like losse to that where a man loseth hym whom entierlye he loueth and of whom also he is derelye beloued The fatal destenies oughte to content them selues to haue annoyed mye house with so manye mysfortunes But after all this and aboue all this theye haue lefte me a wicked nephewe whiche shall bee myne heire and theye haue lefte vnto mee that all mye life I shall lament O Cato for that thou owest to the common wealthe I doe desire thee and by the immortall goddes I doe coniure thee that since thou arte a vertuous Romaine and censor of the people that thou prouyde for one of these two thinges that is to wete that this mye Nephewe doe serue mee or els ordeine that I dye forthewith For it is a greate crueltye that those doe pursue me whiche are aliue since it is nowe 40. yeares that I ceased not to bewaile the deade Cato beinge well enfourmed of that the olde man had tolde him and since he founde al that true whiche he spake he called vnto his presence the yonge Nephew and sayde vnto him these wordes If thou were suche a childe as thou oughtest to bee thou shouldest excuse mee of payne and thy selfe of trauaile But since it is not so I praye thee take that pacientlye that I shall commaunde thee and be thou assured that I will not commaund thee any thing that shal bee againste iustice For the vicious yonglinges as thou art ought to be more ashamed of the youthefullnes theye haue commytted then for the punishement whiche is geeuen vnto them Firste I commaunde thow bee whipte beecause thou arte dysobedyent and troublesome to thy graundefather Secondlye I commaunde that thou bee banished the limittes of Rome because thou arte a vicious yonge man Thyrdly I commaund that of all the goodes thou hast enherited thou shalt be disenherited because thou doest not obey thy graundfather And the cause why I geue suche seuere sentence is to the end that from heÌ„sforthe the yong shal not disobey the aged and also that those which haue enheryted great treasours shall not think that men shall permit them to bee more vicious then others Phalaris the tiraunt wryting to a frend of his which was very aged said these wordes the which rather semed spoken of a Philosopher then of a tirant I haue meruailed at thee am offeÌ„ded with the my friend Vetto to know as I do that in yeares thou arte verye aged and in workes verye yonge and also it greeueth mee that thou hast lost the credite of knoweledge in the schooles It greeueth mee more that through thee the priuilege shoold be lost which the old men haue accustomed to haue in Grece that is to wete that all the theeues all the periured and all the murderers were more sure when by white heares theye semed to be olde when they reteyred to the aulters of the temples O what goodnesse O what wisedome what valyauntnes and what innocencye oughte the aged men to haue in the auncient tyme since in Rome theye honoured them as goddes and in Grece theye priuileged those white heares as the temples Plinie in an epistle hee wrote to Fabatus sayeth that Pirrus king of the Epirotes demaunded a philosopher which was the best cytye of the worlde who aunswered The best cytye of the worlde is Molerda a place of three hundreth fyers in Achaia beecause all the walles are of blacke stones and all those whiche gouerne it haue hoarye heades And further hee sayde Woe bee vnto thee Rome Woe bee vnto thee Carthage woe bee vnto thee Numancia woe bee vnto thee Egypte and woe bee vnto thee Athens fyue cytyes whiche count them selues for the beste of the worlde whereof I am of a contrarye oppynion For theye auaunte them selues to haue whyte walles and are not ashamed to haue yonge Senatoures Thys phylosopher sayde verye well and I thynke noe manne wyll saye lesse then I haue sayde Of thys woorde Senex is deryued the name of a Senatoure for so were the gouernoures of Rome named because the fyrste Kynge that was Romulus chosé a hundred aged men to gouerne the common wealth and commaunded that all the other Romayne youthe shoold employe them selues to the warres Since wee haue spoken of the honour whyche in the olde tyme was geeuen to the auncient men it is reason wee knowe now from what yeare they counted men aged to the ende they shoolde bee honoured as aged men For the makers of lawes when they hadde established the honours whych ought to bee done to the aged dydde aswell ordeyne from what daye and yeare theye shoolde beeginne Dyuers auncyent Philosophers dyd put syx ages from the tyme of the byrthe of man till the houre of deathe That is to wete chyldehood which lasteth till seuen yeares Infancy whiche endureth vntill seuentene yeares Youth which continueth till thirty yeares Mannes estate which remayneth till fyftye and fyue yeares Age whyche endureth till three score and eyghtene yeares Croked age which remaineth till death And so after man had passed fiue and fyftye yeares they called hym aged Aulus Gelius in his tenth booke in the xxvii Chapter saieth that Tullius Hostillius who was kynge of the Romaines determined to count all the old and yonge whiche were amongest the people and also to know whych shoold bee called infaunts whych yong and whych olde And there was noe lytle dyfference amongest the Romayne Phylosophers and in the end it was decreed by the kyng and the Senate that men tyll seuenteene yeares shoold bee called infaunts and tyll syx and forty shoold bee called yong and from syx and forty vpwardes they shoold bee called olde If wee wyl obserue the lawe of the Romaynes wee know from what tyme wee are bound to call and honor the aged men But addyng hereunto it is reason that the olde men know to what prowesses and vertues they are bound to the ende that wyth reason and not wyth faynyng they bee serued For speakyng the trueth yf wee compare duty to duty they old men are more bound to vertue then the yong to seruice Wee can not denay but that all states of natyons great small yong and olde are bound to bee vertuous but in this case the one is more to bee blamed then the other For oftentimes if the yong do offend it is for that hee wanteth experience but if the olde man offend it is for the abundaunce of mallice Seneca in an Epystle sayde these woordes I let thee weete my friend Lucillus that I am very much offended and I do complayne not of any friend or foe but of my selfe and â—â—â—â—e other And the reason why I thynk thus is that I see my selfe olde in yeares and yong in vices so that lytle is that wherein I haue serued the gods much lesse is that I haue profyted meÌ„ And Seneca saith further he whiche praysethe hym selfe moste to be aged and that woulde be honoured for beinge aged oughte to be temperate in eatinge honest in apparayle
Annius Verus my father in thys case deserueth as much prayse as I doe reproche For whiles I was yonge he neuer suffered me to slepe in bed to syt in chayre to eate with him at hys table neyther durst I lyfte vp mine eyes to loke hym in the face And oftentymes he sayde vnto me Marcus my sonne I had rather thou shoudest be an honest Romayne than a dissolute Philosopher Thou desyrest me to wryte vnto the how manye masters I had and what scyences I learned in my youth Knowe thou that I had manye good masters though I am become an euyll scoller I learned also dyuerse scyences though presently I knowe lyttle not for that I forgote them but because the affayres of the empyre of Rome excluded me from them and caused me to forsake them For it is a general rule that science in that place is neuer permanent where the personne is not at libertie I studyed grammer with a mayster called Euphermon who sayed he was a Spaniard borne and his head was hore for age In speache he was very temperate in correction somwhat seuere and in life exceadyng honeste For there was a law in Rome that the childrens masters should be very old so that if the disciple were .10 yeres of age the master should be aboue fiftie I studied a long time Rethorick and the lawe vnder a greeke called Alexander borne in Lycaony which was so excellent