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
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
payns as for emulacion in vertue What is by thensample of Abraham vppon Isaaâ— shewed other then that men shoulde so loue their children as in them to put no truste at all but euer to honour God so as we may forget oure chyldren and such are worthy great reward For whiche his carefull obedience he is made father of many nacions neither shall his seede at any time decay This was a greater argumente of courage then that of Brutus for hee murdered the gyltlesse lefte the children of others his heires the other in sleinge became childles Hee by the handes of an other commaunded his enemies to be slayne thys man murdered those that obeyed But let vs returne to ensamples of sufferaunce and a shame it were that Women shoulde for fortitude exceede men Among whom what may be sayd of Tomyris queene of Mesageta who hauing her sonne slayne in battayle where in her enemye Cirus also dyed without teares made great feastes the hole army lykewise slayn â–ª Also Cornelia mother to the Gracchi of a great number of sonnes hauing onlye C. and T. lefte yet when they were in a time of sedicion most cruelly slayn besides calling only to memory their father their own worthy actes did not otherwise make any shew of sorow Argilion y mother of Brasidas the Lacedemonian kyng hearinge her son was slayn dyd neither mourn nor lament but asked if nobly worthely he dyed Gyrtias likewise a womaÌ„ of Lacedemon when her son was broughte home almost dead and his frendes lamented she sayd Non Silebitis inquaÌ„ declaring of what bloud he was desceÌ„ded she said one body hath ouerthroweÌ„ other in fight yet after being recouered growen to mans state was slayne in battayl which being told vnto his mother she answered saying was it not expedient y goinge to the wars he should â—â—ea others or be slaine himselfe but more wyllinglye I receyue knowledge of a death worthy of mee his predecessours then if in slouth and idlenes hee had liued One other womaÌ„ more valiantly bare the death of her sonne promissing in the fyeld sayinge let cowardes complayne for I wyll wythoute teares and meerelye burye my sonne And a nother a woman also of Lacedemon hauing lost in warres her fyue sonnes standing vppon the walles of Sparta and listinge for the euente of the battayle when she sawe a man comming asked what was done he thinking she had asked of her sonnes aunsweared they are all deade whereat the woman offended sayde it is not that ill lucke I aske but how speedes our couÌ„try then he telling y the victorye was gotten by the Lacedemonians the woman sayd wyth al good wyl I receyue knowledge of my sonnes slaughter In olde time such was the nobilitye of minde both in men and women aswell for courage as counsell But now enoughe or rather as I thinke to much haue bene sayd aswel of them as also appertayneth to deth It is not therefore needefull to speake of frendes kinsefolke or wyues seinge of them the plentye is greate the conditions vncerteyne and the necessitye little yea the cares and disquiet of wyues doe almost counteruayle the sorrow of theyr deathes And though wyues were not shrewed nor combersome yet can no man at anye time long want a wyfe syth one may be taken after an other And albeit that wyues were all good all frends faythfull and all kinsefolke kynde yet seinge the death of a brother a sonne and a father is pacientlye to bee borne a follye it were to lament them or call suche doubtles matters in question But rather resolue wyth thy selfe that death is the end of euill to fooles and to wyse men the beginning of all good And as sayth Menander VVhom God doth loue in youth he dyes FINIS Of Comforte the thirde Booke MVche longer then was determined more at large haue I discoursed that kynde of comforte which to sorrowe death doth appertayne not onlye because I thincke y occasion of griefe whiche groweth eyther of pryuaâ—e death or losse of frendes is little or lightlye borne but also that in these dayes men do so much desyre riches auctoritye as till death doth euen at hand drawe on they take no care at all Eche man in imagination alloweth himselfe longe tyme of life disdayning death as a thing not knowen in this but an other worlde But ryches and present authoritye are on euerye syde soughte for as ioyes which hee euerlastynge â–ª Yet not contented with â–ª this they also reproue condemne and despyse the quyet lyfe of such as are not with like madnes delighted For the chiefest care suche men do take is that of al other most wyse and happye neyther of which in iudgement of those that disdayne them can be allowed Then when these wealthy men perceiue that the others are not greatly greeued forthwith they fal to hate and persecution So as although men could willinglye suffer theyr bace estate yet beinge driuen into any kinde of necessity or calamity straight wayes they lament and complaine so as by confession of them for great desyre of riches the rich men are allowed of and praysed for the wysest sort of men But seinge the estate of tyme and worldly procedinges are not euer alike wee meane not to speake muche of that calamitye which these ambicious men do thincke y greatest but of that miserye whych may so trulye be called for suche kinde of men do labour to continue after death and glorye in theyr owne happines As the Poet wryting vpon the tombe of a certayne happye man sayde Vpon my corps poure forth thy vvyne O frend that comes this vvay And on my tombe vvith pleasant hand thy precious spices laye No gulfe of griefe my graue shal be but springe of lasting blis I am not dead but changd my life lo such my fortune is My former ioyes are not decayd but as they vvere before If ought or nought I beare in minde yet blest for euermore O merye man howe aptlye hath hee nothinge sayde for this presumption to continue felicitye after death is a thinge altogether vaine and forsaken of the very authors thereof For well we see that after death the glorye of ryches doth in short space decay Not onely because great nombers do daylye aspyre to this prayse but also riches it selfe deserueth no glorye at all And amonge so manye thousaÌ„d thousands as in theyr time was famouslye rich yet few of them haue come to our knowledge Gilias Cressus Mydas Pythius Meander Erictonius Sysiphus Tantalus Of the Romaynes that had beene bonde men Amphion Menecrates Heron Demetrius Pallas Calistus Narcisus Of Frenchmen Drusus Caecilius Sylla Lucullus Liuius M Crassus Of Kinges Salamon and Ptolomeus were all reported for notable ryche But Gylias became famous for liberalitye Cresus and Crassus for theyr misfortune Sylla Lucullus for theyr victoryes Mydas through Silenus The Romaynes that had bene bonde men by the abuse and riot of Rome Salamon for wysedome Tantalus for wicked lyfe Meander
