good Hit were better for the neuer to come in to theyr syght / leste they auenge on the the iniury of theyr kynde nor to name thy selfe by theyr names / selfe they punyshe the for fylyng theyr names And I speke in ernest / for here is no place to bourde in there shulde be made some decre / that none vnhoneste woman shulde be called Mary For whye do nat we gyue as moche honoure vnto that name / whom all we a ryse and make reuerence vntyll / as the pagans gaue vnto some of their folkes For ī Athens / whā Hermodius and Aristogiton had bany shed the tyrans out of the cite / there was by a decre determined / that no bonde mā / nor any that occupped any vile crafte / shulde be named by theyr names Howe the mayde shall behaue her selfe for the abrode The .xii. Chaptre HOrthe she must nedes go some tymes / but I wolde hit shulde be as selde as may be / for many causes Principally bycause as ofte as a mayde goth forth amonge people / so oftē she cometh in iugement and extreme perell of her beautie / honeste / demurenes / witte / shamfastnes / and vertue For nothyng is more tender / than is the same and estimation of women / nor nothynge more in daunger of wronge in so moche that hit hath be sayde / and nat without a cause / to hange by a copwebbe / bycause those thynges / that I haue rehersed / be required perfet in a womā and folkes iugementes be dangerous to please / and suspititous and as Ouid saith / we be quicke inough in beleuynge the yll And as Cicero saythe / Nos thynge fleeth more sweftly than an yll worde / nothynge gothe soner forth / nothyng is soner taken / nor brodder spredde that if a sklander ones take holde in a maydes name by folkes opynyon / hit is in a maner euerlastynge / nor can nat be wasshed away without great tokennes and shewes of chastite and wysedome If thou talke lyttell in cōpany / folkes thynke thou canste but lyttell good if thou speke moche / they reken the lyght if thou speke vncoūnyngly / they counte the dull wytted if thou speake counnyngly / thou shalte be called a shrewe if thou answere nat quickly / thou shalt be called proude / or yll brought up if thou answere / they shall say thou wylt be sone ouercomē if thou syt with demure countenannce / thou arte called a dissembler if thou make moche mouynge / they wyll call the folishe if thou loke on any syde / than wyll they say / thy mynde is there if thou laughe whan any man laugheth / though thou do hit nat a purpose / streyght they wyll say thou hast a fantasye vnto the man and his sayenge / and that hit were not great maistry to wȳne the. Wher to shuld I tell / howe moche occasion of vyce and noughtynes is a brode Wherfore the poet semeth to haue sayd nat without a cause It is nat lefull for maydes to be sene abrode Howe moche were hit better to abyde at home / than go forth and here so many iudgementes / and so dyuers vpon the / and be in so many leopardies Nor there is none / that had more nede to folowe this greke sayeng / Lyue vnknowen Therfore Tucydides sayde / she was the beste woman / of whom was least talke / either vnto her preyse / or her dispreyse A woman shulde be kepte close / nor be knowen of many / for hit is a token of no great chastite or good name / to be knowen of many / or be songen about in the cite in songes / or to be markedde or named by any notable marke / as whyte / lame / gogle eied / lytell / great / fat / maymed / or stuttynge / these ought nat to be knowen abrode in a good woman Why than saye som / shuld we neuer walke out of our owne dores Shuld we euer lye at home that were as though we shuld lye in pryson For so doth some proude foles take this sayenge / that desyre to se to be sene Nay verily they shall go forth some tymes / if nede require / and if theyr father commaunde or theyr mother but afore she go forth at dore / let her prepare her mynde and stomake none other wise / thā if she went to fyght Let her remembre / what she shall here / what she shal se / and what her selfe shal say Let her cōsidre with her selfe / that some thȳg shall chaunce on euerye syde / that shall moue her chastite and her good mȳde Agaynst these dartes of the deuyll fleynge on euery syde / let her take the buckler of stomacke defēded with good exāples preceptes / a fyrme purpose of chastite / a mynd euer bente towarde Christe And lette her knowe / that she goth but to vanyte / whiche leste she be taken with it / she had nede to prouide wysely / that that she shall se forth abrode / is to be counted none other thyng / but a shewe of the lyfe of the worlde by whose vices set before her eies / she mayelerne / nat only to kepe her selfe out of the contagiousnes / but more ouer to amende her owne fautes and that what houre so euer she turneth her selfe from god vnto men / whether she lyke them or be lyked of them / she forsakethe Christe and of Christis spouse sodaynly becometh an adulterar If she se any goodnes / let her loue hit for Christe if she se any euyll / let her fle hit for Christe Let her take hede neuer to garnysshe her selfe so / nor so go / nor do / or speke so / that she be the deuylles snare to chatche men in She shulde nat onely do none yll her selfe / but as moche as she can / so behaue her selfe / that she be none occasion vnto other of doynge yll orels shall she be a membre of the deuyll / whose instrument she is all redye / and nat Christis They saye / that the holy virgin our lady was so demure and sadde / that if any man cast a wonton eie vpon her / that foule heate was all quenched as though a mā had cast a fyre brāde in to the water Nowe whan she is apoynted with these thoughtes and suche other / let her go forth with her mother if she haue any / and haue leaue to go if she haue no mother / let her go with some sadde woman / that is a wydowe / or a wyfe / or some good mayde of vertuous lyuyng / sobre of speche / holy shamfastnes Homerus writeth / that the chast woman Penelope dyd come forth into the company of her wowers / but nat alone / but with two honest maydes in her company and also her sonne Telemachus was a monge them syttynge And as saynt Hieronyme commandeth / whan she goth forth abrode / let her nat beare her brestis and her necke
