yeeres and there you appoynt the ende vnto whiche who so doth attayne theyr lyfe is but payne and trauayle vnlesse he aduaunce your hope a litle further who sayth The dayes of a mans lyfe are many tymes an hundred yeeres vnto which age how few do attayne we see but admit that it happened vnto al which happeneth but to fewe notwithstandyng I pray you howe muche is it Ioy. Very much truely For the lyfe of young men is more assured and farther of from olde age and so from death Reason Thou art deceiued for although there be nothing safe to a man notwithstandyng that is the most daungerous part of his lyfe whiche to muche carelesnesse maketh vnaduised There is nothyng neerer to other then death is to lyfe when they seeme to be farthest a sunder then are they neerest togeather alwayes the one passeth away and the other draweth nygh whyther soeuer ye flee away death is at hande and hangeth ouer your heades Ioy and Hope Wel at the leastwyse youth is now present and olde age is absent Reason Nothyng is more flytting then youth nothyng more deceyuable then olde age Youth stayeth not but in delightyng she slyppeth away olde age immediatly folowyng after softly in darkenesse and silence striketh men at vnwares and when she is thought to be farre of then standeth she at the doore Ioy. My age is in rysing Reason Thou trustest to a most deceitfull thing This rysing is a goyng downe this short lyfe this vnstable tyme stealeth away yea without makyng any noyse with the feete euen whyle we sleepe and make merie And O that this swiftnesse of tyme and shortnesse of lyfe were as well knowen in the beginning as it is in the ende whiche to those that enter seemeth infinite and nothyng when they goe out and are scarce so many minutes as they appeared to be hundredes of yeeres So then at length deceypt is knowen when it can not be auoyded whereby it commeth that many tymes counsell is geuen in vayne vnto those yeeres they are both vnbeleeuyng and vnskylfull disdainefull of anothers counsell and wantyng of their owne And therefore there is nothyng that discouereth the errours of youth although they be innumerable and greeuous and yet notwithstandyng hyd and vnknowen to those that committed them better then olde age doth and layeth them foorth before their eyes who sometyme dissembled them and winked at them Neither doo ye sooner perceyue what ye ought to be then ye be made that whiche ye woulde be and then ye can possibly be none other then ye be But yf there were any that coulde vnderstande these thynges in tyme or by hym selfe or beleeue when he is taught surely hym woulde I accompt a woorthy and happie youth among many thousandes he shoulde not passe his lyfe through so many difficulties whose onely course lyeth safe and straight through vertue Ioy. Myne age is nothyng spent Reason Howe is that vnspent whiche since the tyme it first beganne is euery day wasted and whyle it is geuen is also taken away by very small portions For Heauen turneth about with perpetuall motion minutes consume houres and houres the day That day thrusteth foorth another and that the next day folowyng and there is neuer any ceassyng So doo monethes passe away so yeeres and so dooth an whole age make hast and runne and as Cicero sayeth fleeth away And as Virgil sayth It neuer waggeth the swifte winges So lykewyse they that fare by Sea they are caried away in the shyppe and feele not howe and many tymes are at their viage ende before they be ware Ioy and Hope An age that beginneth is far from the ende Reason Within the space of a short lyfe nothyng is farre of Ioy and Hope But there is no part farther from the ende then is the beginnyng Reason None in deede but this shoulde be truely sayde yf all men lyued lyke space of time Howbeit euen the very fyrst age falleth sundrie wayes into death whereby it chaunceth many tymes that he that seemed farthest of is nearest his ende Ioy and Hope Truely I am of a most floorishing age Reason Although fewe do marke it yet there is some change wrought since we beganne to speake and in the drawyng foorth of euery sillable there is some part of lyfe passed away and some peece of transitorie flowre of youth decayed And I pray you what hath this deyntie and gallaunt young man more then that rough and riueled olde man besides this short and transitorie flowre whiche fadeth euery day wherein what shoulde be so pleasaunt and delectable I doo not finde since he knoweth that almost sooner then a man can speake it he shall hym selfe be suche an one as this olde man nowe is or els is mad yf he knowe it not vnlesse of twayne whiche are led togeto be put to death he is to be accompted the happier whiche is commaunded last to lay downe his necke vppon the blocke to be cut of who truely seemeth vnto me in a maner in the more miserable state for the deferryng of the death Howbeit the condition of these men and of the other of whom I spake before is not all one insomuche as this man may haue some entreatie or meanes made for hym in the meane whyle to escape his fellowes execution and to lyue Onely death can preuent a young man that he shall not lyue vnto olde age To be short there consisteth no great felicitie in a small processe of tyme and vnto loftie mindes there is nothyng that is short accompted acceptable Awake ye that sleepe it is now tyme open your dimme and slumbring eyes Accustome your selues at length to thynke vpon eternal thinges to loue them and to desire them and therewithal also to contemne transitorie thinges Learne to depart from them willingly which can not continue with you long and to forsake them in hart before by them ye be forsaken Ioy and Hope My yeers are stable and greene Reason They lye whiche say that there is some age I knowe not which stable There is nothyng more swift then tyme and tyme is the charret of al ages to carrie them away in And doest thou then imagine that it is permanent O vanitie there is nothyng durable for euen at this present thou art violently drawen away c. Of the goodly beautie of the body The seconde Dialogue Ioy. THE beautie of my body is goodly Reason It is no more permanent then the tyme that commeth with it with whiche also it flitteth away Stay the tyme if thou canst and so perhaps thou mayest stay beautie Ioy. The beautie of my body is singuler Reason Thou restest vpon a brittle foundation The body it selfe passeth away like a shadow and doest thou thinke that a transitorie accident of the body wyll continue Accidentes may perishe the subiect remaynyng but when the body perisheth they must needes decay And among all the qualities whiche passe away with this mortall body there is none swyfter then beautie whiche
thynges But as for them that goe downe into hel casting of al charitie it is to be entended that they hate both God and men and also al the workes of God and man. Of one that at his death is carefull of his fame and good report The Cxxx. Dialogue SOROWE WHAT wyll men speake of me when I am dead Reason An vnseasonable care thou shouldest haue prouided for this in thy youth for looke what a mans life is suche is his fame Sorowe What wyll they say of me Reason What shall I answeare thee other then that which the most learned and eloquent Marcus Cicero sayeth What other men shall speake of thee let them see to that them selues but they wyl speake notwithstanding howbeit all their talke is comprehended within the narrowe boundes of these regions which thou seest neyther was it euer continual of any but is extinguished by the death of men and forgetfulnesse of posteritie Sorow What wil they speake of me that shal be borne herafter Reason I would tel thee otherwyse then Cicero doeth yf I thought that any thing could be better vttered then is by him And what skilleth it sayth he if thou be spoken of by them that shal be borne hereafter seeing there nowe remayneth no fame of them that were borne before thee One thing he addeth moreouer which perhaps at that time was doubtful peraduenture false but now very sure most true without doubt Who sayth he were as many in number as you are now and truely better men to For who is he that doubteth but that there wyl neuer come so good men as there haue ben Thus al thinges waxe woorse woorse and tend euery day toward their final ruine A merueilous care then it is which thou hast to stande in feare of the speeches of those whom thou knowest not are thy youngers as not liuing in the same age with thee seeing thou now contemnest the iudgement and woordes of excellent men of thine owne time and acquaintance Sorow What fame shal there be of me when I am dead Reason Far better then while thou liuest when enuie once holdeth her peace For enuie and malice seldome last longer then a mans life and as vertue is the roote of glorie so is enuie the cutter downe of it and as the enuious hand being present hindreth the growth of it so when it is taken away it restoreth the encrease of true commendation And therfore vnto many as the entrance into their graues hath been a bar vnto enuie so hath it ben the beginning of great glorie Sorow Howe long wyl my fame continue Reason A long time perhaps as you call long But that all thinges may not only be long but also euerlasting vertue alone is able to bring that to passe and specially Iustice of which it is written The iust man shal be had in euerlasting memorie Which meaning also your countrey Poet expressed as wel as he could where he sayth But by mens deedes their fame to stretch that priuiledge vertue geues Sorow What fame shal I haue after my deceasse Reason What skilleth it what it be which shortly shal be forgotten or contemned What shall the breath of men apperteyne vnto thee when thou thy selfe shalt be without breath For one that breatheth to be nourished and delyghted with the winde and ayre it is no meruaill but for a dead man to be so it is a woonder Sorowe What shal be sayde of me when I am dead Reason No goodnesse be sure vnlesse thou haue deserued it but muche euyl peraduenture not merited and perhappes lytle or nothyng at all For in many thynges fame is a lyer but in the most a true reporter otherwyse it could not long continue For trueth is the foundation of continuance and as for a lye it is weake and transitorie Sorowe What fame shall I haue after my death Reason Suche as thy lyfe was before and at thy death Concernyng this matter therefore let the tyme to come but specially the tyme present looke to that And thus perswade thy selfe assuredly that what report and fame a man is woorthy to haue after his death it is no way better discerned then at his death when as in deede which is a strainge thyng to be spoken many that haue lyued all theyr tyme obscurely and without glorie death onely hath made famous Of one that dyeth without Children The Cxxxj. Dialogue SOROWE I Die without children Reason For that cause thou oughtest to die the more willingly and with the more expedition to goe foorth on thy iourney for that thou hast nothyng behinde thee to stay thee or cal thee backe The greatest greefe which they that lie a dying haue surceaseth in thee whiche riseth vpon the sorowe and compassion of leauing their children specially when they be young neede the asistance and counsel of their parentes being at those yeeres destitute of aduice subiect vnto iniuries many other casualties Sorow My children whom I wished hoped should haue liued after me are gone before me Reason Then hast thou some to whom thou art desirous to goe from whom thou art not willing to depart which is no smal comfort vnto thee Sorowe Bitter death constraineth me to dye without chyldren Reason If thou thinke this to be so miserable a matter what cause hast thou either to die now or heretofore to haue liued without children seeing there is such choise of young Gentlemen towardly youthes among whom thou maiest choose and adopt thee sonnes who perhaps wyl be more louing and obedient vnto thee then thine owne natural children descended of thy flesh blood for they come vnto thee by chaunce but these are elected out of many by exquisite iudgment The other were thy children before thou knewest them but these thou knewest chosest and louedst before thou madest them thy children And therefore the one sort of them wil wholy impute it to nature that they are thy children but the other to thy special good liking Whereby it hath hapned many times that the succession by adoption hath ben very fortunate vnto the heyres in which kind not only meane inheritances but also whole Empires haue ben committed in trust Thou knowest howe Iulius Caesar wanting issue adopted Augustus to be his sonne Augustus againe adopted Tyberius almost against his wyl And likewise afterward how Nerua adopted Vlpâ—us Traianus and he Elius Hadrianus be againe Antonius pius he likewise toke vnto him Marcus Aurelius to be his sonne which Marcus I would to God he had more happily adopted any other then vnluckely begotten his sonne Commodus commodious to none but discommodiouss to the whole world the only disgracing of so good a father one among a few of them that were no small shame reproch to the Romane Empire also a most apparent argument how much adoption is more fortunate then procreatioÌ„ For whereas the first princes had in order one after another raigned long time in happie
perceyue no sweetenesse in it For if it be sweete to hope it is also sweete to lacke that which a man would haue which who so wyll affirme to be true doubtlesse he wanteth the sense of taste Hope It is pleasant to hope Reason Then to hang in doubt to be affected vexed is hope of long punishment there is long hope nothing so much weerieth the mind nothing so much hasteneth old age And therfore the wise man often tearmeth lost hope vantage and reioyceth that he was deliuered from infinite desires and expectations of vayne thinges whereby he was enforced to take delight in his owne good thinges Hope Let fortune looke to the euent as for me I reioyce in hope Reason Take heede lest hereafter thou be sory in the thing it selfe and it repent thee that euer thou wishedst or hopedst or enioyedst thine hope Many whom hope long tormented while they lyued in doubt when it came to effect which they hoped were vtterly ouerthrowen many haue perished with the wished successes of their long hope whiche were very tedious but not late enough Hope None shal take hope from me Reason None shal take frō thee werisomnesse trouble of mind thou hast heard the old prouerbe It is a great payne to looke or hope for any thyng Hope The hopyng or lookyng for a good thyng is pleasant Reason But it is deceitful and doubtful and troublesome If thou deny this thou neuer hopedst for any thyng But the company is inestimable of those that deceiue them selues vnto whom whatsoeuer offereth it selfe there is nothyng without some effect towards that they haue in hand they refuse nothyng they deny them selues to none they are easily turned and quicke to geue credite I may say that it were a great argument of lightnesse and folly to embrace euery hope that a man shal meete withall and immediatly to repose hym selfe thereon as an assured good wherevnto all men of learnyng and experience are but slowe Hope In the meane whyle I haue a good hope Reason In the meane whyle thou sayest which wylbe vnto such tyme as it hath deceyned thee For this is your custome ye cast of hope agaynst your wyl and neuer forsake it vntyll it forsake you Yea many times when it forsaketh you it is strange to say howe agayne and agayne ye wyllyngly embrace it when it returneth and gooyng foorth to meete it assoone as ye haue layde holde on it ye forget how before it deceyued you and retayne it agayne furnished with newe craftes and lay it vp in the secrete closure of your hartes Hope I wyl not forsake my good hope vnto the last Reason What yf it forsake thee long before Wylt thou call it backe or folowe it or carry tyll it returne But goe to hope a Gods name since there is nothyng more pleasant vnto thee then to be deceiued It is not my meanyng to plucke thy hope from thee whiche so earnestly thou enterteynest only I admonyshe thee this much that it is no good hope which thou supposest It is no good hope that proposeth good to it selfe but that purposeth well The moste wycked persons may yea and commonly do hope for that which is good and therefore that is good hope in deede whiche is ryghtly conceyued of the true good he that hath this hope let hym holde it fast and not let her depart from hym in the ende but ioyne her other sisters vnto her to witte fayth and charitie This hope is pleasant sweete true and happy which neyther fayleth nor confoundeth him that hopeth but aduanceth hym vnto that which is best in the meane while maketh the minde cheereful with the remembraunce of the good that is hoped for But you as hopyng for the true good which ye haue yll deserued or callyng euyll thynges by the name of good are in conclusion deceyued and therefore your expectation is sorowfull before it come and more sorowfull when it is come Hope Myne vnderstandyng is humane and I speake of those thynges which men cal good Reason Heretofore there hath been long contention among the learned about this name which doth yet continue and wyl doo for euer to the worldes ende some makyng but one good thing and contrariwyse other some many Hope Let vs leaue these matters to the Philosophers as for mee I hope for those thynges whiche the common people call good Reason Thou hopest then for thine owne euyl which eyther wyll vexe thee with deferryng or ouerpresse thee with the desired burden Admit that al thynges goe well with thee apparteining to the body that thou hast prepared power against thine enimie and as touchyng Fortune that thou hast borne the yoke of an vnconstant and vnmilde Ladye and that many of these thynges may be conuerted to the affliction and destruction of the minde forasmuche as the thynges that delyght the minde doo oftentymes hurt it Hope I haue cast the anker of good hope and I wyll not remooue Reason But Saylers vse many tymes when a tempest ryseth to cut their Cable and loose theyr Anker if they can not weigh him vp and to depart without him for it hapneth not alwayes so as in the calmenesse of the Sea we reade in the poet The Anker helde fast the Shyppes with an assured tooth so lykewyse in great troubles and raginges of the Sea wherein the Anker doth not holde them fast but rather stayeth them and endangereth them often with castyng away none otherwyse verily in the stormes and tempestes of worldly affayres setled and tough hope hath drawen many into destruction who yf they had cut of and caste away theyr hope might haue safely escaped Therefore the Anker of hope must be oftentymes weighed vp or yf it holde too harde be broken of And yf that can not be it must euen be quite cut away and left behinde vnder the waters and flooddes of affayres to the ende thou mayest safely conueyth the free barke of thy lyfe through the direction of foresyght into the hauen of safetie Hope I hope wel Reason In well hopyng and yll hauyng mans lyfe passeth away Of expectation of Inheritaunce The Cx. Dialogue HOPE I Looke for the inheritaunce of an olde man that hath no chyldren Reason Thou saydst erwhyle that thou wast in quiet take heede thou be not found contrary to thy selfe for hopyng or lookyng for any commoditie quietnesse of minde can neuer dwell togeather there is no loathsomnesse in this life more greeuous then this expectation Hope I expect the inheritaunce of an olde man. Reason But thou knowest not what he also expecteth for this is a general madnesse among men that almost euery man hopeth not onely to lyue longer then those that are of his owne yeeres but also that are younger Men are vnwilling to thynke on their owne death but gladly on other mens when as in deede it were more profitable for them to doo the contrarie Hope I hope for an olde mans inheritaunce Reason How if he
also hope for thyne One of you must needes be deceyued How many olde men may there be found that looke for the death of young men And truely there is none so olde but he may lyue one yeere longer and none so young but he may dye to day Hope I hope for the inheritaunce of a chyldlesse olde man. Reason Thy sonne may better hope for it A more likely hope hath deceyued a younger Hope The inheritaunce of a childlesse olde man shal fal vnto me Reason How knowest thou whether thyne shall fall vnto hym Claudius succeeded Caius and Galba Nero and Nerua Domitian and Pertinax Commodus and the lyfe of a man is ful of suche successions Hope I tarie for the inheritaunce of a childlesse olde man. Reason Whom cannot he deceyue of them that are willing to be deceyned that hath deceiued him whom he woulde not willingly haue deceiued Whom may not he suruine that hath suruiued his owne sonne Hope A childlesse olde man hath alredy in writing appoynted me his heyre Reason Hath he engrauen it in tables of Diamond from whence thou canst not be blotted out Dooest thou not knowe vpon howe light occasions olde men do alter their wylles Many haue mislyked of that at the very ende of theyr lyues whiche before they lyked well of all theyr lyfe tyme. Hope A chyldlesse olde man wyll haue me be his heyre Reason But it may chaunce that hereafter he wyl not For there is nothyng that a riche chyldlesse olde man taketh in worse part then to see his goodes loued and him selfe not regarded for then al is marred Hope I am promised the inheritaunce of a chyldlesse olde man. Reason I could wyshe there were that vpryghtnesse and trust in men that they would neuer promise any thyng but that whiche is honest and would also perfourme that which they haue promised But now there is neither measure in promising nor regarde of breache of promise whiche men thynke they may most lawfully doo in inheritaunce and bestowyng possessions And for this cause the lawes call the willes of Testatours whyle they lyue walkyng Wylles I wyll not trouble thee with examples the thyng is well knowen Thou hast read I take it vnto whom in hath hapned that not only they were promised the inheritaunce of the lyuyng but also receyued kysses and ringes and the last embracinges of the partie whiche lay a dying whiche vnto them was an vndoubted token of succession when as in the meane whyle there were other heyres appoynted and no mention at all made of them in the Wyll thus bolde is vnfaythfulnesse euen in the middes of death Doest thou thynke then that thou art free from the deceites of them that are alyue when as thou readest in what sort great and noble personagies haue been deluoed by the craftes of them that haue lyen a dying And not to stay vpon many The most honourable Gentleman Lucius Lucullus suffered some tyme this kynde of mocke and reproche and also a greater state then he was Augustus the Emperour An horrible and most strange delyght in deceyuyng which wyll not forsake the miserable and wretched soules no not in the very poynt of death but this is your maner and thou reposest thy trust vpon a promised inheritaunce whereof thou mayest be disappoynted both by the longer lyfe and shorter fayth of the testatour although yf these doo thee no harme he may haue most iust cause to change his purpose to wit an heyre of his owne and young issue borne to an old man For Cato begate a chylde when he was aboue fourescore yeeres old and Masinissa when he was more neere to ninetie The lyke also happeneth now adayes vnto your olde men who I woulde they were as lyke vnto those anncient fathers in strength of mynde as they are to force of engendryng whiche beyng so truely the lawfull heyre hyndreth the intruder and cutteth of his foolyshe hope Hope I am named Heyre in an olde mans Testament Reason But perhappes he is yet lyuyng and lyke to lyue As for the Testamentes and Wylles they are made in the lyfe time and confirmed in the death thou thynkest vpon the Carcas and Buriall and Wolfe may be weeried with expectation and hunger Hope An Inheritaunce shall come directly vnto mee Reason As the Testatour so also is the inheritaunce subiect to casualties that a man can not alwayes haue that heyre whiche he woulde and an inheritaunce many tymes is nothyng but a vayne name yea sundrie tymes a small inheritaunce is very deerely bought when a man maketh hym selfe seruiceable and subiect to a tatter olde foole and vseth flattering wordes vnmeete for a man Surely there is no commoditie to be compared with the losse of honestie and that whiche is decent Hope The Inheritaunce shall fall vnto me without contradiction of Lawe or Fortune Reason Whereby knowest thou that seeyng that saying of the most auntient and wyse Father Marcus Cato is true I haue heard oftentymes sayth he that many thynges may happen betweene the mouth and the morsell But admitie nothyng happen betweene but that thyne expected inheritaunce fall vnto thee it wyll not tarrie with thee but departe from thee to others Worldly goodes are roullyng and money men say is of purpose made rounde that it may alwayes be runnyng Thou hast gotten an inheritaunce for thy successour thou beyng perhappes sadde for hym that wyll reioyce thou beyng carefull for hym that is negligent and looke howe thou hast hoped of another so wyll other hope of thee Of Alchimie The Cxi Dialogue HOPE I Hope for good successe in Alchimie Reason It is strange thou should est hope for that which neuer hapned effectually to thy selfe nor to any man els yf report go that it euer hapned to any man that report was made by suche as it was expedient to beleeue them Hope I hope for good successe in Alchimie Reason What successe meanest thou other then smoke ashes sweate sighes woordes deceit and shame These are the successes of Alchimie wherely we neuer sawe any poore man aduaunced to ritches but many ryche men fall into pouertie And yet ye haue no regarde hereof so sweete a thyng it is to hope and be deceyued wherevnto ye be pricked foorth by couetousnesse and dryuen headlong through madnesse that ye thinke that to be true whiche you hope for and false whiche you see Thou hast seene some that in other matters are wyse yet in this behalfe to be madde and some very ryche men vtterly consumed with this vanitie and whyle they couet to become rycher and gape after filthie lucre to consume theyr wel gotten goodes and hauyng spent all theyr reuenue in vnprofitable expences at length to haue wanted verie necessaries and other some forsakyng the Citie wherein they dwelt haue passed foorth the residue of theyr lyues in sorowe and heauinesse beyng able to thynke vpon nothyng els but Bellowes Tongues and Coales and beyng able to abyde to keepe companie with none but of theyr owne disposition
