into a newe And what other thing is the sepulchre but a castelle wherin we be closed agaynst the assautes of the lyfe Of trouth you ought more to couete to take that you find at your deth than the hurte of that you shal leue in your lyfe I demand of you what is it that dothe you most peyne in lesyng of the lyfe If you peyn your self for Helie Fabrice your wyfe bicause you leaue her yonge wery not yourself for she is wel thought on in Rome for any peryll of your lyfe And as soone as she knoweth it I am in certayne she wyll not wepe moche though you go your way Thā you ought not to wepe for leuyng of her These yonge damoysels maried to old men haue euer their eyes fixed in the deth of their husbandes And holly fasten their hartes on him that they think to mary with ageyn They wepe with their eies laughe in their hartis And thinke not contrary though she be an empresse and can not fynde an other emperour to be her husbande yet she wyll fynde some other man For if they be soo determyned they wyll change their robes of sylke for a gowne of clothe I dare well saye they more desyre a yonge sheparde than an olde emperour If you care for your chyldren whom ye muste leaue behind you I can not tell why you shuld do so For if your deth be displeasant to them moch more displeaseth them y t you liue so longe It is great pein to the child not to desire the deth of his father For if he be poore it is for feare how they shuld be mainteined if he be ryche thā bicause he shalbe his heire They synge you wepe you fere the deth wepe bicause you leaue your life Doo you not know y t after the night cometh the dewy mornyng after y t cometh the bright son after y e son comith a derk cloude and after ageyn cometh faire wether after that cometh lightnyng thonder than again clere aire Also I say that after infancy cometh childhode thā cometh youth age after that and so at laste cometh deth and after dethe fearefull hope of a sure lyfe Sir beleue me in one thyng The beginning the meane and the ende euery man hath Certainly if you had ben takē as the floure fro the herbe if you had ben cut grene fro the tree if you had ben graffed in primetyme if you had ben eaten in the sowernes of the vyne I meane if in the fyrste youthe whan lyfe was at the swetest if dethe had come and knocked at the gate ye shulde haue had cause to be sory but as nowe the walles are weake and redye to falle and the flowre wythered and the very putrified the speare full of mosse and canne not drawe the knyfe out of the shethe Herein you haue desired the worlde as if you had neuer knowen the worlde Lxii. yere you haue ben prisoner in the dongeon of the body now whan the shakles or gyues shuld be taken from you you complayne you lorde wold make newe of other newes He that thinketh it nat sufficient to lyue .lxii. yeres in this dethe or to dye in this lyfe he wyll not be contente with thre score thousande ¶ Auguste the Emperour sayde that after that men had lyued .l. yeres they ought to dye orels cause them selfe to be slayne bycause that vnto that tyme is the felycitie of man He that lyueth beyonde that tyme passeth his tyme in heuynesse in greuous aches deathe of his chylderne and losse of his goodes in importunities of his chyldren in lawe buryenge of his frendes susteynynge processe payinge of dettis and other infinyte trauayles So that it were better with his eies cloosed to abyde theym in his graue thanne with his eyes open to abyde theym in his lyfe dayes Certaynly it is a fortune of all fortunes and he is ryght priuie with the goddis that at .l. yere leaueth his lyfe For al the time that he liueth after is in decaying and neuer vpryght but rollyng relynge and redy to fall O Marc my dere lorde do you not know that by the same way that lyfe gothe cometh dethe It is .lxii. yere that ye haue soughte the one from the other And whan ye wente fro Rome where as you lefte your howse ye wente to Illirike where you lefte a great pestylence and nowe you are retourned into Hungarie Do you not knowe that as soone as you were borne to gouerne the erthe incontinent dethe issued out of his sepulchre to fynde your lyfe And if you haue honored ambassadours of the straunge kynges moche more ye oughte to honour deathe that cometh fro the goddis What lordshyp can be loste in this lyfe but you shal fynde greatter in the death Are you not remembred whan Vulcan my sonne in lawe poisoned me bicause he desyred my goodes more than my lyfe howe you my lorde for loue that you had to me gaue me comforte and counsell for the deth of my sorowfull youth and you sayd to me the goddis were cruell in kyllynge of them that be yonge and pitiefull whan they burie theym that be olde And also you sayde to me Comforte thy selfe Panutius For if thou dydst lyue to dye now than thou dyest to liue Therfore right high and myghty prince I saye to you as you sayde to me and I counsayle you as you counsayled me and that you gaue me I gyue you ageyne Fynally of this repynge take the best in worthe let the rest abide ¶ How themperour demanded to haue in writing al that the Secretarie had sayde Cap. xli ANd as of the contentynge of the wylle oftentymes procedeth helthe and ease of the body the emperour was wel satisfied with the wordes of Panutius whiche he eloquently vttered and with profounde counsell hardily and familyarly and in due tyme as a good frende Great cōpassion it is to them that wold die whā it is shewed them what they ought to do For of them that be about the bed somme robbe hym of his money somme serue hym welle some holde the place to be his heire some gape for gyftes some wepe for losynge of hym somme laugh for the gaynes they haue by his death and so in this maner the poore pacient hauyng many lokynge for their profyte hath no body to counsel hym We se dayly that seruātes whā they se the going out of the cādell of lyfe care not for the clēsing of their lordes vyces And therof cometh that as sone as he is deed streight way begynneth to stynke And so I say that the ende of his lyfe is the begynnynge of his infamy All they that were there as well the olde seruantes as the newe belongynge to themperour capitaynes of warre other were not a lyttell abashed of the sayenge of Panutius and they all allowed his sayinge and sayde he was worthy to haue the gouernaunce of thempire The good emperour all the season
