of Socrates I fynde in an olde writer a moste vertuous example of Humilitie practised by the Kyng of Hungarie whyche on a time ryding in hys Chariot accompanyed wyth a troupe of hys Nobilitie preparing themselues to sundrye disportes and martiall feates of exercise glanced his eyes aside by chance and beheld a couple of auncient poore men that were trauelling on the way wherevppon he commaunded his Chariot presently to bée stayed and comming downe from thence marched alone to méete these two Pilgrimes whome he chéerefully saluted and humbly on his knées embraced and after muche familiar talke betwéene them had the King sente them forwarde on their iourney very richly rewarded himselfe returning to his chariot as ioyfull as if he had done some greate aduenture But this thing done by the King openly in the face of all the nobilitie and chief royaltie of the Court was amongst suche a multitude one cause of diuers effects the only occasioÌ„ of sundry offences in so muche as some maruelling at thys strange curtesie with admiratioÌ„ were verie much astonished Other murmuring grudged at the gifts so vaynely bestowed but chiefely the prouder sort of the nobilitie were gréeuously vexed with scornefull disdeyne at the facte amongst whome the Kings brother was one whiche presently vpoÌ„ their coÌ„ming home to the Court withdrewe him selfe closely into the Kinges chamber where finding him with oportunitie of tyme sayde these wordes Syr I let you vnderstande that the Lords and chiefe royaltie of the Court wonderfully mislyked the straunge enterteinment you gaue to the base beggers by the way imputing it rather to the plaine disgrace and prophaning of your royall Maiestie than to the vaine pretence of any better ende and thus much is spoken in secrete of me by nature your brother and by dueties your humble subiect The Kyng hearing these words gaue him hartie thankes for his labour dissembling his purpose vntill the euening when all the Lords were departed to their lodgings Then commauÌ„ded he the deadly trompe to be sounded at his brothers gate which by custome of that countrey was wont to gyue warning presently before the death of a Péere vpon iudgement not to be reuersed The sounde whereof strooke such a terrour vnto him and his whole familie that calling his friendes togither they lamentably mourning passed all the night looking for nothing but death And the morning was nowe come when with a sorowfull traine of mourners himself the kings brother clothed in sackcloth bare heade with his comely lockes negligently dispersed abroad gastly to behold with his eyes fixed vnto death came thus into the Court abyding in the hall humbly on his knées at the kings mercie wherof the king being aduertised came downe at length vnto his brother bearing him self ignorant of this tragical shewe wherof notwithstanding he him self had bin the chief author chearfully demaunded before them all what was the cause of so straunge an alteration in his brother which heauily tolde him the sounde of the trumpe had thus fearefully warned him to put him selfe at the féete of his maiesties fauour wherat the king smyling sayd And is this the cause of so great a terrour vnto thée the hither vnto vs thou art come so disguised can the feare of â—eath by the iudgemeÌ„t of man which is vnâ—ertaine so soone coÌ„fouÌ„d thy lofty corage But why didst thou then so skornefullye wonder at me which humbled my self yesterday when I beheld the liuely and expresse image of death whose force no man can escape in those auncient men whome for age I courteously salute was it not more fearfull to behold the figure of death than to heare the sound of a trumpe is it not lesse cause of wonder in me to obey the lawes of God and nature than in thée to feare the iudgement of man whiche is frayle Therefore I pardon and aduertise thée my brother that as thou haste bene ouer dreadfull of man heretofore so that thou reuerently feare God aboue all men hereafter With these and suche lyke wordes the good Kyng modestlye reprooued and friendlye chastised the proude surquedrye of hys owne brother to the better example of all the Nobilitie of his court A worthy mirrour of Humility in the Maiesty of a Prince an especial paterne of the rare clemencie and curtesie of a Kyng And thus we sée the state of Princes muche better by dignitie of vertues mainteyned than by the force of worldly pompe and riches strengthened and vphelde the fame of true nobilitie by gentlenesse curtesie fostered the wealth of subiectes by duetifull obedience increased and to conclude the towarde