which will driue away forgetfulnesse and sleepe expell slouthfulnes Sorowe I am weake Reason Boast in thine infirmities and accomplish vertue these two thou hast learned at the mouth of one and the selfe same maister Sorowe The state of my bodilie health is miserable Reason An vnpleasant coÌ„panion but faithful which will often put thee in minde poinct thee the way and admonish thee of thine estate which is best in dangers a faithful admonisher Sorowe The estate of my bodilie health is extreame without remedie Reason Holde thy peace reioyce that thou art enclosed in a ruinouse prison out of which thou mayst depart soone and easilie Of a base Countrie The iiii Dialogue Sorowe I Dwel in a base countrie Reason Be thou noble for there is nothing letteth thee seeing thy couÌ„tries nobilitie hath nothing to do with thine Sorow I dwel in a smal citie Reason Great cities haue also smal citizens for the most part consist of such smal cities in times past haue had great citizens Yea Romulus that was laid forth nourished in the woods builded the citie of Rome that was queene of all cities which Catiline being borne in the same great citie went about to ouerthrow Sorowe I was borne in a small countrie Reason Studie thou to aduance it there is nothing that so much commendeth cities as the vertue glorie of the citizens Who so thinketh that this may better be done by the building or fruitfulnes or riches is deceiued As it is in euery particular maÌ„ so is it also in cities kingdomes Empires whom not antiquitie not towres walles not stretes not palaces churches of marble not statues not gold not precious stones not caÌ„pes ful of armed garizoÌ„s hauens replenished with fleetes of ships not martes pawnes stored with outlandish marchandize and euerie sea round about cut turmoiled for desire of gaine lastlie not the beautie or nuÌ„ber of the inhabitants not the plentie of al things the markets flowing with meate not the sumptuous apparell of the men costlie making fashion thereof not statelinesse not delites not pleasures but vertue onlie maketh noble the fame of valiant exploites which men do purchase not walles Sorowe I am a citizen of a small freedome Reason Knowest thou not that Bias was a Prienian borne Pythagoras a Samian Anacharsis a Scythian Democritus an Abderite Aristotle a Stagyrite Theophrastus a Lesbian and Tullie an Arpinate Chous which is but a small Iland in the Egeum sea brought forth Philitis who was no base Poet and also the father of Phisitions the primes of keruers and painters namely Hippocrates Phidias Apelles that it may be vnderstood how that the litlenesse narrownesse of places is no hinderance to the greatnesse excelleÌ„cie of wits Sorow My countrie is vnnoble Reason Endeuour thou asmuch as in thee lieth to make it noble which thou mayest doe if thou list forasmuch as it cannot make thee noble For the basenesse of their countrie was neither a barre vnto Numa Pompilius to keepe him from the Romane kingdome neither Septimus Seuerus froÌ„ the Empire Although Augustus the most excellent of all men came of later time of a Romane generation for that hee was borne in the palace notwithstanding the more ancient descent his familie was froÌ„ the citie Velitrae Caius couÌ„trie was Anthium Vespasians ReatinuÌ„ an obscure village But contrariwise Achilles aduauÌ„ced the Lacissean fame And the Pelean name which had been base and obscure many hundred yeeres before which was renowmed by Philip Alexander aduaunced to the skies It is not ynough that the obscurenesse of the countrie hurt not the inhabitantes vnlesse the worthinesse of the inhabitantes doe good to the countrie Rome was a base sanctuarie and a thing builded by shepheardes and neuer became famous vntill it began to be renowmed for valiant exploites and excellent vertue of the citizens Sorowe I am bounde to an obscure countrie Reason Lighten the candle of vertue whereby thou mayst shine in the darke wherin at the lestwise thou shalt gaine this commoditie that at lestwise thou shalt shine verie much with a small light so shall it either make thee noble or thou it Sorowe I dwel in a base countrie Reason Be thou likewise lowlie and humble and let the minde that dwelleth within thee be lowlie Thou hast an example of a publique mother extende not thy selfe broader in thy nest than by those wings which vertue hath giuen thee These it is lawfull for thee to vse and that manie haue vsed them with good successe I declared erewhile And therefore so long as thou shalt bee a mortall man at leastwise holde fast this bridle of insolencie Some men are proude onelie vppon the nobilitie of their natiue countrie but those are a foolishe kinde of people Of basenesse of stocke The v. Dialogue Sorowe I Am borne of base and obscure parentes Reason Thy state perhaps is not so odious as thou supposest I cannot tell whether it were a wished matter to bee borne obscure consider thou bath wayes of life For whether thou determine to followe pleasures and the common way whiche the vulgare sort doe ensue the errour shal be the more excusable which wanteth domesticall leaders and then shall cease that most bitter improprietie of such as degenerate from their noble parentes in that thou hast no nobilitie at home which thou maist make obscure Or if thou choose rather with singular steppes to followe the pathes of vertue thou shalt by so much become the more noble the greater the darknesse is out of which thou art risen wherewith before thou were oppressed compassed round about and so the whole nobilitie shal be thine and there shal be none partaker thereof with thee Imitation shall take from thee no part of thy glorie thy parentes shall defraude thee of none neither thy grandfathers nor great grandfathers thy counsellers nor maisters whatsoeuer thou hast done well thou shalt reape the glorie thereof alone thou onelie shalt be commended for it and shalt be called the beginner and first founder of thy familie which could not be if thou were borne noble Doest thou see then what occasion thou hast offred vnto theâ—â—of newe prayse to wit to become noble of thy selfe and to gâ—â—e nobilitie vnto others not to receiue it Thou shalt purchase this vnto thy posteritie that they shal be borne noble which thy parentes gaue not vnto thee It is a great deale better to founde nobilitie than to finde it founded by others Sorowe My beginning is newe and rude Reason Howbeit that shepheardlie founder of the citie of Rome was accompted more noble for that hee builded his fort in the wooddes and couered his small and base palace with poore thatch than so manie princes and Emperours that came afterward and erected their huge citie walles their vautes and roughes of their houses of marble and golde so great alwaies is the commendation of famous newnesse and a
of thy libertie forasmuch as bonde men are made so soone not only of free men but of kynges And maruayle not at it seeyng that according to the saying of Plato Kinges are no lesse made of seruauntes humane thynges are chaunged dayly There is nothyng vnder heauen permanent who wyl hope that any thyng can be fyrme or stable in so great an vncertayntie Neyther thynke thy selfe to be a free man in this respect because thou hast no maister because thou art borne of free parentes neyther wast euer taken prysoner in warre nor solde for a slaue Ye haue inuincible maisters of your myndes and there is a secrete poyson and infection whiche lurketh in the first Original of man The generation of you in the very byrth is subiect to sinne a greater bondage then which cannot be imagined Ye haue hydden enemies and priuie warres There be same that sel miserable soules whiche alas for to small a price ye make sale of Yea some of you are subiect to outragious mistresses to wyt most fylthy pleasures whereunto you are tyde with an vndissoluble knot Goe your way now vaunt of your freedome But you beyng blynde see nothyng but that which belongeth to the body so that ye iudge hym to be bounde that is subiect to one mortal maister As for hym that is oppressed with a thousande immortall tyrantes ye accompt to be free euen finely as ye doo all other thynges Veryly it is not fortune that maketh a man free but vertue Ioy. I am a free man. Reason In deede thou art so if thou be wyse yf thou be iust if thou be valiaunt yf thou be modest if thou be innocent yf thou be godly If any of these be wantyng knowe thou that in that respect thou art bonde Ioy. I was borne in a free countrey Reason Thou hast also knowne in thine age certayne free cities which in short tyme haue become bonde But yf auncient examples be more knowne and renowmed the most free cities of Lacedemon and Athens first suffered a ciuil and afterward a forraigne yoke The holy citie of Ierusalem and the mother of euerlastyng libertie was in temperall subiection to the Romanes and the Assyrians and at this present is in captiuitie to the Egyptians Rome it selfe beyng not only a free citie but the Lady of nations was first bond to her owne citizens and after to other most vyle persons so that no man can euer trust to his owne freedome or his owne Empire Of a gloryous Countrey The xv Dialogue IOY I Was borne in a glorious countrey Reason Thou hast the more trauayle to come into the lyght For the smal starres do shyne by nyght and the Star Bootis and the day star lykewyse are dull in comparyson of the beames of the Sunne Ioy. I am a citizen of a famous countrey Reason It is wel if thou be an harborer of vertues and an enimie to vice the one of these proceedeth of fortune the other of thy selfe Ioy. My countrey is fortimate and noble Reason It skilleth much by what nobilitie For a countrey is made noble by the number of inhabitauntes by the aboundaunce of rychesse by the fertilitie of the soyle and the commoditie of situation holsome ayre cleere sprynges the sea nygh safe hauens conuenient riuers A noble countrey is commonly called suche an one as is fruitful of Wyne other commodities as corne cattayle flockes of sheepe heardes of rudder beastes mynes of golde and siluer Ye cal that a good countrey wherein are bread strong Horses fat Oxen tender Ryddes and pleasant fruites But where good men are bred ye neyther enquyre after neyther thynke it woorth the enquiryng so excellent iudges of matters ye be Howbeit only the vertue of the inhabitauntes is the chiefe commendation of a countrey And therfore dyd Virgill very wel who in describyng the Romane glory and felicitie dyd not so muche as touche one of these thynges whiche ye doo only respect but declared the mightinesse of the Citie and Empire and the valiantnesse of the peoples myndes He called them men also happy in respect of theyr chyldren and issue This is the true felicitie and nobilitie of a Citie Ioy. My countrey is famous for good Citizens Reason What if thou thy selfe be obscure But what yf thine owne fame bewray thee and bryng thee out of darknesse and leade thee abroade into the lyght thou shalt then be the sooner noted Ioy. My countrey is very famous Reason Catiline had not ben so infamous vnlesse he had ben borne in so famous a countrey Vnto Gaius and Nero there happened another heape of infamie to wit an Empyre fauour aduaunced the worlds children vnto the top of fortune that they might be the farther knowen Ioy. I lyue in a most noble countrey Reason Eyther sufferyng the contempt or enuie of many For without one of these a man cannot lyue in a great Citie the first is the safer the other the more famous euyl and the noblenesse of the countrey whereof thou speakest is cause of them both Among so many eyes there is no lurkyng Ioy. I am of a well knowen countrey Reason I had rather that thy countrey were knowen by thee then thou by thy countrey vnlesse thou glister of thy selfe what other thing will the brightnesse of thy countrey bring vnto thee but darkenesse A famous Citie hath accompted of many as obscure persons who if they had ben in the darknes of some poore corner of the countrey had been sufficiently famous and noble Ioy. My countrey is renowmed Reason It hath then it owne peculyar commendation and it taketh part also of thyne What so euer thou dooest wel the chiefe prayse thereof redowneth in a maner to thy countrey There was one that went about to ascribe Themistocles glory vnto the citie of Athens who answered very grauely and as it became suche a man to doo For when a certayne felowe called Seriphius an inhabitour of a certayne smal and obscure Ilande in heat of wordes obiected hym in the teeth that it was his countreys glory and not his owne that made hym famous Veryly answered he neyther shoulde I be obscure if I were Seriphius neyther thou be renowmed yf thou were an Athenian He trusted not to the glory of his countrey but to the glory of his owne vertue muche more manlyke then Plato although he were the greater Philosopher Howbeit sometymes in great wits there be great and wonderful errours He therefore among other thinges ascribeth the renowme of his countrey to his felicitie And that thou mayest knowe the whole mynd of this most excellent man in this respect Plato sayd that he gaue thankes for many thynges Truely this was wel sayde if so be that he vnderstood to whom and for what gyftes he should geue thankes He gaue thankes to nature First for making hym a man and not a dumbe beast of the male kind not a woman a Greeke not a Barbarian an Athenian not a Thebane lastly that he was borne in
hurtfull the other alwayes profitable Ioy. I haue immoderate store of bookes Reason We cal that immoderate which hath neither ende nor measure without which what there is good and agreeable to it selfe in humane affayres do thou consider with thy selfe yea in those thinges which are accompted best vnmeasurablenesse and immoderatnesse is to be eschewed and this saying of the Câ—â—nicke Poet is alwayes to be had before our eyes Beware of to much Ioy. I haue an inestimable many of bookes Reason Hast thou moe then had Ptolomeus Philadelphus king of Egypt moe then the libraries of Alexandria wherin it is wel knowne were 〈◊〉 M. bokes gathered togither which being with great study diligence brought froÌ„ sundry places were hurut togither in one fire which Liuius tearmeth an excellent worke of the maiestie and dilygence of a kynges trauayl whom Seneca reprehendeth for that iudgement saying that it was not a woorke of the maiestie and didigence of a king but of his studious lasciuiousnesse and not so good neyther but of a Kyng vaynely boastyng hym selfe in spectacles and shewes sought of purpose And yet notwithstanding perhaps the ryches of a Kyng may excuse the saying of Liuius and the deede of Ptolomeus and the Kynges entent forseeyng and prouyding a farre of for publique vses whiche in this respect truely was commendable in that he caused the holy scriptures which are not only profitable for the worlde but also necessary with great trauayle and charge by choise men for that purpose to be translated out of the Hebrue into the Greeke tongue But what shal a man say when priuate men do not only match but surpasse Princes in sumptuousnes We reade how that Serenus Sammonicus who was a man of wonderful knowledge and yet had greater defyre of more learnyng but had farre many moe bookes to the number of threescore and two thousand who when he died gaue them al to Gordianus the youger vnto whose father he had been most freindly familiar Truely a great inheritance sufficient for many wits but able to ouerthrow one wit who doubteth what I pray you if this man had done nothing els in al his lyfe time yf he had him self neuer written any thing or taken the toyle to searche or had neuer gone about to take the payne to reade or vnderstand any matter that was comprehended in all those bookes Had he not businesse yenough to know the bookes themselues and theyr titles and the names of the aucthours and the formes and number of the volumes A woorthy occupation whiche of a Philosopher maketh a booke keeper Beleeue me this is not the way to noorysh the wyt by writinges but to ouerwhelme and kyl it with multitude or els peraduenture after the maner of Tantalus to torment the astonyshed mynde with thyrst whiche tasteth nothyng but gapeth after euery thyng Ioy. I haue an innumerable multitude of bookes Reason And also an innumerable multitude of errours some publyshed by the wicked some by the vnlearned And those of the fyrst sort contrary to religion godlynesse and the holy Scriptures the other repugnaunt to nature equitie and good manners the lyberall sciences or Histories and the trueth of thynges doone but al generally striuyng agaynst the trueth and in them all specially the fyrst where greater matters are handled and true thynges are myngled with false the discernyng of them is harde and daungerous And to admit that the integritie of aucthours were perfect absolute what writer is able to remedie ignorance and slouthfulnesse whiche corrupt and confounde