that he sayd of Helene Plutarch in that he spake of Cleopatra Virgil of y e quene Dydo Theophrast of Pollysene Zantippe of Cammilla Assenarius of Clodia All these ladies excellent princes neuer founde them selfes so deceiued by their louers as thei wer by beleuing their owne proper couÌ„sels and lightly consenting to the same If to Suetone Zantippe and Plutarch we will geue credite beleue those thynges that they declare of Pompe Pyrrhus Hannyball the Consull Marius of the Dictator Caesar of Marke Antony many others we shall finde they blamed not fortune so muche to be vaÌ„quished by others as in their prosperitie they wer ruled by their owne aduise and counselles It is true that often tymes the opinion of our kinne frendes maketh vs to enter into busynes out of the waye of reason not caryng but for a folishe auauncement of goodes and riches And at the ende when by their settyng forth one hath enterprised a certaine busynes of importaunce whiche doeth require ayd and helpe those same be the laste that sheweth theim selues helping frendes whiche is y e occasion many tymes that men caÌ„not returne froÌ„ enterprisyng suche thinges as neither shall growe to their honor nor profite Many men say that they haue enemies recountyng theim often without findyng nuÌ„ber Although it be true if it be well noted that none haue oftener or agreater enemy then him self And the most greatest daunger that I see is that vnder the shadowe to preferre make better my selfe my selfe is the cause of my destruccion The Philosopher Neotidas on a tyme beyng asked which was the beste counsell that a manne might take He answered the counsell of others with the dispraisyng of his owne and he sheweth the cause for that the corrupcion of maÌ„ is suche that often he searcheth in him self with great pain that whiche in the head of another he fyndeth w t great ease then it foloweth that in the best tyme of our life our owne life deceiueth vs the euil coÌ„meth furth on euery side heuy thoughtes ouertaketh vs our frendes leaueth vs persecutors tormenteth vs troubles maketh an ende of vs and ambicion burieth vs. If we beholde this thyng what we be wherof we be and wherfore we be we shall fynde that our beginnyng is obliuion our middle age trauail the ende sorow and altogether an open errour Then se how heuy is the courtiers life as also how daungerous the waye is where as bee stoones to stumble at myer to sticke fast in yse for to falle on pathe wayes for to lose him in water for to passe thorow thefes for to be afrayde on great affaires and busynes to do so that harde it is for any to goe there as they would and more harder to ariue there as they desire All these thynges haue we sayd to the entent that the Courtiers may vnderstaÌ„d that neither I nor they can chose y e good waye and leaue the euill voide that that hurtes vs and conserue that whiche profiteth vs folowe reason and plucke awaye the occasion but if by chauÌ„se some good fall to vs we thanke fortune and if euil come to vs then we do put the fault in her The .ii. Chapiter ¶ How that none ought to counsel another to go to the court nor when he is there to come from it but euery man to chose the life that best he liketh ARistarch the great Philosopher of Theban sayd that tyme and maÌ„ was so diuers that hard it was for the most wisest to chuse that to them was good and to kepe them from that to them is euil There is nothing more true for we see dayly with the same that one is healed another falleth sicke with that that one waxeth better another waxeth worse with that that one is amended another is put doune and to conclude with that litle thing that one is coÌ„tent withal another is in dispaire The lerned Alchymus was by his Moecoenas kyng Demetrius asked wherein specially did consist y e greatest trauail of the worlde He answered there is few thinges but in them there is either trauail or suspicion but aboue all the mooste excessiue trauail that a man may haue is neuer to be satisfied And that this is true we perceiue that when a litle thing coÌ„tenteth vs how lytle soeuer it be we make it our paradice with y e rest of our life whiche seldome chaunseth to fewe meÌ„ because that liuyng as we liue not beyng coÌ„tented would assaie knowe if it wer good to be a kyng a prince a knight a maried man a religious or a marchaunt a laborer a shepeherd or of some other estate And at the ende when al is proued it shall be harde to fynde where we would rest so vnconstaunt is the lightnes of menne The wise determineth y â— to chose the best is the meane A simple creature is lightly contented with a small thyng but he that hath a great harte thinkes that pouertie is a greuous life like as they that