vnto the deathe tarry héere and watch and agayne father if it be possible lette this cuppe passe from mée Remember how he was crowned with thornes crucified with théeues scourged and hanged for thy saluation how hée swette water and bloude for thy remission how he endured euen the torments of the damned spirites for thy redemption how he ouercame death that thou shouldst not dye how he conquered the Diuell that thou mighâ—est not be damned When thou shalt record what he hath done to purchase thy fréedome how canst thou dreade bondage When thou shalt beholde the agonyes and anguish of minde that he suffered for thy sake how canst thou doubte of the release of thy soule When thy Sauiour shall be thy Iudge why shouldest thou tremble to heare of iudgement When thou hast a continuall Mediator with God the father howe canst thou distrust of his fauour Turne therefore vnto Christ with a willyng hearte a waylyng minde for thy offences who hath promised that at what time soeuer a sinner repenteth him of his sinnes he shal be forgiuen who â—alleth al those that are heauie laden that they might be refreshed who is the dore to them that knocke the waye to them that séeke the truthe the rocke the corner stone the fulnesse of time it is he that can will poure oyle into thy wounds Who absolued Marie Magdalene from hir sinnes but Christ Who forgaue the théefe his robbery and manslaughter but Christ Who made Mathew the Publycane and tollgatherer an Apostle and Preacher but Christ Who is that good shepehearde that fetcheth home the straye shéepe so louingly vppon his shoulders but Christ Who receiued home the lost sonne was it not Christ Who made of Saul a persecuter Paul an Apostle was it not Christ I passe ouer diuers other histories both of the olde and new Testament which do aboundantly declare what great comâ—orte the faithfull penitent sinners haue alwayes had in hearing the comfortable promises of Gods mercy Canst thou then Atheos distrust thy Christ who reioyceth at thy repentaunce Assure thy selfe that through his passion and bloudshedding death hath lost his sting the Diuill his victory and that the gates of hell shall not preuayle agaynst thée Lette not therefore the bloude of Christ be shed in vayne by thine obstinate and harde hearte Let this perswasion rest in thée that thou shalt receiue absolution fréely and then shalt thou féele thy soule euen as it were to hunger and thirst after rightuousnes Atheos Well Euphues séeing the Holy Ghost hath made thée the meane to make me a man for before the tast of the gospell I was worse then a beast I hope the same spirite wil also lyghten my conscience with his word confirme it to the ende in constancie that I may not only confesse my Christ faithfully but also preach him fréely that I may not only be a Minister of his word but also a Martir for it it be his pleasure O Euphues howe much am I bound to the goodneâ—â— almightie god which hath made me of an infidell a beléeuer of a castaway a Christian of an heathenly Pagan an heauenly Protestant O how comfortable is the féelyng tast of grace how ioyfull are the glad tidings of the Gospell the faithfull promises of saluation the frée redemption of the soule I will endeauour by all meanes to confute those damnable I know not by what names to terme them but blasphemers I am sure which if they be no more certeinly they can be no lesse I sée now the ods betwixt light darkenes faith frowardnes Christ Belial be thou Euphues a witnes of my faith séeing thou hast ben the instrument of my beliefe and I will pray that I shewe it in my lyfe As for thée I accompt my selfe so much in thy debt as I shal neuer be able with the losse of my life to reÌ„der thée thi due but god which rewardeth the zeale of al men wil I hope blesse thee I wil pray for thée Eu. O Atheos little is the debt thou owest me but great is the comfort that I haue receiued by thée Giue the praise to God whose goodnesse hath made thée a member of the mysticall body of Christe and not onely a brother with his sonne but also a coheriter with thy Sauiour There is no heart so hard no heathen so obstinate no miscreaunt or Infidell so impious that by grace is not made as supple as oyle as tractable as a shéepe as faithfull as any The Adamant though it be so harde that nothinge can bruse it yet if the warme bloude of a Goate be poured vpon it it bursteth euen so although the heart of the Atheist and vnbeléeuer be so hard that neither reward nor reuenge can mollyfie it so stout that no perswasion can breake it yet if the grace of God purchased by the bloude of Christe doe but once towch it it renteth in sunder and is enforced to acknowledge an omnipotent and euerlasting Iehoua Lette vs therefore both Atheos I will not nowe call thée but Theophilus fly vnto that Christ which hath through his mercy not our merits purchased for vs the enheritaunce of euerlasting lyfe ¶ Certeine Letters writ by Euphues to his friendes Euphues