al thynges For feare whereof many excellent wyttes haue geuen ouer sundry worthie workes and our most lewde age is deseruedly plagued with this punyshment whiche is careful of the Kytchyn and negligent of learnyng encourageth Cookes and not wryters And therfore whosoeuer can a litle blot paper with ynke and knoweth howe to holde a pen in his fyngers shal be counted a wryter yea although he be voide of all learnyng without wyt and destitute of knowledge I doo not seeke nowe nor complayne of Orthographie whiche is long since peryshed I woulde to GOD they coulde wryte by one meanes or other indifferently that whiche they be wylled then the weakenesse of the wryter woulde appeare and the substaunce of the thynges not lye vnknowne But nowe by meanes of their confused copies registers promising to write one thyng they wryte so another that a man cannot tell hym selfe what he wylled them to wryte If Cicero or Liuius and many other of the famous auncient wryters shoulde come agayne into the worlde but specially Plinius the seconde and reade theyr owne woorkes woulde they vnderstand and not in many places doubt whether these were theyr owne woorkes or some barbarous wryter Among so many ruins of humane inuentions the holy Scripture remayneth both by meanes of the more speciall care of men but chiefly by the expresse woorking of God the aucthour thereof who defendeth his holy woorde his sacred Histories and diuine lawes and geueth continuance vnto his inuentions The most principall of all other artes doo perysh and the greatest part of them are lost Thus of so great a losse there is no remedie because there is no perceyuyng of it which in this case is no strange thyng for the great losses of vertues and manners are neglected Nowe when ye prouyd for smal matters with such diligence ye accompt of the losse of learnyng among trifles and there be some that reckon it among gayne There was one of late not in the fieldes or wooddes but that which thou mayest the more marueyle at in a great and moste floryshyng Citie of Italie not a shephearde or a ploughman but a Noble man and of great credite among the people of the countrey where he dwelt who sware that he woulde geue a great summe of money vpon condition there woulde neuer any learned man come in and dwel in the countrey where he inhabited Oh wycked voyce of a stony hart It is reported also that Licinius was of the same mynd and loathed learnyng which as it is written he tearmed a common poyson and pestilence Howbeit perhaps his rude and clounyshe byrth may excuse his folly But surely yf he had ben aduaunced to the state of an Emperour he woulde not haue abandoned that nature For the saying of Horace is true Fortune changeth not a mans kinde But what shall I say of your noble men who doo not only suffer learnyng to peryshe but pray and wysh that it may so Truely this contempt and hatred of so most excellent a thyng wyll in short tyme drowne you in the deapth of ignorance And moreouer not to wander from the purpose the wryters are restrayned by no lawe and allowed by no examination and chosen by no iudgment there is not so muche libertie geuen to carpenters to Husbandmen to Weauers not almost to any artificers although in others it be but a small danger but in this a great peryl Neuerthelesse euery man runneth to
the tyme of Socratis not at any other to the ende he might be taught instructed by hym Thus thou seest how among his causes of gratulation and glorying he putteth in also that he was borne in Athens What I wil say herein perhaps thou attendest Although our talke be begun concernyng this poynt onely notwithstandyng forasmuch as it hath chaunced vs to make mention of so excellent a man I wil declare what other men and what I my selfe also do thinke of this his whole talke I know that there be some famous eloquent men which do boldly affirme that there was neuer any thing spoken by any man more foolishly vnto whose opinion there lacketh litle but I do agree For I pray you to what purpose is it to reioyce in these thynges what if he had ben borne a Barbarian or made a woman Haue there not ben many Barbarians that haue excelled many Grecians both in vertue and wit Are there not some women that both in glory of many thinges inuention of Artes are more commendable than certayne men To be short what if he had been borne an Oxe or an Asse what should that haue belonged to Plato of whom we speake who then should not haue been Plato but that thing rather which dame nature had framed him Vnlesse perhappes he gaue credite to the madnes of Pithagoras to wit that soules passed out of one body into another whiche opinion is so fonde that truely there was neuer any thing spoken more foolyshly or more impudently I say not by a Philosopher but by a man nothing more dissonant to the trueth and godlynes or that religious eares doo more abhorre Farther then What was it so noble a matter to be borne at Athens that it coulde not be so good to be borne elswhere no not at Thebes Were not Homer and Pythogoras him selfe and Democrates and Anaxagoras and Aristotle and thousands other borne eswhere then at Athens and as highly esteemed as they that were borne there And that I may not now depart from Thebes which the Grecians are vsed to dispise If ye seeke for a wit was not the Poet Pindarus borne there who as Horace sayth Can not possibly be matched by imitation If ye require renowme of excellent deedes Bacchus and Hercules were so famous that Alexaâ—der kyng of Macedonie that contemned almost al men proposed those twayne to him selfe to imitate as the highest and chiefest paternes of glorie But if ye looke for both these in one is there not fresh in memorie and as it were before your eyes Epaminundas of Thebes an excellent Philosopher and a most valiaunt Captaine and in the vpright iudgement of all men prince and chiefe of the Grecians in al ages The same is he that almost vtterly subuerted the Lacedemonians and put Platoes cuntreymen the Athenians in suche feare that when he was dead beyng delyuered of a great terrour immediatly they gaue them selues vp to licentiousnesse and flouth And whyle he flooryshed at Thebes howe many thousandes of idle persons and fooles lyued at Athens who is able easily to recount in his mynde He ought therefore to haue geuen thankes not for that he was borne at Athens but for that he was borne suche an one that is to say with suche a witte and suche a mynde and finally in suche good lykyng of his parentes and in suche plentie of temporall goodes that he myght be set to schoole and instructed in all goodnes For these thynges I say it was behouefull for so learned a man so zelously to haue geuen thankes vnto that GOD whiche had bestowed them vppon hym not for Socrates nor for Athens in whose schoole and in whiche citie howe many vniust and vnlearned persons there were it is an easier matter to gesse then to knowe But to speake no more of the citie In that schoole among many other were Alcibiades and Critias the one an emmie to his countrey the other a most cruell tyrant to whom howe muche theyr maister Socrates auayled let Plato hym selfe aunsweare mee or thereby let hym vnderstande howe vayne a thyng it is whiche the doctrine of an earthly schoolemaister soundeth in the eares of his schollars vnlesse the grace of the heauenly Maister be inspired withall into them without whiche Socrates coulde doo nothyng although as we haue sayde before he was iudged to be the wysest man by the oracle of a lyuyng god But notwithstandyng let hym excuse hym selfe or some other man for hym what euer he be of his most foolyshe conuersation with his two wiues most tatter and testie olde women But this and the residue we haue spoken as it were by the way except this one thing only whereby thou shouldest vnderstand that Plato being so great a man as he was notwithstanding was led with the vanitie of his gloryous countrey Not to this ende that thou shouldest couer thyne errour with the buckler of so great a companion but that thou mightest more diligently eschewe him vnto whose example and aucthoritie thou seest that great wittes haue yeelded Ioy. I lyue in a large countrey Reason The discommodities of a large citie are many the churche is farre of the market fatte of The one of these is hurtful to the minde the other to the body â—he artificers our freendes be farre of There is no harder distance then this is whom it is paynfull to goe visite and discourtesie to neclect Doest thou heare how Horace complayneth of this matter One of my freendes sayth he lyeth vppon the byll Quirinus the other at the farthermost part of Auentine and both of them must be visited Whither soeuer thou determinest to goe or to traueyll abrode dispose the affayres of thy house forasmuche as thou art vncertayne whether thou shalt returne or not and the returne it selfe is painefull Some tyme menne wander in suche wyse that they neede to direct their course by the Loade stone and Iron this way is the easiest way and that is the readiest way this way thou mayest auoyde the place of iudgement and that way the theatre and this way the market These and a thousande moe are the rockes and daungers of Cities through whiche when thou passest to thyne owne house thou goest as it were to an other worlde scarce hopyng that thou shalt come thyther This discommoditie also thou readest in Horace howe that Philip the Oratour when he came home complayned beyng in yeeres that the shyppes were too farre of from the place of iudgement These troubles are wantyng in a small towne or whatsoeuer discommoditie otherwyse is alleaged Ioy. I am remooued from a small Towne into a great Citie Reason Wyllyngly to launche out of a quiet Hauen into a tough Sea is rashnesse But I maruel the lesse for that the euentes were prosperous Notwithstanding the familie of the Claudâ—â— did the like in comming from the Sabines to Rome Marcus Cato from Tuâ—culum Marius and Cicero from Arpine and it prospered well with them But where shall a man fynde suche
regarded Ioy. I till my land with great diligence Reason I had rather thou diddest till and husband thine owne selfe but thou being an earthly creature louest the earth whiche is no strange thing since thou thy selfe shalt make fatte that earth whiche now thou tillest Tyll and husbande as muche land and as many trees as thou lyst yet in the ende thou shalt not possesse very many feete of grounde neyther as sayth Horace Among those trees whiche thou husbandest and tyllest shall any followe thee their short Maister besides the hatefull Cypres trees Of pleasaunt greene VValkes The Lviii Dialogue IOY I Haue pleasaunt walkes Reason I confesse in deede that these somtyme doo bryng honest pleasure and somtyme vnhonest And therefore those that be studious of vertue and such as geue them selues to voluptuousnesse doo equally delight in shadowie withdrawing places For the place prouoketh some to wisedome and some to repentaunce and some to incontinencie and wantonnesse For it is not for nothing that the great Oratour when he obiected adulterie against a vile person described also the pleasantnesse of that place where the fact was committed as adding a spurre vnto the wickednesse and therefore we ought not to take delight in the place but to be merie in minde if it haue hapned vnto thee to haue such an one as knoweth well how to vse al places Ioy. I haue store of pleasant walkes Reason Who hath not heard of Tiberius secret walke and the withdrawing place of Caprea I am ashamed to recite the thinges that are knowen to al men The olde man Hircinus how doth he rayle against secret walkes How much more gloriously did Scipio Africane liue a poore banished man in the dry countrey then the Romane prince in al his pleasures I therefore repeate this agayne Al your felicitie consisteth not in places neither in any other thinges but in the minde only So that they whiche haue commended of the solitarie life and secret withdrawing places woulde haue it thus to be vnderstoode to witte yf the minde be able to vse them wysely and not otherwise And therefore I attende to heare what profite thou reapest of those thy pleasant walkes and then marke what I wyll pronounce thereof For if thou vaunt thee so muche of the places which yesterday were not thine and to morow perhaps may be taken from thee and if thou consider vprightly at this present are none of thine doubtlesse thou vauntest of that whiche is anothers What hast thou then to glory of What belongeth it vnto thee that the Alpes be cold in Sommer that the mountaine Olympus is higher then the cloudes that the hil Apenninus beareth wood and trees What though Ticinus be bright Athesis pleasant Sorga soundyng If these be prayses truly they are not the prayses of men but of places but it is thy part to minister iust matter of thine owne commedation Ioy. I walke in pleasant places Reason In the meane while it skilleth what cares doo walke in thy breast for what auayleth it to put stinking oyntmentes into iuorie boxes What to haue a foule mind in fayre places Howe many holy fathers haue florished among the rough mountaines How many filthy adulterers haue rotted in the greene medowes Moreouer it hath ben prooued that such places haue not only ben hurtful to mens mindes but somtimes also to their bodies liues not only by taking too much aire but also by the swoord sudden inuasion Who readeth not in Curtius of the most pleasant groues and woods the secrete walkes herbars which the kinges of the Medes planted with their owne handes the chiefest thing wherein the kinges nobles of the Medes bestowed their indeuours and tooke greatest delight as it is reported Howbeit in them at the commaundement of a drunken and frantyke young Kyng the auncient and noble Parmenio was stayne who as I suppose was the chiefe of the Dukes and Captaynes of the Macedones Who knoweth not Caieta and that bendyng of the shoare there a fayrer and pleasaunter place then whiche there is none vnder the Coape of heauen in whiche place the noble Cicero was murdered at the commaundement of drunken and cruell Antonie This place in some respect myght be conuenient for so woorthie a man that since the destenies had denyed hym power to dye at Rome he myght dye in that flouryshyng countrey the most flourishyng Oratour of all other and best citizen Howbeit the maner and auctour of his death was far vnwoorthie It was by chaunce that Cicero at that tyme walked in those places to auoyde the troubles of the citie and was after his maner eyther deuising some newe matter concernyng Philosophie or apparteyning to the course and trade of liuing or bewaylyng the common wealth The griefe of his minde which he conceiued of the state of his countrey he aswaged with the delight of his eyes when as the Butchers that were sent by him that was enimie to all vertue dispatched such a man out of the worlde as no age to come wyl restoare the lyke Thus therefore it hapneth that delectable places are most apâ— for treason and deceypt whilst men lyue there most loosely and haue least regarde to foresee daungers For the wylde beastes are sonest snared in the thickest wooddes and birdes are most easily limed in the greene twigges Ioy. I walke meryly in my pleasaunt walkes and voyde of care Reason Mirth and neglect of care are alwayes contrarie vnto heedefulnesse So long as euery man thynketh earnestly vpon his owne dangers and the common state of mans life there shall scarce any man lyue very merily or deuoyde of care And it is neyther the beautie of the places nor hope of ryches that can breede forgetfulnesse of mischiefes that are at hande Ioy. I take delyght to be abroade in my walkes Reason Not more delyght then doo the wilde Boares and the Beares It maketh not so muche matter where thou art but what thou doest The place shall neuer make thee noble but thou the place and that neuer ouherwyse then by attemptyng some notable matter therein Of Flockes and Heardes of Cattle The Lix Dialogue IOY I Ioy in my flockes and heardes Reason A brutishe ioy Ioy. I abounde in heardes and flockes Reason A beastly prosperitie whiche beastes haue procured Ioy. I loue flockes and heardes Reason In all loues it is to be suspected that there is some likelinesse betweene the louyng and beloued Ioy. I loue heardes and flockes Reason Ye loue euery thing sauing vertue and one of you another Those thinges which especially ought to be loued ye care not for those thinges whiche ye shoulde not esteeme ye loue Ioy. I loue heardes and flockes Reason O wretched louers of vile thynges and haters of the woorthie Ye loue those thynges whiche vnderstande not that they are loued neyther are able to loue you againe for you your selues doo not loue one another nor loue them that loue you and all this mischiefe commeth through couetousnesse that you not