wittes and singular good capacities of younge Courteours by sufferaunce well furthered and through modest behauiour humilitie worthily to be aduaunced Of Company and fellovvship CHAP. 2. PYthagoras was wont to say that commonly in a multitude the number of the wicked is most the flocke of good men leaste How true the opinion of this Philosopher is by dayly experience it is too plainlye prooued For where there is one man in these dayes incouraged by the rewarde of vertue to search out the secretes of wisedom there be many times as many which no doubt allured by the smiling lookes of vanitie doe spend their whole time in the contemplation and practice of folly Hereof commeth slouth the onely nurse of néed pryde the chiefe authour of penury filthy lust the mother of all mischiefes And to be short what shame what sorrowe griefe sicknesse plague death and that is worse than death what seuile bondage doeth not this deceiptfull emulation and pestileÌ„t force of ill company procure But there is a more curious kinde of people sprong vp of late dayes amongest vs which are so farre from imitating of any man that they principally study to make them selues lyke vnto no man And bycause in the Court there be multitudes and many men must néedes be diuersly disposed it behoueth a young Courtiour at his entrance principally to be aduised in the choyce of his fellowship and company for surely it is the chiefe point first meanes to winne or loose creadite and estimation Let him remember the good Counsayle of the kyngly Prophete Dauid that saeith with the iust thou shalt bee made righteous but with the froward thou shalt learne frowardnesse There be some and I feare too many that knowe not what goodnesse meanes neyther will they come where honestie dwelleth vnthriftinesse is theyr hauntyng house vncleannesse theyr delight quarrellyng is their exercise disdayne their companion and swearyng their common talke So that a young Gentleman accompanyed wyth suche companyons shall soone with the spoyle of hys goodes be discharged of the waight of hys creadite for if hée haue ought they will wayt of purpose to make hym spende they will spare theyr owne to be liberall of hys vntyll all be gone then flyng about for a newe supplie by such another companyon which is a foule shift and a shamefull refuge By this meanes manye
peraduenture maye rule suche rage and counsayle ouercome suche youthfull fansies But from thence escaping the daunger of Scilla hée is nowe throwne headlong vppon the dreadfull rockes of Charibdis he is growne from youth to manhoode naye rather he is come from ioye to greife from pleasure to paine and from myrth to mischiefe before the wanton desires of youthe molested him but nowe the wilfull déedes of manhoode doe dayly assaulte him before the pleasure of luste enticed him to follye but nowe the rage of wrathe can prouoke him to mischiefe Lastly he was then rauished with the ioyes of heauen but nowe he is haunted with furies of Hell. For in in this age he is chiefely subiect to pride vexed with wrath and puft or rather poysoned with ambitiō Againe when the naturall heate of lustie youthfull blonde by diminiyshing séemes to moderate suche outragious furies to qualitie suche affections and to asswage all suche wylfull desyres Euen then commes the Image of deathe I meane olde age so crooked so lame so deformed so lothsome fraught with such care and ouerladē with such infirmities that a man would wishe rather nowe to dye liuing than to lyue longer in such a plight pyning for besides all these plagues and tedious annoyes it is most commonly accompanyed with suche a diuelishe companion that fainteth hys weake bodie for want of sustenaunce disquieteth his testie minde for lacke of reste and in the end like and euil guide that leads a blinde man into the ditche it closeth vp his eyes in endlesse sorrowes and most miserable calamities And this is the same couetousnesse which hath bin euer accounted the roote of all mischiefes So that wée sée by the whole course of humain life that a manne is the chiefest enemye vnto himselfe And oftentimes it commeth to passe that where a man soweth pleasure he reapeth paine where he pretendeth loue he findeth hate and wherein he séemes to offende others least he priuilye hurteth himself most And this is manifestly proued by the example of Self loue and surquedry A swéete vice and deceiteful affection is that fansie which the Philosophers haue called Philautia and so naturall a disease in déed that neyther Prince nor Péere highe nor lowe rich nor poore wise nor foolish weak