also hope for thyne One of you must needes be deceyued How many olde men may there be found that looke for the death of young men And truely there is none so olde but he may lyue one yeere longer and none so young but he may dye to day Hope I hope for the inheritaunce of a chyldlesse olde man. Reason Thy sonne may better hope for it A more likely hope hath deceyued a younger Hope The inheritaunce of a childlesse olde man shal fal vnto me Reason How knowest thou whether thyne shall fall vnto hym Claudius succeeded Caius and Galba Nero and Nerua Domitian and Pertinax Commodus and the lyfe of a man is ful of suche successions Hope I tarie for the inheritaunce of a childlesse olde man. Reason Whom cannot he deceyue of them that are willing to be deceyned that hath deceiued him whom he woulde not willingly haue deceiued Whom may not he suruine that hath suruiued his owne sonne Hope A childlesse olde man hath alredy in writing appoynted me his heyre Reason Hath he engrauen it in tables of Diamond from whence thou canst not be blotted out Dooest thou not knowe vpon howe light occasions olde men do alter their wylles Many haue mislyked of that at the very ende of theyr lyues whiche before they lyked well of all theyr lyfe tyme. Hope A chyldlesse olde man wyll haue me be his heyre Reason But it may chaunce that hereafter he wyl not For there is nothyng that a riche chyldlesse olde man taketh in worse part then to see his goodes loued and him selfe not regarded for then al is marred Hope I am promised the inheritaunce of a chyldlesse olde man. Reason I could wyshe there were that vpryghtnesse and trust in men that they would neuer promise any thyng but that whiche is honest and would also perfourme that which they haue promised But now there is neither measure in promising nor regarde of breache of promise whiche men thynke they may most lawfully doo in inheritaunce and bestowyng possessions And for this cause the lawes call the willes of Testatours whyle they lyue walkyng Wylles I wyll not trouble thee with examples the thyng is well knowen Thou hast read I take it vnto whom in hath hapned that not only they were promised the inheritaunce of the lyuyng but also receyued kysses and ringes and the last embracinges of the partie whiche lay a dying whiche vnto them was an vndoubted token of succession when as in the meane whyle there were other heyres appoynted and no mention at all made of them in the Wyll thus bolde is vnfaythfulnesse euen in the middes of death Doest thou thynke then that thou art free from the deceites of them that are alyue when as thou readest in what sort great and noble personagies haue been deluoed by the craftes of them that haue lyen a dying And not to stay vpon many The most honourable Gentleman Lucius Lucullus suffered some tyme this kynde of mocke and reproche and also a greater state then he was Augustus the Emperour An horrible and most strange delyght in deceyuyng which wyll not forsake the miserable and wretched soules no not in the very poynt of death but this is your maner and thou reposest thy trust vpon a promised inheritaunce whereof thou mayest be disappoynted both by the longer lyfe and shorter fayth of the testatour although yf these doo thee no harme he may haue most iust cause to change his purpose to wit an heyre of his owne and young issue borne to an old man For Cato begate a chylde when he was aboue fourescore yeeres old and Masinissa when he was more neere to ninetie The lyke also happeneth now adayes vnto your olde men who I woulde they were as lyke vnto those anncient fathers in strength of mynde as they are to force of engendryng whiche beyng so truely the lawfull heyre hyndreth the intruder and cutteth of his foolyshe hope Hope I am named Heyre in an olde mans Testament Reason But perhappes he is yet lyuyng and lyke to lyue As for the Testamentes and Wylles they are made in the lyfe time and confirmed in the death thou thynkest vpon the Carcas and Buriall and Wolfe may be weeried with expectation and hunger Hope An Inheritaunce shall come directly vnto mee Reason As the Testatour so also is the inheritaunce subiect to casualties that a man can not alwayes haue that heyre whiche he woulde and an inheritaunce many tymes is nothyng but a vayne name yea sundrie tymes a small inheritaunce is very deerely bought when a man maketh hym selfe seruiceable and subiect to a tatter olde foole and vseth flattering wordes vnmeete for a man Surely there is no commoditie to be compared with the losse of honestie and that whiche is decent Hope The Inheritaunce shall fall vnto me without contradiction of Lawe or Fortune Reason Whereby knowest thou that seeyng that saying of the most auntient and wyse Father Marcus Cato is true I haue heard oftentymes sayth he that many thynges may happen betweene the mouth and the morsell But admitie nothyng happen betweene but that thyne expected inheritaunce fall vnto thee it wyll not tarrie with thee but departe from thee to others Worldly goodes are roullyng and money men say is of purpose made rounde that it may alwayes be runnyng Thou hast gotten an inheritaunce for thy successour thou beyng perhappes sadde for hym that wyll reioyce thou beyng carefull for hym that is negligent and looke howe thou hast hoped of another so wyll other hope of thee Of Alchimie The Cxi Dialogue HOPE I Hope for good successe in Alchimie Reason It is strange thou should est hope for that which neuer hapned effectually to thy selfe nor to any man els yf report go that it euer hapned to any man that report was made by suche as it was expedient to beleeue them Hope I hope for good successe in Alchimie Reason What successe meanest thou other then smoke ashes sweate sighes woordes deceit and shame These are the successes of Alchimie wherely we neuer sawe any poore man aduaunced to ritches but many ryche men fall into pouertie And yet ye haue no regarde hereof so sweete a thyng it is to hope and be deceyued wherevnto ye be pricked foorth by couetousnesse and dryuen headlong through madnesse that ye thinke that to be true whiche you hope for and false whiche you see Thou hast seene some that in other matters are wyse yet in this behalfe to be madde and some very ryche men vtterly consumed with this vanitie and whyle they couet to become rycher and gape after filthie lucre to consume theyr wel gotten goodes and hauyng spent all theyr reuenue in vnprofitable expences at length to haue wanted verie necessaries and other some forsakyng the Citie wherein they dwelt haue passed foorth the residue of theyr lyues in sorowe and heauinesse beyng able to thynke vpon nothyng els but Bellowes Tongues and Coales and beyng able to abyde to keepe companie with none but of theyr owne disposition
not what it is to leese a father vnlesse thou haddest had a sonne Of the losse of a mother The xlvii Dialogue SOROWE I Haue lost my mother Reason Thou hast yet another mother whom thou canst not leese if thou wouldest from the first thou camest and vnto this thou shalt returne The first gaue thee houséromth the space of a few monethes the other shal giue thee lodging the space of many yeeres The one of these gaue thee thy body the other shal take it away Sorowe My most milde mother is dead Reason But a most hard mother remayneth who wyl keepe thee and thy mother whom thou bewailest in one besome in whose wombe she shal rest with thee and as we beleeue bryng you both foorth agayne at the last day Sorowe My good mother hath forsaken me Reason She made hast fearyng to be forsaken and likely it is that her death was acceptable vnto her because she would not see thine prouiding for her securitie in that whiche alwayes she most feared Sorowe My good mother is dead Reason She is happily dead thou being a lyue whiche beyng otherwyse such are the affections of women she would haue died in sorowful lamentation Sorowe My mother is dead Reason Shee must haue died and thou also neyther canst thou complaine of death nor of the order therof Of the losse of a sonne The xlviii Dialogue SOROW. BUt I haue lost my sonne Reason Say rather and better I haue sent hym before me for thou shalt folowe hym quickely and perhappes to day and howe know we whether this same houre There is no trust in lyfe since there is so great certentie in death shalt folowe hym sayde I Nay rather thou doest folowe hym I woulde haue sayde for thou folowest hym continually it is not permitted vnto a man at any tyme to stay his course in this lyfe but euermore he steppeth foorth one step vnto death a strange matter to be spoken whether he be bound or at libertie sicke or whole walkyng or sitting awake or sleepyng he is caryed foorth toward his ende much after the manner of them that sayle in a shyp or sitte and ride in a wagon and are carried foorth a pace Sorowe I am greeued with the lacke of my sonne whom I haue lost Reason Qiuet thy minde for thou shalt finde hym whom thou desirest ere it be long not to be able to suffer the want of a short tyme is the part of a childe or a woman for vnto a man there is no short thing difficult Thou knowest I thinke by what woordes Socrates in Plato and Cato and Lelius in Cicero do comfort suche desires and wantes Although men surpasse in vertue and glory yet in this hope do some farre surpasse other Thou knowest moreouer of what minde Paulus Emilius Cato hym selfe Pericles and Zenophon that was scholer vnto Socrates and scholefelowe with Plato and his equal and other innumerable were for the death of their chyldren neyther art thou ignorant howe he that was both a prophet and a king wept for his chylde whyle it was sicke but not when it was dead thinkyng that to lament and weepe for thinges vnrecouerable is rather a poynt of vayne madnesse then of true affection Among the number of whiche manly examples the Spartane woman shuffeleth her selfe whose name is not set downe by wryters nor her saying semblably commended who hearyng that her sonne was slayne in battayle therfore sayd she did I beare hym that he shoulde not be afrayd to dye for his countrey The vertue of Linia and the elder Cornelia is nothyng inferiour vnto this but their names muche more famous of whom the first layde downe her mournyng so soone as her sonne of most honourable byrth and that was lyke to haue aspired vnto the hyghest degree of Empire was once layd into the ground but neuer left of the remembrance of hym The other hauing lost many chyldren yea al that she had whereof some she behelde slayne by the people and lying abrode vnburyed when as other women accordyng to the manner of that sexe rued her state and pitifully weepyng bewaled her woful case she answeared that she was not infortunate but happie for that she had borne such sonnes A woorthy woman that was not surprised with the present miserie but counted her selfe happie for that whiche was past who contrary to the common opinion and custome of them that are in miserie comforted herselfe with her forepassed felicitie and the remembrance of her prosperitie wherin shee had somtime liued and tooke it indifferently although she had then lost it for that cause only was woorthie to haue bad good children Now she being a woman remained wholy not once touched with the greeuous and sharp woundes of fortune and thou beeyng a man art ouerthrowne by one only doest thou lament so childishly Sorow I haue lost my sonne Reason If he were a duetiful sonne there is no cause to feare his estate for he is well But yf he were wicked thou art rydde of one that counted vpon thy death and encreased the infirmities of thine olde age Sorowe I haue lost my sonne Reason If he were vertuous reioyce that thou haddest hym but yf he were vnthryfty be glad that thou hast lost hym and in eyther case acknowledge the benefite of nature eyther for geuing thee suche a one or for takyng hym a way Sorowe Death hath taken away my sonne before his tyme. Reason That is not done before due tyme whiche may be done at al tymes Death hath directe entrances into al ages but into youth innumerable Sorowe I haue remayned without a sonne Reason And without trouble and feare Now hast thou none for whose cause thou shalt spend the nyghtes without sleepe and the dayes in care for whose sake thou shalt enter into long and inextricable hope that shall thinke vpon thy hory heares and wryncles examine thy lyuing fynde fault with thine expences and blame the staying of thy death thou art in securitie and quietnesse on euery side both which are a great commoditie although it be made more bitter by the name of death Sorowe I am cast downe by the geeuous death of my sonne Reason Hast thou not hearde what Anaragoras sayth Hast thou forgotten that thou begattest a mortal creature Or doest thou perhappes lament that he is gone before that should haue folowed And although the lyfe of man in many other thinges be disordinate and out of course yet death keepeth his ordinarie custome crooked olde men stagger and young men make hast and chyldren runne headlong infantes at their first entrance into lyfe are drawen to their ende one man more slowly another more speedily one more ripely another more vntimely but euery man must die this is the conclusion of al. And in whatsoeuer age of this lyfe a man die be it gently or sharpely he hasteth vnto death Sorowe I weepe for the death of my sonne Reason If thou wouldest haue wept at his death thou shouldest also
haue wept at his birth for then he began to die but nowe he hath done But do not thou lament for thine owne and his most excellent estate he left behind him a perilous way to passe but thou hauing him alwayes before thine eyes who now is in securitie hast no farther regarde of thy sweete burden as Virgil speaketh or of any other Sorowe Al my delite to lyue is extinguished Reason A good sonne I confesse is a great comforte vnto his father but notwithstanding careful greeuous And many times the sweetest things do offend vs and the dearest do hinder vs and the most precious do oppresse vs And perhappes this thy sonne was some let vnto thy minde that would haue aspired vnto greater matters And now although thou art become more heauie yet since thou art at more libertie be of good cheare to gather good out of euyl is the part of a wise man. Sorowe The death of my lonne hath made me heauie Reason But spende the residue of thy lyfe that remayneth in iolitie thou diddest lyue for hym now lyue for thy selfe Of the miserable fal of a young child The .xlix. Dialogue SOROWE I Lament the miserable fal of my young child Reason A man ought to lament for nothing that may happen vnto mankinde al thinges should be premeditated before if they haue not hapned alredie lament not thy childes fal but thine owne vnskylfulnesse the forgetfulnesse of thine owne condition Sorow I complaine of the miserable death of my young childe Reason There is no death miserable which the death of the soule doth not folow from which daunger thy young child is free Sorowe My childe is dead by breaking his necke Reason What skylleth it after what sort a man dye so that he die not dishonourably he can not die dishonourably that dieth without offences Sorowe My chylde is peryshed by breakyng his necke Reason But Archemorus by the biting of a serpent other some by suckyng milke of a nurse being with child other by sickenesse the which for the more part happen more commonly then than in old age Sorowe My young child is perished by breaking his necke Reason Sodeyne death is to be wished of the innocent and to be feared of the guiltie Sorowe My chylde is dead of a fal from an hygh Reason Unto them that dye languishingly death often times seemeth the sharper the panges the longer for al paine the shorter it is the more tollerable it is Sorow My chylde is dead by breakyng his necke Reason To stumble and fal is proper to that age Thy chylde hath done that which al doo although al peryshe not by casualtie but do thou suffer hym to peryshe for he must needes peryshe one day and he is the more happily dealt withal for that he hath peryshed before he was intangled in the euylles of this lyfe whiche howe manyfold they be those that haue prooued and diligently obserued can tell There is none that prooueth not in part and they that obserue them not leade foorth their liues as it were in a dreame whiche so soone as they awake they haue forgotten Thyne infant died an innocent who perhappes if he had lyued had dyed a very hurtful person Lament not that he is safe he hath escaped al the threates of fortune and hath preuented death whiche being deferred would haue preuented hym Sorowe A woolfe hath deuoured my chylde Reason This nowe is the woormes complaynt Sorowe A woolfe hath carried away the body of my poore chylde into his denne Reason But the angels haue caryed vp his blessed soule into heauen Of a sonne that is found to be another mans The .l. Dialogue SOROWE ANd moreouer that whiche is more greeuous then death he whom I thought had been my sonne is another mans Reason If you had a respect to the common father then would you by the counsel of the Comical Poet thinke that there is no humane thing but may happen vnto you Sorowe I haue fostred another mans chylde a great while for mine owne Reason Nature wylleth a man to foster his owne and charitie to foster another mans so that thou repent thee not after the deede but delite in it Sorowe He that was counted my chylde appeareth to be another mans Reason There is opened vnto thee a way vnto a great and singuler merite if as thou hast hytherto done so thou continue hereafter to keepe hym as thyne owne Truely that were a very gracious and acceptable deede before god For chyldren are woont for the more parte to contemne the mayntenance of theyr parentes as a thyng due vnto them by ryght and moreouer it were a poynt of wickednesse to loue thy chylde that is borne of thee and not to loue man that is created of god Thus euery way both before God and men thou shalt purchase vnto thy selfe singuler commendation and vertue through another mans wickednesse Sorow I haue nooryshed one for my chylde that was not so Reason Thou nooryshedst hym as thy chylde and so nooryshe hym styll yf not as thy chylde yet as thy brother For of al the people that are or euer shal be or haue been heretofore there is one father and one gouernour Doo not dissemble through insolencie or through enuie and hatred breake of the sacred bond of nature for you be brethren one to another Sorowe He whom I thought to haue been as I heare is not my sonne Reason Take heede of whom thou hearest it and whom thou trustest For many beyng pricked foorth by wicked prouocations doo of set purpose deuise false rumors and other some by a certayne slypprynesse and vnbridled affection of the tongue doo aswell babble foorth the thynges that they knowe as that they knowe not and with lyke impudencie vtter whatsoeuer commeth in theyr mynde Howbeit to determine precisely of a mans chylde whether it be his owne or not is an harde case Sorowe I heare say that he that was called my sonne is another mans Reason Why dooest thou herein beleeue other rather then thyne owne wyfe since none knoweth it more certaynely then she Truely she hath geuen thee a chylde whom other goe about to take from thee Thou hast heard I thinke howe that within the remembrance of our fathers there was a certaine noble man who had to wyfe a gentlewoman of equall beautie and parentage but of whose honestie the report seemed some what to doubt By her he hadde one moste beautifull sonne whom when his mother vppon a tyme helde in her lappe and perceyuyng that her husbande syghed and was carefull she demaunded of hym what was the cause of his heauinesse Then he syghyng agayne I had rather sayde he then the one halfe of my landes that I were as sure that this boy were myne as thou art that he is thyne Whereunto she aunsweared neyther in countenance nor mynde any whit moued Truely sayde shee the matter shall not cost so great a price but geue me an hundred acres of pasture whereon I
Alas I am now an agâ—d wyght Reason Lament not for it thou hast fulfilled an hard charge thou hast passed through a rough and ragged iourney and finished an vnpleasant Comedie And therefore now after the maner of such actions thou shouldest clap thy handes and crie plaudite Sorowe I am an olde man. Reason Hast thou forgotten how that of late dayes one that was very familiar with thee expressed the effect hereof ex tempore not as a new saying but as comparable vnto any in tymes past For when a certaine freende of his sayde vnto hym I am sory for thee for I perceiue thou waxest olde I woulde thou were in as good estate as when I knewe thee fyrst he answered suddenly Seeme I not vnto thee foolysh enough but that thou must wysh me more foole then I am Take no care for me I pray thee for that I am olde but rather be sorie for me that euer I was young O how much vnderstanding is there conteined in this short answere whiche none can conceiue but he that hath tasteth the commodities of this age and remembreth the miseries of the other Reioyce therefore in thine owne felicitie although it be also true that often tymes good hapneth vnto men against their wylles and euyll vnwished for Doubtlesse vnto a good man that loueth veriue hateth fond affections one whole day of this age which thou mislikest of is more acceptable then an whole yeere of retchlesse youth Sorow Alas I am aged Reason If thou continue in this mind it may be truly sayd of thee which is verified of the common people that thou art not so much wretched now thou art old as that thou liuedst miserable that so fondly thou complaynest thereof now at the very ende of thy life Leaue of your complaints now at length you whining generation and willingly yeelde to the necessitie of nature since there is nothing to be lamented that her immoueable lawe hath determined For what is more natural for a man that is borne then to lyue vntyl he be old and when he is olde to dye But you being forgetfull of your estate doo eschew them both and yet of necessitie you must taste of the one or of the both And yf ye woulde escape them both then must you haue abstained from the third and beleeue me not haue ben borne at all As soone as your bodyes are growen into yeeres let your mindes waxe olde also and let not the old Prouerbe be euermore verified in you to wit That one minde is able to consume many bodyes Suffer without grudging your body and your mind to continue together to the ende as they came in so let them depart out of the worlde together and when the one draweth forwarde let not the other drawe backwarde Your dallying is but in vayne you must needes depart and not tarrie heere and returne no more whiche may seeme vnto you but a small matter in consideration of the immortalitie of your soules and resurrection of your bodyes whiche you looke for aboue suche as eyther looke for but the one or for neyther In vayne I say ye stryue agaynst the streame and goe about to shake of the yoake of mans frayltie whiche ye vndertooke when ye were borne Sorowe I am olde and the strength of my body is decayed Reason If the force of thy minde be encreased it is well and thou hast made a good exchange For there is no man ignorant vnlesse he lacke a minde that greater better exploites may be atchieued by the strength of the minde then of the body But yf the strength of the minde as oftentymes it hapneth be deminished through slouthfulnesse then hast thou I confesse lyued vnprofitably whiche is thine owne fault and not thine ages Sorowe I am olde and I cannot follow my businesse Reason Yf there be any thing to be done by the minde by so muche the better an olde man may doo it by howe muche he hath the more experience and knowledge in thynges and is lesse subiect to passions and his minde more free from all mischiefes and imperfections as for other matters olde men can not deale in them neyther becommeth it them to busie them selues that way who haue alredie layd all bodyly labour asyde But yf they continue in it and wyl not be withdrawen then doo they renue the auncient rid culus example of a Romane olde man who beyng commaunded by the Prince to surceasse from labour for that his impotent olde age at the one syde and his great ryches on the other requyred the same he was as heauie and sorowfull as yf he had mourned for some freende that was dead and caused all his housholde semblably to mourne A strange old man that abhorred rest as a certaine resemblance of death when as in deede there is nothyng more conuenient for an olde man then rest and nothyng more vnseemely then a labouryng and carkyng olde man whose lyfe ought to be a patterne of all quietnesse and tranquilitie Thou mayest learne moreouer of the Philosophers what and howe pleasaunt a thyng it is for vertuous olde men to lyue as they tearme it in the course of theyr forepassed lyfe whiche notwithstandyng the greatest number neuer accomplisheâ—h but dyeth before Sorowe My yeeres are quickly gone and I am become old Reason Your beautie health swiftnesse strength yea all that euer ye haue passeth away but vertue remayneth neuer geuyng place to olde age nor death In this most assured good ye ought at the beginning to haue stayed your selues whiche at the ende to doo I confesse is more difficult but there is no age that refuseth the studie of vertue whiche the harder it is so muche the more it is glorious Many haue scarce learnâ—d of long tyme in their olde age to be wyse and knowe them selues and yet better late then neuer whiche although it be but smally profitable now at the last cast of the lyfe and at the very poynt of death yet doo I iudge it well bestowed vppon that one houre to be passed without horrour and fearefulnesse yf so be it were not exerc sed in all the whole lyfe tyme before For neyther was he borne in vayne that dyeth wel nor liued vnprofitably that ended his lyfe blessedly Sorowe I am olde and at deathes doore Reason Death is at hand alike vnto all men and manie tymes nearest there where he seemeth furthest of There is none so young but he may dye to day none so olde but he may lyue another yeere yf nothing els happen vnto him but old age Sorowe I am throughly olde Reason Thou art rather throughly rype If Apples coulde feele and speake woulde they complayne of theyr ripenesse or rather woulde they not reioyce that they are come to the perfection for whiche they were made As in al other thinges so likewise in age there is a certayne ripenesse whiche is tearmed olde age the same that thou mayest see truely to be so the age and death of
and enuied at hym that he should graunt lyfe vnto hymselfe And to conclude he findeth that only enuie was the cause of his death whiche Caesar hym selfe did not dissemble as we sayde erewhyle For what coulde he other feare or why could he not abyde hym to be his prince by whom not long before he was banyshed the senate and committed to pryson So that he that slue not hym selfe in so great and present an iniurie why shoulde he nowe slaye hym selfe for a vayne feare or false opinion of pryde or crueltie What terror was there expressed in Caesars face that he shoulde seeke to auoyde the same by death who not only of all men but of al Tirantes and Prynces was the most gently and mercifull For although Cato had neuer seene any more myghtie yet truely in that age had he seene many more cruel but truely neuer sawe he any more merciful And therefore ryghtly sayeth another excellent wryter famous both for credite and eloquence It seemeth vnto me sayth he that Cato sought an occasion to dye not so muche to escape Caesars handes as to folowe the decrees of the Stoykes whom he immitated and by some notable deede to leaue his name famous vnto posterytie What harme woulde haue happened vnto him if he had lyued I do not perceyue For suche was the clemencie of Caius Caesar that in the greatest heate of the ciuile warres he would seeme to do nothing els but to deserue wel of the common wealth prouiding alwayes for the safetie of Cicero and Cato Loe behold another cause of his death beside enuie to wit a vayne follie both which were farre vnwoorthy of the person of Cato and yet neyther of them sufficient to preuent a mans owne death Sorowe I had rather dye then lyue thus Reason Howe knowest thou whether this lyfe whiche seemeth greeuous vnto thee be desired of many or enuied of the most But your impatiencye maketh all thynges more greeuous Sorow I desire to dye Reason As from the feareful to force the feare of death so to wreast from the desperate the hatred of lyfe is a hard matter Neuerthelesse this is the effect of our remedie to beare this lyfe with indifferencie and to looke for death valiantly Of Death The .cxix. Dialogue SOROWE I Dye Reason Now thou art come to the last cast nowe canst thou neyther feare death nor wyshe for it of both whiche thou hast alredie wearied me in many discourses next before written Hereafter thou shalt neyther be in sorowe nor in paine neyther be subiect to the defaultes of the body nor minde neyther shalt thou be wearied with the tediousnesse of any thing nor with sickenesse nor with olde age nor with deceites of men nor with the varietie of fortune al whiche yf they be euyl then is the ende of euyl good Not long since thou complaynedst of al these and nowe thou findest fault with the ende of them beware that thou seeme not iniurious for beyng sory for the begynning of a thing and the endyng of the same Sorowe I dye Reason Thou shalt walke the way of thy fathers or rather the broade and worne way of thy predicessors haddest thou rather that there shoulde happen vnto thee some peculiar accident I wote not what Goe forward on thy way thou needest not be a frayde of goyng amisse thou hast so many leaders and companions of thy iourney Sorowe Alas I dye Reason If there be any that hath cause to weepe when he dyeth he ought to be ashamed to haue laughed when he lyued knowyng that he had cause at hand and alwayes hanging ouer his head ful soone to make hym weepe whose laughter doubtlesse was not farre disioyned from weeping Sorowe I dye Reason He is not to be suffred that be waileth the estate of his owne kynde Thou shouldest not dye vnlesse thou were mortal But if thou be sorie because thou art mortal thou hast no cause to complayne when thou surceasest to be that which thou wast agaynst thy wyl Thou shouldest haue lamented at the begynnyng when thou beganst to be that whiche thou wouldest not but now thou oughtest to reioyce for that thou begynnest to be immortal Sorowe I dye Reason Al these that lately stoode about thy bed and moreouer al that euer thou hast seene or heard or read of and as many as euer thou wast able to knowe since thou wast borne as many as euer heretofore haue seene this lyght or shal hereafter be borne in al the worlde and to the worldes ende either haue or shal passe through this iorney Beholde in thy minde as wel as thou canst the long troupes of them that are gone before or of those that shal folowe hereafter and also the number not small of thy companions and coequales in yeeres who dye with thee euen at this presente and then I thinke thou wylt be ashamed to bewayle a common case with thy pryuate complayntes when as among so many thou shalt not finde one whom thou mayest enuie at Sorowe I dye Reason This is to be impassible and to goe about to shake of the yoake both of fortune and death a double great good whiche no prosperitie can geue vnto any lyuing creature Thinke with thy selfe howe many and howe great cares howe many paynefull traueyles there were remayning yet vnto thee yf thou lyuedst I say not an infinite lyfe but the space of a thousand yeeres when as there is alotted vnto thee a lyfe but onely of one dayes space wherein yf thou make an indifferent estimation thou shalt perceyue the toyles and wearisomenesse of this short transitorie and vncertayne lyfe and also thine owne greefes and vexations whiche thou hast susteyned Sorow I dye Reason In suche forte ye bewayle death as though lyfe were some great matter whiche yf it were then were the flyes and emmotes and spyders partakers of the same If lyfe were alwayes a commoditie then were death euermore a discommoditie whiche sometyme is founde to be a great benefite when as it delyuereth the soule from intollerable euyles or dischargeth or els preserueth the soule from sinne that is to come whiche is the greatest euyl of all But as vertue is onely a great thyng among you so yf this lyfe be considered by it selfe as it is it is the stoare house of innumerable miseries for the shuttyng vp whereof whoso is sorowfull the same taketh it not well that euyles doo surcease and hateth quyetnesse and he that coueteth the same it must needes be that he couet the ende of a payneful and troublesome lyfe Then yf there be noneother ende of toyles and euyles why doest thou weepe for it That day is nowe at hande which yf it were prolongued thou wouldest wyshe for it and perhaps suche is the worlde the power of fortune so great and her chaunces so variable that thou hast oftentymes alredie wished for it Sorowe I dye Reason Nay rather thou departest out of an earthly and transitorie house vnto the heauenly and euerlastyng habitation