trust nor trueth at al and all this mischiefe happeneth on the one syde for that iniuries are offered to them that haue not deserued on the other for that benefites are bestowed vppon the vnwoorthy so that the whole course of thyngs beyng confounded through disorder enimies are made friendes and Citizens are made enimies Ioy. I am the Tyrant of my countrey Reason Couldest thou fynde in thy hart to be so yf thou remembredst that it were thyne owne countrey If the representation of your common mother came into thy mynde thou wouldest neuer in suche sort teare thy brethren with whom thou hast been brought vp in thy chyldehood and also in ryper yeeres hast enioyed the same ayre the same waters the same religion the same holydayes the same playes and delightes with what mynde canst thou insult and reignâ—â—ouer them and reioyce when they weepe Lastly with what impudencie â—â—ooest thou lyue in that Citie wherein thou knowest thy lyfe to he hated of all men thy death wyshed of all sortes where thou art assured there is none that woulde not haue thee destroyed as a most cruell Wolfe in a gentle flocke Ioy. I haue vndertaken a Tyrrannie Reason If thou compare the present tyme with the tyme past thou shalt perceyue howe miserable a clogge thou hast layd vpon thy shoulders thou lyuedst somtime a safe quiet life but now henceforward vnlesse thou ioyne madnesse to mischiefe thou shalt passe no day nor nyght without feare and trouble of minde eate no meate without suspition take no sleepe without dread whyle thou beholdest on euerie side the swoord hanging ouer thy head which Dionysius is reported not vnfitly to haue shewed vnto a certaine friend of his that wondred at his wealth and aucthoritie who was a tyrant in deede but a most graue considerer of the state of tyrranny Ioy. I haue purchased a tyranny by the swoorde Reason If thou haue gotten it by the swoorde thou must keepe it by the swoord and perhaps loose it by the swoord Thou hast wonne woorthy ryches in deede to be odious and fearefull vnto all men and that whiche foloweth therof to be continually a feareful burden to thy selfe But to admit there were no danger which in some Cities and countreys the nature of the people beareth sufficiently beyng apt to seruilitie and obedience yet when beyng out of feare and danger thou shalt call to mynde what Laberius a Knyght of Rome sayde vnto hym that was the fyrst founder of this whiche nowe hath the name of a iust Empire Needes sayth he must he feare many of whom many stande in feare The reason of which saying is that whiche Ouid aleageth For euerie man wisheth him dead whom he feareth which was first alleaged by Ennius where he sayth They hate whom they feare eche man wysheth hym dead whom he feareth But yf all feare and danger doo ceasse whiche hath happened vnto some Tyrantes theyr boldnesse beyng nooryshed by publique calamities or the experimented dastardes of theyr Citizens yet is it not a shame for thee to gouerne those vnto whom it were more meete thou were theyr vnderlyng besydes thy iniurious force which is the worst thyng of alâ—â— â–ª Ioy. I haue put on a tyrranny Reason Thou hast put of all humanitie and iustice and chosen a troublesome and blooddy lyfe or els truely a doubtful death Vnhappy man whose death only thy countrey which hare thee and brought thee vp dooeth continually hope for Is not he in sufficient wofull case whom al men would haue to be in woful case And is not he most wretched who cannot possible be so wretched but is worthy to be more wretched Ioy. I possesse the chiefest place among my Citizens Reason Thou possessest a tyrranny ouer thy Citizens thou hast placed thyne house vpon sande thy bed in the bryers thy seate vpon a downefal thy pouertie in rapynes and thyne enuie in miseries Of a Kyngdome and Empire The .xcvi. Dialogue IOY BEholde I am a Kyng by right Reason That cannot be long vnknowne for what the difference is betweene a Kyng and a Tirant I haue declared alredy And what auayleth it for thee to be called a Kyng yf thou be a Tirant The safetie of a King and kingdome consisteth not in a glorious name but in true iustice I deeme it lesse euyl for thee to refourme the gouernment that thou hast gotten and afterward so to behaue thy selfe that thou maiest appeare to be a true King then by tyrannical vexation to spoyle the kyngdome wherunto thou commest by right wherin thou lawfully succeedest thy father for there belongeth more true prayse vnto the proceedyng and end then to the begynning of thynges Ioy. I am a kyng Reason It were better and more quiet to lyue vnder a good King then to be a King thy selfe Ioy. I haue ascended into the Regal seate of the kyngdome Reason A conspicuous place and obiect vnto al mens eyes and therfore dangerous for slouthfulnes and paynful and difficult for vertue For a good Kyng is a publique seruant Ioy. I am aduaunced to the Regal throne of a kyngdome Reason To the end thou mayest seeme woorthy forget thy selfe and thyne owne affayres thynke vpon thy people and the commom wealth the day fyrst that thou wast made a Kyng thou beganst to dye to thy selfe and to lyue for other and which is the hardest case of al for vnthankful and vniust considerers of thy trauayle Ioy. I am come to a kyngdome Reason Perhaps thou mayest get there some transitorie glory but no quietnesse at all Ioy. I reigne vprightly Reason Thou doest well and a most acceptable thing vnto god And knowe this that thou seruest suche as are alwayes repynyng and ful of complayntes and that wyll scarce geue thee thankes before thy death There is seldome any Kyng so good but the people loue hym better that shall succeede who when he is come the other is wyshed for agayne These are the manners of the common people to hate the thynges that are present to desyre the thynges that are to come and to prayse the thynges that are past Howe then should complayntes ceasse yf euery good thyng that is present doo stynke and nothyng pleaseth but that whiche grieueth whether it be alredy past or hoped for Ioy. I haue gotten the Scepter and Diademe Reason Gloryous fetters and a noble miserie which yf all men throughly knewe trust me two woulde not so often stryue for one seate but there would be more kyngdomes then Kynges Ioy. I weare the princely robes Reason It is not the outward apparrel but the inwarde furniture and princely mynde that maketh a Kyng Alexander the Emperour of Rome was woont to say that Empyre and gouerment consisted in vertue and not in sumptuousnesse Ioy. I am aduaunced to a kyngdome Reason Now is the state of the subiectes vncertayne whether they be happie in that kind of happines which is imagined to be heare or in miserie For a vertuous king is the felicitie of a transitorie kingdome
vse it to vse it I say not as Maharbal gaue counsayle to Hanibal but as Hanno that was a better man gaue counsayle to his Common wealth For truely Peace is the best vse and fruite of victorie neyther are iust warres taken in hande for any other ende then for peace Ioy. Victorie is on my syde Reason Beware she flee not away for she hath winges Of the death of an Enimie The Ciiii. Dialogue IOY I AM glad of myne Enimies death Reason To hope for any thing by the death of an enimie and to reioyce in any mans death perhaps is permitted to hym that is immortal yf any suche may be founde but to hope for the death of another man whiche may fyrst happen to thy selfe or to reioyce that that is befallen to thyne Enimie whiche needes must happen to thy selfe is a foolyshe hope and a vayne ioy Ioy. I reioyce in myne Enimies death Reason Some other ere it be long wyll reioyce in thine Ioy. I am glad that mine Enimie is dead Reason If ye were mindful of your owne estate one man would neuer reioyce in the death of another When I pray thee was it euer seene that when two went togeather to execution the one conceiued any pleasure in the others death knowing that himselfe must goe to the same pot but doth not rather lament beholding his owne death in his fellowe Ioy. I haue conceyued delyght in mine Enimies death Reason How often thinkest thou haue mens deathes that haue been desired greeued the desirers and they haue in vayne begun to wishe for their liues who before wyshed not in vayne for their deathes when as they begin once to vnderstand that they haue wished to their owne destructioÌ„ But your affections are hastie Whatsoeuer ye wishe to haue ye wish it vehemently as it is written Iulius Caesar sayde of Marcus Brutus Yea rather ye wyshe it too muche and your earnest desyre can suffer no tariaunce And therefore whatsoeuer ye woulde haue ye wyll haue it presently whereof proceede not onely vngodly wyshes but also poysonynges and murthers and whatsoeuer one man can imagine against another beyng the most hurtfull creature towarde his owne kinde â–ª Ye wysh for many thynges whiche yf ye tooke aduise of reason ye would stand in feare of when they are accomplished and the varieue of your wishes is an argument of your euyl choyce neyther doeth your rashnesse returne to that whiche is right vntyll your â—â—olythe affections are checked with haplesse successe Ioy. I am glad of mine enimies death Reason If thine enimie were but of smal fame and reputation to reioyce in his death is shameful and to be sorie superfluous but yf he were noble and famous it is meete and decent to be sorie though not for the man yet for vertues sake whiche euery day hath fewer places to harbour in Sodyd Metellus Macedonicus bewayle the death of the younger Scipio Africane and Caesar the death of Pompeâ— and Alexander the death of Darius Ioy. I recioyce in the death of my Foe Reason How canst thou reioyce in his death whom thou art commaunded to loue not as thine enimie but as thy neighboure being the worke of the same woorkeman Ioy. I am gladde of myne enimies death Reason Perhaps thou hearest not or regardest not the most holsome and knowen counsel of the Wyse man Reioyce not sayth he in the death of thine enimie knowyng that we shall all dye And wyl we notwithstandyng be glad Doubtlesse this counsayle or precept is holsome Of hope of Peace The Cv. Dialogue HOPE I Hope for Peace Reason It is better to keepe peace then to hope for it It is the part of a foole to neglect thynges certayne and to embrace doubtfull hope Hope I hope for peace Reason Thou shouldest haue kept her more narrowly neyther suffered her to depart whom thou now hopest for What yf thine impatience haue brought thee vnto this Hope that thou myghtest choose to be vexed with hoping for that whiche thou myghtest haue vsed by enioying Hope I hope for peace Reason Hope of peace hath destroyed many and calamitie vnlooked for followyng hoped peace hath ouercome and oppressed the vnskilfull sleepy whom it could not haue harmed if it had found expert Hope I hope for peace Reason Why doest thou hope so long for that whiche is in thy hand to attayne vnto It is seldome seene but they do finde peace that are in deede willing effectually to seeke it but those to whom the name of peace is sweete peace it selfe is sowre and therefore they that seeke for peace withstand peace Peace hath foure enimies dwelling among you to wit couetousnesse enuie anger pride these if you sende away into euerlasting exile your peace shal be euerlasting Hope I am in assured hope of peace Reason Betweene hope of peace peace it selfe many thinges do happen a light worde and a smal gesture hath many times disturbed compounded peace yea the very treaties and parlees of peace are often broken of by dent of swoord and hope of peace sharpneth the mindes and aggrauateth warres euen so may a man tearme the treatie of friendship which commeth to none effect the whetstone and sharpning of hatred Hope There is talke of peace there shal be peace Reason There is often talke of peace to no purpose many times dangerously haue the captaines of the Frenchmen and Carthagiens entreated of peace when as Camillus surprised the one and Scipio the other Hope After warre is ended peace shal be confirmed Reason How muche better were it that it were confirmed before the beginning of war how many mischiefes and losse of mens liues might be by seasonable peace preuented But you like wilful and truently children can neuer learne wisedome without whipping In peace ye seeke after warre and in warre ye seeke after peace and neuer begin to know or loue peace but when ye are afflicted with warre then as ye lament that ye haue lost peace so anon when it is restored vnto you with like lightnesse ye contemne it vntyll that hauing lost it once or twice ye are taught not to contemne your owne commodities and to couet your owne harmes finally not to be mad nor foolysh whereof ye may be ashamed before ye haue obtayned it Ye must haue one thing tolde you often and it suffiseth not to haue heard but ye must often see and trye I wyll speake more playnely ye must be beaten often before you can learne any thing Hope Peace wil follow warre Reason It had ben better it had gone before and stopped the course of warre there is no such madnesse as in hope of remedy willingly to receyue a wounde Formentations are helpes and not causes of woundes It is naturall for hym that is sicke to wyshe for health but for one that is whole to wysh for sicknes in hope of health is madnesse Hope We shal haue peace Reason Peace many times procureth hurtful alterations to Cities Countreis which although of
not a miserable but an honest cause not of exile but of absence hatefull to the wycked and gratefull to the vertuous Pythagoras voluntarily forsooke Samos and Solon Athens and Lycurgus Lacedemon and Scipio Rome Sorowe I am condemned vnto exile Reason Many haue wonne credite by theyr banishment not fewe there are whom some sharpe storme and iniurie of fortune hath made knowne and notable and what letteth thee but that thou mayest be reckoned in the number of them who haue gayned singuler fame by sufferyng troubles euen as by knocking Flintes together fire is engendred Sorowe I am driuen into exile Reason In histories thou shalt perceiue that thou hast notable companions in this accident whose most honourable felowshyp may not only deminish the feeling of the griefe but also bring forgetfulnesse Camillus was no lesse regarded in his banishment then if he had taried at home as famous an exiled person as he was woorthie Citizen who had brought into the Capital house of Rome victories and triumphes no lesse renowmed for iustice then famous for felicitie and being shortly after driuen into banishment in reuenge of the iniurie whiche he receiued he saued his vnthankfull Countrey from destruction It is not easie I confesse to finde suche another example of so notable a banished personage howbeit Rutilius and Metellus were so smally greeued with their banishment that when Rutilius was sent for home by hym whose commaundement not to obey was present death rather choosing banishment he refused to returne eyther to the entent he would not in any respect disobey the Senates decree and the lawes of his Countrey though they were vniust or els for doubt he might haply be banished agayne But Metellus returned with the very same countenaunce wherewith he departed into exile Vnto these may Marcellus be added euen the same younger Marcellus that hapned in the tyme of the last ciuile warre who beyng dryuen out of his countrey reteined not only his auncient constancie and studie of liberall sciences but also applied them more earnestly then before and beyng free from publique cares with such feruencie pursued the beautifying of his minde onely that he seemed rather to haue been sent to the schooles of Vertue then into banishment which being much more eminent in Cicero was by the woorthynesse of his woorkes and his great learning made the more famous whereby he found no smal comfort not only in banishment but also in pryson Sorow I suffer banishment Reason A short banishment wyll soone restore thee to thy Countrey but a long banishment wil purchase thee another Countrey so that they shal be banished from thee that woulde haue banished thee from them which is now alredy accomplished yf thou haue respect to the nature of the thinges and not to the opinions of men For that is a very base minde that is so bounde to one sillie corner of the earth that whatsoeuer is out of that it thinketh it banishment whoso bewayleth his exile is farre from that loftinesse of mynde whiche was in hym vnto whom the whole worlde seemed to be a strayght prison Socrates beyng demaunded what Countreyman he was answeared I was borne in the world A ryght Socratical answere some other peraduenture in that case woulde haue answeared that he was an Athenian but Socrates Countrey was that which is lykewyse all mens to wit the worlde not only this part which you commonly cal the worlde whiche in deede is but the lowest part of the worlde but Heauen it selfe which is more truely tearmed by that name That is the Countrey whervnto you are appoynted vnto whiche if your minde doo aspire it wyll acknowledge it selfe