Demetrius doth better whiche correctynge the sayenge of Euripides sayth that the lyfe of man shulde rather be called the Minute of an houre But Pyndarus saythe beste of all whiche callethe the lyfe of man the dreme of a shadowe He ioynethe two speciall thynges of nothynge to gether to th entent that he wolde declare howe vayne a thynge this lyfe is Nowe howe wretched and myserable the same lyfe is on euery behalfe the aun cient poetes semed to perceyue it passinge well the whiche demed that a maÌ„ coude nat more truely nor more better name mortall creatures than surname them very miserable wretches For the fyrste age or formeste parte of mans lyfe the whiche is rekened the best is ignorant The middell parte of the lyfe is assayled with trouble and care of manyfolde businessis and yet all this while I speake but of them that be moste luckye and fortunate Therfore who is he which of very ryghte wyll nat approue the sayenge of Silenus the best is neuer to be borne the nexte is moste swyftly to be clene extincte who wyll nat allowe the ordinaunce of the Thraciens the which customa bly vse to receyue them that be borne in to this worlde with lamentation and mournynge and agayne whan they departe heÌ„ce they be very glad and demeane great ioye And he that by hym selfe considerethe inwardlye those thynges that Hegesias was wonte to declare to his herers he wolde rather desire his owne dethe than abhorre hit and wolde farre more indifferently take in worthe the dethe of his frendes But nowe your fatherly sorowe coÌ„methe forthe and saythe He died er his day he dyed in his childehode he died so passyng a good childe yea and so towardlye disposed vnto vertue that he was worthye to haue lyued many many yeres your fatherly forowe coÌ„playneth that the course of Nature is subuerted seinge that you his father an olde man shulde ouer lyue your sonne a yonge man But I prey you for the loue of god tell me what ye call before his day as though euery day of a mans lyfe coude nat be his laste daye One before he come in to this worlde and whaÌ„ vnneth it hath any shappe of a creature reasonable â–ª is strangled and diethe euen vnder the handes of nature workynge and fourmynge of it An other diethe in the byrthe An other crienge in the cradell is snatched awaye by dethe An other in the flowrig youth dieth whan scarsely as yet it hath any taste of the lyfe Of so many thousandes of people to how fewe is it gyueÌ„ as Horace nameth it to steppe vp on the gryce of olde age without doubte god hath vnder suche a lawe constituted the soule in the garrison of this littell body that what so euer day or what so euer moment he wyll commaunde it to departe thence it muste by by nedes go Nor there is none that can of ryghte thynke hym selfe to be called forthe before his day coÌ„siderynge that there is no man that hath a day certayne to hym appoynted but that only is his laufull day whiche so euer he our souerayne capitayne wolde shulde be his last day If we wyll worke wysely we shulde so abyde euery day as it were our very last I prey you what maketh hit matter seinge the life is so shorte and fugitiue whether we dye betymes or tary some what longer For it skylleth no more thaÌ„ it doth whan many be broughte to execution whiche of them shuld be fyrst heeded or haÌ„ged It is all one whiche is the fyrste the thirde or the eight And what other thinge els is the lyfe it selfe but a certayne perpetuall course vnto dethe Sauyng that their chance is more coÌ„modious the which froÌ„ so laborious an exercise of the lyfe are dispatched be tymes But as it is a touche of a braynles felowe to departe away froÌ„ the army and breke the array without the capitaynes coÌ„maundement So hit is a foliss he poynte and great ingratitude whan leaue is quickelye gyuen of the capitayne nat gladly to take it And most specially if he that hath now liceÌ„ce to go may deê‘te his waye home with laude and preyse to hym no rebuke nor shame Nor it is nat coÌ„uenient that one shulde sitte and reken howe many yeres he hath lyued The age shulde be estemed accordynge to the noble dedes And he as Homere sayth is nat reputed to haue lyued that hath poystered the erthe and made a nombre but he the whiche sad sobrely passynge forthe his lyfe leaueth behynde hym an honest remeÌ„braunce to them that come after Do ye complayne that god sente you forthwith suche a childe as ye wolde