loued Helena Sparta had neuer reioyced nor Troy ben brought to ruine But did not I cause him to goe to Menelaus vnder coulour of Embassage to Court vnto his wife to leade her awaie by force and after to defend his vniust quarrel against all Greece Who had spoken of the loue of Dido if he had not deuised to goe a hunting that she might haue the better commoditie to communicate with Aeneas that by such priuate familiaritie he might not be ashamed to take from her that which long before most willingly she would haue giuen him I beléeue no mention had béene made of Artemizia if I had not caused her drinke the cynders of her husbands dead carcasse for else who had knowen whether she had loued her husband more then other women The effect and issues of things alwayes make them to be praised or dispraised If thou makest men to loue yet I am oft times the chiefest cause But if any straunge aduenture or greate effect chaunceth in that thou hast no part but the onely honour belongeth vnto me Thou rulest nothing but y â— heart the rest I gouerne yea I leade thée I conducte thée and thine eyes serue thée to no more vse then the beames of the Sunne to a blinde man But to the ende thou knowe mée from hence foorth and that thou mayst giue mée thankes for conducting thée carefullye Beholde nowe howe greatlye thine eyes dooe profite thée Follie putteth out Cupids eies Loue. Alasse Iupiter O my mother Venus what auayleth it to bée thy sonne so feared so redoubted both in heauen and in earth if I be subiect to bée iniured as the most vile slaue in the worlde Alasse haue I thus lost mine eies by an vnknowen woman Folly Take héede sond foole another time to rayle vppon those who perhappes are of more force and puissaunce then thou Thou hast offended the Quéene of men thou hast outraged her who gouerneth the heart the braine and the minde Under whose shadowe euerie one once in his lyfe shroudeth himselfe and ther remaineth either long or short time according to his merite thou hast displeased her who procureth thy renowme thou hast contempned her who hath aduaunced thée and therfore hath this misfortune fallen vpon thy head Loue. Alasse how is it possible for me to 〈◊〉 her whom I neuer knew or to reuerence that person whom before I neuer sawe but if thou hast borne me such great good will as thou saist pardon this my offence and restore me my sight Folly To restore thée thine eyes is not in my power but I will couer the place to hide the deformitie Folly couereth Cupids face with a Scarfe and giueth him wings And in liew of this haplesse lucke thou shalt haue these wings which shal cary thée whether thou wilt wish Loue. But where hadst thou this vaile so readie to couer my deformitie Folly It was giuen me as I came hether by one of the destinies who told me it was of that nature that if it were once fastned it could neuer be vnloosed Loue. How vnloosed am I then blinde for euer O vile and traiterous wretch coulde it not suffice to pull out mine eyes but to take awaie the meanes that the Gods cannot restore them now I sée the sentence verified on my selfe that it is not good to take a present at the hande of an enimie O cruell destinies O cursed daie shall not the heauens the earth and the seas haue cause to waile sith loue is blinde But why doe I complaine héere in vaine it is better for me to sue to the Gods for reuengement The second discourse Loue goeâ—â— from the Pallace of Iupiter lamenting to himselfe his mischiefe Loue. Alasse in what miserable case am I what can eyther my bowe or mine arrowes auaile me nowe can I not cause whom I 〈…〉 â—oue but without respect of persons euerie one is in daunger of my darts Hetherto I haue onely caused daintie damsells and young youths to loue I did choose out the brauest blouds and the fairest and most well featured men I did pardon vile and base persons I excused the deformed creatures and let olde age remaine in peace But now thiâ—king to hit a young gallaunt I light vpon some olde â—â—â—ting lecher in stéed of some braue Gentleman I strike some filthie foule lurden And it shall happen I dâ—â—bt that they shall bée most fortunate in their loue so that by patrimonie presence or wealth they shall soonest winne the fauour of women and by this meanes my kingdome shall come to ruine when men sée in it such disorder and euill gouernment Venus hauing long sought Cupid now meeteth him I haue carefully long sought thée my deare sonne meruailing what the cause shoulde bée that thou hast not bene present at the banket of Iupiter Who is greatly incensed against thee not onely for thy absence but for the complaintes which are 〈◊〉 out against thée by sundrie poore artificers labouring men pesaunts slaues hand maides olde men and toothlesse aged women crying all vnto Iupiter that they loue thinking themselues greatly iniured in this respect that the passion which is proper to worthy and noble men should be inflicted vpon them which are of the base and vildest sort Loue. Had not the great misfortune which is chaunced vnto me happened I had neither bene absent from the banquet nor these gréeuous complaints had not bene inferred against mée Venus Why and art thou hurt Who hath thus vailed thine eies Loue. Folly hath not onely pulled them out but also hath put this bande before mine eies which can neuer be taken away Venus O cursed enimie of all wisedome O haplesse wretch vniustly called a Goddesse and more vnrightly tearmed immortall hast thou depriued me of my chiefest delight and felicitie O disaster loue O dissolute mother O wofull Venus who séest thy sonne thy ioy and onely care thus cruelly depriued of his sight Well since thy mishap is so great I vowe that euerie one that shall loue what fauour or happie successe so euer he shall haue shall not be without some care trouble or calamitie that hée vaunt not himselfe to be more happie then the sonne of Venus Loue. Cease off good mother from these sorrowfull complaints redouble not my griefe by these your dolorous discourses suffer mée to beare mine owne misfortune and wish not euill vnto them which shall bée my subiectes Venus Well let vs then goe to Iupiter and complaine of this cursed inchauntresse The third discourse Venus If euer thou hadst pittie of my plaintes most iust Iupiter when thou sawest me labour to saue my son Aeneas from the furie of the raging Seas and to defend him from other daungers in the which he was present at the siege of Troy If my teares for the death of my deare Adonis moued thée to compassion The surpassing sorrow that I doe conceiue for the great iniurie offered to Cupid I hope shall moue thée to pittie If teares wold suffer me I would