to be a stranger and banished in whatsoeuer part of the earth it remayne For who wyl call that his Countrey where he dwelleth but for a very short tyme But that is truely to be called a mans Countrey where he may dwell continually in rest and quietnesse seeke for this vppon earth and I suppose thy seeking wil be in vaine According to the law of nature as it was geuen vnto men and the limittes thereof prescribed whilest you liue here euery lande is your Countrey wherein whoso maketh himselfe a banished man is not so sicke in effect as diseased in minde We haue not here any perpetual Citie of abode as sayth the Apostle S. Paul. Euery land is the natiue Countrey vnto a valient man sayth Ouid the Poet. To a man euery Countrey is his natural soyle sayth Statius With these speeches I would haue thee armed whereby thou mightest be alwayes one man and eyther neuer or euer be in thine owne Countrey Sorowe I am commaunded to go into banishment Reason Goe willingly then it shall be but a trauayle and no banishment and remember that banishment hath ben vnto some in steede of a departure and vnto other some in steede of a returne and there be some also that are neuer in woorse case then when they be in their owne Countrey Sorow I am enforcedly dryuen into banishment Reason In couetyng to do that which thou art enforced thou shalt seeme not to be constrayned All violence is ouercome by patience and that surceaseth to be violence whiche is suffered willingly Sorowe I must needes goe into exile Reason See thou do willingly which thou must els do nillingly and suffer al thyng meryly that thou seeme to suffer nothyng heauily so shalt thou escape the force of necessitie and al the Adamantine nayles chaines that are ascribed thervnto and the loathsomnesse and vexation thereof But you couet impossible thinges and flee from the necessarie but both in vayne Sorow I goe into banishment Reason Perhaps into rest and peraduenture vnder pretence of false miserie lurketh true felicitie at leastwise thou shalt now be safe from enuie make haste and take holdfast of glory that is entermedled with securitie There is nothyng sweeter then honest and safe lurkyng with whiche no streetes of Cities are comparable Sorowe I am dryuen out of my Countrey Reason Beyng dryuen away of the woorst insinuate thy selfe into the companie of the best sorte and make it euident by good proofes that thy Countrey was vnwoorthie of thee and not thou of thy Countrey Let it perceyue what it hath lost and knowe thou howe that thou hast lost nothyng Let the euyll Citizens want the weerisomnesse and also the hatred and suspicion of thy presence and let the good prosecute thine absence with loue and desire and with their eyes and mindes folow after thy departure Let them be sorie for that thou hast forsaken them and be thou gladde for that thou art departed with companie and thinke not vpon thy returne neither desire to be with them that desire to be without thee and finally be not sorie that another hath done that vnto thee whiche thou oughtest to haue done thy selfe thou oughtest to haue geuen place to the enuie of the people and therefore to auoyde the same thou willingly wentest into exile Of this deuice I was the
first aucthour neither are there wanting most famous ringleaders for an example for thou knowest howe that the three most remowmed Scipioes dyd the lyke and that with suche constancie that some iudged theyr Countrey whiche was dispoyled of their presence then whiche it had nothing in it more honourable to be vnwoorthy of their ashes when they were dead and some likewyse thought that the Citie deserued to be girded with some infamous and taunting Libel howbeit their names remaine in euerlastyng memorie so that they cannot be vnknowen to thee by report and the faythfull testimonie of all histories whose names are Africanus Nasica Lentulus Sorowe I am sent into exile Reason Nay rather to trie thyselfe Beware how thou behaue thyselfe in thine exile yf thou faynt then art thou a very banyshed wyght yf thou stand stoutly thy banyshment wyll ennoble thee as it hath doone many other before thee who passed inuincibly and honourably through difficulties to the ende they might shew the right way to them that came after Let Tyrantes rage let the people chafe let thyne enimies and fortune treat fume thou mayest be dryuen away taken beaten slayne but thou canst not be ouercome vnlesse thou yeelde vp thyne handes nor yet be despoyled of thyne ornamentes by meanes whereof whythersoeuer thou goest thou shalt be a Citizen and one of the Princes of thy Countrey Sorowe I goe into banishment Reason Goe a pace and depart in safetie thou knowest not howlong thy kinges armes be there is no place too far of from hym he can defende thee in euery place who defended thee in thy natiue Countrey Of a mans country besiged The .lxviii. Dialogue SOROWE MY countrey is besieged Reason Troy was besieged syrus besieged Carthage besieged Hierusalem besieged Numancia besieged Corinthus besieged and all of them ouerthrowen who then neede to be ashamed of besieging Yea the citie of Rome it selfe was besieged but at what tyme it had surceased to be Rome in deede What shal I speake of Capua of Tarentum of Siracuse of Athens of the Vehij and other petie cities and countreys Cities haue also their peculiar destinies and fewe there are that haue escaped the destinie of besieging But continuance of tyme is suche an hinderance to the knowledge of thinges that the citizens them selues are ignorant of the chaunces that haue befallen to their owne cities thou feelest the presente besieging but canst not foresee that whiche is to come nor remember that whiche is past for this is your maner ye alwayes bewaile that whiche presently aflicteth you ye are marueylously addicted to your senses after the manner of brute beastes Sorowe I am besieged in my countrey Reason I tolde thee thou bewailedst thy discommoditie nowe might banishment seeme to be a wished thing for that it is lesse hurtfull to libertie howbeit neyther of them both is hurtful for yf the libertie of the minde be true libertie though he be shut in yet can he get foorth and though he be shut out yet can he get in and be wheresoeuer it please hym Sorowe I am besieged in my countrey Reason Priamus also who was no subiecte but a king was besieged in his owne countrey with al that his more famous then fortunate family Antigonus Kyng of Macedonia was besieged at Argos and Eumenes kyng of Pergamos In this age Robertus kyng of Cicile was besieged within the citie of Ianua who was nothing inferiour to any of the auncient kinges if so be true vertue maketh true kynges respected and doest thou poore wretche lament for the case of Kynges and Princes Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine were besieged both of them within the compasse of Millane And lastly the same Saint Augustine was besieged within the walles of his owne byshoppricke at what time God takyng compassion on his teares transported hym from the earthly besieging vnto the kyngdome of heauen Sorow I am besieged Reason And who I pray thee is not besieged Some are besieged with sinne some with sickenesse some with enimies some with cares some with businesse some with idlenesse some with ryches some with pouertie some with infamie some with ouertedious renowne Yea this body whiche ye loue and make so muche of as a most streight pryson compasseth about and besiegeth euery one of you with a perpetual besieging The whole worlde and circuit of the earth wherein ye chafe and keepe a sturre and continually runne foorth lyke mad men to warre wherein ye enlarge the boundes of your Empires and kyngdomes with so great ambition so muche of it as you inhabite what is it other as Cicero sayth then in a manner a certayne smal Ilād compassed about with that sea whiche vpon earth is called the Great the Ocean the Atlanticum sea whiche being so great in name yet howe small indeede it is thou seest Ye are al of you besieged on euery side doest thou complayne that thou art besieged as yf it were some newe matter Prouide rather that asmuch as in thee lyeth what through thy strength and counsel thou procure meanes for thy countreies safetie Do this rather of the twayne and thinke vpon Siracusian Archimedes that industrious olde man as for complayntes wyl neyther do thee nor thy countrey good Sorow I am besieged within myne owne countrey Reason Haddest thou rather then be besieged in an other place I confesse truely that thou haddest rather so and that more duetifully to wit that thou being elswhere besieged thy countrey myght be free But as touchyng thy selfe seemeth it vnto thee a smal 〈◊〉 comfort to abide whatsoeuer shal happen within thine owne countrey that the place may aswage asmuch as the aduersitie greeueth Sorowe I am pent vp within the walles of my countrey Reason Thou speakest this as though there were no greater narrownesse or penning vp then within walles Howe many of those that dwel in cities do so ordinarily frequent the court and places of iudgement that scarse so long as the whole yeere lasteth they once beholde the citie gates But geue this once the name of besieging then wyl they long to issue foorth and thinke them selues shacled in most streight fetters whiche effect is not wrought by the besieging but by opinion then whiche there is nothing of greater force in the wauering of this your mortal lyfe This place requireth that I resite a fable It is reported that at Aretium there was of late dayes a very olde man that neuer had trauayled out of the boundes of his countrey the fame whereof being brought vnto the eares of the gouernours for pastime sake they called the olde man before them saying that by good proofe they had founde that he vsed secretly to depart out of the citie and to haue priuie conference with theyr enimies Then beganne he to sweare by al the saintes that not onely not at that tyme of the warres but not so muche as in the tyme of peace did he euer passe without the walles of the citie from his byrth vnto that present houre
But they on the other side feigned that they beleeued hym not saying that they muche suspected his fidelitie towardes the common wealth To be short they coÌ„maunded him vpon a great penaltie not to passe out of the citie gates Howbeit they say that he was in suche sort prouoked by the impaciencie of his forbidding that the very next day folowyng whiche was neuer seene before he was taken without the walles of the citie Thus though the pryde stubbernesse of your mind ye are alwayes carryed away vnto that whiche is forbidden And nowe thou complaynest that thou art shut vp and the whole citie is not bygge enough for thee whom peraduenture some litle corner thereof perhappes some one house might suffise yf thou were not besieged as for the most part it hapneth vnto studentes Moreouer it fortuneth that al besieginges be but of short continuance Ye haue comfort ministred vnto you both by the place and tyme only ye lacke vprightnes of minde which causeth you to lament and complaine which runneth not by the nature of the thinges but through your owne effeminatenesse Of a mans countrey destroyed The lxix Dialogue SOROW. BVt what sayest thou to this that my country is vtterly destroyed Reason Diddest thou not heare the fortune of cities and countreyes which I named not long since and the lyke also in other without number Alexandeâ— kyng of Macedonie ouerthrewe Tirus and Thebes and Persipolis the chiefe citie of the Persian kyngdome and that thou mayst marueyle the more at the suggestion of one harlot a great citie dependeth but vpon a tickle fortune Agamemnon rased Troy Hanibal Saguntum Scipio the younger Carthage and Numancia Titus Hierusalem and lykewise other others Rome none wholy ouerthrew but olde age battered it beyng ayded by the ciuile dissentions And what maketh matter who ouerthrewe it for asmuch as we see it is ouerthrowen The fame of the destruction of Millane is of later time vnder Frederike a barbarous and cruel emperour diddest thou thinke that thy countrey was priuiledged from the iurisdiction of fortune vnto whom great cities and mightie kingdomes are subiect Hath loue so blinded thee that thou shouldest imagine one citie because thou wast borne in it to be immortall when as the whole world it selfe is transitorie Heauen and earth shal fayle the mountaynes and seas shal be mooued and al thinges that were made of nothing shal returne to nothing agayne doest thou then woonder or complaine that thy countrey is come to nought Cities aswel as men as I noted a litle before haue their dying dayes but they chaunce not so often as they do to men for that there are fewer cities and they be of longer continuaunce notwithstandyng subiect to death for not men onely but all other worldly thynges also are mortal the soule of man onely excepted Sorow My countrey is fallen Reason Perhappes it may ryse agayne for some are rysen agayne that haue fallen and the fallyng of some hath been the occasion of their more fortunate rysing For Saguntum and Millaine stande at this day in their auncient places but the next neyghbout citie vnto Millaine whiche was the last of Pompeius commendation chaunged place as some say by the same varbarous handes and was destroyed about the same tyme and so likewyse were Hierusalem and Carthage Liue therefore in hope but yf thy hope fayle thee and thou seppose thy countrey be destroyed beware least thou also fayle and faint vnder fortune For woorse is the ouerthrowing of mindes then of walles A man ought to shew a manly courage and not an effeminate mind and although thou be sorye for thy countreyes ouerthrowe do not thou semblably perysh with it seeing that thy ruine wil nothing auayle the common wealth but rather endeuour to reserue thy selfe the residue of thy country folke if there be any remaining vnto some more fortunate tyme in this case deedes are more needefull then lamentations where also flight it selfe is commendable Thou hast heard howe that vnto Terentius Varro through whose fault and rashnesse the whole Empire of Rome was almost ouerthrowen thankes were commonly yeelded of al fortes of the people for that he dispayred not of the common wealth which his college or felow officer a most noble gentleman who was in no part of the fault seemed to doo But if there be nothing els remayning at the leastwyse with Bias carie thou al thy goodes with thee although thou depart starke naked out of the walles of thy peryshing countrey and hencefoorth seeke after that countrey whose kyngdome shal haue none ende Whervnto when as at last by the callyng of God thou art once ascended thou shalt no more feare beseeging nor destruction nor any of those thinges which are commonly dreaded in your cities Of the feare of loosing in warre The .lxx. Dialogue FEARE I Feare to loose in war. Reason Then seeke for peace Feare I very muche dread ouercomming Reason A moderate feare procureth heedefulnesse but that whiche is vehement engendreth desperation then the one of which there is nothing better in war and nothing woorse then the other in all thinges Feare I am shaken with great feare of battayle Reason What mischeefe feare bryngeth vnto them that are readie to fight and also heauinesse whiche proceedeth of feare Flaminius at Thrasumenus Craslus at Carras and Pompeius in Thessalia haue prooued in which places and often elswhere that saying of the Poet hath appeared to true Feare is an â—nluckie south sayer in matters of experience Feare I stande in great feare of the euent of battaile Reason Delay then the tyme vntyl hope may come it is yll to goe forwarde in that from whiche the minde and dread do will to absteyne There is commonly in the minde a certayne foreseeing facultie contrarie to the motion whereof I would in no respect perhappes geue thee counsel to attempt any thing The examples that myght be alleaged in this case aswel new as olde are without number wherof it sufficeth me to haue cited three onely of the most notable Feare I feare the euent of the instant battayle Reason Shake of thy timoriousnesse which none knoweth better then thou thy selfe take heede that it be not the nature of the thing or the want of power but rather cowardice that imagineth this abodyng of euyll successe vnto whom there is nothing not fearfull and difficult Wherefore if the same be burtfull to thy glory yf to thy safetye by the assistance of vertue it must be repressed and the minde awakened to whom it must be declared that oftentymes the dangers are far fewer and lyghter then the feare and that many tymes false fancies of terrible matters doo flye before the eyes wherewith some haue been in suche sort dismayed that they haue yeelded vp the victorie to theyr enimies whiche they themselues had alredie wun with their weapons For false and vayne feare is nothing slower then true feare but in this respect many tymes the more vehement by howe muche the errour of
