Selected quad for the lemma: friend_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
friend_n	worthy_a	write_v	writer_n	26	3	7.6484	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07590	The mirrour of friendship both hovv to knovve a perfect friend, and how to choose him. With a briefe treatise, or caueat, not to trust in worldly properitie. Translated out of Italian into English by Thomas Breme Gentleman.	Breme, Thomas.; I. B., fl. 1584.	1584 (1584)	STC 17979.7; ESTC S110017	15,331	52

his person takes long and paynfull voiages enters into debates and speches and doth hazard his person onely to helpe and release his friend out of perill with suche a pure affection amitie that he would yet doe more for him if it were in his power hauing then presupposed that it is necessary to choose a friend only to vse him alone great consideration is to be had in the choyce and election of such a one least thou finde thy selfe deceiued in thy trust in vttering thy secretes to him How to chose a perfect friend haue regarde that he be not couetous vnpacient or angry a great talker seditious or a mouer of strife neither presumptuous for if he be infected with these vices thou wert better to haue him thine enimie then to choose him for thy friend but thy perfect friend ought to be of good conditions and honest customes that is to be gentle of nature wise in his purposes and paynefull in trauels patient in iniuries sober in eating and drinking good in councell giuing and aboue all faythfull and constant in amity and kéeping thy secretes and such a one thou maist surely choose for thy friend And where want and defaylance shal be of these conditions to flye his friendship as a daungerous pestilence Holde this for a certayne thing that much worse is the amity of a fayned friend and fantasticall then the malice of an open enimie We se none will buie a horse till first he hath séene him goe and wel vewed him silke nor cloath without séeing and féeling it wine without tasting it fleshe without cheapening it nor house without vewing it within nor instruments without hearing them soūded and played vppon by a more great reason thou oughtest in choosing thy friend to know his behauiour and wisdome and vertues long before thou admittest him as thy secrete friend Note the Emperour Augustus order in friendship The Emperor Augustus was warie difficil in admitting a special friend but after he had receiued him into his friendship he would neuer leaue him nor reiecte him for any cause or displeasure Friendshippe ought to bée exercised with good men in vertuous actions for although a man make his friend Lord of his secretes and libertie yet alwayes reason ought to reserue vertue frée Plutarke saieth in his Politicks that we were much better to sell dearely to our friends our good turnes Note Plutarks opinion and friendshippes either in prosperity or aduersitie then to féeds them with faire dissembling words vaine promises not meaning to performe any of our friendships offered I wish these my trauells might be agreable to them that shall peruse that I haue written of Amity and choise of a friend hauing writte fréely without flattery Saluite in his booke of the Iugurthine warres shews that it is no lesse commendation for a writer to write truly the valiant acts of the worthy then to the conquerour to haue executed his charge with valure and worthinesse of armes for often it happeneth the captaine to be slaine in gaining the battaile and victory yet faileth he not to be reuiued by good reputation Good fame remaineth after death that he gained before his death being set downe in true history by the writer Good counsell is of great efficacie in a friend Marcus Aurelius a famous empeour of Rome as said Marcus Aurelius to his secretary Panucius saying that a man with money may satisfie and recompence many pleasures and good turnes done him but to reward good counsell all the goods had néede to satisfie and recompence If we will beléeue auncient historyes we shall finde it true that the vertuous Emperors fortunate Kings and hardy Captaines going to the warres to conquere their enimies haue alwaies bene desirous to haue in their company some discréete and learned philosopher as well to counsell with as also to recorde in writing their aduentures and noble faets Great Alexander had Aristotle King Gyrus Chilon King Ptholome Pithimon King Pirrhus Zatvru The notable emperors and kinges haue esteemed learned men greatly the emperour August Simonides Scipio Sophocles the emperour Traian Plutarke the emperour Antonius p●●● Georgias The company of al these philosophers and excellent men of the worlde serued only for good counsell wherein their services deserued praise as did the valiant Captaines by their hardinesse manhood The emperour Nero asked Seneca the philosopher what he thought of Scipio the Affrican and ●a to the Censor he answered the emperour that it was As Armes is necessarie so is learning also as necessary that Cato should be borne into the worlde for the common wealth as Scipio to for the warres for as much as the good Cato by his counsell did chace the vices out of the common wealthe and Scipio by his actiuity and valiantnesse in armes did chastice the enimy of the common wealth And surely who shall followe the counsell here written shal finde them necessary and profitable and shal help him to assure his estate For all the troupe of philosophers do affirme that the felicitie doth not consist in great puissance nor in hauing worldly riches To deserue wel is the propertie of good men but in deseruing wel For the honour fauor and greatnesse of this mortall life is of more practise in them that deserue it then to them that possesse it without deserte by happe or fortune for if the earthquakes doo most hurte where be the most costly buildinges and the tempest and lightning is most extreeme vpon the high mountaines more then in the vallies and low planes and that in the greatest and most proud and most peopled cities the pestilence doth most rage more then in other places of smal inhabitation and the birds be entrapped in the nets vnknowen to them and the calmnesse of the Sea is token of some great tempest to come and that after long health sicknesse is most daungerous so doe I inferre hereby that it is necessary for al men to beware of fained friends and beware of falling into ruine and daunger of euil fortune entrapping of dissembled friendes The emperor Augustus asked Virgil how he might long maintaine himselfe in his empire be liked of the common weale he answered often to examine thy self O Emperour and to know that as thou excellest all in estate and degrée and authority so oughtest thou to surpasse all other in vertus and noblenesse which was a most excellent and wise answere The ancient and wise Historiographers did praise greatly the greatnesse of Alexander the learning of Ptholome the instice of Numa Pompilius the clemency of Iulius Caesar the patience of Augustus the veritis of Traian the pittie of Antonius the temperance of Constantius the continency of Scipio and the humanity of Theodosius so that these great princes got their great reputation more by their vertues then valiancy and great déedes of armes victories tryumphes One thing is most certaine that how vicious dissolute or dissembling