haue heard of some that haue beene so possest with melancholy passions that they haue thought themselues to bee made of glasse and if they had gone in any streete they would not come neere any wall or house for feare of breaking them selues and so it may bee that this Pigmalion thought him selfe some stoane and knowinge that like agree best with their like hee thought he could make no better a match then to match him self to a stone Or it may bee hee was one of those whom after the generall floud as Ouid reporteth Ducalion his wife Pirraha made by casting stoanes at their backes and then no meruaile though hee beare meruaylous affectioÌ„ to stones beeing made of stoanes Or whether his religion were to loue images I know not neither is it any more to be meruayled at in him then in an infinite nuÌ„ber y liue at this day which loue images right well verely perswade theÌ„selues y images haue power to pray for them help them to heauen Or whether it proceeded of this that euery one is lightly in loue with that which is his owne I knowe not but this I read reported of him that when neither by the feelinge of his sences neither by the force of reason â–ª neither by the assistance of time neither by any other meane hee could rid his tender heart of this stoany loue hee tooke his image and layd it in his bed as if it had bene his birde which done hee went to the temple of Venus there sendinge vp sighes for sacrifices and vttering his passions in steed of prayers rufully repentinge his former rebellion against the maiesty of the Goddesse Venus for that hee had blasphemed wickedly against women and neglected the lawes and lore of loue and sought to lodge himselfe in liberty hee humbly requested her now to rue his ruthles case and hee would remaine her thrall all the dayes of his life after And that if it seemed good to her godhead to giue him a wife that shee might bee hee durst not say his image but like vnto his image Venus very wel knowing what he ment by this request remembring also the wrong which Penthea beefore had profred him for that hee loued her loyally the space of three or foure yeres with out any rewarde except it were double disseÌ„bling for his singuler affection therfore had some reason to rage against women as he did she thought her self bound in conscience to cure his calamity and seeinge how Idolatrously hee was addicted to his Image shée put life into it and made it a perfect woman The like miracles wée haue had many wrought within these fewe yeres when images haue béene made to bow their heads to holde out their handes to wéepe to speake c. But to Pigmalion who hauing done his deuotions returned to his lodging and there according to custome fell to kissing his Image which séemed vnto him to blush thereat and taking better taste of her lips they began to waxe very soft and sweete and entringe into deeper dalâ—aunce with her shée bad him leaue for shame and was presently turned to a perfecte proper maide Which hée séeinge magnified the might and power of Venus ioyfully tooke this maide vnto his wife And so they liued together long time in great ioy and felicitie You haue heard Gentlewomen what broad blasphemie y ficklenes of Penthea caused vnworthily to be blown forth against you all wherefore to auoide the like I am to admonish you that you prefer not new fangle freindes beèfore olde faythfull freindes that you neither lightly leaue the one neither lightly loue the other for it is great lightnesse to doe either the one or the other And beesides the incurring of the blot of inconstancy and wauering it is very perilous for you to commit your selues your secrets to those of whose trustines you haue made no trial For all is not golde which glistereth counterfayte coine sheweth more goodly then the good and it is most easy to deceiue vnder the name of a freind The common saying is the chaunge is seldome made for the better and your owne sayinge is that of your seruauntes you had rather kéepe those whom you know though with some faultes then take those whom you knowe not perchaunce with moe faultes How mutch more then ought faythfull freindes to bee kept and accounted of whom you know to bee perfectly good They are not surely for any chance to beè chaunged they are not for any respect to bee reiected they are the only Iewels to bee ioyed in the onely perles to bee preserued the only pillers to bee trusted to Wee like a picture made in marble better then in waxe bicause it will last longer wee like the ritch Diamonde chiefly bicause it lasteth longe and will not lightly lose it bright hew so likewise you ought to like those freindes best which last longest haue liued longest with you For you must coÌ„sider true freinds are not like new garmeÌ„ts which will be the worse for wearing they are rather like the stoane of Scilicia which the more it is beaten the harder it is or like spices which the more they are pounded the swéeter they are or like many wines whiche the older they are the better they are But to leaue true friendship and come to trifling friendship consisting in pleasant priuie practises I would wish those women which deale that way although they beé no sheepe of my flocke yet for their sexe sake I wish them wel I mould I say aduise them to vse wary héed in ridding away those freinds they are weary of It is a daungerous peece of worke and importeth as mutch as their good name commeth to for if they shall without discretion and great cause disclaime a mans freindship it is the next way onlesse his gouernment of himselfe bée very great to make him proclayme what freindship hee hath had of them in times past This was it whiche made Fausline so famous as shee was thiâ— is it which blazed the bruite of Blanch maria thorowe out the world And surely I know not well what counsayle to giue in this case it is a matter of harde digestion to a man to see her become straunge to him who was wonte to bee most familier with him to haue her his enemy who was wont to be his freind Therfore I would aduise them to sticke to their old freindes still but if they cannot frame their fickle nature to sutch firmenes the best way is by litle and litle to estraunge them selues from their freindes to pretend some ernest or honest cause to professe that neuer any other shall possesse that place with theÌ„ to promise that in hart they wil be theirs during life Alexius ALEXIVs giuen ernestly to follow the studie of his booke and the knowledge of the liberall Sciences is diligently exhorted by his father to take a wife whereunto though vnwillinge hee applyeth himselfe and is matched with sutch a one that in respect of
able to requite good will the one belonginge to the minde the others incident to the body but from the equitie of my cause I appeale to your good grace and fauour and at the bar of your beauty I humbly holde vp my handes meaning to be tried by your courtesy and mine owne loyalty and minding to abide your sentence either of consent vnto life or of deniall vnto death Camma hearing this discourse assoâ—e loked red for shame as soone pale for anger neither would disdain let her make him answere neither would her greife giue her leaue to holde hir peace but standing a while in a maze betwéene silence and saying at length shee brake of the one and burst out into the other in this sort If Sir your banquet had bene no better then this your talke is pleasant to mée I am perswaded the dishes woulde haue béen taken whole from the Table without touchinge but as the one was far better then the company deserued so the other for a far worse woman might more fitly haue serued and if your swéete meate haue sutche sower sauce the next time you send for mée I will make you sutch answere as was made to Cratorus the Emperour by Diogenes when he sent for him to make his abode with him in his courte who answered he had rather be fed at Athens with salt theÌ„ liue with him in all delicacy so for my part I promise you I had rather be fed at home with bread and water then pay so derely for dainty dishes Touching the paines you haue indured for my sake I take your wordes to bee as false towardes mee as you would make my faith towards my husband but admit they were true seeing I haue not willingly been the cause of them I count not my self bound in conscience to counteruayle them only I am sory they were not bestowed on some more worthy your estate and lesse worthy an honest name then my selfe which beinge the cheife ritches I haue I meane most diligently to keepe The interest which cauilingly you cleime in me as it consisteth of false premises so though the premises were true yet the conclusion which you infer thereof followeth not necessarily for were it so that your loue were greater towardes me then my husbandes which you can not induce me to beléeue yet séeyng my husbande by order of law hath first taken possession of mée your title succéeding his your successe and sute must néedes bée cold naught for as your selfe say of lawes so of titles the first are euer of most force and the most ancient of most auctoritie Your Wolues example though it shew your Foxely brayne yet doth it inforce no sutch proofe to your purpose but that by my former reason it may bée refelled for y the Woulfe is frée from the proper possession of any but therin truly you obserue decoraÌ„ very duly in vsyng the example of a Beast in so beastly a cause for like purpose like proofe like man like matter Your manly marchyng vnder the ensigne of Iustice if reason bée your captayne generall to lead you I doubt not but soone to tourne to a retire for if it bée goodwill which you beare mée I must néedes graunt you duly deserue the like agayne but when you are able to prooue it goodwill to deflower my chastitie to béeréeue mée of my good name to despoyle mée of mine honour to cause mée to transgresse the boundes of honestie to infringe my faith towards my husband to violate the sacred Rytes of Matrimonie to pollute the Temple of the Lorde with other innumerable enormities when I say you are able to prooue these to procéed of good will then will I willingly yéelde consent to your request But sée the vnreasonablenesse of your suite would you haue mée in shewyng curtesie towards you commit cruelty towards my self should I in extendyng mercie to you bring my selfe to miserie should I place you in pleasure and displace my selfe of all ioy for what ioy can a woman inioy hauinge lost her chastitie which ought to bée the ioy Iewell and Gemme of al Gentilwomen of my callyng and countenance your appeale from your owne cause to my courtesie bewrayeth the naughtinesse therof for if it bée not ill why sticke you not to it if it bée good why appeale you from it but séeynge you haue constituted mée Iudge in this case you know it is not the part of a Iudge to deale partially or to respect the man more then y matter or to tender more mine owne case then your cause therefore indifferently this sentence definitiue I giue I condemne you hencefoorth to perpetuall scilence in this sute and that you neuer hereafter open your mouth herein beeing a matter moste vnséemely for your honour and most preiudiciall to my honestie and in abidyng this sentence if you can bee content with honest amitie for the curteâ—ie which I haue alwayes founde at your handes and for the good will which you pretend to beare mée I promise you you shall inioy the seconde place in my harte and you shall finde mée fréendly in all thinges which either you with reason can aske or I with honestie graunt Synorix hauing heard this angell thus amiably pronouncing these woords was so rapt in admiratioÌ„ of hir wisedom and rauished in contemplation of her beutie that though shée had not inioyned him to silence yet had hée not had a woorde to say and least his lookes might béewray his loue and his countenance discouer his case hée secretly and suddainly withdrew him selfe into his chamber to study what face to set on the matter casting him self vpon his bed after hée had dreamed a while vpon his dotinge deuises at length he awaked out of his wauering thoughtes and recouered the possession of his sences againe by which time the play was ended and his guestes ready to depart whervpon hee was driuen to come foorth of his chamber to take his leaue of them and bidding his Misteris good night 〈◊〉 gaue her sutch a looke that his very eyes séemed to plead for pity so that what his tongue durst not his eyes did His guestes beeinge gone he disposed him selfe to rest but loue which was then his good Maister willed him otherwise to imploy that night whiche was in examyning perticulerly euery point of her answere And though the first part seemed sumwhat sharpe and rigorous and the second contained the confutation of his cause yet the third and last part seemed to be mixt with mettell of more milde matter which he repeated to himselfe a thousand times and there vppon as vppon a firme foundacion determined to raise vp his building again with the two former partes of her answere had vtterly â—ansakt to the grounde But mistaking the nature of the ground wheron the foundation was layd his building as if it had been set in sandes soone came to ruine for by that promise of freendship which she freendly made him hee sinisterly conceiued hope of obtayning that
