philosophers haue disputed concernyng this matter For as they hold opinion rare prosperitie specially towardes a mans ende is able to make al remedies agaynst aduersitie and hard fortune voyde to no purpose but as touchyng those thynges whiche are alleaged agaynst death they be alwayes profitable and necessarie whiche no casual but the natural and inuincible necessitie of dying maketh to stande in ful force and effect Among diuers other truely Cicero gathereth together many sounde reasons and perswasions in the fyrst dayes disputation of his Tusculan questions whereof I made mention a litle before whiche vnlesse thou hast alreadie learned in times past I haue no leasure now to teach thee wherein he concludeth that whether he that dieth seeme to be in prosperitie or aduersitie neuerthelesse forasmuche as generally the whole state of mankynde is equally subiect to the dartes and insultes of Fortune it is to be supposed that by death he is not delyuered from good thynges whiche doubtlesse he shall fynde to be true whosoeuer shall geue hym selfe to the deepe consideration of worldly affayres Wherefore by death he findeth him selfe aduauntaged and not hyndered and thynking continually thereon when it commeth he maketh account thereof as of the messenger and seruant of his delyuerer and when he is once past it and looketh backe vpon it he beholdeth as it were out of a Windowe how he hath escaped the deceites of the worlde and the prison of this fleshe The very same sense doth Cicero followe in his disputation that whether the soule dye with the body or be translated to some other habitation that either there is no euyll at al or very much good in death Sharply truely among his owne Countreifolke at that time but among your Philosophers now adayes yea and your common people a thing nothing doubted of and truly I beleeue neither vnperswaded vnto Cicero himselfe of whom we haue so much spoken which opinion most frankly he hath declared in many and sundry places although he applied him selfe vnto the want of fayth in him with whom he communed or the distrustinesse of the time in which he liued But in few wordes thus perswade thy selfe that thy soule is immortal which not only the whole consent of your naâ—ion but also the most excellent of al the Philosophers do haue defended Repose no trust in the death of the soule whose nature is such that it cannot die and thinke not that there remaineth no euyl after death because there shal be no soule to suffer it But forasmuch as the creatour of the soule is gentle and louing and merciful he wyl not despise the woorke of his owne handes but wyl be neere vnto them that cal vpon him faithfully Vnto hym let your prayers vnto hym let your vowes be directed let the vttermost of your hope depend vpoÌ„ him let your last gaspe ende in callyng vpon his name Depart quickly feare nothing dame Nature that is the most louing mother of al other mothers hath made no horrible thing it is the errour of men and not the nature of the thing that ought to be prouided for that causeth death to seeme dreadful If thou harbour any great attempt in thine hart or go about any excellent high matter despise the base and low speeches deedes of the raskal multitude but haue them in admiration whom to imitate is the perfect path vnto true glorie Among our Countreymen truly of such as haue dyed merely and happily there are innumerable examples But yf we searche rather after such as are of more antiquitie we shal finde many that haue not onely taken their death valiantly but also hastened it which deede in Marcus Cato Marcus Cicero blameth Seneca commendeth as we sayd erewhile As for you ye lyke wel of neither but woorst of the
of his graundfather and great graundfather great great graundfather receiuing the same answere concernyng them al at length he inferred and art not thou afearde then quoth he to goe to sea The sayler answeared dissemblingly I pray thee quoth he tell me also where thy father dyed In his bed answeared the other And where lykewyse thy graundfather Euen he sayde the ocher and my great grandfather and great great grandfather and al my auncetours dyed in their beddes The sayler answeared art not thou then afeard quoth he to goe into thy bed Trimly answeared truely and somewhat more then saylerlyke Concernyng the death therefore let nature looke to that whiche made men mortal and as touchyng the kynde of death the place and tyme let fortune vse her discretion Sorow I dye by poyson Reason I tolde thee whilere what notable companions thou hast herein whereas I entreated of this matter onely The swoord is a princely death but most of al poyson And to conclude it is a very ridiculus matter when thou hast determined of the death to be carefull of the instrumentes Of a shameful death The .cxxii. Dialogue SOROWE BUt my death is shameful Reason It is not the kynde nor qualitie of the death but the cause of the punishment that maketh it shameful Sorow I dye reprochefully Reason No good man dyeth yll no euyl man well It is not the pompe of buryal nor the attendance and waiting of seruantes and officers nor the ryche garmentes nor the spoyles of the enimies nor the shieldes and swoordes turned downe and dragged after nor the whole family mournyng for their maister nor the howlynges and outcryes of the common people nor the wyfe drenched in teares nor the chyldren with duetiful compassion resolued in sorowe nor the cheefe mourner who soeuer he be holdyng downe his head and walkyng before the corpes attired in blacke and wofully be dewing his face with stoare of bitter teares nor lastly the oratour or preacher in commendation of hym that is to be buryed nor the golden images and pictures wherewith to furnyshe the sepulcher nor the titles and stiles of hym that is dead whiche beyng engrauen in marble shal lyue vntyl suche tyme as though it be long first death also consume the stones themselues but it is vertue and the famous report of hym that hath deserued well and needeth not the brute of the common multitude but whiche sheweth it selfe in it owne maiestie and not whiche the headelong and blynde fauour of men but rather a long continuance in doing wel and an innocent lyfe hath procured and also the defence of trueth and iustice vndertaken euen to the death and moreouer a valiant minde and notable bouldnesse euen in the middes and thickest of deathes sharpest threatninges that maketh the death honest and honourable Agaynst which most honourable death what place remayneth there for reproch Or howe can he die shamefully that dyeth in such manner yea though there be prepared agaynst the body in slauish sore whippes roddes tormentes halters axes yea high gallowetrees wheeles set vpon the toppes of postes cartes with wild horses to teare the limmes of the body insunder adde moreouer fire fagot gridirons set vpon glowyng coales and caudrons sweatyng with hot scaldyng oyle the sharpe teeth of cruel wylde beastes whetted with hunger and lastly hookes and other engins to drag withal the mangled carcases about the streetes or whatsoeuer other villanie or reproche may be deuised or the lyuing or deade body be put vnto the death I say may happely seeme cruel but shameful it cannot be but rather many tymes the crueller it is the more glorious it is And therefore neyther the outward preparance for execution nor the thronging of the people nor the trumpets nor the terrible lookes of the hangmen and tormentours nor the wrathful voyce of the Tirant are any thing to the purpose But turne thee into thy selfe there seeke and awake thy selfe and with al the force of thy mynde that remayneth arme thy selfe agaynst the present extremitie withdrawe thyne eares from the odious noyse turne away thine eyes from the pompe and preparation for the execution and secretly gather togeather thy spirites and comfort thy soule within thee and examine the thinges themselues and not their shadowes And yf thou be able with ful sight to beholde death in the face I suppose thou shalt feare neyther swoord nor axe nor halter nor poysoned cuppes nor the hangmen dropping with goare blood for why it is a vayne thyng when thou contemnest thine enimie to be afeard of his furniture or ensignes Sorowe I am condemned to a shameful death Reason It hapneth many-tymes that the accuser is infamous and the wytnesses dishonest and the iudge obscure and the partie accused very noble and often the death is commonly accounted reprochful and he that dyeth honourable and glorious And to speake nothyng of any other for that there haue been to many suche alreadie and to much vnwoorthy of that ende what death was there euer more shameful then the death of the crosse Vpon whiche the most excellent and glorious lyght both of heauen and earth was hanged to the ende that thenceforth no state or condition of men whatsoeuer shoulde iudge it to be reprocheful And forasmuche as there is nothyng higher then the highest in this example onely I make an ende Vertue alone is able to make any kinde of death honest and there is no death that can blemishe vertue Of a suddayne death The .cxxiii. Dialogue SOROWE BVt I dye to suddeynly Reason It is not long since yf I forget not my selfe that thou sayest thou wast olde I meruayle then howe there can be any death suddayne to an olde man who vnlesse he doate or be mad hath death euermore before his eyes For since there is this wholsome counsel geuen to al ages that they perswade themselues that euery day is the last that they shall lyue it is most specially conuenient for olde age to thynke euery houre the last of their lyfe And not only not to hearken vnto that which is wrytten by Cicero There is no man so olde that thinketh not to lyue one yeere longer but not so muche vnto that which Seneca sayeth one day longer Sorow I dye suddaynly Reason In this case what shal I answere thee other then repeate that which that most mightie personage no lesse in wyt then great in fortune answeared scarse one whole day when he disputed thereof before his death as prophecying of the trueth thereof by reason of the neerenesse of the experience Who pronounced that a suddayne and vnprouided death was most to be wyshed Whiche iudgement seemeth to be dissonant from that religion whiche teacheth to pray with bowed knees vnto GOD euery day to be delyuered from this kynde of death Neyther do I lyke of this opinion where there is otherwyse choyse and libertie but thou must in other manner perswade thyselfe for I say not that it is
they possessed the kyngdome of heauen Sorowe I must needes dye out of my Countrey Reason What shall I speake of men of a meaner degree One that was remooued fyrst from Stridon Bethleem and afterwarde Rome receyued Fraunce another from Pannonia and Parris another from Athens and Rome another from Greece and Spayne and Millaine another from Rome lyuing and the same when he was dead Sardinia from Africa and shortly after Ticinum from Sardinia two most bryght shining streames of the East march in merites and ioyned in minde and neere in bodye Who they be that I speake of thou knowest and therefore in makyng hast I ouerpasse many thynges But that thou mayest not want also an example of the thyrde sorte Cyprus receyued one from the land of Palestine and Campania another from Nursia Spaine this one and Italie that other and Bononie one and Padua another Sorowe I vnderstande well all that euer thon meanest notwithstandyng vnwillingly doo I dye farre from my Countrey Reason And truely I vnderstande the very cause hereof to wit for that the most sacred spirites and mindes which alwayes haue their affections fixed in heauen haue no care at all of their earthly Countrey which care thou hast not yet layd aside but truely beleeue mee yf thou hope after heauen thou must needes lay it asyde indeede Neuerthelesse I wyll entreate of others that were louers of vertue and mindfull of heauen and yet not through their loue of heauen altogether forgetful of the earth The boanes of Pythagoras of Samos Metapontus dyd couer Cicero whom Arpine brought foorth and Rome dyd nourysh the bay of Caieta sawe dead Plinie whom the riuer Athesis washed when he was an infant the ashes of the mount Veseuus couered when he was olde Mantua brought Virgil into the worlde Brundusium or as other some write Tarentum plucked hym away and now Naples holdeth hym Sulmo framed the Poet Ouid but his exile in Pontus disolued him Carthage as it is reported brought forth Terence the Comike Poet but Rome taught him and Arcadia buried him Apulia sent foorth Horace the Poet and Calabria Ennius and the Prouince of Narbona Statius and Vasconia Ausonius Corduba the three Annei or as some say foure to wit the two Senecaes and Gallio and the Poet Lucan And al these ouer besides Plautus of Arpine and Lucillus of Arunca and Pacuuius of Brundusium Iuuenal of Aquinum and Propertius of Vmbria Valerius of Antium and Catullus of Verona and Varrus of Cremona and Gallus of Forli and Actius of Pisaurum Cassius of Parma Claudianus of Florence Persius of Volaterrae a thousand moe hath Rome receiued and for the most part buried only Titus Liuius of Padua with muche adoo was restored vnto his Countrey to be enterred and so contrariwise Rome hath bread many that haue dyed and ben buried in other places The whole world is in manner of a narrow house fouresquare wherein men passe from one extremitie to another and in the one is life and in the other death Men of valiant courage esteeme of it for none other cause then for the varietie of the vse thereof as it were to goe out of a cold bath into a stone or to chaing out of a winter chamber into a summer lodging This chaing and varietie namely to be borne in one place and buried in another is common among al men specially the more noble for t Sorowe I knowe it is so yet I dye sorowfully out of myne owne Countrey Reason Thou shouldest dye no more merily in that Countrey which thou callest thyne but ye geue your selues ouer to teares and seeke causes to lament and be sorie as yf ye tooke pleasure in them But yf the examples of holy learned and discrete pouertie can not discharge thy minde hereof which is infected with the errours of the vulgare multitude I wyll alleage them that haue been more fortunate in proouing that this which troubleth thee hath hapned to the most famous Captaynes Dukes Kynges and Emperours so that I wyll see whether thou wylt refuse that fortune which may befal to a man. Sorowe Whom thou wylt speake of and alleage I knowe well enough but what neede many woordes I am sorie to dye out of my Countrey the place encreaseth the greefe of my death Reason I perceiue thou refusest to be cured yet wyll I proceede but with how good effect that looke thou vnto as for me it shall suffice to vtter the trueth and geue thee faythfull warnyng Alexander was borne at Pella slayne at Babylon and his ashes buried at Alexandria a Citie called after the name of the founder The other Alexander was brought vp in the Princes Palace of Epirus and drowned in the Riuer Lucanus Kyng Cyrus was borne in his Kyngdome of Persis and slayine and mangled in Scythia Rome and the whole Romane Empire had in admiracion Marcus Crassus and Pompeius the great which as it was able to beare the greatnesse of them whyle they lyued so yf Fortune had so suffered it had been sufficient to haue receyued theyr ashes but the one was couered with earth in Assyria beyonde Euphrates the other ouerwhelmed in the Channell of the Aegyptian streame Vnto the latter Cato the Citie of Rome gaue both begynnyng and name but Vtica brought both ende and surname The Cornelii Scipioes Rome procreated most noble and profitable members of the Common-wealth by whom it had been often saued and adorned whom notwithstanding their destinies so dispersed that those two which are called the great were entombed both in Spanish moulde and the elder Africane at Linternum and Nasica at Pergamus and Lentulus within Scicil dwelling al in seuerall and disioyned graues Of all this number only Asiaticus and Africanus the younger lye buried at Rome who perhaps had lyen better in any banishment whatsoeuer for the fyrst was punyshed by imprisonment the other by death And thus many tymes it happeneth that a man may lyue better and dye better in any other place then in his owne Countrey and lye nowhere harder then at home The three Deci although the common report make mention but of twayne dyed valiantly out of theyr owne Countrey the Father fyghting with the Latines the Sonne with the Hetrurians and the Nephew as Cicero addeth with Pyrrhus To what purpose shoulde I nowe rehearse in order as they come to my minde woorthie Captaynes and Princes whiche were all borne at Rome and dyed elsewhere Africa behelde Attilius Regulus howe muche the more cruelly so muche the more gloriously dying both for the preseruyng of his Countrey and also of his fayth and credite with his enimie and in the next war followyng Cortona sawe Caius Flaminius and Cumae Paulus Aemilius and Venusia Claudius Marcellus and Lucania Tiberius Gracchus lying dead it was the fortune of none of these to dye at Rome Two noble Gentlemen of great hope and expectation in the Romane Commonwealth were cut of in the very floure of their youth Drusus and Marcellinus
who although they returned both into their Countrey yet dyed they both farre from their Countrey Drusus in Germanie and Marcellinus in Baion And tell me nowe are thou prouder then Tarquinius or myghtier then Sylla Yet the fyrst of these dyed a bannished man at Cumae the other beyng a great Lorde gaue vp the ghost at Puteoli What shall I speake of men of meaner degree Augustus Caesar who was called Father of his Countrey dyed out of his Countrey at Nola in Campania Tyberius that was vnlyke in Manners but equall in Empire deceassed at Misenum in Campania Vespasian and Titus two most excellent Princes as it well became the father and the sonne dyed in one Village yet without of the Citie of Rome â–ª though not farre But â—raian being borne in the West part of the worlde dyed in the East Septimus Seuerus came but of a base parentage in Africa and had a proude Empire at Rome â–ª and was buried at Yorke in Englande Theodosius that was borne in Spayne and dyed at Millain Constantinople receyued whiche Citie also had in it before the founder thereof beyng of the same name but borne in another place What shall I neede to recite others Lycurgus who fledde from Sparta Creta receyued which long before had seene Kyng Saturne bannished out of his Kyngdome and flying from his sonne and hearde howe he hyd hym selfe in the confines of Italie and was there buried A poore graue of Bithynia couereth Hannibal the lyght of all Africa Theseus Themistocles and Solon the three Diamondes of all Athens were so scattered by Fortune that the fyrst was buried in Syria the seconde in Persis and the thyrde in Cyprus in farre vnfitte Graues for so woorthie Carcasses The day woulde sooner fayle mee then matter yf I shoulde stande to reporte euery example But my purpose was not to weerie thee with Histories but onely to instructe thee Sorowe I vnderstande thy meanyng and I confesse that all these and as many moe as thou canst recken dyed out of theyr Countreyes in deede but I denie that it was with their wylles but rather I suppose to theyr great greefe Reason Whereby speakest thou this but onely for that all fooles iudge other lyke them selues and thynke that to be impossible for others to doo which they them selues can not attayne to And perhappes thou hast hearkened to the olde prouerbe It is good to lyue abrode in strange Countries but yll to dye there when as in deede they are both good so that they be orderly doone with patient forbearyng and comlinesse but both euyl yf they be yll handled lamentably and without discretion I wyll tell thee that which thou wylt marueyll at and is quite repugnant to the olde prouerbe If there be any iust occasion to complayne of the cause I had rather impute the same to the lyuyng whom perhaps in some respect it may concerne then hym that lyeth a dying who hath now no regarde of any place seeyng that he is vpon departyng from all places Sorowe Somewhat thou moouest my minde neuerthelesse I am yet desirous to dye in my Countrey Reason The wyll of man vnlesse it be bridled by vertue and wysedome of it selfe is wylde and vnreclaymed And yf thou consider of the matter deepely thou wylt confesse that none of all this appertayneth vnto thee seeyng that thou thy selfe canst remayne heere no longer nor thy boanes retayne any sense after thy deceasse to discerne where thou myghtest haue lyen harder or softer and also vnto that place whyther thou departest which had been the shorter or easier