resteth only in conscience and vertue of the mynde For the memorye of wicked and sinful doinges excedeth al other tormentes The harte of the wicked as sayth the prophet fometh lyke the swellynge seas and their myndes are euer vexed with feareful visions because ther is no greater affliction then when their gyltye thoughtes do continually accuse their consciences As the poet sayth VVhose mynde most giltye is and harboreth cruell thought A secret scourge vvithin himselfe such sinful dedes haue vvrought And paynes more great he tastes vvhom vvhyp of conscience beates Then did Seditius euer fele or Radamantus freates VVithin thy breaste to beare thy griefe both night and day Thou hast at hand that vvytt to obtayn thy hidden vvoes bevvray Of Comforte the second Booke BEcause in the former booke wee haue discoursed copiouslye as coulde bee generallie of the comfortinge of all miseries the consideracion of euerye seuerall euyll seemed scantlye needefull seinge right reason wise counsel then our talke might suffice to remoue al sadnes out of the mynde of eeuerye wise man but for that it was oure purpose at the beginninge to consyder withoute affection and with righte iudgemente to speake diligentlye of euerye aduersitie that maye happen to men it seemed also more necessary for vs to doe the same because some woulde thinke those thinges which should be let passe to be left vntouched of purpose rather because they coulde not bee proued then because they were superfluous Moreouer this historye of euils hath both for varietie and for example no smal pleasure wherwith it may washe awaye from the readers that spotte of sadnes whiche is wont to be lefte of the sensible minde and also of nature it selfe in greate mishappes For oftentimes though reason comforte vs and teache vs that neitter mourninge is meete neither that ther is anye cause of mourninge yet the sad mynde of it selfe can not be merie whiche thinge where yf hapneth not seldome with out any aduersitie at al how muche moore lyke is it to be lefte behinde in them that pine with long wearynes not withstāding the verye wounde to bee cured Therfore that now we maye returne to oure purposed talke of al thinges that happen in mannes lyfe sorrowe and deathe bee moste bytter For to be bereft of the companye of oure moste dearlie beloued for euer and withoute hope is wonte to seeme a mooste cruell thinge vnto all men And deathe it selfe as saith the Philosopher of al terrible thinges is mooste extreame wherefore if anie thinge be able to shake a valiaunte and wise man doubtles that oughte to be the deathe of hym selfe and his moste neare frendes For whiche cause I perceiue excellente Poetes to haue mourned bothe for theirs and theimselues and also to haue fayned others mourninge for their freendes Amonge whome Papinius bewayleth his father sayinge Gyue vvyt and vvoful voyce O Syre let me my vvoes complayne For this the moone hath hyd her face and thrise come backe agayn Syth first I set me dovvne in slouth and sobbinge cheare No muse to comfort care An other in the same cause VVhat man can make a spring of teares to feede my gulfe of griefe Or vvho hath store of teares so great and far from al reliefe Pitye hath bereft my sight and hart hath cleft in tvvayne VVhich suffereth not my vvoes to sound my tong cannot complayn Such is my griefe But would to God this complaint were not that which is commonlye spoken of The weping of y heire is the weepinge is of one that laugheth vnder a vizer for so rarely is the tender loue toward the parentes wont to be found that none is lesse Yet admit it were such as these verses expresse Surely this booke shal be thought lesse nedeful in no parte then in comfortinge the sorrowe whiche chaunceth by the death of parentes For some examples ther be of brothers which haue slaine them selues for their brothers of parents for their children and of husbandes for their wiues but that loue of chyldren toward their parentes hath bene confyrmed almoste by no experience Where by it hapneth that the complaint of Catullus maye seeme rather as they say to come frome the hart For thus he bewayles his brother Loe novv my study stayde is for cruell death haue slaine My brother deare shal I pore vvretch in vvretched life remayne The only hope of all our house O death thou hast bereft me Myne earthly ioy this brother vvas none other ioy is left me Virgil counterfayteth a more bitter lamentatiō not without wrath and indignacion of the mynd in Mezentius lamenting his slayne sonne saying My countrye vvrought my vvoe my frendes dyd hate me all If death had tane my giltles soule no griefe had made me thrall Lo yet among you men I liue and styll enioy this lyght But long I may not so Yet how much more cruell sorow is fayned of the same poet in the mother bewayling her onlye sonne Eurialus for that shee both a widowe and an olde woman sawe him slaine cruellye in his ennemyes handes There truly he contayneth the womanly tendernes of harte in these wordes Your deadly darts O foes for pittye cast in mee VVith cruell svvorde before the rest let me destroyed bee Els thou Almightye God on me such mercye haue As that my vvretched head may rest vvithin myne earthly graue The slaughter of the sonne bewayled of y mother in my iudgemente coulde not be better described of the Poet. And Homer bringes in Achilles sorrowinge sore at the buriall of his frende Patroclus when he saide But him a carefull cloud did compasse rounde about And on his head vvith heauy hand the dust he poured out And after horriblye he cryed oute Yea so farre forth is the vehemencye of his sorrowe declared that his familiar frendes feared lest he should kill himselfe But another more moderately mourneth for his death and complayneth of destines when no fayned feare in others but his owne enforced him sayinge And in my greenest yeares vvhen youth