death with paine but wher life is without profit Fourthly I dye ioyfully not so much for the profit I haue don to men as for the seruice I haue done to the gods For regarding to how many profitable things we employ our life we maye say we liue onlye the time which is employed to the seruice of god Ceasinge to speake further of my person I wil worthy Senatours disclose vnto you a high secret which toucheth your comon welth this it is That our father Romulus founded Rome Numa Pompillius erected the high Capitol Aneus Marcius enclosed it with walles Brutus deliuered it from Tyraunts the good Camillus droue out the frenchmen Quintus Scicinnatus augmēted her power but I leaue it peopled with gods which shal defend Rome better then walles or men For in the end the feare of one god is more worth then the strength of al men When I came to Rome it was a confusion to se how it was peopled with men vnfurnished of gods For ther wer but 5. gods that is to wete Iupiter Mars Ianus Berecinthia and the goddess Vesta But now it is not so For ther remayneth for euery one a priuate god Me thinketh it an vniust thing that treasouries shold be ful of gold the temples void of gods As ther is 28000 housholdes so you may account your selues happie that I leaue you 28000. gods by the vertu of the which I cōiure you Romains that eche of you be contented with the god of his house and haue no care to applye to himselfe the gods of the common wealth For he that empropreth to him self that which ought to be cōmon to al is to be blamed of god and hated of mē This shal be therfore the order that you shal kepe and haue towards the gods if you wil not erre in their seruice That is to vnderstand ye shal kepe the mother Berecinthia to pacify the ire of the gods ye shal kepe the goddesse Vesta to turne from you the wicked destenies Ye shal kepe the god Iupiter shal commit vnto him the gouernment of your common wealth And also ye shal kepe him for the god aboue all the gods in heauen and earth For if Iupiter dyd not temper the ire which the gods aboue haue against you there shoulde be no memorye of men here beneth in earth Of other particuler gods which I leaue you vse your particuler profit But yet notwithstāding in the meane season Romaines take you hede to your selues and if at any time fortune should be contrary let no man be so hardy to speake euil of the god which he hath in his house For the gods tel me that it was sufficient inough to dissemble with theym whiche serue them not not to pardon those that offend them And do not deceiue your selues in sayeng that they are priuate gods and not able to help themselues For I let you know that ther is not so lytle a god but is of power sufficient to reuenge an iniurye O Romaynes it is reason that al from hensforth liue ioyfully and in peace and furthermore thinke your selues assured not to be ouercome by your enemyes because nowe youre neyghbours of you and not you of them shal desire to borow gods and because ye shall se me no more ye thinke I must dye and I thinke because I dye I shall beginne to liue For I go to the gods and leaue amonge you the gods because I departe ¶ Howe the Gentiles thoughte that one God was not able to defende them from their enemies and how the Romans sent throughout al the Empire to borow gods when they foughte agaynst the Gothes Cap. vii IN the yeare of the foundacion of Rome 1164. which accordynge to the count of the Latins was 402. from the incarnacion as Paulus Orosus in the sixte boke De machina mundi saieth Paulus Diaconus in the 12. boke of the Romaine histories The gothes which as Spartian sayeth wer called otherwise Gethules or Meslagethes wer driuen out of theyr countrey by the Huns came in to Italy to seke new habitacions and became natural built houses At this time there was an Emperour of Rome named Valentine a man of smal reputacion courage in warres and endued with few good cōdicions for that he was of Arian his secte The kynges of these Gothes wer two renowmed men whose names wer Randagagismus and Alaricus Of the which two Randagagismus was the chiefest and most puissaunt and he had a noble mynde and a very good wit He led with him at the leaste 2000000. Gothes the which all with him and he with them made an othe to shed asmuche bloude of the Romaines as they coulde and offer it to their gods For the barbarous people had a custome to noynte the god whiche was at that time in the tēple of Venus with the bloud of their enemys whom they had slaine The newes of the comming of this cruell tiraunt was published throughout all Italie Whose determinacion was not only to race the walles of Rome downe to the earth batter towers dungions houses walles and buildynges but also he purposed to abolyshe and vtterlye to brynge to noughte the name of Rome and likwyse of the Romaines Of this thing all the Italiens were in great and merueilous feare And the most puissaunt and couragious knightes and gentlemen agreed togethers to retire within the walles of Rome and determined to die in that place to defend the liberty therof For amōges the Romaines there was an aunciente custome that when they created a knyghte they made him sweare to kepe thre thinges 1 First he sware to spende all the dayes of his lyfe in the warres 2 Secoundarely he sware that neyther for pouerty nor ryches nor for any other thinges he shoulde euer take wages but of Rome onelye 3 Thirdly he sware that he woulde rather chuse to dye in libertye then to liue in captiuitie After all the Romaynes scatered abrode in Italie wer together assēbled in Rome they agred to sende letters by their pursiuantes not only to their subiectes but also to al their confederate Theffecte whereof was this ¶ Of a Letter sent from the senate of Rome to all the subiects of the Empire Chap. viii THe sacred Senate and all the people of Rome to all their faythfull and louing subiectes and to their deare frendes and confederates wysheth health victory against your enemies The varietie of time the negligence of you all the vnhappy successe of our aduentures haue broughte vs in prosses of tyme that wher as Rome conquered Realmes and gouerned so many straunge signoryes now at this day commeth straungers to conquere and destroye Rome in such sorte that the Barbarous people whom we were wont to kepe for sclaues sweare to become our lords and masters We let you know now how al the Barbarous nacion hath cōspired against Rome our mother and they with their king haue made a vowe to offer al the Romaines bloud to their
shoold bee lesse euil for vs to haue him our enemy then to account of him as of our deere frend Him whom wee wil choose for our faithfull frend amongst other maners and condicions hee must chiefely and beefore all bee indued with these that hee bee curteous of nature faier spoken hard and stout to indure payn pacient in troubles sober in dyet moderate in his woords graue and rype in his counsels and aboue all stedfast in frendship and faithfull in secrets And whom wee shall fynd with these laudable vertues and conditions adorned him may wee safely take and accept for our frend But if wee see any of these parts wanting in him wee ought to shon him as from the plague knowing for certeinty that the frendship of a fayned and fantasticall frend is much woorse and perilous then the enmity of a knowen and open enemy For to the hands of one wee commit our hart and faith and from the deceipts and treasons of the other wee defendour selues with our whole force power Seneca wryting to his deere faithful frend Lucillus sayth vnto hym I pray thee O Lucillus that thou order determyne thine affaiers by thaduise counsel of thy frend but also I doo remember thee that first thou see well what maner of frend thou hast chosen thee for there is no marchandise in the world this day that men are so soone beegyled in as they are in the choise of frends Therefore the graue sentence of Seneca wysely wayed wee shoold assent with him in oppinion that sith no man byeth a horse but hee first causeth him to bee ridden nor bread but first hee seeth and handleth it nor wyne but hee tasteth it nor flesh but first hee wayeth it nor corne but hee seeth a sample nor house but that hee dooth first value it nor Instrument but first hee playeth on it and iudgeth of his sound yt is but reason hee shoold bee so much the more circumspect beefore he choose his frend to examin his lyfe and condicion since all the other things wee haue spoken of may bee put in dyuers houses and corners but our frend wee lodge and keepe deerely in our proper bowels Those that write of the emperor Augustus say that hee was very straunge and scrupulous in accepting frends but after hee had once receyued theÌ„ into his frendship hee was very constant and circuÌ„spect to keepe them For hee neuer had any frend but first hee had some proofe and tryall of him neither woold hee euer after forsake him for any displeasure doon to him Therefore yt shoold always bee so that true frends shoold bere one to an other such loue and affection that the one beeing in prosperity should not haue occasion to complayn of him self in that hee did not reliue his frends necessity beeing in aduersity nor the other beeing poore and needy shoold grudge or lament for that his frend beeing rich and welthy woold not succor him with all that hee might haue doone for him For to say the truth where perfect frendshyp is there ought no excuse to bee made to doo what possible is the one for the other The frendship of young men cometh commonly or for the most parte at the least by beeing companyons in vyce and folly and such of right ought rather to bee called vacabonds then once to deserue the name of true frends For that cannot bee called true frendship that is continued to the preiudyce or derogation of vertue Seneca wryting agayn to Lucillus sayth these woords I woold not haue thee think nor once mistrust O my Lucillus that in all the Romayn empire I haue any greater frend then thou but with all assure thy self that our frendship is not so streight beetwene vs that I woold take vppon mee at any tyme to doo for thee otherwyse then honesty shoold lead mee For though the loue I bere thee hath made thee lord of my lyberty yet reason also hath left mee vertue free ¶ The aucthor proceedeth on Applyeng that wee haue spoken to that wee will now declare I say I wil not acknowledge my self your seruant for so shoold I bee compelled to feare you more then loue you much lesse will I vaunt my self to bee your kinsman for so I shoold importune and displease you and I will not brag that heeretofore wee haue been of familier acquaintance for that I woold not make any demonstration I made so lyttle account