vnderstanding It is carnall libertie that hath opened their studies and hoysted the big voyced exclaimers to high places but it is behoouefull for those that are consecrated to God and the other which would attaine to his strickt seruice to take héede least we taste thereof and so fall into this blindnes of spirite which maketh vs forget our celestiall Countrie wherevnto we tend neither néede wee but one taste thereof to make vs forget all It is for that they erre saith a good Doctor in that they deliberate to enter the lysts of Venus for one time onely to the ende they might be wholy satisfied and afterwards they déeme that they may the better obserue abstinence for one act engendereth the desire of two and two the desire of foure and ten the desire of twentie in such sort as the more thou shalt commit this vice by so much the more thy desire shall increase for so farre is such a fire from being extinguished by this meanes that more and more it inflameth And for that cause Plato in his Dialogues compareth Concupiscence vnto a sieue whereinto the more we powre of water the more it runneth out being vnable at any time to be filled so a man that thinketh to content himselfe with this securitie he fareth like him that thinketh to fill a sieue with water And the Doctor Gershon speaking on this matter bringeth in the example of him who is seazed with some hot feuer and not without cause may lecherie be called a hot burning feuer who if hee drinke one glasse of fresh water he déemeth that he is well satisfied but a quarter of an houre afterward hee is more altered than euer This is the craft of the diuell which tickleth him in the head to perpetrate this sinne vnder coulor of mitigating his affections and hope to auoyde his temptations but in sooth it is to no other purpose but to deliuer him ouer afterwardes to a more furious assault And the same doctor auerreth that it fareth with him that would approue this pleasure as with him who is full of itch who the more he scratcheth the more mangie he becommeth Where if he had but a little patience he should be presently recouered It is not therefore without cause that the Apostle saith vnto vs flie foruication whence our fathers draw a maxime to this purpose which sayeth that the sinne of letcherie surmounteth it selfe rather in flight than in resistance A man may likewise drawe another maxime and say that it is farre more easie for a Maide to be continent than for a Widdowe more easie for a Widdowe than shee that is married and hath her husbande absent more easie for him which hath neuer experienced the pleasure than for those that are exercised in it and why Because the experience of such an act augmenteth both the desire and the temptation This being well considered it ought to yéeld good men more consolation to augment their courage in abstinence which is to liue with cleane bodies and cleane hearts as I will proue you by a pretie tale Philo May good Diogenes continue this course me thinke thou art nowe in a right bias which will effect and bite more than all thy rayling I pray thée prosecute this matter and discourse on Precipitation Dio Thou hast wonne mée Sit downe Philoplutos I wil fit you by and by now to Precipitation Precipitatio Next to this blindnes followeth the seconde sister called Precipitation which hindereth the prouidence and the Counsailes wée ought to haue in our actions so that a man being transported by this Uenerian passion regardeth not what he doeth For as Plato sayeth Uoluptuousnes is most insolent of all which perturbeth our spirites and taketh away the empire of libertie Ah las how many are they who are slaine and massacred in the act of Palliardise who die both bodie and soule This being well considered vpon by an Italian Poet he detested the vice of letcherie by reason of the daungers that followed it saying Lacci ha amor mille est nessun tende in vano Sée then how he who pursueth his pleasures exposeth himselfe to a thousand dangers according to the manner of him who imprudently casteth himselfe downe hedlong from an high place Precipitation also peruerteth the order which a man ought kéepe in his actions the degrees whereby we ought to procéede The first is the memorie of things past The second the consideration of things present The thirde the prouidence of things to come The fourth the docilitie by which a man acquireth the opinion of the most learned and vertuous He then that is driuen forward by the impetuosity of his passions pursueth his enterprise in forsaking the degrees of this order This is it that Cicero speaketh that voluptuousnes closeth vp the eyes of the soule and impeacheth iudgement This vice also dependeth on another sinne called Impudencie and is mortall according to the qualitie of the matter Would to God that gentlemen Captaines and souldiours and they who haue charge of armes woulde learne here their lesson and propose Haniball for an example who after he had attained so manie triumphs was finally ouercome and ouerthrewe both him-selfe and his great armie laying both obiect to a certain danger through this onely cause for that he was addicted to this vice according as the Historiographers auerre for there is nothing that more weakeneth an Armye and obscureth the Arte Militarie than luxuritie and palliardize Cosmo Now to Inconsideration Diogenes what thinke you