ought to haue lyued longer for that perhappes thou seest some that haue lyued longer in deede as though of duetie thou myghtest claime longer continuance also I can not yeelde vnto thee For some dye late and many moe soone but none at all that dye neuer betweene these there is no meane appoynted but all men are generally subiect vnto one lawe and all owe obeysaunce to the soueraingtie of death albeit some are taken away by one meanes and some by another and that at diuerse tymes and ages thus of one thyng there are manyfolde meanes and sundrie tymes And therefore let euery one with indifferencie attende his owne kinde of death and dying day and not through the greedinesse or lothsomnesse of lyfe doo as the vnskylfull and ingratefull sort are woont complayne and be disquieted about the lawes of Nature Sorowe I haue lyued but a smal time Reason There was neuer any lyued so long that thought not that he lyued but a small tyme and truely it is but a short tyme in deede that men lyue heere And therefore yf ye be desirous to lyue long seeke after that lyfe wherein ye may lyue for euer which although it be not heere yet is it purchased heere Sorowe I haue lyued but a short tyme. Reason Admit thou haddest lyued longer haddest thou then lyued any more then a short tyme The tearmes of this lyfe are vnequall and vncertaine but this one thyng is common to them all that they be al short Put case a man haue lyued eyghtie yeeres what hath he more I pray thee then he that hath liued but eyght yeeres Examme thy selfe diligently and looke into thine owne estate and let not the madnesse of the common multitude deceiue thee what more I say hath he that hath lyued longer vnlesse perhappes ye account cares and troubles paynes and sorowes weerisomnesse for a vantage Or what more should he haue yf he lyued eyght hundred yeeres There is somewhat more in deede I confesse in hope and expectation but when both tymes are expited beleeue mee thou shalt fynde nothyng whereby thou mightest make account that thou hast lyued more happily Sorowe I dye when as I thought to haue done good Reason What dydst thou thinke to haue done somethyng which thou hast not done So perhappes thou wouldest alwayes haue thought haddest thou liued neuer so long There be some that alwayes thinke to doo well but they neuer begin But yf thou haue begun once to doo well doubt not to goe forward although death preuent thy woorke before it be brought to a wished ende which although peraduenture in the blinde iudgement of men it may seeme to be some preiudice vnto thee neuerthelesse it is to be despised for that in the syght of the vnfallible surueyer of all thynges thou loosest nothyng but thy reward shal be full and whole as well of thy deedes as of thy thoughtes Sorowe In the middes of all my preparation I dye Reason This fault is not in death but in them that dye who then begyn to weaue the most short web of their lyfe when it is a cutting of which vnlesse it were so men should not so often be preuented by death not hauing fyrst accomplished the dueties of lyfe but rather when they had fulfylled and accomplished them woulde then begin to liue than which truely there were no lyfe more sweete Which sweetenesse notwithstanding not so much the shortnesse of lyfe as the slouthfulnesse of them that lyue taketh away from men who therefore count no lyfe long because how long soeuer the tyme be they neuer lyue but are euermore about to lyue And when they be once come to be olde men wauering among newe deuices how to lyue with a swift ende they preuent their slow beginning Sorowe I dye euen whyle I am preparing great matters Reason This hapned vnto many greatmen and almost to all Men are deceyued in many thinges specially in death which there is none but knoweth that it wyll come but they hope of the deferring of it and imagine that to be farre of which God knoweth is hard by them which both the shortnesse of lyfe and swyftnesse of tyme and the power of fortune and the varietie of humane chaunces wherewith they are beset round about needily constrayneth to be so And O most woonderfull blindnesse for that what ye ought to hope of your selues at leastwyse ye learne at length by others But thus the case standeth your mindes hardly can enter into bitter cogitations and therefore while euery one promiseth him selfe very long lyfe and either the age of Nestor or as Cicero sayth the fortune of Metellus and finally whyle euery one supposeth him selfe to be dame Natures whyte sonne whyle they be busie about the beginning the end commeth vpon them and while they are in consultation of many thinges death setteth vpon them at vnwares and cutteth them of in the middes of their endeuours Sorowe I dye in my greene age Reason If there be none other commoditie herein at leastwise there is prouision made hereby that thou shalt not languish in thine old yeeres For although that old age be not greeuous as Lelius sayth in Cicero and we also haue disputed before neuerthelesse it taketh away that greenesse wherein he sayth that Scipio flourished at that time and thou likewise reportest now the like of thy selfe Hereafter perhaps many shal wish for thee but none shal be weery of thee which thing in a long life although it be gouerned by vertue is an hard matter to be found Sorowe I die a young man. Reason Thou knowest what thou hast suffred alredy in thy life time but what thou were like to suffer hereafter thou knowest not and beleeue me whoso in this so variable and rough kingdome of Fortune dyeth first deceiueth his companion Sorow I am hyndered by death so that I can not ende the thynges that I beganne Reason And tustly in deede For ye be euermore a dooyng the thynges that ye ought to haue doone and yet there is nothyng finished this is the cheefest thyng that maketh your death greeuous and miserable vnto you but yf the thynges that thou begannest were suche that without any negligence in thee thou couldest not finishe them it suffiseth thee that thou hadest a good wylt hervnto But if through slouthfulnes thou hast put them of from time to time let it displease thee that thou hast neglected them If this peraduenture be the pretended cause of thy lamentation yet in trueth there is nothyng but a vayne lengthening of lyfe and a deferryng of death wyshed for thereby although it wyll not be long but at length though late thou wylt be ashamed of this vulgare wyshe But O ye mortall men how greedie soeuer ye be of lyfe hearken vnto mee I demaunde of you the exercise of Vertue beyng layde asyde what is this lyfe other then a slack and vnprofitable tariance which how long so euer it is can not be other then very short Wherefore I
estate this man forsaking the sleppes of so many his auncetours predecessours hauing defiled the Commonwealth with his short and filthy gouernment or rather tyrannie at last came to a miserable but for his desartes a woorthy end the whole contempt mockerie of the common people being turned vpon him But long before al these Scipio that was the sonne of Scipio Africanus the great adopted vnto him selfe to the honour of his familie the second thunderbolt of the Punike war and hammer of the citie of Carthage by special ordinance appointed to that purpose that the same citie which the grandfather had shaken the nephew should ouerthrow as Florus the Historician sayeth being translated from the stock of Aemilia into the familie of Cornelia no small glory confesse and yet the last of them both Hereby thou seest that neither thou nor any Prince can lacke a sonne or rather that which is best of al they that are good can not lacke a good choise which if it please thee to make perhaps it wil geue thee such an one as thy wife wyl not bring thee the like being losed from the bandes of marriage shalt possesse the desired effect and end of matrimonie In such sort doth the law prouide for the defectes of Nature Sorow How shal I now dispose of my house since that I die without children Reason Do not refuse this great occasion of wel deseruing and commendation which is now as it were throwen into thy lap and that which thou determinest to bestowe vpon thy children who peraduenture would be vnthankful for it or wickedly hoorde it vp or els as it is the custome of either sort of these to conuert it to vngodly vses or rather in very short tyme or waste consume al most prodigally employ thou more cōmendably more profitably more durably Attalus that was king of Pergamus by his testament made the people of Rome his heire not being poore nor needefull of it who also were sshortly after corrupted with the wanton wealth of Asia But I wyl tel thee of another people to whom thou mayest leaue thy goodes On the one side of thee standeth a route of thy freendes kinsfolke at the other a rabble of poore people out of both which thou art permitted to adopt chyldren The one sort of these when thou art gone wyll deteyne the sweete remembraunce of thee in theyr mindes the other preuent thee with their godly prayers vnto the place whyther thou art nowe passing insomuch as looke what thou bestowest vpon them here thou shalt receiue an hundred fold there which is a large interest a most assured prouision for them that are vpon the poynt to passe that way Sorow I die without a sonne Reason What if thou haddest many wouldest thou then chose one of them to be the keeper of thy house and money which shal be thine no longer Or wouldest thou appoint one of them to be thy Champion in the conflict pangues of death beyng hym selfe also mortall or els to wayte vpon thee to thy graue for farther none of all thy freendes wyl folowe thee more then Metellus freendes followed hym The way is but short from the death bed to the graue and what skilleth it whether thou lye alone here or there These are but friuolous and vaine causes truely to wysh for sonnes and yf in them moreouer as the vulgare speeche is thou hopedst to haue thy name preserued and continued thou wast also vulgarly deceiued For doubtlesse for the most part suche is the obscurenesse of the children generally to be found that they are not able to beautifie nor to keepe vp their fathers name But the rare nobilite of the sonnes as alwayes it maketh the sonnes them selues honourable so for neerenesse sake sometyme it couereth and obscureth the parentes euen as the Sunne doth the lesser Starres which is in none seene more euidently then in Iulius Caesars father whom his sonnes bryghtnesse made almost vnknowen And to be short whosoeuer reposeth the trust of his name in his sonne he putteth a slender and slipperie substance into a rotten and cracked earthen vessell and which is more foolysh that is none of his owne a thyng truely more accounted of among the common multitude then of the learned and yet contemned of neyther Howbeit this hope were more commendably and assuredly layde vp in their sounde and vncorruptible vessels to wit in their owne vertue notable deedes and learning Sorowe I dye without chyldren Reason Thou hast none to diuide thy care vpon thyne attendaunce is fixed only on thy selfe so that thou maiest depart with more readinesse and libertie respectyng thy selfe and consideryng thine owne estate how miserable or happie thou shalt die And further thou diest not in an vncertayntie whether thy miserie be augmented or felicitie abated by the dishonour or vertue of another Although some others be of another opinion to accord with whom I finde my selfe more wyllyng notwithstandyng it hath seemed true for the most part vnto Philosophers of great skil that the fathers estate concernyng miserie or happinesse is varied by the euent of the chyldren Truely it is a weake good thyng that streatcheth vnto fortune that shal befal hereafter and dependeth vpon anothers estate Whiche opinion if we do admit what may be concluded thereon thou knowest for it is out of al doubt that many had departed in more happie estate if they had dyed without chyldren Of one dying that feareth to be throwne foorth vnburied The Cxxxii. Dialogue FEARE I Shal be throwen foorth vnburyed Reason Enuiest thou the birdes or the beastes or the fishes And yf thou be afearde of them take order that thou mayest haue one appoynted to keepe thee or a staffe layde by thee to dryue them away from thy carcasse Feare Thou doest iest at my miserie for truely I shal feele nothyng Reason Why then doest thou feare that which thou shalt not feele If thou couldest feele it thou wouldest lyke wel of it for to burie one that feeleth is to kyl him Feare I shal lye vnburied Reason If the earth presse not thee thou shalt presse the earth if the earth couer thee not heauen wyll Thou knowest the olde saying Him heauen hides that hath none other graue And very wel knowen is this other most common speech also To lacke a graue is but a slender losse so slender a losse indeede that there is none more slender Feare I shal lye vnburied which is a woful thyng to be spoken Reason I know not what to be spoken but truely in effect a very trifle beleeue me it is muche more tollerable for a man to be throwne out of his graue then to be turned out of his bed or apparrel Feare I I shal lye vnburied whiche is a filthie sight Reason Filthie perhaps vnto others but nothing at al vnto thee It is the general opinion of al learned men and experience also confirmeth no lesse that all manner of buriall was deuised not so
Schoolemaister Eod. Of a notable Scholler Folio 104. Of a good Father Folio 105. Of a most Louing Mother Eod. Of Good Brethren and Louing and Fayre Systers Folio 106. Of a good Lorde Folio 107. Of the Clearenesse of the Ayre Folio 109. Of Fortunate Saylyng Eod. Of wyshed Arriuing at the Haune Folio 110. Of commyng foorth of Pryson Eod. Of a quiet State. Folio 111. Of Power Folio 113. Of Glorie Folio 114. Of Benefites bestowed vpon many Folio 115. Of Loue of the people Folio 116. Of Inuadyng a Tyrannie Folio 117. Of a Kyngdome and Empire Folio 119. Of a furnished Armie Folio 123. Of a wel apppoynted Nauie Folio 124. Of engyns and Artillarie Folio 125. Of Treasure layde vp in store Folio 126. Of Reuenge Eod. Of hope to Wynne Folio 129. Of Victorie Eod. Of the death of an Enemie Folio 130. Of hope of Peace Folio 131. Of peace and Truce Folio 132. Of the Popedome Folio 133. Of Happynesse Folio 134. Of good Hope Folio 136. Of expectation of Inheritance Folio 138. Of Alchimie Follo 139. Of the promises of wyse men and Soothsayers Folio 140. Of Glad tydynges Folio 143. Of Expectyng a mans sonne or farmer or wyfe Eod. Of Lookyng for better tymes Folio 145. Of the hoped comming of a Prynce Folio 146. Of hope of fame after Death Folio 147. Of Glory hoped for by buyldyng Folio 148. Of Glory hoped for by keepyng company 149. Of Manyfold hope Folio 150. Of hoped quietnesse of Mynde Eod. Of the hope of lyfe Euerlastyng Folio 151. The Table of the matters conteyned in the second Booke of this woorke OF the deformitie of the Bodye Folio 162. Of Weakenesse Folio 164. Of Sycknesse Folio 165. Of a base Countrey Eod. Of Basenesse of Stocke Folio 166. Of a shamefull Byrth Folio 169. Of Bondage Folio 171. Of Pouertie Folio 174. Of Damage susteyned Folio 175. Of Thynne fare Folio 178. Of Originall pouertie Folio 180. Of the heauie burden of many Chyldren Eod. Of Money lost Folio 183. Of Suertishyppe Folio 187. Of Losse of tyme Folio 188. Of Vnfortunate pâ—aâ—ing at Tables Folio 190. Of Her vnto whom one was assured iudged vnto another Eod. Of the losse of a mans Wyfe Folio 191. Of a Shrewyshe Wyfe Folio 193. Of the stealyng away of a mans Wyfe Folio 194. Of an vnchaste Wyfe Eod. Of a barren Wyfe Folio 197. Of an vnchaste Daughter Folio 198. Of Shame commyng from an other Folio 199. Of Infamie Folio 200. Of Shame procured by meanes of vnwoorthy commendation Folio 202. Of Vnthankfull Freendes Folio 203. Of Vnthankfull persons Folio 204. Of Euyll Seruauntes Folio 206. Of Fugitiue Seruauntes Folio 107. Of Importunate Neyghbours Folio 208. Of Enimies Folio 209. Of occasion lost to reuenge Folio 210. Of the peoples Hatred Folio 211. Of Enuie Passiuely Eod. Of Contempt Folio 212. Of Long expectyng a promised Rewarde Folio 213. Of Repulses Eod. Of an vniust Lorde Folio 215. Of an Vnlearned Schoolemaister Folio 216. Of an Vnapt and proude Scholer Folio 217. Of a Stepdame Folio 218. Of the hardnesse of a Father Eod. Of a stubburne Sonne Folio 220. Of a contentious Brother Folio 221. Of the Losse of a Father Folio 222. Of the Losse of a Mother Eod. Of the losse of a Sonne Eod. Of the miserable fal of a young Chylde Folio 224. Of A sonne that is founde to be another mans Eod. Of the losse of a Brother Folio 226. Of the death of a Freend Folio 227. Of the absence of Freendes Folio 228. Of greeuous Shyp wracke Folio 230. Of Burnyng Eod. Of Great labour and Trauayle Folio 231. Of A payneful Iourney Folio 232. Of One yeeres Barrennesse Folio 234. Of An euyl and proude Bayliffe Folio 235. Of Theft Folio 236. Of Robberies Folio 237. Of Coosynage and deceite Eod. Of A streyght and narrome dwellyng Folio 238. Of A Pryson Folio 239. Of Tormentes Folio 240. Of Vniust Iudgement Folio 241. Of Banyshment Folio 242. Of A mans countrey Besieged Folio 245. Of A mans countrey Destroyed Folio 246. Of the feare of loosyng in warre Folio 247. Of A foolyshe and rashe felowe in office Folio 248. Of an vndiscreete and hastie marshal of the Feelde Eod. Of vnfortunate successe in battayle Folio 249. Of Ciuile warre Folio 250. Of the disagreement of a waueryng mynde Folio 251. Of a doubtful State. Folio 253. Of Woundes receyued Eod. Of a kyng without a Sonne Folio 254 Of a kyngdome Lost Folio 255. Of Treason Folio 257. Of the losse of a Tyrannie Folio 258. Of Castles lost Folio 260. Of olde Age. Folio 262. Of the Gout Folio 267. Of Scabbes Folio 268. Of Watchyng Folio 269. Of the vnquietnesse of Dreames Eod. Of Importunate renowme Folio 270. Of Sorowe conceyued for the euyl manners of men Folio 272. Of Smal greefes of sundry thynges Folio 273. Of an Earthquake Folio 279. Of the plague farre and wyde ragyng Folio 280. Of Sadnesse and miserie Eod. Of the Toothache Folio 284. Of payne in the Legges Folio 285. Of Blyndnesse Folio 286. Of the losse of Hearyng Folio 289. Of the loathsomnesse of Lyfe Folio 290. Of Heauinesse of the body Folio 291. Of great dulnesse of wyt Eod. Of a slender and weake Memorie Folio 292. Of lacke of Eloquence Folio 293. Of Losse of the tongue and speeche Folio 294. Of want of Vertue Folio 296. Of Couetousnesse Folio 297. Of Enuie and Mallice Eod. Of Wrath. Folio 298. Of Gluttonie Folio 299. Of sluggishenesse of the Mynde Eod. Of Leâ—cherie Folio 300 Of Pryde Eod. Of Agues Folio 301. Of the 〈◊〉 e of the guttes and Traunce Folio 302. Of Sundry paynes and greefes of the whole body Folio 303. Of Madnesse Folio 309. Of Poyson Folio 310. Of the feare of death Folio 311. Of Voluntarie murtheryng a mans owne selfe Folio 315. Of Death Folio 319. Of Death before a mans tyme Folio 322. Of a violent Death Folio 324. Of a shameful Death Folio 326. Of a sodayne Death Folio 327. Of one that is sicke out of his owne Countrey Folio 328. Of one that dyeth out of his owne Countrey Eod. Of One that dyeth in sinne Folio 332. Of One dying that is careful what shal become of his inheritance and chyldren Folio 334. Of One dying that is careful what his wyfe wil do when he is dead Folio 335. Of One dying that is careful what wyll become of his countrey after his deceasse Folio 336. Of One that at his death is careful of his fame and good report Folio 337. Of One that dyeth without chyldren Folio 338. Of One dying that feareth to be throwen foorth vnburyed Folio 340. FINIS
so soone as euer it hath shewed it selfe as a pleasant flowre it vanisheth euen in the sight of them that woonder at it and prayse it it is quickely nipt with the least frost and beaten downe with a smal winde and eyther suddenly pinched of with the nayle of some enimies hande or ouerthrowen with the heele of some sicknesse passing by To be short vaunt and reioyce as muche as thou list behold he commeth apace that wyl couer thee in a thin veile How much the beautie of a liuing man is to be esteemed death declareth and not death only but olde age also and the space of a few yeeres yea one dayes fit of a sudden fetter Last of all to admit that no outward extremitie do happen by continuance it consumeth of it owne accord turneth to nought neyther dyd it bryng so muche delyght when it came as it procureth griefe when it departeth The same yf I be not deceyued dyd the beautiful Romane Prince Domitian prooue sometyme to be true who writing vnto a certayne friende of his Vnderstand sayth he that there is nothyng more acceptable then beautie nor more brittle And although it were durable and a gyft of nature that continued yet do I not see what there is in this glitteryng beautie whiche is no sounde thyng and which resteth only vpon the vppermost part of a man that shoulde be so muche desired whiche couereth many fylthy and horrible thyngs flatteryng the senses and deludyng them with a simple and sleight ouercastyng of the skin And therefore it is better to take pleasure in true and permanent good thyngs then in such as are false and transitorie Ioy. The beautie of my body is most excellent Reason Thou hast a veyle before thyne eyes a snare before thy feete byrdlyme vpon thy wyngs thou canst not easesily eyther discerne the trueth or folow vertue or mount aloft with thy mynde Beauty hath hyndred many from atchiuing honest exploites and turned them to the contrary Ioy. The beautie of my body is woonderfull Reason You say wel to call it woonderful for what is more woonderful then this vanitie From howe many delectable thinges doo fayre young men absteyne what trauayles doo they susteine how muche doo they punyshe them to the ende they may I say not be but appeare the more beautiful that only to set foorth theyr beautie not thynkyng vpon eyther theyr good health or pleasure How much tyme therewhile is there spent in eating and drinking how many honest profitable and lastly necessarie businesses are there neglected And therfore kepe vnto thy self this short and transitorie good vaine ioy that without enuie Thou hast thyne enemie at home and that which worse is a delectable and pleasant one thou hast that which wyl take away thy quietnesse and spende thy tyme and is a perpetual torment thou hast the occasion of payne and trouble a plentiful matter to minister dangers a maynteyner of lustes letcherie an entrance no lesse to purchase hatred then to procure loue Perhaps thou shalt be amorous to women but odious to men or peraduenture suspected For ielousie in wedlocke is by no meanes more kyndled then by bodyly beautie And nothyng is more ardently coueted then beautie nothing moueth the minde more forcibly therfore nothyng is suspecied more vehemently Ioy. The beautie of my body is great Reason The same is wont to enforce foolish young men to that which is not expedient for them while they thynke that euen as they lust so also it is lawfull for them to vse theyr present commoditie not regardyng what is meete and conuenient whiche thyng many tymes hath been the cause of a sharpe and shameful ruyne to many Ioy. The beautie of my body is alowable Reason It shal be so but a very short tyme seeyng that this coomlynesse colour of thy face shal be chaunged These yellow lockes shal fal away the other that remayne shal waxe hoarie the skalie wrinkles shal plowe the lothsome furrowes vpon thy tender cheekes and glysteryng forehead a sorowfull cloude shall couer the cheereful beames and shynyng starres of thyne eyes rotten raggednesse shal consume and fret away the smooth and whyte iuorie of thy teeth not changyng them only in colour but disorderyng them also in place thyne vpright necke nymble shoulders shal waxe croked thy smooth throte shal waxe curled thou shalt thynke that those drie handes and crooked feete were neuer thyne owne What neede many woordes the day wyl come in whiche thou wylt not knowe thy selfe in a lookyng glasse Of al these thynges whiche thou thinkest to be farre from thee to the ende that when they come thou shalt not be astonied at suche monstruous bugges say not but that thou hast ben forewarned And nowe I pronounce vnto thee that yf thou lyue these thynges wyll come vpon thee almost sooner then it can be spoken and if thou do now beleeue me thou shalt then lesse wonder to see howe thou art transfourmed Ioy. In the meane whyle my beautie is noble Reason What can I say more briefly then that saying of Apuleius Mandarensis Stay a litle whyle and there shal be no such thyng Ioy. Hitherto the beautie of my body is excellent Reason I had rather the beautie of thy mind were excellent For the beautie of the mind is a thyng far more precious pleasant and sure then is the beautie of the body consisting lykewyse of semblable lawes cumlinesse of order with apt and due disposition of the partes It is a woorthie matter to wish for that beautie and to imploy a mans trauayle in pursuyng the same which neyther length of tyme shal consume nor sicknesse extinguyshe nor death it selfe ouerthrow But now you haue mortal thynges in admiration Ioy. Truely at the leastwyse nowe my beautie is rare Reason In this as in many other thyngs a mediocritie is to be wyshed But yf thou neyther please thy selfe with this thy beautie neither endeuour to please others but with that which is comely conuenient shalt vse it chastly soberly and modestly thy commendation therby shal not be smally aduaunced Ioy. A beautiful face honesteth the mynd Reason Nay rather it prooueth it and oftentymes draweth it into daunger And why shouldest thou glory of that since it is neyther thyne owne neyther canst thou keepe it long which was neuer glorious vnto any to haue had it but vnto many to haue cast it of I let passe to speake of other Spurina was renowmed not for her natural beauties sake but for her procured deformitie Ioy. I doe indeuour that vertue of the mynde may be ioyned with the beautie of my body Reason If thou bryng that to passe then shal I say that thou art truely and in al respectes fortunate then shal thy beautie appeare more excellent and thy vertue more acceptable And although Seneca doo write that he seemeth vnto hym to be deceyued who sayth And vertue founde in body fayre the greater grace it beares yet
regarded Ioy. I till my land with great diligence Reason I had rather thou diddest till and husband thine owne selfe but thou being an earthly creature louest the earth whiche is no strange thing since thou thy selfe shalt make fatte that earth whiche now thou tillest Tyll and husbande as muche land and as many trees as thou lyst yet in the ende thou shalt not possesse very many feete of grounde neyther as sayth Horace Among those trees whiche thou husbandest and tyllest shall any followe thee their short Maister besides the hatefull Cypres trees Of pleasaunt greene VValkes The Lviii Dialogue IOY I Haue pleasaunt walkes Reason I confesse in deede that these somtyme doo bryng honest pleasure and somtyme vnhonest And therefore those that be studious of vertue and such as geue them selues to voluptuousnesse doo equally delight in shadowie withdrawing places For the place prouoketh some to wisedome and some to repentaunce and some to incontinencie and wantonnesse For it is not for nothing that the great Oratour when he obiected adulterie against a vile person described also the pleasantnesse of that place where the fact was committed as adding a spurre vnto the wickednesse and therefore we ought not to take delight in the place but to be merie in minde if it haue hapned vnto thee to haue such an one as knoweth well how to vse al places Ioy. I haue store of pleasant walkes Reason Who hath not heard of Tiberius secret walke and the withdrawing place of Caprea I am ashamed to recite the thinges that are knowen to al men The olde man Hircinus how doth he rayle against secret walkes How much more gloriously did Scipio Africane liue a poore banished man in the dry countrey then the Romane prince in al his pleasures I therefore repeate this agayne Al your felicitie consisteth not in places neither in any other thinges but in the minde only So that they whiche haue commended of the solitarie life and secret withdrawing places woulde haue it thus to be vnderstoode to witte yf the minde be able to vse them wysely and not otherwise And therefore I attende to heare what profite thou reapest of those thy pleasant walkes and then marke what I wyll pronounce thereof For if thou vaunt thee so muche of the places which yesterday were not thine and to morow perhaps may be taken from thee and if thou consider vprightly at this present are none of thine doubtlesse thou vauntest of that whiche is anothers What hast thou then to glory of What belongeth it vnto thee that the Alpes be cold in Sommer that the mountaine Olympus is higher then the cloudes that the hil Apenninus beareth wood and trees What though Ticinus be bright Athesis pleasant Sorga soundyng If these be prayses truly they are not the prayses of men but of places but it is thy part to minister iust matter of thine owne commedation Ioy. I walke in pleasant places Reason In the meane while it skilleth what cares doo walke in thy breast for what auayleth it to put stinking oyntmentes into iuorie boxes What to haue a foule mind in fayre places Howe many holy fathers haue florished among the rough mountaines How many filthy adulterers haue rotted in the greene medowes Moreouer it hath ben prooued that such places haue not only ben hurtful to mens mindes but somtimes also to their bodies liues not only by taking too much aire but also by the swoord sudden inuasion Who readeth not in Curtius of the most pleasant groues and woods the secrete walkes herbars which the kinges of the Medes planted with their owne handes the chiefest thing wherein the kinges nobles of the Medes bestowed their indeuours and tooke greatest delight as it is reported Howbeit in them at the commaundement of a drunken and frantyke young Kyng the auncient and noble Parmenio was stayne who as I suppose was the chiefe of the Dukes and Captaynes of the Macedones Who knoweth not Caieta and that bendyng of the shoare there a fayrer and pleasaunter place then whiche there is none vnder the Coape of heauen in whiche place the noble Cicero was murdered at the commaundement of drunken and cruell Antonie This place in some respect myght be conuenient for so woorthie a man that since the destenies had denyed hym power to dye at Rome he myght dye in that flouryshyng countrey the most flourishyng Oratour of all other and best citizen Howbeit the maner and auctour of his death was far vnwoorthie It was by chaunce that Cicero at that tyme walked in those places to auoyde the troubles of the citie and was after his maner eyther deuising some newe matter concernyng Philosophie or apparteyning to the course and trade of liuing or bewaylyng the common wealth The griefe of his minde which he conceiued of the state of his countrey he aswaged with the delight of his eyes when as the Butchers that were sent by him that was enimie to all vertue dispatched such a man out of the worlde as no age to come wyl restoare the lyke Thus therefore it hapneth that delectable places are most apâ— for treason and deceypt whilst men lyue there most loosely and haue least regarde to foresee daungers For the wylde beastes are sonest snared in the thickest wooddes and birdes are most easily limed in the greene twigges Ioy. I walke meryly in my pleasaunt walkes and voyde of care Reason Mirth and neglect of care are alwayes contrarie vnto heedefulnesse So long as euery man thynketh earnestly vpon his owne dangers and the common state of mans life there shall scarce any man lyue very merily or deuoyde of care And it is neyther the beautie of the places nor hope of ryches that can breede forgetfulnesse of mischiefes that are at hande Ioy. I take delyght to be abroade in my walkes Reason Not more delyght then doo the wilde Boares and the Beares It maketh not so muche matter where thou art but what thou doest The place shall neuer make thee noble but thou the place and that neuer ouherwyse then by attemptyng some notable matter therein Of Flockes and Heardes of Cattle The Lix Dialogue IOY I Ioy in my flockes and heardes Reason A brutishe ioy Ioy. I abounde in heardes and flockes Reason A beastly prosperitie whiche beastes haue procured Ioy. I loue flockes and heardes Reason In all loues it is to be suspected that there is some likelinesse betweene the louyng and beloued Ioy. I loue heardes and flockes Reason Ye loue euery thing sauing vertue and one of you another Those thinges which especially ought to be loued ye care not for those thinges whiche ye shoulde not esteeme ye loue Ioy. I loue heardes and flockes Reason O wretched louers of vile thynges and haters of the woorthie Ye loue those thynges whiche vnderstande not that they are loued neyther are able to loue you againe for you your selues doo not loue one another nor loue them that loue you and all this mischiefe commeth through couetousnesse that you not