of you and lesse then I am bound to doo neither will I bost my self that I am at this present your famyliar and welbeeloued for in deede I shoold then shew my self to bee to bold and arrogant but that that I will confesse shal bee that I loue you as a frend and you mee as a kinsman al bee it this frendship hath succeeded dyuersly tyll now For you beeing noble as you are haue bountifully shewed your frendship to mee in large and ample gyfts but I poore and of base estate haue only made you sure of myne in woords Plutarche in his Polytikes sayd That it were farre better to sell to our frends our woorks and good deeds whether they were in prosperity aduersity or necessity then to feede them with vayn flattering woords for nothing Yet is it not so general a rule but that sometymes it happeneth that the high woords on the one syde are so profitable and the woorks so few and feeble on the other syde that one shal bee better pleased and delighted with hearing the sweete and curteous woords of th one then hee shal bee to bee serued with the cold seruyce and woorks of the other of small profyt and value Plutarch also in his booke De animalibus telleth vs that Denis the tyrant beeing one day at the table reasoning of dyuers and sundry matters with Chrisippê° the philosopher it chaunced that as hee was at diner one brought him a present of certen suger cakes wherefore Chrisippus cesing his former discours fell to perswade Denys to fall to his cakes To whom Denys aunswered on with your matter Chrisippus and leaue not of so For my hart is better contented wyth thy sweet and sugred woords then my tong is pleased with the delycate tast of these mountayn cakes For as thou knowest these cakes are heauy of digestion and doo greatly annoy the stomake but good woords doo maruelously reioyce and comfort the hart For this cause Alexander the great had the poet Homer in greater veneration beeing dead then all the other that were alyue in hys tyme not for that Homer euer did him seruyce or that hee knew him but only beecause of his lerned bookes hee wrote and compyled and for the graue sentences hee found therein And therefore hee bare about him in the day tyme the booke of the famous deedes of Troy called the Illiades hanged at his neck within hys bosom in the night hee layd it vnder his bolster at hys beddes head where hee slept In recompence therefore syr of the many
that amongest the myshappes of fortune we dare saye that ther is no felycitie in the world And he only is happie from whom wisedom hath plucked enuious aduersitie and that afterwards is brought by wisedome to the highest felycitye And thoughe I would I cannot endure any lenger but that the immortall gods haue the in their custoditye and that they preserue vs from euyl fortune Sith thou art retired now vnto Bethinie I know well thou wouldest I should write the some newes from Rome and at this presente there are none but that the Carpentines and Lusitaines are in great strife and dissension in Spayne I receiued letters how that the barbarous were quyet though the host that was in Illiria were in good case yet notwistanding the army is somwhat fearefull and timerous For in all the coaste and borders ther hath bene a great plague Pardon me my frend Pulio for that I am so sickely that yet I am not come to my selfe For the feuer quartaine is so cruel a disease that he which hath it contenteth himselfe with nothinge neither taketh pleasure in any thing I send the .ii. of the best horses that can be found in al Spayne also I send the ii cuppes of gold of the richest that can be founde in Alexandria And by the lawe of a good man I swere vnto the that I desire to sende the ii or .iii. howers of those which trouble me in my feauer quartaine My wife Faustine saluteth the and of her part and mine also to Cassia thy olde mother and noble widowe we haue vs commended Marcus the Romaine Emperour with his owne hande writeth this and againe commendeth him vnto his dere frend Pulio ¶ That princes and great Lordes ought not to esteme them selues for being fayre and wel proportioned Cap. xli .. IN the time that Iosue triumphed amongest the Hebrues and that Dardanus passed from great Grece to Samotratia and when the sonnes of Agenor were seking their sister Europe and in the time that Siculus reigned in Scicil in great Asia in the Realme of Egipt was buylded a great cytie called Thebes the which king Busiris built of whom Diodorus Sicculus at large mencioneth Plynie in the .36 chapter of his naturall historie and Homere in the second of his Iliade and Statius in al the booke of his Thebiade do declare great meruelles of this citye of Thebes which thing ought greatly to be estemed for a man oughte not to thinke that fayned whiche so excellente auctours haue writen For a truth they say that Thebes was in circuite .40 myles and that the walles were .30 stades hye and in breadthe .6 They say also that the citie had a hundreth gates very sumptuous and strong and in euery gate .ii. hundreth horsemen watched Through the middest of Thebes passed a great riuer the which by mylles and fishe dyd greatly profite the citie When Thebes was in his prosperity they say that there were two hundreth thousand fiers and besydes all this al the kynges of Egipt were buried in that place As Strabo sayth De situ orbis when Thebes was destroyed with enemies they found therin lxxvii tombes of kings whych had bene buried there And here is to be noted that al those tombes were of vertuous kings For among the Egiptians it was a law inuiolable that the king which had bene wicked in his lyfe should not be buried after his death Before the noble and worthy Numantia was founded in Europe the riche Carthage in Affricke and the hardye Rome in Italy the goodly Capua in Campaigne and the great Argentine in Germanie and the holy Helia in Palestine Thebes onlye was the most renowmed of all the world For the Thebanes amongest al nacions were renowmed aswel for their riches as for their buyldings and also because in theyr lawes customes they had many notable seuere things al the men were seuere in their workes although they would not be knowen by their extreame doinges Homere sayth that the Thebanes had v. customes wherein they were more extreme then any other nacion 1. The first was that the children drawing to v. yeres of age were marked in the forehead with a hoote yron because in what places so euer they came they should be knowen for Thebanes by that marke 2. The second was that they should accustome their children to trauaile alwayes on foote And the occasion why they dyd this was because the Egiptians kept their beastes for their gods and therfore when so euer they trauayled they neuer rydde on horsebacke because they should not seme to sitte vpon their god 3. The third was that none of the citizens of Thebes shold mary with any of straunge nacions but rather they caused them to marrye parentes with parentes because that frendes maryeng with frendes they thoughte the frendshippe and loue should be more sure 4. The fourthe custome was that no Thebane should in any wise make a house for himselfe to dwel in but first he should make his graue wherin he should be buryed Me thinketh that in this point the Thebanes were not to extreme nor excessiue but that they did lyke sage and wise men yea and by the law of veryte I sweare that they were sager then we are For if at the least we dyd imploye our thought but two howers in the weke to make our graue it is vnpossible but that we should correcte euerye daye our life 5. The fift custome was that all the boies which were excedinge faire in their face shoulde be by theym strangled in the cradell and all the girles whiche were extreame foule were by them killed sacrifised to the godds Sayeng that the gods forgotte themselues when they made the men faire and the women foule For the man which is very faire is but an vnparfite woman and the woman which is extreme foule is but a sauage and wilde beast The greatest God of the Thebaines was Isis who was a red bull nourisshed in the riuer of Nile and they had a custome that all those which had red heere immediately should be sacrifyâ—ed The contrarye they did to the beastes for sithe their God was a bul of tawnye couloure none durst be so bold to kyl any beasts of the same coloure In such fourme and maner that it was lawfull to kyll both men and women and not the brute beastes I do not say this was wel done of the Thebaines to sley their children nor yet I do say that it was wel done to sacrifice men women which had red or taunye heere nor I thinke it a thinge reasonable that they should do reuerence to the beastes of that coloure but I wonder why they should so much dispise foule women and faire men sith all the world is peopled bothe with faire and foule Then sith those barbarous lyuyng as they did vnder a false law did put him to death whom the Gods had adorned with any beautie we then which are Christians by reason ought much lesse to esteme
as he sayd that the tongue is moued by the mocions of the soule that he whiche had no tongue had no soule And he which hath no soule is but a brute beast and he that is a beast deserueth to serue in the fields among brute beasts It is a good thing not to be domme as bruyte beastes are and it is a greater thing to speake as the reasonable men do but it is muche more worthye to speake wel as the eloquent philosophers do For otherwise if he which speaketh doth not wey the sentences more then the wordes ofte tymes the popingayes shal content them more which are in the cage then the men which do read in scooles Iosephus in the booke De bello Iudaico saith that king Herode not onely with his personne and goodes but also with all his frendes and parentes folowed and gaue ayde to Marcus Anthonius and to his louer Cleopatra howbeit in the end Octauian had the vyctorie For the man which for the loue of a woman doth enterprise conquestes it is impossible that eyther he loose not his lyfe or els that he lyue not in infamy Herode seing that Marcus Anthonius was dead determyned to go towardes the Emperour Octauian at whose feete he layd his crowne and made a notable oration wherein he spake so pleasaunt wordes and so hyghe sentences that the Emperour Octauian did not only pardon him for that he was so cruell an enemye but also he confirmed him againe into his Realme and toke him for his deare and special frend For among the good men and noble hartes many euil workes are amended by a few good words If Blundus in the booke intituled Roma triumphante do not deceiue me Pirrus the great king of the Epirotes was stout and hardy valiaunt in armes liberal in benefites pacient in aduersityes