you to execute the rigour of the lawes vpon you yet to your vtter shame and reproche it can not but conuert Tush saith his master the case is light where counsayle can take place what talkest thou to mée of shame that am by iniurious and spitefull dealyng depriued the vse of reason and dispossessed of my wittes and sences Neither auâ— I the first that haue played the like parte did not Dauid the chosen seruant of God béeyng blasted with the beutie of Bersabe cause her husband Vrias to bée set in the forefront of the battayle to be slayne which doone hée married his wife And why is it not lawfull for mée to do the like But I know the worst of it if thou wilt not take it vpon thee I will either do it my selfe or get some other that shall The man séeyng how his Maister was bent bothe to satisfie his minde and to gaine so good a summe of money promised to perfourme his charge which with oportunity of time and place hée did And séeyng Synnatus on a time in ill time passyng thorow a blind lane of the Citie hée shrowded himselfe in a corner and as hée came by shot him thorow with a Pistol which doone hée foorthwith sled the countrey Camma hearyng of the cruell murther of her husbande and by the circumstances knowyng Synorix to bée the authour thereof tearynge her heyre scratching her face and beatyng her body agaynst the ground sâ— soone as the fluddes of teares had flowen so longe that the fountayne was drie so that her spéeche might haue passage whiche before the teares stopped shee began to crie out in this carefull manner O God what vniustice is this in thee to suffer the earth remayne polluted with the bloud of innocentes Diddest thou cursse Cain for killing his brother Abel and wilt thou not crucifie Synorix for sleayng Synnatus Is thy hart now hardned that thou wilt not or are thy hands now weakened that thou canst not preserue thy seruantes from the slaues of Sathan If there bee no safetie in innocencie wherin shall wee repose our selues If thou bee not our protectour who shall defend vs If the wicked vanquish the vertuous who shal set foorth thy honour and glory or who will so mutche as once call vpon thy name But what meane I wretched wight to exclayme agaynst God as the aucthour of my euill wheras it is only I my selfe that am guiltie of my husbandes death It is I that pampred vp my beutie to make it glister in the sight of euery gazynge eye in the thriftlesse threade wherof this Tirant was so intangled that to vnwinde himself thereout hee hath wrought all this mischeif It is I that would not detect his doynges to my husband wherby hee might haue preuented the perill which hung ouer his head And seeyng I haue been the cause of his death shall I beyng a murtherer remayne aliue Did Alcyone seeynge the dead carkas of her husbande Ceix cast on shore willingly cast her selfe into the Sea to accompany his death And shall I see my sweet Synnatus slayne and not drinke of the same cuppe Did true Thisbe goare her gorgious body with the same sworde wherwith princely Piramus had prickt him selfe to the hart and are not my handes stronge inough to do the like Did Iulietta die vpon the corps of her Romeo and shall my body remayne on earth Synnatus beyng buried No gentle death come with thy direfull dart and peirce my paynefull harte and with one death rid mee out of a thousande deathes at once For what thought do I thinke on my Synnatus which doth not procure mee double death What thing do I see belongyng to him which is not a treble torment vnto mee But it is cowardlinesse to wish for death and couragiousnesse valiantly to take it Yes I can and will bestow my lyfe for my Synnatus sweete sake but O God shall that Tyrant remayne aliue to triumphe in his trechery vaunt in his villanie Shall I not sée his fattall day béefore my finall end It is his bloud that wil be a most swéete sacrifice to the ghost of Sinnatus not mine and then can I ende my life contentedly when I haue offred vp this acceptable sacrifice and vntill sutch time as I haue oportunity hereto I will prolonge my dolefull dayes in direfull greefe and onely the hope of reuengment shall heauily holde my lothsome life and sorowfull soule together For other cause why I should desire life I haue not for that I am vtterly depriued of all ioyes of life For as the bird that is bruised with some blow lieth aloofe on the leaues and heares his felowes singe and is not able to vtter one warblinge note out of his mournfull voice but rather hates the harmony which other birdes doo make so I my heart beeing broosed and broken sit solitarily alone and sée some hange about their husbandes neckes some closely clepe them in their armes some trisle with them some talke with them all which sight redoubleth my paine to thinke my self depriued of those pleasures yea to a wretched wounded heart that dwels in dole euery pleasaunt sight turnes to bitter spight and the onely obiecte which shall euer content my eyes shall bee the distruction of that tyraunt which hath brought mee to this desolation Now Synorix thinking that time had taken away her teares and sorrow and supposinge that neither shée neither any other had suspected him for the murther of her husband began to enter into the listes of lust againe and with a new incountry of incontiuency to set vpon her But shée so mutch abhorred him that if shee but heard his name it caused her nature to fayle in her and all her sences to faint so that when hee saw no posibility to impell her to impiety hee ment to moue her in the way of mariage and caused her nere kinsfolke and friends to solicite his sute vnto her who partly for feare of his displeasure partly for that they knew it would bée greatly to her adâ—auncement laboured very ernestly in the matter and were so importunate vpon her that no answere would satisfie them Now Camma séeing shée could not be rid of her fréends and foreséeing that by this meanes shée might bée rid of her enemies agréed to take him to husband And the day of the solemnizing of the mariage béeinge come they went together to the temple of Diana wher al things according to custome beeing consummated the bride wife as the vse was dranke to her husband in drinke as hée thought but indéede in poyson which shée had prouided of purpose and when shée saw hée had drunke vp his death shée sayd vnto him goe now and in stéed of thy mariage bed get thée a graue for thy mariage is turnd to murther a punishment most iust for thy outragious lust and cruell tyranny ' for vengeance asketh vengeance bloud bloud and they y sowe slaughter shalbée sure to reape ruine and destruction Now Synorix hearing these
wee thinke wee neuer haue inough wee thinke all to mutch that is spent wee take litle pleasure in any thing wee thinke the world is changed and that it is far worse then it was when wee were younge only bicause our bodies are changed and our vitall heat so vanished away that nothing seemeth pleasaunt vnto vs though it bee the same it was woont to bee so that wee thinke the alteration to bee in the thing when it is in our selfe And then not onely our memory fayleth our wits waxe weake and returne to infancy againe but our bodies also are broken with cares taken with crampes shaken with paulseies tormented with the stone lamed with the goute dried with dropsies our sight waxeth dim our hearing deafe our smelling smal our tasting vntoothsome our feelinge feable yea all our sences are almost without sence yet we are loth to die leaue our worldly mucke the feare of approching death doeth dayly daunt vs and at length his deadly dartes doe vtterly distroy vs And surely the consideration of this our miserable estate doth so resolue mee into sorrow that if your presence did not sprinkle mee with some deawe of delight I should hardly frame my wittes to procure you pleasure by any pleasant history but rather continew a dolorous discourse of our calamity And yet the history I meane to tell shall not bee altogether estraunged from the argument of my former discourse but though it manifest not our manyfolde misery yet shall it at least set foorth the frailty of our felicity The history is this The flowrishynge common wealth of Athens had to their prince one Pandion whose estate bothe fortune beutified with great wealthe and God blessed with goodly children to wit two daughters of excellent beutie the eldest named Progne the youngest Philomela Now fame béeyng a tatlyng Goddesse blazed the brute of Progne abreade into diuers countries vntill at length the rumour of her renoâ—me ronge about the eares of Tereus kynge of Thrace who béeynge a younge lustie gallant made no great account of the commendations whiche were giuen her knowyng if hée were disposed to marrie hée might make his choyce amongst a great number as good as shée was and more nere neighbours vnto him then Athens was But destinies so draue that shortly after this on a night in his sleape hée séemed to sée her stand apparently before him only a stronge imagination assurynge him that it was shee which sight sunke so deeply into his heart and brought him sutch excessiue delight that hee presently awaked and missyng the partie that procured him such pleasure his ioy was tournd to anoy neither coulde hee euer after that finde any contentation in any thought or deed but only in this determination to goe haue a true sight of her whose seemyng shadow had so dazeled his eyes and with all speed repayred his shippes and prepared al thyngs necessary for sutch a voyage and by the help of good wynde and will shortly arriued there where his hart had already cast anker and sent ambassadours to the kyng to certifie him of his commynge who receyued him with royaltie fit for his regall estate And at the first incountry of the two princes Tereus sayde My commyng vnto you O noble prynce is not as an open enemie to inuade you for you see I am vnarmed neither as a secret traytour to intrap you for you know I am your freend but that you may not meruayle at my sodayne cummyng you shall vnderstand it is to sée your daughter the Lady Progne for you shall soone perceyue I pretende well vnto her Pandian answered As most worthy prince the cause of your comming is friendly so can I not but friendly accept it and how much I thinke my selfe honoured therby so mutch I count my selfe bound vnto you And after a litle parlee passed betweene them of the estates of their realmes and manners of their countreies Pandion preferred him to the sight of his daughter whom after Tereus had saluted with a curteous conge hee entred into discoursing with in this sort If faire Lady I should tell the truth of my comming into this country I thinke you would take it but for a trifling toy yea if I should in woords plainly set downe y cause of this my interprised iourney and the case which through your meanes I remaine in I doubt you would neither beleeue the cause neither reléeue my case for y the straungnesse of the one would bréed great incredulity for the other the small acquaintance I haue with you lesse deserts towards you can craue smal curtesy yet if it please you to know neither the desire to see this country neither the renoume of your vertue beauty brought me hither for though the report therof be great yet now I se I must néedes say y fame hath rather framed your praise maliciously then reported it truly for one good part reported to bée in you I perceiue by your countenance such confluence of good conditions that I can not but counte the rumor which run of you rather sparing speeche then right reporte But the cause of my hasty comminge and heauy case is this it pleased the goddes to presente your seemely selfe to my presence in the same louely likenesse wherin you are at this present what time I tooke sutch veiwe of your sweete face that approchinge this daye to your fathers palaice béefore I knew who you were what you were or where you were as you looked if you remeÌ„ber it out at your chamber window I said to my seruaÌ„ts loe yonder standes the péereles peragon princely Progne and since y sight in my sléepe I take the heauens to witnesse I neuer inioyed one quiet sleepe but continued in coÌ„templation how I might be placed in possession of that personage which draue me into sutch admiration Now seinge it pleased the gods thus miraculously to moue mée to traueile to see you and seeing the sight of your sweete face hath fast fettred my fancy in links of loue these may bee humbly to desire you neither to resist the motion of the goddes neither to reiecte the deuotion of my good wil. And if I haue preferred your loue before all the Ladies of my owne land if I make you that profer which many princes haue pressed for if neither wearines of way neither perils of sea could prohibite mee from pursuing your good will if I bee content to resigne my kingdome liberty and all that I haue into your handes I shall desire you not to coÌ„temne my curtesy but to counteruaile my paine and to returne my goodwill with like loue and affection This request also resteth to make vnto you that you driue mee not of with trifeling delayes for neither will the extremity of my perplexity permit longe delay neyther will the estate my kingdome standeth in suffer mee longe to bee away Progne hearing the ernest sute of this prince and seeinge nothing in him to be misliked considering also what