nor strong faire nor deformed no not the learned Philosophers themselues were all able to withstand And me thinkes I heare Nature thus reasoning with my selfe Is it possible for a man to liue that loues not himselfe best but that is contrarie to my lawes which haue giuen to euerye one an especial charge and prouident care to nourish himselfe and that thou mayst easilye perceyue this to be true beholde I gaue thée eares to heare eyes to sée tongue to speake reason to vnderstande féete to goe handes to féede and defend thy self and generally care to maintayne the good estate of life These things are graūted by kind and canst thou vndkindlye séeke to abuse them more to the profit of others than to thine own benefit no not if thou wouldest for I can compell thée to the contrarie but thou takest more delight in the beautie of another I graunt so thy neyghbours field is more fruitful and his cattell beare more bountifull vdders and what fares she the worse for that whiche féedes ofte vpon the same and thinkes hir owne birdes fayrest So can I sée them wéepe when I laughe mourne when I reioice sicke when I am whole poore when I am riche naked when I am clothed imprisoned when I am frée and harbourlesse when I am housed and wherein can this be hurteful vnto me whiche féele not an other mans griefe knowe not his wante nor beare not his passion but what if I did shoulde I supporte hys néede and waste mine owne wealth that were folly shoulde I sette hym frée to lose mine owne libertie that were more vaine and generally shoulde I succoure him relieue and cure his disease to hinder me to grieue me and increase mine own maladies that were euen little better than madnesse No I am nearest vnto my selfe and therefore no man can iustly blame me to prefer mine owne safetie before the commodities of an other and I may perhaps commend him wel and like hir bette but I will euer loue my selfe beste To these obiections of nature or rather false perswasions of Diuellishe disposition reason doeth modestlye replye by the aucthoritye of trueth in this manner Howe long wilte thou abuse the patience of diuine power Oh thou frowarde and peruerse humaine Nature how long shall thy proude lookes prouoke the dreadefull wrath of the heauens canst thou safely chalenge the name title of a goddesse and yet still practise to rebell againste the Lawes and ordinaunces of the Goddes or wilte thou looke to be called the mother of mankinde and wilt not submit thy selfe to the rules of reason doth not the dreadfull iudgement of the one feare thée from sinne nor the friendly perswasions of the other moue to imbrace vertue But consider what thou art of thy selfe yet at the length I beséeche thée haste thou anye strength substaunce beautie reason or vnderstandyng whyche is not giuen thée from aboue A naked life in déede we receiue at thy handes and what auayleth that vnto vs without good conditions nay were it not better to be vnfed than vntaught and neuer borne than broughte vp to destruction Thou vauntest of life but canst thou make vs frée from deathe thou talkest of beautie but cāst thou teach vs to auoyde the smart of luste thou braggest of strength but canst thou warrant vs to w stand sicknesse no nor any meanes thou canst sée to make vs thy childrē happie For as he is not called fortunat which is poore and deformed so they are not accompted happye which are onely rich and beautifull But thou wilt saye perhappes that Nature is desirous of knowledge whiche is the grounde worke and foundation of Wisdome And it is true that a man is naturally inclined to the practise of skill and experience of cunning For in his youth hée voluntarilye learneth to speake then he practiseth to dispute and perswade hée learneth to delighte with soundes hée is taught to number anye summes hée measureth the grounde by proportions and ruleth the stars with vnderstanding And what profiteth a man to compasse al the worlde by witte and destroy himselfe for want of wisdome for as life without learning is vnpleasant so learning without Wisdome is vnprofitable To what ende serued the déepe knowledge of Aristotle whiche vertuously instructed others and yet desperately shortned hys owne life what aualyed the profounde skil of Archimedes whiche loste his Citie besiedged by Marcellus and was himselfe then drawing out of circles by a messenger sodainely put to death And what gained Plato by his learning whiche was shamfully reproued of ambition likewise of the rest Narcissus was faire and beautifull but his vnhappye fauour was the cause of his destruction and lastly Hercules and Sampson were strong but not
