avvay I feele my youthful minde Yet who art thou so madde or greedye of lyfe as would take vpon thee such a condition wherin there is nothinge but sicknes cares contempte peril lothsomnes and sorrow So as I see not for what reason thou seekest to liue And if in lustye youth when strengthe sences beautye wit auctoritye were all in thee thou were notwithstanding oftentimes wearye of life what shalt thou doe at this age when thou hearest thy selfe called olde wretche and dootinge olde foole death doth neuer come so muche to sone to a yonge man as to late to them that be olde But if feare of deadlye paines do offende thee sicknes resembleth death and in sicknes by little and little the life is taken awaye Or art thou loth to dye alone Be of good cheare thou shalt finde more deade then are left aliue and those also shall or longe followe As the Poet sayth For eyther soone or late in order as men saye The vvretched flocke of vvordly folke to death do take their vvay Neyther doth GOD suffer any to deferre his destined tune The destines do driue all men and remayne as lawe for euer they are y happyer sort that are sonest dispatched of paynes And as amonge condempned folke the Lawe executeth those first that haue least offended to th ende that the greate offenders shoulde beholde the terror of death Euen so God doth first take those away whom hee loueth because they shall not be lokers on but messengers sente before vnlesse in consideration of profitte eyther to theyr frendes or the worlde hee suffereth such menne to tarrye more longe To conclude then seing in thinges that be euil there is nothinge more greuous then dailye and certaine expectatiō old age when it commeth hauinge in it both the one and the other doth force a manne to wyshe that in his youth hee had dyed I my selfe beinge a childe doe remember mine owne mother Clara Michera then a yonge woman was notwithstanding wonte to wishe that in her infancye she dyed beinge growen to greater age for euer more she continued y speach I asked the cause whye shee soe sayde where vnto this she aunsweared Loe now I know I shall dye and that with greater perill besydes that in the meane time who so doth marke it well shall see there is nothing that doth not bring with it greater griefe then pleasure because pleasure beinge passed doe chaunge to sorrowe And that deseruingly What is it in this life that can delighte dailye trouble to apparell and vnapparell thy selfe hunger thyrste sleepe not so plentiful nor quiet as dead mē haue heate in Sommer colde in Winter disorder of time terrour of warres controlemente of parentes cares of wedlocke studye for children slouthe of seruaunts contention of sutes and that whiche is moste of all the condition of time wherein honestye is disdayned as follye and crafte is honoured as Wysedome Artisans for theyr cunning not accompted of but for apparaūce and opinion of people preferred So as it is necessarye eyther to displease God or els to liue amonge men in miserye oppressed and disdayned I omitte all euils onely that which is cōmon to dead men is not euil all other thinges which wee do not accompte euil are worse then those which deade men suffer It is nowe requisite that somewhat be sayde of the diuersityes of death hytherto it hath beene deferred because they are many of diuers men thoughte worthy consideration For death doth seeme greuous to yong men both for that it is painful for that minde to leaue the body dishonourable and certen al which in common iudgement are ioyned to gethers And some cowardlye yonge men haue beene compelled to dye a knowen death but syth I see diuers of the common people pacientlye enough do take their deaths I know no cause why other should be greatly comforted considering that not the maner of death but the qualitye of the offence maketh death dishonorable For if thou respect only the maner of death thou shalt find that the greatest nomber of men put to vile death were those that antiquity prayseth and our age doe honour notwithstanding they fel into the handes of Tirantes in whose power it was to appointe the time and maner of death though innocencye be in them that suffer Neither can a publike death bee dishonorable if his life so dyinge be voide of foule vice because publike death without offence is not onely a signe but also a triall of vertue We fynde in the new law how Christ did first gayne the glorye of innocent death and after him followed innumerable martirs and prophets and the moore good and holy they were the more cruelly forced to dye Esayas cut with yron by commaundement of king Manasses Hieremias by the people stoned to death Iohn Baptist beheaded and fynally manie other cruelly murdered neither was the fortune of other Good menne muche better at the handes of heathen Kinges and in their Citties for Zeno Eleates when quietly he might haue liued in his house he conspired against the Tirant Nearcluis but his entent was discouered and he hanged yet at his deathe he perswaded the people to stone the Tyraunt to death When Lysymachus the kinge threatned Theodorus Cyreneus to hang him he answered thus what matter is it whether on the earth or hanging high my carkcas do stinke When Socrates myghte with sylence haue escaped death being condēpned only in a pecuniall paine did prouoke them y dyd condempne him to procure his death And when his wife Zantippe complained that vniustly he suffered he aunswered An mallet iuste senciens non esse malum preter culpam The dishonour therfore is not in dyinge but in the cause of death which procedeth of thine own euill doinge But as for paines youth and certaine knowledge of dying they add none encrease of grief to death nor make it moore greuous because the knowledge of that is not euill cannot be euil after and onely death after torments is most pleasant And torments either they can not be great or not long Christe for ensample to al men died that for ensample it might remaine Besides this seldome shalt thou finde any innocēt to dye of great torment no scantly once vnlesse it be at chaunge of lawes when innocentes are forced to suffer the insolency of nocentes as in hystories it appeareth most rarely is also founde example of violency in giltlesse men yf wilfulnes be not the cause for such as so murder good men do seme to do it of very will. But how easy a thinge death is eyther publike or by sword examples do beare witnes When Iulius Caesar was in the murdering and felte the daggers of diuers men stubbed into his body he sought neither to saue himselfe nor cryed for helpe but falling kept hidden his secrete partes Such memory hee had of comlines notwithstanding his woundes and readynes to yeld vppe his ghost And as Lucanus saith his sonne in lawe in such sort dyed He