an Oratour that if he had had as great a grace in writing with his pen as he hadde eloquence in speakynge with hys tong truly he had bene no lesse renowmed among the Gretians then Cicero was honored amonge the Romains After the death of this my master at Naples I went to Rhodes and hearde rethoricke again of Orosus of Pharanton and of Pulio whiche trulye were men expert and excellent in the arte of oratorie and especially in makyng comedies tragedies and enterludes they were very fyne and had a goodly grace Commodus Calcedon was my firste master in naturall Philosophie He was a graue man and in greate credite with Adrian he translated Homere out of greeke into latin After this man was dead I toke Sextus CheroneÌ„sis for my master who was nephewe to Plutarche the greate whych Plutarche was Traianus master I knewe this Sextus Cheronensis at .35 yeares of age at what time I doute whether there hath bene any Philosopher that euer was so well estemed throughout the Romain empire as he I haue him here with me and although he be foure score yeres olde yet continually he writeth the Histories and gestes done of my time I let the know my frend Pulio that I studied the law .2 yeres and the seekyng of the lawes of many nacions was occasion that I knew many antiquities and in this science Volucius Mecianns was my master a man whiche could reade it well and also dispute of if better So that on a time he demaunded of me merily and sayde Tell me Marke doest thou thinke there is any lawe in the world that I know not and I aunswered him Tell me master is there any lawe in the world that thou obseruest The fyfte yere that I was at Rhodes there came a marueilous pestilence whiche was occasion of the dissolution of our scoole which was in a narowe and litle place and beynge there a certaine painter paintinge a riche and exellent worke for the Realme of Palestine I then for a truth learned there to drawe and painte and my master was Diogenetus who in those dayes was a famous painter He painted in Rome .6 worthy Princes in one table and 6. other tirannous Emperours in an other And amongest those euill Nero the cruell was painted so lyuely that he semed a lyue to all those that sawe him and that table wherein Nero was so liuelye drawen was by decrees of the sacred senat commaunded to be burnt For they saide that a man of so wycked a life deserued not to be represented in so goodly a table Others saide that it was so naturall and perfect that he made all men afrayde that beheld him and if he had bene lefte there a fewe daies that he would haue spoken as if he had bene aliue I studied the arte of Nigromancie a while with al the kyndes of gyromancye and chiromancye In this science I had no particuler master but that somtymes I went to heare Apolonius lecture After I was maried to Faustine I learned Cosmographye in the citie of Argeleta which is the chiefeste towne of Illyria and my masters were Iunius Rusticus and Cyna Catullus Croniclers and counsaylers to Adrian my master and Antonius my father in lawe And because I would not be ignorant in any of those thynges that mans debilitie myght attaine to beyng at the warres of Dalia I gaue my selfe to musicke was apte to take it and my master was named Geminus Câ—modus a man of a quicke hand to play and of as pleasaunte a voice to singe as euer I hearde Romayne tonge prompte to speake This was the order of my lyfe and the tyme that I spente in learning And of good reason a man so occupyed can not chose but be vertuous But I sware and confesse to the that I did not so much geue my selfe to studye but that euery day I lost time enoughe For youth and the tender fleshe desyreth libertie and althoughe a man accustome it with trauailes yet he findeth vacant time also for his pleasours Although al the auncient Romans were in dyuerse thinges very studious yet notwithstandinge amongest all ouer and besides these there were fyue things wherunto they had euer a great respect to those that therin offended neyther requestes auayled rewards profited nor law old nor new dispensed Truly their good willes are to be comended and their dyligence to be exalted For the princes that gouerne great Realmes ought to employe their hartes to make good lawes and to occupie their eyes to se them dulye executed throughoute the common wealthe These fiue thinges weare these 1 The firste they ordeyned that the priestes shoulde not be dishoneste For in that Realme where priestes are dyshonest it is a token that the gods against the people are angrye 2 The seconde it was not suffered in Rome that the Virginnes vestalles should at their pleasoure stray abroad For it is but reason that she whiche of her owne fre wil hath heretofore promised openly to be good should now if she chaunge her mind be compelled in secret to be chast 3 The third they decreed that the iudges should be iuste and vprighte For there is nothing that decayeth a common wealthe more then a iudge who hath not for all men one ballaunce indifferent 4 The fourth was that the Captaines that should go to the warres should not be cowardes for there is no lyke daunger to the common wealthe nor no like sclaunder to the Prince as to committe the charge of men to hym in the fielde who wylbe firste to commaunde and laste to fighte
but also before them he did dishonour hym and shame him to his power whiche thinge made him vtterly to dispaire For there is nothing that spiteth a man more then to haue before hys enemies any iniurie or dishonoure done vnto him of his superiour The empresse Sophia therfore deserued great reproche for speakinge suche dishonest wordes to Narsetes to send him to thread the nedels in that occupacion where the damsels wrought For it is the duty of a noble princesse to mitigate the ire of Princes when they are angry and not to prouoke them further to anger Narsetes then alwaies dowting the empresse Sophia neuer after retourned into Naples where she was but rather came from Naples to Rome a yeare before the Lumbardes came into Italy where he receiued all the sacramentes and like a deuout ChristiaÌ„ dyed His body was caried to Alexandria in a coffine of siluer al sette with precious stones and ther was buried And a man cannot tel whither the displeasour were greater that all Asia had not to see Narsetes aliue or the pleasour that Sophia had to see him deade For the vnpacient hart especially of a woman hath no rest vntill she see her enemye dead ¶ Of a letter the Emperour Marcus Aurelius sente to the Kynge of Scicile in which he recordeth the trauailes they endured togethers in their youth and reproueth him of his small reuerence towardes the temples Chapter xvii MArcus Aurelius sole Emperour of Rome borne in mouÌ„te Celio called the old tribune wisheth health and long lyfe to the Gorbin Lord kynge of Sicile As it is the custome of the Romaine Emperoures the firste yeare of my reigne I wrate generallye to all that I le the seconde yeare I wrate generallye vnto thy courte and palace and at this presente I write more particulerlye to thy parsone And although that Princes haue greate Realmes yet they ought not therfore to cease to coÌ„municate with their old frendes Since I toke my penne to write vnto the I stayed my hande a great while from writing and it was not for that I was slouthfull but because I was a shamed to see all Rome offended with the. I let the to weâ—e most excellent prince that in this I say I am thy true frend for in my hart I fele thy trouble and so sayd Euripides that whiche with the harte is loued with the hart is lamented But before I shew thee the cause of my writing I will reduce into thy memory some thinges past of our youth and therby we shall see what we were then and what we are now for no man dothe so muche reioyce of his prosperitie present as he whiche calleth to minde his miseries past Thou shalt call to minde most excellent Prince that we two togethers did learne to reade in Capua and after we studyed a litle in Tarentum and from thense