able to withstande the force of shamefull death And thus you sée to vaine vitious nature the proude blossomes of your vntimelye fruit soone withered the strength of youre aucthoritie soone decayed and the beautie of your countenaunce soonest of all to be fledde forlorne and defaced And surelye if a man woulde but consider eyther the imperfections of nature the innumerable sorrowes of thys lyfe or the inuincible force of death no doubt hée shoulde be as earnestlye persuaded to folowe the rule of ryght and séeke out the secretes of wysedome as hée was first allured to swéete sinne and violentlye drawen into the schoole of follye But alas those which are in hell knowe not the ioyes of heauen and what hope of victorie is left to them that are alreadie conquered O strong selfe Loue and pestilent force of pryde what homicyde parricyde or what murthers haste thou not committed What flamyng fyres what warres yea what mischiefe haste thou not attempted Thou hast killed Princes poysoned Kynges and murthered most famous Emperours By thée strong Castles are rased townes spoyled Cities wasted and by thée countreys are lefte desolate And whither can the force of thy ragyng furie bée nowe further extended Thou haste vanquisshed men and wylt thou nowe exercyse thy tyrannye vpon brute beastes And woulde to GOD we myght all bée so well excused Thou haste wonne the whole worlde but doest thou meane to laye siege to the heauens or giue battyle vnto the Gods But remember thy Champion Lucifer what rewarde had hée for hys proude attempte Call to mynde the presumptuous buildynges of Nembroth and what successe had hée in hys enterpryse And forget not the proude Knyght Companius whiche being valiaunt and fortunate in warres had suche confidence in hys courage and suche faythfull truste in hys owne strength that hée scorned at those whiche after victorie obteyned dyd vse anye ceremonyes in worshipping of their Goddes callyng it a cowardlye affection that fearefullye craued helpe and supporte of shadowes but hée was sodainly consumed with fyre from heauen beyng in the forefronte of the battayle at the siege of Thebes These thynges considered maye soone coole the hote courage of pryde and moste horryble conceiptes of Surquedrye But the close affection of selfe Loue is more couertlye crepte into the opinions of men whiche thinke them selues by nature bounde and not forbydden by diuyne lawes to make muche of them selues And God forbyd but that eche man shoulde haue a prouident care to profite hime selfe But yet are wée taught by the commaundements of GOD to loue another equallye as our selues wée are instructed by the recorde of holye scriptures that all our actions ought to be done to the glorie of GOD And wée maye learne by prophane wryters that wée are not borne vnto our selues but that partlye our parentes partlye friendes partlye chyldren partlye kynsefolke and chiefelye our natyue countreye doeth chalenge a pryncypall duetie wherin the charitable loue and affection of vs all is ioyntly comprehended And this is more plainly perceyued by the comfortable vertue of societe without the which the life of man were naked tedious and vnpleasaunt For what auayleth it vnto a man to be the monarche of the whole worlde if he haue not subiects to gouerne if hée haue not a wyfe to increase his ofspryng if he haue not chyldren to honour and defende hym and lastly if he haue not friendes to reioyce with hym in prosperitie and to comfort hym in aduersitie Yea if hée be not happie straight wayes that hath all these things howe vnhappie is he then that wanteth so many goodly commodities And by this meanes a proude man is to bée thought most infortunate For when he begins to take an opinion of him selfe euen then is he first mislyked of others Where hée fawnes he is feared where he loues hée is suspected where he fauours most he is lest regarded Agayne when he frownes he is forsaken when hée laughes he is enuyed and when hée mournes hée is left desolate But hée is warye and wyse hée wyll trust none neyther shall he be trusted of anye hée is proude bycause hée is ryche but hée is poore in that hée is proude hée is strong in power but he is weake in wysedome hée is comelye in proportion but hée is deformed in condition Waye these thynges togyther in the true ballaunce of reason and you shall perceyue the wayght of sinne and heauie burthen of mischiefe able to sinke the strongest the comeliest and the proudest man alyue into the deadlye pytte of destruction Dionisius was wyse and yet hée beguyled