aduerse fortune taketh not so mutch sorowe at the familiaritie of calamities 5 Calamities haue dominion ouer men and not men ouer calamities Herodotus ¶ To comforte or giue consolation And first for olde age 1I Knowe no cause why mē should meruell that olde age is subiect to so many maladies seeing it is euen infirmitie it selfe 2 That old man is more foolish who hauing passed ouer the daungers of this life and is arriued at the ende of them would wish to begin his course newe again then a trauailour who hauing ended a longe and yerkesome iourney should desire to go it ouer againe immediatly forasmuch as nothing is more acceptable to such as bee weary then rest and lodging 3 It is not expedient for your wisedome to wish for that that ye haue lost seeing it cannot be recouered againe that is youth for it is the propertie of a mad man to loue that which is lost 4 Men ought to reioyce whē they come vnto age wherefore they were borne seeing age is the very rypenes of men and is as profitable to be in men as in fruites ¶ Of Death 1 DEath happeneth to al men alike wherfore thou oughtest not to challenge vnto thy selfe a priuilege of life aboue others 2 I dare not take in hande to comforte thee or to offer thee any succour for I knowe the thou art wise ynough of a most noble minde wherfore it should seeme great presumption if I would go about to administer thee consolation in this matter Cic. 5. Epist 17. 2 All things that be according to nature be good and what is more agreeyng to nature then for an old man to dye 3 Thou oughtest to conforme thy selfe according to the good pleasure of God and to beleeue that hee knoweth better what we need then our selues and the time when to drawe again to him self his members 4 In the raging Sea of this oure tempestuous life we haue none other hauen saue death 5 Thou mayst thus comfort thy selfe for the losse of thy Father that sithens in his life tyme hee liued well he hath now with death obtained rewarde of his vertues 6 This world is a very Uallaye of waylinges deepe obscure and full of mire happy is he that wel getteth out of it 7 Seeing it is so ordained by nature that he which first cometh must first go the sonne hath no cause to lament for the death of his Father for hee dooth not therby forsake him but goeth before him 8 We may truely call the Earth a better Mother vnto vs thē she that hath borne vs for shee nourisheth vs but for a fewe monethes and the other for a great many yeares 9 To lament for things that can not be gotten againe groweth rather of too mutch foolishnes then of much godlynes and loue 10 Uertue may make honest any sorte of death whatsoeuer 11 Albeit that my minde is not sufficient to comfort you for that the sorrow that I abide doth suffer me to haue no place of consolation yet c. 12 He was not borne in vaine that dyeth well neither liued he vnprofitably that finished well his life 13 Death is no death but the end of trauailes and a beginning of life 14 There is no armour more strong against any cruell dart of fortune then a prudent minde and I being of opinion that you are most wise do beleeue also that you vnderstande howe that no humaine thing can bee perpetuall or quiet 15 If thou wouldest consider howe that hee was borne a mortall man thou wouldest not sorrowe of his death 16 Socrates beeying demaunded what was the greatest beatitude of man Hee aunsweared to dye well Eschines 17 If sicke men could be healed with teares and that forrowe could cease their griefe I would commende this wayling Philomenes 18 Inasmuch as we be mortal what thing should we els looke for of this our life but mortalitie ¶ For Health lost 1 I Trust with the grace of God shortly to see thee not only free from this disease but also from all ill humours by meanes of this sicknes wherby thei shal be consumed veryfiyng the olde Prouerbe that is that one euill dryueth away another 2 Nothing new or vnwonted is happened vnto you neither hath fortune any iot changed custome nor nature beeing alwayes vnstedfast vnconstant and blinde but we may rather say that in this your maladie it hath vsed the owne proper and naturall constancie which is to be alwayes vnconstant and neuer to abyde in one estate 3 Sicknes is a great dehorter from vices and affections and an exhorter to modestie and goodnesse 4 It is mutch more easie to abyde the infirmitie of the body then the griefe of the minde wherefore I thinke it good that in this your sicknes yee shake of all such thoughts as might trouble you 5 Although that man by nature is accompanied with many euills yet the worst of them all is the displeasure of the minde take heede therfore least ye set any thing rashly to heart ¶ Of reputation lost 1 I Am glad that your fortune is vnlike mine for ther is great difference betwixt beeing iniuried beeyng vtterly vndone Cic. 1. Epist fa. 7. 2 To be without doubt is tokē of a good hart which thing without all peraduenture would both staye his foolish rage and bringe you againe to your due place of honour Cic 1. Fa 5. 