it be the Phenix agayne for he among byrdes weareth a chayne and is moreouer the only byrde of his kynde But the Parrat beyng a great saluter and specially of prynces nature hath playnly made hym as it were a flatterer whereby this Disticon or two verses are knowen I Parrat wyll learne other mens names of you But I haue learned this of my selfe to say hayle Caesar Ioy. I haue a most eloquent Pye. Reason When as eloquent men are very seldome found hast thou a most eloquent Pye I confesse it is a pratlyng byrde and a diligent saluter whereof commeth this saying I pratling Pye doo call thee my maister with a perfect voyce If thou sawest me not thou wouldest deny that I were a byrde Veryly there be strange thynges I know not whether as true reported concernyng the diligence and desire to learne of this byrde But this aboue the residue is scarce credible that yf she forget the woorde whiche she is taught she is very much vexed and greeued which griefe of mynde she bewrayeth by her secrete meditation and yf she chaunce to call the woorde to her remembrance then waxeth she woonderful meery But yf through hardnesse of the worde or weaknesse of her memorie she be throughly ouercome many times she dieth for sorow so that now the Poet Homers death is to be counted lesse strange yf so it be true Howbeit all Pyes are not of lyke aptnes to learne but those only which receiue theyr meate and name with mast and are commonly called mast Pies Ioy. I haue gotten a pleasant singyng Nightyngale Reason Plinie the second reporteth that there are Nightingales also and Starles founde that are apt to be taught the Greeke and Latine tongues and moreouer that in his tyme there was a Chrushe in Rome that dyd imitate the speache of a man the lyke whereof was knowne commonly of late of a Starle whom it hath been thy chaunce to heare and woonder at many tymes euen in Plinies Countrey speakyng orderly many woordes togeather poyntyng and pronouncyng them lyke a man For as touchyng the Parrat it is nowe so common a thyng that it is no more to be marueyled 〈◊〉 Howe often hast thou hearde hym playnly call for meate How often calling his Feeder by his name and the better to perswade hym flatteryng hym with sweetenesse of gestures and woordes How often laughyng in suche sorte that he hath caused the standers by to laugh that it was thought not to be the laughter of a byrde but of a very man Whiche although it be so yet al these beleeue me but specially the Nightingale woulde syng more pleasantly vppon theyr owne boughes then in your Cages sauyng that your lust lyketh of nothyng but that whiche you haue made your owne although nature haue made al thynges common Thus couetousnesse stretcheth beyonde her owne bondes and her owne name Ioy. I haue gotten togeather innumerable store of birdes Reason Although thou haue many yea though thou haue al yet I thynke thou wylt lacke the Phenix whether there be such a byrde or whether there be no such byrde or whether we beleeue that to be true which some haue written to wyt how that vpon the foure hundred yeere after the building of the citie this bird flue out of Arabia into Egypt and being taken there was brought to Rome and there at an assemblie was shewed vnto the people and at length as it is like yenough died which last thing those graue writers doubt not but it is false which notwithstanding are in some distrust of the first And therfore when thou hast al kinds of birdes yet shalt thou lacke the most woonderful and beautiful birde of al. Sorowfully and angerly I iest with thee why do ye alwaies reioyce like children in vaine pleasures And as Solomon sayth Yee litle babes how long wil ye loue infancie Turne at the length vnto my correction as he also sayth For these are his woordes whiche I speake vnto you and O ye blynde wretches suffer the byrdes to lyue in the wooddes to breede to feede to syng and wander abrode and stretche you foorth the wynges of your slouhtful myndes vnto heauen and lyft vp your selues from the grounde endeuour not to catche byrdes but to become byrdes And omittyng these matters whereof I am ashamed to speake yf thou haue any thyng wherein it is meete for a man to reioyce vtter it Of the woorthinesse of Marriage The Lxv. Dialogue IOY I Haue married a noble Wife Reason I had rather thou hadst at home not onely Pies and Parrattes but Owles and Shritches They woulde sing she wyll chyde they would tell thee somwhat she wyll doo thee nothing thou myghst cast them of but her thou canst not Ioy. I am adorned with a noble marriage Reason Thou art tyed with a fayre chayne from whence death only can delyuer thee Ioy. I am happie by meanes of a noble marriage Reason Thou were more happie if it were by a chast marriage and most happie by a single lyfe Ioy. I am beautified with a goodly marriage Reason The choyce of a wyfe is hard a foule one is loathed a fayre one is hardly kept by reason that there is perpetual warre betweene the beautie of the body and chastitie of the minde But if that do happen whiche is most rare and honestie be ioyned with beautie I wyl then reason more largely with thee Admit she haue all other ornamentes of a woman nobilitie wysedome ryches fruitefulnesse eloquence good name and fame good and commendable behauiour yet know thou this that with these pride is entred intermingled into thy house So that it is not without good cause that the Satyrical Poet sayeth That he had rather haue Venusin◠then Cornelia that was mother to the Gracchi and daughter to Scipio Africane that was proude of her fathers triumphes and glory Ioy. I haue chaunced vppon a noble and honest marriage Reason What sayest thou of the pride and disdayne Art thou ignoraunt of the maners of women Learne to serue learne to suffer learne to loose thy deerest friendes thou must attende thy wedlocke only A wyfe is a dangerous rocke and destruction to friendshyp imperious and gouernour of the husbandes affections Ioy. I haue married a Gentlewoman to my wyfe Reason An heauie burden and hard fetters to weerie thy shoulders and feete which sometyme were free Greeuous to be spoken more greeuous to be thought on but most greeuous to be suffered a ghest not for one day but for thy whole lyfe and perhaps an enimie hath entred vpon thy house voyde of defence So that as I haue sayde the hope of the auncient remedie of diuorce beyng taken away death onely must set the free Ioy. I haue married a welbeloued wife Reason Thou art deceyued she hath married thee thou liuedst to long at thine owne libertie thou hast taken a wyfe to be thy Mistresse a tormentour to her Chyldren in law an enuier of her Mother in lawe a yoake to thy Houshold a burden
be fulfylled or wholy reiected and reputed among the most vylest thyngs Moreouer shame hath cured many which remedy happeneth to the most noble myndes whylest they seeke to auoyde infamie and irrision are loath to be poynted at as they goe in the streetes laying before theyr eyes the filthynesse of the thyng voyde of effect ful of shame ful of danger ful of iust causes of sorow and repentance last of al settyng false excuses and vayne perswasions aside to put on the true to wyt that neyther nature nor destiny nor starres beare any sway in this matter and finally nothyng but only a lightnesse and free iudgement of the mynde For it is in the choyce of hym that is sicke to be made whole so soone as he begynneth to haue a wyll to be whole and can finde in his harte to breake of the pleasant linkes of their sweete companie which is an hard matter to doo I confesse but possible to hym that is willing For as Cicero sayeth most grauely This is to be declared which is found to be in euery perturbation that it is nothing but in opinion in the iudgment and in the wyl For yf loue were naturall then all should loue should alwayes loue al loue one thyng and then shame should not deterre one and musing another and sasietie another For this last which is sacietie or fulnesse is by some numbred among the remedies and so is also a newe loue wherby the old is dryuen foorth as it were one nayle by another which although vnto Artaxerxes kyng of Persia whom the holy scripture calleth Assuerus it was put in mynd by friendes and found profitable by effect as Iosephus declareth the matter more at large I contend not of the euent but I speake of the choyce And therefore truely I haue ben of opinion that these two remedies haue sometyme been profitable but alwayes dangerous and yf with none of these nor with them al thou canst recouer then must thou in thy mynde run to the causes of the disease These as I suppose are the cheifest and greatest of al health beautie and good fauour ryches leasure youth And as contraryes doo best cure the diseases of the body so wyl they excellently remedy the minde also as sicknesse deformitie pouertie great businesse and olde age which is a worthy refourmer of the errours of youth These be my last remedies which are hard in deede but in respect of the greatnesse of the plague to be wyshed Of the byrth of chyldren The .lxx. Dialogue IOY I Haue chyldren borne vnto me Reason A double mischief and a domestical burden Ioy. There are chyldren borne vnto me Reason Thy wyfe is troublesome her Aunt more troublesome and her children most troublesome of al. Ioy. I haue chyldren borne Reason A most bytter sweetnesse gall annoynted with Hony. Ioy. I haue sweete issue borne vnto me Reason Thynke that there is sprong vnto thee at home a fountayne of grieuous cares thou shalt neuer lyue without feare and anguysh Ioy. I haue begotten children Reason Thou couldst before neither feare nor hope nor pray but now thou shalt learne to thy cost thou shalt learne also to take compassion vpon parentes bereaued of their chyldren and thou shalt learne to experiment long cares in thy short lyfe that now thou takest longer businesse in hande thou shalt learne to be greeued for the thynges that belong nothyng vnto thee and to dispose that which thou shalt neuer see To be short thou shalt learne to loue another more then thy selfe thou shalt learne to loue most ardently and to be loued most coldly whiche are hard matters Ioy. I haue chyldren Reason Now thou begynnest to vnderstande what duetie thou owest to thy parentes Ioy. I haue begotten chyldren Reason Thou hast planted a tree which must be husbanded with intollerable paynes whiche wyl keepe thee occupied as long as thou lyuest and whereof perhaps thou shalt reape either no fruite at al or late fruite and that peraduenture when thou art dead Ioy. I haue chyldren Reason If they be good a continual feare yf they be wycked a perpetual sorow in the meane whyle a doubtful comfort and an vndoubted care Ioy. I haue chyldren Reason Then hast thou whereof to be sory whyle thou art liuyng and to be knowne when thou art dead and wherefore thou mayest be willing to die often Ioy. I am the father of good chyldren Reason The better thy chyldren are the more daungerous is thine estate Thou knowest not what cause of sorowe thou hast purchased by begetting chyldren what entrance thou hast made into thy house for teares what power thou hast geuen vnto death and miserie ouer thy selfe O wretched mothers sayth Horace but O wretched fathers say I. Ioy. I am father of very good children Reason Thou shouldest wishe for death while thou art in this prosperitie lest that whilest thou lyuest thou surcease to be that whiche deliteth thee and at length with Nestor thou demaunde of thy felowes why thou hast lyued so long Ioy. I reioyce and am happie for that I haue wished issue Reason A troublesome felicitie a carefull ioy and many tymes sorowfull a miserable happinesse I coulde aleage many excellent men whose felicitie was by nothyng so much hyndred as for that they had chyldren Of a pleasant young childe The .lxxi. Dialogue IOY I Haue a pleasant young chylde Reason If so be that this myrth turn not to sorowe and the pleasanter thine infant is whyle he is present the more sorowful thou be when he is from thee Ioy. I haue a chyld of good towardnes Reason What if in nothing That age is of al other most frayle and is many tymes cut of in the middes of their flowre And as there is nothing more sweete so is there nothing almost more bitter Ioy. I haue a most flattering and pratling Infant Reason O take heede that these flatteries turne not into teares The sight and pratlyng of a young chylde is very pleasant I confesse and as it is written in Sta. Papinius â–ª their heauenly lookes and interrupted woordes after the maner of verses or mytre whiche whyle they are heard doo delight when they can be heard no more doo grieue and can not be remembred without sorowe Thus in all worldly thinges but in nothing more then in this bitternesse is euermore set against sweetenesse Ioy. I am delighted in my most pleasant Infant Reason I forbid thee not to be delighted that I may not withstand nature but I seeke for a meane in al thinges without which there is nothing wel doone I would haue thee to reioyce more sparingly that if thou haue occasion to be sorie thou mayst also more sparingly be sorie and I would wish thee to thinke that it may easily come to passe that thou mayest trust to a broken staffe or leane to a rotten wall which Adriane the Emperour is reported to haue sayde often when he had adopted Aelius who was a fayre chylde in deede and
for thy daughter a wyfe for thy sonne thou hast woon the peoples fauour with thy ambitious flatterie thou hast gotten theyr voyces thou hast prepared vnto thy selfe a redy way vnto ryches and honour there nowe remayneth nothyng but that thou reioyce in thyne owne felicitie This yf I be not deceyued is thy conclusion but myne is farre other wyse to wyt that thou dye It seldome happeneth vnto men to enioy long that which they haue gotten togeather with great diligence the toyle is long the vse is short Ioy. Nowe that my affayres goe forwarde prosperously I am in an assured state Reason Howe thou canst stande whyle thyne affayres goe forwarde see thou for I cannot perceyue Ioy. I reioyce nowe that my businesse proceedeth accordyng to my desire Reason Now therefore it is tyme to dye thynkest thou that there can any man lyue long meery heare Dye therefore while thou art meery before thou begyn to be sorowful I wyl nowe repeate agayne that whiche I haue sayde For the repeatyng of profitable thinges is not tedious but pleasant Dooest thou remember in Tullie what Lacon sayde to the auncient Diagoras Rhodius who at that tyme muche reioyced though vpon very lyght occasion whiche thou heardest before when we entreated of Palestrical exercises Die nowe Diagoras quoth he for thou canst not clymbe into heauen And truely it was grauely spoken For in this so great an alteration of thinges what can the mynde looke for more then to leaue to be mery and to begyn to be sorowful And therefore Diagoras very seasonably folowed his friendes counsel for in the sight and a middest the shoutyng and gratulation of the people in the middest of the embrasinges and kysses of his sonnes he gaue vp the ghost This Historie is written in the booke of the Attike nightes and in summe moe haue peryshed through ioy then sorowe Of all therefore that are wyse but specially that are in great ioy death is to be wyshed of whiche we ought alwayes to thynke but most of all in tyme of prosperitie and this cogitation wyll brydle al other Ioy. I haue taken payne and nowe I rest Reason Ye hope al for that but therein ye be all deceyued The course of your lyfe fareth otherwyse and the ende thereof answereth not your expectation This thy rest is eyther short or false or to speake more truely both and howe then carrye dreame any rest heare So dooth he that is in pryson dreame of libertie the sicke man of health and he that is hungrie of dayntie cheere but behold the last day is at hand whiche wyll shortly dryue away these dreames But be ye not deceyued by dreames and false opinions wherof the lyfe of man is full promyse not vnto your selues rest heare Beleeue me death is all the rest that men haue after theyr trauailes Ioy. I haue al thynges most plentifully that I thynke to be necessarie forâ—ine Reason All thinges more then needeful are wast superfluous but this is the maner of mans minde that professyng and ascendyng vpward to heauen burdeneth it selfe with so great care and studie as it is scarce neuer able to disburden it self againe so that being wayed downe with a forraigne burden whyle it endeuoureth to ryse vpward it falleth downe the earth is vnto it in steede of heauen Ioy. I haue abundaunce of al thinges and they be nowe in the Hauen Reason Then are they in the end of their course For this present lyfe is lyke to the troublesome Sea. The end of the one is at the shore and of the other in death so that they may be both well termed Hauens And truely the most part of men while they be careful in heaping togeather necessaries to lyue by in the chiefest of their preparation they are cut of by death and there is nothyng nowe more common then for death to preuent the carefulnesse of this lyfe it happeneth but vnto fewe to obteyne their desire and from these the vse of theyr dayly gaine is so soone taken away that the shortnesse of theyr ioy is an encrease of their sorowe wherof it is knowne that many haue complained at theyr death Ioy. Now that I haue ended my trauayles I lyue in securitie Reason So doth the foule flie safe betweene the line and the grin the fishe playeth among the hookes and the wylde beastes among the toyles Oftentimes whereas is most danger and least feare it is fortunes cunning to take away distrust that she may strike the more freely Ioy. I haue toyled al my lyfe tyme to the end I might take my rest at last Reason Thou hast placed thy rest securitie vpon a daungerous downefal hast liued in sorow to die in mirth wherein thou hast folowed no absurd gouernment concernyng thy lyfe and death so that we agree about the qualitie of the securitie and rest sorow and ioy Ioy. I haue prouided al things to furnysh my selfe whyle I lyue Reason Nay rather to make thy death more greiuous Thou hast wel prouided for the Phisitions they will shortly come thicke vnto thee pratling about thy bed There wil come also some to make thy Testament some to loke for Legacies some that wil dissemble their ioy counterfeite teares secretly curse that thy life continueth so long thy death approcheth no faster some wil marke the crisis or determination day of the sicknesse some the signes and tokens some wyl watch the golden carkasse All these goodes whiche in al thy lyfe tyme thou hast scraped togeather wyl be the meanes onely not for thee to lyue the better but to dye the more accompanied Thou hast not altogeather lost thy labour for thou shalt not lacke companie when thou art sicke neyther money for thy lust and superfluities neyther pompe for thy buriall Ioy. Now that I haue gotten al things I may take my rest Reason I sayd erwhyle thou soughtest rest and comfort of lyfe but thou hast founde payne and tediousnesse of death Ioy. I haue disposed all thynges and attained prosperitie Reason Thou hast heaped togeather a nest of most deceitfull and transitorie hope which so soone as it groweth to any ripenesse wyl flee away leauing thy hart voyde and sorowfull and many tymes it perisheth before it be fledge Ioy. After my long traueyle commeth quietnesse Reason Perhaps it wyll be as short as may be possible For often the trauel of many yeeres perisheth in a moment when as for the most part al procedinges are by degrees the endes of thynges are not seldome sudden Ioy. By long cares at length I am come to the beginning of securitie Reason Humane curiositie is very careful of the beginninges but is so blynde that it cannot foresee the ende A thycke miste of the tyme to come hath bleared the sight of mortal mens eyes Let our deliberation be the accomplishment of our fortune But to speake more truely it is the wyl of God in whose hands are al mens chaunces not such as in your
part of them through the fault of the geuers or receyuers are lost and cast away and that way vnto loue is more easie short and streight whiche I shewed thee before to wit to attayne vnto loue by leuyng in whiche while thou goest forwarde yf thou win the true name of a beneficiall person it shall make thee famous and beloued aboue expectation Ioy. I haue bestowed many and great benefites Reason Not what but how and with what minde thynges be doone both God and man doo respect great thinges are many tymes odious and meane thynges acceptable but aboue all the very naked hart only is accepted in the sacrifice and gyft of the poore Of loue of the people The .xciiii. Dialogue IOY THE people loue me Reason Stay awhyle and anone they wyll hate thee Ioy. The people loue me Reason Make no great hast the ende is not yet come for as one day so is the whole lyfe described by the ende Ioy. I am beloued of the people Reason Who was of them better beloued then the Scipioes then Camillus then Rutilius and Metellus What shall I speake of Themistocles or Milciades or of his sonne Cymon or Aristides What of Theseus of Solon of Hannibal or of Lycurgus These Citizens I say although they were neuer so dearely and neuer so short tyme beloued of their people notwithstandyng their endes are all knowen and this loue turned eyther into contempt or into hatred and requitall vnwoorthy of their desartes trauell at home and abroade accusation death exile imprisonment Ioy. Most part of the people loue me Reason The woorser sort then for there are but fewe good and it is knowen that the loue of euyll men is purchased by euyll meanes For yf a certayne similitude and lykenesse procure friendshyp as the wyse holde opinion thynke of thy selfe what thou art in that most of the people doo loue thee Ioy. The people loue me Reason A fayre Wynters weather Sommers ayre calmenesse of the Sea the Moones state and loue of the people yf all these were compared togeather for inconstancie the last shal beare the bell Ioy. The people honour me Reason With theyr lyps I thynke but theyr hart is far from thee for it is not more true vnto thee then to god The people doth seldome any thyng wyllyngly but raise tumultes and vprores Ioy. The people feare me Reason They wyl not doo so long For it soone decayeth that is not grounded vpon assured iudgement Ioy. The peoples good wyll is feruent towardes mee Reason Of an hot beginning many times commeth a warme middle and a cold end which may be seene in nothing sooner then in the good wil of the people Ioy. The people prayse me Reason The prayse of fooles is counted infamie among the learned Ioy. The people haue me in admiration Reason After some smal alteration they wyll despise thee for alwayes they holde one of the extremities but neuer the meane as fearyng hym whom they so account of for an enimie Ioy. The people doo reuerence Reason I woulde marueyle yf thou couldest prosper vnder so attendyng attenders Ioy. The people haue a good opinion of me Reason They vse to iudge on both sydes without discretion and therfore the verdict of the common people among true iudges is an argument of the contrary Ioy. The people esteeme wel of me Reason The estimation and iudgement of mad men is suspected of sounde wyttes I had rather the people knew thee not then so lyked of thee Ioy. The people speake much of me Reason And thou therfore art ouer credulus and carryed away with the populare ayre which although thou knowest to haue happened sometyme vnto great men yet is the vanitie neuer awhyt the lesse to reioyce in a slender and vncertayne state Ioy. The people haue me in admiration Reason And I also woonder at thee that thou ascribest this any deale to thy glory Ioy. The people loue me Reason This is no prayse to thee but thy fortune it is the peoples manner oftentymes to loue the vnworthy but from them many tymes they receyue a most woorthy reward of theyr vnworthy loue Of inuadyng a Tirranny The xcv Dialogue IOY I Haue inuaded a Tyrranny ouer my countrey men Reason Thou hast wel requited thy foolysh louers They aduaunced thee more then reason required and thou hast throwne them downe vnder the yoke of vniust seruitude Ioy. I haue taken vpon me a Tyrrannie Reason Thou hast depriued others of theyr libertie thy selfe of securitie and both of your rest Ioy. I haue obteyned a Tyrranny Reason A state of vndoubted trauayle of an vncertaine euent but for the most part infortunate I wyl not refer thee vnto auncient and forreine Histories What was the end of Alexander Phaeraeus what of Dionysius of Syracusae what of Phalaris of Agrigentum what of Anno the Carthagien what of Elearchus of Heraclea what of Aristotinus Ephirensis what of Nabis the Lacedemonian and lastly of Hipparchus the Athenian whose death purchased immortal fame to his murtherers Neyther wyl I send thee to new and domestical examples Cassius and Melius Manlius Citizens of Rome Catuline also and the Gracchi Apuleius not Tyrantes but affectyng a tirranny who were espied in theyr wycked attempts hyndred of theyr purpose and suppressed And lastly not vnto those who beyng greater not better cloked theyr cruel and vniust tyrrannie with the colour of a iust Empire namely Caius and Nero Domitianus and Commodus Bassianus and the residue of that crue who were Princes only in name and had both Tirantes mindes and Tirantes endes but I wyl rather refer thee vnto other whom in the remembrance of your fathers and grandfathers yea also of this present age this your region hath seene These that I may not weery thee with them that are farre of I would haue thee to consyder and behold and thou shalt see that the common and vsual ende of Tyrantes is eyther by swoorde or poyson and thou wylt confesse that the saying of the Saterical Poet is true Fewe Kinges and Tirants dye without murder and woundes or of a drye death without bloodshed Ioy. I possesse a tyrranny ouer my Citizens Reason A booty and slaughter house to fyl thy selfe with gold and with blood to gither with the gold lyke an hungry Crow and like the greedy Horsleach which wyll not let go the skyn tyll he be full of blood But with what countenance or what conscience doest thou either shead that blood which to preserue yf thou were a man thou shouldest wyllingly shed thine owne blood or extortest gold from thy Citizens to geue it vnto thy cruel tormentors spoiling them whom thou shouldest feede with thy ryches and enryching those from whom as thou readest thou shouldest by al meanes extort so smally are the examples and preceptes of your Elders regarded But this is one most vyle discommoditie in the lyfe of Tyrantes that they stand alwayes in feare of them whom they shoulde trust trust them that haue no
moles heapes of stones rubbish throwen into the rough and deepe sea hard rockes cut in sunder plaine fieldes throwen vp into hilles toppes of hilles made leauel with plaine fieldes to the one earth added from the other earth taken away and that so suddenly that the strangnesse of the wonder was nothyng inferiour to the violence done vnto nature to wit when death was the rewarde of delaying the woorke by which meanes hauing within one yeeres space consumed the great treasure of his predecessour Tiberius and all the riches of the whole Empire he was driuen to extreame pouertie and most shameful rapine Among these thinges I do not recken how that he had determined in his minde to make a cut through Isthmus the hyl of Corinth which although it woulde haue ben a woorke of great charges yet had it been profitable for sea faring men whereby the two seas had been made one and they that had passed from Brundusium to Athens or Chalcis or Byzantium shoulde haue auoyded the great crooke of Achaia Next followeth Nero matche and superiour vnto him in madnesse whose disordinate expences had no measure specially in building wherein he surpassed all prodigal fooles and him selfe also He was not more â—â—â—â—ful in any other thing then in this and therfore I wyll touch on◠〈…〉 numerable follies He buyided an house which reached froâ— the hyl 〈…〉 vnto â—sguiline and stretched also ouer a greâ—â—â—â—â—art of the citie so that not vnwoorthily among the tauntes reproches wherwith the people with most free indignation girded hym home this also was cast against him All Rome shal be one house ye Romanes depart ye to the Vehi yf so be that this house doo not also streatch vnto the Vehi This house he commaunded to be called the golden house not vnfitly declaring the price by the name For the house was seeled and knotted with precious stones and of such height that at the entraunce 〈◊〉 of stoode a Colossus an hundred and twentie foote high Within was a Gallerie and Hal seeled about with pendentes of Golde Iuorie and vpon the top deuises of strange workemanshyp with motions after the maner of heauen by litle and litle of their owne accord turning about day and nyght without intermission Also a Ponde like the Sea adorned round about vppon the shoare with buyldinges after the maner of a Citie Moreouer fieldes and pastures and vineyardes and woods replenished with al kindes of liuing thinges The middest of this house as far as could be coniectured was that place which is coÌ„monly called Colosseum whose ruines do yet at this day astonish the beholders and the more to augment the wonder of the matter all these thinges were in the very middes of Rome So that notwithstanding he seemed to him selfe not only not to haue exceeded but not yet to haue answeared the greatnesse that ought to be in an Emperours house insomuch as when he dedicated the house he made no greater wonder at it but said this much onely Nowe at length I begin to dwell lyke a man. I omit these trifles that he neuer ware one garment twice that he neuer went iourney with lesse then a thousande Charrets that his Mules were shod with shooes of siluer that he fished with a golden Net that his roapes cordes were made of sine Purple silke with many suche other matters exceeding credite and breedyng tediousnesse But who wyl not wonder at these thinges that readeth of them but more wonder if he beheld them the remnantes and tokens whereof remayne to this day The Fishponde that was begun from the bridge Misenus and should haue reached to the â—ake Auernus compassed and couered with wonderful galleries and the dytch that was cast from Auernus to Hâ—stia◠〈◊〉 so long distance of way and through so many sâ—â—lles wâ—â—â—e bringing the sea into it and sayling in it without the accidentes â—â—â—t happen on the sea he might auoyde both the toyle of traueyling by lande and the weerisomnesse of faring by water the length whereof as now the inhabitantes of those quarters doo accompt it is well knowne vnto al men but as Tranguillus reckneth is an hundred threescore mile the breadth was such that two Gallies might meete and one not touch nor hinder another Which woorke if he 〈◊〉 finished he had beggered al Italy and the whole Common wealth but that death onely prouided a remedie for so great mischiefes of the world After him followeth Aurelius Verus who that I may let passe other thinges made suche a supper that yf he woulde haue made the lyke dynner I knowe not whether the Romane wealth would haue ben sufficient Whiche thing when his brother Marcus Aurelius vnderstoode beyng as great a friend to modestie as this was enimie is reported to haue lamented taking compassion vpon the Common wealth and the Empire decaying I leaue others for these are too many and I knowe that there be some of you that wyll thinke these examples to be longer then neede and the remedies shorter then promise But sometime it delighteth a learned man or one that loueth learning and honestie to heare the madnesse of fooles whiche may be a warning for him to followe the contrarie and with al myght and mayne to eschew the lyke All these thynges tende to this ende that thou mayest recompt with thy selfe what it is wherein thou hopest to haue treasure answerable to thy charges For as good husbandrie and modestie require no great treasures so neyther treasures nor whole empires are sufficient for prodigalitie and riotousnesse And this cause hath not onely constrayned men of meane callyng but almost all Princes those I meane that haue followed the vayne of these latter times of necessitie to fall to rapine and extortion whiche hath geuen occasion vnto many of an hastened and miserable death Ioy. Are not so many Cities sufficient to beare one mans charges â–ª Reason Let these aunsweare thee of whom I haue spoken so muche and others innumerable whom the lyke plague hath brought to lyke confusion To conclude this most deepe denne of expences that I may so tearme it lyke as that gapyng pitte of Curtius in olde tyme can not be filled with any ryches but may be restrayned by vertue and specially by modestie Wherein it auayleth to remember that it is others goodes which thou wastest and in this poynt also it is profitable to cal often to minde the saying of the Emperour Hadriane which as it is read he was wont many times to repeate in his speaches vnto the people in the Senat That he would so gouerne the Common wealth as knowing that it was the peoples commoditie and not his owne A fytte saying for so worthy a Prince Ioy. I reigne and reuenge is mine Reason Truely it is not thine for he lieth not that sayd Reuenge is mine And verily if thou be a true King nothing is lesse thine then reuenge and nothing more then mercifulnesse I coulde wyshe that nature had denyed