true it semeth by diuers excellent barons well lerned in diuers sciences that flourished in his tyme Iulius Capitolin recounteth of them as foloweth Alexander a greke Trasion Polyon Euticius Anius Macrion Caninius Crodiaticus Fornius Cornelius Apolonius Nius Sextus Cheronense Iunius Rasticus Claudius Maximus Cina Catulus Claudius Seuerus and the renowmed Diogenitus paynter and the well lerned lawyer Volusius Mecianus All these were in this emperours palays and residente in his persence And yet for all that he had dyuers other wise presons in Rome and abrode in Italy It was no meruail to se in those dayes the multitude of men that flourisshed in wisedome There was no father but if he had two sonnes he wolde set one of them to study and the other accordyng to the Romayne lawe shuld be sette to the warres And if this emperour wyst of any wyse yong man aboue al other he wolde fauour hym ¶ Of the emperour Marcus sonne named Verissimus Cap. v. THis emperour Marcus Aurelius hadde only two sonnes as Herodian saythe The greattest and eldest was called Comode and the yōgest was named Verissimus He was a fayre childe of person and right vertuous of liuing With his beautie he drewe to hym the eies of many and with his good inclinations he robbed the hartes of all men He was the hope of the people and the glorie of his fathers age And though the eldest was prince yet themperour determyned that the laste borne for his vertues shulde inherite as the eldest And he that was fyrst borne for his demerites shulde be disherited And as good desyres in the best tyme fayle often by vnhappy chance this emperour being of .lii. yeres of age and the sonne of .xvi. the glorie of Rome and hope of the father the lyfe of the sonne toke an ende And as moche was the deathe bewayled as the lyfe desyred It was great pytie for the senate by reason therof sawe not themperour nor the olde emperour for sorowe sawe not the senate of a longe space Rome was ryght heuy and the senate withdrewe them to the heighte of the capitoll dyuers dayes And as the mystes and wyndes cause the leaues to falle that were grene in sommer and the dedes of honour constrayne vs to forget the myshappes of fortune as a man of high lynage and of stronge courage thoughe that sorowe remayne in his harte and abydethe locked therin determynethe to clense the braunches of sorowes that is outward fayning ioy and myrthe outwardely kepynge the sorowe within so this Marcus the emperour as a man whose vine freseth and dyethe wherin he had al his hope contented him with that was lefte behynde Whan his dere sonne Verissimus was deed he sente for the prince Comode his onely inheritour whiche sythe the chylde his brother was deed entred not in to the palays And the emperour seynge the proude and outragious porte of his sonne Comode bedewed his eien with salte teares remembrynge the shame of the one and the dethe of the other The whiche perceyued by Faustyne his mother which loued hym moste entierly commaunded to haue her sonne awaye fro the presence of his father ¶ What wyse and auncient men Marcus chose to instructe his sonne Cap. vi THoughe that the harte of this emperour was occupied with the death of his chylde yet for all that he reysed his vnderstandyng to haue the prince his heyre ryght well brought vppe For certaynely princis bene suche whan they come to mans estate as they be brought vp in their tender youth The father than knowynge the frayle inclinations of his chylde not correspondent to the good gouernaunce of the empire as a good emperour sent ouer all Italye for the moste wysest persones in lernynge the moste famous of renowme and the mooste vertuous in dedes And as in dyuers thynges the infamye is greatter in the yll doinge by malyce than the faute of the trespassour by weakenes so in dyuers other thynges the common voyce is more than the secrete vertue For the whyche occasyon after the assemblynge of these wyse menne the emperour commaunded to examyne them and to be informed of the bloude of their predecessours of the appoyntement in all their thynges and of the treatie of their busynes and of the credence amonge their neyghbours and of the purenes of their lyues and grauitie of theyr persones and finally of their sciences what they coulde do and this to be done in an order The astrologiens in astronomie the musitiens in musyke the oratours in their arte of rhetorike and some in other sciences And this not in one daye but in many and not onely by informacyon of other but he wolde knowe hit by his owne propre experience Thus they were all examyned soo that there was none lefte behynde And as for perfecte knowlege of thynges wherin we haue great affection it behoueth to haue straunge aduyse clere vnderstandynge and propre experience so the emperour commanded to chose out of dyuers a fewe and out of fewe the wysest and of the wysest the moste experte moste worthy and moste auncient And accordyng to the vii artes lyberall there was assigned to euery science two maysters so that the prince was one and the maysters xiiii This renowme that the Emperour sente ouer all to haue maysters for his sonne the prince caused to come to hym moo wyse men from straunge countreys than of the marches and neyghbours of Rome The good emperour considerynge that it was no reason that suche as came to his seruice shulde returne myscontented some with ioyfull wordes some vpon certayne hope and some with giftes and presentes were dispatched soo that they were all pleased And if this doinge was renowmed by the reporte of the wise men it was no lesse vertuous by the wisedome and worthynes of the emperour to sende them home soo well content For he sent them away as well satisfied that were ouercome as they were cōtented that ouercam them And certaynly they had all reason for some bare the swete wordes and satisfienge of the father and somme aboode there charged with the enterprise of the sonne Yet the good emperour not being contented with this commanded that these maysters shoulde be lodged in his palayes and eate in his presence and acconpany his personne to se if theyr lyfe were conformable to their science and whether their plesant and wel couched wordes agreed in effect with theyr warkes It was a meruaylous thinge to se the study and thought that the emperour had to regard them as well in goynge as fedynge ¶ Howe it chaunced to fyue wyse men wherfore they were put out of the emperours house Cap. vii IN the month of Septembre the .xi. day therof in halowyng the feast of the Emperours natiuitie in the same house where as he was borne in the place of moūt Celio As a trewande and foole dothe lyke hym selfe and semblably as he is accustomed to doo And lyke as oone dothe the semblable thynges and customes that he