not what it is to leese a father vnlesse thou haddest had a sonne Of the losse of a mother The xlvii Dialogue SOROWE I Haue lost my mother Reason Thou hast yet another mother whom thou canst not leese if thou wouldest from the first thou camest and vnto this thou shalt returne The first gaue thee houséromth the space of a few monethes the other shal giue thee lodging the space of many yeeres The one of these gaue thee thy body the other shal take it away Sorowe My most milde mother is dead Reason But a most hard mother remayneth who wyl keepe thee and thy mother whom thou bewailest in one besome in whose wombe she shal rest with thee and as we beleeue bryng you both foorth agayne at the last day Sorowe My good mother hath forsaken me Reason She made hast fearyng to be forsaken and likely it is that her death was acceptable vnto her because she would not see thine prouiding for her securitie in that whiche alwayes she most feared Sorowe My good mother is dead Reason She is happily dead thou being a lyue whiche beyng otherwyse such are the affections of women she would haue died in sorowful lamentation Sorowe My mother is dead Reason Shee must haue died and thou also neyther canst thou complaine of death nor of the order therof Of the losse of a sonne The xlviii Dialogue SOROW. BUt I haue lost my sonne Reason Say rather and better I haue sent hym before me for thou shalt folowe hym quickely and perhappes to day and howe know we whether this same houre There is no trust in lyfe since there is so great certentie in death shalt folowe hym sayde I Nay rather thou doest folowe hym I woulde haue sayde for thou folowest hym continually it is not permitted vnto a man at any tyme to stay his course in this lyfe but euermore he steppeth foorth one step vnto death a strange matter to be spoken whether he be bound or at libertie sicke or whole walkyng or sitting awake or sleepyng he is caryed foorth toward his ende much after the manner of them that sayle in a shyp or sitte and ride in a wagon and are carried foorth a pace Sorowe I am greeued with the lacke of my sonne whom I haue lost Reason Qiuet thy minde for thou shalt finde hym whom thou desirest ere it be long not to be able to suffer the want of a short tyme is the part of a childe or a woman for vnto a man there is no short thing difficult Thou knowest I thinke by what woordes Socrates in Plato and Cato and Lelius in Cicero do comfort suche desires and wantes Although men surpasse in vertue and glory yet in this hope do some farre surpasse other Thou knowest moreouer of what minde Paulus Emilius Cato hym selfe Pericles and Zenophon that was scholer vnto Socrates and scholefelowe with Plato and his equal and other innumerable were for the death of their chyldren neyther art thou ignorant howe he that was both a prophet and a king wept for his chylde whyle it was sicke but not when it was dead thinkyng that to lament and weepe for thinges vnrecouerable is rather a poynt of vayne madnesse then of true affection Among the number of whiche manly examples the Spartane woman shuffeleth her selfe whose name is not set downe by wryters nor her saying semblably commended who hearyng that her sonne was slayne in battayle therfore sayd she did I beare hym that he shoulde not be afrayd to dye for his countrey The vertue of Linia and the elder Cornelia is nothyng inferiour vnto this but their names muche more famous of whom the first layde downe her mournyng so soone as her sonne of most honourable byrth and that was lyke to haue aspired vnto the hyghest degree of Empire was once layd into the ground but neuer left of the remembrance of hym The other hauing lost many chyldren yea al that she had whereof some she behelde slayne by the people and lying abrode vnburyed when as other women accordyng to the manner of that sexe rued her state and pitifully weepyng bewaled her woful case she answeared that she was not infortunate but happie for that she had borne such sonnes A woorthy woman that was not surprised with the present miserie but counted her selfe happie for that whiche was past who contrary to the common opinion and custome of them that are in miserie comforted herselfe with her forepassed felicitie and the remembrance of her prosperitie wherin shee had somtime liued and tooke it indifferently although she had then lost it for that cause only was woorthie to haue bad good children Now she being a woman remained wholy not once touched with the greeuous and sharp woundes of fortune and thou beeyng a man art ouerthrowne by one only doest thou lament so childishly Sorow I haue lost my sonne Reason If he were a duetiful sonne there is no cause to feare his estate for he is well But yf he were wicked thou art rydde of one that counted vpon thy death and encreased the infirmities of thine olde age Sorowe I haue lost my sonne Reason If he were vertuous reioyce that thou haddest hym but yf he were vnthryfty be glad that thou hast lost hym and in eyther case acknowledge the benefite of nature eyther for geuing thee suche a one or for takyng hym a way Sorowe Death hath taken away my sonne before his tyme. Reason That is not done before due tyme whiche may be done at al tymes Death hath directe entrances into al ages but into youth innumerable Sorowe I haue remayned without a sonne Reason And without trouble and feare Now hast thou none for whose cause thou shalt spend the nyghtes without sleepe and the dayes in care for whose sake thou shalt enter into long and inextricable hope that shall thinke vpon thy hory heares and wryncles examine thy lyuing fynde fault with thine expences and blame the staying of thy death thou art in securitie and quietnesse on euery side both which are a great commoditie although it be made more bitter by the name of death Sorowe I am cast downe by the geeuous death of my sonne Reason Hast thou not hearde what Anaragoras sayth Hast thou forgotten that thou begattest a mortal creature Or doest thou perhappes lament that he is gone before that should haue folowed And although the lyfe of man in many other thinges be disordinate and out of course yet death keepeth his ordinarie custome crooked olde men stagger and young men make hast and chyldren runne headlong infantes at their first entrance into lyfe are drawen to their ende one man more slowly another more speedily one more ripely another more vntimely but euery man must die this is the conclusion of al. And in whatsoeuer age of this lyfe a man die be it gently or sharpely he hasteth vnto death Sorowe I weepe for the death of my sonne Reason If thou wouldest haue wept at his death thou shouldest also
haue wept at his birth for then he began to die but nowe he hath done But do not thou lament for thine owne and his most excellent estate he left behind him a perilous way to passe but thou hauing him alwayes before thine eyes who now is in securitie hast no farther regarde of thy sweete burden as Virgil speaketh or of any other Sorowe Al my delite to lyue is extinguished Reason A good sonne I confesse is a great comforte vnto his father but notwithstanding careful greeuous And many times the sweetest things do offend vs and the dearest do hinder vs and the most precious do oppresse vs And perhappes this thy sonne was some let vnto thy minde that would haue aspired vnto greater matters And now although thou art become more heauie yet since thou art at more libertie be of good cheare to gather good out of euyl is the part of a wise man. Sorowe The death of my lonne hath made me heauie Reason But spende the residue of thy lyfe that remayneth in iolitie thou diddest lyue for hym now lyue for thy selfe Of the miserable fal of a young child The .xlix. Dialogue SOROWE I Lament the miserable fal of my young child Reason A man ought to lament for nothing that may happen vnto mankinde al thinges should be premeditated before if they haue not hapned alredie lament not thy childes fal but thine owne vnskylfulnesse the forgetfulnesse of thine owne condition Sorow I complaine of the miserable death of my young childe Reason There is no death miserable which the death of the soule doth not folow from which daunger thy young child is free Sorowe My childe is dead by breaking his necke Reason What skylleth it after what sort a man dye so that he die not dishonourably he can not die dishonourably that dieth without offences Sorowe My chylde is peryshed by breakyng his necke Reason But Archemorus by the biting of a serpent other some by suckyng milke of a nurse being with child other by sickenesse the which for the more part happen more commonly then than in old age Sorowe My young child is perished by breaking his necke Reason Sodeyne death is to be wished of the innocent and to be feared of the guiltie Sorowe My chylde is dead of a fal from an hygh Reason Unto them that dye languishingly death often times seemeth the sharper the panges the longer for al paine the shorter it is the more tollerable it is Sorow My chylde is dead by breakyng his necke Reason To stumble and fal is proper to that age Thy chylde hath done that which al doo although al peryshe not by casualtie but do thou suffer hym to peryshe for he must needes peryshe one day and he is the more happily dealt withal for that he hath peryshed before he was intangled in the euylles of this lyfe whiche howe manyfold they be those that haue prooued and diligently obserued can tell There is none that prooueth not in part and they that obserue them not leade foorth their liues as it were in a dreame whiche so soone as they awake they haue forgotten Thyne infant died an innocent who perhappes if he had lyued had dyed a very hurtful person Lament not that he is safe he hath escaped al the threates of fortune and hath preuented death whiche being deferred would haue preuented hym Sorowe A woolfe hath deuoured my chylde Reason This nowe is the woormes complaynt Sorowe A woolfe hath carried away the body of my poore chylde into his denne Reason But the angels haue caryed vp his blessed soule into heauen Of a sonne that is found to be another mans The .l. Dialogue SOROWE ANd moreouer that whiche is more greeuous then death he whom I thought had been my sonne is another mans Reason If you had a respect to the common father then would you by the counsel of the Comical Poet thinke that there is no humane thing but may happen vnto you Sorowe I haue fostred another mans chylde a great while for mine owne Reason Nature wylleth a man to foster his owne and charitie to foster another mans so that thou repent thee not after the deede but delite in it Sorowe He that was counted my chylde appeareth to be another mans Reason There is opened vnto thee a way vnto a great and singuler merite if as thou hast hytherto done so thou continue hereafter to keepe hym as thyne owne Truely that were a very gracious and acceptable deede before god For chyldren are woont for the more parte to contemne the mayntenance of theyr parentes as a thyng due vnto them by ryght and moreouer it were a poynt of wickednesse to loue thy chylde that is borne of thee and not to loue man that is created of god Thus euery way both before God and men thou shalt purchase vnto thy selfe singuler commendation and vertue through another mans wickednesse Sorow I haue nooryshed one for my chylde that was not so Reason Thou nooryshedst hym as thy chylde and so nooryshe hym styll yf not as thy chylde yet as thy brother For of al the people that are or euer shal be or haue been heretofore there is one father and one gouernour Doo not dissemble through insolencie or through enuie and hatred breake of the sacred bond of nature for you be brethren one to another Sorowe He whom I thought to haue been as I heare is not my sonne Reason Take heede of whom thou hearest it and whom thou trustest For many beyng pricked foorth by wicked prouocations doo of set purpose deuise false rumors and other some by a certayne slypprynesse and vnbridled affection of the tongue doo aswell babble foorth the thynges that they knowe as that they knowe not and with lyke impudencie vtter whatsoeuer commeth in theyr mynde Howbeit to determine precisely of a mans chylde whether it be his owne or not is an harde case Sorowe I heare say that he that was called my sonne is another mans Reason Why dooest thou herein beleeue other rather then thyne owne wyfe since none knoweth it more certaynely then she Truely she hath geuen thee a chylde whom other goe about to take from thee Thou hast heard I thinke howe that within the remembrance of our fathers there was a certaine noble man who had to wyfe a gentlewoman of equall beautie and parentage but of whose honestie the report seemed some what to doubt By her he hadde one moste beautifull sonne whom when his mother vppon a tyme helde in her lappe and perceyuyng that her husbande syghed and was carefull she demaunded of hym what was the cause of his heauinesse Then he syghyng agayne I had rather sayde he then the one halfe of my landes that I were as sure that this boy were myne as thou art that he is thyne Whereunto she aunsweared neyther in countenance nor mynde any whit moued Truely sayde shee the matter shall not cost so great a price but geue me an hundred acres of pasture whereon I
that remaine their faith is decaied the goodwil of men as that coÌ„mon maner is flyeth away with prosperitie so that thou art brought into a doubt which to bewaile first either the death of thy freends that are peryshed or the losse of their assurednesse that are liuing Now in the middest of these troubles there happened vnto thee a most desperate and dangerous sickenesse wherein thou wast brought so neare vnto death that when euery man supposed thou couldest not escape it was generally reported that thou wast dead Which sickenesse which pouertie which heape of troubles in that thou wast driuen out of thine owne countrey and farre from thine owne house in a strange lande and warre rounde about thee and thou on euerye syde oppressed gaue occasyon that in the meane whyle thou couldest haue no entercourse eyther of letters or conference with those thy frendes whiche eyther thy vertue had purchased or fortune had reserued There was no extremitie wantyng sauing imprisonment and death although we cannot say neyther that thou wast quite free from imprisonment whilest thy most faythful wyfe and al thy sonnes beyng part of thy bowelles and thy daughters also were taken prisoners by thine enimies and there was no comfort remayning vnto thee of so many chyldren Nâ—yther yet from death whilst thou thy selfe striuedst euery day with death and at that tyme also one of thy sonnes gaue vp his tender and giltlesse ghost in prison To be shorte we haue seene that fulfilled in thee whiche we reade of two most excellent personagies Caius Marius and the great Pompeius to wit that fortune hath seuerally expressed in thee and thy chyldren what good and euyl she is able to do and neuer mingle any prosperttie with aduersitie whose flatteries in tymes past although theu hast not casted so plentifully as many happie men haue done notwithstandyng thou hast abidden her threates and force of late dayes with so couragious and inuincible a mynde that in this respect thou hast geuen occasion vnto many who before hated thy name to loue thee and woonder at thee For vertue hath this propertie that it stirreth vp good men to loue it and astunnisheth the euyl Whiche propertie as it is common to euery vertue so is it peculier especially to fortitude whose tranquilitie and vprightnesse is the more acceptable and lyght more conspicable among the troublesome turmoyles of fortune and darkenesse of terrible thinges For vnto me thou hast not onely heaped vp much new good wyl vpon the auntient loue whiche I bare towardes thee whiche I thought to haue been impossible but hast also conuerted my quill whiche made hast towardes another matter to wryte this woorke in tyme not purposed both that thou mightest beholde the countenance of thy mynde in my wrytinges as it were in a lookyng glasse and also if herein there were any thyng that seemed vnto thee nothyng fine but rather rude and barbarous and whiche in deede dyd not lyke thee that in this manner thou order and take it that yf it shal chaunce that fortune hereafter varrie with thee in any strange manner or deuice whereof she hath great plentie yea innumerable in store that thou be not troubled at al with any hope But being prouided for al chaunces and redye for what soeuer may happen thou mayest despyse both the sweete and the sower crying out most confidently these verses of Virgil agaynst them O virgin there is no newe or suddeyne shewe of troubles can aryse vnto me I haue forethought vpon al matters and forecast them alredie in my mynde Neyther am I ignorant that as in the bodyes of men so also in their mindes that are affected with sundry passions the medicines of woordes wyl seeme vnto many to be without effect Notwithstandyng I knowe wel enough that as the diseases of the minde are inuisible so are there remedies inuisible also For they that are seduced by false opinions must be remedied by true perswasions that they that fel by hearyng may also ryse by hearyng Moreouer who so wyllingly offereth vnto his freende beyng in neede that whiche he hath to releeue hym withal howe smal soeuer it be he hath fulfilled the duetie of perfect freendshyp For freendshyp weigheth the mynde and not the thing whiche though it be but smal yet may it be an argument of great good wyl For my part as I wyshe vnto thee al honour so haue I nothyng at this present more conuenient to geue thee whiche yf thou thinke to be of any force the commoditie of it whiche maketh euery thyng to be regarded shal sufficiently commend it But if thou perceyue it to be of no force notwithstandyng thy good wyl towardes me shal excuse it And thou shalt come to reade it as though those foure most famous and coosinne passions of the mynde to wyt hope or desire and ioy feare and sorowe whiche the two sisters prosperitie and aduersitie brought foorth at equal byrthes lay on eyther side most fiercely assaultyng the minde of man howebeit reason whiche gouerneth the cheefe castle maketh answere vnto them al and beyng furnished with her shielde and head peece by her meanes and proper force but specially being assisted with most myghtie power from heauen defendeth of the weapons of the throngyng enimies But I conceyue suche hope of thy wysedome that thou canst soone iudge whiche part wyl haue the victorie I wyl nowe holde thee no longer but to the ende thou mightest vnderstand my purpose it was needeful for me to wryte this epistle as it were an argument to the booke whiche yf thou cause to be set before the woorke consyder thou of these both that an ouerlong preface trouble not a short booke none otherwyse then an ouer great head burdeneth a lytle body For there is nothing wel fauoured without due measure and proportion of the partes ¶ Of floorishing yeeres The first Dialogue IOY REASON MY yeeres are floorishyng I shall yet lyue a long tyme. Reason Loe this is the first vaine hope of mortall men whiche hath alredy and wyll hereafter deceiue many thousandes Ioy. My yeeres are floorishing Reason A vayne ioy and a short whyle we be speakyng this flowre withereth Ioy. My age is sounde Reason Who wyl cal that sound whiche wanteth much and when that whiche remayneth is vncertayne Ioy. But there is a certaine prefixed terme and lawe of liuing Reason Who made that lawe or what is the prefixed time of lyfe Surely it is a very vnequl law that is not indifferent vnto al men yea rather it is so variable that there is nothing more vncertayne in the lyfe of man than the terme of mans lyfe Ioy. Howbeit there is some terme and measure of life which the wise men haue defined Reason To appoynt the terme of lyfe it is not in his power that receiueth it but in his that geueth it which is god And I vnderstande howe that hereby you meane the terme of threescore ten yeres or if nature be somwhat stronger fourescore
this saying of Seneca is well knowen Eloquence sayth he is a great and manifolde matter and was neuer so fauourable to any that it hapned wholly vnto hym he is happie enough that hath atteined to some one part therof This by what men and what maner witnesses he prooueth it to be true thou hast hearde whiche beyng so let these numbers of professours whiche are almost matche to the common multitude both in rudenesse and multitude consyder with them selues what they doo and whereabout they goe whiche are not contented with one part nor with one Art but without discretion inuade them all O woonderfull confidence and presumption but it is now common Ioy. What wyll you nowe say concernyng the professions of Phisicke and Lawe Reason Let thy patientes and clientes make aunsweare to this What dyd euer these titles auayle them to the health of their body or gaining of their causes Perhappes they haue procured thy profite for this cause ye hunt after artes and the titles of artes to the intent that what is wanting in learnyng may be supplied in degrees and apparell and that the saying of the Satyrical Poet may beverified The Scarlet and the Iewelles beset with Amethistes doo sell the Lawyer Which thyng woulde appeare to be true yea yf the auncient Rethoricians returned agayne into the worlde for no man woulde geue vnto Cicero two hundred crownes vnlesse he woare on his fynger a great ryng of golde To be short let this he vnto thee the summe of all that hath been spoken of to wyt that there be some men of rare disposition whose studies are sound and honest the endes whereof are trueth and vertue This is the knowledge of thynges and the amendment of manners and either the ornament of this mortall lyfe or the entrance to the eternall As for the rablement of the residue whereof the number is great some of them hunt after glorie some a glittering but a vaine rewarde but to the greater sort the onely respect of money is their ende which is not onely a smal reward but also a filthy and not woorthie the trauaile nor match to the toyle of a gentle minde in al these respectes as I haue sayde the title and apparel is not to be contemned for it is effectuall vnto that whereunto it is appoynted for why the mindes and iudgementes almost of al mortal men specially of the common multitude whiche are destitute of this meane are deluded with shadowes Most matters are gouerned by opinion But for them that are geuen to vertue to glory in titles is not only strange and dissonant but also as Iiudge impossible Ioy. I professe many thynges Reason It were better to doo one good deede then to promyse many And men were in good case yf so be they were suche as they professe them selues to be Of the Tytles of businesse and affayres The .xlvii. Dialogue IOY I AM the Kynges Procurer Reason Then art thou the peoples enimie Ioy. I am the Procurer of the Exchequer Reason Then art thou the common wealthes enimie Ioy. I folow the Kyngs busynesse Reason It is painful for a man to folowe his owne busynesse What is it then thynkest thou for hym to folow another mans specially theyrs that are of myght whom to please is perpetual seruitude to displease danger heauy lookes and punyshment redy for a small offence Ioy. I folow the kyngs busynesse Reason Thou hast an accompt to yeelde to an hard iudge which thou shalt scarce be able to make euen with the spoyle of al thy goodes with hate of thy selfe and greeuous offence Ioy. I solicite the kynges busines Reason Take heede least while thy solliciting is difficult thyne accompt be yet harder and so inextricable that as we haue seene it chaunce in many it entrap thy patrimonie fame and lyfe Ioy. I am the kynges Procurer Reason Thou must needes displease many and last of all thine owne Lord and Maister and whiche is most dangerous GOD hym selfe and for the kynges small commoditie the great discommodities of the Realme and exceedyng damages of the people must be dissembled or procured Ioy. I am made the Kynges Procurer Reason So soone as euer this odious office began to touche the thresholde of thyne house euen that day thou beganst to leaue to lyue for thy selfe from thencefoorth thy libertie thy quietnesse and pleasure are departed In steede of these are seruitude payne businesse feare sorowe trouble and bytyng cares come in place nowe art thou not a lyue although thou breath for the lyfe of such as are busie is death who beyng al of them in misery yet are they in most miserable case whiche are busied in other mens matters specially in the affayres of Kynges Tyrantes and great personages Ioy. I am a Iudge Reason Iudge so as though thou shouldest foorthwith be iudged by another There is one iudge of all men and one incorrupt iudgement seate Before this shal all ye mortall men appeare what neede ye then to haue the skyn of the false iudge nayled vppon the iudgement seate or to haue any barbarous admonition to doo iustice Euery Iudge sytteth in that seate where if false iudgement shal be geuen neyther money nor fauour nor false wytnesses nor sinister entreatynges nor vayne threates nor eloquent Patrones shall auayle hym Ioy. I am one of the Consuls of my countrey Reason A very difficult glory It is a rare matter so to geue counsayle that thou mayest at once both profite and please that there may be trueth in woorde fayth in counsel scilence in that whiche is committed sweetnesse in speache fortune shall gouerne the euent and the euent shall purchase credite to the counsayle Ioy. I am gouernour of a Citie Reason Thou leadest an vnbridled beast and as Horace tearmeth it that hath many heades with a small twyne and gouernest a great shyppe alone that is tossed with hugie waues A litle house is hardly guyded how difficult therefore it is to gouerne a whole Citie see thou Hadst thou so great neede of trouble or so litle at home that thou hast vndertaken the publique Yea moreouer it is not only an office of difficultie but also a vyle function insomuche as the Satyrycal Poet tearmeth the gouernour of a Citie a Stewarde or Baylyffe notyng therby the state of these tymes If then he were a Baylife or Husbandman what is he now other then a Woodryfe or Woodman At that tyme Rome began to be a vyllage and nowe it is a Wood. Ioy. I am a President of a Prouince Reason Beyng condempned vnto an honorable exile thou hast exchaunged priuate quietnesse for forraigne carefulnesse looke for no rest or pleasure The state of Presidentes is bytter and troublesome they are forbydden playes and feastes vppon holy dayes theyr doores are shut agaynst gyftes and open to contentions theyr houses are voyde of pastymes and ful of complayntes and chydynges what so euer is a mysse whatsoeuer out of order or out of square throughout the whole Prouince there
thee and so depart from thee and then too late thou heare that saying of Ecclesiasticus Lyke as one that letteth a byrde flie out of his hande so hast thou lost thy neyghbour neyther canst thou take hym agayne or followe hym for he is farre of He hath escaped as a Roe out of the snare and because his soule is wounded thou shalt not be able to intrap hym any more And therefore as I say thou hast a great and sweete treasure but painfull notwithstandyng and difficult paineful I meane to be gotten and kept A freende is a rare Iewell he must be kept with great diligence and yf he be lost be lamented with great sorowe Of plentie of Ryches The .liii. Dialogue IOY BUT I abound in ryches Reason I marueyle now the lesse that thou seemedst to abounde in friendes for it is no strange nor newe matter to see the doores and entries of the ryche frequented by common friendes and feygned attendance Ioy. I haue great plentie of ryches Reason A dangerous and burdensome felicitie whiche shall purchase more enuie then procure pleasure Ioy. I flowe in wealth Reason It followeth not strayghtwayes that therefore thou flowest in quietnesse and pleasure Thou shalt scarce finde a rich man but he wyl confesse that he lyued better in meane estate or in honest pouertie Ioy. I am growne to great wealth Securitie ioy and tranquilitie are decreased which if they would encrease with ryches I woulde not only permit but exhort men to loue them Ioy. I haue great ryches Reason Then hast thou a thyng harde to be gotten careful to be kept greenous to be lost Ioy. My ryches are great Reason If they be dispearsed they wyll decrease and yf thou keepe them they wyl not make thee ryche but keepe thee occupied and make thee not a maister but a keeper Ioy. I haue great ryches Reason Take heede rather that thou be not had of them that is to say that they be not thy ryches but thou rather theyr slaue and they not seruant to thee but thou to them For yf thou knowe not so muche alredy there be many moe that are had then that haue ryches and there is more plentie whom also the saying of the Prophete noteth of men that belong vnto ryches then ryches that belong vnto men Thus the greedinesse and basenesse of your myndes of maisters maketh you seruantes The vse of money is well knowne to bâ—y those thynges that are necessarie for nature whiche are but fewe small and easie to be gotten what so euer is superfluous is noysome and then they be no longer ryches but cheynes and fetters and no longer Ornamentes of the body but impedimentes of the mynde and heapes of carefulnesse and fâ—ate Ioy. I am full of ryches Reason Beware that they burst thee not for euery fulnesse seeketh an yssue Ryches haue procured the death of many and doo bereaue almost all men of rest Ioy. I haue woonderful store of ryches Reason A thyng repugnant to good manners To muche ryches haue not only corrupted the manners of priuate men but also of the whole people of Rome â–ª and ouerthrewe theyr great and woonderfull vertue who so long were a noble iust and vpryght people as they were a poore people In pouertie they were conquerers of nations and which is more glorious conquerers of them selues tyll at length they that had ouercome vyces were them selues ouercome and ouerthrowne by ryches I speake that whiche I knowe and therefore thou seest what thou hast to hope of riches Ioy. I abounde in riches Reason How much had I rather thou aboundedst in vertue Ioy. I rest in my ryches Reason Poore wretches ye lye a sleepe in the bryers your sleepe is sounde that ye feele not the pryckles Beholde the day commeth that shal awake you and shal playnely expound that whiche is written The ryche men haue slept theyr sleepe and when they awaked they founde no ryches in theyr handes Of finding of a golde min. The .liiii. Dialogue IOY I Haue founde a Mine of golde Reason This hope of ryches hath been cause of pouertie vnto many and of destruction not vnto fewe whilst neglectyng all other thynges and bestowyng al theyr care and trauayle vppon this one thyng Notwithstandyng theyr toyle hath turned to litle profite whylest in respect of the greedie desire that they haue to golde forsaking the sight of heauen and the Sun they learne to leade foorth theyr lyfe in darkenesse and are consumed with the thicke and noisome dampe before theyr tyme. Ioy. Chaunce hath offered vnto me a gold Myne Reason To the entent that beyng turned away from the contemplation of heauenly things thou mightest gape after earthly thynges and not only that thou mightest liue more vnfortunately shorter time neare to the ground but also drowned vnder the ground Ioy. I enter into a golde Myne Reason Nero the Emperour the same terrible and miserable night which notwithstanding he had deserued which was the last night that he lyued being put in mynde by such as were about hym to hyde hymselfe in a certayne Caue vnder the grounde to the entent he might escape the reprochful death abusing of the people that sought after hym answered That he would not go vnder the ground while he was lyuyng But thou being compelled by no feare but only carryed away with couetousnesse goest alyue vnder the earth neyther can the comfortable shynyng of heauen keepe thee from thence neyther the horrible darkenesse of the earth dryue thee away What marueyle is it yf men consume themselues with trauayling al the world ouer to seeke ryches seeing also in seeking and digging for them vnder the grounde they disquiet the infernal soules and Fiendes of Hel And as the Poet Ouid sayth Men haue entred into the bowels of the earth And those riches which God had hyd vp and couered with the darknesse of hell they are digged vp notwithstanding which are the prouocations vnto al mischiefe Ioy. I haue found a Mine of gold Reason It is an olde prouerbe Many times one man starteth an Hare and another catcheth hym Thou hast found a bootie which many wyl couet one only shal possesse peraduenture thou shalt not be that one Vnto desyred thyngs there is much resort it is dangerous when one man hath found that which many wyl couet and none wyl be wyllyng to share with other And this is the cause that though Italie as Plinie sayth be inferiour to no country for plentie of al sortes of metalles notwithstanding by auntient prouision actes of parliament order was taken that Italie shoulde be spared Ioy. I digge earth that will yeeld golde Reason The trauel is certaine but the euent doubtful what if thou dyg long find nothing what if thou finde much but not for thy self what if it be the worse for thee to haue found sum what better for thee to haue found nothing Mans ioy is most times accompanied with sorowe Ioy. I am gone downe