and aboue al renowmed to be very swete in wordes and sage in his aunswers They sayd that this Pirrus was so eloquent that the man with whom once he had spoken remayned so much his that from that time foreward in his absence he toke his part and declared his life and state in presence The aboue named Blundus saied and Titus Liuius declareth the same that as the Romaynes were of al things prouided seing that king Pirrus was so eloquent they prouided in the senate that no Romaine Embassadour shold speake vnto him but by a third person for otherwise he would haue perswaded them through his sweate woordes that they shoulde haue retourned againe to Rome as his procurers Soliciters Albeit Marcus Tullius Cicero was Senatour in the Senate consul in the Empire rich amongest the rich and hardy amongest men of warre yet truly none of these qualyties caused him eternal memorie but only his excellent eloquēce This Tullius was so estemed in Rome for the eloquence of his tongue only that oft times they hard hym talke in the Senate iii. houres togethers without any man speakinge one word And let not this be lytle estemed nor lightly passed ouer for worldlye malyce is of such condicion that some man may more easely speake 4. howers then another man shal haue pacience to heare him one minute Anthonius Sabellicus declareth that in the time of Amilcares the Affricans a Philosopher named Afronio florished in great Carthage who being of the yeres of 81. dyed in the first yeare of the warres of Punica They demaunded this Phylosopher what it was that he knew he aunswered He knew nothing but to speake wel They demaunded him againe what he learned he aunswered He did learne nothinge but to speake wel Another time they demaunded him what he taught he aunswered He taught nothing but to speake wel Me thinketh that this good phylosopher in 80. yeres and one said that he learned nothing but to speake wel he knew nothing but to speake wel that he taught nothing but to speake wel And truly he had reasō for the thing which most adorneth mans life is the sweate pleasaunte tongue to speake wel What is it to see ii men in one councel the one talking to the other the one of them hath an euyll grace in propounding and thother excellent in speaking Of such there are some that in hearing theym talke .iii. houres we would neither be trobled nor weryed and of the contrarie part there are others so tedyous and rude in their speache that as sone as men perceiue they beginne to speake they auoyde the place And therfore in mine opinyon ther is no greater trouble thenne to herken one quarter of an houre a rude man to speake and to be contrarye ther is no greater pleasure thenne to heare a dyscreate man though it were a whole weke The deuyne Plato in the Booke of Lawes sayd that there is nothynge whereby a manne is knowen more thenne by the woordes he speaketh for of the woordes whyche we heare hym speake we iudge his intention eyther to be good or euil Laertius in the lyfe of the Phylosophers sayeth that a yong child borne at Athens was brought vnto Socrates the great phylosopher being in Athens to the end he shold receiue him into his company teach him in his scoole The yong chyld was straunge and shamefaste and durst not speake before his maister wherfore the philosopher Socrates said vnto him speake frend if thou wilt that I know the. This sentence of Socrates was very profound and I pray him that shal reade this wryting to pause a while therat For Socrates wil not that a man be knowen by the gesture he hath but by the good or euyl wordes which he speaketh Though eloquence and speaking wel to euery man is a cause of augmenting their honour and no dimynissher of their goodes yet withoute comparison it shineth muche more and is most necessarie in the pallaces of Prynces and great Lordes For men which haue common offices ought of necessity harken to his naturall contrymen also to speake with straungers Speking therfore more plainly I say that the Prince ought not to trauaile only to haue eloquence for the honour of his person but also it behoueth him for the comon wealth For as the prince is but one and is serued of all so it is vnpossible that he haue so much as wil satisfye and content them al. And therfore it is necessarie that he requyte some mith money that he content others with good wordes For the noble hart loueth better a gentle worde then a reward or gift with the tongue of a rude man Plato Liuius Herodotus Vulpicius Eutropius Diorus Plynie and many other innumerable auncient historyographers do not cease to prayse the eloquence of greeke princes and latynes in their workes O how blessed were those tymes when ther were sage princes and discrete lords truly they haue reason to exalt them For many haue obteyned and wonne the royal crounes and septures of the Empire not so much for the great battailes they haue conquered nor for the highe bloud and generacion from whence
the knighte to be nimble if the horse be not redy what auaileth it the owner of the ship to be sage expert if the Pilot be a foole ignoraunt What profiteth the king to be valiaunt and stout and the Captayne of the warre to be a cowarde I meane by this I haue spokeÌ„ what profiteth it a Prince to be honest if those which minister iustice be dissolute What profiteth it vs that 〈◊〉 prince be true if his officers beliers What profiteth it vs that the prince be sober if his ministers be dronkerds What profiteth it that the prince be gentle louing if his officers be cruell malicious What profiteth it vs that the prince be a geuer liberall an almes man if the iudge that ministreth iustice be a bryber an open thefe What profiteth it that the prince be carefull vertuous if the iudge be negligent and vicious finally I say that it lytel auaileth that the prince in his house be secretly iust if adioyning to that he trust a tiraunt open these with the gouernement of the common weale Princes and great Lordes wheÌ„ they are within their pallaces at pleasure theire myndes occupyed in hyghe things do not receiue into their secreat companye but their entier frindes Another time they wil not but occupy them selues in pastimes and pleasure so that they know not what they haue to amend in their ê‘soÌ„s much lesse that whych they ought to remedy in their common weales I will not be so eger in reprouing neither so satirycal in writing that it should seme I would perswade Princes that theye liue not accordinge to the highnesse of theire estates but accordynge to the life of the religious For if theye will keepe them selues from beinge tyrauntes or beinge outragiouslye vicious we cannot denay them some times to take theire pleasures But mye intention is not so strayghtelye to commaunde Princes to be iuste but onelye to shewe them howe theye are bounde to doe iustice Common wealthes are not loste for that their Princes liue in pleasure but because they haue lytel care of iustice In the ende people doe not murmure when the Prince dothe recreat his person but when he is to slacke to cause iustice to be executed I would to GOD that Princes toke an accompte withe godde in the thynges of theire conscience touchynge the common wealthe as theye doe withe men touchynge theire rentes and reuenewes Plutarche in an Epistle hee wrate to Traiayne the Emperoure sayethe it pleasethe me verye well moste puissaunte Prince that the Prynce be suche one as all maye saye that in hym there is nothynge worthye of reprehension butte addynge thereunto it dyspleasethe mee muche more that he shoulde haue so euill iudges that all shoulde saye in them were nothinge worthye of commendacion For the faultes of Prynces verye well maye bee excused butte the offences of the officers can by noe meanes bee endured Manye Prynces and greate Lordes deceiue them selues in thynkynge that theye doe theire dutye in that theye bee vertuous in theire personnes but it is not so For it suffysethe not a Prynce to drawe vnto hym all vertues butte allso he is bounde to roote all vices oute of the common wealthe Admitte that Princes will not or of them selues cannot gouerne the common wealthe yet let vs desire and admonyshe them to seeke good offycers to doe it for them For the poore Plebeian hathe noe accompte to render but of hys good or euill lyfe butte the Prynce shall render accompte of hys vicious lyfe whiche hee hathe ledde and of the lytle care that hee hath had of hys common wealthe Seneca in an epistle he wrote to a frinde of his named Lucilla sayeth My dere frend Lucilla I would gladly thou wouldest come see me here in Rome but I pray thee recoÌ„mend to good iudges the I le of Scicile For I would not desire to enioy thy sight if through my occasion that shouldest leaue the commoÌ„ wealthe out of order And to the entent thou mayest knowe what condicioÌ„s they ought to haue whom thou shouldest chose for gouernours or iudges I will let thee vnderstand that they ought to be graue in theire sentences iust in theire wordes honest in their workes mercyfull in their iustice and aboue all not corrupted with bribes And if I do aduertise thee of this it is because if thou diddest take care to gouerne thy common wealth well thou shouldest now be circumspect to examine them to whom presently thou must recommende the gouernement therof I woulde saye afterwardes that all that whiche the auncyent Phylosophers haue written in manye bookes and haue lefte by dyuers sentences Seneca dyd reherse in these fewe woordes the whiche are so graue and necessarie that if Princes reteyned them in their memorie to put them in execucion and iudges had them before their eyes for to accomplish them they woulde excuse the common wealthe of dyuers slaunders and theye shoulde allso delyuer them selues from a great burdeyn of theire conscience It is not a thinge voluntarye butte necessarie that the mynysters of iustice be vertuous well established and verye honest For to Iudges nothynge can be more slaunderous and hurtefull then when theye shoulde reprooue yonge men of theire youthe others maye iustlye reprehende them of they re lyghtnes He which hath a publike offyce in the common wealthe and sytteth openlye to iudge therein oughte to obserue a good order in hys persone least he be noted dysolute in hys doynge For the Iudge whiche is wythoute honestye and consideracion oughte to consider wyth hym selfe that if he alone haue aucthoritie to iudge of other mens goodes that there are a thousande whyche wyll iudge of hys lyfe It is not onelye a bourden of conscience to Princes to commit the charge of gouernaunce of the people to dyssolute persones but also it is a greate contempt and dysprayse of Iustice For the senteÌ„ce geeuen of hym who deserueth to be iudged is among the people litel estemed Plutarche in hys Apothegmes sayethe that Phillyppe kynge of Macedony father of the greate Alexander created for iudge of a prouince a freende of his whoe after he sawe him selfe in suche offyce occupyed hym selfe more in kemmynge hys heade then in woorkynge or studyinge hys bookes Kynge Philyppe beynge enfourmed of the vanytye and insolencye of thys iudge reuoked the power whyche he hadde geeuen hym and when he complayned to all of the wronge and griefe whyche was done vnto hym takyng hys office from hym Kynge Phyllippe sayed vnto hym If I hadde geuen the office to thee for none other cause but beinge my friende beeleue mee that nothinge in the worlde coulde haue suffysed to haue taken it from thee beecause I louynge thee so entierlye as I dyd reason woulde not I shoulde haue depriued thee of this office wherewith I honoured thee I gaue thee thys office thinkyng that thou wert vertuous sage honest and allso a man well occupyed and mee thynkethe thou rather occupyest thy selfe in
