thy vessell brake it and the oyle ran oute so that I haue forgotten thée but doubte not an other time I will restore it thée That in aduersitie true frendes are discerned from fayned CIcero sayde that lyke as the swallowes apppeare in sommer and in winter are not séene so fayned fréendes in tyme of prosperitie shew themselues and in aduersitie absent themselues And Ennius sententiously to the same purpose sayth Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur In doubtfull matters he is tryde A frende that faythfull dothe abyde And Ouide lykewyse herevppon wrote after this sort Tempore felici multi numerantur amici Dum fortuna perit nullus amicus erit When welth abounds then many frendes we nuÌ„ber may When goodes decay then frendes do flee away And Ariosto notably sayth Alcun non puo saper da chi sia amato Quando felice in su la la ruota siede Pere che ha i veri finti amici allato Che monstran tutis vna mede sima fede Se poi si cangia in tristo il lieto stato Volta la turba adulatrice il piede Et quel che di euor ama riman forte Et ama suo Signor dopo la morte No man can tell who loues him in his mynde When happie he doth sitte vpon the wheele For that he fayned frendes and true doth fynde By him in whome he one selfe faith doth feele If louringly once fortune looke behinde The flattring flocke then turneth backe the heele And he that loues with hart will neuer waue And loues his lorde when he is layde in graue VVhat great faithfulnesse a chaste vvoman beareth to hir husbande ARmenia a noble woman and of excellent beautie comming from a great feast that king Cyrus made was demaunded of hir husbande by the way howe she lyked the beautie of Cyrus which was suche as all men maruelled at she answered chastly after this sort Husbande to tell you the truth as long as I was there I did not once looke vp therfore I can not tell you howe fayre or foule Cyrus or the other be That controuersie in lavve is the losse of of tyme money and frendes TWo kinsmen fell at variance for a matter in which eche of them claymed a propretie after variance they went to law and after law to open contention whiche is proprely to say to open warre Then one of them wyser than the other called his fellow asyde and in effect vsed these wordes vnto him saying Kynsman first this I put thée in mynde of that it is not honest that couetousnes shold separate vs when as Nature hath ioyned vs togither Moreouer you muste vnderstande that al controuersies in law are no lesse doutful than warre Euery man may at his pleasure begin to striue but when he liste he can not ende Our variance is for thrée hundreth crownes if that we go to lawe we shal spend halfe so much more vpon Notaries proctors aduocates Iudges and in making of frendes we must needes attend flatter trauaile to and fro wearie our selues neuer be quiet and fynally when I recouer my sute by iudgement the losse wil be greater than the gayne Is it not better kinsman that we here agrée among our selues and that wée deuide betwéene vs the money that we shold giue to these gréedie persons Graunt me one moytie of your chalenge and I will graunte you the moytie of myne In so dooing we shal obey nature we will be in hazarde and shall auoyde infinite troubles But where as also you wyll not yelde to any thing I yelde to the whole for I had rather that this money should remayn to you than come to these théeues Wherevpon the aduersarie béeing moued as well for the reasons as the curtesie of his kinsman yéelded to him willingly and wysely agréed among themselues Philosophers make but a trifle of Fortune ASclepiades the philosopher fallyng blynde by chaunce was nothyng at all sorie but rather iesting merryly sayde I haue made a good hande for before I went alone and now I goe with companie A mans vertue is esteemed euen of the enimie MEtellus surnamed for his victories Macedonicus when he heard that Scipio Africanus was dead althoughe he were his mortall ennimie he went foorth of his house sore gréeued and miscontent and comming into the market place many tymes hée horribly cryed saying Run my citizens run for the walles of our citie are fallen downe That debtes ordinarily do take a mans sleepe from him WHen a Romaine knighte was deade it was found that he owed more than fiue hundred thousande Ducates the which thing in his lyfe tyme hée had with a merye chéere kept very close Afterward his goods came to be solde and among the rest of his housholde stuffe Cesar Augustus coÌ„maunded that his bed should be bought for him saying that it would serue to make one sléepe seeing hée that was so farre in debt could sleepe thervpon That vvise men thinke it a folie to endeuor to come to highnesse and honour THe Erle Maria Mathevv Boiardo a verye wyse man reprouing a cosyn of his that inconueniently went out of the Duke of Milans wages to goe serue the kyng of Naples who made him greate profers greater promises sayd vnto him Ye wretched wightes that neuer sleepe in rest Ye that desire to clymbe to high degree That with so many griefes and sorrowes prest Do you turne backe to honours fickle glee Meanes must be sought to haue your sore redrest For that your wiâ—es from you berefte we see And well you â—oe not knowe what you woulde haue For then you would your selues from follies saue The man that is auaunced to high degree oftentimes forgetteth both his frendes and himselfe ONe Benedetto of the Albizi a familie so called went to reioyce with his friend for the good fortune happened to him whiche frend of his was to the dignitie of a Cardinal promoted But the Cardinall being swolne and puffed vp with pride for that degrée making as though he knew him not he asked him what he was Whervpon Benedetro a noble yong man and a stout being displeased changed foorthwith his purpose for the whiche hée came and sayd And it please you my Lorde I am come for our frendships sake to lament with you your fortune or rather blyndnesse that hath brought you to this degrée for such as you be as soon as you clymbe vp to the like honour as this is you lose so much your sight your hearing and the other senses that you doo not onely forgette youre selues but youre frendes also The follie of a prince the displeasure of a vvoman and the vnfaythfulnesse of a frend vvhat disorder they brede CAndaules king of Lydia had a very faire wyfe for whose beautie he thorough ioye waxed foolish and it was not inough for him to prayse hir to all men and discouer to all men the secrets that he vsed with hir in wedlocke but also woulde haue witnesse therof so he shewed hir on a
of destruction And addeth moreouer that as the smoke which shadoweth the eyes letteth one to sée that whiche a man hath before his féete so anger darkneth reason in the heade and that goodnesse which the mynde with the wit shall easly obtayne being obscured thorow anger it can not in any wise obtayne Chilo sayd that one ought to ouercome anger aboue all things for that she hurteth more than any ennimie adding moreouer that it is more manhoode to vanquish hir than any ennimie Wherefore the diuine Petrarcha to this purpose sayth Jra è brieue furor chi no'l frena E furor luago che'l suo possessore Spesso à vergogna tal'hur mena à morte Ire is furie short and vnto him a furie long Which letteth hir the bridle haue that now and then among The angrie man to shame she brings and sometimes vnto death And Ariosto héere vpon sayth Quando vincer da l'impeto da la ira Si lascia la ragion nè si defende Et che'l cieco furor sì inuanzi ira O mano o lingua che gli amici offende Se beu dipoi si piange fospira Non è per questo che l'erro s'emende Whan reason by rage and yre is suffred Vanquisht to be and is not defended And that the blynde fury rules the top sayle O hande O tongue that friendes hath offended And although afterwarde thou weepe and wayle Yet for all this the fault is not mended That Princes commonly vvil haue no admonition WHat a daungerous thing it is to admonishe certaine Princes of their vices shall be declared by the example following Vpon a tyme Cambyses king of Scithiae Persia asked Presaspius his Secretarie what the Persians sayde of him The Secretarie answered that they gretly commended him notwithstanding that he séemed to them to be ouermuche giuen to wine Wherewith Cambyses béeing cruelly angrie sayde I wil Presaspius that we sée whether they lye or tell truth thou séest there thy Sonne at the gate if I hitte him in the heart with this arrowe it shal appeare without doubt that the Persians do lye if I hit him not they may be beléeued And he leusing the bowe that he had in his hande did strike the yong man in the breast and the arrowe passed ful thorow the myddle of his heart Whiche when that cruell Prince had séene being very ioyful in iest sayde What sayst thou now Presaspius dost not thou thinke that these thy Persians haue made a lye But tel me also I pray thée who euer sawest thou better than I To whom that poore man fore abashed and now extremely doubting of himselfe answered God is not able to make one better than you That through crafte and vvarinesse a man is othervvhile deliuered out of danger A French man challenged a Geneuaise into the fielde bycause he did beare his recognisaunce in his shielde But the Geneuoise hauing