Goddesse whom they named Lucina to whom they did commende women quick and great with chylde to sende them safe deliuerie And without the walles of Rome in a streate called Salaria she had a great churche wherin all the Romaine women conceiued with childe did sacrifice to their goddesse Lucina and as Fronten declareth de Veneratione deorum there they remayned nyne dayes and nyne nightes making their vowe Numa Pompilius buylte the churche of this goddesse which was plucked downe by the Consull Rutilius because a doughter of his great with childe made her vowe and kept her nyne Vigilles and vpon more deuotion was desirous to be deliuered in the saide temple Suche was her mishappe that her deliuery was not onely euill but her death was much worse Whereupon Rutilius in his rage caused the temple secretly to be burned For we reade many times that when the Gentyles sawe they were distressed and in great necessitie they recommended them selues to their Gods and if they did not then succour them in their necessitie immediatly they toke from them their sacrifice bette downe their temples or chaunged their Gods And further the Gentiles had an other god called Opis which was called the God of the babe newe borne euen as Lucina was goddesse of the mother whiche bare it The custome was that during all the nyne monethes that the woman was quick with chylde she caried the image of the God Opis hanging vppon her belly tyed to her girdle or sowed to her garmentes and at the houre of her deliuerie the mydwyfe toke in her hands the saide image and euen in the verye byrth before herselfe layde handes vpon it she first of all towched the childe with the Idoll If the childe were well borne the parentes that daye made great oblations to the Idoll but if it were euill or dead borne straight way the parentes of the childe did beate the image of the poore God Opis to powder or els burned it or drowned it in the ryuer Also the Gentyles worshipped an other God called Vaginatus and vnto him they did great sacrifice because their children should not weepe muche and therfore they caried the image of this god Vaginatus hanged about their neckes for the Gentiles thought it an euill signe and token whan the Babe wept muche in his infancie he should haue very euill fortune in his age They had also an other God called God Cuninus him they honoured with sacrifice to th end that he should be their Patrone for the safetie of their children in their cradels And those whiche were poore had the God Cuninus hanged vpon the cradell but the ryche had very sumptuouse cradelles wherein were painted many gods Cunini ▪ Herodian and Pulio declareth in the life of Seuerus that when the Emperour Seuerus was in the warre against the Gavvles his wyfe whose name was Iulia was deliuered of a daughter whiche was her first And it happened that a sister of this Iulia named Mesa natiue of Persia and of the citie of Mesa sent vnto her sister at Rome a cradell all of an Vnicornes horne and fine gold and about the same was painted many images of the god Cuninus The cradel was of so great value that many yeres after it was kept in the Treasurie of Rome Though in dede the Romaines kept those thinges more for the desire of memorie than for the loue of ryches The Romaines had likewise an other god whom they called god Ruminus whiche was as muche to saie as God of sucking Babes and to him the matrones of Rome offered diuerse sacrifices to th ende he woulde kepe their breastes from corruption and geue them mylke enough for their litle children And all the whyle they gaue the chyld sucke thei had the image of this god about their neckes hanging downe to their brestes And euery morning before she gaue the childe sucke the mother sent a dishe full of mylke to offer to the God Ruminus and if she happened to be in suche place where there was no churche dedicated to the God Ruminus then she bathed her god Ruminus she hadde with her in mylke They had also an other God whom they called God Stellinus and him they impropered to their children when they began to goe To this god the matrones offered many giftes that their children might not be lame Dwarfes nor impotent or decrepite but that they might be able to go well For among the Romaines those that were Criples or Dwarfes were had in suche contempt that they could neither beare office in the Senate nor be admitted priestes in the temples Hercules in his thirde booke De repub saith that Cornelia that worthy woman and mother of the Gracchi had her twoo first sonnes the one lame and the other a Dwarfe Whereupon supposinge the god Stellinus had bene wrath with her she bylte him a Temple in the .xii. region neare to the fieldes Gaditanus amongest the Gardens of Detha and this temple remained till the tyme of Randagismus who besieging Rome destroyed the Temples and brake vp their gardines about Rome They had also an other god called Adeon and his chardge was that when the childe could goe well he should go to his mother and make muche of her And allbeit Cicero in his booke De natura Deorum putteth this god amongest the other gods yet I do not remember that I haue euer read that this god had any Temple in Rome till the tyme of Mammea mother of the Emperoure Antoninus This excellente woman beinge lefte a wydowe and with two litle children desiering that they might be well and vertuously brought vp and that they should increase their loue towardes her she buylte to the god Adeon a sumptuous Temple in the .xii. region Vaticanus neare to the gardens of Domicilius and hard adioyning to that also she erected one other edifice called Sacellum Mammae where she abode solitarely for a tyme. For the maner and custome at that time was that all wydowes whiche woulde bryng vp their children in good discipline should immediatly seuer thēselues farre from the daungerous pleasures of Rome The auncientes had also an other god called Mentallis which was in effect god of wyt That is to wyte he had authoritie and power to giue children good or euill sence And to this god the auncientes did great sacrifices especially the Greekes muche more than the Romaines For as muche as Seneca saith that he doth meruayle nothyng at all of that the Greekes knewe but that whiche made him most to marueile was of that they knewe not since they had the temple of the god Mentallis within their scholes All the children whome they sent to learne Philosophie were by the lawes of Athens bounde to serue three yeares in that temple And to omyt that whiche Seneca spake of the Greekes I dare boldely saye and affirme to many whiche at these dayes are liuing that if it be true he gaue sence and vnderstanding to men that they would to daye rather than
woman that from her deliuerie is escaped ought to accompt her selfe as one newly borne The woman likewise seing her selfe deliuered of her creature ought to geue it sucke with her owne breastes for it is a monsterous thinge that she that hath brought forth the creature out of her owne proper wombe should geue it to be nourished of a straunge dugge In speaking more plainly it is al one to me whether she be a noble woman or a woman of meane condicion I say affirme that god hath deliuered her of al her trauaile she her self ought with her owne pappes to nourish and geue sucke to their babes for nature did not only make women able to beare men but also besides that prouided milke in their breastes to nourishe their children We haue neither redde vntil this present nor sene that any beastes wild or tame after they had yong would commit them to any other to be nourished This which I haue spoken is not so worthy of noting as that which I will speake And it is that many beastes new borne before they open their eyes to know their fathers haue now all ready taken nourishmēt in the teates of their mothers more then that to se some of those litle beastes haue .x. litle whealpes the which without the aide of any others nourished them al with the substaunce of their owne teares the womā that hath but one child disdaineth to giue it sucke Al that shal read this writing shal find it true if they wil they may se as I haue sene it by experience that after the she Ape hath had her yonglings she alwaies hath them in her armes so long as they sucke so that oftentimes ther is such strife betwene the male the female which of them shal haue the yonglings in their armes that the beholders are enforced to part them with battes Let vs leaue the beasts that are in the fields talke of the byrdes that are in the neasts the which do lay egges to haue yong yet haue they no milke to bring them vp What thing is so straung to se as a smal bird that hath vnder her winges v. or vi litle naked byrds the which when she hath hached she hath neither milke to nourish them nor corne to giue them they haue neither wings to fly fethers to couer them nor any other thing to defend them yet in al this weaknes pouertie their mother forsaketh them not nor committeth them to any other but bringeth them vp al her selfe That which nature prouided for the swannes is no lesse marueilous in especiallye when they nourishe their yong signettes in the water Forasmuch as duringe the time that they can not swimme the mothers alwayes in the day are with thier yong signetts in their neastes and in the night the fathers carie them vnder their proper winges to refresh theym vnto the water It is therfore to be thought since these swannes so louyngly beare their yonglings vnder their wings that they would cary them in their armes if they were men and also giue them sucke with their owne breasts if they were women Aristotle sayth in his fift booke De animalibus that the lyons the beares the wolues the Eagles the griffins generally al beasts neuer are wer nor shal be sene so fierce nor so cruel as when they haue yonglings and this thing semeth to be true for at that time we se that many beasts might escape the hunters yet to saue their yonglings they turne backe put their proper lyues in daunger Plato sayth in his booke of lawes that the childrē are neuer so welbeloued of their mothers as when they are nourished wyth their proper breasts that their fathers daunceth them of their knees The whych thing is true for the fyrst loue in al things is the truest loue I was willyng to shew the bringing vp of brute beasts to shew the women with chyld how pitieful parents they are in nourishing their yonglings with their owne breasts how cruel mothers women are in committing their childrē to straungers It is a meruailous thyng to here the mothers say that they loue their children on the cōtrary side to se how they hate them In this case I cannot tel whether they loue more eyther the child or the money for I se that they couet greatlye to hourd vp riches into their cheastes and likewise they desyre asmuch to cast out theyr children out of theyr houses Ther are dyuerse reasons wherby the mothers oughte to be moued to norishe their children which they bare in their wombes wyth their owne propre breastes The first reasō is that the mother ought to haue respect how the yong babe was borne alone how litle he was how poore dilicate naked tender without vnderstanding and since that the mother brought it forth so weake feable it is neither mete nor conueniēt that in time of such necessitie she shold forsake it commit it into the hands of a straung nourse Let women pardon me whether they be ladyes brought vp in pleasures or other of meaner estate accustomed with trauelles I force not but I saye that those which forsake their children in such extremeties are not pitiful mothers but cruel enemies If it be crueltie not to cloth him that is naked who is more naked then the child new borne if it be cruelty not to comfort the sad who is more sad desolate and sorowful then the child which is borne weping if it be vngentlenes not to succoure the poore nedy who is more neady or more poore then the innocent child newly borne that knoweth not as yet neyther to go nor to speake If it be crueltie to doo euil to the innocent that cannot speake who is more innocent then the infant that can not complaine of that whiche is done vnto him The mother that casteth oute of her house the children borne of her owne bodye howe can we beleue that she will receiue in any other of straungers when the infante is nowe greate when he is stronge when he can speake when hee can goo when hee canne profitte him selfe and get his meate the mother maketh much of hym and leadeth him about with her but is lytle thanke vnto her For then the mother hath more neade of the child to be serued then the child hath of the mother to be cherished If the children were borne of the nayles of the fingers of the fete or of the hands it were a smal mater though their mothers sent them forth to noryshe but I cannot tell what hart can endure to suffer this since the child is borne of their propre intrayles that they do commit it to be brought vp into the handes of a straunger Is there paraduenture at this day in the world any Ladye that hath so great confidence in any of her frendes parents or neighbours that she durst trust any of them with the key of her cofer wherin her Iewelles money riches
lyeth truly I thinke none O vnkind mothers my penne had almost called you cruel stepmothers since you lay vp in your hart the cursed mouâ—ke of the ground and sende out of your houses that which sprang of your bloud And if women shold say vnto me that they are weake feable tender that now they haue found a good nourse to this I aunswere that the nourse hath smal loue to the child which she nourisheth when she seeth the vngentlenes of the mother that bare it For truly she alone doth norishe the child with loue that heretofore hath borne it with paine The second reason is that it is a thing very iust that women should nourishe their children to the end they may be lyke vnto their conditions For otherwise they are no children but are enemyes for the child that doth not reuerence his mother that bare him can not enioye a prosperous life Synce the intention of the parentes in bringing vp their children is for none other purpose but to be serued of them when they are old they shal vnderstande that for this purpose ther is nothing more necessary then the milke of the proper mother for wher the child sucketh the milke of a straunger it is vnlikely that it should haue the condicions of the mother If a kidde sucke a shepe they shal perceiue it shal haue the wolle more faire the nature more gentle then if he had sucked a Goate which hath the wolle more hard of nature is more wild wherin the prouerbe is verefied not from whence thou commest but wherof thou feedest It auayleth a man much to haue a good inclinacion but it helpeth him much more from his infancye to be wel taught For in the end we profite more with the customes wherwith we lyue then we do by nature from whence we came The third reason is that women ought to nourish their owne children because they shold be hole mothers not vnperfect for the woman is counted but halfe a mother that beareth it likewise halfe a mother that nourisheth it but she is the hole mother that both beareth it nourisheth it After the duetie considered vnto the father that hath created vs vnto the sonne that hath redeamed vs me thinketh next we owe the greatest duty vnto the mother that hath borne vs in her body and much more it is that we should beare vnto her if she had nourished vs with her owne breastes For when the good child shall behold his mother he ought more to loue her bycause she nourished hym wyth her mylke thenne bycause she hath borne hym in her body ¶ The Aucthour stil perswadeth women to giue their owne children sucke Cap. xix IN the yere of the foundacion of Rome fiue hundred two After the obstinate cruel warre betwene Rome Carthage where the renowmed captaines wer Hannibal for the Carthagians Scipio for the Romaines sone after that warre followed the warre of Macedonie against kinge Philip The which when it was ended that of Siria began against Antiochus king of Siria For in .630 yeres the Romanes had alwaies continuall warres in Asia in Affricke or in Europe The noble Romanes sent the consul Cornelius Scipio brother to the great Scipio the Affrican for captaine of that warre And after many battayles fortune shewed her force in a Citie called Sepila the which is in Asia the great where king Antiochus was ouercome and all his realme discomfited for trees that haue their rootes plucked vppe must nedes within short time lose their fruites After that kinge Antiochus was ouercome his land spoiled Cornelius Scipio came vnto Rome triumphinge for the victorie that he had of Asia so that as his brother for the victorie that he had of Affrica was called Affricane so he was called Scipio the Asian because he vanquished Asia The captaines of Rome loued honour so much that they would no other reward nor recompence of their trauaile but that they shoulde geue them the renowme of the realme which they had ouercome Truly they had reason for the noble hartes ought lytle to esteme the increase of their riches ought greatly to esteme the perpetuite of their good name As Sextus Cheronensis saithe in his third booke De ambigua iusticia that Cornelius Scipio had a long time the gouerment of the people forasmuch as he was consul censour and Dictatour of Rome for he was not onely hardy and couragious but also he was sage and wise which thinge ought greatly to be esteamed in a man For Aristotle doth not determine it which of these two is most excelleÌ„t eyther stoutnes to fight in the warres or policye to rule in peace Scipio therfore being Dictatour which was an office then as the Emperour is now it chaunced that the x. captaines which had bene with him in the warres violently fought to haue entred into the Monastery of the virgines vestalles wherfore the Dictatour commaunded their heades to be cut of For the Romaines punished more cruelly those that only required the virgins vestalls then those that forced the maried matrones Cornelius Scipio was besought of many in Rome that he would moderate chaunge his so cruel sentence And he which most in this case did importune him was his brother Scipio the Affrican whose praier was not accepted how be it in the end they sayde the captaines wer pardoned by the request of a sister of the said Dictatour Scipio the Affrican And bycause he blamed his brother Scipio that he had done more for the doughter of his nourse then for the sonne of his proper mother he aunswered I let the wete brother that I take her more for my mother that brought me vp and did not beare me then she which hath borne me and in my infancye hath forsaken me And since I haue had her for my true mother it is but reasonne that I haue thys for my deare and welbeloued sister These were the woordes which passed betwene these two brethren I haue diligently red in holy and prophane wrytinges that many tirauntes haue caused their owne mothers to be killed whiche bare them but I could neuer find that they haue done any discurtesye or disobedience to the nourses whyche gaue them milke For the cruell tirauntes doo thirste after the bloude of others but they feare theym whose milke they sucke The fourthe reasonne that byndethe womenne to nourishe their children is to kepe them in more obedience for if the fathers liue long time they must of force come into the handes of their children And let not olde fathers make their accompts saying that during the time that they shall haue the gouernement of the house their children shal be kepte in obedience for in so doing they might abuse them selues For yong men in their youth fele not the trauayles of this life nor knowe not as yet what it meaneth to make prouision for householde For to the stomacke that is ful and cloyed with eating al meates