pleasing you and my diligence in pleasuring her THE Duke hearing the friendly and faythfull protestation of the good Ladie Melytta tolde her that although it were great trouble for one of her age to frame her selfe as a companion to such young youth and that some care belonged to such a charge yet hée woulde so counteruaile her painefull labour with princely lyberalitie that both she and all Alexandria should haue cause to speake of his bountie MElytta thanking the Duke for such vndeserued curtesie setting her householde affaires in good order repaired to the Court as spéedely as might be But leauing her with Castania againe to Cwydonius Who now béeing aryued at Alexandria pinched wyth pouertie and distressed with want hauing no coyne left wherewith to counteruaile his expences thought it his best course if it were possible to compasse the Dukes seruice repairing therefore to the Court he had not staied there thrée dayes before hée found fit opportunitie to offer his seruice to Orlanio whome verie duetifully hée saluted on this manner TYE report right worthie Prince of your incomparable courtesie and pearlesse magnanimitie is so blazed abroade throughout all Countries by the golden trumpe of Fame that your grace is not more loued of your subiects which tast of your liberall bounty then honoured of straungers which onely heare of your princely vertue Insomuch that it hath forced me to leaue my natiue soile my parents kindred and familiar friendes and pilgrimelyke to passe into a straunge Countrie to trie that by experience héere which I haue heard by report at home For it is not right worthie sir the state of your Countrie which hath allured me for I déeme Bohemia whereof I am no lesse pleasant then Alexandria neither hath want of liuing or hope of gaine intised me for I am by birth a Gentleman and issued of such parents as are able with sufficient patrimonie to maintaine my estate but the desire not onely to sée but also to learne such rare curtesie and vertuous qualities as fame hath reported to be put in practise in your Court is the onely occasion of this my iourney Now if in recompence of this my trauaile it shall please your grace to vouchsafe of my seruice I shall thinke my selfe fully satisfied and my paines sufficiently requited Orlanio hearing this dutifull discourse of Gwydonius marking his manners and musing at his modestie noting both his excellent curtesie and exquisite beautie was so inflamed with friendlye affection towarde this young youth that not onely he accepted of his seruice but also preferred him as a companion to his sonne Thesandro promising that since he had left his Countrie and parents for this cause he would so counteruaile his dutifull desert with fauour and friendshippe as he shoulde neuer haue cause to accuse him of ingratitude Gwydonius repaying heartie thankes to the Duke for his vndeserued curtesie béeing nowe brought from woe to weale from despaire to hope from bale to blisse from care to securitie from want to wealth yea from hellish miserie to heauenly prosperitie behaued himselfe so wisely and warily with such curtesie in conuersation and modestie in manners that in short time hée not hnely purchased credite and countenaunce wyth Orlanio but was most entirely liked loued of ThersaÌ„dro Now there remained in the Court a young knight called Signor Valericus who by chaunce casting his glauncing eies on the glittering beautie of Castania was so fettered in the snare of fancie and so intangled with the trap of affection so perplexed in the Laborinth of pinching loue and so inchaunted with the charme of Venus Sorcerie that as the Elephant reioyceth greatly at the sight of a rose as y â— bird Halciones delighteth to view y e feathers of the Phoenix and as nothing better contenteth a Roe buck then to gaze at a red cloth so ther was no obiect that could allure the wauering eies of Valericus as the surpassing beautie of Castania yea his onely blisse pleasure ioy and delight was in féeding his fancie with staring on the heauenlye face of his Goddesse But alasse her beautie bredde his bane her lookes his losse her sight his sorowe her exquisite perfections his extreame passions that as the Ape by séeing the Snaile is infected as the Leoparde falleth in a traunce at the sight of the Locust as the Cockatrice dyeth with beholding the Chrisolito so poore Valericus was pinched to the heart with viewing her comely countenaunce was griped with galding griefe and tortured with insupportable tormentes by gasing vppon the gallant beautie of so gorgeous a dame Yea he so framed in his fancie the forme of her face and so imprinted in his heart the perfection of hir person that the remembrance thereof would suffer him take no rest but he passed the daie in dolour the night in sorrow no minute without mourning no houre without heauinesse that falling into pensiue passions he began thus to parle with himselfe Why how now Valericus quoth hée art thou haunted with some hellish hagge or possessed with some frantike fury art thou inchanted with some magical charme or charmed with some bewitching Sorcerie that so sodainely thy minde is perplexed with a thousand sundrie passions alate frée and now fettered alate swimming in rest and now sinking in care erewhile in securitie now in captiuitie yea turned from mirth to mourning froÌ„ pleasure to paine from delight to despight hating thy selfe and louing her who is the chiefe cause of this thy calamitie Ah Valericus hast thou forgot the saying of Propertius that to loue howsoeuer it be is to loose and to fancie howe charie so euer thy choice be is to haue an ill chaunce for Loue though neuer so fickle is but a Chaos of care and fancie though neuer so fortunate is but a masse of miserie for if thou inioye the beautie of Venus thou shalt finde it small vauntage if thou gette one as wise as Minerua thou mayst put thy winninges in thine eye if as gorgeous as Iuno thy accompts being cast thy gaine shall be but losse yea be shée vertuous be â—he chaâ—t be she courteous be she constant be she rich be she renowmed be she honest be she honourable yet if thou be wedded to a woman thinke thou shalt finde in her sufficient vanitie to counteruaile her vertue that thy happinesse will be matcht with heauinesse thy quiet with care thy contentation with vexation that thou shalt sowe séede with sorrowe and reape thy corne with sadnesse that thou shalt neuer liue without griefe nor dye without repentaunce for in matching with a wife ther is such mischifes and in mariage such miseries that Craterus the Emperour wishing some sinister Fortune to happen vpon one of his foes prayed vnto the Gods that he might be maried in his youth and dye without issue in his age counting mariage such a combersome crosse and a wife such a pleasant plague that he thought his foe could haue no worse torment than to be troubled with such