there shal be no end of contention punishment neither shal weapons or lyghtnings ceasse Spare therfore be mercyful and moderate thy mind Do thou so vnto a man as thou wouldst haue another man yea God hym selfe do vnto thee Impudent is he that desireth pardon of his lord and maister and denieth the same to his felow seruant The Doctor Ecclesiasticus cryeth out disdaynyngly One man keepeth anger in store agaynst another and doeth he seeke for pardon at Gods handes He taketh no compassion vpon a man that is lyke to hym selfe and yet he prayeth for his owne sinnes Ioy. I do no iniury but reuenge Reason What skilleth it whether thou offend first or last It is not indifferent to mislyke that in another which thou lykest in thy selfe Wylt thou vse that crueltie which thou condemnest in thyne enimie and be lyke hym in manners whom thou art vulyke in mynde and folow that thy selfe which is worst in hym Ioy. I wyl and it is lawful for me to be reuenged Reason Thou oughtest neyther to haue a wyll neyther is it permitted by any lawe for although defence be lawful yet reuengement is forbydden it is written He that wylbe reuenged shal finde reuengement from god And againe as I sayd before Vengeance is mine and I wyl repay when I see good sayth the Lorde Tarry thou for that tyme let him reuenge thy quarrel who is Lord both of the offendour and the offended It is common among one lords seruants for one to know another yf thou haue any sparke of good nature in thee if thou haue any care to attayne to perfection rather wish than pray that he do not reuenge so shalt thou turne thine enemies offence to thine owne commoditie Ioy. I minde to be reuenged Reason Geue space to thyne anger geue tyme to thy determination bridle thyne affection put it of deferre the time eyther it wil slake or waxe colde One short houre appeaseth the raging sea Ioy. I wil bee reuenged Reason By one deede thou shalt offend manye one iniurye hath oftentymes made innumerable enimies Ioy. I wil be reuenged Reason Thou wylt hurt thy selfe more then thyne enimie Perhaps thou mayest destroy his body or riches but thou shalt cast away thyne owne soule and estimation Ioy. I wyll be reuenged Reason How often hath an iniurie been doubled by studie of reuengement Many times it hath been dangerous for him that hath been iniured to dissemble his only remedy yea many tymes to haue made complaint or but by a secrete becke to pretende that he susteyneth iniurie Ioy. I may destroy myne enimie Reason It is better to get a friend then to take away an enimie but to do both at once is best which is by no meanes more easily accomplished then by forgeuyng when thou mayest be reuenged The fittest instrument to take away an enimie is lenitie wherin if credite might haue ben geuen to the auncient and wise Herennius neyther had the late conquerous armie of the Samnites abode the Romane yoke nor the general Pontius with the residue first suffered the yoke and afterwarde alone the axe Ioy. I am much prouoked and mooued to reuenge Reason Resist that prouocation with godly thoughtes and al maner examples that may enclyne thy mynde to lenitie and specially by recomptyng the shortnesse frailtie of this lyfe for it seemeth vnto Seneca with whom I agree the most effectual remedie in his booke of the appeasyng of anger with whom accordeth the Doctour of whom I spake erewhyle For what meant he other where he sayth Remember the last thyngs and leaue of enmitie Doubtles this for there is nothyng that noorysheth enmitie more then forgetfulnesse of a mans state and condition For this man whose death thou so much thirstest be assured that without doubt he shal dye and that quickly perhaps to day and peraduenture although thou thynke it not thou mayest dye before hym Stay awhyle and moderate thy self that shal come to passe which thou desirest and that which thou fearest Howbeit the death which thou preparest for thine enimie is in making redy for him not by thy procurement What auayleth it to hasten the course of the swyft destinie and to embrue thy handes that shal dye with the blood of hym that shall dye It is not only a wicked part but also a needelesse matter agreeyng to thyne vngodlynesse to hasten the tyme that commeth apace which yf thou wouldest neuer so fayne thou canst by no meanes prolōg or defer how much more were it for thy quietnes honesty that he whole sound thou drie and innocent then that both of you blooddy thou shouldest depart hence hurtful and wicked Ioy. I am muche prouoked to reuenge Reason Beware thou yeelde not but set agaynst this prouocation the remembraunce of suche men as haue been not only mercyfull vnto theyr enimies but also fauourable and beneficiall and on the contrary side laye them before thine eyes who hauyng hewed theyr enimies in peeces and yet proceedyng to farther outrage haue wreaked theyr crueltie vpon senselesse carkases Then choose with thy self whom thou haddest rather be lyke and confer not only theyr deedes but theyr woordes also For there resteth no smal part of crueltie in the woordes Cruel is the foote more cruel the hand but of al most cruel is the tongue Many tymes that crueltie of the minde which the hand could not match the tongue hath surpassed As of crueltie so of mercyfulnesse the tongue is the best wytnesse Therfore let that saying of Hadriane of whom I made mention not long since and also of Tiberius sound in thine eare of whom it is written that when he heard that one that was accused called Carmilius had preuented his owne death he cried out aloud saying Carmilius hath escaped my handes O cruel voyce and if it may be so tearmed more cruell then the aucthour of the voyce What ordinarie punishment did he looke for at his handes whom he escaped being in prison by procuring his owne death with his owne handes Beholde therfore two persons of one calling but of dyuers myndes who vsed the selfe same worde but in sundry significations The one said vnto his enimie that was present Thou hast escaped my handes the other of his enimie that was absent Thou hast escaped my handes The one pardoned his enimies lyfe the other enuyed his enimies death Choose whiche of these twayne thou wyll haue reported of thee eyther the mercyfull saying of that good Prynce or the blooddy voyce of that cruel butcher And I am not ignorant that it is an easyer matter to commaunde these thynges to be doone then to do them and I know also what may be obiected against them to wyt That it is an harder matter to be mylde in the iniuries that are offered to hym selfe then to another hard it is I confesse but good And thou thy selfe canst not deny but that euery vertue consisteth in that which is good difficult vnto them that loue vertue al
agaynst enimies then agaynst vices He that hateth another man fyrst geueth a wounde to his owne soule and next many tymes vnto his owne body For to much greedinesse to hurt and strike others hath layde foorth many vnaduised and naked vnto theyr enimies Thus euermore the first part of al mischiefes turneth vppon the aucthours thereof and some tyme the last part when many tymes he remayneth vnhurt agaynst whom the mischiefe was first prepared Sorowe Warres ryse agaynst me on euery syde Reason The people of Rome was neuer more famous and holy then when they were busied in many and great warres Their peace was the beginning of their mischiefe for with it entred flattering lasciuiousnesse a pestilent enimie vnto vertue Sorowe I haue great enmitie Reason Great enmitie many tymes hath been the beginnyng of great friendshyp Sorowe I haue enimies Reason Haue also trustinesse and mercifulnesse as for other matters whatsoeuer shal happen prouide that thou be theyr superiours in curtesie and vertue There is also right iustice to be vsed with a mans enimies with whom so behaue thy selfe that thou doubt not but that thou mayest be reconciled into friendshyp with them And know that this is more holsome counsell then was Biants who wylleth a man so to loue his friendes that he remember also that they may become his enimies whiche saying although it be commended of others yet neyther I nor Tullie doo lyke of it For in deede it is a very poyson in friendshyp wherefore in hatred a man ought to think on loue not in loue to thinke on hatred and truely Aristotles counsell in his Rethorickes is farre to be preferred before Byas aduice A man shoulde not as men commonly speake loue as though he shoulde hate but rather hate as though be shoulde loue Whereof Arislotle wrytyng reproueth Bias hymselfe and also his subtyle and malicious counsell Sorowe I haue enmities Reason But haue them agaynst thy wil let a louyng hart of peace dwell alwayes in thine armed breast and so goe to warre that thou mayst seeme to be constrayned thervnto least haply humanitie geue place vnto hatred or least thou studie more for reuenge then for glory or health Thou knowest that Hanibal was more hateful to the Romanes then was Pyrrhus when as both of them were enmities and Pyrrhus first inuaded Italy but not to the entent to destroy it vtterly as dyd Hannibal but only to requyre it We must conquere by all the meanes we can that in euery action true vertue may appeare so that it may seeme that nothyng els is sought for by war then honest peace Of occasion lost to reuenge The .xxxiij. Dialogue SOROWE I Haue lost my wyshed occasion to reuenge Reason From whom sinne is taken nothyng is taken but much is added for certayne thynges which men haue to be taken from them is a gayne but to withstand them that they may not be had at al is a greater vauntage Sorowe I haue lost the meanes to be reuenged Reason An happy losse to loose that whiche may hurt thee Sorowe I am prohibited of my hoped and wished reuenge Reason The chiefest point is to haue a minde not to doo euyl the next to be prohibited Sorowe I must of necessitie loose occasion of reuengement Reason If it be a notable kynde of reuenge not to haue a wyll to reuenge it is an excellent necessitie not to be suffered to reuenge It is the chiefest point willingly to embrace vertue the next to be constrayned therunto Sorowe I am sory that reuenge is taken from me Reason The tyme wyll come peechaunce shortly when thou mayest reioyce and that thou wouldest not wyshe that it had hapned otherwyse Many when they come by occasion vnto any thing at length they begyn to haue will vnto it and to loue it and theyr liking groweth vpon necessitie and when it beginneth to be a wyl it surceasseth to be a necessitie Sorowe I thought I could haue ben reuenged but I could not Reason Not to be able to doo euil is a great power this qualitie is proper vnto the almightie Sorowe Present reuenge is fallen away from me Reason Thinke that thou hast let fal a snake out of thy hand take heede that he creepe not into thine hand agayne There is nothyng so coutrary vnto a man as vngentlenesse By this he surceasseth to be a man whiche to be so the name it selfe declareth there is no sicknesse so contrary no not death it selfe For death hapneth by the course of nature but this far contrariwise To shew crueltie vnto a man is contrary vnto the nature of a man although it were deserued a man ought not to folowe the motion of a wounded mynd and by the remembrance of a priuate griefe to forgeat the instinct of the common nature Sorow I shall be sory for euer that I was restrayned from reuenge Reason Perhaps thou shalt reioyce for euer How often thinkest thou after enmitie layd a part and friendshyp concluded haue some abhorred theyr friendes in the middest of theyr embrasinges thus thinking with them selues this man I wished at the Deuyl and I lacked but litle of bryngyng my wicked desire to effect O happie chaunce to howe good a part hast thou conuerted my cruell meanyng Sorowe I cannot be suffered to wreake my iust wrath Reason A man shall scarce fynde iust anger forasmuche as it is written Mans anger woorketh not the righteousnesse of God and agayne it is said by an other Anger is a short madnesse It is best therefore not to be angrie at all and next not to reuenge but to bridle anger that it cary not away the mynde whyther as it is not seemely the thirde is not to be able to reuenge if thou wouldest Sorow I haue lost notable occasion to be reuenged Reason Pardon which is more notable is left vnto thee and also forgetfulnesse which is most notable of all The same made Iulius Caefar renowmed among all Princes Great innumerable were this worthie Emperours conquests his triumphes most glorious his excellencie in chiualrie incomparable his wyt most excellent his eloquence notable the nobilitie of his progenie the beautie of his personage the valure of his inuincible mynde surpassing but when thou hast heaped togeather all his commendations thou shalt finde nothyng in hym more excellent then his mercifulnesse and forgetfulnesse of offences which although it procured vnto hym the cause of his death so that the saying of Pacunius was iustly song at his buriall It was my fortune to saue some that there might some lyue to destroy me neuerthelesse since that he must of necessitie die in suche a cause death was in a maner to be wyshed Of the peoples hatred The .xxxiiij. Dialogue SOROWE THe people hate me Reason Then hast thou the ende of the multitudes fauour whereof I forewarned thee to wit hatred for loue Sorowe The people hate me without a cause Reason Thou woondrest that they hate thee without a cause who
may feede my cattayle and I my selfe wyll resolue thee in this matter Then he answeared that it was impossible But she sendyng for such Noble men and Gentlemen as dwelt neere hande and causyng hym to geue his woorde for the perfourmance of his promyse helde vppe her young sonne in her armes and Is this my chylde in deede myne sayde she And when they all answeared yea she stretched foorth her armes and delyuered hym vnto her husbande and heere sayde she take hym I geue hym thee freely and nowe be assured that he is thyne Then al that stoode by brake foorth in laughter and gaue iudgemente on the womans syde and condemned the husbande by all theyr verdictes Such contentions and lamentations are thereto often among men they be hastie to marriage yea slipperie and headlong you thynke you shall neuer see the day wherein you shal be husbandes that is to say men as though otherwyse you shoulde neuer be men Then beyng resolued in ioyes or to speake more truely in madnesse the fyrst dayes of your marriage you spende in reuel route feastyng and daunsing among your weddyng solemnities with pastimes and songes and minstrelles and the residue of your lyfe you spende in suspition and braulyng In both you are to blame For neyther ought you in suche sorte to loue so doubtful a thyng neyther to abhorre so inseparable a thyng nor to hate so louely a thyng and by deceiptfull coniectures so to confounde the moste sacred lawes of the diuine and humane house and dissolue the moste entyre bondes of this lyfe Sorowe Yea my wyfe her selfe hath confessed that he is none of myne Reason Thou tellest me this as yf it were some syngular matter but it is common some confesse so muche whyle they are lyuing and some when they lye a dying among whom some haue wylled to haue it imparted vnto theyr husbandes after theyr departure Sorowe Myne owne wyfe hath conâ—essed vnto me that he is 〈…〉 my sonne Reason Olimpias that was wyfe vnto the renowmed kyng Phillip of Macedonie confessed as muche vnto her husbande whiche myght haue tended vnto the destruction of her valiant sonne and yet we reade neyther of teares nor sighes nor complayntes among them all Nowe hearken to a meery tale but not vnfyt for our purpose Not far from the Ocean Sea shore whiche lyeth right ouer agaynst Britaine not very many yeeres agoe report goeth that there was a certayne poore woman fayre and well fauoured but a notable Harlot who had twelue small chyldren by as many seuerall men one of them but a yeere elder then other But beyng sicke when she perceyued that the houre of her death was come she caused her husband to be called vnto her and this is no tyme sayde she nowe to dissemble any longer there is none of all these chyldren thyne but the eldest only for the first yeere that we were married I lyued honestly It chaunced that at the same time al the children sate on the ground about the fire eating according to the maner of the countrey At which woordes the good man was amazed and the children also that hearde their mothers communication whose fathers she reckoned al by name as they were in order of yeeres Which thyng the youngest of them all hearyng who was then but three yeeres olde immediatly layde downe his bread which was in his ryght hande and the Rape roote whiche he had in his left vppon the grounde besyde hym and tremblyng with feare and holdyng vp his handes after the maner of them that pray Now good mother quoth he geue me a good father And when in the ende of her speache she had tolde who was father to the youngest to wit a certayne famous ryche man takyng vp his bread and meate agayne in his hand That is well sayde he I haue a good father Of the losse of a brother The Lj. Dialogue SOROWE I Haue loste my brother Reason Yet I heare no cause why thou shouldest be very sory For Ouid sayth to true that there is seldome agreement betweene brethren Sorowe I haue lost my brother Reason It may be that thou hast at once lost both a brother and an housholde enimie Loe see then what thou hast lost an yll thyng couered with a good name Sorowe I haue lost a brother Reason Perhappes thou hast lost hym that hath wyshed thee lost and that alwayes resisted thyne attemptes Brothers hatred hath hyndred many from the entraunce vnto great commendation Sorowe I haue lost a brother Reason Thou hast lost peraduenture an heauie yoke as oftentymes we haue seene it fal out vnto the tender yeeres of thy chyldren thou hast lost also the enuier of thy lyfe the hynderer of thy glory and also which is euident the partner of thy patrimonie Sorow But I haue lost a vertuous and louyng brother Reason But a mortall one Vertue is no defence to the body but an ornament to the mynde and a procurer of immortall glory but as for the body she cannot exempt it from the power of death but rather thrusteth it forwarde many tymes thereunto before due tyme but yf he be left vnto nature good and had doo perysh a lyke and most commonly we see the best men weakest and the woorst long lyued but none immortall Sorowe I haue lost a good and gloryous brother Reason If thy brother be dead the glory vertue soule remaineth in safetie which only excepted death consumeth and destroyeth all other worldly thinges with lyke violence These therfore embrace thou as yf they were so many sonnes of thy brother with these immortal good things requite the mortal euil but if he haue sonnes liuing vnfeigned duetifulnes shal make them thine Sorowe I haue lost a good brother Reason Thou shouldest haue employed hym diligently which if thou diddest necligently his death is not to be blamed but thyne owne slouthfulnes Death hath exercised his power but thou hast slacked thyne oportunitie Sorow Death hath deceiued me for I thought not that he woulde haue died so soone Reason All thinges that happen vnto them that are vnwillyng seeme to come quickly but if they be wished for they come but slowly Sorowe I scarce thought that he could haue died Reason Vehement loue beareth with it selfe in al things and promiseth it selfe euery thyng vnpleasant thoughtes whatsoeuer is noysome vnto cast it escheweth insomuche as whosoeuer is in loue imagineth vnto hym selfe that his pleasures are in a maner euerlastyng thou since thou knewest that thy brother was borne oughtest also to knowe that he was mortall and therefore yf thou bewayle his tymely death as some sodaine matter thou art much deceyued but if as it were vntymely thou wast in a wrong opinion Sorowe I knewe that he was mortall but I thought not vpon his death Reason Vnwysely doone but this is your dissimulation beyng mortall ye thynke neuer to dye when as you may chaunce to dye euery day and needes you muste dye one day Yea rather it is the
vnchaungeable necessitie of the law of your nature that you can neuer be other then suche as muste oye whiche necessitie muste continually remayne with you but you dying euery day turne away your senses from the thynges that are present and your mynde from the ende that wyll ensue This is a common mischiefe whiche what is it other then wyllyngly to shut your eyes that they beholde not the beames of the Sunne as though it were hurtful aswel to the lyght as it is to the eyes not to beholde it and that that were as euident whiche you see not and that as true whiche you knowe not Who is so blynde that seeth not this or so blockyshe that vnderstandeth it not The infyrmitie of the senses or vnderstanding withdraweth nothyng at all from the trueth of thinges As for you yee are neyther weake nor dull but wherein you cannot be excused egregius dissemblers and very wyse to deceyue your selues who with so great diligence learne vnprofitable thynges and endeuour to be ignorant of necessarie matters but all in vayne for they steale vpon you though your eyes be shut and inuade your myndes that are desyrous to be ignorant and disquiet your memories that are wyllyng to forget and many thynges aryse dayly in the lyfe of man whiche constrayne you to thynke vppon them when you woulde not and whiche doo awake your dissimulations eyther by your priuate or forreigne argumentes but I confesse that death only at full confuteth all the follies of mortall creatures Sorowe I knewe that my brother was mortall and shoulde dye neuerthelesse I weepe for his death Reason The greater part of humane actions is superfluous Why weepest thou for his death What doeth this weepyng auayle hym or thy selfe or any other Admit death be euyll whiche the learned denye truely no man wyl denie but that weepyng is in vayne for that whiche cannot be recouered And veryly yf any thyng myght be tearmed wretched besyde the vyce of the mynde yf there be any thyng in all the worlde to be wept for it ought rather be lamented whyle it is commyng at hande then when it is past whiche that Kyng conceyned ryght well of whom I spake not long before Sorowe I am grieued for the death of my good brother Reason There is no affection more tender then a fathers and therefore that whiche is sayde of the death of a sonne applie it thou to the death of thy brother and that whiche may be sayde of them both is proficable in the death of a mans friende whiche losse although it be matcht with the greatest it muste be abydden as of al other thynges for all suche thynges as appeare vnto vs grieuous are to be suffered by one and lyke courage of mynde although a man woulde thynke that they woulde quite oppresse hym Sorowe I haue lost a moste louyng brother Reason It had been woorse yf thou hadst loste a most hatefull brother For the loue of the one and the remembraunce of the other is very pleasant Sorowe I haue loste a companion most pleasaunt vnto me euen from his tender youth I am nowe left aloue Reason He is not a lone with whom vertue and honestie doo remayne betweene whiche twayne death hath not forbydden the Image of thy brother to be fastened harde vnto thy hart-stringes so neyther thy brother is lost nor thou alone Of the death of a freende The Lij Dialogue SOROWE I Haue lost a freende Reason If thou hast loued vertue in thy freende as thou oughtest truely she is not loste nor dead and therefore it is sayde that true freend shyppe is immortal for that it is neuer broken eyther by the fallyng out of freendes or els by death it selfe and thus vertue ouercommeth discorde and all vyce but she her selfe is neuer ouercome by any thyng Sorowe I haue lost a freende Reason All other thinges when thou hast lost them thou hast them not but when thou thynkest thou hast lost thy freendes and thy best beloued then hast thou them most assuredly For thynges whiche are present be delicate I wyll not say weerysome yea and many tymes arrogant and offended with very small trifles but the remembrance of freendes is pleasant and sweete hauyng in it nothyng that is bytter or contrary to delyght Sorow I haue lost a very good freende by death Reason If thou complayne of the losse of commodities thou makest accounte of profite and not of freendshyp If thou complayne of thy dayly conuersation with hym remember howe short tyme freendes remayne togeather and howe muche tyme we spende in cares howe muche in syckenesse howe muche in sleepe and pleasure howe muche is spent in entercourse with straungers how many heapes of cares Finally what businesse what studies what leasure and what troubles sometymes of another mans and sometymes of a mans owne and also the continuall and inuincible necessitie of manyfolde matters from whiche no prosperitie is exempt doo withdrawe some thyng from our desired conuersation how many seldome meetynges howe short and carefull abydynges howe sorowfull departynges howe late returnynges what stayes what impedimentes what deceiptes With this and suche lyke difficulties of lyfe fetters of freendshyp whiche may easily be brought into a mans remembrance thou mayst vnderstande howe great a matter it is whiche death hath taken from thee For if thou may this alone in freendshyp which is the only perpetuall and stable foundation thereof truely death could there take nothing away Thou hast hearde in Marcus Tullie of Lelius comforting him selfe howe his freende Scipio lyueth yet to him how fresh he is in his minde that neyther the fame nor the vertue of his freend any time dieth What forbiddeth but that thy freend Scipio liueth now vnto thee But you because ye cannot be Scipioes or Lelies ye be not men neyther for that ye cannot atteyne to the highest ye dispaire of the meane or contemne it as though as in Poetrie so in vertue neither men nor the gods could aspire vnto a mediocritie Sorowe Death hath taken away my friende from me Reason Death is able to take away thy friendes body but as for friendshyp and friend he is not able For they are of the kynde of thinges that are not subiect to death nor fortune but to vertue the whiche among humane thynges is free only is able to geue freedome vnto whatsoeuer is subiect vnto her and as for a friende he should not be of so great price yf he coulde be so easily lost Sorowe I haue remayned without a friende Reason If thou do ryghtly honour friendshyp thou shalt neuer lacke olde friendes nor be destitute of newe yea suche is the opinion hereof that it wyl purchase thee friendes of thyne enimies There was nothyng that more recōciled Augustus the Emperour vnto Herode then for that he professed that he was moste friendly affected vnto Augustus enimie and that by meanes of hym he hated Augustus most extreamely for whiche cause Augustus iudged hym woorthy of
his friendshyp who with so great trustinesse had honoured the friendshyp of his enimie so great is the beautie of vertue and friendshyp that we are delighted therwith euen in our enimies and enforceth a man to loue hym of whom he knoweth hymselfe to be hated Sorowe My most faythfull friende is dead Reason Thou muste bury hym in thy remembraunce where he may secretely remayne with thee and neuer dye altogeather Whom yf thou hast lost by any other meanes then by death then hast thou not lost a friende but a false opinion of friendshyp Of the absence of friendes The Liij Dialogue SOROWE I Am greeued for the absence of my friendes Reason It hapneth so many tymes but he that hath learned to take indifferently the death of his friende may somewhat more moderately beare his absence neither can the absence of a friende ouerthrow him whom the death of a friende could not ouerthrowe Sorowe My most deare friend is absent my right hand and my right eye Reason Though he were so absent that he woulde neuer returne yet woulde I say that there is nothing but a man ought to take it indifferently but he wyl come a gayne and thyne integritie shal be restored vnto thee Sorowe My frende is absent the one moitie of my selfe Reason Horace the poet tearmeth Virgil the one halfe of his soule whiche phrayse beyng afterward vsed of many is nowe growen into a prouerbe But if a freend be not naturally only but ciuilly also had in possession wherein doth absence hurte frendshyp but that wheresoeuer thou be he may sit walke talke and confer with thee in pleasant and serious matters For if ye sawe nothing else but what lyeth before your eyes and only the thinges that are present delited you then should your sight be very short and narrowe Sorow I am sorie for the absence of my sweete freende Reason But you vse rather to be sorie for the absence of beloued then sweete thinges Hearken now vnto that which wil scarce enter in the common peoples eares It is a strange case howe ticklish and loathsome somtime is the presence yea of mens dearest freendes manie times men are offended at a smal matter and those whom they loue berie wel or whose presence they earnestly desire not only their friendes but also their brethren or children for that perhapes they are some hindrance vnto their studies and businesse they had rather sometime that they were absent In their absence there is nothing bitter nothing that greeueth our desire but that they are away whiche notwithstandyng thou canst not deny to be pleasant Sorowe The absence of my belooued frende greeueth me Reason This is a common thing I confesse among women suche as loue after a womanish maner whose whole delite consisteth in the senses Notwithstandyng of these the poet spake where he saith He that is absent heareth and seeth another that is absent Which if it be so why should not also a freende see and heare his freende that is absent vnlesse peraduenture your eyes be more bright and cleare to beholde the visions of lasciuiousnesse then of vertue or els there is more honoure to be ascribed vnto mad then chast loue which besides honest and quicke thoughtes which no distance of place nor necessitie of force can restrayne to wander and be conuersant where soeuer it pleaseth them there is a prouision made by the benefite of sendyng letters then whiche I knowe not whether there be any presence more acceptable Marcus Cicero was in Rome whyles wryting vnto his brother Quintus Cicero who as deputie gouerned the countrey of Asia when I reade thy letters sayth be me thinkes I heare thee speake and when I wryte vnto thee me thinkes I talke with thee And anon exhortyng hym vnto the excellencie of glory he sayth that he hath founde it very effectuous in al his woorkes and deedes to imagine vnto hymselfe that his brother was present with hym I cannot tel whether he were at Athens or in some other place where Epicurus was present whyles wryting vnto his freende So behaue thy selfe in al matters sayth he as if Epicurus hym selfe beheld thee Truely Anneus Seneca was in Campania whiles by his letters communing with his freend that soiourned in Sicilia he exhorteth him to studie to dyne and walke with him which he coulde not do but in minde only and thervnto wanted neyther the assistance of the eyes nor of the eares nor of the handes nor of the feete Sorowe Myne eyes do greedily requyre myne absent freende Reason I cannot deny but that by absence there is some delite taken from the eies but nothing from the minde neyther from the eyes in a manner as I sayde before yf it be true freendshyp From hence it commeth that in the same Poet we reade commende this saying Pallas Enander they al stande before his eyes And Cicero hym selfe also in a certayne epistle sayth that he beareth not onely in his minde his freend Balbus who serued vnder Caesar in Fraunce but also in his eyes Sorowe My freende is absent Reason Sometyme a freende is not knowen vnlesse he be absent As in al other thinges so lykewyse in freendshyp great plentie dulleth the sense and scarcitie sharpneth it And yf the schoolemaister of loue sayth that intermission of loue is profitable vnto louers whose vniuersal pleasures consist in presence why should not the same also be auaile able vnto freendes whose whole delite is reposed in vertue and feeleth no discommoditie in absence since it is present in euery place Do not therefore geue ouer vnto desire but embrace thy freend in thy remembrance whom neither departure nor death it selfe can take from thee Sorowe I suffer greeuously the absence of my sweete freende Reason Suffer it onely and confirme the softer partes of thy minde with present vertue For this bitter absence whiche thou nowe bewaylest perhappes in time shal make thy freende more deare vnto thee and his presence more acceptable Of greeuous shypwracke The liiii Dialogue SOROW. I Haue been tossed in a greeuous shypwracke Reason Thou tellest me of the shypwracke on the sea but as for the wracke of the minde thou speakest nothing of it as though there were any more greeuous or common There is the tempest of desires and affections as if it were of contrarie blusteryng windes which when the sayles of your concupiscences and hope are hoised and spread bearing away the helme of the minde and leesing the ankers of constancie in the deepe sea driueth you about vnto al coastes and ouer al seas that wracke it was that draue thee into this Take away desire and thou shalt take away this sayling for the most part or at leastwise the danger therof the same driueth men not only into ships but miserably vpon rockes and death it selfe And therfore for the most part al that by their owne seking perish in the sea haue first perished in the minde and were first ouerwhelmed by the waues of
