temperatly How much were this rule of lyuinge to attaine long life more delicate then to feede vppon fleshe and honye But in this age mē continue carefully in labours and care watching the halfe night baskinge in Venus bathe abyding in cloudye Regions and not in good ayre drinkinge boyled wynes do notwithstandinge complaine of short life And howsoeuer in deede oure liues be short it is opinion that doth make it so to appeare The people called Garamantes do not liue aboue fortye yeares I omit to speake of the Pigmeians as people rather fayned then in deede but wee if we dye before fyftye or threscore do thincke that iustlye we lament and yet who so dwelleth in those countryes do highly thanke God if he attayneth fortye yeares and thou lyuinge muche elder do neuerthelesse complayne Surelye euerye lyfe is long that is continued till death sith at the beginning the terme is destined and as sayth the Poet. In birth vvee breede our death our ende on first beginning hangeth Reade we not in holye Scripture that y nomber of dayes and monthes is appointed by God he hath set the terme which cannot be passed The lyfe of man therefore is ended wyth olde age for old age is the last part of life Olde age is also the necessitye of death wheresoeuer therefore death is necessary old age draweth neare Whoso dyeth in youth in this onelye is the more happye that he escapeth the discommoditye of old age will thou make life to seme long or short by comparison A kinde of beastes ther be called Ephemera which are made in the morning and before sonne settinge do dye If happelye they dye at noone theyr lyfe is called shorte but if they continue till nighte they accompte it longe and yet it exceedeth not twelue houres Wee maruaile at flees for theyr long life if they liue two Sommers and at flees that continue three monethes Yet whiche of these is thoughte any thinge towardes mans life we call dogges olde that passe a leuen yeares of age but a man passeth all these in longe lyuinge thoughe hee dyeth in youth But the life of mā must not be accompted longe or shorte in respecte of his yeares The life of all mortall men is but shorte because wyth death it shal be most certainlye ended It is vertue worthy actes that maketh the life longe and idlenes that shortneth thy dayes Alexander thoughe hee liued not aboue thirtye three yeares dyed an old man through the greatnes and nomber of his noble exploytes Argantonius hauinge lyued a hundreth and twentye yeares maye bee sayde to haue dyed in youth because besydes the rarenes of his age in all his life he neuer did anye thing that deserued memorye It ought also worthelye to be noted that for the most parte all notable men haue dyed in theyr youth Amonge the kinges none almoste continued to olde age Hercules Athilles Castor Pollux Aiax Iason Amonge the Poetes Lucanus Catullus Tibullus neyther was Vigill long liued neyther Demostenes nor Cicero howe true yea to true is the sayinge of the Poet. Their liues are short and age is rare vvhere life doth lacke good rule IVLIVS CAESAR Seuerus Alexander Probus Aurelianus Claudius the seconde of that name dyed in youth which men a I thincke liued the lesse the more honest they were because being deare to the Gods were the souer called vnto them Whervppon grew that saying from the Poetes whom Iupiter and Apollo do loue do neuer attaine to old age This is also to be noted that choise is to be loked for wher wil may anye wayes auayle but in thy power it is not to make thy life eyther more long or more shorte Yet if thou cā do it there is none offence at al but if thou cānot thou lamentest thy shortnes of life for no greater reason then thou may thy mortality And that care of thinges impossible is vayne onelye proper to fooles But admit thou maye continue thy life and become olde arte thou not therby the more vnhappye because thou losest that singuler commodity which by God almightye is gauen to men for the allaye of sorrow which is ignorance of time While wee continue yonge wee liue meerelye because wee imagine death is not at hande But how can olde menne thincke that death is farre awaye when alreadye they are entred the laste ende of life Howe true and worthye memorye is that sayinge of S. Austen A yonge manne maye soone dye but an olde manne cannot liue longe And yet no couse there is why thou should not be sorrye seing a yong mā maye also dye sone Syth th ende of life is vnknowē a yong man neuer ought to dispayre whether he laboureth of deadly diseases or be cast into cruell tormentes and prison The chaunces of mortal creatures do shew that men are subiect to law of nature and fortune so as withoute cause they loue certainties for most incertēties of al. But admit thou doest attaine to old age it selfe how manye euils commeth therby labour griefe ▪ sadnes losse of sences disdaine y which is almost worst of all as Caecilius doth well discribe therby thou shalte see they companye of all men eschewed vnwelcome are olde menne to their children vnwelcome to frendes disdayned of yonge men and odious to their owne familiars Theyr sences serue not theyr bodyes theyr bodyes obeye not theyr mindes they passe the nighte withoute sleepe and eate without all tast They lothe themselues how shoulde they be pleasant to others We reade that when Zeno Citieus could not dye with age he strāgled himselfe What dilligence and trauayle did Cicero take to perswade olde age to be pacientlye borne but if of it selfe it had beene good or as riches frends children and learning had apparance of good there shoulde haue beene not cause for him to haue taken such trauayle A mockerye it were to perswade that health or honour were pacientlye to be suffered and wee agree that olde age is sufferable but not to be wished for Howe manye olde men haue beene for whom it had beene better to haue died in youth Priamus for example not for myracle in historye is resited Not longe since Baccus Valor being olde and readye to take leaue of life before his eyes behelde his owne sonne beheaded a yonge man of singuler hope The next yeare before two other olde men I sawe that behelde the like fortune in theyr owne children Wherefore I wonder muche at the greate wysedome of Theramenes woo onelye escapinge when his house fell downe sayde before his frendes that reioysed for his life O fortune to what ende hast thou me preserued neyther did he aske in vaine for within fewe dayes after by the malyce of tyrantes he was taken and put to death Therfore such is the condition of men as althoughe beinge olde thou mighte returne to youth againe as the fable telleth of Aeson sayinge And as tvvise tvventye yeares bypast so novve my force I finde Myne aged yeares are vvorne