and Fortune fauoureth them that are bold that the Gods themselues séeing my perplexed passions would of pittie defend me from those perillous daungers For if Theseus by Diuine power were ayded against the force of the monstrous Minotaure or if Iason who constrained with a couetous desire to obtaine the golden Fléece arryuing at Colchos was preserued by the Gods from the dint of the deadly Dragons no doubt Iupiter himselfe woulde either haue made the staggering bridge more strong cōsidering that no hope of wealth no desire of riches no gréedinesse of gaine no loue of lucre but beautie her selfe was the victorie I meant to vaunt of or els if I hadde sowsed in the roaring Seas hée woulde haue prouided some happie Dolphin that Arion lyke I might arriue at the desired Rocke and then my daungers should haue bene tourned into delight my perilles into pleasures my hazarding into happinesse yea I should haue possessed that heauenly paragon and enioyed the loue of that louelye Venus whose onelye sight were a sufficient salue against all fore-passed sorrowes Staye there Master Gwydonius quoth the Ladye Melytta for I sée to graunt one false proposition is to open a doore to innumerable absurdities and that by suffering you too long of these supposed premisses you wil inferre some cauillyng conclusion to your former reasons thus I replye That I confesse necessitie to haue no lawe but I graunt not the same of Loue for if it be lawlesse it is leawde if without lymittes lasciuious if contayned within no boundes beastlye if obserued with no order odious so that lawlesse Loue without reason is the verye Load-stone to ruth and ruine Sith then Master Gwydonius as your selfe affirme this was the pricke that pusht you into perill how can the effect be good when the cause was naught or howe can you clearkly defend your desperate motion procéeding of such a fonde and foolish occasion But it was the perfection of her comelye person her exquisite feature and rare beautie that so kindled thy desire and so bewitched thy sences for who is so fearefull that beautie will not make bolde who so doubtfull that beautie wil not make desperate yea what so harde that a man will not hazarde to obtayne so diuine a thyng as beautie Oh Gwydonius hast thou not hearde the Fish Remora lystening to the sounde of a Trumpet is caught of the Fishers that while the Porcupine standeth staring at the glymmering of the starres hée is ouer-taken with dogges that the Deare gazing at the bowe is striken with the bolte that the Leoparde looking at the Panthers paynted skinne is taken as a praye and that he which taketh too much delyght to gaze vpon beautie is oftentimes galled with griefe and miserie Yea his pleasure shall inferre such profite and his good wil such gayne as if he reapte the beautifull apples of Tantalus which are no sooner toucht but they tourne to ashes Beautie Gwydonius no sooner flourisheth but it fadeth and it is not fullye ripe before it beginne to rot it no sooner blossometh but it withereth and scarcelye béeing toucht it stayneth lyke to the Guyacum leafe that hath the one halfe parched before the other halfe be perfect to the Birde Acanthis which hatched white yet tourneth blacke at the first storme or lyke to the Stone Astites that chaungeth colour with the onelye breath of a man If then Gwydonius Beautie be so fading so fickle so momentarie so moouing so withering so waning so soone passed and so soone parched is this the Iewell which you count more déere than life and the Iemme which you thinke worthie to be purchased with the danger of death No doubt Gwydonius if you wonne the victorie you might vaunt of a great Conquest and if your long hope were repayed with a great happe it shoulde bée much lyke to his which thinking to embrace Iuno caught nothing but a vanishing clowde You doo well Madame quoth Castania to put an If in it because hée that vaunteth of victorie before hée hath wonne the fielde maye prooue himselfe a foole hée that bragges of gaines before the accompts be cast may perhappes put his winnings in his eyes and hée that bloweth the Mort before the fall of the Buck may very well misse of his fées so he that counts himselfe a spéeder before he be a wooer sheweth himselfe a vaine person or a vaunting patch Might it not bée I praye you Master Gwydonius that passing the bridge scaping the dangerous seas happely arriuing at the desired Rocke yet you might misse of your purpose Yes forsooth for many a man bendeth his bow y ◠neuer killeth his game laieth y ◠strap y ◠neuer catcheth the fowle pitcheth the Net that neuer getteth the fish long time are heauie wooers that neuer proue happie speeders So perhaps Gwydonius you might be crossed with a chippe of the same mischaunce and the gorgeous Dame whome you adore for a Goddesse might repaye your liking with loathing your loue with hate your good will with despite and your fixed fancie with small affection either that she lyked you too little or loued another too much All these doubts Gwydonius are carefullye to be cast and wisedome it is to feare the worst and finde the best but you Sir like a lustie champion thinke a Ladie won at the first looke and the good will of women gained at the first glaunce thinking the Gods thēselues are to be accused of iniustice if they be not ayders to your enterprise insomuch that if in ventring ouer the perilous passage you had by disaster Fortune fallen into the daungerous Seas you doubted not but that Iupiter would haue sent a Dolphin that Arion like you might escape the fearefull surges but Gwydonius bée not so ventrous least