temperatly How much were this rule of lyuinge to attaine long life more delicate then to feede vppon fleshe and honye But in this age mē continue carefully in labours and care watching the halfe night baskinge in Venus bathe abyding in cloudye Regions and not in good ayre drinkinge boyled wynes do notwithstandinge complaine of short life And howsoeuer in deede oure liues be short it is opinion that doth make it so to appeare The people called Garamantes do not liue aboue fortye yeares I omit to speake of the Pigmeians as people rather fayned then in deede but wee if we dye before fyftye or threscore do thincke that iustlye we lament and yet who so dwelleth in those countryes do highly thanke God if he attayneth fortye yeares and thou lyuinge muche elder do neuerthelesse complayne Surelye euerye lyfe is long that is continued till death sith at the beginning the terme is destined and as sayth the Poet. In birth vvee breede our death our ende on first beginning hangeth Reade we not in holye Scripture that y nomber of dayes and monthes is appointed by God he hath set the terme which cannot be passed The lyfe of man therefore is ended wyth olde age for old age is the last part of life Olde age is also the necessitye of death wheresoeuer therefore death is necessary old age draweth neare Whoso dyeth in youth in this onelye is the more happye that he escapeth the discommoditye of old age will thou make life to seme long or short by comparison A kinde of beastes ther be called Ephemera which are made in the morning and before sonne settinge do dye If happelye they dye at noone theyr lyfe is called shorte but if they continue till nighte they accompte it longe and yet it exceedeth not twelue houres Wee maruaile at flees for theyr long life if they liue two Sommers and at flees that continue three monethes Yet whiche of these is thoughte any thinge towardes mans life we call dogges olde that passe a leuen yeares of age but a man passeth all these in longe lyuinge thoughe hee dyeth in youth But the life of mā must not be accompted longe or shorte in respecte of his yeares The life of all mortall men is but shorte because wyth death it shal be most certainlye ended It is vertue worthy actes that maketh the life longe and idlenes that shortneth thy dayes Alexander thoughe hee liued not aboue thirtye three yeares dyed an old man through the greatnes and nomber of his noble exploytes Argantonius hauinge lyued a hundreth and twentye yeares maye bee sayde to haue dyed in youth because besydes the rarenes of his age in all his life he neuer did anye thing that deserued memorye It ought also worthelye to be noted that for the most parte all notable men haue dyed in theyr youth Amonge the kinges none almoste continued to olde age Hercules Athilles Castor Pollux Aiax Iason Amonge the Poetes Lucanus Catullus Tibullus neyther was Vigill long liued neyther Demostenes nor Cicero howe true yea to true is the sayinge of the Poet. Their liues are short and age is rare vvhere life doth lacke good rule IVLIVS CAESAR Seuerus Alexander Probus Aurelianus Claudius the seconde of that name dyed in youth which men a I thincke liued the lesse the more honest they were because being deare to the Gods were the souer called vnto them Whervppon grew that saying from the Poetes whom Iupiter and Apollo do loue do neuer attaine to old age This is also to be noted that choise is to be loked for wher wil may anye wayes auayle but in thy power it is not to make thy life eyther more long or more shorte Yet if thou cā do it there is none offence at al but if thou cānot thou lamentest thy shortnes of life for no greater reason then thou may thy mortality And that care of thinges impossible is vayne onelye proper to fooles But admit thou maye continue thy life and become olde arte thou not therby the more vnhappye because thou losest that singuler commodity which by God almightye is gauen to men for the allaye of sorrow which is ignorance of time While wee continue yonge wee liue meerelye because wee imagine death is not at hande But how can olde menne thincke that death is farre awaye when alreadye they are entred the laste ende of life Howe true and worthye memorye is that sayinge of S. Austen A yonge manne maye soone dye but an olde manne cannot liue longe And yet no couse there is why thou should not be sorrye seing a yong mā maye also dye sone Syth th ende of life is vnknowē a yong man neuer ought to dispayre whether he laboureth of deadly diseases or be cast into cruell tormentes and prison The chaunces of mortal creatures do shew that men are subiect to law of nature and fortune so as withoute cause they loue certainties for most incertēties of al. But admit thou doest attaine to old age it selfe how manye euils commeth therby labour griefe ▪ sadnes losse of sences disdaine y which is almost worst of all as Caecilius doth well discribe therby thou shalte see they companye of all men eschewed vnwelcome are olde menne to their children vnwelcome to frendes disdayned of yonge men and odious to their owne familiars Theyr sences serue not theyr bodyes theyr bodyes obeye not theyr mindes they passe the nighte withoute sleepe and eate without all tast They lothe themselues how shoulde they be pleasant to others We reade that when Zeno Citieus could not dye with age he strāgled himselfe What dilligence and trauayle did Cicero take to perswade olde age to be pacientlye borne but if of it selfe it had beene good or as riches frends children and learning had apparance of good there shoulde haue beene not cause for him to haue taken such trauayle A mockerye it were to perswade that health or honour were pacientlye to be suffered and wee agree that olde age is sufferable but not to be wished for Howe manye olde men haue beene for whom it had beene better to haue died in youth Priamus for example not for myracle in historye is resited Not longe since Baccus Valor being olde and readye to take leaue of life before his eyes behelde his owne sonne beheaded a yonge man of singuler hope The next yeare before two other olde men I sawe that behelde the like fortune in theyr owne children Wherefore I wonder muche at the greate wysedome of Theramenes woo onelye escapinge when his house fell downe sayde before his frendes that reioysed for his life O fortune to what ende hast thou me preserued neyther did he aske in vaine for within fewe dayes after by the malyce of tyrantes he was taken and put to death Therfore such is the condition of men as althoughe beinge olde thou mighte returne to youth againe as the fable telleth of Aeson sayinge And as tvvise tvventye yeares bypast so novve my force I finde Myne aged yeares are vvorne