first ought to abhorre couetousnes before hee beginne to occupie hym selfe to locke vp goods For the man which setteth no bond to his desire shall alwayes haue litle thoughe he see himselfe lord of the worlde Truly this sentence was worthilye spoken of such a man The sentēce of the Stoyckes doth satisfy my mind much wherof Aristotel in his pollitikes maketh mēcion where he sayth that vnto great affayres are alwaies required great riches there is no extreame pouerty but where there hathe beene greate aboundaunce Therof ensueth that to princes and great lordes which haue much they wāt much bicause to men which haue had litel they can not wāt but litel Yf we admonishe wordlings not to be vitious they wil alwayes haue excuses to excuse theim selues declaring why they haue bene vitious the vice of auarice excepted to whom and with whom they haue no excuse For if one vaine reason be readye to excuse then there are .2000 to condemne them Let vs put example in all the principall vices and we shall se how this onely of auarice remaineth condemned and not excused If we reason why a prince or great lord is haulty and proude he wil aunswere that he hath great occasion For the natural disposition of men is rather to desire to commaūd with trauaile then to serue with rest Yf we reproue any man that is furious and geuen to anger he will aunswere vs that we maruaile not since we maruaile not of the proude For the enemy hath no more auctority to trouble any man then the other to take reuēge of him Yf we blame him for that he is fleshly and vitious he will aunswer vs that he can not absteyne from that sinne for if any man can eschew the acts he fighteth continually with vncleane thoughtes Yf we say that any man is negligent he will aunswere vs that he deserueth not to be blamed for the vilenes of our nature is suche that if we do trauaile it immediatly it is weary and if we rest it immediatly it reioyceth Yf we rebuke any man that is a glutton he wil aunswer vs that without eatinge and drinkinge we can not lyue in the worlde for the deuine worde hath not forbidden man to eate with the mouthe but the vncleane thoughtes which come from the hart As of these fewe vices we haue declared so maye we excuse al the reasidue but to the vice of couetousnes none can geue a reasonable excuse For with money put into the cofer the soule cānot profite nor the bodye reioyce Boetius in his booke of consolation sayd that money is good not when we haue it in possessiō but when we want it in very dede the sentence of Boetius is very profound for when man spendeth mony he attayneth to that he wil but hauinge it with him it profiteth him nothinge We may say of riche and couetous men that if they heape and kepe they say it is but for deare and drye yeres and to releue their parents frendes We may aunswere them that they do not heape vp to remedye the poore in suche like necessities but rather to bringe the commonwealth to greter pouertye For then they sel al thinges deare and put out theyr money to great vsury so that this couetous man dooth more harme with that he dooth lend them then the dry yere dooth with that it hath taken from theim The noble and vertuous men ought not to cease to do wel for feare of dry yeres for in the ende if one deare yeare come it maketh all dere and at such a time and in such a case he onely may be called happy which for being free and liberal in almes shall reioyce that his table should be costlye Let couetous mē beware that for keaping of much goodes they giue not to the deuel their soules for it may be that before the deare yere cometh to sel their corne their bodies shal be layd in the graue O what good dooth god to the noble men geuing them liberal hartes and what ill luck haue couetous men hauing as thei haue their hartes so hard laced For if couetous men did tast how sweete and necessary a thing it is to giue they could kepe litle for them selues Nowe sithens the miserable and couetous men haue not the hart to giue to their frendes too depart to theire parentes to succour the poore to lend to their neighboures nor to susteyne the orphanes it is to be thought that they wil spend it on them selues Truly I saye no more for there are men so miserable and so hard of that they haue that they thinke that as euyll spent whiche amonge theim selues they spende as that which one robbeth from them of their goods Howe will the couetous and miserable wretche geue a garmēte to a naked man which dare not make him selfe a cote How wil he geue to eate to the poore famylyar which as a poore slaue eateth the bread of branne and sellethe the floure of meale How shal the pilgrimes lodge in his house who for pure miserye dare not enter and howe doth he visite the hospitall and reliue the sicke that oft times hasardeth his owne helth and life for that he wil not geue one penye to the phisition how shall he succour secretly the poore and neady which maketh his owne children go barefoote and naked how can he helpe to marye the poore maydes being orphanes when he suffereth his owne daughters to waxe old in his house how wil he geue of his goodes to the poore captiues which will not paye his owne men their wages how wil he geue to eate to the children of poore gentelmen which alwayes grudgeth at that his owne spende howe should we beleue that he wil apparel a widowe hwich wil not giue his owne wife a hoode howe doth he dayly giue almes which goeth not to the churche on the Sonday because he wil not offer one peny how shal the couetous mā reioice the hart sith for spending of one peny oft times hee goeth supperles to bed And finally I saye that he wil neuer giue vs of his owne proper goodes which weapeth alwayes for the goodes of an other ¶ The auctor foloweth his matter and with great reasons discommendeth the vices of couetous men Cap. xxiiii ONe of the thinges wherin the deuine prouidence sheweth that we do not vnderstand the maner of her gouerment is to see that she geueth vnderstandinge too a man too knowe the riches she geueth him force too seeke theim subtiltye too gather them vertue too susteyne them courage too defend them and also longe life to possesse them And with al this she gyueth him not licence to enioye them but rather suffereth him that as withoute reason he hath made him selfe lorde of an nother mans of righte he shoulde bee made sclaue of his owne thereby a man may knowe of howe greater excellencye vertuous pouertye is then the outragious couetousnes for so much as to the poore god doth giue contentation of
mother in the chariot to the temple So after that the feast was ended the mother not knowyng how to requite the benefite of her children with many teares beesought the goddesse Iuno that shee with the other gods woold bee contented to geeue her .ii. children the best thing that the gods coold geeue to their frends The goddesse Iuno aunswered her that shee was contented to require the other gods and that they woold doo it And the reward was that for this noble fact the gods ordeyned that Cleobolus and Biton shoold sleepe one day well and in the morning when they shoold wake they shoold dye The mother pitifully beewayling the death of her children and complaining of the gods the goddesse Iuno sayd vnto her Thou hast no cause why to complayn sins wee haue geeuen thee that thou hast demaunded and hast demaunded that which wee haue geeuen thee I am a goddesse and thou art my seruaunt therefore the gods haue geeuen to thy children the thing which they count most deare which is death For the greatest reuenge which amongst vs gods wee can take of our enemies is to let them liue long and the best thing that wee keepe for our frends is to make them dye quickly The auctor of this history is called Hisearchus in his politikes and Cicero in his first book of his Tusculanes In the I le of Delphos where the Oracle of the god Apollo was there was a sumptuous temple the which for want of reparacion fell down to the ground as often times it chaunceth to high sumptuous buyldings which from tyme to tyme are not repayred For if the walles dungeons castels and strong houses coold speak as well woold they complayn for that they doo not renew them as the old men doo for that wee doo not cherish them Triphon and Agamendo were two noble personages of Greece and counted for sage and rich men the which went vnto the temple of Apollo and buylt it new agayn as well with the labor of their persons as with the great expenses of their goods When the buylding was atchiued the god Apollo said vnto them that hee remembred well their good seruice wherefore hee woold they shoold demaund him any thing in reward of their trauail and with a good will it shoold bee graunted For the gods vse for a little seruice to geeue a great reward Triphon and Agamendo aunswered vnto the god Apollo that for their good will for their trauell and for their expenses they demaunded no other reward but that it woold please him to geeue them the best thing that might bee geeuen vnto man and that vnto them were most profit saying that the miserable men haue not the power to eschew the euill nor wisedom to choose the good The god Apollo aunswered that hee was contented to pay them their seruice which they had doon and to grant them that which they had demaunded By reason whereof Triphon and Agamendo hauing dyned sodeinly at the gates of the temple fell down dead So that the reward of their trauell was to pluck them out of their misery The end to declare these two examples is to th end that al mortal men may know that there is nothing so good in this world as to haue an end of this lyfe and though to lose it there bee no