themselues into the water whych noyse whē the hares hard they studyed to know the cause fynding that for feare of them the frogs were fled chaunged their entent because the frogs more vnhappy than they sought notwithstandinge to preserue theyr lyues and by y meanes the hares haue tyl thys day bene preserued Surely the aduersity of others did neuer make my miseries seme the lesse but the necessyty of euyl whyche is knowen by other mens misaduentures hath geeuen me greate allay of my pryuate greues For when a man shal truly consyder hys myshaps to procede of natures necessytye and not iniuriouslye then wyl he yelde himselfe to suffer al vnlesse that altogether he bee voyde of iudgement symple and foolyshe A wyse man therfore foreseinge the necessyty of many my seryes and wel remembring the frailtye and instabilitye of euery condition of mankynde doth paciently loke for al sortes of mysaduentures when they come it is therfore mete he shew himselfe armed with fortitude least changed by reasō of their comming he may seme to forsake his honest determinacion or els be vnprouided It is also to be cōsydered that time is a medicine to all sorowes yt taketh away mourning it bredeth forgetfulnes of iniuries yt remoueth the memory of misaduentures and fynally bringeth forgetfulnes and disdaine of al sortes of calamities What man hath beene so impacient in fatherlye affection as doth take care for the death of his son thirty yeares synce departed or his goodes lost so long agoe Such is the condicion of tyme as fyrst it deminisheth som part of extreame sorow or ioye next it weareth awaye al feruency of affection and lastly doth clerely rote it out of memorye Therfore sith y couetise of time doth in the moste symple worke this effecte whye shouldst not thou do the same to thy self and loke what benefyte time in short space should geue the the same may thou throughe fortitude learninge modesty and good example geue vnto thy selfe Perswade thy selfe that thy displeasant dayes bee neare passed and hope that better hap is at hande Call to memory how many worthy men haue vndeseruingly cruelly by fortune bene cast downe and patiently suffered her most extreme disgrace There is nothing more requisite in a wyse man then modesty to suffer both fortunes For who so knoweth not how to do in prosperitye forgetteth hee is mortall there is no greater argumente of wisedome then when a man doth that presentlye which others by benefyte of time haue learned Be not therfore burdenouse to thy selfe though thou art chaunced into this shadow of calamitye yet cast not thy selfe downe into very misfortune Thinke assuredlye that some bee free frome euerye euyl and that tyme bringethe wyth all the moste certayne and sure consolacion Not that we haue all ready spoken of but that which Auerroes other philosophers haue written When soberlye thou consyder that the lyfe of manne compared to the eternall worlde is not a moment and in that short tyme al to be vayne incertaine and by assured lawe of nature shorte so as it makethe no matter at all what a one thou haste beene or shalte bee And when wythe my selfe I ymagine of this matter I remember that whiche in bookes of common fables wee reade where some are fayned riche men some mightye kinges and some so stronge as for strengthe surpassed Hercules what difference there should be betwixte these fayned men and Caesar or Pompey tyll this daye I coulde neuer learne vnlesse that eyther for oure learninge an historye is made differente from a fable or that we haue consideration of soules that lyue for euer For otherwise when thou shalte no more bee it skillethe not at all what thou haste beene Onlye Follie of man hathe founde oute this inuention that we should perswade oure selues to be happy or vnhappye not onelye in this worlde but also after in the opinion of others Some I see mooste carefull that after deathe they maye leaue behynde theim riches or fame And entysed withe suche desire Herostratus burned the Temple of Diana ▪ that thereby thoughe for wicked doinge hee might gaine eternal fame But who was this Herostratus by what father begotten or of what mother was hee borne In what countrye dyd hee dwell what was hys parson or whiche waies did hee lyue what doe we knowe hereby other then either to knowe nothinge or a fayned man And admitte thou gayne this desired glorie what shall it auaile thee after three hundrethe yeares whether thou were happie or vnhappie And if no glorie bee within fiftie yeares after deathe what difference shal bee betwixte a kinge and a Carle Betwixte Lucullus and Irus betwixte Xenophon and Cleon betwixte flaues and fremen betwixte happie and vnhappie But least perhappes thou lyue in doubte that time doth styll abyde and the course of heauens be staide or that the lyfe of man dothe not of necessitie and speedelye decaie beholde that one stone where in was graued three Faces a Childes a Mans and an Olde mans So sodeine are the chaunges and so nere as the Poet doth not vnfytlie call our age Fleinge Consider what nomber of yeares since the beginninge of the worlde and thyne age haue passed