as are certaine people vnder the South and North poles therefore among the Scithians as thou seest it is written there is no offence more greeuous then theft And the reason is this that if men there myght robbe freely among the woods what should remaine to the owner Sorowe Theeues steale my goodes Reason They would haue them be theirs and thou forbiddest not thynke therfore that thy necligence is punished and that by this losse thou art taught to keepe thine owne profitable matters are not taught for naught Sorowe Theeues doo very muche trouble me Reason Truely they are an importunate kynde of men worthyly hated of all that are vertuous not only as pestilent but also as vyle persons And knowe this that it proceedeth of none other then a great basenesse of mynde that any man is drawen vnto so vyle a wickednesse And therefore not without good cause Aurelius Alexander who was a young but a vertuous Prince fell so much in hatred of theeues that as Helius Lampridius writeth of hym if he had seene any such he had his fynger redy to plucke out one of his eyes Suche was his hatred agaynst those that were infamous for Theeuery that yf by chaunce he sawe any of them his spirite was so inuaded agaynst them that immediatly he was prouoked to vomite out choler his face being so enflamed that he coulde not speake a woord Truely a notable disdaine of a valiant mind and a shameful filthinesse in the theeues whiche was able so sodenly to moue the stomacke of so high and excellent a prynce vnto lothsomnesse and vomiting Yea moreouer when as on a tyme a certayne noble man being accused of theft at lengh through great fauour of certaine Ringes that were his freendes had obteyned to be sent foorth to warfaire and was immediatly taken with theft agayne for they that are geuen to that vice through custome are neuer able to leaue it Alexander demaunded of the kynges which had preferred hym what punishment there was for theeues in their countreyes Whereunto when they answeared hangyng he caused hym forthwith by theyr iudgment to be hanged Sorowe I am molested with theeues Reason Circumspection and diligent heede takyng are good remedies agaynst theeues but the best of al is pouertie As long as a man hath any thing that they do lyke of he can not wel escape their handes or eyes Wouldest thou be out of the feare of theeues be poore then Of robberies The .lxi. Dialogue SOROWE I Am spoyled by theeues Reason Although as I suppose it be written in the ciuile lawe that there is no theefe woorse then he that taketh away a thing by force yet notwithstanding priuie pilferers be woorse in my opinion These theeues do woorke by craft but those by open violence And therfore after the opinion of Cicero these are likened to foxes and those to Lions And moreouer these theeues do spoyle men of their goods but they leaue suspicion behinde them But to be robbed by good felowes suffiseth in a maner they leaue no suspicion behinde thē Sorow I haue fallen into the hands of theeues who haue left me naked Reason Iulius Caesar fel into the hands of theeues also by whom he was not onely spoyled but also taken prisoner and set at a great raunsome for his delyuerie euen he that was afterwarde lorde of al the world although the reuenge whiche shortly folowed comforted hym muche in this aduersitie whiche is no smal aswagement of iniuries Regulus that was so often a conquerour fel into the hands of his enimies who put him to a most cruel death to the great and greeuous losse and daunger of your whole Empire Likewise Valerianus the Emperour fel within the daunger of his enimies who to the great dispargement of the whole Empire constreyned hym to leade foorth his olde yeeres in most silthy and shameful seruitude Thou yf thou be nothyng but robbed geue thankes to fortune and the theeues that robbed thee for leauing vnto thee thy lyfe and libertie For theeues haue no greater benefite then that which Cicero maketh mention of in his Philippikes for that they can say they haue geuen them their lyues from whom they haue not taken them Take thou therefore this thy fortune in good part which is common vnto these notable personages and many other famous men whiche yf it were compared with theirs would appeare much more easie and to be wished and desire not to be more happie then they that are called the most happie of al men Of Coosinage and deceit The .lxii. Dialogue SOROW. I Am deceyued by coosiners Reason Doest thou marueyle at it I shoulde rather marueyle if by keeping company with men thou couldest escape vnhurt For what man is he that deceiueth not another Trustinesse is bannished and deceit beareth the soueraintie and is this the first tyme that thou hast consydered this Not with so great studie do the hunters lay suares for wylde beastes nor the foulers set ginnes to take byrdes as craftie coosyners seeke meanes to deceyue the simple Whiche if it were euer true now is it most true in this your age A man may poynt with the finger vnto maisters of craft and he is counted the wysest that is most cunning in deceyuing Wouldest thou therefore not be deceyued Dye then or auoyde the companye of men Sorow I am craftily circumuented whereas I neuer feared it Reason If thou haddest feared it perhappes thou haddest not been so easily deceyued and now think with thy selfe whether thou also euer deceyuedst any man For ye be al of you for the most part prone to deceyue and reason woulde thou shouldest take that with more indifferencie at another mans handes whiche thou thy selfe hast done before to another But you consider not what ye do to others and cannot abide that which others doo vnto you so that in al thynges ye be most vniuft iudges Sorow I haue suffered a losse through the deceite of my freende Reason Herein as in many thinges els thou art abused for in freendshyp there is no deceit And in this poynt also ye be commonly deceyued supposing them to be freendes that are not and by experiment ye easily fynde that freendshyp is a most inestimable holy thing so ouer curious ye are in trifles that by once banketting or communing togeather you get a freende whom so soone as you haue gotten ye loose hym yf that may be called lost whiche you neuer had And then afterward ye complayne that ye are deceyued by your freendes and bryng this slaunder vpon freendshyp that is giltlesse of any suche deede Sorow I am damnified by deceyte Reason It hath done many good that they haue been deceiued hereafter thou wylt be the waryer some by the losse of a small thyng haue auoyded the daunger of greater matters Sorowe A vyle coosiner hath deceyued me Reason Nay rather he hath awaked thee and sharpened thy wyt and hath taught thee to trust none but suche as thou hast tryed and persons of
credite I woulde recite examples whereby to comfort thy heauie chaunce but that they are innumerable For who lyueth and is not deceyued What euer myscheefe befalleth to man is not so muche as one man suffereth by another And for that it is not possible nor needeful to recken al remember the historie of Caninius in what sort he was once coosined by Pytius at Siracuse Neuerthelesse Caninius hath wherewith to comfort him selfe for that being a knight of Rome he was deceiued by a stranger that was liuing when as Augustus Caesar that was Emperour of Rome was deluded by a meane ritizen that lay a dying The history is wel knowen how that a certayne man called Marius who through the freendship of the same Augustus had been aduaunced from the base estate of a common souldier vnto great honour and ryches was woont commonly to geue foorth in speeche that he would make him only his heire and leaue al his goodes vnto hym by whose meanes he had gotten al that he had whiche thing when as in woordes he had assured vnto the Emperour Augustus hym selfe the day before he dyed he gaue vp his deceitful ghost and at the length it was found howe that in al his wyl he had not once made mention of the Emperours name Truely he wel deserued to haue his dissemblyng carckase drawen with an hooke into the ryuer Tiber who at his very death was not afeard to deceyue his cheefe lorde and benefactour Of a streight and narow dwelling The .lxiii. Dialogue SOROWE I Owel to straightly Reason A narrowe house is profitable for many thinges and amongst other matters it is good agaynst theeues wherof thou complainedst erewhyle for that they can fynde no lurkyng corners in it as the contrary may be verified of large houses that they deceyue their owner and are conuenient for theeues I take an house to be litle or large according to the number of the inhabitantes and thou seemest now to thy selfe to dwel in to litle an house But how muche more narrowly doth thy soule dwel and howe muche more filchily among blood and matter and other loathsome substance and yet yf thou myghtest haue thy wyl thou wouldest neuer haue hym depart from thence Sorowe My house is narrowe Reason The house of claye doth not pynche the heauenly soule with the narrownesse thereof many tymes a lytle house hath been capable of great glory when as in the meane tyme a great house hath been replenished with great infamie The house conformeth not the minde but the minde conformeth the house and therefore as the blinde cottagies of the poore may be merry and vertuous so may the castles of princes and palaces of the ryche be sorowful and dishonest There is no house so narrow but the greatnesse of the tenant maketh it larger and meete to receyue a great ghest Sorowe My house is litle Reason Kyng Enanders litle palace receyued great Hercules Iulius Caesar that was afterwarde lorde of al the worlde was borne in a simple tenement Romulus and Remus that were the first founders of so great a citie were brought vp in a shepheards cottage Cato dwelled in no sumptuous house Diogenes soiourned in a rouling tub and Hilarion vnder a simple shead the holy fathers lead their lyues in caues vnder the ground and great Philosophers in litle gardeins mightie captaynes haue lyen in the open ayre and vnder poore tentes but Caius and Nero dwelled in gorgeous pallaces chose thee nowe with whiche of these thou haddest leeuest dwel Sorow I haue a narowe and homely and euil-fauoured house Reason The walles are able to keepe out theeues and the wynde and the tediousnesse of the people which is woorse then any of them both the roofe colde and heat sunneshyne and rayne as for the loftie towres they are dwellinges for foules of the ayre a large house serueth for pride a beautiful house for lasciuiousnesse a stoared house for couetousnesse but vertue thinketh scorne of no habitation vnlesse it be possessed with vices Sorow I dwell very narrowly Reason Wouldest thou that any house may seeme very large vnto thee Then thinke vpon the narrownesse of thy graue Of a prison The .lxiiii. Dialogue SOROW. I Am shut vp in an vnwoorthy pryson Reason Better is an vnwoorthy prison then vnwoorthy libertie and muche more better it is for a man vndeseruedly to suffer aduersitie for righteousnesse sake then through wickednesse to abound in prosperitie although those ought not to be tearmed euilles neyther nor these goodes but I speake as the common people speaketh who iudge payne to be the greatest euyl and pleasure the greatest good thing Sorow I am shut vp in prison Reason Who is not shut vp in prison or who departeth out of prison but when he dyeth This is thy destinye and the common destiny of al men why then should you commence peculier or newe complayntes For knowe this since the first day thou wast borne yea and before thou wast borne to thou wast inclosed in prison and hampered with fetters by his commaundement vnto whom al the compasse of heauen is a litle house and yf we wyl also beleeue the greatest Poet euen in a darke and blynd pryson The ende of whiche pryson yf thou desire to be plausible and fortunate thou shalt not abhorre the narrownesse thereof neyther punishmentes nor death nor what soeuer may befall vnto man vnto the pacient tollerating and contempt whereof vnlesse the mynde be prepared and armed at al poyntes in whatsoeuer fortune he wandreth in a verie perilous path Sorowe I am shut vp in a filthy and narrowe prison Reason There is no pryson more filthy none narrower then this pryson of the body wherein thou takest so great delight and from whiche thou fearest so muche to be dissolued Sorowe I am deteyned in an inconuenient pryson Reason Pryson hath delyuered many from instant daunger and the handes of their enimies Vnto many the very entry of their pryson hath stand in steade of a shielde and that whiche was profitable vnto them at their entryng in hath been hurtfull vnto them at their goyng out insomuche that beyng certified by the departure they haue confessed that to be profitable whiche they abhorred and that to be miserable whiche they wyshed Sorow I am holden in pryson Reason Howe knowest thou whether perhappes it be a pryson or rather as it is sayde a place of safe keeping Howe often hath eyther the enimies swoorde or pouertie more cruel then any foe consumed those that haue been loosed from pryson Howe often haue they repented of their escaping and their imprisonment which they complayned to be long haue they afterwarde lamented that it was not perpetuall we haue seene some that haue lyued in pryson sumptuously but so soone as they haue been set at libertie they haue finished their poore and wretched lyfe with a sorowful ende Sorowe I leade a miserable lyfe in pryson Reason Some haue written bookes in pryson but thou framest complayntes there Some haue learned
lykewyse are Husbandmen by barrennesse and Carpenters by the fall of houses and Horsemen by the often founderyng of their Horses and Saylers sharpned by great and dangerous tempestes thus by erryng men gaine experience Sorowe I am vanquished Reason There is none vanquished but he that thynketh hym selfe vanquished whose hope is troade vnder foote and extinguished whose minde hath layde downe the remembrance how to take aduersitie Beholde the Romanes and their inuincible mindes at all times but specially in the seconde Punike warre who notwithstandyng the treacherie of their felowe nations and so many conspiracies of kinges and countreys and so many vnfortunate battayles and almost vtter destruction yet were they not vanquished there was neuer any mention of peace made among them no signe of dispayre and finally nothyng els was there among them but altogether hygh and inuincible consultation Whiche thyng what is it other then by the vertue of the minde to soften the hardnesse of Fortune and to enforce it to be ashamed of it selfe and to loue thee But at length as meete it was they rose aloft and beyng a thousande tymes ouerthrowen they floryshed the more so that prowesse and Fortune made not onely their enimies that were terrible vnto them but also the whole world successiuely their subiectes vassals Sorow I am vanquished I confesse Reason Now at length thou beginnest to knowe what Fortune is this commoditie hast thou learned by fleeing none almost learneth great matters for nought Many haue learned better by experience then by going to schoole the dul head that could learne nothing of his schoole maister by the eare hath ben taught by the eie There is no schoolemistres of humane things more certaine then aduersitie none more conuenient to discusse and disciphre errours Sorowe I am ouerthrowen with a great wounde of Fortune Reason Arise lye not styll greatnesse of the mind neuer more notably sheweth it selfe then in the woundes of Fortune But nowe do thou know thy selfe hauing susteined so great a stroke vnderstand how great thine owne strength is Sorowe I haue lost my hoped victorie Reason If it were vnlooked for thou hast won wisdome but to say that there is no change in worldly things it may not be hoped Sorow I am vanquished in war. Reason He that is ouercome in battell retaineth his libertie and lyfe but whose is vanquished by vices lofeth both he that yeeldeth thervnto is truely ouercome in deede Sorowe I am ouercome Reason How knowest thou whether that which was spoken vnto Pompeius the great who was vanquished in battell in Thessalia do also agree vnto thee It had ben woorse that he had ouercome for as the more harme so the lesse sinne hath he that is ouercome A great gaine which some not only wishing to be ouercome but choosing also to die haue in hart preferred and truely they make a good exchange who by the death of their body seeke for the health of their soules but many reioyce in their owne harmes and are greeued at their owne good such blindnes possesseth the mindes of men Sorowe I am ouerthrowen Reason This might happen vnto thee not for want of skil in the art of warfare but by fortune Fortune neuer sheweth herself any where more to be fortune then in battel as in other things she may do much so in this they say she can do al. Sorow Being vanquished in battel I am come away Reason But thou art not therefore immediatly naked Marciall weapons may be taken from the vanquished but the true goodes which are the weapons of the minde they do styl retayne that seeme to be ouercome For they as well as out of the fire shipwracke are brought away out of a lost battell And not those alone which being hyd vp in the minde can not be touched with any weapon but they also that in the conflict seeme to be in the greatest daunger and most exposed to the dint of the swoorde And therefore not whosoeuer is ouercome in battell is also spoyled of his Martiall honour although loosyng his armour and fleeyng out of the fielde or that more is leauyng his Carkas dead vppon the colde grounde he carrie away with hym the name of a woorthie Captayne For the Grecian histories report howe that Leonides at Thermopylae beyng not so muche ouercome as weeried with ouercomming was there slayne with his power lying among the great heapes and mountaynes of his enimies whiche fame the Poet Virgil commendeth in Deiphobus and in the Emathian sieldes if we beleeue Lucane the vnfortunate armie stoode in an vncertayne aray And in the last battayle that was fought in Africa agaynst Hannibal it was not possible that an armie should be more orderly marshalled nor fyght more couragiously which thyng as he that was conquered confessed of the conquerour so dyd the conquerour report of hym that was conquered beyng eyther of them men of singuler iudgement in those affayres And what shal we say hath he lost who hath lost neyther the true glorie of his art nor the assurance in conscience of his vpryght dealyng in that he vndertooke Of Ciuile warre The Lxxiiij Dialogue SOROWE WE are shaken with Ciuile warre Reason The name hereof is deriued of Citizens and thou art one of the Citizens take heede therefore that thou be not one of the number of the sticklers in this mischiefe and to thy power thou be not voyde of blame For this is the maner of ciuile warres one man enflameth and prouoketh another vntyll all of them ioyntly haue raysed a publike outrage whiche publique outrage at length pricketh foorth and thrusteth headlong euery priuate man forwarde For this common mischiefe neuer commeth thus fyrst to ripenesse of it selfe although by encreasing it infect yea sometyme ouerthrowe an whole Citie but yf thou wouldest fynde the fyrst original thereof it is rooted in the errours of priuate persons and this is that therefore whereof I exhort thee to beware that thou also haue not ben one of those that haue mayntayned the ciuile flame eyther by ministryng matter to the fire or by blowyng the coales For many doo thynges whereof shortly after they complayne and lament theyr owne deede as yf it were some wound inflicted by another mans hand Many haue perished in their owne fyre But yf thou be gyltie vnto thy selfe of no suche matter duetifull and godly is the sorowe of a Citizen in the publique calamitie but he may conceyue comfort of his innocencie Of all the mischiefes that folowe man there is none more lamentable then sinne or rather as it seemeth vnto certaine notable men there is none other mischiefe at al. Sorow We are vexed with ciuile warre Reason In the rage of the multitude shewe thou thy selfe a follower of peace whiche though it be to small purpose yet aduaunce thy selfe though alone in the defence of libertie and iustice whiche although perhappes shall doo thy Countrey but small pleasure yet shall it redowne to thy commendation of
albeit that place may otherwyse be applyed Sorowe I am oppressed with cares Reason As though among the swellyng waues the shyppe of thy lyfe beyng voyde of counsayle and destitute of a Master coulde escape shypwracke if thou doo not whyle tyme serueth ride in some quiet and safe Port and there lye at Anker before the tempest of the minde doo ouerwhelme thee Sorow I am caried away knowyng not what to doo Reason And so besides the peryls of the minde whiche are incomprehensible and infinite your lookes are diuers and strange lyke the minde whiche as Cicero wryteth maketh the same and beyng in such a state now merrie now sadde now feareful now secure now swyft now slowe in gate thou art a notable garyng stocke for al men through the varietie of such gesture as was Catiline But once settle thy selfe to wyll and doo well but otherwyse yf thou wyll that yll is styll shalt thou be as thou art For vice is alwayes variable Settle thy selfe I say to wyll that good is and then shalt thou fynde as thy minde quieted so thy lookes stayed and all thy gestures vniforme vnchangable eyther through hope or feare through ioye or griefe whiche is a speciall part of grauitie seene in very fewe men and hyghly commended among the Grecians in Socrates and in Lelius among your Countreymen and last of al in Marcus Antonius and in Aurelius Alexander among your Princes Of a doubtful state The .lxxvi. Dialogue SOROW. I Am in a doubteful state Reason What is it I pray thee that thou doubtest of Is it whether mortall men must dye or whether transitorie thinges are to be contemned or that we must not depende altogether vpon prosperitie or whether destinie cannot be auoyded and therefore must be tollerated neither fortune bowed but may be broken To all these the answeares are certayne Sorowe Beyng in a doubtfull state I knowe not what wyll become of me Reason In deede perhaps thou mayest doubt where when and how thou shalt dye but that thou must dye that he can not dye an euyll death whiche hath ledde a good lyfe or to soone which alwayes hath played the honest man thou canst not doubt Agayne that he can dye out of his owne countrey who maketh the whole worlde his countrey or but in exile whiche desireth to be in his natiue countrey except thou be vnwyse thou canst neuer doubt Whence therefore come these doubtynges Perchaunce of fortune but thinkest thou she wylbe faythful to thee whiche with none keepeth fayth Is it not more lykely that she wyll keepe her olde woont lyke the troublesome sea now deceitful with a fayned calmenesse nowe with surging waues terrible by and by dreadefull with shypwracke And yet hadst thou any experience at al no place should there remayne for doubting For albeit the euentes be doubtful yet vertue which wyl make thee certayne in the greatest vncertaynetie is alwayes certayne vnto whom when thou hast geuen thy selfe nothyng shal be doubtful but al thynges foreseene Sorow I haue a doubtful state Reason But the same is not doubtful to God and therefore content thy selfe and commit thee wholly vnto him saying In thy handes I am do with me as it pleaseth thee whiche thing spoken godly laye feare aside cast of doubting be no more careful He knoweth what to doo with thee which knoweth al thynges With a litle but sure with a trustie barke thou cuttest the mightie sea He is a faythful and most careful gouernour of thy saluation What skylleth it if the passenger know not the way so it be knowen to the maister of the shyp Of woundes receyued The .lxxvii. Dialogue SOROWE I Am vexed with most greeuous woundes Reason O howe lyght shoulde they seeme wouldest thou beholde the woundes of thy soule But suche delicate bodyes haue most commonly insensible soules Of one part nothyng on the other ye are redy to suffer al thynges and whiche is most wretched ye neuer feele them Sorowe My woundes trouble me Reason The enimies swoorde pearseth the shielde not the soule For she can neuer be hurt if so be she do not bereaue her selfe of her owne weapons It was sayde of a certaye man in a litle but sure a learned woorke that no man can be hurt but of hym selfe whiche I thinke to be a true saying albeit many mislyke the same Sorowe I am mangled with most greeuous and manifolde woundes Reason There is no wounde more greeuous then that whiche is to the death but there is but one suche wounde and yf but one that is most greeuous the rest must needes be lyght Caesar being goared with twentie and three woundes had but one deadly wounde and yf we should graunt them al to be deadly yet coulde he dye but once And albeit many and deepe are the woundes yet but one effect is there of them all the often woundyng of a dead body argueth a blooddie minde in the wounder but encreaseth no payne in the wounded Sorowe With woundes I am weakened Reason Woulde to God pryde with al her sisters were brought lowe and humilitie admitted for a companion of the woundes that we myght finde it true whiche was written Thou hast humbled the proude lyke a wounded person It is a good wounde and profitable whiche is a medicine to heale other and greater woundes Sorowe I am ougly in sight through my woundes Reason Hast thou forgot that young man of whom twyse in this our communication we spake Hereafter shouldest thou doo that of thyne owne accorde which now thou doest lament to be done vnto thee by another Sorowe My face is disfigured with woundes Reason The wounde is not to be regarded so muche as the cause thereof Woundes receyued in a lawful war do woonderfully adorne the face Fayre is the wounde whiche a valiant man hath gotten in a good quarel but muche fayrer is the death Sorow I am lame withall Reason Thou remembrest I am sure the answeare of Horatius Cocles who after he had borne the brunt of the whole armie of the Tuscaâ—e king vpon the brydge Sublicius after a more valiant then credible maner and escaped from his enimies the brydge beyng broken by his owne countreymens handes and leaping into the ryuer Tyber though with some hurt vnto one of his legges which thing afterward suing for an office was obiected vnto hym thus stopped the mouth of his aduersarie I halte not at al quoth he but suche is the wyt of the immortal Gods that euery step whiche I make shoulde bryng into my remembrance my glorious victorie as noble an answere as his exploite was notable Sorow I haue lost myne hande in fight Reason If it be thy left hande the losse is the lesse but if it be thy ryght hande thou mayest doo as dyd Marcus Sergius a man of prowesse who hauing in fight lost his ryght hande in the Punike war made hym one of Iron wherewith he went to many and blooddie battayles But yf that be not so conuenient make thy left
whereof is extant eyther in the bookes of histories or yet ryfe in the mindes of men that sawe them when as long sence vpon one and the selfe same day both the citie of Rhodes was shaken with an horrible earthquake and also newe Ilandes rose vp from the bottom of the sea and moreouer twelue auncient cities in Asia were ouerthrowen and some also swallowed vp into the earth After that the same mischiefe raged also in Achaia and Macedonia and last of all in Campania the most bewtiful part I say not of Italy only but also of al the world much about Senecas time who maketh mention therof among his naturall questions when as by the same most cruell outrage Herculaneum and the Pompeâ—j which are most famous cities of those quarters yea and Naples it selfe was not a litle molested as thou mayest reade Shall I prosecute all examples touching this matter Truely that were an infinite woorke Of late dayes thou mightest haue seene the Alpes which reach vnto the cloudes and deuide Italy from Garmanie who as Virgil saith do neuer mooue to stirre and quake and in many places to be ouerthrowne and immediatly after the queene of al cities greeuously shaken euen to the vtter subuerting of the towers and churches therof and also some layde flat with the ground And not long after this as it were for a continuance of the miserie it is wel knowne how that the best and most fertile part of al Germany namely the whole valley of the Rhine was shaken and vpon the shoare therof standing the citie of Basile and also castles and fortresses to the number of foure score and vpwarde vtterly ouerthrowen Truely an horrible matter were it not that death were the most terrible of al terrible thynges Who so hath learned not to feare that wyll feare nothyng as the Poet Horace sayeth excellently well If al the worlde shoulde fall though the peeces thereof strake hym he woulde not be a fearde For what skilleth it whether a litle stone fall vpon thee and brayne thee or the most mightie mountayne Apeninus crushe thee to death so thou be slayne by any of them or the whole worlde breake and fall vpon thee seeing there is but death in neyther Vnlesse perhaps some wyl count that death to be the more honorable whiche is procured by the greater instrument Wherefore to conclude this is the summe of myne aduice forasmuch as we haue also set downe some remedies agaynst lyghtnyng and all other mischeefes are releeued eyther by resistyng or geuing place vnto them and it falleth out contrariwyse in this that neyther flyght auayleth neyther wyt nor force can preuayle it were good aboue al thynges to lay away the feare of death whiche onely maketh al thynges dreadeful whiche thyng to do I confesse is very harde in deede to speake but yet not impossible to doo And forasmuch as there is no tyme nor place free from this heauie chaunce men ought to prepare and arme their myndes with al patience agaynst whatsoeuer may happen eyther by course of nature or by fortune at al tymes and places whiche cannot possibly be done vnlesse there be also adioyned the loue of vertue and feare of vice To conclude seeing that not only the heauens are in continuall motion and the elementes threaten you round about but also the earth vppon which you treade which also was hoped to be without al danger and a most assured rampire is sometime shaken deceiueth and putteth in feare her inhabitantes I exhort you to flee with your mindes vp to heauen and among al these shakinges and quakinges of thinges and men to repose al your hope in him who looketh downe vpon the earth and maketh it to quake of whom it is writen I am the Lorde and I am not changed Whosoeuer fasteneth vpon him the footestepes of a deuout minde is safe and sound and shal neuer be moued himselfe nor stand in feare of any earthquake Feare I cannot choose but be mooued and feared with earthquakes Reason Canst thou remoone al thy hope and mynde from the earth Do so and thou shalt lyue out of feare and stand vpryght whether that shake or fal For to repose assured trust in a quaking and vnconstant thyng is a great follie Of the plague farre and wide raging The .xcii. Dialogue FEARE I Am afrayde of the plague which rageth farre and wyde Reason In this also is nothyng els but the feare of death whiche being cast of thou hast purchased perfect securitie whiche feare ought not onely to be layde downe of valiant mindes but also neuer be admitted for what is lesse the part of a man then to feare common thynges Feare I am afeard of the plague Reason Forasmuch as thou must needes dye what shalt thou loose or gayne by dying of the plague but that thou shalt dye with more company but if thou escape that thy life be the sweeter vnto thee since that thou art deliuered out of so great a danger if so be it be danger and not nature to dye for the plague sweepeth not away al whiche if it had been so there should none haue escaped this last great plague a more sorer then which there was neuer any since the begynnyng of the worlde But many escaped who it had been better they had dyed whereof it commeth that as thou now seest the worlde is pestred with these kyndes of dregges as it was woont to be whiche neuer any plague nor death is able to consume they are so clodded and baken Feare I feare the plague Reason Say rather as the trueth is thou fearest death wherof for that I see thee so prone vnto complaintes I purpose to entreate before I make an ende of this booke For this only exepted wherefore shouldest thou abhor the name of the plague seeing as I haue sayd it is rather a kinde of comfort to die with many Feare I stand in dread of the plague Reason If it be a certayne kynde of loue and charitie towardes mankynde that draweth thee hereunto I haue cause to commend thee for there is nothing more besettyng a man then to take compassion vpon the miseries of men But if it be for thine owne sake onely I may iustly blame thee for wherein can the plague hurt thee that art a mortal man but to bryng thee to that whereunto thou must needes come vnlesse perhaps thou count this among the discommodities thereof not to be solemly mourned for whiche hapneth vnto them that dye so and thou count them more happie who are recited by Virgil to assend most bewayled of their freendes vp into heauen Of sadnesse and miserie The .xciii. Dialogue SOROW. I Am sad Reason A man must consider for what cause he is sad or merie These as many thynges els may be tearmed indifferent matters whiche vpon smal occasion may be made good or bad For sadnesse for sinne is good so that it ioyne not handes priuily with desperation and ioy for vertue and the remembrance of