hath hyest povver Shal this my spirite depart avvaye and death my corps deuoure The Gods I cannot guide their vvill vvee must obay VVhere destny dryues I yeld my selfe vvith vvilling mind alvvay But while I set forth the follies of others me thincke I haue framed a mourninge dittye and haue not only described but rather encreased heauye mourning Notwithstanding the very matter could not be vnfolded vnles I had also put to the iudgement of Poetes for that is the common peoples opinion not onelye because the Poets be carefull to speake those thinges which be populer and liked of the common sorte but also for that if otherwyse they would speake they could not whē they be so farre wyde from all studye of Philosophye For which cause also they be shut out of Plato his common weale And herein we must either condempne Plato if he banish them vniustly or the Poets if he do it iustlye Therefore surely the better opinion is that they be banished worthilye
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
lyfe and death yet death is paciently to bee suffered because there is nothing more hard or miserable then this life Besydes that by warning of god we are therof assured Also al wise men haue so thought and in thinges ineuitable the best is euer to be chosen To return therfore to the beginninge what is our lyfe other then a continual toyle euermore bound to abyde y discommoditie of so many necessities so muche labour so many suspicions and peril There is no delight in man that repentance foloweth not I am reuenged then beware I haue eaten my fyll fulnesse doth offend me I haue lightlye dyned myne appetite is not satisfyed I followe Venus sporte manifold repentance sadnes and in the ende sycknesse doth ensue And finallye eyther thy desyre is not satisfyed and there by thou styll discontented or els with saciety repentance and discomoditye doth torment thee So the only way is to keepe that meane For what cause haue all the Godds of the gentiles preferred death before the lyfe of man Vnlesse it were the worldlye miserye was to theÌ„ most apparantly knowen Pindarus telleth y when Agamedes and Trophonius had builded the teÌ„ple of Apollo they desired of the Gods this reward that where as Apollo had willinglye promysed to returne within seuen dayes that they in the meane tyme mighte continue in banquetinge and ioyfull lyfe but in the end of those days in a sound slepe they dyed wherby Apollo playnly taught that for mortall men there was no greater reward then death after that time the same â–ª God confyrmed y meaninge vpon Pindarus who being by the Boâ—tian Ambassadour asked what thinge it was that best coulde happen to man Pithius aunswered that Pindarus do prooue true whyche alreadye he hathe wrytten of Agamedes and Trophonius whiche if hee doeth he hymselfe muste shortlye followe In whiche aunswere the Poete did meane that he shoulde looke for Death where in hee was not deceiued for within a few dayes he dyed in deede Plutarchus in an Epistle of Comforte written to Apollonâ—us telleth this historye When Midas had in Huntinge taken Silenus this Silenus was of the Satyres stocke nourished by Bacchus who was also called Silenus Surnamed Satyrus of whome manye discended hee wrote as Plyny tellethe of wantonnesse and there in fayned thre Sileni Hee asked of him what was mooste to bee desyred of man Whereunto hee aunsweared not but at length enforced by the importunacie of the Kinge brake forthe in this sorte O you tormented Deuils the seede of one daye why constrain you me to speake that which were better for you if you neuer knewe it That is that the ignoraunce of your owne euyls is the onelye pleasure of mannes lyfe But seinge you knowe your own euils the beste were not to be born and nexte to that not to lyue longe And your condicion is such as you are partakers of no part of those goode thinges whiche nature hathe made this spake Silenus The sentence of the Philosophers doe also here vnto agree and Aristotle prince of the Peripatetian secte doth call those mooste effeminate that murder theim selues and those valiaunt which can abyde Trauaile Payne Misfortune and all sortes of myserie which opinion the Poet folowed sayinge In fortunes high disgrace each man may death disdayne But he most valiaunt is that can in vvretched state remayne But Plato chiefe of the Academian Sect saythe that a man ought not to yelde to Death because we are ignoraunt whether it be good or euil meaninge that in respecte of punishment or Ioye that folowed it was euill or good because deathe was the end both of good and euill Therfore euen in the whole scripture death is not accompted other then sleape and to dye is saide to sleape What maruayle is it then though for Hope of Life to come we ought not to shunne to dye We finde that Sainct Paule wished to dye and goe to God which desyre ought to be not only in Holy men but also in all good men For three sorts of euills there be that may happen to men The firste within vs and our mindes with which temperancy do mete The second without vs and they by wisedome are preuented The thirde are those that al be it they be in deede without vs yet are they vneuitable and against them none other defence we haue then fortitude And I pray you to what purpose should fortitude serue if to feare death were either goode or necessarye As therfore temporaunce and Wysedome are proffytable for Man So is also fortitude yet what profite coulde proceede therof if necessarily we feared death or if that feare were eyther good or honest syth of necessitye death must come to man one tyme or an other one of these three must necessarilie folowe eyther that lyke vnto beastes we should be ignorant of death which cannot be eyther that with willyng minde we will dye or els that we torment our selues Were it not more naturall to man and the rather seing that bruit beastes with ignorance escheweth the feare of death that he wiselye in place of ignorance shuld vse fortitude geueÌ„ him by God against the necessitie of death Neither can wee thinke that God hath more fauourablye forsene for bruite beastes then men yet they without al care do yelde to dye So we armed withe fortitude oughte not to feare any death What profyte can we procure to our country or friendes or what good can vertue bringe if we dysdayne to dye Callicratides the Lacedemonian captain hearing