effect and séeyng the cause of this chaunce was good I doubt not but the effect wil folow accordyngly and if any euill do insue therof I trust it will light on my head through whose negligence it happened Agrip. answered As I know not the cause so I feare not the effect greatly and in deed as you say hethervnto you haue had the worst of it for that thereby you haue been put to double paynes If that bée all saith hée rather then it shalbée sayd any euill to haue insued of this chaunce I will perswade my selfe that euery payne whiche you shall put mee to shal be double delight and treble pleasure vnto mee You must vse sayth shee then great eloquence to your selfe to perswade you to sutch an impossibility Oh if it please you sayth hee there is an oratour which of late hath taken vp his dwelling within mee who hath eloquence to perswade mee to a far greater matter then this If sayth shee hee perswade you to thinges no more behouseful for your selfe then this if you follow my counsayle you shall not giue him house roome long Madame sayth hee it is an assured signe of a free and freendly minde to giue good counsayle but it is harde for one in bondage and out of his owne possession to followe it For what knoweth your honour whether hée haue already taken intire possession of the house wherin hée is which if it bee so what wit is able to deuise a writ to remoue him from thence If sir sayth shée hée entred by order of law and payd you truely for it it is reason hée inioy it marie your folly was greate to retaine sutch a tenant but if hée intruded himselfe by force you may lawfully extrude him by strength In déede sayth hée hée entred vi et armis forcibly but after vpon certaine parlance passed betwéene vs I was content hée should remaine in peacible possession marie hee hath payd mee nothinge yet but hee promiseth so frankely that if the perfourmance follow a house with beames of beaten golde and pillers of precious stones will not counteruaile the price of it yea if I were placed in quiet possession therof I would thinke my self ritcher I wil not say then the Emperour but which is most then god him selfe who possesseth heauen and earth and as the hope of obtayning the effecte of that promise heaueth mee vp to heauen so the doubt to bee deceiued therof driueth mee downe to hell And what ioyly fellow sayth shee is this that promiseth so frankely will hée not promise golden hils and perfourme durty dales Would to god sayth hee your semely selfe were so well acquainted with him as I am then would I make you iudge of the worthynesse of the thinge hee hath promised for that you know the goodnes thereof none better The lady smellinge the drift of his deuises and seeinge the ende of his talke seemed to tend to loue and that touching her owne selfe thought not good to draw on their discourse any longer but concluded with this answere As I am altogether ignorant what your obscure talke meaneth so care I not to bee acquainted with any sutch companion as your Landlord is for so methinkes by you I may more fitly call him then terme him your tenaunt and so departed away into her lodginge Germanicus likewise his Misteris beeing gone gat him to his chamber to entertaine his amarous conceites and béeing alone brake forth into these wordes O friendly fortune if continually hereafter thou furiously frowne vpon mée yet shall I all the dayes of my life count my selfe bound vnto thee for the onely pleasure which this day thou hast done mee in giuinge mee occasion of talke with her whose aungels voice made sutch heauenly harmony to my heauy heart that where before it was plunged in perplexity it is now placed in felicity and where before it was oppressed with care it is nowe refreshed with comfort Yea euery louely lookes of her is able to cure mee if I were in most deepe distres of moste daungerous disease euery sweete woord proceeding from her sugred lips is of force to fetch mee from death to life But alas how true do I trie that saying that euery commodity hath a discommodity annexed vnto it how dooth the remembraunce of this ioy put mee in minde of the annoy which the losse of this delight will procure mee Yea it maketh all my sences shake to thinke that some other shall inioy her more woorthy of her then my selfe and yet who in this court nay in all Christendome nay in the whole worlde is worthy of her No if shée neuer haue any vntill shée haue one worthy of her euery way shee shall neuer haue any And shall I then beeing but a poore gentleman seeke to insinuate my selfe in place so high Shall I by my rude attempt purchase at least the displeasure of her friendes and parentes and perchaunce hers also whom to displease would be no lesse displeasant vnto mée then death Alas and must loue needes bee rewarded with hate Must curtesy néedes bée counteruayled with crueltie Must goodwil needes be returned with displeasure Is it possible y bounti should not abide where beuty doth aboūd that curtesy should not accompany her comlinesse Yes I am sure at the least she wil suffer me to loue her though her younge yeeres high estate will not suffer her to loue mee though shée will not accept me for husband yet I am sure shee will not reiecte mée for seruaunt and though shee will not receiue my seruice yet I doubt not but shee will courteously take the tendringe therof vnto her And touchinge her parentes displeasure what care I to procure the ill will of the whole world so I may purchase her good will. Yea if I should spend the most precious bloud in my body in the pursuite of so pereles a péece I would count it as welbestowed as if it were shed in the quarrell of god my prince or country For shée is the goddesse whom I wil honour with deuotion shée is the prince whom I will obey with duty shee is the country in whose cause and quarrell I will spend life liuing and all that I haue Neither is there mutch cause why her friendes should storme much at the matter for though my lands reuenewes are not great yet am I of y bloud royall nere kinsman to themperour who wil not suffer me to want any thing pertayning to my estate degree Why Alerane a youth like my self practised the mightie emperour Otho his daughter darling Adalesia stole her away married her and do I sticke to attempt the like with one of far meaner estate though of far more worthinesse And though frowning fortune tossed him for a while in y tempestious seas of aduersiti yet at the length he arriued at the hauen of happy estate and was reconciled to the good grace and fauour of the Emperour againe And though at the first my
disalow mariage and that you pretend otherwise in words then you intend to doo in workes I am content to giue you the honour of the fielde and thus far to yéelde my consent to your opinion that virginity considered of it owne nature simply without circumstance is better then Matrimony but bicause the one is full of perill the other full of pleasure the one full of iepardy the other full of security the one as rare as the blacke swan the other as common as the blacke crow of good thinges I thinke the more common the more commendable If sayth shée I haue gotten any conquest hereby I am to thanke mine own cause not your curtesy who yéeld when you are able to stand no longer in defence Nay Madame say not so sayth hée for in that very yelding to your opinion I proued mariage better then virginity for that is more common neither would I haue you turne my scilence in this matter into lacke of science and knowledge or reprehend mée if I spare to inforce further proufe in a matter sufficiently prooued already no more then you would rebuke a Spanniel which ceaseth to hunt when hée séeth the Hauke seazed on the Partridge But you may meruaile madame what is the cause that maketh mée perswade you thus earnestly to mariage which as mine owne vnworthinesse willeth mée to hide so your incomparable curtesy incourageth me to disclose which maketh mée thinke that it is no smal cause which can make you greately offended with him who beareth you great goodwil and that what sute soeuer I shal prefer vnto you you wil either graunt it or forgiue it pardon it or pitie it Therfore may it please you to vnderstand y since not long since I tooke large view of your vertue and beauty my hart hath beene so inflamed with the bright beames therof that nothing is able to quenche it but the water which floweth from the fountayne that first infected mée and if pity may so mutch preuaile with you as to accept mée I dare not say for your husband but for your slaue and seruaunt assure your selfe there shall no doubt of daunger driue mée from my duty towardes you neither shall any Lady whatsoeuer haue more cause to reioyce in the choice of her seruaunt then your selfe shall for that I shall account my life no longer pleasaunt vnto mée then it shall be imployed in your seruice Agrippina dying her lily chéekes with Vermilion red and castinge her eies on the grounde gaue him this answere As I am to yéeld you thankes for your goodwill so am I not to yéeld consent to your request for that I neither minde to marry neither thinke my self worthy to retain any sutch seruaunt but if I were dispoled to receiue you any way I thinke the best manner meane inough for your worthynesse Immediatly here vpon there came company vnto them which made them brake of their talke and Agrippina béeing got into her chamber began to thinke on the sute made vnto her by Germanicus and by this time Cupid had so cunningly carued and ingraued the Idoll of his person and béehauiour in her heart that shée thought him worthy of a far more worthy wife then her selfe and perswadinge her selfe hy his woordes and lookes that his loue was loyall without lust true without triflinge and faythfull without faygninge shée determined to accept it if her parentes would giue their consent therto Now Germanicus nothinge dismayed with her former deniall for that it had a curteous close so soone as oportunity serued set on her againe in this sort Now Madame you haue considered my case at leasure I trust it will stand with your good pleasure to make mee a more comfortable answere I béeseech you sir sayth shee to rest satisfied with my former answere for other as yet I am not able to make you Alas Madame sayth hée the extremity of my passion will not suffer long prolonginge of compassion wherfore I humbly beseech you presently to passe your sentence either of bale or blisse of saluation or damnation of life or death for if the heauens haue conspired my confusion and that you meane rigorously to reiecte my good will I meane not long to remaine aliue to trouble you with any tedious sute for I account it as good reason to honour you with the sacrifice of my death as I haue thought it conuenient to bestow vpon you the seruice of my life Alas sir sayth shée this iesting is nothing ioyfull vnto mée and I pray you vse no more of it for the rememberaunce of that which you speake of in sporte maketh mée séele the force therof in good ernest for a thousand deaths at once can not bée so dreadful vnto mée as once to thinke I should liue to procure the death of any sutch as you are If sayth hée you count my wordes sporte iest and daliance assure your selfe it is sport without pleasure ieste without ioy and daliance without delight as tract of time shall shortly try for true But if you loue not to heare of my death why like you not to giue mée life whiche you may do only by the consent of your good will. Why sir sayth shee you know my consent consisteth not in my selfe but in my parents to whom I owe both awe and honour therfore it bée hooueth you first to séeke their consent Why Madame sayth hée shall I make more account of the meaner partes then of the heade you are the heade and cheife in this choice and therfore let mée receiue one good worde of your good wil and then let heauen and earth doo their woorst It is not the coine countenance or credite of your parentes that I pursue for to winne sutch wealth as your good will. I could bée content to leade a poore life all the dayes of my life so that you bée maintayned according to your will and worthinesse Well saith shée séeing I am the only marke you shoot at assay by all the meanes you may to get my freindes good will and if you leuell any thinge strait you shall not misse mée Germanicus vpon this procured the Emperours letters to her father in his beehalfe who hauinge perused those letters sayd hée trusted the Emperour would giue him leaue to dispose of his owne accordinge to his owne pleasure and that his daughter was to nere and deere vnto him to see her cast away vpon one who for lacke of yéeres wanted wisdome to gouerne her and for lacke of landes liuyng to maintaine her and calling his daughter béefore him hée béegan to expostulate with her in this sorte Daughter I euer here tofore thought you would haue been a solace and comfort to my olde yéeres and the prolonger of my life but now I se you will increase my hoarie heares and bee the hastner of my death Doeth the tender care the careful charge and chargeable cost which I haue euer vsed in bringyng you vp deserue this at your handes that you should passe a
and parentes it is not vnknowen likewise to you that for your sake I haue sustained some labour in séeking our preferment and getting the Emperours good will who only may prefer vs now as the one hath made your life lesse pleasant then I desire or you deserue so the other shal aduaunce our state so high as your self can wish or I be able to wield so y the commodities of the one shall counteruaile the inconueniences of the other For you shall vnderstand that the Emperour doth not only for the present time prouide for me as if I were his owne child but also for the time to come hath proclaimed mâ—e sole heire to his Diademe and realme Which estate as I neuer sought so mutch as in thought for my selfe knowing mee to bee altogether vnworthy of it so I thinke my selfe most happy to haue aspired therto only for your sake whom I know woorthy of all the honour in the world For as it would haue been a hel and horrour to my hart to haue séene you liue in meaner callinge then you are woorthy of so will it bee a heauenly mirth to my minde to see you a prince in state as well as in stature beauty and vertue Master Germanicus sayth shee I promise you by the loue which I beare you for greater bonde I haue not to confirme my woords by that it doth mee more good to sée you thus pleasantly disposed then to here y newes which you haue imparted vnto me for th' one I am sure cannot hurt you but what harme the other may procure you I feare to thinke and faint to say Alas my Germanicus are you to know the perils which princely stat bringeth the falshood in friendes the treason in nobilyty the rebellion in comminalty the enuy of the weake the iniury of the strong Besides you see boystrous windes do most of all shake the highest towers the higher the place is the sooner and sorer is the fall the tree is euer weakest towardes the top in greatest charge are greatest cares in largest seas are sorest tempestes enuy alwayes shooteth at high markes and a kingdome is more easyly gotten then kept For to get is the gift of fortune but to keepe is the power of prudency and wisdome especially where there bee many that catch for it yea and when a man shall haue no faithfull frendes in sauyng it For Ennius saith flatly there is no fréendly or faithfull dealinge to be looked for at any mans handes in matters pertayninge to a kingdome and Euripides makes it in a manner lawfull for a kingdomes sake to transgresse the limittes of law nature and honesty Which opinions I may iustifie by many examples as of Numitor and Amulius c. who though they were naturall bretheren yet