way When Anaxagoras lay a dying in a farre forraine Countrey and his freendes demaunded of hym whether after his death he woulde be carried home into his owne natiue soyle he answeared very finely saying that it shoulde not neede and he added the cause why for that the way to Heauen is of lyke distaunce from all places Whiche answeare serueth as well for them that goe downe to Hell as for those that goe vp to Heauen Sorowe I woulde GOD I myght dye at home Reason If thou were there perhappes thou wouldest wyshe thy selfe in another place perswade thy selfe so Learne to doo that dying whiche thou oughtest to haue doone lyuyng An hard matter it is for you O ye mortall men to beare your selues vpryghtly ye are so dayntie and faultfyndyng euermore makyng none account of that whiche ye haue and alwayes iudging best of that whiche ye want Sorowe O that I myght dye at home Reason Peraduenture thou shouldest see many thynges there that woulde make thy death more greeuous vnto thee for whiche cause thynke that thou art remooued to the intent that all other cares beyng set apart thou myghtest onely thynke vpon GOD and thyne owne soule Of one that dyeth in Sinne. The Cxxvj. Dialogue SOROWE I Oye in sinne Reason This is neyther Natures nor Fortunes but thyne owne fault Sorowe I dye in sinne Reason Fyrst who enforced thee to commit sinne And next who forbydde thee to bewayle it when it was committed And last of all who letteth thee from repentyng though it be late fyrst For vnto the last gaspe the spirite and minde is free Sorowe Whyles I am dying I carrie my sinnes with mee Reason Beware thou doo not so lay downe that venemous and deadly carriage whyle thou hast tyme and there is one that wyll take it away and blotte it out accordyng as it is written and wyll cast it behynde his backe into the bottome of the Sea and wyll abandon it as farre from thee as the East is distant from the West If thou neglect this houre when it is once past it wyll neuer returne agayne Whith qualitie although it be common to all houres that alwayes they passe away and neuer returne yet many tymes that which hath been omitted in one houre may be perhappes recouered in another but yet the neglectyng of the last houre of a mans lyfe is irrecurable And therefore as some report it to be found in the secret disputations of the soule the errours of this lyfe are as it were softe falles vpon the playne grounde after which a man may soone ryse vp agayne but the sinne vnto death is compared vnto a greeuous fall from some hygh and craggie place after which it is not possible to aryse any more the hurt therein taken is so great that it can not be salued Wherefore helpe thy selfe nowe whyle thou mayest and call to remembraunce not onely what your owne writers say but also what Cicero counselleth who in his woorke de Diuinatione of Diuination disputing of those that are dying Doo thou cheefely quod he studie to winne commendation and thynke that they which haue lyued otherwyse then they ought doo most bitterly repent them of their sinnes What I pray thee coulde be vttered by any man more religiously or profitably yf so be that be followed which is commaunded and thou repent thee though it be late fyrst A difficult and dangerous matter it is truely to
thynges But as for them that goe downe into hel casting of al charitie it is to be entended that they hate both God and men and also al the workes of God and man. Of one that at his death is carefull of his fame and good report The Cxxx. Dialogue SOROWE WHAT wyll men speake of me when I am dead Reason An vnseasonable care thou shouldest haue prouided for this in thy youth for looke what a mans life is suche is his fame Sorowe What wyll they say of me Reason What shall I answeare thee other then that which the most learned and eloquent Marcus Cicero sayeth What other men shall speake of thee let them see to that them selues but they wyl speake notwithstanding howbeit all their talke is comprehended within the narrowe boundes of these regions which thou seest neyther was it euer continual of any but is extinguished by the death of men and forgetfulnesse of posteritie Sorow What wil they speake of me that shal be borne herafter Reason I would tel thee otherwyse then Cicero doeth yf I thought that any thing could be better vttered then is by him And what skilleth it sayth he if thou be spoken of by them that shal be borne hereafter seeing there nowe remayneth no fame of them that were borne before thee One thing he addeth moreouer which perhaps at that time was doubtful peraduenture false but now very sure most true without doubt Who sayth he were as many in number as you are now and truely better men to For who is he that doubteth but that there wyl neuer come so good men as there haue ben Thus al thinges waxe woorse woorse and tend euery day toward their final ruine A merueilous care then it is which thou hast to stande in feare of the speeches of those whom thou knowest not are thy youngers as not liuing in the same age with thee seeing thou now contemnest the iudgement and woordes of excellent men of thine owne time and acquaintance Sorow What fame shal there be of me when I am dead Reason Far better then while thou liuest when enuie once holdeth her peace For enuie and malice seldome last longer then a mans life and as vertue is the roote of glorie so is enuie the cutter downe of it and as the enuious hand being present hindreth the growth of it so when it is taken away it restoreth the encrease of true commendation And therfore vnto many as the entrance into their graues hath been a bar vnto enuie so hath it ben the beginning of great glorie Sorow Howe long wyl my fame continue Reason A long time perhaps as you call long But that all thinges may not only be long but also euerlasting vertue alone is able to bring that to passe and specially Iustice of which it is written The iust man shal be had in euerlasting memorie Which meaning also your countrey Poet expressed as wel as he could where he sayth But by mens deedes their fame to stretch that priuiledge vertue geues Sorow What fame shal I haue after my deceasse Reason What skilleth it what it be which shortly shal be forgotten or contemned What shall the breath of men apperteyne vnto thee when thou thy selfe shalt be without breath For one that breatheth to be nourished and delyghted with the winde and ayre it is no meruaill but for a dead man to be so it is a woonder Sorowe What shal be sayde of me when I am dead Reason No goodnesse be sure vnlesse thou haue deserued it but muche euyl peraduenture not merited and perhappes lytle or nothyng at all For in many thynges fame is a lyer but in the most a true reporter otherwyse it could not long continue For trueth is the foundation of continuance and as for a lye it is weake and transitorie Sorowe What fame shall I haue after my death Reason Suche as thy lyfe was before and at thy death Concernyng this matter therefore let the tyme to come but specially the tyme present looke to that And thus perswade thy selfe assuredly that what report and fame a man is woorthy to haue after his death it is no way better discerned then at his death when as in deede which is a strainge thyng to be spoken many that haue lyued all theyr tyme obscurely and without glorie death onely hath made famous Of one that dyeth without Children The Cxxxj. Dialogue SOROWE I Die without children Reason For that cause thou oughtest to die the more willingly and with the more expedition to goe foorth on thy iourney for that thou hast nothyng behinde thee to stay thee or cal thee backe The greatest greefe which they that lie a dying haue surceaseth in thee whiche riseth vpon the sorowe and compassion of leauing their children specially when they be young neede the asistance and counsel of their parentes being at those yeeres destitute of aduice subiect vnto iniuries many other casualties Sorow My children whom I wished hoped should haue liued after me are gone before me Reason Then hast thou some to whom thou art desirous to goe from whom thou art not willing to depart which is no smal comfort vnto thee Sorowe Bitter death constraineth me to dye without chyldren Reason If thou thinke this to be so miserable a matter what cause hast thou either to die now or heretofore to haue liued without children seeing there is such choise of young Gentlemen towardly youthes among whom thou maiest choose and adopt thee sonnes who perhaps wyl be more louing and obedient vnto thee then thine owne natural children descended of thy flesh blood for they come vnto thee by chaunce but these are elected out of many by exquisite iudgment The other were thy children before thou knewest them but these thou knewest chosest and louedst before thou madest them thy children And therefore the one sort of them wil wholy impute it to nature that they are thy children but the other to thy special good liking Whereby it hath hapned many times that the succession by adoption hath ben very fortunate vnto the heyres in which kind not only meane inheritances but also whole Empires haue ben committed in trust Thou knowest howe Iulius Caesar wanting issue adopted Augustus to be his sonne Augustus againe adopted Tyberius almost against his wyl And likewise afterward how Nerua adopted Vlpâ—us Traianus and he Elius Hadrianus be againe Antonius pius he likewise toke vnto him Marcus Aurelius to be his sonne which Marcus I would to God he had more happily adopted any other then vnluckely begotten his sonne Commodus commodious to none but discommodiouss to the whole world the only disgracing of so good a father one among a few of them that were no small shame reproch to the Romane Empire also a most apparent argument how much adoption is more fortunate then procreatioÌ„ For whereas the first princes had in order one after another raigned long time in happie
PHISICKE against Fortune aswell prosperous as aduerse conteyned in two Bookes Whereby men are instructed with lyke in differencie to remedie theyr affections aswell in tyme of the bryght shynyng sunne of prosperitie as also of the foule lowryng stormes of aduersitie Expedient for all men but most necessary for such as be subiect to any not able insult of eyther extremitie Written in Latine by Frauncis Petrarch a most famous Poet and Oratour And now first Englished by Thomas Twyne At London printed by Richard watkyns An. Dom. 1579. To the right woorshypful Maister Richard Bertie Esquier c. quietnesse of Conscience health of Body continuance of Lyfe with encrease of worldly VVoorshyp PEtrarches remedies agaynst both Fortunes in Latine Right woorshipful were as it appeareth dedicated vnto Azo an honourable Gentleman of Italy Azo had good cause to enterteyne them thankefully for that being strangely wounded with aduersitie and cast downe from the dignitie of a Lorde to the state of a wretched forlorne man he myght receaue thereby no small comfort in his sorowes The same woorke now called Physicke agaynst Fortune in Englishe and intituled vnto your Woorshypful name who are no meane personage of this our Realme of Englande but in this respect farre exceeding the degree of Azo in that you haue gained surpassing prefermentes at the handes of Fortune is semblably presented vnto your fauourable acceptation Not that it is doubted the infirmitie of your minde any way to be such that you stand in neede of these or the lyke Medicines to mittigate the sugered Bankettes or sower sauces of eyther Fortune that is to say prosperitie or aduersitie Although whoso lyst to examine your right worsbypfull estate shall well perceyue thereby that yf your minde coulde be caried away by any of these two affections the same by lykelyhood should be it which is quite contrarie to that which troubled Azo since it hath pleased Fortune or GOD rather to blesse you with suche valure of Minde Vertue Godlynesse Wysedome Grauitie and Learnyng generally in all Faculties Good letters and Tongues as fewe or none the lyke farre and wyde to be founde in this our age Adde herevnto moreouer the commendable cumlinesse of your person with integritie of health and good constitution of bodie And lastly the accesse of a noble Duchesse to your Wyfe of an honourable Countesse to your Daughter of a Lorde apparant to your Sonne and Heyre besides large Reuenues and fayre Houses and which maketh not smally to the accomplyshment of worldly felicitie the fauour of a most vertuous and louing QVEENE and a most flourishyng Commonwealth to lyue in These albeit I confesse they be very great yet are they not suche but that your wisedome of it selfe is able to beare them with sufficient moderation and as in deede they be so to esteeme of them But rather in respect of these your rare giftes and the loue that you beare vnto learnyng and the fauourers thereof I haue been induced to exhibite the medicines of Petrarch against Fortune vnto you that as many of our Countreimen as shall haue occasion hereafter to reade or vse them may the more freendly accept them for your Woorshypfull name sake In consyderation whereof and lykewyse yf it shall please you not discontentedly to accept them at my handes I shall not onely thynke my trauell well requited but also in regarde of other benefites receyued acknowledge my selfe muche bounden vnto you and to remaine your Woorships euermore readie at commaundemente Thomas Twyne ⧠The Epistolare Preface of Francis Petrarch a most famous Poet and Oratour written vnto Azo concerning the Phisicke and remedies of both Fortunes aswell aduerse as prosperous WHEN I thinke vpon the affayres and fortunes of men their vncertaine and sudden chaunces and changes truely I finde nothyng almost more fraile nothing more vnquiet then the lyfe of man For I perceiue howe nature hath prouided well for all other liuing creatures by a woonderful kind of remedie to wit a certaine ignorance of them selues but in vs only she hath conuerted our memorie vnderstanding prouidence and moreouer the diuine giftes of our minde vnto our owne toyle and destruction For being alwayes subiect not onely vnto vayne and superfluous but also hurtfull and pestiferous cares we are both greeued with the present time and also vexed with the time past and that is to come so that we seeme to feare nothyng so muche as not to seeme at all tymes to be in miserie Our studie is so great whereby we heape together causes of miseries and nouryshmentes of sorowes whereby we make our lyfe whiche yf it were wel gouerned were the most happie pleasaunt thyng that we possesse a wretched and wofull toyle whose entraunce is blindnesse going forwarde toyle ende sorowe and the whole course errour Whiche he shall fynde to be so whosoeuer with diligent eye consydereth the whole race of his owne lyfe What day doo we passe ouer in rest and quietnesse or rather doo we not finde more painefull and troublesome then other What mornyng haue we euer passed so merie and pleasaunt that hath not been surprised with sorowe and heauinesse before night Of whiche euyll although a great cause doo rest in the thinges them selues neuerthelesse vnlesse our selfe loue deceyue vs a greater cause or to confesse the trueth the whole cause consisteth in our selues and to let passe all other thinges whereby we are troubled on euery syde what war and how perpetuall is it which we maintayne agaynst Fortune wherein Vertue only can make vs conquerours But willingly wittingly we reuolt from her We only being weaklinges vnarmed encounter a most fierce foe in vnequall fight whom she againe as lightly as thinges of nought tosseth vs vp and throweth vs downe turneth vs round about and plaieth with vs so that it were better for vs to be quite ouercome then continually to be had in skorne And what is the cause hereof but only our owne lightnes daintines for we seeme to be good for nothing els but to be tossed hither thither like a Tennise bal being creatures of very short life of infinite carefulnesse yet ignorant vnto what shoare to fal with our shyp or vnto what resolution to apply our mindes whose determination is alwayes to hang in doubt and besides the present euil alwayes to haue somewhat to greeue vs behind our backe before our eyes to make vs afeard Which thing hapneth vnto no creature besides man for vnto all other it is most perfect securitie to haue escaped that which is present But we in respect of our wit and the vnderstanding of our minde are in continual wrastling strife with an enemie as it were a three headed Cerberus So that it had ben almost better for vs to haue wanted reason since we turne the force of our heauenly nature against our selues for it were now an hard matter to resist subdue this euil being so deepely rooted through age custome Notwithstanding we
in meate as cattayle doo in theyr prouender and to make thy belly a place to set vp dishes of meate in and to take that office from the Binne Finally vnderstand this much that thou canst not long endure this life which thou so lykest loathsomnesse is next neyghbour to fulnesse and fastyng consumeth meate Hunger tasteth nothing but it is sweete and sauerie There is nothing so deintie which fulnesse maketh not vnpleasaunt and loathsome And euen those men which geue them selues to this delight confesse that it is encreased by appetite and seldome vsing and as al other pleasures are is rebated with plentie and often frequenting and many tymes conuerted to nothyng and into the contrarie Yea Epicurus hym selfe commended and obserued a thyn dyet as the only stay of his profession And that whiche honest men do ascribe to sobrietie modestie that dyd he ascribe vnto pleasure Whatsoeuer kynde of lyuyng thou choose thou must knowe that one path agreeth with diuers endes there is one kynde of dyet continually to be vsed and that thyn and moderate vnlesse sometyme perhaps seldome libertie vpon honest respect do geue a man licence without breache of sobrietie This kynde of dyet whereof I speake maketh men drye and strong and pleasaunt to beholde and in smell of body neyther greeuous to them selues nor to others Compare with these those which are moyst puffyng and blowyng shakyng stynkyng and to vse Tullies woordes compare with these those sweaters and belchers and then thou shalt perceyue what difference there is betwene sparyng and surfetyng and yf the vertue do not tel thee yet the very lookyng and countenaunce of the men wyl shewe which way the choyce wyl lye so that there is 〈◊〉 man so much a bondslaue to his belly but yf he weygh diligently the matter with hym selfe wyl preferre sobrietie far before excesse If thou contempne these thynges as light doest thou also contempne the diseases whiche spring hereof and death also Which although of it selfe it be to be contempned of noble and valiaunt courages happening naturally honestly or at least wyse not shamefully so is there nothyng more dishonourable or more to be eschewed then death to happen vpon a dishonest cause Dooest thou not heare what counsayle Ecclesiasticus geueth Be not greedie sayth he of euery kynde of dyshe neyther geue vp thy selfe vnto all maner of fare For in abundaunce of meate consisteth sicknesse and greedinesse prouoketh subuertion to the stomacke Many haue peryshed by surfetyng but who so vseth abstinence prolongeth his owne lyfe Ioy. I feede on deyntie and sundrie kindes of meates Reason If thou ouerloade thy Horse thou shalt ouerthrowe hym and yf thou feede hym to proude he wyll kycke thee The belly lykewyse is not to be trusted concernyng that wherewith it is charged It were not vnprofitable counsalye in checkyng all enticementes and pleasures but especially of the belly to consyder theyr endes Of Feastes The .xix. Dialogue IOY I Vaunte in feastes Reason Good fare apperteineth to pleasure but feastes to madnesse For what is it other than pompous frensie to cal togeather a great many ryche folkes into one place from theyr honest busines and to entertayne them with honourable weerinesse and to glut a number of bellies with delicate and hurtful meates for whom it had been better to haue been emptie or to haue been filled at theyr owne discretion wherein as perhaps thou shalt please one mans mouth so shalt thou displease the appetite of many For it is seldome seene that ghestes agree in diet and that is found to be true which the Poete sayth I haue three ghestes which seme vnto me almost to disagre requyring diuers meat with a greatly differing appetite what I geue what I geue not what geuest thou Flaccus or what dooest thou Vnlesse a man would geue them nothyng at all and leaue this care to them who haue no greater care Let them doo what they lyst which can doo nothyng els Now if three doo disagree what wyl an hundred or a thousand doo They wyl scarce depart at least wyse without secrete murmuryng This had an yll taste That had an il smell The other should haue been set downe first This came colde to the boarde That came out of season The other dyshe was set downe with a sorowful countenaunce This with an angrie looke That meate was rawe The other torne One wayter was to slowe This to hastie That felowe coulde not heare The other was stubburne One was to loude Another to sylent This seruant brought warme water to the table with vnwashed handes Another fylled small wyne to the boorde With these and suche lyke complayntes not only the Halles but the wayes doo resounde and the streetes also and not without cause For to what purpose is it so gently to solicite men with entreatie to dyne at thy house to what ende serueth that vnprofitable cost and superftuous labour and to bryng so great a troupe into one court but only to boast thy selfe among thy neyghbours and as it were thy selfe beyng on foote to make a voluptuous triumphe of thy banquettes The trumpets also and shaknes sounde foorth togeather so that it appeareth that al thyngs are prepared for pompe and nothyng for thriftinesse Imagine that the next day after one of the ghestes stoode in neede of so muche as the dyshe of meate was woorth which he ate he shal neuer be able to obteyne it of the maister of the feast For the feast was not made for the ghest but for hymselfe Whiche although vndoubtedly it be so notwithstandyng when drunken men sytte at the Table swearyng and affyrmyng any thyng vpon theyr othe they strike the meate saying these woordes I sweare say they by this our good loue and charitie whiche nowe we exercise togeather To whom it may be well answered Nay rather sweare by this your drunkennesse and surfet This were true charitie yf beyng fastyng and drie you would conuert that to the vse of the poore whiche now ye lauish out to your owne destruction then might ye not improperly sweare by your charitie Ye byd vnto your feastes the proude ryche men and ye shut out the poore hungrie sort thynkyng it a glorious matter to haue plentie of woorshypful gheastes And in this point besydes the opinion of the common people whiche is the fountayne of all errour ye haue an aucthour Beleeue me sayth Cicero it is ae seemely thyng for the houses of worshipfulmen to be open vnto worshipful ghestes In deede syr this is very good for them to be open to chose that can requite with the lyke but to be shut agaynst the needie For whiche matter we knowe that Lactantius perhaps not vnworthyly hath reprehended Cicero who hath also handled the same matter better in another place but in the same booke This sayth he is a great duetie as euery one hath most neede of helpe so especially to succour hym The contrary whereof is practised by most men for loke of whom they expect