the Soothsayer pronounce victorye to the Lacedemonians and death to himselfe aunswered Sparta by losse of me shall nothing at al be weakened How noble were the dedes of men that feared no death how happy was their liues how commeâ—dable were their endes how glorious was their fame and in briefe whâ— refuse we to yelde to that equality wherin a common parson is like a kyng a monster lyke a most semely man a tyrant like the symple most harmlesse soule The huge armye of Xerses neyther the treasure of Tyberius nor the crueltye of Antonius agaynst death did any thyng preuayle All men are subiecte to one equallitye exceptinge true vertue there shal be no difference and thereinto without disdayne hate enuye or wronge to nature by destenye we shal be all called thoughe no man is expert in that iorneye Onelye false opinion of man hath made death to be accoÌ„pted a feareful thing not vnlike as those that haue not the experience of trauayle studye or concurse of kinges do make of them great admiratioÌ„ when others that are acquainted wyth such things do know them without maruaile at all And some we see without experience haue disdayned death for lighte causes killed themselues Of which nomber was Dioxippus the Champion who through enuye of the Macedonians falsely accused of thefte before Alexander protesting the iniurye with his owne sworde slewe himselfe we haue also seene a scholler a couÌ„try maÌ„ of ours for not beinge requited in loue
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
vnhappy excremeÌ„t which being lost in dreames as often it hapneth thou carest not at all but what matter is it howe it be lost I meruayle the lesse of Aristippus that disdayned his sonne so much as he cast him away Other likewise I heare distroyed them as Lauis did Oedipus Priamus Paris Neither do thou thinke this custome only of kinges obserued but also of priuat men which lawe by Romulus of infamous memorye and happy successe in Italy fyrst was ad nulled Hereupon were erected almose houses y children shoulde no more bee brought vp by wilde beastes But this perhappes thou wilt saye My sonne was now become lyke vnto me I had speÌ„t much mony care and payn vpon him and so was likely to haue ben noble but these coÌ„plaints were more meete for mothers because if thou lamentest thy losse of mony theÌ„ hadst thou more nede to be cured of thy couetise then comforted for losse of thy sonne And hereof be most assured that children do not take three maners and condicions of their Parentes and they will follow the condicions of none lesse then of theym which is the reason why the children of pore men are more lyke to their parents then the children of the rich because pore men are both fathers maisters of their childrens lyfe but rich men not so Whye shouldeste not thou then make an other mans childe thine For hee is moste lyke the in condicions that is of thine owne bringinge vp Quintilianus telleth how Alexander had certain imperfections of Lionida his Tutor which he kept styll beinge come to mans estate For though we eschewe the immitation of vices yet in vertues we seeke to folow them Therfore if he that is dead was loued for vertue we commend thy meaninge but yet O Lorde how pleasant how happy is that life where vnto from this obscure darckenesse thy sonne is gone yea how swete was that trauayle Neither do I thinke it nedeful to declare those ioyes pleasures which our soules hauing forsakeÌ„ these earthly pleasures do possesse for while the soule is loden with that heauy burden it coÌ„prehendeth immortall thinges with the mortall Scantly it can be expressed how much force dignitie and glorye the soule beinge at libertie hath For the conceiuyng and not the teachinge wherof all be it a man in this lyfe be neuer so excellent he is notwithstanding imperfect because he is onely a man complete that vnderstandeth which the soule beinge closed within the bodye cannot doe Therefore what meruaile is it that the soule so slowly and painfullye departeth froÌ„ the bodye Lykewise with greate labour and much difficulty a man is from his mother brought forth to thys vale of misery In consyderacion of all these the bitternes of sorowe for thy sonnes deathe should be the lesse wayinge the glory whych he now hath and the reputacion of his youth together with the weary abode hee made in hys mothers wombe Nature hath ordained that al greate encrease of felicitye is attayned through harde labour With the same reason shalt thou be coÌ„forted yf thy sonne be an infant and thyne only sonn I omytte to tel what hee maye hereafter be but now he hath hit the marke for which he was borne For is there any other end whereto we were born then death as the body for the soule and as sleaping for watching so was lyfe geuen vnto vs for death wherefore as sleape is necesary for all men some more and some lesse so is life for the Soules wherfore if thou want meane to get an other son then choose thou some other one of thine affinitie and bringe him vp in learning honest disciplyne hardly shalt thou fynd such a sonne made by hys parents If such a one by education thou makest thou gainest thanks of God whose children we al be of thy couÌ„try which is mother to al men Neither in dutye shalt thou fynde him inferior to other children It is not my meaning to wish the death of children but that paciently men should beare it neyther will I that the childe of an other shoulde be preferred before our owne but rather that thy sonne be so brought vp as he may deserue to be preferred before others yet if we consider succession we shall fynde that excellent Maisters haue hadd notable scholers noble fathers vyle children And to omit all others Socrates was not estemed of his sonnes but by Plato his scholer was praysed to the skies Did not Theophrastus commende Aristotle more then Nichomachus The auncient examples do showe that the scholars haue proued not only more worthy then sonnes but also more thankful what sonne was euer so fauourably to his father as would yelde him the glorye due to himselfe as Plato woulde haue done to Socrates Besydes that men of notable vertue haue not only wanted children but also neuer sought for any As Thales Zeno Plato Apeâ—les Diogenes Galenus Virgilius and Homer and to some they haue come as it were againste their willes as to Alexander and Iulius Caesar And no meruaile y