of kyng Arthebanus had nourished his sonne they coulde not haue robbed it in the cradell nor these twoo princes had not bene slayne in battayle nor the common wealth had not bene destroied nor Alexander had not entred into the lande of another nor had not come to conquere the contrey of Italy nor the dead corps had not wanted his graue for oftetimes it chaunceth for not quenching a litle coale of fier a whole forest house is burned The deuine Plato among the Grekes and Licurgus among the Lacedemonians commaunded and ordeined in all their lawes that al the Plebeical women those of meane estate should nourishe al their children and that those which were princesses and great ladies should at the least nourishe their eldest and first begotten Plutarche in the booke of the reigne of princes saieth that the sixt kyng of the Lacedemonians was Thomistes the whiche when he died lefte two children of which the second inherited the realme because the Quene her selfe had brought it vp and the first did not inherite because a straūge nource had geuen it sucke and brought it vp And hereof remained a custome in the moste parte of the realmes of Asia that the childe whiche was not nourysshed with the pappes of his mother shoulde inherite none of his mothers goodes There was neuer nor neuer shal be a mother that had suche a sonne as the mother of God which had Iesus Christe nor there was neuer nor neuer shal be a sonne which had suche a mother in the worlde But the infante would neuer sucke other milke because he would not be bounde to call any other mother nor the mother did geue him to nourish to any other mother because that no other woman should call him sonne I doe not marueile at al that princesses and great ladies doe geue their children forth to nourishe but that which moste I marueile at is that she whiche hath conceiued and brought forth a child is a shamed to geue it sucke and to nourishe it I suppose that the ladies doe thinke that they deserue to conceiue them in their wombes and that they sinne in nourishing them in their armes I can not tell how to wryte and much lesse howe to vtter that which I would say which is that women are now a daies come into such folly that they thinke and esteme it a state to haue in their armes some litle dogges they are ashamed to nourish geue the childrē sucke with their own breastes O cruel mothers I cannot thinke that your hartes can be so stony to endure to see and keape fantasticall birdes in the cages vnhappy Monkeis in the wyndowes fisting spaniels betwene your armes and so neglect and despise the swete babes casting them out of your houses where they were borne and to put them into a straunge place where they are vnknowen It is a thing which cannot be in nature neither that honestie can endure conscience permit nor yet consonant either to deuine or humaine lawes that those which God hath made mothers of children shoulde make them selues nourses of dogs Iunius Rusticus in the third booke of the sayings of the auncientes saith that Marcus Porcio whose life and doctrine was a lanterne and example to al the Romain people as a man much offended saied on a day to the senate O fathers conscripte O cursed Rome I can not tell what nowe I shoulde saye sithe I haue sene in Rome suche monsterous thinges that is to wete to see women cary Parrottes on their fistes and to see women to nourishe dogges geuing them mylke from their owne breastes They replied in the senate and sayde Tell vs Marcus Porcio what wouldest thou we should doe whiche lyue nowe to resemble our fathers whiche are dead Marcus Portio aunswered them The woman that presumeth to be a Romaine Matrone ought to be founde weauing in her house and out of that to be found in the temple praying to God and the noble and stoute Romane ought to be foūd in his house reding bookes and out of his house fighting in the playn fielde for the honour of his countrie And suer these were wordes worthy of suche a man Annius Minutius was a noble Romaine and captaine of great Pompeius who was a great friende to Iulius Caesar after the battaile of Farsaliae for he was an auncient and on that could geue good councell wherefore he neuer scaped but that he was chosen in Rome for Senatour Consul or Censor euery yeare for Iulius Caesar was so mercifull to them that he pardoned that those whiche had bene his moste enemies in the warres were of hym in peace best beloued This Annius Minutius then beinge chosen Censor within Rome which was an office hauing charge of iustice by chaunce as he went to visite the wyfe of an other frende of his the whiche laye in child bedde because she had great aboundaunce of mylke he founde that a litle pretie bitche did sucke her vpon the whiche occasion they saye he said these wordes to the Senate fathers conscripte a present mischiefe is nowe at hande according to the token I haue sene this daye that is to wete I haue seene a Romaine woman denie her owne chyldren her mylke and gaue to sucke to a filthy bitche And truly Annius had reason to esteme this case as a wonder for the true and swete loues are not but betwene the fathers and children and where the mother embraceth the brute beaste and forsaketh her naturall childe whiche she hath brought foorth it cannot be otherwyse but there either wysedome wanteth or folly aboundeth for the foole loueth that he ought to despise and despiseth that whiche he ought to loue Yet thoughe the mothers wyll not geue their children sucke they oughte to doe it for the daunger whiche may come to the helthe of their personnes for as the womē which bryng forth children do lyue more healthful then those which beare none so these which do nourish them haue more health then those which doe not nourishe them For although the brynging vp of children be troublesome to women it is profitable for their healthe I am ashamed to tell it but it is more shame for ladies to do it to see what plasters they put to their breastes to drie vp their milke and hereof commeth the iust iudgement of God that in that place ofte tymes where they seke to stoppe their mylke in the selfe same place they them selues procure their sodaine death I aske now if women doe not enioye their children being younge what pleasure hope they to haue of them when they are olde What a great comforte is it for the parentes to see the younge babe when he wyll laughe howe he twincleth his litle eies when he wyll weape how he wyll hange the prety lippe when he woulde speake howe he wyll make signes with his lytle fyngers when he wyll goe howe he casteth forwarde his feete and aboue all when he beginneth to bable howe he doubled in his
is as yet vnborne and dead it is a wonderfull thinge for a man that wil curiously note and marke thinges to see the brute beastes that all the tyme they bryng vp their litell ones they will not consent to accompanie with the males nor the males wil follow the females and that that is most to be noted yet is to see what passith betwene byrdes for the she sparrowe will not suffer the male in any wise to towche or come nere her till her litle ones be great and able to flye and moch lesse to sit apon any egges to hatch them till the other be fled and gone Plurarche in the .vii. of his regiment of princes saieth that Gneus Fuluius Cosin germain of Pompeius beyng consull in Rome fell in loue with a yong mayden of Capua being an orphane whether he fled for the plague This maiden was called Sabina when she was great with child by this consull she brought forth a doughter whom they called faire Drusia and truly she was more coÌ„mended for her beautie theÌ„ for her honesty For oftetimes it happeneth that the faire and dishonest women leue their children so euyll taught that of their mothers they inherite litel goods much dishonour This Sabina therfore being deliuered as it was the custome of Rome she did with her owne brestes nourish her doughter Drusia during that which time she was gotten with chyld by one of the knightes of this Consul to whom as to hys seruaunt he had geuen her to kepe Wherfore when the Consull was hereof aduertised and that notwithstandyng she gaue her doughter sucke he commaunded that the knight should be immediatly beheded his louer Sabina forthwith to be cast into a wel The day of execution came that both these parties should suffer wherfore the wofull Sabina sent to beseche the consul that it would please him before her death to geue her audience of one sole word that she would speake vnto hym the which being come in the presence of them all she sayed vnto him O Gneus Fuluius knowe thou I did not cal the to th ende thou shuldest grauÌ„t me lyfe but because I would not dye before I had sene thy face thoughe thou of thy selfe shuldest remember that as I am a fraile woman and fel into sin with the in Capua so I might fal now as I haue done with another in Rome For we women are so fraile in this case during the time of this our miserable life that none can keape her selfe sure from the assaultes of the weake fleash The coÌ„sul Gneus Fuluius to these wordes aunswered the gods immortal knoweth Sabina what grefe it is to my wofull harte that I of thy secret offence shuld be an open scourge For greater honesty it is for men to hyde your frailnes then openly to punyshe your offences But what wilt thou I should do in this case considering the offence thou hast comitted by the immortal gods I sweare vnto the againe I sweare that I had rather thou shouldest secreatly haue procured the death of some man then that openly in thys wise thou should haue slaundered my house For thou knowest the true meaning of the common prouerbe in rome It is better to die in honour then to liue in infamie And thinke thou not Sabina that I do codemne the to die because thou forgotest thy faieth vnto my person and that thou gauest thy self to hym whiche kepte the for sinse thou werte not my wyfe the libertie thou haddest to come with me froÌ„ Capua to Rome the selfe same thou haddest to go with another froÌ„ rome to Capua It is an euil thing for vitious men to reproue the vices of others wherin they theÌ„ selues are faultie The cause why I coÌ„dempne the to die is for the remeÌ„braunce of the old law the which coÌ„maundeth that no nourse or woman geuyng sucke should on paine of death be begotten with child truly the law is veray iust For honest women do not suffer that in geuyng her child sucke at her breast she should hide another in her intrailes These wordes passed betwene Gneus Fuluius the consul and the ladye Sabina of Capua Howbeit as Plutarche saieth in that place the consul had pitie vpon her shewed her fauoure banishyng her vpon condicion neuer to retourne to Rome againe Cinna Catullus in the forth boke of the .xxii. consulles saieth that Caius Fabricus was on of the most notable consulles that euer was in rome was sore afflicted with disseases in his life onely because he was nouryshed .iiii. monethes with the milke of a nource being great with child for feare of this they locked the nource with the child in the teÌ„ple of the vestal virgines wherfor the space of .iii. yeres they wer kepte They demauÌ„ded the consul why he did not nourish his children in his house he aunswered the children being nourished in the house it might be an occasion that the nource should be begotten with child and so she should distroye the children with her corrupt milke furder should geue me occasion to doe iustice vpon her person wherfore keaping them so shut vp we are occasion to preserue their lyfe and also oure children from peril Diodorus Siculus in his librarie and Sextus Cheronensis sayth in the life of Marcus Aurelius that in the Isles of Baleares ther was a custome that the nources of yong children whether they were their owne or others should be seuered from their husbandes for the space of .ii. yeares And the woman whych at that tyme though it were by her husbande were with child though they did not chastice her as an adultresse yet euery man spake euill of her as of an offender Duryng the tyme of these ii yeres to the end the husband should take no other wife they commaunded that he shold take a concubine or that he should bye a slaue whose companye he myghte vse as hys wyfe for amongest these barbarous he was honoured most who had .ii. wyues the one with childe and thother not By these examples aboue recyted Princesses and great Ladies may see what watche and care they ought to take in chousyng their nources that they be honest sinse of theÌ„ dependeth not onlye the healthe of their chyldren but also the good fame of their houses The seuenth condicion is that princesses and great Ladyes ought to see their nources haue good condicions so that they be not troblesome proude harlots lyers malicious nor flatterers for the viper hath not so muche poyson as the woman whyche is euell conditioned It litell auayleth a man to take wyne from a woman to entreate her to eate litel and to withdraw her from her husband if of her owne nature she be hatefull and euell maâ—â—red for it is not so great daunger vnto the child that the nource be a dronckard or a Glutton as it is if she be harmefull and malicious If perchaunce the nource that nourisheth the chylâ—e be euell conditioned trulye she is euell troubeled
and the house wherein she dwelleth euell combred For suche one doeth importune the lorde trobleth the ladye putteth in hazard the childe and aboue all is not contented with her selfe Finallye fathers for geuynge to much libertie to their nources oftetimes are the cause of many practises which they do wherwith in the end they are greued with the death of their children which foloweth Amongest all these which I haue red I saye that of the auncient Romaine princes of so good a father as Drusius Ge manicus was neuer came so wycked a sonne as Caligula was beyng the fourth Emperour of Rome for the historiographers were not satisfyed to enryche and prayse the excellencies of hys father neither ceased they to blame and reprehende the infamyes of his sonne And they say that hys naughtines proceadeth not of the mother which bare hym but of the nource which gaue hym sucke For oftimes it chaunceth that the tree is grene and good when it is planted and afterwardes it becommeth drye and wythered only for beyng caryed into another place Dion the greke in the second boke of Cesars sayeth that a cursed woman of Campania called Pressilla nouryshed and gaue sucke vnto thys wycked childe She had agaynst al nature of women her breastes as heary as the berdes of men and besides that in runnyng a horse handelyng her staffe shoting in the Crosbowe fewe yong men in rome were to be compared vnto her It chaunced on a time that as she was geuyng sucke to Caligula for that she was angry she tore in peces a yong child with the bludde there of annoynted her breastes and so she made Caligula the yong childe to sucke together both blud and milke The sayed Dion in hys booke of the lyfe of this Emperour Caligula sayeth that the women of Campania whereof the sayed Prescilla was had this custome that when they would geue their teat to the childe firste they dyd anoynte the nipple with the bludde of a hedge hogge to the end their children myght be more fyerce and cruell And so was this Caligula for he was not contented to kyll a man onely but also he sucked the bludde that remayned on his swerde and lyked it of with his tong The excellent Poet Homer meanyng to speake playnely of the crueltyes of Pirrus sayed in his Odisse of him suche wordes Pirrus was borne in Grece nourished in Archadye and brought vp with tigers milke whiche is a cruel beast As if more plainelye he had sayed Pirrus for beyng borne in Grece was Sage for that he was brought vp in Archadie he was strong and couragyous and for to haue sucked Tigars milke he was veray proude and câ—uell Hereof maye be gathered that the great Gretian Pirrus for wantinge of good milke was ouercome with euell condicions The selfe same historian Dion sayeth in the lyfe of Tiberius that he was a great dronckarde And the cause herof was that the nource dyd not onelye drynke wyne but also she weined the child with soppes dypped in wyne And wythout doubte the cursed woman had done lesse euill if in the steade of milke she had geueÌ„ the child poison wythout teachinge it to drinke wine wherfore afterwardes he lost his renowme For truly the Romayne Empire had lost lytell if Tiberius had died beyng a child and it had wonne muche if he had neauer knowen what drinkyng of wyne had mente I haue declared all that whyche before is mencioned to thentente that Princesses and great Ladyes myghte be aduertised that sinse in not nouryshyng their children they shewe them selues crewel yet at the least in prouidyng for them good nourses they should shew them selues pitifull For the children oftetymes folow more the condicion of the milke which they sucke then the condicion of their mothers whyche broughte them forth or of thâ—ir fathers whych begot them Therfore they oughte to vse much circumspectioÌ„ herin for in them consisteth the fame of the wyues the honoure of the husbande and the wealth of the children Of the disputations before Alexander the great concernyng the time of the suckyng of babes Chap. xxii QVintus Curtius sayeth that after the great Alexander whych was the last kyng of the Macedonians and first Emperour of the grekes hadde ouercome kynge Darius and that he sawe hym selfe onely lorde of all Asia he went to rest in babylon for among menne of warre there was a custome that after they had ben long in the warres euery on should retire to his owne house King Philip whych was father of kyng Alexander always councelled his sonne that he should lead with him to the warres valiaunt captaines to conquere the world and that out of his realmes and dominioÌ„s he should take chose the wysest men and best experimented to gouerne the empire He had reason in such wyse to councell hys sonne for by the councell of Sages that is kept and mainteined whych by the strengthe of valiaunt men is gotten and wonne Alexander the great therefore beyng in Babilon after he had conquered all the countrye since all the citye was vitious and hys armye so long without warres some of his owne men began to robbe one another others to playe their owne some to force women and others to make banquettes and feastes and when some were droncke others raysed quarels striffes and dyscentions so that a man could not tell whether was greater the ruste in their armours or the corruptions in their customes For the property of mans malice is that when the gate is open to idlenes infynite vyces enter into the house Alexander the great seing the dyssolution which was in his armye and the losse which myght ensewe hereof vnto his great empire commaunded streightly that they should make a shew and iuste thoroughe Babilon to the end that the men of warre should excersise their forces thereby And as Aristotle sayethe in the booke of the questions of Babylon the turney was so muche vsed amongest them that sometimes they caryed awaye more dead and wounded men then of a bloudy battaile of the enemy Speaking accordyng to the law of the gentiles whiche loked not glorie for their vertues nor feared hell to dye at the torney the commendemant of Alexander was veray iuste for that doyng as he dyd to the armye he defaced the vyce whych dyd wast it and for him selfe he got perpetuall memorye and also it was cause of muche suretye in the common weale This good Prince not contented to excersise his armye so but ordeined that daily in his presence the philosophers should dispute and the question wherin they shold dyspute Alexander him selfe would propounde â–ª wherof folowed that the great Alexander was made certayne of that wherin he doubted and so by his wisedom all men exercysed their craftes and wittes For in this tyme of idlenes the bokes wer no lesse marred with dust because they were not opened then the weapons were with rust which were not occupied There is a booke of Aristotle intituled the