endeuour neuerthelesse with all diligence that thou encrease thy strength euery day somewhat and abate thy burden Of great dulnesse of witte The C. Dialogue SOROWE BVT I am heauie and dull witted Reason This griefe is something troublesome but it may be muche diminished yf thou applie thy selfe diligently therevnto Sorowe But I am of a slow and dul witte Reason What thynkest thou that thou art able to helpe this griefe with repynyng and mournyng this matter is to be remedied farre otherwyse Thou must abstayne from too muche sleepe from letcherie from meate from wine from vayne fables and tales from takyng occasion of excuses and yeeldyng too muche vnto sluggyshnesse which thorowe thy faulte is nowe growen into nature But thou oughtest rather to watche to muse to sigh to blowe to stryue to contend to ryse to styrre vp the strength of the mind to aduaunce thy courage to put away heauinesse to abandone stouth to abstayne from pleasures and earnestly to applye thy booke There is nothyng so heauie but that earnest applying wyll lyfte it vp nothyng so harde but it wyll make it softe nothyng so dull but it wyll make it sharpe nothyng so slowe but it wyll pricke it forwarde to be short there is nothyng so deepely hydden nor so secretely layde vp but it wyll fetche it foorth nor so deadlye a sleepe but that it wyll make it Sorowe I am slowe of witte Reason Suche as say that quicknesse of witte is a commendation I am sure wyll affirme that slowenesse of vnderstandyng is an infamie Yet had I rather haue a slowe witte and a modest then one that is hastie and furious for as in the one there is no hope of great glorie or of abundance of ryches so in the other there is daunger of greeuous errours and feare of shamefull reproche For it is a great deale more tollerable for a man to become inglorious then infamous Sorow I am slowe of witte Reason That whiche men wont to complaine of in rydyng of dull Horses prouide thou for thy selfe to witte spurres and reignes and herein thou shalt take no occasion of excuse but rather thou hast matter ministred vnto thee of labour There are some that thynke a thyng shoulde be left of yf it wyll not come to passe by and by but doo thou stay be earnest and doo thy endeuour Difficultie doth prouoke a couragious mind and labour nourisheth it therein doth it contende cheefely esteemeth of that thyng most wherein it findeth most resistance Thou readest how Socrates was made wyse by studie and Demosthenes eloquent by industrie the lyke hath chaunced vnto many there are not many that attaine to a notable name report of thinges done commonly is lesse then the desart Sorow I am dul of wit. Reason Therefore thou hast no hope left thee of profityng but hast founde the neede of diligence It is so muche the more glorious to be aduaunced by learnyng then by nature by howe muche it is better to doo good of sette purpose then by chaunce Sorowe I am altogether dull and weake witted Reason If thou canst not studie for learnyng yet applie vertue There is none but haue wytt enough to attayne vnto her wherein there is no sharpnesse of vnderstandyng required but onely a good wyll To the gaynyng whereof some haue supposed that learnyng profiteth nothyng yea some holde opinion that it hyndereth not a lytle And therfore certayne forsakyng theyr studies haue withdrawen them selues into Wyldernesses and their ignoraunce in learnyng hath stande them in the steede of excellent knowledge of whose sentence it is harde to geue iudgement But of this whereof we are assured accept this my last counsayle Let no man deceyue thee neyther the woonderyng of the common people nor the voyces of fooles mooue thee for it is a hygher matter and of more safetie to be ennobled by vertue then by learnyng And therefore experience teacheth that the one of these is alwayes to be wyshed and the other most tymes to be feared But when the lyght of learnyng is added vnto the vertue of the minde that truely is an absolute and perfect thyng yf there be any perfection at all to be accounted of in this worlde Of a slender and weake memorie The Cj. Dialogue SOROWE BVT I haue a slender and weake memorie Reason This is also an other infamie of olde age as false as the residue which thou mayest correct by the meanes of studie Sorow My memorie fayleth Reason Take heede lest it decay vtterly and helpe it whyle it is faylyng with continuall exercise Vse it as men doo Walles that are readie to fall downe make Buttresses in places where there is neede and defende the weake sides by adding plentie of strong shores Sorow My memorie is slippery Reason Binde it fast with diligence and cunning industrye helpeth al defaultes of wyt and memorie Diligence suffereth nothyng to peryshe nothyng to be diminished This is that whiche can preserue Philosophers and Poetes beyng very olde men in a freshe floryshyng wyt and stile this is it also which manteyneth in the auncient Orators a strong voyce and valiant sides and a firme memorte Whiche yf it were not so Solon had neuer waxen olde and yet learned somethyng daylye and beyng at the very poynt of death when as his freendes sate talkyng about hym seemed in a manner vnto them to be rysen from death to lyfe Neyther had Chrisippus finished in his extreame olde age that wyttie and profound volume whiche he began beyng but a very young man Neyther had Homer at those yeeres set foorth that same his diuine and heauenly woorke Neyther yet Simonides of the age of fourescore yeeres with suche youthiy feruencie of mynde but with aged rypenesse of discretion descended into that his Pyerial contention Nor Scocrates in the fourescore fourteenth yeere of his age accomplished that his feruent and wonderful woorke Nor Sophocles wel neare an hundred beyng the flower of all tragicall wryters had finished his tragidie called Oedipus Nor Cato that was aboue fourescore and tenne yeeres olde with no change of voyce or alteration of strength or default of memorie eyther would haue defended hym selfe in an haynous accusation or accused most famous Orators of his owne accorde in open iudgment Sorowe I haue an vntrustie memorie Reason Then trust it not call it often to an accompt whatsoeuer thou hast committed vnto it requyre it speedely and that which thou shouldest doo to morowe doo it to day it is not good to defer and thus yf thou canst wrest good out of euyl The fayth of a felowe brcedeth flouthfulnesse and falshood procureth diligence Sorow I haue almost no memorie at al. Reason Suche is the state of mans condition that he whiche remembreth fewest thinges hath the lesse cause of complayntes in whiche case there is no amendment nor place of profitable repentance what els remayneth then then the helpe of obliuion Of lacke of eloquence The .cii. Dialogue SOROW. I Lacke eloquence Reason Thou
then a labour to speake and a quietnesse to holde a mans peace Sorow I can speake to no purpose Reason Those thynges which I sayde in the lacke of eloquence may more aptly be repeated in the losse of the tongue Then since thou canst not speake hold thy peace and that whiche necessitie byddeth thee to do do it wyllyngly Whiche thyng they that can speake myght do many tymes more profitably and repeate them often that they haue not donne so Holde thy peace I say and thinke not that thou sustaynest any losse thinke with thy lelfe secretly and speake with thy selfe in priuitie whiche to be better then to speake in open assembly they that are eloquent cannot deny Sorowe I am fallen dumbe Reason If Cicero and Demosthenes had been dumbe they had lyued longer and dyed a more gentle death Sorow I haue quite lost the vse of my tongue Reason And the custome of lying and the artes of deceyuing and the instrument of purchasing enmitie and infamie for many are become more infamous for their tongue then for their deedes There is no part of the body reedier to hurt and harder to bridle Therefore not without cause as some great and rare matter vttered he those woordes who sayde I wyl looke vnto my wayes that I offende not with my tongue Whiche when a certayne holy man who came to the studie of diuinitie had hearde is reported to haue departed away and that he would heare no more thereof And when as after a long season his maister marueylyng demaunded of hym why he had been so long absent from his studie whiche he had begun he ausweared that the very first worde had geuen hym enough to do and that he could not fulfyl that one poynt by any his labour or traueyl whatsoeuer See thou despise not this gouernment nor bridle whiche is offered vnto thee eyther by nature or fortune but wyllyngly yelde thy selfe to be ruled and spurne not agaynst thine owne destinie Sorow I haue lost my tongue Reason Nowe kepe thou with al diligence that which the wyse man wylleth thee to wyt thyne hart and beyng called from two careful watchynges vnto one and discharged from the one moitie of thy labour thou mayest the more easily keepe a fewe and more warely guard precious thynges Sorow I haue lost my tongue Reason In a certayne fewe men this is a noble and excellent member but in the greater sort of the people very pestilent and noysome and a great deale better that many had wanted it Whiche is not only seene to be true in a seruant in that the Satirike Poet sayth The tongue is the worst part of an euyl seruant but also in many free persons vnto whom nature hath geuen nothing woorse then their tongue Warres deceites adulteries and al kynde of abuses for the most part should surceasse dyd not the tongue cast abrode and nouryshe their euyl seedes Sorow I haue lost my tongue Reason If an euyll one thou hast gayned much For it is great ryches to be poore in wyckednesse Who so hath not these is borne ryche but who so looseth them is made ryche and his lyuing beyng encreased with a newe reuenewe hath founde that by loosing whiche he had lost by findyng But yf thou haue lost a good tongue I say agayne keepe thy hart Thou hast lost that wherewith thou mightest please men keepe that wherewith thou mayest please God vnto whom yf thou canst not speake with thy tongue yet talke vnto hym with thy hart For yf it be written of the wycked Lying lyppes are in their hart and with their hart they haue spoken why are not godly lyppes in the hart of the ryghteous that they also may speake in their hart whereas are the eares of God And that is true whiche the same man wrytech in an other place My mouth is not hydden from thee whiche thou madest in secret For there is no thought be it neuer so secrete that is hidden from God neyther heareth he lesse them that speake softly then those that crye aloude yea he heareth no clamour be it more or lesse before the clamour and crying out of the hart for he harkeneth vnto none but that and he is delited with silence This clamour dyd he that was first a keeper of sheepe and afterwarde a most famous shepheard of the people of God restrayne within the closure of his lyppes who deserued to heare the voyce of God saying vnto hym Why cryest thou vnto me He spake not but he cryed yea he spake but it was with the hart And lyke as he that heareth God is not deafe so he whom God heareth is not dumbe Of want of vertue The .ciiii. Dialogue SOROW. BVt I am without vertue Reason An hurt in deede a iust sorowe sauing that al other wantes may happen to be eyther natural or casual or violent but this doubtlesse is voluntarie For other are eyther in the body or in the wyt or in the memory or in the speech or in some outwarde thyng one or other al which happen not accordyng as a man woulde wyshe but as euery mans fortune chaunceth but this onely consisteth in will whiche euery one guydeth and disposeth at his owne pleasure For a man can require none other good wyll of another man then he is disposed to shewe whose wyll it is wherby he wylleth this thing or that thyng Otherwyse as defectes happen vnto men of strength or of speeche or of ryches agaynst their willes so shoulde of their wylles also neyther shoulde vertue deserue rewarde nor vice merite punishment But nowe not a wyl vnto you to do this or that but a libertie to chose this or that was geuen you at your byrth whiche beyng applyed vnto that whiche is good maketh you good but conuerted vnto euill maketh you euyll The same may you vse as you lust and yf you lust ye may vse it well whiche doubtlesse is the gyft of God as yf ye abuse it it is a great peruersitie of the wyller but it cannot be otherwyse chosen but that a good wyll is the roote of vertue as an euyl wyll is the roote of vice And thus there is none that suffereth a want of vertue but he that wyl for that the greatest cheefest part of vertue consisteth in the wil. Sorow Yea I would haue vertue but I cannot get it Reason Many there be that thinke they woulde haue that whiche they wyl not and that they woulde that whiche they wyl thus euery one deceiueth hym selfe and endeuoureth to perswade not onely hym selfe but others that he is desirous of good neyther perswadeth any more easily how delectable true vertue is since that the false opinion of vertue so muche deliteth that it is pleasant vnto hym to deceyue the people and his freendes and moreouer by them to be deceyued Sorow I knowe that I would fayne but I cannot be good Reason Admit it be so it sufficeth not to haue a will vnlesse thou haue also a desire and that
fal from God for that he forsaketh hym that made hym and forasmuche as pryde is the beginnyng of al sinne Thou knowest al other thynges which being diligently weighed thou shalt perceyue howe foule a monster a proude man is Of Agues The .cxii. Dialogue SOROWE I Burne with Agues Reason This heat wyl ende in processe of tyme or els with colde whiche euer of the twayne it be it is well Sorow I am greeued with agues Reason All this motion agaynst nature is of more vehemencie then continuance and of these twayne it alwayes doth the one eyther it clenseth the body or setteth the soule at libertie Sorowe I am holden with Agues Reason Stay a whyle thou shalt not long be holden for eyther thou shalt soone be discharged thereof or set at libertie and eyther of them is very good Sorowe I am sicke of an Ague Reason Thou shalt be at quiet anon nature striueth with death attend the ende of the battayle for the houre draweth nygh which shal eyther free thee from thy sickensse or discharge thee from al. Sorow I burne with the Ague Reason It is lesse harme for the bodye to burne then the foule whereof thou madest thy last seuen complayntes and howe yf the scortching of the one be medicinable for the other Finally how much more better is it by a short cast of the euyles of this present lyfe to be put in mynde of the euerlastyng punishment to the ende that men may study to auoyde infinite bitternesse who so greeuously susteyne the sharpenesse of a fewe houres and by these troubles learne to flye them from whiche neyther the Phisition nor herbes nor the critical day nor death can delyuer them Sorowe I trye with the Feuer Reason The woormes meate is rosted suffer thy selfe to be burned for other for whom other meates haue been so often tymes burned and take aduisement of the punishment Many euyles haue stoode in steede of remedies a smal greefe in the present tyme hath often geuen men occasion to prouide for greater to come and that whiche was paineful becommeth profitable Happie is that short burnyng whiche is the cause of eternal ioy Sorowe I am molested with the Ague Reason Nowe shalt thou be an vpryght iudge of prosperous health For you men beyng an vnthankeful generation cannot acknowledg the giftes of God vnlesse they be lost or surceasse Sorow I am sore vexed with a greiuous ague Reason Ye cannot long continue togither No man can burne long For either thou wilt shortly forsake thine ague or else thine ague wil leaue thee Of the payne of the guttes and Traunce The .cxiii Dialogue SOROWE I Suffer the payne of the guttes Reason Begyn to hope for there can happen now nothing more greeuous vnto thee For lyke as it is the begynning of sorowe to come to the vttermost degree of pleasure so lykewyse the extremitie of sorowe must needes be the begynning of pleasure This is the lawe of contraries that the one spryngeth from the ende of the other Sorowe I am tormented with the Iliake passion Reason It is I confesse an hard kynde of comfort that a man can suffer nothing more bitter Sorowe I am vexed with the Iliake passion Reason Who so is sorie and feareth is in wretched case but feare which is the one halfe of miserie is taken from thee on euery side for whereof I pray thee neede he to be afeard who hopeth for death whereof aboue al thynges men stande most in dreade Sorowe I am martyred with the payne in the guâ—tes Reason Whyle thou lyuest learne to dye and that which must be done but once assay thou to do often then at length thou shalt do that more safely once whiche thou hast assayed to do so often for that whiche thou doest then shal be no strange thyng to thee The payne in the guttes is muche lyke vnto death sauing that death is shorter and easier so that he that can beare that payne valiantly vnlesse some other feare come betweene and alter the case shal much more valiantly endure death Sorowe I am torne in peeces by the iliacke passion Reason The vehemencie of the payne promiseth an ende for there is no man long a dying Sorow Yea the very payne driueth me into a sounde Reason The long paynes of feauers thou passest ouer with one breathyng Sorowe I feele howe I am fallen into a traunce Reason A man shall scarce perceyue when it is comming for it commeth sodenly and when it is come it presently depriueth the vnderstandyng of all force Sorowe I begynne to faint Reason O happie art thou that shalt passe ouer so assured and hard a thyng without sense Sorowe I fall oft tymes into a traunce Reason Thou returnest often from death to lyfe Sorowe I fal very often into a deadly traunce Reason Thou canst not fal into that twyce For none dyeth more then once and whiche shoulde be the best kynde of death there was somtyme disputation among certayne learned and notable men at whiche was Iulius Caesar in presence for empire and learnyng a most excellent personage who also in his latter tyme as some wryte of hym vsed many tymes to faynt suddeynly which question he in this manner determined concludyng that a suddeine and vnlooked for death was of al the most commodious Whiche opinion although vnto godlynesse and true religion it seeme very harde notwithstandyng euery one that wyse is but specially godly and studious of true religion ought so to lyue that nothyng may befal vnto hym soddenly and vnlooked for and yf any suche thyng happen to the minde that the soddennesse thereof hurt it not but profite also the body Of sundry paynes and greefes of the whole body The .cxiiii. Dialogue SOROWE I Am greeued in al partes of my body Reason If thy minde whiche is the gheast of the body be not greeued nor troubled it is wel whatsoeuer hapneth vnto the poore cottage thereof shal redownde I hope vnto the safetie of it Sorowe I am vexed in al my body whiche is a greeuous payne Reason The Stoikes say that among al humane thynges only vertue is good And although others be of another opinion yet this is the more true and manly as seemeth vnto me and many moe whereof it foloweth that whatsoeuer is contrarie hereunto is a vice whereby it commeth to passe that although the payne of the body be most greeuous yet it is not euyll Sorow Alas poore wretch how I am tormented and thou disputest and al are but philosophical fables Reason Thou shewest thy selfe to be a wretche if it were but in this poynt only for that thou callest the rules of mans lyfe fables Sorow These thynges are plausible in the schooles and famous in bookes but they are not able to enter into the racke or to clymbe vp into the beddes of the sicke they be spoken and wrytten more easily then practised Reason Yes truely they be profitable agaynst payne and sicknesse and death but not vnto al
drynke and haue the the more aman hath and drynketh and the causes of al dangers it plucketh vp by the rootes Your ryches are ful of deceitfulnesse and feare they feare cuppes aswell as swoordes and dishes no lesse then dartes there is neyther your table nor your house nor your chamber nor your bed voyd of danger Al thynges about you are vncertayne and suspitious and threaten vnto men present death as Virgil speaketh in a tempest and may be verified of you in a calme and al this is long of your sweete ryches whiche ye loue so entirely As for pouertie sauing that it is slaundrously reported of by the common people and for the very name odious vnto them al thynges are safe in it and yf euer the vayne glorious desire to be magnified by the multitude shoulde fayle altogeather pleasant sweete quiet and be wyshed But learne at length you earthly creatures to eate and drynke in glassen and earthen vessels yf ye wyl eate and drynke in safetie for poyson is mingled in cuppes of gold and precious stone O couetousnesse how farre wylt thou proceede Yea poyson is in loue with gold and precious stones agaynst whiche most wretched plague neyther the electuarie of Mithridates kyng of Pontus nor of any other be he neuer so cunnyng is more effectual then is pouertie Sorowe I haue drunken poyson death swymmeth nowe in my entrailes Reason When thou hast once perswaded thy selfe that thou must dye whiche al men must needes determine that remember them selues to be mortal what skylleth it whether thou dye by thirsting or drynkyng or whether imbrued with thine owne blood or with wyne In this kynde of death thou shalt haue great personages that haue been drynkyng fellowes with thee of this confection to wyt Alexander Hannibal Philippomenes Mithridates Claudius hym selfe Theramenes and Socrates Of the feare of death The .cxvii. Dialogue FEARE I Feare to dye Reason Herein thou oughtest not to feare but to muse which musing of thyne yf it began nowe first in thee then hath it not growen vp with thee from thine infancie But if it come vpon thee but by fittes and is not continuall then hast thou lyued vnwysely For this most excellent and profitable aduice of the Poet Horace ought most firmely to be engraffed within the very marrowe of thy bones Betweene hope and care and betweene feare anger thynke euery day to be the last that thou shalt lyue that thou mayst be such an one as he speaketh of in an other place He shal leade his lyfe merily and vnder his owne gouernement who is able to say euery day I haue lyued Let to morowe be fayre or foule whyle I am busie I do not care And this forsooth is that whiche the Philosophers do so muche commend to lyue the forepassed lyfe whereof I haue spoken in an other place Feare I feare to dye Reason Thou shouldest haue feared also to be borne to lyue The entrance into lyfe is the begynning of death and lyfe it selfe is the passedge to death or rather more truely a very death in deede By lyuing eyther thou wentest towardes death or rather accordyng to the iudgement of the wyse thou beganst euery houre to dye Why shouldest thou then be afeard of death yf death haue eyther dayly accompanied thy lyfe or of necessitie do folowe it The first of these the learned only do vnderstand the other the common people do perceyue for what soeuer was borne dyeth and what soeuer dyeth was borne Feare I am afearde to dye Reason Fearest thou to dye that art a reasonable mortal creature as the Philosophers do diffine thee But yf thou were veryly the first I suppose thou wouldest not feare the second for that these two natures beyng ioyned in one do fully accomplysh the substance of man to wyt reason and death The one concerneth the soule the other the body but want of reason hath brought in the feare of death Feare I feare death Reason Nothyng ought to be feared which the necessitie of nature importeth Who so hateth or feareth the thinges that are naturall must needes hate or feare nature it selfe Vnlesse perhaps it be lawful to commend and embrace the one part thereof and to condemne and despise the other then whiche there is nothyng more insolent not only in men towardes GOD but also in one man towardes another And therefore eyther thou wholy receyuest or reiectest thy freende least yf thou reape that only whiche is sweete thou seeme to be a partial iudge and louer of friendshyp Feare I abhorre death Reason If there be any euyl in death the same is encreased by the feare of death But yf there be no euyl in death the feare thereof is a great euyl and it is a great follie for a man to procure or encrease his owne harme Feare I detest the very name of death Reason The infirmitie of mankynde hath made the name of death infamous But yf men had any courage of minde they would no more feare death then they woulde al other thynges that come by course of nature And why shouldest thou more feare to die then to be borne to growe vp to hunger to thirst to wake to sleepe Wherof this last is so lyke death that some haue termed it the cousin and some the image of death And that thou mayest not cal this manner of speeche eyther a poetical colour and a Philosophical quirke Iesus Chryst the truth it selfe called the death of his freend a sleepe and art thou afeard to do that once wherin thou takest pleasure euerie day This inconstancie do the learned woonder at and also reprooue Feare These thinges are common and vsuall among the Philosophers and bring delite while they are heard but when they leaue soundyng feare returneth Reason Nay rather it remayneth for if it were once gonne it would not returne agayne and moreouer there is a certayne feare of death naturally ingraffed within the hartes of the common multitude But it is a shame for a learned man to haue the feelyng but of the vulgare sort whom it becommeth as I sayd erewhyle not to folowe the steppes of the greater part but of a fewe And concernyng that whiche thou speakest of Philosophers I muche merueyle that since you learne the preceptes of saylyng of saylers and of husbandrie of husbandmen and also of warfare of warriours ye refuse to take aduice how to direct your lyfe of the Philosophers And seeing you aske counsel of Phisitious for the cure of your bodyes why do you not resort also to Philosophers for the saluing of your mindes who if they be true Philosophers in deede they are both Phisitions of your mindes and the instructours of this lyfe But yf they be counterfeites and puffed vp onely with the bare name of Philosophie they are not only not to be sought vnto for counsel but to be auayded then whom there is nothing more importunate nothing more absurde of whom this age is muche more ful then I coulde
wyshe and much more destitute of men then I woulde it were And therefore seeing there is nothing els to be expected at the handes of them that are nowe present but meare toyes and trifles yet yf there be any thyng alleaged by them whiche eyther they haue founde out them selues or borowed of the auncient wryters that may aswage thy greefe do not reiect it nor say as do the vnlearned this thou haddest out of the Philosophers For then wyl I answere thee with Cicero I thought thou wouldest haue sayde of whores and bawdes And to say the trueth where shoulde a man fishe or hunt but where fishes and wylde beastes are in the waters and wooddes Where is golde to be digged or precious stones to be gathered but where they growe For they are to be founde in the veines of the earth and vpon the shoares of the sea Where are marchandizes to be had but of merchantes Where pictures and images but of paynters and keruers And last of al where wylt thou expect Philosophical sawes but at the Philosophers handes Whiche although they lye hyd vp by them in their treasuries and were first founde out by them neuerthelesse the same are set open and expounded by other and that paraduenture more playnely or more pithily or more breefely or lastly disposed in some other order and methode promising lyke hope vnto al that heare them but bringing successe vnto fewe For such is the force of order and good ioyning as Horace very wel declareth in his Poeticalles that one matter being diuersly told representeth a greater grace vnto the mind of the hearer yea though it be a common thing that is told such noueltie may be added vnto that which is old and such light vnto that whiche is euident and suche beawtie vnto that whiche is fayre whiche I haue not nowe vttered as lackyng some other place more conuenient therevnto but because thou ministredst occasion at this present For I woulde not haue thee doo as it is the maner of blinde and ignorant pryde to disdayne vulgare and vsuall thynges whiche thou hast heard once and neuer vnderstoode Feare I yeelde vnto thee for I see that thou art very redie in these admonitions although far from effect to me wardes for I feare death yet neuerthelatter Reason There be certayne thynges in name and opinion of men greater then in effect certayne afarre of haue seemed terrible whiche at hande haue been ridiculous It were no wysedome to beleeue the vnexpert there is not one of these defamers of death that can speake any thyng to the purpose for being vnexpert he can learne nothing at all neyther can he be instructed in any matter by one that is vnexpert also Aske a question of a dead man he wyl answere nothyng and yet it is he that knoweth the trueth They wyl babble most that knowe death least and prophecie most vaynely of it wherein they haue least skyll Whereby it commeth to passe that by some death is made the most manifest thyng and of othersome the most hydden secret and this coniecturall case is diuersly tossed in suspition But in doubtfull matters it is good to cleaue to the best opinion and to holde that whiche shall make the minde rather merrie then dumpyshe Feare My soule feareth death Reason If in respect of it selfe that feare is vayne for that the soule is immortall But yf in respect of the bodye it is a thanklesse pittie to be careful of it enimie But if it feare to be dissolued it is to much in loue with it owne prison and bondes whiche were but a verie foolyshe affection Feare I am troubled with the feare of death Reason All fooles are afearde to dye and noe marueyle for all their felicitie is in theyr bodye whiche doubtlesse is by death extinguished And therefore not without cause good men are sorie to heare of theyr ende and heauie to beholde it For this is the nature of man that he can not lyue without desyre not to be vnhappie It becommeth a learned man who maketh no other accompt of his bodye then of a vyle Drudge and fylthie Carkasse whose dilligence and loue and hope and studie is wholy reposed vpon his minde to esteeme of the death of this bodye none otherwise then as of his departure in the morning out of some vnpleasant and noysome lodging Feare I can not choose but feare death Reason Thou mayest refuse to feare the departure out of this lyfe yf thou canst hope or wyshe for the entrance into an other For hereof it is that the same feare ryseth And although there be commonly diuers causes alleaged of the feare of this departure neuerthelesse they vanishe away when the hope of that other life is laide before the eyes Feare I dread death Reason The dread thereof is specially engendred by the lacke of meditating thereon and the sudden necessitie of dying whiche in a learned and wyse man is most shameful but specially in an olde man whose whole course and order of lyfe yf he be learned and wyse indeede ought to be a continuall meditation of death Whiche if it seemed so vnto the auntient Philosophie what may it nowe appeare vnto your new deuotion which is the hygh Philosophie and the true wisedome Consider the maner of them that are commaunded vpon a sudden to goe some far iourney how sadde and careful they are to make vp their carriage and how they complaine at their departure and in a maner repine that they had no longer warning before so that as soone as their backes are turned they thinke vpon necessaries which they haue forgotten and are discontented therewith Now there is no way longer then to dye none harder as they say none more noysome for Theeues none more obscure none more suspicious nor more vncertaine which though it wanted al these yet is it vnreturneable By meanes whereof ye ought to be the more diligent least haply ye forgette any thing for that when ye are once departed from hence ye can no longer doo as they that occupie other trades or vndertake whatsoeuer other iourney that is to say commit suche thynges by their letters or messengers vnto their freendes to see vnto as they them selues haue left forgotten For ye are not able to sende any message backe nor to stay in the place where ye were nor to returne agayne Ye must needes goe hence it is not possible for you to returne ye must needes goe thyther Souldiers from whence it is not needefull that ye come backe agayne Thus in Seneca sayde the Romane Captayne to his men and thus also sayth your Captayne to you And therefore seeyng ye must needes depart and come no more and that the necessitie of your iourney is very certayne but the houre of death vncertayne this is your onely remedie to be alwayes readie in mind to answere when ye are called and to obey when ye are commaunded and when all thinges are disposed in good order at your Captaines fyrst