noble men haue seldome vertuous children Surely I think for some great respects it commeth to passe that of some noble parents vile children should discend which was very well and pleasantlye witnessed of Spartianus whose wordes are these Remembring vvith my selfe O Dioclesian Augustus that almost none of these great men haue lefte any sonne very good or proffytable It appeareth then suffyciently that worthye men haue either died without children or haue bene without And fyrst let vs begin at Romulus he left no children Neither hadd Numa Pompilius any that could proffit the common weale What had Camillus were his children lyke him What had Scipio What had the two Catoes that were called the great Then what should I speake of Homer Demosthenes Virgilius Crispo Tâ—rentius Plautus with diuers others What of Caesar or Tullius to whome alone it had bene better to haue bene childelesse What of Augustus who though he had the choise of all could not adopt one good Traianus was also deceiued in the election of hys heyre But omitting adopted childreÌ„ let vs speake of babes begotten by Antonius pius and Marcus the goddes of the common wealth What man hadd bene more blessed then Marcus had hee not lefte behynde hym his heire Commodus Or who had ben more happy then Seuerus Septimius had he not gotten Bassianus What doe we learne other by these ensamples then that Children do not take theyr myndes of their Parentes but of God otherwise they should be like to theim Nor in dede we cannot call theym oures but children of God the common father and they ought to be imbraced for their vertue not vertue for theym which if men in worldly procedinges did marke they should be like to Gods and leade a blessed lyfe But nature hath labored somewhat to deceiue vs in the Loue of children that is to say y euery man do so much care of that as for that we fail not to forget y loue of
to the infernall God and as it is his custome in many others so dothe hee vse to call theym nearest to hym that mooste do honour him But if at the beginning thou driue him away and suffer not thy mynde to be infected full farre shall he be from thee But beholde howe comelye and honeste a thinge yt is that a man of good yeares beinge well counsayled by others shoulde in womens weede beastely weepe wayl crye out and lament O gentle wit. But thoughe he doth none of all these yet inwardly to torment himselfe with sadnesse is the parte neyther of a wyse nor valiaunte man but of one that searcheth rather the repreheÌ„cion of others then knoweth what is seemely Howe muche better were it for hym often to remember Vmbresomnum Homo What could haue bene better sayde So subtylle and fugitiue is the lyfe of man as of al other thinges seing shadow is most subtil and sleepe moste deceiueable and incertaine what shal the shadow of sleape be And yet notwithstanding this is the lyfe and glorye of man One other wrote thus As the generacion of leaues is so is also mans for in dede what dissimilitude is there leaues doe fall by force of Sonne showers wynd hayle yea and if all fayle by themselues Euenso the lyfe of man beleeue me thou haste receiued none iniurye at all Death is the gift of God and God doothe wrong to no man If condempned by voices of assente thou bee deposed from Aucthoritye thou wouldest thincke that it were meete to beare it with pacient mynde thoughe that iniurye cannot want suspicion reproche and falshode And now when thou fearest none of these dare thou disalowe the Sentence of God And doest thou not remember that whiche Leontius Neapoles the Bishoppe telleth to haue happened in the lyfe of Iohn Patriarche of Alexandria To whome when a certayn man hadde offered seuen pounds of Golde to praye for his onely Sonne who a moneth paste was with a Shyppe and great riches drowned after a few dayes obteyned of y Patriarke his desyre And while in y meane space he coÌ„tinued in sadnes he dreamed one nighte y the Pattriark appeared vnto him saying Lo according to thy prayer y thy son might be saued so hee now is because he is dead but if he had liued from wicked life daÌ„pnacioÌ„ after deth he could not haue ben preserued god only knoweth what is expedieÌ„t for vs when we are ignoraunt our selues and know not what is to be desyred Wherfore it is conuenient that we do not onely receyue comfort but also reioyse at the death of our neighbours of whome yf thou desyrest to continue any memory though often times also thou wantest their company it shal be both to the and thy posteritie continued by hys noble tombes pictures statues verses orations dedications institutions of eternitye and Sacryfyces Is yt not more honest and pleasant to confyrme thy selfe to these comforts â–ª to commend hys glory to mortall men then with wepinge wailynge to kyl thy selfe Yet as to them that are endewed with vertue and acknowledge the felytitye of soules these are superfluous so to theym of maners more frayle such kinde of comfortes are not vnseemelye For Augustus hanged in his bedde chamber the picture of his graundsonne beinge a childe of him dearlye beloued and so often as hee came vnto that chamber hee neuer fayled to kysse the picture Alexander did set vp certayne ymages to Fabius Quintilianus not withe teares but withe a solempne oracion conteyning the commendation of his sonne dyd burye him What dyd Iohn Mesue who in his fathers name falsely turned the tytle of his booke So did also Zoar Aristotle wryte bookes to their sonnes So did Cicero and Plato in their disputacions call vpon their brothers frendes not in mourning garments and weping but wyth monuments euerlastinge honored the same to their posterity But now with reasons I thinke sufficiently it is proued that the deathe of children is neither to be so lamented nor euyl Let vs now procede to tel how manfully our elders were woÌ„t to beare such mishaps Octauianus Augustus hauing within twenty moneths lost .ij. of his nephewes was not moued so much as he refrayned to sytte dayly in the Senate Demosthenes the .vii. day after the death of his only daughter put on his whyte garment was crowned sacrifyced an oxe More valiantly did Dion he being in counsel of the common weale and enformed that his onlye son had fallen from the house toppe and broken his necke gaue order to his frendes for his buryall notwithstaÌ„dinge proceded in his busynes begonne Like herevnto