desire to haue had many yeres to come what pardie your soÌ„ne died nat so soone he was nowe come to the age of .xx. yeres at the whiche age after myne opinion it is best for to die for so moche as than lyfe is mooste swete Nowe was he to his countrey very bountifull nowe was he to his father very lowely and gentyll nowe was he amoÌ„ge his felowes a very merye companion and nowe had he a good and a perfecte mynde to godwarde He decessed ignorant of vicis and whan he had nat tasted but littell of the calamities and miseries of this worlde But what be shulde haue knowen haue felte if he had lyued longer it is vncertayne No doubte we se very often tymes that the latter age dothe bothe infecte the clene conuersation of yonge age with more greuous vices and spottethe and defileth the felicitie of youthe with manyfolde myserable grefes From all these iuels and perils deth quickely withdrewe hym Nowe may you safe and surely reioyce and be glad that you haue had so good and so vertuous a sonne ye or rather haue But be it as you do suppose that you had hym and that nowe ye be depriued and haue loste hym whether of very ryghte oughte you rather to tourment vexe your selfe for that ye haue forgone hym or els reioyce and be gladde that ye hadde suche a sonne Take you hede that it be nat a poynte of vnkyndnes that ye shulde remembre the requeste of the gyfte to be restored agayne and nothynge to mynde the gyfte No doubte a childe of a good disposition is a great gyfte but yet is he so gyuen that ye shulde take and haue pleasure with hym for a tyme and nat that he shulde be yours for euer You that be a perfecte wyse man coÌ„sider this by your selfe yea let vs both to gether consider on this wyse If a great prince shulde lende vs a tabull of an excedyng great price and of an excellent workemanshyppe to passe our tyme with whether ought we whan so euer pleasethe hym to demaunde or call for it with a glad chere ye and more ouer gentylly thaÌ„kynge hym to delyuer it agayne or els with heuy and sorowfull countenance shall we complayne to hym on this wyse O cruell prince of howe precious a gyfte haste thou spoyled
wherfore do you with so vniuste com playntes accuse and blame destenyefortune and dethe Haue you enuye at me bicause I am delyuered from the yuels of that lyfe am brought to this felicitie that I am in But be hit that your fatherly goodnes and pure amitie dothe nat enuye me Yet what other thynge meaneth this sorowfull complaynyng Thynke you this worthye to be lamented that I am deducte and brought from thraldome to libertie from peyne and care to pleasure felicitie from darkenes vnto lighte from perill and daunger vnto sure saftie from deth vnto lyfe from sickenessis and disseases vnto im mortalitie from so many yuels to so high goodnes from thynges caduke and transitorie to the euerlastynge fro thinges erthly to celestiall and finally from the corrupte and vnclene company of all people to the felowshyp of angels Tell me I prey you for the great loue and kyndnes that ye beare me If it laye in your power to releue me agayne wolde ye releue me Than what offence haue I done to deserue so great hatred of you If ye wolde nat reliue me agayne than for what purpose seruen all these lamētatiōs the which as I haue said are nat only vnprofitable but also vn godly But ne were it so that immortalite had a while agone clene depued me of all sorowe I wolde lyke wyse with wepyng teares bewayle your so rowfull mourning sore haue rewed vpon thilke grosse darke cloudines of your mynde But ye say that you on your part wepe make lamētatiō For soth therin ye do nat like louers but like vnto thē that haue a respecte to them selfewarde that wyll to others discōmodite se to their own bu sines Nowe go to tell me what losse is it that ye susteine by my deth Is it bicause ye can nat haue me in your sight Pardie ye may neuer the lasse at your owne pleasure remembre me the meane tyme ye and so moche the more welthyly in howe moche I am in sure saftie For loke that ye esteme me nowe delyuered frō all the yuels what so euer they be that maye bechaunce a mortall man in his lyfe of whiche your longe robustous lyfe for a great parte hath experience And though that I be nat with you with lowly obeisāce to do you seruice yet may I be a sure an effectuall aduocate for you before the high maiestie of god And finally howe small a thynge is hit that