though you harpe very long you get not the like hap These premisses considered if my censure might stand for a sentence I déeme it better to be counted a dastardly coward than a desperate caitife better to forsake your Goddesse than your God better to lyue pinched with a few momentarie passions than with desperate death to destroy both soule and body for there is no sore such which in time may not be salued no care such which cannot bée cured no fire so greate which may not bée quenched no loue liking fancie or affection which in time may not either be repressed or redressed Valericus hearing this rough replye of Castania supposed that although she leuelled at Gwydonius yet shée shot at him and fearing the fort should be too much shashaken with this fearce assault he stifly defended the walles with this fresh Alarum MAdam quoth hée I se you will sit nye the wals eare you be thrust out for a wrangler and that you will speake against your owne conscience but you will haue the conquest for my owne part Madame howsoeuer I séeme to lyke it I will not saye I mislike it but I am sorrie you Madame Melitta shoulde so blasphemouslye imblaze the Armes of beautie
be no difference betwéene the Noble and the pesaunt betwéene the Infidell and the Moore the Turke and the Iewe the Ladie the Mistresse and the hand-maide But ther shall insue such a confused inequalitie that the faire shal not be matched with the wel featured but shal be oft times ioyned with fowle and deformed persons Great Ladies and noble Dames shall fall in loue with them whome before they would disdaine to accept as their seruants And when the loyall and faithfull Louers haue long languished in the loue of some beautifull Dame whose mutuall good will they haue gayned by deserte then Folly will cause some fickle false flatterer to enioye that in one hower which in all their life they coulde not attayne I passe ouer the continuall debates and quarrells that shall ensue by Folly whereof shall spring woundes massacres and most fearefull murthers And I greatly feare that wheras Loue hath inuented so many laudable sciences and brought foorth so many commodities that now he will bring great idlenesse accompanied with ignoraunce that he will cause young Gentlemen to leaue feates of armes to forsake the seruice of their Prince to reiect honourable studyes and to appplye them selues to vaine songs and sonnets to chambring and wantonnesse to banketting and gluttonie bringing infinite diseases to their bodies and sundrie daungers and perills to their persons for there is no more daungerous companie than of Folly Behold O souereigne Iupiter the mischiefes and miseries that are like to insue if Folly be appointed companion to Loue. Wherefore I in the person of all the Gods beséech your Maiestie to graunt that Loue maye not be ioyned with her and that Folly may gréeuously be punished for the outrage she hath done to Cupid As soone as Apollo had ended his Oration Mercurie in defence of Folly beginneth to speake in this wise Mercurie WHereas right worthie Iupiter Apollo hath with his painted eloquence set out the praises of Loue and hath sought with his filed phrases to discredit Folly I hope when your Maiestie shall throughlye heare the cause decyded you will commende his Eloquence more than his reasons For it is not vnknowen vnto you and all the Gods that Folly is no whit inferiour vnto Loue and that Loue should be of no force without her neyther could his kingdom indure without her help ayde and counsayle I praye you call to remembraunce how Folly incontinently after Man was placed in Paradise beganne most imperiously to rule and hath euer since continued in such credite as neuer any Goddesse had the like raigning and ruling amongest men from time to time from age to age as the onely Princesse of the worlde Insomuch that who haue bene more honored than fooles Who was more subiect vnto Folly than Alexander the great which féeling himselfe to suffer hunger and thirst to be subiect to sorrow and sicknesse not able to kéepe himselfe from dronkennesse yet would be honoured for a God What kinde of people hath bene in greater credit than Philosophers and who more fooles Did not Aristotle most foolishly dye for sorrowe because he knewe not the ebbing and flowing of the sea Did not Crates in casting his treasure into the sea commit a wise déede What folly shewed Empedocles by his straunge coniectures what say you to Diogenes tunne and to Aristippus flatterie Who so throughly considereth their opinions shal finde them subiect to the state of Folly How many other sciences are there in the world which are altogether foolish and yet the professors of them had in high reputation amongest men They which are Calculators of Natiuities makers of charecters casters of figures are they not Friers of this fraternitie Is it not Folly to be so curious as to measure the heauen the height of the starres the breadth of the earth and the deapth of the sea and yet the professors heereof are highly estéemed onely by the meanes of Folly Nay how could y â— world continue if the daungers troubles calamities and discommodities of mariage were not couered by folly Who would haue coasted the seas if Folly had not ben his guide to commit himselfe to the mercie of y â— winde the waues to liue in daunger of fearefull surges and and perillous Rockes to trafficke with sauage and barbarous people onely incensed by the meanes of Folly And yet notwithstanding by this meanes the common wealth is maintained knowledge and learning augmented the properties of hearbes stones and birdes beastes perfectly searched out What Follye is it most daungerously to passe into the bowels of y e earth to dig for yron and seeke for golde How many Arts and occupations shuld be driuen out of the world if Folly were banished truly the most part of men should either beg for want or dye for hunger How should so many Aduocates Procurators Sergeaunts Atturneyes Scriueners Imbroderers Painters and Perfumers liue if Lady Folly were vtterlye exiled Hath not Folly inuented a thousand deuices to drawe a man from idlenesse as Tragedies Comedies Dauncing schooles Fencing houses wrastling places and a thousand other foolish sports Hath she not made men hardie venterous to fight with Lyons Boares Bulles onely to gaine honour to passe other in folly What did Antonie and Cleopapatra when