to Philautus IF the course of youth had any respect to the staffe of age or the liuing man any regarde to the dying moulde we would with greater â—are wheÌ„ we were young shunne those things which should griue vs when we be olde and wyth more seueritie direct the sequele of our lyfe for the feare of present death But such is eyther the vnhappinesse of mans condition or the vntowardnesse of his crolâ—ed nature or the wilfulnesse of his minde or the blindnesse of his heart that in youth he surfiteth wyth delightes preuenting age or if he liue continueth in dotage â—orgetting death It is a world to sée how in our flourishing tyme when we best may we be worst willing to thriue And howe in fadinge of our dayes when we moste shoulde we haue least desire to remember our ende Thou wilt muse Philaâ—tus to here Euphues to preach who of late had more minde to serue his Ladye then to worshippe his Lorde Ah Philantus thou art now a Courtier in Italy I a scholler in Athens and as hard it is for thée to follow good counsayle as for me to enforce thée séeing in thée there is little will to amend and in mée lesse authoritie to commaunde yet will I exhort thée as a friende I woulde I myght compell thée as a Father But I haue heard that it is peculier to an Italian to stande in hys owne conceite and to a courtier neuer to be controlde which causeth me to feare that in thée which I lament in others That is that either thou séeme to wise in thine owne opinion thinking scorne to be taught or to wilde in thine attempts in reiecting admonishmeÌ„t The one procéedeth of selfe loue and so thy name importeth the other of méere
escape the effect of thy misfortune the more those things please thée the more thou displeasest God and the greater pride thou takest in sinne the greater paine thou heapest to thy soule Examine thine own conscience and sée whether thou hast done as is required if thou haue thancke the Lorde and praye for encrease of grace if not desire God to giue thée a willyng minde to attâ—yne fayth and constancie to continue to the ende Euphues to Ferardo I Salute thée in the Lord c. Although I was not so wittie to follow thy graue aduice when I first knew thée yet doe I not lacke grace to giue thée thankes since I tryed thée And if I were as able to perswade thee to patience as thou wert desirous to exhort me to pietie or as wise to comfort thee in thine age as thou willyng to instruct me in my youthe thou shouldest nowe with lesse griefe endure thy late losse and with little care leade thy aged lyfe thou wéepest for the deathe of thy daughter I laugh at the folly of the father for greater vanitie is there in the minde of the mourner then bitternesse in the deathe of the deceased but she was amyable but yet sinful but she was young might haue lyued but she was mortall and must haue dyed I but hir youth made thée often merry I but thine age should once make thée wise I but hir gréene yeres wer vnfit for death I but thy hoary haires shoulde dispise lyfe Knowest thou not Ferardo that lyfe is the gifte of God deathe the due of nature as we receiue the one for a benefitte so must we abide the other of necessitie Wisemen haue found that by learning which olde men should know by experience that in lyfe there is nothing swéet in death nothing sowre The Philosophers accompted it the chiefest felycitie neuer to be borne the second soone to die And what hath death in it so hard that we should take it so heauily is it strange to sée the cutte off which by nature is made to be cut or that melten which is fit to be melted or that burnt which is apt to be burnt or man to passe that is borne to perish But thou grauntest that she shold haue dyed yet art thou grieued that she is dead Is the death y better if the lyfe be longer no truly For as neither he that singeth most or praieth longest or ruleth the sterne oftenest but he that doth it best deserueth greatest prayse so he not that hath most yeres but many vertues nor he that hath grayest haires but greatest goodnes lyueth longest The chiefe beautie of lyfe consisteth not in the numbring of many dayes but in the vsing of vertuous doings Amongst plants those be best esteemed that in shortest time bringe forth much frute Be not the fairest flowers gathered when they be freshest the youngest beasts killed for sacrifice bicause they be finest The measure of lyfe is not length but honestie neyther do we enter into lyfe to the ende we should set downe the day of our death but therefore do we lyue that we may obey him that made vs and be willyng to dye when he shal call vs But I wil aske thée this question whether thou wayle the losse of thy daughter for thine owne sake or hirs if for thine owne sake bicause thou didst hope in thine age to recouer coÌ„fort then is thy loue to hir but for thy commoditie and therein thou art but an vnkinde father if for hirs then dost thou mistrust hir saluation and therein thou shewest thy vnconstant