.xiiii. yeres neuer manchylde nor manne aboue the age of .viii. yeres came within her gates And not contente with this that she dyd to gyue example to all Rome and to attayne perpetuall memory where as she had lefte with her thre sonnes the eldest of whom was but thre yeres of age and as soone as they came to .viii. yere she sente them out of her house to their grauntefathers And thus dydde this excellent Romayne lady to the entente that vnder colour of her owne chyldren there shulde none other yonge children entre into her howse Those yeres passed after that the good olde man Torquate was retourned fro the warres of the Volseos the sayde wylde man with one eye wente by the doore of the sayde Torquate and one of her maydens tolde her that it was a meruaylous thyng to se and the good lady hadde great desyre to see hym and bycause there was none to brynge hym to her that she myghte see hym she dyed for sorowe And for certayne thoughe he came often inoughe by her doore yet she wolde neuer goo nor loke out at her wyndowe to se hym Her deathe was gretly bewayled in Rome for she was in Rome most derely beloued and good reason for many dayes afore was no suche womanne brought in Rome And by the commaundement of the senate the tenour of this writinge in verses were set vpon her sepulchre ¶ Here lyeth the glorious matron wife of Torquate that wolde aduenture her lyfe to assure her good fame ¶ Beholde Faustine this lawe was not made to remedy the death of this matrone but to the ende that to suche as ye be and to all the worlde it shulde be a perpetuall example of her lyfe and memorie of her deathe It was well done to ordeyne that law for an honest woman being with chylde that it shulde be kept to all vertuous women And as women wold that the lawe of them that be with chylde shuld be kepte so by the same lawe it is requisite to require that they be honest In the .vii. table of the lawe it is sayd we commande that where there is coruption of customes there lyberties shal not be kepte ¶ Howe tydinges was brought to the emperour that the Mauritayns wold conquere great Britayne Cap. xxii IN the .liiii. yere of Marcus the emperours aege and the tenthe yere of his election to thempire In the month of Iuly as he was in the citie of Naples and not in verye perfite helthe for he was soore payned with the goute in his foote there came a Centurion in maner of a messager with great hast saying that in great Britayn was sodenly arryued a great nauye of warre to the nombre of C. .xxx. shyps of the realme of Mauritain and the quantitie of .xx. M. men of foote and .ii. M. men of armes and that the kyng of Mauritayns brother was their capitayne named Aselipio the whiche had taken lande at a hauen of the yle called Arpine and that to resyste soo great a power there were but a fewe people in the sayde yle The good emperour heringe these tidynges though he felte it inwardely as a man yet he feyned it outwardly as a discrete man with a sadde countenaunce and made fewe wordes Than seinge that busines myght not be delayed he sayde these wordes I wyll go with a fewe people and do what I can For better it were with a fewe to go betymes than to tarye for many and goo to late And forthwith the good emperour pourueyed that all they of his palays shulde departe to go to Brytayne and none to tarie behynde to do hym seruyce The custome was that the emperours shulde haue alwaye in theyr houses suche men as were mete to be sent forthe in any besynesses that shulde happen for warre And after that they were shypped there ariued one of Britayne that shewed howe the Mauritayns were retourned so that none of theym was lefte in the ile Than this emperour kepte his house in a good poynt Lyttel occasion suffiseth to them that be naturally of yll inclynation to departe and sprede throughe countreys to do harme therfore he sent them of his house to the entent that by occasion of the warre they shuld not leade an yll lyfe Than the emperour fearyng the dissolution of his courte and boldenes of his offycers to the intent they shuld not leaue vertue and growe in vice he determyned on a day to call them to him secretely and to say these wordes to them ¶ What themperour sayd to them of his courte in eschewyng ydelnesse Cap. xxiii THe greattest sygne in a vertuous mā is to do vertuous werkes and vertuously to spende and occupie his tyme and the greatest signe of a loste man is to lese his tyme in naughtye warkes The greattest happe of all and the greattest desire of men is to lyue longe For dyuers chances that fall in shorte tyme may be suffered and remedyed by longe space Plato sayde A man that passeth his lyfe without profyte as one vnworthy to lyue oughte to haue the reste of his lyfe take from hym The fylthe of secrete chambres the stynche of the pompe in shippes nor the ordures of cities do not corrupt the ayre so moche as ydell folke do the people And as there is in a man that occupieth his tyme well no vertue but it encreaseth soo in hym that occupieth his tyme ylle there is no villanie but it is suspecte in hym A manne that is alwaye welle occupied ought euer to be reputed as good and the ydel man with out further enquerie ought to be condemned as nought Shewe me nowe I desyre you what dothe nourysshe the corrupte and fowle wiedes the nettelles that stynge and the briers that pricke but the erthe that is vntylled and waxen wylde and the fyeldes fulle of thystelles whyche is not wyeded and vysyted with the ploughe O Rome without Rome that nowe as vnhappy hast but onely the name of Rome bycause thou arte so dere in vertues and makest vices good cheape Yea yea and I shall tell the knowest thou wherfore thou arte so bycause thou haste vnpeopled the lanes and stretes of werkemen and offycers and haste peopled it all aboute with infinite vacaboundes I knowe for trouthe that the Samytes Vosigoths Astrogoths and Peniens spredde in your territories do you not so moche domage as do these ydell and loste people stuffed in euery shoppe All wryters canne not deny me that if al natiōs wold cōquere Rome they coude not take awaye one loope of the walles of it and these ydell people haue troden and pulled vnder theyr feete the good renome of it An infallyble rule it is a man gyuen to exercyses is vertuous and one gyuen to lewtringes is a vicious person What a diuine thing was it to se the diuine worldes of our predecessous the whiche syth Tullius Hostilius vnto Quintus Cincinatus dictatour and sith Cincinatus vnto Cyncinos whiche were of the Syllans and Marians there was