did Antigonus he seinge his son slayne in battayle gaue none other signe of sorow but sayde O Alcionen later then thou ought thou art now dead for so manfully assayling thy enemies thou doeste not greatly esteeme my warnings nor thine own weldoinge The constancy of Pericles can be inferyor to none of these for when within eight dayes he had lost his two sonnes Paralus Xantippus yonge men of singuler witte did notwithstandinge put vpon him his white garmeÌ„t was crowned made oracions to the Atheâ—encians comming from hys house when his children were dead with merueilous constancy of mynd gaue counsel vttered reasons of the disciplyne of war. So vpon a time Anaxagoras his scholemaister being in disputacion woorde was brought of his sonnes death wherat he paused a little but by and by confessing hee had begotten a mortall creature proceded in disputacion When Paulus Emylius had taken in hand the Percian warre he prayed the Gods that if any calamity were comminge to the Cittye of Rome that they would rather lay the same vpon his house whyche either through his prayer or hap was perfourmed And when of his four sonnes he had adopted two into the family of Scipio within few dayes after he lost thother neither did he with lesse pacience bere this then valiantly he wished the other Tynnichus also a Spartayn left his posterity a monumeÌ„t of worthy ensample When Trasibulus his son in the warres against the Argini was slayn in this epigram is declared the nobility of his mynde It seemeth vvel that covverds vvepe vvhen they be brought to graue But thou my son a Spartayn true no vveping teares shalt haue He hath as me thinketh folowed the saying of Papimus A noble death doth parentes please and God such soules do loue The valiant myndes do gayn encrease vvhen lyfe do so remoue We see that some haue not onlye in the death of their children witnessed their greatnes of mynde but also did procure it and thereof proceded greate proffyte When Brutus openlye punished his two sonnes what terror think you was it to his Cittizens what desperation to his enemies what admiracion to his neighbours So as the example of that valiant dede was not onlye the occasyon of great encrease to the empyre but also for fortye yeares after it continued in libertye not so muche for feare of the
which thoughe it cannot compare with the eloquente of Cicero the grauitye of Plutark the subtiltye of Petrark or Philosophye of Boetius yet is wel lyked of my selfe for that reason I alledged at the beginninge in children y euerye one loueth his owne worke Yet haue we erred who knoweth it not but those errors are tollerable which harme not others and procedeth of nature The other whereof I must accuse my selfe is that some will happilye saye that when a man enioyeth health he maye easelye counsell the sicke which is as muche as to perswade wyth vaine words that in works we do not performe and therefore in speache onelye doe make a showe of vertue Of which blame Cicero Plutarchus Petrarcha Aristotle himselfe do excuse mee because they extolled magnanimity yet in aduersitye did not shewe it and chiefelye Cicero who of all others declared himselfe most bace and abiect of minde The others endured no great aduersitye for besydes a little tyme in banishmente they liued riche and fauoured wyth Princes and that worthilye Also it is not requisite that all good men though they be â—aliauÌ„t of minde with peril of their persons shold put theyr valure in proofe the one is a tryal of fortune the other of vertue Neyther is it euer necessarye that such as saye well shoulde also 〈…〉 for truth somtimes is maintayned by wicked 〈◊〉 But although by dissembling I might escape these reprehensions yet where I saye that for allaye of myne owne griefe this laboure is taken in hande hardlye it is allowed in reason that they that 〈◊〉 alwayes liued in prosperity can 〈…〉 â—thers comfort in aduersitye For if a man woulde so do yet were there small good liekly to followe This booke shal therefore gayne the more 〈◊〉 wyth others that I my selfe haue bene in my 〈◊〉 And although as erst I said euery maÌ„ may praise vertue yet is it not the parte of those y bee 〈◊〉 to directe a life contrarye to theyr owne wordes How can we leade the like life eyther in fortitude or pacience or declare y same to others if we haue alwayes liued in prosperity Therfore should I omit y greatest most necessary part of this booke If I leaue vntold y as I thincke by deuine deâ—â—nye I was begotten borne brought vp in great misery so haue almost til this day liued For such as do perswade others to sustayne greate payne if they themselues haue done the like thereby they procure their words both credit auctoritye to be the rather beleued of others So did 〈◊〉 Phoâ—ion Socrates Plato Cato all the Prophetes and holy men yea y author of al good IESVS CHRIST Yet haue I not mdured these worthye men because I wouldâ— seeme to contende wyth them is vertue but rather followe theyr order of lyfe And the more barely I was borne y more maye others if they wil hope to excell my 〈◊〉 in aduersitye You shal therefore first vnderstand that in y time of pestilence I was conceyued my mother as I thinke vndeliuered became partaker of my misery was forced to flye The 8. daye of the 〈◊〉 of October in the yeare of Graâ—â— 1501. halfe deade came â–ª I into this world when all men dispayriÌ„g of lyfe by vertue of a bath made of vyne I was receyâ—â—d within thre monthes next after I lost two of my brethren one sister the plague continuing in our Cittye The sicknes spreadinge more abrode in Paâ—â—a sodeinly of y same death died my foster father Afterwards I was bouldly and charitably râ—câ—yued into y hands of Isiodoâ—â—â— Resta 〈…〉 man frende to my father where 〈…〉 few dayes I fel sicke diseased with the dropâ—â—e 〈…〉 of the lyuer yet neuerthelesse preserued eyther through the ire or merryed of GOD I know not onâ— kinde of 〈◊〉 was afterwardes vnapproued 〈◊〉 I attayned eyghte yeares of age At whiche tyme I became seruaunte to my father till I 〈…〉 the age of ninetene O Lord euen thus I passed the flower of my youth both wythout delight and studye At length perceuinge that by force I might not compell my father entreate him I could not and to deceyue him I thought it dishonestye for loue of learninge I intended to haue entred into Religion My mother then seinge her want