they straue who should spend most in beastly banketting What caused Caesar lament that he had not begun to trouble the worldâ—in that age wherin Alexander had conquered the greatest part Why did diuers séeke to fill vp the valleyes to make plaine the mountaines to drye vp riuers to make bridges ouer the sea as Claudius the Emperour did What made Rhodope build the Pyramides and Artemisia frame the sumptuous sepulcher but Folly In fine without this Goddesse man should be carefull heauie and whollye drowned in sorrow whereas Folly quickeneth his spirite maketh him sing daunce leape and frame himselfe altogether to pleasure It is not possible that Loue shuld be without the daughter of youth which is Folly For Loue springeth of sodaine and sundry causes by receyuing an Apple as Cydippe by looking out at a Windowe as Scylla by reading in a Booke as the Ladye Frauncis Rymhi some fall in loue by sight some by hearing but all liuing in hope to obtane their desires And yet some haue loued without anye naturall cause as Pigmalion who fell in Loue with his marble picture I pray you what Sympathia could there be betweene a lyuely youth and a dead stone what was it then but Folly that kindled this flame what forced Narcissus to fall in Loue with his owne shadowe but Folly Yea what aduenture is passed in loue without Folly For the Philosophers define Folly to be a depriuation of Wisedome and Wisedome is altogether without passions of the which when Loue shall be voyde then no doubt the sea shall be without waues and the Fire without heate Consider but a young man which onely placeth his delight in amorous conceiptes decking dressing and perfuming himselfe most delicately who passeth out
of his lodging fraught with a thousand sundry fancies accompanied with men and pages passing to the place where he may haue a sight of his Mistres obtaining for his trauell no gain but perhaps some amorous glaunce making long sutes spending his time and his treasure consuming his wit and wasting his wealth and yet reaping nothing but disdaine and discredite But if it chaunce that his Mistresse condiscend vnto his requests she appoynteth him to come at some suspitious houre which he cannot performe without great perill To come with companie were to bewray his secrets to go alone most daungerous to goe openly too manifest so that he must passe disguised sometime like a woman other times like a peasant or some vilde person scaling the walles with ladders clyming vp to the windowes by cordes yea continually in daunger of death if Follye did not holde him vp by the hand It is not also vnknowen vnto you how manye sundrye passions doo perplexe the poore passionate Louers all which procéede of Folly as to haue ones heart seperated from himselfe to be nowe in peace and than in warre now couering his dolour blushing one while and looking pale another fraught wholly with feare hope and shame séeking that carefully which he séemeth to flie yet doubtfully dreading not to find it to laugh seldome to sigh often to burn in cold fréeze in heate to be crossed altogether w t coÌ„traries which be signs not only of folly but of phreÌ„sie Who shall excuse Hercules handling so carefully the distaffe of Omphale or Salomon for combring himselfe with so many Concubines Annibal in submitting himselfe to his loue Aristotle in obeying Hermia and Socrates in yéelding to Aspasia and many other which we sée daily to be so blinded as they knowe not themselues and what is the cause héereof but folly so that we sée that it is she which maketh loue to be so feared â—â—doubted it is shée that honoureth him exalteth his name and causeth him to be counted as a God Further whosoeuer loueth must applie himselfe to the affection of his mistresse although it be contrarie to his natural constitution if he be quiet wise and discréete yet if his louer please to haue him chaunge his state he must turne his stearn and hoise his saile to goe with another winde Zethius and Amphion could not agrée for because the delight of the one was a despight to the other vntill Amphion left his musicke If the Lady whom thou louest be couetous thou must chaunge thy selfe into golde and so fall into her bosome if she be merrie thou must be pleasaunt if sullen thou must be sad All the seruauntes and sutors to Atlanta were hunters because she delighted in that sport Many Gentlewomen to please their louers which were Poets left the rocke and the néedle and tooke in hand pens and bookes now tell me if these straunge Metamorphosis be not méere pointes of folly Doe you thinke that a souldier which goeth to the assalt marketh y e trenches thinketh of his enimies or of a thousande harguebushes wherof euerie one is sufficient to destroy him No he only hopeth to win the conquest and doth not so much as once imagine the rest He which first inuented sailing doubted not of the perillous daungers and he that playeth neuer thinketh to become a looser yet are they all thrée in daunger to be slaine drowned and vndoone But what then they neither doo sée nor will sée what is hurtfull vnto them So we must coniecture the like of louers for if they did sée the dreadfull dangers the fearefull perills wherein they are how they be deceiued and beguiled they wold neuer honour loue as a God but detest him as a diuell and so should the kingdome of loue be destroyed which now is gouerned by ignorance carelesnesse hope blindnesse which are all the handmaides of folly Remainâ— in peace then fond loue and séeke not to breake the auncient league which is betwéene thée folly For if thou doest thy bowe shall be broken thy darts shall be of no force Contemtaeque faces et sine luce â—acent ¶ When Mercurie had finished the defence of Folly Iupiter seeing the Gods to be diuersly affected that some held with Cupid and some with Folly to decide the doubt he pronounced this sentence FOr the difficultie and importaunce of this difference and diuersitie of opinions we haue remitted the deciding of it vntill three times seauen times and nine ages be past in y â— meane while we straightly command you to liue friendly together without offering iniurie one vnto another And Folly shall guide and conduct blind Loue whether she séemeth best and for the restoring of his eyes after wee haue spoken with the Destinies it shall be decréed FINIS AT LONDON Printed by T. East for William Ponsonby 1584.
