is so noysome to a delightfull life as to remembre that after death we shall be founde spotted This death returning to our memorie as enimie contrary to our being doth disturbe vs of all goodnesse pleasure and whilest this is remembred ther can neuer be ioy tasted in worldly things Likewise no delight can bée had with the yong woman that is not troubled or destroyed in thinking and remembryng that it behoueth him to do as much with a most vile olde woman who shall alwayes be remaining before the eyes of his mynde The time that flieth with an inestimable wing shal séeme vnto him to ouerflie lesning eche day a great quantitie of the due houres and this mirthe is not tasted where as infallible future sorrowe is taried for Wherfore I would iudge that the contrary were better counsell that is that all trouble wherof gracious rest is hoped for is more delightfull than the delight wherof anoy is taried for The colde waters séemed warme and the dreadfull time of the darke night séemed cleare and sound day and turmoiles rest to Leander at what time he went to Hero swimming with the force of his armes thorow the salt sourges betwene Sesto and Abido for yâ— delight that he conceiued to haue of hir tarrying his comming God forbid then that a man shoulde coâ—et rest before trauaile or rewarde before the doyng his seruice or delight before he hath tasted tribulation forasmuch as if that way as we haue already sayde should be taken the future annoy should so much hinder the present ioye that not ioy but rather annoy it might be sayde What delighte coulde the delicate meates and the instrumentes founded with cunning hande and the other maruellous ioyes made to Dionysius the tyraunt bring when as he sawe a sharpe Dionysius pointed sword hang by a fine thréede ouer his head Let then sorowfull occasions be first fled that afterwardes with pleasure and that without suspicion gracious delightes may bée followed The Quéene made him answere saying You answere in part as The Queenes solution of the .xij. question defining that the yong is to be lyen with before the olde though we did reason of eternal ioyes for the purchasing whereof there is no doubt but that all troubles ought to bée taken in hande and all worldly wealth and delight to be left aparte but at this instant wée doe not speake of them but doe moue a Question of worldly delights and of worldly annoyes Whervnto we answer as we sayde before that euery worldly delight that is followed with worldly anoy ought rather to be taken than the worldly annoy that tarieth worldly delight bicause who that hath time and tarieth tyme loseth tyme. Fortune graunteth hir goodnesse with sundry mutations the whiche is rather to be taken â–ª when as she giueth than to moyle to the ende after turmoiles to get the same If hir whéele stoode firme and stable vntill that a man had toiled so much as he should nede to toile no more we would then say that it were to be graunted to take paines first but who is certaine that after the euill may not follow the worsse as well as the better that is taried for The tymes together with worldly things are all transitory and therfore in taking the olde woman before the yeare be complete the which shall neuer séeme to waxe lesse the yong woman may die and hir brethreÌ„ repent them of this they haue done either else she may be giuen to some other or peraduenture stolne away so that after one euill there shall follow a worse to the taker But contrariwise if yâ— yong woman shall be taken the taker shall therby haue his desire so long tyme of him desired neither shall there after follow that annoy of thoughte that you say must follow therby bycause that we must dye is infallible but to lie with an old woman is a hap able enough with many remedies to be of a wise man auoyded worldly things are to be taken of the discrete with this coÌ„dition that eche one whilest he holdeth and enioyeth them he dispose himselfe with a liberall mynde when he shall bée required to restore or leaue them Who that busieth himself to the ende to rest bringeth a manifest example that without that he cannot haue rest and since he therefore taketh troubles to the ende to haue rest how much more is it to be presumed that if rest were as ready as is trouble but that he woulde sooner take that than thys Neyther is it to bée thought that Leander if he had bene able to haue had Hero without passing the tempestious arme of yâ— sea wherin after he perished would not rather haue taken hir than haue swoâ—â—e the same It is conuenient to take Fortunes happes what tyme she gyueth them For no gift is so small that is not better than a promised A smalle gift in hand is better thaÌ„ a promised greater greater And as for Future thinges let remedies be taken and the present gouerned accordyng to their qualities It is a natural thing to desire rather the good than the euil when as equally they concurre and who that doth the contrarie followeth not