do ye hacken vnto Horace exclayming and crying out that God of purpose doth close vp and hyde the issue of the tyme to come with the darkenesse of ignorance and doth laugh hym to scorne yf mortal man make hast and runne beyonde that whiche is ryght and lawfull Ye spend all your tyme vpon your owne destruction beyng sorowful for the tyme past carefull for the tyme present and fearefull and tremblyng for the tyme to to come and ye gather vnto your selues your handes ful of these superfluous and vnnessary cares worthy of your desertes by watchyng ye bryng vnto your selues labour and paynes and by sleeping dreames But yf peraduenture that be true that eyther the nature of man or els sinne constrayneth the mynde beyng free and voyde of cares to be disquieted with dreames is it not also as true that when a thousand dreames are seene yet perhaps not one of them is true Sins that we are then deceyued with eyther of them it is better to be disquieted with dreames then to be pleased and delighted with them and to dreame of hurtful and vnpleasant thynges then of sweete and pleasant For the deceite of a sorowful dreame is ioyful and the appearance of a merie and a cheareful dreame sorowful Sorow I am weeried with dreames Reason Despyse al this foolyshnesse and thou shalt take thy rest If thou canst not do that then comfort thy selfe with those companions whiche haue suffered the lyke namely with these twayne of whom I tolde thee euen nowe when thou dyddest complayne of watchyng Of Importunate renowme The .lxxxviii. Dialogue SOROWE I Am more famous and better knowen then I would Reason Doest thou despyse that whiche the greatest captaynes and Prynces the Philosophers and Poetes haue wyshed for For what is ment by so many labours what is pursued with so great warres and studies And the most excellent Artificers do intend nothyng els This doth Phidias shewe in the image of Minerua the whiche woorke of al that euer were wrought with the handes of men I haue placed and accompted as cheefe or surely amongst the cheefest vpon the which when he was forbydden to wryte any thyng he dyd so ingraue his owne countenaunce vpon the buckler of the image that it myght both be knowen of al men and also coulde by no deuise or policy be plucked from thence vnlesse the whole woorke shoulde be dissolued He onely wyshed to be knowen for the rewarde of his labour for yf any man shoulde say that artificers do not intende and thynke vpon their renowme but only respect their money I would peraduenture graunt it in the common sort to be so but in the most famous and best I deny it There are many tokens and argumentes of this thyng for they do so persist and continue at their woorke yea with the losse of tyme and other hindrances and they dispyse gayne to the ende that nothyng may deminishe their credite and good name The noble constancie of these foure Artificers hath especially proued this to be true who beyng called to come to that most renowmed woorke whiche Artemisia Queene of Caria with great cost and charges caused to be set vp in the memorial of her husbande when as the Queene her selfe dyed in the meane whyle before the woorke was finished at whose handes the rewarde and pryce thereof was looked for yet they continued and went forward on their woorke with one consent vnto the ende intendyng nothyng els nowe but their owne fame and reputation and a continual remembrance of the deede Therefore al men desire honoure and renowme and doest thou then looke aboue al other to purchase them with smal trouble and greefe Sorowe Yet truely I also desire to be famous amongst my posteritie but I refuse it of those whiche are of my tyme and age Reason Why so when as this is greater and by so much the harder matter since enuie doth interrupt and infert the fame of those that are present Sorow â–ª Because amongst those that are absent there is true and perfect glory none stirreth or striueth agaynst them no man withstandeth them but amongst those that are present there is both gaynesaying and hartburnyng and labour For great labour is the preseruer of great same as one very aptly and fitly sayeth Reason Thou art eyther to nice or els to sluggyshe which wouldest hope for any great and notable thing without laboure and paynes when as for the least and smallest thynges so many labours are to be susteyned Sorowe I truely do not refuse labours but it is weerisonmesse and loathsomnesse that I hate For who can abyde dayly to be visited to be wayred vpon and compassed about of the multitude to be sued vnto and to be disquieted and troubled and in the meane tyme carelesse and necligent of hym selfe to spend whole dayes and a great part of a short lyfe vpon other and to let his owne necessary affayres lye vndone and so to serue another mans pleasure and not his owne turne The whiche inconuenience and trouble yf it had hapned at the first I had neuer atteyned vnto this fame whiche doth now muche molest me But nowe it is tyme for me to restrayne the notable indeuours of my mind and to stay my excellent affayres it were not nowe inconuenient and out of season Reason Truely I do not deny that to be so as thou sayest and though it be harde in deede yet is it tolletable yea to be enuyed and yet to be wyshed for But howsoeuer tâ— shal be taken in thine opinion it is almost ineuitable For what way is there to eschewe it vnlesse it be eyther by pryde or slouthfulnesse Whereof the one shal dryue away the honest desire of those that gladly secke vnto thee and the other wyl vtterly extinguish it If there be any other remedy at al it is the fliyng of cyties albeit yf it be true renowme flight wyl not serue for fame foloweth her possessor whyther soeuer he shal goe and wheresoeuer he shal remayne she wyl be with hym He that hath been famous in the cities shal neyther in the countrey nor in the wooddes leaue of to be renowmed the brightnesse of fame cannot be hidden it shyneth in the darkenesse and draweth the eyes and mindes of men vnto it euerywhere Hast thou not hearde of Dandanus a most famous olde man of the Brachmans howe he was often visited by Alexander of Macedonie euen in the farthest desattes of the Indians and lykewyse of Diogines Ciuicus who was frequented also by the same kyng euen vnto his tubbe whiche he vsed for an hospital to be remooued and tumbled at his wyl Haue ye not heard that Scipio Africanus was visited in his filthy forsaken and baren village of Literne by those quiet and gentle theeues for the honour and reuerence of his vertue and that he was accompanyed by the cheefe captaynes of his enimies beyonde the seas Hast thou not heard also how Titus Liuius was folowed vnto the farthest partes of Fraunce
they goe not vnto those that woulde not wyllyngly haue them but a noble harte is rather inflamed vnto vertue with the mislykyng and hatred of vices Sorowe Who coulde suffer so muche pryde and insolencie Reason Humilitie is so muche the more acceptable by howe muche it is besieged with greater pryde Sorowe Who could suffer so many deceiptes so many craftes of couetousnesse or who coulde beare with so many kyndes of lustes and desyres Reason Eschewe those thynges that doo displease thee woorthyly and take heede that others doo not condemne that same in thee whiche thou myslykest in them Sorowe Who coulde abyde this kyngdome of gluttonie Reason Sobrâ—etie is most beautifull amongst those that are moderate Where all are of equall goodnesse there none excelleth other Sorowe Who coulde abyde patiently so many lyes Reason Yf thou be offended with lyes endeuour thy selfe to speake the trueth Sorowe Who coulde beare with so many tyrannies euerie where Reason Neyther weapons nor ryches can delyuer thee onely vertue is free Sorowe I hate all the worlde Reason It behoueth thee rather to haue pittie on the miserable then to hate them vnlesse as I haue sayde before they are miserable of their owne accorde But leaue vnto the worlde the manners thereof and doo thou studie to reforme thyne owne and cause mens eyes that are fastened vpon others to be turned vppon thee so shalt thou both escape griefe and also when thou canst not amende the worlde at leastwyse thou shalt redresse thy selfe whiche is a thyng that thou canst and oughtest to doo Thus is there then no cause wherefore thou shouldest thynke thy selfe to haue ben borne in vayne Of small greefes of sundrie thynges The XC Dialogue SOROWE I Vtterly hate the troublesome noyse cryes of diuers thinges in Cities Reason Then make muche of the wooddes and quietnesse of the countrey those thinges which cannot be escaped why shouldest thou goe about to auoyde Sorowe I am weery with the strife and contentions of the common people Reason As long as thou doest geue eare to the common sorte of people thou shalt neuer be at rest Sorow I am much troubled with the noyse of the common people Reason Esteeme not the woordes of the commonaltie for almost whatsoeuer it speaketh it is eyther nothyng or els false But yf thou canst not auoyde al their noyse and disordered voyces heare them notwithstandyng though none otherwise then as the bellowyng of Oxen or the bleatyng of Sheepe or the roring of Beares for what are they other then the voyces either of came or wild beastes Sorow I am sore troubled with the terrible outrage of the common people Reason Imagine in thy mind that thou hearest the sound of ouerflowing waters which fal vpon rockes perswade thy selfe that either thou art besyde the Well Gorgia where a most cleere Riuer floweth out of a most horrible denne with woonderfull noyse or where as the gulfes of Reatis whiche the Riuer Nar carieth into Tyber doo fal downe from an hygh hyl or whereas the Riuer Nilus powreth downe violently to those places which are called Catadupa as Cicero sayth or where as Hister as in lyke maner it is reported rusheth into the Sea â—uxinum or to be short where the steepe rockes of Liguria doo accorde to the flowynges of the Mount Aetna when as the South winde waxeth fierce or as the crooked and wrested Charibdis agreeth with the barkyng Silla in Sicill whyrâ—epooles Eustome wyll bryng to passe that thou shalt heare that with a certayne pleasure whiche thou nowe iudgest to be most tedious Sorow I am vexed with the barkyng of Dogges Reason He that hath learned to suffer quietly the brawlyng of the common people can not myslyke the barkyng of Dogges for there are neyther so many other kyndes of Dogges neyther are they so madde and furious Sorowe An vnrulie Horse that is alway neyghing an vnfaythfull Seruaunt that is euermore frowarde are not onely greeuous and troublesome vnto me but also dangerous Reason I haue tolde heretofore what I dyd thynke of both those kyndes of creatures and I am styll of the same opinion I adde hereunto somewhat to the ende therefore thou mayest auoyde the greefe and trouble of thy Horse yf nothyng els can helpe thee then become a foote man and that thy Seruauntes may agree and yeelde vnto thee thou shalt bryng it to passe when thou accountest hym not woorthy to be lamented whom thou art well able to lacke Sorowe I am annoyed with Flyes Reason Take heede least that through the annoyance of Flyes thou be made a Flye in deede and that thou thynkyng a Flye to be created of any other then of GOD thou come into the power and iurisdiction of hym that is called the prince of Flyes the whiche we reade to haue hapned vnto one that was greeued with the lyke distresse the aucthor whereof is S. Augustine who expounding that most famous and notable begynnyng of Iohns Gospel sayth That the Flye the Gnatte the Caterpiller the Shearnbub and the Caterpiller and all suche tyke Vermine were not created without iust and good cause of hym who sawe all thynges whiche he had made that they were verie good And yf so be there were no other cause yet this one woulde suffice to abate the pryde and hautinesse of mens mindes as it were with these weapous For GOD coulde haue sen vnto the Aegyptians Lions Tygers or Serpentes but he sent rather these small and base creatures among them to the intent both his heauenly power and theyr earthly frayletie corruption myght be the more manifestly knowen Sorowe I am disquieted with Fleas Reason Take thy rest in holsome and good cogitations thynke that no euyll can happen to a man besides â—inne For not only these gentle thinges but also those that seeme most hard and greeuous haue profited many What dooest thou know whether if the Fleas should goe their way too much sluggishnesse or euil lustes would succeede set vpon thee Beleue that it is wel with thee in al thinges and it shal be so Sorow I am ouercome with the continuall battell that the Fleas make with me in the nyght Reason Why art thou then proude thou shadowe and dust Why art thou then hautie and loftie thou base clay For being ouercome with Fleas thou contendest agaynst GOD thou vntamed and most foolyshe creature Sorowe I am tormented with Fleas Reason Wylt thou offende men to defende thy selfe from Fleas Thou beyng the most noble creature and far superiour settest vpon that most vile and base beast and being the meate of Fleas thou deuourest men the king of al creatures Sorow I am tormented with Fleas Reason Al earthly thinges were made to obey and serue man some to feede him and some to apparrel hym some to carry him and some to defend hym some other to exercise and teache hym and some also to admonish him of his estate and last of all some to delight him to ease recreate his minde being
good woorkes doone is commendable so that it set not the gate wyde open to pryde and therefore the causes of these affectes must be fyrst consydered least haply disprayse possesse the place of commendation and therefore weygh thou nowe what cause thou hast to be sorowfull Sorowe I am heauie for the miserie of this lyfe Reason The felicitie of the lyfe to come shall make thee merie for this lyfe is not so miserable whiche in deede is most miserable as the other is happie and glorious Sorowe I am heauie Reason Of this mischiefe there are as many rootes as there are thynges which you tearme aduerse and miserable of many of whiche sort we haue alredie entreated and for that I perceyue thee to be redy to complayntes we haue lykewyse hereafter much to entreate of Some tymes a man shall perceyue no apparent cause at all neyther of sicknesse nor losse nor iniurie nor shame nor errours nor of any sudden rumor of suche lyke matter but onely a certayne pleasure to be sorie whiche maketh the soule sadde and heauie Whiche mischiefe is so muche the more hurtfull by now muche the cause is the more vnknowen and the cure more difficult And therefore Cicero wylleth men to flee from the same with all theyr myght and maine yea with all their sayle they can make as from a most dangerous rocke of the Sea whose counsayle in this as in many other thynges I lyke wel of Sorowe The thinking of the present miserie maketh me heauie Reason That the miserie of mankinde is great and manifolde I doo not denie whiche some haue bewayled in whole great volumes but yf thou looke to the contrarie part thou shalt also see many thinges whiche make this lyfe happie and pleasant although there be none hytherto so farre as I knowe that hath written of this matter and some that haue taken it in hande haue geuen it ouer for that whiles they haue been in the very course of their wryting they haue perceyued howe wrong a matche they haue vndertaken and that the argument hath fallen out to be muche more barren then they fyrst supposed and the rather for that the miserie of mankynde appeareth to be euident and the felicitie thereof seemeth to be verie small and hydden so that in discourse of disputation it requireth a deeper displaying and examination then that the incredulous sorte are aable to conceyue And nowe out of many matters to geather one summe togeather haue not you great cause to reoyce Fyrst for that you are the image and likenesse of GOD your Creator whiche is within in the soule of man your witte memorie prouidence speeche so many inuentions so many artes attendyng vppon this soule of yours and next howe many necessities doo followe this your bodye whiche all are comprehended vnder the most singular benefite of GOD also so many opportunities so many sundrie shewes and kindes of thynges whiche by strange and marueylous meanes doo serue to your delyght moreouer so great vertue in rootes so manie iuices of hearbes suche pleasaunt varietie of so many sortes of flowres so great concorde of smelles and colours and castes and soundes rysyng of contraries so many lyuyng creatures in the ayre vppon the lande and in the sea seruyng onely to your vse and created onely to doo man pleasure And vnlesse you had of your owne accorde voluntarily fallen vnder the yoake of sinne you had nowe been gouernours ouer all thynges that are vnder heauen Adde herevnto moreouer the prospect of the Hylles the opennesse of the