or ryche / or noble and beareth about letters sente from hym / other whyle sheweth them vnto their cōpanions / or telle his dedes / or reherse his wordes this he dyd / this he sayd to me thus he commeth to me / thus he preysed me auoyde them awaye / be they neuer so nere neighbours / be they neuer so ryche / be they frendes / kyns folkes / alyans / yea though they be thy systers / refuse them For they be byttē of the woode dogge the deuyll and be fallen woode theyr selfe Wherin there is no name so dere / that shulde or ought to bryng a mayde to theyr company / but rather the mother shulde kylle the chylde / and the syster the brother / the brother the syster / and syster the sister / brother the brother Therfore the mayde that wyll do by my counsaile shal passe the tyme with chosen virgins / lyke her selfe and in good honest pastimes / and other whyles with holy redynge or cōmunycation / of suche thynges / as she hath redde but let her talke nothȳg of daūsynge / or feastyng / or pleasures / leste her cōpaniōs be moued with som false colour of delite nor let no mā be by And whan she is lefte of her felowes in her chābre alone / let her nat be vtterly idell for it is ieoperdous to be idel / specially beyng alone nor I wold she shuld suffre her mȳde to muse / though hit be neuer so good and holy at the begynnynge the mynde of a woman is vnstable / and abydeth nat longe in one place / hit falleth frō the good vnto the bad without any labour And Syrus the poet semeth nat all without a cause to haue sayd / a woman that thinketh alone thinketh euyl Nor Mary Magdalene / whiche sate at the fote of our lorde and herde his worde / dyd nat only vse the contemplation of heuenly thynges / but she dyd that whether she redde / or herde / or prayde And so shall by myne aduyse / nat onely a mayde but also any womā For in many places of this boke we gyue preceptes for all women in generall Therfore on the holy day let her either rede / or pray / whā she is alone and on the workynge dayes lyke wyse / orels let her worke And hit is no doute / but the angell founde Mary doynge some suche thynge / whiche was afcayde / whan she sawe a mānes face / where she was nat wōte Therfore she is called ī Ebrewe alma that is as ye wold say / a virgin closed in And this is she that Esaie the prophet speaketh of in these wordes Beholde a virgin closed vp shall cōceyue and beare god and man And only that mayde cōceyueth Christ / whō fewe knowe / but only Christ Therfore shall the mayde let no man into the house at home / but whom her father by speciall wordes commanndeth to be let in and in processe of tyme she shal begynne to helpe to ease her mother of her laboure in the house Whom her father to gether / she shall haue moste dere of all thynges nexte god And if they cōmāde theyr doughter to go in hande with wolle or flaxe / or any handy worke / she shall nat only execute theyr cōmaūdmēt / without grutchynge / but also gladly / and with mery chere / that the more dilygently and featly / if the father mother gette any parte of their lyuyng thereby and than shall she thynke her selfe happy and thynke that she rewardeth them / that she shulde of duete / and to norisshe them agayne / that haue norished her Whan a mayde may for house holde busynes be alone / and pray / fyrste let her gyue her selfe holly to god / let her worship Christ and his mother / aske perdone and peace of them / and than consydre her selfe to be a christen virgin / Christis spouse / and the folower of Mary and that the virginite of the body is nought worthe / excepte the mynde be pure with all / and if that be / nothynge to be more clene nothynge more pleasant to god and her selfe to be the folower of the moste holy mother of our lorde / and fyrste of all let her countrefete her excellēt vertue / that sobrenes and humilite of mynde / whiche was so great / that whan she had all thynges most goodlye and excellent / yet was she neuer the more high mynded / or proude the most noble mayde that had of her lignage .xiiij. kynges and so many dukes of Israel cōmyn of suche a noble kyn ryche / also her selfe made ryche of the wyse men / her selfe moste fayre / moste wyse / and well lerned / yet for all that / howe euen a mynde dyd she beare / howe humble opinion she had of her selfe / also knowyng of the heuenlye byrthe / beynge mother of suche a sonne yet disdayned she nat to haue a carpēter to her husbande / and to do hym seruyse / and to go se her kyns womā / to be with her at her laboryng / and serue her she dyd set no more by her selfe / thā by any other nor disdayned none other / in cōparison to her selfe / neither for her kyn / nor beaute / nor witte / nor dignite but she thought her selfe worse than any other / whan she was in dede better than āgels / whose quene she was ordeyned to be Wherfore I holde nat with hit / that our ladye shuld be paynted so in sylkes and golden garmentes / and decked with gemmes and perles / as thoughe she had had any delite in suche thynge / whan she was in erth here but nothyng lesse represemeth her / I had leauer she shulde be purtured in a symple aray / and suche as she vsed in dede / that we myght haue afore our eies that humilite of her mynde more playnly / that it mought be an ensample to teache ryche men / and to comforte the poure and that the poure mennes stomackes may increase / and that ryche decrease / both their stomackes be brought to a reasonable meane / that neither the riche men despeyre / nor the poure be ouer bolde to truste ouer moche Therfore by my counsaile the mayde shall folowe her example / nat with a faynyng a dissēblyng mynde / but true and stedfaste / leste there be a worse vice lyeng vnder a colour of vertue / as hit were a poyson vnder an holsome thynge / or a sore vnder an holle skynne Let womē vse no faynȳg / nor clokȳg / to seme good with all nor let them nat thynke / that they can cloke / orels chaunge the nature of thynges the countrefete is nat lyke the very thynge / the couered shadowed is feble vnsure / and shal be at laste open and knowen Therfore let a yōge woman be in dede / as she sheweth demure / humble / sobre / shamfast / chaste / honest / and vertuous /
these folkes What good man wyll alowe this Or who wyll lyke hit / but suche as neuer knewe so moche as a shadowe of honestie Whiche wolde if they coulde brynge hit to passe / haue all womē nought / that they myght the more easylye fulfylle theyr vnsatyable lustes Whiche be them selfe drowned vppe to bothe the eares in vice / vnhappynes / and vnthriftynes / that they can neither le theyr owne vice / nor other mennes Fyrste let them put of that cursed darkenes / where with they be ouer layden and than shall we beleue theyr iudgementes of vertue As for a yonge woman and a yonge man / to talke of loue in a corner / is nat mete / though they were bretherne and systerne There maye be rehersed many olde examples and newe bothe / of vices that haue be done amonge bretherne and systerne / hauyng occasion and tyme secrete So Amon sonne of kynge Dauid / defloured his owne syster Thamar so Caunus lay by his syster Byblis Saint Augustine wolde neuer dwelle with his syster in house He sayde hit was noughte to se a woman / worse to speke with her / and worst of all to touche her Pion an holy abbot / hadde a syster sore sicke / whiche whā he was desyred to go speke with her / or she died / he closed vp his eies / and was led of an other body vnto her chābre / and talked with her / and so departed away Neither I wolde nat haue bretherne to playe with theyr systers / nor kyns men with theyr nere kyns women / be they neuer so good / chaste / cōtinent neither to kysse them / nor groope / nor plucke at them What shulde that serue fore / but to rype them and prepare redy for suche as be more lewde that if they desyre anye vnhoneste thynge / the women sette in heate there with / shall thinke on suche thynges as shulde touche theyr chastite Nor in a great courte I wolde they shulde nat crepe in to corners What wolde they say there / that other folkes may nat heare if they purpose to speke of that / that is pure and chaste Neither I wolde there shulde be manye wordes betwene yonge men and maydes / though folkes be by / excepte they be so pure and honeste / that no susspecte of ill can come of them For some men be so crafty in noughtynes / can wrappe in darke sentence theyr myndes in suche wyse / that they maye yet be vnderstanden of her what they meane / by that they speke vnto her and yet shall the double sence cause / that they maye denye that they ment so / and blame her for wronge takynge theyr wordes / and vnderstandynge them in euyll sence / whiche they spake for no harme and than they set moche by theyr owne witte whā they be coūnyng in these craftes / though they be deuoyde of al goodnes / but able coūnyng inough to do yl whiche thynge dothe nat proue any great wytte but an excercise in noughtynes whiche as Senec sayth / is worse / and more foule / than is a dull and slugyshe wytte For wytte is nat to be rekened in subtiltis and deceytes / excepte we wyll reken deuylles more wyse than angelles but one good angell is more wise thā all the deuylles in hell At fewe wordes / hit is good to haue very lytell or nought to do with men / and speke very fewe wordes with them / and those full of sobrenes / honestie / and wysedome nor thou shalt nat thereof be rekened the more moope and fole / but the more wyse And if iudgement shulde be gyuen of thy disposition / I had leauer yll folkes shulde reken the rude / than good folkes badde Tell me howe moche redeste thou in all the historie of the gospell / that our lady euer spake The angell cometh in vnto her she fynisshed the matter with fewe wordes / and those wyse and sad / also holy She gothe for to se Elisabeth / speketh to the preyse of god She brȳgeth forth a sonne / whiche is god She is lauded of the angelles / worshyppedde of the hyrde menne / and holdethe her peace / gatherynge and kepynge in her remembraunce all theyr sayenges She was honored of the wyse men of the easte / that came thyther a great waye and what doste thou rede / that euer she spake Some other pauenture wold haue askedde of theyr countre / of theyr treasure / of theyr lernynge / or of the sterre but she / as became a yonge mayde / spake neuer a worde She offereth her sonne in the temple / and