naturall reason but his owne folly We confesse that after troubles quietnesse is more gracious better knoweÌ„ than before but yet not that it is rather to bée taken than the other It is possible for wise meÌ„ and fooles to vse the Counsels both of fooles and wisemen according to their liking but for all that the infallible veritie is not altred the which doth gyue vs leaue to sée that rather the faire yong woman than the lothsome olde is to be taken of him to whome was made suche a choise ¶ The thirtenth Question proposed by MASSALINE MAssaline the whiche sate on the right hand of the Quéene nexte to Parmenio performing the circle sayde in thys wyse It is mete that I lastly propounde my question And therefore to the ende that I may make the pleasaunt told tales and the before propouned Questions to seme more swete I shal tel you a short tale worth the hearing wherin there falleth a question very propre to make an ende withall I haue heretofore heard say that there was in this oure Citie a gentleman who was very riche that had to wife an excéedyng faire A Gentlewoman was loued of a Knight yong Gentlewoman whom he loued aboue al worldly thinges This gentlewoman was intierly beloued of a Knight of the same Citie but she loued him not at all neither cared for him by occasion wherof the Knight was neuer able to get from hir either good wordes or curteous countenance and while he thus liued comfortlesse of such loue â–ª It happened that hâ— was called to the regiment of a citie not farre distant from this of ours And accordingly he went thither hauing honorably gouerned the same all the time of his abode there during the which it happened that there came a messanger vnto
this doing if he find the woman faithfull he thinketh that she espieth that which he doth and is therfore hedefull therin If he findeth that he séeketh for and that he would not finde who is more dolorous than he If peraduenture ye thinke that the imbracing hir in his armes be so great a delight vnto him as should mitigate these pangs your iudgemeÌ„t is then false bicause such maner of colling bringeth him in choller in thinking yâ— others as well as he hath imbraced hir in yâ— like sort if the womaÌ„ peraduenture do louingly entertaine him he demeth that she doeth it to the ende to remoue him from such his imaginations and not for the true loue she beareth him If he finde hir maliciously disposed he thinketh that she then loueth an other and is not content with him And thus we can shew you an infinite nuÌ„bre of other suspitions and cares that are harbored in a iealous person What shal we then say of his lyfe but yâ— it is farre more greuous than that of any other liuing creature He liueth beleuing not beleuing The miserie of a iealous life and still alluring the woman and most times it hapneth that these iealous persons doe ende their liues thorowe the selfe same malice wherof they liue fearfull and not without cause for that with their reprehensions they shewe the way to their owne harmes Considering then the aforesayde reasons more cause hath your friende that is iealous to sorrow thaÌ„ haue The conclusion of the Queene vpon the fift question you bicause you may hope to get he liueth in feare to lose that which he scarsly holdeth for his owne And therfore if he haue more cause of griefe than you and yet comfortes him selfe the best he can muche more ought you to comfort your selfe and to set aside bewailings that are more méete for faint heartes and hope that the assured loue which you beare towards your Lady shal not lose his due desert For though she shew hir selfe sharpe towards you at this present it can not be but that shée loueth you bicause that loue neuer pardoned any loued to loue and ye shal know that with the fierce vehement windes are sooner broken the stubbourne okes than the consenting réedes ¶ The sixt Question proposed by a yong Gentlewoman NExt vnto Clonico sate a faire GentlewomaÌ„ apparelled in blacke vesture vnder an honest veile who as she perceyued the Quene to haue made an end of hir words thus began to saye Most gracious quene I remembre that being a litle girle how one day I with my brother who was a propre yong man and of ripe yeares abode all alone in a garden without other company and in tarying there together it happened that two Two daÌ„sels amorous of a GentlemaÌ„ he not knowing thereof and that which happened yong damsels of noble bloud abounding in riches borne in this our Citie who loued this my brother very well and perceiuing him to be in the sayde garden came thyther and began a farre off to beholde him that was altogether ignoraunt of their purpose And after a while seyng him all alone sauing for me of whom they reckned not bicause I was but a little one thus the one began to say to the other We loue this yong Gentleman aboue all others neyther doe knowe whether he loueth vs or no yet is it méete that he loue vs both so that now it is léeful for vs