determined to doo violence vnto my selfe Reason At one tyme to feare a thyng and at another to wyshe for it this is al the constancie that you haue Erwhyle womanishly thou fearedst death and now vnmanly thou seekest the same tel me I pray thee what sudden chaunce hath chainged thy mind Feare I am enforced to do violence vnto my selfe Reason If thou be enforced then is it not voluntarie violence although it be sayd that a constrained wyll is a wyll yet truely it is no free wyl neither that wyl which properly taketh the name à volendo of willing But I would fayne know by whom thou art enforced Whoso is vnwilling may haue violent handes layde vpon hym but thou canst doo thy selfe no violence vnlesse thou were willing thereunto Feare There are great causes that enforce me to be willing to die Reason They be great in deede I coufesse yf they enforce thee but they coulde not enforce thee yf thou were a man But there is nothyng so weake that it can not ouerthrowe the delicacie of your mindes and hearken now whether I can not directly gheasse these causes anger disdaine impatiencie a certayne kynde of furie agaynst a mans owne selfe and the forgetfulnesse of his owne estate For yf thou dyddest remember that thou were a man thou wouldest also knowe that thou oughtest to take all worldly chaunces in good part and not for the hatred of one small euyll or rather no euyll at all to be willyng to fal into the greatest euyll of all Feare By reason of extreame miserie I am constrayned to lay violent handes vpon my selfe Reason It is not extreame miserie neither are they the greatest euylles that oppresse thee but this is the most extreame of al other which now enrageth thee to wit desperation agaynst which onely when as all other euylles haue their peculiar remedies there is no medicine that can preuayle And which be these that thou callest exâ—reame euylles but onely labour perhaps and trouble and pouerâ—ie For these are they whereof the Poet Virgil intreateth saying These without cause procured their owne death and hating this lyght powred out their owne soules Of whose too late repentance he addeth immediatly Howe glad woulde they now be returnyng into this worlde agayne to abyde pouertie and suffer all troubles and aduersitie Are these so great euyls whereof the fyrst all good and vertuous men endured with a valiant and indifferent minde and some more ouer dyd wyllingly choose it and thereby became glorious and riche in the euerlastyng riches That the worlde is meete for men we reade in Salust and that man was made for that intent we finde it written in the holy and afflicted good old man But you beyng of al creatures the most vnquiet yf thinges fal not out according to your couetous desyre or letcherous lust ye thynke that ye haue iust cause to kyll your selues So delicate and hastie headlong is your lasciuiousnesse that vpon the least cause that may be ye are not onely angrie with Fortune but also with your selues farther â—icking against GOD hymselfe ye scoure your blasphemousâ—â—â—ithes agaynst him as though euery thing wherein your Lord and God fulfylleth not your minde were an haynous iniurie agaynst you Feare I am so oppressed with great euylles that to choose A woulde dye Reason For the loathsomnesse of thy lyfe perhaps which is a familiar fault among all fooles For vnto the wyse euery kynde of lyfe is pleasant the happie lyfe they accept willingly the miserable lyfe they indure patiently and although in the thinges themselues they take final comforâ— yet are they delyghted in the exercise of patience for there is nothing more acceptable nor more sâ—â—eâ—e then veritie The same is that which asswageth greefes amendeth what is anusse moâ—â—fieth that whiche is harde mitâ—igateth thâ—ir whiche is sharpe siâ—â—otheth that whiche is rough and lâ—uellech that whiche is vneâ—â—en In consyderation hereof complainte or 〈◊〉 and hastie headlongnesse hath an ende and to be breefe there is nothing more glorious nor quiet then a wyse mans lyfe As for these teares and greefes of the minde these cloudes and troublesome stormes whiche driue the barke of this lyfe vpon the rockes they spryng from follie onely Feare Impaciencie of sicknes maketh me desirous to dye Reason Thy desyre is fond and proude Let the Lorde alone to dispose of thy bodye accordyng to his owne determination and good pleasure Wylt thou looke to haue more aucthoritie ouer thine owne buyldyng whereof thou hast made neyther Timber nor Stone and wherein there is nothing thine but only the buylding and wylt thou not geue lykewyse sembleable libertie vnto the Lorde and maker of all the worlde who in the same hath not onely created the spirite the fleshe the blood and the bones but also heauen the earth the seas and all thynges that are therein of nothyng Say not within thy selfe My bodye is greeuously tormented with payne For thou hast receyued no dominion euer thy bodye but onely a vse thereof for a certayne short tyme Thynkest thou thy selfe to be Lorde and Maister ouer this thyne house of Clay Verily thou art but a stranger he that made all is Lorde of all Sorowe With exceeding payne I am constrayned to be desyrous to die Reason Perhaps this payne is layde vpon thee for thine experience whiche yf it be troublesome and greeuous vnto thee then may it be profitable but yf intollerable then can it not long continue Attende the commaimdement of the Lorde that detayneth thee and answeare when thou art called and not before Thy daye is appoynted whiche possibly thou canst not preuent nor yet prolong Howheit many haue preuented it in deede and goyng about to auoyde a smal short greefe haue cast them selues headlong intoirreuocable euerlasting tormentes This opinion hath had great defenders Fyrst Anneus Seneca who so constantly and often falleth into the mentionyng thereof insomuche that it seemeth vnto me that he feared least it shoulde not appeare to be his â—â—bâ—e and maketh me sometyme to wonder bowe so cruell aâ— opinion coulde enter into the hart of so woorthie a man And to â—et that passe whiche it were too long to recite in a certayne Epistle vnto Lucilius If sayth he the bodye be vnfytte for the ordinarie and conuenient actions â–ª why shoulde not a man set the greened soule at libertie And immedialy after a fewe woordes betweene I wyl leape quoth he out of this rotten and ruinous buyldyng But O Seneca thou sayest not wel and with one euyl saying hast disgraced a great many good sayinges For thou oughtest to abyde and not to depart let thy buyldyng fal downe that thou be driuen out of doores before thou depart Sorowe I cannot suffer the thynges that are lyke to happen vnto me I had rather dye Reason Perhaps for some death whiche shal be inflicted vpon thee by an enimie whiche beyng valiantly vndertaken can not be shameful but voluntarily procured by thine owne hand cannot
but be reprochful and ignominious for that it is contrarie to the commaundement of the most hygh Lorde agaynst whiche nothyng can be wel done Sorowe I had rather dye then to see the thynges that are lyke to happen shortly Reason It is not the part of a man not to be able with open eyes to behold both faces of fortune it is the part of a woman to turne away the eyes in feare What is the thyng that troubleth thee so muche that nothyng can helpe thee but death only Is it thine owne or thy freendes or perhaps the aduersitie of thine afflicted countrye As for the first two they are but gentle for fortune is not so strong but vertue is able to withstand it the thirde is godly but the loue thereof is fainte and slouthful For the bondage and captiuitie of a mans countrey and the gouernement thereof in manner of a Tirannie is rather to be repelled by death then auoyded by steppyng a side For the first is the part of a man but this tastest of womanyshe imbecillitie Whiche thyng notwithstandyng the same Seneca doth woonderfully extol in the death of Cato in that same his peculiar opinion whereof I spake erewhyle But Cicero thinkyng it sufficient to excuse him only abstaineth from commending him For he sayth that vnto Cato that was a man of such wonderful grauitie and perpetual constancie of nature it was better to dye then to looke the Tyrant in the face whom Brutus notwithstandyng behelde and thought it better to make hym away by kyllyng hym then by kyllyng hym selfe Whiche how wel or ill it was done I do not now dispute But so in deede he did As for Cicero whyle he excuseth Cato he forgetteth his owne more commendable opinion whiche long before he had set downe in his sixth booke De republica of a common-wealth whiche is after this manner folowyng whiles that he bringeth in Publius Scipio Affricanus the younger dreaming howe that he talked in heauen with his father and graundfather and hearyng them speake of the immortalitie of the soule and the felicitie of the other lyfe made hym desirous to dye and brought in his father by and by reprouing the same his fonde and vnprofitable desyre in these woordes It may not be so quoth he for vnlesse God whose churche al this is which thou beholdest doo loose thee out of these bondes of thy bodye thou canst haue none entrance hyther For men were created for this cause that they shoulde beholde the globe whiche thou seest in the middest of this temple whiche is called the earth Wherefore good sonne Publius both thou and also al vertuous men ought to keepe your selues within the custodie of this your bodye and not to depart out of the lyfe of man contrarie vnto his commaundement by whom that lyfe was geuen vnto you least happely ye seeme to forsake the vocation whereunto God hath called you Doo not these woordes of Cicero sufficiently reprooue Cato that is excused And truely yf thou were appoynted by some earthly Prynce or Captayne to keepe a place by defence of armes thou wouldest not dare to depart from thy charge without his lycence whiche yf thou shouldest doo doubtlesse he woulde take it in ill part Howe then woulde the heauenly Emperour take it thynkest thou vnto whom so muche the more obedience ought to be geuen by howe muche God is greater then man There was of late dayes one Stephanus Columnensis a gentleman of auncient vertue who yf lie had lyued had not onely been famous in this age but also in remembrance of al posteritie The same Stephanus beyng besieged by a mightie enimie of his vnto whom he was in power far vnequal committed the defence of one turret wherein there seemed to be most danger vnto one of his captaynes of whose trust he was assured This turret being vndermined and secretly shaken by the enimies so that it was in danger of fallyng when as the residue of the garison perceyuing so much forsooke it and perswaded hym also to come downe and prouide for his safety since it was bootelesse to tarrie but vnto him selfe very dangerous or rather present death I wyl not come downe sayde he vnlesse he cal me away who set me here Which being reported vnto Stephanus who also was very careful for the gentleman came running in bast to cal hym away the turret beyng shaken at the very foundation fel downe immediatly with great noyse Thus that trustie defendant was miserably slayne whom his lord and maister beyng scarcely able to finde out among the rubbishe and ruynes of the turret buryed hym with great sorowe and lamentation and whyle he lyued had a dutiful care ouer hym and in his common speeche alwayes aduaunced his fayth with worthy commendation What I meane by these wordes I thinke thou knowest Suche a keeper oughtest thou to be of thy body whiche is committed vnto thy keepyng by God as he was of his turret which was commended to his charge by his lorde and maister Notwithstandyng I am not ignorant howe that the death of Cato was muche commended by many of that age wherein he lyued and very glorious in the common opinion of men And that saying of Iulius Caesar is wel knowen who beyng conquerour and making hast vnto Vtica where Cato had slayne hym selfe and hearyng report of his death Cato quoth he enuyed my glory and I enuie his death Doubtlesse it seemed some excellent thyng whiche so great and glorious a personage enuied at Sorow Then what shoulde let me to folow the death of a wyse man that was enuied at by so great a person and excused and commended of the wyse and to eschewe the innumerable distresses of lyfe by a voluntarie death Truely I had rather dye Reason Beware that thou be not caryed away with the vayne hope of hynges For there be some inferiour in eloquence but superiour in sense whiche neyther commend nor excuse this death of Cato but sharpely reprehende it Among whom Sainct Augustine a most sharpe searcher after the truth disputeth that this was not the cause of the hastenyng of his owne death because he woulde not lyne vnder the empire of Caesar togeather with his sonne forasmuche as he hym selfe was the cause that his sonne fledde to Caesar and in hope of safetie submitted hymselfe to his mercy wherein he was not deceyued Whiche yf he had thought to haue been a shameful thyng would he not haue delyuered his sonne from it as wel as hym selfe eyther by poyson or by sword or by some other kynde of death whatsoeuer Seeing that Manlius Torquatus is commended for killyng his owne sonne for that he had geuen battel to his enimies and vanquished them but contrarie to his fathers commaundement Neyther can it be sayde that it is a more shameful thing to be conquerour ouer a proude enimie then to be subiect to an arrogant conquerour Why then dyd he thinke Caesar woorthy to graunt lyfe to his sonne who thought hym vnworthie
and thy foote beyng vpon the very thresholde thou art sorowfully and vnwyllyngly plucked away and carefully thou lookest behynde thee I wot not wherefore whether forgettyng thy fylthynesse which thou leauest behynde thee or not beleeuyng the great good vnto whiche thou art goyng And truely yf as I sayde before whiche notable men haue also auerred this whiche you cal lyfe be death then it foloweth that the ende thereof whiche is death be lyfe Sorow I dye Reason Thy kyng setteth thee at libertie nowe the bandes and fetters are broken whiche it pleased your louyng father to make mortal and transitorie Whiche I knowing to be specially apperteyning vnto his mercie as Plotinus holdeth opinion and it is confirmed by your wryters I see not whereof thou hast cause to complayne Sorowe I dye Reason Thy kyng calleth thee an happie messenger But thus it is it commeth vnlooked for and vnluckely that happeneth vnto men agaynst their wylles Consent thereunto and then shalt thou begyn to perceyue howe wel thou art dealt withall Then shalt thou reputyng with thy selfe thy departure out of this prison the other euyles of this lyfe which thou fearest prophecying of the commodities whiche death bringeth after the manner of Socrates swan that coulde diuine of heauenly thynges to come and was therefore consecrated to Apollo die singing though not with thy voyce yet in thy minde And vnlesse whiche God forbid the heauie weight of thy sinnes not clensed nor forgiuen do ouermuch presse thee downe do thou that in thy minde which it is read that the emperour Vespasian did in bodie rise vp when thou art a dying and thinke it vnmeete to dye lying neither in this respect ascribe thou lesse vnto thee then he did to himselfe although thou be not a prince as he was For death respecteth no auctorytie it knoweth not princes from other men and is a notable meane to make al estates of one calling after this life There was nothing that Vespasian might doo but it is lawful for thee to do the lyke yea and I trust thou hast somewhat more of the grace of God then he had if thou do not refuse it not for that thou art better then he but because thou art more happie in respect of the free goodwyl loue of God who hath graunted to the litle ones and reuealed to the vnlearned those thynges whiche he denied to the mightie and hyd from the wyse Adde moreouer that it is more profitable and easie for thee to aryse For his endeuour requyred bodily strength which sicknesse weakeneth and death quite extinguisheth but thou hast neede of noneother then the strength of the minde which oftentymes encreaseth the neerer that death is at hand Sorow I dye Reason Why doest thou tremble in safetie and stumble in the playne and stay vpon the side of a sheluing downefall I wyl not here bryng into thy remembrance what the Philosophers do dispute in this poynt For there be many thynges which the troublesomnesse of hym that lyeth a dying and the shortnesse of the tyme wyl not suffer to be done and therefore it ought deepely to be engraffed and rooted in thy mynde whatsoeuer the auncient Philosophers haue disputed concernyng this matter For as they hold opinion rare prosperitie specially towardes a mans ende is able to make al remedies agaynst aduersitie and hard fortune voyde to no purpose but as touchyng those thynges whiche are alleaged agaynst death they be alwayes profitable and necessarie whiche no casual but the natural and inuincible necessitie of dying maketh to stande in ful force and effect Among diuers other truely Cicero gathereth together many sounde reasons and perswasions in the fyrst dayes disputation of his Tusculan questions whereof I made mention a litle before whiche vnlesse thou hast alreadie learned in times past I haue no leasure now to teach thee wherein he concludeth that whether he that dieth seeme to be in prosperitie or aduersitie neuerthelesse forasmuche as generally the whole state of mankynde is equally subiect to the dartes and insultes of Fortune it is to be supposed that by death he is not delyuered from good thynges whiche doubtlesse he shall fynde to be true whosoeuer shall geue hym selfe to the deepe consideration of worldly affayres Wherefore by death he findeth him selfe aduauntaged and not hyndered and thynking continually thereon when it commeth he maketh account thereof as of the messenger and seruant of his delyuerer and when he is once past it and looketh backe vpon it he beholdeth as it were out of a Windowe how he hath escaped the deceites of the worlde and the prison of this fleshe The very same sense doth Cicero followe in his disputation that whether the soule dye with the body or be translated to some other habitation that either there is no euyll at al or very much good in death Sharply truely among his owne Countreifolke at that time but among your Philosophers now adayes yea and your common people a thing nothing doubted of and truly I beleeue neither vnperswaded vnto Cicero himselfe of whom we haue so much spoken which opinion most frankly he hath declared in many and sundry places although he applied him selfe vnto the want of fayth in him with whom he communed or the distrustinesse of the time in which he liued But in few wordes thus perswade thy selfe that thy soule is immortal which not only the whole consent of your naâ—ion but also the most excellent of al the Philosophers do haue defended Repose no trust in the death of the soule whose nature is such that it cannot die and thinke not that there remaineth no euyl after death because there shal be no soule to suffer it But forasmuch as the creatour of the soule is gentle and louing and merciful he wyl not despise the woorke of his owne handes but wyl be neere vnto them that cal vpon him faithfully Vnto hym let your prayers vnto hym let your vowes be directed let the vttermost of your hope depend vpoÌ„ him let your last gaspe ende in callyng vpon his name Depart quickly feare nothing dame Nature that is the most louing mother of al other mothers hath made no horrible thing it is the errour of men and not the nature of the thing that ought to be prouided for that causeth death to seeme dreadful If thou harbour any great attempt in thine hart or go about any excellent high matter despise the base and low speeches deedes of the raskal multitude but haue them in admiration whom to imitate is the perfect path vnto true glorie Among our Countreymen truly of such as haue dyed merely and happily there are innumerable examples But yf we searche rather after such as are of more antiquitie we shal finde many that haue not onely taken their death valiantly but also hastened it which deede in Marcus Cato Marcus Cicero blameth Seneca commendeth as we sayd erewhile As for you ye lyke wel of neither but woorst of the
seconde for that it is more tollerable to excuse an errour then to commende it But I reiecte them both because as for to answere when a man is called to obey with reuerence is prayse woorthie euen so without licence of the General to depart from the watch keeping of the body is to be counted hygh treason woorthie to be punished eyther with cruel banishment or with extreame torment Of purpose I repeate some thynges againe and agayne to the ende they may take the deeper roote for all these matters as I suppose are sufficiently discoursed in our communication going immediatly before Sorowe I dye Reason Rather thou payest tribute of thy fleshe and yeeldest thy duetie vnto Nature and anon thou shalt be a free man and therefore doo that willingly which of force thou art constrayned to doo and as one that is a verie good exhorter vnto death sayth Haue a desire to doo that which thou must needes doo There is no counsayle more profitable yea there is none other counsayle at all in tyme of necessitie Whatsoeuer a man doeth wyllyngly is made the more easie and tollerable and yf a wyll be adioyned it surceasseth longer to be a necessitie Sorowe Loe I dye Reason Loe the Lorde tarrieth for thee Make hast vnto hym doo neyther stumble nor stay lay away all dread suspition thou art not more deere to thy selfe then thou art to him and who wyl distrust when he is called by his freende and louer Perhappes hereafter thou wylt merueyle why thou fearest that whiche rather thou oughtest to haue wyshed for Now when thou art at libertie thou shalt knowe many thynges which when thou wast in prison thou couldest learne by no studie Insomuche that vnto them that are desirous to knowe the secretes and misteries of thynges whereunto your eyesyght can not pearce by meanes of the mortall vayle wherewith you are compassed round about for such verily is the naturall desyre of man but woorking most feruently in the studious and learned sort there is nothing as I iudge better then death nor that bryngeth a man more compendiously vnto his wyshed purpose Sorowe I dye Reason Nay rather thou sleepest and beyng wearie of this lyfe as I suppose thou takest now thy rest Sorow I dye Reason Depart into euerlasting rest for now thou beginnest to lyue A good death is the beginning of lyfe Of Death before a mans tyme The Cxx. Dialogue SOROWE BUT what sayest thou vnto it that I dye before my tyme Reason None dyeth before his tyme but all haue not one tyme limitted them alyke but rather as the noble Poet writeth Eche mans day stands prefixt vnto which when he is come then hath he attayned to the ende And because men can neither returne agayne nor stay where they are they must needes passe away Sorow I dye before my time Reason That myght be true yf thou dyddest owe a death agaynst a certayne day but the good and pure detter oweth it euery day and therefore let hym looke euery day for his creditours callyng vpon hym and alwayes haue that in a redinesse which he oweth For he is continually in det as long as he hath a mortal bodye he neede not to borowe nor to take vpon vsurie he hath that at home whiche he must pay Yea whyther so euer he goeth he carrieth with hym and hath that as it were in his hande wherwith to discharge hym selfe whiche when he hath payde he is then no longer indetted to Nature nor to any of the heauenly bodyes as the Poet Virgil sayeth Therefore leaue of this complaynte that can not be required before the day which is due euery day but rather geue thankes for that for the payment of this det thou needest neyther intreating nor yet to haue great riches of thine owne nor pawne nor vsurie which were the last woordes that euer that valiant vnknowen Spartane is reported to haue spoken most woorthie in deede to haue been knowen euen at that time when he was led to execution wherevnto he went without feare and couragiously by the losse of his lyfe to satisfie Lycurgus lawes Sorowe I dye before my tyme. Reason I vnderstand not what it is to dye before your time vnlesse it be ment as the common speech is before it be lyght or before the day breake which is a time most fit for the exercises of the minde soule which now thou art geuing ouer But in any other signification who is he that dyeth before his time when as in deede that is euery mans day wherein he dyeth and none other Sorowe I dye before my tyme. Reason Neyther before thy tyme nor after thy tyme but euen in thy very tyme shalt thou dye vnlesse thou take that for thy tyme which thou thy selfe not Nature nor Fortune hath prescribed But in trueth as thou canst not dye before thy tyme so canst thou not lyue after it Sorowe I dye before my tyme. Reason Who is he vnlesse he were madde that wyll complayne that he is loosed from his fetters and discharged out of prison before his tyme Truely he had more cause to reioyce in mine opinion yf this hapned sooner then his expectation but certaynely it hapneth not nor it can not happen so for euery thyng hath it owne tyme This was the appoynted tyme of thyne ende there dyd he constitute thy boundes who brought thee into the race of this lyfe If thou complayne of this ende thou mayest lykewyse as well complayne of any other Sorowe I dye soone Reason Thou wast soone borne he dyeth not soone that hath lyued tyll he is olde And yf thou haddest not lyued vntyll thou wast olde then remayned there another part of complaint Howbeit yf olde age be the last portion of a mans lyfe he must needes be fyrst olde whosoeuer dyeth But when I speake of olde age I meane it as the common people vsually take it for an heapyng vp of many yeeres together whiche not as other ages hath no ende but death onely Concernyng the beginnyng whereof there is great varietie of opinions but in consideration of the strength of those that growe olde and in respect of their bodyly health and the abilitie of their mindes easie enough to be reconciled To be short this is the conclusion of all that eyther thou surceasse to fynde fault with the hastinesse of death or to mislyke the troubles of a long lyfe whiche come by the deferryng of death But you beyng at contention within your selues are neyther willing to dye nor to waxe olde when as ye must needes doo both of them or at the leastwyse one of them Sorowe I myght haue lyued longer Reason Nay truely thou couldest not for yf thou myghtest verily thou haddest lyued longer but thou wouldest say I woulde fayne or I hoped to haue lyued longer for the mindes of mortall men are so desirous of lyfe and so readie to hope that in eyther I easily agree with thee But if thou wylt say I shoulde or
lyke wel of the saying of a certaine good fellowe of whom S. Augustine maketh mention whom beyng in extremitie of sichnesse when as his freendes comforted hym saying that he should not dye of that disease he answered Though I shal neuer dye wel yet because I must dye once why shoulde I not dye nowe Sorowe I dye my businesse beyng vnperfected Reason If thou cal to minde those that haue been most famous for wisedome or other notable exploites the most part of them haue dyed leauyng theyr woorkes vnfinished vnto verie fewe it hath hapned in this lyfe to bryng to perfect ende theyr conceyued and vndertaken attemptes But thou since that after the common manner of men thou hast throwen thy selfe into these difficulties and that which is past can not be called agayne take holde of this onely way and meane eftsoones to aduaunce thy selfe not lamentably and vaynely to looke backe vpon many imperfecte thynges but manly to goe through with that onely which remayneth that is to say to dye well Of a Violent death The Cxxj. Dialogue SOROWE BUT I dye a violent death Reason Euery death is violent vnto thee yf thou dye vnwillyngly but yf thou dye wyllyngly there is no death violent Sorowe I dye a violent death Reason If the strength of life be taken away what skylleth it whether it be by an ague or by the swoord And so that thou depart freely what maketh it matter whether the doores of thy bodily dungeon do open alone or be broken open Sorow I dye violently Reason There are many kyndes of deathes and but one death only whiche whether it be violent or not it lyeth in his handes that dyeth the greater force ouercommeth the lesser and consent quite extinguisheth it A wyse man commeth thus instructed that looke what he cannot withstande he consenteth vnto it But perhaps thou wylt say doest thou counsel me then to consent vnto hym that kylleth me Verily some haue not onely consented vnto them but also geuen them thankes yea there was suche an one founde as wyllingly excused the ignorance of his murtherers and at the very giuing vp of the ghost prayed for them But I am not she that commaund thee to agree vnto the fact of the bloudie butcher or cruel executioner but only vnto the inuincible necessitie of destinie whiche who so obeyeth not willyngly shal be brought thereunto by force Sorowe I dye by myne enimies hande Reason What didest thou suppose then that thou couldest dye by thy freendes hande whiche cannot possibly happen but vnwittingly Sorowe I dye by mine enimies hande Reason So shalt thou escape thine enimies handes For whyle he pursueth his wrath he prouideth for thy libertie and abateth his owne power and hath aucthoritie ouer thee no longer Sorowe I perysh by the hande of myne enimie Reason It is better to peryshe vnder an vniust enimie then vnder a iust Prince For in the one the murtherer is culpable and in the other the murthered is not gyltlesse Sorow I am slayne by the hand of myne enimie Reason What doth it touche thee more with what hande then with what swoorde thou art dispatched We speake not of the hande but of the wounde Howbeit Pompeius in Lucane seemeth to wyshe that he might be slayne by Caesars owne hande as a comfort in his death and also in Statius Capaneus comforteth Ipseus and in Virgil Aeneas Lausus and Camilla Ornithus for that they wer slayne by their handes Sorow I dye by the swoord Reason This fortune is common vnto thee with the greatest men forasmuch as most part of the worthiest men that eyther haue lyued in most blessed estate in this world or are nowe most holy fainctes in the euerlastyng kyngdome haue dyed by the sworde whom al yf I would vndertake to rehearse I should play the part rather of a long historician then of a short admonisher Sorowe I peryshe by the swoord Reason Dyuers diuersly haue come to their ende some by the halter some by a fal some by the Lyons clawes some by the wilde boares teeth many haue wanted a swoord beyng desirous to haue ended their lyues with a weapon Sorowe I am slayne with a swoord Reason Howe knowest thou whether thou shouldest escape to fal into greater destruction and that this death whiche thou thinkest to be most miserable be the eschuyng of a greater miserie I tolde thee before howe that Plotinus who next vnto Plato was the seconde glory of Philosophie was strooken with a pestilent leprosie But I recited not vnto thee hoowe that Euripides who immediatly after Homer was the seconde light of Greece for poetrie was torne in peeces by dogges Lucretius who among your countrey Poetes was next to the chiefe of whom Virgil was not ashamed to borowe so muche as he dyd drinking of a slabbersauce confectioned amorous cup fel into a sickenesse and extreame madnesse and in the ende was enforced in dispatche hymselfe with a swoord for remedie Herod kyng of Iudea dyed beyng beset with an armie of foule and loathsome diseases so that the more compendious and short way of diyng might be by hym enuied at as doubtlesse I thinke it was Hadrian that was Emperour of Rome beyng ouercome with the payne and tediousnesse of his sickenesse was wylling if it had been lawful to shorten the extremitie of his greefe by dynt of swoord It is reported howe that in our age there was a great personage consumed by woormes that issued out of al the partes of his body and another in lyke manuer deuoured by myse Among so many mockeries and infirmities of mans body who is so weake that yf he might haue his choyce woulde not rather desire to dye by the swoorde Sorowe I peryshe by fire Reason Some that supposed the soule to be of a firie force and â—aturâ— haue thought that to be the most easiest kinde of death Sorowe I am consumed with fire Reason Thy body by this meanes beyng delyuered from the wormes wil not putrifie Sorowe I am euer whelmed in water Reason A feast for the fishes and for thy selfe a place of burial large cleere and notable And what maketh it matter whether thou render vp thine earthen carcase to the earth or to the sea Sorow I dye in the sea Reason Not where but howe a man dyeth maketh to the purpose euery where a man may dye wel and euerywhere yll It is not in the place but in the minde that maketh the death happie or wretched Sorowe I peryshe in the sea Reason I knowe that many are perswaded that it is miserable to be drowned in water for that the ethereal and burnyng spirite seemeth to be ouercome by his contrarie but as I sayde before the place maketh nothyng but it is the minde that maketh all vnto the miserie And therefore I lyke very wel of the answere of a certayne sayler I wot not what he was of whom when on a tyme one demaunded where his father dyed he answeared vpon the sea Then demaundyng farther the lyke