whan Symeon prophysied of hym / an other wolde haue asked some moo thynges / or elles the reason and maner of those that be tolde The olde man tourned his sayenge vnto the mayde / spekynge of her sonne Lowe he is put for a falle and a rysynge agayne of many in Israel / a syng / ayenst whom there shall be spekynge / and a sworde shall cut thy harte / vnto th ende that the thoughtes of many hartes in Israel may be opened Some other woman wolde haue asked / whan / howe / and where hit shulde haue bene but we rede nat / that she said any thynge She loste her dereste sonne at Hierusalem and whan she had sought hym thre dayes / and at the laste founde hym / howe many wordes sayd she to hym Sonne / why haste thou serued vs so Lothy father and I sought the carefully After that whan she was of more age / at a maryage / she sayd no more but this Sonne they haue no wyne And at the crosse she was clene dumine she asked neuer a whytte of her sonne / neither with whom he wolde leaue her / nor what he wold commaunde her to do / whan he dyed For she had nat lerned to pratle amonge folkes All maydes / al womē folowe you her for she was but of fewe wordes but wonderous wise Theano Metapontina a poet / and a mayde excellent counnynge / rekened / that silence was the nobleste ornament of a woman And Sophocles is of the same opynyon for with silence bothe wysedome and chastite be swetely poudered Thou arte none atturney of lawe good doughter / nor pleadeste nat in courte / that thou shalte nede to quaple either thyn owne / or thy clyentes matter / excepte thou speke Holde thou thy peace as boldly as other speke in courte and so shalte thou better defende the matter of thy chastite / whiche afore iuste iudges shall be stronger with silence than with speche We rede in histories / that a childe was ones brought in to the commen place of the cyte at Rome vpon a matter of chastite / and with holdyng downe his eies / on the grounde / and styll silence / defended his matter better than he shulde haue done with longe orations of orators But nowe to speke of women / saint Susan excused her selfe of the
thou nat in thyn owne power / but vnder it / neyther thou canste nat rydde the therof whan thou woldest Who wolde be glad to receyue home suche a guest Who wyll nat kepe hȳ away frō his house For loue fyrst of all troubleth and tosseth al thynge vp set downe at his luste / that hym selfe may beare the more outragious rule / and confoūdeth and blyndeth the witte and reason / that it shall nat se and knowe what is done within / but suffre it selfe to be holly ledde and drawen at loues pleasure This cruell venome that so robbethe vs of our syght / and draweth vs ouer a thousande rockes and hylles / and many tymes throweth vs in suche a doungian / from whēce we can neuer scape out There is no dede so vngratious / so cruell / so outragious / or so strange / that we wyll nat do to obey loue Disceyue frendes / kyl kyns folke / sle father and mother / mourder chyldren / whom her selfe hath borne / all these be but trifyls for loues pleasure neither it is rekened any great greuous acte to destroy vtterly theyr countrey / to perysshe an holle realme / or rydde vp all mankynde What remembrance can here be of holynes / of vertue / iustice / god / of deuotion / or good mynde / all is but iapes / yea and finally thyn owne helth forgotten Wherfore / who so is safe inough / and consydereth these thynges / and doth nat his diligence neuer to come in to this rage and fransy / is worthy to be kepte therin / nor neuer to fynde ende or measure of that iuell / but to be vexed bothe day and nyght with the fyre brande of Cupide neyther to take meate / nor slepe / nor se / nor reste / neither to haue any vse belongynge vnto mankynde This affection of loue taketh wonders sore the myndes of all folkes / and specially of women Wherfore they had nede to take the more hede / leste it steale in vpon them For it cometh commonly at vnware vpon suche as wyll take no labour to auoyde hit / whan they be in the danger and occasions therof / nor care what mynde come / but receyue hit whan it cometh / as a swete and a pleasant thynge nat knowynge what and howe perillous a poyson / lyeth hydde vnder that pleasāt face Therfore they shulde specially withstāde the fyrst occasions whiche thyng Ouide the maister of loue counsayleth / and as the Prophet in the psalme dothe teache Suffre nat those chyldren of Babylon to growe vp / but knocke them vpō a stone / and breke them on the harde fyrmamēt of religion / that is Christ / whiche in the cantikels gyueth warnynge vnto virgins / sayenge Take ye the yonge foxes / whiche marre your vins And he cōmandeth to take them the more dilygently / if the vins shewe all redy flowers of good frute Nowe loue by lōge space waxeth more / gethereth strēgth as many other thynges do / For Ouide sayth / I haue sene a wounde / that in the begynnynge Mought easily haue be brought to healynge Whiche by delay and continuance Hath after growen vnto more greuaunce Gyue none eare vnto the louer / no more thanne thou woldeste do vnto an inchauntoure or a sorcerer For he cometh pleasātly and flaterynge / fyrst praysynge the mayde / shewynge her howe he is taken with the loue of her beautie / that he must be deed for her loue for these louers knowe well inough / the vayne glorious mȳdes of many / whiche haue a great delyte in theyr owne preyses / where with they be caught lyke as the Byrder begyleth the byrdes He calleth the fayre / propre / wytty welspoken / and of gentyll bloode Wherof parauenture thou arte nothynge at all / and thou lyke a foole arte glad to here those lyes / weneste that thou doeste seme so in dede / whan thou arte neuer a whytte so But put case thou doeste seme so / loke whether he call the wyse and honeste / whiche if he do nat all thy preyse is nought and if he do / what maye he hope to gette of the For if he hope to optayne his purpose therby / than hath he belyed the. How hath he thā hādled his matt He sayth he is taken with thy propretes what than and sayth he shall dye / excepte he maye haue the / yea there is the cause of his complaynt Therfore beware thou / leste thy selfe be taken also with his wordes / and perysshe as well as he He saythe he shall dye for the / yea and that he dieth euē streight way Beleuest thou that A foole / let hym shewe the / howe many haue dyed for loue / amōge so many thousandes as haue bene louers Loue dothe peyne some tymes but it neuer sleeth Or though he dyd dye for the / yet it were better for the let hym perysshe / than be perisshed thy selfe and that one shulde perisshe thā twayne I nede nat to reherse here / the common songe of louers / whiche they synge onely to disceyue / whan they haue many tymes nat one droppe of loue towarde her For if he had ones fulfylled his appetite of the / than wolde he shewe howe moche he loued the. If he had loued thy good vertues mynde / as longe as thou haddest lyued / he wolde neuer haue ben full or wery of the. But nowe bycause he loued but only thy body / and the shorte pleasure therof / therfore whā the body decayeth / his loue also vanissheth away / and he fylled and saciate with pleasure / lotheth the plente There be nat a fewe examples therof neither we nede nat to fetche them of the olde worlde For there is none so ignorant / but he hath harde tell / and seen thousandes of men / whiche whan they had abused yonge women for a season / haue caste them vp in to some stewes / bycause they neuer loued them in dede And manye that haue loued very feruētly / haue bene turned at the last from hotte loue vnto mortall hate / and haue kylde their loues / or cutte theyr throttis There is no cite / wherin those thynges be nat harde dayly Wherfore I wonder moche of the foly of yonge women Whiche wyllyngly drowne them selfe in the great see of wretchednes Wherof come so manye stewes / and so many harlottis / yea that haue ben cōmen of honeste kynne What is the cause / that so many yonge women lye pockye / and scabbed / in spyttels / and lazer houses / and that yonge women What is the cause that so manye go a beggynge / pale and sycke / but these meanes Wherfore if no regarde of vertue / no regarde of goodnes and honestie may moue the / if none actis of holy virgins may reuoke the / at leste wyse let these miserable chancis ef yonge women turne the / whiche doutlesse shall light vpō the / if thou folowe on the same
is hit / nat to loue them that thou hast borne But yet let them hyde their loue / lest the children take boldenes there vpō / to do what they lyste Nor lette nat loue stoppe her to punisshe her children for theyr vices / and to strength their bodies and wittes with sadde bryngynge vp For you mothers be the cause of mooste parte of ylnes amonge folkes wherby you maye se / howe moche your children are beholdyng vnto you / whiche induce noughty opinions in to them with your foly For you haue the bryngyng vp of them and you alowe theyr vnthriftynes And whan they be goynge vnto high vertue / and abhorre the ryches of the worlde / and the pompe of the deuyll you with your wepynge / and sharpe rebukynge / call them backe agayne in to the deuylles snares bycause you had leauer se them ryche thā good Agrippyna / mother vnto themperour Nero / whan she had asked south sayers of her sonne / whether he shuld be emperoure / yea sayde they / but he shall kyll his mother let hym kyll her sayd she / so that he maye be emperour And so he both was emperour kylled her But whan it came to the poynt / Agrippyna wolde nat gladly haue bene kylled / and repented that her son had th empyre Fynally you / through your cherishyng wil neither let them take laboure to lerne vertue and haue a pleasure to fyll them full of vices with delicatenes Therfore many of you wepe and wayle for I speke nat of all and be well punysshed and worthyly in this lyfe / for your madnes Whan you be sory to se your chyldren suche as your selfe haue made them Nor you be loued of them agayne / whan they perceyue them selfe vnloued of all other for your loue There is a certayne tale of a yonge mā / whiche whā he was led to be put to deth / desyred to speke with his mother and whan she came / layde his mouthe to her eare / and bote it of And whan the people that were by rebuked hym callȳg hym nat only a these / but also cursed / for so entreatynge his mother / he answered agayne This is the rewarde for her bryn gynge vp For if she / sayd he / had corrected me for stealing my felowes boke out of the schole / whiche was my fyrst thefte thā had I nat proceded vnto these mischeuous dedes But she cherysshed me / kyssed me for my doyng Nowe where to shulde I reherse the madnes of those mothers / that loue better those children / that be foule / croked / leude / dullardes / sluggardes / droūkerdes / vnruely / and folisshe / than those / that be fayre / vpryght / counnyng / quicke witted / inuentyue / sober / treatable / quiet and wyse Whether is this an errour of folkes myndes / or a punysshement of god / deserued