to be to passe his lyfe with honour and to take his deth with great vertue Ryght dere lorde I demande of you what prouffyte is it to the maryner to knowe the carde of the see and after to peryshe in a tourment or tempeste What prouffytte is it to a capitayne to speake moche of warre and after knowe not howe to gyue battayle What profyteth it to a knyght to haue a good horse and to falle in the strete What profyteth it one to teache an other the playne waye and hym selfe to wander asyde I saye what profyted it the force of your lyfe that you estemed soo lyttelle manye tymes seekynge your deathe And at this present howre that you haue founde deathe you wepe bycause it wyll take away your lyfe What thynges haue I written with myn owne hande beinge your Secretarye dyuysed by your hyghe and profounde vnderstandynge towchynge the stroke of deathe What thynge was it to se the letter that you sent Claudine vpon the deathe of her husbande what wrote you to Anthygone whan your sonne Verissimus dyed Wherin your vertue dydde consolate his heuynesse What highe thinges dyd I write in the boke that you sent to the Senate in the yere of the great pestylence comfortynge them after the great mortalitie passed therein you dydde shewe theym howe lyttell men shulde sette by deth what profyte foloweth therby And I haue seene and harde you blason dethe in your lyfe and nowe you wepe as thoughe you shulde lyue here styll Syth that the goddis cōmande it and your age requireth it your syckenes is the cause and nature permytteth it and fortune consenteth to it and is the fatall destenie of vs all than you muste nedes dye The trauayles that come of necessitie ought with a good courage to be abyden For the couragious feeleth not soo sore the harde strokes as the weake that falleth or he be foughten with You are but one man and nat two and ye ought to haue oone deathe and nat two Therfore why wolde ye for one lyfe haue two dethes enterrynge the body and sleinge the spirite with syghes After so many perylles of longe lyfe to take a sure porte wyll ye lyfte vp the sayles and entre ageyne into the swolowe of the see for to engloutte you In the see you haue chased the bulle and scaped his woodnes and nowe ye refuse to entre into the parke where you may surely slee hym You make assaute with vyctorie of your life and wyl dye atteynyng the deth you haue foughte .lxii. yeres in the campe of myserie and nowe you feare to entre into your sepulchre you haue got out of the busshes and thornes wherin you were closed and nowe at this howre you stomble in the faire way you haue had in certayne the domage of your death and now ye put in double the profyte of your death you ar entred into the campe of defyenge of the worlde and nowe you wolde tourne your backe whan it is tyme to putte your handes to armes Lxii. yere you haue foughte agaynste fortune and nowe you cloose your eies bycause fortune wyl strike you I say it bycause that willyngly you refuse this present dethe the whiche wyll cause vs to haue your lyfe passed suspect What do you high and mighty prince Why wepe you like a chyld why sigh you as one in dyspaire if you wepe bicause ye shal die why dyd you laugh so moche in your lyfetyme For of moche laughynge in the lyfe tyme cometh moche wepyng at the deth Wyl you do that you can not do and not be content with that you may do The grounde and pasture that is common you wolde ioyne to your owne the renowme of the common welthe you applyed to your owne heritage Of a subsidy or lone you wolde make your perpetuall ryghte I wylle shewe you who be deed All be deed and shall dye And amonge all other you wolde all onely lyue Wyll ye haue that of the goddis that they be goddis for That is bycause you are mortall that they make you immortall And you to haue that by priuilege which they haue by nature I that am but symple demaunde one thynge of you my lorde that are auncient and wyse whiche is the greattest or least welthe to dye well or lyue yll To lyue welle noo man can attayne certainely for hungre thirst solitarines persecution yll fortune sicknesses and disfauours This can be called no lyfe but rather a deth If an ancient man wolde make a shewe and booste of his lyfe from the tyme of his birthe to the layinge in his graue and the bodye to shewe all that it hath suffred by dolours and the harte to discouer all the strokes of fortune I thynke that the goddis wolde haue maruayle therof and men wolde be abashed therof that the body coude suffre soo moche and the harte beare it I holde the grekes wisest whiche wepe whan theyr children are borne and they synge whan an olde man dyeth but the Romaynes synge at the byrthe of theyr chyldren and wepe whan they dye olde Certaynly to laughe at the deth of them that die olde sith they dye to laugh and to wepe at the birth of chyldren sithe they are borne to wepe and that the lyfe abydeth the sentence of yl proueth well that the deathe is good Wyll you that I saye one veritie to you I haue alwayes seene that coūsell in the wysest man sonest faileth him Such as wolde gouerne al thinges by theyr opiniōs of necessitie in some or in the moste parte they do erre and fayle O Marc my dere lorde weene you that haue caused to burye soo many that some shulde not burye you in lykewise As you haue seene the ende of theyr dayes so other shal se the ende of your yeres Therfore me semeth it were better for you to dye and to go your waye to atteyne soo moche welthe than to scape and to lyue in so moche mysery If you fele deathe I haue no meruayle sythe you be a man But I meruayle that you do not dissimule it sythe you are dyscrete They that haue clere vnderstandynge feele many thynges at theyr harte that putteth them to peyne which they shewe not outwarde for the presumption of honour If al the poyson that is in a heuy hart were spred abrode in the weake flesshe by smalle greynes noo walles shulde suffyse vs to rubbe nor our nayles to scratche For certainly the deathe is but a playe wherin the player if he be apt aduentureth but lyttell to wynne moche and they that play may se wel that this is a wyly play and not a strōg And that also as well they lese that haue but a smal card not fearyng dethe as they that with a greatte carde loue long lyfe What thinge is deth but a trappe dore wherin the tent is closed in the whiche is solde all the miseries of our life This the goddis do change vs fro an olde filthy house