readily bethought him of a iest sayde And for what cause finally dost thou cal me hyther to fight bycause I pretend answered the Frenche man that this cognisaunce discendeth from my auncestours and that thou hast vsurped it The Geneuoise asked what his cognisance was the French man answered that it was an Oxe head then said the Geneuoise we néed not fight for this bycause that my armes is a Cowes heade Hovve mans life is encombred and full of trouble and hovv pleasant and quiet ISocrates the Oratoure sayde that our life entangled with fortune is like to a greate violent floude to wit troublous myrie hard to passe ouer swift roaring during but for a while Contrariwise the life giuen to vertue saithe he is like to a noble fountaine whose water is cleare pure and vntroubled méete to be dronke swéete to folkes agréeable apte for nourishment frutefull and void of all corruption and naughtinesse That the sight of friends doth chear vp them that are in heauinesse as the sight of the Phisitions the diseased PHilomenes the Philosopher sayde that as the diseased séeing the Phisition come be cheared vp and comforted so they that are in heauinesse seing their friende come recouer courage and take comfort but that the frieÌ„d is muche more for the sadnesse of his neighbour than the Phisition is for sicknesse and therefore addeth moreouer that men in aduersitie ought to haue recourse of their friendes And Ausonius worthily confirmeth it saying Tristia cuncta exuperans aut animo aut amico In sadnesse all things ouercome with courage or thy friende That couetousnesse blindeth men HErmon was to couetous as Lucilius testifieth that when he dreamed that he had spent certaine money he strangled himselfe through excéeding sorrowe Dimarchus Phidon was like wise so couetous that being desperate for a certain losse receyued he would not hang himselfe for spending of thrée halfe pence to buy himselfe a halter seeking death better cheap And Hermocrates was through extreme auarice accompanied with so greate follie that dying lefte himself heire of al his goods Wherefore wisely sayth Bias that couetousnesse is the Metropolis that is the mother citie or chiefe Sea of mannes follie and wickednesse A vvarie ansvvere impertinent to the demaunde A Iewe béeing asked whether he woulde take vp a thousand Ducates if he founde them on the Saboth daye aunswered This is not the Saboth day and the money is not heere That mans doings on the one side are vvorthy of laughter and on the other of vveeping HEraclitus and Democritus were two most famous Philosophers the one considering the follies of meÌ„ did euer laugh the other coÌ„sidering their miseries did always wéepe Wherevpon one in the Gréeke tong made this Epigramme 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The which that great learned man Alciate desirous to shewe that mans lyfe still waxed worse and worse hath playnely and pleasantly translated into his Italian tong after this manner Piu dell'vsato Heraclito ti veggio Pianger gli affanni dell'humana vita Perche ella se ne va di mal in peggio E la miseria homai fatta è infimâ—ae Te Democrito ancor piu rider veggio Che non soleui la tua man in'additta Che le pazzie son maggiori in tanto Che non è pari il riso meno il pianto that is Thee Herachte I see more than thy wont is The troubles of this humane life bewaile Bycause shee goes from yll to worse amisse And endlesse nowe doth miserie not faile Thee Democrite also laugh I more to see Than thou arte wont thy hande doth point to mee That follies are farre greater in so much That laughter failes and eyes their teares do grutch That a vvife to some is a very heauie burtheÌ„ WHen there was risen a great tempest on the Sea the master of the ship commaunded all men to caste the heauiest things into the water Wherefore a maried man incontinently cast in his wife saying that he had nothing more heauie than shée That vvith vvittie
The Garden of Pleasure Contayninge most pleasante Tales worthy deeds and witty sayings of noble Princes learned Philosophers Moralized No lesse delectable than profitable Done out of Italian into English by IAMES SANFORDE GENT. Wherein are also set forth diuers Verses and Sentences in Italian with the Englishe to the same for the benefit of students in both tongs ¶ Imprinted at London by Henry Bynneman ANNO. 1573. HONI SOIT QVI MAL Y PENSE 1573. ΟΣΤΕΟΠΚΑΙ ΕΛΠΙΣΤΕΟΠ〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ad comitem Lecestriae DORICE 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 IDEM LATINE Inclyta virtutis volitet tua fama per orbem Et serò moriens sis super astra precor ITALICE Prego che la vostra chiara fama Di virtù per tutto'l mondo voli E che dopò lunga vita l'alma Del vostr ' alta person al cielo voli GALLICE. Qu'en tout ce siecle bas ta haute renommee Auecques dignité soit de toutz celebree Que la mort viene tard pour te clorre les yeulx Qu'apres la mort tu sois au grand palais des cieulx ANGLICE I pray that your renoumed fame of vertue may be blowne Eache where and lyuing long you may aboue the starres be knowne To the right honourable Lord Robert Dudley Earle of Leycester Baron of Denbigh Knight of the most noble order of the Garter IT is lefte in writing that vvhē the Teians could not abide the spitfulnes of the Persians forsakyng their Citie they remoued to Abdera a Citie of Thrace that hereof grew this Prouerbe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereby is signified that in great aduersitie vve shuld not despaire but haue some hope and that there is some place for vs to flee vnto for succour if any beyond all measure continueth to molest vs. This I vvrite to this ende that beyng I knovv not by vvhat destiny greuously troubled fevv yeares past finding true that of the vnfortunate there is no fortunate friend I had recourse altogether to my former studies vvhich for a time I had left off and eftsoones toke bookes in hand vvhich are the faithfullest counsellers in aduersitie the best comforters and vvhose fruits in both fortunes are the richest possessions for learning by no meanes can be taken avvay all other things as fickle being placed in fortunes hand ebbing flovving like the sea vvaxing and vvaning like the Moone are full of change and mutabilitie so that a lyfe voide of afliction hath hapned to none and true it is as Hesiodus saith time is othervvhile a mother othervvhile a stepdame and therefore Plinie sayeth that he is in doubte vvhether nature bee oftner a stepdame or a mother as she vvhich bringeth foorth so manye poysons and so manye remedies There is none almost but hath susteined some greuous misfortune in the course of his life and he that hath passed the most part of his age vvithout trouble is many times assailed vvith som sharp storme of fatall aduersitie in the end as Policrates the tyrant of Samia vvas vvho being proude of his long prosperitie and desirous to proue the malice of Fortune caste a ring of great value into the sea vvhich being svvallovved by a fish and the same takē came again to his hands so fortune hitherto ceased not to flatter him but at last shee gaue him a most cruel fall for being taken of his enemy he ended his life miserably vpon the gallovvs together vvith his false felicitie vvhiche shevveth that continuall prosperitie is not good and turneth lastly into aduersitie remedilesse that none should flatter himselfe in vvelfare that it is better othervvhyle to endure some storms of trouble in youth than most miserable aduersitie in elder age VVhō fortune cherisheth in the beginning in the ende many tymes she bringeth to destruction vvhen she most fauoureth she is chiefly to be feared Master Frances Pescione a learned Italian said that aduersitie is better than prosperity for the one maketh a man to knovv himself and to remēber his mortal state the other engēdreth pride and forgetfulnesse of our humaine condition Fortune beareth rule ouer the body but not ouer the mind she vvorketh hir tyrānie on outvvarde things and not on invvarde and if the mind be vvith holsom doctrin diligently prepared the crueltie of fortune may be the better endured nay rather nothing at all estemed if vvith the diuine Plato after him vvith the Stoike Epistetus vve hold that the minde alone is man and that the bodye is nothing else but the prison or sepulchre of the soule vvhose euils as they are greater and more greuous than them of the body so is the minde by no meanes more to be comforted kept in constancie than by good doctrin and reading of vvorthie authors to vvhom I haue fled for cōfort and counsaile as the Teians for succour vvent to Abdera and out of vvhome I haue gathered such things as haue priuately recreated comforted me translating them as also as I truste shall delighte all suche as do reade the same I haue long time thought vvith my selfe vvhome specially I shoulde make patrone of this booke and among many noble personages your honoure came to my remembrance vvho is able to purchase him credite and authoritie vvith those mē vnto vvhom your godlinesse goodnesse and constancie vvhiche you haue hitherto alvvays shevved do yet shevv in maintayning true religiō is thorovvly knovven VVherfore I besech you most ernestly to accept this token of my good vvil