questions of Babilon where is sayed that Alexander propounded the Philosophers disputed the pryncipalles of Persia replied and Aristotle determined And so continued in disputations as long as Alexander dyd eate for at the table of Alexander one day the captaines reasoned of matters of warre and another day the Philosophers dysputed of their philosophie Blundus sayeth in the booke intituled Italia Illustrata that amonge the Princes of Persia their was a custome that none could sit downe at the table vnlesse he were a kyng that had ouercome an other kyng in battaile none coulde speake at their table but a Philosopher And truly the custome was veray notable and worthy to be noted for there is no greater follie then for any manne to desire that a Prince shoulde reward him vnlesse he know that by hys workes he had deserued the same Kynge Alexander dyd eate but one meale in the daye and therefore the firste question that he propounded vnto them was That the man which did not eate but once in the day at what houre it was best to eate for the health of his personne and whether it shold be in the mornyng none dayes or nyght This question was debated among the philosophers wherof euery one to defend his opinion alleaged many foundacions For no lesse care haue the Sages in their mindes to issewe out of them disputations victorious then the valiaunt captaines haue in aduenturing their persones to vanquyshe theyr enemyes It was determined as Aristotle maketh mētion in his Probleames that the man whyche eateth but once in the daye shoulde eate a litell before nyght for it auayleth greatly to the health of the body that when the digestion beginneth in the stomacke a man taketh hys first steape The second question that Alexander propounded was what age the child should haue when he should be weyned from the dugge And the occasion of this question was for that he had begoten a yong doughter of a Quene of the Amazones the whiche at that tyme dyd suche and for to knowe whether it were tyme or not to weyne her there was great dysputations For the childe was nowe great to sucke and weake to weyne I haue declared this history for no other purpose but to shew howe in Babilon this question was disputed before kyng Alexander that is to wete how many yeares the chyld ought to haue before it were weyned from the teate for at that tyme they are so ignoraunt that they cannot demaunde that that is good nor cōplaine of that whych is nought In that case a man ought to know as the tymes are variable and the regions and prouynce dyuers so lykewyse haue they sondrye wayes of bryngynge vp and nouryshyng their chyldren For there is asmuche dyfference betwene the contryes of one from the contries of others in dyeng and buryeng the dead bodyes as there hath ben varyeties in the worlde by waye of nouryshyng and bryngyng vp of children Of sondrye kindes of sorceries charmes and witchecraftes whych they in olde time vsed in geuing their children sucke the which Christians ought to eschewe Chap. xxiii IT is not muche from our purpose if I declare here some olde examples of those whych are paste Strabo in hys boke de situ Orbis sayeth that after the Assirians whych were the first that reigned in the world the Siconians had signorie whych lōge tyme after were called Archades whych were great and famous wrastlers and scolemasters at the fence from whom came the best and first masters of fence the whyche the Romaynes kepte alwayes for their playes for as Trogus Pompeius sayeth the romaynes founde it by experience that ther wer no better men in weighty affaires then those of Spaine nor no people apter to plaies and pastimes then those of Archadia As those Siconians were auncient so they were marueilously addicted to follyes and superstitious in theyr vsages and customes for among other they honored for their god the Moone And duryng the time that she was sene they gaue their children sucke imagenyng that if the Moone shyned vpon the breastes of the mother it would do much good vnto the child The auctour herof is Sinna Catullus in the boke De educandis pueris And as the same historian sayeth the egiptians were great enemyes to the Siconians so that all that whych the one dyd alowe the others dyd reproue as it appereth For asmuche as the Siconians loued oliues and achornes they were clothed with lynnen and worshypped the Moone for theyr god The Egiptians for the contrary had no olyues neyther they nourished any okes they dyd were no lynnen they worshypped the sonne for their god and aboue all as the Siconians dyd geue theyr chyldren sucke whyles the Moone dyd shyne so the egyptians gaue theyr chyldred sucke whyles the sonne dyd shyne Amonge other folyes of the Caldians this was one that they honoured the fier for their god so that he that was not maried could not lighte fier in hys house bycause they sayed the custodye of Goddes shoulde be committed to none but to maryed and auncient men They had in mariages suche order that the daye when any children dyd marie the priestes came into his house to lyghte new fier the which neuer ought to be put out vntill the houre of his death And if perchaunce during the life of the husband and of the wife they should finde the fier ded and put out the mariage betwene them was dede and vndone yea thoughe they had ben .xl. yeares togethers before in such sorte And of this occasion came the prouerbe which of many is redde and of fewe vnderstanded that is to wete prouoke me not so muche that I throwe water into the fier The Chaldeans vsed such wordes when they woulde deuorce and seperate the mariage for if the woman were ill contented with her husbande in castinge a lytel water on the fier immediatelye she myghte marye with another And if the husbande in lyke maner dyd putte oure the fier he mighte with another woman contracte mariage I haue not bene maried as yet but I suppose there are manye christians whych wysheth to haue at this present the liberty of the Caldes for I am wel assured there are manye men which would cast water on the fier to escape from their wiues also I sweare that their would be a number of women whiche would not onely put out the fier but also the ashes imbers coles to make thē selues fre and to be dyspatched of their husbandes and inespecially from those whiche are ielous Therfore returnyng to oure matter the Chaldeans made before the fier all notable thinges in their lawe as before their God For they dyd eate before the fier they slepte before the fier They did contracte before the fier and the mothers dyd neuer geue the children sucke but before the fier For the milke as they imagined dyd profite the child when it sucked before the fier which was their god The aucthour of this that is spoken is
Cynna Catullus The Mauritaines whiche at this present are called the realmes of Maruechi were in tymes past warlyke men of whom the Romaines had greate victories and the more valiaunt the men wer in the warres so much more superstitious their wiues were in sorceries charmes and enchauntements For the husband that is long absent from his wife ought not to maruaile though in her be found some faultes Cicero in the booke De natura deorum and muche more at large Bocas sayeth that as many men and women as were in that realme so many Gods there were among the people For euery one had one perticuler God to him selfe so that the God of the one was not the God of the other And this was to be vnderstand in the weke daies For in the holy and festiuall daies they had other Gods the which altogethers they dyd honour The maner that they had in chosyng Gods when a woman was with child was this She went to the sacrificer of the idoll and told him that she was great with child and besought him to geue her a god for her childe And the sacrificer gaue her a lytell idoll of stone gold siluer or of woode the which the mother hanged at the necke of the child And as often as the child dyd sucke the dugge so ofte the mother putteth the idoll one his face For otherwyse she had not geuen hym a droppe of mylke to sucke vnlesse first she had consecrated to the God the mylke of her breste That which I haue spoken is litle in respect of that I will speake whiche is that if perchaunce the chylde died before the time or that any younge man by some perylous myshappe died before he was somewhat aged the fathers and kinsmen of the dead did assemble and came to the Idoll of him and eyther stoned it honge it drue it brent it or els they caste it into the deape well sayinge that sithe the Gods did kyll man without reason that they might lawfully kyl them by iustice The same Bochas in the seconde booke De natura Deorum saieth that the Allobroges had a custome that those whiche were priestes of the Gods should from the wombe of their mothers be chosen vnto that dignitie And assone as the childe was borne before he tasted the mylke of the breste they caried it into a priestes house for they had a custome that the man which had tasted the thinges of the worlde merited not to serue the Gods in the temples One of the lawes that the sayed priestes had was that not onely they could not by violence shed any bloud nor yet see it neyther touche it so that immediatly as the prieste should by chaunce touche mannes bloud euen so sone he loste his priesthode This lawe afterwardes was so narrowely loked vnto that the priestes of the Allobroges dyd not onely not shedde drinke nor touche mans bloude when they were nowe men but also when they were litle infants those that should be priests they gaue them no milke of the breaste at al. And this was their reason That to sucke milke was no other but to drinke whyte bloude for white milke is but sodden bloude and redde bloud is but rawe mylke Pulio in the booke De educandis pueris saieth that the auncientes had a certaine kinde of reedes that breaking it in sondre there issued white mylke wherewith they accustomed to nourishe their children but let it be as it is that this lawe prohibite children their mylke which here after should be made priestes of the temples me thinketh it is a tricke rather of superstitious Sorcerers then of religious priestes For there is neither deuine nor humaine lawe that wyll forbidde or prohibite anye suche thinge without the whiche mans life can not endure These were the maners and customes that the auncientes had in the nouriture of their children And in dede I marueile not at that they did for the Gentils estemed this cursed Idoll for as great a God as we Christians doe the true and liuyng God I was willing to declare all these antiquities to the ende that princesses and great ladies should haue pleasure in reading them and knowing them but not to that ende they should imitate and folowe them in any kynd of thing For according to the faithe of our Christian religion as sure as we be of the offences that those did vnto God through folowinge those superstitions so sure we are of the good seruices whiche we doe vnto God in forsakyng them Howe longe tyme the mothers ought to geue their chyldren sucke and what age they ought to weyne them not for that whiche I haue redde nor for that whiche I haue demaunded in this case I am able to aunswere but for as muche as Aristotle saieth in the booke aboue named that the chylde at the moste ought to sucke but twoo yeares and at the leaste one yeare and an halfe For if he sucke lesse he is in daunger to be sicke and if he sucke more he shal be alwayes tender I wyll not omitte that whiche Sextus Cheronensis saieth in the fourth booke of his common wealth And hereof Boccace also maketh mention in the thirde booke De natura Deorum that when Alexander the great passed into India amongest other renowmed Philosophers there was one with hym called Arethus who as by chaunce he was in Nissa an auncient citie of India there came a man of that Countrey to shewe him suche antiquities as were there Arethus the Philosopher behelde them as a sage and wyse man For the simple man onely beholdeth the doinges and howe they seme but the sage man enquireth and demaundeth of the causes and from whence they came Amonge other thinges he shewed this good Philosopher a great house being in the ende of the citie and therein were many women whereof euery one of them had a chambre and in euery chambre there was twoo beddes and adioyning to the one herbes were sowen in maner of nettels and adioyning to the other there was a kynde of twigges as of Rosemary and in the myddes of the house there were many graues of small chyldren The Philosopher Arethus asked why that house was so great and the Indian aunswered This house is to nourish the chyldren whiche are orphanes when they be of their parentes or frendes abandoned For it is a custome in this citie that immediatly when the father of one chylde dieth the citie then taketh hym for her sonne And from that tyme forwarde he is called the childe of the citie whiche nourisheth hym and not the chylde of the father whiche begotte hym Arethus the Philosopher secondarely asked him why there were so many women in that house without any man among them whereunto the Indian aunswered in this countrey there is a custome that the women are seuered from their husbandes all the tyme they geue their children sucke For the wyll of our God is that the woman be not in company with her husbande after she is with
reproueth him of his small reuerence towardes the temples Chap. xvii The Emperour procedeth in his letter to admonishe Princes to be feareful of their gods and of the sentence whyche the senate gaue vpon this kynge for pullinge downe the churche Chap. xviii How the Gentiles honored those whiche were deuoute in the seruyce of the goddes Chap. xix For fiue causes Princes ought to be better Christians then their subiectes Chap. xx Of the Philosopher Bias and of the .x. Lawes whyche he gaue worthie to be had in mynde Chap xxi How God from the beginning punysshed euill men by his Iustice and specially those Princes that despise his churche and mansion house Chap. xxii The auctour proueth by .xii. examples that Princes are sharpely punyshed when they vsurpe boldlye vpon the churches and violate the temples Chap. xxiii How Valentine the Emperour because he was an euill christian loste in one daye both the Empire and his lief and was burned aliue in a shepecoote Chap. xxiiii Of the Emperour Valentinian Gratian his sonne whiche because they were good Christians were alwayes fortunate and that God geueth victories vnto Princes more throughe teares of them that praye then throughe the weapons of those that fyght Chap. xxv Of the godlye Oration which the Emperour Gratian made to his souldiours before he gaue the battaile Chap. xxvi That the captayne Theodosius which was father of the great Emperour Theodosius died a good Christian of the kynge Hysmarus and the byshop Siluanus and the holye lawes whiche they made and established Chap. xxvii What a goodly thing it is to haue but one prince to rule in the publike weale for theyr is no greater enemye to the comon weale then he whyche procureth many to commaunde therin Chap. xxviii That in a publike weale there is no greater destruction then wher Princes dayly consent to new orders and change old customes Chap. xxix When Tyrauntes begame to reigne and vpon what occasion coÌ„maunding and obeing fyrst began and how the authoritie the Prince hathe is by the ordinaunce of God Chap. xxx Of the golden age in tymes past and worldly myserie at this present Chap. xxxi What the Garamantes sayed vnto king Alexander the great when he went to coÌ„quer India and how that the puritie of lief hath more power then any force of warre Chap. xxxii Of an Oration which one of the sages of Garamantia made vnto king Alexander a goodlye lesson for ambitious menne Chap. xxxiii The sage Garamante continueth hys Oration and amonge other notable matters he maketh mencyon of seuen lawes which they obserued Chap. xxxiiii That Princes ought to consider for what cause they were made Princes and what Thales the Philosopher was and of the questions demaunded him Chap. xxxv What Plutarke the philosopher was the wise words he spake to Traâ—an the emperour how the good Prince is the head of the publyke weale Chap. xxxvi The Prince ought to heare the complayntes of all his subiectes and to knowe them all to recompence theyr seruice Chap. xxxvii Of a solempne feaste the Romaynes celebrated to the God Ianus and of the bountie of the Emperour Marcus Aurelius the same daye Chap. xxxviii Of the Emperours answer to Fuluius the senatour wherin he peynteth enuious men Chap. xxxix Of a letter the emperour Marcus Aurelius wrote to hys frend Pulio wherin he declareth the opinions of certayne Philosophers concernynge the felicitie of man Chap. xl That Princes and great Lordes ought not to esteme them selues for beyng fayer and well proportioned of bodye Chap. xli Of a letter whiche Marcus Aurelius wrote to his neuew Epesipus worthie to be noted of all yonge Gentlemen Chap. xlii Howe Princes and noble menne in olde tyme were louers of sages Chap. xliii Howe the Emperour Theodosius prouided wyse menne at the hower of hys deathe for the education of his sonnes Chap. xliiii Cresus kynge of Lidya was a great louer of sages of a letter the same Cresus wrote to the Philosopher Anacarses and of the Philosophers answer agayne to the kyng Chap. xlv Of the wisdome and sentence of Phalaris the Tyraunte and howe he put an Artisan to death for Inuenting newe tormentes Chap. xlvi That sondrye myghtye and puyssant Princes were louers and frendes of the sages Chap. xlvii The ende of the Table of the firste Booke The table of the seconde Booke OF what excellencye mariage is and wher as common people mary of frée wil princes and noble men ought to marye of necessitie Chap. i. Howe by meanes of mariage manye mortall ennemyes haue béene made parfitte frendes Chap. ii Of the sondry lawes the auncients had in contracting matrimony of the maner of celebrating mariage Chap. iii. How princesses great ladyes ought to loue their husbandes and that must be without any maner of witchcraft or sorcerye but onlye procured by wysedome and obedience Chap. iiii The reuenge of a Greciane Ladye on him that had slayne her husbande in hope to haue her to wyfe Chap. v. That pryncesses and greate Ladyes should be obedient to their husbands and that it is a greate shame to the husband to suffer to bee commaunded by his wyfe Chap vi That women especiallye princesses and great ladies shold be very circumspect in goinge abrode out of their houses and that throughe the resort of them that come to their houses they be not ill spoken of Chap. vii Of the commodities and discomodities which folow princesses and great Ladies that goe abroade to visite or abide in the house cap viii That women great with childe namely princesses and great Ladyes ought to bée very circumspect for the danger of the creatures they beare wherein is layed before you manye knowen sorowful mysfortunes hapned to women in that case Cap ix A further rehersal of other inconueniences and vnlucky chaunces happened to women great with child Chap. x. That women great with child chieflye princesses great ladies ought to be gently entreated of their husbands Chap. xi What the Philosopher Pisto was and of the rules he gaue concerning women with child Chap. xii Of thre couÌ„sels which Lucius Seneca gaue vnto a secretary his frende who serued the emperour Nero. And how Marcus Aurelius dsposed al the howers of the day Cap. xiii Of the Importunate sute of the empresse Faustine to the Emperour Marcus Aurelius her husband concerning the key of his closet Chap. xiiii The Emperours aunswere to Faustine touchinge the demaunde of the key of hys closet Chap. xv The Emperour followeth his matter admonishinge men of the plagues great daungers that follow those whych haunt to much the company of women And reciteth also certayne rules for maried men which if they be matched with shrowes and do obserue them maye cause them liue in quyet with their wiues Chap. xvi The Emperour aunswereth more particularly concerning the key of hys closet Chap. xvii That princesses noble women oughte not to bée ashamed to giue their children sucke with their owne breasts