fayth Thou shouldst not wéepe that she hath runne fast but that thou hast gone so slowe neyther ought it to grieue thée that she is gone to hir home with a few yeares but that thou art to goe with manye But why goe I about to vse a longe processe to a little purpose The budde is blasted as soone as the blowne Rose the winde shaketh off the blossome as well as the fruite Death spareth neyther the golden locks nor the hoary head I meane not to make a treatise in the prayse of death but to note the necessitie neyther to write what ioyes they receiue that dye but to show what paynes they endure the lyue And thou which art euen in the wane of thy life whom nature hath nourished so long that now she beginneth to nod maist well know what griefes what laboures what paynes are in age yet wouldest thou be eyther young to endure many or elder to byde more But thou thinkest it honourable to goe to the graue with a gray head but I déeme it more glorious to be burted with an honest name Age sayste thou is the blessing of God yet the messenger of death Descende therfore into thine owne conscience consider the goodnesse that commeth by the ende the badnesse which was by the beginning take the death of thy daughter patiently and looke for thine owne spéedely so shalt thou perfourme both the office of an honestâ— man and the honour of an aged father and so farewell Euphues to Philautus Touching the deathe of Lucilla I Haue receiued thy letters and thou hast deceiued mine expectation for thou séemest to take more thought for the losse of an harlot then the life of an honest woman Thou writest that she was shamefull in hir trade and shamelesse in hir ende I beléeue thée it is no meruayle that she which lyuing practised sinne should dying be voyde of shame neyther coulde there be any great hope of repentaunce at the houre of death where there was no regard of honestie in time of lyfe She was stricken sodaynely béeinge troubled with no sickenesse It may be for it is commonly séene that a sinfull lyfe is rewarded with a soddayne deathe and a sweete beginning with a sowre ende Thou addest moreouer that she being in great credite with the states died in great beggerie in the stréetes certes it is an olde saying that who so lyueth in the courte shall dye in the strawe she hoped there by delyghtes to gayne money and by hir deserts purchased misery they that séeke to clyme by priuie sinne shall fall with open shame and they that couet to swimme in vice shall sinke in vanitie to their owne perilles Thou sayest that for beautie she was the Helen of Greece and I durst sweare that for beastlines she might be the Monster of Italy In my minde greater is the shame to be accompted an harlot then the praise to be estéemed amiable But where thou arte in the courte there is more regard of beautie then honestie and more are they lamented that dye viciously then they loued that liue vertuously for thou giuest as it were a sigh with all thy companions in the courtâ— séeme by thée to sound also that Lucilla béeing one of so great perfection in all partes of the body and so littlâ— pietie in the soule should be as it were snatched out of the iawes of so many young gentlemen
lyghtnes make thée the bye word of the world O Lucilla Lucilla woulde thou wert lesse fayre or more fortunate eyther of lesse honour or greater honestie eyther better minded or soone buryed Shall thine olde father lyue to sée thée match with a younge foole shall my kinde hearte be rewarded with such vnkinde hate Ah Lucilla thou knowest not the care of a father nor the duetie of a childe and as farre art thou from pietie as I from crueltie Nature will not permitte me to disherit my daughter and yet it will suffer thée to dishonour thy father Affection causeth me to wishe thy life and shall it entice thée to procure my death It is mine onely comfort to sée thée florishe in thy youth and is it thine to see me fade in mine age to conclude I desire to liue to sée thee prosper thou to sée me perish But why cast I the effect of this vnnaturalnesse in thy téeth séeing I my selfe was the cause I made thée a wanton and thou hast made mée a foole I brought thee vpp lyke a cockney and thou hast handled mee lyke a cockescombe I speake it to mine owne shame I made more of thée then became a Father thou lesse of me then beséemed a childe And shal my louing care be cause of thy wicked crueltie yea yea I am not the first that hath bene too carefull nor the last that shall bée handled so vnkindely it is common to sée Fathers too fonde and children to frowarde Well Lucilla the teares which thou séest trickle downe my â—héekes and the droppes of bloude whiche thou canst not see that fall from my heart enforce me to make an ende of my talke and if thou haue any duetie of a childe or care of a friende or courtesie of a straunger or féelinge of a Christian or humanitie of a reasonable creature then release thy Father of gryefe and acquite thy