of good inhabitauntes oughte to be praysed and not the great edifices Our predecessours haue triūphed on strangers as weake and feeble and nowe they may triumphe on vs also as menne that be more vanquysshed with vyces than any of the other By the myghtynes and prowesses of our predecessours we that be nowe are greattely honoured and exalted and by the smalle estimation of vs that be now they that come after vs shall be greatly ashamed Of a very trouthe it is a great shame to saye and no lesse infamy to doo that the goodnesse and trauayle of the auncientes shuld nowe be tourned and conuerted to folies and presumption My sonne loke wel on thy selfe that the reyne of thy youthe and lybertie of the empire cause the nor to commytte vyce He is not called onely free that is free borne but he that dieth within the same O how well are the sclaues borne that after their deth are free by their goodnes howe many haue died sclaues by their noughtynes that were borne free There is fredome where noblenes abydeth The prowes of thy persone shal gyue the more hardines and libertie than thauctoritie of thempire It is a generall rule that euery vertuous man of necessitie is to be holden hardye and euery vicious man of necessitie is to be reputed a cowarde Nowe boldely they be chastised that be noted with any vice and coldely they be chastised that deserue chastisement Let the prince be in a certayn that the loue of his people and the lybertie of his offyce hath not wherwith to vpholde hym in armes spred abrode on the erth without the dyuers vertues assembled in his person ¶ Certaynly Octauius Cesar subdewed mo nations by the renoume of his vertues than dydde Gaius his vncle with his army of many men All the worlde ioy of a vertuous prince and it semeth that al the world ryseth ageinst a vicious prince Vertue is a strong castell and can neuer be wonne it is a riuer where nedeth no rowing a see that moueth not a fire that quencheth not a treasure that neuer hath ende an army neuer ouercome a burden that neuer werieth a spie that euer retourneth a sygne that neuer deceyueth a playne waye that neuer fayleth a syrope that healeth forthwith and a renoume that neuer peryssheth O my sonne if thou knewest what thyng it is to be good and what a man thou shuldest be if thou were vertuous thou woldest doo seruyce to the goddes good renoume to thy selfe pleasure to thy frendes and engender loue of straungers and finally all the worlde shulde feare and loue the. I remembre that in the boke of yeres of the battayle of Tarentyne I founde that the renoumed Pyrrhus king of the Epyrothiens bare in a rynge grauen these wordes To a vertuous man is but a smalle rewarde to be lorde of all the erthe and it is but a small chastisement to take a vicious mans lyfe fro hym ¶ Truly it was a worthy sentence of such a prince What thinge is it be it neuer so difficile begonne by a vertuous man but there is hope to haue a good ende therof Sothly I haue sene in dyuers parties of myn empyre dyuers men very darke of good fame very lowe in goodes and vnknowen of their kynne and bloud vndertake so great thynges that to my semyng it was a feareful audacitie to begynne And yet by the wynges of vertue all onely they haue had good renoume at the last By the immortal goddis and as the god Iupiter bryng me in his mancion and stablyshe the in all that is myne There were ones a gardyner and a potter dwellynge in Rome whyche only by their vertues caused to put tenne vycious senatours out of the senate and the fyrste occasyon was for makynge a hedge of thorne and a potte for the workemanshyp and labour whereof the Senatours wolde not paye theym I tell it the my sonne bycause that vyce maketh a bolde personne thoughtefulle and vertue causeth hym that is in thought to take strengthe and boldenes I was wel ware of two thinges in my lyfe not to pleade agaynst the clerenes of iustyce nor to take part ageynst a vertuous person For with vertue god susteyneth vs and with Iustyce the people are well gouerned and ruled ¶ Of other more partycular counsaylles gyuen by the emperour to his sonne Cap. xlvi NOwe to come to thinges more particular Seinge sonne that thou arte yonge and that nature can not denye the And as in all dyfficile thinges ripe counselle is necessarie no lesse to comfort thestate of our lyuing we desire some recreations For thy youth I leue y e with gret lordis children with whom thou mayst passe the tyme And to teache the I leue olde Romains that haue nouryshed the serued me of whom thou shalt take counsell The inuention of interludes of theatres to fyshe in pōdes to hunt wilde beastes to course in the fieldes to hauke for byrdes and to exercise dedes of armes are the thynges that thy youthe desyreth And youth with youth ought to kepe companye in doinge the same But behold my son that in orderyng of armies to apply the warres to pursue vyctories to accepte truce to confyrme peace to reyse tributes to make lawes to promote some and dismisse other to chastyse the yll and recompence the good in all these thinges that be so chargeable they that be of clere mynde redy broken and trauayled of their bodies whyt heared ought to be takē to coūsel the. And sith thou art yōge lusty of body reioyce sport with them that be yong whan thou art emperor than touching thy secrete affaires take coūsel of them y t be old Beware my son of all extremities For as yll may the prince be vnder the colour of grauitie to be rulyd by the ancient persones as vnder the colour of pastyme to kepe cōpany with yonge folkes It is no generall rule that all yonge persons shall alwayes be yonge and lyght nor that all olde persons shulde be always wyse I am sure of one thynge that if the yonge man be borne with foly the olde man lyueth and dieth with couetyse Therfore my sonne beware be not extreme in extremities For the yonge people wyll corrupte the with their lyghtnes and olde folkes wil depriue thy mind with theyr couetousnes What thing can be more monstrous than a prince that commaundeth euery man to be commaunded of one Sothely the gouernyng of diuers can not be gouerned wel by the opinion of one alone Than the prince that gouernethe many oughte to haue the intention and opinion of dyuers ¶ In the annales of the Pompeyens I founde a lyttell boke of remembrance the which great Pompeie bare alway with hym wherin were dyuers good counselles and aduertisementes the which were gyuen in diuers parties of the worlde Amonge the whiche I founde these wordes He that gouerneth the common welthe and putteth the gouernance to them that are old sheweth hym selfe vnable and he