of his minde He was so endued with vanitie and so imbrued w t vice so nursed vp in wantonnesse so nusled vp in wilfulnesse so carelesse to obserue his Fathers commaund and so retchlesse to regard his counsell that neither the dreade of Gods wrath nor the feare of his fathers displeasure could driue him to desist from his detestable kinde of liuing Nay there was no fact so filthy which he would not commit no mischiefe so monstrous which he wold not enterprise no daunger so desperate which he would not aduenture no perill so fearefull which he would not performe nor no action so diuellish which he would not execute So immodest in his manners so rude in his iestures yea and so prodigall in his expences as mines of golde were not able to maintaine such witlesse prodigalitie This loathsome lyfe of Cwydonius was such a cutting corasiue to his Fathers carefull conscience and such a haplesse clogge to his heauie heart that no ioye could make him inioye anie ioye no myrth could make him merrie no prosperitie could make him pleasant but abandoning all delyght and auoyding all companie he spent his dolefull daies in dumpes and dolors which he vttered in these wordes NOw quoth he I proue by experience the saying of Sophâ—cles to be true that the man which hath many children shall neuer liue without some myrth nor dye without some sorrowe for if they be vertuous he shall haue cause whereof to reioyce if vicious wherefore to be sad which saying I trie performed in my selfe for as I haue one childe which delights me with her vertue so I haue another that despights me with his vanitie as the one by dutie brings me ioye so the other by disobedience bréeds my annoy yea as y e one is a comfort to my mind so the other is a fretting corasiue to my heart for what griefe is there more griping what paine more pinching what crosse more combersome what plague more pernitious yea what trouble can torment me worse then to sée my sonne mine heire the inheritour of my Dukdome which should be the piller of my parentage to consume his time in roysting and ryot in spending and spoiling in swearing and swashing and in following wilfullye the furie of his owne frantike fancie Alasse most miserable lamentable case would to God the destinyes had decréed his death in y e swadling clouts or y â— the fates had prescribed his end in his infaÌ„cy Oh y â— the date of his birth had ben the day of his burial or y â— by some sinister storme of fortune he had ben stifled on his mothers knées so that his vntimely death might haue preueÌ„ted my ensuing sorowes and his future calamities for I sée that y â— young frie will alwayes proue olde frogges y â— the crooked twig will proue a crabbed trée that the sower bud will neuer be swéete blossome how that which is bredde by the bone wil not easily out of the flesh that he which is carelesse in youth will be lesse carefull in age that where in prime of yeares vice raigneth there in ripe age vanitie remaineth Why Clerophontes if thou séest the sore why doest thou not applie the salue and if thou dost perceiue the mischiefe why doest not preuent it with medicine take away the cause and the effect faileth if Gwydones be the cause of thy ruth cut him off betimes least hée bring thée to ruine better hadst thou want a sonne then neuer want sorow Perhaps thou wilt suffer him so long till he fall sicke of the Father and then he will not onely séeke thy lands and liuing but life and all if thou preuent not his purpose yea and after thy death he will be through his lasciuious lyfe the ouerthrowe of thy house the consumer of thy Dukedome the wracke of thy common weale and the verie man that shall bring the state of Metelyne to mischiefe and miserie Sith then thy sonne is such a sinke of sorrowes in whose life lies hid a loathsome masse of wretched mishaps cut him off as a gracelesse graft vnworthie to growe out of such a stocke Alasse Clerophontes shalt thou bee so vnnaturall as to séeke the spoile of thine owne childe wilt thou bée more sauage then the brute beasts in committing such crueltie no alasse the least misfortune of our children doth so moue vs that as the Spider féeleth if her web be prickt but with the point of a pin so if they be toucht but with the least trouble we féele the paines thereof with prickking griefe to pinch vs. Why hath not nature then caused loue to ascend as wel as to descend and placed as dutifull obedience in y e child as louing affection in y e father with that he fetcht such a déep sigh y â— it was a signe of y e extreame sorrow he conceiued for his sons witlesse folly But as he was readie againe to enter into his doleful discourse to aggrauate his griefe the more and increasâ— his care certaine complaints were brought him by sundrie Citizens of the outragious behauiour of his sonne Gwydonius which being attentiuely heard he in great cholar called for his sonne against whom he thundered out such threatning reproches laying before his face the miserie that would insue of such recklesse mischiefes promising that if he directed not his course by a newe compasse and leuelled his life by a new line he woulde not onely repay his folly with the penaltie of the lawe but also by consent of his Commons disinherite him of his Dukedome that Gwydonius greatly incensed with the seuere censure of his Father broyling with furious rage sturdely burst foorth into these stubborne tearmes SIr quoth he if Terence his Menedemus were aliue and heard these your fond and fantasticall resons he would as readely condemne you of crabbednes as he accused Chremes of currishnesse for as he by too much austeritie procured his sonnes mishappe so you by too much seueritie séeke to bréed my misfortune You old men most iniustly or rather iniuriously measure our stailesse moode by your stayed mindes our young yeres by your horie haires our flourishing youth by your withered age thinking to direct our dooings by your doatings our wills by your wits our youthfull fancies by your aged affections and to quench our fierie flames by your dead coales and cinders yea supposing that the Leueret shuld be as skilfull in making of a head as the olde Hare that the young Cubs shoulde as soone tapish as y e old Fox that y â— young Frie shuld as wel auoid the net as the olde Fish and that the young wantons shuld be as warie as the old wysards But this sir is to make fire frost to chaunge heate to colde mirth to mourning singing to sadnesse pleasure to paine and to tye the Ape and the Beare in one tedder sith then young stemmeâ— will not be set on a withered stocke that the young twigge liketh not vnder the old trée that the toyish