at leasure to read it for I hope it vvil not seme vnplesant to youre lordship and others in the reading asvvell for the pleasaunt verses of sundrie Italian Poets therein recited as also for the graue and plesaunt sayings deedes of diuers princes and Philosophers sentences prouerbes in it contayned The Almightie vvho hathe blessed you vvith his heauenly giftes vouchesafe to preserue you in healthe and encrease multiply youre honoure and his good giftes in you Your honours moste humbly to cōmaund IAMES SANFORD To the Reader THere are two things gentle Reader which I truste will make my booke acceptable to thee to witte pleasure and profite and he which lincketh them togither beareth away the prick and praise as Flaccus saith I haue in sundry places where the verses of diuerse excellence Jtalian Poets are cited translated them and ioyned the Englishe and Italian togither the like haue I obserued in certaine Prouerbes and Sentences in the ende of the booke whiche beside other profite that may be receyued of them they will somewhat helpe and delighte Gentlemen and others that desire the knowledge of the Italian tong Wherefore take in good parte these my labours which J wishe to profite thee so muche in reading as I haue bin delighted with them in writing Sayings and deedes notable as well graue as pleasant That bookes are vvise and faithfull counsellours KIng Alphonsus of Arragon béeing asked what
counsaylours he best allowed of and founde most profitable answered forthwith bokes bycause they without feare without flatterie without griefe or any rewarde tell me faithfully all that whiche I séeke to knowe And Cicero sayde Oh deare bookes O pleasaunt familie bookes do alwayes stand thée in stede if thou list they speake if thou wilt they holde their peace they are euer ready at thy commaundement they be not outragious not rash not rauenous not gréedie not obstinate as euery other familie That a merrie conceit stoutly and pleasantly spoken by the Captaine giueth courage to the Souldiers WHen a souldiour came to Leonides and told him that the number of his enimies was so great that for their dartes men coulde not sée the Sun he answered him pleasantly saying And will it not be a great pleasure to fight in the shadowe That Nature vvarneth vs to shunne superfluous babbling ZEno seing a yong man that babbled ouermuche sayde thus vnto him Marke this my sonne that Nature hath made vs two eares and one mouthe bycause we should heare muche and speake little The same Zeno being demaunded howe farre truthe was from falshoode answered As farre as it is from the eyes to the eares That according to the iudgement of the vvyse mannes ignorance is exceeding greate SOcrates hée whiche by the Oracle of Apollo was iudged the wysest man alyue helde that Ignoraunce was the mother of presumption And therefore vsed oftentymes to saye This I knowe onely that I knowe nothyng And Themistocles the wyse and sage counsaylour béeing an hundreth and six yeares olde sayde at his death that hée was vnwillyng to dye when he had begun to knowe howe to liue That constant and valiant men make a iest of griefe and payne SOlemon the Sophist when he was greately tormented with the goute mersly sayd If I haue néede to goe I haue no féete If I haue any thing to doo I haue no handes but yf the goute take mée I haue both handes and féete That the chaunces of Fortune are straunge and maruellous ONe Marke Antonio Batistei an Italian hauyng loste fyue hundreth crounes in a drowned shippe wente as desperate to hang himselfe But béeing aboute to fasten the roape to a beame hée founde there hidden by chaunce a thousande crownes wherfore hée béeing excéeding ioyfull and merrie tooke them and exchaungyng the halter for the crownes wente awaye Nowe beholde not long after the owner came thyther to sée them and handle them who not fynding them but in theyr place séeyng a halter was ouercome with so greate sorrowe that withoute any more adoe he hoong hymselfe with it That vvith the constancie of the mynde the strokes of Fortune and men are borne off SEneca sayth that wheresoeuer a man dothe hide himself Fortune and the malice of the people will finde him out and therefore the mynd ought to drawe too his inuincible rocke of cōstancie wher dispising al worldly things the dartes of Fortune and men without any hurte shall fall downe to his féete And master Levves Almanni a very fine Italian Poet to the like purpose sayde Al miser huom non gioua andar lontano Che la Fortuna il segue ouunque ei fugge Mal valorose saggio Stelle Fortuna sorte Vince rinasce in morte that is It nought auayles the wretched wight To goe farre from his wonted place For Fortune followes him in sight Whereuer he doth flee apace But he that woorthie is and wise Doth ouercome by wisedomes might The Starres and Fortunes cankred spight And doth in death eftsoones arise That vvise men make aunsvvere to euerie deepe demaunde THales Milesius one of the seuen sages of Greece being demaunded what thing was of all other the most auncient he aunswered GOD bicause he hath always ben what thing the fairest the world sayd he for that it was the worke of god what was the widest thing place bycause it comprehendeth euery other thing what thing was most profitable hope bycause when all other welth is lost this remayneth alwaies what thing was best vertue bycause without hir no good thing can be spoken what thing swiftest the mind of man bicause in a momēt he rangeth throughout the whole world what thing strongest necessitie or destinie bycause it ouercōmeth euery other accident or chaunce what thing most easie to giue an other mā coūcel what thing most difficult to knowe ones selfe what thing wisest time said he bycause it attaineth al things Hovve soone brute beastes are satisfied and hovve insatiable men are SEneca was wont to say The Bull filleth himselfe in a little medowe a wood is sufficient to féed many Elephants but mā through his ambition and gréedinesse can neither be satisfied with the whole earth nor yet with the Sea That experience is gotten vvith tyme. ARistotle sayde that yong men can not bée wyse bicause wisedome is gotten by experience and experience by tyme. And he said moreouer that wher wisdom hath most credit there fortune hath least to doe And he in like maner hath written the yong men are simple soon woon and light of beléef bicause thei haue not proued or known the doublenesse craft and vnfaithfulnesse of wicked mē therfore S Peter the Apost admonishing youth hath diuinely sayd Adolescentes subdits estote senioribus That craft is deceyued vvith craft COrax promised Sosius to teach him rhetorike Sosius promised to pay him his hire when he was taught But hauing afterward learned he would not satisfie him wherfore Corax sued him Sosius trusting in his arte of Sophistrie asked him wherin rhetorike consisted Corax answered it consisteth in persuasion Then sayde Sosius if I persuade the iudges that I owe thée nothyng I will paye thée nothing bicause I shal ouercome in law if I persuade them not I will not pay thée bicause I haue not learned to persuade therefore it wil be best for thée to giue ouer thy enterprise But Corax that knewe more than he wrested his argument after this sort and sayd Nay rather if thou persuade the iudges thou shalt pay me bicause thou hast lerned to persuade if thou do not persuade them thou shalt paye me bicause thou shalte lose to me the matter in suite so that euery waye thou oughtest to content me That by the multitude of lavves made the abundance of vices is declared ARcesilans sayde that euen as where there are many physitions there are also many diseases so where there are many lawes there be also or else haue ben many vices bicause vice doth grow before the lawe The opinion and counsels of Epicurus EPicure sayde that thou shouldest rather sée wyth whome thou oughtest to eate and drynke than that whyche thou oughtest to drinke and eate For to lyue alone without fréendes is the lyfe of Wolfes and other wylde beastes The same Epicure sayd we are borne at one tyme neyther is it graunted to bée twice borne and also that whiche wée little estéeme wée are euer in daunger of death Therefore thou béeing not