the agent onely commeth from without yet not so to be coupled vnto man that it maye be simplye hys forme and part of him But as for that that Auerroes affyrmeth of the double vnderstanding I neuer founde it wyth Aristotle Forsothe it is all one whiche commeth from withoute and is not vnseperable all the reste proceede of the matter and vertue of the seede But to make in manne two vnderstandinges and both euerlasting is a maruelous absurditye But this at this time is nothinge to vs let vs nowe showe that vnderstandinge whiche is not mixte and commeth from withoute that it cannot possiblye be all one onelye For if it were suche a one and also the forme of manne howe could it afore it were exercised in vs bee compared to a bare shauen table beinge already imprinted wyth all manner of discipline in others All men shoulde also a like continue yea than that is more all men should be one man because theyr forme shoulde bee one in nomber and one thinge that vnderstandeth And if it be not the forme what is more fonde then to saye man vnderstandeth when vnderstandinge it selfe is no parte of man Althoughe these thinges be verye trifles yet let vs bestow them on these good fellowes and fetche vppe againe the foundation from the bottome Eyther this onelye and euerlasting vnderstandinge is onlye in men or els as it were a Sonne beinge seperate in substance it assisteth all men wyth the light If it be in men onely how is it seuered howe commeth it from withoute howe doth it not flowe from the power of the seedes yea what more excellency hath man then other lyuinge thinges seinge they haue both euerlastinge matter and nature of whom they be gouerned vnfadable for soe to continue is no otherwyse to remayne the same thing then in likenes not in nomber For the same power shoulde be nature in an other lyuing creature and vnderstandinge in manne But herefore is the lyuing creature gouerned of an other thinge because nature cannot be the same that the lyuinge creature is because that of which it is gouerned continueth stil when the lyuinge creature is deade If therefore man be ruled of himselfe and that be immortal which ruleth it cannot be one in diuers for nature which ruleth is seuered from the lyuinge thinges that it beinge one mighte serue manye ▪ but the power of vnderstandynge is coupled in man Wherefore one power of vnderstandinge cannot serue many men but euerye man hath his owne vnderstandyng assigned him by himselfe But it doth not as it were a sonne shyne vnto vs wythout vs first for that we perceiue our selues to vnderstand none otherwyse thē to haue sense But sense is proper vnto vs and all the foūdatiō therof is part of vs ergo our vnderstandinge also Then moreuer and if it should shine without wee should be gouerned of an other thing as the brute beastes be which for no other cause are gouerned of an other thinge then that same of whiche they are gouerned without them But this is a thing most proper vnto vs men that wee shoulde commaunde oure selues For the vertue within vs moueth oure lymmes because it commeth from vnderstandinge is ruled wyth a straunge and forraine rule doth alwayes obaye after one sorte and is not oure owne simplye nor knowen vnto vs but we vse it not knowinge howe we vse it And so of those thinges whiche come from other where we be not full maysters of them So beastes because they be gouerned by the motion of the natural power and sence which hath an outward or foraine cause in like sort be quite voyde of libertye and vtterly subiecte to an others gouernment nothing differing in theyr affections from the sence and seruice which the members in man are wont to do vnto the wil. For if those members be hurt of theyr owne accorde without the commaundement of wyll they shrinke backe although they know not wherfore they so doe Moreouer and if vnderstandinge were without vs we shoulde no more differ from other lyuing creatures then they do one from an other and nedes it muste folow y bruite beastes should not want vnderstandinge Forasmuch as in the same maner the nature both of bruite beastes and men should be illumined in the same sort of the same eternal causes And nowe is it shewed how brutishe lyuing creatures are for euer by no kinde of meanes able to attain vnto euē the least shadow of that part which is reasonable but by memory or els nature somtime to haue geuen a certain show of some conceiued reason Wherfore it is manifest the mynd of mē to be heauenlye and deuided according to the nūber of men neither fading nor waxeing olde at any time But like as the beames of the son if they fal vpon a thick shadowed place or cloude do not shine bright but if they light vpon glasse or water or christall shine so much the brighter how much clearer the matter is and yet these beames be no purer nor more lastinge then the other but be a lyke perpetuall So the mindes of men when the partes in which thei chiefly shine ▪ be decayd either by age or by sicknes do ceasse to vse their proper glistring and faculties so that vnto som men they seme to fade when for al that in no parte they are made eyther faulty or faynt or sickly but continue sound vntouched euen to death flitting from thence geue vnto vs a probable opinion of thē for otherwise how could any man iudge the myndes of goode men for euer blessed and happye the mindes of euyll men wretched and vnhappy Hereupon groweth the opiniō of Plato that after the worldes ende mens soules should returne to their bodies Other thinke they dye not tyl the worlde be consumed with fyre whyche after long tyme they loke for and of that mind be the Stoikes By eyther of which Phylosophers seing nothing we haue assuredly cōfirmed I meaned not to say much supposinge it should suffice to haue shewed y the soules of al men do remayn after with those faculties which bee moste properlye theirs As wil vnderstandinge wisdome knowledge deliberacion reason the knowledge of artes and such like vertues But now let vs returne to our determined purpose It was agreed y deathe could be neither euill nor worthye to be lamented for profe wherof the disputacion of the immortality of the soule was no more necessarye then as men say to light a candle at mydnoneday for death did neuer seme lesse greuous to any then to those that afterdeathe belieued no lyfe at all Neuerthelesse syth we haue fallen into this talke and nowe doe assuredly know it is also our determinacion to instruct others Let vs therefore show that death is neither euil nor to be bewailed and most dishonest of al it is a mā either to lament or feare his own departing frō life which no pitie nor mercy can preuent But feare imperfection of nature to much desyre of