we went to Rhodes where I redde Rhethorike and thou hardest philosophie And afterwardes in the ende of x. yeres we went to the warres of Pannonia where I gaue my selfe to musike for the affectioÌ„s of yong men is so variable that daily they would know straunge realmes and chaunge offices And in all those iourneis with the forse of youth the swete company with the pleasaunte communicacion of sciences and with a vaine hope we did dissemble our extreme pouerty which was so great that many times and ofte we desired not that whiche manye had but that litle which to few abounded Doest thou remember that when we sayled by the goulfe Arpin to goe into Helesponte a long and tempestuous torment came vpon vs wherin we were taken of a pirate and for our raunsome he made vs rowe about .ix. monethes in a gally wheras I cannot tell whiche was greater either the wante of bread or the abundaunce of stripes whiche we alwaies endured Hast thou forgotten also that in the citie of Rhodes when we were beseged of Bruerdus puissaunt kyng of Epirotes for the space of fourtene monethes we were tenne withoute eatyng fleshe saue onely .ii. cattes the one whiche we stole and the other whiche we bought remember that thou and I being in Tarent were desired of our host to go to the feast of the great goddesse Diana into the whiche temple none coulde enter that day but those which were new apparelled And to say the trouthe we determined not to go thither thou because thy garmentes were torne and I because my shoes were broken and that bothe the tymes we were sicke in Capua they neuer cured vs by dyet for our dyseases neuer proceded of excesse but of extreame hunger An often times Retropus the phisician for his pleasour spake to vs in the vniuersitie and sayd Alas children you dye not through surfeting and muche eatinge And truly he sayde trouth for the contrey was so dere and our mony so scarse that we did neuer eate vntyl the time we could endure no lenger for famine Dost thou not remember the great famine that was in Capua for the which cause we were in the warre of Alexandria wherin my fleshe dyd tremble remembring the great perilles whiche we passed in the goulfe of Theberynthe What snowes all wynter what extreme heate all sommer what general famine in the fieldes what outragious pestilence amongest the people and worste of all what persecution of straungers and what euill will we had of ours remember also that in the citie of Naples when we made our prayer to the profetesse Flauia she told vs what shoulde become of vs after we lefte our studies She tolde me that I should be an Emperour and sayde that thou shouldest be a kynge To the whiche aunswere we gaue suche credite that we toke it not onelye for a mocke but also for a manifest iniurye And nowe I doe not merueile in that then we bothe marueled wonderfull muche For enuyous fortune practised her power more in pluckyng downe the ryche then in setting vp the poore Beholde excellente Prince the greate power of the goddesse the whele of fortune the variety of times who would haue thought when I hadde my handes all rough and scuruy with rowing in the galley that betwene those handes the scepter of the Romayne Empire should haue ben put who would haue thoughte when I was so sicke for lacke of meat I should euer haue surfited by to muche eating who would haue thought when I could not be satisfied with cattes fleshe that I shoulde haue then glutted with to moch dainty meates who wold haue thought at that time when I left going into the temple because my shoes were broken that another tyme should come when I shoulde ryde triumphyng in chariotes and vppon the shoulders of other menne who woulde haue thought that that which with my eares I hard of the prophetesse in Campagnia I should see here with my eyes in Rome O how many dyd hope at the time we were in Asia to be gouernours of Rome and lords of Sicille which not only fayled of the honour that they desired
of lyfe constant in the defence of the Church and pacient in persecutions For he is a true relygious man that in tyme of peace is charitable to teache the ignorant and bold in the time of Scismes to confound the heretyques The Emperour Valente was not only not a frend to the Arrians an enemye to the Christians but also he was a persecutour of the deuoute and religious fryers For he commaunded proclamacyons to be had through all his realmes and domynions that all the relygious that were yonge in yeares hole of their bodyes and sound of their lymmes should immedyately cast of their cowles and hoodes leauyng their monasterye and take souldiers wages in the campe For he said Monasteryes were inuented for nothynge els but to maintaine those that were deformed blynde lame and maymed and vppon this occasion he shewed great tyrannye For many monasteryes were left naked many notable constitucions were broken manye hermites were martyred manye friers whypped many notable barons banyshed and many good men robbed of their goodes For the vertuous men desired rather the bytter lyfe of the monastery then the swete and pleasaunt lybertie of the world This Emperour yet not contented with these thinges as by chaunce his wife commended vnto him the beautye of a Romaine called Iustina without any more delaye he maried her not forsaking hys first wyfe and immedyatly made a lawe throughout all his Empire that without incurring any daunger eche Christian myght haue two wyues and mary with them by the lawe of matrymony For the tyrannous Princes to cloake their vyces make and enstablyshe the lawes of vices The shame was not litle that the Emperoure Valente against the commaundement of the Churche would marie wyth two women at one time but the lesse shame he had the greater was his iniquytye to put it in excucion and to cause it to be publyshed through hys realme as a law For a perticuler vyce corrupteth but one alone but a general law distroyeth al. At that tyme the puissaunt Gothes were in the parties of the orient the whych were in feates of armes very valyaunt and couragious but in thynges of faith they were euyl broughte vp althoughe the greateste part of them were baptysed For then the Churche was very poore of prelates howbeit those that they had were very notable men After the Gothes were baptysed and the furie of the warres somewhat appeased they sente Embassadours to the Emperour Valente desyring hym that immedyatlye and forthwith he would sende them holy catholyke Bishoppes by whose doctrine they myght be instructed and brought to the christian fayth For it was thought that the Emperoures of Rome coulde haue no byshoppes in their countryes vnlesse they were vertuous This wicked Emperour sythe he was now entangled with heresye and that he had peruerted the customes of the good Emperours that is for hauing about hym euil Bishoppes as he was enuyronned with all euills and myscheues so he sent to the Gothes a bishoppe called Eudoxius the whych was a ranke Arrian and brought with hym many Bishoppes which were heretyques by the whych the kynges and Princes of the Gothes were Arrians for the space of 200 yeares The catholyke Princes ought to take great care to watch and in watching to be ware and circumspect that they their Realmes neyther their subiects should in their time be defiled with heresie For the plague of heretykes and heresyes is not of lyght occasion bannished the place wher ons it hath reigned We haue declared of the small fayth that thys Emperoure had in Iesus Christe and of the greate myscheues he dyd to the Churche Let vs now see what was the ende of hys myserable life For the man of wycked lyfe seldome commeth to good ende The matter was this that as the Gothes were dryuen out of the Realme by some of the Hunnes they came immedyately to the Realme of Thracia which then was subiecte to the Romaynes And the Emperour Valente without anye couenaunte receyued theym into hys lande wherin he commytted great folye and vsed lytle wisedome For it is a generall rule wher rebelles