seameth both vnsauery and noysome It maye wel be that since the childrē are not nourished in the house that they know not their seruauntes that they loue not their parentes that they come not nere their brethren nor talke with their sisters that they are ignoraunt of their fathers do disobey their mothers wherfore since litle feare doeth abounde and good wyl fayle one daye they commit some mischeauous offence whereby they doe loose their life worthely and the fathers loose the riches and likewyse their honour deseruedly to the intent that the fathers alwayes keape their proper chyldren vnder obedience there is no better meane then to bring them vp in their owne houses the mother to geue them sucke and the father to teache them for when the mother desireth any thing of her chylde she should not shewe him the belly from whence he came but the dugges which he did sucke For all that whiche is asked vs by the milke that we did sucke truly there is no harte so hard that can denay her The historiographers say that Antipater among all the Gretians was the most renowmed tyraunt and among the Romaines Nero. And these two wicked princes wer not great tyrauntes because they had committed many tyrannies but because they did committe one which was most greuous of all others For they doe not call a man a glutton or cormoraunt because he eateth euery houre but because he deuoureth more at one paste then others doe in one daye The case was that Antipater in Grece and Nero in Rome determined to kyll their own mothers And the historiographers saye that when Nero commaunded his mother to be killed she sent to aske of him why he would put her to death wher vnto he answered that he was cloyed to beholde the armes wherin he was nourished and therfore he caused her to be killed to see the intrailes out of the which he came This case was so horrible that it semed to many not to speake it but concluding I say as vniustly as the mothers loste the mortall life so iustly did the children get for them immortal imfamy Nothing can be more wicked detestable to the children then to kil their mothers which did beare them with paine did nourish them with loue but notwithstāding al this we do not rede that euer they did kill dishonoure nor yet disobey their nourses which gaue them milke Iunius Rusticus in the fifte booke of the brynging vp of childrē saith that the two Gracchi renowmed famous Romains had a third brother being a bastarde who shewed him self as valiaunt hardy in the warres of Asia as the other twoo did in the warres of Africa The which as he came one day to rome to visite his house he foūd therin his mother which bare him the nourse which gaue him suck To that which nourse he gaue a girdle of gold to his own mother he gaue a iewel of siluer Of the which things the mother being ashamed cōsidring what her son had done she asked him why he had geuē the norse the gold which did but only geue him suck and that he had not geuen the gyrdle of golde to her as well as the Iewell of siluer since she had borne him and brought him into the world Wherunto he aunswered in this maner maruell not thereat mother why I doe this thing for thou diddest beare me but nyne monethes in thy wombe and she hath geuen me sucke and nourished me these three yeres with her own propre pappes and when thou diddest cast me from thee out of thy sight she receiued me and nourished me in her propre armes Fifthly women ought to enforce them selues to nourishe their children to the ende they may kepe them the better and that in their cradels they be not chaunged for others Aristotle saieth that the Cocowe commeth to the neaste of another birde when she hath laide her egges sucketh them and layeth in the same place her own egges so that the other birde thinking that they are her owne hatchieth and nourisheth them vp as her owne vntill suche tyme as they are able to flie Then the Cocow killeth and eateth the sily birde that hath nourished her through the which occasion the males of those birdes are at so great contention that they haue bene so deceiued that the one of them killeth the other the whiche they might let if euery bird did nourishe her owne In the same tyme that Philip reigned in Macedonia whiche was the father of the great Alexander Arthebanus was kynge of the Epirotes who in his age had a childe borne the whiche was stollen out of the cradell and an other put in his steade The nourse whiche did nourishe it through couetousnes of money consented to that treason for the harte that is with couetousnes ouercome wyll not feare to committe any treason It chaunced not long after that kyng Arthebanus died and lefte as he thought his own sonne for his heire but within fewe dayes after the nourse her self whiche had consented vnto the robbery discouered the thefte and sayd that she could tell where the lawfull childe of the good kyng Arthebanus was and that that childe whiche nowe was heire was but the sonne of a meane knight but in dede it had bene better for those of the miserable realme that the woman had neuer discouered the secrete For it chaunceth oftetimes that a man maketh suche haste of his horse that he hurteth his legge through that occasion afterwardes falleth and breaketh his necke But what shal we saye to the Plebeical women of base and meane estate I doe not meane the noble gentle and vertuous ladies whereof they are many that though in great secrete their chiefest friende telleth them any thinge yet before they drinke they will vtter it to another Thus when the treason was discouered cruel warres betwene these two princes began so that in the end in a great battayle they were both slayne the one in defending and the other in assaulting At that tyme Olimpias reigned who was the faire and worthy wyfe of Philip and mother of Alexander She had a brother named Alexander who was both politique and hardie and hearing the Epirotes were in controuersie and that twoo kinges were slaine in the fielde he placed him selfe in the Realme more of will then of right And let no man marueile that this kyng occupied the Realme for in the olde time all the tyrannous princes thought that all that whiche they could obtaine without resistaunce did vnto them belonge by iustice This king Alexander was he whiche came into Italy in the fauoure of the Tarentines when they rebelled against the Romaines who afterwarde was slaine in battaile at Capua where his body was vnburied And truly it was a iuste sentence that the tyraunt which bereueth many of their liues should him selfe taste some shamefull death I haue declared this history to this ende that princesses and great ladies should see that if the wyfe
say the tongue of our mother to the end we shold take it of the mother which bringeth vs forth of the nource whiche giueth vs sucke And in this case we haue lesse neade of the mother then of the nourse For the children before they knowe their mothers which brought them into the world do cal the nourse mother which gaue them sucke Plutarche in the second booke of the regiment of princes saith that one of the greatest thinges the Romaynes had in their comon weale was that of al the languages maners which they spake throughout the hole earth they had Collegies and Scholes in Rome so that were he neuer so Barbarous that entred into Rome immedyatly he founde that vnderstoode him The Romaynes vsed that craft and subtiltie to the end that when Rome sent Embassages into straunge countries or that some straunge countries came to Rome they would that the interpretours and brokers should be of theyr owne nacion and not of a straunge tongue or countrey And the Romaynes truly had reasonne for the affaires of greate importaunce are oftentymes craftely compassed by a straunge tongue A manne wil maruaile greately to reade or heare this that I speake whyche is that the women whyche nourishe the children of Prynces be eloquente And truly he that at this doth meruaile hath sene lytle and read lesse For I cannot tel which was greater the glory that the auncientes had to enioy so excellent women or the infamy of them that are present to suffer dishonest harlottes I wil not deny when I drew neere this matter that my spirite weare not in great perplexitie First to se in this my wrytinge of what women my penne shoulde write that is to wete the dissolute vyces of women which I haue sene or els the prowesses and vertues of women wherof I haue reade Finally I am determined to entreate of our graine and corne and to leaue the rotten straw on the earth as without profite For the tongue which is noble ought to publyshe the goodnes of the good and honest women to the end that al know it for the contrary the frailenes of the wicked ought to be dissembled and kept secret to the end that no man folow it Men which are sage and noble treating of women are bounde to serue them to vysite them to preserue them to defend them but in no wise they haue licence to sclaunder them For the man which speaketh of the fraylenes of women is like vnto him that taketh a sword to kil a flye Therfore touching the matter Princesses and great Ladyes ought not to cease to teache their yong children al that they can sonnes or doughters And they oughte not to deceiue them selues saying that forasmuch as their doughters are women they are vnable to learne sciences For it is not a general rule that al mē children are of cleane vnderstanding nor that al the doughters are of rude spirite and witte For if they and the others did learne togethers I thinke there would be as many wise women as there are foolishe men Thoughe the world in times past did enioy excellent women ther was neuer any nacion had such as the Grekes had For though the Romaynes were glorious in weapons the Grekes were of immortal memorie of letters I wil not denay that in the common wealth of Rome ther hath not bene nourished taught manye women of greate scyence but that the difference of the one and the others was that the Grecian women were learned in Philosophy and the Romaine women in Rethoricke and Poetrie And hereof came that in Athens they esteamed to know howe to teache well and in Rome they vaunted how to speake wel Euphronius in the thirde booke of the Romaine gestes sayth that in the third yere of the Consulshipe of Lelius Sylla by chaunce a Greke Embassadour and an embassadour of Rome were at words in the Senate of the Rhodians and the Greke Embassadour sayd to the Romaine Embassadour It is true that amongest ye other Romaynes ye are aduenturous in armes but for al that ye are vnable in scyences For truly the women of Grece know more in letters then the men of Rome in weapons As sone as the Senate of Rome vnderstode these words immediatlye hereupon grew the cruel warres betwene Rome and Carthage about the posession of Scicil. And no man ought hereat to meruaile for in the end we se moe warres aryse by iniurious wordes then for to recouer the good that is lost The Romaynes and the Grecians therfore being ready the one to defye the other the Rhodians came in the myddest and kept them from such debate and in the end appointed them in this sort That is to wete that as this iniurye should by weapons haue bene determined they ordeyned that by the disputacions of women it shoulde be argued And truly the Romaines were counsayled well for it was greater shame to the Greekes to be ouercome with the tongues of women then with the swordes of men The case therof was such that by appointmente assembled at Rhodes tenne Romaine women and tenne Greke women All women very wel learned the which in their chayres reade certaine lessons euery one after other and afterwardes the one disputed againste the other of sundry and diuers maters And finally there was betwene theym great difference for the Grekes spake very high thinges not so profounde but with an excellent style We ought not to marueile that such giftes were in those women For we dayly se it by experience that profound science and high eloquence seldome meeteth in one personage The Grekes were verye wel pleased to heare the Romaine women the Romaines remained astonied to heare the Grekes And vpon this occasion the Rhodians iudged in this sort that euery one of them should be crowned with a crowne of Laurel as vanquisshers And they iudged that in graue sentences the Grecians had the best and in eloquent speache the Romaines had the victorie As the aboue named Euphronius saythe these disputacions being ended the Romaine women returned to Rome and the Greke women to Grece wher they were receyued with such triumphe and glorie as if they had wonne a battaile The senate of the Rhodians for the memorye of those women in the place of the disputacions caused to be set vp twenty mighty pyllers in euery one of the which were the names of the women Which was so sumptuous a building that in Rhodes there were none vnto it saue only the great Collyseo Those pillers stoode vntil the time of Heliogabalus Emperour who was so euyll that he inuented new vyces and destroyed the auncient memories The writers which wrote in that time declare yet an other thing wherin the women of Grece were differente from the women of Rome That is to wete that the Greke women were found more fayrer then the Romaine women but the Romaines had a better grace and more riche in apparel then the Grekes They sayd also that the Grekes
that the doughters should inherit the goodes for to mary them selues with all Truly this law was very iust for the sonne that hath alwayes respect to the enheritaunce will not haue to his father any great confidence For he ought to be called a valiant Romaine knight that with his life hath wonne honour and by the sword hath gotten riches Since you are in straung realmes I praye you hartely that you be conuersaunt with the good as good brethren remēbring alwayes that you wer my children and that I gaue you both sucke of myne owne propre breastes And the daye that I shall here of your disagrement the same day shal be the end of my life For the discord in one citie of parentes doth more harme then a hole armie of enemys It is good for you my childrē to liue in loue concord togethers but it is more requisit to kepe you with the Romaine knightes The which with you you with thē if you do not loue together in the warres you shall neuer haue the vpper hand of your enemies For in great armies the discordes which rise emongest thē do more harme then the enemys do against whō they fight I think wel my children that you wold be very desirous to know of my estate that is to wete whether I am in health whether I am sick whether I am poore whether I am pleased or whether I am miscontented In this case I know not why you shold desire to know it since you ought to presuppose that accordyng to the troubles which I haue passed the miseries that with mine eyes I haue sene I am filled with this world for wise men after .50 yeres and vpwarde ought rather to apply their mindes how to receiue death thē to seke pleasurs to prolong life When mans flesh is weake it always desireth to be wel kept euen vnto the graue And as I am of flesh bone so I do feale the troubles of the world as al mortal men do But for al this do not think that to be pore or sick is the greatest misery neither thinke that to be hole riche is the chefest felicity for ther is none other felicity of the old fathers but for to se their childrē vertuous In my opiniō it is an honour to that countrey that the fathers haue such children which wil take profit with their counsell contrary wyse that the children haue such fathers which can giue it them For the child is happy that hath a wise father more happy is the father that hath not a folish sonne I do write oft times vnto you my children but there is a law that none be so hardy to write to men of war in the field except first they inrowle the letters in the senate Therfore since I write vnto you more letters then they would they do send lesse then I desire Thoughe this law be painefull to mothers which haue children yet we must confesse it is profitable for the weale publik For if a man should write to one in the warre that his family is not well he would forsake the warres to remedye it Yf a man wryte vnto him that it is prosperous he hath then a desire to enioye it Be not displeased my children thoughe all the letters I do sende vnto you come not to your handes For all that I do not cease to visite the temples for your owne health nor yet to offre sacrifices to the Gods for your honour For if we do please the gods we haue not cause to feare our enemies I say no more in this case my children but that I beseche the immortall Gods that if your lyues maye profyte the common wealth then they shorten my dayes and lēgthen your yeres but if your lyues should be to the domage of the common wealth then those immortall gods I desire that first I may vnderstand the end of your dayes before that the wormes should eate my flesh For rather then by your euill lyfe the glory of our predecessours should be bleamished it were much better both your liues wer ended The grace of the Gods the good renowme amongest men the good fortune of the Romains that wisedom of the greekes the blessing of Scippio of al other your predecessours be alwayes with you my children Of the education and doctrine of children whiles they are yong Wherein the auctour declareth many notable histories Chap. xxxii ALl mortall men which will trauell and see good fruite of their trauell ought to do as the chefe artificer did that painted the world For the man that maketh god the head of his workes it is vnpossible that he should erre in the same That whych we beleue and reade by wrytinge is that the eternall created the world in short space by his mighte but preserued it a lōg time by his wisedome Wherof a man may gather that the time to do a thing is short but the care and thought to preserue it is long We see daily that a valiaunt captaine assaulteth his enemies but in the end it is god that giueth the victorye but let vs aske the conquerour what trauell it hath bene vnto him or wherin he hath perceaued most daunger that is to wete either to obteine the victory of his enemies or els to preserue them selues amongest the enuious and malicious I sweare and affirme that such a knight wil swere that ther is no comparison betwene the one and the other for by the bloudy sweard in an houre the victorye is obteined but to kepe it with reputation the swete of al the life is required Laertius in the booke of the lyfe of the philophers declareth and Plato also hereof maketh mention in the bookes of hys common wealth that those of Thebes vnderstandyng that the Lacedemonians hadde good lawes for that whych they were of the godes fauoured and of menne greatly honoured determined to send by common assent and agreement a wise philosopher the beste esteamed amongest them whose name was Phetonius to whome they commaunded that he should aske the lawes of the Lacedemonians and that he shoulde be verye circumspecte and ware to see what their rules and customes were Those of Thebes were then very noble valliant and honest so that their principal end was to come to honour renowme to erect buildinges to make them selues of immortall memory for beyng vertuous For in buildyng they were very curious and for vertues they had good Philosophers The philosopher Phetonius was more thē a yeare in the realme of the Lacedemonians beholding at sondry times all thinges therin for simple men do not note thinges but onely to satisfye the eyes but the wise menne beholdeth them for to know and vnderstand their secrettes After that the philosopher had well plainely sene and behelde all the thinges of the Lacedemonians he determined to returne home to Thebes and beyng arriued all the people came to see him and here him For the vanitie of the common people is