valient man. Reason Then hast thou one that perhaps may purchase vnto his countrey libertie to his enimies slaughter to him selfe honour and one day vnto thee teares but feare continually Ioy. My Sonne is valient and of great courage Reason What other thyng dyd Creon bewayle in his sonne that was slayne then his couragious desire of martial prayse What Enander in his sonne Pallas then his newe glory in armes and the sweete honour of his first encounter Whereof dyd feareful Priamus admonish his sonne Hector then that he should not alone expect Achilles What doth the careful mother entreat her sonne other then to shun that warlike champion Finally what dyd Hectors wyfe beyng ignorant of the heauie chaunce that alreadie was hapned say that she feared other then her husbandes well meanyng and the heate of his minde that was not able to stay hym out of the fyrst aray of the Souldiours but woulde rather runne before them all Whiche thyng also she feared at the beginning when as she spake vnto hym as he was going into the warres in this maner Doeth thy valiencie so deuilishy be witche thee that thou takest compassion neyther vpon thy Sonne nor mee his Mother who shall shortly be thy Wydowe Lastly what other dyd Achilles mother say beyng fearefull for her Sonne Now must I seeke for my sonne Achilles by Lande and Sea and I woulde he woulde folowe mee Whilst in wayne she tooke hym being feeble out of the garboyle of the hotte warres and carrying hym into the pallace of the calme olde man hyd hym vp in her virgins secrete closets All these lamentations and feares were by nothyng els procured then Martial force and valient courage Ioy. My sonne is exceeding couragious Reason A great courage without great power is great follie True valiencie and magnanimitie apparteine but to fewe men although they that seeme most mighty strong how weake they be in deede many things besides death do declare but specially death it selfe so that it may be sayde shortly and truely There is nothyng more weake nor more proude then man. Ioy. I haue a couragious sonne Reason Reioyce therefore for thy house shal be full of great attemptes and emptie of rest and quietnesse and thou shalt often wishe that thy sonne were not so couragious To conclude fortitude is a noble vertue and magnanimitie beautifull but both are painefull and troublesome and modestie is safe and quiet Of the Daughters chastitie The Lxxiiii Dialogue IOY I Haue a chaste Daughter Reason A great ioy but a careful For the greater her chastity is the more watching is lust ouer her For there is nothyng more ardently inuaded then that which is defended with chaste watch and womanly shamefastnesse When the corruptor hath won the path he goeth foorth then more slowly and permitted thynges are more coldly desired a thyng that is muche coueted is hardly preserued Ioy. My Daughters beautie is excellent Reason There it is then where a very good thing ministreth matter to the most vilest The beautie of Lucretia was great but nothing in respect of her honestie so that the chastitie of this noble Matrone violently pricked foorth the hot young man to adulterie Thus the wickednesse of the reprobate abuseth the ornamentes of the vertuous Ioy. My Daughters chastitie is knowen Reason Pray that it may continue Thou readest in the Poet A woman is alwayes diuers and changeable Which although Virgil sayd it not were it therefore lesse true How many haue we seene that haue been honest whyle they were young and haue afterward prooued wanton in their age And so striuing with their present vices against their forepassed honestie doo seeme in a maner to repent them of their tyme honestly spent a more foule reproche then whiche there can chaunce in no sexe and age Ioy. I haue a most chaste Daughter Reason If she knewe her selfe and vnderstoode whose gift chastitie is and geuing thankes vnto hym coulde apply all her studie to preserue the same wouâ—d continue vndefiled in safetie thou shalt then haue great cause I confesse to thanke God and reioyce with her more then yf thou haddest married her to a Kyng and yet beleeue me some tyme to feare also For since constancie is rare in al thinges be sure there is none at al in women Of a good sonne in Lawe The Lxxv. Dialogue IOY I Haue a very good Sonne in law Reason Thou oughtest to loue him more deere then thine owne sonne for thine owne sonne commeth to thee by chaunce but thy sonne in lawe by choyce Thanke therfore thy Daughter who owing vnto thee Nephewes hath now brought thee a sonne Ioy. Fortune hath brought vnto me a very good sonne in lawe Reason In this kinde of affinitie there be examples of notable fayth and treason Seldome or neuer hath any Sonne been so faythfull to his father as way Marcus Agrippa to Augustus Caesar as Marcus Aurelius to Antonius Pius vnto whom euen vnto his liues ende whiche was the space of three and twentie yeeres he so behaued hym selfe that not onely he deserued his loue and his Daughter but also the succession in his Empire as his Sonne through his continuall fayth and diligence But Nero was no suche sonne in lawe vnto Claudius although he not by his desartes but by his mothers policie obtayned the Emperours daughter and Empire Ioy. I haue founde a courteous and agreeable Sonne in lawe Reason Beware least eyther the hope of succession or the seekyng after goodes doo infringe this agreement Who wyll not wyshe that he may lyue whose lyfe he seeth to be profitable vnto hym selfe But yf he once begynne to attempt any thyng so that perhappes he suppose thy lyfe to be an hynderaunce or thy death begynne or seeme to be profitable vnto hym then the affections of the mynde are changed and secret hatred wyll soone breake foorth And of what force the discorde is betweene the Father and the Daughters husbande to say nothyng of the auncient Fable of Danaus and Nummianus who was slayne by the wycked treason of Aprimus his Father in lawe and likewyse Stilico who through the desyre to reigne forgat his Father in lawe that was dead and his Sonne in lawe that was lyuing the most memorable example of Caesar and Pompei doth sufficiently declare Of seconde Marriage The Lxxvi Dialogue IOY I Meane to be married agayne Reason If thou knewest throughly what a woman were or what excellent auctours doo write of her thou wouldest not haue married at the first Ioy. I entend to marrie againe Reason If thy first mariage haue not tamed thee then marrie againe if the tame thee not then thou mayst also marrie the third time Ioy. I am about to marrie againe Reason Who so hauyng chyldren by his fyrst marriage bringeth a Stepmother among them he setteth his house afyre with is owne handes If youth pricke thee or letcherous olde age styrre thee to lust then whiche there is nothing more filthie perhaps to speake now more
for thy daughter a wyfe for thy sonne thou hast woon the peoples fauour with thy ambitious flatterie thou hast gotten theyr voyces thou hast prepared vnto thy selfe a redy way vnto ryches and honour there nowe remayneth nothyng but that thou reioyce in thyne owne felicitie This yf I be not deceyued is thy conclusion but myne is farre other wyse to wyt that thou dye It seldome happeneth vnto men to enioy long that which they haue gotten togeather with great diligence the toyle is long the vse is short Ioy. Nowe that my affayres goe forwarde prosperously I am in an assured state Reason Howe thou canst stande whyle thyne affayres goe forwarde see thou for I cannot perceyue Ioy. I reioyce nowe that my businesse proceedeth accordyng to my desire Reason Now therefore it is tyme to dye thynkest thou that there can any man lyue long meery heare Dye therefore while thou art meery before thou begyn to be sorowful I wyl nowe repeate agayne that whiche I haue sayde For the repeatyng of profitable thinges is not tedious but pleasant Dooest thou remember in Tullie what Lacon sayde to the auncient Diagoras Rhodius who at that tyme muche reioyced though vpon very lyght occasion whiche thou heardest before when we entreated of Palestrical exercises Die nowe Diagoras quoth he for thou canst not clymbe into heauen And truely it was grauely spoken For in this so great an alteration of thinges what can the mynde looke for more then to leaue to be mery and to begyn to be sorowful And therefore Diagoras very seasonably folowed his friendes counsel for in the sight and a middest the shoutyng and gratulation of the people in the middest of the embrasinges and kysses of his sonnes he gaue vp the ghost This Historie is written in the booke of the Attike nightes and in summe moe haue peryshed through ioy then sorowe Of all therefore that are wyse but specially that are in great ioy death is to be wyshed of whiche we ought alwayes to thynke but most of all in tyme of prosperitie and this cogitation wyll brydle al other Ioy. I haue taken payne and nowe I rest Reason Ye hope al for that but therein ye be all deceyued The course of your lyfe fareth otherwyse and the ende thereof answereth not your expectation This thy rest is eyther short or false or to speake more truely both and howe then carrye dreame any rest heare So dooth he that is in pryson dreame of libertie the sicke man of health and he that is hungrie of dayntie cheere but behold the last day is at hand whiche wyll shortly dryue away these dreames But be ye not deceyued by dreames and false opinions wherof the lyfe of man is full promyse not vnto your selues rest heare Beleeue me death is all the rest that men haue after theyr trauailes Ioy. I haue al thynges most plentifully that I thynke to be necessarie forâ—ine Reason All thinges more then needeful are wast superfluous but this is the maner of mans minde that professyng and ascendyng vpward to heauen burdeneth it selfe with so great care and studie as it is scarce neuer able to disburden it self againe so that being wayed downe with a forraigne burden whyle it endeuoureth to ryse vpward it falleth downe the earth is vnto it in steede of heauen Ioy. I haue abundaunce of al thinges and they be nowe in the Hauen Reason Then are they in the end of their course For this present lyfe is lyke to the troublesome Sea. The end of the one is at the shore and of the other in death so that they may be both well termed Hauens And truely the most part of men while they be careful in heaping togeather necessaries to lyue by in the chiefest of their preparation they are cut of by death and there is nothyng nowe more common then for death to preuent the carefulnesse of this lyfe it happeneth but vnto fewe to obteyne their desire and from these the vse of theyr dayly gaine is so soone taken away that the shortnesse of theyr ioy is an encrease of their sorowe wherof it is knowne that many haue complained at theyr death Ioy. Now that I haue ended my trauayles I lyue in securitie Reason So doth the foule flie safe betweene the line and the grin the fishe playeth among the hookes and the wylde beastes among the toyles Oftentimes whereas is most danger and least feare it is fortunes cunning to take away distrust that she may strike the more freely Ioy. I haue toyled al my lyfe tyme to the end I might take my rest at last Reason Thou hast placed thy rest securitie vpon a daungerous downefal hast liued in sorow to die in mirth wherein thou hast folowed no absurd gouernment concernyng thy lyfe and death so that we agree about the qualitie of the securitie and rest sorow and ioy Ioy. I haue prouided al things to furnysh my selfe whyle I lyue Reason Nay rather to make thy death more greiuous Thou hast wel prouided for the Phisitions they will shortly come thicke vnto thee pratling about thy bed There wil come also some to make thy Testament some to loke for Legacies some that wil dissemble their ioy counterfeite teares secretly curse that thy life continueth so long thy death approcheth no faster some wil marke the crisis or determination day of the sicknesse some the signes and tokens some wyl watch the golden carkasse All these goodes whiche in al thy lyfe tyme thou hast scraped togeather wyl be the meanes onely not for thee to lyue the better but to dye the more accompanied Thou hast not altogeather lost thy labour for thou shalt not lacke companie when thou art sicke neyther money for thy lust and superfluities neyther pompe for thy buriall Ioy. Now that I haue gotten al things I may take my rest Reason I sayd erwhyle thou soughtest rest and comfort of lyfe but thou hast founde payne and tediousnesse of death Ioy. I haue disposed all thynges and attained prosperitie Reason Thou hast heaped togeather a nest of most deceitfull and transitorie hope which so soone as it groweth to any ripenesse wyl flee away leauing thy hart voyde and sorowfull and many tymes it perisheth before it be fledge Ioy. After my long traueyle commeth quietnesse Reason Perhaps it wyll be as short as may be possible For often the trauel of many yeeres perisheth in a moment when as for the most part al procedinges are by degrees the endes of thynges are not seldome sudden Ioy. By long cares at length I am come to the beginning of securitie Reason Humane curiositie is very careful of the beginninges but is so blynde that it cannot foresee the ende A thycke miste of the tyme to come hath bleared the sight of mortal mens eyes Let our deliberation be the accomplishment of our fortune But to speake more truely it is the wyl of God in whose hands are al mens chaunces not such as in your
trust nor trueth at al and all this mischiefe happeneth on the one syde for that iniuries are offered to them that haue not deserued on the other for that benefites are bestowed vppon the vnwoorthy so that the whole course of thyngs beyng confounded through disorder enimies are made friendes and Citizens are made enimies Ioy. I am the Tyrant of my countrey Reason Couldest thou fynde in thy hart to be so yf thou remembredst that it were thyne owne countrey If the representation of your common mother came into thy mynde thou wouldest neuer in suche sort teare thy brethren with whom thou hast been brought vp in thy chyldehood and also in ryper yeeres hast enioyed the same ayre the same waters the same religion the same holydayes the same playes and delightes with what mynde canst thou insult and reignâ—â—ouer them and reioyce when they weepe Lastly with what impudencie â—â—ooest thou lyue in that Citie wherein thou knowest thy lyfe to he hated of all men thy death wyshed of all sortes where thou art assured there is none that woulde not haue thee destroyed as a most cruell Wolfe in a gentle flocke Ioy. I haue vndertaken a Tyrrannie Reason If thou compare the present tyme with the tyme past thou shalt perceyue howe miserable a clogge thou hast layd vpon thy shoulders thou lyuedst somtime a safe quiet life but now henceforward vnlesse thou ioyne madnesse to mischiefe thou shalt passe no day nor nyght without feare and trouble of minde eate no meate without suspition take no sleepe without dread whyle thou beholdest on euerie side the swoord hanging ouer thy head which Dionysius is reported not vnfitly to haue shewed vnto a certaine friend of his that wondred at his wealth and aucthoritie who was a tyrant in deede but a most graue considerer of the state of tyrranny Ioy. I haue purchased a tyranny by the swoorde Reason If thou haue gotten it by the swoorde thou must keepe it by the swoord and perhaps loose it by the swoord Thou hast wonne woorthy ryches in deede to be odious and fearefull vnto all men and that whiche foloweth therof to be continually a feareful burden to thy selfe But to admit there were no danger which in some Cities and countreys the nature of the people beareth sufficiently beyng apt to seruilitie and obedience yet when beyng out of feare and danger thou shalt call to mynde what Laberius a Knyght of Rome sayde vnto hym that was the fyrst founder of this whiche nowe hath the name of a iust Empire Needes sayth he must he feare many of whom many stande in feare The reason of which saying is that whiche Ouid aleageth For euerie man wisheth him dead whom he feareth which was first alleaged by Ennius where he sayth They hate whom they feare eche man wysheth hym dead whom he feareth But yf all feare and danger doo ceasse whiche hath happened vnto some Tyrantes theyr boldnesse beyng nooryshed by publique calamities or the experimented dastardes of theyr Citizens yet is it not a shame for thee to gouerne those vnto whom it were more meete thou were theyr vnderlyng besydes thy iniurious force which is the worst thyng of alâ—â— â–ª Ioy. I haue put on a tyrranny Reason Thou hast put of all humanitie and iustice and chosen a troublesome and blooddy lyfe or els truely a doubtful death Vnhappy man whose death only thy countrey which hare thee and brought thee vp dooeth continually hope for Is not he in sufficient wofull case whom al men would haue to be in woful case And is not he most wretched who cannot possible be so wretched but is worthy to be more wretched Ioy. I possesse the chiefest place among my Citizens Reason Thou possessest a tyrranny ouer thy Citizens thou hast placed thyne house vpon sande thy bed in the bryers thy seate vpon a downefal thy pouertie in rapynes and thyne enuie in miseries Of a Kyngdome and Empire The .xcvi. Dialogue IOY BEholde I am a Kyng by right Reason That cannot be long vnknowne for what the difference is betweene a Kyng and a Tirant I haue declared alredy And what auayleth it for thee to be called a Kyng yf thou be a Tirant The safetie of a King and kingdome consisteth not in a glorious name but in true iustice I deeme it lesse euyl for thee to refourme the gouernment that thou hast gotten and afterward so to behaue thy selfe that thou maiest appeare to be a true King then by tyrannical vexation to spoyle the kyngdome wherunto thou commest by right wherin thou lawfully succeedest thy father for there belongeth more true prayse vnto the proceedyng and end then to the begynning of thynges Ioy. I am a kyng Reason It were better and more quiet to lyue vnder a good King then to be a King thy selfe Ioy. I haue ascended into the Regal seate of the kyngdome Reason A conspicuous place and obiect vnto al mens eyes and therfore dangerous for slouthfulnes and paynful and difficult for vertue For a good Kyng is a publique seruant Ioy. I am aduaunced to the Regal throne of a kyngdome Reason To the end thou mayest seeme woorthy forget thy selfe and thyne owne affayres thynke vpon thy people and the commom wealth the day fyrst that thou wast made a Kyng thou beganst to dye to thy selfe and to lyue for other and which is the hardest case of al for vnthankful and vniust considerers of thy trauayle Ioy. I am come to a kyngdome Reason Perhaps thou mayest get there some transitorie glory but no quietnesse at all Ioy. I reigne vprightly Reason Thou doest well and a most acceptable thing vnto god And knowe this that thou seruest suche as are alwayes repynyng and ful of complayntes and that wyll scarce geue thee thankes before thy death There is seldome any Kyng so good but the people loue hym better that shall succeede who when he is come the other is wyshed for agayne These are the manners of the common people to hate the thynges that are present to desyre the thynges that are to come and to prayse the thynges that are past Howe then should complayntes ceasse yf euery good thyng that is present doo stynke and nothyng pleaseth but that whiche grieueth whether it be alredy past or hoped for Ioy. I haue gotten the Scepter and Diademe Reason Gloryous fetters and a noble miserie which yf all men throughly knewe trust me two woulde not so often stryue for one seate but there would be more kyngdomes then Kynges Ioy. I weare the princely robes Reason It is not the outward apparrel but the inwarde furniture and princely mynde that maketh a Kyng Alexander the Emperour of Rome was woont to say that Empyre and gouerment consisted in vertue and not in sumptuousnesse Ioy. I am aduaunced to a kyngdome Reason Now is the state of the subiectes vncertayne whether they be happie in that kind of happines which is imagined to be heare or in miserie For a vertuous king is the felicitie of a transitorie kingdome
tidinges when thou art awake Hope I saw good hap in sleepe Reason But thou shalt finde il hap when thou awakest Hope I was an happy man in my rest Reason But thou shalt be wretched in thy trauayle For many tymes â—reames signifie nothing and many tymes the contrary Hope True thynges are often seene in dreames Reason But how more often false The lyke iudgement is to he geuen of this and all such other kyndes of vanities one thyng happenyng true by chaunce purchaseth credite to a great many of false and mens myndes gapyng after that whiche is to come taketh no regarde of that whiche is past Hope The Diuinours promyse me many thyngs Reason I do not much wonder at these impostours and deceyuers who accordyng to theyr maner do lyue by theyr practise but I marueyle more at you that you subiect your lyues soules and wittes vnto theyr bellies and therfore take hede what perswasion thou holdest â—â—r yf thou wylt folowe mine aduyce thou shalt expect with a quiet and vpryght mynde not what the Starres but what the Creatour and gouernour of the Starres hath determined concernyng thee feruently woorkyng somethyng euery day whereby thou mayst be founde the more woorthy of his loue Concernyng the euentes let it not once enter into thy mynde to mooue any of them vnto whom the trueth is lesse knowne then to thy selfe Finally thus perswade thy selfe that it is an harde matter for men to knowe what it is to come and that it is not lawful for them yf it were expedient nor expedient yf it were lawfull Of glad tidings The. Cxiii Dialogue HOPE I Haue heard glad tydyngs Reason Beleeue not fame she is a lyar Hope Many tel me glad newes Reason It is better sometyme to beleeue one then many Hope That cannot be altogeather false which so many messengers doo report Reason The maner of common report is wel knowne which is to mingle lies with trueth A great many of lyes are seasoned with a few true tales for no body wyl beleeue hym that which al lyes Hope The first aucthour of the rumor is a credâ—â—le person Reason But there is no man contented to report only as much as he hath hearde or seene it is nothyng worth vnlesse that euery one adde some thyng of his owne to that which he hath heard or seene which when many haue done a man shal perceiue how one lye hath been heaped vpon another so that this mischiefe going from hande to hande hath encreased in mens handes as it was going and which the most excellent poet sayeth It floorisheth by moouyng and getteth strength by going Hope Hytherto the report is very ioyful Reason What yf it flatter thee that it may strike thee Many times after ioyful rumors folow woful massacres this for the more part is the manner of fortune to promyse hope that she may wound the deeper and she annoynteth her cruel weapon with the sweetnesse of some glad tidynges wherewith she purposeth to cut the throate of hym that reioyceth Which thyng forasmuche as the learned and wyse do vnderstande they are nothyng mooued with flatteryng reportes but remayne vnmooueable recountyng with them selues either that it is contrary or that this rumour that semeth so acceptable may be chaunged into the contrary Hope I am delighted in a ioyful rumour Reason Stay a whyle tyl thou knowe whether it be certayne and if it so fall out yet is it a shame for a manly courage to be moued with euery smal rumour though they be true but most shameful with those that are false Many haue ben ashamed that they haue reioyced and the remembrance of theyr false ioy hath augmented theyr true griefe Of expecting a mans sonne or Farmer or wyfe The Cxiiii Dialogue Hope I Hope for my sonnes returne Reason Thou hopest for a careful ioy and a neare sorow Hope I hope to see my friend agayne Reason Thou hopest for a sweete thyng but deceiueable mens affayres tremble vpon a brittle foundation perhaps he whom thou now lookest for is dead which thou maist proue yf thou liue There are a thousand kindes of impedimens one that is common to al that is death Hope I trust to enioy the desired sight of my friend Reason These two are almost alwayes ioyned togeather to wyshe and to hope but by sundry casualties they be dayly separated Howe many may we thynke were there in Rome that with very desirous myndes expected the returne of the last Marcus Marcellus But contrarywyse his most cruel foe attended his commyng in the myddes of the way whose furious sauagenesse was more mightie then was the mercyfulnesse of the conquerour that reuoked his aduersarie from exyle And therfore Caesar at the request of the Senate coulde pardon Marcellus but Marcellus Client coulde not sustayne any greater griefe then that he shoulde enioy that benefite from Caesar Hope I hope to see my friende and I expect him hauyng no enimie to hinder his commyng Reason What man is he that hath not an enimie and albeit he haue no priuate enimie yet is there any without publique fooes I meane theeues and murderers who mooued with couetousnesse haue proclaymed open war agaynst mankynde But imagine there chaunced some such good constellation that this mischiefe were banyshed out of the worlde notwithstandyng who shal defend Wagons and Horses from ouerthrowyng ryuers and streames from ouerflowyng brydges and houses from fallyng tempestes on Sea and lande from rysyng Adde moreouer the incursion of fierce and wylde beastes and venomous vermyne by meanes of whiche Dicaearchus a most curious searcher of such matters sheweth that not only certaine particuler men but also whole generations of men haue ben destroyed And in summe looke how many chaunces there be in humane affaires wherof there is no certaine number so many enimies are there of mankinde which may I say not slacke thy hope but extinguysh it And though nothyng els doo happen yet death of whom I spake erwhile whether men go or stande is alwaies at their elbowe and perhaps more neere to them that ryde and traueile vppon the way by howe muche theyr iourney and riding and changyng of place seemeth to be subiect to more kindes of casualties Hope I hope for my friendes returne after the prosperous dispatching of his businesse Reason How gloriously prosperously Drusus Nero that was sonne in law to Augustus behaued him self and accomplished his affaires that he was beloued of his enimies that he had vanquyshed so that they dyd almost adore hym as a God whose wonderfull affection towards the memoriall of hym euen to this present day I suppose thou mightest perceiue yf euer thou were conuersant among the states of Germanie Truely he atchiued such exploites wherof he might woorthily vaunt him the whiche appeareth yet remayning to this day ingrauen in certayne Romane stones wherof some of the first sillables are defaced and throwen downe by misfortune in these verses At the departing of the Rhine I inuaded the land and wasted