of children entreated my father to put me to schole where I remeÌ„bringe my time alreadye lost and the shortnes of mans life earnestly applyed my selfe to studye euer in feare lest my father hearinge some euil reporte shoulde take me awaye And there as one neuer in schole before I was not a little troubled wyth hardnes of the latine tongue Yet amonge all these labours my father did graunt me leaue to studye the Science of Geometrie Logick wherin although hee helped me onlye with a few good lessons bookes libertye yet through study at spare times I did attaine vnto them Then absence encreasing my fathers good opinion the plague beinge great he dyed hauing newlye begonne to loue mee At that time y cruel warres began in oure countrey being poore and voyde of all other helpe throughe great care dilligence of my mother I was sustayned when my small patrimonye suffised not For suche as it was I did consume it in the office of 〈…〉 Vniuersitye Neyther had I anye other 〈◊〉 then Chesse playe to procure my selfe a lyuinge So being from one misfortune to another transported I settled my selfe in the towne of PAVIA â–ª where by practise of Phisicke thoughe poore lye I sustayned my selfe and my familye as one that besydes I had nothinge was indebted by reason of my vaine office Then by my mothers letters was I called home to my couÌ„trey wher I found nothinge well ordered nor no frende my cosâ—â—s sued in lawe against mee and in oure Colledge of Phisitians I was repulsed being suspected a bastarde because my father did so euill entreate mee Neyther can I boast of any fauour founde in the Phisitions of Padoa where hauing twise deserued to haue beene made Doctoure I was notwithstandinge iniustlye denyed my grace and at laste through the earnest suite of the Podestate scantly graunted A shamefull acte if mine owne euil fortune and not theyr leudenes did offer me so great iniurye Then dispayring of all good I fel into y sicknes which we call Consumption a sickenesse as the Phisitions saye incurable And yet whether through good prayer or for other purpose preserued after seuen monethes without helpe of Phisicke and beyonde al expectation I escaped Consider now what cares what sorrow vexation my minde endured when on the one syde mine owne great pouerty on y other my mothers vnwildy age was considered Besides this y frowardnes of my frendes the wronge as I thought of Physitions the threatning of a great man the dispayre of health lacke of frendes and wante of abydinge place did altogether molest me I wanted wherw t to liue labour I could not to begge I thoughte it shameful Amids so
from his birth did neuer see then hath he 〈◊〉 to complayne according to the common saying That the eye seeth not the hart rueth not For in that we knowe not we neyther delight nor fynd offence Al be it we see many things we take pleasure in yet of theym that doe discontent vs the nomber is greate One only perfyte eye we haue whiche is the spyryte and that more liuely is in the blynde then in them that can see by reason the outwarde eyes is there vnto a hynderaunce For which reason wee fynde that the blinde men both in wit and memorye excell all others And as they say of Tyresia For God â—ris face did hyde and 〈◊〉 vvithin the breast he set Meaninge that the blynde man did in mynde see the moste And therfore in olde tyme suche menne were honoured for prophecyinge thinges to come When Antonius the holye comforted Didimus the Philosopher he sayde vnto him let it suffise that styll thou enioyeste thy celestiall eyes thoughe the other be lost Diodorus the Stoike a companion to Cicero was blynde yet in Philosophye Musicke and Geomatrys excellent Caius Drusus was so cunninge in the Lawes Ciuil althoughe he were hymselfe blynde yet helped hee many that could see Some say Democrites for the enuy his Cittizens did bear him put our his own eyes Ascâ—epiades the Philosopher in his blindenes was wont to playe sayinge the wante of syghte was nothinge els but as thoughe a chylde should doe some thynge to an other whereby hee mighte fynde a wante But amonge other commodities blyndenes doth make death the moore tollerable Because deathe is feared for nothinge so muche as that wee loose the comforte of lighte and come into darckenes when if thou be blinde before thou shalte feele the lesse alteracion that whiche tormenteth others moste in dyinge thou shalt as it were dye vnwares Some perhappes there are so grosse as will discommonde olde age forgettinge that who so is now olde hath beene in tymes paste younge But for tryall here of let Sephalus or Spurinna be called in question of whome we may enquire whether old age not abused be better then lustye youth The vertue and strength of Iacobus Philippê° Sacchi whoÌ„ Franciscus Sforza did those to be prince of the Senate doth sufficiently shewe Wherfore syth in all these Calamities aforesaid nothinge is euyll let vs consyder whether in common miseries we ought to lament as in plagues famine and destruction of countries which because they are common doe seeme the moore pacientlye to bee suffered But if they were euyll woulde be of all other moste intollerable because they are most hardlye amended Wee see therfore that the discontentacion of men growethe rather vppon opinion then cause And seeinge it is vniuersall let vs followe the golden age in whyche tyme was more fidelitye more frendly conuersacion more easy lyfe y men better mynded and their maners the lesse corrupte that their fortune was so euyll In that age they lyued only vpon frute if they had gotten bread â–ª they accompted themselues happy but thou that wantest neither bread wyne bedde nor other prouision doeste notwithstandinge complayne It is enuy therefore no pleasure superfluity no necessity that doth torment vs For if our desires were reasonable wee should at all tymes haue lyke wishes And knowinge with howe fewe bace thinges nature is contented we shoulde not fynde so infortunate ende of our doinges But seinge in that miserable tyme men lyued so contented this can not be sayde any myserye at all For he is onely in misery y is enforced to hate his own lyfe yet in coÌ„mon calamities no man hateth his owne lyfe but moste paciently beareth all aduersityes For nothinge seemeth dishonourable that is common Euerye euylle of mannes lyfe dothe consyste in reproche death except And euery