Amulius beeinge the younger deposed his elder brother from the kingdome of Rome sâ—ue his sonnes and made his daughters virgin Vestales that they might not marry and haue issue male to succeede the crowne likewise of Romulus and Remus who beeing bretheren borne at one birth yet bicause Remus should inioy no part of the kingdome Romulus found meanes to make him away The like is reported of Eteocles and Polinices of Iugurth towardes Hyempsal and Adherball all which were bretheren and by natures lawes most neerely linked together But of others that by bloud haue not beene so neere which in cases of kingdomes haue dealt far worse the examples are in straungnesse wonderfull in number infinite and in successe so sorowfull that it maketh mee colde at hart to consider of it I spake not this my Germanicus to forespeake you you may inioy the Empire quietly and so I trust you shall but I know not what the matter is methinkes my minde giues mée some mischiefe will insue thereof Alas good husband was it for my sake you sought the Empire Doo you thinke I can not be content with th' estate which fortune shal assigne to you Yes if it were to beg my bread from doore to doore as Adalesia did with her Alerane I could bee contented therwith so you were not tormented therewith It is you sweete husbande that are the ritches which I séeke to possesse you are the only honours which I looke for you are the only kingdome which I care for for so longe as I may inioy you come pouerty come meane estate come sicknesse yea come death it self so I may die betwéene your armes Therefore good Master Germanicus if you followe my counsayle resigne your title to the Emperour againe to bestow on some that hath more néede of it then thanks bée giuen to god wee haue for for my part I thinke my selfe indued with the greatest riches in the world to wit your person and mine owne contented minde And béesides the euils béefore rehersed incident to a kingdome this inconuenience is commonly incurred therby that it altereth the nature of the person which taketh that name vpon him for honours chaung manners and no doubt the diuersity of delightes which a prince possesseth bée but prickes to pleasure inticementes to folly and allurementes to lust Was not Saull I pray you in the beginning of his raigne a good prince but after declined to impiety Salomon beegan his raigne godly but afterwards gaue him selfe in pray to women Caligula Nero and Hannibal béegan to raigne like good princes but after the whole world was troubled with their tiranny I could aledge infinite other examples to like purpose but these shal suffice neither do I alledge these for that I feare y chaunge of your good nature but to feare you from the chaunge of your estate and yet the better I knowe your nature to bee the more cause haue I to feare the alteration therof For freshest colours soonest fade ripest fruit are rifest rotten But to leaue the louringe lottes which light on high estate which are more then I am able to reherse let this request take place with you that séeinge for my sake onely you coueted the empire at my sute only you will forgoe it againe Ah swéet wife saith hée imbracing her in his armes what is it vnder the Sunne whiche you may not commaunde mee to do without desiryng But I béeseche you suffer not the tender care you haue of mée to depriue you of the honour due to you For to cast the worste of it though open enemies or trecherous traytours or rude rebels shall set mée béesides my regall seate and depriue mée of life yet shall you remayne a princesse and be matched agayne with some other more worthy your estate and so longe I care not what béetide of my selfe Alas sir saith shée I bée séeche you vse no more of those wordes onlesse you count my great greif your great good Can I liue when you are dead shall I bée married again and you made away In deed saith hée I néede not vse sutch extréeme doubtes in a matter nothyng daungerous for the numbers are infinite of those who haue wielded far more waightie empires then
and churlishuesse in a man to deny his wife any thing which is reasonable so is it great imbecillity and childishnesse to graunte her any thing which is vnreasonable and hereof commeth the vtter vndooing of a great number of young gentlemen And as it is wise and louinge carefulnesse to prouide well for ones wife so is it fond and doatinge curiousnesse to seeke and prouide better for her then bee would do for himselfe whereof came the confusion of this noble Gentleman Germanicus Amphiaraus and Eriphile AMPHIARAVS a Gentleman Argiue sueth for marriage to Eriphile a widow either likyng others possessions better then persons Infortunio burnyng in fonde affection toward the same trull seeyng Amphiaraus land preferred beefore his loyaltie is at poynct to destroy himself Amphiaraus hidyng himself to escape from the warres is betraide by Eriphile for couetice of rewarde and settynge foote within the Theban soyle the earth openeth and swaloweth him vp Eriphile eftsoones a widow profereth her loue to her olde suter Infortunio by whom beeyng repulsed in choler she consumeth away and dieth THe aunciet Ppilosophers are of this mynde that there is nothyng that doth more argue and shew a base mynde then couetous desire of coyne ritches and nothyng more signe of a noble heart then not to desire wealth if one want it and liberally to bestow it if hée haue it But I am of this minde that nothynge doth more argue a mad minde then to desire goods which neuer did good but which haue been alwayes the cause of all our calamities What a world of men hath desire of wealth wasted in war What huge heapes hath it drowned in the Sea What infinite numbers hath it caused Phisitions to kill How many hath it mooued Lawiers to vndoe How many hath it driuen Deuines to sende to the Diuell Of how many Murthers thefts flaughters parricides patricides treasons rebellions periuries forgeries adultries fornications hath it been the cause As Iupiter himselfe abused golde and pelfe to abuse Danae that virgin But you will say though the desire of goods bee detestable yet the possession is profitable Wherto I pray you to maintayne vs in brauery in gluttony in venery in securitie in impunitie in pride in prodigalitie yea to brynge vs to perdition and distruction as kynge Midas wished that euery thynge which hée touched might bee gold wherby hée was starued to death Fabritius an auncient Romain waighed wealth so litle that though hée had béen Prince and Consul of Rome three or foure times yet at his death hée had not so mutch goods as might suffice to bring him honorably to his graue but was faine to bée buried at the common charge of the citie But though the immoderate desire of ritches bée to bée reprehended yet must I néedes say that moderately to account of them is not bée misliked for they are giuen vs by God to passe the pilgrimage of our life withall and we may vse them and yet not abuse them wée may make of them and yet not make our Goddes of them And as by duely desiryng and truly vsyng them they conuert to our commoditie so by gréedy couetinge and naughtie consumyng them they turne to our trouble care and confusion as partly béefore hath béen shewed and plainly here after by the hystorie folowing is prooued which is this In Greece amongst the people called Argiues dwelt one Amphiaraus who béeyng a man of great possessions and wealth heard of a Widdow in the same country of like liuyng vnto him selfe her name was Eriphile and her nature was sutch that shée thought gaine swéet how so euer shée got it It fortuned this Gentleman to come to her house to sée and assay her in the way of Marriage and not withstandyng hée had more likyng to the liuyng then wil to the woman yet hée laboured his sute as ernestly as if hée had loued vehemently and at conuenient time commenced his sute in this sort Gentlewomā I think it not néedful to enter into termes in commendation of mariage therby to perswade you the sooner therto for that you know the dignity thereof and haue already tasted the pleasures and commodities béelonginge to the same but this chiefelye lieth mée vpon earnestly to perswade and humbly to requeste at your handes that when it shalbée your good pleasure to enter into that life againe you will count mee worthy though altogether vnworthy to serue you in steede of a steward to order and dispose your thinges as your seemely selfe shall please to appointe and to ease you of the trouble of trauailinge in your owne affaires which I am sure for that you haue not beene accustomed thereto must needes mutch molest you For it is not méete your young yeres should bée tied to any trouble or trauaile but to passe your time in pleasure according to your bringinge vp and callinge and accordinge to the custome of your kinde and sexe And that you may not thinke my sute to procéed of any desire to your goods your selfe I thinke partly know and by litle inquiry may perfectly vnderstande that my landes and liuinges are sufficient to maintaine the port and countenance of a Gentleman of worship all which I willingly yeeld into your handes to bée disposed at your pleasure if it shall please you to yéeld your body into my armes to bée imbraced at my pleasure so y in acceptinge my offer you shall not only increase your substance but also haue a gentleman at your commaundement who shall make more account of you then of all the goods in the world His talke ended Eriphile smylinge made him this smooth answere Sir by how mutch more I know the inconueniences and infinite troubles mixed with mariage by so mutch lesse do I like to enter into that estate againe And as I was once linked with one according to my liking so looke I not to bee placed againe with any in whom I can take sutch pleasure And as by holy oth I firmely bounde my fayth vnto him so in this minde I am in only my death shal dissolue that bond and y sower remembrance of my sweete husbandes death shall take away the renewinge of all pleasures of life and altogether mortifie in mée the minde to marry any more For his loue was so excéeding great towardes mee that I feare to finde the like at your handes or any mans els For where you professe to be my steward and seruant I am sure if you were once sure of that you seeke for you would thinke your selfe good inough to bee my Lord and maister and you would dispose my goods neither at my pleasure neither to my profite but that which is mine should bée yours and yours your owne And where you pretend to prefer mee before al worldly goods I take it rather for wordes of course then talke of troth for as in the fayrest rose is soonest found a kanker so in fairest spéech is falshood and faigning rifest For I knowe the fashion of you men is by
particularity concludeth no generality And as an Aethiopian is sayd generally to bée blacke though his téeth bée white for that for the most partes of him hee is black so I thinke loue may bee sayd generally to procéede of the similitude of manners for that for the most part it doth so And besides infinite other examples which I can alleage for proofe hereof the historie which you shal presently heare shall also confirme it In the renowmed citie of Rome made his abode one Icilius who though hée were a gentleman of a worshipful house yet by reason that his parentes were yet lyuinge his patrimony was not great neither his liuinge more then might suffice to maintaine the porte of the place and countenance hée caried in the citie by reason wherof hee remained vnmaried as béeing not able to maintayne a wife accordinge to the estate of his callinge It was his chaunce amongest other youthfull company to passe the time for the space of a sennight in feasting and makinge merry at the house of one L. Virginius a worshipful gentleman of the same citie who had to daughter a damsell named Virginia who as shée was of ripe yeres so was shée of ripe iudgement and discretion in euery point beelonginge to a vertuous virgin modest maide Her shape though it were not precise yet was it perfecte her face though it were not blasinge yet was it beautifull her corps though it were not curious yet was it comely and as nature plentifully planted perfection in her so God super aboundantly bestowed his benefits vpon her sutch grauity in gesture sutch modesty in manners sutch curtesy in conuersation sutch troth in talke sutch wit in reasoning that Minerua her selfe could not haue mended her that it was doutfull whether men were more rapte into admiration of her wisdome or rauished in contemplation of her beauty the one contayninge contentment for the body the other solace and delight for the minde Now Icilius being in the company and society of this saint vsed litle other behauiour towardes her aboue his common regard to all the Gentlewomen of the troupe but spent his time in dauncinge dysinge cardinge and other sutch pastimes And notwithstanding this while he often felt a certaine restraint of liberty in his affections an alteration of minde and as it were a ciuell assault and discord within him selfe yet by reason of his younge yeres and small practise in the pangues of loue hee could not coniecture the cause of his sodaine passions but this made him most to muse that when hee was in his most dumps if shee chaunced to present her selfe to his presence his heart was presently lightned of that which lay so heauy in his stomake and as when the sun shineth the cloudes vanish away so when her beauty blazed in place the cloudes of care were cleare consumed Likewise beeinge often desirous to talke with her inioy the present pleasure of her pleasant speeche his sences were so rauished with the sight of her y he could not vtter one word vnto her Sitting also at the table with her casting a gazinge glaunce round about him his sight was neuer satisfied vntill hee had lent her a looke and séemed only to resolue his fancy vpon her face But notwithstandinge all this hee did not thorowly perceiue the cause of his sodain trouble of minde and thought it as it was a toy lightly taken so would it bée lightly left againe and therfore departed from her fathers