Contrariwise too muche sleepe is the matter of vice and infamie which driueth many and throweth them headlong into perpetual sleepe For it nourisheth lust maketh the body heauie weakeneth the minde dulleth the wit diminisheth knowledge extinguisheth the memorie and breedeth forgetfulnes It is not without cause that wakeful and industrious persons are commended As for the sleepie we see not them praysed but puffed And therfore as some vs tearme sleepe death so other cal wakefulnesse life Take heede then of lyfe and death which thou choose It is best to wake which the wise do commend that the life may be the longer Ioy. I enioy a long vn interrupted sleepe Reason It is wel if it be not broken by pinching cares by couetousnes by ambition by feare by sorowe and by wicked loue but euyl if a mans sleepe be disturâ—ed by some care of dishonest stâ—die Truely while the people sleepe the prince waketh while the armie resteth the captaynes be vigilant which both experience declareth and Homers Ilias proueth to be true Vpon noble mindes vigilant cares do depende but such as are sober and hotsome It is credibly reported that Augustus Caesar of al Princes the greatest and best vsed but short sleepe and that also often interrupted And thou gloriest in the contrary Ioy. I sleepe profoundly Reason So do gluttons letchers wrathful persons togeather with bruite beastes but lyuing notwithstanding slâ—ggish persons and they that sleepe are only compared to the dead and as touching that part of tyme that happie men doo nothyng differ thereby from men in miserie thou knowest it to be a position of Philosophie Wherefore as that part is diligently to be eschewed whiche leaueth so small a difference of dreames onely betweene men and beastes so is the contrary to be pursued whiche offereth no hardnesse to them that are willing For yf in respect of a simple glory or small gaine both Warriours Merchauntes and Mariners do watch whole nightes abroade in the open ayre the one among ambushmentes of their enimies the other among the surgies and rockes more fierce then any enimie art not thou able to watche some part of the nyghtes in makyng prayers to God and among thy bookes for the true glory and a large gayne Ioy. Being weerie when I was awake I haue now wholly geuen my selfe to sleepe Reason Thus it is yee change not your copie ye deale in all matters after one maner and looke what thing God himselfe or nature or any art hath geuen you for recreation that ye turne to your owne shame and discommoditie â–ª your drinke to drunkennes your meate to surfeityng your leysure to sleepinesse your good health to voluptuousnesse your beautie to lasciuiousnesse your strength to iniuries your wit to deceitfulnesse your knowledge to pride your eloquence to harmfulnesse the brauerie of your houses and the apparell of your backes to pompousnesse and vayne ostentation your ryches to couetousnesse and riot your wiues and chyldren to feare and perpetual carefulnesse Goe nowe be astonished complayne of your fortune and lament your wickednesse of good thinges ye make euil of heauenly giftes ye make fetters and snares and chaines for your soule Ioy. I am delighted in pleasaunt sleepe Reason Not only Kinges Captaynes and Princes Philosophers Poetes Householders do watch vp and rise in the night which Aristotle sayeth to be auaylable for health for good husbandrie and philosophie but theeues also and pilferers and whiche is also more marueylous mad men and louers whom the remembraunce desire they haue to their trulles doth styrre forwarde and wylt not thou for the loue of vertue hate sleepe that is freende to vices and as Horace sayth excellently Seeyng theeues ryse in the nyght to kill true menne wilt not thou awake to preserue thy selfe Ye may be ashamed that filthie causes can so muche preuayle with you and most souereine can doo nothyng Ioy. I sleepe all nyght and no man troubleth mee Reason Aristotle seemeth whiche I haue touched before in this maner to deuide a mans lyfe attributing halfe to sleepe and halfe to waking And as touching the one halfe thereof he sayth that a vertuous mans lyfe differeth not from a fooles lyfe in whiche place he wyll haue he night to be vnderstoode for sleepe and the day for wakyng This I confesse is a good and true diuision for it equally deuideth tyme into the partes But if it be thus taken that the partes be of equal space truely there is an other great difference betweene them For there is no cogitation or discourse more sharpe or more deepe then the nyghtly no tyme more conuenient for studentes If he say that sleepe is the one halfe of our tyme it is a strange saying to come out of the mouth of so studious and learned a man God forbyd that a minde whiche is well instructed and geuen to studie shoulde sleepe halfe her tyme seeyng to some the fourth part and to voluptuous persons also the thyrde part is sufficient I would counsell a man to ryse in the nyght in euery part of the yeere God forbyd but that they which haue any great exployt in hande sleepe both the whole Winter and Summer nyghtes Howbeit it is sufficient perhappes to haue broken it once and as muche sleepe as is broken by watching so muche may be quickly supplyed yf neede so require by takyng a nappe after noone But the houres of the winter nyghters are often to be broken in them it were expedient to syng to studie to reade to write to thynke to contemplate by wit some new thing is to be deuised that which is wonne by studie is to be repeated in memorie Hearken also to S. Ierome wryting to Eustochius We must ryse sayth he twice or thrice a nyght and we must meditate on some part of Scripture whiche we haue learned without booke And at length when your eyes are weerie with this studie ye must eftsoones refreshe them with sleepe and beyng then recomforted with a lytle rest they must agayne be weeried with exercise lest that by sleeping all the night long and lying styl vpon the pillowe ye appeare to be as it were buried carkases By the often and coomely styrring of your selues declare that ye are alyue and geuen to vertue Of pleasaunt smelles The xxii Dialogue IOY I Am delited with sweete odours Reason These serue eyther for foode or apparrel concerning which thou hast hearde myne opinion Ioy. My studie is vpon sweete smelles Reason Of smelles some prouoke the appetite and some wantonnesse The desire of these incurreth the note of incontinencie especially yf it be vehement Others are desired for theyr owne sake The greedinesse of them is not reprooued of dishonestie but of folly Whereby it commeth that the smel of womens oyntmentes and of iunkets is more discommodable then the odour of flowres or apples The same reason is also in those pleasures whiche are receyued by the eares and eyes If euer thou hast applyed thy
there were so in these odours yet in my iudgment men should rather resist the thynges that be absent to 〈…〉 â—â—â—empt and obliuion and vse the thinges that are â—â—ese◠〈…〉 â—â—â—â—â—ly neither bestow any care or trauayle vpon 〈…〉 â—â—â—â—wne secret iudgement thou â—â—â—fesse thy 〈…〉 contemptible thynges And that I may not draâ—◠〈…〉 concernyng odoâ—â—â—â—â—â—eing dishonest anâ—◠〈…〉 al effemâ—â—â—ing mennes mindes to 〈…〉 â—â—ter I embrace the opinâ—â—n of S Augustine who speakeâ—◠〈◊〉 of the prouocation of odour◠〈◊〉 desire them not sayth he 〈…〉 they be absent I require th◠〈…〉 if they be present I 〈…〉 being readie alwayes to waâ—◠〈◊〉 Doo thou the 〈…〉 thou neuer smel euill of 〈◊〉 odoures or he odâ—â—â—â— with harefull cleanlynes Of the sweeten 〈◊〉 of Musick xxiâ—â—â— Dialogue 〈◊〉 I Am delighted in synging 〈◊〉 â—â—strument Reason Al how muche better were it in teares and sygninges It were better to come to ioy 〈…〉 by ioying to teares Ioy. I take pleasure in songs and harmonie Reason Wild beastes and foules are deceyued by synging and which is more straunge fyshes also are delighted in Musycke Thou knowest the pretie fable of Arion and the Dolphin which is holden so true that it is cronicled Many notable writers haue made mention of that Miracle but none more gallantly then Herodotus the father of the Gretian Historie Herevnto agree the brasen images whiche are there set vp where the Musitian first arriued on shoare safely out of so great daunger sittyng vppon the backe of the swymmyng fyshe Moreouer it is sayde that the Sirenes do deceyâ—e by synging This is not beleeued but founde true by experience how by flatteryng woordes one man deceyueth another and to be short there is nothyng more apt to deceiue then the voyce Ioy. I am delighted with pleasant Musicke Reason The Spider as they say annoynteth before he byte and the Phisition before he strike the fouler also and a woman â—â—â—â—terreth whom they mynde to entice and a theefe embraseth whom he wyl kyll and the Polypus fyrâ—â—hucâ—â—â—â—h whom he â—â—eaâ—teth to drowne And some naughtie peâ—â—â—â— are neuer more â—o be feared then when they shâ—â—â—◠〈…〉 curâ—â—â—us in voyce and behauiour â–ª 〈…〉 adâ—â—â—â—ially to 〈…〉 founde in the Gâ—lmyoâ— Domâ—â—â— Generally there â—s searâ—e aâ—â—◠〈…〉 Ioy. I 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 in singyng◠〈◊〉 Reâ—â—â—â—◠〈◊〉 heede for it is 〈◊〉 Soâ—â—â— possesseth the last part of ioy and agayne the spiâ—â—â—â— shalbâ—◠〈◊〉 â—egore a fall Ioy. I sing sweetly Reason Thâ—◠〈…〉 whether it be thy last The Swan syngeth 〈…〉 his death More haue peryshed through 〈◊〉 〈…〉 and there â—â—â—alate report that one who 〈…〉 wont dyâ—d sodaynly in the myddes 〈…〉 I am deâ—ighted in song and Musicke 〈…〉 cause â–ª Euery day and houre and 〈…〉 the Gâ—â—â—â— whyther it is your 〈…〉 â—â—ought with â—â—â—ngyng and in olde tyâ—â—◠〈…〉 â—ecorders whereof is that verse of Staâ—â—â—◠〈◊〉 Whose custome is the tender soules with Pipes to bring 〈◊〉 Thou takest pleas◠〈◊〉 in both these pompes of funerals whither thou makest hast although thou perceiuest not thy selfe to goe without rest or intermission Ioy. I loue singing Reason To what purpose Doubtlesse in the myndes of woorthymen especially there resteth a most mightie musike but the effectes are sundrie more then a man wyl beleeue And to omit that which serueth not to our purpose some it mooueth to vayne mirth some to holy and deuout ioy some many tymes to godlie teares which varietie of affections hath drawne great wittes into sundry opinions For Athanasius to auoyde vanities forbade the vse of singing in Churches S. Ambrose studious of godlynesse appoynted that men should syng S. Augustine maketh godly mention among his confessions that he aboade both and that herein he was sometyme in some difficultie of doubt with hym selfe Ioy. I delyght to syng Reason This hath been a pleasure vnto many heretofore and now it is to thee For in olde tyme who so coulde not syng and play vpon instrumentes was counted vnlearned which iudgement fel vpon Themistocles the Athenian the most noble of all the Grecians for that he refused to play vppon an Harpe as he sate with company at meate And Cicero reporteth that Fpaminundas the Thebane perhaps because he woulde auoyde that ignominie could play very excellently vppon instrumentes It is straunge that Socrates beyng so graue a Father as he was would learne to play and therfore let vs not maruayle though Alcibiadis were by his vncle Periclis set to schole to learne vpon the Recorder beyng among them so commendable an exercise that they learned the same also among the lyberal artes But let vs commend the wyt of a shamefast Boy who takyng into his hande the instrument of an excellent Musitian who of purpose was sent for and hyred to teach hym and puttyng it vnto his mouth and streynyng his breath 〈◊〉 by his cheekes began to swell perceyuyng thereby the detormitie of his countenance blushed and brake the Pype and threw it away disdainfully deseruyng surely though but small of yeeres to be an example that by the whole consent of the people the vse of Recorders and wynd instrumentes should haue ben banyshed the Citie of Athens This ardent desyre of Musicke although it be not yet come so far vnto you as to possesse the myndes of al Princes yet hath it inuaded the myndes of some and specially of the worser sort For Caius the Emperour was very muche geuen to syngyng and dauncing As for Nero how much he was addicted to the studie of the Cytherne and what great regard he had of his voyce it is incredible to be spoken This is one folly in him and very ridiculus that the same nyght which was the last of his lyfe and the fyrst to the world to take breath as it were for a litle tyme among the complayntes which instaunt death and present feare and sorow dyd minister this one thyng most often and most miserably he bewayled not that so great a Prince but that so great a Musitian shoulde perysh I let passe others euen vnto this your age which nowe is present though but here and there yet there is come some delyght of the eare wherwith to be honestly and soberly delyghted is a certayne humanitie but to be caught and as it were wedded vnto it is great vanitie Ioy. I am deceyued with the pleasure of sweete notes Reason Oh that thou dyddest heare the syghes of the godly Oh that the gronynges and lamentations of the dampned myght enter into thyne eares And on the other syde the reioycynges of the blessed soules and the syngyng of Angelles and that heauenly harmonie which Pithagoras establysheth Aristotle ouerthroweth and our Cicero restoreth and godlinesse and fayth perswade thee to be there perpetuall and the moste sweete voyceâ— yf not of the heauens yet of the heauenly inhabitauntes whâ—â—here without ende doo prayse the fyrst and eternall cause 〈◊〉 these thynges I say should enter into thyne eares how playnely myghtest thou discerne which consent were the sweeter
away the sobrietie and modestie of thy mynde and thy plentie be bestowed vpon thy freindes and the poore there is nothing pleasaunt or sauorie to one that is alone Ioy. I husband most exquisitely fruitful lande Reason Man ought not to be seruant to the lande but the lande to man by meanes of mans transgression it is come to passe that the earth yeeldeth nothyng to the owner without trauayle yf it be not husbanded it bringeth foorth but a rough croppe Burres Thistles Bryers and Thornes the same to labour with the plough and by strange manuryng to make it soft and pliant mans neede hath enforced Hereof began husbandrie which in tymes past was the most holy and innocent lyfe but now subiect both to the auncient toyle and newe vices synce nothyng hath been left vnsearched by enuie and auarice Townysh vyllanies haue crept into Countrey cottages Truely it is lykely that husbandmen were the last that waxed wycked whereof it commeth that the Poet sayth When Iustice forsooke the earth she left her last footesteps among them But it is to be feared least they that were last euyl be nowe chiefe so that yf haply men shoulde one day generally returne to vertue and the auncient manners of olde tyme these men woulde then also be last But nowe I come to the Art of husbandrie whiche was sometyme had in great pryce and vsed by men of great callyng and wysedome wherein as in many other thyngs Cato surnamed Censorius possesseth an hygh roomth of whom when it was written and that most truely that he was an excellent Senatour an excellent Oratour an excellent Captayne and at length to the fyllyng vp of his commendacion it is added that without comparison or example he was the most excellent Husbandman of his tyme. Who wyl then be ashamed to tyll the grounde with Cato who wyl thynke that there is any thyng vnfytting for hym selfe whiche he thought seemely yenough for his person who besydes the gyftes of his body and mynde and the glory of his woorthy deedes had triumphed for conqueryng of Spaine Who would be ashamed to dryue foorth and cal to his Oxen whom that voyce draue along in the furrow whiche had sometyme hartened so many great armies to battayle and most eloquently defended so many doubtful causes Who woulde disdayne the plough and the harrowe whiche that triumphant and Philosophical hande touched whiche had purchased so many notable victories ouer so many enimies had wrytten so many excellent woorkes of worthie matter apparteynyng both to Philosophie Historie or common vse of lyfe as are those bookes which he wrote concernyng this matter whereof we nowe entreate He was the fyrst amongst you that geathered the preceptes of Husbandrie and brought them into the fourme of an Art and set them downe in wrytyng after whom there folowed many other whereof some haue aduaunced that poore and symple skyl in woorthy and excellent verses whiche nowe callyng to my mynde and not forgetful of mans necessitie truely I doo not nowe discommende of Husbandrie Notwithstandyng neyther the excellencie of wryters neyther the feare of pouertie shal euer constrayne me to iudge it meete to be preferred or matched with the liberal and commendable artes although the first age of the empire had those that were both valiant captaynes and good husbandmen but now by continuance of tyme the case is altered Howbeit it happeneth not now through the frailtie of nature that your wittes are not sufficient to atteyne vnto thynges of so diuers nature And therefore in this age I wyll permit that excellent personages geue theyr myndes sometyme to Husbandrie not to make it a toyle or theyr trade of lyuyng but rather for theyr recreations to put greater cares out of theyr heades as namely sometyme to graffe the tender twygge vppon the buddyng stocke or to correct the ranke leaues with the croked hooke or to lay quycksettes into the Dyke in hope of increase or to bryng the syluer streames by newe dygged furrowes into the thirstie mebowes I am content to geue these men licence after this maner earnestly to busie them selues to dygge and delue but wholly to apply the minde vnto the earth vnlesse necessitie constrayne thereunto I count it vnmeete and vndecent for a learned and valiaunt man who can not lyghtly want some matter of more noble exercise The good mother Nature when she gaue many artes vnto men she made a difference also between their wittes and dispositions that euery one should followe that where vnto he was most euclyned Thou shalt finde some one who beyng of an indifferent witte can so cunnyngly eyther tyll the lande or sayle ouer the seas that in this behalfe no Philosophers wysedome may be compared to his industrie It is a follie and a bootlesse thyng to contende with another man not in thyne owne but in his art wherein although otherwyse thou excell hym and be hygher as they say then hee by the head and shoulders yet thou shalt be founde his vnderlyng and where thou art superiour in the greatest matters thou mayest easily be ouercome in many small Ioy. This Summer my lande hath been verie fruitfull vnto mee Reason Marke the next for present plentie hath many tymes been a token of future scarcitie It is a rare matter to fynde prosperitie without intermission Ioy. I haue husbanded my lande diligently Reason It is well doone yf thou haddest nothyng els to doo Ioy. I haue trymmed my Vineyarde exquisitely Reason Perhaps thereby thou hast promised to thy selfe a plentifull vintage but hast thou also made an agreement with the frost and hayle Ioy. I haue sowed my grounde thicker then I was woont Reason Thou shalt feede the moe Cranes and Wildgeese abroade moe Mise and Rattes at home thou shalt be hoste to foules and woormes a picker foorth of Darnell a maker of thy floore a buylder of barnes and a seruant to thy reapers and thresshers Ioy. I haue sowed my fieldes plentifully Reason Be of good hope thou shalt reape that which thou hast sowed corne and carefulnesse vnlesse perhaps I may say this more truely that the come belongeth to many and the carefulnesse to thee alone and to speake as the trueth is the fielde is thy minde the tillage thyne intent the seede thy care the haruest thy traueyle these shalt thou finde most plentifull Ioy. I haue well husbanded my lande Reason I wyll tell thee a thyng that thou mayest woonder at Those auncient husbandmen those valiant men that tooke great glorie in Husbandrie were of opinion that it shoulde be well followed but not too well an incredible thyng perhaps to be hearde but by proofe of experience founde to be most true for the profite scarce counterueyleth the charge and among the auncient writers there is a comparison not vnfit made betweene a man and a feelde These twayne yf they be sumptuous although they be prifitable the remainder wyl be lytle or nothyng at all and therefore in that respect neyther is to be muche