3 The course of your fortune although the case be vnlike yet it rūneth to the same end that mine doth Epist 7. 4 To the grieuousnes of the sorrow that I feele about your matters I haue yet this consolation that I trust the counsels of Frendes and the time it selfe which breaketh the appointments of wicked men shall giue recompence to the wicked willes of your enemies Epist 6. 5 Concerning this losse if you shal make such account as I haue alwaies denied that you ought for to make you shall doe wisely and shall with victory triumphe ouer your Enemies Cic 3. Epist 20. 6 The refuge of our studies is such that although wee cannot haue the great losse wee had restored againe wee may yet at the least bee somewhat eased by not thinking theron Lib 4. Epist 3. 7 Doest thou not remember how that with continuall lamenting thy troubles bee rather doubled then raced out of memorie 8 Canst not thou see things that are open and manifest who with thy quicknesse of wit wast wont to pearce to the knowledge of thinges most secret Canst not thou know how that continuall lamentyng doth relieue thee neuer a whit Lib. 6. Epi. 16. 9 A man that is rightly vertuous ought to loose nothing by the multitude of the wicked Lib. 9 Epi. 3. 10 Thy valiancie is so great and worthy of it self that for the sustentatiō therof thou needest no cōfort of others neither can I well comfort another which am depriued of all consolation my selfe 11 Like as in the aboundaunce
is not miserable that is receyued for the common weale neither is that Exile lothsome that is caused for vertue Cic ◠Epist 1◠2 If they shall take my life away yet they shall not bereaue me of my reputation though they shall afflict my body with Exile for that it is mortall yet they shall not remooue my minde from the common wealth 3 Defend thy self stoutly from sorrow and withstande Fortune reuoluyng alwayes in thy minde howe that in our Cittie and in the common weale many haue vniustly beene sent into exile I tell thee also and I would to GOD it were not true that thou art dryuen out of sutch a Countrey where no good wise man can liue quiet 4 I do not only exhort thee but doo also pray thée for the frendships sake that hath beens betwixt vs that thou wouldest stablish thy minde against misfortunes considering with thy selfe in what estate all men are borne 5 Your most noble minde hath no need of a common medecine and that which I should saye for to comfort you in this your exile should be as a shadow in respect of the light of your vnderstanding 6 Hee which is vniustly sent into exile ought to make himselfe mery for that he hath Iustice his cōpanion of his exile which suffereth the vngodly Citizines to persecute him 7 The heart of a valiant man dooth not faint at the first falling of fortune and what els is this your exite but a disfauour of one chaunce of fortune for a coūterpaise of infinit fauours that ye haue receiued of her 8 Great folly it is to lament the dying out of ones Country forasmuch as it is superfluous to haue regarde to the place where a man shall staye dying when as he must immediatly depart frō all places 6 Anaxagoras dyeing out of his countrie was demaunded by his Frendes whether hee would haue his body caried to the place where hee was borne He aunswered that the waye that leadeth to Hell is no further from one place then from another 10 Like as the Mariners haue instruments prepared both for prosperous and for aduerse sailings so ought we to haue the affections of our minds made fit both for good and ill fortune 11 In what place foeuer a man be hee hath one the selfe same waye continuall and plaine to walke thorough this frayle and mortall life to an immortall and euerlasting life Titus 12 Ydle fellowes and such as are good to nothing are belieged with pouertie euen in their countryes wheras on the contrarie part such as be industrious and wife in what part of the world soeuer they bee do posseede sufficient and neuer feele want 13 Euen as going out of one ship into another we may still sayle prosperously so going out of one Cittie or countrey into another wee may leade our life fortunately 14 Like as euery qualitie of the aire is penetrable to the eyes of the Egle so euery Cittie and countrie is to a valiant man 15 In what part soeuer it be of the world where the earth doth noorish vs there is our Countrey Plutarch 16 Seeing that we are by nature brought foorth all free and vnboūd I know not by what reason we should afterward binde and restraine our selues to one corner 17 Euery part of the World is free and open to a wise man and to a valiant minde the whole world is his Countrey Democri ¶ Of Pouertie 1 THou wast wont to comforte others following the maner of ignoraunt Phisiciants who making profession to haue skill in other folkes diseases know not how to cure their owne Cic. Lib 4. Epist fa 5. 