house without preferring any sute vnto her or adding execution to the aduantage of the time and place But beeinge gone home and gotten solitarily to his chamber good god what mountaines of smooke did scaldinge sighes send foorth of his mouth what drops of bloud did galdinge greife make his heart to bléed what flouddes of teares did flow from his eyes what carefull complaints did hée send vnto the skies saying O heauens why heape you my heauinesse O planets why plant you my paine O destines why decrée yée my distruction O Gods why depriue you mée of liberty nowe my younge yéeres chalenge to liue most fréely O fortune why doest thou mixe my swéete meate with sutch sower sauce y is more bitter then gall and nolesse pleasaunt then death vnto mée Must the litle delight which I tooke in the company of Virginia wherof I fully vnderstood not her to bée the cause neither bée counteruayled with sutch direfull dispight and for the pleasure which her presence procured mée must her absence purchase me sutch displeasure then to true doe I finde that euery dram of delight hath a pound of spight and euery inch of ioy an ell of annoy annexed vnto it then well may I curse the chaunce y cause and the company which caused mée to come to that place which hath caught mée in sutch bondage And may I terme it bondage to liue in the seruice and contemplation of my Virginia Is it slauery to bée thrall to vertue It is her bountie not her beutie that bindeth mée it is her curtesy not her comlinesse that I care for it is her perfection not her person that I passe of it is her condiditions not her colour that I acount of for beuty bideth not comelinesse continueth not personage perisheth coulour fadeth but bounty curtesie perfection and conditions remaine for euer So that if I liue in bondage it is to vertue if I bée a slaue I am vertues slaue But doth vertue vse to torment men thus béelike that is the cause there are so few honest and vertuous No I ought not to count my trouble a torment but the fine gold must bee purified in the flaming fire white siluer is wrought in blacke pitch glory must bee gotten thorow depth of daunger and pleasure must bée purchased with the price of paine And though absence now be some torment to try mee and though dolour now drowne mee in the seas of sorrow yet doubt I not but shortly to swim in the fluds of feliciti and take land there where my heart hath already pitcht his abode But O presumptuous foole whether doth folly force mec doo I hope to win her whom my vnworthynesse willeth me not so mutch as to wish for Yea which way soeuer I goe to worke I am sure to haue a colde sute of it for if I profer her my seruice dishonestly why her vertue abhorreth it if I make loue in way of mariage her estate and ritches refuseth it O god and shall goods bee more accounted of then goodwill lucre more then loue Is the counsayle of Themistocles altogether reiected who willeth men rather to marry their daughters to a man that wanteth mony then to mony y wanteth a man to vse it Is the world so blinded in couetousnesse to prefer liuinge before learning wealth before wit Then farewell true freindship if it bée not grounded vpon loue then farewell true loue if mariage bée not the end of it then farewell true mariage if mony make it then
resteth for mee onely to beewayle my euill hap to lament my luckelesse loue and neuer to attempt that I am like neuer to attaine vnto By this time the earth was couered with a darke mantell and by reason that the Sun was departed out of our Horizon the light of the starres which the Sun lendeth them béegan to appeare in the firmamente where vpon this poore passionate louer weried with woe disposed him selfe to rest but hee whose bane loue hath brued neither by night nor by day neither in company nor solitary neither sléeping nor waking can take any rest or quiet For hee was no sooner in a slumber but the goddesse of his deuotions presently presented her selfe béefore him sayinge Myne owne why doest thou thus torment thy selfe for my sake who suffer no litle greife to see thy great sorrow wherfore be bolde to aske any thing at my hands honestly and bee sure I will graunt it willingly for I perswade my selfe the heauens haue reserued mee for thée Icilius hearinge as hée hoped this heauenly voice and séeing as hée thought that saint by his bed side with open armes reached to imbrace her but béeinge awaked with open eyes hée saw hee was deceiued which sodaine fall from heauen to hell tooke away his breath from him for a while but béeing come to him selfe hée began to cry out in this carefull manner O God is it not sufficient to vexe mée with vanities in the day time vnlesse thou torment mée with visions also in the night haue I not woe inough awake but that béesides I must haue sorrow in sleepe What gréeuous offence haue I committed that deserueth sutch gréeuous punishment if this bée the rewarde of them that loue woe woe bée to them that hate thou hast commaunded vs all to loue one another and if thou thus punishe the fulfillers of thy law what shall béecome of the transgressors therof but if thou bee disposed to punish mée and displeased with my deedes neuer suffer mée hereafter to do any thynge but cast mée into sutch a sleepe wherin I was erwhile and therein let mée continue continually O happy was Endymion who longe time inioyed the like sleepe O ten times happie are the dead if death bée any thynge like this sleepe But O hundred times vnhappie am I to whom wakyng is waylefull wheras to all thynges els it is ioyfull But was this but a vision which deluded mee was it but a dreame whiche I doated on And if it were but a dreame doth it portend nothyng and may there be effect in dreames Yea god wot commonly the contrary or as Cato saith wée sée sleeping that which wée wish for wakyng So that neither in dreaming nor doing neither in sleepyng nor séeyng neither in thinkyng nor sayinge finde I any cause of comfort or see any signe of solace This youthe passed his time so longe in these and sutch like passions that the carefull cariage of his eyes bewrayed his carefull minde and his pale countenance his painfull case Which a special fréend of his perceiuyng tooke sutch compassion and pitie on his painfull state that hée sought all meanes possible to sift out the cause of his sorrow to the intent to séeke some medicine for his maladie And hauyng oportunitie of time and place hée brake with him in this sorte Good freende if I should shew you what great sorrow I sustayne by your heauinesse you would perchaunce iudge my words to proceede rather of flattery and trifling then of truth but no more but trie how willyng I wil be to ease your payne and by that iudge how greatly it gréeueth mee But how great so euer my gréeif bee my wonder is more then great to sée you transfourmed from the estate of a pleasant Gentleman into sutch solitarie regardes that you séeme rather a Tymon of Athens then a courtier of Italy and so mutche the more cause I haue of meruayle by how mutch lesse I sée any apparent cause which should worke any sutch alteration in you For if want of worldly wealth coulde worke your woe why you want nothyng if you would eate golde as they say you might haue it If losse of freendes molest you why you haue an infinite number whiche loue you intirely If you bee disposed to trauayle to see straunge countries your parents wil bee well pleased with your departure If you bee wearie of your single life your freendes will foorthwith prouide for your Marriage If any repulse receyued of any dayntie dame doo daunt you why the Goddes them selues haue suffred the like as Daphne a seely damsel refused the God Phoebus Syrinx a simple mayde reiected the God Pan with infinite other If you haue fixed your fancie in place you thinke impossible to possesse why you haue reason to rule your affection you haue wit to compasse your desire you haue fréends to further it you want nothynge to finish it With this his colour beegan to chaunge and hee fetcht a deepe sighe or two whereby his freend perceiued hee had touched the cause of his calamitie and sore of his sorrow praying him very ernestly to vnfolde the secrets of his thoughtes vnto him sayinge two wittes are better then one and that which you blinded perchaunce by loue can not see I stirred vp by desire to doo you good may perceiue And for secrecy in your affaires assure your selfe that neuer Pithias to his Damon Pylades to his Orestes nor Gysâ—ppus to his Titus was more true then I will bee to you And though your learninge and wit to knowe what is best for your owne behalfe bee far better then mine yet the simplenesse of my wit shal bee supplied with the sincerenesse of my will which shal be alwayes so ready prest to pleasure you that if my seruice may satisfie you you shall commaund mee if my company may content you I will neuer be out of your sight if I may any way stand you in any steede account mee your owne only Icilius hearing this friendly discourse could not but say in his heart O friend vnfained O loue most loyall O curtesy incomparable and imbracinge fast his freend in his armes sayd if al the miseries in the world did muster in multitudes about mee yet this thing only is of force to fence mee from their furies to thinke I inioy so firme a friend as your selfe are and if I may liue but to requite some part of your good wil it is the second felicity I loke for in this life But touching the cause of my perplexity I must craue pardon if I make courtsy to disclose it for that many euils cary this nature rather to bee concealed with griefe then reuealed in hope of releife And as a greene wound by taking the aire spredeth farther abroad and is the hardlier healed so I thinke my tormente and greife beeinge once discouered would not bee so easely cured If sayth his frend the originall of your euil proceede of loue as in my fancy it doth then vndoubtedly the
more it is vncouered the sooner is it cured for as coales of fire couered cloase with ashes keepe their heate longe time but lying open soone waxe colde and blacke so the firy flames of loue raked vp in silence burne furiously within a man but béeinge by discourse disclosed they soone conuert from flame to fume and smoake Wherefore good freinde sticke not to imparte vnto mée this matter which doth import you so nere promising you by the inuiolable bond of freindship to trauaile so ernestly in your affaires that what wanteth in power you shall finde in the paines which I will take in your cause Alas swéet freind saith Icilius rather then you should thinke I haue any diffidence or distrust in you or thinke you vnwoorthy of credite in any cause whatsoeuer I will make you priuy to the cause of my paine what pange or perill so euer I incur therby Wherefore you shal vnderstand that since the time I was at the house of L. Virginius as you partly know the conditions of his daughter did so well content mée her nature agréed so well with mine her affections were so framed to my fancy that I am constrained to resigne my liberty captiue vnto her and to make her person the prison of my hart And the lesse hope I haue of obtayning her the more doo I loue and the more déepely I doo desire her the more deadly doo I dispaire of her which is the cause of all my care and summe of all my sorow yea this is it which hath made mee an enemie to my selfe a straunger to my freindes to abandon all good company to sit in solitarinesse and this is it which if it bée not in time prouided for will preuente by death all other mischeifs God forbid good freind sayth his freind that so light a cause should so déepely distres you what doo you thinke either so superstitiously of her either so abiectly of your selfe that you deeme this matter so impossible to bee brought to passe Why her person is not of sutch perfection but that yours may match it her freindes are not of sutch state but that yours may stand by them her portion is not so greate but your parentes are able to make yours equall vnto it No doubt not but your loue shall sort to lucky ende and haue sutch successe you seeke for and I am hartely glad that seeinge it was your chaunce to loose your liberty it is lodged in sutch a place which is rather to bée counted a Paradise of pleasure thē a prison of paine of whose worthynes I would somwhat say but that perchaunce you will thinke mee partiall to the party and besides that I should rather kindle newe coales in you then quench olde flames But bicause I perswade my selfe I may doe somewhat with the partie which putteth you to this paine doubt not to commit this charge to mee and I warrant you I will discharge it to your contentation Ah deare freind sayth Icilius if I thought you as well able to giue order to my sorrow and redresse my woe as I see you willing to comfort my carefulnesse and keepe mee from dispaire I should thinke my self the happiest wight in the world and I would account of you as the preseruer of my life but I can not tell what the matter is méethinkes the more feruent is my fire the more faint is my feare Phy sayth his freind you shew your selfe to very a coward fortune you knowe fauoureth not the faint hearted neither are they woorthy to win the pray you presse for and therefore for shame take a good heart vnto you and doe your indeuour and let mee alone with the rest there is no hauke soareth so highe but shee will stoupe to some praye neither any so rammishe and wilde but in time shee may bee reclaimed and made to the lure And if you follow my aduise I think good you solicite her by letters vntill sutch time you haue conuenient time to goe thither your selfe Which counsayle hee forthwith put in execution and indited a letter to his Mistris in this manner Good Mistris to set foorth in woordes the feruency of my affection vehemency of my passion I thinke would be both tedious to you and I am sure greeuous to my self for that the remembraunce of my passions would bee as it were a renewing of my paine and though I altogether vse silence therein yet the lothsome life which I leade may by report aduertise you of my lucklesse loue and my drousy