passeth in my thoughte than the shorte clothe doothe in a false weuers handes Ye haue strayned it on the tentours and drawen it on the perche for to to lengthen the lyfe If ye were made faire and clere cordwainers waxe and swete of sauour that ye myghte be drawen out at lengthe hit were welle doone but ye are but as fruyte of almondes semynge drie without and worme eaten within For the loue that I haue to you and for neyghbourheed that ye haue had with me I desire styll frendshyppe of you that lyke as I knewe you yonge and very yonge so to knowe you olde and very olde I say not that ye surmoūt in age but your wytte fayleth you O Claudius and Claudine I wylle ye knowe that to susteyne youthe and to deface age to length the lyfe and driue awaye dethe it is not in mennes handes that desyre hit it is the goddis that doo gyue it whiche accordinge to iustyce and our couetyse giueth vs lyfe by weighte and deathe without measure Ye may know that our nature is corruption of our body and our bodye is putrifaction of our wytte and our wytte is guyde to our soule and our soule is mother of our desyres and our desires are sleers of our youthe our youth token of our age and our age spye of our dethe and dethe the house of our lyfe wherinto youthe gothe on fote and from age we canne not flee on hors backe I wolde wyte a thinge of you what fynde ye in this lyfe wherfore dothe lyfe content you after .lxxx. yeres of age eyther ye haue ben good or yl if ye haue bene good and vertuous ye shal not reioyce you with yll goddis if ye haue benne yll ▪ than as well desire dethe to thentente ye shulde be no more yll orels iustly ye might be slayn by iustice For he y t hath ben yll tyll .lx. yeres of age in him there is no hope of amendmente Whan the couragious great Pompeie and Caius Cesar were ennemies and beinge in cruell ciuil battailes Rome was infamed and them self lost The annales shew that suche as came in fauour of Iulius Cesar cam out of the west and the succours of Pompeie out of the easte among other there came certayne people out of Barbarie dwellyng amonge the mountayns Riffees toward Inde Their custome was whan they came to thage of .l. yeres to make great fyres and brenne them selfe quicke in sacrifyce to theyr goddis and the same daye the parentes and chyldren wolde make great feastes and eate of the flesshe halfe brente and drynke wyne with the ashes of the bones This was sene with the eies of Pompei bicause that som accomplyshed the yeres of fyftye in the campe O golden worlde wherin were suche men O happy people that in all the worldes to come hath left such a memorie of them They dispised the worlde and forgatte them selfe What strokes gaue they to fortune What delytes for the fleshe and howe lyttell sette they by theyr lyues and yet more to set so small store by deathe O what bridel was this for the vicious and what hope for the vertuous what confusion for them that loued this lyfe and what ensaumple not to feare dethe haue they left vs And sith they dispised their owne propre lyfe it is then to be thoughte that they dyed not to thentent to take other mens goodes to thynke that our lyfe neuer shall haue ende therfore our couetyse neuer hath ende O glorious people and .x. M. tymes blessed that lefte theyr sensualitie and vanquyshed theyr natural wyll beleue not that ye se but gyue faythe to that ye neuer sawe as they that se nothyng go agaynst the fatal destenies who goethe agaynste the waye of fortune gyue a wrynche to the lyfe robbe the body at the dethe wynne honour of the goddis not that they shulde length your lyfe but to take the reste of the lyfe Archagatus surgien and Anthonius the phisitien and Esculapius the father of medicines I thynke wanne but lyttell in that lande Who commaunded these Barbariens to take sirope in the mornyng and to take pylles at night and to refreshe them with mylke to take clere barly to annoynt theyr lyuers to daye to be lette blode and to morowe to take a purgation to eate one thing and to absteyn fro many thinges Than me thinke that they beynge of .l. yere of aege and you of lxxx at the leaste shulde be egall with them in wysedome And if ye wyll not take deth in good worth yet at the leest amende the yll lyfe I remembre well of a long tyme that Fabricius our neybour wylled vs to beware of a mockerie the whiche if it be not broken there shall folowe great dysshonour And sith he shewed me soo good a lesson I wyll paye you with the same money I wyll shewe it you if ye poore aged folkes doo not knowe it ye be suche that your eyes are bleared your noses droppynge your heares whyte your herynge dulle your tongue faulterynge your tethe waggynge your face wrincled your fete swollen your shuldres croked and your stomake distempered finally if the graues coude speake they myght ryghtfully calle for you to come and inhabite in them Of trouthe it is great compassion to beholde yonge ignoraunce that open theyr eies to knowe the infortunes of this lyfe whan it is tyme to close them and to entre into the graue And therof cometh that it is in vayne to giue counsaile to vain yong peple For youth is without experiēce of that it doth is suspect of that it hereth wyl not beleue that is said and disprayseth other mens coūsel is ryght pore of their owne And therfore I saye Claudius and Claudyne my frendes I fynde without comparison none so ylle an ignorance of goodnes that holdethe these yonge personnes as is the obstinacy of these aged personnes in yll The diffinition of yll is a manne not to knowe that he oughte to knowe yet it is wors to haue the knowlege of wysedome and to lyue lyke a brute beaste O ye olde goutye people ye forgette your selfe and renne in poste after the lyfe and ye neuer regarde whatte shall falle tyll ye be suche as ye wolde not and without power to retourne backe herof cometh that ye lacke of lyfe ye wyll supplye it with foly Than awake ye that be slombringe haue no force to slepe open your slepy eies and accustome you to do well Take that is nedeful for you and fynally appoynt you betimes with dethe or he make execution of your lyfe Lii yeres I haue knowen them of the worlde yet I could neuer know none so olde nor so putrifyed in their membres but that their hartes were hole to thynke vnhappynesse and their tongues hole to make lyes Take hede ye poore olde persons me thynke syth somer is paste ye haste forward with the tyme and if ye tary a small season yet ye make haaste to take lodgynge