soundly slepte hee tasted the pleasantest part of life meaning as I thinke that euery pleasure that we take by our sences hathe in it more displeasure then sweetenes And therefore there could be nothing better then to lack y knowledge of theym But common opinion hath compared death to slepe rather theÌ„ trauayle or destruction therfore Homer doth call it brasen slepe Virgil yron slepe either of which importeth forgetfulnes of al thinges the allay of cares dulnes of sences careles mynde of hap to come Betwixt slepe and death this only difference there is that in death y time of quiet is longer Diogenes beinge sicke sleaping was asked of his phisicion how hee fared to whom he answered wel for quod he one brother enuieth an other Such was the securitye of hys mynde as euen at point of death he feared not to iest In like maner did Cosmas Medices a wise man in our age who being nerse death closed hys eyes whiche his wife seinge asked whye hee so dyd hee answered that hee did it to bringe his eyes in custome For in dede the eyes of dead men are neither broade open nor close shutte And so I thinke the Poet did wel knowe sayinge Is not our sleape O foole of death an Image playne For fatall course shal bring a rest that euer vvill remayne But if thou compare death to long trauayl and that the soule beinge let lose from prison of the bodye seeth al thinges and walketh euerye where Than what can be consydered more happye For the soule being burdened with the body is neither free nor rightly knoweth any thinge but beyng ouerladen with cares doth beholde only the fygure of thinges and as it were throughe a webbe or clothe gesseth a syghte and certainlye knoweth nothing but beinge free doth not only cast of all hyndraunce but also beholdeth all thinges without interruption whiche beinge true who is hee that willingly woulde eschewe deathe yea who is hee that woulde not rather doe as Theombrotus Ambrociota did who hauinge red Platoes booke of the immortalitye of soules cast himselfe headlong downe from a wall not feelinge any offence or other naturall sickenes but onely for desyre of such heauenlye happynesse as spirites were partakers of Therfore men saye that Socrates being by Crito perswaded to flye frome prison aswel for sauinge hymselfe as his frendes and kinsfolkes refused to doe it answerynge wiselye O Crito my chyldren shal be left in charge to God which gaue them As for friendes I am going into those partes where I am assured to fynd as good or haply better then they be And at length I doubt not but you wil also offer me your company meaninge thereby that the lyfe of man was of small continuance Such were the wordes of Socrates thynking that death necessarilye myght be compared to one of these three and most lyke of al to trauayle whych may also be coniectured by dreames For there is nothing that doth better or moore truely prophecy the ende of lyfe then when a man dreameth that he doth trauayle and wander into farre countries and chiefly if he imagineth hym selfe to ryde vppon a whyte horse that is swyfte and that he trauayleth in countries vnknowen wythout hope of retourne in such sort naturallye deâ—yninge of that shortlye wyll come to passe in dede But if death be resembled to destruction which as is all ready proued is moost impossible yet can it no wayes bee accompted euyll Because what so euer is not can not be euyll els we should lament for them that neuer were born nor neuer were at all and they that are not can nothinge suffer But if thou bewaylest thy chaunge sure it is that Death dooth take away more euylles then it bringeth and those more certayn And although Death were euyll and brought wyth it but one onely commodity whyche Epicharinus spake of because the partinge from Lyfe was painfull yet by death art therof delyuered for in all euilles to haue escaped is a greate comforte If then death be euyll to be dead is to escape but if it bee good thou haste no cause to lament And that the one or the other is who doubteth I remember nowe that longe synce happened to my selfe neither do I thinke to digresse from the purpose that albeit the twentye and seuenth yeare of myne age I became sore sicke of a syngle Tercian after Seuen fyttes I â—ounded and lay for dead In whych tyme althoughe euery member was almoste depriued of his vertue yet felt I neither griefe nor payn other then a certayn ticklinge throughout my whole bodye euen such as we feele in vsing venery Therfore as I sayde beynge in suche estate I feeled nothinge worse then that this tickelinge where in was not so greate pleasure as in Venus Sporte And there with all a certayne Feare leaste in deede I shoulde dye and truely as touchinge Sence or Strength I founde small dyfference thoughe the peryll were greate Afterwardes askinge of manye that hadde beene neare Death whether therein they felte any greate euill or not who aunsweared that in the Headeache and in euerye other sicknesse of the Bodye was greater Griefe I founde that in myne opinion of Death conceyued I dyd not erre at all That proofe maye also bee had that althoughe Children and women be moste fearfull to receiue all sortes of Medecines and yelde to Cuttinge of vaynes yet being ready to dye do neither complayn nor lamente but rather are offended if wee seeke to preserue their liues Who cannot therfore coniecture that in death there is either none euyll at al or very litle seynge those paynes whiche we feare most are in dyinge not regarded Thys is also worthy to bee noted that they that hope of no lyfe to come do no lesse valiantly dye theÌ„ they that beleue the soule immortal As Cassius who hauing killed Caesar with the same dagger that Caesar was slayne aspecting no messenger of death slewe himselfe so dyd Marcus Antonius and Sardanapalus king of the Assyrians did cast into the fyre not only hym selfe but also his bed and his concubines but that he belieued no lyfe after death is knowen by these verses Novve eate novve drinke novve make good sport For sith thy felfe on earthe a mortall man do see Take here thy fill of earthly ioyes no ioyes hereafter be Therfore albeit it were that with the body y soule did perishe yet death could not be eyther euyl greuous or any wayes to be feared yea such as so beleue are in greatest security for not beinge subiect to iudgement and free from all suspicion of mynde either of punishment or reward which thing doth most torment men that are ready to take leaue of lyfe But thou shalt beleue al rather then this that the soule perysheth with the body For as it is not altogether certaine what dothe presentlye folowe death so is it moste assured that the soule of man doth neuer dye wherof althoughe none other profe were then the consideracion of