of such a qualitie that it foloweth new inuentions and despiseth auncient customes All the people therfore gathered togethers the good philosopher Phetonius set vp in the middest of the market place a gybet hoote yrons a swerd a whip and fetters for the feete the whiche thyng done the Thebains were no lesse as they thought slaundered thē abashed To the which he spake these wordes You Thebains sente me to the Lacedemonians to the entent I should learne their lawes and customes and in dede I haue bene ther more then a yere beholdyng al thinges very diligentely for we Philosophers are bound not onely to note that whyche is done but also to know why it is done knowe ye Thebains that this in the aunswere of my Imbassage That the Lacedemonians hang vpon this Gybet theues with this same sworde they behede traytors with these hoote Irons they torment blasphemers and lyers with these roddes they whippe vacabondes and with these Irons do keape the rebels and the others are for players and vnthriftes Finally I say that I do not bryng you the lawes written but I bring you the Instrumentes wherwith they are obserued The Thebains were abashed to se these thinges and spake vnto hym such wordes Consider Phetonius wee haue not sent the to the Lacedemonians to bring instrumentes to take away life but for the good lawes to gouerne the common wealth The philosopher Phetonius replyed again aunswered Thebains I let you wete that if ye know what we philosophers knew you shold see how far your mindes wer from the truth For the Lacedemonians are not so vertuous thoroughe the lawes whych wer made of them that be dead as for the meanes they haue sought to preserue them that be alyue For maters of Iustice consiste more in execution then in commaundyng or ordeinynge Lawes are easely ordeyned but with difficultie executed for there are a thousande to make them but to put them in execution there is not one Ful lytle is that whych men knowe that are present in respect of that those knewe which are past But yet accordyng to my litle knowledge I proffer to gyue as good lawes to you Thebains as euer wer obserued among the Lacedemoniās For there is nothing more easy then to know the good and nothynge more commen then to folow the euill But what profiteth it if one will ordeyne and none vnderstand it Yf ther be that doth vnderstand thē there is none that excuteth them Yf there be that executeth them there is none that obserueth thē Yf there be one that obserueth them ther is a thousand that reproueth them For without comparison mo are they that murmure grudge at the good then those whych blame and despise the euyll You Thebains are offended bycause I haue brought suche Instrumentes but I let you wete if you wyll neyther Gybet nor sworde to kepe that which shal be ordeyned you shall haue your bookes full of lawes and the common wealth full of vices Wherfore I sweare vnto you that there are mo Thebains whiche folowe the deliciousnes of Denis the tyraunt then there are vertuous men that folowe the lawes of Lycurgus If you Thebains do desire greatly to know with what Lawes the Lacedemonians doe preserue their common wealthe I will tel you them all by worde and if you will reade them I will shew you them in writyng But it shal be vpon condition that you shall sweare all openly that once a daye you shall employ your eyes to reade them and your parsonnes to obserue them For the prince hath greater honour to se one onely law to be obserued in dede then to ordeyne a thousand by wryting You ought not to esteame muche to be vertuous in harte nor to enquire of the vertue by the mouth nor to seeke it by labour and trauaille of the feete but that whyche you ought greatly to esteame is to know what a vertuous lawe meaneth and that knowen immediatly to execute it and afterwardes to kepe it For the chefe vertue is not to do one verteous work but in swet and trauayl to continue in it These therfore wer the wordes that this philosopher Phetonius sayde to the Thebains The whyche as Plato sayeth estemed more his wordes that he spake then they dyd the lawes whyche he brought Truly in my opinion those of Thebes are to be praysed and commended and the philosopher for his wordes is worthy to be honoured For the end of those was to searche lawes to liue well and the ende of the Philosophet was to seke good meanes for to kepe them in vertue And therfore he thought it good to shew thē and put before their eyes the gibbet and the sword with the other instrumentes and tormentes For the euill do refraine from vice more for feare of punyshement then for any desire they haue of amendement I was willyng to bring in this Historie to th ende that all curious and vertuous men may see and know how litell the auncientes did esteme the beginnynge the meane and the ende of vertuous workes in respect of the perseueraunce and preseruacion of them Commyng therfore to my matter whych my pen doth tosse and seke I aske now presentely what it profiteth princes and great ladyes that God do gyue them great estates that they be fortunate in mariages that they be all reuerenced and honored that they haue great treasures for their inheritaunces and aboue al that they se their wiues great with child that afterwardes in ioy they se them deliuered that they se theyr mothers geuing their childrē sucke finally they se them selues happy in that they haue found them good nources helthful honest Truely al this auaileth litle if to their children when they are yong they do not giue masters to enstruct thē in vertues and also if they do not recomend them to good guides to exercise thē in feates of Chiualry The fathers which by syghes penetrat the heauē by prayers importune the Liuing god only for to haue children ought first to thinke why they wil haue childrē for that iustly to any man may be denayed which to an euil end is procured In my opinion the father ought to desire to haue a child for that in his age he may susteine his life in honour that after his doth he may cause his fame to liue And if a father desireth not a son for this cause at the least he ought to desire him to the end in his age he may honour his horye hed and that after his death he may enheryte his goodes but wee see few children do these thynges to their fathers in theyr age if the fathers haue not taught them in their youth For the fruite doeth neuer grow in the haruest vnlesse the tree dyd bere blosommes in the spryng I see oftentimes many fathers complaine of their Children sayenge that they are disobedient and proude vnto theim and they doe not consydre that they them selues are the cause of all those euilles For
Chap. xviii The auctour stil perswadeth women to gyue their owne children sucke Chap. xix That princesses and great ladyes ought to be verye circumspecte in chosinge their nurces of seuen properties whyche a good nource should haue Chap. xx The auctor addeth .3 other condicions to a good nource that giueth sucke Chap. xxi Of the disputacion before Alexander the great concernyng the sucking of babes Chap. xxii Of wytchcraftes and sorceries which the nources vsed in old time in geuinge their chyldren sucke Chap xxiii Marcus Aurelius wryteth to his frende Dedalus inueighenge againste witches which cure children by sorceries and charmes Chap. xxiiii How excellent a thing it is for a gentleman to haue an eloquent tongue cap. xxv Of a letter which the Athenians sent to the Lacedemonians Chap. xxvi That nources which giue sucke to the children of prynces ought to be discret and sage women Chap. xxvii That women may be no lesse wyse then men though they be not it is not through default of nature but for want of good bringyng vp Chap. xxviii Of a letter which Pithagoras sent to his sister Theoclea she readinge at that time philosophy in Samothracia Chap. xxix The auctor followeth his purpose perswading princesses and great ladies to endeuour them selues to be wise as the women wer in old time Chap xxx Of the worthynes of the lady Cornelia and of a notable epistle she wrote to her .ii. sonnes Tyberius and Caius which serued in the warres Chap. xxxi Of the educacion and doctrine of children whyles they are yong Chap. xxxii Princes oughte to take héede that their children be not broughte vp in vaine pleasures and delights chap. xxxiii That princes and great lords ought to be careful in sekynge men to brynge vp their children Of x. condicions that good schoole maisters ought to haue Chap. xxxiiii Of the ii sonnes of Marcus Aurelius of the whych the eldest and best beloued dyed And of the maisters he reproued for the other named Comodus Chap. xxxv Howe Marcus Aurelius rebuked fiue of the xiiii maisters he had chosen for the educacion of his sonne Comodus And how he bannished the rest from his pallace for their light behauior at the feast of the god Genius Chap. xxxvi That princes other noble men ought to ouersée the tutours of their children lest they conceale the secrete faultes of their scholers Chap. xxxvii Of the Emperours determinacioÌ„ when he commytted his sonne to the tutoures which he had prouyded for his educacion Chap. xxxviii That tutours of princes and noble mens sonnes ought to be very circumspect that their scholars do not accustome them selues in vyces whyles they are yonge and speciallye to kepe them from foure vyces Chap xxxix Of .ii. other vyces perilous in youthe whych the maysters ought to kepe theym from Chap. xl The ende of the Table of the seconde Booke The table of the third Booke HOw Princes and great Lordes ought to trauaile to administer to all equall Iustice Chap. i. The waye that Princes ought to vse in choosing their Iudges Officers in their contreyes Chap. ii Of an oration which a vilian of Danuby made before the senatours of Rome concernyng the tyrannie and oppressions whyche their offycers vse in his contrey Chap. iii. The villayne argueth againste the Romaynes whyche without cause or reason concquered their contreye and proued manifestely that they throughe offendyng of their gods were vancquished of the Romaines Chap. iiii The villayne concludeth his oration against the Iudges which minister not Iustice and declareth howe preiudicial such wycked men are to the common weale Chap. v. That Princes and noble men should be very circumspect in choosyng Iudges and Offycers for therin consisteth the profyt of the publyke weale Chap. vi Of a letter whych Marcus Aurelius wrot to Antigonus his frende wherein he speaketh agaynste the crueltye of Iudges and Officiers Chap. vii The Emperour Marcus continueth his letter agaynst cruel Iudges and reciteth ii examples the one of a pitiefull kyng of Cipres and the other of a cruell Iudge of Rome and in this Chapter is mencioned the erbe Ilabia growing in Cipres on the mounte Arcladye whych beyng cut droppeth bloud c. Chap. viii Of the wordes whych Nero spake concernynge iustyce and of the instruction whych the Emperoure Augustus gaue to a iudge which he sent into Dacia Cap. ix The Emperour foloweth his purpose agaynst cruel iudges declareth a notable imbassage whych came from Iudea to the Senate of Rome to complayne of the iudges that gouerned that Realme Chap. x. The Emperour concludeth his letter agaynst the cruel iudges declareth what the grand father of king Boco spake in the Senate Chap. xi An exhortacion of the auctor to princes noble men to embrace peace and to eschew the occasions of warre Chapter xii The commodities which come of peace Chap. xiii A letter of Marcus Aurelius to him freÌ„d Cornelius wherin he describeth the discommodities of warre and the vanitie of the triumphe Chap. xiiii The Emperour Marcus Aurelius declareth the order that the Romaynes vsed in setting forth men of warre and of the ouâ—tragious vilanies whyche captaynes and souldiours vse in the warres Chap. 15. Marcus Aurelius lamenteth with teares the follye of the Romaynes for that they made warre wyth Asia And declarethe what great domage commeth vnto the people wher the prince doth begin warres in a straung countrey Chap. xvi That prynces and great lords the more they grow in yeres should be the more discrete and vertuous to refraine from vices Chap. xvij That princes when they are aged shold be temperate in eating sober in drynking modest in apparel aboue al true in their communication Chap. xviii .. Of a letter of the Emperour Marcus Aurelius to Claudius and Claudinus wherein he reproueth those that haue many yeres and litle discrecion Chap. xix The emperour foloweth his letter and perswadeth those that are olde to giue no more credit to the world nor to any of hys flatteries Chap. xx The emperour procedith in his letter proueth by good reasons that sith the aged persons wil be serued and honoured of the yong they ought to be more vertuous and honest then the yong Chap. xxi The emperour concludeth his letter sheweth what perilles those old men lyue in which dissolutly like yong children passe their dayes and geueth vnto them holsom counsel for the remedy therof Chap. xxii Princes ought to take hede that they be not noted of Auarice for that the couetous man is both of god man hated Cap xxiii The auctor foloweth his matter wyth great reasons discoÌ„mendeth the vices of couetous men Chap. xxiiii Of a letter whyche the emperour M. Aurelius wrot to his freÌ„d Cincinatus wherin he toucheth those gentlemen which wil take vpon them the trade of marchaundise againste their vocations deuided into 4. chapters Chap xxv The Emperour procedeth his letter declareth what vertues men ought to vse and the vices which
there captaine But that could not be for Adrian my lord sent for me to returne to Rome which pleased me not a lytle albeit as I haue said they vsed me as if I had ben borne in that Iland for in theend although the eyes be fedde with delyght to see straunge thinges yet therefore the hart is not satisfyed And this is al that toucheth the Rhodians I will now tel the also how before my going thether I was borne and brought vp in mount Celio in Rome with my father from mine infancie In the common wealthe of Rome ther was a law vsed by custome wel obserued that no citizē which enioyed any lybertie of Rome after their sonnes had accomplyshed .10 yeares should be so bold or hardy to suffer them to walke the streates like vacabondes For it was a custome in Rome that the chyldren of the senatours should sucke til two yeres of age til 4. they should liue at theyr own wylles tyl 6. they should reede tyl 8 they should wryte tyll 10. they should study gramer 10. yeares accomplished they should then take some craft or occupacion or gyue them selues to study or go to the warres so that throughout Rome no man was idell In one of the lawes of the 12 tables weare written these wordes We ordeine and commaund that euery cytizen that dwelleth wythin the circuite of Rome or lybertyes of the same from 10 yeres vpwardes to kepe hys sonne well ordered And if perchaunce the chyld being ydel or that no man teacheth hym any craft or scyence should therby peraduenture fal to vyce or commyt some wycked offence that then the father no lesse then the sonne should be punyshed For ther is nothing so much breadeth vyce amongest the people as when the fathers are to neclygent and the chyldren to bold And furthermore another law sayd We ordeine and commaunde that after 10. yeares be past for the fyrst offence that the chyld shal commyt in Rome that the father shal be bound to send hym forth some where els or to be bound suertye for the good demeanour of hys son For it is not reason that the fonde loue of the father to the sonne should be an occasion why the multytude shuld be sclaundered because al the wealth of the Empyre consisteth in kepyng and mayntaynyng quyet men and in banishyng and expellyng sedycious personnes I wyll tell the one thyng my Pulyo and I am sure thou wylt meruell at it and it is thys When Rome tryumphed and by good wysedom gouerned all the worlde the inhabitantes in the same surmounted the nomber of two hundreth thousand parsonnes which was a maruelouse matter Amongeste whom as a man maye iudge ther was aboue a hundreth thousand chyldren But they whych had the charge of them kept them in such awe and doctryne that they banyshed from Rome one of the sonnes of Cato vticensis for breakyng an erthen pot in a maydens handes whych went to fetche water In lyke manner they banyshed the sonne of good Cinna onlye for entrynge into a garden to gather fruyte And none of these two were as yet fyftyne yeares olde For at that tyme they chastised them more for the offences done in gest then they doo now for those which are don in good earnest Our Cicero saith in his booke De legibus that the Romaynes neuer toke in any thing more paynes then to restreine the chyldren aswel old as young from ydlenes And so long endured the feare of their lawe and honour of theyr common wealthe as they suffered not their children lyke vacabondes idelly to wander the streates For that countrey may aboue all other be counted happye where eche one enioyeth hys owne laboure and no man lyueth by the swette of another I let the know my Pulio that when I was a chylde althoughe I am not yet very olde none durste be so hardy to go commonly throughe Rome wythout a token about hym of the crafte and occupacion he exercysed and whereby he lyued And if anye man had bene taken contrary the chyldren dyd not onlye crie out of hym in the streates as of a foole but also the Censour afterwardes condemned hym to trauayle wyth the captynes in common workes For in Rome they estemed it no lesse shame to the child which was idle then they dyd in Grece to the phylosopher whych was ignorant And to th ende thou mayest se thys I write vnto the to be no new thynge thou oughtest to know that the Emperour caused to be borne afore hym a brenning brand and the counsel an axe of armes the priestes a hat in maner of a coyfe The Senatours a crusible on their armes the Iudges a lytle balance the Tribunes Maces the gouernours a scepter the Byshoppes hattes of floures The Oratours a booke the cutlers a swerd the goldsmithes a pot to melt gold and so forth of al other offices strangers excepted which went al marked after one sort in Rome For they woulde not agree that a stranger shoulde be apparailed marked according to the childrē of Rome O my frend Pulio it was suche a ioye then to beholde the discipline and prosperitie of Rome and it is now at this present suche a grefe to see the calamitie thereof that by the immortall gods I sweare to the and so the god Mars guyde my hande in warres that the man which now is best ordered is not worthe so much as the most dissolute person was then For then amongest a thousande they could not finde one man vicious in Rome and nowe amonges twentie thousande they cannot finde one vertuous in all Italye I know not why the gods are so cruel againste me and fortune so contrary that this 40. yeares I haue done nothynge but wepe and lamente to see the good men die and immediatly to be forgotten and on the other side to see the wicked liue and to be alwayes in prosperitye Vniuersallye the noble harte maye endure al the troubles of mans life vnlesse it be to see a good man decay and the wicked to prosper which my harte cannot abyde nor yet my tonge dissemble And touchynge this matter my frende Pulio I will write vnto the one thynge whiche I founde in the bookes of the highe Capitoll where he treateth of the time of Marius and Sylla whiche trulye is worthy of memorye and that is this There was at Rome a custome and a lawe inuiolable sith the time of Cinna that a Censour expressely commaunded by the senate should goe and visite the prouinces whyche were subiecte vnto it throughe out all Italye and the cause of those visitacions was for three thinges The firste to see if any complained of iustice the second to see in what case the common wealthe stode The thirde to th ende that yearelye they should render obedience to Rome O my frende Pulio how thinkest thou if they visited Italye at this presente as at that time they surueyed Rome how ful of errous should they fynd it And what decaye