be of high estate feare y e fall of fortune Plato was in his yong yeres very worldely as he that had sene muche aswell in the warres as in offices in whiche he was vsed and also in handy craftes On a tyme it was asked him wherin he had founde most quietnes and rest He answered there is no estate of life wherin is not mutabilitie ther is no honor where is perill no riches where is no trauail no ê“speritie but it endeth nor also pleasure but faileth but when all is sayd I neuer founde so muche quietnes of mynde as since I left myne offices in Cities withdrawyng me to my bokes signifiyng that as long as we liue seruauntes of the worlde we desire all we proue all we procure al then al thinges well sene tasted all thinges do anoye vs the greatest parte of our disquietnes commeth hereof that the aboundaunce we haue semeth to vs lytle and the lytle of others semeth to vs muche We saye that our wealth is trauail and that the euil happe of others is rest we condemne others actes and we allowe our owne we watche to gette somewhat and sodenly we slepe to lese it again we immagyn that al men liues content we alone nedy And yet the worst is we beleue that that we dreame and put not our trust in that that we se before our iyen What waye one ought to folowe or what estate he ought to chose none can well knowe nor counsell because y â— thyng is so troublesome and without good iudgement by whiche many is deceiued If the sailyng on the sea be daungerous so is the walking on the yearth troubleous As touchyng our life we see that he that is whole daily falleth sicke the sicke dyeth some other scapeth deadly dauÌ„gers and some others lyngers forth to death As touching the walfaryng men assone commeth he to his lodgyng that goeth foftly as he that goeth hastely and loseth his way He that is in fauor liuyng in
Then good aduice ioyned with a noble harte ought to gouerne great enterprises Then to our purpose my maister the courtier sayth he wyll leaue the cursed life of the court and go dye at home saiyng y t to liue in suche trouble is a continuall death O how many often tymes haue I hard these faire wordes that neuer were folowed excusyng them onely by the desteny of the court in the whiche they were fast glued When that a courtier lackes money that any mā doeth him displeasure or that he hath lost his proces God knoweth howe many othes he maketh that he will forsake al not to leaue his euil cōdicions but because that his busynes goeth backeward but long his purpose lasteth nor for if our courtier happe to cum to welth or that he be inhaunced by his prince ye shall see his former promises to waxe colde his wil and his desire to remaine there in suche wise y e ye would iudge him to be naturally borne ther. Fauor and couetuousnes guideth the Courtier so that one groweth with the other and at the ende conuerted frō the maner of Christians to courtiers For all men knoweth that the court is a place wher men may get welth and likewyse y e place of mens vndoyng We haue already rehersed the occasions why men do withdrawe theim from the court some for lack of mony some for pouertie or not beyng in fauor or for age all these thynges be of necessitie nothyng of free wyll nor yet praise to them that so withdraweth theim for the causes afore sayd but the true leuyng of the Courte and of the worlde is when y e courtier is yong strōg in fauor riche in helth then with good harte to leaue the courte to fynde in other places honest rest after his degre this is sayd to the entente that he whiche leaueth the court shuld leaue it merily and without repenting for feare that after his sorowe is past he would be ashamed to returne to thesame where he may chaunse to haue great busines The proude and vnpacient men do many thinges in a day whiche he had nede to mourne for all the daies of their life A colloricke heade is nothyng mete for the court for if he will be reuenged of the shames iniuries crastes wronges that in the court he shall fynde let him trust that he shall suffre more in one houre then he shal be able to reuenge in ten yere whosoeuer leaueth the court let him leaue it for euermore because that if he wyll returne to it again leaue his dwellyng in the countrey he may be likened to him y t hath a continual Ague he that sinnes mendes and after returnes againe to synne that synne is more greuous then y e first In lykewise to leaue the court and after returne to it is so open a faulte that it cannot be hid excepte ye will say he goeth to sell vertue and to bye riches To our purpose if we shuld aske of an auncient man what hath been the whole course of his life and that he would answere vs he hath enterprised muche wādered spoken searched founde