vacabondes and straungers come to inhabyte there alwayes the Realme and dominions is destroyed The Gothes remayned certaine yeres amonge them without any discencion or quarrellynge against the Romaynes but afterwardes through the couetousnes of Maximus chiefe Captaine of the Romaines that denied the Gothes of their prouysion whyche so longe tyme remayned frendes arose betwene them so cruell warres that it was the occasion of the losse and vtter vndoing both of Rome and of all Italye For truly ther is no enmetye doth so much hurte as that of frendes when they fawle out once at dyscorde The warre now being kindeled the Gothes were scatered throughe the Realme of Thrace and they left no forte but they battered they came to no villagyes nor cytyes but they sacked they toke no women but they forced they entred into no house but they robbed Finally the Gothes in short time shewed the poyson that they had agaynst the Romaynes And let no man maruel that the Gothes committed so many cruell and heynous factes sith we that are Chrystians do commyt dayly greater offences For among rebelles it is a common errour that that whyche they robbe in the warres they saye they are not bound to restore in peace The Emperour Valente was then in the cytie of Antioche and sith he had assembled there a great army had greate ayde out of Italy he determyned hymselfe in person to go into the campe of the Romaynes and to gyue thonset against the Gothes wherin he shewed himselfe more bold then wise For a Prince in battaile can doo no more then one man nor fighte more then one man and if he die he is the occasion of the death and destruction of them all When both the hostes of the Romaynes and the Gothes ioyned ther was betwene theym a cruell and mortall fight so that in the first brunt the Gothes shewed them selues so valiaunte that they put to flight the Romaines horsemen leauing their fotemen alone in great ieopardy the which in short space after were discomfited and slaine not one left aliue For the barbarous sware that that day the Gothes should al dye or els vtterly they would destroy the name of the Romaynes And in this first charg the Emperour Valente was mortally woūded who perceiuing he had his deaths wound that the battaile was lost he determined to fire and saue himselfe But when fortune beginneth to persecute anye man she leaueth hym not vntill she se him dead or beaten downe without recouer Therfore as this wicked Emperour thincking to saue himselfe came into a shepecotte the enemyes seyng him in the end set fier on the shepecote and burnt him alyue So in one day he lost his person his lyfe his honoure and his empire It is mete that princes and great lordes should lift vp their eyes to consyder well thys historie of Valente that they straye not from
speake litle to write briefly so that for writing of letters they wyll he be brief for conquering of straunge realmes they doe not rebuke him although he be long Wise men should desire that their princes be of a gentle cōdition to the end they fal not to tyranny That they haue their mind vncorrupted to minister to all equall iustice that their thought be good not to desire straunge realmes that they haue their hartes voide frome wrathe that they be sound within to pardon iniuries that they loue their subiectes to be serued of them that thei know the good to honour them that they know the euil to punish them as for the surplus we litle regard whether the king go fast whether he eate much or write brief For the daunger is not in that which is in the lack of his person but is in the negligence that he vseth in the common wealth I haue receiued my frend Pulio great comfort of thy letter but much more I should haue receiued of thy presence for the letters of auncient frendes are but as a remēbraunce of time past It is a great pleasure to the mariner to talke of the perils past being in the hauen to the captaine to glorie of the battaile after the victory I meane aboue al pleasure this is the greatest to men being now faithful frendes to talke of the trauaile and daūgers which they passed when they were young mē Beleue me in one thing and doe not doubt therof There is no man that knoweth to speake that knoweth to possesse nor that can iudge or take any pleasure neither that knoweth well how to kepe the goods which the gods haue geuen him vnlesse it be he that hath bought it derely with great trauaile For with al our hartes we loue that thing which by our own proper trauaile we haue gotten I aske thee one thing who is he that oweth most to the gods or that is most estemed amongest men of Traian the iuste whiche was brought vp in the warres of Dace Germany and Spaine or of Nero the cruell whiche was nourished in all the deliciousnes of Rome Truly the one was none other then a Rose among briers and the other was but a nettel among flowers I speake this because the good Traian hath gouerned his life in such sort that alwayes they will smell the rose by the pleasaunt sauour but the cruell Nero hath left the sting with the nettell of his infamy I will not speake all because many are were made good but for the most part the princes which were brought vp deliciously gaue euery mā occasion that al should be offended for the euil gouernaunce of their liues in their realmes and because they neuer experimented any kinde of trauaile in them selues they do litle esteme the paines of another I wil not that thou thinke my frend Pulio that I haue forgotten the time that is past though the gods brought me to the empire present For though we togethers were tossed with the tormentes of youthe yet nowe we maye repose our selues in the caulmes of our age I doe remember that thou and I did study in Rhodes in letters and after we had so wen weapons in Capua it hath pleased the Gods that the seedes of my fortune should rype here in Rome and to thee and to others better then I fortune would not geue one onely eare I doe not geue the licence that thy thought be suspitious of me sithe thou of my harte arte made a faithfull frende for if vnconstant fortune doth truste me to gather with trauayle the grape know thou that here in my palace thou shalt not want of the wyne The gods will not suffer that nowe in this moment thou shouldest finde my harte shutte from thee whose gates I founde alwayes for the space of twenty yeares open vnto me Sithe that my fortunes brought me to the Empire I haue alwayes had two thinges before myne eyes that is to wete not to reuenge my selfe of myne enemies neither to be vnthankefull to my frendes For I praye to the gods daily rather then hereafter through vnthankefulnes my renowme should be defamed that euen nowe with forgetfulnes my bodye should be buried Let a man offer to the Gods what sacrifices he will let him doe as muche seruice to men as he can yet if he be vnthankefull to his frende he oughte in all and for all to be vtterly condemned Because thou shouldest see my frende Pulio how greatly the auncient frende ought to bee estemed I will declare thee an example of a Philosopher the which to heare thou wilt somewhat reioyce The auncient histories of the Grecians declare that among the seuen sages of Grece there was one named Periander who was prince and gouernour a greate whyle and he had in hym suche liuelines of spirite on the one side and suche couetousnes of worldly goods on the other side that the historiographers are in doubte whether was the greater the philosophie that he taught reading in the scholes or the tyranny that he vsed in robbing in the common wealth For truly the science whiche is not grounded of trougthe bringeth great domages to the person In the seconde yeare of my empire I was in the citie of Corinthe where I sawe the graue whiche conteined the bones of Periander where about was ingrauen in Greke verses and olde letter this Epitaphe WIthin the compasse of this narrowe graue Wretched Periander enclosed lies Whose cruell factes could Grece alone not haue So small a soyle his hunger