at the handes of a gentlewoman in Padoa wyth poyson procured his owne death One other in oure Cittye hauinge sustayned losse by the pryce of corne willinglye hanged himselfe One other and hee also of our Nation finding he could not with commoditye paye his dettes threw himselfe into a water and so drowned I my selfe did see a womaÌ„ who for verye sorrow that she had committed adultrye askinge God forgiuenes for her offence sodenlye dranke poyson Cleopatra although she might haue liued in honor yet because she would not be caried about in tryumphe caused a Serpent to bite her bodye thereof willingly dyed Porcia the daughter of Cato and wyfe to Brutus in honest life farre eâ—celling Cleopatra hearing that her husband was slayne didde eate burninge Coales and thereof died For cause more iust dyed Democles a Boy of notable beauty in Athens He being by the king watched when he should enter naked into a bath and knowing the king ment to abuse him caste himselfe into the bottome of the whot water and so presently dyed The death of Lucretia is wel knowen who violently bereft of hir honor sticked hir selfe The wante of successe and not will was cause that Alexander the greate escaped voluntarie death for hauing in dronken mode stain his frend Clitus he would presently in the house haue murdered himselfe from whiche doinge in space of three daies both by force sute he could scaÌ„tly be entreated to refrayn and afterwards being at y siege of Sudracarus a citie in India he leaped from the wall into the towne of purpose to dye For by meane therof he did both fal farre and alone among his enemies but fortune woulde not permit that successe he desired This booke would not receiue the nuÌ„ber of ensamples of such as for feare loue griefe anger other occasions of no waight haue sought theyr owne deathes Besides whom we reade of hole legions that haue offered themselues to apparant destruction As they did that were with Leonida against the PersiaÌ„s and fought nere vnto Thermopile What woulde these people haue aduentured for great cause or if death were a great euyl that vpon so light occasion did not refuse to dye From whiche determinacion no respect of age sexe or honor could feare them But I se what thou wilt say death I doe not feare for as it is not euill so is it necessarye and to feare that is of necessitye were vaine cowerdlye and hurtefull Yet woulde I dye easelye and olde suche a death as Augustus desired and did obtaine For by lyuinge olde I shall not onelye gaine a longer life but also a more easyer death Aristoteles in his Booke De Respiratione thincketh that verye olde men dyed not onelye withoute payne but also withoute anye feelinge of deathe because the heate of their bodyes was quenched whiche maye appeare by this example If thou goe aboute to drawe a tothe that is not loose thou feelest great paine but if of it selfe it were loose before withoute anye griefe at all it commeth awaye Euen so greene youthe wyth extreeme paine do yelde to death but olde folke in dying feele no griefe almost at al As the tragicall Poet sayth In slomber svveete the aged sprite departeth How can it be other theÌ„ that death is greuous to yonge men when as sleepe against nature is offensiue Oft times it happeneth that such as vppon custome seeke sleepe at vntimelye houres become thereby drye pyned and slouthfull so as in steede of delight they get disease Theophrastus beinge readye to dye thoughe he were an olde maÌ„ complayned of Nature because she had ordayned so longe life in Staggs Rauens al most vnprofitable beastes and to maÌ„ being the most noble wysest creature allowed so shorte a terme to 〈◊〉 in What may they say then that dye in y flower of theyr youth haue they not iust cause to lament Surely no. But here the reason why nature hath not among other creatures made man of longest lyfe and then that he that dyeth in youth doth suffer nothing more greuous then they that lyue old For fyrst it is doubted of manye and chiefelye of Aristotle whether anye creature the Elephant excepte doth liue more longe then man Because he maketh no mentioÌ„ either of the Phenixe the Crow the Rauen or the Stagge nor affirmeth them to be of longest life But let vs confesse that whiche is imputed in Virgill though it doth little importe to the matter where he speaking of men sayth A life more longe nyne times the cacklinge Crovve doth lyue But confessing with Aristotle that y Elephante doth liue more longe then man why neede we coÌ„tende whether man be of one or more creatures in longe lyuinge excelled Omittinge also that the holye Scripture affyrmeth lyfe more long to man then other lyuinge creatures let vs now dispute that that alreadye is taken in hande that is to say for what cause some beasts be of longer life then maÌ„ The reason is this seinge all creatures are made eyther for the vse or honour of man â–ª they were framed accordinge to the descretion of Nature at which time she made theyr minds as wel for their bodyes as theyr bodyes for their mindes were therefore made simple with fewe instruments as plaine thinges to enduer longe But the bodye of man being made onely for his minde neded many more instrumentes to th ende that the vnderstanding might the more fitlye do his office Therfore although Nature hath made for man the best proportion of bodye yet could she not geue therevnto the longest lyfe by reason of exceeding concauities and subtilnes of the members which if they were great besides that we should be al Giants they woulde bee troublesome eche one to other Which is wel proued in y no creature hath so infinite members or part of meÌ„bers which were of necessity made smal slender to y end they might the rather be fit to yeld so the breath an instrumeÌ„t of the soule became y more subtil Wherfore nature hath not in this behalfe omitted any parte of her duty â–ª but rather with such dilligence helped our life as for the length thereof wee haue no cause to complaine which is nowe wel proued in y people of India latest founde where men liue commonlye a hundreth and thirty yeres because there the ayre is good and the people without cares But wee coÌ„tinuing incares riot vntimely labour chosing ayre for profit not health yea altogether forgetting the length of life wee cast oure selues into extreame sickenes discoÌ„modities of body and preseÌ„t death without cause accusing nature for the shortnes of oure liues Howe muche better were it to know which way to vse the benefit of nature if so deare pleasaÌ„t a thing thou doest accompt this life what is y cause that Philosophers and Hermits haue liued so verye long yet theyr to great stinens and earnest contemplacion hindered their health vnlesse it were because they liued voide of care and