so shalte thou learne that no shaddowe more swiftelye fadethe awaie Imagine assuredlye that all tyme were passed and so shall perceiue that all wyll retourne to nothynge Not vnlike to theym that wythe certayne Hope of deliuerye remayne in Prison whoe thoughe in misfortune yet doe but lyttle lament chieflye if they be of valiant mynde So men that in this troublesome lyfe syth they looke for and abyde one equality in respect of death I cā not conceiue why happy folke should not bee more sorowful then those that be vnhappye For if euen now it were proclaymed as it was in the time of Licurgus that al lands goods should equalye amonge al sortes of men be deuided whether doest thou thinke that beggers or riche men would be moste sory Surelye I thinke no man thinketh the rich men would reioyce and the porer sort be sorye If therfore law of lyfe is so equalye made as there is none that can auoyde I see no cause but that euery man here lyuing in misery ought willyngly to embrace the benefite of so iust a decree What care I praye thee shalt thou haue two hundred yeares hence whether thou dyed hauinge children or childelesse olde or younge rich or pore bounde man or free in thy bed or on the gallowes or whether in aucthority or without honor thou lyued or dyed But follye hath broughte in these opinions by which we onely become happye or vnhappy Because follye enduseth forgetfulnes of reason it maketh Pigmeans to seeme Gyantes somtimes oure euyls somtimes oure good it cloketh it multiplyeth it maketh them obscure it cloketh it encreaseth darkneth hideth euen as it pleaseth of vs determineth But if in this lyfe ther be any thing good or euill or any differēte of pleasure or sadnesse the same
Eliades doth affirme those to liue short liues that do not render their parentes that due rewarde of education Such is the counsell of true dealing and surelye these vnnatural mindes procedes from some deuill otherwyse they coulde not be giltye of so greate a mischiefe The nature of man is diuelishe and so wicked as it woulde destroye all parentes neyther can it gouerne it selfe neyther doth it contayne in it selfe any curtesye by meane whereof necessarilye in shorte space it must be consumed But as it is the part of an vngracious sonne to hate the lyfe of his parentes so it is y part of a wise sonne pacieÌ„tly to take theyr deathes and to turne the same to his coÌ„moditye according to then sample of the good Phisitions who hauinge medecins wil not vse poyson yet hauing venome at hande after longe tryall of other thinges will rather then faile by venome cure diseases So the wyse man by well and discrete vsing of euill doth make the same good As first commeth to memorye the gouernment of household the ensample of wysedome and the desyre of glorye in all which the reuerence and respecte towardes the father doth chiefely hinder thee or altogether let thee The authoritye of fathers contayneth in it somewhat more then seruice and hindereth the execution of great thinges be it in warres learning or administration of the common wealth for all thinges hauinge euil successe are imputed to the sonne and al good to the father whom if hee loueth he cannot dissemble it though he deserued it not or if he loue him not it shal be called his default or want of dutye And the examples of them that willingly haue geuen place to their sonnes in glorye are so fewe as the honour that Antiocus did to his sonne Demetrius maye be taken as a myracle The euente of worldly procedings haue also made proofe of this opynion because al such as haue become excellent eyther in armes learninge or ciuil gouernmente were of those whose fathers in youth were taken awaye as Iulius Caesar Octauius Augustus Alcibiades Cicero Galenus Aristoteles yea what had Alexander beene if Phillippus had liued but one foure yeares longer for had Phillippus ended the warres wyth Darius being victorious he had gayned the whole glorye or if he had been victoryed hee coulde not haue left to Alexander meane and power of happye procedinge As therefore to cowards and men of no vertue the timelye death of the father hath euer brought hinderaunce So to noble minds it is occasion whereby to shewe themselues as they be This muste also be set before oure eyes that both life and death be the giftes of God and do euermore depende vppon his prouidence Therefore whosoeuer reproueth lyfe or death doth in sylence disalowe complayne of the deuine Iudgement because both the one and the other is meete and profitable And chiefelye if thou offende or did not loue them thou ought not to lamente for hauinge lost them thou hated Or if thou lamente otherwise it must be because towardes them thou were vnnatural But nowe thou arte safe so as thou can neyther be appeached of impiety if thou hast not before procured their harmes nor after be thought vnfrendly sith against thy wil or by mishap thou cannot offend How much better had it beene for Priamus that Hector and Politus had dyed before him who founde himselfe so greuouslye perplexed with theyr miserable chauÌ„ces as he disdayned his owne lyfe Was not Hector more happye in death for Astianax theÌ„ Priamus because to auoyde the sight of Priamê° misery he sought his owne death and so by dying left hym miserable All these were the actes of good parentes but of thother howe many haue bene whom though to hate were vngodlye yet to loue them is not necessarye Some haue taken away the common parent as did Clitemnestra who hauing killed Agamemnon was herselfe betrayed by Orestes her coÌ„mon sonne So Almenon murdered his mother Eryphiles for hauinge coÌ„sented to y death of his father Amphiarus These examples are common neither is it necessarye to loue such parents for notwithstanding by them wee haue our being yet against their willes as it seemeth we kepe it because they sought the destructioÌ„ of them of whoÌ„ wee came Therfore Licophron killed