hym selfe for hée was shamefullye murthered by the consent of hys wyfe Brennus was valiaunt yet coulde not withstande the wrath of the Gods. And Tarquinius was proude but pryde was the cause of this foule destruction And these be the fruites of selfe Loue Surquedrie But cease O cruell Kyng cease nowe at length thys thy ragyng tyrannye forbeare to vexe the myndes of innocentes with pryde and drowne no more vnhappie soules in the seas of selfe Loue and Surquedrie And yet why doe I thus gentlye entreate with a Tyrant why doe I pleade for peace with the chief authour of discorde And whye doe I call hym Kyng which is the father of mischiefe and mortall enemye to mankynde euer since the begynnyng of the worlde Euen hym I meane whyche brought the fyrst care and calamityes vnto Adam by the taste of an Apple For it is none but hée whiche couertly séekes by false prouocations to bryng vs vnto mischiefe It is hée that settes the spitefull plantes of pryde and hée that sowes the moste hatefull séede of dissention But hée nameth hym selfe the Prince of the Worlde howe shall wée than séeke to confounde hym Naye but hée is the Father of lyes and therefore we wyll not belieue hym hée is but a shadowe and why shoulde wée then feare him he triumpheth ouer worldlings lyke a Lyon but resist him stoutlye and hée vanisheth into nothyng Wylt thou learne to withstande the temptations of Sathan Then you must faithfully cleaue to the promyse of God whiche will not suffer the righteous to be cōfounded But thou canst not be righteous of thy selfe nor faythfull without humilitie nor humble without charitie For these vertues are vnyted and can not bée separated So that hée whiche woulde haue the fauour of the diuine Maiestie must néedes indeuour hym selfe to resist the strength and power of our vniversal enemye Neyther is it too late at any tyme to resorte vnto goodnesse nor too tymelye to preuent mischiefes Wée must vse no procrastinations and delayes to be vertuous For hee that is not readye to thinke well to daye will be more vnlikely to doe good on the morrowe And it is not enough to thinke ill of none but wée must in that we may doe good vnto all yea euen vnto our enemyes for thus are wée taught to doe good for euyl which are the fruites of perfect charitie Much lesse then ought we to disdayne
whiche burneth in desire of soueraintie And lastly for wisdome is it like that Pallas would instruct mē and spitefully withdraw frō hir owne sexe the worthy gift of vnderstanding no but it is manifest that she hath adopted them for hir only heires of such a right bountiful patrimonie which benefit men haue rather receiued at their hands than foūd out by their owne industries For it is thoughte that the Latines firste learned their leters of Nicostrata Pithagoras was supposed to be the desciple of hys sister Theoclea Pericles the Duke of Athens was instructed in learning by Aspatia Suche and absolute perfection of vertue and so rare a figure of diuine beautie is both fixed and fashioned in the noble mind and comely proportion of women that who can mistrust any lothsome qualities to lurke vnder the couerte shadowes of such comelinesse but those which haue by experience vnhappily found the same to be manifest But oh blind goddesse Fortune or cursed furie Fate with what tearmes shall I enter into thy disprayse with what voyce shall I sound thy dishonour or by what force shall I confound thy gouernement thou that vnequally diuidest thy goodes thou that partially bestowest thy giftes and thou that disdeynefully rewardest thy subiectes why diddest thou not indifferently impart riches vnto men that none should be disdeyned or vniuersally bestowe vertues on women that none mighte be condemned bycause thou wilt say the last was not in my power and the firste was not conueniente But is it nature then that hathe thus scornefully abused hir creatures to rayse vp one vnto the seate of honourable fame and to foyle a thousand with the reproche of shamefull follie Surely it were an vniust parte of a mother that had manye daughters to make one of them hir Mistresse and all the rest hir seruantes And it were vnnaturall in a Nursse in stead of Milke to giue hir children poyson But Nature is the mother of mankinde and teacheth to maynteyne the commodities of life she is oure Nursse and therefore wisheth the health of hir children No it is euen oure selues that are corrupte and imperfect it is menne that are abused by women and it is women that are the cause of all mischiefe Examine histories whyche are the light of truth euen from the