looke at the lure and shall I now stoope without stall come without call yea and to such an emptie fist O lawlesse Loue O witlesse will O fancie fraught full of phrensie and furie Alasse if I should be so carelesse as to consent to this franticke toie what will they say that praised me for my vertue will they not as fast dispraise me for my vanitie wil not my father fret my kinsfolke crie out my friendes be sorrie my foâ—s and especially Valericus laugh me to scorne and triumph of this my mishap yea wil not all y â— world wonder to sée me alate giuen to chastitie and now shake hands with virginitie to yéeld my déerest iewell chiefest treasure into y e hands of a stragling straunger who came to my fathers court without countenance or coine wealth or worshippe credit or calling yea who by his owne report is but a person of small parentage Séeke then Castania to asswage this flame and to quench this fire which as it commeth w tout cause so it wil consume without reason For the greatest flowe hath the soonest ebbe the sorest tempest hath the most sodaine calme the hottest loue hath the coldest end and of the déepest desire oft times ensueth the deadlyest hate so that she which settles her affection w t such spéed as she makes her choice without discreation may cast her corne she knowes not where and reapes she wots not what and for her hastie choosing may perhaps get a heauie bargaine Alasse I knowe this counsaile is good but what then can I denie that which the destinies haue decréede is it in my power to peruert that which the Planets haue placed can I resist that which is stirred vp by the starres No what néede I then make this exclamation sith I am not the first nor shall not be the last whom the frantike phrensie of flickering fancie hath with more wrong and greater vauntage piteously oppressed What though Gwydonius be not wealthie yet he is wise though he be not of great parentage yet he is of comelye personage it is not his coine that hath conquered me but his countenaunce not his vading riches but his renowmed vertues I far more estéeme a man then money I but the Duke my father is not so base minded as to bestow me vpoÌ„ so meane a Gentleman he neuer will consent that poore Gwydonius shuld inioy y â— which he hopeth some pearlesse prince shall possesse What then shall I preferre my Fathers weale before mine own wil his liking before mine own loue no no I will choose for my selfe whatsoeuer my choice be Why but perchance Gwydonius will no more estéeme thee then thou didst Valericus repay thée with as smal fancy as thou him with affection Tush doubt it not Castania thou art y â— dame which he so deciphered in his dreme thou art y â— Venus which he saw in his visioÌ„ y â— art y â— goddesse whose beauty hath so bewitched him y â— art y â— iewell to possesse y â— which ther is no hap so hard which he would not hazard no daunger so desperate which hée wold not aduenture no burden so heuie which he wold not beare nor no perill so huge which he wold not passe And shall not then Gwydonius be my seruant sith I am his Saint shall not I like him which loueth mée sith he is my ioy shall I not inioye him Yes Gwydonius is mine and shall bée mine in despight of the fates and Fortune Castania hauing thus pittifully powred out her plaints would gladly haue giuen Gwydonius intelligence with modestie if she might of her good will towardes him god knows how faine Gwydonius wold haue discouered his feruent affection if too much feare had not astonished him too great bashfulnes staied her She therfore houering betwéene feare hope perseuered so long in his pensiue passions careful cogitations y â— by couert concealing of her inward sorrow the flame so furiously fried within her that she was constrained to kéepe her bed Whervpon Melytta coniecturing the cause of her care by y â— colour of her countenaunce thought to sift out the occasion of her sorrow y â— by this meanes she might apply a medicine to her maladie finding fit opportunitie she brake with her in this wise Madame Castania quoth shée since I haue by y â— Duke your father bene assigned to you as a companion I haue in such louing wise both comforted counselled you as I hope you haue iust cause to say y â— I haue most carefully tendred your estate for perceiuing how willing you were to follow my direction I counted your wealth my weale your pleasure my profite your happinesse my ioy your prosperitie my felicitie Which friendly care if it werâ— not to be considered if I shuld shew you what great sorrow I sustaine by your heauinesse you would iudge my words to procéede either of folly or flatterie but if your sore be such as it may be salued if your care may be cured if your grief may be redressed or your malady mitigated by my means coÌ„mand me good Castania in what I may to pleasure thée thou shalt find me so charely to performe my charge as my willing mind shall euideÌ„tly bewray my well meaning I see Castania of late such a straunge Metamorphosis in thy minde as for pleasant conceits thou dost vse pensiue cogitations thy chéerefull countenance is changed into lowring lookes thy merrie deuises into mournful dumps yet I cannot coniecture no cause of this sodaine alteration If want of riches should worke thy woe why thou swimst in wealth if losse of friends thou hast infinit of noble pareÌ„tage which loues thée most entirely If thou meanest no longer to leade a single life no doubt thy father will prouide thée of such a princely match as shall content thée for his person and countenaunce thée with his parentage But if in all these supposes I haue mist the marke and haue not toucht the case of thy calamitie vnfolde vnto me Castania what the paine is that thus doth pinch thee and assure thy selfe I will be so secrete in thy affaires as euer Lampana was to her Ladie Cleophila Castania hearing this friendly discourse of Melytta thought for al this faire glose y e text might be to intricate that these painted spéeches would proue but rotten pillers fearing therefore the fetch and doubting the worst if shée bewraie her minde shée framed her this aunswere MAdame quoth she the incomperable curtesie and vnfained friendship which since your first comming I haue found in you by experience will neither suffer mée to suspect your Ladyshippe of flatterie nor my selfe willingly to be accused of ingratitude for your diligence hath bene so great my deserts so small that if I might but liue to requite some parte of your good will it were the second felicitie I looke for in this life But touching the pensiue passions which thus diuersly perplexed