daye thorowe a clefte bare naked withoute hir knowledge to his dearest fréend Ligus Who séeing so fayre a thing was so farre in loue with hir that hée thought of nothing else but howe he mighte obtayne hir eyther by loue or force The woman on the other syde perceyuing hir husbands dooings by his spéeche and that he had lastly shewed hir to Ligus in that sort thought that shée was betrayde and that the Kyng woulde participate with other his delightes whervpon she tooke so great anger that forthwith she was at the commaundement of Ligus and consented to the death of hir husbaÌ„d and gaue hir selfe to the murdring adulterer togither with the kingdome That three thyngs chaunge the nature of man ARistotle sayde that thou shalte sée thrée things if thou doe marke them well that cause the Nature and condytion of a man to chaunge that is Lordship a woman and wyne That the â—uttleties and deceytes of Cortizans or rather vvhoores are great and not to seeke A French gentleman béeing in Rome went on an euening to lye wyth a Cortizan the whiche in the nyght taking occasion vntyed a piece of a chaine of golde which he had The next mornyng he putting it about his necke he founde that where it was woonte to come foure tymes aboute it would nowe come but thrée and a halfe Then the Cortizan comming before hym looked vppon hym wyth shewe and countenaunce of meruayle and sayde thus Sir doo you féele any griefe as me thinkes you doo and the woman sayde moreouer I can not tell whether you haue taken any colde bycause your head is waxed great and your face swolne and in speaking this she put a glasse in his hand of that sorte whiche maketh things appeare greater and larger than they are The Frencheman lookyng in a glasse and séeing so greate an alteration of his heade he stedfastely beléeued that his head was swoln and had taken some straunge disease wherevpon being very sorowful and maruelling no more at his chain wore it on that fashion afterwarde wofully telling his fréends of that swelling of his hed That businesse requireth the ovvners countenance and not deputiship CAto oftentimes said that the countenance of the owner helpeth much more than deputiship meaning that euery man ought to be presente in dooing of his things and not absent to commit them to other So a Persian béeing demaunded what was the best thyng to fatten a horsse he aunswered the owners eye And an Africane being demauÌ„ded what doong was the beste to fatten the grounde he aunswered the owners footsteps both signifying the presence Likewise the Poet Ennius to this purpose sayd If thou bee wyse weygh still in mynde This precept not to looke that friende Or kinsman doo for thee any way When thou thy selfe mayst do and say That beautie is a heauenly gift and grace of the auncients in diuers sorts praised and esteemed SOcrates called beautie a tyrannie of shorte tyme Plato a priuiledge of nature Theophrastus a secrete decayte Theocritus a delectable damage Carneades a solitarie kingdom Domitius sayd that there was nothing more acceptable Aristotle affirmeth that beautie is more woorthe than all the letters of commendation Homere sayd that it was a glorious gifte of nature and Ouide alluding to him calleth it a grace of God That the vvickednesse of gouernours doth oftentymes cause that the people rebell against the prince BAttus of Dalmatia béeing demaunded of Tyberius for what cause he rebelled so many tymes and had made so great a slaughter of the Romains he answered You your self Cesar be the cause for you appoynte not for your flocke shepherdes for kéepers but rauenous wolues Wherfore Plato diuinely sayeth that we ought to be very circumspect and take great héed how the gouernors and commissaries or Lieutenants of cities and countreyes be broughte vp and accustomed to the ende that lyke hungrie dogs they become not wolues and deuoure the flocke A notable vvay to knovv the qualitie of a man PAlingenius sayeth that who so euer will knowe of what qualitie a man is let him consider what maner frends he hath for nature doth willingly accompanie hir lyke the Florentine sayeth for a prouerbe Jddio fa gli huomini s'appaiouo that is GOD maketh men and they be séen And Cicero in the person of Cato sayth Pares cum paribus facillimè congregantur And in an other place he writeth Mores dispares disparia studia sequuntur That stoute men and true Christians dye for the faith vvith incredible constancie MAcedonius Theodolus and Tatianus béeing both Bishops and martyrs were in the tyme of Iuliane the Emperoure rosted for the faith vppon a grediron So they hauing fire vnderneth them that burned cruelly Macedonius turned to the iudge smyling sayd Oh if thou take pleasure to eate maus fleshe turne the other side to to the end thou mayst finde vs well broyled and seasoned That in this life are tvvo states to be desired the one of Princes the other of fooles SEneca sayd that in this worlde there must néedes be borne a king or a foole A king to be able to reuenge wrongs and to be able to correcte and chastise mens vices A foole for not to acknowlege offences and not to thinke of any thing To breake faith and promise is a thing detestable and greuously to be punished MErcurie delighting among other things in thefte in strife and robberies had stollen Apollos kine whiche none sawe but one man called Battus to whome Mercurie gaue one with condition that he shuld conceale the thefte Afterward to make triall of his fayth he turning himselfe into the lykenesse of Apollo came vnto hym and promysed hym a Bull yf he coulde tell hym of his kyne Battus blynded with the gayne discouered them Whervppon Mercurie being displeased turned him into a stone which of the ancients is called Index lapis parius lapis Heraclius lapis Lydius and Coticula in Englishe a touchestone Hovve ill fortune may be more easily endured THales Milesius béeing asked in what maner a man might more easily abide aduersitie he answered he shall endure it if he sée his enimies in worse estate than himself And the noble Alamanno sayth to this purpose The man vnhappie hath two coÌ„forts true laid vp in store The one is to recall to minde the tyme he liued before In greeater griefe the other is also to haue in mynde If in the vvorlde in worse estate he doth an other finde VVith vvhat suttletie greate princes ought to reigne after the opinion of Homer LEvves the eleuenth King of Fraunce had as it is very well knowne great warre and muche to do with the lordes and barons of his realme among whiche the Constable was also his aduersarie albeit secretly But afterwarde when that the king had ouercome all these lordes the Constable who as I say was not manifestly discouered sent to excuse him selfe to the King shewing that he had ben always loyall and trustie to him and to haue doone his
the farthest parts of the world and finally he is made like to God whose propertie is to do good to euery man and forgiue sinners That vvise men leaue not a certayne gayne for an vncertayne although it be muche greater WHen a fisher had taken in the sea a little fishe he went about to persuade the fisher to giue him libertie saying I am nowe so little that I shall doo thée little gooâ— but if thou do let me go I shall growe and so thou shalte haue more profite of me To whom the fisher sayde I were a very foole if I shoulde leaue that gayne which I haue presently in my hands although it be little for the hope of the gayne to come albeit it were very great And he added this saying of Terence Ego spem praetio non emo Hovve muche Gods helpe can do in humane things and contrarivvise hovv much Gods vvrath doth hurt ATlanta of the Ilande Scyros béeing a very fayre mayden and swiftest of foote baing wowed of many louers in way of maryage made a lawe that he that woulde haue hir shoulde runne with hir and if he ouercame hir she shoulde be his wyfe and béeing ouercome he should suffer death The which thing was attempted of many but all had the foyle and so they loste their liues It chaunced that Hyppomenes séeing on a time suche a wonderful beautie was kindled with the loue of hir in suche sorte that he was determined to gette hir by way of the cruell lawe But hauing well bethought him of his enterprise he wente afterwards like a wise man to aske counsell of Venus Who courteously gaue vnto him thrée apples of golde out of the garden of the Hesperides and taught him how he should vse them So he beeing entred in his course the mayden Atlanta ran swiftly before him Wherefore Hippomenes according as Venus had taught him cast one of the thrée apples vpon the grounde whervpon the maiden waxing very desirous for that brightnesse stouped downe to take it vp but forthwith thorow hir swiftnesse she ouertooke him and ran paste him Then Hippomenes caste downe the second that was fairer and goodlier than the first so that the mayden also more desirous to haue it lost so much time to take it vp that the louer making hast toke a little vauntage which she being swift soone recouered Notwithstanding he séeing hir almost at the ende of the course cast with good courage the thirde apple vppon the grounde much fairer than both the other of the which the damsell being so muche the more desirous with stedfast hope to ouertake and outrun hir louer stouped down to take it But in the mean season Hippomenes running apace ouerpassed hir and was at the marke before hir In this wyse he béeing conquerour ioyfully obtained the faire Atlanta to be his wife Wherfore he not being able to endure the loue hée bare hir in carying hir into his countreye brought her into the holy wood of Cibel mother of the gods there without reuerence of the place had to do with hir Wherwith Cibele being offended turned them both into Lions and sette them as it is also séene to drawe hir charyot VVhen vve must dine and suppe according to Diogenes the Cynike DIogenes the Cynike béeing asked of a certaine frende of his what tyme was beste for a man to dyne and suppe he aunswered He that is riche when he will and he that is poore when he may That vvise men make a iest of superstition A Citizen of Rome rysing in a morning founde that his shoes were gnawne with myse in the night which thing séeming to him monstrous taking it to be a naughtie signe token weÌ„t incontineÌ„tly sore dismayd to find Cato when