for their syns / to make them to loue suche thȳges / as be worthy no loue Dūme beastis cherysshe euer the fayrest of their whelpes / or byrdes / lightly hit is a sygne of good proffe in them / whan the dāmes make moche of them Also hūters knowe that that shal be the best dogge / whiche the damme is most busye about / and for whom she careth the most / and carieth fyrst in to her lytter But in mākynde that is the moste vile and the least worthe / that the mother loueth most tenderly If you will beloued in dede of your children / and specially in that age / whan they knowe what is true and holy loue / thā make them nat to loue you ouer moche / whan they knowe nat yet what loue is but sette more by a spised cake / a hunnye combe / or a pece of sugare / than by bothe father and mother No mother loued her childe better thā myne dyd me neither any chylde dyd euer lesse perceyue hym selfe loued of his mother than I. She neuer lyghtely laughed vpon me she neuer cokered me and yet whā I had ben .iii. or .iiij. dayes out of her house / that she wyst nat where / she was almost sore sicke And whan I was comen home / I coulde nat perceyue that euer she longed for me Therfore was ther no body / that I more fled / or was more lothe to come nyghe / than my mother / whan I was a childe But after I came to yonge mānes estate / there was no body / whom I delited more to haue in syghte Whose memorye nowe I haue in reuerence / as afte as she cometh to my remēbraūce / I enbrace her with in my mynde and thoughte / whan I can nat with my body I had a frende at Paris / a very well lerned man Whiche amonge other great benefites of god / rekened this for one that his mother was deade / that sherysshed hym so wonderously Whiche sayd he if she had lyued / I had neuer come to Paris to lerne But had syt styll at home all my lyfe / amōge dicyng / drabbes / delycates / and pleasures / as I begounne Howe coude this man loue his mother / that was so glad of her dethe But a wyse mother shall nat wysshe for pleasures vnto her childe / but vertue Nor for ryches / but for counnyng / and good fame And rather for an honest dethe / than for an vncomly lyfe The women of Lacedemon / had leauer their sonnes shulde dye honestelye for the defence of they ▪ coūtrey / than fle to saue theyr lyues And we rede in histories / that many of them haue kylled with theyr owne hādes / theyr sonnes / that were cowardes and dastardes / pronouncyng these wordes This was neuer my sonne / Nor borne in Lacedemone Sophia whiche had .iij. goodly daughters / named them with .iij. names of vertue / hope / faith / and charite / and was very glad to se them all dye for the honour of Christe / buried them her owne selfe / nat farre from Rome / in the tyme of Hadryan themperour Let nat the mothers be so diligēt in teachynge theyr children craftes to gette good by / as to make them vertuous Neither shall bydde them take exāple of suche as haue gathered moche goodes in shorte space but rather of suche as haue comen vnto great vertue and goodnes The people of Megara is dispreysed / and nat without a cause / for teachyng theyr children nygardshyppe and couetyse and in stede of honest children / made them sparynge bonde men Wherfore they caused suche thynges / as wese chaunseth nowe adayes / that with byddyng them so ofte / seke for good / get good / increase theyr good / and gether good by all meanes / they caused their children to do myschiefe vngratious dedes The whiche faute is a great parte in the fathers and mothers / whiche be coūsaylours / causers / and setters vpon / and as good reason was / whan the children coulde fynde none other wayes to come by ryches /
Therfore the moste sure way vnto very honour is vertue / whiche neither can lacke honour / nor taketh indignatiō though it be dispised Flatterynges / glosynges / fayre wordes / what woman so euer rekeneth them honour and preyse / is worthy for her folly to haue none other honoure or prayse And yet there be some so madde / that thoughe they knowe them selfe but flattered / yet they wene they be praysed What you wretches / knowe you nat howe farre flattery differeth from prayse Wene you that is prayse / whiche neither the person speketh with his harte / and you knowe to / that it is false that he sayth and that he speaketh nat as he thynketh but either to mocke you / or to disceyue you with all Beleue no man of your owne goodnes better than your selfe And she that sercheth and knoweth her selfe well / fyndethe nothyng in her selfe at al / that is worthy any prayse But a mynde / whiche thynketh it selfe vnworthy any prayse If there be any goodnes / it cometh of god and thanke hym therfore / gyue hym laudes and thanke But if there be any euyll / it cometh of our owne vnhappynes Wherfore the rebuke stādeth vnto our selfe / and the prayse perteyneth vnto a nother Nowe seynge that worldly honour is of so smal price / it is a poynt of a vile mynde / to enuie worldly thynges vnto any other bodye And if it be shame to enuie for honour / it is moche more shame to haue enuye at other for money / clothynges / or possessions / for yet is honour better than all they Neither it is conuenient to haue enuie at other for theyr beautie / or theyr welfare / or plentuous temyng these be the gyftes of god / as al other goodnes be / that folkes haue Wherfore they that enuie for these / seme nat to haue ēuie at them / that haue these thȳges / but to blame god / whiche so distributeth his benyfytes And me thynketh there is no more cause