and lost c. We would saye that his life hath been a dissēblyng folly What shall we say then of our inconstant Courtiers that dayly do thesame thynges whiche forgettyng themselfes for the obteinyng of a litle fauour do against nature flatter begge Remember aboue all thynges gentle reader here els where that I speake not but of the vndiscrete Courtiers that can not refraine their appetite with an honest cōtentaciō which thing most chiefly causeth many sage discrete persons to geue ouer the Courte because to refraine the wil of the heart is a greater paine then to content the body for the bodye is soone werye of sinnyng but the heart is neuer satisfied in desiryng One may knowe easily the compleccion of the bodye but the mynde of the heart neuer and to contentyng lesse for the heart at euery instaunt requireth nowe one thyng now another and within a lytle tyme after forgetteth all O dissemblyng heart that vnder a pretēce to be clere and loyall make men to iudge that hypocrisy is deuocion ambiciō nobilitie auarice husbandrye crueltie zele of iustice muche bablyng eloquence folishenes grauitie dissolucion diligēce To conclude that euery man ought to knowe how muche he may do If a mā know himself to be ambicious impacient couetous let him go hardely to the court And contrary if the courtier fele his nature cōtent peaceable and desiryng rest quietnes let him be dwellyng in the village and he shall well knowe that he neuer knewe how to liue til he had drawen him selfe from the Court The .iiii. Chapiter ¶ Of the life that the Courtier ought co leade after that he hath lefte the Court. MYronydes a wyse sage Philosopher capitaine of the Boheciens sayd that y e prudence of a man was aswell knowen by retiryng from the euil as in chosyng of the good forasmuche as vnder the euil commonly the good can not be hid but vnder the pretence of good muche euil may be dissembled euen muche lyke as the Antheme y t begynnes Persignū crucis and endes in Sathanas Barrabas In like maner y e great euils haue their beginnyng by sum pretēce of fained goodnes in suche sort that they be counterfeict muche lyke Maskers wrapt in swetenes as purgyng pylles and gilte as is the Rubarbe Ther is no mā I thinke so mad that kepeth not himself in asmuche as he can from catchyng euil specially frō open euil but contrarywise it were wysedome to kepe him frō that whiche is not altogether good Alexander the great causing himselfe to be healed of certain woundes that he had receiued in battail was reproued of his great minion Parmeno for puttyng himselfe into great hazard in the warre To whom Alexander sayd assure me my frende Parmeno of those that be dissemblyng frendes for I wil be ware of them that be my open enemies Alcibyades Agiselaus Pyrrhus Antigonus Lentulus and Iulius Caesar were so circumspecte in these thynges that they wer alwayes vāquishers and died in the hādes of their frendes and specially because thei chose the good and lefte the euil Then he that leaueth y e court ought not only for to see what he leaueth but also what he taketh cōsideryng that asmuche or more harde it is to contente him hauyng left the court as it was afore in the desiryng to be in the court what profiteth it to leaue the court wery troubled If thy harte can fynde no rest in the place whether thou resortest Our bodye fulfilled with meates is led where one will haue it but the heart is neuer satisfied with desiryng and would if he might be in fauor with princes of the courte and on the other side at his ease in y e village If the Courtier dayly haue mynde beyng at home of the passions affliccions that he had in
to wayte of my lorde or damosell to waite vpon my lady And that were scorneful to do in the court alone And without daūger one may walke frō neighbor to neighbor and from land to land and not therby minish any part of his honor Another benefite is that men may go whether they will clothed simply with a staffe in his hande a swearde by his side or hacbut in his necke and if he be wery of pounsed hosen lette him wear sloppes if he be a colde lette him take his furred goune for all is one there A good Gentleman dwellyng in the village and hauyng a good cote of clothe an honest Spanishe cloke on his backe a paire of lether shooes goeth as wel trymmed to the churche as doeth my lorde the courtier to the court with his goune furde with Marters or Sables A man of the village of what sort soeuer he be is in as good case that rydeth to market or to the faier to make prouision for his housholde vpon a mare or a nagge as a lorde of the courte is at Iustes vpō a great courser trapped with golde And when all is sayd better is the poore ploughman on a poore asse liuyng as