not onely vnderstande howe to hope for prosperous times but how to deeme of the sorowfull if thou looke vpon thine owne age whiche euery day waxeth more heauie then other as it is described by the Poet and founde in most olde men And truely yf thou cast thyne eyes backwarde and begyn to recount and consyder thine owne yeeres thou wylt also therewithal begin to despayre of that whiche thou hopest There is no cause why thou shouldest hope for alteration of the course of the world The tymes that folowe are not better but I feare me rather the worse And what is the cause I pray thee but onely because men waxe woorse and woorse whiche certayne notable men haue foretolde should be so and the effect plainly declareth but that you men vppon good hope do euermore conceiue some great opinion of your noble and modest youth from whiche opinion I am farre of for my minde can not prognosticate nor foresee any good to ensue at al euery thing is so prone vnto vice and vntowardnesse Hope The times are euyl but better shal ensue Reason Euery age hath complained of the maners that haue been then sayth Seneca And I adde that euery age had cause in deede whereof to complayne shal haue hereafter to the worldes end Hope I hope for a better time Reason There is one way vnto that wherby yf thou attaine to a better state thou wylt then hope for no farther matter Frame vnto thy selfe a merier mind which thou canst not do without vertue when thou hast so done al things shal be merrie fortunate and nothing vnprosperous or sorowful Hope I looke for a better tyme. Reason If it chaunce to come which is doubtfull verily as that approcheth thou drawest away How muche were it better to vse well the tyme present rather then carefully to expect that whiche perchaunce eyther wyll not come at all or thou shalt neuer lyue to see Of the hoped commyng of a Prince The Cxvi Dialogue HOPE I Hope for a Princes comming Reason As many things are feared which were rather to be wished so many are wished whiche were rather to be feared on both sides there is great want of iudgement Hope I hope for the Princes commyng Reason How much more seemely were it to hope for libertie for truely he that hopeth for a Lord or a Maister hopeth for his owne seruitude Hope I hope that the Prince wyll come Reason Thou hopest also for the common mischiefe whiche commeth with him But the tyme hath been when Princes haue hoped for their kingdomes and the people haue hoped for their Prince but now the kingdome is a burden to the Prince and the Prince a plague to the people Hope I and the common wealth doo hope that the Prince wyll come Reason What thou alone dooest hope for thou knowest best thy selfe wherein also thou mayest easily be deceyued but as for the hope of the Common wealth it is but foolyshe For what man vnlesse he were mad woulde hope for or desire that whiche he hath so often times experimented to be hurtful Hope I hope that the Prince wyll come Reason And he wyll bryng with hym sundry stirres and tumultes alterations of Cities hurtfull nouelties famine pestilence warres discorde al these at once or euery one of them seuerally vse commonly to come with Princes now a dayes If thou lyke of these thynges then hope for the Princes commyng but yf none of these be fearefull notwithstandyng the very name of an Empire is ful of reporâ—es and rumours deuoyde of al goodnesse and only founded vpon the shadowe of antiquitie Hope I hope that the Prince wyll come Reason But I woulde haue thee wyse and circumspect that as often as thou hearest of his comming thou imagine that thou hearest the voyce of some thunder that goeth before lyghtnyng nor begynne not to hope but rather to feare yf so be one of them must needes fayle For to feare aduersitie although it be repugnant to vertue yet is it agreeable to nature but to hope for euyll is contrary to nature and vertue Hope I hope that the prince wyll be heere shortly Reason When thou seest hym present imagine that thou beholdest an vnfortunate starre to the Common wealth and concernyng this matter take aduice of thyne owne memorie or demaunde of thy Parentes or of thy Grandfathers or great Grandfathers and thou shalt finde it to be so as I say whiche thyng declare thou also to thy chyldren posteritie least they also lyke fooles hope for the Princes commyng I pray thee tel mee when dyd euer the small Beastes hope for the Lyons comming or the lesser Foules for the Eagles Pardon me if I tel that trueth Man is a most foolyshe creature and alwayes most desirous of his owne harme other haue neede of a bayte to take them withall and man is caught onely with rumour of fame Of hope of Fame after death The Cxvii Dialogue HOPE I Hope for Fame after my death for my desartes Reason Many hope that they deserue fame when they rather deserue infamie and lyke traueylers that wander out of their way when they thynke they goe ryght foorth then goe they backewarde Hope I am famous in my lyfe tyme and I hope to be more famous after my death Reason This is true I confesse in some insomuche as Anneus Seneca in a certaine Epistle profecieth that he shoulde he beloued of posteritie and Statius Papinius sayth that he hath prepared a redie path for the present fame vnto his woorke among posteritie and lykewyse the Poet Ouid foretold of the eternitie of his name to come and that he shoulde be read by the mouth of the people and lyue by fame throughout all ages and truely none of these are deceyued But how many thynkest thou haue there been that haue hoped the lyke but their hope hath fayled them Many perhappes haue thought as much and haue written but haue not found that which they promised to them selues Hope If I be famous whyle I lyue why should I not be more famous after my death Reason For that it is an accustomable and common experience that many that haue been famous and noble in their life time after their death haue become obscure and vnknowen Dooest thou wonder at it The cause is manifest which is a certaine affabilitie neate pleasant speach a fawning countenance a friendly looke gentle greeting benefites bestowed vpon neighbours defending of clientes hospitalitie towardes strangers courtesie towardes al men These and suche lyke do purchase fâ—me to them that are lyuing but so sone as they are dead they continue no longer vnlesse perhaps as long as they remaine that knewe them whiche how short a time it is thou seest for how should thinges continue that are not grounded vpon a sure foundation It is the course of nature that the thinges that are weakely established and slenderly encreased do soone decay And therefore that thy fame may be durable it must proceede
the skarres and newe reparations that are done in olde walles Neither is this true in other things onelie but we suffer it also in our owne whilest euerie mans opinion and iudgement is contrarie to him selfe according to the saying of Horace the Poet He plucketh downe and buildeth vp and chaungeth that which was square into rounde By which it may more manifestlie appeare which of vs it is than canne agree with another man or with him selfe Now the manner and fashion of our apparell continueth three whole daies in our cities and likewise the actes and lawes of certeine Municipies or freedomes haue bene such and of so small continuance that they haue perished with their authours Againe what disagreement and contrarietie is there among Captaines about ordering a battell and among Magistrates for making of lawes and among saylers for counsell and taking aduisement And as for this that I spake of last I haue learned to be true manie times to my great daunger whilest the sea and heauen threatning death the darke night and cloudes ouerspreding the lande and starres of the skie the ship leaking and halfe full of water the saylers in the most daunger and middest of death fel most obstinately at contention with contrarie endeuours and opinions Adde herevnto the contention which is without an aduersarie what battails haue Shriueners with parchment with inke with pennes with paper what smithes with hāmers with tonges with the anduile what plowmen with their coulter share and the cloddes furrowes and the oxen themselues what the souldiers I say not with their enimie but with their owne horses and armour when as the horses rebell and waxe obstinate and their armour troubleth them and wayeth them downe what businesse haue they that speake and those that write at the mouth of another whilest earnest intention constraineth the one to speake manie things vnperfect and on the one side ignorance and vnskilfulnes at the other side a flitting and vnconstant wit alwayes thinking on some thing else than it hath in hand hindreth them to conceiue the things that are perfect But what speake I of euerie seuerall thing There is no handicrast that is voyd of all difficulties As for all other as they haue some knowne sweetnesse so haue they also great store of secret bitternes and of all the thinges that doe delite there is none without strife Nowe what conflictes haue infantes with falles what contention haue children with their bookes and learning most sowerly sowing that which they shall reape most sweetlie Moreouer what strife haue yong men with pleasures yea I will speake more trulie what warres haue they with themselues and what contention is there among their affections There is altogether no strife with pleasures but a consent and agreement which is worse than any contention I suppose and speake vpon experiēce that there is no kinde of men nor age that tasteth more strife or that sustaineth more inextricable painfull trouble no kinde of men that seeme more merrie and none in deede more miserable and sorowfull And lastlie in what difficultie and great danger are women in their childe bearing What contention and wreastling haue men continuallie with pouertie and ambition what great carking for more than is needefull for liuing And finallie what euerlasting warre haue old men with old age sicknesses when death draweth nigh and all other things and persons with death also and that which is more grieuous than death it selfe with the continuall feare of death I might dilate this discourse with a thousand argumentes of sundrie matters but if as it was thy pleasure in the first booke thou wilt nowe likewise haue this epistle to stande in the steade of a preface to be part of this booke I well perceiue nowe how much this preface exceedeth the measure of the booke and therefore my curiositie is to bee bridled and stil to bee stayed And therefore to conclude all thinges but specially the whole life of man is a certeine kinde of contention and strife But in the meane while omitting this externall strife wherof we entreated erewhile which I would God it were lesse therefore lesse knowne to all men how great is the internall contention not only against an other but as I haue saide against our owne kinde not against an other particular person but against our selfe and that in this bodily outward couering which is the most vile and base part of our selues and euerie one hath continuall warre with him selfe in the most secret closet of his minde For as touching this our bodie with how contrarie humours it aboundeth and is troubled enquire of those that are called naturall Phylosophers but with how diuerse and contrarie affections the minde striueth against it selfe let euerie one enquire of none other than him selfe and answere him selfe with how variable and vncerteine motion of minde hee is drawne sometime one way some time an other he is neuer whole nor neuer one man but alwayes dissenting deuided in himselfe For to speake nothing of other motions to will to nill to loue to hate to flatter to threaten to mock to deceiue to feigne to iest to weepe to pitie to spare to bee angrie to bee pleased to slide to bee cast downe to bee aduanced to stumble to stande vp to goe forwarde to turne backe to begin to leaue of to doubt to erre to bee deceiued to be ignorant to learne to forget to remember to enuie to contemne to wonder to loath to despise and to haue in admiration and such like than whiche truly there can bee nothing imagined more vncerteine and with which the life of man ebbeth and floweth vncerteinly from the beginning to the ending without intermission For what tempests and madnesse is there in these foure passions to wit to hope or desire and to reioice to feare and to bee sorie whiche trouble the poore and miserable minde by driuing him with sodeine windes and gales in course far from the hauen into the middes of the dangerous rocks Which passions some one way and some another yea diuersly diuerse haue expressed in lesse than in an whole verse And as Saint Augustine writeth the Poet Virgil hath comprised in a most knowne veritie of which passions truly I am not ignorant that more and lesse may bee said on both sides As for me I haue not much studied for shortnesse nor copie but I haue set downe in writing such matter as in order hath offered it selfe to me out of the common course of mans life that I might not werie the Reader either with scarcitie or tediousnesse And let not the name of Fortune grieue thee which is repeated not onely in the superscriptions and tytles but also in the woork For truly thou hast often heard mine opinion concerning fortune But when I foresawe that this Doctrine was most necessarie specially for such as were not furnished with learning I haue vsed in their behalfe the common and knowne woord not being ignorant what other men
agaynst enimies then agaynst vices He that hateth another man fyrst geueth a wounde to his owne soule and next many tymes vnto his owne body For to much greedinesse to hurt and strike others hath layde foorth many vnaduised and naked vnto theyr enimies Thus euermore the first part of al mischiefes turneth vppon the aucthours thereof and some tyme the last part when many tymes he remayneth vnhurt agaynst whom the mischiefe was first prepared Sorowe Warres ryse agaynst me on euery syde Reason The people of Rome was neuer more famous and holy then when they were busied in many and great warres Their peace was the beginning of their mischiefe for with it entred flattering lasciuiousnesse a pestilent enimie vnto vertue Sorowe I haue great enmitie Reason Great enmitie many tymes hath been the beginnyng of great friendshyp Sorowe I haue enimies Reason Haue also trustinesse and mercifulnesse as for other matters whatsoeuer shal happen prouide that thou be theyr superiours in curtesie and vertue There is also right iustice to be vsed with a mans enimies with whom so behaue thy selfe that thou doubt not but that thou mayest be reconciled into friendshyp with them And know that this is more holsome counsell then was Biants who wylleth a man so to loue his friendes that he remember also that they may become his enimies whiche saying although it be commended of others yet neyther I nor Tullie doo lyke of it For in deede it is a very poyson in friendshyp wherefore in hatred a man ought to think on loue not in loue to thinke on hatred and truely Aristotles counsell in his Rethorickes is farre to be preferred before Byas aduice A man shoulde not as men commonly speake loue as though he shoulde hate but rather hate as though be shoulde loue Whereof Arislotle wrytyng reproueth Bias hymselfe and also his subtyle and malicious counsell Sorowe I haue enmities Reason But haue them agaynst thy wil let a louyng hart of peace dwell alwayes in thine armed breast and so goe to warre that thou mayst seeme to be constrayned thervnto least haply humanitie geue place vnto hatred or least thou studie more for reuenge then for glory or health Thou knowest that Hanibal was more hateful to the Romanes then was Pyrrhus when as both of them were enmities and Pyrrhus first inuaded Italy but not to the entent to destroy it vtterly as dyd Hannibal but only to requyre it We must conquere by all the meanes we can that in euery action true vertue may appeare so that it may seeme that nothyng els is sought for by war then honest peace Of occasion lost to reuenge The .xxxiij. Dialogue SOROWE I Haue lost my wyshed occasion to reuenge Reason From whom sinne is taken nothyng is taken but much is added for certayne thynges which men haue to be taken from them is a gayne but to withstand them that they may not be had at al is a greater vauntage Sorowe I haue lost the meanes to be reuenged Reason An happy losse to loose that whiche may hurt thee Sorowe I am prohibited of my hoped and wished reuenge Reason The chiefest point is to haue a minde not to doo euyl the next to be prohibited Sorowe I must of necessitie loose occasion of reuengement Reason If it be a notable kynde of reuenge not to haue a wyll to reuenge it is an excellent necessitie not to be suffered to reuenge It is the chiefest point willingly to embrace vertue the next to be constrayned therunto Sorowe I am sory that reuenge is taken from me Reason The tyme wyll come peechaunce shortly when thou mayest reioyce and that thou wouldest not wyshe that it had hapned otherwyse Many when they come by occasion vnto any thing at length they begyn to haue will vnto it and to loue it and theyr liking groweth vpon necessitie and when it beginneth to be a wyl it surceasseth to be a necessitie Sorowe I thought I could haue ben reuenged but I could not Reason Not to be able to doo euil is a great power this qualitie is proper vnto the almightie Sorowe Present reuenge is fallen away from me Reason Thinke that thou hast let fal a snake out of thy hand take heede that he creepe not into thine hand agayne There is nothyng so coutrary vnto a man as vngentlenesse By this he surceasseth to be a man whiche to be so the name it selfe declareth there is no sicknesse so contrary no not death it selfe For death hapneth by the course of nature but this far contrariwise To shew crueltie vnto a man is contrary vnto the nature of a man although it were deserued a man ought not to folowe the motion of a wounded mynd and by the remembrance of a priuate griefe to forgeat the instinct of the common nature Sorow I shall be sory for euer that I was restrayned from reuenge Reason Perhaps thou shalt reioyce for euer How often thinkest thou after enmitie layd a part and friendshyp concluded haue some abhorred theyr friendes in the middest of theyr embrasinges thus thinking with them selues this man I wished at the Deuyl and I lacked but litle of bryngyng my wicked desire to effect O happie chaunce to howe good a part hast thou conuerted my cruell meanyng Sorowe I cannot be suffered to wreake my iust wrath Reason A man shall scarce fynde iust anger forasmuche as it is written Mans anger woorketh not the righteousnesse of God and agayne it is said by an other Anger is a short madnesse It is best therefore not to be angrie at all and next not to reuenge but to bridle anger that it cary not away the mynde whyther as it is not seemely the thirde is not to be able to reuenge if thou wouldest Sorow I haue lost notable occasion to be reuenged Reason Pardon which is more notable is left vnto thee and also forgetfulnesse which is most notable of all The same made Iulius Caefar renowmed among all Princes Great innumerable were this worthie Emperours conquests his triumphes most glorious his excellencie in chiualrie incomparable his wyt most excellent his eloquence notable the nobilitie of his progenie the beautie of his personage the valure of his inuincible mynde surpassing but when thou hast heaped togeather all his commendations thou shalt finde nothyng in hym more excellent then his mercifulnesse and forgetfulnesse of offences which although it procured vnto hym the cause of his death so that the saying of Pacunius was iustly song at his buriall It was my fortune to saue some that there might some lyue to destroy me neuerthelesse since that he must of necessitie die in suche a cause death was in a maner to be wyshed Of the peoples hatred The .xxxiiij. Dialogue SOROWE THe people hate me Reason Then hast thou the ende of the multitudes fauour whereof I forewarned thee to wit hatred for loue Sorowe The people hate me without a cause Reason Thou woondrest that they hate thee without a cause who
vertue be not in thy sonne yet loue hym because he is thy sonne yf not for that cause then for that he is a man Lastly yf there be no cause at all why thou shouldest loue hym them pittie hym As seueritie belongeth to a father euen so dooth compassion Sorow I haue a sonne of a moste wicked lyfe Reason An vnlucky burden and so much the heauier that as long as it is to be suffered it cannot be quite cast away suffer and as thou mayst amend it so shalt thou either cure thy sonne or at the least play the part of a father but this thou oughtest to do of duetie and wyshe the other Sorowe My sonne is very vngodly vncurteous and vnreasonable Reason If wantonnesse and pleasure be once growen vnto knauery and myscheefe then is there a venomous beast to be driuen out a doores neyther must we regard where but what is borne and sprung vp for you nouryshe vp birdes bread in the wylde wooddes and ye kyl scorpions brought vp at home in the house Sorow I haue a very wicked sonne Reason It is the part of a wyse man to put a way daungerous thinges before they do any harme at al. Let not the shadow of godlynesse deceyue thee no godlinesse is due vnto an vngodly person A man may sometyme finde where it is a kynde of crueltie to be godly but whyle there remayneth the least sparke of hope alwayes enclyne thy selfe vnto mercy and remember that thou art a father and not a iudge and see thou forget not here that notable saying of Terence For a great fault a litle punishment is sufficient of a father Of a contentious brother The .xlv. Dilalogue SOROW. I Haue a contentious brother Reason And what of hym then hath he not thee an agreeyng brother for brotherly agreement whiche ought of twayne to make but one is deuided in twayne so that you are made not diuers only but quite contraryes a greeuous mischeefe surely but an auncient which both the worlde and the head of the worlde had in the begynnyng For the infamie of the citie of Rome is auncient but that of the world is of more antiquitie to wyt that it was embrued with the blood of brethren Therefore that which thou seest betweene al cooples of brethren yea when there was but one coople only in the world hast no cause to be amased at it now among so many thousandes Sorowe I haue a very contentious brother at home Reason Doest thou marueyle that to be in a greate house whiche hath been in the narowe roome of one mothers wombe where as in time past which was a shadow of a greater misery we reade of brothers that were not onely among them selues contentious but also togeather by the eares Is it any strange thing then that men being armed shoulde do that whiche they that are vnborne are wont to doo Sorowe I fynde no fauour with my brother Reason Thou oughtest rather to haue learned this long before in the schooles than to haue found it true in effect at home thinges that are foreseene are neyther complained of nor woondred at Sorowe I haue an odious and contentious brother Reason As for the most part there is no loue more tender then the loue of brethren so when it beginneth there is no hatred more vehement no enuie more vnquenchable Thus equalitie inciteth and enflameth their mindes when as the shame of geuing place and the desyre of superioritie is by so much the more feruent the more that the remembrance of their infancie togeather or what so euer els may seeme to engender goodwyl when as they be once digressed from the ryght way may procure hatred and disliking betweene them in this respect therefore the hart burnyng of a rebellious nature may be very wel reclaimed namely by curtesie gentlenesse For there is no nature almost so rough and vnciuile whom at length true continuall humilitie in woordes and vnfeigned and gentle dealing in al matters wil not ouercome and molifie If thou finde this to be voyde and without force or that peraduenture thou thy selfe canst not enforce thy minde hereunto whereby he may be honestly and profitably constreyned then before that the matter breake foorth vnto vtter destruction thou must vse the last and extreame remedie the roote of the mischeefe must be plucked vp and comunitie remoued which is the mother of discorde wherein thou must demeane thy selfe so curteously that looke howe muche thou yeeldest of thy right so much thou shalt perceiue to be added vnto thy vertue and fame The sharpe prickes of impious proud desire are by nothing better rebated then by vertuous and curteous liberalitie That gold is good whereby the peace of familie and brotherly loue is purchased It is a very auncient and no lesse true saying That these two pronownes myne and thyne are great cause of warres and disagreement whiche yf they were taken away from out of the life of man out of doubt men should liue muche more quietly Of the losse of a father The .xlvi. Dialogue SOROWE I Haue last my father Reason It is meete that him whom thou complainedst of while he was present with thee thou seeke him when he is absent and yet not finde him There is nothing more iust then in vaine to wysh for the aucthoritie which thou hast contemned Sorowe I haue lost a good father Reason It is wel that he hath left a good sonne behinde hym reioyce for the good olde mans sake vnto whom at length that hath hapned which he alwayes wyshed for who leauing thee in safetie is departed hym selfe out of this worlde Sorowe I haue lost a louing father Reason A good sonne standeth in dread of the chaunces of fortune for none other cause then that any calamitie befallyng vnto hym myght strike his fathers mind with sorowfulnesse but nowe thou shalt lyue more at quiet at thine owne peril only he shal not any more be greeued with rumours of thee thine aduersitie shal not breake him thy sicknesse shal not weaken him thy death shal not kyl him Sorow I haue lost a most louing father Reason Thou must nowe begin to care for other for he that was woont to care for thee is gone That tendernesse that was showed ouer thee repaye thou vnto another it is seldome repayed vnto whom it is due Sorowe Poore wretche I haue lost a louing father Reason If thou knowe the reason and nature of loue tendernesse comfort thy chaunce by remembrance of the time past Thou diddest reuerence thy father and as long as thou couldest thou shewdst thy selfe alwayes duetiful vnto hym thy father is departed but thy duetifulnesse lyueth otherwyse I confesse thou haddest cause to be heauie continually Sorowe My father by dying hath forsaken me Reason Take in good part the common course of nature he is first gone that first came into the world neyther hath he forsaken thee but is gone before thee Sorowe I haue lost my father Reason Thou knowest