sauor yet at the least ther is profit For wee woold reproue a traueler of great foolishnes if sweating by the way hee woold sing and after at his iorneys end hee shoold beegin to weepe Is not hee simple which is sory for that hee is comen into the hauen is not hee simple that geeueth the battell and fighteth for that hee hath got the victory Is not hee stubbern which is in great distresse and is angry to bee succored Therefore more foolish simple and stubbern is hee which traueleth to dye and is loth to meet with death For death is the true refuge the perfect health the sure hauen the whole victory the flesh wythout bones fysh wythout scales and corne without straw Fynally after death wee haue nothing to beewail and much lesse to desire In the tyme of Adrian the emperor a philosopher called Secundus beeing marueilously learned made an oration at the funerall of a noble Romayn matrone a kinswoman of the emperors who spake exceeding much euill of lyfe marueilous much good of death And when the emperor demaunded him what death was the philosopher answered Death is an eternal sleepe a dissolucion of the body a terror of the rich a desire of the poore a thing inheritable a pilgrymage vncertain a theef of men a kynde of sleaping a shadow of lyfe a seperacion of the lyuing a company of the dead a resolution of all a rest of trauels and the end of all ydle desires Fynally death is the scourge of all euyll and the cheef reward of the good Truely this philosopher spake very well hee shoold not doo euill which profoundly woold consider that hee had spoken Seneca in an epistle declareth of a philosopher whose name was Bassus to whom when they demaunded what euil a man can haue in death since men feare it so much hee aunswered If any domage or fear is in him who dyeth it is not for the fear of death but for the vyce of him which dieth Wee may agree to that the philosopher sayd that euen as the deaf can not iudge harmony nor the blynd colours so lykewise they cannot say euill of death in especially hee which neuer tasted it For of all those which are dead none returned again to complayn of death and of these few that lyue all complayn of lyfe If any of the dead returned hyther to speak with the liuing and as they haue proued it so they woold tel vs. If there were any harm in secret death it were reason to haue some fear of death But though a man that neuer saw hard felt nor tasted death dooth speak euil of death shoold wee therefore fear death Those ought to haue doon some euil in their life whych doo fear and speak euill of death For in the last hour in the streight iudgement the good shal bee knowen and the euill discouered There is no prince nor knight rich nor poore whole nor sick lucky nor vnlucky whych I see with their vocacions to bee contented saue only the dead which in their graues are in peace and rest and are neyther couetous proud negligent vayn ambitious nor dissolute So that the state of the dead ought to bee best since wee see none therin to bee euil contented And since therefore those which are poore doo seeke wherewith to enrich them selues those which are sad doo seeke wherby to reioice and those which are sick doo seeke to bee healed why is it that those which haue such fear of death doo seeke some remedy against that fear In this case I woold say that hee which will not fear to dye let him vse him self well to liue For the giltles
onely desireth to bee a courtier that as yet hath not tasted the sweetenes and pleasure of his own house nor hath yet prooued and seen the troubles and payns of the court For hee that knoweth them sygheth when hee is called to the court and weepeth when hee is kept long there I haue studyed in tymes past in the vniuersities preached in the court praying in relygion and now I dwell vppon my byshopryck teachyng and Instructyng my dyocessans but I dare say of all these fower states recyted there is none so streight and paynfull as is to follow the court If I studyed at the vniuersyty I dyd yt of free wyll to bee wyser but onely in the court I spent my tyme to bee more woorth then I was But the greatest tyme I consumed in religyon was to say my prayers and to beewayle my greeuous synnes In the court I onely gaue my self to suspect my neyghbor and inuented to buyld great castells of wynd wyth thought in the ayer And therefore I retorn once agayn to say that it is a greater trouble to beecome a courtier then to bee a relygious person For in religion it sufficeth to obey one but in the court hee must serue all And in relygion also they are appareled wyth lesse cost and charges and to the greater contentacion of the person then they are in the court For a poore gentleman courtyer ys bound to haue more chaunge and sutes of apparell then the falcon feathers The religious persons goe allways to dynner and fynd their meat on the table ready prepared for them wythout any thought taken of their part what they shall haue but fyne courtiers many times rise out of their bed without euer a peny in their purse And allbeeit relygious persons all their lyfe take great payns in rysyng at mydnyght to serue god yet haue they great hope after their death of the heauenly rest and comfort but poore courtyers alas what should I say hard is their lyfe and more peryllous their death into greater daunger truely putteth hee hym self that beecommeth a courtyer then dyd Nasica when hee was wyth the serpent then kyng Dauid wyth the Phylistiens then the Southsayers wyth Euah then Hercules wyth Antheon then Theseus wyth the Minotawre then kyng Menelaus wyth the wylde bore then Corebus wyth the monster of the marysh and then Perseus wyth the monsterous whale of the sea For euery one of these valyaunt men were not afrayed but of one but the myserable courtyer standeth in feare of all For what is hee in court that seeyng hys neere kynsman or deerest frend more in fauor or credyt then hym self or rycher then hee that wysheth not hys frends death or at the least procureth by all means hee can hee shall not equal nor goe euen with him in credyt or reputacyon One of the woorst thyngs I consyder and see in courtyers is that they lose much tyme and profyt lyttell For the thyng wherein they spend their days and beestow the nyghts for the more part is to speak yll of those that are their betters or excell them in vertues and to vndoo those that are their equalls and compaignyons to flatter the beeloued and among the inferior sort to murmure one agaynst an other and allways to lament and sygh for the tymes past And there is nothyng that prouoketh courtyers more to complayn then the dayly desire they haue to see sundry and new alteracions of tyme. For they lyttle way the ruyn of the common weale so they may enlarge and exalt their own estates Also it is a thyng of cours in court that the reiected and fauorlesse couctyers shole togethers murmuryng at their prynces and backbytyng their councellers and offycers saying they vndoo the realme and bryng all to nought And all thys presupposed for that they are not in the lyke fauor and estimacion that they bee in whych beareth offyce and rule in the common weale And therefore when it commeth in questyon for a courtyer to aduaunce hym self and to come in credyt in the court one courtyer can scarsly euer trust an other On thother syde mee thynketh that the life of the court is not the very lyfe in deede but rather an open penaunce And therefore in my oppinion wee should not recken courtyers alyue but rather dead buryed in their lyfe For then the courtier euer fyndeth him self panged with deaths extream passions when hee perceyueth an other to bee preferred and called beefore hym Alas what great pyty it is to see a haplesse and vnfortunat courtier for hee seely soule awaketh a thowsand tymes in the nyght tosseth from syde to syde of hys bed sometyme vpright hee lyeth lamentyng his Iron happe now hee sigheth for his natiue soyle and sorroweth then for hys lost honor so that in manner hee spendeth the whole night in watch and cares imaginyng wyth him self all ways hee can to come in credyt and fauor agayn that he may attain to wealth and prefarment beefore others which maketh mee think that it is not a pain but a cruel torment no seruice but tribut not once only but euer that the body of the poore miserable courtier abideth and that in despyte of him his wretched hart dooth beare By the law of the court euery courtyer is bound to serue the kyng to accompany the beeloued of court to visit noble men to wayt vpon those that are at the prynces elbow to geeue to the vsshers to present the auditors to entertaigne the wardens and captayns of the ports to currey fauor with the herbingers to flatter the treasorers to trauayl and speak for their frends to dyssemble amongst their enemies What legges are able to doo all these things what force sufficient to abide these brunts what hart able to endure them and more ouer what purse great ynough to supply all these deuyses I am of opinion there was neuer any so foolysh nor marchaunt so couetous that hath sold hym self in any fayre or corst him self for any other marchaundise but onely the vnhappy courtier who goeth to the court to sell his lyberty for a lytle wynd and vayn smoke of the court I graunt that a courtier may haue in the court plenty of gold and siluer sumptuous apparell fauor credyt and autority yet with all this abundaunce yee can not deny mee but hee is as poore of lyberty as rych of substaunce or credyt And therefore I dare boldly say this woord agayn that for one time the courtier hath his desire in court a thowsand times they will enforce him to accomplish others desires which neither please nor lyke him Surely it commeth of a base and vyle mynd and no lesse cowardly for any man lightly to esteeme his lyberty and fondly to embrace bondage and subiection beeing at others commaundement And if the courtier woold aunswer mee to this that though hee serue yet at least hee ys in his prynces fauor I woold reply thus though hee bee in fauor with the prynce yet is hee