begynning of the worlde vntill thys day and you shall finde no griefe no sorrowe no deathe no danger no warres no wast no fiers no destruction no woes no lamenting no deceypt falsehode discorde no not anye other inconuenience whereof a woman hath not bin some part of the occasion Was not Eue the cause of Originall Sinne than the whyche to mankynde what coulde happen more pernicious thys one singular example of moste auntiente authoritie myghte serue to daunte the pryde and coole the vauntyng bragges of wicked and licentious women for as they beganne with persuasions of false delyghte so they continue wyth dissembling practise and ende commonly wyth horrible shamefull mischiefe Theyr begynning I call the floures of youth whyche age is fyrste subiecte to the manye assaultes of loue wherein howe maydenly they behaue themselues in the mayntenance of Virginitie nay howe Syrenelyke they shewe themselues in the Shipwracke of theyr modestie it is wonderfull And firste she learnes to set hir eies fixed with the stars in signe of stabilitie hir eares are vigilāt to heare hir self praised hir tong is taught to be silente in token of modestie hyr countenance is milde hir spéech short and swéete and lastly hir liuely lookes of sober chéere but yet amiable She is bashfull therefore sittes most comely beneath at the dore or else aboue somewhat more modestly in a windowe where she sings sometimes for sorow she sighes perhaps for delighte she sowes for a fashion shée playes to remoue fansies she mournes for want of company And whē she cōmes to be moued with playne tearmes of mariage good God what nicenesse she wyll vse how coy she will become and what a countenance of virginitie she will borow to set forth the matter for then they will all be Nunnes they will neuer marrie nor knowe what a man meanes so long as they liue whereas they meane nothing so muche as the contrarye but lette them be courted after another sorte and as you would saye proffer them the common courtesie it is not so soone offered as willingly enterteyned for when they know the depth of his deuotion they sound his affection by their owne desire they suppose he will be quickly lost if not lightely loued and thus they féede some wyth lookes and other with loue some wyth wordes and other with workes some with sporte and other with spite some with pleasure some with payne some with fauoure some with disdeyne some with losse some with gayne that I thinke their insatiable desire would haue as many supplyes as they haue sleightes of alluring And these are the slighte practises of yong women whome when riper yeares and alteration of estate hath well grounded in the perfection of their science then they begin to procéede in high degrées of falsehoode By this time vse hath made them experte and impudence hath giuen thē vtterance of déepe dissembling flatterie but now they haue a cloke for the rayne and why shoulde they bée bashfull before they masked in the close visordes of virginitie but nowe they daunce with the figure a Saincte in their hande and the image of Diuels in theyr heart before they were onely molested with the tyrannie of loue but nowe they are vexed with hate pressed with pryde poysoned with disdeyne haunted with iealousie and plagued with suspition and the least of them all if it lay in their power is as muche as a mans lyfe is worth for the nature of them all is in extreames in so muche that eyther they loue affectionately whiche is seldome or else they hate deadly whyche is common they are too proude or too sluttishe too fonde or too frowarde too pleasaunte or too péeuishe too muche fawning or too scornefull too much familiar or too strāge too shéepishe or too shrewishe too apish or too lumpishe so that all their affections are without meane and theyr passions without measure as soone surprised in delight as soone confounded with sorrow soone quickned with hope and as soone drowned in despayre soone wéeping soone laughing and accordyng to the Prouerb Soone ripe soone rotten And seldome seene is soone forgotten They are Lawlesse for they choose whome they like and refuse when they list but yet they are conscionable for they woulde haue all thinges in common So they are liberall but it is of other mens goodes they are pitifull bycause they would haue no man wāt that which they desire they are courteous bycause they would be courted Mantuan likeneth thē to a Northeast winde whiche beareth off cloudes at the first puffe and drawes them back again with a false encoūtring blast So womē whē they perceiue the deuotiō of mē to be cold or