Valleys the shadowie Wooddes the colde Alpes the warme Shoars Adde also so many holsome Streames of water so many sulphurious and smookyng Lakes so many cleare and coole Fountaynes so many Seas within and rounde about the earth so many confines and boundes of Kyngdomes whiche are euerie day changed and some most assured for theyr immoueable stabilitie Adde lastly some Lakes as bygge and brode almost as the Sea and Pondes lying in bottomes and Riuers fallyng downe headlong from the toppes of Hylles with theyr brinkes full of flowres and pleasaunt hearbes And the bed-chambers of the shoares and Medowes greene with runnyng Streames as Virgil sayth What shall I neede to speake of the foming Rockes that lye vpon the soundyng shoare and the moyst Dennes and the Fieldes yellowe with Corne and the buddyng Vineyardes the commodities of Cities the quietnesse of the Countrey and the libertie of Wildernesses And also the most glorious and bryght spectacle of all whiche is the circumference of the starrie Firmament that continually turneth about with incomprehensible swiftnesse wherein are fastened the fixed Starres Lykewyse the wanderyng lyghtes whiche you call the seuen Planettes And especially the Sunne and Mone the two most excellent lyghtes of the worlde as Virgil tearmeth them Or the most glorious beautie of Heauen as Horace speaketh of them By these consist the fruites of the earth by these the strength and force of lyuing creatures of these also depende the varietie of seasons by these we measure the yeere the monethes dayes nyghtes and spaces of tymes without whiche this lyfe coulde not be other then weerisome and tedious Herevnto moreouer there is geuen vnto you a bodye whiche although it be frayle and transitorie yet notwithstandyng in shewe is imperious and beautifull fashioned vpryght and conuenient in contemplation to beholde the heauens Agayne the immortalitie of your soule and a way prepared for you vnto heauen and an inestimable merchandize bought for a small pryce with other matters also whiche of purpose I haue deferred to the ende for that they are so great that of my selfe I was not able to comprehende them but onely through the benefite of fayth lykewyse the hope of rysyng agayne from death and takyng vp of this bodye after that it is rotten and consumed to be quickened agayne and made lyuely and bryght shynyng and impassible with great glorie and maiestie and moreouer that whiche surpasseth not onely the dignitie of man but also of the Angelles the nature of man so vnited to the nature of GOD that GOD hymselfe became man and beyng made but one person comprehended perfectly in hymselfe the two natures and was both GOD and man to this ende that beyng made a man he myght make man a god An vnspeakable loue and humilitie in GOD exceedyng felicitie and glorie vnto man all manner of wayes an hygh and secrete misterie a woonderfull and comfortable societie whiche I knowe not whether any heauenly tongue canne expresse but sure I am no mortall mouth is able to vtter Dooeth the state of mankynde seeme vnto thee by this meanes but smally aduaunced and the miserie thereof but a lytle relieued Or what I pray thee coulde man I say not hope but wyshe or imagine better for his owne commoditie then to be made GOD And beholde he is god What remayneth there more that you myght wyshe for or desyre or inuent or thinke vppon yet greater then you haue alredie obteyned Truely at what
thou be enuious thou must needes also be base minded of all vices there is none more sluggyshe then enuie it can not ascende into hygh mindes neyther is there any more wretched and therefore all other presuppose some good thyng although it be false but this is onely nourished with euyls and greeued with good and suffereth that euyll it selfe whiche it wysheth to others And therefore I lyke well of the saying of Alexander Kyng of Macedonie to wit That malicious men are nothyng els but their owne tormenters Truely a graue saying of so lyght a young Prince Of wrath The Cvij Dialogue SOROWE BVT I am angrie Reason I haue promised comfort agaynst aduersitie and not agaynst vices as for these they are not casuall but voluntarie and in your owne power who then shall constrayne thee to be angry Sorowe I am angrie when I am offended Reason Perhaps he whom thou blamest for offendyng thee complayneth that thou hast offended hym the offences are not so great as is your insolencie marueylous Sorowe I burne with wrath Reason Then art thou mad And wrath sayth Horace is a short madnesse but many through euyl custome and impatience doo make it a long madnesse For Ennius sayth That anger is the beginning of madnesse seeyng that vnto many that geue them selues ouer vnto it it maketh an ende both of their madnesse and lyfe also For as the plague whereof we disputed before euen so this lykewyse although it trouble other yet doth it most torment the possesser thereof so that I marueyle the more for what cause it shoulde seeme vnto some to be I knowe not howe sweeter then hony reuenge perhappes may haue in it some tast of cruell and sauage pleasure but surely anger hath nothyng in it but bitternesse Sorow I am angrie for iniuries Reason There was neuer any almost so hastily disposed that woulde be angrie for nothyng vnlesse perhaps it were Caelius the Senatour the angriest man that euer lyued who when as his client agreed with hym in all poyntes confessed whatsoeuer he required of hym yet cryed he out being angrie saying Say somewhat contrarie that we may disagree A wylfull man truely howe woulde he haue borne iniuries that coulde not beare gentle speeche Sorowe I am angrie for that I am prouoked by offence Reason On this syde men commonly offende very muche they picke quarrelles and seeke occasions and in those causes for which they may iustly be angrie their wrath exceedeth measure In all offences there is some excuse alleaged and the excuse it selfe is an offence but thou because thou art not obeyed as a God art wroth and GOD him selfe is euery day prouoked in woordes and deedes but is not alwayes angrie As for you ye drawe euery ouerthwart woorde be it neuer so small vnto some haynous crime of lyfe and death wherein you shewe your selues to be an impacient generation Sorowe I am angrie with them that haue deserued it Reason If of thee it is yll doone yf of the Common wealth and it be not doone in anger but for the loue of Iustice it is very well and to speake breefely that saying of Tully is precisely to be kept to witte that anger be farre of with which nothyng can be ryghtly and discreetely handled And therefore the saying of Archytas Tarentinus is woorthyly commended and also the deede of his freende Plato of whom the one when beyng wholy occupied in the studie of learnyng he sawe his goodes destroyed and wasted through the negligence of his Baylife turnyng hym selfe towardes hym truely quoth he I woulde punyshe thee accordyng to thy desart vnlesse I were nowe angrie with thee The other beyng offended with his seruaunt dyd not let hym goe freely as Archytas dyd but committed hym vnto one of his freendes to be punished fearyng lest that the vehemencie of anger shoulde enforce hym farther then reason woulde require These and suche lyke examples ought to moderate mens anger lest haply as commonly it chaunceth it dryue them headlong into infamie and destruction Of Gluttonie The Cviij Dialogue SOROWE I AM molested with gluttonie Reason I sayde erwhyle that I take those thynges in cure onely that happen vnto men agaynst theyr wylles for who wyll heale them that are wyllyngly sicke and diseased Sorowe â–ª I am vexed with gluttonie Reason Properly spoken in deede for there is nothyng so vyle that maketh you so carefull It is woonderfull and shaâ—â—efull to thynke wherevnto the disposition of mankynde whiche was created vnto hygher matters doth encline it selfe since that forsakyng the coastes of the lande ye goe about to searche out the seeâ—eâ—e tractes of the Sea and Ayre Ye haue veuised Neâ—â—es and Hookes and Byrdlime and Snares and Hawkes also â—e â—aue â—aught to come and goe at your commaundement and to pray for your pleasure and for nothyng els but to serue your throtes whiche you cloy not onely with fyllyng but also with ouerburdenyng and by sundrie meanes you oppresse your slender bellie by too muche followyng the greedinesse thereof for whiche hunger were muche more conuenient but sobrietie most profitable aboue of all other thynges when as ye ought rather to geue some rest vnto that filthie and miserable paunche of yours and to leaue some quietnesse vnto the Wooddes Cloudes and Riuers But thus goeth the worlde and this is the maner specially among Noblemen these are the arces whiche sometyme beyng liberall are nowe become Handicraftes whiche ye applie and they that were wont to be Generalles of Armies and Philosophers and Gouerners of Cities and Fathers of theyr Countrey are nowe become Hunters and Faulkoners that thou mayest vnderstande howe that there is nowe no hope of saluation remainyng That is ascribed vnto Nobilitie whiche is gluttonie or rather playne vanitie This mischiefe is by noneother meanes better beaten downe then by a certayne noble disdayne and indignation and by vpryght consideration of the thyng it selfe eyther by lytle and lytle as Cicero lyketh it or suddenly as Aristotle thynketh it good It auayleth very muche to thynke vpon the ende which beyng a generall rule in all vices yet is it most effectuall in this vice and also in letcherie Of sluggyshnesse of the minde The Cjx. Dialogue SOROWE I Am sluggyshe in doing of businesse Reason What marueile yf after so diligent studie of gluttonie sluggyshnesse of the minde do followe the heauinesse and ouerburrdening of the bodye Sorowe I am greeued with dulnesse of minde Reason This dulnesse springeth from an imperfect wyl but so soone as thou shalt beginne to bende thine endeuour it wyl growe to an earnest desire and courage which being very yll vnto many thynges is most commendable vnto vertue Sorowe I am slouthful and sluggysh to ryse vnto any good woorkes Reason There is a certayne dulnesse in the minde and also a couragious feruencie engraffed in a part of the minde whiche feruencie wyll be set on fyre and dulnesse shaken of by consyderyng the swyftnesse of tyme in passyng away whiche is so great that
who although they returned both into their Countrey yet dyed they both farre from their Countrey Drusus in Germanie and Marcellinus in Baion And tell me nowe are thou prouder then Tarquinius or myghtier then Sylla Yet the fyrst of these dyed a bannished man at Cumae the other beyng a great Lorde gaue vp the ghost at Puteoli What shall I speake of men of meaner degree Augustus Caesar who was called Father of his Countrey dyed out of his Countrey at Nola in Campania Tyberius that was vnlyke in Manners but equall in Empire deceassed at Misenum in Campania Vespasian and Titus two most excellent Princes as it well became the father and the sonne dyed in one Village yet without of the Citie of Rome â–ª though not farre But â—raian being borne in the West part of the worlde dyed in the East Septimus Seuerus came but of a base parentage in Africa and had a proude Empire at Rome â–ª and was buried at Yorke in Englande Theodosius that was borne in Spayne and dyed at Millain Constantinople receyued whiche Citie also had in it before the founder thereof beyng of the same name but borne in another place What shall I neede to recite others Lycurgus who fledde from Sparta Creta receyued which long before had seene Kyng Saturne bannished out of his Kyngdome and flying from his sonne and hearde howe he hyd hym selfe in the confines of Italie and was there buried A poore graue of Bithynia couereth Hannibal the lyght of all Africa Theseus Themistocles and Solon the three Diamondes of all Athens were so scattered by Fortune that the fyrst was buried in Syria the seconde in Persis and the thyrde in Cyprus in farre vnfitte Graues for so woorthie Carcasses The day woulde sooner fayle mee then matter yf I shoulde stande to reporte euery example But my purpose was not to weerie thee with Histories but onely to instructe thee Sorowe I vnderstande thy meanyng and I confesse that all these and as many moe as thou canst recken dyed out of theyr Countreyes in deede but I denie that it was with their wylles but rather I suppose to theyr great greefe Reason Whereby speakest thou this but onely for that all fooles iudge other lyke them selues and thynke that to be impossible for others to doo which they them selues can not attayne to And perhappes thou hast hearkened to the olde prouerbe It is good to lyue abrode in strange Countries but yll to dye there when as in deede they are both good so that they be orderly doone with patient forbearyng and comlinesse but both euyl yf they be yll handled lamentably and without discretion I wyll tell thee that which thou wylt marueyll at and is quite repugnant to the olde prouerbe If there be any iust occasion to complayne of the cause I had rather impute the same to the lyuyng whom perhaps in some respect it may concerne then hym that lyeth a dying who hath now no regarde of any place seeyng that he is vpon departyng from all places Sorowe Somewhat thou moouest my minde neuerthelesse I am yet desirous to dye in my Countrey Reason The wyll of man vnlesse it be bridled by vertue and wysedome of it selfe is wylde and vnreclaymed And yf thou consider of the matter deepely thou wylt confesse that none of all this appertayneth vnto thee seeyng that thou thy selfe canst remayne heere no longer nor thy boanes retayne any sense after thy deceasse to discerne where thou myghtest haue lyen harder or softer and also vnto that place whyther thou departest which had been the shorter or easier way When Anaxagoras lay a dying in a farre forraine Countrey and his freendes demaunded of hym whether after his death he woulde be carried home into his owne natiue soyle he answeared very finely saying that it shoulde not neede and he added the cause why for that the way to Heauen is of lyke distaunce from all places Whiche answeare serueth as well for them that goe downe to Hell as for those that goe vp to Heauen Sorowe I woulde GOD I myght dye at home Reason If thou were there perhappes thou wouldest wyshe thy selfe in another place perswade thy selfe so Learne to doo that dying whiche thou oughtest to haue doone lyuyng An hard matter it is for you O ye mortall men to beare your selues vpryghtly ye are so dayntie and faultfyndyng euermore makyng none account of that whiche ye haue and alwayes iudging best of that whiche ye want Sorowe O that I myght dye at home Reason Peraduenture thou shouldest see many thynges there that woulde make thy death more greeuous vnto thee for whiche cause thynke that thou art remooued to the intent that all other cares beyng set apart thou myghtest onely thynke vpon GOD and thyne owne soule Of one that dyeth in Sinne. The Cxxvj. Dialogue SOROWE I Oye in sinne Reason This is neyther Natures nor Fortunes but thyne owne fault Sorowe I dye in sinne Reason Fyrst who enforced thee to commit sinne And next who forbydde thee to bewayle it when it was committed And last of all who letteth thee from repentyng though it be late fyrst For vnto the last gaspe the spirite and minde is free Sorowe Whyles I am dying I carrie my sinnes with mee Reason Beware thou doo not so lay downe that venemous and deadly carriage whyle thou hast tyme and there is one that wyll take it away and blotte it out accordyng as it is written and wyll cast it behynde his backe into the bottome of the Sea and wyll abandon it as farre from thee as the East is distant from the West If thou neglect this houre when it is once past it wyll neuer returne agayne Whith qualitie although it be common to all houres that alwayes they passe away and neuer returne yet many tymes that which hath been omitted in one houre may be perhappes recouered in another but yet the neglectyng of the last houre of a mans lyfe is irrecurable And therefore as some report it to be found in the secret disputations of the soule the errours of this lyfe are as it were softe falles vpon the playne grounde after which a man may soone ryse vp agayne but the sinne vnto death is compared vnto a greeuous fall from some hygh and craggie place after which it is not possible to aryse any more the hurt therein taken is so great that it can not be salued Wherefore helpe thy selfe nowe whyle thou mayest and call to remembraunce not onely what your owne writers say but also what Cicero counselleth who in his woorke de Diuinatione of Diuination disputing of those that are dying Doo thou cheefely quod he studie to winne commendation and thynke that they which haue lyued otherwyse then they ought doo most bitterly repent them of their sinnes What I pray thee coulde be vttered by any man more religiously or profitably yf so be that be followed which is commaunded and thou repent thee though it be late fyrst A difficult and dangerous matter it is truely to