to Rome after hee had been cōsul a great while in the Iles Baleares hee said these woords beefore all the senate You know fathers conscript I haue been chief Iustice consull xiii yeares during all which tyme I sweare to you by the imortal gods that to my knowledge I neuer did wrong to any man nether any seruant of myne displeasure to any nor doone any thing that was not lawfull to bee doone in the howse where I lay Phalaris the tyraunt when hee receyued any displeasure of the Agrigentines hee caused his seruants to lodge in their howses with them for the one and the other were so wicked so vnthrifty such quarellers and brawlers that hee could not worke them a greater spyght nor displeasure then to lodge theim heere and there in theyr howses There bee also in the court some courtiers that are esteemed of euery man to bee of so euill beehauiour and demeanor their seruantes and famyly of such lewde and nawghty condicyons that theyr hostes are throughly resoluyd ether not to receyue them into theyr howses or if they bee compelled to yt to absent thē selues for the tyme of their beeing there rather then to suffer such iniuryes and wrongs as they are suer they must take at their hands The courtier must consider that somtimes hee hath neede of a bottel of water to drink a broome to swepe his chamber a platter or dish to serue him withal of a table cloth and napkins and of a towell for his hands and his face of a stoole to sit on and of soome kettle for the kytchin and in such case hee should charge his seruaunts curteously to aske these things of his host and not to take them parforce vnasked Euery man desiereth to bee master in his owne howse and bee hee brother cousen or frend hee will not suffer him to beare asmuch rule in his own house as him selfe So that hee wil be lesse offended with the hurt and losse of those things that hee hath lent and were gently asked him then with those which vnknowing to him by force and against his will they haue taken from him yea though they bring them afterwards hole and sound againe And this our libertie is somuch set by that wee shall see sometimes a man for his pleasure playe and lose a.c. Crownes of gold and saye neuer a woord and on the other syde if one breke the least glasse in his howse hee will crye and rage to the heauens I remember whan I was a courtier and went to visit an other courtier a frend of myne that was sick in his lodging I fell a chiding and rebuking the host for that I found him exclaymyng and criyng out of the pages which plaiyng at the bal had broken him a lytle lampe of glasse and hee aunswered mee thus I cry not syr for the losse of my lamp which is a halfpeny matter nor for the oyle that they spylt worth a farthing but onely for the liberty they robbe mee of and for the small account they make of mee The good and wise courtier may not bee to familiar with his host his wief nor suffer his seruants to bee busy with the mayds of the howse more then to speake to them for their necessaries for in this case they should lesse hurt the master of the howse to ransake and spoyle his house and all that hee had in yt then to take from him his honor and good name To cast the bedds on the flower to break the doores windows to vnpaue the stones to paint and black the walles or to make any noyse in the howse are all of them things yet somtimes tollerable though not honest nor ciuill but to take his wief and to abuse her it is nether lawfull nor possible to dissemble yt much lesse to suffer it For it were too much shame and reproch to the husband to abide yt and high treason and crime abhominable for the courtier to doo yt Nowe synce men are frayle and that they can not nor wil not subdue their passions and filthy motions of the flesh there wanteth not notwithstanding women in princes courts whose loue frendships they may easely embrace which though they were al commaunded to auoide the court and the vierge of the court yet it could not bee chosē but some might secretly cōtinue stil in court to enterteine the courtly courtiers For if in the court there bee kept a table of plaie .ii. moneths onely in the yeare all the yeare long beesides they fynd the streats full stored of comon woomen when the yeare is most plentiful and frutefull of all things yet still there lacketh soome prouision of vittailes in the court but of such women there is neuer no want but rather to manie And therfore wee haue not sayd without great reason that it were to much treason and dishonesty for the courtier to fall in loue with his hostesse for in dooing yt hee should doo her husband too much wrong disfame the wife and offend his frends and neighbors and vtterly vndoo hym self For Suetonius Tranquillus resyteth that Iulius Cesar caused a Captayn of his to bee beeheaded only for sclaundering and defaming of his hostesse the which hee did not tarying for the complaint of her husband nor the accusation of any other And the Emperor Aurelianus seeing one of his men at a window one day pulling his hostesse by the sleeue caused his hand to bee striken of immediatly although both his hostesse and hee sware hee did it but in iest and to no other intent Plutarch in hys booke De matrimonio sayth that there was a law among the Licaoniens that if any straunger did but only talk with his hostesse his tong shoold bee cut out of his head and if hee had passed further that hee shoold then lose his head Macrobius also in hys Saturnaller reciteth that amongst the Romayns it was reputed a great infamy if any mā came and praysed the beawty and maners of the mistresse of the house where hee lodged for in praising her hee let them vnderstand hee knew her and knowing her hee spake to her and speaking to her hee opened his hart to her and this dooing hee playnly defamed her and made her to bee euel reported of Aulus Gelius wryteth that the lyke punishment was geeuen to him that had carnall participacion with any vestall virgin the self same was also executed on him that procured any infamy to his hostesse where hee lay Which punishment was either to bee cutt in the middes quartered in fower parts or els to bee stoned to death alyue The good courtier must also haue an other great regard that is to comaund his seruants to looke wel to his ryding apparell and such as are lent him of courtiers to wear otherwhile to see that it bee kept clean and well brusshed and aboue all safely delyuered where it was borowed For commonly the horskeepers haue theyr horses lowsing clothes and their maisters
lesse to take it least of all to keepe it secret The fowerth was that an other tyme I was contented to bee ouercome by a frend of mine that earnestly inuyted mee to his house to dinner thereupon I went wyth him which I shoold not haue doone For to say the troth there was neuer famous nor woorthy person that went to eat in an other mans house but that hee diminished his liberty hasardyng also his grauyty and reputacion to the rumor brute of others The which woords beeing so wisely spoken by the prudent Cato were wel woorthy to bee noted caried away so much the more that beeing now drawing to his last home euen in his last breathing hower hee onely spake of these fower things no moe whereof although hee were a Romain yet hee shewed to vs a repenting mynd But woe is mee that albeeit I beare the name of a christian yea that I am so in deede yet in that last day when nature sommons mee I feare mee beeleeue assuredly I shal haue cause to repent mee of more then fower things Now by these thyngs heretofore recyted wee may easely coniecture that albeeit wee are contented to bee entreated requested in many things yet in this onely to goe to others tables to feast in straūge houses wee shoold not bee intreated but rather compelled against our wills And where the courtier is forced by importunancy to accept the bidding without offring him self beefore hee deserueth as great thāks of the bidder for his comming as the other did in bidding him For if it should not bee so it should seeme rather a dynner for straungers that trauels by the way then for noble men and gentelmen that comes from the court For that day the courtier graunteth to dine with any man the same day hee byndeth him self to bee beeholding to him that bids him for although hee come to him of good will yet to acquite his curtesy doon him hee is bound of necessity Also it is a small reputacion and woorthy great reproch that a courtier make his boste hee hath eaten at al the tables and officers boords in the court that no man can say hee hath once been at dinner or supper with him at his own house And truely I remēber I knew once a courtier that might dispēd aboue two hundreth ducats by yeare who told mee assured mee hee neuer bought stick of wood to warm him with in his chāber nor pot to seeth his meat in neither spyt to rost with all nor that euer hee had any cater for his prouision saue only that hee had made a register of many noble mens boords amōgst whō hee equally deuided his dyners suppers By means wherof hee saued al his charges saue only his mēs boord wages But what vilenes or discurtesy coold equal the misery shame of this careles courtier Suer not that of the meanest poorest slaue of the world the lyueth only by his hyer no it deserueth not to be cōpared vnto it For to what end desire wee the goods of this world but that by them wee may bee honored relieue our parents kinsmen and thereby also winne vs new frends what state or condicion so euer hee be of that hath inough abundance wee are not boūd to esteeme the more of him for that nor to doo him the more honor but only for that hee spendeth it wel woorshipfully and for his honor if he bee honorable And this wee speak of gentleman as of cytisyn And hee that in court makes profession to dine at other mēs tables I dare vndertake if they dine betimes on the holly day hee wil rather lose saruice in the morning then dinner at noone And if any frend come to lye with these sort of courtiers that hee bee but newly come to the court straight ways he wil haue him with him to dinner and bring him to salute the gentleman where hee dines that day saying that hee was bold to bring his kinsman and frend with him to salute him and all this is not so much to bring hym acquainted wyth him as it is to spare his meat at home for bothe And yet they haue an other knack of court fyner thē thys They flatter the pages seruants beecause they should euer geeue thē of the best wine at the table with certayn familiar noddes swete woords they entertain the lords shewers caruers make much of them that they should set beefore them full dyshes of the best and deintiest meat There are also some of these courtiers that to bee wel wayted vpon at the table to make them his frends doo sometimes present the steward with a veluet cap the shewers with a paire of washed or perfume gloues the pages with a sweord girdel and the butlers or cooberd keepers with some other prety reward or deuise And it chaunceth oft times in noble mens houses that there are so many gests to dyne and sup with him dayly that many times the boord wil not hold thē al by a great number which when they once perceiue to see how quickly with what speede the courtiers take their places to set them down to bee suer of a roome it is a world to see it But oh I woold to god they were so happy dilygent to goe to the church heare a sermon as they are busy to get them stooles to syt at the table And if perhaps a courtier come late and that the table bee all ready full and the lurch out yet hee will not bee ashamed to eat his meat neuertheles For albeeit hee can not bee placed at his ease yet he is so bold shameles that rather then fayle hee will syt of half a buttock or beehynd one at the table I remēber I saw once at a noble mans boord three courtiers set vpon one stoole like the fower sonnes of Amon and whan I rebuked them for it and told them it was a shame for them they aunswered mee merely agayn that they did it not for that there wanted stooles but to prooue if neede were if one stoole woold beare them three Such may well bee called greedy gluttons shameles prowlers without respect or honesty that when they are dead would bee buried in the highest place of the church when they are aliue litle force at whose table they sit or how they syt litel regarding their honor or estate Truely for him that is poore and needy to seeke his meat and drink where hee may come by it best it is but meete but for the gorgeous courtyer bee deckt with gold bee buttoned bee iewelled ietting in his veluets silks to begge seeke his dinner dayly at euery mans boord beeing nobly honorably enterteined of the prince able to beare his countenaunce what reproch defame dishonor is it to him Hee that vseth daily to runne to other mens tables is oft times