one eye called Monoculus which he had found in the desertes of Egipt At that time the wife of Torquatus called Macrina shold haue bene deliuered of child for the Consul did leaue her great This Macrina amongest al was so honest that they spent as much time in Rome to prayse her for her vertues as they did set forth her husband for his victories They rede in the Annalles of that time that the first time that this Consul Torquatus went into Asia he was eleuen yeres out of his countrey and it is found for a truth that in al the time that Torquatus was absente his wife was neuer sene loke out at the windowe whiche was not a thinge smally estemed for though it was a custome in Rome to kepe the dore shut it was lawfull notwithstandinge to speake to women at the windowes Though men at that time were not so bold the women were so honest yet Macrina wife to Torquatus lyued so close and solitary to her selfe that in all these 11. yeres ther was neuer man that saw her go through Rome nor that euer saw her dore open neither that she consented at any time from the time that she was viii yeres of age that any man should enter into her house more ouer ther was neuer man saw her face wholy vncouered This Romaine Lady did this to leaue of her a memory to giue example of her vertue She had also iii. children whereof the eldest was but v. yeres old and so when they were viii yeres of age immediatlye she sent them out of her house towards their parentes lest vnder the coullour to vysite the children others should come to visite her O Faustine howe many haue I hard that haue lamented this excellent Romaine and what wil they thinke that shal folow her life Who could presently restraigne a Romaine woman from going to the window .11 yeres since thinges nowe a daies are so dissolute that they do not only desire to se them but also runne in the streates to bable of them Who should cause now a dayes a Romaine woman that in the 11. yeres she should not open her dores since it is so that when the husband commaunded her to shut one dore she wil make the hole house to ringe of her voyce He that now would commaund his wife to tary at home and let her of her vagaries into the towne shal perceiue that ther is no Basilie nor Viper that carrieth suche poison in her tayle as she wil spitt with her tongue Who could make a Romaine women to be 11. yeres continually without shewing her face to any man since it is so that they spend the most part of their time in loking in a glasse setting their ruffes brushing their clothes and painting their faces who would cause a Romaine womā to kepe her selfe xi yeres from being vysited of her neighbours and frends since it is true that now women thinke them greatest enemyes whych vysite them most seldom Retournyng therfore to the monstre as they led this monstre before the doore of Torquatus house she being great wyth child her husbande in the warre by chaunce a maide of his tolde her how that this monstre passed by wherfore so great a desire toke her to see the monstre that for to kepe that she had begon sodeinly for this desier she dyed Truly I tel the Faustine that this monstre had passed many times by the streat wher she dwelt she would neuer notwithstandyng go to the window and muche lesse go out of her doore to see it The death of this Romaine of many was lamented for it was a long time that Rome had neuer heard of so honest vertuous a Romaine wherfor at the peticion of al the Romayne people and by the commaundement of al the sacred senate they set on he◠tombe these verses ¶ The worthy Macrine resteth here in graue Whom wyse Torquatus lodged in Iunos bedde Who reked not a happy lyfe to haue So that for aye her honest fame was spredde BEhold therfore Faustine in my opinyon the law was not made to remedye the death of this noble Romayne since she was alredy dead but to the end that you Princesses shoulde take example of her lyfe and that through al Rome ther should be a memorye of her death It is reason synce the law was ordeyned for those women which are honest that it should be obserued in none but vppon those that are vertuous let the women with chyld marke the words of the law which commaund them to aske things honest Wherfore I let the know Faustine that in the seuenth table of our lawes are wryten these wordes We wil that wher ther is corruption of manners the man shal not be bound to obserue their liberties ¶ That princesses and noble women ought not to be ashamed to giue their children sucke with their owne breastes Cap. xviii AL noble men that are of hault courages watch continually to bringe that to effect which they couet and to kepe that which they haue For by strength one commeth to honour and by wisedom honor life are both preserued By these wordes I meane that she that hath borne .9 monethes through trauaile the creature in her wombe with so much paine that afterwards is delyuered with so greate perill by the grace of god from so many daungers escaped me thinke it is not wel that in this point which for the norishment of the babe is most expedient the mothers should shew them so negligent For that wanteth no foly that by extreame labour is procured and with much lightnes afterward despised The thinges that women naturaly desire are infinite among the whych these are foure cheafely The first thing that women desire is to be very faire For they had rather be poore and faire then to be riche and foule The second thing which they desire is to se them selues maried for vntill such time as the woman doth see her selfe maried from the bottome of the hart she alwayes sigheth The third thing that women desire is to se them selues great with child herein they haue reason For vntil such time as the woman hath had a child it semeth that she taketh him more for a louer then for a husband The fourth thing that they desire is to se them selues deliuered and in this case more then all the rest they haue reason For it is greate pitie to see in the pryme time a yong tre loden with blosomes and afterward the fruite to be destroyed throughe the abondaunce of caterpillers Then since god suffereth that they are borne faire that they se them selues maried that they be with child and that they are deliuered why be they so vnkind as to send them out of their houses to be nourished in other rude cotages In my opinion the womā that is vertuous ought assone as she is deliuered to lift vp her eyes and with her hart to giue god thankes for her frute For the
woordes What thing is more pleasaunt to the father then to see them and to the mother to agree to it when the chyldren doe sucke they plucke forth the brestes with the one hande and with the other they plucke their heere and further they beate their feete together and with their wanton eies they caste on their parentes a thousande louyng lookes what is it to see them when they are vexed and angry how they wyll not be taken of the fathers howe they stryke their mother they caste awaye things of golde and immediatly they are appeased with a litle apple or russhe what a thing is it to see the innocentes howe they aunswer when a man asketh them what follies they speake when they speake to them how they play with the dogges and runne after the cattes how they dresse them in wallowing in the dust how they make houses of earth in the streates how they weape after the birdes when they see them flie away Al the which thinges are not to the eies of the fathers and mothers but as Nitingales to sing and as bread and meate to eate The mothers peraduenture will saye that they will not bringe vp their children because when they are younge they are troublesome but that after they shoulde be nourished and brought vp they would be glad To this I answere them that the mothers shal not denay me but that some of these things must neades meate in their children that when they be old they shal be either proud enuious couetous or negligent that they shal be lecherous or els theues that they shal be blasphemours or els glottons that they shal be rebelles or fooles and disobedient vnto their fathers I beleue that at this daie there are many mothers in the worlde which did hope to be honoured serued with the children which they had brought vp and afterwarde perceiuing their maners would willinglye forgo the pleasures whiche they hoped for so that they might also be deliuered frō the troubles which through their euill demeanours are like to ensue For that time which the parentes hoped to passe with their childrē in pleasures they consume seing their vnthrifty life in sorowfull sighes I councel admonishe humbly require princesses great ladies to nourishe enioy their children when they are young and tender for after that they are great a man shal bring them newes euery day of diuerse sortes and maners they vse for as much as the one shal say that her sonne is in pryson another shal say that he is sore wounded another that he is hid others that he hathe plaied his cloke others that he is sclaundered with a cōmon harlot another that he stealeth his goodes from him another that his enemies do seke him another that he accompanieth with vnthriftes and finally they are so sturdy vnhappy and so farre from that which is good that oftentimes the fathers would reioyce to see them die rather then to see thē liue so euill a life Me thinketh that the knot of loue betwene the mother and the childe is so great that not onely she ought not to suffer them to be nourished out of the house one whole yere but also she ought not to suffer thē to be out of her presence one only day For in seing him she seeth that which is borne of her intrails she seeth that which she hath with so great paines deliuered she seeth hym who ought to inherite all her goodes she seeth him in who the memory of their auncestours remaineth and she seeth him who after her death ought to haue the charge of her affayres and busines Concludynge therefore that whiche aboue is spoken I saye that whiche the greate Plutarche saied from whom I haue drawen the moste parte of this chapter that the mother to be a good mother ought to haue kepe her chylde in her armes to nourishe him and afterwardes when he shal be great she ought to haue him in her harte to helpe him For we see oftentymes great euils ensewe to the mother and to the chylde because she did not bringe hym vp her selfe and to put hym to nouryshe to a straunge breaste there commeth neither honour nor profite ¶ That princesses and great Ladies ought to be very circumspecte in chosinge their nources Of seuen properties whiche a good nource should haue Chap. xx THose whiche ordeined lawes for the people to lyue were these Promotheus whiche gaue lawes to the Egiptians Solon Solmon to the Grekes Moyses to the Iewes Licurgus to the Lacedemonians and Numa Pompilius to the Romaines for before these princes came their people were not gouerned by written lawes but by good auncient customes The intention of those excellent princes was not to geue lawes to their predecessours for they were now dead neither they gaue them onely for those which lyued in their tyme being wicked but also for those which were to come whom they did presuppose would not be good For the more the worlde increaseth in yeares so muche the more it is loden with vices By this that I haue spoken I meane that if the princesses and great ladies euery one of them woulde nourishe their owne childe I neade not to geue them counsell But since I suppose that the women which shal be deliuered hereafter wil be as proude and vaine glorious as those whiche were in times past we will not let to declare here some lawes and aduises how the ladie ought to behaue her self with her nource and howe the nource ought to contente her selfe with the creature For it is but iuste that if the mother be cruell and hardy to forsake the creature that she be sage pitiefull and aduised to choose her nource If a man finde great treasoure and afterward care not how to kepe it but doth commit it into the handes of suspected persons truely we would call hym a foole For that which naturally is beloued is alwayes of al best kept The woman oughte more wysely kepe the treasure of her owne body then the treasure of all the earth if she had it And the mother which doth the contrary and that committeth her child to the custody of a straunge nource not to her whom she thinketh best but whom she findeth best cheape we will not call her a foolishe beaste for the name is to vnseamely but we will call her a sotte which is somewhat more honester One of the things that doth make vs moste beleue that the ende of the world is at hande is to see the litle loue which the mother doth beare to the child being young and to see the wante of loue which the childe hath to his mother beinge aged That whiche the childe doth to the father and the mother is the iust iudgement of God that euen as the father would not nourishe the childe in his house being younge so likewise that the sonne should not suffer the father in his house he beinge olde Retourning therefore to the matter that sith the woman
dothe determine to drie and shut vp the fountaines of milke whiche nature hath geuen her she ought to be very diligent to serch out a good nource the which ought not only to content her self to haue her milke whole but also that she be good of lyfe For otherwise the child shall not haue so muche profit by the milke which he sucketh as the nource shall do it harme if she be a woman of an euil life I do aduise princesses and great dames that they watche diligently to know what their nources are before they commytte their children to them for if such nources be euil and slaundered they are as serpentes which do byte the mother with their mouth and do stinge the child with her taile In my opinion it were lesse euill the mother should suffer that her childe should perish in deliuering it then for to kepe in her house an euill woman For the sorow of the death of the child is forgotten and brought to nought in time but the slaunder of her house shall endure as long as she liueth Sextus Cheronensis sayeth that the Emperour Marcus Aurelius commaunded his sonne to be broughte vp of a woman the which was more faire then vertuous And when the good Emperour was aduertised therof he dyd not only send her from his pallace but also he banished and exyled her froÌ„ Rome swering that if she had not nouryshed his sone with her pappes he woulde haue commaunded her to haue bene torne in pieces with beastes For the woman of an euil renowme may iustly be condempned and put to death Princesses and great ladies ought not greatlye to passe whether the nources be faire or foule for if the milk be swete whyt and tender it littel skilleth though the face of the nource be whit or blacke Sextus Cheronensis saieth in the booke of the nourture of children that euen as the blacke earth is more fertill then is the white earthe so likewise that woman which is browne in couÌ„tenaunce hath alwaies the most substaunciall milke Paulus Diaconus in hys greatest history sayeth that the Emperour Adocerus did mary him selfe with the daughter of an other emperour his predecessour called Zeno the Empresse was called Arielna The whych in bringing forth a Sonne had a woman of Hungarye marueylous fayre to nourishe it the case succeded in such sorte that the nource for being faire had by that emperour .iii. children the one after the other his wofull wife neuer had any but the first alone A man ought to beleue that the empresse Arielna did not only repent her selfe for taking into her house so faire a nource but also was sory that euer she had any at all syth the rybald therby was mystresse in the house she remained without husband all her life I do not say it for that ther are not many foule women vitious nor yet because ther are not many faire women vertuous but that princesses and great ladies accordyng to the qualities of their husbandes ought to be profitable and tender nources to bring vp their childreÌ„ For in this case there are some men of so weake coÌ„plection that in seyng a litell cleane water immediatly they dye to drinke therof Let therfore this be the first couÌ„sell in chousing nources that the nource before she enter into the house be examined if she be honest vertuous For it is a tryfell whether the nource be faire or foule but that she be of a good life and of an honest behauiour Secondarily it is necessary that the nource which nourisheth the child be not only good in the behauiour of her life but also it is necessary that she be hole as touching the bodily health For it is a rule vnfallible that of the milke which we do suck in our infancy dependeth all the corporall health of our life A child geueÌ„ to the nource to nourish â–ª is as a tree remoued froÌ„ one place to an other And if it be so as in dead it is it behoueth in al pointes that if the earth wher in it shal be new put were no better that at the lest it be not worse for thys should be a great crueltie that the mother beyng hole strong and well disposed should geue her child to a leane womaÌ„ to nource which is feable sore and diseased Princesses and great laâ—es do chose leane womâ—n weake and sycke for to nourishe their infantes And in that they do fayle it is not for that they would erre but it is bycause that such feable and weake nources by a vaine desire they haue to be nources in a gentilmaÌ„s house on the one part they say they will litel money on the other parte they do make great sutes What a thing is it when a princesse or a noble woman is deliuered of a child to se the deuyses of other women among them selues who shal be the nource and how those the whyche neuer nourished their owne children do preserue the milke to nouryshe the children of others To procure this thing for women â–ª me thinketh it proceadeth of aboundaunce of folly and to condescend to their requestes me thinketh it is for wante of wisedome They looke not alwayes to the manners and habilitie of the nource how apte she is to nource their childe but how diligent she is in procurynge to haue it to nourishe They care not greately whether they be good or no for if the firste be not good they will take the second and if the second pleaseth them not they will haue the thirde and so vpwardes vntill they haue founde a good nource But I let you to wete you princesses and great ladies that it is more daunger for the children to chaunge diuerse mylkes then vnto the old men to eate dyuerse meates Wee see dayly by experience that without coÌ„parison there dieth more children of noble women then children of women of the meaner estate And we will not say that it is for that they do flatter their children more nor for that the wiues of labourers do eate fine meates but that it chauÌ„ceth oft times that the children of a poore woman doth neither eat nor drinke but of one kinde of meate or milke in .ii. yeares and the childe of a Ladye shall chaung and alter .iii. nources in .ii. monethes If princesses and great ladies were circumspect in chousing their nources and that they did loke whether they were hole without diseases and honest in their maners and would not regarde so much the importunitie of their sutes the mothers should excuse them selues from many sorowes the children likewise should be deliuered from many diseases One of the most renowmed princes in times past was Titus the sonne of Vaspasyan and brother of Domitian Lampridius saieth that this good Emperour Titus the most parte of his lyfe was subiect to greuous diseases and infirmities of his persoÌ„ne and the cause was for that when he was yong he was geuen to a syck nourse to be nourished so that