he should then the riche man well horsed pillyng doyng extorcion to pore honest men The .vi. Chapiter ¶ That in the village the dayes seme more long and the ayer more clere and better And the houses more easy and testfull ENsuyng styll the cōmodities of the village we ought not to forget that he whiche dwelles there among other thynges hath commoditie of good corne and consequently good breade contrary to this in the court specially ingreat tounes they haue bread for the moste parte euil baked or euil leuened or not leuened at all the cause is forasmuche as in the tounes often there lacketh good corne or good corne milles to grinde the corue and holsome water wherby often hath come amōg them great death Another commoditie in the village is this the whiche I praise mnche he that dwelles there may practise and labour in mod thynges and better imploy the tyme then in the court or in y e great tounes in whiche places it behoueth a mā to dissemble to say litle ful of reuengyng and enuyous a treder of stones and pauemētes must vse grauitie seldome to come out of his house and incessantly be graue O half a God that dwelles in the village where liberally one may speake what he will and iest with his neighbours before his gates and his wyndowe And this may he do without euer to chaunge or to lese any of his mean auctoritie Another cōmoditie is in the village that those that dwell ther be w tout comparison more helthfull and lesse sicke then in the cities and in the courte because in the great tounes the houses be more higher and the stretes narower and more croked whiche is the cause that the ayre is corrupt and makes mē very euil at ease In y e village the houses stand more at large the men more better disposed the ayre better the sunne more clere the yearth more swete the priuate goodes or cōmons better ruled without contencion the exercise more pleasant and the company much better And aboue all thinges the thoughtes lesser and the pastyme more great Another commoditie in the village is that ther are no yōg Physicians nor olde sicknes And contrary to this the courtier is constrained there to part his goodes in fower partes the one part to flatterers y e other to men of lawe another to pottecaries the fowerth to y e Phisicians O well fortunate village forasmuche as in the seldome or neuer is the Frenche pockes named neither the pausy not yet y e goute fewe or none there knoweth what is a Iulep a Pyll a Sirup or a Thysan nor no sodain sickenes What will ye that I shall say more of the village And if it were not but that for necessitie they are compelled to builde there litle pretie houses ye should scant fynde one of theim that knewe what to do with morter stoones And sometyme they are very well pleased with cabons made of small stickes well fastened together Another commoditie in the village is that thee daies there seme to be more long and they are better imployed then they are either in the court or in the great tounes forasmuch as the yeres passe awaye there or one be ware and the daies without any enoiyng of them And how beit that the sportes and pleasures be more in the village then in the tounes yet so it is that one day shall seine lenger there then shal a moneth in the court the reason is for that the village is happye and fortunate forasmuche as there the Sunne semes to make a more longer day the mornyng is redy to shew and the night slow to come Scarcely one can perceiue the dayes slyde away in the court In the village if it be perceiued it is bestowed with honest busynes whiche cannot be done in the court In the village also is muche more plentie of wood then in other places hay strawe Otes much better chepe then in good tounes Also in the village a man is at libertie to eate his meate where he will when he will with whō he will but in the court they eat late the meat euil dressed and colde and with out sauor and that whiche is worst of al for the most parte he must eate with his enemies where as the good felowes of the village liueth at their pleasures and without suspicion keping their thre good fashiōs that belongeth to good repast that is first he erneth his meat next that he eateth his meate merely thirdly he eateth with good company Another commoditie is that the husbandman of the village hath how to occupy themselfes and howe to be mery whiche the courtier nor the citezen hath not thathath enemies enough to feare and fewe frendes to company withall O recreacion pleasaunt of the village to fishe with nettes and with hokes to catche birdes w t lyme to hunte with dogges to catche Conies with ferrettes hayes to shote in the crosbowe and the hacbut at stokdoues at Mallardes at partryges and se folkes labor in y e vynes raise diches amende hedgees to iest with y e aūcient laborers All these pleasures haue they of the villages whereas the courtiers and citezens desire it cānot haue it The .vii. Chapiter ¶ That commonly the inhabitauntes of the villages be more happy then courtiers ANother commoditie of the village is that thei do fele y e trauailes lesse on the workyng day reioyce merely on the holy day where the courtier continually vexed with weightie and troubleous affaires neuer knoweth when it is holy day O village it is not so in the wheras on the feastful daye the clerke ceaseth not to tolle the bell to make clene the churche to make redy y e alters the people