lookes to all which see them are signes sufficient of my drouping heart Therfore may it please you plainly to vnderstand that beeinge at Mayster Virginius your fathers house I receiued sutch contentation in your company and sight that since I haue bene depriued therof I thinke my selfe depriued of all the pleasures of life And onlesse your curtesy surmounte my desertes and that you vouchsafe to pity my painfull estate I shal haue iust cause to say that at your fathers I receiued in stéede of meate misery for drinke dolour yea I may count my fare fire and my chéere very déere which must cost mee no lesse then the losse of my liberty at least But if yet at the last course it shall please you to send and serue in to the table of my troubled minde some confectes of comfort with the fruites of freindship I shall thinke my selfe to haue fared most daintily wheras otherwise I shall count my selfe intreated disdainfully Looke not good Mistris to my liuyng but to my loue way not my wealth but my will marke not my mony but my meaning in the way of honest and lawfull mariage and spéedily send the messenger of present consolation to him which pineth away in paine and is yours only and euer ICILIVs Virginia hauinge vewed this letter and likinge it neuer the worse for his sake that sent it replied vnto it in this short and sober sort Sir bicause I knowe in my selfe no sutch due desert any way to driue you to sutch déepe desire I am the hardlyer induced to beléeue your wordes and though I adhibited full credite vnto them yet perchaunce as yet my fancy is not fully framed to like so well of you as you eyther desire or deserue and though I coulde finde in my heart to like you aboue all other yet I know not whether my freindes will yeeld their consent therto So that it is in mée only to thanke you for your goodwil but not to satisfie your request Yours as shee may VIRGINIA This letter bringinge some comforte to his carefull mimde made him make hast to repaire in person to the place of her presence where hee presented her his sute with sutch assured signes of perfect loue and loyalty that shee thought with good conscience shée could not contemne his good will. But her parentes for that hee was not able his father béeing aliue to make her sutch ioynter as they inioyned him to deferred the consummation of the mariage from
cast out of her minde the liking shée had conceiued of him and therfore humbly craued pardon if sayth shee it bée an offence to loue him honestly which deserueth it worthily But her father in a fury flunge from her sayinge shée should neuer inioy him with ioye and that shee should neuer finde any more fatherly furtherance at his handes then the greatest enemy hee had The younge princesse perceiuinge her fathers goodwill thus alienated from her reposed her onely comforte and confidence in Admetus hoping that hée would stande her in stéede of both a freind phere and father And with as conuenient spéede as shee could wrought a letter to him to this ende If most péerelesse prince necessity or loue had law I might bée thought perchaunce to transgresse the law and limyttes of modesty in first giuinge the onset where as I ought not easely to haue yelded béeing assaulted But séeinge necessity and lacke of oportunity by reason of the rigour of the warres perchaunce causeth you to conceale that which you would discouer and vehemente loue and feruent desire forceth mée to discouer that which I should conceale I thinke it lesse offence by this meanes to supplye your wante and satisfie mine owne desire then by standing vpon the nice termes of my maidens estate to suffer both of vs to pine away in paine for lacke of béeing priuy to eche others minde and purpose Therfore you shall vnderstand the cause of my writing is this What time your good hap I hope was to bee at my fathers court I did perceiue if desire to haue it so did not deceiue mée that your affection was great towardes mee and that you seemed not a litle to bee pinched with my payne to ease you of which greife I thought it my duty to certify you that the certaine hope which I therby conceiued of your loue and good will did presently restoare mée to perfect health and further to let you vnderstand that the only cause of my sicknesse was the first sight which I had of you and the dispaire that I should neuer bee so fortunate as to obtaine you Now as the same hand which did hurt mee did helpe mee so if I haue any way wounded you I shal bee ready to make you what playster it please you to heale your hurt And iudginge the sincerity of your minde by the cléerenesse of mine owne conscience I commit my selfe wholy into your handes presuminge thus far of your perfect loue towardes mee that you will not any way seeke the disperagement of mine honour which I hold far more deere then loue or life but accept mee for your lawfull and louing spouse And that way you only and at any time shall dispose of mee at your pleasure My father by ill fortune hath found out our loue and stormeth greatly therat so that I thinke his haggard hart is by no meanes to bee reclaimed But I thinke indirect dealinge by the daughter may bee vsed when the father by rage rather then reason is ruled Therfore if you thinke so good I will secretly conueigh my selfe to what place you will haue mee but I commit this matter to your wisdome and my selfe to you remayninge yours onely and euer ALCEST Now Admetus euer after his returne from the court of Lycabas was driuen into sutch dolefull dumpes and gouerned his charge of men with sutch heauy cheere that his father examining him very stractly of the cause therof inforced him to confesse his carefull case Which hee no sooner heard but hee forthwith discharged him of his charge saying hee was fitter to bee one of Cupids carpet captaines then to march vnder the mainly ensigne of Mars and that he would haue no sutch lasciuious knights is his army For sayth hee if any part of the body be putrified it must bee cut of for feare of infectinge the whole body And tolde him plainly if hée went forward with his folly hée woulde neuer take him for his sonne neither should hee euer succéed in the kingdome by this consent The younge prince withdrew himselfe out of his fathers presence and got him to his pauilion or tente where hée was no sooner sadly set downe but hée was presented by a trusty messenger with the letter of Alcest which so soone as hee had red hee séemed to bee rapt into the thirde heauen but considering on the other side the difficulty of reapinge the fruites of his loue and wayinge the perill of his fathers displeasure hée was throwen into the déepest dungeon of hell And as a boate borne by the tide against the winde féeleth double force and is compeld to yéelde both to winde and waue so this young prince béeinge driuen by the force of loue againste the minde and pleasure of his father felte double dolour and was tormented with both But at length loue gat the victory and all other doubtes cast aside hee returned his Misteris this answere Who was euer exalted to the highest degrée of happinesse and driuen to the deepest extremitie of euill at once but I who euer flowrished in felicitie and faded in miserie together but I who was euer placed in paradise and plunged in perplexitie ioyntly but I for heauen it selfe cannot yeelde mée better blisse then the consent of your goodwill and loue most peerlesse prince princely péece and hell it selfe cannot yéelde mee more bitter bale then to bée destitute of meanes to inioy the fruites of your fauour and benefite of your beutie If Craesus came and offered mee all his wealth if Alexander yeelded mée his empire if Iuno came from heauen with her kingdomes Pallas with her wisdome or Venus with her Helen assure thy selfe sweet Mistris that neither any one of them neither all of them together should bee so gratefully or gladly receiued of mee as the profer which your letters haue made mee And canst thou deare wenche prefer my loue before thine owne life my plesure before thy fathers displeasure my contentment before thine owne commoditie and shall any doubt of daunger driue mee from the dutie whiche I ought to doe vnto thee No let father fret let freindes frowne let lyuing bee lost let kingdome bee made from mee let hap what hap wil thou hast promised to bee mine and I protest by the heauens to bee thine What though the kinge your father bee greatly incensed agaynst mee what care I for any mans freindship if I haue your fauour What though the way vnto you bee longe and daungerous What passe I to passe a thousande perils to pleasure you what though mine enemies lie in wayte for mee What way I to be hewen in an hundred peeces in your presence Yea if I had a thousand liues I thinke the loosinge of them all litle inough to requite the greate goodwill and curtesie you haue shewed mee But meethinkes I heare you say the spendyng or losse of my life is the greatest losse and euill that possibly can happen vnto you and therefore I must take heede how I hazarde it
aspyre to the height of her haughtie minde The younge Gentleman thinking that his â—kle for feare of displeasure durst not deale in so daungerous a matter neither gaue great credit to his wordes neither yéelded him any thankes for his paines but determined notwithstanding of hymselfe to pursue his sute And knowing that proper Gentlewomen delight in prety Iewels and that the Goddes them selues are pleased with gifts he gat the most precious Pearles dearest Diamonds in the country and caused them to be presented vnto the Princesse from hym But disdainfull rigour so ruled her that she would not so mutch as looke vpon them saying she had no néede of his giftes that he might better bestowe them on those who were not his betters and that she thought it shame a Princes person should be purchased with perles The Gentleman though greatly dismaide to sée both his goodwill neclected and his giftes reiected yet lyke a valiaunt Souldiour he gaue a freshe onset vppon her with friendlye louing Letters whiche hee wrote in this wise Most péerelesse Princesse though loue hath almost blinded me in all thinges yet I humbly beséeche you not to thinke me so forgetfull either of the meanesse of myne owne estate either of the maiestie of yours as to presume to practise you in the waye of mariage for in my iudgemente I thinke no man on earthe worthy that honour but my pitifull petition is this that you wyll accept mee for your slaue and seruant and the what country soeuer you shall be married into I may geue attendance vpon you to y intent still to inioy the sight of your swéete face féede my fansy in y conteÌ„plation of your beuty For I am so vowed to your vertue y onely the swéet remembrance of you shal mortifie in me y mind to any other woman whatsoeuer For I perswade my selfe to finde more felicity in one friendly looke of yours then in any others faithfull loue And though these blotted wordes be to base an obiect for your heauenly eyes yet waighing the cause in the skales of curtesye I trust you will take them in good part The cause of the blots was the teares whiche fell from my eyes at the making hereof the cause of the words is the good will of the writer Thus prayinge you to pittie the one and to accept the other I leaue lyving onely to doe you duty and seruice Yours though not yours IPHIS The Princesse hauing this letter deliuered vnto her by one of her waiting women so soone as she knew front whence it came floung it from her sayinge shee had nothing to deale ether with him or his letters and straightlye charged her women not to salute her with any thing from him But Fortune so framed that as she flung the letter from her in came the king her father caused the letter to be reacht vnto him and knowing the contentes therof sent for my youth Iphis shooke him vp with sharp threatnings and charged him vpon paine of punishment neuer after to be séene at the Courte The younge Gentleman séeing the ground which he tilled altogether barren and that it yéelded him but care for Corne and griefe for graine determined to bestowe no more cost or labour thereon and besides fearing the Kings fury and displeasure with as conuenient spéede as he could coueied hymselfe in to the countrie and there asswaged his sadnesse with solitarinesse setting her crueltie towardes him against his curtesie towards her her visdainfulnes against his owne dutifulnes he soone set himself free froÌ„ his folly This matter thus enued greater stormes began to brue such a tempest arose that Scilla who beefore kept other in bandes was now her selfe set in the sandes where before shee sailed in ship with top and top gallant setting out flag of defiance now she was driuen to strik saile and vaile bonnet euen to her fathers enemy For it fell so out that King Minos moued iustly therto for the murther of his sonne waged warre and came with a puisaunt power against King Nysus and layde so harde to his charge that he made him kéepe his Castle Now while Minos lay at the siege therof it fortuned the younge Princesse to haue a sight of him out at the window of the tower wherin shee lay and now Cupid ment to bee reuenged on the crueltie which she vsed to his Captaine Iphis who fought so faithfully vnder his banner and shot sutch darts of desyre into her towards King Minos that vnlesse she might haue him to husbande shée thought her selfe but a woman cast away and after a sobbinge sigh and tricklynge teare she fell out with her self in this sorte Ah fond foolish girle and canst thou finde in thine hart to beare freindly affection to thy fathers feendly foe Can I loue him kindly who seekes to spoyle my country cruelly Coulde I valiauntly withstande the assaultes of a flourishinge young man and shall I cowardly yeeld to a fadinge olde man without any assault O loue without law O rage without reason O will without wit O fansy fraught full of fury and frensy Good God where are now beecome those lofty lookes I was wonte to vse to louers Where are the coy countenances the haughty wordes the solemne salutacions the dainty dealinges the curious congies and sutch like Alas now I am made to stoupe without stale to come without call or lure yea to the empty fist But alas who is priuiledged from the force of loue no there are none so stout but loue maketh them stoupe none so wise but loue maketh them fooles none so shamefast but loue maketh them bolde And though I should first bewray my affection and make loue to kinge Minos the offence is rather to bee pitied then punished Yea the more frankly I offer him my goodwil the more freindly no doubt but hee will accept it and the lesse hée hath deserued it the more will hée indeuour himself to bee thankful for the same Neither can hee but take it as an vndoubted signe of deepe goodwill if I giue the first onset in this skirmishe neither can it any way redound to my shame the end béeinge honest and my meaninge in the way of mariage And if it bee lawfull to follow the example of creatures without reason doth not the Cow loe to the Bull doth not the Mare neigh to the Horse doth not the Yeaw blea to the Ramme doth not the Faulcon call to the tossell gentle the gerfaulcon to the Gerkin the sparehauke to the Musket And so of all other creatures the females are more forward that way then the males Besides that by how mutch weaker women are then men by so mutch the more they are to bee borne with all if they bee lesse able to beare the heauy burthen of loue then men Againe by how mutch more the loue of women is more feruent then of men the more fiery flames of force must fry within vs whiche without great griefe cannot be concealed or