discribeth Pompeius deathe in this wise In hast he stayde his vvofull voyce and vvould no vvord complayn Least vveping teares might so vnvvares his heauenly fame disdain And vvhâ—â—â—is noble side vvas pearst vvith fearce Achilles blade No sigâ— no sob no careful cheare no sorovving sound he made but in disdaine of crueltye Cato VticeÌ„sis determined to dye ordered his goods wiselye forseinge the good of others though he neglected his owne which done reading Plato of the immortality of soules layd himselfe down slepte so souÌ„dly as he snored after being awaked sticked himselfe And when throughe weakenes of his hand the wounde was not mortal suche as were by saued him tyl at length violently he brake lose dyed Such was his gredy desyre of death Otho themperoure a yong man of thirtye seuen yeares of al men accompted soft and effeminate after hee had won thre battels of the Vitelli for the sorow of one lost gaue his mony and substance to his frendes and willed his familiar companion to shewe himselfe to the souldiers lest that after he should be suspected and in the night with two daggers murdered himselfe And yet neither dispayred hee of the holding of the Empire nor wanted the loue of the Senate or his souldiers but onlye for that nether in victory or victored he would hinder the commoÌ„ wealth Caius Iulius by Caius themperour condempned to dye â–ª obteyned ten dayes pardon all whiche time careles he consumed in sleape and table play and when the hangeman came in to warne him y his tyme was euen at hande hee tolde what aduauntage he had in the game and willed his play felow that after his death he should not boast of winning and called the hangman to record who led him towardes death accompanied with a philosopher Vpon the way being asked whaâ— he mused of He aunswered I determined to obserue what at the last instant my soule shal feele when it parteth away to the ende that after I may aduertise my frends Aratus knowing he had taken a lingering poyson at the handes of Philippus the Macedonian kinge speaking one secrete worde to his familier frend passed the rest of his life so pleasantly as semed not to haue any such griefe or assurance to dye The seuen brothers called Machabei al yoÌ„g men and sonnes of one mother by the commaundement of king Antigouns one after an other and in sondry sorte together with their Mother killed themselues Tectamenes condempned to dye went his way laughinge and being asked whether hee disdayned the lawes answered no but by dyinge I must pay that I neither asked nor borrowed of any Which example although vnder the person of one vnknowen was much praysed of Cicero yet in wise iudgements such behauiour argueth In Tectamenes rather vanity theÌ„ fortitude for a man condempned specially for wicked doing naturally can not loue death neither was it our entente to proue that death should be desired or sought for But as it is the condicion of a faithlesse man not to restore y he boroweth so is it also an vnfreÌ„dly and vnthankefull parte not to kepe that hee boroweth As therfore death is not to be fled or lameÌ„ted â—o ought it not to be sought for But as y Poete sayth Do neyther seke nor shonne the ende of thine ovvne lyfe Yet happely Craton may holde such opinion and though it be not mainteined by reason yet for the meruaile gaineth reputation among the common sort The example therfore of Theramon is more honest and more couragious For he beinge vniustly by thirty Tyrantes condempned tooke the poyson saying according to the auncient maner of Athens Critus I drinke to the for so was the greatest Tyrant and worse then Theramines called that done whatsoeuer remayned in the cuppe he threw vpon the ground The death of Phocion was more noble he seing his frend desyrous to drinke poison didde stay him after findinge that which was not left to suffise did buy more saying that in Athens a man was forced to buy his own death But why do I labor to enduce more ensamples of men when whoole Nacions may be called to recorde As the Galathians did so little regarde Deathe as they feared not to fighte Naked So did also manye noble Romaines and Germaines that nedelesse it wer to resyte their names I do therfore thinke best in fewe words to declare that men were made mortall for three causes First because there shoulde be some ende of their offences This life is displeasant and the nerer age the moore troublesome and therefore the Gimniophista as men say answered Alexander well askinge whether death or life wer stronger Liâ—e quod hee because it beareth so many calamities The second cause is that goodmen without enuy might be honoured and euil Men without feare coÌ„dempned and that riches and aucthority for whiche menne commit greate wickednesse might not be regarded Yf those thinges whiche mortall men haue were iustly wayed they shoulde as Cares and Euilles be reputed Yet if death were not Menne would muse onlye vppon Thefte and Violence while in this short space that now they lyue they thinke so much thereof The third reason is for that men might receiue rewarde of good and euil according to the quality of their deserts For after death such as haue passed a godly life shall liue not only with their brethren kinsfolke but also accoÌ„panied withal honest and learned men and aboue y starres receiue ioy and euerlasting felicitye So contrary wise the wicked in darkenesse and solitarye places shal be tormented Therfore for wicked folke only death can bee thought euill and yet is not but Good men not vnlike the Swanne who only at his death do synge may boldly reioyse and be gladde Some there are so ambicious that the care of their funeralles doth trouble them muche who are not to bee comforted but for their follye to be reprehended what is the body of man when the Spirite is passed awaye It is no moore accompted as parte or member of him but rather a Carckcasse vnprofytable stinckinge and horryble Seneca therfore didde well deuise that the same should be buried not in respect of the Dead but the liuinge least they by sauour and sight therof might be offended Where vppon in sundrye nacions hath growne sundrie customes of buryinge the Deade The Grecians were wonte to wrye them in the earthe The Romaines dyd burne them in fyre The Nathabeians did burye them in their dungehilles Yea their Kinges had none other Sepulchre The Ethiopians do cast them into the ryuers to be deuoured of Fishes The Magi did geeue them to wilde Beastes Hercani to Doggs But the Massageti most meruailouslye do eate them The Egiptians with their owne Nayles doe burie them The Persians doe wrappe theym in Waxe So incertayne is the reason where is no reason at all Alas good Foole doest thou not heare the Poete sayinge To vvant a tombe the lacke is neuer great What doth it preuayle the to lye in marble aboue the ground