why / they shulde be enuied / that haue these / than they that carye bagage on a longe iourney For what other thynges be the goodes of this worlde / but a troublesome caryage and gardeuyaunce in this lyfe Yea and worste of all / they plucke downe with their weight vnto the erthe / myndes that be goynge towarde heuen But if enuye be eschewed / thā shall that vice lightly be put away / whiche comonly ryseth of enuye / that is sute / chydynge / scoldynge / and makynge them selfe busye aboute other folkes matters / to spie and serche what they do / what they say / howe by what meanes they lyue Whiche thyng none honest woman will do / but suche as be shamelesse / and worthye all kynde of rebuke excepte they do hit of charite / to helpe them they lacke For she ought to helpe the poure man / and socoure the orphane childe Happy is she / if that be her mynde of whom the prophet speketh ī the psalme of this wyse Blessed is he / that taketh vnderstandynge and knowlege vpon a poure man god shall delyuer hym in the euyll day our lorde shall saue hym and quickene hym / and make hym happye vpon erthe and shall nat cōmitte hym to his ennemies wyll Our lorde shall socoure hym vpon the bed of his sorowe good lorde thou hast serched vp all his bed in the tyme of his infermite What the Wyfe ought to do at home The .x. Chaptre IF the Wyfe haue skylle to rule an house with those .ii. propreties / the we spake of before / that is honesty of bodye / and great loue towarde her husbande / than shall all the mariage be more welthye and fortunate for without this thyrde poynt / can be no encrease of house without the other two / wedlocke can nat stande but it is rather a sore and a perpetuall tourment A woman of Lacedemon / takē ones prysoner in warre / and asked of her conquerer what she coulde do I can said she / rule an house Aristotle sayth / that in house kepynge / the mannes duetie is to get / and the womans to kepe Wherfore nature semeth to haue made them fearefull for the same purpose / lest they shulde be wasters / and hath gyuen them continual thought and care for lackyng For if the woman be ouer free / the man shall neuer gette so moche as she wyll waste in shorte tyme so their house muste nedes sone decaye Hit is nat becommynge for an honeste wyfe to be a great spender Nor they be lyghtly no great sparers of theyr honesty / that be so large of theyr money / as Salust saythe by Sempronia / whiche set more price by any other thynge / than she dyd by her worship or her money For a man coulde nat well perceyue / whether she regarded lesse her money or her good name Howe be it / I wolde nat haue the woman to be to great a nygarde of her goodes / or to let her husbande to distribute his money vnto holy vse In so moche that what penye someuer cometh ones with in her coffer / shulde neuer fynde way out agayne as though it were locked in Labyrynth / or Dankes toure as many women do / whiche haue no discression / howe they shulde saue kepe a thynge Therfore the Essens wolde take no womē with them vnto that holy and religious lyfe / whithe they ledde bycause the womē coude nat away with that cōmonalte of goodes For what so euer a woman seeth ones in her hādes / she can nat suffre it to go away agayne Therfore let her vse her householde to sobrenes and measure For that is more the womans duetye than the mannes But so yet / that she haue discression betwent measure and auaryce / and sobernes and nygardeshyppe For it is nat all one to lyue soberly / and be hungre Therfore let her se that her house holde lacke nat neyther meate nor clothe In whiche poynte / I wolde she shulde here Aristotles opinion Ther be sayth he .iii. thynges / worke / meate / and correction meate without correction and worke maketh them proude and wanton and worke and correction without meate / is a cruell entreatyng / and maketh the seruantes weake and feble Therfore let the wyfe gyue her seruauntes / worke to do / and sufficient meate / as is a seruauntes duetie But let her ordre all thynge after her husbandes wyll and commaundement or at the least in suche wise as she thynketh that her husbande wyl be cōtent neither be rough and harde with her meyny / but gentyll and fauorable and as saynt Hieronyme saythe / more lyke a mother than a maystres and rather optayne reuerence of them with mekenes / than rygorousnes Where vnto she maye shortely come by the wayes of vertue For as for chidyng / braulyng / rayllyng / scoldyng / and fyghting / doth neither cause auctorite nor reuerence / but rather hyndreth them But wysedome
/ discretion / sadde conditions / and grauite of wordes and sentences / bryngeth all thyng better to passe / than hedynes and violence For we feare more them that be wise and discrete / than them that be angry and hasty And a quiete rule maye do more than rygorous For quietnes is of more auctorite than hasty breemnes Howe be hit I wolde nat wyues shulde be sluggyshe and slouthfull / but I counsaile them to vse reuerent grauite / and neyther sytte so styll as though they slepte / nor comaunde so folisshely / to make them selfe naughte set by / but to wake and take hede / be sad without crueltie / sharpe without bytternes / diligent without rigorousnes Netther hate none of theyr householde / if hit be nat a noughty person And if a seruaūt haue done lōge seruise in her house / lette her take hym none other wyse than as her brother / or her sonne We loue cattes and dogges / that haue bene norysshed any while in our houses than howe moche more faith