may feede my cattayle and I my selfe wyll resolue thee in this matter Then he answeared that it was impossible But she sendyng for such Noble men and Gentlemen as dwelt neere hande and causyng hym to geue his woorde for the perfourmance of his promyse helde vppe her young sonne in her armes and Is this my chylde in deede myne sayde she And when they all answeared yea she stretched foorth her armes and delyuered hym vnto her husbande and heere sayde she take hym I geue hym thee freely and nowe be assured that he is thyne Then al that stoode by brake foorth in laughter and gaue iudgemente on the womans syde and condemned the husbande by all theyr verdictes Such contentions and lamentations are thereto often among men they be hastie to marriage yea slipperie and headlong you thynke you shall neuer see the day wherein you shal be husbandes that is to say men as though otherwyse you shoulde neuer be men Then beyng resolued in ioyes or to speake more truely in madnesse the fyrst dayes of your marriage you spende in reuel route feastyng and daunsing among your weddyng solemnities with pastimes and songes and minstrelles and the residue of your lyfe you spende in suspition and braulyng In both you are to blame For neyther ought you in suche sorte to loue so doubtful a thyng neyther to abhorre so inseparable a thyng nor to hate so louely a thyng and by deceiptfull coniectures so to confounde the moste sacred lawes of the diuine and humane house and dissolue the moste entyre bondes of this lyfe Sorowe Yea my wyfe her selfe hath confessed that he is none of myne Reason Thou tellest me this as yf it were some syngular matter but it is common some confesse so muche whyle they are lyuing and some when they lye a dying among whom some haue wylled to haue it imparted vnto theyr husbandes after theyr departure Sorowe Myne owne wyfe hath conâ—essed vnto me that he is 〈…〉 my sonne Reason Olimpias that was wyfe vnto the renowmed kyng Phillip of Macedonie confessed as muche vnto her husbande whiche myght haue tended vnto the destruction of her valiant sonne and yet we reade neyther of teares nor sighes nor complayntes among them all Nowe hearken to a meery tale but not vnfyt for our purpose Not far from the Ocean Sea shore whiche lyeth right ouer agaynst Britaine not very many yeeres agoe report goeth that there was a certayne poore woman fayre and well fauoured but a notable Harlot who had twelue small chyldren by as many seuerall men one of them but a yeere elder then other But beyng sicke when she perceyued that the houre of her death was come she caused her husband to be called vnto her and this is no tyme sayde she nowe to dissemble any longer there is none of all these chyldren thyne but the eldest only for the first yeere that we were married I lyued honestly It chaunced that at the same time al the children sate on the ground about the fire eating according to the maner of the countrey At which woordes the good man was amazed and the children also that hearde their mothers communication whose fathers she reckoned al by name as they were in order of yeeres Which thyng the youngest of them all hearyng who was then but three yeeres olde immediatly layde downe his bread which was in his ryght hande and the Rape roote whiche he had in his left vppon the grounde besyde hym and tremblyng with feare and holdyng vp his handes after the maner of them that pray Now good mother quoth he geue me a good father And when in the ende of her speache she had tolde who was father to the youngest to wit a certayne famous ryche man takyng vp his bread and meate agayne in his hand That is well sayde he I haue a good father Of the losse of a brother The Lj. Dialogue SOROWE I Haue loste my brother Reason Yet I heare no cause why thou shouldest be very sory For Ouid sayth to true that there is seldome agreement betweene brethren Sorowe I haue lost my brother Reason It may be that thou hast at once lost both a brother and an housholde enimie Loe see then what thou hast lost an yll thyng couered with a good name Sorowe I haue lost a brother Reason Perhappes thou hast lost hym that hath wyshed thee lost and that alwayes resisted thyne attemptes Brothers hatred hath hyndred many from the entraunce vnto great commendation Sorowe I haue lost a brother Reason Thou hast lost peraduenture an heauie yoke as oftentymes we haue seene it fal out vnto the tender yeeres of thy chyldren thou hast lost also the enuier of thy lyfe the hynderer of thy glory and also which is euident the partner of thy patrimonie Sorow But I haue lost a vertuous and louyng brother Reason But a mortall one Vertue is no defence to the body but an ornament to the mynde and a procurer of immortall glory but as for the body she cannot exempt it from the power of death but rather thrusteth it forwarde many tymes thereunto before due tyme but yf he be left vnto nature good and had doo perysh a lyke and most commonly we see the best men weakest and the woorst long lyued but none immortall Sorowe I haue lost a good and gloryous brother Reason If thy brother be dead the glory vertue soule remaineth in safetie which only excepted death consumeth and destroyeth all other worldly thinges with lyke violence These therfore embrace thou as yf they were so many sonnes of thy brother with these immortal good things requite the mortal euil but if he haue sonnes liuing vnfeigned duetifulnes shal make them thine Sorowe I haue lost a good brother Reason Thou shouldest haue employed hym diligently which if thou diddest necligently his death is not to be blamed but thyne owne slouthfulnes Death hath exercised his power but thou hast slacked thyne oportunitie Sorow Death hath deceiued me for I thought not that he woulde haue died so soone Reason All thinges that happen vnto them that are vnwillyng seeme to come quickly but if they be wished for they come but slowly Sorowe I scarce thought that he could haue died Reason Vehement loue beareth with it selfe in al things and promiseth it selfe euery thyng vnpleasant thoughtes whatsoeuer is noysome vnto cast it escheweth insomuche as whosoeuer is in loue imagineth vnto hym selfe that his pleasures are in a maner euerlastyng thou since thou knewest that thy brother was borne oughtest also to knowe that he was mortall and therefore yf thou bewayle his tymely death as some sodaine matter thou art much deceyued but if as it were vntymely thou wast in a wrong opinion Sorowe I knewe that he was mortall but I thought not vpon his death Reason Vnwysely doone but this is your dissimulation beyng mortall ye thynke neuer to dye when as you may chaunce to dye euery day and needes you muste dye one day Yea rather it is the
couetousnes before that they were drenched in the surgies of the sea For desire commeth seldome without headlong hastinesse and that which it wil haue it wil haue it presently al tariance and the companions therof costlinesse it hateth the same is the redie way vnto destruction and the first cause of often shypwracke Sorowe I am discomforted by a great shypwracke Reason Thou hast learned to pray vnto God to make vowes and promise many thynges of whiche although feare was the cause yet since thou art arryued agayne on the lande acknowledge thou that fayth was the cause God is not mocked skot free he hateth the breakers of their faithful promises Sorowe I haue suffered a foule shypwracke Reason None complayne of shypwracke but they that haue escaped it Reioyce therefore that thou art safe and more expert The remembrance of dangers past is commonly delectable as contrariwyse the memory of forepassed prosperitie is greeuous But howe muche wouldst thou haue esteemed in foretymes to haue seene the Triton goddes of the sea and the mountaines of water foming the waues vp to heauen swelling the monsters of the sea swimming Thou hast now some feareful tales to tel in the winter nightes by the fire side to make folke a fearde withall and to holde thyne amazed family in admiration Nowe therefore thou knowest what is a poetical tempest and that feare whiche thou wouldest scarce beleeue is certaynely knowen vnto thee whiche thou hast now wel gained eyther by the feare of death or losse of goodes Sorow I haue been in a dangerous shypwracke Reason There is nothyng learned without trauayle this if thou be wyse shal be a perpetual lesson vnto thee that heareafter thou neuer perswade thy selfe to commit thy lyfe vnto the windes Sorowe I haue suffered a woful shypwracke Reason If this be the first take heede thou fal not into the seconde if it be the second then holde thy peace For proper is the saying of Publius the wryter of scoffes He wickedly accuseth Neptune that committeth shipwracke the seconde tyme. Sorow I haue scarse escaped in a terrible shypwracke Reason I can not see why it shoulde be more terrible to dye in the sea then vpon the lande seeing men must needes dye vpon the one of them or why it were better to feede wormes then to be baite for fyshes but forasmuche as thou hast escaped beware that thou commit not agayne thy lyfe to a broken oare or a rotten boorde Since thou art an earthly creature learne to keepe the earth and rather to affect heauen then the sea Of Burnyng The .lv. Dialogue SOROW. I Haue scarce escaped out of a burning fire Reason Doest thou then drawe it vnto the iniurie of fortune that thou hast escaped Let Alcibiades be moued who could not escape out of the hot burning of his enimies howbeit although thou haue preuented the earthly yet who is able to gainestād the burninges that come from heauen Let the Romane kyng Tullus Hostilius and the Romane Emprour Charus answeare me whereof the one was consumed with fyre from heauen in the pallace at Rome and the other in his tentes neare vnto the ryuer Tigris if we may credite common histories Sorowe Hauing lost al my goodes I haue escaped naked out of the fyre Reason Whom I pray thee would eyther Kias as al men say or Stilbon as Seneca wyl haue it haue spoken suche a woorde who when his countrey was on fyre being demaunded or rather reprooued for that he conueighed none of his goods out of the flame as other of his neighbours did answeared in this manner Al my goodes sayd he I carrie with me Woorthily truely whether it were the one or both of them that spake it although suche kinde of speeches do alwayes sound most excellently out of the mouth of the first aucthour of them but omitting the aucthour the trueth of the saying is commonly perceiued For the true goodes in deede remayne within and cannot be taken from the owner whyle he lyueth neyther when he is dead For they cleaue fast to the soule whyther as neyther the ryght hand of fortune nor of death is able to reache Thou being safe and sounde lamentest that thou hast lost certayne thynges whiche if they had been thine in deede out of doubt they had been safe with thee this day For beleeue me true goods doo not peryshe Golde is not more precious then vertue nor so good as it although it be not consumed but purged by the fyre Sorowe A great fire hath blasted me Reason There was one Caeculus I knowe not who that sought the fame of diuinitie by fyre In Virgil a flame of fire taking hold of Iulus haire gaue the first hope to their doubtful health And for that Seruius head burned light with fire it was no poetical but an historical abodyng of a kingdome It is wel knowen that the founders of the Empire of Rome escaped out of the flame of troy To be short the scriptures declare that Helias dyed by fyre and that the Lorde hym selfe appeared in a flame of fyre so that it is not for nought that bonefires are a token of myrth and reioycing in your cities whiche now is a cause of thy heauinesse Sorowe My house is suddenly consumed with fyre Reason Yea the temple of Diana at Ephesus was in olde tyme set on fyre a goodlier peece of woorke then whiche that age neuer sawe And also the temple of Hierusalem that was dedicated vnto the lorde of heauen was burnt the verie enemies pitiyng it that set it on fire likewise in this our age the laterane castel for beautie the flowre of the world was twice consumed with fire an euident plaine token of Gods wrath in my iudgment no strange matter I confesse but terryble And last of al to say nothing of litle cities fire hath often touched Saguntum and Numantia and Corinth and other innumerable yea and Rome it selfe was brought almost vnto vtter destruction And Carthage once and Troy was twice destroyed with fire Cities haue been burned and we beleeue that the whole worlde shal be one day brought to nought by fire And doest thou then complaine that it dare take hold on thy house that shal consume both heauen and earth Sorowe I had much a doo to escape out of the fyre Reason Thou hast escaped then and art thou sorie for it vnlesse thou haddest escaped thou haddest helde thy peace but now being a lyue and ashes thou lamentest that ashes is extinguished Of great laboure and traueyle The .lvi Dialogue SOROWE I Am weeried with great labour Reason There is no glorie without difficultie Al vertue dwelleth on hygh not easily to be atteyned the passage thereunto is cragged rough and ful of stones Sorowe I am ouerweerie with traueyle Reason Traueyle is the ground of vertue and rest of pleasures there is nothing commendable nothing excellent without traueyle and therefore laboure was the foundation of Hercules prayse By nothing is Vlisses better knowen
Alas I am now an agâ—d wyght Reason Lament not for it thou hast fulfilled an hard charge thou hast passed through a rough and ragged iourney and finished an vnpleasant Comedie And therefore now after the maner of such actions thou shouldest clap thy handes and crie plaudite Sorowe I am an olde man. Reason Hast thou forgotten how that of late dayes one that was very familiar with thee expressed the effect hereof ex tempore not as a new saying but as comparable vnto any in tymes past For when a certaine freende of his sayde vnto hym I am sory for thee for I perceiue thou waxest olde I woulde thou were in as good estate as when I knewe thee fyrst he answered suddenly Seeme I not vnto thee foolysh enough but that thou must wysh me more foole then I am Take no care for me I pray thee for that I am olde but rather be sorie for me that euer I was young O how much vnderstanding is there conteined in this short answere whiche none can conceiue but he that hath tasteth the commodities of this age and remembreth the miseries of the other Reioyce therefore in thine owne felicitie although it be also true that often tymes good hapneth vnto men against their wylles and euyll vnwished for Doubtlesse vnto a good man that loueth veriue hateth fond affections one whole day of this age which thou mislikest of is more acceptable then an whole yeere of retchlesse youth Sorow Alas I am aged Reason If thou continue in this mind it may be truly sayd of thee which is verified of the common people that thou art not so much wretched now thou art old as that thou liuedst miserable that so fondly thou complaynest thereof now at the very ende of thy life Leaue of your complaints now at length you whining generation and willingly yeelde to the necessitie of nature since there is nothing to be lamented that her immoueable lawe hath determined For what is more natural for a man that is borne then to lyue vntyl he be old and when he is olde to dye But you being forgetfull of your estate doo eschew them both and yet of necessitie you must taste of the one or of the both And yf ye woulde escape them both then must you haue abstained from the third and beleeue me not haue ben borne at all As soone as your bodyes are growen into yeeres let your mindes waxe olde also and let not the old Prouerbe be euermore verified in you to wit That one minde is able to consume many bodyes Suffer without grudging your body and your mind to continue together to the ende as they came in so let them depart out of the worlde together and when the one draweth forwarde let not the other drawe backwarde Your dallying is but in vayne you must needes depart and not tarrie heere and returne no more whiche may seeme vnto you but a small matter in consideration of the immortalitie of your soules and resurrection of your bodyes whiche you looke for aboue suche as eyther looke for but the one or for neyther In vayne I say ye stryue agaynst the streame and goe about to shake of the yoake of mans frayltie whiche ye vndertooke when ye were borne Sorowe I am olde and the strength of my body is decayed Reason If the force of thy minde be encreased it is well and thou hast made a good exchange For there is no man ignorant vnlesse he lacke a minde that greater better exploites may be atchieued by the strength of the minde then of the body But yf the strength of the minde as oftentymes it hapneth be deminished through slouthfulnesse then hast thou I confesse lyued vnprofitably whiche is thine owne fault and not thine ages Sorowe I am olde and I cannot follow my businesse Reason Yf there be any thing to be done by the minde by so muche the better an olde man may doo it by howe muche he hath the more experience and knowledge in thynges and is lesse subiect to passions and his minde more free from all mischiefes and imperfections as for other matters olde men can not deale in them neyther becommeth it them to busie them selues that way who haue alredie layd all bodyly labour asyde But yf they continue in it and wyl not be withdrawen then doo they renue the auncient rid culus example of a Romane olde man who beyng commaunded by the Prince to surceasse from labour for that his impotent olde age at the one syde and his great ryches on the other requyred the same he was as heauie and sorowfull as yf he had mourned for some freende that was dead and caused all his housholde semblably to mourne A strange old man that abhorred rest as a certaine resemblance of death when as in deede there is nothyng more conuenient for an olde man then rest and nothyng more vnseemely then a labouryng and carkyng olde man whose lyfe ought to be a patterne of all quietnesse and tranquilitie Thou mayest learne moreouer of the Philosophers what and howe pleasaunt a thyng it is for vertuous olde men to lyue as they tearme it in the course of theyr forepassed lyfe whiche notwithstandyng the greatest number neuer accomplisheâ—h but dyeth before Sorowe My yeeres are quickly gone and I am become old Reason Your beautie health swiftnesse strength yea all that euer ye haue passeth away but vertue remayneth neuer geuyng place to olde age nor death In this most assured good ye ought at the beginning to haue stayed your selues whiche at the ende to doo I confesse is more difficult but there is no age that refuseth the studie of vertue whiche the harder it is so muche the more it is glorious Many haue scarce learnâ—d of long tyme in their olde age to be wyse and knowe them selues and yet better late then neuer whiche although it be but smally profitable now at the last cast of the lyfe and at the very poynt of death yet doo I iudge it well bestowed vppon that one houre to be passed without horrour and fearefulnesse yf so be it were not exerc sed in all the whole lyfe tyme before For neyther was he borne in vayne that dyeth wel nor liued vnprofitably that ended his lyfe blessedly Sorowe I am olde and at deathes doore Reason Death is at hand alike vnto all men and manie tymes nearest there where he seemeth furthest of There is none so young but he may dye to day none so olde but he may lyue another yeere yf nothing els happen vnto him but old age Sorowe I am throughly olde Reason Thou art rather throughly rype If Apples coulde feele and speake woulde they complayne of theyr ripenesse or rather woulde they not reioyce that they are come to the perfection for whiche they were made As in al other thinges so likewise in age there is a certayne ripenesse whiche is tearmed olde age the same that thou mayest see truely to be so the age and death of
young men is called bitter and is bitter in deede contrary vnto this bitternesse is ripenesse which being commended in Apples and al mauer fruites is most commendable in man Not that I am ignorant that many fruites do wither before they waxe ripe but that is not the fault of the age but the peruâ—rsenesse of nature not of all but of many I meane in men who beyng borne to that whiche is good doo stoutely endeuour to the contrarie And therefore yf there be any droppe of noble iuyce in thee thou oughtest now to be ripe and withour all feare to attende vntyll the hand of the mower cutte thee downe to the ground That is not death whiche thou fearest but the ende of troubles and begynnyng of lyfe not death I say but an hard ende of lyfe whereunto fewe arriue in a calme tyde but all for the most part naked weepyng and wrecked on the sea In the middes of thyne olde age takyng in hand an easie vtage towardes thine ende thou shalt be brought by a prosperous gale through the troublesome surges of worldly affayres into the calme porte of securitie Now is it tyme for thee to run a ground and moare vp thy weerie barke vppon the shore and whyther so euer thou turnest thee to thynke vpon thine ende This shalt thou fynde more profitable for thee then as fooles vse to doo to blame good age and nature which is a most gracious mother Of the Gout The Lxxxiiij Dialogue SOROWE I Am vexed with the loathsome Gout Reason Knowest thou not the nature of old age It commeth not alone but most tymes bryngeth an armie of diseases and sicknesses with it Sorowe I am greeued with the paynefull gout Reason Thou art troubled in the extreamest and most vile partes of thy body what if it were neere thy hart or head Sorowe The gout so greeueth me that I cannot goe Reason The wandering minde of man needeth to be restrayned with a bridle One man is kept vnder by pouertie another by imprisonment another by sicknesse Fortune playing with thee hampereth thee by the feete This is not the gout but rather fetters and therefore learne to stand styll Sorowe The gout maketh me vnfyt for affayres Reason Vnfyt I thinke in deede to run to leape to daunce to play at tennice doest thou thinke that thou wast borne vnto these pastimes But yf thou be so ignorant know this that thou wast horne vnto greater matters whiche thou mayest very wel accomplysh if thy head do not ake nor thy hart be sicke Thou mayest applie the studie of the liberall sciences ensue godlinesse and vertue keepe floelitie and iustice contemne this frayle body and the transitorie worlde hate vices loue vertues honour freendshyp helpe thy Countrey by counsell and aduice These are the dueties of a good man and herein what can fetters hynder thee Sorowe I am weakned with the gout Reason Perhaps thy disease wyl not suffer thee to fight agaynst thyne enimies but it wyl against vices which is as paineful and common as warre And what knowe we whether this bodily payne agaynst whiche thou fightest be layde vppon thee for the exercise of thy minde Sorowe I can not stand vpon my feete Reason See then what hope thou hast to conceiue of the residue of the buyldyng when thou perceiuest the very foundation to be so weake watche and take heede that the fall oppresse thee not at vnwares make redy thy packes and prepare thy selfe to flight Sorow I am marueilously troubled with the gout Reason This disease as it is commonly reported vseth to accompany rych men Loe thou hast an other remedy be of good comfort for either the sweetenes of thy riches shal asswage the sharpnes of thy griefe or the bitternes of thy pouertie driue it away and so thou shalt eyther find comfort or an ende If these faile thee that wyl come at length which shall not deceiue thee which is also the ende of al troubles aduersiue Sorow I am oppressed with the paine of my feete Reason If thou wylt haue remedy thou must eyther be poore in deede or at least wise liue poorely Pouerty which is the true purifiyng of mens bodies as some say hath deliuered many from this infirmitie and some haue been cured by frugality or sparing whiche by an other tearme I may cal voluÌ„tary or fained or imagined pouerty Thou hast seene some cured by perpetual abstinence from wine Thus it hapneth that payne with payne and one nayle is driuen out with an other as sayth the olde Prouerbe There is no payneful malady cured without payne And moreouer yf thou wylt be at one with this sicknesse many other thou must proclaime open warre not only against wine but also venerie But what doo I I promised remedies for the mind not for the body yet notwithstanding I suppose I haue taught thee the only cure of this disease If thou like it vse it yf not the vse of fomentations otherwyse framed wyll not deceyue thee For pacience is the most effectuall and present and many tymes the only remedie in aduersitie Sorow The paine of the gout hath made me crooked Reason Then art thou vnable to goe and lesse meete to take payne but not vnfitte to doo other thinges not onely apparteyning to thy priuate householde but also concernyng the Common wealth yea if neede so require of a Kingdome or Empire Wherfore this onely saying of Septimus Seuerus Emperour of Rome is very famous and notable who beyng an olde man and muche subiect to the gout when he had bewrayed the conspiracie of the nobilitie that woulde haue made his sonne Emperour whyle he was yet lyuing the aucthours of this sedition and also his some beyng apprehended and standing all dismayde trembling shaking before his seate looking for nothing but present death Seuerus lyfting vp his hand to his head At length quoth he Ye shal vnderstand that it is my head and not my feete that do gouerne Sorowe I am marueylously poore wretch tormented with the gout Reason Do not be wayle only the greefe and sharpnes of thynges but if there haue any pleasure or sweetenesse hapned vnto thee by them thinke vpon it whereby thou mayest comfort thy selfe in this aduersitie Among all the euyll conditions of the common multitude this is not the least that as they are whining and impatient in aduersitie so are they forgetful and vnthankfull in prosperitie then which there is nothing more iniurious For why for example sake who is able with indifferent eares eyther to heare the Emperour Seuerus of whom we spake erwhyle complayne of his gout or Domitian of his baldnesse whiche he tooke very greeuously or Augustus when he was olde of the weakenesse of his left eye or Iulius Caesar of his feare in the night season and troublesome dreames or to be short other very happie honourable men in such sort complayning of one default of nature or other yf a man may so tearme it or iniurie of