thing that is good in glorye The reason thereof is that as at the beginninge I sayd verye good or euyl was not to be found among mortall men But to return to the purpose our countrye perisheth and there in our frendes kinred reputacion and substance I graunt but dost thou accompt those only thy neighboures that inhabite thy couÌ„try Surely we are al disceÌ„ded of one line and if we loke backe to our grandfathers great great grandfathers oure affinitye is muche It is good maners y getteth frends vertue y wiÌ„neth reputacion which if thou want it is not reputation but rather ambicion and crafte In pouertye thou haste manye Companions so as for thyne error thou nede not be ashamed for want of company thou cannot bee weary And in pouertye as erst I sayde there are many wayes to reliefe as hospitalles kinsfolke charitable persons all good men Also the vniuersalitye of the misery taketh away al reproch And though many through slouth and lothenes to labour do fall into beggery yet a mynde industrious and armed with vertue is seldome subiecte thereunto Albe it the hole cittye of Siracusa was taken spoyled and sacked yet Marcellus preserued Archimedes Also when Megara was taken by Ptolomeus after by Demetrius son of Antiochus yet Stilpho the Philosopher was saued and at the kinges handes receiued both honour and rewarde for the one desyred his company the other became his scholer When Rhodus was besieged by Demetrius Protogenes the painter being found in the suburbes was by him honored though the other cittezens remained scant in surety Vertue is alwayes accompanied with Nemesis who sufferethe none to beg sauing men from coÌ„mon calamities Socrates remayned in Athens healthy when y plage was there at the greatest Crates escaped harme at the saccage of Thebes A man of greate vertue ought not to hazarde himself in common calamyties Now remayneth it onely somwhat to say of manye miseries assembled togethers And as Diogenes said I am hee vpon whom all misfortune is cast no house I haue no towne in exile a vagabond and begger Yet to counteruayle all these miseries he thought the vertue of minde of force enough If therfore being olde thou art sicke pore and banished whether doth the encrease or deuide thy miseries Calamities are not according to this number but the greatnes to be measured It commeth to passe in these as it doth in greifes of y bodie one Calamity driue than other awaye Exile taketh awaye the dishonor of misery when thou liuest amoÌ„g people vnknowen And as erst I sayd ther is nothing saue death that a man desyreth more to eschewe Whether had thou rather be Philota when he was persecuted of Alexander hauinge youth beauty strength grete byrth ryches then in seruitude sicke and in thine old estate Truelyâ— the condicion of man is lyke vnto a garment whiche the more rich beautifull it be the more a sport doth disgrace it and the lesse beauty it hath y lesse hurt the garment ther by receiueth It is also to be considered that no man is al his lyfe in miserye for sleape causeth forgetfulnes of sorow and is as pleasant to men in sorow as to those that be most happie Also the delights of our sences be to al meÌ„ almost alyke comon as tast venery sight heariÌ„g and smellinge So all things that be delectable to man do not togethers decay If therfore at one instant all mortall men did sleape then for that time none should be more happye then other But wee are most assured not onely to sleape but also dye and as long to lyue we cannot so how far we are from death is to vs vnknowen Wherfore to bear euery thinge resolutely is not onely the parte of a wise man but also of a man wel aduised seinge y there is nothing in this life that may iustly be said to be against vs Therefore Homerus fayned Aten the Goddes of Calamitye to barefooted as one that could not touch any thing sharpe or hard but walked lightly vpon the heades of mortall men Meaninge that Calamity durst not come nere anye but such as were of base minde simple subiecte to effeminacy But among such as were valiant and armed with vertue shee durst not come Wherfore lift vp thy mynde to heauen where an euerlastinge and most pleasaunt life is prepared for thee Men in this worlde are lyke trees some slender some great some florishing some bearing frute some witheringe some growinge some blowen downe and some frutefull which in one harueste time are brought togeathers and laide vppon one stacke Neither is there afterwardes sene any difference among them what they be or haue bene al at one time be cut downe neuer more to growe agayne Euen so al pryde ambicion ryches aucthoritye children frendes and glory doe in shorte space grow olde and perishe neither dothe it make matter whether thou were Irus or vile Galba Antaxerles or noble Hercules Onelye honestye and vertue of mynde doth make a man happy and onely a cowerdlie and corrupt conscience do cause thine vnhappines Because the worste that the good man can feare is the best that the euyll can wishe for whyche is the destruction of the Soule in death But as he ought not to hope thereof so should not the other feare it For God the eternal father hath sent vs into this worlde as children and heyres of hys kingdome and secretly beholdeth how wee fighte and defend our selues against our sences y world and the Deuyll And who so in this battell valyantly fighteth shal bee called and placed amonge the Princes of heauenlye kingedome And who so slothfully or cowerdly behaueth himself as a slaue in featnes shall for euermore be bounde This worldly stage was purposely prepared that God the father might secretly beholde vs Such foolishe children then as in his sighte wantonlye slouthfully and sediciouslye lyue shoulde they not thinke he doth beholde them Whenso euer therefore thou haste taken that laste leaue of Life thy soule like vnto a louer embracinge his death shall enioye that swetenes and security whiche we can neither wryte of nor conceiue For sith these worldlye louers amongest whom be many mislykings without assuraÌ„ce or eternity can scarcely expresse their ioyes in loue Happy yea thrise happy is this heauenly louer who forgettinge all others wythe his one loue is vnited For within this kingdome he loueth and liueth in the sight of him that can do all thinges and therefore lyke a good sonne to his father is euer readye to do his pleasure FINIS