of that Inconsideratio Dio Inconsideration is a sinne which hindereth reason and iudgement thorough carnall voluptuousnes as we haue alledged by the two old Iudges of Susanna who turned away their spirites least they should beholde heauen and remember the iust iudgements so Letcherie withdraweth the vnderstanding of a man and hindereth him from the consideration of that which hee ought to doo and the searching out of the meanes to attaine the soueraigne goodnesse Trouble me not now come I to Inconstancie Inconstantia Who so is transported with voluptuousnes desisting from dooing of that which is necessarie for his saluation committeth the sinne of Inconstancie Likewise he that is ouercome with that passion pretermitteth to perform that which he had deliberated to doo as to intend the seruice of God the vse of prayer or the déedes of charitie other good workes as it is said in the chapter of blindnesse From these foure braunches of Letcherie Kings Princes Iudges Prelates and all sorts that haue gouernment of Estates or soules and bodies ought to gard themselues to the ende that being beautified with prudence sapience counsaile and constancie they may well know how to discharge their duties gouerne those vnder their estate charge And from whence commeth ignorance inconstancy inconsideration and precipitation whence commeth the want of vnderstanding iudgement counsaile in great men superiors but for that they are swallowed vp in the sinke of this stinking lust which makes them walke like
enuie turning ouer the leafe and finding long concealed cob hidden on the other side with an open mouth and a full throate he cried out Cob sta vostre signorie in questo luoco was not this a pretie fellow at a Cob Philoplutos Beléeue me one lerned Milo would carrie too manie of these Calues who by vse if they prooue not Oxen are Asses in their age But this common place is too plentifull and my minde too peremptory therefore I will leaue it as I saide to the good Pastors and Patrones to sée into these faultes and to salue them by their discretion Cosmo So doe Diogenes and now to the Merchants a greatlim of this City men of mighty possessions and woonderfully monied Dio Oh stay there Cosmosophos they are thy kindred praise them not too farre for thou art accessary to their faults these men attributing all to fortune are all of them most drowned in folly Insatiable are their desires subtill their imaginations they thirst after promotions vehemently without moderation wherein they séeme to imitate the bird Laurus of whom Solinus vseth this pretty discourse Laurus saith he liueth on the water as well as on the land a byrd of black colour and excéeding fat This Laurus was a shipman the greatest that could bee yet in all his trauels hee euer ouercharged his ship trusting to his owne cunning For which cause his friendes many a time and oft rebuked him of his folly yet neuerthelesse he amended not but intended his couetous course in hope of sodaine profit and lucre It fortuned therefore vpon a time that hee fraught his ship excessiuely with diuers merchandise insomuch as he coulde not guide it by reason of the great burthen and troublous waues which inforced it and for this cause the ship sunke into the bottome of the sea and was drowned and so this Laurus was vtterly vndone and prooued bankerupt In conscience Cosmosophos was not this a very foole Cosmo So I heard that Cato was woont to allude who neuer condemned himselfe more than for trusting the sea but let vs heare this parable applied good Diogenes Dio I wil because it is waighty Merchants should take héed hereto and not couet hasty winnings in hope to be sodainely rich by great perill but surely to increase in wealth with moderation for Barnard saith yet Barnardus non videt omnia I will not sodainly bee made greatest but I will profit and increase moderately from more to more Heare an other pretty fable There was a fat Churle that had a fruitfull hen which laide euery day an egge whereupon hee gathered many and solde them and increased to his owne aduantage At last he thought as couetousnesse still hatcheth newe mischiefe that if this hen were killed and opened hee shoulde haue many egs in hir for which cause he commaunded the hen to be slaine which done he found hir void of egs and to his vtter losse failed both of the fowle and the fruit according to the common prouerbe Hee that coueteth all oftentimes looseth much Merchants and Chapmen ought therefore to beware lest they get any thing wrongfully for vniust mens goods shall be soone destroyed according to the opinion of the Philosopher who saith that riches lightly gotten may not last long Another also giueth them this lesson Heritage that is hastely purchased in the beginning shall lacke blessing in the ende Harke thée Cosmosophos a true tale a fit note for all Marchants When a certaine Merchant on the sea vppon a time had sold his wines which were mixed halfe with water for as much money as if it had béene pure wine hee fortuned to open his bag to cast in the money when as an Ape at that time playing aboue the batches espied the place where he buried it and in secrete wise comming and catching the bagge with the whole money he fled to the Anchor began to verefie the old prouerbe ill gotten goods neuer prosper for sitting thereupon and beholding the playing of the billowes