fortune that they myght seeme to be vnmindfull of their Empire and ryches and conquestes and so many and great commodities and yet to remember that they were men for whom in this lyfe to looke or hope for perfect and sounde felicitie is but a meere madnesse To mingle the sweete with the sowre is a peculiar medicine agaynst the gout and a common remedie agaynst all diseases which thou shalt fynde to be very effectuall and wylt confesse to be good and vertuous counsayle if thou followe the aduice of that godly olde man who once attayned vnto great prosperitie and afterwarde tasted extreame aduersitie who by meanes of the benefites which he receyued at Gods handes learned to take all affliction in good part although that same hand can neyther make nor geue any euyl but he had only a respect vnto the common opinion of men Sorow The gout keepeth me downe in my bedde as yf I were bounde with knottes that can neuer be vndoone Reason Whyle thou lyes thy minde may stande vp and suruey the whole heauen earth and sea Of Scabbes The Lxxxv. Dialogue SOROWE I Am greeued with paynefull Scabbes Reason I maruel now no longer if thou take in yl part those that be greefes only seeing thou also bewailest that wherewith there is some sweetenesse mingled Sorow I am vexed with the greeuous scab Reason Some say that it is holsome to be scabbed But for that I wyl not cal so woful a thyng by so good a name I tearme it a token of health or the way leading to health It is but a gentle thing for that it is not long in comming foorth whose issuing is somtime ioyned with no small tickling Sorow The dry scab molesteth me Reason Thou needest now no clock nor watch for the same wyl awake thee in the night and cal thee vp vnto thy necessarie honest affayres For there is none so slouthful whom the payneful scab wyl not styr vp and make wakeful Sorow I am vexed with scabbes Reason A base disease but which hath a noble cure labour paine heate bathes watching diet these are medicines against scabbes If these wyl do no good thou must flee to the remedie of pacience which in al diseases is the most profitable salue Sorowe I am troubled with the paynefull and fylthie scab Reason I denie neither of them And whereas Publius sayd that the sore feete of one that had the Gout were a paynefull rest so on my woorde mayest thou say that a payre of scabbed handes are a greeuous businesse But what wylt thou say to this The loathsommer the disease is the comlier is the patience And how yf out of a small discommoditie thou reape great profite This is one of the thinges that especially engender a contempt of this body then whiche is nothing more necessarie for mankind Sorow I am al ouer infected with scabbes Reason That thou art al scabbed I thinke it be too true and I stande in great feare thereof But perhaps this is more then thou wouldest haue sayd For thou meanest it of thy whole body but there is an other kind of inuisible scabbe in your mindes to wit couetousnesse and sensualitie and a certaine vehement uching to reuenge and complaine which the more it is scratched the more it rageth This itche ye neyther feele or craue to haue cured so muche is your care lesse ouer your soules then ouery our bodyes Of watching The .lxxxvi. Dialogue SOROW. I Cannot sleepe Reason Watch then and reioyce that the ryme of thy lyfe is prolonged For betweene sleepe and death there is small difference but that the one lasteth but for a tyme the other is perpetual And therefore I cannot tel whether it be not sayde properly enough that sleepe is a short death and death a long and euerlasting sleepe Sorowe I haue lost my sleepe Reason It must be prouoked agayne not by force but by fayre meanss If thou thinke to procure it it wyl not be constrained Goe some other way to woorke geue rest to thyne head and trouble not thy minde with cares and it wyll come vnlooked for when the minde is loose and the body weerie sleepe wyl came stealyng on Sorowe My sleepes are often broken of Reason Do as it is sayde Augustus Caesar was woont to do when thou wakest out of sleepe haue some about thee to renue it agayne by readyng or tellyng of tales But if it be long of earnest and vrgent cares lay them aside and sleepe wyl come of whiche sort of cares Virgil speaketh where he sayth that good cares do breake sweete sleepes Sorowe I can take no rest in sleepe Reason Neyther shalt thou then be terrified with dreadfuldreames nor surprised with suddeyne feare in the night And although Aristotle hold opinion that the visions whiche wyse men see in their sleepe be good true in deede it is Neuerthelesse the one of these who was nothing inferiour vnto hym in wit but of greater aucchorine the other in al respectes his equal in holinesse and pacience whom I mentioned erewhyle endured great extremitie and trouble in their dreames What others haue fealt and suffered euery one is priute vnto hymselfe and can cal his owne bed to wytnesse of the illusions and troubles whiche he hath susteynâ—d Truely the one of these was woont in his latter dayes to be terrified in his dreames as it is wrytten of hym The other I made mention of not long since where I entreated of rest and quietnesse who among other troubles of this lyfe complayneth of his suddayne frightyng in sleepe and the terrour of his visions and drcames Sorowe I slepe not so wel as I was woont Reason Then thou lyuest longer then thou wast woont for thus the learned say that as sleepe is death so watchyng is lyfe Sorow Sickenesse hath dryuen away my sleepe Reason Then health wyl bryng it agayne Sorowe Loue hath bannished my sleepe Reason Thou speakest one thing twyse For loue is a sickenesse and the greatest sickenesse that is Sorowe Feare hath bannished away my sleepe Reason Securitie wyl reuoake it Sorow Olde age hath taken away my sleepe Reason Death approchyng wyl restore it Of the vnquietnesse of dreames The .lxxxvii. Dialogue SOROW. I Am disquieted with dreames Reason If that be true whiche a certayne wyse man sayth that dreames doo folow great cares whiche is also confirmed by your wryters then cut of the cause of the mischeefe abandon cares and dreames wyl vanish away To what purpose serue your manyfold cares whiche are to none effect in so short a lyfe whereof in the begynnyng I promised to entreate and to declare that it is bootlesse to forment it and make it troublesome and through your owne follie to disquiet your rest with dreadâ—full dreames Wyl ye ouercome gods prouidence with your owne counsel and do ye not perceyue howe your madnesse and cousultations of that tyme whiche is not onely beyond your iudgement but also your knowledge are laughed at from an high Neyther
warnyng namely that hereby thou mayest make prouision agaynst darkenesse whiche is nowe but transitorie since thou takest it in so yll part least haply thou be constrayned to endure euerlastyng darkenesse Sorowe I am troubled with fyre from heauen with hayle and stormes Reason These and suche lyke make vnto an wholesome feare or yf ye contemne them vnto reuenge Heare this one thyng Fyre Brymstone and the breath of stormes are the portion of their cup. Heare also another saying Fire hayle famine and death al these make to reuenge Sorow I am frighted with tempestes of the sea Reason Doo not herein accuse nature but eyther thyne owne follie or couetousnesse for who constrayneth thee thereunto Sorow I am molested with darke cloudes and contrarie windes Reason Thou wast borne in darkenesse and in darkenesse shalt thou dye and lyuest betweene the wyndes of contrarie tempestes learne to suffer that at length whiche thou alwayes sufferest perforce Sorowe I am shaken with thunder and lyghtnyng Reason Herein there is more then weerisomnesse In the first truely a great feare contemned of none but of some fooles but in the seconde is death And therefore some haue iudged that none complayne of lyghtnyng but suche as want experience And who is so mad I pray thee vnlesse he be to farre gone that standeth not in feare of them both seeing that among the auncient Romanes whiche were a most valiant kynde of people it was prouided by an auncient statute that there should be no assemblies of the people holden to choose officers or otherwyse whyles Iupiter thundred from heauen Howbeit vnlesse this feare tende to the amendment of lyfe it is vnprofitable For what can feare auayle where there is no redresse of the thyng feared Wherefore the matter must be thus applyed that although it thunder and lyghten by natural causes neuerthelesse it must be iudged to be a warnyng from hym who beyng tyed vnto no causes is hym selfe the fountayne and cause of al causes To this ende therefore doth he thunder in heauen that thou shouldest lyue well vpon the earth and driuyng away forgetfulnesse acknowledge the wrath of God and do that at leastwyse for feare which thou oughtest too do for loue Complayne not a lyke of good and euyl thinges it is expedient for you beleeue me that it thunder often and it is left in wrytyng vnto posteritie that it thundreth very often the same yeere wherein the assured aduersarie of God and al godlinesse Domitian the Emperour died not that ye should cry out as he dyd Let him now strike whom he lust but that ye may appease the wrath of God with penitent teares humble prayer Sorow I am greeued with the conuersation mirth of drunkardes Reason That wine maketh glad the hart of man that Bacchus is the geuer of mirth although Dauid Virgil had neuer spoken it very experience maketh it knowen And although that likewise be true whiche not so eloquent but a more holy Poet spake The flowyng of a ryuer cheareth the citie of God yet is there more feruent ioye and ioyful gladnesse as the Philosophers terme it in a fewe caskes of strong wynes then in many streames of running water whiche are conteyned within the ryuers and I confesse that there is nothyng more lamentable then the mirth of drunkardes and nothyng more vayne then typlers and Tauerners whom Cicero very wel calleth the dregges of cyties whiche notwithstandyng a man must suffer or els he must forsake cities or otherwyse flye from the market and place of iudgement or at the leastwyse from the streetes and haunt of Tauernes euen as he woulde doo from so many rockes Sorow I am oppressed with resort and importunate concurse of citizens Reason It is a sauage and vnnaturall wyshe to seeke thy countreyes desolation that thou thy selfe mayest lyue at lybertie For the very same cause as thou knowest in the olde tyme was the sister of Appius Claudius punished shee that was last celebrated among writers for an innocent and truly as this is an vngodly wish and deserueth punishment so to auoyde the weerisomnes of thronges and cities and it occasion so require to depart awhile out of the way is a poynt of modestie and frequented of the wise Sorowe I am greeued with a long suite and slow iudgment Reason To what ende was daying of matters deuised but to ende strife and to remedie the slacknes of iudgment Sorowe I am worne with wofull and troublesome strife Reason Thou hast vsed apte and conuenient tearmes for thy selfe For where strife and contention is there can be nether ioy nor quietnesse Thou if thou wylt liue out of stryfe auoyde the cause of stryfe Couetousnesse engendreth contention and nourisheth it when it is engendred Of an earthquake The .xci. Dialogue SOROWE I Am afrayd of an earthquake Reason This is I confesse a great discommoditie of dame nature and not without cause abandoned of al parentes which although it be more greeuous yet for that it happeneth but seldome the rarenesse thereof may stand in some steede of a remedie Many tymes the sorowful countenance of heauen foretelleth an earthquake at hande but precisely there is no token nor forewarnyng thereof although it be reported that Pherecydes foretolde of one to come by drynkyng a draught of water out of a well Moreouer agaynst the threatnynges of heauen caues vnder the ground perhaps doo yeelde some succour the lyke whereof we reade was Augustus Caesars denne into whiche he fledde for feare of thunder whiche is yet seene at Rome in the way Flaminia and keepeth the aucthours name vnto this day but from an earthquake no flight can serue no lurkyng places can preuayle For poore man that is made of the earth whyther shal he flye out of the earth or what shal become of hym yf the heauen thunder ouer hym and the earth tremble vnder hym vnlesse perhaps some wyl aduise hym to goe to the sea whiche is also partaker of the varietie of heauen earth and also vnquiet by it owne motion Feare Thou tellest me no remedies as thou wast woont to do but amplifiest the daungers Reason I supposed thou wouldest thinke so and doubtlesse so it is in deede There be some thynges that may be dissembled and extenuated in woordes that although by report they haue seemed greeuous yet in effect they may appeere at one tyme tollerable at another contemptible and truely this whereof I now intreate is such a one as by it owne force it refuseth the argumentes of mans eloquence but one comfort as I haue sayde is the seldomenesse thereof Thou hast seene welnygh an whole age without any earthquakes duryng whiche tyme there is no doubt but that there haue dyed innumerable who in al their lyfe tyme though they haue hearde the name of so terrible a matter yet neuer were made afearde with the sight thereof But who is not mooued when he heareth or reedeth eyther those auncient histories or these of latter tyme the memorie
then a labour to speake and a quietnesse to holde a mans peace Sorow I can speake to no purpose Reason Those thynges which I sayde in the lacke of eloquence may more aptly be repeated in the losse of the tongue Then since thou canst not speake hold thy peace and that whiche necessitie byddeth thee to do do it wyllyngly Whiche thyng they that can speake myght do many tymes more profitably and repeate them often that they haue not donne so Holde thy peace I say and thinke not that thou sustaynest any losse thinke with thy lelfe secretly and speake with thy selfe in priuitie whiche to be better then to speake in open assembly they that are eloquent cannot deny Sorowe I am fallen dumbe Reason If Cicero and Demosthenes had been dumbe they had lyued longer and dyed a more gentle death Sorow I haue quite lost the vse of my tongue Reason And the custome of lying and the artes of deceyuing and the instrument of purchasing enmitie and infamie for many are become more infamous for their tongue then for their deedes There is no part of the body reedier to hurt and harder to bridle Therefore not without cause as some great and rare matter vttered he those woordes who sayde I wyl looke vnto my wayes that I offende not with my tongue Whiche when a certayne holy man who came to the studie of diuinitie had hearde is reported to haue departed away and that he would heare no more thereof And when as after a long season his maister marueylyng demaunded of hym why he had been so long absent from his studie whiche he had begun he ausweared that the very first worde had geuen hym enough to do and that he could not fulfyl that one poynt by any his labour or traueyl whatsoeuer See thou despise not this gouernment nor bridle whiche is offered vnto thee eyther by nature or fortune but wyllyngly yelde thy selfe to be ruled and spurne not agaynst thine owne destinie Sorow I haue lost my tongue Reason Nowe kepe thou with al diligence that which the wyse man wylleth thee to wyt thyne hart and beyng called from two careful watchynges vnto one and discharged from the one moitie of thy labour thou mayest the more easily keepe a fewe and more warely guard precious thynges Sorow I haue lost my tongue Reason In a certayne fewe men this is a noble and excellent member but in the greater sort of the people very pestilent and noysome and a great deale better that many had wanted it Whiche is not only seene to be true in a seruant in that the Satirike Poet sayth The tongue is the worst part of an euyl seruant but also in many free persons vnto whom nature hath geuen nothing woorse then their tongue Warres deceites adulteries and al kynde of abuses for the most part should surceasse dyd not the tongue cast abrode and nouryshe their euyl seedes Sorow I haue lost my tongue Reason If an euyll one thou hast gayned much For it is great ryches to be poore in wyckednesse Who so hath not these is borne ryche but who so looseth them is made ryche and his lyuing beyng encreased with a newe reuenewe hath founde that by loosing whiche he had lost by findyng But yf thou haue lost a good tongue I say agayne keepe thy hart Thou hast lost that wherewith thou mightest please men keepe that wherewith thou mayest please God vnto whom yf thou canst not speake with thy tongue yet talke vnto hym with thy hart For yf it be written of the wycked Lying lyppes are in their hart and with their hart they haue spoken why are not godly lyppes in the hart of the ryghteous that they also may speake in their hart whereas are the eares of God And that is true whiche the same man wrytech in an other place My mouth is not hydden from thee whiche thou madest in secret For there is no thought be it neuer so secrete that is hidden from God neyther heareth he lesse them that speake softly then those that crye aloude yea he heareth no clamour be it more or lesse before the clamour and crying out of the hart for he harkeneth vnto none but that and he is delited with silence This clamour dyd he that was first a keeper of sheepe and afterwarde a most famous shepheard of the people of God restrayne within the closure of his lyppes who deserued to heare the voyce of God saying vnto hym Why cryest thou vnto me He spake not but he cryed yea he spake but it was with the hart And lyke as he that heareth God is not deafe so he whom God heareth is not dumbe Of want of vertue The .ciiii. Dialogue SOROW. BVt I am without vertue Reason An hurt in deede a iust sorowe sauing that al other wantes may happen to be eyther natural or casual or violent but this doubtlesse is voluntarie For other are eyther in the body or in the wyt or in the memory or in the speech or in some outwarde thyng one or other al which happen not accordyng as a man woulde wyshe but as euery mans fortune chaunceth but this onely consisteth in will whiche euery one guydeth and disposeth at his owne pleasure For a man can require none other good wyll of another man then he is disposed to shewe whose wyll it is wherby he wylleth this thing or that thyng Otherwyse as defectes happen vnto men of strength or of speeche or of ryches agaynst their willes so shoulde of their wylles also neyther shoulde vertue deserue rewarde nor vice merite punishment But nowe not a wyl vnto you to do this or that but a libertie to chose this or that was geuen you at your byrth whiche beyng applyed vnto that whiche is good maketh you good but conuerted vnto euill maketh you euyll The same may you vse as you lust and yf you lust ye may vse it well whiche doubtlesse is the gyft of God as yf ye abuse it it is a great peruersitie of the wyller but it cannot be otherwyse chosen but that a good wyll is the roote of vertue as an euyl wyll is the roote of vice And thus there is none that suffereth a want of vertue but he that wyl for that the greatest cheefest part of vertue consisteth in the wil. Sorow Yea I would haue vertue but I cannot get it Reason Many there be that thinke they woulde haue that whiche they wyl not and that they woulde that whiche they wyl thus euery one deceiueth hym selfe and endeuoureth to perswade not onely hym selfe but others that he is desirous of good neyther perswadeth any more easily how delectable true vertue is since that the false opinion of vertue so muche deliteth that it is pleasant vnto hym to deceyue the people and his freendes and moreouer by them to be deceyued Sorow I knowe that I would fayne but I cannot be good Reason Admit it be so it sufficeth not to haue a will vnlesse thou haue also a desire and that
drynke and haue the the more aman hath and drynketh and the causes of al dangers it plucketh vp by the rootes Your ryches are ful of deceitfulnesse and feare they feare cuppes aswell as swoordes and dishes no lesse then dartes there is neyther your table nor your house nor your chamber nor your bed voyd of danger Al thynges about you are vncertayne and suspitious and threaten vnto men present death as Virgil speaketh in a tempest and may be verified of you in a calme and al this is long of your sweete ryches whiche ye loue so entirely As for pouertie sauing that it is slaundrously reported of by the common people and for the very name odious vnto them al thynges are safe in it and yf euer the vayne glorious desire to be magnified by the multitude shoulde fayle altogeather pleasant sweete quiet and be wyshed But learne at length you earthly creatures to eate and drynke in glassen and earthen vessels yf ye wyl eate and drynke in safetie for poyson is mingled in cuppes of gold and precious stone O couetousnesse how farre wylt thou proceede Yea poyson is in loue with gold and precious stones agaynst whiche most wretched plague neyther the electuarie of Mithridates kyng of Pontus nor of any other be he neuer so cunnyng is more effectual then is pouertie Sorowe I haue drunken poyson death swymmeth nowe in my entrailes Reason When thou hast once perswaded thy selfe that thou must dye whiche al men must needes determine that remember them selues to be mortal what skylleth it whether thou dye by thirsting or drynkyng or whether imbrued with thine owne blood or with wyne In this kynde of death thou shalt haue great personages that haue been drynkyng fellowes with thee of this confection to wyt Alexander Hannibal Philippomenes Mithridates Claudius hym selfe Theramenes and Socrates Of the feare of death The .cxvii. Dialogue FEARE I Feare to dye Reason Herein thou oughtest not to feare but to muse which musing of thyne yf it began nowe first in thee then hath it not growen vp with thee from thine infancie But if it come vpon thee but by fittes and is not continuall then hast thou lyued vnwysely For this most excellent and profitable aduice of the Poet Horace ought most firmely to be engraffed within the very marrowe of thy bones Betweene hope and care and betweene feare anger thynke euery day to be the last that thou shalt lyue that thou mayst be such an one as he speaketh of in an other place He shal leade his lyfe merily and vnder his owne gouernement who is able to say euery day I haue lyued Let to morowe be fayre or foule whyle I am busie I do not care And this forsooth is that whiche the Philosophers do so muche commend to lyue the forepassed lyfe whereof I haue spoken in an other place Feare I feare to dye Reason Thou shouldest haue feared also to be borne to lyue The entrance into lyfe is the begynning of death and lyfe it selfe is the passedge to death or rather more truely a very death in deede By lyuing eyther thou wentest towardes death or rather accordyng to the iudgement of the wyse thou beganst euery houre to dye Why shouldest thou then be afeard of death yf death haue eyther dayly accompanied thy lyfe or of necessitie do folowe it The first of these the learned only do vnderstand the other the common people do perceyue for what soeuer was borne dyeth and what soeuer dyeth was borne Feare I am afearde to dye Reason Fearest thou to dye that art a reasonable mortal creature as the Philosophers do diffine thee But yf thou were veryly the first I suppose thou wouldest not feare the second for that these two natures beyng ioyned in one do fully accomplysh the substance of man to wyt reason and death The one concerneth the soule the other the body but want of reason hath brought in the feare of death Feare I feare death Reason Nothyng ought to be feared which the necessitie of nature importeth Who so hateth or feareth the thinges that are naturall must needes hate or feare nature it selfe Vnlesse perhaps it be lawful to commend and embrace the one part thereof and to condemne and despise the other then whiche there is nothyng more insolent not only in men towardes GOD but also in one man towardes another And therefore eyther thou wholy receyuest or reiectest thy freende least yf thou reape that only whiche is sweete thou seeme to be a partial iudge and louer of friendshyp Feare I abhorre death Reason If there be any euyl in death the same is encreased by the feare of death But yf there be no euyl in death the feare thereof is a great euyl and it is a great follie for a man to procure or encrease his owne harme Feare I detest the very name of death Reason The infirmitie of mankynde hath made the name of death infamous But yf men had any courage of minde they would no more feare death then they woulde al other thynges that come by course of nature And why shouldest thou more feare to die then to be borne to growe vp to hunger to thirst to wake to sleepe Wherof this last is so lyke death that some haue termed it the cousin and some the image of death And that thou mayest not cal this manner of speeche eyther a poetical colour and a Philosophical quirke Iesus Chryst the truth it selfe called the death of his freend a sleepe and art thou afeard to do that once wherin thou takest pleasure euerie day This inconstancie do the learned woonder at and also reprooue Feare These thinges are common and vsuall among the Philosophers and bring delite while they are heard but when they leaue soundyng feare returneth Reason Nay rather it remayneth for if it were once gonne it would not returne agayne and moreouer there is a certayne feare of death naturally ingraffed within the hartes of the common multitude But it is a shame for a learned man to haue the feelyng but of the vulgare sort whom it becommeth as I sayd erewhyle not to folowe the steppes of the greater part but of a fewe And concernyng that whiche thou speakest of Philosophers I muche merueyle that since you learne the preceptes of saylyng of saylers and of husbandrie of husbandmen and also of warfare of warriours ye refuse to take aduice how to direct your lyfe of the Philosophers And seeing you aske counsel of Phisitious for the cure of your bodyes why do you not resort also to Philosophers for the saluing of your mindes who if they be true Philosophers in deede they are both Phisitions of your mindes and the instructours of this lyfe But yf they be counterfeites and puffed vp onely with the bare name of Philosophie they are not only not to be sought vnto for counsel but to be auayded then whom there is nothing more importunate nothing more absurde of whom this age is muche more ful then I coulde