Periandrus his father for beinge chiefe auctor of his mothers death would neither take regard of his fame neither speake vnto him nor suffer him selfe to be spoken vnto But how much more wicked be they the seeke the death of theyr owne sonnes of whom the ensamples are not so few as happelye thou thinkest Mithridates murthered some of his owne sonnes and had hee not wanted power hee woulde not haue lefte one of his children on liue Theseus was also causelesse the cause of Hippolitus death and as they saye Medea cut her owne childreÌ„ in peeces Of more certentye the same is tolde of Catelina who to th ende he might be maryed a new with poyson killed his owne sonne almost a maÌ„ Matheus Duke of that Carthaginenses haÌ„ged his owne sonne Carthalus returning froÌ„ victory only because meetinge his father theÌ„ in exile he was appareled in purple wyth the badge of victorye Should any other sonne of hys suruiuing him weepe or lament the death of so cruel a father nay rather a malicious beast Yet how muche more vile was the acte of Laodices wyfe of Axioratus kinge of Capodacia who hauing by that husband sixe sonnes with poyson murthered fiue intendinge also to kill the sixt yongest of all had it not by the pollicy of kinsefolke bene preueÌ„ted What beast doth liue so hard harted as can beare the crueltye of such a mother Cattes and Connyes by reason of theyr excedyng great lust do deuoure theyr yong newly brought forth but other mothers among al the brutish kinde to destroye theyr owne yonge I neuer redde nor thoughe written it were hardlye I durst beleue Wyth like bestialitye of minde did Euergetes Ptolomeus murther the two children he gotte vpon hys sister Cleopatra the one of good yeares thother verye yonge Of these and such lyke parentes to bewayle the death how great a folly were it I my selfe haue seene and so haue manye others a gentlewomen that to enioye vnlawfull loue wythin xv dayes wyth a sword slewe her owne husband poysoned her owne sonne and before theyr buriall was maryed to her newe loue But nowe I see what thou wouldest saye I mourne not for the death of suchan auncetor but for one that was iuste good godlye and that dearelye did loue mee but howe doest thou know whether hereafter he wil be such a one stil for all such as killed theyr wyues or children were at the first also good yet grewe to this madnesse after many yeares which sheweth that theyr wickednes eyther came with time or els thoccasion grewe by time Therefore there is nothinge so vniuersallye incertaine as the loue towardes children brethren wyues kinsefolke frendes maisters Craft couereth many things so doth base fortune occasion
age When Cicero lost his daughter Tulliola being to him most dere did repose the chiefest parte of his consolation in the affayres of Caesar yet he liued vnder a milde prince in a Cittye plentifull Cicero himselfe of Caesar beloued frended of the greatest wāted neither wealth honour nor reputacion Then cōpare time with time that security with this priuate peril the goodnes authoritye of Cicero with thine the lenitye of Caesar with the seuerity of other Princes and then consider whether thou ought to wishe for childrē whē Cicero did not much sorrow the losse of his The life of men wythout childrē is ful of pleasure ful of lybertye ful of security they haue no cause to frare eyther iniuryes seruitude disdaine or daunger of others in peace they are free in warres not carefull And beleue mee that in common calamities ther is no greater care then to thinke vppon thy kinsefolke In time of plague no place thou hast to flee to in time of war thou mayest not remoue in time of famine thou art vnprouided whither to go Cōsider wel these discōmodityes see whether they are comparable to the want of children But now let vs returne to our principall proposition Why complaynest thou thy want of children when for thy child thou ought neither to lamēt who eyther feleth nothīg or is in ioy neither for thy self whose condition is best in respect thou arte childlesse syth thereby thou hast chaunged peril for security toyle for quiet bondage for libertye and yet complaynest This other day I harde certaine poore olde womē complayning wyshing the death of theyr childrē and had it not bene better for them to haue beene childlesse then to become in such myserye as to wishe the death of theyr owne children Marke well the prayers of poore people consider howe carelesse they are of theyr children and so shalt thou finde I tell none vntrothe But thou art riche no sure they are onelye riche that do dwel in common weales And thoughe thou liuest nowe vnder a king his successour maye be a tyrante one onely night may make this chaunge And in a cōmon weale whyle thou fearest not one thou must lye in wayghte and take heede of manye If thou want riches there can be no comforte in children Euerye man most assuredlye is poore and no mā rich wher is no security how canst thou be happy yet this is one most certaine condition of mortal men That as some are subiect to the warres of diuers vnder one all is wholye at his deuotion Remember Heliogabalus themperour that sought togethers the children of al Italy what did Astiages commit vppon Harpagus or what did Cambises to the Persians◠and chiefelye to Prexaspes Suche is the condition of men as better it were to liue in feare of warre by sondrye Princes then of one that maye at his will commaunde all One Octauius Augustus was a good Prince because in ciuil warres mercifullye enough he shedde the Romayne bloud but what beastes did continuallye succede him As Tiberius Caligula Nero Claudius What mischiefe coulde be more hardlye suffered then these monsters But admit thou liue in happye tymes yet of them do I receiue no proofe considering I wrote this booke to serue my selfe in harde chaunces not onelye in respect of the vayne opynion of some mortal men touchinge priuate aduentures but also that