against the barke side he played the vpright dealer for he opened the bag and threwe one piece into the sea the other into the ship and thus delighting himselfe in his Apish vprightnes being ordained to punish the Merchants dissembling ceased not but cast out euery pennie insomuch as the Merchaunt had no auayle by his fraud so iust are the heauens against al couetous dissemblers who vsing such tricks prooue themselues but shifting Merchants Cosmo I but Diogenes I haue read that Usury is allowable our Princes haue wincked at it in that it hath enriched the State Dio Thou wouldest say in that it hath robbed the State I will tell thée this practise of corrupt heart is the rotting sore of Athens The Hebrues well looking into the lamentable effectes thereof called it Neschech that is to say a biting a diction which is drawen from the theame Naschech a word attributed to Serpents for as the Serpent stingeth and biteth so Usurie according to the opinion of Rabbi Salomon is the henemoust poyson among men For as hee that is stung by a Serpent in the foote with small paine falleth a sléepe and in his slumbers the poyson beeing dispearsed suffereth death so the biting of Usurie makes but a little wound at the first vntill such time as it hath growen to fulnes it consumeth a poore mans whole estate and substaunce The Chaldees in their Theologie call it Habuliah that is to say perdition and corruption for it destroyeth and ouerthroweth men according to the saying of S. Chrisostome who following the Etymologie of the Hebrue compareth Usurie with the venome procéeding from the biting of a certaine Serpent whose woūd and sting is so swéete at the beginning that it engendreth a desire of sléepe and then in the end the sléepe killeth him which is wounded at such time as the venome spreadeth it selfe through all the members of the bodie so hee which is inchained in Usurers debts thinketh in the beginning to receaue some profit but he doth but cast himselfe a sléepe and not acquitting himselfe at any time of the principal in the end he consumeth himselfe altogether There are Lawyers and Legists who according to the opinion of Saint Hierome compare vsurie vnto a certain worme who naturally is so malignant that after he hath so long gnawen the wood that he may turn him in the hole which he hath made he engendreth another worme of the same mallice so the Usurie with the debtor that maketh satisfaction vpon the dayes of paiment hatcheth vp another vsurie poore borrowers hatch wormes ad infinitum to their vtter wrack And in that the vsurer is compared to a worme he shall haue in recompence of his villanie a worme which shal incessantly féede vpon him and tyre vpon his conscience as the Uultures that gnaw the poore liuer of Titius according to Homers opiniō this is my opinion This is the worme that shall not die as a Prophet spoke more famous than Plato for a
catch a louse than kéepe their liuing They write so much ad opus vsum eiusdem Iohannis that they inuert all good vses When as all controuersies in Athens were wont to be decided among curteous neighbors and the gang tooth was a seale of more truth then the best bunch of seales in the subtillest Scriueners shop in this Citie Oh what swarmes of them sée I in this Land they iet vp and downe the stréetes grasping a paper in their hands for feare a man should spie a true finger in the fist carrying a pen in their eares to note that which they deserue not their gowne is carried sidelong by the wind like a misne saile shewing they are fit to turne to all subtilties their thumbes are goodly Alcumistes that with the very touch translate a fée of ten groats to a signet of thrée poundes But Philoplutos and Cosmosophos sharpe though I be and Cynicall in reprehending yet is Diogenes as farre from enuie as these petifogging pratlers he meaneth from honestie and reuerenceth the graue and vpright Lawyer as the instrument of the Gods poynting by their wisedomes the wickeds punishment and the innocents preseruation giuing to euerie man his proper right and ending iustly long hidden controuersies these dooth Diogenes reuerence with the Sunnes arise and bans the other at his going downe who cast oyle into fire and set a candle to kindled flaxe who hauing by such gleanings gotten once into their gards waxe then so gréedie that no subornations are by them ouerslipt till the good Lawiers finding their subtilties sende them where they cannot slip till their eares be slit These are like hungrie Dogges who fight for a boane one with an other and play the wantons together when their Cliants so them not They haue learned the pulling of the Goose beyonde our Athenian kitchin mens conceit They are not content with the fethers but they will haue the fell Shall I tell you a prettie tale of them which may be pithilie alluded to them Philo Aske vs not whether thou shalt tell but tell vs matters of woorth among men of wit may neuer want attention Dio Among men of wit well applyed Philoplutos to thine owne flatterie Thou attributest a pound of that to thy selfe which a good man can scarcely wring from thée by the penie-worth But let that passe and heare my pretence There was a faire goodly Cocke with partie-coulored plumes and a crimson combe the verie Chauntecléere of all the dunghill This proude birde was lockt vp in a faire yarde with a fat Capon the Cocke