selfe of vngratefulnesse otherwyse thou shalte but hasten my deathe and encrease thine owne defame which if thou doe the gaine is mine and the losse thine and both infinite Lucilla eyther so bewitched that shee coulde not relente or so wicked that shée woulde not yelde to hir Fathers request aunswered him on this manner Déere Father as you woulde haue mée to shewe the duetie of a childe so ought you to shewe the care of a parent and as the one standeth in obedience so the other is grounded vpon reason You would haue me as I owe duetie to you to leaue Curio and I desire you as you owe mée any loue that you suffer me to enioye him If you accuse mée of vnnaturalnesse in that I yelde not to your request I am also to condemne you of vnkindenesse in that you graunt not my petition You obiecte I knowe not what to Curio but it is the eye of the maister that fatteth the horse and the loue of the woman that maketh the man To giue reason for fancie were to weighe the fire and measure the winde If therefore my delight bée the caâ—se of your death I thincke my sorrowe would bée an occasion of your solace And if you be angrye bicause I am pleased certes I déeme you woulde be content if I were deceased which if it be so that my pleasure bréede your paine and mine annoy your ioye I may well say that you are an vnkinde Father and I an vnfortunate childe But good Father either content your selfe wyth my choice or let me stand to the maine chaunce otherwise the griefe will be mine and the fault yours and both vntollerable Ferardo séeinge his daughter to haue neither regarde of hir owne honour nor his requestâ— conceyued such an inwarde gryefe that in short space hée dyed leauing Lucilla the onely heire of his landes and Curio to possesse them but what ende came of hir séeing it is nothing incident to the history of Euphues it were superfluous to insert it and so incredible that all women would rather wonder at it thou beléeue it which euent being so strauÌ„ge I had rather leaue them in a muse what it should bee then in a maze in telling what it was Philautus hauing intelligence of Euphues his successe and the falshoode of Lucilla although he began to reioyce at the miserye of his fellowe yet séeinge hir ficklenesse coulde not but lamente hir follye and pittie his friendes misfortune Thinckinge that the lightnesse of Lucilla enticed Euphues to so great liking Euphues and Philaâ—tus hauing conference betwéene themselues castinge discourtesie in the téeth each of the other but chiefly noting disloyaltie in the demeanor of Lucilla after much talke renewed their olde friendship both abandoning Lucilla as most abhominable Philautus was earnest to haue Euphues â—arrie in Naples and Euphues desirous to haue Philautus to Athens but the one was so addicted to the court the other so wedded to the vniuersitie that each refused the offer of the other yet this they agréed betwéene themselues that though their bodyes were by distaunce of place seuered yet the coniunction of their mindes shoulde neither bée seperated by the length of time nor alienated by chaunge of soyle I for my parte sayde Euphues to confirme thys league gyue thée my hand and my heart and so likewise did Philautus and so shaking handes they bid each other farewell Euphues to the intent hée might bridell the ouerlashing affections of Philautus conuayed into his studye a certeyne pamphlet which hée termed a coolinge carde for Philautus yet generallye to be applyed to all louers which I haue inserted as followeth ¶ A cooling Carde for Philautus and all fond louers MUsing with my selfe béeing idle howe I myght be well unployed friend Philautus I could finde nothing either more fitte to continue our friendshippe or of greater force to dissolue our follye then to write a remedy for that which many iudge past cure for loue Philautus with that which I haue bene so tormented that I haue lost my time thou so troubled that thou hast forgot reason both so mangled with repulse inueigled by deceite and almost murthered by dysdain that I can neither remember our miseries without griefe nor redresse our mishaps without groanes How wantonly yea and howe willingly haue wee abused our golden time and mispent our gotten treasure How curious were we to please our Lady how carelesse to displease our Lord How deuoute in seruing our Goddesse howe desperate in forgetting our God Ah my Philautus if the wasting of our money might not dehort vs yet the wounding of our mindes should deterre vs if reason might nothing perswade vs to wisdome yet shame should prouoke vs to wyt If Lucilla reade this trifle she will straight proclaime Euphues for a traytour and seeing mée tourne my tippet will either shut mee out for a Wrangler or cast me off for a Wiredrawer either conuince mee of mallice in bewraying their sleightes or condemne me of mischiefe in arming younge men against fléetinge minions And what then Though Curio bée as hotte as a toast yet