them wyth hys tongue And beecause it happeneth many times that in some noble mans house there is not lyke fare and entertainment that an other hath the cyuill courtier shoold not bee so dishonest as to make report hee leaueth that noble mans table to goe to an others that is better serued For the woorthy courtier shoold not haunt that table where hee fareth best but where hee fyndeth him self best welcome and esteemed Ah how many noble men and knyghts sonnes are there that spare not to goe to any mans boord for his meat and drink yea though it fall out they bee their fathers enemies and they do it not in respect to reconcile them and their fathers togeethers but rather for a good meales meat or more aptly to say to fill their bellyes with dainties ¶ What company the courtier shoold keepe and how hee shoold apparell him self Cap. viij THe wise Courtier both in court and out of court in all places where hee cometh must take great regard hee accōpany with none but with wise and vertuous men For if hee doo not hee can not winne nor acquire such honor by his well dooing as hee shall lose his credit by keeping yl company And therefore hee shall inforce him self always to bee in the presens and company of vertuous and noble men and shall conferre with the most graue wise and honest gentlemen of the court For vsing this way hee shall bynd them to him by reason of his daily accesse to them and hee shall purchase him self a good oppinion of them besides the good example hee shal leaue to others to tread his steps and follow his coorse For what is more true then when a yong gentleman commeth newly to the court you shal see immediatly a company of other yong fooles a company of amarous squires light and ydle persons a company of troublesom iesters and couetous praters besides other yong fry in court that when they know a new come courtier namely beeing of great lyuing They will seeke to attend vpon him and trayn him to the luer of their affects and maner bringing him to like of their qualities and condicions Wherefore conningly to shake of the rout of these needy greedy retayners hee must altogether feede them with fair woords shew them good countenaunce yet notwithstanding seeke by al policy hee can to fly their felowship company Noble mens sonnes knights sonnes gentlemēs sonnes may not think their frends sendeth thē to the court to learn new vyces and wicked practises but to winne them new frēds and obtayne the acquaintance of noble men whose credit and estimation with the prince may honor and countenance them and by theyr vertues and meanes may after a tyme bee brought into the princes fauor also and dayly to ryse in credit and reputation amongst others Therfor such fathers as will send their children to the court onles they doo fyrst admonish them wel how they ought to beehaue them selues ere that they recomend them to to the charge and ouersight of some deare and especiall frend of theirs that will reproue them of their faults when they doo amisse I say they were better to lay irons on there feete and send them to Bedlem or such other like house where madd men bee kept For if they bee bound there in irons it is but to bring them to their wits agayne and to make them wise but to send them to the court lose and at lyberty without guyde it is the next way to make them fooles and worse then mad men assuring you no greater danger nor iniury can bee doon to a yong man thē to bee sent to the court and not comitted to the charge of some one that should take care of him and looke straightly to him For otherwise it were impossible hee should bee there many dayes but hee must needs runne into exces and foul disorder by meanes wherof hee should vtterly cast him selfe away and heape vpon their parents heads continuall curses and greefes during their liues And therfor theire fathers supposing after they haue once placed their sonnes in the court that they should no more carke nor care for them nor recken to instruct them to bee wise and vrrtuous fynd when they come home to them againe that they are laden with vices ill complexioned worse aparelled theire clothes al tottered and torne hauing vainly and fondly spent and plaied away their mony and worst of al forsaken their masters leauing them displeasid with their saruice And of these I would admonish the yong courtier beecause hee must of necessity accompaigny with other yong men that in no case hee acquaynte him selfe with vitious and ill disposed persons but with the honest wise and curteous amongst whome hee shall put vpon him a certaine graue and stayed modesty fitting him selfe only to ther companies beeing also apt and disposed to all honest and vertuous exercices decent for a right gentilman and vertuous courtier shunning with his best pollicy the light foolish and vayne toyes of others And yet notwithstanding these my intent and meaning is not to seeme to perswade or teach him to beecome an hippocrite but only to bee courteous honest and wel beeloued of other yonge gentlemen winning this reputation withall to bee esteemed for the most vertuous and honestist among them gallant and lyuely in his disportes and pastimes of few woords and small conuersation amongst bosters and backbyters or other wicked and naughty persons not to bee sad among those that are mery nor dumme among those that talke wisely of graue matters nor to beleeue hee should bee accounted a trimme courtier to take his booke in his hands to pray when others will take the ball to play or go about some other honest recreation or pastime for exercise of the body For so dooing they would rather take him for a foole and an Ippocrite then for a vertuous and honest yonge man Beeing good reason the child should vse the pleasures and pastimes of a child yong men disportes and actes of youth and old men also graue and wise recreacions fyt for them For in the end doo the best wee can wee can not fly the motiōs of the flesh wherin wee are borne into this world These yong gentilmen courtiers must take heede that they become not troblesome importunate nor quarelers that they bee no filchers liers vacabonds and sclaunderers nor any way geeuen to vice As for other things I would not seeme to take from them their pastyme and pleasure but that they may vse them at their owne pleasure And in all other things lawfull and irreprouable obseruing tyme and howers conuenient and therewithall to accompaigny them selues with their fellows and compaignions Also the yong courtier that cometh newly to the court must of necessity bee very well apparelled according to his degree and callyng and his seruants that follow him well appoynted For in court men regarde not only the house and family hee cometh of but marke
streates And if hee were by chaunce intreatid by some noble man to accompany him or to ride beehind him of pleasure through the streates euery honest courtier ought not only to doo it but vnasked to bee ready to offer him selfe to wayte vpon him and go with him willingly And let the fyne courtier beeware that in geeuing his hand to a gentilwoman hee bee not gloued and if shee be a horsback that hee talke with her bare headed to doo her the more honor and if shee ryde beehind him and they chaunce to discourse togethers let him neuer looke back vpon her to beehold her for that is a rude maner and a token of ill education And one comon courtesy there is amonge courtyers that when they are in talke with ladyes and gentilwomen and enterteining of them they suffer them to doo with them what they will to reigne ouer them and to bee ouercomed in argument of them and they holde yt good maner to doo them seruice when they haue any occasioÌ„ offered to serue them And when hee shall accompany any gentylwoman to go a visitation with her or to walke abrode for their pleasure through the streates hee must ryde fayr and softly and if shee should happen to keepe him so long in talke till shee should light the good courtier must beare yt courteously and make a good couÌ„tenance as though it greeued him nothing syth wee know very wel that when women beeginne once to talke it is impossible for them to make an ende onles they bee ouertaken with night or preuented by some other accident Hee that wil bee a courtier must weare his shooes black and cleane his hose straight to his legges and his garments without plight or wrincle his sworde fayr varnished his sherts fynely wrought and his capp standing with a good grace For the chefest thing of court is that noble meÌ„ bee rich in apparell and the right courtyers fyne and cleanly It is not decent for a man to weare his slippers so long that the corke bee seene nor his garments till they bee torne nor furre til yt bee bare beefore nor shertes till they bee worne out nor his cappe till the turffe bee greasy nor his coate till yt bee threde bare nor his girdell till yt bee halfe broken For the courtier may not only weare his garments to content himself but also to like others that shall beehold yt And after that hee is once determined to go to the court hee must suppose to go thither well apparrelled els they will not suer account him to bee a right courtier For in this case excuse of pouerty may not bee alledged for they will think them rather