also hope for thyne One of you must needes be deceyued How many olde men may there be found that looke for the death of young men And truely there is none so olde but he may lyue one yeere longer and none so young but he may dye to day Hope I hope for the inheritaunce of a chyldlesse olde man. Reason Thy sonne may better hope for it A more likely hope hath deceyued a younger Hope The inheritaunce of a childlesse olde man shal fal vnto me Reason How knowest thou whether thyne shall fall vnto hym Claudius succeeded Caius and Galba Nero and Nerua Domitian and Pertinax Commodus and the lyfe of a man is ful of suche successions Hope I tarie for the inheritaunce of a childlesse olde man. Reason Whom cannot he deceyue of them that are willing to be deceyned that hath deceiued him whom he woulde not willingly haue deceiued Whom may not he suruine that hath suruiued his owne sonne Hope A childlesse olde man hath alredy in writing appoynted me his heyre Reason Hath he engrauen it in tables of Diamond from whence thou canst not be blotted out Dooest thou not knowe vpon howe light occasions olde men do alter their wylles Many haue mislyked of that at the very ende of theyr lyues whiche before they lyked well of all theyr lyfe tyme. Hope A chyldlesse olde man wyll haue me be his heyre Reason But it may chaunce that hereafter he wyl not For there is nothyng that a riche chyldlesse olde man taketh in worse part then to see his goodes loued and him selfe not regarded for then al is marred Hope I am promised the inheritaunce of a chyldlesse olde man. Reason I could wyshe there were that vpryghtnesse and trust in men that they would neuer promise any thyng but that whiche is honest and would also perfourme that which they haue promised But now there is neither measure in promising nor regarde of breache of promise whiche men thynke they may most lawfully doo in inheritaunce and bestowyng possessions And for this cause the lawes call the willes of Testatours whyle they lyue walkyng Wylles I wyll not trouble thee with examples the thyng is well knowen Thou hast read I take it vnto whom in hath hapned that not only they were promised the inheritaunce of the lyuyng but also receyued kysses and ringes and the last embracinges of the partie whiche lay a dying whiche vnto them was an vndoubted token of succession when as in the meane whyle there were other heyres appoynted and no mention at all made of them in the Wyll thus bolde is vnfaythfulnesse euen in the middes of death Doest thou thynke then that thou art free from the deceites of them that are alyue when as thou readest in what sort great and noble personagies haue been deluoed by the craftes of them that haue lyen a dying And not to stay vpon many The most honourable Gentleman Lucius Lucullus suffered some tyme this kynde of mocke and reproche and also a greater state then he was Augustus the Emperour An horrible and most strange delyght in deceyuyng which wyll not forsake the miserable and wretched soules no not in the very poynt of death but this is your maner and thou reposest thy trust vpon a promised inheritaunce whereof thou mayest be disappoynted both by the longer lyfe and shorter fayth of the testatour although yf these doo thee no harme he may haue most iust cause to change his purpose to wit an heyre of his owne and young issue borne to an old man For Cato begate a chylde when he was aboue fourescore yeeres old and Masinissa when he was more neere to ninetie The lyke also happeneth now adayes vnto your olde men who I woulde they were as lyke vnto those anncient fathers in strength of mynde as they are to force of engendryng whiche beyng so truely the lawfull heyre hyndreth the intruder and cutteth of his foolyshe hope Hope I am named Heyre in an olde mans Testament Reason But perhappes he is yet lyuyng and lyke to lyue As for the Testamentes and Wylles they are made in the lyfe time and confirmed in the death thou thynkest vpon the Carcas and Buriall and Wolfe may be weeried with expectation and hunger Hope An Inheritaunce shall come directly vnto mee Reason As the Testatour so also is the inheritaunce subiect to casualties that a man can not alwayes haue that heyre whiche he woulde and an inheritaunce many tymes is nothyng but a vayne name yea sundrie tymes a small inheritaunce is very deerely bought when a man maketh hym selfe seruiceable and subiect to a tatter olde foole and vseth flattering wordes vnmeete for a man Surely there is no commoditie to be compared with the losse of honestie and that whiche is decent Hope The Inheritaunce shall fall vnto me without contradiction of Lawe or Fortune Reason Whereby knowest thou that seeyng that saying of the most auntient and wyse Father Marcus Cato is true I haue heard oftentymes sayth he that many thynges may happen betweene the mouth and the morsell But admitie nothyng happen betweene but that thyne expected inheritaunce fall vnto thee it wyll not tarrie with thee but departe from thee to others Worldly goodes are roullyng and money men say is of purpose made rounde that it may alwayes be runnyng Thou hast gotten an inheritaunce for thy successour thou beyng perhappes sadde for hym that wyll reioyce thou beyng carefull for hym that is negligent and looke howe thou hast hoped of another so wyll other hope of thee Of Alchimie The Cxi Dialogue HOPE I Hope for good successe in Alchimie Reason It is strange thou should est hope for that which neuer hapned effectually to thy selfe nor to any man els yf report go that it euer hapned to any man that report was made by suche as it was expedient to beleeue them Hope I hope for good successe in Alchimie Reason What successe meanest thou other then smoke ashes sweate sighes woordes deceit and shame These are the successes of Alchimie wherely we neuer sawe any poore man aduaunced to ritches but many ryche men fall into pouertie And yet ye haue no regarde hereof so sweete a thyng it is to hope and be deceyued wherevnto ye be pricked foorth by couetousnesse and dryuen headlong through madnesse that ye thinke that to be true whiche you hope for and false whiche you see Thou hast seene some that in other matters are wyse yet in this behalfe to be madde and some very ryche men vtterly consumed with this vanitie and whyle they couet to become rycher and gape after filthie lucre to consume theyr wel gotten goodes and hauyng spent all theyr reuenue in vnprofitable expences at length to haue wanted verie necessaries and other some forsakyng the Citie wherein they dwelt haue passed foorth the residue of theyr lyues in sorowe and heauinesse beyng able to thynke vpon nothyng els but Bellowes Tongues and Coales and beyng able to abyde to keepe companie with none but of theyr owne disposition
not onely vnderstande howe to hope for prosperous times but how to deeme of the sorowfull if thou looke vpon thine owne age whiche euery day waxeth more heauie then other as it is described by the Poet and founde in most olde men And truely yf thou cast thyne eyes backwarde and begyn to recount and consyder thine owne yeeres thou wylt also therewithal begin to despayre of that whiche thou hopest There is no cause why thou shouldest hope for alteration of the course of the world The tymes that folowe are not better but I feare me rather the worse And what is the cause I pray thee but onely because men waxe woorse and woorse whiche certayne notable men haue foretolde should be so and the effect plainly declareth but that you men vppon good hope do euermore conceiue some great opinion of your noble and modest youth from whiche opinion I am farre of for my minde can not prognosticate nor foresee any good to ensue at al euery thing is so prone vnto vice and vntowardnesse Hope The times are euyl but better shal ensue Reason Euery age hath complained of the maners that haue been then sayth Seneca And I adde that euery age had cause in deede whereof to complayne shal haue hereafter to the worldes end Hope I hope for a better time Reason There is one way vnto that wherby yf thou attaine to a better state thou wylt then hope for no farther matter Frame vnto thy selfe a merier mind which thou canst not do without vertue when thou hast so done al things shal be merrie fortunate and nothing vnprosperous or sorowful Hope I looke for a better tyme. Reason If it chaunce to come which is doubtfull verily as that approcheth thou drawest away How muche were it better to vse well the tyme present rather then carefully to expect that whiche perchaunce eyther wyll not come at all or thou shalt neuer lyue to see Of the hoped commyng of a Prince The Cxvi Dialogue HOPE I Hope for a Princes comming Reason As many things are feared which were rather to be wished so many are wished whiche were rather to be feared on both sides there is great want of iudgement Hope I hope for the Princes commyng Reason How much more seemely were it to hope for libertie for truely he that hopeth for a Lord or a Maister hopeth for his owne seruitude Hope I hope that the Prince wyll come Reason Thou hopest also for the common mischiefe whiche commeth with him But the tyme hath been when Princes haue hoped for their kingdomes and the people haue hoped for their Prince but now the kingdome is a burden to the Prince and the Prince a plague to the people Hope I and the common wealth doo hope that the Prince wyll come Reason What thou alone dooest hope for thou knowest best thy selfe wherein also thou mayest easily be deceyued but as for the hope of the Common wealth it is but foolyshe For what man vnlesse he were mad woulde hope for or desire that whiche he hath so often times experimented to be hurtful Hope I hope that the Prince wyll come Reason And he wyll bryng with hym sundry stirres and tumultes alterations of Cities hurtfull nouelties famine pestilence warres discorde al these at once or euery one of them seuerally vse commonly to come with Princes now a dayes If thou lyke of these thynges then hope for the Princes commyng but yf none of these be fearefull notwithstandyng the very name of an Empire is ful of reporâ—es and rumours deuoyde of al goodnesse and only founded vpon the shadowe of antiquitie Hope I hope that the Prince wyll come Reason But I woulde haue thee wyse and circumspect that as often as thou hearest of his comming thou imagine that thou hearest the voyce of some thunder that goeth before lyghtnyng nor begynne not to hope but rather to feare yf so be one of them must needes fayle For to feare aduersitie although it be repugnant to vertue yet is it agreeable to nature but to hope for euyll is contrary to nature and vertue Hope I hope that the prince wyll be heere shortly Reason When thou seest hym present imagine that thou beholdest an vnfortunate starre to the Common wealth and concernyng this matter take aduice of thyne owne memorie or demaunde of thy Parentes or of thy Grandfathers or great Grandfathers and thou shalt finde it to be so as I say whiche thyng declare thou also to thy chyldren posteritie least they also lyke fooles hope for the Princes commyng I pray thee tel mee when dyd euer the small Beastes hope for the Lyons comming or the lesser Foules for the Eagles Pardon me if I tel that trueth Man is a most foolyshe creature and alwayes most desirous of his owne harme other haue neede of a bayte to take them withall and man is caught onely with rumour of fame Of hope of Fame after death The Cxvii Dialogue HOPE I Hope for Fame after my death for my desartes Reason Many hope that they deserue fame when they rather deserue infamie and lyke traueylers that wander out of their way when they thynke they goe ryght foorth then goe they backewarde Hope I am famous in my lyfe tyme and I hope to be more famous after my death Reason This is true I confesse in some insomuche as Anneus Seneca in a certaine Epistle profecieth that he shoulde he beloued of posteritie and Statius Papinius sayth that he hath prepared a redie path for the present fame vnto his woorke among posteritie and lykewyse the Poet Ouid foretold of the eternitie of his name to come and that he shoulde be read by the mouth of the people and lyue by fame throughout all ages and truely none of these are deceyued But how many thynkest thou haue there been that haue hoped the lyke but their hope hath fayled them Many perhappes haue thought as much and haue written but haue not found that which they promised to them selues Hope If I be famous whyle I lyue why should I not be more famous after my death Reason For that it is an accustomable and common experience that many that haue been famous and noble in their life time after their death haue become obscure and vnknowen Dooest thou wonder at it The cause is manifest which is a certaine affabilitie neate pleasant speach a fawning countenance a friendly looke gentle greeting benefites bestowed vpon neighbours defending of clientes hospitalitie towardes strangers courtesie towardes al men These and suche lyke do purchase fâ—me to them that are lyuing but so sone as they are dead they continue no longer vnlesse perhaps as long as they remaine that knewe them whiche how short a time it is thou seest for how should thinges continue that are not grounded vpon a sure foundation It is the course of nature that the thinges that are weakely established and slenderly encreased do soone decay And therefore that thy fame may be durable it must proceede
onelie by nature Which thing although it be written in the workes of learned and famous authours yet should it be counted in the number of things incredible if so bee perhaps it were written of the Indian or Scythian Ocean had not rather happened that in our seas this wonder had bin knowen to the Romane Emperours The cause of the stay was founde by this meanes in that when an whole fleete of shippes was setting forth one of them stoode stil as if she had lien at anker not stirring a whit out of her place Then some that were expert being lette downe into the sea easilie perceiued the trueth and there was founde cleauing fast to the bottome of the rudder a litle fishe like a snaile whiche was brought away and presented to the prince who disdained that so little a creature should be of so great power but speciallie wondred at this one thing that when it was receiued into the shippe it had no longer power to worke that effect which it did when it cleaued to the outside But as touching that other kinde of straunge thing truelie I had rather keepe silence than absolutely to auerre it the fame whereof I knowe not howe true it is but surelie it is newe and for that cause the more to bee doubted of The thing is this That about the Indian sea there is a certeine birde of an incredible bignesse whom our countriemen call a Roche which is able and accustomed to take vp not onelie a man but also an whole shippe in her beake and to flie away with it into the cloudes and so procureth a terrible death to the wretched people hanging in the aire See therefore howe great the force of couetousnesse is which not being able to deter the followers thereof from sayling neither by manie other perilles neither by this most cruell daunger maketh them a pray that are so greedie of pray And nowe also to bring some inuisible things to my purpose in what commixtion of contraries consisteth wished temperature among whiche there is a conioyning of repugnant cōtraries for the bringing foorth of the middle vertue By meanes of whiche differences and by what disagreement of voyces doe men atteine vnto true Musical concord Finallie examine whatsoeuer there is runne through in thy minde al the heauen the earth the sea there is like contention in the toppe of the skie and the bottom of the sea and there is strife in the deepe riftes of the earth aswell as in the woddes fieldes and aswell is there perpetuall disagreement in the desertes of sandes as in the streetes of cities And now lest through varietie of matter I wander from my purpose I say nothing that at the verie beginning of the world there was a battel fought in the highest of heauen betweene the ethereal spirites and some are of opinion also that they fight yet at this day in this region of the darke and mistie aire I say nothing howe that in the same heauenly conflict the angels that were vanquished beeing nowe become inferiour to their conquerours whilest they endeuour to be reuenged vpon vs mortall men that inhabite the earth they haue procured vnto vs an immortall warre of sundrie temptations with an hard and doubtfull businesse And that I may gather together into one summe al things whatsoeuer hauing sense or without sense from the vppermost toppe of heauen as I haue said vnto the lowermost centre of the earth and from the chiefest angell to the basest and least worme I omitte to speake howe there is continuall and euerlasting strife betweene them Man him selfe the lord gouernour of all liuing creatures who onely by the rule of reason seemeth able to guide in tranquillitie this course of life and this swelling and troublesome sea with what continuall strife is he tossed not onelie with other thinges but also with him selfe wherof I will speake anon But now I will intreat of the first for there is no mischiefe that one man worketh not against another to admit that all other harmes by what meanes soeuer they happen whether by nature or fortune yet being cōpared with these do seeme but light discommodities Which if I would discipher at large which I would not willingly do and it is far from my purpose both al the whole sceane of humane actions were to be opened al the historie of life to be perused But it shal be sufficient for me to say thus much for if there had ben neuer any other warres in all the world but the warres of the Romanes there had bin warres strife ynough Adde moreouer the disagrement of opinions the indissoluble knottes and intrications of matters who is able to reckon vp the varietie of sectes or contention of Philosophers The warres of kings nations are at rest but the Philosophers are not at agreement and they cōtend about a matter that when it beginneth to be the ones it surceasseth to be the others These men contend for the trueth which euery one of them cannot haue on his side this strife neither could the maiestie of the purchased veritie neither Carneades the Academike a carefull seeker after the Philosophicall quietnesse though in vaine euer be able to appease Insomuch that Anneus Seneca seemeth vnto me not vnfitly to haue writen where he cōpareth the clocks dials with Philosophers for the like discord that is found among thē Which howe true it is whosoeuer applieth his mind to Philosophers his eares to the clocks may wel perceiue neither is the doctrine of other Artisants in more tranquillitie what cōtentions are there amōg Grāmarians not yet decided what cōflicts among Rhetoricians what alterations among Logicians Finally what discord in all artes what clamour among Lawiers who how wel they agree the cōtinuāce of their causes doth shew Of the agrement of Physitians let their patients be iudge For that life which they haue pronounced to bee short by their contentions they haue made most short Moreouer what deformitie and what disagreement of opinions is there in the holie rites of the Church and Religion not so much in the woordes of the learned as in the weapons of the armed and more often tried in the fielde than discussed in the scooles Thus being but one trueth in all matters vnto which as saith Aristotle al things are agreeable yet the opinion of them is verie dissonant cōtrarie that it troubleth the professours of the truth What shall I say of the cōmon life and affaires of men That there are scarce two in a citie that do agree both manie things else but especiallie the great diuersitie of their houses apparell doeth declare For whosoeuer succeeded anie man in an house were hee neuer so riche and good an husband that hath not neuerthelesse chaunged manie things in it so that looke what one man had a desire to builde another hath a pleasure to plucke downe witnesse hereof may be the often changing of windowes damming vp of doores and
