Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	master_n	servant_n	service_n	3,408	5	7.4851	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A18097	Galateo of Maister Iohn Della Casa, Archebishop of Beneuenta. Or rather, A treatise of the ma[n]ners and behauiours, it behoueth a man to vse and eschewe, in his familiar conuersation A worke very necessary & profitable for all gentlemen, or other. First written in the Italian tongue, and now done into English by Robert Peterson, of Lincolnes Inne Gentleman.; Galateo. English	Della Casa, Giovanni, 1503-1556.; Peterson, Robert, fl. 1576-1606.	1576 (1576)	STC 4738; ESTC S104924	60,962	139

to say Signori Io vi bascio la mano Or Io son vostro seruidore Or els vostro schiauo in catena you must not disdaine it more then other But In farewelles and writings you must salute and take leaue not as reason but as custome will haue you and not as mē wont in times past or should doe but as men vseat this day for it is a chorlishe maner to say VVhat greate gentleman is he I pray you that I must master him Or is he becom master parson that I must kisse his hands for he that is wont to be Sird and like wise Sirreth other may thinke you disdaine him and vse some outrage vnto him when you call him to his face by his bare name and giue him no addition And these termes of Seignory seruice duetye and such other like vnto these as I haue sayde haue lost a greate parte of their harshnes and as hearbes lōg steepte in the water are sweetened and made softe and tender by reason of muche speache in mens mouthes and cōtinuall vse to speake them So that we must not abhorre thē as some rude and rusticall fellowes full of foolishe simplicitie doe that would fayne beginne the letters we write to Kinges and Emperours after this sort vz. Yf thou and thy children be in healthe it is well I am also in healthe saying that suche was the beginning of the letters the Latins did write to the magistrates of Rome If men should liue by their measure and go backe to those fashions and maners our first fathers dyd vse the worlde thē by litle and litle would come so about that we should feede vppon acornes againe And in these Duetifull Ceremonies there be also certain rules and precepts we must obserue that wee may not bee touched with Vainesse and Pride And first of all wee must consider the country where wee doe liue For all customes be not currant a lyke in all countreys And peraduenture that which they vse in Naples which is a Citye replenished with gentlemen of good houses and Lordes of greate power were not so fitte for Florens and Luke Which are inhabited for the most part with Merchāts and plaine gentlemē without any Prince Marques or Barone amongest them So that the braue and Lordelike manners of the gentlemē of Naples transported to Florence should be but waste and more then needes like a tall mans gowne cast ouer a dwarfe as also the manners of Florence shoulde be to pinchinge and straite for the Noble natures and mindes of the gētlemē of Naples And although the gētlemē of Venice vse great embracings and entertainementes amongst themselues and fawne without measure the one on the other by reasō of their offices degrees and fauours they looke to finde when they meete and assemble and choose their officers yet for all this it is not conuenient that the good men of Rouigo or the Citizens of Asolo should vse the lyke solēnities embraceings and entertainemēts one to another haueing no such kinde of cause amongst them Albeit all that same countrie if I bee not deceiued is falne a litle into these kinde of follies as ouer carelesse and apt inough by nature or rather learning those maners of Venice their Lady and Mistris because Euerie man gladly seeketh to tread the steps of his better although there be no reasō for it Moreouer we must haue a regarde to the time to the age and the condition of him to whom we vse these ceremonies and likewise respect our owne calling and with men of credite maintaine them but with men of small account cut them of cleane or at least abridge them as muche as wee may rather giue them a becke thē a due garde Which the courtiers in Rome can very well skill to doe But in some cases these Ceremonies be very combersome to a mans busines and very tedious as Couer your head sayes the Iudge that is busied with causes and is scanted of time to dispatche them And this fellow so full of these Ceremonies after a number of legges and shuflinge curtesis aunswers againe Sir I am very well thus But sayes the Iudge agayne Couer your head I say Yet this good fellow tourning twise or thrise to fro making lowe conges downe to the grounde with muche reuerence and humilitie aunswers him still I beseache your worship let me doe my duetie This busines and trouble lasteth so long so muche time is trifled that the Iudge might very nere haue dispatched all his busines within that space Then although it be euery honest mans parte and the duety of euery meaner body to honour the Iudges and mē that be called to worship honour yet where time wyll not beare it it is a very troublesome thing to vse it and it must be eschewed or measured with reason Neyther be the self same Ceremonies semely for young mē respecting their Age that ould mē doe vse together Nor yet can it becom men of meane and base condition to vse the very same that gētlemē greate men may vse one to another And if wee marke it well we shall find that the greatest the best men mē of most valour doe not alwayes vse the most Ceremonies thē selues nor yet loue nor looke a mā should make many goodly curtsies vnto them as men that can ill spend their thoughts one matters so vaine Neither must handy crafts men nor mē of base condition buisie thē selues to much in ouer solemne Ceremonies to greate men and Lordes it is not lookt for in suche For they disdaine them more then allowe thē because it seemes that in such they seeke looke rather for obedience and duetie then honour And therefore it is a foule faulte in a seruaūt to offer his master his seruice for he coūts it his shame he thinks the seruāt doth make a doubt whether he is master or no as if it were not in him to imploy him cōmaūd him too These kinde of Ceremonies would be vsed frankely For VVhat a man dothe of duetie is taken for a debte and hee finds him selfe litle beholding to him that doth it But he that dothe more then he is bound to it seemes he parteth with somewhat and that makes men to loue him and to commende him for a liberall man And I remember mee well I haue hearde it sayde that a worthy Graeciā a greate versifier was euer wont to saye that He that could skill to entertaine men with a small aduenture made a greate gayne You shall then vse youre Ceremonies as the tailer shapes his garments rather to large then to litle but yet not so that hee cutteth one hose large inough to make a cloke And if thou doe vse in this point some litle gentle behauiour to suche as be meaner then thy selfe thou shalt be counted lowly And if thou doe asmuche to thy betters thou shalt bee sayde a Gētlemā well taught and courtious But hee that