all to haue gained riches and increace in renoune not in all this tyme once remembre that in the steade of a true and perfite rest they prepare for theim selues a hell both for body and soule The courtier also ought not lightly to complaine of aduersities whiche many tymes come to him thinking that oftentymes though it be our owne faulte we do cōplaine of thinges whiche should complaine of vs if they had a toungue What tyme a man seeth him self base and is litle estemed or poore forgotten of the riche and deceiued of that he looked surely to haue incontinent he curses his fortune and lamentes his euil In y e meane while it is not fortune that hath thus serued him but him selfe that hath serched it and founde it Suche a manne thinkes to be quickely riche honored estemed y t shortely after seeth him selfe poore ouerthrowen dispised and blamed of all men and cannot reuenge himselfe but onely say he is vnfortunate vnhappy to the worlde that it is mishap whiche is not so but his owne folly that makes him to leaue the suretie of his house and prepareth himself to the hazard of fortune and therfore hath no cause to complain but of himself whiche chose the waye to it The best is after that a man purposeth himselfe to continue in the court y t then paciently he awayte and tarye the tyme of auauncement or auaūtage that he looketh for or els if he cannot paciently dissēble with the tyme let him not remaine there for contentacion consisteth not in the place but in the ambicious heart troubled mynde And take this for a trueth ye that be courtiers that if .ii. or .iii. thinges succede to your purpose prosperoussy there shall come a hundreth ouerthwarte the shynnes either to you or to your frendes For notwithstandyng that y e courtiers doynges desyres come to good passe there shalbe thinges for his frend or felow that goeth all awrye wherby often tymes he lamtēes y e hurt of his frende that whiche is denied him more then the pleasure he hath of his owne happe wherfore there is alwayes lacke or faute of contentacion Wyll ye any more the beyng in court or out of the court ye shal here no nother matter then what newes at the court what doeth the kyng where is he where is the counsail and where lyeth the officers of y e houshold and this is most true y t they which desyre to here suche newes are as desirous to see newes And by this meanes the poore wene to make theimselues riche the riche the more to commaunde and the lordes y e more to rule O what a pleasure is it for thē to be in the court hopyng that the kyng may knowe thē that those that be fauor may dye or that fortune may chaunge and that they come forwarde And it foloweth that in tariyng the tyme the tyme deceiueth them then death taketh theim vnware The .xiii. Chapiter ¶ That there is a smal nombre of them that be good in the Court and a great nombre of good in the cōmon wealth PLutarch in y e boke intitled De exilio telleth of y e great Kyng Ptolome that hauyng on a daye at supper with him seuen Ambassadours of diuers prouinces moued a question to them whiche of al their cōmon welthes gonerned them selues with best lawes and customes The sayd ambassadours were Romayns Carthaginiens Ciciliens Rhodiens Atheniens Lacedemoniens Cicioniens among whō the question was effectually debated afore the kyng forasmuche as euery one of thē beyng affeccionate to his countrey aleged the wisest reason y t he could The good king desirous to knowe the trueth the resolucion of the question commaunded that euery one of the Ambassadours should tell of the beste lawes or customes that were in their cōmon welth thre pointes and that therby it might esely be sene whiche was better ruled and deserued more praise Then the ambassadour of the Romaynes beganne and sayd In Rome the temples be honored y e gouernours obeyed and the euil chastised The ambassadour of Carthage sayd in Carthage the noble men neuer cease to prepare to the warre the poore people to traueil and the Philosophers to teache The ambassadour of the Ciciliens