vnloked for euentes mighte more paciently be borne which thoughe they be not worse then other that are priuate yet by reason of theyr sodennes do cōmonly trouble men most Yet sith wythout mine assente this Booke maye come to handes of posteritye I maye happelye be reproued for hauinge attributed to muche blame to some one time and dispayred of better wherefore let the blame of tymes be left to theyr place and as meete it is oure talke be turned to comforte Thy sonne is dead what can more easelye be recouered none age but the laste no sicknes excepte the consumption that hindereth child getting which being so we ought not to be so careful of children as of our selues Aristotle concludeth that at threscore yeares of age or threscore ten a mā liueth to get children yet is it manifest that some haue gotten children after fowerscore yeares and though fauoure and force were decayde And among diseases both the gout and consumption do suffer generation These only are thought insufficient to get children y wants their stones or are depriued of their vertue Or els those whose vaynes behinde their eares be cut For such men as saith Hipocrates be all barren How wel therfore dooth Nature prouide y what a man most dispaireth of the same by quicke occasion is supplied There is nothing that can moore easlye or soner come or happen to man then the ryches gotten of thy father because thy winninge of Glorye and Freendes asketh longe time but a childe is gotten in a moment What losse can then the death of thy Sonne be and though it were the greatest yet because so easlie and of euery mā may be supplied it ought not to be accompted of But beinge poore to get riches is very hard For as the sayinge is Novv riches are not geeuen but vvhere as riches do habound But thou shalt see a man now childles and olde yet or thou see him next he is become riche If anye member be cut of it groweth not againe yf the father dye or borther their liues are neuer called back if thy fame be perished harde is thy reputation recouered but the losse of children is so easlye shortly and fully supplied as in this respecte onlye is not worthy any comfort no though thou were assured he were thy sonne in dede And how incertaine that is O Lorde who knoweth not thy beliefe must do it beliefe is therein nedefull Only the fidelitie of thy wife doth make him thine other assurance hast thou none But if a man doe happen to mourne for the death of an other mans childe for by coniecture Bastardes dye sonest by reason they were gotten with feare and most vnquietnes of mynde then looke what Laughter yt prouoketh But now thine owne Chylde a thing vnknowē but only to his mother is taken away what part of him was thine his soule I neuer found any so wicked as would be of that mynde his body howe can that bee when he is made of his fathers seede which is the superfluous noryture of the thirde concocktion as the donge fyrst the vrine second yf whatsoeuer commeth of superfluitie be ours then so shall wormes and Lyce bee ours and worthy our loue Remember how much seede in tymes past thou hast consumed in waste eyther vpon harlots or vpon thy wife being withe childe all that is loste and thou complaynest not what is more in thy sonne then the effusion of thy seede wilt thou then so muche lament a vyle and disdained thinge wherof is no reason If thou respect the beginninge thou shalt fynde that thou lamentest none other then a litle
our selues our couÌ„try of god and that which is most our childreÌ„ al. So dotingly we do loue our children as we seme rather to hate theÌ„ â–ª We bring theÌ„ vp not in vertue but in iniury not in learning but in lusting not in feare of god but in desire of ryches not to liue long but to the performance of foule delites yet was it not nature y made this default of folish care of imoderate loue to whoÌ„ she gaue a certain modest desire of honger thirst to euery creature so far as was nedeful Yet though imperfection of mynd only man without honger eateth drinketh without thirst without necessity doth vse euery sorte of delighte And in like sort doth he loue his children so much as not only he suffereth them but for them the fathers wil also do euil and attempt al wickednes and thincketh them of his owne makinge But assuredly they are not but â—ee the woorkes of God who gaue them minde lyfe forme force maners wit and encrease And of these the Father made nothinge Then leaue I saye to lament for that is none of thyne hee that made yt hath called it agayne vnto hym to whose Commaundemente yt is boothe iuste and Godlye it shoulde obaye And if thou desyre to knowe whether this Loue bee Naturall or like vnto other desires an imperfection of mind Beholde other lyuing thinges who after education do neuer knowe their owne no nor loue them But if this were a gift of Nature it shold by reason of pitye and necessity rather be in children towardes their parents then in parentes towardes their children which example Nature as it semeth did not forget in brute beastes for among birdes the Stork Among four foted beasts the Dormouse doth feede his aged parents But after the first educatioÌ„ of loue borne to their parents no sinne is extant but men by study as it were doth passe other liuing things through the imperfectioÌ„ of mind esteming himselfe to much The pitie of brute beastes cometh altogether when both of education loue th end is one duringe which time the old beastes be weaker labersome leane careful and miseserable as to all men it doth appeare Surelye it seemeth a great madnes to torment thy mind coÌ„tinually with this nedeles care of posteritie for besydes that this desyre is neither reasonable nor necessary some man may iustlye meruaile why it is so common but the answere there vnto is not douted of If fyrst thou doest show me the cause why so many men became couetous ireful and subiecte to desyres of lust And all these besides they