Iewell for a gentleman to pull forth of his bosome and putteth mē in mind of those Toothdrawers that sit one their benche in the stretes it makes men also to thinke that the man loues his belly full well and is prouided for it And I see no reason why they should not aswell carry a spoone about their neckes as a toothepicke It is a rude fashion besides to leane ouer the table or to fill your mouth so ful of meate that your cheekes be blowne vp withall neyther must you by any maner of meanes giue another man to know what pleasure you take in the meate or the wine For yt is for Tauerners and Bousers to vse suche fashions And to entertaine men that sit at your table with these wordes You eate nothing this morning There is nothing that likes you Or tast you of this or of that I doe not allowe of these fashions although they be commonly receiued and vsed of all men For albeit by these meanes they shewe they make much of those they haue inuited vnto them yet many tymes they make mē to leaue to eate wher they would For it geues them to thinke they haue their eyes allwayes vppon them and that makes them ashamed to feede Againe I doe not like it that a man shall take vppō him to be a caruer of any meate that stands before him if he be not muche the better mā that is the caruer that he to whome he carues may thinke he receiueth some credite honour by it For Amongest men that be of like cōditiō and calling it makes a hart burning that he that playes the caruer should take more vppō him then another And otherwhile that which hee carueth doth not like him to whom it is geuen And more thē this by this meanes he sheweth that the feaste is not sufficiētly furnished or at least not well disposed in order when some haue muche other none at all And the Mayster of the house may chaunce to take displesure at that as if it were done to doe him shame Neuerthelesse in these matters a man must demeasne him self as common vse and custome will allowe and not as Reason duetie would haue it And I would wishe a mā rather to erre in these poīts with many thē to be singular in doing well But whatsoeuer good maner there be in this case thou must not refuse it whatsoeuer is carued vnto thee For it may be thought thou doest disdaine it or grunt at thy caruer Now to drink all out euery mā which is a fashiō as litle in vse amōgst vs as the terme it selfe is barbarous straūge I meane Ick bring you is sure a foule thing of it selfe in our countrie so coldly accepted yet that we must not go about to bring it in for a fashiō If a man doe quaffe or carrouse vnto you you may honestly say nay to pledge him geueing him thankes confesse your weakenesse that you are not able to beare it or else to doe him a pleasure you may for curtesie taste it and thē set downe the cup to them that will and charge your selfe no further And although this Ick bring you as I haue heard many learned men say hath beene an auncient custome in Greece and that the Graecians doe muche commend a goodman of that time Socrates by name for that hee sat out one whole night long drinking a v●e with another good man Aristophanes and yet the next morning in the breake of the daye without any rest vppon his drinking made suche a cunning Geometricall Instrument that there was no maner of faulte to be found in the same And albeit they say besides this that Euen as it makes a man bould and hardy to thrust him selfe venterously otherwhile in to daungerous perils of life so likewise it brings a man in to good temper and fashion to enure him selfe otherwhile with the daūgers of things not euer chauncing And bycause the drinking of wine after this sorte in a vie in such excesse and waste is a shrewde assault to trie the strength of him that quaffes so lustily these Graecians would haue vs to vse it for a certaine proofe of our strength and constancie and to enure vs the better to resist and master all maner of strong temptations All this notwithstanding I am of a cōtrary mind and I doe thinke all their reasons to fond and to foolishe But we see that Learned men haue suche art and cunning to persuade and such filed wordes to serue their turne that wrong doth carry the cause away and Reason cannot preuaile And therefore let vs giue them no credite in this point And what can I tell if they haue a secret drift herein to excuse and couer the fault of their countrey that is corrupt with this vice But it is daungerous perchaunce for a man to reproue them for it least asmuch happen to him as chaunced to Socrates him selfe for his ouer lauish controuling and checking of euery mans fault For he was so spited of all men for it that many articles of heresies other foule faultes were put vp against him and he cōdemned to die in the end allthough they were false For in truthe he was a very good man a Chatholike respecting the Religion of their false Idolatrie But suer in that he drunke so muche wine that same nyght he deserued no praise in the worlde For the hoggshead was able to holde receiue a great deale more then his companion and hee were able to take if that may get any praise And though it did him no harme that was more the goodnes of his strong braine thē the continencie of a sober man And let the Chronicles talke what they list of this matter I giue God thankes that amongest many the Plagues that haue creapt ouer the Alpes to infect vs hitherto this worst of all the rest is not come ouer that vve should take a pleasure and praise to be drunke Neither shall I euer beleue that a man can learne to be temperate of suche a Mayster as vvine and drounkennes The Stewarde of a Noble mans house may not be so bolde to inuite straungers vppon his owne head and set them downe at his Lorde Maysters table And there is none that is wise will be intreated to it at his request alone But otherwhile the seruaunts of the house be so malepert and saucie that they will take vppō them more then their Maister of which things wee speake in this place more by chaunce then that the order we haue taken from the beginning doth so require it A man must not vncase him selfe in the presence of any assembly For it is a slouenly sight in place where honest men be met together of good conditiō and calling And it may chaunce he doth vncouer those parts of his bodie which work him shame rebuke to shewe thē besides that it maketh other mē abashed to