to satisfie our desire and to knowe whether he loue eyther of vs or whether of vs he best loueth to the ende that she whome he shall best like of may after remain his without being hindred of yâ— other wherfore since he is all alone that we haue a méete time offred let vs runne vnto him eche one imbrace and kisse him that done he shall take whether of vs beste pleaseth him These two yong Gentlewomen being thus determined vpon this resolution began to runne their race towardes my sayde brother Wherat he maruelled greatly espying them and seeing in what sort they came but the one of them or euer she came at vs by a good waye stayed all bashfull and almost wéeping ripe the other runne thorowe and came vnto hym whom she imbraced and kissed and so sate hir downe by him recommending hir selfe vnto him And he after the admiration conceyued of hir boldenesse was somewhat ceassed prayed hir as euer she loued hym to tell him truly what moued them thus to doe She concealed nothing from him the which hée hearyng and examining well in his mynde that which the one and other had done knewe not how to persuade hym selfe whether of them best loued him neyther yet whether of them he might best loue And so hapnyng at that time to depart from them he after prayed couÌ„sel of many of his friendes touching this matter neither hath any one euer satisfied his desire touching yâ— demaunde For the which cause I praye you from whome I assuredly beleue to haue a true definition of this my question that ye will tel me whether of these two damsels ought soonest to be loued of the yong maÌ„ To this Gentlewoman the Quéene thus made aunswer The aunswer of the Queene Truly of the two yong women she as it semeth loued your brother best and soonest ought to be loued of him againe yâ— doubting bashfully abode without imbracing him and why I thus thynke this â—â— the reason Loue as we knowe maketh those alwayes Loue is accompanied with feare fearfull in whome he dâ—eth abide and where he is of greatest force there is likewise the greatest feare and this hapneth bicause the intent or consent of the person loued can not be fully knowen And if it could be knowen many things should be done that in fearing to offende are lefte vndone bicause the one knoweth that in displeasing is taken awaye euery occasion to be loued And with this feare and loue shamfastnesse is always accompanied and not without reason Rereturning then to our question Wée say that it was an act of one vnfainedly enamoured that of the Gentlewomans whereby she shewed hir selfe both fearefull and bashfull And that of the other was rather the part of one both leude and licencious And therefore he being of hir best beloued ought the rather according to our iudgement to loue hir best Then answered the Gentlewoman Most curteous Quéene The Gentlewoman replieth to the Queene it is true that where loue abideth with moderation there fear and bashfulnesse doth altogether frequent but where he doeth abounde in such quantitie as he taketh away the sight from the most wise as is alredy said I say that feare hath there no place but that the motioÌ„s of him that féeleth the same are according to him that vrgeth them forwards and therfore that GentlewomaÌ„ seing hir desire before hir eyes was so hotly kindled as al shamfastnesse abaÌ„doned she raÌ„ne straight to him by whom she was so vehemeÌ„tly pricked
willingly be fled We confesse that if it were possible to beholde without feare it should be a greate delight But yet litle or nothing without the thought the which without the bodily sighte pleaseth very muche And that that whereof we haue spoken may come to passe thorow the thought it is manifest that yea and muche more For we finde that men with thought haue passed the heauens tasted of the eternall peace Than more delighteth the thought than the syght And if ye say that Laodomia was melancolie with thinking we doe not denie it but yet it was rather a dolorous than an amorous thoughte that dyd trouble hir She as it were a diuiner to hir owne harme alwayes doubted the death of Prothesilaus stil was thinking theron contrary to those thoughts wherof we reason which thorow that doubt coulde not enter into hir but rather sorowing thorow this occasion as reason was she shâ—wed a troublesome heauy loke ¶ The twelfth Question proposed by PARMENIO PArmenio sat next to thys Gentlewoman and withoute attendyng further as the Quéene had lefte thus began â–ª Most mighty quene I was of long time companyon with a young Gentleman to whome that hapned which I intend to shew He as much as any man could loue a woman loued a fayre yong Gentlewoman of our citie gracious gentle and very rich both of wealth parents she eke loued him for ought that I to whom his loue was discouered could vnderstande This Gentleman thâ—n louing hir in most secrete sorte fearing that if it should bée bewrayed that he shoulde no wayes be able to speake vnto hir to the ende therfore