this good Emperour sucking her dugge but a while was constrained to passe all his lyfe in paine Thirdely Princesses great Ladies ought to know and vnderstand the complexion of their children to the end that accordyng to the same they myghte seke pitieful nources that is to wete if the child wer cholorycke flegmaticke sanguine or melancolye For looke what humour the child is of of the same qualitie the milke of the nource should be If vnto an old corrupted mā they ministre medecines conformable to hys diseases for to cure hym why then should not the mother seeke a holesome nource to the tender babe agreable to his complexion to nourish hym And if thou sayest it is iuste that the flesh old and corrupted be susteined I tel the likewise that it is much more necessary that the children should be curiously well nourished to multiplye the world For in the end we do not say it is time that the yong leaue the bread for the aged but contrarye it is time that the old leaue the bread for the yong Aristotle in the booke De secretis secretorum Iunius Rusticus in the .x. boke de gestis Persarum say that the vnfortunat king Darius who was ouercome by Alexander the great had a doughter of a merueilous beautie And they saye that the nource which gaue sucke to this doughter all the time that she did nourishe it did neither eate nor drinke any thing but poison and at the end of .iii yeares when the child was weyned plucked from the dugge she did eate nothing but Colubers and other venemous wormes I haue heard say many times that the Emperours had a custome to nourish their heires children with poysons when they were yong to the entent that they should not be hurt by poyson afterward whē they wer old And this errour commeth of those which presume much and know litel And therfore I say that I haue heard say without sayeng I haue read it For some declare histories more for that they haue heard say of others then for that they haue read them selues The truth in this case is that as we vse at this present to were Cheynes of gold about our necks or Iewels on our fingers so did the Gentils in times past a rynge on their fingers or some Iewel in their bosome replenished with poison And bycause the Panims did neither feare hel nor hope for heauen they had that custome for if at any times in battaile they should find them selues in distresse they had rather end their liues with poison then to receyue any iniury of their enemies Then if it were true that those Princes had bene nourished with the poison they would not haue caried it about thē to haue ended their lyues Further I saye that the princes of Persia did vse when they had any child borne to geue him milke to sucke agreable to the complectiō he had Since this doughter of Darius was of melancholye humour they determined to bring her vp with venim and poyson because all those which are pure malancolye do liue with sorow dye with pleasure Ingnacius the Venetian in the life of the .v. emperours Palleolus which wer valiaunt emperours in Constantinople saieth that the second of the name called Palleolles the hardie was after the .xl. yeares of his age so troubled with infirmities and diseases that alwayes of the .xii. monethes of the yeare he was in his bed sycke ix monethes and beyng so sicke as he was the affaires and busines of the empire were but slenderly done loked vnto For the prince can not haue so small a feuer but the people in the commen wealth must haue it double This Emperour Palleolus had a wyfe whose name was Huldouina the which after she had brought all the Phisitions of Asia vnto her husbande and that she had ministred vnto him all the medecins she could learne to healpe him and in the end seyng nothing auaile ther came by chaunce an olde woman a Gretian borne who presumed to haue great knowlege in herbes and sayd vnto the empresse noble Empresse Huldouina If thou wilt that the Emperour thy husband doe liue longe see that thou chafe angre and vexe him euerye weeke at the least twyse for he is of a pure malancoly humour and therfore he that doth him pleasure augmenteth his disease he that vexeth him shal prolong his life The empresse Huldouina folowed the counsel of this Greeke woman which was occasion that the emperour lyued afterwardes sounde and hole many yeres so that of the .ix. monethes which he was accustomed to be sicke euery yeare in .xx. yeares afterwardes he was not sicke .iii. monethes For wher as this Greke woman commaunded the empresse to angre her husbande but twise in the weeke she accustomeablye angred hym .iiii. times in the daye Fourthly the good mother ought to take hede that the nource be verye temperate in eatyng so that she should eate litell of diuerse meates and of those few dishes she should not eate to much To vnderstand that thyng ye must know that the white milke is no other then blod which is soden and that whiche causeth the good or euill bloud commeth oft tymes of no other thyng but that eyther the personne is temperate or els a glutton in eating and therfore it is a thyng both healthfull and necessary that the nource that nourisheth the child do eate good meates for among men and women it is a general rule that in litle eating ther is no daunger and of to much eating there is no profit As all the Philosophers saye the wolfe is one of the beastes that deuoureth most and is most gredyest and therfore he is most feared of al the sheppardes But Aristotle in his third booke de Animalibus sayeth that when the wolfe doth once feele her selfe great with yong in all her lyfe after she neuer suffereth her selfe to be couppled with the wolfe againe For otherwyse if the wolfe should yearely bryng forth .vii. or .viii. whealpes as commonly she doth and the shepe but one lambe there woulde be in shorte space more wolues then shepe Besides all this the wolfe hath an other propertie whyche is that though she be a beast most deuouryng and gredy yet when she hath whealped she eateth very temperately and it is to the end to nouryshe here whealpes and to haue good milke And besydes that she doth eate but once in the day the whych the dogge wolfe doth prouide both for the byche and her whealpes Truly it is a monsterous thyng to see and noysome to heare and no lesse sclaunderous to speake that a wolfe whyche geueth sucke to .viii. whealpes eateth but one onely kynde of meate and a woman whych geueth sucke but to one chylde alone will eate of eyght sortes of meates And the cause hereof is that the beast doth not eate but to susteine nature and the woman doth not eate but to satisfie her pleasure Princesses and great Ladies ought to
watche narrowly to know wheÌ„ and how much the nources doe eate whiche doe nourish their children For the child is so tender and the milke so delicate that with eatyng of sondrye meates they become corrupte and with eatyng muche they waxe fat If the children suck those which are fatte and grosse they are commonly sicke and if they sucke milke corrupted they ofte tymes go to bed hole and in the mornyng be found dead Isodore in his etimologies saieth that menne of the prouince of Thrace were so cruell that the one dyd eate the other and they dyd not onely this but also furder to shew more their immanitie in the sculles of those that were deade they dranke the bloud of him that was lately alyue Thoughe men were so cruell to eate mennes flesh and to drynk the bloud of the vaines yet the women â—hich nourished their children wer so temperat and moderat in eatyng thaâ—â—hey dyd eate nothyng but nettelles sodden and boyled in goates milke And â—â—ause the women of Thrace were so moderate in eatinge the philosopher Solon Solynon brought some to Athens for the auncientes sought no lesse to haue good women in the commen wealthe then to haue hardy and valiant captaines in the warre The auctoure addeth .iii. other conditions to a good nourse that giueth sucke that they drinke no wine that she be honest and chiefly that she be well conditioned Chap. xxi THe Princesses and great ladies may know by this example what difference there is betwene the women of Thrace which are fed with nettelles only and haue brought forth suche fierce men and the women of our tyme whiche through their delicate and excessiue eatyng bryng forthe suche weake and feable children Fiftly the Ladies ought to be very circumspecte not onely that nources eate not much that they be not gready but also that they be in drinkynge wine temperat the which in old time was not called wine but â—enym The reason hereof is apparant and manifest ynough for if we doe forbyd the fat meates which lieth in the stomacke we should then much more forbidde the moyst wine whyche washeth all the vaines of the body And further I say that as the child hath no other nourishement but the milke only that the milke proceadeth of bloud that bloud is nourished of the wine and that wine is naturally whot from the first to the last I say the woman whyche drinketh wine and geueth the child sucke doth as she that maketh a greate fire vnder the panne wher ther is but a litle milke so that the panne burneth and the milke runneth ouer I will not denaye but that some times it maye chaunce that the child shal be of a strong complexioÌ„ and the nource of a feable and weake nature and theÌ„ the child would more substanciall milke wheÌ„ the womeÌ„ is not able to geue it him In such a case though with other thinges milke may be conferred I allow that the nource drink a litel wine but it ought to be so litel and so well watered that it should rather be to take awaye the vnsauorines of the water then for to tast of any sauour of the wine I do not speake this without a cause for the nource being sicke and feable of her selfe and her milke not substancial it ofte times moueth her to eate more then necessitie requireth and to drinke wine which is somewhat nutritiue so that they supposyng to giue the nource triacle do giue her poyson to destroy her child Those excellent auncient Romaines if they had bene in our time and that we had deserued to haue bene in their time thoughe our time for beyng Christians is better they had saued vs from this trauaile for they were so temperat in eatyng meates and so abstinent in drynkyng wynes that they dyd not only refrayne the drinkyng therof but also they would not abyde to smell it For it was a greater shame vnto a Romayne woman to drynke wyne then to be deuorced from her husbande Dionisius Alicarnaseus in his boke of the lawes of the Romaynes sayed that Romulus was the fyrste founder of Rome and that he occupyed hym selfe more in buildyng houses to amplifie Rome then in constituting lawes for the gouernement of the commen wealth But emongest .xv. lawes which he made the seuenth therof was that no Romaine woman on paine of death shold be so hardy to drinke wine within the walles of Rome The same Historian saieth that by the occasion of this law the custome was in Rome that when any Romain Ladye would drinke wine or make any solempne feast she must nedes goe oute of Rome where euery one hadde their gardens and dwellyng place because the smell also of wine was prohibited and forhidden women within the circuite of Rome If Plinie do not deceyue vs in his .xxiiii. booke of his naturall history It was an auncient custome in Rome that at eche time that parentes met both men and women they did kisse the one the other in the face in token of peace and this ceremony began first for that they would smel whether the woman hadde dronke any wine And if perchaunce she sauored of wine the Censor mighte haue banished her from Rome And if her kinseman found her without Rome he might frely and without any daunger of lawe put her to death because within the circuite and walles of Rome no pryuat man by Iustice could put any Romaine to death As aboue is rehersed Romulus was he which ordeined the paine for dronkardes and Ruptilius was he which ordeined the paine for adulterers And betwene Romulus and Ruptilius there was .xxxii. yeares so that they ordeyned this strayght lawe for dronckardes a long time before they dyd the law for adulterers For if a woman be a dronckarde or harlot truly they are both great faultes and I can not tell whether of them is worst for beyng a harlot the woman loseth her name and for being a dronckard she loseth her fame and the husbande hys goods Then if women for the honestie of their personnes only are bound to be temperat in eating and drincking the woman which nourisheth giueth the child sucke ought to be much more corrected and sober in this case For in her is concurrante not only the grauitie of their personnes but the health and lyfe also of the creature whiche she nourisheth Therfore it is mete that the nource be kepte from wine since the honour of the one and the lyfe of the other is in peryll Sixtly the princesses and great Ladies ought to take hede that their nources be not gotten with child And the reason herof is that in that time wheÌ„ the woman is with child her natural course is stopped and that corruption is mingled with the pure bloud so that she thinking to giue the child mylke to nourish it geueth it poison to destroye it And nothyng can be more vniuste then to put the childe whiche is alredy borne and aliue in daunger for that which
and honestie in her selfe she putteth her selfe in peryl her husband in much care Thou saiest that in that countrey there are women which are Sooth sayers Sorcerers and Enchauntours the which doe boaste and vaunte them selues that they wil heale infantes that they can weyne them better then others To this I aunswere That I would iudge it muche better that children should neuer be healed then that they should be healed by the hands of so euill women For the profitte that they doe by their experience openly is nothing in respect of the daunger wherein they put the creatures by their sorceries secretly Torquatus Laertius my vncle had a doughter of a marueylous beautie the whiche because he had none other chylde was heyre of all his patrimonie The case therefore was suche that as the doughter wepte one daye a lytle to muche the nource whiche gaue her sucke to appease and stylle her thynkynge to geue her sorceries to caste her in a sleape gaue her poyson to destroye her so that when the teares of the innocent babe ceased then the cryes of the wofull mother beganne Calligula which was the sonne of the good Germanicus the great though amongest the Cesars he was the fourth and amongest the Tiraunts the first when in Rome they vsed to giue lytle scroules written which they said to be of such vertue that they could heale al maner of agues and diseases of yonge children he commaunded by the consent of the Senate that the man or woman which should make them should dye immedyatly by iustice and that he which would by them carie them to sel or geue them through Rome shold be whipt and banyshed for euer Thy seruaunt Fronton hath told me newes that thou hast a sonne borne wherof I am very glad and moreouer he sayd that a woman of Sannia did norishe it and gaue it sucke The which as by an euyl chaunce hath a spice of sorcerye By the immortal gods I do coniure the and for the loue I beare the I desire the that immediatly thou put her out of thy house suffer not so wicked a woman to eate bread ther one day for euery creature which is nourished by sorceries and charmes shal eyther haue his life short or els fortune shal be contrarie vnto him I let the wete my frend Dedalus that I haue not meruaile a litle at many Romaines the which do permit and also procure that their children shold be healed cured which charmes and sorceries For my part I take it to be a thing to be certaine that the men which by the wil of god fal sicke shal neuer heale for any dyligence that man can do And wher as children are sicke by euil humors or that they are not very healthful because the gods wil take lyfe from them in this case if their disease proceade of an euil humour let them aske physicions for natural medecins And if their disease come because the gods are prouoked then let their fathers appease the gods with sacrifices For in the end it is vnpossible that the disseases of the hart should be healed by the meanes of any medycins of the body Do not marueile my frende Dedalus if I haue spoken more in this article then in others that is to wete to perswade the so much to kepe thy children from wytches for otherwise the cursed women wil do them more harme then the good mylke shal profite them I haue ben moued prouoked to write thus much vnto the for the great loue which I do beare the and also calling to minde that whiche thou when we were in the sacred senate oft times toldest me whiche was that thou diddest desire a sonne And since now thou hast thy peticion I would not thou shouldest prouoke the gods wrathe by sorceries For in the fayth of a good man I do sweare vnto the that when the fathers are in fauour with the gods ther neadeth no sorceries vnto the chyldren I hadde manye other thinges to write vnto the some of the whiche I wil communicate with thy seruaunt Fronton rather thenne to sende theym by letters And meruaile not at this for letters are soo perillous that if the manne bee wise hee will write no more in a closse letter thenne he would declare openly in Rome pardonne mee my frende Dedalus thoughe in dede I write not vnto the as thy appetyte woulde nor yet as my wyl desirethe For thou haste neade to knowe manye thinges and I haue not leaue by letter to putte thee in truste therewith I can not tell what I shoulde writte to thee of mee but that alwayes the Goute doth take mee and the worste of all is that the more I growe in yeares the moore my healthe dymâ—yssheth for it is an olde course of mannes frailetye that wheare wee thynke to goe most suerest there haue we most let The Popingaye which thou diddest send me as sonâ— I receyued it my wife did sease it and truly it is a merueylous thing to heare what thinges it doeth speake but in the end the women are of such power that when they wil they impose sylence to the liuing and cause that in the graues the dead men speake Accordyng to that I do loue the according to that I owe the and as I haue vsed that which I do send the is very lytle I say it bycause that presently I do send the but ii horses of barbarie .xii. sweardes of Alexandrye to Fronton thy seruaunt for a new yeares gift for his good newes I haue giuen him an office which is worth to him 20. thousand Sexterces of rent in Cecyl Faustine did byd me I shoulde send thy wife Pertusa a cofer full of odyferous oders of palestine and another cofer ful of her owne apparell the which as I thinke thou wilt not lytel esteme For naturally women are of their owne goods nigardes but in wasting and spending of others very prodigal The almighty gods be with the and preserue me from euyl fortune The which I humbly besech to graunte that vnto the and me vnto my wife Faustine and to thy wife Pertusa that we all mete merely togethers in Rome for the hart neuer receiueth suche ioy as when he seeth him selfe with his desired frend Marcus of Mount Celio writeth to the with his owne hand ¶ Howe excellent a thinge it is for a gentleman to haue an eloquent tongue Cap. xxv ONe of the chefest things that the creatour gaue to man was to know be able to speake for otherwise the soule reserued the brute beastes are of more value then doÌ„me men Aristotle in his Aeconomices without comparison prayseth more the Pithagoricall sort then the Stoical sayeng that the one is more conforme to reason then the other is Pithagoras commaunded that all men which were domme and without speache should imediately without contradiction be banished and expulsed from the people The cause why this phylosopher had commaunded such thing was forsomuche