like the bird of the Sunne was the commander ouer the hennes the Capon enioyned to pennance in that he had lost his stones was nothing so stout So it was that amid the iollitie of the Cocke and humilitie of the Capon it vnfortunately happened that the Fox finding a gap in the hedge came and caught the Cocke and for all his courage deuoured him and finding his flesh tough and somewhat rammish hee cast in his minde by what meanes he might catch the Capon wherevpon reseruing the combe of the Cocke like a graue fellow in a garded gowne he came and spake in this manner Brother Capon thy fellow Cock is departed and in token of great loue I haue brought thée his goodly combe which he bare continually on his head The Capon sitting on the roust began to giue great regard and tickled like a Samon trout in the gill was quickly beguiled and now came it into his minde that if hee coulde compasse the Combe he might be Lord ouer the heus and attaine the preheminence of honour for which cause hee descended from the Roost the Fox started and caught him and hauing deceiued him deucured him c. Cosmo And what of this Dio Euen like the Fox haue our false hearted Atturnies dealt First with faire wordes haue they got a fléece from the rich leauing them a small title for a great summe of money yea some are suckt so néere the bone as they haue no marrowe a pitifull matter Nowe these Foxes hauing furnished them with their coine begin to gather countenance and making poore men beleeue all by their big looks they so rent them that they leaue them no Rent and trouble them with so many writs that some of them are beside their wits Alasse poore Capons are you so gréedy to buy a Cockescombe Truely our husbandmen héere about Athens are like Aesops Cocke whom the Foxe espied perched on a trée and bearing a péece of flesh in his crooked nebbe For which cause the crafty beast incensed with hunger bethought hir selfe howe to beguilde him and therefore shée spake and saide Brother Crowe behold me and marke my sayings thy beauty passeth the beauty of all birdes and thy strength exceedeth the strength of all other fowles but I am onely sorry that thou hast no voice nor cunning in tunable and deliuer notes to excell the musicke of the Nightingale whome thou excéedest in colour although shée bée thought to bée more cunning in cackling The Crowe tickled with vaineglory sodainely began to sing when as vnawares the flesh fell out of his mouth which the Fox caught and eate vp and smilingly went away Such careles Crowes are our Country men till they loose their crownes for hauing money in their fist they imploy it in recouery of things in discontinuance and so at last loose both the estate and the stocke Oh sir saith the Atturney your father had it in possession thus long and will you lose it What though your Landlord be rich there is law for him Thus so long they law it with the poore man that he prooueth a dawe in the end And what sayes the Atturney then In faith your Counsaile told me the case was plaine But oh ye Athenians hold your own trust not for trust is soonest betraide it is better to haue one bird in the fist than two in the field Marke Catoes wordes Beleeue not thou another man for beliefe is the step to deceipt Philo Now for ignoraunt and vnlettered Curates Dio In faith I leaue to speake of them till such as you bridle the impietie of Farmers Grasiers such greasie Patrones who neither are able to supply the place nor will part with any indifferent maintenance for a sufficiēt man so I passe them to their superintendents whose wisedomes can see best into their vnworthines I will onely note a merrie iest of Arlotto which proueth their ignorance for the nonce In the famous Citie of Millaine there sometimes dwelled a Curate a feat and delicious companion cunning in merriment but ignorant of his Masse-booke this Cleargie man and ignorant Clearke happening to read the storie of Iacob habens duodecim filios fortuned in his Portasse to finde Ia on the one side and cob on the other and being verie earnest to prooue himselfe a tall a b c Clearke he read on Ia Ia Ia Ia and wetting his fingers so rubbed them with impatience that at last with blushing
hope for anie part with the blessed who by the lathers of continence and chastitie haue passed the starrie Regions and haue attained the celestial pallace and eternal mansions which Iesus Christ hath prepared for all chast and modest soules They that auoyd not the degrées of Lecherie but admit them in taking pleasure in them commit a mortall offence And what are the degrées of luxurie They are seuen The first is to suffer sensualitie to mooue vs without repressing it The second the temporall delectation of sinne The third the willing consentment vnto sinne The fourth impudent regardes The fifth lasciuious and wanton discourses The sixt immodest kisses touches and embracements The seauenth is the consummation of carnall delight wherein resteth the bitter sting of death Who so flieth not the occasions of this sinne but rather pursueth them sinneth mortally and what are the occasions of this sinne They are seuen also as there are seuen degrées The first is idlenes which hath béene the destruction of Sodome and Gomorrha and the ruine of Aegistus c. and therefore the Poet saith Otia si tollas periere Cupidinis arcus Contemptaeque iacent sine luce faces The