that he might discouer his intent and be certified likewise of hirs he trusted no one that should attempt to speake of this matter yet his desire inforcing hym hée purposed since that he could not bewray him selfe vnto hir to make hir vnderstande by some other that which he suffred for hir sake And bethynkyng hym many dayes by whom he might most closely signifie vnto hir that his intent he sawe one day a poore olde woman wrinkled and of an orenge tawnie colour so despiteful to beholde as none the like the which being entred the house of the yong woman to aske hir almesse followed hir forth of the doore and many tymes after in like sorte and for like occasion he sawe hir returne thither In this woman his heart gaue him to repose his whole trust imagining that she should neuer be had in suspicion and that she might fully bring his desire to effect therfore calling hir to him he promised hir most great giftes if she woulde helpe him in that which he should demaunde of hir She sware to doe hir endeuour to whome this Gentleman then discouered his mynde The olde woman departed and after a whyle hauyng certified the yong woman of the loue that my coÌ„panion bare hir him likewise howe that she aboue all other things of the worlde did loue A gentlemaÌ„ a gentlewoman and an olde woman were taken by the brethren of the gentlewomaÌ„ him she deuised how this yong maÌ„ should be secretly one euening with yâ— desired woman so he going before hir as she had appointed she guided him to this yong gentlewomaÌ„s house wherin he was no sooner entred than thorow his misfortune yâ— yong woman yâ— olde and he were all thrée found taken togithers by the brethren of the yong woman compelled to tell the trouthe of that they made there who confessed the whole matter as it was These brethreÌ„ for that they were the frendes of this yong Gentleman and knowing that he as yet had attained nothing that might redouÌ„de to their shame wold not do him any harm as they might haue done but laughing sayd vnto him in this sort Thou art now in our hands hast sought to dishonour vs and for that we may punishe thée if The Gentleman codemned to lye with the yoÌ„g and olde woman eyther of them a yeare we will of these two wayes sée that thou take the one either that thou wilt we take thy life from thée or else that thou lie with this olde woman and this our sister either of them one yere swearing faithfully that if thou shalt take vpon thée to lye with either of them a yeare and the first yere with the yong woman that as many times as thou shalt kisse or haue to do with hir as many times shalt thou kisse haue to doe with the olde woman the second yeare And if thou shalt take the first yere yâ— olde woman looke how many times thou shalte kisse and touche hir so many times likewise and neither more nor lesse shalt thou do the like to the yong woman the second yeare The yong man listening to the sentence and desirous to liue sayde that he woulde lie with these two two yeares It was graunted him But he remained in doubt with whiche of them he shoulde first beginne either with the yong or with the olde Whether of them would you giue counsell he shoulde first for his moste consolation begyn withall The Quéene and The Quene decideth the xij question likewise the whole company somewhat smiled at this tale and after she thus made answere According to our iudgement the yong Gentleman ought rather to take the faire yong woman than the fowle olde bycause no present good tourne ought to be left for the future neither yâ— euill to be taken for the future good bycause we knowe that we are vncertaine of things to come and in doing the contrary hereof many haue alredy sorowed to late and if any haue praised himselfe herein not Dutie but Fortune hath therin holpen him Let the faire therefore be firste taken Ye The contrary opinion of Parmenio make me greatly to maruell sayde Parmenio séeing that the present good ought not to be lefte for the future to what end then is it conuenient for vs with a valiant mynde to followe and beare worldly troubles where as we maye flie them if it were not thorowe the future eternall kingdomes promised to vs thorowe hope It is a maruellous thing that such a shocke of people as are in the worlde all moyling to the ende at one time to taste of rest and being able to rest before trouble should remaine so long while in such an errour as trouble after rest were better than before It is a thing very iuste as it séemeth to me after troubles to seke rest but to desire to rest without trouble in my iudgement ought not to be neither can it bring delight Who then will giue counsell to any that he lie first with a faire Gentlewoman one yeare the which is the onely rest and ioy of him that must lie with hir in shewyng him after that there must folowe so great anoy and vnpleasant life as he must in euery act wherin he abode with the yong woman haue to do as long with a lothsome old womaÌ„ Nothing