vertue be not in thy sonne yet loue hym because he is thy sonne yf not for that cause then for that he is a man Lastly yf there be no cause at all why thou shouldest loue hym them pittie hym As seueritie belongeth to a father euen so dooth compassion Sorow I haue a sonne of a moste wicked lyfe Reason An vnlucky burden and so much the heauier that as long as it is to be suffered it cannot be quite cast away suffer and as thou mayst amend it so shalt thou either cure thy sonne or at the least play the part of a father but this thou oughtest to do of duetie and wyshe the other Sorowe My sonne is very vngodly vncurteous and vnreasonable Reason If wantonnesse and pleasure be once growen vnto knauery and myscheefe then is there a venomous beast to be driuen out a doores neyther must we regard where but what is borne and sprung vp for you nouryshe vp birdes bread in the wylde wooddes and ye kyl scorpions brought vp at home in the house Sorow I haue a very wicked sonne Reason It is the part of a wyse man to put a way daungerous thinges before they do any harme at al. Let not the shadow of godlynesse deceyue thee no godlinesse is due vnto an vngodly person A man may sometyme finde where it is a kynde of crueltie to be godly but whyle there remayneth the least sparke of hope alwayes enclyne thy selfe vnto mercy and remember that thou art a father and not a iudge and see thou forget not here that notable saying of Terence For a great fault a litle punishment is sufficient of a father Of a contentious brother The .xlv. Dilalogue SOROW. I Haue a contentious brother Reason And what of hym then hath he not thee an agreeyng brother for brotherly agreement whiche ought of twayne to make but one is deuided in twayne so that you are made not diuers only but quite contraryes a greeuous mischeefe surely but an auncient which both the worlde and the head of the worlde had in the begynnyng For the infamie of the citie of Rome is auncient but that of the world is of more antiquitie to wyt that it was embrued with the blood of brethren Therefore that which thou seest betweene al cooples of brethren yea when there was but one coople only in the world hast no cause to be amased at it now among so many thousandes Sorowe I haue a very contentious brother at home Reason Doest thou marueyle that to be in a greate house whiche hath been in the narowe roome of one mothers wombe where as in time past which was a shadow of a greater misery we reade of brothers that were not onely among them selues contentious but also togeather by the eares Is it any strange thing then that men being armed shoulde do that whiche they that are vnborne are wont to doo Sorowe I fynde no fauour with my brother Reason Thou oughtest rather to haue learned this long before in the schooles than to haue found it true in effect at home thinges that are foreseene are neyther complained of nor woondred at Sorowe I haue an odious and contentious brother Reason As for the most part there is no loue more tender then the loue of brethren so when it beginneth there is no hatred more vehement no enuie more vnquenchable Thus equalitie inciteth and enflameth their mindes when as the shame of geuing place and the desyre of superioritie is by so much the more feruent the more that the remembrance of their infancie togeather or what so euer els may seeme to engender goodwyl when as they be once digressed from the ryght way may procure hatred and disliking betweene them in this respect therefore the hart burnyng of a rebellious nature may be very wel reclaimed namely by curtesie gentlenesse For there is no nature almost so rough and vnciuile whom at length true continuall humilitie in woordes and vnfeigned and gentle dealing in al matters wil not ouercome and molifie If thou finde this to be voyde and without force or that peraduenture thou thy selfe canst not enforce thy minde hereunto whereby he may be honestly and profitably constreyned then before that the matter breake foorth vnto vtter destruction thou must vse the last and extreame remedie the roote of the mischeefe must be plucked vp and comunitie remoued which is the mother of discorde wherein thou must demeane thy selfe so curteously that looke howe muche thou yeeldest of thy right so much thou shalt perceiue to be added vnto thy vertue and fame The sharpe prickes of impious proud desire are by nothing better rebated then by vertuous and curteous liberalitie That gold is good whereby the peace of familie and brotherly loue is purchased It is a very auncient and no lesse true saying That these two pronownes myne and thyne are great cause of warres and disagreement whiche yf they were taken away from out of the life of man out of doubt men should liue muche more quietly Of the losse of a father The .xlvi. Dialogue SOROWE I Haue last my father Reason It is meete that him whom thou complainedst of while he was present with thee thou seeke him when he is absent and yet not finde him There is nothing more iust then in vaine to wysh for the aucthoritie which thou hast contemned Sorowe I haue lost a good father Reason It is wel that he hath left a good sonne behinde hym reioyce for the good olde mans sake vnto whom at length that hath hapned which he alwayes wyshed for who leauing thee in safetie is departed hym selfe out of this worlde Sorowe I haue lost a louing father Reason A good sonne standeth in dread of the chaunces of fortune for none other cause then that any calamitie befallyng vnto hym myght strike his fathers mind with sorowfulnesse but nowe thou shalt lyue more at quiet at thine owne peril only he shal not any more be greeued with rumours of thee thine aduersitie shal not breake him thy sicknesse shal not weaken him thy death shal not kyl him Sorow I haue lost a most louing father Reason Thou must nowe begin to care for other for he that was woont to care for thee is gone That tendernesse that was showed ouer thee repaye thou vnto another it is seldome repayed vnto whom it is due Sorowe Poore wretche I haue lost a louing father Reason If thou knowe the reason and nature of loue tendernesse comfort thy chaunce by remembrance of the time past Thou diddest reuerence thy father and as long as thou couldest thou shewdst thy selfe alwayes duetiful vnto hym thy father is departed but thy duetifulnesse lyueth otherwyse I confesse thou haddest cause to be heauie continually Sorowe My father by dying hath forsaken me Reason Take in good part the common course of nature he is first gone that first came into the world neyther hath he forsaken thee but is gone before thee Sorowe I haue lost my father Reason Thou knowest
not what it is to leese a father vnlesse thou haddest had a sonne Of the losse of a mother The xlvii Dialogue SOROWE I Haue lost my mother Reason Thou hast yet another mother whom thou canst not leese if thou wouldest from the first thou camest and vnto this thou shalt returne The first gaue thee houséromth the space of a few monethes the other shal giue thee lodging the space of many yeeres The one of these gaue thee thy body the other shal take it away Sorowe My most milde mother is dead Reason But a most hard mother remayneth who wyl keepe thee and thy mother whom thou bewailest in one besome in whose wombe she shal rest with thee and as we beleeue bryng you both foorth agayne at the last day Sorowe My good mother hath forsaken me Reason She made hast fearyng to be forsaken and likely it is that her death was acceptable vnto her because she would not see thine prouiding for her securitie in that whiche alwayes she most feared Sorowe My good mother is dead Reason She is happily dead thou being a lyue whiche beyng otherwyse such are the affections of women she would haue died in sorowful lamentation Sorowe My mother is dead Reason Shee must haue died and thou also neyther canst thou complaine of death nor of the order therof Of the losse of a sonne The xlviii Dialogue SOROW. BUt I haue lost my sonne Reason Say rather and better I haue sent hym before me for thou shalt folowe hym quickely and perhappes to day and howe know we whether this same houre There is no trust in lyfe since there is so great certentie in death shalt folowe hym sayde I Nay rather thou doest folowe hym I woulde haue sayde for thou folowest hym continually it is not permitted vnto a man at any tyme to stay his course in this lyfe but euermore he steppeth foorth one step vnto death a strange matter to be spoken whether he be bound or at libertie sicke or whole walkyng or sitting awake or sleepyng he is caryed foorth toward his ende much after the manner of them that sayle in a shyp or sitte and ride in a wagon and are carried foorth a pace Sorowe I am greeued with the lacke of my sonne whom I haue lost Reason Qiuet thy minde for thou shalt finde hym whom thou desirest ere it be long not to be able to suffer the want of a short tyme is the part of a childe or a woman for vnto a man there is no short thing difficult Thou knowest I thinke by what woordes Socrates in Plato and Cato and Lelius in Cicero do comfort suche desires and wantes Although men surpasse in vertue and glory yet in this hope do some farre surpasse other Thou knowest moreouer of what minde Paulus Emilius Cato hym selfe Pericles and Zenophon that was scholer vnto Socrates and scholefelowe with Plato and his equal and other innumerable were for the death of their chyldren neyther art thou ignorant howe he that was both a prophet and a king wept for his chylde whyle it was sicke but not when it was dead thinkyng that to lament and weepe for thinges vnrecouerable is rather a poynt of vayne madnesse then of true affection Among the number of whiche manly examples the Spartane woman shuffeleth her selfe whose name is not set downe by wryters nor her saying semblably commended who hearyng that her sonne was slayne in battayle therfore sayd she did I beare hym that he shoulde not be afrayd to dye for his countrey The vertue of Linia and the elder Cornelia is nothyng inferiour vnto this but their names muche more famous of whom the first layde downe her mournyng so soone as her sonne of most honourable byrth and that was lyke to haue aspired vnto the hyghest degree of Empire was once layd into the ground but neuer left of the remembrance of hym The other hauing lost many chyldren yea al that she had whereof some she behelde slayne by the people and lying abrode vnburyed when as other women accordyng to the manner of that sexe rued her state and pitifully weepyng bewaled her woful case she answeared that she was not infortunate but happie for that she had borne such sonnes A woorthy woman that was not surprised with the present miserie but counted her selfe happie for that whiche was past who contrary to the common opinion and custome of them that are in miserie comforted herselfe with her forepassed felicitie and the remembrance of her prosperitie wherin shee had somtime liued and tooke it indifferently although she had then lost it for that cause only was woorthie to haue bad good children Now she being a woman remained wholy not once touched with the greeuous and sharp woundes of fortune and thou beeyng a man art ouerthrowne by one only doest thou lament so childishly Sorow I haue lost my sonne Reason If he were a duetiful sonne there is no cause to feare his estate for he is well But yf he were wicked thou art rydde of one that counted vpon thy death and encreased the infirmities of thine olde age Sorowe I haue lost my sonne Reason If he were vertuous reioyce that thou haddest hym but yf he were vnthryfty be glad that thou hast lost hym and in eyther case acknowledge the benefite of nature eyther for geuing thee suche a one or for takyng hym a way Sorowe Death hath taken away my sonne before his tyme. Reason That is not done before due tyme whiche may be done at al tymes Death hath directe entrances into al ages but into youth innumerable Sorowe I haue remayned without a sonne Reason And without trouble and feare Now hast thou none for whose cause thou shalt spend the nyghtes without sleepe and the dayes in care for whose sake thou shalt enter into long and inextricable hope that shall thinke vpon thy hory heares and wryncles examine thy lyuing fynde fault with thine expences and blame the staying of thy death thou art in securitie and quietnesse on euery side both which are a great commoditie although it be made more bitter by the name of death Sorowe I am cast downe by the geeuous death of my sonne Reason Hast thou not hearde what Anaragoras sayth Hast thou forgotten that thou begattest a mortal creature Or doest thou perhappes lament that he is gone before that should haue folowed And although the lyfe of man in many other thinges be disordinate and out of course yet death keepeth his ordinarie custome crooked olde men stagger and young men make hast and chyldren runne headlong infantes at their first entrance into lyfe are drawen to their ende one man more slowly another more speedily one more ripely another more vntimely but euery man must die this is the conclusion of al. And in whatsoeuer age of this lyfe a man die be it gently or sharpely he hasteth vnto death Sorowe I weepe for the death of my sonne Reason If thou wouldest haue wept at his death thou shouldest also
good faculties in bandes but thou learnest to forget pacience Sorowe I am kept fast in pryson Reason Some within caues and dennes and some haue enclosed them selues within the circuit of walles choosing vnto them selues voluntarie imprisonment eyther for the loue of God or for hatred of the worlde or for loathsomnesse of the common multitude as dyd many holy fathers in the primitiue Churche Thou yf thou be not disposed that way desirest an end of thyne imprysonmēt stay a while eyther man wyl discharge thee or els death whiche caryeth a key of the pryson doore There is one manner of entrance but sundry sortes of departyng Some haue been let goe vpon pitie some by the course of lawe some through their owne innocencie some by negligence of the keepers some for money some by craft some by breaking prison or vndermining the walles and some haue escaped out of pryson by the freendly darkenesse of the nyght and also since the memory of your fathers some haue been set at libertie by earthquakes and ouerthrowing of the pryson and last of al they that coulde finde none other meanes haue been released from imprisonment by death And lykewyse no lesse dyuers haue been the euentes of them that haue escaped Marius delyuerie from pryson brought hym to the Consulshyp Iulius Caesars imprisonment among the pyrates transported hym to the Empire of the worlde In this age certayne haue passed from pryson to lordshyps and the cheynes whiche they haue shaken from them selues they haue layde vpon other Finally Regulus and Socrates and many moe were not extinguished in prison as it was thaught but rather by an honorable ende discharged out of pryson To conclude the pryson hath sent some vnto great glory some vnto notable fortune some to a kyngdome and many to heauen but al to the graue for it neuer receyued any whom it hath not agayne restored Of Tormentes The .lxv. Dialogue SOROW. I Am vniustly tormented Reason What wouldest thou nowe say if it were iustly For there is no torment greater then the torment of the conscience If this be vpryght contemne these outwarde thinges for thou hast a comforter within thee Sorowe I am tormented very vnwoorthily Reason Take compassion vpon thy tormentour he is more sharpely tormented then thou for although the world crye out agaynst thee yet know this that it is a lesse euil to suffer then to offer an imurie Sorowe I am tormented Reason A newe lamentation for an olde greefe wast thou neuer tormented before Among tormentes thou wast borne among tormentes thou hast lyued among tormentes thou shalt dye tell me now what newe thing is befallen thee The kindes of tormentes are changed but the tormentes them selues do not surceasse Examine the whole course of thy forepassed life recount what euer day thou passedst ouer without torment Perhaps thou mayst finde somthinges shadowed with false ioyes but al thinges full of true tormentes wherof if thou iudge exactly thou wilt confesse that there is no part of this life voyde Wherby it commeth to passe that some not without iust cause haue supposed this whole life to be a continual punishment But you neuerthelesse so demeane your selues as though these Philosophical speeches concerned you not they sticke in the enterance of your eares they pearce not into the closet of your mindes So that ye lament for euery small griefe of the bodie but as for the euerlastyng and deadly punishment of the minde ye do not feele it in the first ye are impacient but in the other without sense Sorow I am layde vpon the wheele Reason What skilleth it whether thou goe vp to the wheele or to the bed to be tormented The tormentours knot shal wring thee and put thee to payne but heare now one with the ague another with the gout another with a shrewysh wyfe another with his sonne another with his louer another with his ryches another with pouertie another by the Phisitions hand another with the schoolemaisters ferula another with a naughtie seruaunt another with a proude lorde another is vexed with an infinite hope and couetous desire another with feare that is more greeuous then any tormentour Search through the whole state of mankynde and thou shalt scarse finde one man that lyeth not vpon the wheele and beyng a thousand sundry sortes of tortures doo you feare none but those that are made of wood Sorowe I am tormented Reason In the middest of thy tormentes comfort thy selfe eyther with thyne innocencie or with iustice for if thou be vniustly tormented thou hast a cause to reioyce whereby thou hast purchased experience to thy selfe and others and also a certayne bryghtnesse is added vnto thy vertue the fame of handled and aduaunced thynges is more renowmed and spices the longer they be beaten the sweeter they smell and most excellent wares are set a loft to the viewe that they may be seene the better But yf thou be tormented deseruedly thou hast thy remedye in thy handes but clottered fylth is purged by fyre and difficultie and a desperate sicknesse muste haue a sharpe cure who so is weery of his disease wyl not refuse any bytter thyng and he that is sory for his synnes wyll not eschewe any punishment Sorow I am laide on the racke Reason If without desart thou hast a meane to despise the crueltie of another from an hygh But yf deseruedly when thou art plucked from the earth thou mayst the more euidently beholde thyne offence and that which thou art now sorowful for the committyng thou shalt not be grieued for the sufferyng of the punyshment Sorow I am tormented Reason Eyther thy vertue is tryed or thy vyce punyshed the one is often profitable the other alwayes expedient It is a good tryall for the ryghteous to suffer punyshment but there is nothyng woorse then to suffer the gyltie to escape vnpunished Sorowe I am tormented Reason Learne the way vnto patience and death Of vniust iudgement The Lxvj. Dialogue SOROWE I AM condemned by vniust iudgement Reason There haue been some ere nowe condemned by the sentence of one iudge or by the testimonie of a fewe witnesses who haue ben often tymes acquitted eyther by the voice of the common people or by theyr secrete iudgement or whiche is better by theyr owne conscience or whiche is best of al by Gods owne iudgement For the best appealyng is vnto the eternall iudgement seate of the most iust and hygh iudge and he it is that vseth to reuerse the false iudgementes of other by a wrytte of errour Sorowe I am condemned vniustly Reason As the vnryghteous are ouerthrowen by iustice so are the ryghteous by iniurie Then whereas is vniust condempnation there the partie condempned is innocent and there is no man so foolysh vnlesse he were starke mad that would haue this be contrarie and had rather be condemned iustly then vniustly There is none so feareful vnlesse he be too bad but had rather be condemned by an vnrighteous doome then acquitted