since that care appertayneth no longer to thee hereafter Feare I am afeard lest after my decease my wyfe marrie agayne Reason Some there be that marrie their olde husbandes lyuing Thus dyd Herodias among the Hebrewes Sophronisba among the Africanes and Martia and Liuia among the Romanes although their husbandes consent commaundement doo excuse these two last recited wylt thou onely binde thy wyfe from marriage Yea there are but few that lyue faythfully towardes their husbandes wilt thou require that thy wife continue her truth to thy cold senselesse ashes If she haue liued faythful to thee vnto the last day of thy lyfe then hath she accomplyshed the duetie of a true and trustie spouse Feare I am afeard that my wyfe wyl marrie agayne Reason That she first married perhaps thou shouldest haue feared more that belonged to thee but her second marrying shal apperteyne to another But this is your common trade ye contemne the things that ye ought to feare and feare the thynges that ye ought to contemne esteeming of nothyng iustly as ye ought Thou enâ—redst the combat of the married bed without feare not forethinkyng what danger thou passedst into and art thou afeard now least another should do the like Feare I would not I confesse haue my wyfe marrie agayne Reason For a woman of exact perfecte chastitie I graunt although she be permitted by lawe to marrie agayne yet were it better to abstayne but most of al to eschue perilous widowhood There is moreouer some such tyme occasion that a woman is not onely excused but also enforced to marrie agayne For it is an hard matter for a fayre woman to lyue alone chastly Feare My sweete wyfe wyl marrie another husband Reason There are but fewe women found yea among them that are counted honest that euen whyle their present husbande is lyuing do not determine in their minde who shal be their next My husband say they is a mortal man and yf he chaunce to dye shal I marrie next for vertue or nobilitie or loue or eloquence or bewtie or person sake Feare My wife wyl marrie againe Reason Not thy wyfe verily for death wyl make that she shal not be thine And no merueile though it part man and wyfe whiche dissolueth the bandes whereby the body and soule are knyt togeather Feare My wyfe wyl marrie agayne Reason The wyues of the Romane Captaines and Dukes and Emperours haue also married agayne and therefore take in good part this fortune whiche is common to thee with thine auncetours Feare My wyfe wyl marrie agayne Reason The Romane Captaynes and Prynces did marrie wyddowes also so did the most godly kyng Dauid take to wife two wyddowes that had been the wyues but of meane persons and it may so happen that one greater then thou may marrie thy wyfe vnto whom resigne this carefulnesse seeing thou goest thyther where there is no marrying at all Feare My sweete wyfe wyl marrie another man. Reason If she marrie a better reioyce at her prosperity whom thou louedst But if to a woorse be glad yet for that she wyl thinke more often vpon thee and holde thee more deere For there be many that haue learned to knowe and loue their first husbandes onely by their second marriages Of one dying that is careful what wyl become of his countrey after his deceasse The .cxxix. Dialogue FEARE WHat shal become of my countrey after my death Reason All good men haue but one countrey and all euyl men another take heede nowe into whiche of these two countries thou wilt be admitted a countreyman As for a third countrey there is none but onely an Inne and a place of passage a thoroughfare Feare What wyll become of my countrey Reason That countrey which thou goest vnto continueth alwayes in one estate and this whiche thou now forsakest as I haue oftentymes sayde before is not thy countrey but hath rather been thy place of banishment Feare What wyl my countrey do after my deceasse Reason This is the peculiar care of kynges to thynke what wil become of their kyngdomes dominions after their death the lyke whereof thou readest there rested in the heart of the great king of Assyria or of the most mightie emperour of the Romans This care exceedeth the calling of a priuate person But since nowe euen at thy very ende thou art so affected that thou lust to terme that stoarehouse of miserie and hospital of payne and sorow wherein thou hast passed foorth the swyft tyme of thy lyfe in great trouble aduersitie and heauinesse by the name of thy countrey and art desirous to knowe what it wyl doo I wyl tell thee it wyl do as it dyd and as other countreyes do What is that thou wylt say It wyl be troublesome disquiet dissentious and studious of innouations it wyl followe factions chainge lordes and gouernours alter lawes and both these many tymes for the woorse seldome for the better spurne agaynst the best and most noble subiectes aduaunce the vnwoorthie banishe the well deseruing esteeme of the pillers poullers of the treasurie loue flatterers hate them that speake the trueth contemne the good honour the myghtie woorshyp the enimies of it libertie persecute the defenders of the Commonwealth weepe sometyme and laugh without cause esteeme of golde and precious stones reiect vertue and embrace pleasures these are the manners and state of your Cities and Countreys There is none but may most assuredly prophecie vnto thee of these matters vnlesse he be such an one as hath alwaies led a rurall lyfe or entred into Townes with deafe eares and dimme eyes Feare What wyll befall vnto my Countrey after my deceasse Reason Why art thou carefull and troubled herewith Whatsoeuer hapneth to thy Countrey thy house shal be free from burnyng theeues and ouerthrowing Whether the yeere fall out to be pestilent or els to be deare or plentiful hot or drye haylie snowie or raynie frostie or otherwyse moyst rotten yea the byrdes of the ayre wild beastes of the wooddes the Caterpiller and Chaffer finally earthquakes and raginges of the lea dearth of victualles inuasions of enimies or ciuile warres none of all these are able to touche or concerne thee hereafter Feare O what shal be the estate of my Countrey or to what ende shal it come Reason To what other thinkest thou then that the greatest citie and state that euer was or shal be is come vnto to wit dust ashes rubbysh scattered stones and a name only remâ—yning I could prooue this to be true by innumerable argumentes but thou knowest the matter sufficiently To be short there is nothing apperteining vnto man that is euerlasting no worldly thyng permanent but only the soule of man which is immortal Enclosures shal fayle sowed landes shal decay buildinges shall fall downe all thynges shall come to naught and why art thou greeued and vexed in the minde If thou be in heauen thou wylt both dispise this and all other worldly
muche for the dead sake as for the lyuing Which to be true the outward shewe and representation of Tumbes graues doth euidently declare whiche within side beyng euyl fauoured and horrible do enclose their tenaunt within rough and rude rubbish but on the outside are wrought with great cunning and cost where the workemen for the most part decke them foorth to the viewe with carued pictures of marble and statues of golde and armes beawtifully depainted Feare I shal lye vnburied which is a loathsome thyng to behold Reason Hast thou so litle businesse to doo of thine owne that thou must meddle with other folkes matters Let them looke to that whom the matter concerneth as for this loathsomenesse thou shalt not see it Feare I shal be left vnburyed whiche is a miserable case Reason Yea Pompeius the great as woorthie a personage as he was lay vnburied or rather lay not stil but was ouerwhelmed tossed with the surging waues Neyther do I thinke thee to be so mad or foolysh that in thine opinion he should haue been made the more happie if he had been buried as his companion Marcus Crassus was neuer awhit the more vnfortunate in that there was none present to cause hym to be enterred In al other thinges they were almost equal sauing that Crassus head as it was most meete for hym that was of al men the most rych couetous beyng more heauie then gold was preserued but neuerthelesse both of them to be contemned reprochfully dealt withal Vnlesse perhaps their third fellowe be more happie for that he was set vp to be seene vpon the heade of a most loftie and bewtifull Colossus ouerlookyng there the toppes of the highest churches and steeples whom perhaps I may confesse to haue been in warre more fortunate but in buriall I must needes denye it So that I may say that the same stone is bewtified by hym but made nothyng the happier For what happinesse can this be in hym that hath no feelyng or as a man woulde say in one stone not couered with another For yf it were otherwyse that a graue or Tumbe made a man fortunate who were more happie then Mausolus Feare I shal lye vnburyed Reason Both Paulus Aemilius and Claudius Marcellus had lyen vnburied had not their most deadly enimie dained them of a graue the rather as I suppose in admiration of their vertue in respect of his owne honestie then mooued with any remorse of duetie or conscience wherof there rested no one iote within that mans hart In somuche that I thinke they hated their graues when they were enterred yf they might haue had their libertie would rather haue chosen to haue lyen vnburyed Cyrus also that was kyng of Persia lay vnburied neither that nor yet his Scythian bottle were any reproch vnto hym at all but rather their cruel and sauage manners by meanes of which he susteyned that most foule ignominie shameful iniurie But why do I now gather togeather so many seueral naked corpses with Romane emperours and forreine kinges that were bereaued not onely of the last and wished solemnitie of their graues but also of the vayne honour belonging thereunto farther which more is that were torne plucked in peeces throwen about in mammockes that a man woulde iudge it an enuious matter to haue lyen with an whole carcas seeing that there are cōuersant in our mindes memories the miserable massacres of whole nations dead and as a man may say the whole worlde vnburyed For why with kyng Cyrus of whom I spake erewhile there were two hundred thousād Persians slayne and also with Crassus sixteene most valiant flourishing legions at the ouerthrowe at Cannas aboue fourescore fiue thousand citizens of Rome their confederates and sixe fiftie thousand Carthagiens Spaniardes Ligurians and Frenchmen at the ryuer Metaurus togeather with their Captayne and againe at Aquas Sextias which is the proper name of the place two hundred thousand Germanes not farre from the Alpes Marius beyng General in both places which were but an hundred fiftie thousand as some wryters do report but they that say least of al not aboue threescore thousand Cimbrians whiche lay there vnburied Moreouer at Philippi the aides of al confederate kinges nations and the floure and strength of the Italian youth as it pleased the maiestie of the goddes so to deale wanting the honour of burial made fat the Aemonian fieldes filled the paunches of the wylde beastes and carren crowes What shal I say of the Carthagien fleete that was vtterly destroyed at the Ilandes Egates Or of the Massilian nauie that was discomfited at their owne very hauens mouth and within the sight of their faythful countrey And that I may not euermore dwel in discourse of the Italian toyles and miseries when the whole Athenian power by sea was drowned before the citie of Syracuse what graue or burial had they I passeouer in silence Salamina and Marathon with three hundred thousand Persians whith many I let passe the conflictes of the Hebrewes of the Scythians and Amazons the battayles of the Arabians Parthians and Medes I ouerslyp the conquestes slaughters that Alexander king of Macedonie made in the East among the naked vnarmed people there I speake nothyng of al such kindes of plagues whereby it is a woful case to here how many woorthie deerelie beloued carcases haue been most pitifully defiled spoyled and made away Neyther ouer and besides this of the incursion of serpentes and wylde beastes by whose suddeyne inuasion Dicaearchus teacheth as Cicero reporteth how that certeyne whole kindreds and nations of people haue been destroyed Nor of tempestes and dayly shypwrackes for as for those that peryshe by fire there is no man wyl say that they neede any graue I omit ciuil furies and outrages and domestical broyles and contentions of whiche it is sayde That cyuile warre can scarse graunt a graue to the captaynes whiche may be muche more truely veryfied of forreine battayles Neyther stande I vpon the ruines of cities and townes as namely Troy Hierusalem Carthage Corinth Numantia Saguntum with many other moe wherein the most part of the citizens being ouerthrowne by the fall of the walles and buildinges were buryed with their cuntry Last of all I ouerslip earthquakes by meanes wherof many men that were ouerwhelmed had the whole wombe of their mother the earth to receiue them in steede of a sepulture Which being in old tyme as also of late dayes an ordinarie mischiefe in diuerse places yet neuer raged any where more notoriously then in Asia whereas it is reported that there were twelue cities by horrible gapynges of the earth deuoured in one day These many and great matters haue I to this end◠recited that I myght take away from thee this ridiculous feare who dreadest the losse of a graue nore then death is selfe and takest greeuously that this thy poore carcas shoulde want that whiche it is
manifést so many thousand woorthie men and valiant warriours and which is a more haynous matter holy Sainctes haue lacked Feare The earth is denyed me when I am dead whiche is a very hard matter Reason This is not harde but thou art tender that canst be hurt and yet feelest nothyng Feare The earth is denyed me when I am dead whiche is an vnwoorthie thing Reason Howe so Art thou then due to the earth or the earth to thee Perhaps the earth may be denyed thee but not thou the earth Some chaunce peraduenture or iniurie of the enimie may depriue thee of thy graue but thou that camest from the earth must needes returne thyther agayne whiche thing since the Lorde thy God hath forewarned thee of by his owne mouth cannot be false Feare The earth shal not couer me in her bosome Reason But thou shalt couer her with thy nakes body and what shal this apperteyne more vnto thee after thy death then it doth at this present what is become of the paringes of thy nayles and clypping of thy haire and the blood that was let out for some feauer or other disease and also of the pieces of thy chyldrens coates and infantes mantles and swadlebandes when thou wast in thy tender yeeres Hast thou forgotten the gallant answere of Theodorus Cyrenaeus in Tullie whom when Lysimachus the kyng threatned to hang vp vpon the galous as I take it These terrible thynges quoth he threaten vnto thy gorgious courtyers as for Theodorus he careth not whether he rotte aloft or vpon the ground And if the earth receiue thee not into her bosome yet shal she entertayne thee vpon her face wheras the grasse shall cloath thee the flowers decke thee being glad of suche a guest and the raine moisten thee and the sunne burne thee and the frost freese thee and the winde mooue thee and perhaps this is a more natural meane wherby the body whiche is framed of the foure elementes may be resoued into so many agayne Feare I am left vnburyed whiche is horrible to be heard Reason This horrour consisteth in opinion and not in trueth forasmuch as some haue thought it an horrible matter to be couered with earth very faire to be consumed with fire as we know your aâ—nceâ—ours were perswaded Among sâ—me it was counted an honourable death to be torne in peeces by dogges and wylde beastes Concernyng this poynt there are innumerable customes manners among nations which being curiously gathered togeather by Crispus Cicero hath abridged Thou shalt lye vpon the bare ground but another shal be pressed with a great rough stone another couered with rotten cloddes another flit weliring dead in the water another as he hangeth be driuen with the wind beaten with the haile torne by the rauens and crowes to be short they that haue been perfumed with odours cloathed with purple the woormes shal consume them And that more hath he that is couered with marble and gold ouer him who weeping in the Poet sayeth And now the surges drench me and the windes beate me agaynst the shoare Although he also folowing the sway of the common errour abhorreth to be couered with earth Vnlesse perhaps thou do likewyse condescend to fables olde wiues tales thinking that the soules of them that lye vnburied do wander an hundred yeeres about the bankes of the hellish lake which toyes truely a sound religious minde