pangues of death For as the colte the first time he is ridden snuffeth at the snaffle and thinketh the bit most bitter vnto him so the yoke of loue séemeth heauy vnto me beecause my neck neuer felte the force thereof béefore and now am I first taught to drawe my daies in dolour and griefe And so mutch the lesse I lyke this lot by how mutch the lesse I looked for it and so mutch the more sower it is by howe mutch the more soddaine it is For as the Bird that hops from bough to bough and vttreth many a pleasant note not knowinge how néere her destruction draweth on is caught in snare before shée bée ware so while I spent my time in pleasure assoone playing assoone parling now dawncing now dallying sometime laughing but always loytering and walking in the wide fields of fréedome and large leas of lybertie I was sodenly inclosed in y strait bonds of bondage But I se I sigh and sorow to see that there is no clothe so fine but moathes will eate it no yron so harde but rust will fret it no wood so sounde but wormes will putrifie it no mettall so course but fire will purifie it nor no Maide so free but loue wil bring her into thraldome and bondage But seeing the Goddes haue so appointed it why should I resist them séeing the destinies haue decreed it why shuld I withstand them seeing my Fortune hath framed it why should I frowne at it seeing my fancy is fast fixed why should I alter it seeing my bargaine is good why should I repent it seing I lose nothing by it why should I cōplain of it seing my choice is right worthy why should I mislyke it seeing Cephalus is my Saint why should I not honour him seeing hee is my ioy why shoulde I not inioy him seeing I am his why should not he be mine yes Cephalus is mine and Cephalus shall be mine or els I protest by the Heauens y neuer ani man shal be mine Euer after this shee obserued all oportunities to giue him intelligence as modestly as shee might of her goodwill towards him And as it happened a company of Gentlewomen to sit talkinge together they entred into commendation of the histories whiche beefore had bene tolde them some commending this Gentlemans stories some that according as their fancy forced them but Pro. seemed to preferre the histories of Cephalus both for that saith she his discourses differ from the rest and beesids that mee thinkes the man amendeth the matter mutch Cephalus though out of sight yet not out of hearing replied in this sorte And surely Gentlewoman the man thinketh himselfe much mended by your commendacion and assure your selfe you shall as readily commaunde him as you curteously commend him The Gentlewoman blushing hereat saide she thought hee had not bene so néere but touchinge your answere saith she I haue not so good cause to commaunde you as commend you for as I thinke you well worthy of the one so I thinke my selfe farre vnworthy of the other but bee bolde of this if at any time I commaunde you it shall bee to your commodytie I can not sayth hée but count your commaundment a cōmodytie only in that you shall thinke mée worthy to doe you seruice neither will I wish any longer to liue then I may be able or at least willing to doe you due and dutifull seruice If sir saith she softly vnto hym it were in my power to put you to sutch seruice as I thought you worthy of you should not continue in the condition of a seruant longe but your estate should bee altered and you should commaunde another while and I would obey It shal bée good misteris saith he in your powre to dispose of mée at your pleasure for I wholy cōmit my selfe to your curtesy thinking my estate more frée to serue vnder you then to raigne ouer any other whatsoeuer and I should count my selfe most happy if I might either by seruice duty or loue counteruaile your continuall goodnesse towards mee Upon this the companie brake of and therewith their talke But Cephalus seing her goodwil so great towards him began as fast to frame his fancy towardes her so y loue remained mutuall beetweene them Which her father perceuing and not lyking very well of the match for that hee thought his daughter not olde inough for a husbande nor Cephalus ritch inough for sutch a wife to breake the bond of this amitie went this way to worke Hee wrought so with the Duke of Venice that this Cep was sent post in ambassade to the Turk hoping in his absence to alter his daughters affection Which iourny as it was nothing◠ioyful to Cephalus so was it so painfull to Procris that it had almost procured her death For beeinge so warely wacht by herwaspish parents that shee coulde neither see him nor speake with him beefore his departure shee got to her chaumber window and there heauily behelde the Ship wherin hee was sorowfully sayling away Yea shee bent her eyes with such force to beehold it that shee saw the ship farther by a mile then any els could possibly ken it But when it was cleane out of her sight ▪ she sayd Now farewell my swéete cephalus farewell my ioy farwell my life ah if I might haue but geuen thée a carefull kisse and a faintinge farewell beefore thy departure I should haue bene the better able to abide thy aboad from mée and per chaunce thou woul dest the better haue mynded mée in thy absence but nowe I knowe thy wyll wyl wauer with the windes thy faith wil fleete with the flouds and thy poore Procris shall bee put cleane out of thy rememberance Ah why accuse I thée of inconstancy No I knowe the seas will first be drie beefore thy fayth from mee shall flye But alas what shal constancy prenayle if thy lyfe doe faile mée thinkes I sée the hoysinge waues lyke a huge army to assaile y sides of thy Ship me thinkes I sée the proulyng pirats which pursue thée mée thinks I heare the roaring Cannons in mine eare which are shot to sinke thee mée thinkes I see the ragged rocks whiche stande ready to reaue thy Ship in sunder mee thinkes I see the wilde beastes which rauenously runne with open mouthes to deuoure thee mee thinkes I see the théeues whiche rudely rushe out of the woods to robbe thee mée thinkes I heare the trothlesse Turke enter into conspiracy to kill thee mee thinks I feele the furyous force of their wicked weapons pitiously to spoyle thee These sights and thoughtes depriued her both of seeing and thinkinge for shee fell herewith downe dead to the grounde and when her wayting woman could not by any meanes reuiue her shee cryed out for her mother to come help who beeing come and hauinge assayed all the meanes shée could for her daughters recouery and seeinge no signe of lyfe in her shee fell to outragious outcries saiing O vniust Gods why are you the authours
was done for his misteris sake yf not hee was beecome a carpet Knight if hee fell out with any it was some open enemie to his priuye friend if hee were friendes with all men hee durst displease none least they should detect his doinges to her if hee went curiously in his apparel it was to please his misteries if negligently hee liued in absence if hee ware his haire longe hee mourned beecause hee coulde not bee admitted if shorte he was receiued into fauour if he bought her any apparrell or any other prety trifling trickes it was to please her and a bable for the foole to play with if hee bought her nothinge hee had inough to do to maintaine other in brauery if he entertained any seruant hee was of his misteris preferment if hee put away any hee had some way offended her if hee commended any man hee was out of question his baude if hee praysed any woman shee was no doubte his whore and so of all other his thoughtes wordes and déedes she made this suspicious suppose and ielous interpretation and as the Spider out of most sweet flowers sucketh poyson so shee out of his most louing and friendly déedes towards her picked occasions of quarrell and conceyued causes of hate And so long shee continued in these carefull coniectures that not onely her body was brought low by reasō that her appetite to meate failed her but also she was so disquieted in minde that she was in a manner beesides her selfe whereupon in great pensiuenesse of hart shee fell to preaching to her selfe in this sorte Ah fonde foole wilt thou thus wilfully woorke thine owne wrack and ruine if thy husbande commit treason against thée wilt thou commit murther vpon thy selfe if he consume himselfe away with whores wilt y then consume thy selfe away with cares wilt thou increase his mischief with thine owne misery if he be so wickedly bent it is not my care can cure him for that whiche is bred in the bone will not out of the flesh If hee bee disposed to deale falsly with mée it is not my wary watching which wyll ward him from it for loue deceiued Argus with his two hundred eies If hee should bee forbidden to leaue it hee will vse it the more for our nature is to runne vpon that which is forbidden vs vices the more prohibited the more prouoked and a wilde coult the harder he is rained the hotter he is If I should take him tardy in it it would but encrease his incontinent impudency for beeing once knowne to haue transgressed the lawefull limits of loue and honesty hee would euer after bee carelesse of his good name which hee knew hee could neuer recouer againe And why should I séeke to take him in it should I séeke to know y which I ought not to séeke no not so mutch as to thinke on was euer wight so bewitched to run headlong vpon her owne ruine So long as I know it not it hurteth mee not but if I once certainly knew it God knoweth how sodainly it would abridge my dayes And yet why should I take it so gréeuously am I the first that haue bene so serued Hath not Iuno her selfe sustained the like iniury But I reason with my self as if my husband were manifestly conuicted of this crime who perchaunce good Gentleman bée as innocent in thought as I wrongfully thinke him to bée nocent in déede for to consider aduisedly of the matter there is not so mutch as any likelyhood to lead mee to any sutch leud opinion of him hee vseth mee honestly hee mantayneth mée honorably hée loueth mee better then my leude dealinge toward him hath deserued No it is mine owne vnworthynesse that maketh mee thinke I am not worthy the proper possession of so proper a Gentleman it is myne owne lustful desire that maketh mee afrayde to loose any thing it is myne owne weakenesse y maketh mée so suspicious of wronge it is mine owne incontinency which maketh mée iudge him by my selfe Well the price of my preiudiciall doings towardes him is almost paide and if paine be a punishment then haue I indured a most painfull punishment but let this déere bought wit doe mee some good let mee now at length learne to bee wise and not to thinke of euils before they come not to feare them béefore I haue cause not to doubte of them in whom is no doublynge nor to mistruste them in whom is no treason and faithfully to loue him that vnfainedly loueth mée After this shee indeuoured to do sutch fonde toyes foorth of her head for a while shée liued louingly and quietly with her husband but sodaynly by reason of one looke which hée cast vpon one of his neighbours shée fell into her olde vayne of vanitie agayne And as second fallynge into sicknesse is euer most daungerous so now her folly was growen to sutch furie and her disease so incurable that shée could not conceale it any longer but flatly tolde her husbande to his teeth that she thought hee did misuse her Cephalus knowyng his owne innocencie and seeyng her imbecillitie gently prayed her not to conceiue any sutch euill opinion of him saying If neither regarde of God neither respect of men neither reuerence of the reuerent state of marriage could feare mée from sutch filthinesse yet assure your selfe the loyal loue I beare you would let mee from sutch lasciuiousnesse For béeleeue me your person pleaseth mee so well that I thinke my selfe sweetly satisfied therewith Yea if Venus her selfe should chaunce vnto my choice I am perswaded I should not prefer her béefore you For as her beutie would intisingly draw me to her so my dutie wold necessarily driue mee to you Therfore good wife trouble not your selfe with sutch toyes which will but bréede your owne vnrest and my disquiet your torment my trouble yea and in time perchance both our vntimely deathes Let Deinyra bée a president for you who suspecting her husband Hercules of spouse breache sent him a shert died with the bloud of the Centaure Messus who tolde her that shert had vertue to reuiue loue almost mortified but Hercules had no sooner put it on but it stocke fast to his flesh fried him to death as if it had been a furie of hell Which when shée knew with her owne hands shée wrought her owne destruction See y vnworthy end which that monster ielousy brought this worthy couple too foresee sweet wife that it bring not vs to the like bane These wordes could worke no effect with her but rather increased her suspition perswading her selfe that as in faire painted pots poyson ofte is put and in goodly sumptuous sepulchers rotten boanes are ryfe so fairest wordes are euer fullest of falshood Yea the more curteous hée shewed him selfe the more culpable shee thought him to bée Which Cephalus seeing bicause hee would take away all causes of suspition abandoned all good company and spent his time so lytarily hunting in the wooddes and séekinge the spoyle of