eyther of these one Citie shall gene thee an example to wit Menenius Agrippa and Portius Cato euen the same that was the last Sorowe The Citizens are together by the eares in implacable ciuile warre Reason If thou canst doo nothyng thereto of thy selfe labour others reprooue them entreate them withstande them chastice them speake them faire beate into their heades the vtter ouerthrowe of the Common wealth whiche conteyneth in it the ruine of euery priuate person and seemyng proper to none appertayneth to all To be short seeke to appease theyr mindes at the one syde with duetie on the other with terrour But yf thou profite nothyng that way make thy prayers vnto Almightie GOD and wyshe the witte and amendment of thy Citizens and the safetie of thy Countrey and in all poyntes fulfyl the duetie of a good Citizen Sorow The Common wealth is come to great extremitie by ciuile warre Reason To the ende that neither by ciuile nor external warres any thyng happen vnto thee vnlooked for nor any chaunce oppresse thee vpon a sudden alwayes recount this one thyng in thy minde that not men only but al worldly thynges also are mortal the soule of man onely excepted And as in men so lykewyse in Cities and great Empires there be sundry diseases and maladies some in the outwarde partes and some rysing within the bodye among which are mutinies and fallinges away and brawles and discordes and ciuile warres and moreouer that euery one hath a tyme prefixed whiche he can not passe whiche euery day draweth nearer then other and although it be deferred for a time yet most sure it is that it wyll come Where there stand now most famous Cities there sometyme haue stoode rough and wilde wooddes and so perhaps shall doo agayne It is a great follie for any Citie to hope for that of it selfe whiche Rome the Lady and Queene of all Cities coulde not attayne This is the difference betweene the endes and decayes of men and of Cities in that the ende of men by reason of their innumerable and infinite multitude and shortnes of lyfe is dayly seene with the eyes but of Cities because of the rarenesse of them and theyr longer continuance it is scarce beholden once in many hundred yeeres and then with great wonder and admiration This meditation shall make thee more strong agaynst all chaunces as well publique as priuate And to conclude the same shall lay foorth vnto thee though not a pleasant yet an indifferent way vnto pouertie vnto exile and vnto death it selfe and teach thee how that this mischiefe is peculier to thy Countrey which is common vnto you all that be Citizens Of the disagreement of a waueryng minde The Lxxv. Dialogue SOROWE I AM troubled with the disagreeyng of my minde Reason There is no warre woorse then this no not ciuile warre For that is betweene Citizens but this with a mans owne selfe That is betweene factions of Citizens in the streetes of the Cities but this is fought within in the minde betweene the partes of the soule And therefore forasmuche as there is a kynde of warre which is counted more then ciuyll warre where not Citizens onely but kinsmen also fyght among them selues as was betweene Caesar and Pompei of whiche it was sayde Heere brethren stoode and there was shedde the parentes blood Muche more truely may that be so called where not the father agaynst the sonne nor brother agaynst brother but man agaynst hym selfe doth contende duryng whiche stryfe the minde hath neyther quietnesse nor securitie Sorowe My minde is at variance and distracted with diuers affections Reason Away with that variance begynne to minde one thyng For tyll those contrary affections lyke seditious Citizens minde one and the same thyng neuer shall the minde be quiete and at peace with it selfe But as the Ague of bodyes commeth through contrarie and corrupt humours so contrarie affections engender the Ague of mindes the whiche by so muche is the more dangerous by how muche the minde is more noble then the body and eternall death more terrible then the temporall in eche yf a meane be obserued health may notably be maynteyned Sorowe My minde is at debate and chooseth not what it woulde Reason Thou nowe tyest the cause of euyll and euyll it selfe together supposing the same to be at debate because it chooseth not But let it once begyn to choose the stryfe wyll quicklie ceasse I say let it choose to wyll that good is not euyll for els it wyl be so far from finding quietnesse that more and more it shal be disquieted For vices can neuer agree together but where vertues are there is peace and concorde Sorow My minde is at dissension being deuided into partes Reason Philosophers haue destinguished the mind into three partes the fyrst wherof as the gouernour of mans lyfe heauenly blessed next vnto GOD they haue placed in the head as it were in a Towre where quiet and honest cogitations and willes doo dwell the second in the brest where anger and malice boyleth the thyrd in the neather partes from whence proceedeth lust and concupiscence the tempest of this sea is double so thou seest now what thou hast to doo Doo as Menenius dyd of whom euen now I spake he perswaded the common people to come vnder the gouernement of the Senatours whose profitable counsayle they followyng were brought from dissension to amitie so he counsayled them but yf counsayle wyl not serue doo thou compell thyne abiect and base partes to obeye the noble For tyl that be brought about neuer looke to be quiet in minde And lacking quietnesse surely mans lyfe is vnsetled and foolyshe and tossed about and vncertaine and blinde yea altogether miserable Many in all theyr lyfe tyme knowe not what they woulde haue Sorow I am troubled in minde and knowe not what I woulde Reason Thou hast moe companions troubled not once or twyse but as last of all I sayde all theyr lyfe tyme And truely among all that thou hast sayde thou hast not and saye what thou wylt thou canst not almoste shewe a greater miserie Sorowe I am tossed and diuersly enclined Reason To be in suche a case is a notable argument that the minde is not wel For as a sicke body tumbleth on the bedde so a sicke minde knoweth not what to stycke vnto Suche are in a most miserable case For better doo I conceyue of hym which stoutly persisteth in wickednesse for if he repent happily he wyl be as constant in well doyng as he was impudent in naughtinesse then of a lyght brayne which carelesly neglecteth al counsayle for yf he at any tyme begyn to doo well he is soone weerie and wyll not persiste but remayneth altogeather ignorant so that we may well apply that obscure saying of Seneca vnto hym They which doo not that they shoulde consume the tyme without profite for dooyng nowe that nowe this and neuer continue in one may well be sayde to doo that they should not
weeried with affayres and certaine also to rule bridel his harmful dangerous delightes with holsome grieffes and troubles to woorke within hym a contempt of this lyfe also a desyre of a better If this life were voyde of cares and troubles how much I pray thee would death be feared or how much would this lyfe please mortal men when as beyng ful of sorowes afflictions it so delighteth them whiche then it woulde muche more doo yf nothyng were to be feared For neyther the sweetenesse of lyfe is alwayes profitable to hym that lyueth nor the pleasure of the way to the traueller and it is expedient sometymes that some harde and paynefull accident happen by the way that the ende may be the more desyred Sorowe The nyght byrdes with their mournyng tunes are odious vnto me Reason As I suppose it is not the Nyghtingale which as Virgil sayth weepeth all the nyght and sittyng vpon a bough beginneth her sorowful song and fylleth all the places abrode with her careful and greeuous complayntes For mournyng is sweete and verses are delectable and complayntes are pleasant Peraduenture the mourneful Shrychowle disturbeth thee or els the imfamous Owle which is not only yll spoken of by meanes of his owne most hatefull song but also by the wrytynges of the Poetes which notwithstandyng howe much they haue been esteemed for ioyfull diuination and coniecturing of thyngs to come here in fore tymes Thou mayest reade in Iosephus although they be both ridiculus that is to say either to conceiue hope or feare thereby For the sadde countenaunce of this byrd of many others and also his sorowful song which are both naturall they doo not so vtter to the ende to declare or foreshewe any thyng thereby but because they doo not knowe howe to syng otherwyse Geue vnto them the voyce of a Nyghtyngale and they wyll mourne more sweetely but nowe they obeye theyr owne nature As for you ye endeuour by dotyng to constrayne your nature vnto your superstitious desyres Sorowe The Owle that sytteth al the nyght long in the next Turret is very offenciue vnto me Reason Thou hast hearde howe that there was an Owle that woonted to disquiet Augustus in the nyght And whom I pray thee wyll he feare to trouble whiche disquieted the Lord and ruler of all the worlde Sorowe The Myse disturbe me in my Chamber Reason What canst thou tell whether they were bred in the same Chamber wherein thou nowe lyest as a stranger and therefore they may more iustly complayne of thee who beyng a newe come gheast disturbest them in their natiue soyle But to leaue iestyng there is one reason of them all This is the cause that your lyfe is troubled by them that you myght learne to wyshe for the lyfe to come and that your mindes myght be setled there where there are neyther Myse nor Rattes nor Theeues nor Spiders nor Moathes nor losses nor any other tediousnesse of lyfe to molest you Sorowe The croakyng Frogges and chirping Grashoppers disquiet me Reason Imagine that they prepare comfort for thee and then it shal be comfort A mans opinion altereth any thing as it lust not changing that which is true but gouerning the iudgement and rulyng the senses There was a certaine man of late dayes who dwelling in the countrey vsed to go abrode with as many stones and libbets as he coulde beare both in the day tyme and also rysing in the nyght to dryue away the Nyghtingales from singing but when that way he profited nothyng he caused the trees about to be cut downe to the entent that beyng disappoynted of their greene and pleasant harbours they myght be enforced to depart but when they notwithstandyng continued their singing there he hym selfe at length was constrayned to forsake the place for that he coulde not sleepe nor take any rest there Neuerthelesse he coulde abyde to lye vppon the bankes of the Brookes that ran hard by to heare the nyghtly croaking of the Frogges and Toades in the fennes and moores whose most vncertayne noyse he vsed most greedily to listen vnto as it had been the most delicate harmonie of Vialles or Virginalles truely a very strange and sauage nature in men and scarce woorthy to be reekoned among the number of men beyng also in other manners answerable perhappes vnto these whiche thou hast hearde yet not so mad in other vulgare affayres whiche example is nowe come to my remembraunce that thou mayest perceyue howe great a stroke opinion beareth in all thynges Sorowe I am greeued with the noyse of Frogges and Grashoppers Reason They doo it not truely to greeue thee but they vse the common benefite of nature But the same offendeth your proude impatience as all other thynges doo whatsoeuer is doone or sayde otherwyse then is pleasaunt vnto your eyes and eares But that I may referre the follie of your errour vnto the auncient fables thynke nowe eyther that the Frogges doo renewe theyr olde complaynte and call vppon Latona their reuenger in their hoarse voyce or that the Grashoppers doo with ioy repeate the name of Titonus in theyr schriching tune and therefore thou mayst suffer them to plie theyr businesse and plie thou thyne owne Why are ye offended with the innocent lyuyng creatures beyng alwayes iniurious to nature and in the meane whyle perceyue not howe muche more greater the greefes be wherewith ye torment one another I speake nothyng neyther of the spoylers of Cities nor of a thousande other meanes of iniuryng of dooyng violence and of deceyuyng whereof all the streetes and feeldes are full I speake nothing of Theeues that are dispersed ouer all quarters of the worlde nor of murtherers with theyr rough and craggie bywayes by meanes of whom the greater part of the earth lyeth voyde from trauaylers and the most beautifull syghtes of the worlde lye hydden from mens eyes whiche is nowe a matter winked at and growen to strength through a most wretched custome Who is able with condigne complayntes to set foorth or with conuenient woordes to vtter the heauie weyght of humane slouthfulnesse for that also euen in ciuile and quiet countries as a man woulde saye lawfull Theeues be founde euery where who spoyle and robbe the carefull wayfaryng man that is broken with trauayle and weeryed with greefe both of all his wares and money I knowe not vnder the colour of what most vniust ryght Whereby it is nowe come to passe that that whiche was wont to be most pleasaunt to wander ouer all the worlde the same in some places is nowe a most dangerous matter and in all places chargeable and paynefull Thus your Princes and Fathers of theyr Countrey yea your patience and your publique libertie are for a small price become contemptible What shall I speake of your vayne watches of your priuie walkynges and all other thynges full of sundrie kyndes of suspition and howe the vse of learnyng whiche is the onely comfort in a mans absence is forbydden Whiche thyng for that
good woorkes doone is commendable so that it set not the gate wyde open to pryde and therefore the causes of these affectes must be fyrst consydered least haply disprayse possesse the place of commendation and therefore weygh thou nowe what cause thou hast to be sorowfull Sorowe I am heauie for the miserie of this lyfe Reason The felicitie of the lyfe to come shall make thee merie for this lyfe is not so miserable whiche in deede is most miserable as the other is happie and glorious Sorowe I am heauie Reason Of this mischiefe there are as many rootes as there are thynges which you tearme aduerse and miserable of many of whiche sort we haue alredie entreated and for that I perceyue thee to be redy to complayntes we haue lykewyse hereafter much to entreate of Some tymes a man shall perceyue no apparent cause at all neyther of sicknesse nor losse nor iniurie nor shame nor errours nor of any sudden rumor of suche lyke matter but onely a certayne pleasure to be sorie whiche maketh the soule sadde and heauie Whiche mischiefe is so muche the more hurtfull by now muche the cause is the more vnknowen and the cure more difficult And therefore Cicero wylleth men to flee from the same with all theyr myght and maine yea with all their sayle they can make as from a most dangerous rocke of the Sea whose counsayle in this as in many other thynges I lyke wel of Sorowe The thinking of the present miserie maketh me heauie Reason That the miserie of mankinde is great and manifolde I doo not denie whiche some haue bewayled in whole great volumes but yf thou looke to the contrarie part thou shalt also see many thinges whiche make this lyfe happie and pleasant although there be none hytherto so farre as I knowe that hath written of this matter and some that haue taken it in hande haue geuen it ouer for that whiles they haue been in the very course of their wryting they haue perceyued howe wrong a matche they haue vndertaken and that the argument hath fallen out to be muche more barren then they fyrst supposed and the rather for that the miserie of mankynde appeareth to be euident and the felicitie thereof seemeth to be verie small and hydden so that in discourse of disputation it requireth a deeper displaying and examination then that the incredulous sorte are aable to conceyue And nowe out of many matters to geather one summe togeather haue not you great cause to reoyce Fyrst for that you are the image and likenesse of GOD your Creator whiche is within in the soule of man your witte memorie prouidence speeche so many inuentions so many artes attendyng vppon this soule of yours and next howe many necessities doo followe this your bodye whiche all are comprehended vnder the most singular benefite of GOD also so many opportunities so many sundrie shewes and kindes of thynges whiche by strange and marueylous meanes doo serue to your delyght moreouer so great vertue in rootes so manie iuices of hearbes suche pleasaunt varietie of so many sortes of flowres so great concorde of smelles and colours and castes and soundes rysyng of contraries so many lyuyng creatures in the ayre vppon the lande and in the sea seruyng onely to your vse and created onely to doo man pleasure And vnlesse you had of your owne accorde voluntarily fallen vnder the yoake of sinne you had nowe been gouernours ouer all thynges that are vnder heauen Adde herevnto moreouer the prospect of the Hylles the opennesse of the Valleys the shadowie Wooddes the colde Alpes the warme Shoars Adde also so many holsome Streames of water so many sulphurious and smookyng Lakes so many cleare and coole Fountaynes so many Seas within and rounde about the earth so many confines and boundes of Kyngdomes whiche are euerie day changed and some most assured for theyr immoueable stabilitie Adde lastly some Lakes as bygge and brode almost as the Sea and Pondes lying in bottomes and Riuers fallyng downe headlong from the toppes of Hylles with theyr brinkes full of flowres and pleasaunt hearbes And the bed-chambers of the shoares and Medowes greene with runnyng Streames as Virgil sayth What shall I neede to speake of the foming Rockes that lye vpon the soundyng shoare and the moyst Dennes and the Fieldes yellowe with Corne and the buddyng Vineyardes the commodities of Cities the quietnesse of the Countrey and the libertie of Wildernesses And also the most glorious and bryght spectacle of all whiche is the circumference of the starrie Firmament that continually turneth about with incomprehensible swiftnesse wherein are fastened the fixed Starres Lykewyse the wanderyng lyghtes whiche you call the seuen Planettes And especially the Sunne and Mone the two most excellent lyghtes of the worlde as Virgil tearmeth them Or the most glorious beautie of Heauen as Horace speaketh of them By these consist the fruites of the earth by these the strength and force of lyuing creatures of these also depende the varietie of seasons by these we measure the yeere the monethes dayes nyghtes and spaces of tymes without whiche this lyfe coulde not be other then weerisome and tedious Herevnto moreouer there is geuen vnto you a bodye whiche although it be frayle and transitorie yet notwithstandyng in shewe is imperious and beautifull fashioned vpryght and conuenient in contemplation to beholde the heauens Agayne the immortalitie of your soule and a way prepared for you vnto heauen and an inestimable merchandize bought for a small pryce with other matters also whiche of purpose I haue deferred to the ende for that they are so great that of my selfe I was not able to comprehende them but onely through the benefite of fayth lykewyse the hope of rysyng agayne from death and takyng vp of this bodye after that it is rotten and consumed to be quickened agayne and made lyuely and bryght shynyng and impassible with great glorie and maiestie and moreouer that whiche surpasseth not onely the dignitie of man but also of the Angelles the nature of man so vnited to the nature of GOD that GOD hymselfe became man and beyng made but one person comprehended perfectly in hymselfe the two natures and was both GOD and man to this ende that beyng made a man he myght make man a god An vnspeakable loue and humilitie in GOD exceedyng felicitie and glorie vnto man all manner of wayes an hygh and secrete misterie a woonderfull and comfortable societie whiche I knowe not whether any heauenly tongue canne expresse but sure I am no mortall mouth is able to vtter Dooeth the state of mankynde seeme vnto thee by this meanes but smally aduaunced and the miserie thereof but a lytle relieued Or what I pray thee coulde man I say not hope but wyshe or imagine better for his owne commoditie then to be made GOD And beholde he is god What remayneth there more that you myght wyshe for or desyre or inuent or thinke vppon yet greater then you haue alredie obteyned Truely at what