fully ought we to shewe that fauour vnto our euē christen Also seruauntes agayne on theyr partie muste be warned / to remembre the sayeng of saint Paule / that they do their dutie diligently / mekely / and buxomly / yea and merily to / and pleasātly nor bable / nor murmoure agayne neither shewe any displeasant countenaunce / leste they lese the thanke of theyr labour / bothe afore god and man Also kepe theyr handes pure from pyckynge and stealynge In the whiche poynt all wylde beastis be more kynde than many folkes For what wilde beaste is so outragious / that wil plucke away any thyng of his profet / by whom he hath be nourisshed and brought vp and quite hym with suche a tourne / of whom he hath had so many pleasures Howe be it no body doth so / but they that be of vile stomackes / and euen worthy to be bondes Therfore seruyng maydes shall loue and worship theyr maisters and maystresses / none other wyse / than thoughe they were theyr fathers and mothers For the nouryssher and brynger vp is as a father Let the seruynge maydes neyther say nor do any thyng / whereof the good wyfe of the house or her doughters may take any example of yll For many tymes gyuynge yll example is worse than the dede hit selfe But nowe to speake of the wyues agayne Obedience and seruice optayned by fayre meanes / is more faithfull and pleasant / than that whiche is gotten with feare For I wolde all feare shulde be away / but nat obedience Let nat the maistres be ouer pleasant of speche to her men seruantes / neither compenable and mery / nor vse moche cōuersacion with them / nor bolde none of them to play and dalye with her I wolde they shulde loue her / but yet nat loue her so moche as obey her If she wolde nat be fearedde of them as a maystres / yet cause them to reuerence her as a mother For seruantes couet moche theyr libertie and if a lyttel be gyuen them / they will take more I will nat byd the man so straytly to be ware / that he make nat his seruantes ouer homelye with hym / as I wyll the woman / whiche I wolde shulde nat be moche conuersante amonge her seruauntes / nor medle moche with them / neither rebuke and correcte the mē / but leaue that for her husbāde to do Let her be all to gether amonge her maydes / whiche I wolde shulde be of honeste demeanour / and chaste of body / where vnto the maistres shall helpe moche with her example and also with teachyng and shewyng / and diligent ouer lokynge / that nothyng be preuye vnto her howe her maydes lyue Let her laye remedies agaynst vice / as hit were preserues agaynst sickenes If she spie or suspecte any that do nat ordre them selfe well / nor can nat remedy it by chydyng or correction / put her out of her house / for the poyson wyll sone infecte all that is nigh about it And the suspecious people thȳketh the maydes lyke theyr maystresses Howe ofte saith saynt Hieronyme / that the maystresses be iudged and knowen by the maydens In so moche that there is a prouerbe amōge the grekes / that whelpes haue theyr maistresses cōditions The yonge men in Terence coniecture the maystresses honest lyuyng / by the maydes course neglygēt apparell The poet Homer maketh mention / that wise Vlisses after he came home / kylled the seruynge maydes that hadde lyen with the wowers / bycause they both shamed and rebuked his house / were thoccasions of ieoperdye vnto the chastite of his wyfe Penelope but she her selfe dyd kepe her occupied with those craftes that I spake of in the fyrst boke / and kepte her seruauntes at theyr worke and so dyd chaste Lucrece / whom the kynges sonnes foūde watchyng and workynge vpon wolle amonge her maydes / whiche thynge a wyfe shall do more diligently and busyly / if any parte of the fyndyng of her house be gotten there by Solomon where he prayseth an holy woman / saythe She fought for wolle and flexe / and wrought by the counsayle of her handes Theano Metapontina / whan one asked her / what wyfe was the beste / she answered with a verse of Homer in this maner She that worketh on wolle and webbe / And kepeth well her husbandes bed By that diligence saythe the wyse kynge she is made lyke a marchandes shyppe / bryngynge her breade from farre countre And lest he shulde seme to call her a sluggarde / he saythe moreouer And she rose by nyght / and gaue prayse vnto her house holde / vnto her maydes / nat only worke but also recreation of theyr labour and refection whereof whan they haue had sufficiēt / she dealeth the reste in almose She hath opened her hande saythe he / to the nedy / and raught her fȳgers vnto the poure A holy woman ought nat to set her mynde so sore on gatherynge of goodes but that she distribute vnto poure folkes / helpe them that haue nede nor that nygardelye / but largely remembrynge that she gyueth hit for her owne aduantage and shall receyue moche more better rewarde / bothe in this worlde / and in an other The wyse man sayeth She shall nat care for her house / for feare of colde snowe she shall nat feare / though she gyue a peny vnto a poure man / nat only nygardly / wryngynge it through her fyngers but also with open hande largely she shall nat feare for by her diligence and occupyeng of woll / her house shall lacke nothynge / necessary for bothe wynter and somer and all her householde shall be arayed in lyned clothyng For there is nothing better in a house / thā to be well fed and clothed nat for pleasure / but for theyr necessite nor dilicatly / but profitably Howe be it vertue is yll kepte / whiche is moued and intised with cōtrary