sayd In Cicill is true iustice executed trouth is beloued and equalitie praised The Ambassadour of the Rhodiens sayd In Rhodes the olde men are honest the yong men shamfast and the women meke and gentle The Ambassadour of the Atheniens sayd the Athenieus do not consent that y e riche should be parciall nor y e meane people idle nor the gouernours without learnyng The ambassadour of the Lacedemoniens sayd in Lacedemony enuy raines not because al are equal nor coueteousnes because all is cōmon nor idlenes because all men traueil The Ambassadour of Cicioniens sayd in Cicion they receiue no straūgers inuētors of newes nor Phisious that kyl the whole nor aduocates that makes the processes immortall When kyng Ptolome and his companye had heard these so good and holy obseruaūces he praised greatly the institucion of euery of theim saiyng that he could not iudge whiche was the best This historie is well worthy to be noted and better to be folowed And I beleue if in our dayes so many ambassadours shuld mete disputing as these did of their cōmon welthes thei should finde mo thynges to blame speake euil of and that without comparison then to praise commende In tymes passed the kynges houses were so well reformed the kynges themselfes so wise and the gouernours so moderate that litle offēces wer chastised and once to thinke of great offences forbidden to the entent that the chasticement should be terrour to the euil the prohibicion a plaine aduice vnto the good It is not so in our common welthes where is done so muche euil and committed so many bitter offēces vnhappynes that those whiche the auncientes did chastice for deadly sinnes by death we dissemble theim to be but veniall the truans and wantons be so entertained as though we lacked theim and not as mete to be chased and dryuen away My lady the widow or my masires that is maried if they fall to leude and wanton liuyng ye shal not fynde one that wil say madā or mastres ye do nought but rather sixe hundreth that shall procure her dishonor This is in our tyme suche is our fashion and maners which causeth euil so that he is more to be praised whiche may be called good in our common welth then any of the Consuls of Rome because that in y e olde time it was almost a monstrus thing to fynde one euil among a hundreth now it is a great chaunce to fynde one good amongest a hundreth The holy scripture praiseth Abraham y t was iust in Calde Loth that was iust in Sodom Danyel in Babylon Toby in Niniuie and Neemyas in Damasco And likewise may we among this Cathalog of holy men nomber y
liued there should none haue the name of Emperour but he Nowe when y e Ambassadours ariued at his house they found him in a litle garden wher he was settyng of Lettys and Onyons And hearyng what they sayd vnto him he answered in this wise Do you not thynke my frendes that it is muche better for him that can sowe his Lettys and afterwarde pleasantly and merely to eate thesame so still to exercise himselfe then to returne entre into the goulfe of troubles in a cōmon welth I haue assaied bothe I knowe what it is to commaunde in the court and what it is to liue labor in the village wherfore I pray you suffre me here to abide in pacienee for I desire rather here to liue with the labor of my hādes then in the sorow and cares of an Empire Note by this example that the life of the laborer is more to be desired then the life of a prince Cleo and Pericles succeded in the rulyng of the common welth after Solon a man excellently lerned and wel estemed and taken among the Greciās for half a God by the reason of the wyse lawes he made amōg the Atheniens These two noble gouernours were muche be loued because that as Plutarch telleth Pericles whiche .xxx. yeres had the administraciō of y e busines and affaires of y e citie was neuer sene to come into any mans house but his owne nor yet to sit in any open place among y e cōmon people suche a grauitie was in him Aboute the yeres of his age whiche was .lx. he went from Athens to a litle village where he ended the rest of his dayes studiyng and passing the tyme in husbandrye He had a litle small gate or wicket in the entryng of his house ouer which was written Inueni portū spes fortuna valete That is to say forasmuche as now and before I haue knowlege of vanitee I haue founde the porte of rest fye of hope and fortune farewell By this example no courtier can say that he leadeth a sure life but onely that courtier whiche doeth as this wyse captain did withdraw himself Lucius Seneca was as who shuld say a right leder to good maners a instructer to good letters to Nero the sixt Emperour of Rome with whom he taried .xxiiii. yeres had great doynges of thīges pertainyng