finde no special thyng at al there for death whiche is indifferent vnto al men hath dispersed and consumed al. Ye loue your bodyes and mortal members ouer muche ye despise your immortal soules and vertue more then ye ought being blynd and vnequal discerners of thynges Sorowe Now I am quite without teeth Reason Now then art thou without toothache yea and without any succoure of them thou hast no vse of them at al. Thou must grinde thy meate paynefully without teeth vnlesse thou wylt dissemble with thy selfe thou oughtest to remember that thou hast a iourney shortly at hande to goe thither where as there is nothyng at al eaten but where men liue onely with ioy and the euerlastyng foode of the soule Of payne in the legges The .xcv. Dialogue SOROW. I Am troubled with a payne in my legges Reason In al buildynges that is the most daungerous fault whiche happeneth in the foundations For as touchyng al other defaultes howe euer thou repayre them this bryngeth ruin therefore at this present there is nought els for thee to do but immediatly to depart out of this ragged Inne Sorow I am troubled with the payne of my legges Reason The cause of this sickenesse as also of many other moe for the most part ryseth from no whence els but from your selues and therefore that whiche came from you by good ryght commeth backe vnto you agayne seeing thou hast forgotten the counsel of the wyse man whiche sayth Let thyne eyes goe before thy feet and I suppose that that first argument of an other wyse man may wel agree hereunto and be accordyngly applyed Ye cannot stay your selues nor looke vnto your feete but lyke blynd men ye runne headlong hither and thither groping after your way What marueyle is it then yf thou stumble sometyme at a stone and sometyme at a blocke This sure is very strange that you wil lay your faultes vpon giltlesse nature Yea moreouer ye haue a great delight to be thrusting in amongst a company of madde iades so that oftentymes ye bryng away the print of a horse showe vpon you Doest not thou thinke that that whiche is spoken by Tullie vnto one belongeth welnigh vnto al men These mischeefes saith he thou foolish felowe hast thou brought wholy vpon thy selfe And so it is truely deceyue not your selues the harme which you suffer for the most part is of your owne doing for whiche afterward ye be sorie Thou yf thou hadst remayned at home that is to say with thy selfe thou perchance ne hadst this greefe ne found any cause of these thy complayntes It is nothyng iniurious that a wandryng lyfe an vnstable should be molested with dyuers discommodities Sorowe I am tormented with the payne of my legges Reason If thou hast geuen the occasion to haue payne reioyce to be punished for the fault yf not comfort thy minde that is innocent And if thou be sory that thou hast a greefe yet reioyce that thou art without blame Howsoeuer the matter goeth in al thy greefe set the shielde of pacience against the sharpe dart of payne which is a perpetual document in al matters of perplexitie then the which there was neuer yet any medicine more wholesome Sorowe I am woonderfully greeued with the payne of my legges Reason The phisitions wyll geue thee counsel that thou shalt lye styl and moue thee from thy bed and truely they do wysely therein to geue thee counsell to do that after thou hast taken harme whiche thou shouldest haue done before but I wil speake no more of their counsels thou thy selfe shalt learne to thy owne cost how their counsels are to be estemed of Notwithstanding I wil geue thee that aduice which they vse to geue but in another respect For they suppose that they are able to restore thee easily to thy health when thou art sicke by applying fomentations other remedies whiles they endeuour to defend the part affected from the confluence of spirites humors whyther thou stand or goe For my part I would wish thee while thou lyest in thy bed setting al other cares aside aswaging thy greefes by laying thy selfe easily in thy couche after that thou hast taken order for thy bodily health to thinke some thyng of thy graue and howe and where thou shalt lye hereafter and to examine the condition of thy present estate and to make thy selfe so familiar with death before he come that when he is come thou do not feare hym For it is death only that is able to delyuer this mortall carckase from al infirmities Of Blyndnesse The .xcvi. Dialogue SOROW. I Haue lost myne eyes Reason O howe many loathsome thynges of lyfe also hast thou lost Howe many foolyshe toyes of fonde sight shalt thou not see Sorow I haue lost myne eyes Reason Of the face perhaps not of thine hart If they remayne good enough al is wel Sorowe I am blynde Reason Thou shalt see the sunne no more but thou hast seene it and thou remembrest what manner thyng it is or yf thou hast not seene it as it hath chaunced vnto thee the more hardly in that respect so the desire of a thing vnknowen shal greeue thee the lesse Sorow I lacke eyes Reason Thou shalt not see heauen nor earth but to see the Lord of heauen and of earth abilitie is not taken from thee this sight is much clearer then that other Sorowe I am condemned to perpetual blyndnesse Reason Thou shalt not see from hencefoorth the wooddie valleyes the ayeriall mountaynes the florishyng costes the shadowy dennes the siluer sprynges the crooked ryuers the greene meddowes and that whiche they say is of al thynges most beautiful the portraiture of mans countenance Thou shalt neyther see the heapes of dunge the ouerflowyng Iakes torne carkases nor whatsoeuer els by filthinesse of sight offendeth the stomacke and senses Sorow I am depriued of myne eye sight Reason If there were none other commoditie in this discommoditie in that thou shalt not beholde these games of enormious and deformed iestures blindnesse were to be wyshed whiche although I haue oftentymes confessed before to be a wyshed thyng yet doo I deny that it is to be wyshed for as muche now as in tymes past there is no hope left thee to runne away whyther soeuer thou turnest thy selfe the kyngdome of madnesse is a lyke and a like exile of vertue in whiche state to lose a mans eye sight is a kind of flight comforte Sorow I haue lost my sight Reason And the beholdyng of womens faces Reioyce therefore that those wyndowes be shut vp at the whiche death entred in and that the passage to many vices is closed vp couetousnesse gluttony ryotousnesse and diuers other plagues haue lost thereby their seruantes and retinue for looke howe muche of thy soule was taken away by these enimies so muche perswade thy selfe that thou hast gayned Sorow I haue lost myne eyes Reason Thou hast lost euyl guydes whiche lead thee into destruction
ought to haue lyued longer for that perhappes thou seest some that haue lyued longer in deede as though of duetie thou myghtest claime longer continuance also I can not yeelde vnto thee For some dye late and many moe soone but none at all that dye neuer betweene these there is no meane appoynted but all men are generally subiect vnto one lawe and all owe obeysaunce to the soueraingtie of death albeit some are taken away by one meanes and some by another and that at diuerse tymes and ages thus of one thyng there are manyfolde meanes and sundrie tymes And therefore let euery one with indifferencie attende his owne kinde of death and dying day and not through the greedinesse or lothsomnesse of lyfe doo as the vnskylfull and ingratefull sort are woont complayne and be disquieted about the lawes of Nature Sorowe I haue lyued but a smal time Reason There was neuer any lyued so long that thought not that he lyued but a small tyme and truely it is but a short tyme in deede that men lyue heere And therefore yf ye be desirous to lyue long seeke after that lyfe wherein ye may lyue for euer which although it be not heere yet is it purchased heere Sorowe I haue lyued but a short tyme. Reason Admit thou haddest lyued longer haddest thou then lyued any more then a short tyme The tearmes of this lyfe are vnequall and vncertaine but this one thyng is common to them all that they be al short Put case a man haue lyued eyghtie yeeres what hath he more I pray thee then he that hath liued but eyght yeeres Examme thy selfe diligently and looke into thine owne estate and let not the madnesse of the common multitude deceiue thee what more I say hath he that hath lyued longer vnlesse perhappes ye account cares and troubles paynes and sorowes weerisomnesse for a vantage Or what more should he haue yf he lyued eyght hundred yeeres There is somewhat more in deede I confesse in hope and expectation but when both tymes are expited beleeue mee thou shalt fynde nothyng whereby thou mightest make account that thou hast lyued more happily Sorowe I dye when as I thought to haue done good Reason What dydst thou thinke to haue done somethyng which thou hast not done So perhappes thou wouldest alwayes haue thought haddest thou liued neuer so long There be some that alwayes thinke to doo well but they neuer begin But yf thou haue begun once to doo well doubt not to goe forward although death preuent thy woorke before it be brought to a wished ende which although peraduenture in the blinde iudgement of men it may seeme to be some preiudice vnto thee neuerthelesse it is to be despised for that in the syght of the vnfallible surueyer of all thynges thou loosest nothyng but thy reward shal be full and whole as well of thy deedes as of thy thoughtes Sorowe In the middes of all my preparation I dye Reason This fault is not in death but in them that dye who then begyn to weaue the most short web of their lyfe when it is a cutting of which vnlesse it were so men should not so often be preuented by death not hauing fyrst accomplished the dueties of lyfe but rather when they had fulfylled and accomplished them woulde then begin to liue than which truely there were no lyfe more sweete Which sweetenesse notwithstanding not so much the shortnesse of lyfe as the slouthfulnesse of them that lyue taketh away from men who therefore count no lyfe long because how long soeuer the tyme be they neuer lyue but are euermore about to lyue And when they be once come to be olde men wauering among newe deuices how to lyue with a swift ende they preuent their slow beginning Sorowe I dye euen whyle I am preparing great matters Reason This hapned vnto many greatmen and almost to all Men are deceyued in many thinges specially in death which there is none but knoweth that it wyll come but they hope of the deferring of it and imagine that to be farre of which God knoweth is hard by them which both the shortnesse of lyfe and swyftnesse of tyme and the power of fortune and the varietie of humane chaunces wherewith they are beset round about needily constrayneth to be so And O most woonderfull blindnesse for that what ye ought to hope of your selues at leastwyse ye learne at length by others But thus the case standeth your mindes hardly can enter into bitter cogitations and therefore while euery one promiseth him selfe very long lyfe and either the age of Nestor or as Cicero sayth the fortune of Metellus and finally whyle euery one supposeth him selfe to be dame Natures whyte sonne whyle they be busie about the beginning the end commeth vpon them and while they are in consultation of many thinges death setteth vpon them at vnwares and cutteth them of in the middes of their endeuours Sorowe I dye in my greene age Reason If there be none other commoditie herein at leastwise there is prouision made hereby that thou shalt not languish in thine old yeeres For although that old age be not greeuous as Lelius sayth in Cicero and we also haue disputed before neuerthelesse it taketh away that greenesse wherein he sayth that Scipio flourished at that time and thou likewise reportest now the like of thy selfe Hereafter perhaps many shal wish for thee but none shal be weery of thee which thing in a long life although it be gouerned by vertue is an hard matter to be found Sorowe I die a young man. Reason Thou knowest what thou hast suffred alredy in thy life time but what thou were like to suffer hereafter thou knowest not and beleeue me whoso in this so variable and rough kingdome of Fortune dyeth first deceiueth his companion Sorow I am hyndered by death so that I can not ende the thynges that I beganne Reason And tustly in deede For ye be euermore a dooyng the thynges that ye ought to haue doone and yet there is nothyng finished this is the cheefest thyng that maketh your death greeuous and miserable vnto you but yf the thynges that thou begannest were suche that without any negligence in thee thou couldest not finishe them it suffiseth thee that thou hadest a good wylt hervnto But if through slouthfulnes thou hast put them of from time to time let it displease thee that thou hast neglected them If this peraduenture be the pretended cause of thy lamentation yet in trueth there is nothyng but a vayne lengthening of lyfe and a deferryng of death wyshed for thereby although it wyll not be long but at length though late thou wylt be ashamed of this vulgare wyshe But O ye mortall men how greedie soeuer ye be of lyfe hearken vnto mee I demaunde of you the exercise of Vertue beyng layde asyde what is this lyfe other then a slack and vnprofitable tariance which how long so euer it is can not be other then very short Wherefore I
such a death as thou oughtest to wyshe for but suche an one as thou mayest wel endure For this is a cleare case that vnto a wyse man and one that foreseeth a far of al thynges that are lyke to ensue there can nothyng happen vnlooked for Whereupon it foloweth that death cannot come vnto hym vnprouided for whose lyfe was alwayes prouident for how should he be negligent in the greatest thinges that was wount to demurre in small yea the least thynges And in al worldly thynges what canst thou shewe me that is greater then death or comparable vnto it Sorowe I dye most speedily Reason So that the death be not vnthought vpon the speedier the easier it is and yf there be any payne in it it is very short and the speedinesse thereof preuenteth the feelyng of it and so that is taken away from death whiche is most greeuous in death to wyt the feare of death Of one that is sicke out of his owne countrey The .cxxiiii. Dialogue SOROW. I Am sicke in a strainge countrey Reason What skylleth it whose countrey it be the sickenesse thou art sure is thine owne Sorowe Thou mockest me I am sicke out of mine owne countrey Reason He that is out of his owne countrey is surely in some other for none can be sicke or whole out of al countreyes Sorow Thou seekest delayes in wordes but I am sicke out of my countrey Reason In this miserie thou gainest this one commoditie that thou hast none to trouble thee nor to lye vpon thy bed not thine importunate wyfe nor thy sonne who woulde both be careful for them selues and carelesse of thee Howe often thinkest thou hath the wyfe to her husband and the sonne to the father and one brother to another when they haue lien in extremitie of death throwne a pillowe ouer their mouthes and holpen to set them packyng whiche a stranger would not haue done nor haue suffered to be done by others Many tymes there is most loue where it is lesse looked for and there none that are about thee wylbe glad of thy sickenesse or wyshe for thy death And shall I tel thee the cause why There is none there that looketh for thine inheritance none commit any wickednesse but they are moued thereunto by hope or desire which quietnesse wherein thou art nowe would not haue hapned vnto thee in thine owne countrey For many vnder the colour of goodwyl woulde flocke about thee and gape after thy burial whiche conceit vnlesse I be much deceiued is a seconde sickenesse to him that is sicke alreadie when he shal perceiue himselfe beset rounde about at the one side with woolfes and at the other with rauens whiche in their mindes come to pray on the carcase Sorowe I am sicke out of my countrey Reason Howe knowest thou that Perhaps thou returnest nowe into thy countrey for the readiest and shortest way for a man to returne into his countrey is to dye Sorowe I am sicke out of my countrey Reason O the needelesse alwayes and vayne cares of men and fond complayntes as though out of a mans owne countrey his ague were fiercer or his gout more intollerable Al this whiche seemeth euyl consisteth in your owne wyl and lyeth in your owne power lyke as other plagues and mischeefes do whatsoeuer a false opinion hath engendred in your mindes Of one that dyeth out of his owne cuntrey The .cxxv. Dialogue SOROWE I Dye out of my natiue countrey Reason Doth this happen vnto thee beyng a traueiler or a banished man For whether thou madest thine aboade in this countrey for studie sake or for religion thou hast cause to reioyce that death hath taken thee in an honest deede or in a iust condemnation and thou oughtest to take it not onely valiantly but also willingly For the wyckednesse of an vnryghteous person is by no meanes better purged then by wyllyng and patient suffryng of punishment But yf it be long of the iniurie of some mightie enimie neuerthelesse thou must not be sorie for it and as for banishment I suppose we haue disputed sufficiently of it alreadie Sorowe I dye out of my countrey Reason This I sayd euen nowe is to returne into thy cuntrey there is no streighter path nor readier way Hast thou forgotten hudemus of Cyprus that was familiar with Aristotle of whom Aristotle hymselfe and also Cicero wryteth Who on a tyme beyng very sicke in Thessalia dreamed that he should recouer very shortly and after fiue yeeres expired returne into his countrey that the Tyrant of the same citie where at that tyme he soiourned whose name was Alexander Phaereus shoulde dye shortly But when after a fewe dayes beyng restored vnto his despaired health and the Tyrant slayne by his owne kinsfolke thinking his dreame to be true in al poyntes at the tyme limitted he looked also to returne into his Countrey at the ende of the fyfth yeere he was slayne in fyght at Syracuse and this sayd the Interpretours of dreames was the meanes of the returnyng into his Countrey that there myght be no part of the dreame false What myne opinion is concernyng dreames I haue declared elsewhere alreadie and nowe I haue vttered what came into my mynde of this returnyng into a mans Countrey Sorowe I am compelled to dye out of my Countrey Reason When I entreated of exile then sayd I which nowe I repeate agayne that eyther none or all dye out of theyr Countrey The learned holde opinion that euery part of the worlde is a mans Countrey specially to hym that hath a valiant minde whom any priuate affection hath not tyed to the liking of this place or that and othersome call that a mans Countrey where he is wel and lyueth in good case And contrariwyse some say that a man hath heere no speciall Countrey at all The fyrst is a common doctrine but this last a poynt of hygher Philosophie Sorowe I dye farre from my Countrey in which I was borne Reason But that is more truely thy Countrey where thou dyest The same shall possesse thee longer and not suffer thee to wander abroade but keepe thee within it for a perpetuall inhabitaunt for euer Learne to lyke of this Countrey that wyll enfranchize thee into it selfe wheresoeuer otherwyse thou were borne Sorowe I must dye and be buried farre out of myne owne Countrey Reason Those heauenly and diuine men lykewyse whom one age and the selfe same middle part of the worlde brought foorth are dispersed ouer all partes of the worlde as well in theyr deathes as burialles Ephesus keepeth one and Syria another and Persis another and Armenia another and Aethiopia another and India another and Achaia another and Rome othersome and the farthest part of Spayne another neuerthelesse it is reported that some of them after theyr death were carried away and translated from the places where they dyed vnto certayne Cities of Italy I speake of the earthly part of them but as for theyr spirituall part doubtlesse it is long since that