be vices not naturall nor reasonable are also dishonest Yet thonly loue of children after educatioÌ„ though it procedeth neither of nature nor reason yet is yt honest But I haue perhaps in so apparaÌ„t firme matter for wise men spoken more then was requisite And haue vsed reasons true though subtil and shorte Therfore let vs come to longer speache arguments more playne lest I seme not so muche to proue as to deceiue thy son therfore being dead consider fyrste whether hee was well reported or accompted wicked For manye times the son of a good father is seene to proue an euil man by reasoÌ„ the homely vices are hardlier discouered then y externall besydes that loue byndeth iudgemente Wherof a fable is come forth how the Cuckovv in old tyme for her young birdes contended in singinge with the Nightingale and hers appointing the asse to be their Iudge whose sentence was y he knew not which of them did synge most swetly but wel he was assured the Cuckovves did most playnlye and distinctly pronounce their notes So the children of euery one are not only best loued but also the euyll by the euyll are most allowed of In which cases as we haue also sene meÌ„ of right good iudgement mete it is that we should not only lameÌ„t but also reioyse And in auÌ„cieÌ„t time they did much more then this for both Manlius Torquatus agaynst his son Deciê° Silanê° pronouÌ„ced so cruel a seÌ„tence as with a cord he hanged himself And M. Scaurus finding his sonne among others fleinge being only giltye of feare did force him to returne to his enemies be slaine Lykewise a woman of Lacedemon killed her son for his slouth and returning from the wars of whom this noble verse was written Thou dastard knight Damatrion thy mother here haue slayne That doest both her and Spartayn bloud vvith covverdice distayne Such and more wicked sonnes being bereft of lyfe do thereby sease to offend their parents kinsfolke yea are also themselues saued froÌ„ greater infamy Some sonnes haue not forborne to coÌ„spyre the death of their fathers As Blandenius Zesides who slewe his mother and Euander that at the perswasion of his mother Nicostrata murdered his owne father and for that cause was banished Italye Such moÌ„sters as they are being left aliue are causes of many euils so Paris was the subuersioÌ„ of both Priamus house country notwithstaÌ„ding wheÌ„ he dyed Priamus weped So folish are mens cares that they wishe they wot not what excellinge as they think the Gods in wisdome reproue those that in their ignorance shall procure their good For if thy son were wise honest godly noblye mynded hauing hope of children that may support thyne vnweldiage What is wanting in the graund children if none be a fond thyng it was to hope that he would not nor could not do But how soeuer it be greater is y dauÌ„ger of them that are worse then death then hope of those he hath to proue better And misery vilety shame continuall griefe and disdain are al more euyl then death deathe is common to all men but these to fewe who also are all subiect to death Were it not better by dyinge to preuent all these iniuries then to haue thy desyre so dearlye bought For necessarye it is that who so wyll lyue old must suffer many euils Ther is almost no mortal creature liuing long but at somtimes before he dieth doth hate his life wherto put the saying of y Poet. Although vnvveldyage vvhen lyfe doth vveare avvay None other ill did bring vvithall but that as men do say By liuinge long ful oft vve see vvich vvee vvould not behold Truly if such desyre thou haue of children if thy sonne died thou beinge olde thy time to follow is next if in thy youth then hast thou hope enoughe to haue more Finally Sorowe is a womanishe thinge and not fytte for men Therfore the Licians were wont to constrayne mourners to weare womens garmentes to th ende their garment might agree with the mynd And surely not without occasion because among all people the more vile they be the more beastly they lament As women fyrste next children then barrennous men the greatest nomber of whom be effeminate Contrariwise meÌ„ the more valiaunt they bee the more they oppresse their griefe and soâ—er driue their Sorow away This sort of Sorrowe goeth
to the infernall God and as it is his custome in many others so dothe hee vse to call theym nearest to hym that mooste do honour him But if at the beginning thou driue him away and suffer not thy mynde to be infected full farre shall he be from thee But beholde howe comelye and honeste a thinge yt is that a man of good yeares beinge well counsayled by others shoulde in womens weede beastely weepe wayl crye out and lament O gentle wit. But thoughe he doth none of all these yet inwardly to torment himselfe with sadnesse is the parte neyther of a wyse nor valiaunte man but of one that searcheth rather the repreheÌ„cion of others then knoweth what is seemely Howe muche better were it for hym often to remember Vmbresomnum Homo What could haue bene better sayde So subtylle and fugitiue is the lyfe of man as of al other thinges seing shadow is most subtil and sleepe moste deceiueable and incertaine what shal the shadow of sleape be And yet notwithstanding this is the lyfe and glorye of man One other wrote thus As the generacion of leaues is so is also mans for in dede what dissimilitude is there leaues doe fall by force of Sonne showers wynd hayle yea and if all fayle by themselues Euenso the lyfe of man beleeue me thou haste receiued none iniurye at all Death is the gift of God and God doothe wrong to no man If condempned by voices of assente thou bee deposed from Aucthoritye thou wouldest thincke that it were meete to beare it with pacient mynde thoughe that iniurye cannot want suspicion reproche and falshode And now when thou fearest none of these dare thou disalowe the Sentence of God And doest thou not remember that whiche Leontius Neapoles the Bishoppe telleth to haue