of his graundfather and great graundfather great great graundfather receiuing the same answere concernyng them al at length he inferred and art not thou afearde then quoth he to goe to sea The sayler answeared dissemblingly I pray thee quoth he tell me also where thy father dyed In his bed answeared the other And where lykewyse thy graundfather Euen he sayde the ocher and my great grandfather and great great grandfather and al my auncetours dyed in their beddes The sayler answeared art not thou then afeard quoth he to goe into thy bed Trimly answeared truely and somewhat more then saylerlyke Concernyng the death therefore let nature looke to that whiche made men mortal and as touchyng the kynde of death the place and tyme let fortune vse her discretion Sorow I dye by poyson Reason I tolde thee whilere what notable companions thou hast herein whereas I entreated of this matter onely The swoord is a princely death but most of al poyson And to conclude it is a very ridiculus matter when thou hast determined of the death to be carefull of the instrumentes Of a shameful death The .cxxii. Dialogue SOROWE BUt my death is shameful Reason It is not the kynde nor qualitie of the death but the cause of the punishment that maketh it shameful Sorow I dye reprochefully Reason No good man dyeth yll no euyl man well It is not the pompe of buryal nor the attendance and waiting of seruantes and officers nor the ryche garmentes nor the spoyles of the enimies nor the shieldes and swoordes turned downe and dragged after nor the whole family mournyng for their maister nor the howlynges and outcryes of the common people nor the wyfe drenched in teares nor the chyldren with duetiful compassion resolued in sorowe nor the cheefe mourner who soeuer he be holdyng downe his head and walkyng before the corpes attired in blacke and wofully be dewing his face with stoare of bitter teares nor lastly the oratour or preacher in commendation of hym that is to be buryed nor the golden images and pictures wherewith to furnyshe the sepulcher nor the titles and stiles of hym that is dead whiche beyng engrauen in marble shal lyue vntyl suche tyme as though it be long first death also consume the stones themselues but it is vertue and the famous report of hym that hath deserued well and needeth not the brute of the common multitude but whiche sheweth it selfe in it owne maiestie and not whiche the headelong and blynde fauour of men but rather a long continuance in doing wel and an innocent lyfe hath procured and also the defence of trueth and iustice vndertaken euen to the death and moreouer a valiant minde and notable bouldnesse euen in the middes and thickest of deathes sharpest threatninges that maketh the death honest and honourable Agaynst which most honourable death what place remayneth there for reproch Or howe can he die shamefully that dyeth in such manner yea though there be prepared agaynst the body in slauish sore whippes roddes tormentes halters axes yea high gallowetrees wheeles set vpon the toppes of postes cartes with wild horses to teare the limmes of the body insunder adde moreouer fire fagot gridirons set vpon glowyng coales and caudrons sweatyng with hot scaldyng oyle the sharpe teeth of cruel wylde beastes whetted with hunger and lastly hookes and other engins to drag withal the mangled carcases about the streetes or whatsoeuer other villanie or reproche may be deuised or the lyuing or deade body be put vnto the death I say may happely seeme cruel but shameful it cannot be but rather many tymes the crueller it is the more glorious it is And therefore neyther the outward preparance for execution nor the thronging of the people nor the trumpets nor the terrible lookes of the hangmen and tormentours nor the wrathful voyce of the Tirant are any thing to the purpose But turne thee into thy selfe there seeke and awake thy selfe and with al the force of thy mynde that remayneth arme thy selfe agaynst the present extremitie withdrawe thyne eares from the odious noyse turne away thine eyes from the pompe and preparation for the execution and secretly gather togeather thy spirites and comfort thy soule within thee and examine the thinges themselues and not their shadowes And yf thou be able with ful sight to beholde death in the face I suppose thou shalt feare neyther swoord nor axe nor halter nor poysoned cuppes nor the hangmen dropping with goare blood for why it is a vayne thyng when thou contemnest thine enimie to be afeard of his furniture or ensignes Sorowe I am condemned to a shameful death Reason It hapneth many-tymes that the accuser is infamous and the wytnesses dishonest and the iudge obscure and the partie accused very noble and often the death is commonly accounted reprochful and he that dyeth honourable and glorious And to speake nothyng of any other for that there haue been to many suche alreadie and to much vnwoorthy of that ende what death was there euer more shameful then the death of the crosse Vpon whiche the most excellent and glorious lyght both of heauen and earth was hanged to the ende that thenceforth no state or condition of men whatsoeuer shoulde iudge it to be reprocheful And forasmuche as there is nothyng higher then the highest in this example onely I make an ende Vertue alone is able to make any kinde of death honest and there is no death that can blemishe vertue Of a suddayne death The .cxxiii. Dialogue SOROWE BVt I dye to suddeynly Reason It is not long since yf I forget not my selfe that thou sayest thou wast olde I meruayle then howe there can be any death suddayne to an olde man who vnlesse he doate or be mad hath death euermore before his eyes For since there is this wholsome counsel geuen to al ages that they perswade themselues that euery day is the last that they shall lyue it is most specially conuenient for olde age to thynke euery houre the last of their lyfe And not only not to hearken vnto that which is wrytten by Cicero There is no man so olde that thinketh not to lyue one yeere longer but not so muche vnto that which Seneca sayeth one day longer Sorow I dye suddaynly Reason In this case what shal I answere thee other then repeate that which that most mightie personage no lesse in wyt then great in fortune answeared scarse one whole day when he disputed thereof before his death as prophecying of the trueth thereof by reason of the neerenesse of the experience Who pronounced that a suddayne and vnprouided death was most to be wyshed Whiche iudgement seemeth to be dissonant from that religion whiche teacheth to pray with bowed knees vnto GOD euery day to be delyuered from this kynde of death Neyther do I lyke of this opinion where there is otherwyse choyse and libertie but thou must in other manner perswade thyselfe for I say not that it is
such a death as thou oughtest to wyshe for but suche an one as thou mayest wel endure For this is a cleare case that vnto a wyse man and one that foreseeth a far of al thynges that are lyke to ensue there can nothyng happen vnlooked for Whereupon it foloweth that death cannot come vnto hym vnprouided for whose lyfe was alwayes prouident for how should he be negligent in the greatest thinges that was wount to demurre in small yea the least thynges And in al worldly thynges what canst thou shewe me that is greater then death or comparable vnto it Sorowe I dye most speedily Reason So that the death be not vnthought vpon the speedier the easier it is and yf there be any payne in it it is very short and the speedinesse thereof preuenteth the feelyng of it and so that is taken away from death whiche is most greeuous in death to wyt the feare of death Of one that is sicke out of his owne countrey The .cxxiiii. Dialogue SOROW. I Am sicke in a strainge countrey Reason What skylleth it whose countrey it be the sickenesse thou art sure is thine owne Sorowe Thou mockest me I am sicke out of mine owne countrey Reason He that is out of his owne countrey is surely in some other for none can be sicke or whole out of al countreyes Sorow Thou seekest delayes in wordes but I am sicke out of my countrey Reason In this miserie thou gainest this one commoditie that thou hast none to trouble thee nor to lye vpon thy bed not thine importunate wyfe nor thy sonne who woulde both be careful for them selues and carelesse of thee Howe often thinkest thou hath the wyfe to her husband and the sonne to the father and one brother to another when they haue lien in extremitie of death throwne a pillowe ouer their mouthes and holpen to set them packyng whiche a stranger would not haue done nor haue suffered to be done by others Many tymes there is most loue where it is lesse looked for and there none that are about thee wylbe glad of thy sickenesse or wyshe for thy death And shall I tel thee the cause why There is none there that looketh for thine inheritance none commit any wickednesse but they are moued thereunto by hope or desire which quietnesse wherein thou art nowe would not haue hapned vnto thee in thine owne countrey For many vnder the colour of goodwyl woulde flocke about thee and gape after thy burial whiche conceit vnlesse I be much deceiued is a seconde sickenesse to him that is sicke alreadie when he shal perceiue himselfe beset rounde about at the one side with woolfes and at the other with rauens whiche in their mindes come to pray on the carcase Sorowe I am sicke out of my countrey Reason Howe knowest thou that Perhaps thou returnest nowe into thy countrey for the readiest and shortest way for a man to returne into his countrey is to dye Sorowe I am sicke out of my countrey Reason O the needelesse alwayes and vayne cares of men and fond complayntes as though out of a mans owne countrey his ague were fiercer or his gout more intollerable Al this whiche seemeth euyl consisteth in your owne wyl and lyeth in your owne power lyke as other plagues and mischeefes do whatsoeuer a false opinion hath engendred in your mindes Of one that dyeth out of his owne cuntrey The .cxxv. Dialogue SOROWE I Dye out of my natiue countrey Reason Doth this happen vnto thee beyng a traueiler or a banished man For whether thou madest thine aboade in this countrey for studie sake or for religion thou hast cause to reioyce that death hath taken thee in an honest deede or in a iust condemnation and thou oughtest to take it not onely valiantly but also willingly For the wyckednesse of an vnryghteous person is by no meanes better purged then by wyllyng and patient suffryng of punishment But yf it be long of the iniurie of some mightie enimie neuerthelesse thou must not be sorie for it and as for banishment I suppose we haue disputed sufficiently of it alreadie Sorowe I dye out of my countrey Reason This I sayd euen nowe is to returne into thy cuntrey there is no streighter path nor readier way Hast thou forgotten hudemus of Cyprus that was familiar with Aristotle of whom Aristotle hymselfe and also Cicero wryteth Who on a tyme beyng very sicke in Thessalia dreamed that he should recouer very shortly and after fiue yeeres expired returne into his countrey that the Tyrant of the same citie where at that tyme he soiourned whose name was Alexander Phaereus shoulde dye shortly But when after a fewe dayes beyng restored vnto his despaired health and the Tyrant slayne by his owne kinsfolke thinking his dreame to be true in al poyntes at the tyme limitted he looked also to returne into his Countrey at the ende of the fyfth yeere he was slayne in fyght at Syracuse and this sayd the Interpretours of dreames was the meanes of the returnyng into his Countrey that there myght be no part of the dreame false What myne opinion is concernyng dreames I haue declared elsewhere alreadie and nowe I haue vttered what came into my mynde of this returnyng into a mans Countrey Sorowe I am compelled to dye out of my Countrey Reason When I entreated of exile then sayd I which nowe I repeate agayne that eyther none or all dye out of theyr Countrey The learned holde opinion that euery part of the worlde is a mans Countrey specially to hym that hath a valiant minde whom any priuate affection hath not tyed to the liking of this place or that and othersome call that a mans Countrey where he is wel and lyueth in good case And contrariwyse some say that a man hath heere no speciall Countrey at all The fyrst is a common doctrine but this last a poynt of hygher Philosophie Sorowe I dye farre from my Countrey in which I was borne Reason But that is more truely thy Countrey where thou dyest The same shall possesse thee longer and not suffer thee to wander abroade but keepe thee within it for a perpetuall inhabitaunt for euer Learne to lyke of this Countrey that wyll enfranchize thee into it selfe wheresoeuer otherwyse thou were borne Sorowe I must dye and be buried farre out of myne owne Countrey Reason Those heauenly and diuine men lykewyse whom one age and the selfe same middle part of the worlde brought foorth are dispersed ouer all partes of the worlde as well in theyr deathes as burialles Ephesus keepeth one and Syria another and Persis another and Armenia another and Aethiopia another and India another and Achaia another and Rome othersome and the farthest part of Spayne another neuerthelesse it is reported that some of them after theyr death were carried away and translated from the places where they dyed vnto certayne Cities of Italy I speake of the earthly part of them but as for theyr spirituall part doubtlesse it is long since that
they possessed the kyngdome of heauen Sorowe I must needes dye out of my Countrey Reason What shall I speake of men of a meaner degree One that was remooued fyrst from Stridon Bethleem and afterwarde Rome receyued Fraunce another from Pannonia and Parris another from Athens and Rome another from Greece and Spayne and Millaine another from Rome lyuing and the same when he was dead Sardinia from Africa and shortly after Ticinum from Sardinia two most bryght shining streames of the East march in merites and ioyned in minde and neere in bodye Who they be that I speake of thou knowest and therefore in makyng hast I ouerpasse many thynges But that thou mayest not want also an example of the thyrde sorte Cyprus receyued one from the land of Palestine and Campania another from Nursia Spaine this one and Italie that other and Bononie one and Padua another Sorowe I vnderstande well all that euer thon meanest notwithstandyng vnwillingly doo I dye farre from my Countrey Reason And truely I vnderstande the very cause hereof to wit for that the most sacred spirites and mindes which alwayes haue their affections fixed in heauen haue no care at all of their earthly Countrey which care thou hast not yet layd aside but truely beleeue mee yf thou hope after heauen thou must needes lay it asyde indeede Neuerthelesse I wyll entreate of others that were louers of vertue and mindfull of heauen and yet not through their loue of heauen altogether forgetful of the earth The boanes of Pythagoras of Samos Metapontus dyd couer Cicero whom Arpine brought foorth and Rome dyd nourysh the bay of Caieta sawe dead Plinie whom the riuer Athesis washed when he was an infant the ashes of the mount Veseuus couered when he was olde Mantua brought Virgil into the worlde Brundusium or as other some write Tarentum plucked hym away and now Naples holdeth hym Sulmo framed the Poet Ouid but his exile in Pontus disolued him Carthage as it is reported brought forth Terence the Comike Poet but Rome taught him and Arcadia buried him Apulia sent foorth Horace the Poet and Calabria Ennius and the Prouince of Narbona Statius and Vasconia Ausonius Corduba the three Annei or as some say foure to wit the two Senecaes and Gallio and the Poet Lucan And al these ouer besides Plautus of Arpine and Lucillus of Arunca and Pacuuius of Brundusium Iuuenal of Aquinum and Propertius of Vmbria Valerius of Antium and Catullus of Verona and Varrus of Cremona and Gallus of Forli and Actius of Pisaurum Cassius of Parma Claudianus of Florence Persius of Volaterrae a thousand moe hath Rome receiued and for the most part buried only Titus Liuius of Padua with muche adoo was restored vnto his Countrey to be enterred and so contrariwise Rome hath bread many that haue dyed and ben buried in other places The whole world is in manner of a narrow house fouresquare wherein men passe from one extremitie to another and in the one is life and in the other death Men of valiant courage esteeme of it for none other cause then for the varietie of the vse thereof as it were to goe out of a cold bath into a stone or to chaing out of a winter chamber into a summer lodging This chaing and varietie namely to be borne in one place and buried in another is common among al men specially the more noble for t Sorowe I knowe it is so yet I dye sorowfully out of myne owne Countrey Reason Thou shouldest dye no more merily in that Countrey which thou callest thyne but ye geue your selues ouer to teares and seeke causes to lament and be sorie as yf ye tooke pleasure in them But yf the examples of holy learned and discrete pouertie can not discharge thy minde hereof which is infected with the errours of the vulgare multitude I wyll alleage them that haue been more fortunate in proouing that this which troubleth thee hath hapned to the most famous Captaynes Dukes Kynges and Emperours so that I wyll see whether thou wylt refuse that fortune which may befal to a man. Sorowe Whom thou wylt speake of and alleage I knowe well enough but what neede many woordes I am sorie to dye out of my Countrey the place encreaseth the greefe of my death Reason I perceiue thou refusest to be cured yet wyll I proceede but with how good effect that looke thou vnto as for me it shall suffice to vtter the trueth and geue thee faythfull warnyng Alexander was borne at Pella slayne at Babylon and his ashes buried at Alexandria a Citie called after the name of the founder The other Alexander was brought vp in the Princes Palace of Epirus and drowned in the Riuer Lucanus Kyng Cyrus was borne in his Kyngdome of Persis and slayine and mangled in Scythia Rome and the whole Romane Empire had in admiracion Marcus Crassus and Pompeius the great which as it was able to beare the greatnesse of them whyle they lyued so yf Fortune had so suffered it had been sufficient to haue receyued theyr ashes but the one was couered with earth in Assyria beyonde Euphrates the other ouerwhelmed in the Channell of the Aegyptian streame Vnto the latter Cato the Citie of Rome gaue both begynnyng and name but Vtica brought both ende and surname The Cornelii Scipioes Rome procreated most noble and profitable members of the Common-wealth by whom it had been often saued and adorned whom notwithstanding their destinies so dispersed that those two which are called the great were entombed both in Spanish moulde and the elder Africane at Linternum and Nasica at Pergamus and Lentulus within Scicil dwelling al in seuerall and disioyned graues Of all this number only Asiaticus and Africanus the younger lye buried at Rome who perhaps had lyen better in any banishment whatsoeuer for the fyrst was punyshed by imprisonment the other by death And thus many tymes it happeneth that a man may lyue better and dye better in any other place then in his owne Countrey and lye nowhere harder then at home The three Deci although the common report make mention but of twayne dyed valiantly out of theyr owne Countrey the Father fyghting with the Latines the Sonne with the Hetrurians and the Nephew as Cicero addeth with Pyrrhus To what purpose shoulde I nowe rehearse in order as they come to my minde woorthie Captaynes and Princes whiche were all borne at Rome and dyed elsewhere Africa behelde Attilius Regulus howe muche the more cruelly so muche the more gloriously dying both for the preseruyng of his Countrey and also of his fayth and credite with his enimie and in the next war followyng Cortona sawe Caius Flaminius and Cumae Paulus Aemilius and Venusia Claudius Marcellus and Lucania Tiberius Gracchus lying dead it was the fortune of none of these to dye at Rome Two noble Gentlemen of great hope and expectation in the Romane Commonwealth were cut of in the very floure of their youth Drusus and Marcellinus
who although they returned both into their Countrey yet dyed they both farre from their Countrey Drusus in Germanie and Marcellinus in Baion And tell me nowe are thou prouder then Tarquinius or myghtier then Sylla Yet the fyrst of these dyed a bannished man at Cumae the other beyng a great Lorde gaue vp the ghost at Puteoli What shall I speake of men of meaner degree Augustus Caesar who was called Father of his Countrey dyed out of his Countrey at Nola in Campania Tyberius that was vnlyke in Manners but equall in Empire deceassed at Misenum in Campania Vespasian and Titus two most excellent Princes as it well became the father and the sonne dyed in one Village yet without of the Citie of Rome â–ª though not farre But â—raian being borne in the West part of the worlde dyed in the East Septimus Seuerus came but of a base parentage in Africa and had a proude Empire at Rome â–ª and was buried at Yorke in Englande Theodosius that was borne in Spayne and dyed at Millain Constantinople receyued whiche Citie also had in it before the founder thereof beyng of the same name but borne in another place What shall I neede to recite others Lycurgus who fledde from Sparta Creta receyued which long before had seene Kyng Saturne bannished out of his Kyngdome and flying from his sonne and hearde howe he hyd hym selfe in the confines of Italie and was there buried A poore graue of Bithynia couereth Hannibal the lyght of all Africa Theseus Themistocles and Solon the three Diamondes of all Athens were so scattered by Fortune that the fyrst was buried in Syria the seconde in Persis and the thyrde in Cyprus in farre vnfitte Graues for so woorthie Carcasses The day woulde sooner fayle mee then matter yf I shoulde stande to reporte euery example But my purpose was not to weerie thee with Histories but onely to instructe thee Sorowe I vnderstande thy meanyng and I confesse that all these and as many moe as thou canst recken dyed out of theyr Countreyes in deede but I denie that it was with their wylles but rather I suppose to theyr great greefe Reason Whereby speakest thou this but onely for that all fooles iudge other lyke them selues and thynke that to be impossible for others to doo which they them selues can not attayne to And perhappes thou hast hearkened to the olde prouerbe It is good to lyue abrode in strange Countries but yll to dye there when as in deede they are both good so that they be orderly doone with patient forbearyng and comlinesse but both euyl yf they be yll handled lamentably and without discretion I wyll tell thee that which thou wylt marueyll at and is quite repugnant to the olde prouerbe If there be any iust occasion to complayne of the cause I had rather impute the same to the lyuyng whom perhaps in some respect it may concerne then hym that lyeth a dying who hath now no regarde of any place seeyng that he is vpon departyng from all places Sorowe Somewhat thou moouest my minde neuerthelesse I am yet desirous to dye in my Countrey Reason The wyll of man vnlesse it be bridled by vertue and wysedome of it selfe is wylde and vnreclaymed And yf thou consider of the matter deepely thou wylt confesse that none of all this appertayneth vnto thee seeyng that thou thy selfe canst remayne heere no longer nor thy boanes retayne any sense after thy deceasse to discerne where thou myghtest haue lyen harder or softer and also vnto that place whyther thou departest which had been the shorter or easier way When Anaxagoras lay a dying in a farre forraine Countrey and his freendes demaunded of hym whether after his death he woulde be carried home into his owne natiue soyle he answeared very finely saying that it shoulde not neede and he added the cause why for that the way to Heauen is of lyke distaunce from all places Whiche answeare serueth as well for them that goe downe to Hell as for those that goe vp to Heauen Sorowe I woulde GOD I myght dye at home Reason If thou were there perhappes thou wouldest wyshe thy selfe in another place perswade thy selfe so Learne to doo that dying whiche thou oughtest to haue doone lyuyng An hard matter it is for you O ye mortall men to beare your selues vpryghtly ye are so dayntie and faultfyndyng euermore makyng none account of that whiche ye haue and alwayes iudging best of that whiche ye want Sorowe O that I myght dye at home Reason Peraduenture thou shouldest see many thynges there that woulde make thy death more greeuous vnto thee for whiche cause thynke that thou art remooued to the intent that all other cares beyng set apart thou myghtest onely thynke vpon GOD and thyne owne soule Of one that dyeth in Sinne. The Cxxvj. Dialogue SOROWE I Oye in sinne Reason This is neyther Natures nor Fortunes but thyne owne fault Sorowe I dye in sinne Reason Fyrst who enforced thee to commit sinne And next who forbydde thee to bewayle it when it was committed And last of all who letteth thee from repentyng though it be late fyrst For vnto the last gaspe the spirite and minde is free Sorowe Whyles I am dying I carrie my sinnes with mee Reason Beware thou doo not so lay downe that venemous and deadly carriage whyle thou hast tyme and there is one that wyll take it away and blotte it out accordyng as it is written and wyll cast it behynde his backe into the bottome of the Sea and wyll abandon it as farre from thee as the East is distant from the West If thou neglect this houre when it is once past it wyll neuer returne agayne Whith qualitie although it be common to all houres that alwayes they passe away and neuer returne yet many tymes that which hath been omitted in one houre may be perhappes recouered in another but yet the neglectyng of the last houre of a mans lyfe is irrecurable And therefore as some report it to be found in the secret disputations of the soule the errours of this lyfe are as it were softe falles vpon the playne grounde after which a man may soone ryse vp agayne but the sinne vnto death is compared vnto a greeuous fall from some hygh and craggie place after which it is not possible to aryse any more the hurt therein taken is so great that it can not be salued Wherefore helpe thy selfe nowe whyle thou mayest and call to remembraunce not onely what your owne writers say but also what Cicero counselleth who in his woorke de Diuinatione of Diuination disputing of those that are dying Doo thou cheefely quod he studie to winne commendation and thynke that they which haue lyued otherwyse then they ought doo most bitterly repent them of their sinnes What I pray thee coulde be vttered by any man more religiously or profitably yf so be that be followed which is commaunded and thou repent thee though it be late fyrst A difficult and dangerous matter it is truely to
since that care appertayneth no longer to thee hereafter Feare I am afeard lest after my decease my wyfe marrie agayne Reason Some there be that marrie their olde husbandes lyuing Thus dyd Herodias among the Hebrewes Sophronisba among the Africanes and Martia and Liuia among the Romanes although their husbandes consent commaundement doo excuse these two last recited wylt thou onely binde thy wyfe from marriage Yea there are but few that lyue faythfully towardes their husbandes wilt thou require that thy wife continue her truth to thy cold senselesse ashes If she haue liued faythful to thee vnto the last day of thy lyfe then hath she accomplyshed the duetie of a true and trustie spouse Feare I am afeard that my wyfe wyl marrie agayne Reason That she first married perhaps thou shouldest haue feared more that belonged to thee but her second marrying shal apperteyne to another But this is your common trade ye contemne the things that ye ought to feare and feare the thynges that ye ought to contemne esteeming of nothyng iustly as ye ought Thou enâ—redst the combat of the married bed without feare not forethinkyng what danger thou passedst into and art thou afeard now least another should do the like Feare I would not I confesse haue my wyfe marrie agayne Reason For a woman of exact perfecte chastitie I graunt although she be permitted by lawe to marrie agayne yet were it better to abstayne but most of al to eschue perilous widowhood There is moreouer some such tyme occasion that a woman is not onely excused but also enforced to marrie agayne For it is an hard matter for a fayre woman to lyue alone chastly Feare My sweete wyfe wyl marrie another husband Reason There are but fewe women found yea among them that are counted honest that euen whyle their present husbande is lyuing do not determine in their minde who shal be their next My husband say they is a mortal man and yf he chaunce to dye shal I marrie next for vertue or nobilitie or loue or eloquence or bewtie or person sake Feare My wife wyl marrie againe Reason Not thy wyfe verily for death wyl make that she shal not be thine And no merueile though it part man and wyfe whiche dissolueth the bandes whereby the body and soule are knyt togeather Feare My wyfe wyl marrie agayne Reason The wyues of the Romane Captaines and Dukes and Emperours haue also married agayne and therefore take in good part this fortune whiche is common to thee with thine auncetours Feare My wyfe wyl marrie agayne Reason The Romane Captaynes and Prynces did marrie wyddowes also so did the most godly kyng Dauid take to wife two wyddowes that had been the wyues but of meane persons and it may so happen that one greater then thou may marrie thy wyfe vnto whom resigne this carefulnesse seeing thou goest thyther where there is no marrying at all Feare My sweete wyfe wyl marrie another man. Reason If she marrie a better reioyce at her prosperity whom thou louedst But if to a woorse be glad yet for that she wyl thinke more often vpon thee and holde thee more deere For there be many that haue learned to knowe and loue their first husbandes onely by their second marriages Of one dying that is careful what wyl become of his countrey after his deceasse The .cxxix. Dialogue FEARE WHat shal become of my countrey after my death Reason All good men haue but one countrey and all euyl men another take heede nowe into whiche of these two countries thou wilt be admitted a countreyman As for a third countrey there is none but onely an Inne and a place of passage a thoroughfare Feare What wyll become of my countrey Reason That countrey which thou goest vnto continueth alwayes in one estate and this whiche thou now forsakest as I haue oftentymes sayde before is not thy countrey but hath rather been thy place of banishment Feare What wyl my countrey do after my deceasse Reason This is the peculiar care of kynges to thynke what wil become of their kyngdomes dominions after their death the lyke whereof thou readest there rested in the heart of the great king of Assyria or of the most mightie emperour of the Romans This care exceedeth the calling of a priuate person But since nowe euen at thy very ende thou art so affected that thou lust to terme that stoarehouse of miserie and hospital of payne and sorow wherein thou hast passed foorth the swyft tyme of thy lyfe in great trouble aduersitie and heauinesse by the name of thy countrey and art desirous to knowe what it wyl doo I wyl tell thee it wyl do as it dyd and as other countreyes do What is that thou wylt say It wyl be troublesome disquiet dissentious and studious of innouations it wyl followe factions chainge lordes and gouernours alter lawes and both these many tymes for the woorse seldome for the better spurne agaynst the best and most noble subiectes aduaunce the vnwoorthie banishe the well deseruing esteeme of the pillers poullers of the treasurie loue flatterers hate them that speake the trueth contemne the good honour the myghtie woorshyp the enimies of it libertie persecute the defenders of the Commonwealth weepe sometyme and laugh without cause esteeme of golde and precious stones reiect vertue and embrace pleasures these are the manners and state of your Cities and Countreys There is none but may most assuredly prophecie vnto thee of these matters vnlesse he be such an one as hath alwaies led a rurall lyfe or entred into Townes with deafe eares and dimme eyes Feare What wyll befall vnto my Countrey after my deceasse Reason Why art thou carefull and troubled herewith Whatsoeuer hapneth to thy Countrey thy house shal be free from burnyng theeues and ouerthrowing Whether the yeere fall out to be pestilent or els to be deare or plentiful hot or drye haylie snowie or raynie frostie or otherwyse moyst rotten yea the byrdes of the ayre wild beastes of the wooddes the Caterpiller and Chaffer finally earthquakes and raginges of the lea dearth of victualles inuasions of enimies or ciuile warres none of all these are able to touche or concerne thee hereafter Feare O what shal be the estate of my Countrey or to what ende shal it come Reason To what other thinkest thou then that the greatest citie and state that euer was or shal be is come vnto to wit dust ashes rubbysh scattered stones and a name only remâ—yning I could prooue this to be true by innumerable argumentes but thou knowest the matter sufficiently To be short there is nothing apperteining vnto man that is euerlasting no worldly thyng permanent but only the soule of man which is immortal Enclosures shal fayle sowed landes shal decay buildinges shall fall downe all thynges shall come to naught and why art thou greeued and vexed in the minde If thou be in heauen thou wylt both dispise this and all other worldly