that I shulde say but that one ought to haue enuy of his deth compassioÌ„ of my life bicause in dienge he lyueth in lyuinge I die In yl fortunes in case of lyfe in y e subtyl aduersities of fortune where as her gyles profiteth but lyttell and her strength lesse I thinke the beste remedy is to fele it as a man and dissimule it as discrete and wise If all thynges as they be felte at harte shulde be shewed outwarde with the tonge I thynke that the wyndes shoulde breake the harte with sighinges and water all the erthe with wepynge O if the corporall eies sawe the hurt of the hart with a true wound I swere to the there they shuld se more of a droppe of bloudde sweatynge within thanne all the wepynge that is made out warde There is no comparyson of the great dolours of the bodye to the leest peyne that the spirite feleth For all trauayle of the body menne may fynde some remedy but if the heuy harte speke it is not harde if it wepe it is not sene if it complayne hit is not beleued What shall the poore harte do Abhorre the lyfe wherwith it dieth and desire deth wherwith it liueth The high vertues amonge noble vertuous people consystethe not al only to suffre the passions of the body but also to dissimule them of the sowle They be suche that alter the humours and shewe hit not outwarde They brynge a feuer without alterynge the of poulce They alter the stomake They make vs to knele to the erthe to suffer the water vp to the mouth to take death with out leauynge of the lyfe And fynally they lengthe our lyfe to thentente that we shulde haue the more trauaylle and denyethe vs our sepulture to thentente that we shulde not reste vs. But consideringe If I be troubled with tribulations as well am I lette with consolations For euer I haue either desyre of the one or werynes of the other I take this remedye to dissimule with the tongue and to wepe with the eyes â–ª and to â—ele it with my harte I passe my lyfe as he that hopethe to lese all that he hathe and neuer to recouer that is lost I say this â–ª though ye se me not now make funerall wepynges and waylynges as I dyd at the deth of my sonne yet thynke not but it doth brenne my hart so that with the inwarde greatte heate is consumed the humyditie of the eies outwarde for it brennethe all my spyrites inwarde Thou mayste knowe what an honourable father suffrethe to lese a good chylde In all thynges the goddes be lyberall excepte in gyuynge vs vertuous chyldren Where there is aboundaunce of great estates there is greattest scarsitie of good inheritours It is a great hurte to here and greatter to see howe these fathers clyme to haue ryches and to see their chyldren discende to haue vycyousenes To se the fathers honour theyr chyldren and the chyldren to infame theyr fathers yea and the fathers to gyue rest to theyr chyldren and the children to gyue trouble to their olde fathers yea and sometyme the fathers dye for sorowe that theyr children dye so soone and we se the chyldren wepe bycause theyr fathers dye soo late What shulde I saye more but that the honour and riches that the fathers haue procured with great thought the chyldren lose with lyttell care I am certayne of one thynge that the fathers may gather ryches with strength and crafte to susteyne theyr chyldren but the goddis wyll not haue durable that that is begon with euyll intention and is founded to the preiudice of other and is possessed with an euyll heire And though the heuy destenies of the fader permit that the riches be left to their childreÌ„ to serue them in all their vyces for their pastyme at last according to their merites the goddis wyll that the heire heritage shulde peryshe Marke what I say I hadde two sonnes Comode the prince Verissimus the yonger is dead that was greatest in vertue Alway I imagined that while the good lyued I shuld be pore now that the yl remaineth I thynke to be ryche I shall shewe the why the goddis ar so pitieful that to a pore father they neuer giue yl chyld to a riche father they neuer giue a good child And as in al prosperite alway there falleth some sinister fortune either soone or late so therwith fortune doth arme apparel vs wherin she seeth we shal fal to our greattest hurt And therfore the goddis permit that the couetous faders in gaderyng with great trauayle shuld die with that hurt to leue their riches to their vicious childreÌ„ yll implied I wepe as moch for my child y t the goddis haue left me as for him y t they haue taken fro me For the small estimation of hym y t liueth maketh immortal memory of him y t is deed The yl rest coÌ„uersation of them that liue cause vs to sigh for the company of them that be deed The yll is alwaye desired for his ilnes to be deed the good alway meriteth to haue his deth bewailed I say my frend Catulus I thought to haue lost my wit whaÌ„ I saw my son Verissime dye but I toke comfort ayen for either he of me or I of him must se the ende CoÌ„sidering that the goddis dyd but lend him to me gaue him not how they be inheriters I to haue y e vse of the fruit For al thing is mesured by the iust wyll of the goddes not by our disordinate wyls appetites I thinke whaÌ„ they toke away from me my chylde I restored hym to an other not that they haue taken myn But sith it is the wyll of the goddis to gyue rest to the good childe and hurte the father bycause he is yll I yelde thankes to them for the seasone that they haue suffered me to enioye his lyfe And for the pacyence that I haue taken for his deth I desire them to mytigate therwith the chastisement of their yre And I desyre syth they haue taken away the lyfe from this chylde to cause good customes to be in the prince myne other sonne I knowe what heuynesse thou haste take in Rome for my sorowe I pray to the goddis to sende the ioye of thy chylderne and that I maye rewarde the with some toye for that thou haste wept for my peyne My wife Faustine saluteth the and thou woldest haue coÌ„passyon to se her For she wepeth with her eies and sygheth with her harte and with her handes hurteth her selfe and curseth with her tonge She eateth nothynge on the daye nor slepeth in the nyght She loueth darkenes and abhorreth lyght and therof I haue no meruayle for it is reasone that for that was nourished in her entrayles she shulde fele sorowe in the same And the loue of the mother is soo stronge though her chylde be deed and layde in sepulture yet