how to punishe the folyshe captaines and suffereth to be commaunded and gouerned by sage phylosophers Ye know right wel that al our warre hath not bene but only for the possessions of cityes and lymites of the riuer Milina Wherfore by this letter we declare vnto you and by the immortal Gods we sweare that we do renownce vnto you al our right on such condicion that you do leaue vs Heuxinus your embassadour philosopher The great Athens desyreth rather a phylosopher for her scholes then a hole prouince of your realmes And do not you other Lacedemonians thinke that that which we of Athens do is light or foolishe that is to wete that we desire rather one man to rule then to haue a whole prouynce whereby we may commaunde many For this philosopher shal teach vs to lyue wel and that land gaue vs occasion to dye euil and syth we now of your old enemies do become your true frends we wyl not onlye geue you perpetual peace but also counsayle for to keape it For the medycine which preserueth health is of greater excellencye then is the purgacion which healeth the disease Let the counsaile therfore be suche that as ye wyll the yonge men do exercise theym selues in weapons that so ye do watche and se that your children in time do learne good letters For euen as the warre by the cruell sword is followed so likewise by pleasaunt wordes peace is obteyned Thinke not ye Lacedemonians that without a cause we do perswade you that you put youre children to learne when as yet they are but yong and tender and that ye do not suffer them to ronne to vyces For on the one part wise men shall want to counsaile and on the other fooles shal abound to make debate We Athenians in lyke maner will not that ye Lacedemonians do thinke that we be frendes to bablers For our father Socrates ordeyned that the first lesson which should be geuen to the scholer of the vnyuersity should be that by no meanes he shold speake any word for the space of ii yeares for it is vnpossible that any man should be wise in speaking vnlesse he haue pacience to be sylente We thinke if you thinke it good that the phylosopher Heuxinus shal remaine in our Senate and thinke you if we profite by his presence that ye may be assured yee others shal not receyue any domage by the counsayles he shal geue vs. For in Athens it is an auncient law that the senate cannot take vpon them warres but that by the Philosophers first it must be examined whither it be iust or not We write none other thinge but that we beseche the immortal Gods that they be with you and that it please theym to contynewe vs in this perpetual peace For that only is perpetual which by the gods is confirmed ¶ That nurces which giue sucke to the children of Princes ought to be discret and sage women Chap. xxvii THE pilgrimes which trauaile through vnknowen contries straung mountaynes with great desire to go forward and not to erre do not only aske the way which they haue to go but also do importune those whom they mete to point them the way with theyr finger For it is a greuous thing to trauaile doubtfully in feare and suspicion By this comparison I meane that since I haue much perswaded that the fathers do learne teach their childrē to speake wel it is but reason that they do seke them some good maisters For the counsaile hath no authoritie if he which geueth it seketh not spedely to execute the same It is much for a man to be of a good nature or els to be of an euil inclinacion to be rude in vnderstanding or els to be lyuely in spirite and this not only for that a man ought to do but also for that he ought to say For it is no smal thing but a great good benefite whē the man is of a good nature of a good vnderstanding and of a cleare iudgemēt This notwithstandyng I say that al the good and cleare iudgements are not alwayes eloquent nor al the eloquentest of liuely spirites and vnderstanding We se many men which of a smal mater can make much for the contrary we se many men which haue great knowledge yet no meanes to vtter it So that nature hath geuen them highe vnderstanding through negligence of bringinge vp it is hidde Oftentimes I do meruaile that the soule of the babe when it is borne for th one parte is of no lesse excellencye then the soule of the old man when he dyeth And on the other side I muse at the babe which hath the members so tender wherwith the soule dooth worke his operacyons that they lytle seme to participate with reasonable creatures For wher the soule doth not shew her selfe mistres it wanteth lytle but that the man remaineth a beast It is a wonder to se the children that as yet beinge .ii. yeares of age they lyft their feete for to go they hold themselues by the walles for faulyng they wil open their eyes to know and they fourme a defused voice to speake so that in that age a creature is none otherwise then a tre at the first spring For the tree .ii. moneths being past beareth leaues immediatly and the child after ii yeres beginneth to frame his words This thing is spoken for that the Fathers which are wise should beginne to teache their children at that age For at that time the vynes beare grapes and other trees their fruite For the perilles of this lyfe are such that if it were possible the father before he see his sonne borne ought to admonishe them how he shold liue In mine opinion as they conuey the water about to turne the mille so from the tender youth of the infant they ought to shew and teach him to be eloquent affable For truly the child learneth distinctly to pronounce his words when he doth sucke the milke of his nource We cannot deny but that the children being but ii or iii. yeres old it is to sone to giue them maisters or correcters For at that age a nourse to make them cleane is more necessarie then a maister for to correct their speache On the one part the children are very tender for to learne to speake wel and on the other part it is necessarie that when they are very yong and lytle they shold be taught and learned I am of that opinion that princesses and great Ladyes should take such nources to giue their children sucke that they should be sound to giue them their milke and sage for to teache them to speake For in so yong and tender age they do not suffer but that she which giueth them sucke doth teache them to speake the firste wordes As Sextus Cheronensis in the Booke of the diuersityes of the Languages saythe The Toscans were the firste whiche called the natural tongue of the contrey the mother tongue which is to
pleasure of the shee geueth mee neither greefe of that shee taketh froÌ„ me nor I wyl haue respect when she telleth mee truth nor I doo not regard it though she tel mee a lye Finally I will not laugh for that shee asketh mee nor I wil weepe for that shee sendeth mee I wyll now tel thee my frend Domitiê° one thing and hartely I desire thee to keepe it in memory Oure lyfe is so doubtfull and fortune so sodaine that wheÌ„ shee thretneth she stryketh not always neyther doth shee threaten alwaies when shee stryketh The man which presumeth to bee sage and in all things well prouyded goeth not so fast that at euery steppe hee is in daunger of falling nor so softly that in long tyme hee cannot aryue at his iorneys end For the false fortune gauleth in steed of strikyng in steed of gauling striketh Therefore since in years I am older then thou and haue more experience of affairs if thou hast marked that I haue told thee thou wylt remember wel that which I will say vnto thee which is that that part of thy life is troublesome which vnto the seemeth to be most sure wylt thou that by example I tell thee al that which by woords I haue spoken Behold Hercules of Thebes who escaped so many daungers both by sea and by land and afterwardes came to dy in the armes of a harlotte Agamemnon the great Captaine of Greekes in the x. years which hee warred agaynst Troy neuer had any peryl and afterwards in the nyght they kylled hym entring into his own house The vnuincyble Alexander the great in al the conquests of Asia dyd not dye and afterwards with a lytle poyson ended hys life in Babilon Pompeius the great dyed not in the conquest of his enemys and afterwardes his frende Ptholomeus slew him The couragyus Iulius Cesar in .lii. battells could not be ouercom and afterwards in the Senate they slew him with xxiii wouÌ„ds Hannibal the terryble captaine of Carthage slew hym selfe in one moment which the Romaynes could not dooe in xvii years onelye bycause hee would not com into the hands of hys enemys Asclipius medius brother of great Pompeius in xx years that he was a rouer on the seas neuer was in any peryll afterwards drawyng water out of a well was drowned therin Tenne Captaynes whoÌ„ Scipio had chosen in the coÌ„quest of Affrike iestynge on a bridge fell into the water and ther were drowned The good Bibulê° going triuÌ„phing in his chariot at Rome a tile fel on his head so that his vayne glory was the end of his good lyfe What wylt thou more I saye vnto thee but that Lucia my sister hauynge a needel on her brest her childe betweene her armes the chyld layeng his hand vppon the needell and thrust it into her breast wherby the mother dyed Gneus Ruffirius Which was a very wyse man and also my kinseman one daye keamyng hys whyte heares strake a tooth of the comb in his head wherwith hee gaue him selfe a mortall wounde so that in short space after his lyfe had end but not his doctrine nor memory How thinkest thou Domitiê° by the immortal gods I swear vnto thee that as I haue declared to thee this small nomber so I coold recite thee other infinyte What mishap is this after so many fortunes what reproch after such glory What peril after such surety what euil luck after such good successe What dark night after so clere a day What so euil enterteinment after so great labour What sentence so cruel after so long proces O what inconuenience of death after so good beginnyng of lyfe Being in their steade I can not tel what I would but I had rather choose vnfortunat lyfe honorable death then an infamous death and honorable lyfe That man which wyll bee counted for a good man and not noted for a brute beast ought greatly to trauayle to lyue wel and much more to dye better For the euill death maketh men doubt that the lyfe hath not been good and the good death is the excuse of an euyl lyfe At the beeginnyng of my letter I wrate vnto thee how that the gowt troubleth mee euil in my hand I say it were to much to wryte any leÌ„ger though the letter bee not of myne owne hand these two days the loue that I bear thee and the grief that holdeth mee haue stryued together My wyll desireth to wryte and my fingers cannot hold the penne The remedy herof is that since I haue no power to doo what I would as thine thou oughtst to accept what I can as myne I say no more herein but as they tel mee thou buildest now a house in Rhodes wherfore I send thee a thousand sexterces to accomplysh the same My wife Faustine saluteth thee who for thy paine is sore dyseased They tell vs thou hast bene hurt wherfore shee sendeth thee a weight of the balme of Palestyne Heale thy face therwith to the end the scarres of that wound doo not appere If thou findest greene almonds and new nutts Faustine desyreth thee that thou wilt send her some By another man shee sendeth a gowne for thee and a kirtell for thy wyfe I conclude and doo beeseech thee immortall Gods to geeue thee all that I desire for thee and that they geeue mee all that thou wyshest mee Though by the hands of others I wryte vnto thee yet with my hart I loue thee ¶ That Princes and noble men ought to bee aduocates for widows fathers of orphanes and helpers of all those which are comfortles Cap. xxxv MAcrobius in the third book of the Saturnalles saieth that in the noble cyty af Athens there was a temple called Misericordia which the Athenians kept so well watched and locked that without leaue and lycence of the Senat no man might enter in There were the Images of pitifull princes onely and none entred in there to pray but pitefull men The Atheniens abhorred always seuere and cruel deeds beecause they would not bee noted cruell And therof cometh this maner of saying that the greatest iniury they could say vnto a man was that hee had neuer entred into the scoole of the philosophers to learne nor in to the temple of Misericordia to pray So that in the one they noted him for simple and in the other they accused him for cruell The historiographers say that the most noble linage that was at that time was of a king of Athens the which was exceeding rych and lyberall in geeuing and aboue all very pitifull in pardoning Of whom it is written that after the great treasours which hee had offered in the temples and the great riches hee had distributed to the poore hee tooke vppon him to bring vp all the orphans in Athens and to feede all the widows O how much more did that statut of the sayd pytyfull king shine in that temple who norished the orphanes then the ensignes which are set vp in the Temples of the captaines which
the gods onely which had no beginning shall haue also no endyng Therefore mee thinketh most noble prince that sage men ought not to desire to lyue long For men which desire to liue much eyther it is for that they haue not felt the trauailes past beecause they haue been fooles or for that they desire more time to geeue them selues to vices Thou mightst not complayn of that sins they haue not cut thee in the flower of the herb nor taken thee greene from the tree nor cut in thee in the spring tide and much lesse eat the eager beefore thou were ripe By that I haue spoken I mean if death had called thee when thy lyfe was sweetest though thou hadst not had reason to haue complayned yet thou mightst haue desired to haue altered it For it is a great grief to say vnto a yong man that hee must dye and forsake the world What is this my lord now that the wall is decayed ready to fall the flower is withered the grape dooth rotte the teeth are loose the gown is worn the launce is blunt the knife is dull and doost thou desire to return into the world as if thou hadst neuer knowen the world These lxii yeares thou hast liued in the prison of thys body wilt thou now the yron fetters haue rot thy legges desire yet to length thy days in this so woful prison They that wil not be cōtented to lyue lx years fyue in this death or to dye in this lyfe will not desire to dye in lx thousand years The Emperour Augustus octauian sayd That after men had lyued .l. years eyther of their own will they ought to dye or els by force they shoold cause them selues to bee killed For at that time all those which haue had any humain felicity are at the best Those which liue aboue that age passe their days in greeuous torments As in the death of children in the losse of goods importunity of sōne in laws in mainteining processes in discharging debts in sighing for that is past in bewailing that that is present in dissēbling iniuries in hearing woful news in other infinit trauails So that it were much better to haue their eies shut in the graue then their harts bodies aliue to suffer so much in this miserable life Hee whom the gods take from this miserable life at the end of 50. years is quited from al these miseries of life For after that time hee is not weak but crooked he goeth not but rouleth hee stumbleth not but falleth O my lord Mark knowest thou not that by the same way whereby goeth death death cometh Knowst not thou in like maner that it is 52. years that life hath fled from death and that there is an other time asmuch that death goeth seeking thy life and death going from Illiria where hee left a great plague and thou departing from thy pallayce ye .ii. now haue met in Hungary knowst not thou that where thou leapedst out of thy mothers intrails to gouern the land immediatly death leaped out of his graue to seeke thy life Thou hast always presumed not onely to bee honored but also to bee honorable if it bee so synce thou honoredst the Imbassadours of Princes which did send them the more for their profyt then for thy seruice why doost thou not honor thy messenger whom the gods send more for thy profyt then for their seruices Doost thow not remember well when Vulcane my sonne in law poysoned mee more for the couetousnes of my goods then any desire hee had of my life thou lord diddest come to comfort mee in my chamber and toldst mee that the gods were cruell to slea the yong and were pytiful to take the old from this world And thou saydst further these woords Comfort thee Panutius For if thow were born to dye now thou diest to liue Sins therefore noble prince that I tell thee that which thow toldst mee and counsaile thee the same which thou coūsayledst mee I render to thee that which thow hast geeuen mee Fynally of these vines I haue gathered these clusters of grapes ¶ The aunswer of the emperour Marcus to Panutius his secretory wherein hee declareth that hee tooke no thought to forsake the world but all his sorow was to leaue beehynd hym an vnhappy chyld to enheryt the Empire Cap. lij PAnutius blessed bee the milk thou hast sucked in Dacia the bread which thou hast eaten in Rome the learning which thou hast learned in Greece the bringing vp which thou hast had in my pallace For thou hast serued as a good seruant in life and geeuest mee counsayl as a trusty frend at death I commaund Commodus my sonne to recompence thy seruice and I beseech the immortal gods that they acquite thy good counsayls And not wythout good cause I charge my sonne with the one and require the gods of the other For the payment of many seruices one man alone may doo but to pay one good counsayl it is requisyt to haue all the gods The greatest good that a frend can doo to his frend is in great wayghty affayres to geeue him good and holsome counsayl And not without cause I say holsome For commonly it chaunceth that those which think with their counsayl to remedy vs do put vs oftentimes in greatest perils All the trauayles of lyfe are hard but that of death ys the most hard and terrible Al are great but this is the greatest All are perillous but this is most perillous All in death haue end except the trauayl of death whereof wee know no end That which I say now no man perfectly can know but onely hee which seeth him self as I see my self now at the point of death Certainly Panutius thou hast spoken vnto mee as a wise man but for that thou knowst not my grief thow couldst not cure my disease for my sore is not there where thou hast layd the playster The fistula is not there where thou hast cut the flesh The opilation is not there where thou hast layd the oyntments There were not the right vayns where thou dydst let mee blood Thou hast not yet touched the wound which is the cause of all my grief I mean that thou oughtst to haue entred further with mee to haue knowen my grief better The sighes which the hart fetcheth I say those which come from the hart let not euery man thynk which heareth thē that he can immediatly vnderstand them For as men can not remedy the anguishes of the spirit so the gods likewise woold not that they shoold know the secrets of the hart Without fear or shame many dare say that they know the thought of others wherein they shew them selues to bee more fooles then wise For since there are many things in mee wherein I my self doubt how can a straunger haue any certayn knowledge therein Thow accusest mee Panutius that I feare death greatly the which I deny but to feare it as mā I doo confesse For