2 I beleeue that in these corrupt and tempestuous times there is any thing that can drawe neere to the true beatitude saue only ioyfull pouertie 3 Poore men that do content thēselues with their estate be deare vnto God Menander 4 Diogenes hearing the pouertie of a wicked mā reprooued fayd I neuer saw any tormented for hys pouertie but for wickednesse Elianus 5 Diogenes said that pouertie was a learned succour to Philisophie forsomuch as those things that Philosophy forced to perswade with words the same were put in practise by pouertie 6 If thou shall neuer desire much a litle will seeme to thee ynough Democri 7 Drogenes made this a answe be to one that attributed pouertie to him for a fault oh vnhappy mā I neuer same any man become a Tyrant thorough pouertie but many thorough richesse 8 The life of poore men is like vnto a sayling at Sea when the ship is neare to shore but the life of ritch men like to those that sayle in the depth of the Sea To the one sort it is easie to cast auker and to fall into harborough To the other it is more hard and requireth great labour Aristotle 9 Like as it is better to lye sounde and in good health vpō a simple matterisse then beeyng sicke to lye vppon a large and rich bed so also it is better to liue fortunately in meane fortune then vnhappyly in great aboundaunce Epitt. 10 Pouertie is not that which causeth vs to sorrow but the ouermuch greedynesse of our mindes 11 Many men for iniustice and euill doyng haue beene put to death but for pduertie neuer any 12 No man is more fortunat then a poore man for hee neuer feareth to fall from an highe estate to a lowe Diphisus 13 Pouertie is a thinge that is not enuyed neither doth any man striue to obtaine it and without any garding it is defended and conserued And how much the more it is despysed so much the more it is exalted Xenophon ¶ To bewaile or lament And first for death 1I Had no comfort lest me but only this wherof death hath depryued me Cic. Lib. 4. Epist fa. 6. Ad Attic. Lib. 1 Epi. 8. 2 What great sorrow and griefe I haue sustained by the death of my brother and of what commoditie both publike and domesticall I haue beene thereby depriued of you who knowe my secretes may consider for looke what consolation one man could enioy by another al that I receiued at his hāds 3 The death of Lentulus beare it as we can is such that we haue lost a very good and worthie mā who had the noblenes of hys minde tempered with an infinite humanitie 4 I know not what thing can bee acceptable vnto a man that hath lost him who was wont to bee more deare vnto him then any other thing 5 The death of this Noble man hath so pearced into my Spirit that I can neither finde words nor reasons that be able to comfort my selfe ¶ For things done vnto vs. I Am wel pleased at this that thou hast tried what credit is in men with thy small cost as well as I knowe to my great dammage Cic. Lib. 1. Epist 9. 2 We were caught in a snare or at the least sore belayed and like to haue beene
satisfie his neede as that I take it for an euident argument of your infailable goodwill that you beare me 3 Your most louing letter was intermingled with so many and such great demonstration of your loue towardes me as I might therby haue cause to yeeld you aboundance of thankes as to my especiall freÌ„d 4 I am to giue you thankes not only for the fauour that you haue shewed me but also I abyde in your debt that vnder sutch a condition that though not fully yet to the vttermost of my power I will at sometime requite your curtesie 5 Although your freÌ„dship shewed me in this matter caÌ„not by me be recompensed with the like yet I will neuer forget my duty towardes you for the same ¶ For commendations receiued 1 THat fame which groweth by any man of wisedome and aucthoritie doth greatly encrease the reputation and credit of him that is praysed 2 I cannot tell in what sort I might recompence your curtesie except it be in labouring to veryfie in some respects the report that you haue made of me 3 Seeing that you for the loue that you beare me haue giuen me such commendatioÌ„s as better might haue beseemed mee to haue giuen you I shall abide your Debter therfore 4 The praises that you haue vttered of me albeit that I caÌ„not heare of them without being ashamed yet I thus account that in as mutch as you can not flatter you haue made this report of meere goodwill that you beare me wherfore I giue you most hartie thankes 5 Concerning the commendations that you gaue me whither you think as you say or that you faine like a Poet I thaÌ„ke you hartly for theÌ„ for to be praised at a learned mans hande yea though it were fasly cannot be without credit 6 The praises that you vnworthely attributed to my wrytings do assure me that you haue a good opinion of me and that the most part of meÌ„ wil esteeme greatly of that which you allowe 6 I doo so greatly esteeme of the prayses that you geue mee by which I see that I am in your fauour that it maketh