bewraie the cause of my sorrow but behold my sonne in what plight he is and thou shalt easily perceiue the cause of my complaint Iupiter Alasse my deare daughter what doe these teares preuaile knowest thou not what fatherly affection I haue alwaies borne thée what doest thou distrust that I wyll not succour thée or that I cannot Venus No I neither doubt the one nor distrust the other I onely demaund iustice against Folly the most outragious furie in the world which hath thus grieuously abused Cupid Folly Most mightie and soueraigne Iupiter beholde I am héere readie to answere to Venus complaints and to debate my right against Cupid Iupiter Folly I will neither accuse nor excuse thée vntill I haue heard the defence of the one as well as the plaint of the other least I should be thought parciall neither for the more auoiding of iniustice in the matter wil I suffer you to plead your owne causes but Venus choose you one of the Gods and Folly take you an other Venus I choose Appollo to defend my cause Folly And I Mercurie to maintaine my right Iupiter Then Apollo Mercurie prepare your selues to plead well in your clients cases and Apollo since you take the plaintiefes part let vs heare what you can say Apollo THe common people right soueraigne Iupiter although their minds be sotted almost seÌ„celes yet they haue al way had loue in such sacred estimation y â— they haue carefully rewarded theÌ„ w t the titles of honor dignity which haue excelled in y â— holy affection estéeming this only vertue if so rightly it may be tearmed sufficient of a maÌ„ to make one a God The Scithians for this cause canonized Pilades Orestes erecting temples vnto theÌ„ calling theÌ„ the Gods of amitie Castor Pollux were made immortal by this meanes not in y â— they were brothers but in y â— which is rare their loue was inuiolable Howe hath fame blazed abroad y â— loue of Dauid Ionathas y â— amitie of Pithias Damon of Titus Gysippus But y â— better to make manifest y â— force of loue amitie I will alledge the saying of Darius who opening a Pomgranat being demanded wherof he would haue as many as ther were graines within answered of Zopyres this Zopyre was his faithful friend by the meanes of whom he conquered Babylon I remember also a certaine Syrian demanding a maide in marriage and being willed to shew of what wealth he was said that he had no other riches but two friends estéeming himself rich inough with such possessions to craue y â— daughter of a great lord in mariage Did not loue cause Ariadne saue Theseus life Hyperminestra redéeme Linceus froÌ„ danger Medea frée Iason from perill Haue not many poore soldiers ben aduanced to high dignities by y â— meanes of loue yea doth not all pleasure profit procéed to man by loue causing him to looke w t an amiable countenance to speake pleasantly and to be curious in his ieastures although by nature he be dull sottish of a fierce looke What causeth a man to go braue fine in his apparell séeking euerie day new fashions but loue What procureth Gentlewomen to haue their haire frizeled crisped and embrodered with golde to be dressed after the Spanish French or Italian fashion but Loue. Painting their faces if they be foule with liuely colours But if they be faire they so carfully kéepe their beautie from the parching heate of Summer from the chilling colde of Winter from Wine raine and age as they remaine almost euer young not so much as forgetting to haue their shooes made fine and neate because the curiousnesse of men is such as they leaue not to looke from the crowne of the head to the soale of the foote to haue their iemmes iewells ouches ringes perfumed gloues and what not In fine what beautie or brauerie is in the apparell eyther of man or woman all proceedeth of Loue. Shall I saie that Musicke was onely inuented by loue yea truely for eyther it mittigateth the passions wherewith men are perplexed or else augmenteth their pleasure so that dayly they inuent diuerse kindes of instrumentes as Lutes Citrons Uiolls Flutes Cornets Bandoras whereon they plaie Madrigalis Sonnettes Pauins Measures Galiardes and all these in remembraunce of Loue as he for whom men doe more then for anie other What causeth men to iust tourney runne at tilt and combat but loue Who caused Comedies shews Tragedies and Masks to be inuented but Loue. Wherof commeth it that men delight to rehearse their amorous chaunces and straunge passions and to relate them to their companions some praising the courtesie of his Ladie another condempning his mistresse crueltie yea recounting a thousande mishappes which happen in theyr loues as Letters disclosed euyll reportes suspitious iealousie sometimes the husband comming home sooner than either the louer would or the wife doeth wish sometimes coniecturing without cause and other times beléeuing nothing but trusting vppon hys wiues honestie To be short the greatest pleasure after loue is to tell what perillous daungers are passed But what maketh so many Poets in the worlde is it not Loue the which séemeth to be the plaine song whereon all Poets doo descant yea there is few which write vppon any serious matter but they close vp their worke with some amorous clause or els they are the worse accepted Ouid hath celebrated the fame of Cupid Petracke and Virgil Homere and Liuâ—us Sapho yea that seuere Socrates wrote somewhat of his loue Aspasia Tush who rightly can denye that Loue is not the cause of all the glorie honour profite and pleasure which happeneth to man and that without it he cannot conuenientlye lyue but shall runne into a thousande enormities All this happie successe came by Loue as long as hée had his eyes but now being depriued of his sight and accompanied with Folly it is to be feared nay certainly to be beléeued that he shall be the cause of as manie discommodities mischiefes and mishaps as hethertoo hée hath bene of honour profit and pleasure The noble men which loued their inferiours and the subiects which dutifully serued their Lords shall be meruailously chaunged by the meanes of folly for the master shall loue his seruaunt onely for his seruice and the seruaunt his master onely for commoditie Yea there is none so addicted vnto vertue but if once he loue he shall presently commit some foolish touch and the more straight and firme loue is the greater disorder there shall be by the meanes of Folly There will returne into the world more then one Biblis more then one Semyramis then one Myrrha then one Canace then one Phaedra There shall be no place in the world vnspotted The high walls and treâ—lissed windowes shall not kéepe the Nunnes and Uestall Uirgins in sauegard Olde age shall tourne her aged affections into fond fancies and wanton desires Shame shall lyue as an exile There shall