could suffise ¶ Here lodgeth eke lo Periander dedde His filthie fleshe the hungrie wormes doe eate And liuing he with Orphelines goods was fedde His gredie guttes did craue suche deintie meate ¶ The tyraunt Periander stayeth here Whose life was buylte to hinder all the rest And eke whose death suche prefite large did beare As brought reliefe to him that had the lest ¶ Here wicked Periander resteth nowe His life did cause great peopled realmes decaye His death that forste his liuing sprite to bowe Assurde them life that stoode in brittell staye ¶ The curssed Periander here doth lie Whose life did shed the poore and simple blood And eke that clambe to riches rule so hie By others swette that sought for wasting good ¶ Of Corinth lo here Periander rest To seeme for iust that equall lawes did frame Yet flytting from the square that they possest By vertues dome deserude a tyrauntes name ¶ The catiue Periander sleepeth here That finisht hath his foure score yeares with shame And though his lyfe that thousandes bought so deere Be faded thus yet bloometh still his blame THere were mo letters on the graue but because it was alone in the fielde the great waters had worne it so that scarcely the letters coulde be red and truly it was very olde in his time it semed to be a sumptuous thing but the negligence of reparation lost it quite and it is not to be marueyled at
as if it were his owne To thys I aunswere that I am not myghtye ynough to remedy it except by my remedye there shoulde spring a greater inconuenience And since thou hast not bene a Prince thou couldest not fall into that I haue nor yet vnderstand that whych I saie For princes by theire wisedome knowe manye thinges the whych to remedy they haue no power So it hath beene so it is so it shal be so I founde it so I keepe it so wil I leaue it them so I haue read it in bookes so haue I seene it with my eyes so I heard it of my predecessours and finallye I saye so our fathers haue inuented it and so wyll wee theire children sustaine it and for this euyll wee will leaue it to our heires I wyll tell thee one thinge and imagine that I erre not therein whych is consideringe the great dommage and lytle profyte which the men of warre doe bringe to our common wealth I thynk to doe it and to sustaine it either it is the folly of menne or a scourge geuen of the gods For there can be nothinge more iust then for the goddes to permit that we feele that in our owne houses whiche we cause others in straunge houses to lament All those thinges I haue written vnto thee not for that it skilleth greatly that thou knowe them but that my harte is at ease to vtter them For as Alcibiades saide the chestes and the hartes ought alwaies to bee open to theire frendes Panutius my secretary goeth in my behalfe to visite that land and I gaue him this letter to geue the with two horses wherewith I think thou wilt be contented for they are gennettes The weapons and ryches whyche I tooke of the Parthes I haue nowe deuyded notwtstanding I doe sende thee .2 Chariottes of them My wyfe Faustine greeteth thee and I sende a riche glasse for thy doughter and a Iewell with stones for thy sister No more but I beseche the Gods to geeue thee a good lyfe and mee a good death ¶ The admonition of the Aucthour to Princes and greate Lordes to thintent that the more they growe in yeares the more they are bounde to refraine from vyces Cap. xvii AVlus Gelius in hys booke De noctibus Atticis sayeth that there was an auncient custome amongest the romaynes to honour and haue in great reuerence aged men And this was so inuiolate a law amongest them that there was none so noble of bloode and lynage neyther so puissaunt in ryches neither so fortunate in battayles that should goe before the aged men which were loden with whit heares so that they honoured them as the gods and reuerenced them as theire fathers Amongest other the aged menne had these preheminences that is to wete that in feastes they sate highest in the triumphes they went before in the temples they did sitte downe they spake to the Senate before all others they had their garments surred they might eat alone in secrat and by theire onlye woorde they were credited as witnesses Fynally I saye that in all thinges they serued them and in nothinge they annoyed them After the people of Rome began warre wyth Asia they forsooke all theire good Romayne customes immediatlye And the occasyon hereof was that since they had no menne to sustaine the common wealth by reason of the great multytude of people which dyed in the warre they ordeyned that al the yong menne should mary the yong maides the wydowes the free and the bonde and that the honour whyche hadde bene done vntyll that tyme vnto the olde menne from henceforthe shoulde be done vnto the maried menne though they were yong So that the moste honoured in Rome was hee not of moste yeares but he that had most children This lawe was made a little before the firste battaile of Catthage And the custome that the maried menne were more honoured then the old menne endured vntill the tyme of the Emperour Augustus whiche was such a frende of antiquyties that hee renewed all the walles of Rome with newe stones and renewed all the auncient customes of the common wealth Licurgus in the lawes whiche hee gaue to the Lacedemonians ordayned that the young menne passinge by the olde shoulde doe them greate reuerence whē the olde dyd speake then the younger shoulde bee sylent And he ordained also that if any olde man by casualtye dyd lose hys goods and came into extreame pouertie that he shoulde bee sustained of the comon wealth and that in suche sustentacion they shoulde haue respecte not onely to succour him for to sustaine hym but further to geue him to lyue competently Plutarche in hys Apothegmes declareth that Cato the Censoure visitinge the corners of Rome founde an olde manne sittinge at his doore weepinge and sheddinge manye teares from hys eyes And Cato the Censoure demaundynge hym why hee was so euyll handeled and wherefore he wepte so bitterlye the good olde manne aunswered hym O Cato the Gods beinge the onelye comfortours comforte thee in all thy tribulations since thou arte readye to comforte mee at this wofull hower As well as thou knowest that the consolations of the harte are more necessarye then the phisike of the bodye the whiche beeynge applyed sometymes doeth heale and an other tyme they doe harme Beholde my scabbed handes my swollen legges my mouth without teethe my peeled face my white beard and my balde heade for thou beinge as thou arte descreete shouldest be excused to aske mee why I weepe For menne of my age thoughe they weepe not for the lyttle they feele yet they ought to weepe for the ouermuche they lyue The manne which is loden with yeares tormented with diseases pursued with enemyes forgotten of his frendes visited with mishappes and with euill wyll and pouertie I knowe not why hee demaundeth long life For there can be no sharper reuengemēt of vyces whych we commit then to geue vs long lyfe Though now I am aged I was yong and if any yong manne should doe me anye iniurye truelye I would not desire the gods to take his lyfe but that they woulde rather prolonge his lyfe For it is a great pitie to heare the man whyche hath lyued longe account the troubles whiche he hath endured Knowe thou Cato if thou doest not knowe it that I haue lyued .77 yeares And in thys tyme I haue buried my father my graundefather twoe Auntes and .5 vncles After that I had buried .9 systers and .11 Brethren I haue buried afterwardes twoe lawfull wyfes and fyue bonde women whyche I haue hadde as my lemmans I haue buryed also .14 chyldren and .7 maryed doughters and therewith not contented I haue buryed .37 Nephues and .15 Nieces and that whyche greaueth me moste of all is that I haue buryed two frendes of myne one which remained in Capua the other which was residente here at Rome The death of whom hath greued me more then all those of my aliaunce and parentage For in the worlde there is no