happened in the lyfe of Iohn Patriarche of Alexandria To whome when a certayn man hadde offered seuen pounds of Golde to praye for his onely Sonne who a moneth paste was with a Shyppe and great riches drowned after a few dayes obteyned of y Patriarke his desyre And while in y meane space he coÌ„tinued in sadnes he dreamed one nighte y the Pattriark appeared vnto him saying Lo according to thy prayer y thy son might be saued so hee now is because he is dead but if he had liued from wicked life daÌ„pnacioÌ„ after deth he could not haue ben preserued god only knoweth what is expedieÌ„t for vs when we are ignoraunt our selues and know not what is to be desyred Wherfore it is conuenient that we do not onely receyue comfort but also reioyse at the death of our neighbours of whome yf thou desyrest to continue any memory though often times also thou wantest their company it shal be both to the and thy posteritie continued by hys noble tombes pictures statues verses orations dedications institutions of eternitye and Sacryfyces Is yt not more honest and pleasant to confyrme thy selfe to these comforts â–ª to commend hys glory to mortall men then with wepinge wailynge to kyl thy selfe Yet as to them that are endewed with vertue and acknowledge the felytitye of soules these are superfluous so to theym of maners more frayle such kinde of comfortes are not vnseemelye For Augustus hanged in his bedde chamber the picture of his graundsonne beinge a childe of him dearlye beloued and so often as hee came vnto that chamber hee neuer fayled to kysse the picture Alexander did set vp certayne ymages to Fabius Quintilianus not withe teares but withe a solempne oracion conteyning the commendation of his sonne dyd burye him What dyd Iohn Mesue who in his fathers name falsely turned the tytle of his booke So did also Zoar Aristotle wryte bookes to their sonnes So did Cicero and Plato in their disputacions call vpon their brothers frendes not in mourning garments and weping but wyth monuments euerlastinge honored the same to their posterity But now with reasons I thinke sufficiently it is proued that the deathe of children is neither to be so lamented nor euyl Let vs now procede to tel how manfully our elders were woÌ„t to beare such mishaps Octauianus Augustus hauing within twenty moneths lost .ij. of his nephewes was not moued so much as he refrayned to sytte dayly in the Senate Demosthenes the .vii. day after the death of his only daughter put on his whyte garment was crowned sacrifyced an oxe More valiantly did Dion he being in counsel of the common weale and enformed that his onlye son had fallen from the house toppe and broken his necke gaue order to his frendes for his buryall notwithstaÌ„dinge proceded in his busynes begonne Like herevnto did Antigonus he seinge his son slayne in battayle gaue none other signe of sorow but sayde O Alcionen later then thou ought thou art now dead for so manfully assayling thy enemies thou doeste not greatly esteeme my warnings nor thine own weldoinge The constancy of Pericles can be inferyor to none of these for when within eight dayes he had lost his two sonnes Paralus Xantippus yonge men of singuler witte did notwithstandinge put vpon him his white garmeÌ„t was crowned made oracions to the Atheâ—encians comming from hys house when his children were dead with merueilous constancy of mynd gaue counsel vttered reasons of the disciplyne of war. So vpon a time Anaxagoras his scholemaister being in disputacion woorde was brought of his sonnes death wherat he paused a little but by and by confessing hee had begotten a mortall creature proceded in disputacion When Paulus Emylius had taken in hand the Percian warre he prayed the Gods that if any calamity were comminge to the Cittye of Rome that they would rather lay the same vpon his house whyche either through his prayer or hap was perfourmed And when of his four sonnes he had adopted two into the family of Scipio within few dayes after he lost thother neither did he with lesse pacience bere this then valiantly he wished the other Tynnichus also a Spartayn left his posterity a monumeÌ„t of worthy ensample When Trasibulus his son in the warres against the Argini was slayn in this epigram is declared the nobility of his mynde It seemeth vvel that covverds vvepe vvhen they be brought to graue But thou my son a Spartayn true no vveping teares shalt haue He hath as me thinketh folowed the saying of Papimus A noble death doth parentes please and God such soules do loue The valiant myndes do gayn encrease vvhen lyfe do so remoue We see that some haue not onlye in the death of their children witnessed their greatnes of mynde but also did procure it and thereof proceded greate proffyte When Brutus openlye punished his two sonnes what terror think you was it to his Cittizens what desperation to his enemies what admiracion to his neighbours So as the example of that valiant dede was not onlye the occasyon of great encrease to the empyre but also for fortye yeares after it continued in libertye not so muche for feare of the