shewe themselues willing to learne and not forsake them vnto their olde yeeres and crooked age no not to their death and graue God is the hope vnto man when he is borne and not his father though he were a king It is not good buylding vpon the sand but vpon the rocke for al hope in man is short and transitorie And therefore thy children being deceiued by the hope which they reposed in thee wil put their trust in God only sing with the Prophet Dauid My father my mother haue forsaken me but the Lord hath taken me vp The seedes sparkes of good nature vertue that haue appeared in many children haue been quite extinguished by their parentes to muche cockling lyke as on the contrary side losse of parentes and pouertie haue oftentimes driuen away the childrens deintinesse Feare What wyl become of my ryches Reason They wyl returne from whence they came that is to say vnto fortunes handes and from thence they shal be dispersed from one to another and neuer tarrie long with any For they are of a flitting nature and cannot abyde in one place And that not without a mysterie For some haue thought that mony cannot tarrie in a place because of the roundensse the rollyng forme of the coyne whiche some merily haue sayd to be a token of the slipperinesse thereof whiche partly I cannot deny But I am of opinion that if it were three or foure square it woulde tunne away as fast I meane concernyng the continuall passing of ryches whose nature is alwayes to slyp and flye away to hate coffers that haue but one locke to be delited with sundry and often possessours eyther to the intent to auoyd rust or els by their currantnesse and runnyng about to circumuent very many or lastly to contend with their owners in vnconstancie Seeyng therefore tha thou lyest nowe a dying cast of that care whiche vnto the lyuing is superfluous But rather yf thou dye ryche acknowledge howe that there is seldome any rust founde in fortune and nowe that thou art departyng out of this lyfe flye ryches whiche are not profitable for thee nor necessarie for any But yf thou be poore depart foorth vpon thy iourney lyght without burden whether thy ryches be very great or indifferent or very small or none at al heretofore they belonged very litle vnto thee but hencefoorth they shall apperteine vnto thee nothyng at al but this much onely that thou mayest perceyue that he that was poorer then thou lyued in more quietnesse then thou seeing that these troublesome and paynefull helpes of lyfe or whether thou list rather to terme them tormentes doo make thy death more carefull Feare What shal become of my children Reason Thy name shall lyue in them if they be good and if that be any comfort in death thou shalt not seeme wholy to be dead For in their countenances actions gesture thy freendes wyl thinke and also reioyce that thou art restoared vnto them But if they be euyl thou hast cause willingly to forsake them those whom thou thyselfe couldest not correct nor tame thou shalt deliuer them ouer vnto the worlde and fortune to be corrected and tamed And do not thou nowe dying lament for them that wyl nothyng at al be grieued at thy death and perhaps are sorie that thou diedst not sooner Sorowe But what shal become of my goodes Reason Fearest thou that when thou hast left them they shal fynde no owner They are looked for they are wyshed for they are valewed alreadie neyther oughtest thou to be afeard so muche for the neglecting of them as for the striuing for them But this is one thyng they shal nowe surceasse to be thy goodes any longer but whose they shal be next why doest thou looke vpon thy chyldren It cannot possibly be knowen nor it must not it suffiseth thee to knowe that they were once thine yf euer they were thyne indeede and not rather hers that is the lady and mistresse of goodes that passe away and generally of al wordly thynges whose name is Fortune But hauing been thine so long that is to say beyng but a short tyme in thy disposition it is nowe hygh tyme for thee to depart and to leaue them to others Let them nowe learne to be at others commaundement awhile and to keepe their accustomed chainge vnlesse thou wylt dye so ambitiously as some fooles haue also done the lyke and haue thy monie buried with thee in thy graue whiche may one day redownd to the commoditie of them that dig graues hereafter But rather nowe at length cast from thee al care of the earth and metalles and repose thy cogitations vpon heauen and thine owne estate Feare My goodes flye from me Reason Diddest thou thinke that they woulde tarie when thy lyfe passed away and when thou thyselfe wast continually carried hence Feare What shal become of my goodes when they leaue of to be myne Reason What dyd they before they were thyne Feare Leauing behynde me so great ryches as I doo I depart naked Reason Naked thou camest into the worlde and naked thou must depart agayne whereof thou hast no cause to complayne but rather to geue thankes In the meane tyme thou hast had the vse and occupiyng of an others goodes there is nothyng taken from thee that was thine owne but only the goodes of another required agayne at thy handes when thou mayest occupie them no longer For honest guestes when they are departyng away doe willingly restoare the vessel and stuffe whiche they borowed of their host Feare Alas of al my ryches I carie not thus muche away with me Reason Carie away as much as thou broughtest or yf thou lust as muche as any kyng doth Feare What wyl my young chyldren do Reason If they lyue they wyl growe vp and wax olde and walke their owne wayes and trye their owne fortune and passe through their owne troubles in the meane tyme they shal abide in Gods protection and perhaps when thou wast young thou liuedst lykewyse without a father Of one dying that is careful what his wyfe wil do when he is dead The .cxxviii. Dialogue FEARE WHat wyl my welbeloued wyfe do when I am dead Reason Perhaps she wyl marrie agayne what is that to thee Feare What wyl my deere wife do Reason Beyng discharged from thy yoake eyther she wyl yeelde her necke to another or liue at large or els rest herselfe after her wearinesse seeke only how to passe foorth her lyfe quietly Feare What wyl my most louing wyfe do Reason Doest thou aske what she wyl do when she hath escaped from thee and knowest not what she dyd when she was vnder thy subiection The greater sort of mortal men beyng ignorant what is done at home in their owne houses hearken what is a dooing in heauen and the farthest partes of the world Truely what shall become of thy wyfe after thy departure let her selfe or her next husbande looke to that
since that care appertayneth no longer to thee hereafter Feare I am afeard lest after my decease my wyfe marrie agayne Reason Some there be that marrie their olde husbandes lyuing Thus dyd Herodias among the Hebrewes Sophronisba among the Africanes and Martia and Liuia among the Romanes although their husbandes consent commaundement doo excuse these two last recited wylt thou onely binde thy wyfe from marriage Yea there are but few that lyue faythfully towardes their husbandes wilt thou require that thy wife continue her truth to thy cold senselesse ashes If she haue liued faythful to thee vnto the last day of thy lyfe then hath she accomplyshed the duetie of a true and trustie spouse Feare I am afeard that my wyfe wyl marrie agayne Reason That she first married perhaps thou shouldest haue feared more that belonged to thee but her second marrying shal apperteyne to another But this is your common trade ye contemne the things that ye ought to feare and feare the thynges that ye ought to contemne esteeming of nothyng iustly as ye ought Thou enâ—redst the combat of the married bed without feare not forethinkyng what danger thou passedst into and art thou afeard now least another should do the like Feare I would not I confesse haue my wyfe marrie agayne Reason For a woman of exact perfecte chastitie I graunt although she be permitted by lawe to marrie agayne yet were it better to abstayne but most of al to eschue perilous widowhood There is moreouer some such tyme occasion that a woman is not onely excused but also enforced to marrie agayne For it is an hard matter for a fayre woman to lyue alone chastly Feare My sweete wyfe wyl marrie another husband Reason There are but fewe women found yea among them that are counted honest that euen whyle their present husbande is lyuing do not determine in their minde who shal be their next My husband say they is a mortal man and yf he chaunce to dye shal I marrie next for vertue or nobilitie or loue or eloquence or bewtie or person sake Feare My wife wyl marrie againe Reason Not thy wyfe verily for death wyl make that she shal not be thine And no merueile though it part man and wyfe whiche dissolueth the bandes whereby the body and soule are knyt togeather Feare My wyfe wyl marrie agayne Reason The wyues of the Romane Captaines and Dukes and Emperours haue also married agayne and therefore take in good part this fortune whiche is common to thee with thine auncetours Feare My wyfe wyl marrie agayne Reason The Romane Captaynes and Prynces did marrie wyddowes also so did the most godly kyng Dauid take to wife two wyddowes that had been the wyues but of meane persons and it may so happen that one greater then thou may marrie thy wyfe vnto whom resigne this carefulnesse seeing thou goest thyther where there is no marrying at all Feare My sweete wyfe wyl marrie another man. Reason If she marrie a better reioyce at her prosperity whom thou louedst But if to a woorse be glad yet for that she wyl thinke more often vpon thee and holde thee more deere For there be many that haue learned to knowe and loue their first husbandes onely by their second marriages Of one dying that is careful what wyl become of his countrey after his deceasse The .cxxix. Dialogue FEARE WHat shal become of my countrey after my death Reason All good men haue but one countrey and all euyl men another take heede nowe into whiche of these two countries thou wilt be admitted a countreyman As for a third countrey there is none but onely an Inne and a place of passage a thoroughfare Feare What wyll become of my countrey Reason That countrey which thou goest vnto continueth alwayes in one estate and this whiche thou now forsakest as I haue oftentymes sayde before is not thy countrey but hath rather been thy place of banishment Feare What wyl my countrey do after my deceasse Reason This is the peculiar care of kynges to thynke what wil become of their kyngdomes dominions after their death the lyke whereof thou readest there rested in the heart of the great king of Assyria or of the most mightie emperour of the Romans This care exceedeth the calling of a priuate person But since nowe euen at thy very ende thou art so affected that thou lust to terme that stoarehouse of miserie and hospital of payne and sorow wherein thou hast passed foorth the swyft tyme of thy lyfe in great trouble aduersitie and heauinesse by the name of thy countrey and art desirous to knowe what it wyl doo I wyl tell thee it wyl do as it dyd and as other countreyes do What is that thou wylt say It wyl be troublesome disquiet dissentious and studious of innouations it wyl followe factions chainge lordes and gouernours alter lawes and both these many tymes for the woorse seldome for the better spurne agaynst the best and most noble subiectes aduaunce the vnwoorthie banishe the well deseruing esteeme of the pillers poullers of the treasurie loue flatterers hate them that speake the trueth contemne the good honour the myghtie woorshyp the enimies of it libertie persecute the defenders of the Commonwealth weepe sometyme and laugh without cause esteeme of golde and precious stones reiect vertue and embrace pleasures these are the manners and state of your Cities and Countreys There is none but may most assuredly prophecie vnto thee of these matters vnlesse he be such an one as hath alwaies led a rurall lyfe or entred into Townes with deafe eares and dimme eyes Feare What wyll befall vnto my Countrey after my deceasse Reason Why art thou carefull and troubled herewith Whatsoeuer hapneth to thy Countrey thy house shal be free from burnyng theeues and ouerthrowing Whether the yeere fall out to be pestilent or els to be deare or plentiful hot or drye haylie snowie or raynie frostie or otherwyse moyst rotten yea the byrdes of the ayre wild beastes of the wooddes the Caterpiller and Chaffer finally earthquakes and raginges of the lea dearth of victualles inuasions of enimies or ciuile warres none of all these are able to touche or concerne thee hereafter Feare O what shal be the estate of my Countrey or to what ende shal it come Reason To what other thinkest thou then that the greatest citie and state that euer was or shal be is come vnto to wit dust ashes rubbysh scattered stones and a name only remâ—yning I could prooue this to be true by innumerable argumentes but thou knowest the matter sufficiently To be short there is nothing apperteining vnto man that is euerlasting no worldly thyng permanent but only the soule of man which is immortal Enclosures shal fayle sowed landes shal decay buildinges shall fall downe all thynges shall come to naught and why art thou greeued and vexed in the minde If thou be in heauen thou wylt both dispise this and all other worldly
estate this man forsaking the sleppes of so many his auncetours predecessours hauing defiled the Commonwealth with his short and filthy gouernment or rather tyrannie at last came to a miserable but for his desartes a woorthy end the whole contempt mockerie of the common people being turned vpon him But long before al these Scipio that was the sonne of Scipio Africanus the great adopted vnto him selfe to the honour of his familie the second thunderbolt of the Punike war and hammer of the citie of Carthage by special ordinance appointed to that purpose that the same citie which the grandfather had shaken the nephew should ouerthrow as Florus the Historician sayeth being translated from the stock of Aemilia into the familie of Cornelia no small glory confesse and yet the last of them both Hereby thou seest that neither thou nor any Prince can lacke a sonne or rather that which is best of al they that are good can not lacke a good choise which if it please thee to make perhaps it wil geue thee such an one as thy wife wyl not bring thee the like being losed from the bandes of marriage shalt possesse the desired effect and end of matrimonie In such sort doth the law prouide for the defectes of Nature Sorow How shal I now dispose of my house since that I die without children Reason Do not refuse this great occasion of wel deseruing and commendation which is now as it were throwen into thy lap and that which thou determinest to bestowe vpon thy children who peraduenture would be vnthankful for it or wickedly hoorde it vp or els as it is the custome of either sort of these to conuert it to vngodly vses or rather in very short tyme or waste consume al most prodigally employ thou more cōmendably more profitably more durably Attalus that was king of Pergamus by his testament made the people of Rome his heire not being poore nor needefull of it who also were sshortly after corrupted with the wanton wealth of Asia But I wyl tel thee of another people to whom thou mayest leaue thy goodes On the one side of thee standeth a route of thy freendes kinsfolke at the other a rabble of poore people out of both which thou art permitted to adopt chyldren The one sort of these when thou art gone wyll deteyne the sweete remembraunce of thee in theyr mindes the other preuent thee with their godly prayers vnto the place whyther thou art nowe passing insomuch as looke what thou bestowest vpon them here thou shalt receiue an hundred fold there which is a large interest a most assured prouision for them that are vpon the poynt to passe that way Sorow I die without a sonne Reason What if thou haddest many wouldest thou then chose one of them to be the keeper of thy house and money which shal be thine no longer Or wouldest thou appoint one of them to be thy Champion in the conflict pangues of death beyng hym selfe also mortall or els to wayte vpon thee to thy graue for farther none of all thy freendes wyl folowe thee more then Metellus freendes followed hym The way is but short from the death bed to the graue and what skilleth it whether thou lye alone here or there These are but friuolous and vaine causes truely to wysh for sonnes and yf in them moreouer as the vulgare speeche is thou hopedst to haue thy name preserued and continued thou wast also vulgarly deceiued For doubtlesse for the most part suche is the obscurenesse of the children generally to be found that they are not able to beautifie nor to keepe vp their fathers name But the rare nobilite of the sonnes as alwayes it maketh the sonnes them selues honourable so for neerenesse sake sometyme it couereth and obscureth the parentes euen as the Sunne doth the lesser Starres which is in none seene more euidently then in Iulius Caesars father whom his sonnes bryghtnesse made almost vnknowen And to be short whosoeuer reposeth the trust of his name in his sonne he putteth a slender and slipperie substance into a rotten and cracked earthen vessell and which is more foolysh that is none of his owne a thyng truely more accounted of among the common multitude then of the learned and yet contemned of neyther Howbeit this hope were more commendably and assuredly layde vp in their sounde and vncorruptible vessels to wit in their owne vertue notable deedes and learning Sorowe I dye without chyldren Reason Thou hast none to diuide thy care vpon thyne attendaunce is fixed only on thy selfe so that thou maiest depart with more readinesse and libertie respectyng thy selfe and consideryng thine owne estate how miserable or happie thou shalt die And further thou diest not in an vncertayntie whether thy miserie be augmented or felicitie abated by the dishonour or vertue of another Although some others be of another opinion to accord with whom I finde my selfe more wyllyng notwithstandyng it hath seemed true for the most part vnto Philosophers of great skil that the fathers estate concernyng miserie or happinesse is varied by the euent of the chyldren Truely it is a weake good thyng that streatcheth vnto fortune that shal befal hereafter and dependeth vpon anothers estate Whiche opinion if we do admit what may be concluded thereon thou knowest for it is out of al doubt that many had departed in more happie estate if they had dyed without chyldren Of one dying that feareth to be throwne foorth vnburied The Cxxxii. Dialogue FEARE I Shal be throwen foorth vnburyed Reason Enuiest thou the birdes or the beastes or the fishes And yf thou be afearde of them take order that thou mayest haue one appoynted to keepe thee or a staffe layde by thee to dryue them away from thy carcasse Feare Thou doest iest at my miserie for truely I shal feele nothyng Reason Why then doest thou feare that which thou shalt not feele If thou couldest feele it thou wouldest lyke wel of it for to burie one that feeleth is to kyl him Feare I shal lye vnburied Reason If the earth presse not thee thou shalt presse the earth if the earth couer thee not heauen wyll Thou knowest the olde saying Him heauen hides that hath none other graue And very wel knowen is this other most common speech also To lacke a graue is but a slender losse so slender a losse indeede that there is none more slender Feare I shal lye vnburied which is a woful thyng to be spoken Reason I know not what to be spoken but truely in effect a very trifle beleeue me it is muche more tollerable for a man to be throwne out of his graue then to be turned out of his bed or apparrel Feare I I shal lye vnburied whiche is a filthie sight Reason Filthie perhaps vnto others but nothing at al vnto thee It is the general opinion of al learned men and experience also confirmeth no lesse that all manner of buriall was deuised not so