miserable then poore courtiers The good courtier may not spare in court to spend afterwards at home but hee must pinche at home to bee liberall afterwards in the court And yet once agayne I retorne to recite that for a courtier to come into the princes fauor hee may not any waye bee sparing or miserable but rather honestly liberall and bountiful For seeldome tymes concurre these two things together to bee myserable and yet with his mysery to attayne to the princes fauor I remember I saw a frend of myne once in the court were a ierkin faced at the coller with martyrns and they were all bare and greasy and there was a certaine portugall in the court a pleasant compaignion that came to this gentleman and asked him properly what fayr Furrs they were hee ware about his neck and this gentillman auswered him martirns marterns syr sayth the portingall mee thinkes they are rather like furrs of Ashwednesday then of Shrouetewsday And finely this portingall compared Mardi that is tewsday to his martrin surrs so likewise his martrin furres to Mardi And sure hee had great reason not to prayse them but greatly to rebuke him for them For it had been more for his honor and worshipp to haue had the coller of his ierking lined with fayr new white lamine then with those old stale durty and swety marterns The brooches that our courtier must were in his capp must bee very rich and excelently wrought and his deuise or woord that hee will haue about yt such that though euery man may reade yt yet few shall vnderstand what yt meanes For such deuises are euer lightly grounded of vaine and fond toyes and therfor they should bee somuch more secret and obscure For suer the fault is great ynough in a man to deuiseyt though hee doo not beewray yt Also his seruants that waites vpon him must needes go handsomly apparelled syne nete in their apparell For it is small honor for the master to bee well apparellyd if hee let his seruants goe beggerly There are many courtiers that haue their men following on them with threede bare clokes torne coates foule shertes broken hose and rent shoos So that these poore seruingmen if â—or one moneth they were that their master giueth them for three other moneths after they were their owne proper flesh It is no wise mans part but a mere folly to keepe a greater traine then hee is able For that courtier that hath alwayes many seruants wayting on him and they going tottered and torne hauing no good thing to put on their backs or at least that they haue is but meane and simple shal soner wynne the name of a broker that prefarreth other men to saruice then of a master that keepeth seruants him selfe The good courtier must geeue vnto all his seruants that serue him ether apparell or wages for that seruant that serueth only in house for bare meate and drink shall neuer serue truly while hee dooth serue And therfor let the courtier looke well to yt that hee enterteigne no man into his saruice but that first hee agree with bim for standing wages onles yt bee that hee bee some neuew or kynsman or some of his deare frends els in the end if hee bee a noble man vnles hee doo so hee shall find that at the yeares end hee shall spend him more than if hee gaue him ordinary wages and beesids they will not bee contented with him although yt bee to his greater charge Also let him consider well if yt happen that when hee hath neede of seruants to wayre vpon him some brother or neighbors chyld bee offerid to hym whether hee shall receyue him or no. For after hee hath him in his house ether hee shall bee compelled to beare with his faults and disorders hee shall doo or els desirous to rebuke and reforme him or to send him home againe hee shall but winne anger and displeasure of his father or his proper kinsfolks Suerly such courtiers as take those kynd of men into their seruice haue a greate deale of payne and troble with them And truly it is too great a cruelty that the courtier should bee driuen to beare the dishonesty of his man the serues hym when his owne father could not away with his conditions Some fathers there
inough But the auncient phylosophers were not of this mynd and much lesse are the wise men vertuous men at this day For wee see that in the court of prynces many rather lack fauor then lyfe and others lack both fauor and lyfe togethers and others not onely their lyfe and fauor but also all their goods and faculties So that all that that their fauor and credit haue geeuen them in many yeares and by sundry greefes and troubles they come afterwards to lose them euen vppon a sodeyn and in short time I graunt notwithstanding that it ys a great honor profyt and furtheraunce for the courtier to bee in his princes fauor but neuertheles hee cannot deny mee but that it is a daungerous thing also For naturally a great famyliarity bringeth also a great enuy wyth yt syth the beloued of the prince is commonly ill willed of the common weale And that that is yet most daungerous is that to obtayn the sauor of hys prince hee must so behaue him self that his seruice must bee more rare better and exquysite then all others and otherwise to fall in disgrace and to make the prynce forget all the good seruice hee hath doone hym hys whole life tyme hee neede but the least displeasure and fault hee can commit Eusenides was maruelously beloued with Tolomey who after fortune had exalted and brought him to honor and that hee was growen to great wealth sayd one day to Cuspides the phylosopher these woords O my frend Cuspides tell mee I pray thee of thy fayth is there any cause in mee to bee sad syth fortune hath placed mee in so great autoryty and honor as shee can deuise to doo and that the kynk Tolomey my lord hath now no more to geeue mee he hath alredy beene so bountyfull to mee To whom the philosopher aunswered saying O Eusenides yf thou wert a phylosopher as thou art a beeloued seruaunt thou wouldst tell mee an other tale then that thou tellest mee now For although kyng Tolomey hath no more to geeue thee knowst not thou that spyghtfull fortune hath power to take away from thee many thynges For the noble hart feeleth more greefe and displeasure to come down one staire or step then to clymme vp a hundred Not many days after these woords passed betweene Cuspides and Eusenides yt happened that one day Kyng Tolomey found Eusenides talkyng with aleman or curtesan of hys which hee loued deerely whereat hee was so much offended that hee made her straight drink a cuppe of poyson and caused him to bee hanged before his own gates The emperor Seuerus had one in so great fauor and credit which was called Plautius hee loued hym so extreamely trusted him so much that hee neuer read letter but Plautius must read it and hee neuer graunted commissyon or lycence to any man but it must passe vnder Plautius seale neither dyd hee euer graunt any thyng but at the request of Plautius nor dyd make warres or peace without the counsell and aduice of Plautius The matter fel out so that Plautius entring one night into the emperors chamber armed with a priuy cote his yll hap was such that a litle of his brest before was open whereby was spyed the mayle which Bahhian seeyng beyng the emperors eldest sonne sayd vnto hym these woords Tell mee Plautius doo those that are the beloued of prynces vse to come into they re bed chamber at these howers armed with Iron coate I sweare to thee by the Immortall gods and let them so preserue mee in the succession of the Empire that syth thou comest armed with Iron thou shalt also dye with Iron Which presently tooke place For before hee went out of the chamber they strake of his head The Emperor Comodus that was sonne of the good Emperor Marcus Aurelius had a seruaunt called Cleander a wise and graue man old and very pollytyck but with all a litle couetous This Cleander was oft times requested of the pretoryne compaigny that is to say of the whole band of souldiours that hee woold commaund they might bee payd their pay dew to them and to perswade him the better to pay it they shewed him a bill signed from the Emperor to which bill hee aunswered That the emperor had nothing to doo in the matter For although hee were lord of Rome yet had hee not to deale in the affaires of the common weale These discourteous and vnseemely woords related to the emperor Comodus and perceiuing the small obedyence and respect of duty that Cleander shewed to him hee cōmaunded foorth with hee should bee slayn to his great shame that all his goods should bee confiscat Alcimenides was a great renoumed kyng among thee Greekes as Plutark writeth of him and hee fauored one Pannonius entierly wel to whom only hee did not commit his person his trust but also the whole affaires and dooings of the the comon weale hee might dispose of the goods of the kyng at his wil and pleasure without leaue or licence So that al the subiects found they had more benefit in seruing of Pannonius then in pleasyng of the Kyng Therefore the king the beloued Pannonius playing at the balle togethers they came to contend vppon a chase and the one sayd it was thus the other sayd it was contrary and as they were in this contention the kyng commaūded presently those of his gard that in the very place of the chase where Pannonius denied they should strike of his head Constantius the Emperor also had one whom hee lyked very well and made much of called Hortentius which in deede might well bee counted a princes derling for hee dyd not onely rule the affaires of the common weale of the pallace of warres his goods and person of the emperor but also hee was euer placed aboue all the Imbassatours at his table And when the emperor went in progresse or any other iorny hee euer had him to his bedfellow Thus things beeing in this state I tel you it happened that one day a page geeuing the emperor drink in a glasse the glasse by myshap fell out of the pages hand and brake in peeces whereat the emperor was not a litle displeased and offended And euen in this euil vnhappy hower came Hortentius to the Kyng to present hym certayn bylles to signe of hasty dyspatch which was a very vnapt tyme chosen and the emperor contented yet to signe yt could neither the first nor the second tyme because the penne was ill fauordly made and the ink so thyck that yt would not wryte whych made the kyng so angry that euen presently for anger hee commaunded Hortensius head to bee striken of But to the end wee may come to the knowledge of many things in few woords I wyll shew you how Alexander the great slew in hys choller hys deere accounted Cratherus and Pirrhus Kyng of the Epirotes Fabatus hys secretory The Emperor Bitillion hys greatest frend Cincinatus Domitian the emperor Rufus of his