wyshe and much more destitute of men then I woulde it were And therefore seeing there is nothing els to be expected at the handes of them that are nowe present but meare toyes and trifles yet yf there be any thyng alleaged by them whiche eyther they haue founde out them selues or borowed of the auncient wryters that may aswage thy greefe do not reiect it nor say as do the vnlearned this thou haddest out of the Philosophers For then wyl I answere thee with Cicero I thought thou wouldest haue sayde of whores and bawdes And to say the trueth where shoulde a man fishe or hunt but where fishes and wylde beastes are in the waters and wooddes Where is golde to be digged or precious stones to be gathered but where they growe For they are to be founde in the veines of the earth and vpon the shoares of the sea Where are marchandizes to be had but of merchantes Where pictures and images but of paynters and keruers And last of al where wylt thou expect Philosophical sawes but at the Philosophers handes Whiche although they lye hyd vp by them in their treasuries and were first founde out by them neuerthelesse the same are set open and expounded by other and that paraduenture more playnely or more pithily or more breefely or lastly disposed in some other order and methode promising lyke hope vnto al that heare them but bringing successe vnto fewe For such is the force of order and good ioyning as Horace very wel declareth in his Poeticalles that one matter being diuersly told representeth a greater grace vnto the mind of the hearer yea though it be a common thing that is told such noueltie may be added vnto that which is old and such light vnto that whiche is euident and suche beawtie vnto that whiche is fayre whiche I haue not nowe vttered as lackyng some other place more conuenient therevnto but because thou ministredst occasion at this present For I woulde not haue thee doo as it is the maner of blinde and ignorant pryde to disdayne vulgare and vsuall thynges whiche thou hast heard once and neuer vnderstoode Feare I yeelde vnto thee for I see that thou art very redie in these admonitions although far from effect to me wardes for I feare death yet neuerthelatter Reason There be certayne thynges in name and opinion of men greater then in effect certayne afarre of haue seemed terrible whiche at hande haue been ridiculous It were no wysedome to beleeue the vnexpert there is not one of these defamers of death that can speake any thyng to the purpose for being vnexpert he can learne nothing at all neyther can he be instructed in any matter by one that is vnexpert also Aske a question of a dead man he wyl answere nothyng and yet it is he that knoweth the trueth They wyl babble most that knowe death least and prophecie most vaynely of it wherein they haue least skyll Whereby it commeth to passe that by some death is made the most manifest thyng and of othersome the most hydden secret and this coniecturall case is diuersly tossed in suspition But in doubtfull matters it is good to cleaue to the best opinion and to holde that whiche shall make the minde rather merrie then dumpyshe Feare My soule feareth death Reason If in respect of it selfe that feare is vayne for that the soule is immortall But yf in respect of the bodye it is a thanklesse pittie to be careful of it enimie But if it feare to be dissolued it is to much in loue with it owne prison and bondes whiche were but a verie foolyshe affection Feare I am troubled with the feare of death Reason All fooles are afearde to dye and noe marueyle for all their felicitie is in theyr bodye whiche doubtlesse is by death extinguished And therefore not without cause good men are sorie to heare of theyr ende and heauie to beholde it For this is the nature of man that he can not lyue without desyre not to be vnhappie It becommeth a learned man who maketh no other accompt of his bodye then of a vyle Drudge and fylthie Carkasse whose dilligence and loue and hope and studie is wholy reposed vpon his minde to esteeme of the death of this bodye none otherwise then as of his departure in the morning out of some vnpleasant and noysome lodging Feare I can not choose but feare death Reason Thou mayest refuse to feare the departure out of this lyfe yf thou canst hope or wyshe for the entrance into an other For hereof it is that the same feare ryseth And although there be commonly diuers causes alleaged of the feare of this departure neuerthelesse they vanishe away when the hope of that other life is laide before the eyes Feare I dread death Reason The dread thereof is specially engendred by the lacke of meditating thereon and the sudden necessitie of dying whiche in a learned and wyse man is most shameful but specially in an olde man whose whole course and order of lyfe yf he be learned and wyse indeede ought to be a continuall meditation of death Whiche if it seemed so vnto the auntient Philosophie what may it nowe appeare vnto your new deuotion which is the hygh Philosophie and the true wisedome Consider the maner of them that are commaunded vpon a sudden to goe some far iourney how sadde and careful they are to make vp their carriage and how they complaine at their departure and in a maner repine that they had no longer warning before so that as soone as their backes are turned they thinke vpon necessaries which they haue forgotten and are discontented therewith Now there is no way longer then to dye none harder as they say none more noysome for Theeues none more obscure none more suspicious nor more vncertaine which though it wanted al these yet is it vnreturneable By meanes whereof ye ought to be the more diligent least haply ye forgette any thing for that when ye are once departed from hence ye can no longer doo as they that occupie other trades or vndertake whatsoeuer other iourney that is to say commit suche thynges by their letters or messengers vnto their freendes to see vnto as they them selues haue left forgotten For ye are not able to sende any message backe nor to stay in the place where ye were nor to returne agayne Ye must needes goe hence it is not possible for you to returne ye must needes goe thyther Souldiers from whence it is not needefull that ye come backe agayne Thus in Seneca sayde the Romane Captayne to his men and thus also sayth your Captayne to you And therefore seeyng ye must needes depart and come no more and that the necessitie of your iourney is very certayne but the houre of death vncertayne this is your onely remedie to be alwayes readie in mind to answere when ye are called and to obey when ye are commaunded and when all thinges are disposed in good order at your Captaines fyrst
commaundement to goe foorth on you iourney couragiously which ye must needes take in hand eyther willingly or in spite of your beardes This mee thinketh should very muche abate your feare and payne of death and make you not onely carelesse but also desyrous to depart hence Otherwyse yf ye be vnprouided and take no regarde the same may befall vnto you whiche Cicero once truely in his Epistles prophecied vnto his freende Brutus Ye shal be suddenly oppressed beleeue me freende Brutus quoth he vnlesse ye foresee and make prouision And so truely it hapneth in deede I say vnto all that vse no forecast in that which is lyke to happen vnto them hereafter And seeyng prouidence in all thinges is very necessarie yet is it specially to be regarded in those thynges whiche can be done no more but once wherein one errour sufficeth for wheresoeuer the foote slyppeth there is an ende Sorowe Now doo I verie muche abhorre death Reason Thynges deepely rooted are not easily plucked vp I knowe well as I sayde that the feare of death is engraffed within the mindes and senses of men specially of the vulgar sort As for the Philosophers they account death neyther good nor bad for that they recken it a thyng of it selfe neyther to be wyshed nor feared but number it among thynges indifferent whiche in respect of those that enioy them some tyme they tearme good and some tyme euyll Which thyng I perceyue well to be lyked of one of your religion who sayde that the death of sinners was euyll but of the Saintes and vertuous men most precious Sorowe I feare death I hate death Reason From whence this feare and hatred of death commeth vnto men verily I shoulde muche merueyle were it not that I knewe the daintinesse of your mindes whereby ye nouryshe and encrease this and suche lyke degenerate kindes of feare Dooest thou not perceyue howe that the greater part of men are afearde of the very name of death Whiche what is it other then to abhorre your owne nature and to hate that whiche ye are borne to be then whiche there is nothyng more vayne among men nor more vnthankefull towardes god Howe many are there whiche with greefe doo heare that name whiche ought alwayes to beate vppon the inner eare Without the whiche there is no man that can thinke vppon him selfe for what should he thinke him selfe to be other then a mortal creature As often as a man turneth backe into the consideration of him selfe doth not the name of death presently come into his minde But ye abhor that as though death would force in at the eare and ye turne away your mindes striue to forget that which wyl by and by compel the most vnwilling of you al to haue it in remembrance For loe ye refuse to thinke vpon death which not long after ye must of necessitie both thinke vpon also suffer the insult whereof would a great deale the more easely be borne yf it were thought vpon before but now that both of them are brought to a narrowe poynt together the one of them exasperateth the other For euery thing that is vnthought on sudden shaketh the soule It is as much follie to couet a thing in vaine as to be desirous to auoyde that which thou canst not they are both of them the more foolish by how much it had ben the more hurtful that thou haddest obteyned that which thou desirest But there is nothing more hurtful amongst al the mischiefes of this worlde then to forget GOD a mans owne selfe and death which three thynges are so vnited and knytte together that they may hardly be plucked asunder but ye wyll seeme to be mindfull of your selues and vnmindfull both of your begynnyng and ending Thou mayest marke them that vpon some occasion set all thinges in order in theyr houses howe there is scarce any that dare say when I am dead but yf I dye as though that were in doubt then the which there is nothyng more certayne Neyther is this saying If I dye plainely pronounced but rather yf any thyng happen vnto me otherwyse then well whiche what I pray thee can it other be then the selfe same thyng that hath hapned vnto all men or shall happen both vnto them that are nowe alyue or that shall be borne hereafter Vnto whom as there hath hapned sundrie kindes of lyfe so shall there lykwyse befall diuers kindes of death but one necessitie of dying The same doest thou couet to escape whiche neyther thy Fathers neyther the Kinges of nations coulde euer escape nor euer shal Deceiue your selues as much as ye lyst euen so shall it happen vnto you as it doth vnto them that winke against the stroke of their enimies weapon as though they should not feele the danger which they see not ye shal be stroken ye shal dye ye shall feele it but whether it shal happen vnto you eyther blinde or seeing it lyeth in your handes Therefore desire to dye well which thing also vnlesse ye doo lyue well is in vaine Wysh therefore I say and endeuour your selues and doo what lyeth in you commit that whiche remayneth vnto him who vnto those whom he brought into this lyfe of his owne accorde not being therevnto required wyll not stretch foorth his handes when they depart out of it agayne vnlesse he be called on and desyred Wyshe not not to dye for it is not onely an impudent and an arrogant but also an vnfruitfull and a vayne desyre Accustome your selues O ye mortall men vnto the lawes of nature and yeelde your neckes to that yoke which can not be auoyded And yf ye loue your selues loue that whiche ye are borne not because ye woulde that ye had not been borne for it is not meete that Nature shoulde obey you but you her Feare I haue long assayed in vayne to cast away the feare of death Reason I muse thou shouldest so long assay a matter wherevnto thyne owne voluntarie thinking ought to bring thee To thinke so much vpon so small a danger is a great shame if so be it may be called a danger or not rather an ende of all dangers to dye a great shame I say it is for a man so long to continue in the feare of so small and peeuishe a peryll and so many yeeres to lyue in feare and suspense for the euent of breathing one poore houre But wouldest thou haue the most present remedie agaynst this euyll and be delyuered from the perpetuall feare of death Then lyue well a vertuous lyfe despiseth death and many tymes desireth it and to be short it is the ende of all terrible thynges For labour payne sorowe aduersitie infamie imprisonment exile losse warre bondage lacke of chyldren pouertie oldeage sicknesse death all these vnto men of valure are nothyng els then the schoole of Experience and the feelde of Repentaunce and the exercise place of Glorie Of Voluntarie murthering a mans owne selfe The Cxviij Dialogue FEARE I AM
but be reprochful and ignominious for that it is contrarie to the commaundement of the most hygh Lorde agaynst whiche nothyng can be wel done Sorowe I had rather dye then to see the thynges that are lyke to happen shortly Reason It is not the part of a man not to be able with open eyes to behold both faces of fortune it is the part of a woman to turne away the eyes in feare What is the thyng that troubleth thee so muche that nothyng can helpe thee but death only Is it thine owne or thy freendes or perhaps the aduersitie of thine afflicted countrye As for the first two they are but gentle for fortune is not so strong but vertue is able to withstand it the thirde is godly but the loue thereof is fainte and slouthful For the bondage and captiuitie of a mans countrey and the gouernement thereof in manner of a Tirannie is rather to be repelled by death then auoyded by steppyng a side For the first is the part of a man but this tastest of womanyshe imbecillitie Whiche thyng notwithstandyng the same Seneca doth woonderfully extol in the death of Cato in that same his peculiar opinion whereof I spake erewhyle But Cicero thinkyng it sufficient to excuse him only abstaineth from commending him For he sayth that vnto Cato that was a man of such wonderful grauitie and perpetual constancie of nature it was better to dye then to looke the Tyrant in the face whom Brutus notwithstandyng behelde and thought it better to make hym away by kyllyng hym then by kyllyng hym selfe Whiche how wel or ill it was done I do not now dispute But so in deede he did As for Cicero whyle he excuseth Cato he forgetteth his owne more commendable opinion whiche long before he had set downe in his sixth booke De republica of a common-wealth whiche is after this manner folowyng whiles that he bringeth in Publius Scipio Affricanus the younger dreaming howe that he talked in heauen with his father and graundfather and hearyng them speake of the immortalitie of the soule and the felicitie of the other lyfe made hym desirous to dye and brought in his father by and by reprouing the same his fonde and vnprofitable desyre in these woordes It may not be so quoth he for vnlesse God whose churche al this is which thou beholdest doo loose thee out of these bondes of thy bodye thou canst haue none entrance hyther For men were created for this cause that they shoulde beholde the globe whiche thou seest in the middest of this temple whiche is called the earth Wherefore good sonne Publius both thou and also al vertuous men ought to keepe your selues within the custodie of this your bodye and not to depart out of the lyfe of man contrarie vnto his commaundement by whom that lyfe was geuen vnto you least happely ye seeme to forsake the vocation whereunto God hath called you Doo not these woordes of Cicero sufficiently reprooue Cato that is excused And truely yf thou were appoynted by some earthly Prynce or Captayne to keepe a place by defence of armes thou wouldest not dare to depart from thy charge without his lycence whiche yf thou shouldest doo doubtlesse he woulde take it in ill part Howe then woulde the heauenly Emperour take it thynkest thou vnto whom so muche the more obedience ought to be geuen by howe muche God is greater then man There was of late dayes one Stephanus Columnensis a gentleman of auncient vertue who yf lie had lyued had not onely been famous in this age but also in remembrance of al posteritie The same Stephanus beyng besieged by a mightie enimie of his vnto whom he was in power far vnequal committed the defence of one turret wherein there seemed to be most danger vnto one of his captaynes of whose trust he was assured This turret being vndermined and secretly shaken by the enimies so that it was in danger of fallyng when as the residue of the garison perceyuing so much forsooke it and perswaded hym also to come downe and prouide for his safety since it was bootelesse to tarrie but vnto him selfe very dangerous or rather present death I wyl not come downe sayde he vnlesse he cal me away who set me here Which being reported vnto Stephanus who also was very careful for the gentleman came running in bast to cal hym away the turret beyng shaken at the very foundation fel downe immediatly with great noyse Thus that trustie defendant was miserably slayne whom his lord and maister beyng scarcely able to finde out among the rubbishe and ruynes of the turret buryed hym with great sorowe and lamentation and whyle he lyued had a dutiful care ouer hym and in his common speeche alwayes aduaunced his fayth with worthy commendation What I meane by these wordes I thinke thou knowest Suche a keeper oughtest thou to be of thy body whiche is committed vnto thy keepyng by God as he was of his turret which was commended to his charge by his lorde and maister Notwithstandyng I am not ignorant howe that the death of Cato was muche commended by many of that age wherein he lyued and very glorious in the common opinion of men And that saying of Iulius Caesar is wel knowen who beyng conquerour and making hast vnto Vtica where Cato had slayne hym selfe and hearyng report of his death Cato quoth he enuyed my glory and I enuie his death Doubtlesse it seemed some excellent thyng whiche so great and glorious a personage enuied at Sorow Then what shoulde let me to folow the death of a wyse man that was enuied at by so great a person and excused and commended of the wyse and to eschewe the innumerable distresses of lyfe by a voluntarie death Truely I had rather dye Reason Beware that thou be not caryed away with the vayne hope of hynges For there be some inferiour in eloquence but superiour in sense whiche neyther commend nor excuse this death of Cato but sharpely reprehende it Among whom Sainct Augustine a most sharpe searcher after the truth disputeth that this was not the cause of the hastenyng of his owne death because he woulde not lyne vnder the empire of Caesar togeather with his sonne forasmuche as he hym selfe was the cause that his sonne fledde to Caesar and in hope of safetie submitted hymselfe to his mercy wherein he was not deceyued Whiche yf he had thought to haue been a shameful thyng would he not haue delyuered his sonne from it as wel as hym selfe eyther by poyson or by sword or by some other kynde of death whatsoeuer Seeing that Manlius Torquatus is commended for killyng his owne sonne for that he had geuen battel to his enimies and vanquished them but contrarie to his fathers commaundement Neyther can it be sayde that it is a more shameful thing to be conquerour ouer a proude enimie then to be subiect to an arrogant conquerour Why then dyd he thinke Caesar woorthy to graunt lyfe to his sonne who thought hym vnworthie
and enuied at hym that he should graunt lyfe vnto hymselfe And to conclude he findeth that only enuie was the cause of his death whiche Caesar hym selfe did not dissemble as we sayde erewhyle For what coulde he other feare or why could he not abyde hym to be his prince by whom not long before he was banyshed the senate and committed to pryson So that he that slue not hym selfe in so great and present an iniurie why shoulde he nowe slaye hym selfe for a vayne feare or false opinion of pryde or crueltie What terror was there expressed in Caesars face that he shoulde seeke to auoyde the same by death who not only of all men but of al Tirantes and Prynces was the most gently and mercifull For although Cato had neuer seene any more myghtie yet truely in that age had he seene many more cruel but truely neuer sawe he any more merciful And therefore ryghtly sayeth another excellent wryter famous both for credite and eloquence It seemeth vnto me sayth he that Cato sought an occasion to dye not so muche to escape Caesars handes as to folowe the decrees of the Stoykes whom he immitated and by some notable deede to leaue his name famous vnto posterytie What harme woulde haue happened vnto him if he had lyued I do not perceyue For suche was the clemencie of Caius Caesar that in the greatest heate of the ciuile warres he would seeme to do nothing els but to deserue wel of the common wealth prouiding alwayes for the safetie of Cicero and Cato Loe behold another cause of his death beside enuie to wit a vayne follie both which were farre vnwoorthy of the person of Cato and yet neyther of them sufficient to preuent a mans owne death Sorowe I had rather dye then lyue thus Reason Howe knowest thou whether this lyfe whiche seemeth greeuous vnto thee be desired of many or enuied of the most But your impatiencye maketh all thynges more greeuous Sorow I desire to dye Reason As from the feareful to force the feare of death so to wreast from the desperate the hatred of lyfe is a hard matter Neuerthelesse this is the effect of our remedie to beare this lyfe with indifferencie and to looke for death valiantly Of Death The .cxix. Dialogue SOROWE I Dye Reason Now thou art come to the last cast nowe canst thou neyther feare death nor wyshe for it of both whiche thou hast alredie wearied me in many discourses next before written Hereafter thou shalt neyther be in sorowe nor in paine neyther be subiect to the defaultes of the body nor minde neyther shalt thou be wearied with the tediousnesse of any thing nor with sickenesse nor with olde age nor with deceites of men nor with the varietie of fortune al whiche yf they be euyl then is the ende of euyl good Not long since thou complaynedst of al these and nowe thou findest fault with the ende of them beware that thou seeme not iniurious for beyng sory for the begynning of a thing and the endyng of the same Sorowe I dye Reason Thou shalt walke the way of thy fathers or rather the broade and worne way of thy predicessors haddest thou rather that there shoulde happen vnto thee some peculiar accident I wote not what Goe forward on thy way thou needest not be a frayde of goyng amisse thou hast so many leaders and companions of thy iourney Sorowe Alas I dye Reason If there be any that hath cause to weepe when he dyeth he ought to be ashamed to haue laughed when he lyued knowyng that he had cause at hand and alwayes hanging ouer his head ful soone to make hym weepe whose laughter doubtlesse was not farre disioyned from weeping Sorowe I dye Reason He is not to be suffred that be waileth the estate of his owne kynde Thou shouldest not dye vnlesse thou were mortal But if thou be sorie because thou art mortal thou hast no cause to complayne when thou surceasest to be that which thou wast agaynst thy wyl Thou shouldest haue lamented at the begynnyng when thou beganst to be that whiche thou wouldest not but now thou oughtest to reioyce for that thou begynnest to be immortal Sorowe I dye Reason Al these that lately stoode about thy bed and moreouer al that euer thou hast seene or heard or read of and as many as euer thou wast able to knowe since thou wast borne as many as euer heretofore haue seene this lyght or shal hereafter be borne in al the worlde and to the worldes ende either haue or shal passe through this iorney Beholde in thy minde as wel as thou canst the long troupes of them that are gone before or of those that shal folowe hereafter and also the number not small of thy companions and coequales in yeeres who dye with thee euen at this presente and then I thinke thou wylt be ashamed to bewayle a common case with thy pryuate complayntes when as among so many thou shalt not finde one whom thou mayest enuie at Sorowe I dye Reason This is to be impassible and to goe about to shake of the yoake both of fortune and death a double great good whiche no prosperitie can geue vnto any lyuing creature Thinke with thy selfe howe many and howe great cares howe many paynefull traueyles there were remayning yet vnto thee yf thou lyuedst I say not an infinite lyfe but the space of a thousand yeeres when as there is alotted vnto thee a lyfe but onely of one dayes space wherein yf thou make an indifferent estimation thou shalt perceyue the toyles and wearisomenesse of this short transitorie and vncertayne lyfe and also thine owne greefes and vexations whiche thou hast susteyned Sorow I dye Reason In suche forte ye bewayle death as though lyfe were some great matter whiche yf it were then were the flyes and emmotes and spyders partakers of the same If lyfe were alwayes a commoditie then were death euermore a discommoditie whiche sometyme is founde to be a great benefite when as it delyuereth the soule from intollerable euyles or dischargeth or els preserueth the soule from sinne that is to come whiche is the greatest euyl of all But as vertue is onely a great thyng among you so yf this lyfe be considered by it selfe as it is it is the stoare house of innumerable miseries for the shuttyng vp whereof whoso is sorowfull the same taketh it not well that euyles doo surcease and hateth quyetnesse and he that coueteth the same it must needes be that he couet the ende of a payneful and troublesome lyfe Then yf there be noneother ende of toyles and euyles why doest thou weepe for it That day is nowe at hande which yf it were prolongued thou wouldest wyshe for it and perhaps suche is the worlde the power of fortune so great and her chaunces so variable that thou hast oftentymes alredie wished for it Sorowe I dye Reason Nay rather thou departest out of an earthly and transitorie house vnto the heauenly and euerlastyng habitation
and thy foote beyng vpon the very thresholde thou art sorowfully and vnwyllyngly plucked away and carefully thou lookest behynde thee I wot not wherefore whether forgettyng thy fylthynesse which thou leauest behynde thee or not beleeuyng the great good vnto whiche thou art goyng And truely yf as I sayde before whiche notable men haue also auerred this whiche you cal lyfe be death then it foloweth that the ende thereof whiche is death be lyfe Sorow I dye Reason Thy kyng setteth thee at libertie nowe the bandes and fetters are broken whiche it pleased your louyng father to make mortal and transitorie Whiche I knowing to be specially apperteyning vnto his mercie as Plotinus holdeth opinion and it is confirmed by your wryters I see not whereof thou hast cause to complayne Sorowe I dye Reason Thy kyng calleth thee an happie messenger But thus it is it commeth vnlooked for and vnluckely that happeneth vnto men agaynst their wylles Consent thereunto and then shalt thou begyn to perceyue howe wel thou art dealt withall Then shalt thou reputyng with thy selfe thy departure out of this prison the other euyles of this lyfe which thou fearest prophecying of the commodities whiche death bringeth after the manner of Socrates swan that coulde diuine of heauenly thynges to come and was therefore consecrated to Apollo die singing though not with thy voyce yet in thy minde And vnlesse whiche God forbid the heauie weight of thy sinnes not clensed nor forgiuen do ouermuch presse thee downe do thou that in thy minde which it is read that the emperour Vespasian did in bodie rise vp when thou art a dying and thinke it vnmeete to dye lying neither in this respect ascribe thou lesse vnto thee then he did to himselfe although thou be not a prince as he was For death respecteth no auctorytie it knoweth not princes from other men and is a notable meane to make al estates of one calling after this life There was nothing that Vespasian might doo but it is lawful for thee to do the lyke yea and I trust thou hast somewhat more of the grace of God then he had if thou do not refuse it not for that thou art better then he but because thou art more happie in respect of the free goodwyl loue of God who hath graunted to the litle ones and reuealed to the vnlearned those thynges whiche he denied to the mightie and hyd from the wyse Adde moreouer that it is more profitable and easie for thee to aryse For his endeuour requyred bodily strength which sicknesse weakeneth and death quite extinguisheth but thou hast neede of noneother then the strength of the minde which oftentymes encreaseth the neerer that death is at hand Sorow I dye Reason Why doest thou tremble in safetie and stumble in the playne and stay vpon the side of a sheluing downefall I wyl not here bryng into thy remembrance what the Philosophers do dispute in this poynt For there be many thynges which the troublesomnesse of hym that lyeth a dying and the shortnesse of the tyme wyl not suffer to be done and therefore it ought deepely to be engraffed and rooted in thy mynde whatsoeuer the auncient Philosophers haue disputed concernyng this matter For as they hold opinion rare prosperitie specially towardes a mans ende is able to make al remedies agaynst aduersitie and hard fortune voyde to no purpose but as touchyng those thynges whiche are alleaged agaynst death they be alwayes profitable and necessarie whiche no casual but the natural and inuincible necessitie of dying maketh to stande in ful force and effect Among diuers other truely Cicero gathereth together many sounde reasons and perswasions in the fyrst dayes disputation of his Tusculan questions whereof I made mention a litle before whiche vnlesse thou hast alreadie learned in times past I haue no leasure now to teach thee wherein he concludeth that whether he that dieth seeme to be in prosperitie or aduersitie neuerthelesse forasmuche as generally the whole state of mankynde is equally subiect to the dartes and insultes of Fortune it is to be supposed that by death he is not delyuered from good thynges whiche doubtlesse he shall fynde to be true whosoeuer shall geue hym selfe to the deepe consideration of worldly affayres Wherefore by death he findeth him selfe aduauntaged and not hyndered and thynking continually thereon when it commeth he maketh account thereof as of the messenger and seruant of his delyuerer and when he is once past it and looketh backe vpon it he beholdeth as it were out of a Windowe how he hath escaped the deceites of the worlde and the prison of this fleshe The very same sense doth Cicero followe in his disputation that whether the soule dye with the body or be translated to some other habitation that either there is no euyll at al or very much good in death Sharply truely among his owne Countreifolke at that time but among your Philosophers now adayes yea and your common people a thing nothing doubted of and truly I beleeue neither vnperswaded vnto Cicero himselfe of whom we haue so much spoken which opinion most frankly he hath declared in many and sundry places although he applied him selfe vnto the want of fayth in him with whom he communed or the distrustinesse of the time in which he liued But in few wordes thus perswade thy selfe that thy soule is immortal which not only the whole consent of your naâ—ion but also the most excellent of al the Philosophers do haue defended Repose no trust in the death of the soule whose nature is such that it cannot die and thinke not that there remaineth no euyl after death because there shal be no soule to suffer it But forasmuch as the creatour of the soule is gentle and louing and merciful he wyl not despise the woorke of his owne handes but wyl be neere vnto them that cal vpon him faithfully Vnto hym let your prayers vnto hym let your vowes be directed let the vttermost of your hope depend vpoÌ„ him let your last gaspe ende in callyng vpon his name Depart quickly feare nothing dame Nature that is the most louing mother of al other mothers hath made no horrible thing it is the errour of men and not the nature of the thing that ought to be prouided for that causeth death to seeme dreadful If thou harbour any great attempt in thine hart or go about any excellent high matter despise the base and low speeches deedes of the raskal multitude but haue them in admiration whom to imitate is the perfect path vnto true glorie Among our Countreymen truly of such as haue dyed merely and happily there are innumerable examples But yf we searche rather after such as are of more antiquitie we shal finde many that haue not onely taken their death valiantly but also hastened it which deede in Marcus Cato Marcus Cicero blameth Seneca commendeth as we sayd erewhile As for you ye lyke wel of neither but woorst of the