leaue to lament The pitye of Parentes Brethren and Children both beginne and is as it were borne with theym â–ª Yet how many haue bene thereby hindered hereafter shal be declared But now to the matter what I praye you canne be moore vnprofitable among mortall Men or lesse certaine of ende then Sorrow whiche proffiteth not others and hurteth him that doeth lament I maruaile not therfore at the Thrasians and Casions though at the deathe of their Neighboure they reioyse and make good Cheare because they knowe theym deliuered of all worldlye woe and hope they are gâ—one to Felicitie So coÌ„trary wise they waile and wepe when any childe is born for that from most pleasaunt Quiet it is come into this troublesome Life whiche Custome a Cittizen of oures as I haue harde didde folowe who dying desyred that with musicke 〈◊〉 he might be 〈…〉 burial Yet know I not whether his desyre was performed But as touching sorow it can not be reproued syth men do lamente that that can not be eschewed and that which doth saue them from al other inconuenients yea while they bewayle the good of others they forget their owne miseries What is so vayne as either to lament nothinge if after Death be no Sence or if any bee to make them sorye that loue theym or be laughed to scorn if they contempne theym Truelye if we fynde faulte withe theym that doe weepe befoore theyr Louers not being beloued agayn wherby growethe no good but the declaration of their Follye how muche moore art thou to be blamed if thou thincke no Sence remayneth or doest thou accordinge to the fashion of Fablers and yet they beleeued there were Spirites by weping hope to call backe any to Lyfe as Orpheus did Euridice Alas doest thou thinke that if sorrow had bene eyther of necessitye or proffite that Nature whyche hathe geeuen to liuinge creatures Knowledge of so manie artes so manifolde circumspection and so sundrye customes as to fyghte for their younge to cherishe the olde in venerye to obserue affinitie wedlocke and reuenge that amonge the rest she would haue forgotten Sorrow Besides man there is no Creature after it bee broughte foorth that dothe lament the Deathe of an other thoughe we see one Pysmyre doth burye another yet Nature lefte nothinge vndone that for the necessitye of anye Creature was to be required but in education Sorrowe was necessarye leaste the youge should forget their Parentes and distroye their kinde The wise and discrete makers of Lawes haue lykewise wythe a certayne Godlye meane respectinge popular Follye and proffite appoynted shorte termes for men to mourne in Lycurgus commaunded that aboue eleuen days no man shoulde lament or seeme to mourne Solon did clearly take away all Solempnities of Sorrowe as wepinge Cryinge and Tearinge Who doubteth but if Lawes had bene made only for common people and not wisemen But that mourninge should haue bene clearly taken awaye yea rather thereof no mencion made at al because they woulde haue imagined Wyse men to haue needed none admonition as diuers of themselues we haue seene to doe But now perticularlye let vs proceede whensoeuer one Kinseman bewaylethe the Deathe of an other let hym tell me truely whether he had rather haue dyed himselfe or not For thus it must needes come to passe that the Children doe dye before the Parentes or the Parentes before the Chyldren or els altogethers as though they were all destroyed by subuersyon of one House But to perrishe all together is holden for mooste Calamitye and greateste Mysfortune If thou desyre to haue dyed fyrste thereby thou doest not onlye peruert the course of Nature but also incurre one of these two that eyther Death is euyll and therefore offendeth lesse in thy Parentes then thy selfe or els good And therefore for Pittyes sake to bee wished fyrste to fall vppon theym For euery man studieth to eschew Euyll chiefly to him selfe And Good is most commonly wished to those we accompte dearest or to those that for Pitties sake we honoure and reuerence What is that thou mournest for in theym because they are deliuered of Old age Or doeste thou lament that in others which in thy selfe thou thinckest ought paciently to be suffered Or wilt thou weepe not vnlyke the Old woman that complayued her barren Lyfe Vpon a time there happened a certayne Olde Woman to come beggine to the Gate askinge almose and therewithall alledged she was without Father or mother with which tale at the first somewhat amased one good felow standinge by asked what age she was of Wherunto she answered an olde woman of moore then seuenty yeares foorthwith we changed our cheare to laughter although we toke great pity of the olde woman beinge of so greate age yet no meruail was her losse of parents Therfore haue good regard lest while thou wepe thou moue not others to laugh what wouldst thou do if according to an old custome vsed by the citizens of India in the ysland of Coius that old men being past Threescoore yeares of age shoulde of the Citty bee caried in Triumphe and so in sight be slayne Because after that age they beynge vnprofitable their Deathes in respecte of the wante of Corne maye greatly proffyte the common wealth This Lawe all be it it be in deede cruell yet euerye Lawe dooth promyse some commoditie to the common weale Which I see the Claspians haue doone For that Region beinge plentifull of Menne and of Corne scarse Their custome is after their Parentes be passed Threescore and ten yeares to shutte theym vppe and so wythe Honger to kyll theym whiche vse as it is to cruell Barbarouse and of no brutishe Beaste vsed So Deathe naturall beinge come to oure Parentes oughte pacientlye to bee borne and thincke them to haue passed the whoole course of Miserye and vs to remayne and abyde the Troublesome assaulte of Earthely cares Yea and the rather for that they dyed when Olde age made theym combersome to the Common weale and to theymselues by Lyfe displeasaunte Doest thou thincke the olde menne of Babilon were wonte willinglye to yelde theymselues to Deathe but because they acknowledged that Death of olde folkes was moore proffitable to the Common weale then Lyfe And admytte thyne Auncestoure be not olde because to lameÌ„t Death in Olde age were woorse then the Follye of Melitides but Younge Strong Proffitable for his Familye necessary for counsayle and so in his beste luste taken away Thou wilt not lewdlye saye within thy selfe Why taryed he so longe as one dydde who boasted himselfe to be of our house of Cardani This young Man his Father then dyinge in the presence of all Men Daunced and beinge tolde by his familyer Frendes that he was dead sayd al to late but the wicked wretch or one yeare passed was iustly plagued for after a longe consumption he dyed and fulfilled that sayinge of Moyses Honour thy father and thy mother that thou mayest liue long vppon the earth which I see the Gentiles also do For Homer in his