deuideth our conuersation familiaritie Nowe loke that you so endeuour your selfe that whan ye haue well and vertuouslye passed the course of your lyfe that ye maye than at the houre of dethe be founde worthy to be cōueyed hither If that your sonne I saye shulde saye these wordes to vs myghte we nat well be ashamed thus to lament and mourne as we do with these maner of reasons I am wonte to ease the greffe of myn owne mynde of the whiche I wolde that you shulde be part taker nat all only that ye haue any great nede of those remedies but I demed it agreable that ye shulde be partaker of my cōsolation of whose sorowe I was partiner But briefly to conclude all that hath ben at length reasoned by this maner meane ye shall aswage the smartynge sorowe of your mynde My sōne is deed ye begotte a mortall creature I haue loste a great iewell ye haue yelded hit agayne to hym that frelye gaue hit you It is a right greuous thing to be thus destitude It shulde be the lighter borne that may be redressed by some mene He hath lefte me his father alone cōfortles what dothe it auayle to wepe and wayle for that that can nat be remedied or why mourne you for that the whiche chaunceth to so manye thousandes as well as to you Alas I can nat chose but wepe for the deth of my sonne ye but he that diethe well dothe in no wyse perysshe But he died to sone He that diethe well diethe nat to sone He dyed longe before his daye was come There is no man that hath a daye certayne appointed vnto hym He decessed in his flourynge youthe It is than best to dye whan to lyue it is moste swete He died a very yonge man So is he withdrawen from the mo yuels and troubuls of this lyfe I haue loste the beste childe that any man coude haue Be gladde that ye had suche one He departed out of this worlde an innocēt No deth shulde be more desired and lesse bewayled Ye but it is nat lefull for me the meane whyle to haue fruition with my sonne Yes in your mynde you may and within shorte space you and he to gether bodye and soule shall ioye and take pleasure If ye knowe any better remedies than these of gentylnes let me here them if ye do nat than vse these with me And thus fare ye wel which your sōne also wold ye shuld Thomas Berthelet regius impressor excudebat Cum priuilegio
vs Howe great a pleasure hast thou berafte and taken from vs Howe sone hast thou taken from vs coÌ„trary to our opinion this so excelleÌ„t a thiÌ„g Myght nat he of very ryghte to our so vnkynde complayntes answere on this wyse Haue I this rewarde for my gentyll and courtoys dede Remembre ye nothynge saue only that that ye haue forgone the moste faire tabull Haue ye forgotte that I of myn owne good wyll and frelye lente it you And that ye haue nowe so longe whyle of my gentylnes and sufferaunce fedde your eies and delited your mynde It was of my liberalite and fredome that I leÌ„te it you and nowe whan I require it agayne I do but ryght perdie ye haue had by me some aduauntage ye loste nothyng saue that throughe your foly ye femed that thing to be your owne that was but lente you And so ye esteme it to be loste that is restored to the owner againe But the more precious and delectable that the thynge was that I lente and let you haue at your pleasure the more a great deale ye oughte to haue thanked me Nor ye oughte nat to thynke hit to be to sone required againe the which with out any iniurye or wronge myghte haue bene kepte from you If this reasoÌ„ can nat be proued false by no meane of argumentation thaÌ„ thynke howe moche more iustly Nature with suche maner wordê might reproue bothe our lamentation and sorowfull complaynynges And vndoubted by these maner of reasons our sorowe oughte to be swaged yea if it were so that a man were vtterly extincte by deth and there remayned nothynge of vs after the buriall Now if we at the leste gyue credeÌ„ce to it wherof Socrates in Plato doubted nothynge at all that is to witte the very man to be the soule this body to be nothynge els but the pipe or lyttell house of the soule Or els to say trouthe it may be called the buriall or prison of the soule and whan it escapeth out therof than at the laste it cometh to libertie to lyue moche more welthyly than it dyd be fore wherfore than shuld we sorowfully blame deth seinge that he that dieth dothe nat perisshe but than he semethe rather to be borne And we ought to reioyce in the soule whiche we can nat