souerayne folye to be borne wepynge to dye syghynge and to lyue laughynge The rule to gouerne all partes ought to be egall O Cincinate who hath begyled the that for a potte full of water thou haste nede of a greatte laake of this world to passe this wretched lyfe Wylt thou flay away the skynne of thy handes with the corde of thoughtes breake thy body in bataylle with great trauayle and aduenture thyne honour for one potte of water What wylte thou more that I shulde say but that to fyl a potte of thy goodes thou wylt suffre a. M. perylles And in the vyle exercysing of thy marchandyse thou doubtest not for lesynge of thy credence And fynally I sweare to the thou shalt abyde deed for thurste as thoughe there were no water in the feldes If thou wylt do by my counsell desyre deathe of the goddis to reste the as an aged wyse man and demaunde not rychesse to lyue yll as a yonge foole I haue soore wepte for many that I haue sene in Rome departed oute of this worlde and for the I haue wepte droppes of blode to se the retourne newly vylely to the worlde My amitie and the credite of the senate the bloude of thy predecessours the auctoritie of thy person and the honour of the countreye oughte to refrayne thy couetousnesse Oh frende thy whyte heares sheweth honour and wysedome the whiche shuld exercise and be occupied in noble dedes Regarde It auayleth more to folowe reason by the ways of them that be good than the cōmon opinyon whiche is the large way of them that be yll For though the one be strayte for the fete it reiseth no duste for to blynde the eies as the other dothe to lyghte younge persons the whyche procure lyghtnesse ignoraunce excuseth them but the disordinate couetyse of the olde persones causeth theym to occupie their lyfe with trauayle and to take deathe with great annoyaunce and in the one as welle as in the other abydeth great infamy O Cyncinate take this counsayle of a frende Charge not thy selfe with takynge of these vayne goodes syth thou haste soo smalle a morselle of thy lyfe For suche as thou arte we see consume and waste and not to quicken Put no trust in frendes in the present prosperitie for it is a pronostication of an euyll fortune And sythe thou arte in a hasarde lyke a foole me thynke thou oughtest to discende a foote lyke a sage person And thus euery man wyll saye howe Cincinate is discended and not fallen I wyll say no more but the goddis be thy sauegarde and defende bothe the and me frome gylefulle fortune My wyfe Faustyne saluteth the and she is withdrawen frome me bycause I wrote this letter to the and hathe coniured me to write this worde to the that is she saythe thou oughtest to haue wytte whan thy necke is full of heare and I thynke thou oughteste in continente to take a barber shaue away the heare that thy wytte maye come forth I wold thy couetyse shuld forsake the and foly Faustin and the gowte me and the soner our soules may departe fro our fleshe than gile shuld remayne in our hartes Marc of mount Celio writeth this with his hande ¶ A letter sente fro Marc the emperour to Catulus censorious that was sorowfull for the deth of his sonne Verissimus The .viii. letter MArc censore newe and yonge salute and reuerence to the Catulus censorius olde and auncient I haue writen two letters to the thou haste made aunswere to none of them If it be bycause thou couldest not I holde my peace If it be bycause thou woldest not than I complayne me If it be for forgetfulnes thā I accuse the If it be bycause thou setteste lyttelle by me than I appeale the If thou haste dreamed that thou haste wrytten I saye beleue not in dreames And if thou wylte not it shulde vayle to glorifie me as a frende yet thou mightest take it write in aduertisinge repreuynge as the father to the son Yong vertuous persons are bounde to honour aunciente wise men no lesse old wyse men ought to endoctrine the yong people and very yonge as I am A iuste thynge it is that the new forces of youth supply serue them that are worne by age For theyr longe experience mocketh our tender age natural ignorance youth is yl applied when it surmōteth the force of the body faylleth the vertues of the soule age is honored wherin the force dyeth outwarde wherby vertues quickneth the more inward we may se the tre whē the fruite is gadered the leues fal and whan flowers dry than more grene and perfyte are the rotes I meane that whan the first season of youth is passed which is the Somer tyme than cometh aege called wynter and putrifieth the fruite of the fleshe and the leaues of fauour falle and the floures of delyte are wyddered and the vynes of hope dried outwarde than it is right that moche better the rotes of good workes within be good They that be old and auncient ought to prayse theyr good werkes rather than theyr white heares For honour ought to be gyuen for the good lyfe and not for the whyte heade Glorious is that common welthe and fortunate is that prince that is lord of yonge men to trauayle and ancient persons to counsel As to regarde the susteynyng of the naturalitie of the life in lykewise ought to be consydered the polycie of gouernaunce the whiche is that al the fruites come nor drie not al at ones but whan one beginneth an other fayleth And in this maner ye that be auncient teachynge vs and we obedient as olde fathers and yonge pullettes beynge in the neste of the senate Of some their fethers fallyng and other yonge fethered and where as the olde fathers can not flye their trauaylles are maynteyned by theyr tender chyldren Frende Catulus I purposed not to write one lyne this yere bycause my penne was troubled with thy slouthe but the smallenesse of my spirite and the greatte peryll of myn offices always called on me to demande thy counsell This priuilege the olde wyse men holde in their houses where they dwelle They are alwayes lordes ouer them that be symple and are sclaues to them that be wyse I thynke thou haste forgotten me thynkynge that sythe the dethe of my dere sonne Verissimus the tyme hath ben so longe that I shulde forgette it Thou hast occasion to thynke so for many thynges renneth in tyme that reason can not helpe But in this case I can not tel whiche is the greattest thy trumperie or my dolour I sweare to the by the goddis immortall that the hungry wormes in the entrayles of the vnhappy chylde are not so puisante as are the cruell dolours in the harte of the father sore wounded And it is no comparison for the son is ded but one tyme ▪ y e heuy father dieth euery moment What wilt thou more