and then to bryng his vnderstandynge to be occupied with high sciences And syrs repute it nat smalle that I committe to your charge and arbytrement that thynge whiche pryncis oughte mooste to regarde that is to se to whom they commytte the nourysshynge of their chylderne To be maysters of prynces in erthe is to haue the offyce of the goddis that ben in heuen For they gouern him that hath cure to gouerne vs They endoctrine hym that shoulde teache vs they shewe vnto hym that ought to shewe vs Chastyse hym that oughte to chastise vs and finally they commaunde one the whiche afterwarde aloone maye commaunde all the worlde What wyl ye that I shal say more For certayne they that haue the charge of a prince be the gouernall of the shyp The standerde of an army the gouernance of people the guyde of wayes the shylde of kynges the treasure of all bycause they haue amonge theyr handes hym that afterwarde ought to gouerne all the worlde And furthermore to the entente that ye haue hym in more estimation I wyll tell you that in gyuynge my sonne vnto you I doo gyue you more than if I had gyuen you a realme The pure clene lyuinge of the sonne alyue is the gloryous fame of his father that is deade For of hym that the sonne trusteth in his lyfe dependeth the renowme of the father that is deade Thus haue ye hadde the goddis atte wylle and the bryttel destenies of fortune happy to you as vnto this howre ye haue not watched with chyldren of straungers Fro hensforthe wake ye with the prince which is the profite of al other And take good hede my frendes that there is greatter difference in bryngyng vp of princis chyldren than to teache yonge boyes of the common people The moste part of them that come to scholes come for to lerne to speake but I delyuered not my sonne Commode to you to lerne hym to speake many wordes but for to sette hym in the way to do good dedes The glorie of folishe fathers is to se their children vanquyshe other in disputynge but my glorie and ioye is to see my sonne surmounte other in vertue for the glorye of the Grekes was to speake moche and to do lyttell and the glorie of the Romayns is to doo moche and to speake but lyttell ¶ Howe the maysters of princis oughte to kepe them from vyces Capitulo ix MArcus Aurelius folowing his purpose ioyned this to his foresayd wordes and sayd Regarde well my frendes and forget not that I truste you in myn honour who am my sonnes father and of the studye of Comode my sonne and of the glorie of Rome my naturall countrey And of the solace and rest of Rome whiche is my subiecte Of the gouernance of Italy whiche is your countrey And aboue all thynges of the peace and tranquillitie of our common welthe Than he that is put in truste with suche administration of other hath no cause to slepe Nowe lette vs come to more partycular thynges Regarde as nowe what thynge is moste conuenable for my sonne whiche as a yonge colte wold go play in the grene medowes and noysome shall be the keper to hym and a thynge peynefulle to kepe hym therfro The first thyng wherof I praye you is to gyue hym a stronge bridel and a sharpe bytte to thentent that he be well mouthed so that none take hym with lyes The greattest faut that can be in men of honestie is to spare the trouthe and not to be veritable And the greatteste vyllanye in a vyllayne is to be gyuen in largesse of lyes Sette good order vppon hym Take hede to his handes to the entente that he accustome hym not to demaunde to play at the tables and dyce with suche as be loste and noughte The greattest token that a prince wyll loose and dystroye the empire is whan in his yonge age he is knowen to be vycious in play The play is suche a vyce that who so euer it bytethe hit is lyke the bytynge of a madde dogge the whiche rage endureth vnto deathe I recommende to you my chylde though he be yong make hym sad and moderate Certaynly it is not so great a glorye vnto a prince to haue the crowne on his heed nor a chayn of gold about his shulders nor the sceptre in his hande nor the greatte company and garde that he hath aboute hym as to shewe sadnesse from his youthe The open honestie suppliethe many fautes and debilities Spare not to caste on hym a stronge chayne and to tye hym fast that he goo not to delytes and vanities For an effeminate persone neuer hath spirite to any hye or noble dedes I am greately satisfied with that the teacher of Nero said to his disciple Though I wyst that god wolde pardon me and that men knew no mysse of me yet for the vilany of the flesshe I wolde not synne in the fleshe Surely they were good wordes and yl borne awaye of Nero. Let not yet go the reyne For yf he see the yonge mares he wyll neigh or bray if he see tyme. The vyce of the fleshe in all tymes in all ages and in al estates holdeth his seasone or course yf it passe not in the grene age of chyldehode castynge of the reyne of reason and stryking with the spurres of the fleshe and blowynge with the trompe of sensualite Takyng the brydell in the tethe with a furious wyll rennyng through mountaynes and woddes after the mare In leauynge her goinge but softely and in the ouertakynge moche lesse And than afterwarde being therin deliberate the body remayneth impotent the vnderstādinge acloyed and blynded the reason troubled the good name loste and yet neuerthelesse at the laste the fleshe remayneth fleshe What remedy for this I fynde none other but that a greate quycke fyre couered and laden with erthe dieth And whan the vitious man is layde in his graue he maketh an ende and may neuer correcte hym selfe Wherfore I aduyse you to gyue noo place to this yonge chylde to be vycious And in the chastysing of hym gyue noo respyte though he be younge and my chyld and well loued and cheryshed with his mother and though he be the only heire of thempire With chyldren of a stranger crueltie is tiranny but with a mans own childe pitie is the occasion of his losse in tyme to come It is shewed vs by trees howe we ought to norishe our childrē Of trouthe the chestain trees bryng forth the soft swete chestnutte out of the sharpe prickinge hard huske And on the nut tres amonge the swete softe leaues is nourisshed the harde nutte Applieng this to our purpose we haue seene a pyteful father bringe forthe a cruell son and a cruel father a piteful sonne He that was lerned amonge all other lerned and renoumed among al other renoumed Ligurgus king of the Lacedemoniens in giuinge his lawes in his realme I remembre to haue red therin these wordes We commaunde as kynges
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
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