payns as for emulacion in vertue What is by thensample of Abraham vppon Isaaâ— shewed other then that men shoulde so loue their children as in them to put no truste at all but euer to honour God so as we may forget oure chyldren and such are worthy great reward For whiche his carefull obedience he is made father of many nacions neither shall his seede at any time decay This was a greater argumente of courage then that of Brutus for hee murdered the gyltlesse lefte the children of others his heires the other in sleinge became childles Hee by the handes of an other commaunded his enemies to be slayne thys man murdered those that obeyed But let vs returne to ensamples of sufferaunce and a shame it were that Women shoulde for fortitude exceede men Among whom what may be sayd of Tomyris queene of Mesageta who hauing her sonne slayne in battayle where in her enemye Cirus also dyed without teares made great feastes the hole army lykewise slayn â–ª Also Cornelia mother to the Gracchi of a great number of sonnes hauing onlye C. and T. lefte yet when they were in a time of sedicion most cruelly slayn besides calling only to memory their father their own worthy actes did not otherwise make any shew of sorow Argilion y mother of Brasidas the Lacedemonian kyng hearinge her son was slayn dyd neither mourn nor lament but asked if nobly worthely he dyed Gyrtias likewise a womaÌ„ of Lacedemon when her son was broughte home almost dead and his frendes lamented she sayd Non Silebitis inquaÌ„ declaring of what bloud he was desceÌ„ded she said one body hath ouerthroweÌ„ other in fight yet after being recouered growen to mans state was slayne in battayl which being told vnto his mother she answered saying was it not expedient y goinge to the wars he should â—â—ea others or be slaine himselfe but more wyllinglye I receyue knowledge of a death worthy of mee his predecessours then if in slouth and idlenes hee had liued One other womaÌ„ more valiantly bare the death of her sonne promissing in the fyeld sayinge let cowardes complayne for I wyll wythoute teares and meerelye burye my sonne And a nother a woman also of Lacedemon hauing lost in warres her fyue sonnes standing vppon the walles of Sparta and listinge for the euente of the battayle when she sawe a man comming asked what was done he thinking she had asked of her sonnes aunsweared they are all deade whereat the woman offended sayde it is not that ill lucke I aske but how speedes our couÌ„try then he telling y the victorye was gotten by the Lacedemonians the woman sayd wyth al good wyl I receyue knowledge of my sonnes slaughter In olde time such was the nobilitye of minde both in men and women aswell for courage as counsell But now enoughe or rather as I thinke to much haue bene sayd aswel of them as also appertayneth to deth It is not therefore needefull to speake of frendes kinsefolke or wyues seinge of them the plentye is greate the conditions vncerteyne and the necessitye little yea the cares and disquiet of wyues doe almost counteruayle the sorrow of theyr deathes And though wyues were not shrewed nor combersome yet can no man at anye time long want a wyfe syth one may be taken after an other And albeit that wyues were all good all frends faythfull and all kinsefolke kynde yet seinge the death of a brother a sonne and a father is pacientlye to bee borne a follye it were to lament them or call suche doubtles matters in question But rather resolue wyth thy selfe that death is the end of euill to fooles and to wyse men the beginning of all good And as sayth Menander VVhom God doth loue in youth he dyes FINIS Of Comforte the thirde Booke MVche longer then was determined more at large haue I discoursed that kynde of comforte which to sorrowe death doth appertayne not onlye because I thincke y occasion of griefe whiche groweth eyther of pryuaâ—e death or losse of frendes is little or lightlye borne but also that in these dayes men do so much desyre riches auctoritye as till death doth euen at hand drawe on they take no care at all Eche man in imagination alloweth himselfe longe tyme of life disdayning death as a thing not knowen in this but an other worlde But ryches and present authoritye are on euerye syde soughte for as ioyes which hee euerlastynge â–ª Yet not contented with â–ª this they also reproue condemne and despyse the quyet lyfe of such as are not with like madnes delighted For the chiefest care suche men do take is that of al other most wyse and happye neyther of which in iudgement of those that disdayne them can be allowed Then when these wealthy men perceiue that the others are not greatly greeued forthwith they fal to hate and persecution So as although men could willinglye suffer theyr bace estate yet beinge driuen into any kinde of necessity or calamity straight wayes they lament and complaine so as by confession of them for great desyre of riches the rich men are allowed of and praysed for the wysest sort of men But seinge the estate of tyme and worldly procedinges are not euer alike wee meane not to speake muche of that calamitye which these ambicious men do thincke y greatest but of that miserye whych may so trulye be called for suche kinde of men do labour to continue after death and glorye in theyr owne happines As the Poet wryting vpon the tombe of a certayne happye man sayde Vpon my corps poure forth thy vvyne O frend that comes this vvay And on my tombe vvith pleasant hand thy precious spices laye No gulfe of griefe my graue shal be but springe of lasting blis I am not dead but changd my life lo such my fortune is My former ioyes are not decayd but as they vvere before If ought or nought I beare in minde yet blest for euermore O merye man howe aptlye hath hee nothinge sayde for this presumption to continue felicitye after death is a thinge altogether vaine and forsaken of the very authors thereof For well we see that after death the glorye of ryches doth in short space decay Not onely because great nombers do daylye aspyre to this prayse but also riches it selfe deserueth no glorye at all And amonge so manye thousaÌ„d thousands as in theyr time was famouslye rich yet few of them haue come to our knowledge Gilias Cressus Mydas Pythius Meander Erictonius Sysiphus Tantalus Of the Romaynes that had beene bonde men Amphion Menecrates Heron Demetrius Pallas Calistus Narcisus Of Frenchmen Drusus Caecilius Sylla Lucullus Liuius M Crassus Of Kinges Salamon and Ptolomeus were all reported for notable ryche But Gylias became famous for liberalitye Cresus and Crassus for theyr misfortune Sylla Lucullus for theyr victoryes Mydas through Silenus The Romaynes that had bene bonde men by the abuse and riot of Rome Salamon for wysedome Tantalus for wicked lyfe Meander