with our eies decerne as moche and none other wyse than we be wont to reioyce and take pleasure in our frendes that bene absent And I doubte whether is more delectable and reioysyng to vs whan they bene present or els whan they ben absent for so moche as the corporall lyuyng to gether is wonte to mynyster to vs matter of displeasure and the moche beinge in company to gether dothe some what abate the ioyfulnesse of frendshyp If ye desyre an example of this thynge be nat the apostels a sufficient argument the whiche than began to take very fruition in Christ and truely to loue hym after the corporal presence was taken from them On the same wyse is the freÌ„dshyppe of them that be good the whiche stedfastly perseuer in couplynge and knyttynge to gether of the myndes and nat of the bodies And there is no violence no space of tyme nor no distaunce of places that can seuer or diuide the couplyng of myndes So that me thynke hit a very childisshe poynt to thynke that a frende were clene lost and gone so sone as he were out of sighte You may as ofte as ye wyll haue your sonne presente both in your thoughte in your wordes And he on the other side remeÌ„breth you perceiueth the tender affectioÌ„s of your mynde ye and other whyle in your slepe both your soules eÌ„brace eche other talke to gether of some secrete thiÌ„ges what thynge letteth that ye may nat euen very nowe imagin to lyue with hym with whom soone after ye are in poynte to lyue I pray you how briefe shorte is all the holle tyme that we lyue here Hitherto haue I vsed the remedies the whiche I myghte well vse if I had to do with a paynym Nowe let vs brieffely coÌ„sider what godlynes christen faith ought to require of vs. Fyrst and formost if it were so that deth were a thynge moste miserable yet it behoueth vs to take it in good worth seinge that ther is none other remedye And more ouer if dethe shulde clene extinguishe man that nothynge after shulde remayne yet we shulde there with be contente for as moche as hit makethe an ende of many calamities and greffes whiche we suffre in this lyfe But seinge that dethe delyuereth the soule beinge of etheriall begynnyng out of the dongion of the ponderous beuy body in a maner we oughte to reioyce and be gladde of them that be departed hence out of this wretched worlde and that they be retourned home agayne to that welthye libertie from wheÌ„ce they came Nowe than coÌ„side ryng that deth without any doubte conueyeth the good deuoute soules out of the stormes of this troublous lyfe vnto the porte or hauen of lyfe perdurable and that nat so moche as a here of a mans heed shall perisshe for the bodies also at length shal be called to enioye the same lyfe euerlastyng I prey you whether ought we to mourne and wepe or els to be gladde and reioyce in hym whom dethe in due tyme taketh out of this moste troublous see of the lyfe and carieth hym in to that quiete sure restynge place of euerlastynge lyfe Go to nowe a littell while and lay to gether the foule enormities the painful labours and the perils and daungers of this lyfe if it may be called a lyfe And on the other syde reken caste what coÌ„modities and pleasures of that other lyfe are all redy prepared for the godly creatures that be plucked hence away And than ye shall sone perceiue that no man can do more vnrightouslye than he the whiche lamentably bewayleth that high goodnes vnto the whiche only we be both borne and ordayned euen as thoughe it were a right great and greuous harme Ye crie out bicause ye be lefte comfortles alone without childreÌ„ whan ye haue begotte a soÌ„ne to inhabite heuen the holy remembraunce of whom as it were of a diuine thynge ye maye reuerence the whiche aboue in beueÌ„ beinge carefull for you may greatly forther the prosperous successe of your busines here For he is nother ignorant of mortall folkes busines nor hath nat forgone with the bodye the lowlye reuerence and tender loue whiche he was woÌ„te to bere to you his father No doubt he lyueth beleue me he lyueth and perauenture is present with vs and hereth and perceiueth this our communication and laugheth and damneth this our lameÌ„tation And if the grossenes of our bodies letted nat ê‘chance we shulde here hym blaming vs for our wepyng with these maner of wordes what do ye wyll ye abridge your dayes and finishe your olde age with this vnprofitable ye I may well say pyuisshe lamentation