he had founde him with great heauinesse he asked him what so strange and maruelous a thing betokened To whom Cato laughing answerd It is no maruel brother that the myse hath gnawne thy shoes it had ben a maruel if thy shoes had gnawne myse That foolishe and impertinent tauntes are soone vvrested against the taunters CAius Lelius being a very noble man born it happened that a man basely borne quarelling with him sayd vnto him Thou arte vnworthy of thy auncestours and thou sayd Lelius art worthy of thy now liuing pareÌ„ts That a mans counsell ought timely to be thought vpon contrarivvise a vvomans sodayne DEmocritus the Philosopher sayth that in councelles there is nothing worse than spéedinesse for that is full of errours wherof soone ensueth repentaunce And Bias of the same profession of Philosophie in like maner sayde that counsell had two great enimies to wit spedinesse and anger And Ariosto to this purpose sayth Th'vnthought counsels of women be better Than them which are of studie proceeded For this gifte alone to them is proper Emong so many from heauen bestovved But may that mischiefe of men be redrest Which ripe aduise doth timely not auayle Where vve to ponder oft in minde do fayle Sometimes is study great and labour prest That vaynglorie is oftentimes reputed for follie A Knight of Milan a vayne and boasting man came to Florence in ambassage and when amoÌ„g other his vanities he vsed braggingly to change oftentimes the chaine he did weare at his neck Niccolo Niccolini a man learned and ready maruelling at his fashions and despising suche great boasting sayd One chayne is inoughe for other fooles but this mans follie is such that he néedeth many That vayne ceremonies do little differ from vayne lyes MAster Giouanni della Casa sayd that this worde cirimonie that is ceremonies is straunge in the Tuscan tong for that the ancient Tuscanes knewe it not and therefore they could not giue it any name And he sayd moreouer that impertinent ceremonies do ordinarily little differ for their vanitie from lyes and that sometime they be not onely lyes vayne flatteries but wickednesse and treason bicause by the meanes of them men do not only flatter and deceiue but ofteÌ„times murder and betray their neighbour That euery man ought to speake of his ovvne and not of an other mans profession HAnniball of Carthage béeing come as a banished man to Ephesus to king Antiochus was vpoÌ„ a day requested of his frieÌ„ds to go to heare Phormio an excelleÌ„t Peripaâ—eâ—ike who discoursing many houres of the office of a captain and of the arte of warre very â—loquently contented his hearers maruellously Wherefore Hanniball béeyng asked of them howe he liked so worthy a man he smylyng aunswered I haue séene in my tyme many old men dote but I neuer saw none that doted more than Phormio doth That God hath appoynted to euery man his office and that he doth not allovv that men should go beside it VEnus being beaten of Diomedes woulde with weapon bée reuenged but Iupiter calling hir sayd Daughter myne thy office is not to be occupied in warlyke affaires but about women and louers Wherfore attend about loue kisses embracings and pleasures And as for warlike affaires Mars and Minerua
Dionysius the tyrant was put in an yron cage lyke a wylde and cruell beast But first his nose and eares were cut of an eye and al his téeth pulled out and his forhead marked with a hot yron Thus dayly the executioners tormentyng him in the syghte of the people made hym liue and dye Wherevppon certayne fréendes of hys vpon a tyme aduysed hym that hée ceassyng to eate and drynke shoulde giue place to so greate infirmitie and â—nd hys lyfe But he not yet astonyed answered A man ought alwayes to hope well as long as he hath lyfe which as the most learned Erasmus sayde may bée an example to those whiche through euery misfortune will furiously run to the halter That men of a readie vvitte do easyly ridde themselues of vnreasonable demaundes SEruius Geminus going on a daye to visite Lucius Mallius a moste excellent paynter and séeyng hys chyldren verye deformed coulde not refrayn but sayd that he maruelâ—ed excedingly that he made so faire pictures and so foule children To whome Mallius redily aunswered saying maruell not Seruius for I make pictures in the day and children in the night That a man ought not to seeke reuenge and ought to dispise all temporall thinges MArsilius Ficinus sayd that patience is so muche to be praysed as impatience to be dispraysed that a wise man oughte not to be moued with the voice of the people which crieth reueÌ„gement reuengemeÌ„t bycause the people is a beast with many féet without a head He sayd moreouer that he which hath a noble stomacke ought to dispise things of short continuance and that all Temporall things are but for a while of the whiche the time passed wil be no more the time to come is not yet and the present time is as it were indiuisible bycause it beginneth and endeth at one instaÌ„t That vvine ought to be vvatered PLato warneth vs that for the helth of body and mynde we should temper Bacchus as a drunken God with the Nimphes as sober Goddesses the whiche Meleager confirmeth with his Epigram thus interpreted The Nimphes did Bacchus wash when he a boy had lepte Out of the fire vvith ashes foule vvho yet vvas couered kepte Wherfore a friende vnto the Nimphes is Bacchus vvood But he like is to fire except thou lay his burning mood And Propertius trimly sayth Vino forma perit vino corrumpitur aetas That is By vvine beautie fadeth and grace is defaced That to haue many enimies is lesse daungerous than to haue one alone A Certayne man perceyuing that he had through his wickednesse hurt a thousand persons both in good name and substaunce was wont also boastingly to say that there was no greater safetie than to haue infinite enimies bicause one looketh that the other should be reuenged and so none séeketh of them to reuenge But take heede sayde he of one enimie alone That the loue of the people is a thing of all other most vnconstant MAster Francis Petrarcha touching the vnconstancie of the people sayde thus faire wether of the spring the mornings swéete winde of sommer caulms of the sea the state of the Moone the loue of the people if they be compared togither the palme and the price of mutabilitie shall be giuen to the last Fitte meanes to come soone to a Monarchie ALexander the great béeing demaunded by what meanes he had in so short space gotten the gouernement of so great a worlde he answered with counsell with eloquence and with warlike discipline That a man can not excuse his faults in ascribing them to destinie ZEno of Cittium finding that one of hys slaues had played the théefe commaunded that he shoulde be hanged wherevpon the slaue excusing him selfe and saying that he ought to be pardoned bicause it was not his fault but destinie that he was a théefe Zeno answered and thy destinie is to be hanged and so he sent him to punishment That money letteth sleepe ANacreon the Philosopher hauing receyued for a gifte of Policrates prince of the Samians the value of tenne thousande Duckattes entred into so great thoughts and fantasies that he passed three daies thrée nights without sléepe wherefore he béeing afrayde with that sodayne change and with so great a discommoditie caried by and by the money to the king saying that he restored it agayne bicause it let him from sléepe The description of a man after Aristotle ARistotle béeing asked what man was he aunswered the example of weaknesse the pray of time the play of Fortune the Image of vnconstancie the subiecte of Enuy the stuffe of worldly calamitie the residue choller and flegme That the pollicy of a valiaunt Captayne is of great effecte and force in vvarre AVrelian the Emperoure going with an armie to the citie of â—iana found the gates shut and the inhabitauntes in defence therof wherfore he beeing sore displeased sayd If I enter into this citie I will not leaue one dog aliue The souldiers hering these words and waxing very coragious by reason of the bootie made an excéeding great inuasion so that Heraclemeon a citizen béeing afrayde for feare and for money betrayed his countrey When Aurelian was entred into the citie he caused Heraclemeon the traytour alone to be slayne Nowe the souldiours demaunding the sacke and spoyle of the citie for so muche as it séemed to them that the Emperour had promised it he who ment not so made them aunswere I sayde that I would not leaue one dogge aliue in this citie wherefore kill if you thinke good all the dogs that are here That enuy hurteth asvvell priuately as publikely ANtisthenes the Philosopher sayde that a man oughte principally to take héede of the enuie of his friends and of the wyles of his enimies and added hereto that euen as corne is purged from cockle and an armie knaues so ought the publike weale be purged from the enuious And the learned Palingenius agaynst this accursed plague of enuie sayth thus A monster vile is enuy doubtlesse ay A cruell plague a sharpe assayling griefe She vertue persecutes the good she rentes She spitefully backbites the vpright man She pardon none doth giue to friend nor kin And if she may due honor from him takes That in euery state or degree of men vertue is necessarie and moste profitable SOcrates béeing demaunded which liuing creature in the worlde séemed to him fayrest he sayde the man that is beautified with vertue Alexander the great was wont to say that he had lieffer to excell all men in vertue than in rule Democritus sayde some attribute it to Socrates that the rootes of vertue are bitter but the fruite very swéete and good for euery thing Aristotle commaunded that this moste noble vertue should be embraced with more feruentnesse than the louer embraceth his loue or mistresse bicause sayth he vertue is necessarie for yong men delectable to olde men profitable to the poore an ornament to the riche a glorie to the happie a solace to the vnhappie she lightneth nobilitie and ennobleth