seconde for that it is more tollerable to excuse an errour then to commende it But I reiecte them both because as for to answere when a man is called to obey with reuerence is prayse woorthie euen so without licence of the General to depart from the watch keeping of the body is to be counted hygh treason woorthie to be punished eyther with cruel banishment or with extreame torment Of purpose I repeate some thynges againe and agayne to the ende they may take the deeper roote for all these matters as I suppose are sufficiently discoursed in our communication going immediatly before Sorowe I dye Reason Rather thou payest tribute of thy fleshe and yeeldest thy duetie vnto Nature and anon thou shalt be a free man and therefore doo that willingly which of force thou art constrayned to doo and as one that is a verie good exhorter vnto death sayth Haue a desire to doo that which thou must needes doo There is no counsayle more profitable yea there is none other counsayle at all in tyme of necessitie Whatsoeuer a man doeth wyllyngly is made the more easie and tollerable and yf a wyll be adioyned it surceasseth longer to be a necessitie Sorowe Loe I dye Reason Loe the Lorde tarrieth for thee Make hast vnto hym doo neyther stumble nor stay lay away all dread suspition thou art not more deere to thy selfe then thou art to him and who wyl distrust when he is called by his freende and louer Perhappes hereafter thou wylt merueyle why thou fearest that whiche rather thou oughtest to haue wyshed for Now when thou art at libertie thou shalt knowe many thynges which when thou wast in prison thou couldest learne by no studie Insomuche that vnto them that are desirous to knowe the secretes and misteries of thynges whereunto your eyesyght can not pearce by meanes of the mortall vayle wherewith you are compassed round about for such verily is the naturall desyre of man but woorking most feruently in the studious and learned sort there is nothing as I iudge better then death nor that bryngeth a man more compendiously vnto his wyshed purpose Sorowe I dye Reason Nay rather thou sleepest and beyng wearie of this lyfe as I suppose thou takest now thy rest Sorow I dye Reason Depart into euerlasting rest for now thou beginnest to lyue A good death is the beginning of lyfe Of Death before a mans tyme The Cxx. Dialogue SOROWE BUT what sayest thou vnto it that I dye before my tyme Reason None dyeth before his tyme but all haue not one tyme limitted them alyke but rather as the noble Poet writeth Eche mans day stands prefixt vnto which when he is come then hath he attayned to the ende And because men can neither returne agayne nor stay where they are they must needes passe away Sorow I dye before my time Reason That myght be true yf thou dyddest owe a death agaynst a certayne day but the good and pure detter oweth it euery day and therefore let hym looke euery day for his creditours callyng vpon hym and alwayes haue that in a redinesse which he oweth For he is continually in det as long as he hath a mortal bodye he neede not to borowe nor to take vpon vsurie he hath that at home whiche he must pay Yea whyther so euer he goeth he carrieth with hym and hath that as it were in his hande wherwith to discharge hym selfe whiche when he hath payde he is then no longer indetted to Nature nor to any of the heauenly bodyes as the Poet Virgil sayeth Therefore leaue of this complaynte that can not be required before the day which is due euery day but rather geue thankes for that for the payment of this det thou needest neyther intreating nor yet to haue great riches of thine owne nor pawne nor vsurie which were the last woordes that euer that valiant vnknowen Spartane is reported to haue spoken most woorthie in deede to haue been knowen euen at that time when he was led to execution wherevnto he went without feare and couragiously by the losse of his lyfe to satisfie Lycurgus lawes Sorowe I dye before my tyme. Reason I vnderstand not what it is to dye before your time vnlesse it be ment as the common speech is before it be lyght or before the day breake which is a time most fit for the exercises of the minde soule which now thou art geuing ouer But in any other signification who is he that dyeth before his time when as in deede that is euery mans day wherein he dyeth and none other Sorowe I dye before my tyme. Reason Neyther before thy tyme nor after thy tyme but euen in thy very tyme shalt thou dye vnlesse thou take that for thy tyme which thou thy selfe not Nature nor Fortune hath prescribed But in trueth as thou canst not dye before thy tyme so canst thou not lyue after it Sorowe I dye before my tyme. Reason Who is he vnlesse he were madde that wyll complayne that he is loosed from his fetters and discharged out of prison before his tyme Truely he had more cause to reioyce in mine opinion yf this hapned sooner then his expectation but certaynely it hapneth not nor it can not happen so for euery thyng hath it owne tyme This was the appoynted tyme of thyne ende there dyd he constitute thy boundes who brought thee into the race of this lyfe If thou complayne of this ende thou mayest lykewyse as well complayne of any other Sorowe I dye soone Reason Thou wast soone borne he dyeth not soone that hath lyued tyll he is olde And yf thou haddest not lyued vntyll thou wast olde then remayned there another part of complaint Howbeit yf olde age be the last portion of a mans lyfe he must needes be fyrst olde whosoeuer dyeth But when I speake of olde age I meane it as the common people vsually take it for an heapyng vp of many yeeres together whiche not as other ages hath no ende but death onely Concernyng the beginnyng whereof there is great varietie of opinions but in consideration of the strength of those that growe olde and in respect of their bodyly health and the abilitie of their mindes easie enough to be reconciled To be short this is the conclusion of all that eyther thou surceasse to fynde fault with the hastinesse of death or to mislyke the troubles of a long lyfe whiche come by the deferryng of death But you beyng at contention within your selues are neyther willing to dye nor to waxe olde when as ye must needes doo both of them or at the leastwyse one of them Sorowe I myght haue lyued longer Reason Nay truely thou couldest not for yf thou myghtest verily thou haddest lyued longer but thou wouldest say I woulde fayne or I hoped to haue lyued longer for the mindes of mortall men are so desirous of lyfe and so readie to hope that in eyther I easily agree with thee But if thou wylt say I shoulde or
ought to haue lyued longer for that perhappes thou seest some that haue lyued longer in deede as though of duetie thou myghtest claime longer continuance also I can not yeelde vnto thee For some dye late and many moe soone but none at all that dye neuer betweene these there is no meane appoynted but all men are generally subiect vnto one lawe and all owe obeysaunce to the soueraingtie of death albeit some are taken away by one meanes and some by another and that at diuerse tymes and ages thus of one thyng there are manyfolde meanes and sundrie tymes And therefore let euery one with indifferencie attende his owne kinde of death and dying day and not through the greedinesse or lothsomnesse of lyfe doo as the vnskylfull and ingratefull sort are woont complayne and be disquieted about the lawes of Nature Sorowe I haue lyued but a smal time Reason There was neuer any lyued so long that thought not that he lyued but a small tyme and truely it is but a short tyme in deede that men lyue heere And therefore yf ye be desirous to lyue long seeke after that lyfe wherein ye may lyue for euer which although it be not heere yet is it purchased heere Sorowe I haue lyued but a short tyme. Reason Admit thou haddest lyued longer haddest thou then lyued any more then a short tyme The tearmes of this lyfe are vnequall and vncertaine but this one thyng is common to them all that they be al short Put case a man haue lyued eyghtie yeeres what hath he more I pray thee then he that hath liued but eyght yeeres Examme thy selfe diligently and looke into thine owne estate and let not the madnesse of the common multitude deceiue thee what more I say hath he that hath lyued longer vnlesse perhappes ye account cares and troubles paynes and sorowes weerisomnesse for a vantage Or what more should he haue yf he lyued eyght hundred yeeres There is somewhat more in deede I confesse in hope and expectation but when both tymes are expited beleeue mee thou shalt fynde nothyng whereby thou mightest make account that thou hast lyued more happily Sorowe I dye when as I thought to haue done good Reason What dydst thou thinke to haue done somethyng which thou hast not done So perhappes thou wouldest alwayes haue thought haddest thou liued neuer so long There be some that alwayes thinke to doo well but they neuer begin But yf thou haue begun once to doo well doubt not to goe forward although death preuent thy woorke before it be brought to a wished ende which although peraduenture in the blinde iudgement of men it may seeme to be some preiudice vnto thee neuerthelesse it is to be despised for that in the syght of the vnfallible surueyer of all thynges thou loosest nothyng but thy reward shal be full and whole as well of thy deedes as of thy thoughtes Sorowe In the middes of all my preparation I dye Reason This fault is not in death but in them that dye who then begyn to weaue the most short web of their lyfe when it is a cutting of which vnlesse it were so men should not so often be preuented by death not hauing fyrst accomplished the dueties of lyfe but rather when they had fulfylled and accomplished them woulde then begin to liue than which truely there were no lyfe more sweete Which sweetenesse notwithstanding not so much the shortnesse of lyfe as the slouthfulnesse of them that lyue taketh away from men who therefore count no lyfe long because how long soeuer the tyme be they neuer lyue but are euermore about to lyue And when they be once come to be olde men wauering among newe deuices how to lyue with a swift ende they preuent their slow beginning Sorowe I dye euen whyle I am preparing great matters Reason This hapned vnto many greatmen and almost to all Men are deceyued in many thinges specially in death which there is none but knoweth that it wyll come but they hope of the deferring of it and imagine that to be farre of which God knoweth is hard by them which both the shortnesse of lyfe and swyftnesse of tyme and the power of fortune and the varietie of humane chaunces wherewith they are beset round about needily constrayneth to be so And O most woonderfull blindnesse for that what ye ought to hope of your selues at leastwyse ye learne at length by others But thus the case standeth your mindes hardly can enter into bitter cogitations and therefore while euery one promiseth him selfe very long lyfe and either the age of Nestor or as Cicero sayth the fortune of Metellus and finally whyle euery one supposeth him selfe to be dame Natures whyte sonne whyle they be busie about the beginning the end commeth vpon them and while they are in consultation of many thinges death setteth vpon them at vnwares and cutteth them of in the middes of their endeuours Sorowe I dye in my greene age Reason If there be none other commoditie herein at leastwise there is prouision made hereby that thou shalt not languish in thine old yeeres For although that old age be not greeuous as Lelius sayth in Cicero and we also haue disputed before neuerthelesse it taketh away that greenesse wherein he sayth that Scipio flourished at that time and thou likewise reportest now the like of thy selfe Hereafter perhaps many shal wish for thee but none shal be weery of thee which thing in a long life although it be gouerned by vertue is an hard matter to be found Sorowe I die a young man. Reason Thou knowest what thou hast suffred alredy in thy life time but what thou were like to suffer hereafter thou knowest not and beleeue me whoso in this so variable and rough kingdome of Fortune dyeth first deceiueth his companion Sorow I am hyndered by death so that I can not ende the thynges that I beganne Reason And tustly in deede For ye be euermore a dooyng the thynges that ye ought to haue doone and yet there is nothyng finished this is the cheefest thyng that maketh your death greeuous and miserable vnto you but yf the thynges that thou begannest were suche that without any negligence in thee thou couldest not finishe them it suffiseth thee that thou hadest a good wylt hervnto But if through slouthfulnes thou hast put them of from time to time let it displease thee that thou hast neglected them If this peraduenture be the pretended cause of thy lamentation yet in trueth there is nothyng but a vayne lengthening of lyfe and a deferryng of death wyshed for thereby although it wyll not be long but at length though late thou wylt be ashamed of this vulgare wyshe But O ye mortall men how greedie soeuer ye be of lyfe hearken vnto mee I demaunde of you the exercise of Vertue beyng layde asyde what is this lyfe other then a slack and vnprofitable tariance which how long so euer it is can not be other then very short Wherefore I
of his graundfather and great graundfather great great graundfather receiuing the same answere concernyng them al at length he inferred and art not thou afearde then quoth he to goe to sea The sayler answeared dissemblingly I pray thee quoth he tell me also where thy father dyed In his bed answeared the other And where lykewyse thy graundfather Euen he sayde the ocher and my great grandfather and great great grandfather and al my auncetours dyed in their beddes The sayler answeared art not thou then afeard quoth he to goe into thy bed Trimly answeared truely and somewhat more then saylerlyke Concernyng the death therefore let nature looke to that whiche made men mortal and as touchyng the kynde of death the place and tyme let fortune vse her discretion Sorow I dye by poyson Reason I tolde thee whilere what notable companions thou hast herein whereas I entreated of this matter onely The swoord is a princely death but most of al poyson And to conclude it is a very ridiculus matter when thou hast determined of the death to be carefull of the instrumentes Of a shameful death The .cxxii. Dialogue SOROWE BUt my death is shameful Reason It is not the kynde nor qualitie of the death but the cause of the punishment that maketh it shameful Sorow I dye reprochefully Reason No good man dyeth yll no euyl man well It is not the pompe of buryal nor the attendance and waiting of seruantes and officers nor the ryche garmentes nor the spoyles of the enimies nor the shieldes and swoordes turned downe and dragged after nor the whole family mournyng for their maister nor the howlynges and outcryes of the common people nor the wyfe drenched in teares nor the chyldren with duetiful compassion resolued in sorowe nor the cheefe mourner who soeuer he be holdyng downe his head and walkyng before the corpes attired in blacke and wofully be dewing his face with stoare of bitter teares nor lastly the oratour or preacher in commendation of hym that is to be buryed nor the golden images and pictures wherewith to furnyshe the sepulcher nor the titles and stiles of hym that is dead whiche beyng engrauen in marble shal lyue vntyl suche tyme as though it be long first death also consume the stones themselues but it is vertue and the famous report of hym that hath deserued well and needeth not the brute of the common multitude but whiche sheweth it selfe in it owne maiestie and not whiche the headelong and blynde fauour of men but rather a long continuance in doing wel and an innocent lyfe hath procured and also the defence of trueth and iustice vndertaken euen to the death and moreouer a valiant minde and notable bouldnesse euen in the middes and thickest of deathes sharpest threatninges that maketh the death honest and honourable Agaynst which most honourable death what place remayneth there for reproch Or howe can he die shamefully that dyeth in such manner yea though there be prepared agaynst the body in slauish sore whippes roddes tormentes halters axes yea high gallowetrees wheeles set vpon the toppes of postes cartes with wild horses to teare the limmes of the body insunder adde moreouer fire fagot gridirons set vpon glowyng coales and caudrons sweatyng with hot scaldyng oyle the sharpe teeth of cruel wylde beastes whetted with hunger and lastly hookes and other engins to drag withal the mangled carcases about the streetes or whatsoeuer other villanie or reproche may be deuised or the lyuing or deade body be put vnto the death I say may happely seeme cruel but shameful it cannot be but rather many tymes the crueller it is the more glorious it is And therefore neyther the outward preparance for execution nor the thronging of the people nor the trumpets nor the terrible lookes of the hangmen and tormentours nor the wrathful voyce of the Tirant are any thing to the purpose But turne thee into thy selfe there seeke and awake thy selfe and with al the force of thy mynde that remayneth arme thy selfe agaynst the present extremitie withdrawe thyne eares from the odious noyse turne away thine eyes from the pompe and preparation for the execution and secretly gather togeather thy spirites and comfort thy soule within thee and examine the thinges themselues and not their shadowes And yf thou be able with ful sight to beholde death in the face I suppose thou shalt feare neyther swoord nor axe nor halter nor poysoned cuppes nor the hangmen dropping with goare blood for why it is a vayne thyng when thou contemnest thine enimie to be afeard of his furniture or ensignes Sorowe I am condemned to a shameful death Reason It hapneth many-tymes that the accuser is infamous and the wytnesses dishonest and the iudge obscure and the partie accused very noble and often the death is commonly accounted reprochful and he that dyeth honourable and glorious And to speake nothyng of any other for that there haue been to many suche alreadie and to much vnwoorthy of that ende what death was there euer more shameful then the death of the crosse Vpon whiche the most excellent and glorious lyght both of heauen and earth was hanged to the ende that thenceforth no state or condition of men whatsoeuer shoulde iudge it to be reprocheful And forasmuche as there is nothyng higher then the highest in this example onely I make an ende Vertue alone is able to make any kinde of death honest and there is no death that can blemishe vertue Of a suddayne death The .cxxiii. Dialogue SOROWE BVt I dye to suddeynly Reason It is not long since yf I forget not my selfe that thou sayest thou wast olde I meruayle then howe there can be any death suddayne to an olde man who vnlesse he doate or be mad hath death euermore before his eyes For since there is this wholsome counsel geuen to al ages that they perswade themselues that euery day is the last that they shall lyue it is most specially conuenient for olde age to thynke euery houre the last of their lyfe And not only not to hearken vnto that which is wrytten by Cicero There is no man so olde that thinketh not to lyue one yeere longer but not so muche vnto that which Seneca sayeth one day longer Sorow I dye suddaynly Reason In this case what shal I answere thee other then repeate that which that most mightie personage no lesse in wyt then great in fortune answeared scarse one whole day when he disputed thereof before his death as prophecying of the trueth thereof by reason of the neerenesse of the experience Who pronounced that a suddayne and vnprouided death was most to be wyshed Whiche iudgement seemeth to be dissonant from that religion whiche teacheth to pray with bowed knees vnto GOD euery day to be delyuered from this kynde of death Neyther do I lyke of this opinion where there is otherwyse choyse and libertie but thou must in other manner perswade thyselfe for I say not that it is
shewe themselues willing to learne and not forsake them vnto their olde yeeres and crooked age no not to their death and graue God is the hope vnto man when he is borne and not his father though he were a king It is not good buylding vpon the sand but vpon the rocke for al hope in man is short and transitorie And therefore thy children being deceiued by the hope which they reposed in thee wil put their trust in God only sing with the Prophet Dauid My father my mother haue forsaken me but the Lord hath taken me vp The seedes sparkes of good nature vertue that haue appeared in many children haue been quite extinguished by their parentes to muche cockling lyke as on the contrary side losse of parentes and pouertie haue oftentimes driuen away the childrens deintinesse Feare What wyl become of my ryches Reason They wyl returne from whence they came that is to say vnto fortunes handes and from thence they shal be dispersed from one to another and neuer tarrie long with any For they are of a flitting nature and cannot abyde in one place And that not without a mysterie For some haue thought that mony cannot tarrie in a place because of the roundensse the rollyng forme of the coyne whiche some merily haue sayd to be a token of the slipperinesse thereof whiche partly I cannot deny But I am of opinion that if it were three or foure square it woulde tunne away as fast I meane concernyng the continuall passing of ryches whose nature is alwayes to slyp and flye away to hate coffers that haue but one locke to be delited with sundry and often possessours eyther to the intent to auoyd rust or els by their currantnesse and runnyng about to circumuent very many or lastly to contend with their owners in vnconstancie Seeyng therefore tha thou lyest nowe a dying cast of that care whiche vnto the lyuing is superfluous But rather yf thou dye ryche acknowledge howe that there is seldome any rust founde in fortune and nowe that thou art departyng out of this lyfe flye ryches whiche are not profitable for thee nor necessarie for any But yf thou be poore depart foorth vpon thy iourney lyght without burden whether thy ryches be very great or indifferent or very small or none at al heretofore they belonged very litle vnto thee but hencefoorth they shall apperteine vnto thee nothyng at al but this much onely that thou mayest perceyue that he that was poorer then thou lyued in more quietnesse then thou seeing that these troublesome and paynefull helpes of lyfe or whether thou list rather to terme them tormentes doo make thy death more carefull Feare What shal become of my children Reason Thy name shall lyue in them if they be good and if that be any comfort in death thou shalt not seeme wholy to be dead For in their countenances actions gesture thy freendes wyl thinke and also reioyce that thou art restoared vnto them But if they be euyl thou hast cause willingly to forsake them those whom thou thyselfe couldest not correct nor tame thou shalt deliuer them ouer vnto the worlde and fortune to be corrected and tamed And do not thou nowe dying lament for them that wyl nothyng at al be grieued at thy death and perhaps are sorie that thou diedst not sooner Sorowe But what shal become of my goodes Reason Fearest thou that when thou hast left them they shal fynde no owner They are looked for they are wyshed for they are valewed alreadie neyther oughtest thou to be afeard so muche for the neglecting of them as for the striuing for them But this is one thyng they shal nowe surceasse to be thy goodes any longer but whose they shal be next why doest thou looke vpon thy chyldren It cannot possibly be knowen nor it must not it suffiseth thee to knowe that they were once thine yf euer they were thyne indeede and not rather hers that is the lady and mistresse of goodes that passe away and generally of al wordly thynges whose name is Fortune But hauing been thine so long that is to say beyng but a short tyme in thy disposition it is nowe hygh tyme for thee to depart and to leaue them to others Let them nowe learne to be at others commaundement awhile and to keepe their accustomed chainge vnlesse thou wylt dye so ambitiously as some fooles haue also done the lyke and haue thy monie buried with thee in thy graue whiche may one day redownd to the commoditie of them that dig graues hereafter But rather nowe at length cast from thee al care of the earth and metalles and repose thy cogitations vpon heauen and thine owne estate Feare My goodes flye from me Reason Diddest thou thinke that they woulde tarie when thy lyfe passed away and when thou thyselfe wast continually carried hence Feare What shal become of my goodes when they leaue of to be myne Reason What dyd they before they were thyne Feare Leauing behynde me so great ryches as I doo I depart naked Reason Naked thou camest into the worlde and naked thou must depart agayne whereof thou hast no cause to complayne but rather to geue thankes In the meane tyme thou hast had the vse and occupiyng of an others goodes there is nothyng taken from thee that was thine owne but only the goodes of another required agayne at thy handes when thou mayest occupie them no longer For honest guestes when they are departyng away doe willingly restoare the vessel and stuffe whiche they borowed of their host Feare Alas of al my ryches I carie not thus muche away with me Reason Carie away as much as thou broughtest or yf thou lust as muche as any kyng doth Feare What wyl my young chyldren do Reason If they lyue they wyl growe vp and wax olde and walke their owne wayes and trye their owne fortune and passe through their owne troubles in the meane tyme they shal abide in Gods protection and perhaps when thou wast young thou liuedst lykewyse without a father Of one dying that is careful what his wyfe wil do when he is dead The .cxxviii. Dialogue FEARE WHat wyl my welbeloued wyfe do when I am dead Reason Perhaps she wyl marrie agayne what is that to thee Feare What wyl my deere wife do Reason Beyng discharged from thy yoake eyther she wyl yeelde her necke to another or liue at large or els rest herselfe after her wearinesse seeke only how to passe foorth her lyfe quietly Feare What wyl my most louing wyfe do Reason Doest thou aske what she wyl do when she hath escaped from thee and knowest not what she dyd when she was vnder thy subiection The greater sort of mortal men beyng ignorant what is done at home in their owne houses hearken what is a dooing in heauen and the farthest partes of the world Truely what shall become of thy wyfe after thy departure let her selfe or her next husbande looke to that