fynde that the more I eate the more I dye for hunger the more I drinke the greater thirste I haue the more I rest the more I am broken the more I slepe the more drousier I am the more I haue the more I couet the more I desire the more I am tormēted the more I procure the lesse I attaine Fynally I neuer hadde so greate paine through want but afterwarde I had more trouble with excesse It is a great follye to thinke that as longe as a man lyueth in this fleshe that hee can satisfye the fleshe for at the last cast she may take from vs our lyfe but wee others can not take from her her disordynate couetousnes Yf men dyd speake with the goddes or the gods were conuersant with men the first thing that I woold aske thē shoold be why they haue appointed an end to our woful dayes and wyl not geue vs an end of our wicked desires O cruel Gods what is it you do or what do you suffer vs it is certain that we shal not passe one good day of life only but in tasting this and that life consumeth O intollerable life of man wherin there are such malices from the which we ought to beware and such perils to fal in and also so many thinges to cōsyder that then both she and we do end to know our selues when the houre of death approcheth Let those knowe that knowe not that the world taketh our wil and we others like ignorauntes cannot denay it hym and afterwardes hauing power of our wil doth constraine vs to that which we would not so that many times we would do vertuous workes and for that we are now put into the worldes handes we dare not doe it The world vseth another subtiltye with vs that to the end wee should not striue with it it prayseth the times past because we should liue according to the time present And the worlde saieth further that if we others employ our forces in his vices he geueth vs licence that we haue a good desire of vertue O woulde to god in my dayes I myghte see that the care whiche the worlde hath to preserue vs the wordlyngs would take it to withdraw thē from hys vyces I sweare that the gods shoulde then haue more seruauntes and the world and the fleshe should not haue so many slaues ¶ The Emperoure procedeth in his letter proueth by good reasons that sithe the aged persons wyl be serued and honored of the yong they oughte to bee more vertuous and honest then the yonge Cap. xxi I Haue spoken al this before rehersed for occasion of you Claude and Claudine the which at .3 score and 10. yeares wyl not kepe out of the prison of the world You I say which haue your bodies weake and corrupted what hope shale wee haue of young men which are but .25 yeares of age if my memorye deceiue mee not when I was there you had nephewes maried and of their children made sure and two of the children borne and since that is true mee thinketh when the frute is gathered the leafe is of no value and after the meale is taken from the mylle euil shal the mil grinde I meane that the old man ought to desire that his daies might be shortned in this worlde Do not thinke my frendes that a man can haue his house full of nephewes and yet say that he is very yong for in lodīge the tree with frutes the blossomes immediately fall or els they become wythered I haue imagined with my selfe what it is that you might do to seme yonge and cut of some of your yeares and in the end I know no other reason but when you maried Alamberta your doughter with Drusus and your neere Sophia the faire with Tuscidan which were so yonge that the daughters were scarce 15. yeres olde nor the yonge mē .20 I suppose because you were ritche of yeares and poore of money that hee gaue to euery on of them in steede of money for dowrye 20. yeares of yours hereof a man may gather that the money of your nephews haue remained vnto you and you haue geuen vnto them of your own yeares I vnderstand my frendes that your desire is to bee yonge and very yong but I greatly desire to see you old and very old I do not meane in yeares which in you doeth surmount but in discrecion which in you doth want O Claud Claudine note that which I will say vnto you and beare it alwaies in youre memorie I let you wete that to mainteine youth to deface age to lyue contented to be free from trauayles to lengthen lyfe and to auoyde death these thinges are not in the handes of men whiche doe desire them but rather in the handes of those which geueth them the which accordinge to their iustice and not to our couetousnes doe geue vs lyfe by weight and death withoute measure One thinge the olde men do which is cause of slaunderinge manye that is that they wyl speake firste in coūsels they wylbe serued of the yonge in feastes they will bee fyrste placed in all that they saye they wyll bee beleued in churches they wil be hygher then the resydue in distributinge of offyces they wyll haue the moste honoure in there opinyons they wyll not bee gayne sayde fynallye they will haue the credite of old sage men and yet they wyl leade the lyfe of yonge dotynge fooles All these premynences and pryuileges it is verye iuste that old men shoulde haue spent their yeares in the seruice of the common wealthe but with this I dooe aduyse and require them that the auctority geuen them with their white heares bee not dyminyshed by their euil workes Is it a iust thinge that the humble and honest yonge man doe reuerence to the aged man proude and dysdaynefull is it a iust thinge that the gentyll and gratious yonge man doe reuerence to the enuious and malycious old man is it a iust thing that the vertuous and pacyent yonge man doe reuerence to the foolishe and vnpacyente olde man is it a iust thinge that the stoute and liberall yonge man doe reuerence to the myserable and couetous olde man is it iuste that the dylygente and carefull yonge man doe reuerēce to the neglygente olde man Is it iuste that the abstynent and sober yonge man doe reuerence to the greedye and gluttonous old man Is it iuste that the chaste and contynente yonge man do reuerence to the lecherous and dyssolute olde man Mee thinketh these thinges shoulde not bee such that therby the olde man should bee honored but rather reproued and punyshed For olde men offende more by the euel example they geue then by the faulte which they doe commit Thou canste not denaye me my frende Claude that it is thirtye and thre yeares sythe we bothe were at the Theathers to beholde a playe when thou camest late and found no place for thee to sit in thou sayedst vnto mee who was
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
I doe appeale thee if thou hast dreamed that thou hast wrytten I saye beleue not in dreames and if thou wylt not it shoulde auayle to glorifie me as a frende yet thou mightest wryte it aduertising and repreuing me as the father to the sonne younge vertuous persones are bounde to honour auncient wyse men and no lesse olde wyse men ought to endoctrine the younge people and very young as I am A iust thing it is that the new forces of youth supplie and serue them that are worne by age For their longe experience instructeth our tender age and naturall ignoraunce Youthe is euill applied when it aboundeth in force of the body wanteth the vertues of the mind and age is honoured wherein the force dieth outwarde whereby vertues quickeneth the more inwarde We may see the tree when the fruite is gathered the leaues fall and when flowers drie then more grene and perfecte are the rootes I meane that when the first season of youth is passed whiche is the Sommer time then commeth age called Wynter and purifieth the fruite of the fleshe and the leaues of fauour fal the flowers of delite wither and the vynes of hope drye outwarde then it is ryght that much better are the rootes of good workes within They that be olde and auncient ought to prayse their good workes rather then their white heares For honoure ought to be geuen for the good life and not for the whyte head Glorious is that common wealth and fortunate is that prince that is lord of young men to trauaile and auncient