vnnoblenesse That Princes of great vvorthinesse be suche as freely confesse the vertue of their enimie PYrrhus did twise valiantly ouercome the Romanes in open battell but with so great a losse and slaughter of his men that he himselfe crying out sayd Oh if once more we ouercome the Romans we shal lose the fielde The Oracle of Scipio Nasica touching the Romane state MAruellous is the iudgemente and foresight of wise men some sayde the Romane Empire is nowe in safetie sithe that Carthage is destroyed and the Gréekes brought in subiection To whom the wise Scipio Nasica in maner of an Oracle answered Nay rather we are now in great perill séeing that we haue no more aduersaries or ennimies to feare or dreade The which foresight howe diuine it was the pride the corruption the discorde and finally the ruine of that inuinciple people did soone declare it That vvise men ought not to giue themselues to seruice or administration CHrysippus béeing asked for what cause he gaue not himselfe to the administration of the weale publike he answered bicause if I should do yll I should displease God and if I should do wel I should displease menne But Sidonius hys scholer wittyly wrested this sentence and sayde Nay rather you ought with all endeuour to giue your selfe to suche seruice bicause if you shoulde do well you should please please God if you shoulde do yll you should please men That vve ought muche more to looke to the ending than to the beginning of great and perillous enterprises WHen king Francis the first of that name was determined to go into Italy with a huge armie to recouer the dukedome of Milan which was after that he was taken prisoner at Pauia he consulted which way be might enter into that countrey or prouince So afterwarde when his maiestie with hys counsellours were resolued Amaril his foole at his comming from the counsell met him and sayde Sir these your wise men séeme to me fooles Why sayde the king Bicause they sayde Amaril haue taken long aduisement which way you might beste enter into Jtaly but they haue not yet spoken one word which way you might best come out wherfore beware sir that you abide not there That religious and vvise Princes doe choose rather to dye than to liue vnmete to gouerne THe young Augustus Emperoure of the East béeing a hunting and discouering a harte shot a poysoned arrowe to him but in the leusing of his arrowe he hurte by misfortune one of his hands in suche sorte that the poyson working the Phisitions saide that to saue his life it was néedfulll to cut off foorthwith that hande before the venime were spreade abroade throughout the body Then Augustus sighing sayd I had rather dye than do this bicause Cesar can not with one hand alone rule the worlde vprightly and so miserably he dyed The great efficacie and vertue of pouertie DIogenes was wont to say that pouertie is the ayde of Philosophie bycause that which Philosophie goeth about to persuade with wordes pouertie compelleth wyth déedes And Ariosto sayde that pouertie is a candle that discloseth mannes miseries although it discouer also his worthinesse and vertue séeing that after Aristotle in aduersitie chiefly vertue sheweth hir operation That Pallas and Bacchus agree not vvell togither to vvit that vertue can not dvvell vvith drunkennesse VErtue is transformed into diuers shapes Sometimes she is transformed into an olyue trée that was founde out by Pallas the vine whiche was the inuention of Bacchus began to fasten and twine about him wherfore the Olyue tree vsed to him these words saying Why to me dost thou vvanton vine offence Of Pallas I the tree am termde get hence With thy thicke boughes that holde me fast about Elsevvhere nevv props to stay thy selfe seeke out For Bacchus doth vvith deadly hate pursue A virgine yong that is of vertues crue Hovve much silence is allovved hovve profitable and sure it is SImonides the Philosopher béeing blamed on a time bycause he naturally spake so little he sayd I speake so litle bycause I haue many times repented me when I had spokē too muche but I neuer repented me when I had too long held my peace Apollonius sayde that babbling is full of errour and silence is safe and voyd of care And Seneca in lyke maner sayeth that there is nothing that maketh one better in quiet than fewe words and many thoughts Bycause saith he the pleasantnesse of spéeche is so swéete a meate and so alluring that she by little and little enticeth a man no otherwyse than wine and loue doth to discouer secretes and afterward to sow occasions to sinne Wherevpon it is read that Anacarsis the philosopher wrote on his paynted image this sentence Abstaine from the tongue from the throate and from Venerie That it is of no lesse vertue to knovve hovve to keepe silence than to learne hovv to speake A Certain yong man ful of words sought to speak with Isocrates the orator to the end to be his scholer But Isocrates required double wages He being asked for what cause he answered For that I had néede to teache thée two artes the first is to kéepe silence and the seconde to speake That vve ought vtterly to forget our enimies PLato sayde that not only a man ought not to speake of his enimies but also put them out of remembraunce as nature dothe who putteth away hir contrarie That Sophistrie and boasting hath no place among vvise and lerned men A Certaine sophister desirous to set foorthe to Diogenes the sharpnesse of his wit met him on a day and sayd Diogenes that which I am thou art not whiche the Philosopher graunting he added héereto I am a man Ergo thou art no man No no sayd Diogenes begin with me and thou shalt argue wel To an other that for ostentations sake spake vaynely many thyngs of heauen hée sayde Howe long is it agone since thou camest from thence That the substaunce and vaynglorie of this vvorld is in the ende both sleepe and vvinde A Couetous man falling gréeuously sicke drew néere afterward to deaths dore and knowing in the ende that he had nothing to carie with him into an other worlde turned him lastly to his kinsfolke frends that were about him and sayd Take now example by me my déere companions to the ende that in heaping vp of riches you trouble not your selues more than honestie requireth bicause I that haue spent all my lyfe tyme in scrapyng goodes and tresure together must now leaue this life besides whiche I haue enioyed nothing of so much land and precious apparel that I haue I shal possesse nothing else but fyue foot of grounde and an olde shéete The great Saladine forsomuche as he hath bene a noble prince I compare him not herewith the couetous man but set him in thys place as an example of the vayneglory of this world appoynted at his death that this Epitaph should be putte vppon his tombe Saladine king and owner
and worthie that vneth a man dareth to loke hir ful in the face That mans ambition cannot abyde any fellovve in rule WHen Alexander the great hadde ouercome Darius in two greate battayles Darius knowing the valiantnesse of his enimie offered him halfe his kingdome and one of his Daughters in mariage with infinite treasure if he woulde make peace with him Whiche offer Parmeno the chiefest man about him vnderstanding sayde If I were Alexander I would do it And I would doe it aunswered Alexander if I were Parmeno So refusing the offer he quickely conquered the countrie and obteyned the whole victory That the presence and svveete speache of the Prince is very profitable in daungerous and troublous times WHen the Emperoure Charles the fifte in the yere of our Lorde a thousand fine hundred and foure was entred into Fraunce through Campania with a huge armie he marched onward apace So lastely hauing taken Soisson he thought good to go toward the royal Cittie of Paris Wherfore the Parisians notwithstanding that they knewe that their King was with no lesse armie at hande did not onelye murmur and repine but the people also made many signes of mutinie and rebellion Wherfore king Frauncis wente forthwith in his owne person to Paris where setting al things in very good order for the suretie and safegard of the people and seeing them for all thus in great feare vsed to them among other these notable words saying I cannot keepe you men of Paris from feare but I will surely kéepe you from hurte assuring you that I had rather to dye valiantly than to liue vilely in forsaking you That it belongeth to euery man but especially to Princes to keepe faith and promise THe same king Fraunces was wont sometimes to say that when