her good graces he vttereth great commendation of woman kinde But shortly after fallinge into lothinge of that which beefore hee most loued hee repenteth himselfe of his bargaine and forsaking both house wife and all worldly pleasures consumeth the remainder of his life in Pilgrimage and traueile CIcero was of this opinion that the greatest doubt which doth most déepely distresse a younge man is to determine with himselfe what life in this life it bee best to enter into wherein no doubt hee had reason for beesides the diuersitie of liues which are to bee chosen there is sutch a confused Chaos of conceits in yong mens heads that our wits are confounded with them are lost as it were in a Labyrinth not findinge any way out so that if we chaunce to enter into this deliberation we are assonâ— in one vaine as soone in another and so many vaines so many vanities if vertue draweth vs one way vice driueth vs another way if profite perswade one way pleasure prouoketh vs another way if wit way one way will wresteth another way if friends counsel one way fancy forceth vs another way yea some lyke Horace his guestes are so daintily disposed that no lyfe at al wil like them Kingdomes they say are but cares in honour is enuie no maiestie in meane estate penury in pouertie in single lyfe solitarinesse in marriage troubles and touching studies and faculties diuinitie is contemptuous Phisick filthy law laboursome touchinge other trades of life marchandise is but base the country life is clownish warfare is dangerous in trauaile is perrill liuinge at home is obscure yea what life so euer it bee they count it lothsome so that it is hard sor them to resolue vpon any one who can frame them selues to fancy none But for sutch as couét to bee of the corporation of the common wealth and to bee profitable members thereof I thinke these two points in this choice of our life chiefly to be coÌ„sidered First that we apply ourselues to that life wherto by nature we are chiefely inclined for it is not possible well to goe forward in any thing Inuita Minerua nature not consenting therto Then not so to addict our selues to any one lyfe but that wee may adopt our selues to another if néede shall require For no man is so surely setled in any estate but that fortune may frame alteration like as no ship sayleth so directly to the wisshed hauen but that some contrary winde may conuert her course against the wrackfull rocks Which may bee iustified by the example of a younge Gentleman named Alexius who béeing setled in a stedfast state of lyfe as was to bee thought yet was hee driuen to change and change againe For first béeing desirous to passe the pilgrimage of this short life in pleasure hee auoyded so néere as heé could al worldly vanities reposing his chiefe pleasure in serching out the sacred skill of learned books so that studie was his only pleasure in prosperitie his onely solaco in aduersitie his only exercise beeing freshe his only refreshing beeing wery his only sport his only play And notwithstanding hee had good skill in hauking huntinge diceing carding with sutch lyke and somtime for recroation sake vsed them yet hee counted all those pastimes a paine in the respect of the pleasure whiche study procured hym His Father séeinge him setled in this solitary life séemed to mislyke thereof and disswaded hym from it in this sorte I sée sonne there is nothinge so good but by il vsing may bée made naught and true that sayinge is that euery excesse is turned into vice I meane your study whiche of it selfe is lawdable yet the immoderate vse therof makeeth it rather to bee reprehended then commended and while you séeke your owne carelesse securitie you neglect your countries commoditie and liue lyke a drone by the hony of other mens handes and by the swéete of other mens swet For you must know al the praise of vertue consisteth in doing from the which to be withdrawn with the doubt of daunger or trouble is a signe of one which preferreth his owne priuate safetie beefore the common societie And yet he y wil not indeuour to defend other is commonly left destitute of help himselfe What wonne Archimedes by his earnest study who while Marcellus woonne his citie Syracusis was so busily drawing figures of Geometry in the ground that he knew not the citie was taken and Marcellus sendinge for him to come vnto him hee answered hee woulde not come vntill hee had finished his figures wherupon the messenger in a great rage finished his life An ende fit for all sutch who to satisfie their owne mindes wyll not satisfie their duties to their rulers Country and common wealth Therefore I thinke good you leaue this labourlesse life and to enter into the worlde and take a wife whereby you may beecome a profitable and fruitfull member of your country You knowe the law maker Lycurgus valued in a maner with manâ—ears those which would of set purpose abide barren saying that hee did in a maner depriue a man of lyfe which did not helpe to bringe a man into this life when hee might and the difference is litle beetwéene doynge an iniury and sufferinge an iniurie to bee done when one may prohibite it You know also the reproche which he suffered that ancient vnmaried captaine Dercillidas to receiue who passing by a yonge princocks had no reuerence done vnto him whiche amongst the Lacedemonians was the greatest dishonour that might be the Captaine complayning hereof the young man answered him why sir you haue got none which may do reuerence to mee when I come to age and therefore it is no reason you receiue that honour at my handes which answere Lycurgus allowed of thinkinge none worse Citizens then sutch as woulde not marry Wherefore if you will auoyde the like inconuenience and frame your selfe to enter into that honorable state I will depart with sutch part of my liuing vnto you that you shal be able to liue in good credit and countenance in your cuntry and haue cause to think your life as pleasaunt as this you now leade Alexius hauinge diligently giuen eare to his fathers wordes dutifully made answere in this sort Sir if it please you I am of this opinion that a good thinge can not bée to mutch vsed and that the more common it is the more commendable it is neither is it possible to séeke learning to mutch whereof there was neuer any man yet but had to litle and I thinke it shame to cease from séeking when the thinge sought is the onely thing worthy to bée thought For what toyle can séeme tedious to finde the way to wit and path to prudency the line of life and vaine of vertue And for the commodity of my country I doubt not but you know that the studious standithe common wealth in as great steed as the industrious otherwise Yea who first brought men within the compasse of a
cases and ioyninge of genders together And this was the lesson in déede that liked him this hée thought y lesson of al lesson y only lessoÌ„ which led to perfect learning y only instructioÌ„ which truly taught right construction the onely lesson of lyfe the only pathway to Paradise This lesson hée soone had learned and yet thought with himself that hée neuer had sufficiently learned it which made him in short time make repetition of it a thousand times And for recreation after his study his exercise alwayes was either to triumph of his owne happinesse either to trisle and talke with his misteris either in verse curiously to commende her or els in prose liuely to paint foorth the praise of women and amongst many other his frantick fancies hée presented in writing to his wife this mutch in effect As it somewhat easeth the afflicted to vtter their annoy so no doubt it greatly increaseth our happinesse to expresse our ioy And I am perswaded that al the delightfull things we sée all the ioyfull things we heare and all the pleasaunt thinges we feele woulde procure vs litle pleasure if we had no meanes to manifest theÌ„ or freinds to impart them to Therefore I will vnfolde my ioyes to my ioy my pleasures to my Peragon my mirth to my mistris For who euer swamme in sutch seas of delight who euer bathed in more perfect blis for first what could I haue wished more of God then to haue mine owne Father the author the béeginner the perswader the practiser the furtherer and the finisher of my felicitie to impart vnto mée his counsayle to depart with his coyne to geue mée his goods to leaue me his lands to do more for me then I had ether reasoÌ„ to require or so mutch as durst to desire O Father thou only knowest how to blesse thy children then what more happines could happeÌ„ vnto me then to haue a wife whose countenance coueteth only to content mée whose lookes are framed only to my lykinge whose wordes are only wrested to my wyll whose deedes are only directed to my delight whose beautie then the sun beames is more bright whose bounty wit and vertue is more rare then to be comprehended in a mortal wight who in shape Venus in wit passeth Pallas her selfe who is the only starre which giueth right light who is the only worship of the worlde the only honour of her age the only Phaenix of the earth whose gouernment is sutch that she can guide her selfe wisely in all companies in all causes whose discretion is sutch that shee can applie herselfe fitly to all times to all places to all persons who loueth mée so loyally that I cannot but like it who honoureth mee so dutifully that I cannot looke for more who at all times entertaineth mée so curteously that I cannot but bee content with it who dayly filleth my eares with sutch sugred words that they can not but delight mée who at borde feedeth mée so daintily that a prince would bée pleased with it who at bed feasteth mee so delicately that Cupid him selfe would bée glad of it O Misteris thou only knowest how to make thy husband happy But what meruayle is it to sée a good trée bring forth good fruit what wonder is it to sée one woman good when there are none ill And how is it possible there should bée any ill when y matter wherof they are made causes wherof they come are right good For first they are made of the purified mettall of man wheras man was made of y grosse earth And as in stils out of herbs is gotten pure water so out of man was gotten y pure mettall of women as may bée plainly perceiued by the finenesse of their fourme by the softnesse of their flesh by the clerenesse of their colour sutch like TheÌ„ for the constitution of their bodies they are most coÌ„monly colde by reason wherof they are most patient modest milde and mercifull most constant without lightnesse most continent without leudnesse neither offende either in excesse of meate either in fleshly heate so often as men of firy and hot complexions doe Besides that the purity of their bodies may bée perceiued by this that no corruption comminge by the grosenesse of meat or otherwise can continue long within them but that they haue continually euacuation of all yll humours sutch force hath that which is fine to expel that which is filthy And as their bodies are most perfecte so also their soules are most pure For wheras men receiue from Adam origynall sinne women are altogether voide of that infection which may be partly coniectured by the excellency of many of their complexions cleerenes of their skins so that no man almost would think y there could lurke any lothsomnes to be misliked of vnder so cumly a couert as their faire faces are but only they y haue proued the contrarie But notwithstaÌ„ding this perfectioÌ„ wherw t they are indued yet as things most excelleÌ„t are euer most enuied their want not those which want so mutch gouernmente that they will not sticke ernestly to inueigh against the noble feminine sexe and amongest the rest as who is so bold as blind bayard Mantuan like a mad man most rudely and rashly raueth and rayleth against them But his wordes are so voyde of wit and his railing so without reason that if hee were aliue I thinke him rather with tormentes to bee confounded then with argumentes to bee confuted Before him Aristotle as an Asse sotted with ouer mutch studdy maketh a great speake sayinge women are monsters in nature and he alleageth a profound reason to proue it for that nature forsooth alwayes intendeth to bringe forth that which is most perfect and therfore would bring forth only men if shee might Apythy argumente hee reasoneth as though it were graunted him that men were more perfecte then women which with all his philosophy hee shall neuer bee able to proue And if hee make this reason that the male is euer more perfect then the female nature her selfe will quickly confute him who in most of her creatures hath made the female far more perfect then the male And not to vse many instances what need wee goe any farther then consider the kinde of Hawkes where wee shall see the Goshauke far better then the Tossell the Gerfaulcon then the Gerkin the Lanar then the Lanaret the Sparâ—hauke then the Musket and so of all the rest But Aristotle can make a better reason for that women by mutuall coniunctions receiue their perfection from men a reason truely without all reason What woman was euer more perfecte then the virgin Mary who neuer knew man Then the Romaine vestall virgins Then our vowed virgins who continued the whole course of their life without the company of men But Ceny forsooth beeinge a mayd desired to bee made a man But will you know the cause Not for that shee coueted to bee of the kinde of man but that shee might