persones to councell As to regarde the sustaininge of the naturalitie of the lyfe in likewyse ought to be considered the policy of gouernaunce the whiche is that al the fruites come nor drye not al at once but when one beginneth another faileth And in this maner ye that be auncient teaching vs and we be obedient as olde fathers and young pullettes being in the neste of the Senate Of some their fethers fallinge and other younge fethered and where as the olde fathers can not flie their trauayles are mainteined by their tender children Frende Catullus I purposed not to wryte one lyne this yeare because my penne was troubled with thy slouthe but the weakenes of my spirite and the great peril of myne offices alwayes called on me to demaunde thy councell This priuiledge the olde wyse men holde in their houses where they dwell They are alwayes lordes ouer them that be simple and are sclaues to them that be wyse I thinke thou hast forgotten me thinking that sithe the death of my dere sonne Verissimus the time hath bene so long that I should forget it Thou hast occasion to thinke so for many thinges are cured in time which reason can not helpe But in this case I can not tell which is the greatest thy trūpery or my dolour I sweare to thee by the gods immortall that the hungry wormes are not so puissaunt in the entrales of the vnhappy chylde as the bitter sorowes are in the heauy hart of the wofull father And it is no comparison for the sonne is dead but one tyme and the heauy father dieth euery momente What wylt thou more that I should saye But that one ought to haue enuy of his death and compassion of my lyfe because in dyeng he lyueth and in the lyuing I dye In the mischaunces of lyfe and in the great vnconstancie of fortune whereas her gyles profiteth but litle and her strengthe lesse I thinke the best remedy is to fele it as a man and dissimule it as discrete and wyse If all things as they be felt at heart should be shewed outward with the tongue I thynke that the wyndes shoulde breake the hearte with syghinges and water all the earth with weping O if the corporal eyes sawe the sorowe of the heart I sweare to thee they should see more of a drop of bloud sweatinge within then all the wepyng that appeareth without There is no comparyson of the great dolours of the body to the least greife of the mynde For all trauayle of the body men may finde some remedy but if the heauy heart speake it is not heard if it wepe it is not sene if it complaine it is not beleued What shal the poore harte doe Abhorre the lyfe wherwith it dieth and desire death wherwith it liueth The highe vertues among noble vertuous people consiste not all onely to suffer the passions of the body but also to dissimule them of the soule They be suche that alter the humours and shewe it not outward they brynge a feuer without altering of the poulce they alter the stomacke they make vs to knele to the earth to suffer the water vp to the mouthe and to take death without leauing of the lyfe and finally they length our life to the intente that we should haue no more trauayle and denieth vs our graue to the intent that we should not reste But considering as I am troubled with sorowes so am I voyde of consolations for when I haue either desire of the one or werynes of the other I vse alwayes this remedy to dissimule with the tongue to wepe with the eyes and to fele it with my heart I passe my lyfe as he that hoped to lese all that he hath neuer to recouer that that is loste I saye this though ye see me not nowe make funeral wepinges and waylinges as I did at the death of my sonne yet thinke not but it doeth bren my heart so that with the great heate inward is consumed the humiditie of the eyes for it brenneth al my spirites within Thou mayest knowe what an honorable father suffereth to lese a good childe in all thinges the gods be liberal except in geuing vs vertuous children Where there is aboūdaunce of great estates there is greatest scarsitie of good inheritours It is a dolefull thing to heare and greater pitie to see howe these fathers clime to haue rychesse and to see their children descende to haue viciousnes To see the fathers honoure their children and the children to infame their fathers yea and the fathers to geue reste to the chyldren and the chyldren to geue trouble to their fathers yea and sometyme the fathers die for sorowe that their children die so sone and we see their childrē wepe because their fathers die so late What should I saye more but that the honoure and ryches that the fathers haue procured with great thought the chyldren consume with litle care I am certayne of one thing that the fathers may gather ryches with strengthe and crafte to susteyne their children but the Gods wyll not haue durable that that is begonne with euyll intention as that is whiche is wonne to the preiudice of other and possessed with an euyll heyre And though the heauy destinies of the father permit that the ryches be lefte to their children to serue them in all their vyces for their pastime at last yet according to their merites the
geue sentence against an other for the same offence Me thinke that we beholde our owne faultes as thorowe small nettes whiche cause thinges to seame the lesser but we behold the faultes of other in the water that causeth them to seame greater O how many haue I sene condemned by the Senate for one small faulte done in all their life and yet they them selues commit the same faulte euery houre I haue red that in the time of Alexander the great there was a renowmed pirate on the sea called Dionides which robbed and drowned all shippes that he could get and by cōmaundement of this good king Alexander there was an army sent forth to take him And when he was taken and presented to Alexander the king saide vnto him showe me Dionides why doest thou spoyle on the sea that no shippe can sayle out of the east into the west for thee The pirate aunswered sayd if I spoyle the sea why doest thou Alexander robbe both the sea and lande also O Alexander because I fight with one ship in the sea I am called a thefe and because thou robbest with two hundred shippes on the sea and troublest all the worlde with .200000 men thou art called an Emperour I sweare to thee Alexander if fortune were as fauourable to me and the gods as extreame against thee they would geue me thine empire and geue thee my litle shippe and then peraduenture I should be a better kinge then thou art and thou a worse thefe than I am These were high wordes and wel receiued of Alexander and of trouth to see if his wordes were correspondent to his promises he made him of a pirate a great captaine of an army he was more vertuous on land than he was cruel on the sea I promyse thee Catullus Alexander did right wel therin and Dionides was to be praised greatly for that he had said Now adaies in Italy they that robbe openly are called lordes and they that rob priuely are called theues In the annales of Liuius I haue red that in the second troublous warre punike betwene the Romaines Carthagians there came an Embassadour Lusitain sent from Spain to treate of accorde of peace When he came to Rome he proued before the senate that sithe he entred into Italy he had bene ten tymes robbed of his goodes and whiles he was at Rome he had sene one of them that robbed him hange vp another that had defended him He seing so euill a deede and howe the thefe was saued without iustice as a desperate man tooke a cole and wrote vpon the gibet as foloweth O gibet thou art planted among theues norished among theues squared of theues wrought of theues made of theues set among theues hanged full of innocentes with innocentes The originall of these wordes are in the history of Liuius where the whole Decade was written with black inke and these wordes with red vermilion I can not tel what other newes I should sende thee but that euery thinge is so newe and so tender and is ioyned with so euill sement that I feare me all will fall sodainly