faith should fayle in all other meÌ„ yet it should remayne amoÌ„g Princes bycause their power is such as they cannot be coÌ„strayned neyther by iudgemeÌ„ts nor by lawes And the wise king Alphonsus of Aragon sayd that the word of a Prince ought to be so much worth as the oth of priuate men Ariosto meaning no lesse of priuate men than of Princes wrote wisely and generally vpon the kéeping of faith and promise after this sorte Faith vndefiled thou oughtest aie to haue To one alone as to a thousand giuen So in a wood and in a secrete caue Far of from citties tounes and mens fight hidden As at the barre before the iudges gâ—â—ue In courte of record and witnesses written Without oth or other signe more expresse That once is inough which thou didste promesis That vvise men liue in suche vvise that they feare not forged crimes WHen it was told Plato that some spake amisse of him he aunswered I passe not for my liuing is suche that they shall not be beléeued And Aristotle sayde of one that had spoken amisse of him I giue him leaue to correcte me euen in my absence And of late yeares the Emperoure Charles the fifte token it was reported vnto him that some did backbite him said let them talke for meÌ„ will accoumpte them fooles That vvomen do rather obey sense than reason WHen the Emperoure Sigismunde was dead a curiouse kinsman of his exhorâ—ed his wife to remayne a widdowe and followe the turtle shewing hir at large howe that birde when hir make is dead liueth chast euer after But the woman smyling aunswered him Sith that you counsell me to followe an vnreasonable birde why doe not you rather sette before me the doue or the sparrowe which haue a more pleasaunte nature for women That men ought to do good euen to the dead SYmonides the Philosopher sayde that men ought to do good eueÌ„ to the dead recompting that he going a iorney found a dead man layd out to be deuoured of wilde beasts and birds wherfore taking pittie caused him forthwith to be buried And when he was minded the nexte day to take shipping there appeared to him béeing a sléepe in the night the soule of that dead man whiche warned hym that he shoulde not enter into that appointed shippe saying that the same should perrishe without doubte Wherfore he tolde in the morning this dreame to his fellowes willing them in no wise to enter that shippe and to stay for an other passage but they laughing him to scorne lefte him and embarked themselues in hir So it fell out that not long after suche a greate tempest rose that the shippe was drowned and his companions fainting dyd all perishe That the life of priuate men is more pleasaunt and quiet than that of Princes THe Emperoure Maximiane and Diocletiane béeing wearie of rule the one and the other willingly resigned their Empire this man to Nicomedia and that man to Milanuâ— notwithstaÌ„ding Maximiane afterward repenting himselfe and hauing intelligence that Maxentius his sonne was chosen Emperoure came to Rome with desire and hope which at the end was vaine to take eftsoons rule in hand and to this effecte he procured and lay instantly vpon Diocietiane But Diocletiane aunswered him thus oh brother if you sawe the faire coleworts and goodly onions that I haue planted and sowen with my owne hande certes you woulde neuer thinke more vppon rule VVith vvhat gentlenesse and mildnesse valiaunt Princes auoide the misreports of their subiects against them WHen King Antigonus hadde broughte his armie to winter in barraine and deserte places hys souldiers wanted many things necessarie wherfore some presumpteous fellowes not knowing that he was thereby blamed him and spake very ill of him But he hearing them lyke a mylde and gentle prince as he was came out of his teÌ„t sayde Oh if you will speake amisse of the king go further off for if you felt the payne I doo you could not abide it That the remembrance of our short life doth muche abate mans loftinesse of mynde XErxes king of Persia gooing a warfarâ— agaynst the Gréekes and séeing all Hellesponte full of his shippes and men of warre cryed with a loude voyce I am a happy man A little whyle after chaunging his countenaunce he beganne to wéepe wherefore his vncle Artabanus séeing so great a chaunge asked him the cause To whom Xerxes altogither grieued pitifully answered in this maner I doo lament bicause I call to mynde the great miserie and shortnesse of mans life considering that in lesse than a hundreth yeres wée shall without doubte all bée dead and rotten He that knovveth much speaketh little DEmosthenes séeing in a company a prating fellowe sayd vnto him if thou were wise inough thou wouldest speake lesse and adding moreouer this sentence he that is wise doth little speake and thinketh much That syncere friendship is knovvne in aduersitie VAlerius Maximus sayth that the sincere fayth of a friende is knowne in aduersitie in the whiche all that gentlenesse and curtesye whiche is shewed to a man procéedeth of founde and constant good will The friendlye déedes that are shewed in prosperitie saith he may procede of flatterie at the least they are suspected to
long youth It helpeth he addeth hereto sometime to vse bathes other while cold water to day to annoint himself to morrowe not passe vppon himselfe and finally to refuse no meate nor drinke which the common people doth vse That it is follye to looke for more of things then nature doth affourde them A Shepharde which had a flocke of shepe séeing that the wolfe did daily take and consume them assembled together vppon a daye the whole flocke and with a trim and long oration he put them in comfort not to feare the wolues for so muche as they were many in number and for the most parte had hornes which the wolues haue not wherefore he wold haue them to be of good courage and with one assent valiauntly to giue ayde one to another and that he would not sayle them at anye time The shéepe taking good hart at these worde ioyned with such effectuall reasons promised and sware that they woulde no more flie from the wolfe Notwithstanding a while after when the rumour was raised to the wolfe to the wolfe those poore beastes were surprised with so great feare that the words and the reasons of the shepherd were not able to holde them from flying awaye Whereuppon he afterward sorrowing with them one of the wisest francklye spake Whilest to make white the blacke thou dost assay Thou sekest that dark night shuld become cleare day That the fruite and safetie of mony consisteth in occuping and not in keping A Couetous man hauyng solde all that hée had and tourned it into ready money buried it in a place where he went daily to see it in suche wise that a man of the countrey watching what he did went thether in the night and digged it out and caryed it away And when the miser another daye came againe to sée his treasure he not finding it was minded desperately to gyue himselfe to the Deuill But a fréend of his being at hand and vnderstanding the cause said vnto him quiet thy self my felow for thou diddest not occupy this monie at all so that thou maiste put stones in place thereof and perswade with thy self that it is golde for these stones will stande thée in as good stéede as monie and added hereto these verses of Petrarcha Oh mente vaga al fin sempre digiuna A che tante pensieris vn'hora sgombra Quel ch' en molti anni a pena si ragana that is Oh greâ—dy mind still hungry to the ende Wherto are so great cares one houre doth spoyle That which long time hath hardly won with toyle That the counsayles of youth are rashe and vnaduised and of age considered and perfecte WHEN Paulus Emilius was generall Captaine in Greece for the Romans against king Perseus he had with him Scipio being a very yong man but famous for hys great beginnings of vertue The which Scipio when vpon some occasion he thought the time conuenient to giue battaile to the enimie said Dost thou not sée Emilius to whom the old expert captaine perceiuing some damage that mighte arise thereby whych the vnskillfull yong man knewe not of sayde Nasica when I was of thy yeares I was so minded as thou arte nowe and when thou shalte come to my yeares thou shalte be of that mind which I am now of That the state of vvorldly things is very full of chaunge and therefore that it is meete for vs to prepare to endure both fortunes THE same Emilius when hée had ouercome and taken prisoner the foresaide Perseus and sawe him fall prostrate to hys féete wéeping and ouer cowardlye yelding himself saide vnto him alasse for me stande vp for thou shamest my victorye I thought that I had ouercome some greate king but now I finde that I haue subdued a cowardly woman doutlesse thou arte worthy of greater misfortune And turning to his men of warre he said to them beholde there an example moste notable of worldly things to you yong men chiefly I speake to the ende that you may lerne not to puffe your selues ouer much with pride in prosperitie neither to truste happie fortune to much forasmuch as he is dead in the morning which is borne in the euening And he is a man in déede that in prosperitie is not proude and in aduersitie is not vnpacient A Philosophicall opinion touching the iudging of friendes causes BIas the Philosopher saith that he was neuer willyng to be iudge