and wysedome all which when age groweth on like vnto stares in the tree are encreased and detected So olde age beinge come sometimes in respecte of power but more often in regarde of follye and vtilitye olde men do for necessitye vse the helpe counsel of theÌ„ they loue not and onlye because of theyr owne debilitye which saueth the giltles children from many misaduentures at theyr hands for whom they liue continuallye a most miserable lyfe Others do disherit theyr children others consume theyr patrimonye and some seeke newe wyues breeding the sorrowe that stepmothers most coÌ„monlye make The iniurye of euerye of whiche ioyned wyth the combersomnes and seueritye of age is encreased And to conclude with one example of a wise man amonge all those fooles let that of Cato Câ—nsorinus a man of excellent witre suffice thee he hauing a sonne of good yeares fell first to aduoutry and after marying a moste defamed woman thereby clearlye discredited the reputation of wisedome and former life yea besydes all this ordayned the Nephewe of Clieus to be Coheyre wyth his sonne at that tyme Preator in Rome Why should I then neede to resyte Lysander Tiberius and the reste of those olde Monsters that in age were not onelye wicked but also withoute Mercye when the integritie and Romaine wisedome through defaulte of age was worne away Therfore seinge the number of manye brethren breedeth pouertye where great abundaunce wâ—teth impossible it is that any of theym canne doe great things It must then be confesses that y â— â—â—athe of the father ought much to be lament 〈…〉 sorrowed not at all Much lesse ought the death of Brothers to make a man sorrowfull it menne woulde rightly waye thinges as they are And fyrst it must be considered which is also to be thoughte of in the losse of children when alone without brethren thou be born whether thou wilt lamente because they were not borne Truly syth I see no man so to do I hardly thinke that any will saye it is worthye weepinge to bee borne with brethren â–ª or if being a childe 〈…〉 dyuers brethren wilt thou now renew the sorow of their death which I know also thou wiâ—t not because we loue not y we know not but we lameÌ„t for them we loue If then thou think neither those that are not borne nor those that are worthy to be mourned for how much lesse the other that were borne and lyued a good tyme For if to haue brethren it be euyll then to loose them is a pleasure But if it bee good seinge in all good thinges it is better to haue hadde some thinge then nothinge who doubteth But these that liued some reasonable yeares if they dye are lesse to bee sorowed for then those that neuer were borne nor knowen Such is the condicion of euilles that what soeuer is euerlasting is most displeasaunt and in al such some rest is thought pleasaunt In a tyme of famine is it not better to haue two Loaues then no bread at all After long labour is not rest he it neuer so little better then none Dothe not one dayes libertie refreshe a man well that lyeth continually in prison Are not suche as liue in miserie somewhat comforted when they remember that some parte of their lyfe was pleasauntly passed Seinge then it is better to haue had bretheren to haue lyued in their company to haue sorrowed reioysed with theym and therfore art more happy then they that vttterlye haue had none at all who for all that do neither weepe nor lament But false imaginacion and opinion is the faulte hereof whereby thou thinckest that not onelye he but also thy selfe should for euer liue togethers of which hope worthylye deceiued vnworthilye thou mournest for thy brother what if in thy choyse yf were to liue brotherlesse or without one only brother who after fortie yeares should suruiue the Whether would thou haue a brother with such condicion or liue without Surely thou would haue him vnlesse to haue brethren thou thinke it euill But if to chose the brotherlesse lyfe then wouldst thou not complaine Yet hauing the better choyse thou doest What is the cause other then that now thou art vnprepared to disgeste thy brothers death but when the choyse was made thou were prepared Thus deathe therfore is not to bee blamed but in opinioÌ„ only it semeth intollerable and therein thou lamentest the commodities receiued as there is no necessety thou neuer thinkest But be it for the purpose that this thy Brother was good and loued the much which as men saye is not common In Brethren hard it is to fynde vnfayned loue Truely if thou haue regarde to dayly experience the most brothers be coÌ„bersome quarrelous â—â—â—â—ous discencious captious and disdaynefull The Poet was wonte therfore verye well to resemble brethren to the windes because they euer disagreed among them selues and lyued not lyke frends or fellowes but as those whom discorde did beste become Chain did fyrst shewe to Abel what brotherly loue would after be Then Iacob deceiued Esau committing his eleuen children into the seruitude of Ioseph his brother yea some of theim they ment to haue slayne forgetting not only pitty but also their common parentes and the innocency of their age After their daies Absolon killed Amnon his brother Abimelech the sonne of Gedeon murdered his threscore and ten brethren one only except No godlye lawe no holye Religion no feare of GOD from so wicked a deede could withholde hym Neyther are the examples of the Gentiles more mercifull Atreus hauinge murdered the three sonnes of Thiestes hys brother gaue hym theyr fleshe to eate spoyled hym of hys Kyngdome and rauished his wyfe Etheocles and Polynues Oedipi Simulus and Rhesus did likewyse one murther the other so did also Romulus and Remus Iugurtha was not contented onelye to kill his brethren Adherbales and Hiempsales but also before they dyed cutte all theyr fleshe from theyr bones Cambises hauinge one onelye brother called Smerdis a simple man and lyuinge in priuate lyfe by reason of a dreame was by him slaine So lighte a cause can cause a brother to seeke the life of a brother What did Antonius to Gâ—ta or Antipater the Macedonian Kynge Phrahates who wythoute cause slewe hys thyrtye bretherne and wyth theym Herodes hys father by whom in the place of Pacorus latelye deade hee was Crowned kinge The Queene of Tilaea toke for husband her brother Hiperio by whom she conceyued two children the one called Sol the other Luna throughe enuye killed Hiperio then caste Sol into the ryuer Eridanus and wyth sorrowe thereof dyed Luna Cleopatra also for women are not free from such wickednes to th ende she mighte more safely aspyre to the kingdome of Egipte flewe hee sister Arsinoes and her yonge brother of the age of fiftene yeares If I resighted euery mischiefe that brothers haue committed to brothers this booke coulde not contayne theym My selfe haue knowen one man twise giltye of his bretherns death another the