to the cōmon wealth as well of priuate causes as otherwyse because he was sage and of great experience And at the last cōmyng to great age and weryed with the continual conflictes busynesse of the court lefte the court and went and dwelt in a litle mancion he had nigh to Nole Campana where he liued after a long tyme as witnesseth his bookes De officiis de Ira de bono viro de aduersa fortuna and other bookes whiche were to long to reherse At last fortune and mannes malice did their office Nero cōmaunded him to be slaine not for that he had committed any crime worthy to dye or done any thing otherwise then an honest manne ought to do but onely because the lecherous Domicia hated him Note well reader this example that sometyme fortune pursueth him that forsaketh y e court aswel as the courtier Scipio the Affrican was so estemed among y e Romaines that in .xxii. yeres whiles y t he was in the warres he neuer lost battell And yet made he warre in Asia Europ and Affrica and to this neuer committed acte worthy of reproche And yet he wan Africa and put to sacke Carthage brought in bōdage Numance ouercame Hannibal and restored Rome weakened and nere destroyed by the losse they had at y e battail of Cānes And yet for all this beyng of y e yeres of lii he withdrewe him frō the court of Rome to a litle village betwixte Puzoll and Capua where he liued a solitary life and so content withal that whiles he taried there a xi yeres space he neuer entred into Rome nor Capua The diuine Plato was borne in Liconia and was norished in Egipt and learned in Athens It is red of him that he answered y e Ambassadours of Cirene that required of him lawes to gouerne theim selues in sure peace in this wise Difficilimū est homines amplissima fortuna ditatos legibus cōtinere Which is to vnderstand that it is hard to bryng to passe to make riche men to be subiect to the rigour of the lawe To conclude Plato not willyng to abide lōger the clamor cry of the court went and dwelt in a litle village two myles frō Athens called Academia where the good old man after he had taryed there xiiii yeres teachyng and writyng many notable doctrines ended there his moste happye dayes After the memorye of him the aūcientes called y t village Academia whiche is to say in English a schole The cōclusion is that all these honourable sage princes wise menne left Monarchies kyngdomes cities great riches and went into the villages there to serche a pore an honest a peaceable life Not that I will saye that some of these lefte y e court to be there poore and banished and rebuked but of their fre wil and fre libertie minding to liue a quiet and honest life or they dyed The. xviii Chapiter ¶ The Aucthor complaineth with great reason of the yeres that he lost in the court I Wyl demaunde of myne owne selfe mine owne life and make accoumpt of thesame to the entent that I will conferre my yeres to my traueiles and my trauailes to my yeres that it may appeare how long I lefte of to liue and beganne to dye My life gentle reader hath not been a life but a lōg death my daies a play new for to begyn my yeres a very tedious dreame my pleasures Scorpions my youth a transitorie fātasy My prosperitie hath been no prosperitie but properly to speake a painted castell and a treasure of Alcumyn I came to y e court very yong where I saw diuers maners of offices and chaunges euen among y e princes that I serued And I haue assayed to trauail by sea and by lande and my recompence was much more then I deserued and that was this that sometyme I was in fauor and sometyme out of fauor I haue had experience of y e somersautes of destines I haue had in the court frēdes enemies I haue had false reportes I haue been euen nowe glad and mery and furth with sadde and sory to daye riche to morowe poore now mounted vpward straite throwen dounewarde This hath been to me a maskyng where I haue loste both money and tyme. And nowe I saye to the my soule what hast thou gotten of this great iorney The recompence is this that I haue gotten there a gray head fete ful of y e goute mouth w tout tethe raines full of grauel my goodes layd to pledge my body charged w t thought and my soule litle clensed from synne And yet is there more seyng y t I must