me to thinke sometimes the better of my selfe ¶ For being aduertised 1 I Giue you most hartie thankes for that you haue vouchsaued to write vnto me what was your couÌ„sell and iudgement herein 2 Euery point of your letters were so farre from offending me that I account them most louing and deare and for theÌ„ I giue you most humble thankes 3 The Letters sent by your lordship doo declare how much my duety encreaseth towardes you dayly more and more 4 Your letters pequire no other aunswere at my handes sauing that after the good hope and frendly aduertisementes wherewith you still incyte mee I may haue occasioÌ„ more more to giue you thankes and so mutch the more thankes as that the fruit of your deligence and good-will dooth more plentifully abounde FINIS Certaine worthie sentences very meete to be written about a Bed-chamber or to be set vp in any conuenient place in a house 1 THe good Son grafteth goodnes wherof saluation is the fruit But the euill plaÌ„teth vices the fruit wherof is daÌ„natioÌ„ 2 Therfore at night call vnto minde how thou the daye hast spent Praise God if naught amisse thou finde If ought betimes repent 3 Thy bed is like the graue so cold sleepe that shuts thine eyes Resembleth death the clothes the mowlde in graue when as thy body dryes 4 Therfore let not thy sluggish sleepe close vp thine waking eye Till with aduice and iudgement deepe thy dayly deedes thou trye 5 Who any sinne in conscience keepes when he to quiet goes More venterous is theÌ„ he that sleepes with tweÌ„ty mortal foes FINIS A briefe Table for the readier helpe to finde out euery particuler matter contained in this Booke The manner or Methode howe to reioyce what reioycing is and of the particuler causes wherof most coÌ„monly men doe reioyce Vidz OF Health Fol. 1 Of health recouered Fol. 2 Of dignitie obtained Fol. 3 Of dignitie promised Fol. 4 Of Gooddes gotten Fol. 5 Of Inheritance gotten Fol. 6 Of frendship gotten Fol. 7 Of a Reconciliation Fol. 7 Of being in a good Opinion Fol. 8 Of returne from a Voyage Fol. 9 Of returne out of Exile Fol. 10 Of Letters receiued Fol. 11 Of Matrimonie Fol. 12 Of Childbirth Fol. 12 ¶ Howe to wish or praye for Vz. TO praye for health Fol. 13 To praye for Dignitie Fol. 14 For prosperitie Fol. 15 For a benefit or a good turne Fol. 19 For Libertie Fol. 17 For Peace Fol. 17 Not to be in an euill opinion Fol. 18 ¶ How to aduertise what it is and wherin to aduertise Vz. TO aduertise one to worke warely Fol. 19 To beware of Errours Fol. 20 Of trayterous dealings Fol. 21 Of Enemitie Fol. 22 Not to fall in an euill opinion Fol. 25 Not to speake amisse Fol. 26 To become circumspect in writing Fol. 27 To knowe himselfe Fol. 29 To administer Iustice Fol. 30 To coÌ„serue maintain health Fol. 34 ¶ How to blame what it is and for what causes Vz. TO blame euill maners Fol. 32 To blame an euill minde Fol. 33 To blame slacknes in ReligioÌ„ and an euill conscience Fol. 34 The small estimation of Frends Fol. 35 Ciuill Warres Fol. 35 Crueltie Fol. 36 Pride Fol. 37 Auarice Fol. 38 Prodigalitie Fol. 40 Anger Fol. 40 Enuy. Fol. 41 Wanton loue Fol. 43 Surfetting Fol. 43 Idlenes Fol. 44 Richnesse Fol. 45 Honours Fol. 46 Pastimes Fol. 47 Beautie Fol. 47 Noblenes Fol. 48 Flatterie Fol. 49 Ingratitude Fol. 50 Malice Fol. 51 Doltishnes Fol. 51 Surposing or applying thinges amisse Fol. 52 To blame this life Fol. 52 ¶ Howe to lament or bee sory what it is and for what occasions Vz. FOr the death of some body Fol. 53 For sicknesse Fol. 54 For pouertie Fol. 54 For Imprisonment For Exile Fol. 55 For libertie lost Fol. 56 For reputation lost Fol. 56 ¶ To comfort or giue cousolation in sundry respectes Vz. AGainst old age Fol. 57 Against death Fol. 57 For health lost Fol. 59 Of reputation lost Fol. 60 Of Goods lost Fol. 62 Of the losse of Frendes Fol. 63 Of imprisonment Fol. 64 Of Exile Fol. 66 Of Pouertie Fol. 68 ¶ How to bewaile or lament for diuers causes Vz. For the death of our Frenâ—â— Fol. â—â— For things done vnto vâ— Fol. â—0 Of times Fol. 71 Of Fortune Fol. 72 ¶ How to demaund or request vpon sundrie occasions Vz. For ayde Fol. 73 For fauour or grace Fol. 73 For counsell Fol. 74 For Pardon Fol. 75 ¶ How to exhort to sundry purposes Vz. TO the feare of God Fol. 74 To liue well Fol. 76 Vnto vertue Fol. 77 To the obedieÌ„ce of the Prince Fol. 78 To the obedience of elders and Parents Fol. 79 To fauour the common weale Fol. 80 To constancie Fol. 81 To patience Fol. 82 To gratefulnesse Fol. 84 To louing kindnesse Fol. 84 To the good education of childreÌ„ To flye slouth Fol. 85 To studie Fol. 86 ¶ How to parle or descant diuers and sundry wayes Vz. With Pleasaunt speeches Fol. 87 With Graue sentences Fol. 88 With subtill and wittie Sentences Fol. 89 ¶ How to giue thankes for sundrie occasions Vz. FOr goodwill shewed Fol. 90 For benefites receiued Fol. 91 For fauour receiued Fol. 92 For commendations receiued Fol. 93 For being aduertised Fol. 94 FINIS