second too great repose as they which sléepe at their ease in their downe beds as you doe Philoplutos against the counsaile of the Apostles The third the belly cherishing The fourth abundance of wine which is a most luxurious thing as saith the wise man and therefore saint Paul admonisheth vs to take héede thereof saying Be not drunke with wine in which luxuriousnes aboundeth The fifth too great curiosity of the fine gifts of nature against which the Scripture sayth Auerte faciem tuam à nuliere compta The sixth pride and presumption as Oseas speaketh of Israel The last and most dangerous is too great familiarity conuersation with women which hath béene the ruine of diuers men For as the Poet saith Urit videndo Foemina Which is to be vnderstood actiuely and passiuely that is to say shée burneth hir selfe and burneth others in beholding and other burne in séeing hir For this occasion sage Sidiach admonisheth vs not to bee daily conuersant among women For their wordes saith hee are more slipper than oile but in the ende they are stéeled arrowes to destroy as Dauid testifieth The auncient Hebrewes were not ignorant hereof among whom one called Rabi Iose the son of Rabi Iochanan of Hierusalem said Multiply not too many wordes with a woman for the auncient sages haue taught vs that as often as a man talketh long time with a woman hee procureth his ruine and withdraweth himselfe from the contemplation of celestiall things and finally falleth into hell so heare the dangers that follow the great pleasure we take in iybing and iesting with women be they good or euill and I thinke it is the same which the Ecclesiasticall paradoxe would conclude which sayeth that the iniquity of a man is better than the good of a woman that is to say that there is no so dangerous habitation with an euill man as with the wife of his neighbour for the perill is not so great For which cause saint Hierome hath aduertised his Nicotian not to suffer young women to enter his chamber Stay not thee with a woman in one and the selfe same house in trusting to thy chastity Art thou more strong than Sampson more holy than Dauid More sage than Salomon And as touching the religious man named Rustinus he wrote him backe an epistle in which he aduertised him that he very seldome times visiteth his own mother because he would not be tempted by the regarde of those who came with hir for feare the smoke should lie couered in his heart which hee might not extinguish when he would For this cause the holy auncient Hermits fled from the acquaintance of women although holy So then if the holy fathers admonish vs to flie from the familiarity of those that are vertuous how carefull should we be to fly the conuersation of those which are both wicked wanton and light fingred These are the Sirens who by their melodious and attractiue song inchaunt meu and finally cast them headlong into terrible and dangerous shipwracke that which the Mithologia of Homer declareth vnto vs who saith that the valiant Captaine Vlisses hauing stopped the eares of his companions for feare they should heare the Sirens voice he caused them to bee tied to the Mast to the ende that their melodious song should not cast them headlong into the sea The same also was intended in the history of the harlot Circes who as Homer saith and after him Virgill chaunged men into swine Lions Beares and other sauage beasts that is to say that lubricitie chaunged the men into brute beasts It shall be easie to gather the mishaps which a dissolute and wanton woman draweth after her which are taken from the Latine word Mulier which representeth vnto vs so manie euils as that containeth letters which are sixe to wite M. U. L. I. E. R. An euill woman is the euill of eulls the vanitie of vanities the letcherie of letcheries the choller of chollers the furie of furies and the ruine of Realmes Another good father hath discoursed all these Epithites according to the order of the Alphabet But what is that the Italian Poet speaketh when thus against that sex he inueigheth Credo che t'habbiae la natura e Dio Produtto o scelerato sesso al mondo Per vna soma per vn graue fio Del huom ' che senza te saria giocondo Comm ' ha produtto anco il serpenterio Eil lupo è l orso è fa l'aer feconds Edi mosche è di vespe è di tafani El'oglio è auena fanascer tra i grani Perche fatto non ha l'alma natura Che senza te potesse nascer ' l'home Comme s'inesta per humana cura L'vn sopra l'altro il pero il sorlo il pomo Ma quella non può far ' sempre a misura Anzi s'io vo guardar come io la nomo Ueggio che non può far ' cosa perfetta Poi che natura femina vien detta Non siate pero tumide o fastose Donne per dir che l'hom sia vostro figlio Che de le spine ancor nascon lerose E d'vna fedida herba nasce il giglio Importune superbe è dispettose Frâ—â—e damour di fede è di consiglio Temerarie crudeli inique ingrate Par pestilentia eterna al mondo nate c. I had rather some other should take the paynes to translate these vearses into our mother tongue than my selfe for now a dayes the world swarmeth with such a number of priuie Aristarchi that thinke no meate can be good that is not sod in their owne broath nor Prouerbe well applyed that hath not past their pen wherefore I will spare that paines and passe ouer the care thereof to some of those which are so curious to bestowe their cunnings Yet