vtterly reiecteth Feare I am denied a graue in my natiue soyle Reason If thou haue a turfe left thee in thy natural countrey thou art in case that Phocion as great a man as he was may enuie at thee whom being a citizen of Athenes hauing otherwyse deserued thereof then I doubt me thou hast of thy countrey the vnthankeful citie bannished out of their confines when he was dead a strainge kinde of crueltie Feare I shal be cast foorth vnburied Reason Se to thyne owne businesse and leaue this care vnto the lyuing FINIS The aucthour speaketh of his abhominable country Imprinted at London in Paules Churchyarde by Rychard VVatkins 1579. A Table of the matters conteined in the fyrst booke of this woorke OF Floorishyng yeeres Folio 1. Of the goodly Beautie of the Body Folio 2. Of Bodyly health Folio 4. Of Restored health Eod. Of Bodyly strength Folio 5. Of Swyftnesse of bodye Folio 6. Of Wytte. Eod. Of Memorie Folio 7. Of Eloquence Folio 8. Of Vertue Folio 10. Of the opinion of Vertue Folio 11. Of Wysedome Folio 12. Of Religion Folio 14. Of Freedome Eod. Of a glorious Countrey Folio 15. Of an honourable Familie Folio 18. Of a fortunate Begynning Folio 20. Of Sumptuous fare Folio 21. Of Feastes Folio 23. Of Apparrell and trimming of the Bodye Folio 26. Of Rest and quietnesse Folio 27. Of pleasaunt Smelles Folio 29. Of the sweetenesse of Musicke Folio 30. Of Daunsing Folio 32. Of playing with the Ball. Folio 34. Of playing at Dice and Lottes Eod. Of prosperous playing at Tables Folio 35. Of Iesters Folio 37. Of the games of Wrestlyng Folio 38. Of sundry Spectacles and Shewes Folio 40. Of Horses Folio 42. Of Hunting and Haukyng Folio 44. Of great retinue of Seruauntes Folio 45. Of the magnificence and beautifulnesse of Houses Folio 47. Of strong defenced Castles Eod. Of precious housholde stuffe Folio 48. Of Precious stones and Pearles Folio 49. Of Cuppes made of Precious stones Folio 53. Of Engrauinges and Seales in Precious stones Folio 56. Of Pictures and paynted Tables Folio 57. Of Statues and Images Folio 58. Of Vesselles of Corinth Folio 60. Of store of Bookes Folio 61. Of the fame of Wryters Folio 64. Of Maistershyppe Folio 66. Of sundrie tytles of Studies Folio 67. Of Tytles of Businesse and Affayres Folio 69. Of Tytles of Warres Wâ—â—â—cuyre and Chiefetayneshyp Folio 70. Of the Frâ—â—â—dshyp of Kinges Folio 71. Of the abundance of Freendes Folio 72. Of Freendes not knowen but by report Folio 74. Of one onely Faythfull Freende Folio 75. Of Plenty of Rychesse Folio 77. Of fyndyng of a Golde mine Eod. Of the fynding of Treasure Folio 78. Of Vsurie Eod. Of Fruitefull and wel tylled Lande Folio 80. Of Pleasant greene walkes Folio 81. Of Flockes and heardes of Cattell Folio 83. Of Elephantes and Cammelles Eod. Of Apes and other beastes of Pleasure Folio 84. Of Peacockes Chickins Hennes Bees and Pigions Eod. Of Fyshe pondes Folio 85. Of Cages of Byrdes and of Speaking and Singing Byrdes Folio 87. Of the worthinesse of Mariage Folio 89. Of a fayre Wyfe Folio 90. Of a fruitefull and eloquent Wyfe â–ª Folio 91. Of a great Dowrie Eod. Of Pleasant loue Folio 92. Of the Byrth of Chyldren Folio 96. Of a Pleasant young Chylde Eod. Of the excellent Fauour of Chyldren Folio 97. Of the valiencie and magnificencie of a Sonne Folio 98. Of the Daughters chastitie Folio 99. Of a good Sonne in Lawe Eod. Of Seconde Mariage Folio 100. Of the Mariage of Chyldren Folio 101. Of Nephues Folio 102. Of Adopted Chyldren Folio 103. Of an excellent
such a death as thou oughtest to wyshe for but suche an one as thou mayest wel endure For this is a cleare case that vnto a wyse man and one that foreseeth a far of al thynges that are lyke to ensue there can nothyng happen vnlooked for Whereupon it foloweth that death cannot come vnto hym vnprouided for whose lyfe was alwayes prouident for how should he be negligent in the greatest thinges that was wount to demurre in small yea the least thynges And in al worldly thynges what canst thou shewe me that is greater then death or comparable vnto it Sorowe I dye most speedily Reason So that the death be not vnthought vpon the speedier the easier it is and yf there be any payne in it it is very short and the speedinesse thereof preuenteth the feelyng of it and so that is taken away from death whiche is most greeuous in death to wyt the feare of death Of one that is sicke out of his owne countrey The .cxxiiii. Dialogue SOROW. I Am sicke in a strainge countrey Reason What skylleth it whose countrey it be the sickenesse thou art sure is thine owne Sorowe Thou mockest me I am sicke out of mine owne countrey Reason He that is out of his owne countrey is surely in some other for none can be sicke or whole out of al countreyes Sorow Thou seekest delayes in wordes but I am sicke out of my countrey Reason In this miserie thou gainest this one commoditie that thou hast none to trouble thee nor to lye vpon thy bed not thine importunate wyfe nor thy sonne who woulde both be careful for them selues and carelesse of thee Howe often thinkest thou hath the wyfe to her husband and the sonne to the father and one brother to another when they haue lien in extremitie of death throwne a pillowe ouer their mouthes and holpen to set them packyng whiche a stranger would not haue done nor haue suffered to be done by others Many tymes there is most loue where it is lesse looked for and there none that are about thee wylbe glad of thy sickenesse or wyshe for thy death And shall I tel thee the cause why There is none there that looketh for thine inheritance none commit any wickednesse but they are moued thereunto by hope or desire which quietnesse wherein thou art nowe would not haue hapned vnto thee in thine owne countrey For many vnder the colour of goodwyl woulde flocke about thee and gape after thy burial whiche conceit vnlesse I be much deceiued is a seconde sickenesse to him that is sicke alreadie when he shal perceiue himselfe beset rounde about at the one side with woolfes and at the other with rauens whiche in their mindes come to pray on the carcase Sorowe I am sicke out of my countrey Reason Howe knowest thou that Perhaps thou returnest nowe into thy countrey for the readiest and shortest way for a man to returne into his countrey is to dye Sorowe I am sicke out of my countrey Reason O the needelesse alwayes and vayne cares of men and fond complayntes as though out of a mans owne countrey his ague were fiercer or his gout more intollerable Al this whiche seemeth euyl consisteth in your owne wyl and lyeth in your owne power lyke as other plagues and mischeefes do whatsoeuer a false opinion hath engendred in your mindes Of one that dyeth out of his owne cuntrey The .cxxv. Dialogue SOROWE I Dye out of my natiue countrey Reason Doth this happen vnto thee beyng a traueiler or a banished man For whether thou madest thine aboade in this countrey for studie sake or for religion thou hast cause to reioyce that death hath taken thee in an honest deede or in a iust condemnation and thou oughtest to take it not onely valiantly but also willingly For the wyckednesse of an vnryghteous person is by no meanes better purged then by wyllyng and patient suffryng of punishment But yf it be long of the iniurie of some mightie enimie neuerthelesse thou must not be sorie for it and as for banishment I suppose we haue disputed sufficiently of it alreadie Sorowe I dye out of my countrey Reason This I sayd euen nowe is to returne into thy cuntrey there is no streighter path nor readier way Hast thou forgotten hudemus of Cyprus that was familiar with Aristotle of whom Aristotle hymselfe and also Cicero wryteth Who on a tyme beyng very sicke in Thessalia dreamed that he should recouer very shortly and after fiue yeeres expired returne into his countrey that the Tyrant of the same citie where at that tyme he soiourned whose name was Alexander Phaereus shoulde dye shortly But when after a fewe dayes beyng restored vnto his despaired health and the Tyrant slayne by his owne kinsfolke thinking his dreame to be true in al poyntes at the tyme limitted he looked also to returne into his Countrey at the ende of the fyfth yeere he was slayne in fyght at Syracuse and this sayd the Interpretours of dreames was the meanes of the returnyng into his Countrey that there myght be no part of the dreame false What myne opinion is concernyng dreames I haue declared elsewhere alreadie and nowe I haue vttered what came into my mynde of this returnyng into a mans Countrey Sorowe I am compelled to dye out of my Countrey Reason When I entreated of exile then sayd I which nowe I repeate agayne that eyther none or all dye out of theyr Countrey The learned holde opinion that euery part of the worlde is a mans Countrey specially to hym that hath a valiant minde whom any priuate affection hath not tyed to the liking of this place or that and othersome call that a mans Countrey where he is wel and lyueth in good case And contrariwyse some say that a man hath heere no speciall Countrey at all The fyrst is a common doctrine but this last a poynt of hygher Philosophie Sorowe I dye farre from my Countrey in which I was borne Reason But that is more truely thy Countrey where thou dyest The same shall possesse thee longer and not suffer thee to wander abroade but keepe thee within it for a perpetuall inhabitaunt for euer Learne to lyke of this Countrey that wyll enfranchize thee into it selfe wheresoeuer otherwyse thou were borne Sorowe I must dye and be buried farre out of myne owne Countrey Reason Those heauenly and diuine men lykewyse whom one age and the selfe same middle part of the worlde brought foorth are dispersed ouer all partes of the worlde as well in theyr deathes as burialles Ephesus keepeth one and Syria another and Persis another and Armenia another and Aethiopia another and India another and Achaia another and Rome othersome and the farthest part of Spayne another neuerthelesse it is reported that some of them after theyr death were carried away and translated from the places where they dyed vnto certayne Cities of Italy I speake of the earthly part of them but as for theyr spirituall part doubtlesse it is long since that
they possessed the kyngdome of heauen Sorowe I must needes dye out of my Countrey Reason What shall I speake of men of a meaner degree One that was remooued fyrst from Stridon Bethleem and afterwarde Rome receyued Fraunce another from Pannonia and Parris another from Athens and Rome another from Greece and Spayne and Millaine another from Rome lyuing and the same when he was dead Sardinia from Africa and shortly after Ticinum from Sardinia two most bryght shining streames of the East march in merites and ioyned in minde and neere in bodye Who they be that I speake of thou knowest and therefore in makyng hast I ouerpasse many thynges But that thou mayest not want also an example of the thyrde sorte Cyprus receyued one from the land of Palestine and Campania another from Nursia Spaine this one and Italie that other and Bononie one and Padua another Sorowe I vnderstande well all that euer thon meanest notwithstandyng vnwillingly doo I dye farre from my Countrey Reason And truely I vnderstande the very cause hereof to wit for that the most sacred spirites and mindes which alwayes haue their affections fixed in heauen haue no care at all of their earthly Countrey which care thou hast not yet layd aside but truely beleeue mee yf thou hope after heauen thou must needes lay it asyde indeede Neuerthelesse I wyll entreate of others that were louers of vertue and mindfull of heauen and yet not through their loue of heauen altogether forgetful of the earth The boanes of Pythagoras of Samos Metapontus dyd couer Cicero whom Arpine brought foorth and Rome dyd nourysh the bay of Caieta sawe dead Plinie whom the riuer Athesis washed when he was an infant the ashes of the mount Veseuus couered when he was olde Mantua brought Virgil into the worlde Brundusium or as other some write Tarentum plucked hym away and now Naples holdeth hym Sulmo framed the Poet Ouid but his exile in Pontus disolued him Carthage as it is reported brought forth Terence the Comike Poet but Rome taught him and Arcadia buried him Apulia sent foorth Horace the Poet and Calabria Ennius and the Prouince of Narbona Statius and Vasconia Ausonius Corduba the three Annei or as some say foure to wit the two Senecaes and Gallio and the Poet Lucan And al these ouer besides Plautus of Arpine and Lucillus of Arunca and Pacuuius of Brundusium Iuuenal of Aquinum and Propertius of Vmbria Valerius of Antium and Catullus of Verona and Varrus of Cremona and Gallus of Forli and Actius of Pisaurum Cassius of Parma Claudianus of Florence Persius of Volaterrae a thousand moe hath Rome receiued and for the most part buried only Titus Liuius of Padua with muche adoo was restored vnto his Countrey to be enterred and so contrariwise Rome hath bread many that haue dyed and ben buried in other places The whole world is in manner of a narrow house fouresquare wherein men passe from one extremitie to another and in the one is life and in the other death Men of valiant courage esteeme of it for none other cause then for the varietie of the vse thereof as it were to goe out of a cold bath into a stone or to chaing out of a winter chamber into a summer lodging This chaing and varietie namely to be borne in one place and buried in another is common among al men specially the more noble for t Sorowe I knowe it is so yet I dye sorowfully out of myne owne Countrey Reason Thou shouldest dye no more merily in that Countrey which thou callest thyne but ye geue your selues ouer to teares and seeke causes to lament and be sorie as yf ye tooke pleasure in them But yf the examples of holy learned and discrete pouertie can not discharge thy minde hereof which is infected with the errours of the vulgare multitude I wyll alleage them that haue been more fortunate in proouing that this which troubleth thee hath hapned to the most famous Captaynes Dukes Kynges and Emperours so that I wyll see whether thou wylt refuse that fortune which may befal to a man. Sorowe Whom thou wylt speake of and alleage I knowe well enough but what neede many woordes I am sorie to dye out of my Countrey the place encreaseth the greefe of my death Reason I perceiue thou refusest to be cured yet wyll I proceede but with how good effect that looke thou vnto as for me it shall suffice to vtter the trueth and geue thee faythfull warnyng Alexander was borne at Pella slayne at Babylon and his ashes buried at Alexandria a Citie called after the name of the founder The other Alexander was brought vp in the Princes Palace of Epirus and drowned in the Riuer Lucanus Kyng Cyrus was borne in his Kyngdome of Persis and slayine and mangled in Scythia Rome and the whole Romane Empire had in admiracion Marcus Crassus and Pompeius the great which as it was able to beare the greatnesse of them whyle they lyued so yf Fortune had so suffered it had been sufficient to haue receyued theyr ashes but the one was couered with earth in Assyria beyonde Euphrates the other ouerwhelmed in the Channell of the Aegyptian streame Vnto the latter Cato the Citie of Rome gaue both begynnyng and name but Vtica brought both ende and surname The Cornelii Scipioes Rome procreated most noble and profitable members of the Common-wealth by whom it had been often saued and adorned whom notwithstanding their destinies so dispersed that those two which are called the great were entombed both in Spanish moulde and the elder Africane at Linternum and Nasica at Pergamus and Lentulus within Scicil dwelling al in seuerall and disioyned graues Of all this number only Asiaticus and Africanus the younger lye buried at Rome who perhaps had lyen better in any banishment whatsoeuer for the fyrst was punyshed by imprisonment the other by death And thus many tymes it happeneth that a man may lyue better and dye better in any other place then in his owne Countrey and lye nowhere harder then at home The three Deci although the common report make mention but of twayne dyed valiantly out of theyr owne Countrey the Father fyghting with the Latines the Sonne with the Hetrurians and the Nephew as Cicero addeth with Pyrrhus To what purpose shoulde I nowe rehearse in order as they come to my minde woorthie Captaynes and Princes whiche were all borne at Rome and dyed elsewhere Africa behelde Attilius Regulus howe muche the more cruelly so muche the more gloriously dying both for the preseruyng of his Countrey and also of his fayth and credite with his enimie and in the next war followyng Cortona sawe Caius Flaminius and Cumae Paulus Aemilius and Venusia Claudius Marcellus and Lucania Tiberius Gracchus lying dead it was the fortune of none of these to dye at Rome Two noble Gentlemen of great hope and expectation in the Romane Commonwealth were cut of in the very floure of their youth Drusus and Marcellinus