betwéene hys friendes but betwene his enemies Bycause euen as saith he it is to be feared that one of thy friends shall become thine enemye so is it to be hoped that one of thyne enemies shal be made thy friende That none can liue in this vvorlde vvithoute trouble SOcrates beyng asked of a friende of hys how mannes life maye be passed wythout trouble answered by no meanes for it is not possible said he to dwell in Cities castles and houses without trouble That loue entreth the bodye by the eyes and ouercommeth both Gods and men ARaspa beyng warned of Cirus that he shuld not bée conuersaunte wyth women saying that through his eyes loue by litle wold enter into him answered that if he dyd alwayes take héede of him he should neuer be ouercome But when he was not long after fallen into the flames of loue and for feare and shame durst not come in the presence of his Lord Cirus sent for him as for one whoÌ„ he loued and smiling saide Araspa I knowe that thou arte greatly afeard of me peradueÌ„ture more ashamed but be of good chéere for I maruaile not at thy errour knowing well that euen Gods themselues haue byn deceyued manye times and ouercome by loue That vvomen sometymes doe vvorthy deedes IN the warre betwéene the Emperoure Curradus the third surnamed Ghibellinus Guelfus Duke of Berne of whom in tyme paste the partes taking of the Ghibellines and the Guelfins toke name there chaÌ„unced a déede of women as Paulus Emilius the Historigrapher witnesseth no lesse worthy than pleasaunt And this it was that when the Emperoure had ouercome by force Monake the heade Citie of Berne and appointed for muche hatred conceyued all the men to be cut in péeces notwithstanding he fauorablie graunted the women that they should departe safe with all that they coulde carrie vppon their backes Wherevppon those valiaunte women furthered wyth excéeding great loue and true affection toke counsaile and strength to carrye with them the men for their burden With whych worthy acte the Emperoure not onely accompted hymselfe deluded but it pleased him so muche that throughe their loue he receyued afterwarde the Duke his aduersarye into fauour also That valiaunte and vertuous men vvill not be corrupted PHocion of Athens a verye good Citizen when Alexander the great had sent him a great summe of money to win him vnto him asked the messanger what he brought hym and for what cause Alexander had sent money rather to hym than to other citizens Because he thinketh you aunswered he honester and better than
maruelling at so great a summe were sorie that they put it into his handes shewing him that Donatello a man so excellent asked but fiftie to do it Lastly they béeing not able to agrée among themselues they remitted the matter to Donatello who by by gaue iudgement that the counsellors shuld pay Iohn thréescore ten crounes Then the Counsellers being moued remembring that he himself would haue ben contented to doe it for fiftie Donatello courteously sayd It is true and I was wel contented bicause I myght haue doone this image béeyng the workeman I am in lesse than a moneth but this poore man that scarsly can be my scholer hath ben about it aboue six months Hereby at one instant he wittyly reuenged himself of the iniurie receyued of the counsellors and reproued the other for insufficiencie and worthyly praysed himselfe for his vertue That some are sorovvfull for things that make other ioyfull ONe of Perugia was sorowfull and wepte miserably bycause his wyfe hanged hir selfe on a Figtrée To whome a neyghbor of his whispering in his eare sayd Frend how is it possible that in so great prosperitie thou fyndest teares to wéepe Giue me I praye thée a graffe of that Figtrée for I wold plant him in my gardeÌ„ to sée what my wyfe can do That subtiltie vsed in season is sometymes an incredible helpe THere was in Andwerpe an excellent aduocate which had takeÌ„ in hand to defende as the manner is a man of a most wycked life when he was before the Iudges he sayde to the iusticer who taketh parte agaynst the persons arrained and who also was desirous to haue that fellowe hanged Sir be you content that I defend this honest man I am coÌ„tent sayd the Iusticer Then the aduocate turning to the Iudges sayd Marke Sirs this maÌ„ ought not to be haÌ„ged for the Malgraue himselfe such is the title of the Iusticer that hath accused him and that soughte for his life hath consented that he is an honest maÌ„ and honest men as you knowe are not hanged VVhy fortune is blynde foolishe and foule THe Philosophers say that fortune is blind foolishe and soule Blynde bycause she séeth not where she throweth hir selfe Foolishe for that she is variable vncertain vnconstant Foule for that she is wicked gréedye and dishonest Wherefore the moste learned Alciate to this purpose sayth When yong Octauian had woon Brutus in the fielde Before he kild himself with sword imbrude with blod He cryed maynly now doth haplesse vertue yeelde Vanquisht alone by gredie fortune naught and wood That the common people doe bevvraye themselues bothe by their deedes and vvordes WHen vpon a tyme a ioyfull feaste was to bée made in Florence for some good newes a woollen weauer intending to haue himselfe knowne and to appeare honourably after his maner at the sightes and playes caryed foorth his wyues clothes to the intent to lende them to some vse His wyfe makyng muche a doe for this the husbande sayd Hold thy peace thou wayward woman for to doe my selfe honour Chiasso is a stinking lane in Florence I will not onely sende out thy cloathes but also put thée in Chiaslo The Bay tree hath diuers and noble vertues and significations THe Bay trée is consecrate to Apollo bycause hée running after Daphnis a verye fayre damsel of whom he was enamored she through feare recommended hir selfe to Iupiter and hée for pitie tourned hir into a Baye trée Whervppon from that tyme forwarde Phoebus tooke some of the braunches to trim his harpe and weareth them alwayes about his forhead And also it is consecrate to him for that he is the god of diuination bicause that if one put the leaues therof vnder the head of an other that sléepeth it maketh him to dream of true things And the bay trée euer groweth gréen like vnto vertue which is always gréen And alone among all other trées is safe from lightning as vertue alone is safe from enuie And it is called Laurell of laude and so in old tyme it was called by reason that the auncient Gréekes and afterward the Romains did with maruellous prayse trimme the temples of those conquerors that did enriche or defend the weale publike euen as they also trimmed those Poets which excellently did sette foorth the vertues of other Wherefore the famous Petrarcha whiche was called to so greate honour at Rome sayth Le corone de flori alle donzelle Quelle d'alloro a' Cesari e poeti Si danno e gli ornan come l'cielle le stelle The crownes of floures of virgins pure are worne But them of bayes the Cesars heades adorne The same also are vnto Poets giuen Trimming the temples as the starrâ—â— do heauen Hovv one may receyue commoditie euen of his enimies ANtisthenes sayd other attribute it to Xenophon that a man oughte to marke that which his enimies say for they be the fyrste that knowe his errours And he added that as the good Phisitian taketh some remedies euen of serpents so ought the wyse man take some profite euen of his enimies That Fortune for the continual turning of hir vvhele suffreth no maÌ„ in the highest degree to rest in quiet PEter of Albizâ— being in so great worship in Florence that he surpassed all other citizens of long tyme bothe for authoritie and prosperitie it hapned that he makyng a goodly banket to many of his friendes there was sente to him a bolle of siluer full of confites and among them lay hidden a nayle The whiche nayle laye afterwarde vncouered and being séene of all the feasters it was interpreted that hée was put in remembraunce that hée stayed the whéele of Fortune bycause she hauing broughte him to the highest it coulde not be but that if she continued to make hir wonted compasse she wold turne him downe to the bottom The which interpretation was first verified by his ruine and afterwarde by his violent death Wherfore wisely sayth Solon that none can be called happie vntill he happily die That craftie men do couer vices vnder diuers colours WHen the Philosopher Aristippus was blamed bycause he lyued too sumptuously he sayd pleasauntly I beleue that it is no ill for if it were offence men would not do as they do in the celebration of the feasts of the gods That an vniust Iudge giues sentence on his side that giueth him the greatest bribe ONe of Pistoia béeing called to be an arbitoure betwene two that were at variaÌ„ce toke of the one a vessell of oyle with promisse to gyue sentence wyth fauoure The other knowyng of this incoÌ„tinently sent him home to his house a very fatte hogge desiring hym that he would be fauorable Wherupon the good iudge gaue sentence on his side that gaue the hogge Which his aduersarie vnderstanding ran foorthwith towards him and was sorowfull for the trust he had of him and for the reward he sent him the iudge pulling him aside sayd Vnderstande brother that there came into my house a hogge whiche fynding