dye Farewell world for beyng in the we forget our infaÌ„cy our grene age with out experience our youth in vices our middle age in turmoilyng busynes our olde age in lameÌ„tacions all our tyme couÌ„ted together in vaine hopes Farewell worlde for in thy schoole we are led til y e heere be white the eyes blered the eares deaf the nostrels droppyng y e forehead wrinkled y e fete goutie the raynes full of grauel y e stomacke ful of euil humours the head full of migrain the body ful of sorow the mynde full of passions Farewell worlde for none of thy louers come to good ê“fite witnesse those that daily we see are not false knaues marked in the face theues hanged manquellers headed robbers by y e hye wayes sette vpon wheles heritikes brent false money makers boiled killers of their pareÌ„tes torne in pieces other diuers punishementes of suche as are great in fauor w t thee Farewell worlde forasmuch as thy seruauÌ„tes haue no more pastyme but to trot by the stretes to mocke one another to seke out wenches to sende presentes to beguile yong girles write amorous letters speake to baundes play at y e dise plede against their neighbour tell newes inuent lyes and studye newe vices Farewell worlde for in thy palaice none will do good to other for the Boare fightes against the Lyon the Vnicorne against the Cocodril the Egle against y e Vultur the ElephaÌ„t against y e Mynotaure the Sacre gainst the Kyte the mastyf against the Bull One man against another and al together against death Farewell worlde because y u hast nothing but to our ruine For often the yerth openeth afore our feete y e water drounes vs the fyer burnes vs the ayer mistempers vs the Wynter doth kyll vs the SoÌ„mer doth chafe vs the dogges doth byte vs the Cattes doeth scrat vs the SerpeÌ„tes doth poyson vs the Flyes doeth pricke vs the Flees doeth eat vs aboue al worldely busines deuours vs Farewell worlde seyng no man can passe thy dominion in suertie for in euery pathe we fynde stoones to stumble at bridges that brekes vnder vs Snowe that letteth vs MouÌ„taines that werye vs Thunders that feares vs Theues that robbe vs EncouÌ„ters that hurtes vs euil fortune that killes vs. Farewell worlde forasmuch as in thy countrey there is litle health for some be lippers and some haue the French pockes some the Canker and some the goute and some haue the foule euil and some the Sciatica and some the stone and some Quotidian feuers some wanderyng feuers some tercian quarten feuers spasmes paulsies the moste parte sicke offaire folly Farewel worlde forasmuche as there is not a manne in thy house but he is noted with some defaute in his person For if there be any talle man the rest is lubberlike If he haue a fayre face his iye shall be too blacke If he haue a good forehed it shalbe wrinkeled If he haue a welfauored mouthe he shall lacke teethe If he haue faire haÌ„des he shal lacke faire heer And if he haue faire heer he shall haue a foule skynne Farewel worlde forasmuch as the inhabitauÌ„tes in thee are so variable to maners and coÌ„dicions that some will folowe the court some wil sayle on the sea and if one would be a marchaunt the other will be a husbandman If the one will be a huÌ„ter the other will be a fisher If one wil gouerne a Monarchy y e other vnder preteÌ„ce of y t will pyll poll y e poore people Farewell worlde for asmuche as in thy house there are none that prepare themselfes to liue and muche lesse to dye And yet we see some die yong and some in middle age some in old age some dye by haÌ„gyng and some by drounyng some dye for huÌ„ger some in eatyng slepyng and restyng and some or they beware and for the most parte or they loke for death Farewell worlde forasmuch as we can neither knowe thy disposicion nor condicion For if one be wise another is a fole If one be fyne another is of a grosse witte If one be valiant another is a coward If one be geuen to peace another is sedicious And if one be of a gentle spirit another is very froward Farewell worlde seyng noman can liue with thee for if a man eate to lytle he becommes weake if to muche he waxeth sicke if a man labour straite he is wery if he be idle he liueth bestly if he geue litle he is called a nigarde if he geue muche he is called prodigal if a maÌ„ visite his freÌ„des often he is called importune if to seldome full of disdaine If a maÌ„ suffre wrong he is called false hearted And if he do reuenge then is he wilfull If he haue frendes he is praised If enemies he is pursued if one tary to long in a place he waxeth wery and if he chaunge to oft he is grudged at Finally I say that suche thynges as displease me I am forced to folowe and that which I would I cannot come by O worlde vncleane I coniure thee thou filthy worlde I pray O thou worlde protest against thee thou worlde that thou neuer haue part in me for I demauÌ„de nor desire nothyng that is in thee neither hope of any thyng in thee for I haue determinined with my self that posui finem curis spes et fortuna valete I haue finished worldly cares therfore hope and fortune farewell FINIS EXCVSVM LONDINI IN AEDIBVS RICHARDI GRAFTONI TYPOGRAPHI REGII MENSE AVGVSTII M.D.XLVIII CVM PRIVILEGIO AD IMPRIMENDVM SOLVM