to the ground I tell thee that some are sodainly risen within Rome vnto honour whose fall I dare rather assure then life For al buildinges hastely made can not be sure The longer a tree is kept in his kinde the longer it will be ere it be olde The trees whose fruite we eate in sommer do warme vs in wynter O howe many haue we sene wherof we haue marueyled of their rising and bene abashed of their falles They haue growen as a whole piece and sodainly wasted as a skumme Their felicitie hath bene but a short moment and their infortune as a long life Finally they haue made a mylle and layde on the stones of encrease and after a litle grinding left it vnoccupied all the whole yeare after Thou knowest well my frende Catullus that we haue sene Cincius Fuluius in one yeare made consul and his children tribunes his wyfe a matrone for young maydens and beside that made keper of the capitol and after that not in one yere but the same daye we sawe Cincius beheaded in the place his children drowned in Tiber his wife banished fro Rome his house raced down to the groūd and all his goodes confisked to the common treasury This rigorous example we haue not red in any booke to take a copy of it but we haue seene it with our eies to kepe it in our myndes As the nations of people are variable so are the conditions of men diuers And me thinketh this is true seing that some loue some hate that some seke some eschewe and that some sette litle by other make much store In such wise that al can not be content with one thing nor some with al thinges can not be satisfied Let euery man chose as him liste and embrace the world when he wyl I had rather mount a soft pace to the falling and if I can not come therto I wyl abyde by the waye rather then with the sweate to mount hastely and then to tumble downe headlong In this case sithe mens hartes vnderstande it we nede not to wryte further with pennes And of this matter marke not the litle that I doe say but the great deale that I wyl say And sith I haue begon and that thou art in straunge landes I wil write thee al the newes from hence This yeare the .xxv. day of May there came an Embassadour out of Asia saiynge he was of the Isle of Cetin a baron right propre of body ruddy of aspect and hardy of courage He considered being at Rome though the sommers dayes were long yet wynter would drawe on and then would it be daungerous sailyng into this Isle and sawe that his busines was not dispatched On a daie being at the gate of the senate seing al the senatours entre into the Capitol without any armour vpon them he as a man of good spirite and zelatour of his countrey in the presence of vs all sayde these wordes O fathers conscript O happy people I am come from a straunge countrey to Rome onely to see Rome and I haue founde Rome without Rome The walles wherewith it is inclosed hath not brought me hyther but the fame of them that gouerne it I am not come to see the treasoury wherein is the treasure of all Realmes but I am come to see the sacred senate out of the whiche issueth counsayle for all men I came not to see ye because ye vanquishe all other but because I thought you more vertuous then all other I dare well saye one thyng except the Gods make me blynde and trouble myne vnderstanding ye be not Romaines of Rome nor this is not Rome of the Romaines your predecessours We haue heard in our Isle that diuers Realmes haue bene wonne by the valiantnes of one and conserued by the wysdome of all the Senate and at this houre ye are more lyke to lose then to
the dede we employe our thorough power to vice which is an abuse where with al the world is rorrupted and deceiued For heauen is not furnished but with good dedes and hell is not replenished but with euill desires I graunt that neither man nor beaste desireth to dye but all trauaile to th ende they may liue But I aske now this question What doth it auaile a man to desire his life to be prolonged if the same be wicked vngodly and defamed The man that is high minded proude vnconstante cruell disdeinfull enuious ful of hatred angry malicious full of wrath couetous a lier a glutton a blasphemer and in al his doinges disordred why wil we suffer him in the worlde The lyfe of a poore man that for nede steleth a gowne or any other smal trifle is forth with taken away why than is he that disturbeth a whole common wealth left aliue O would to God there were no greater theues in the worlde than those whiche robbe the temporall goodes of the riche that we did not winke cōtinually at them which take away the good renoume aswell of the riche as of the poore But we chastice the one dissemble with the other which is euidētly sene how the thiefe that steleth my neighbours gown is hanged forthwith but he that robbeth me of my good name walketh still before my doore The diuine Plato in the firste booke of lawes sayde We ordayne and commaunde that he that vseth not him selfe honestly and hath not his house wel refourmed his riches well gouerned his family well instructed lyueth not in peace with his neighbours that vnto him be assigned tutours which shal gouerne him as a foole and as a vacabonde shal be expulsed from the people to thintent the common wealth be not through him infected For there neuer riseth contention or strife in a common wealthe but by suche menne as are alwayes out of order Truly the diuine Plato had greate reason in his sayinges for the man that is vitious of his person and doth not trauaile in things touching his house nor kepeth his family in good order nor liueth quietly in the common wealthe deserueth to be banished and driuen out of the countrey Truly we sée in dyuerse places madde menne tied and bound fast which if they were at libertie would not doe suche harme as those that dayly walke the streates at their owne willes and sensualitie There is not at this daye so greate or noble a Lorde nor Lady so delicate but had rather suffer a blowe on the head with a stone than a blot in their good name with an euill tongue For the wounde of the heade in a moneth or two maye well be healed but the blemmishe of their good name duringe life will neuer be remoued Laertius saith in his booke of the lyfe of Philosophers that Diogenes beinge asked of one of his neighboures what they were that ordeyned the lawes aunswered in this wise Thou shalt vnderstande my friende that the earnest whole desire of our forefathers and all the intention of the Philosophers was to instructe them in their common wealth how they ought to speake how to be occupied how to eate how to slepe howe to treate how to apparaile how to trauaile and how to rest and in this consisteth all the wealth of worldly wisedome In déede this Philosopher in his aunswere touched an excellent pointe for the lawe was made to no other ende but to bridell him that liueth without reason or lawe To menne that wil liue in reste and without trouble in this life it is requisite necessarye that they chose to them selues som kinde and maner of liuinge whereby they may mainteyne their house in good order and conforme their liues vnto the same That estate ought not to be as the folly of their parson doth desire nor as may be most pleasaunte to the delightes of the body but as reason teacheth them and God commaundeth them for the surer saluacion of their soules For the children of vanitie embrace that onely which the sensuall appetite desireth and reiecte that which reason commaundeth Since the time that trées were created they alwayes remayning in the firste nature vntil this present day doe beare the same leafe and frute which things are playne sene in this that the palme beareth dates the figge trée figges the nut trée nuttes the peare trée peares the apple trée apples the chesnutte trée chesnuttes the Oke acornes and to conclude I saye all thinges haue kepte their firste nature saue onely the sinfull man which hath fallen by malice The planettes the starres the heauens the water the earth the ayre and the fier the brute beastes and the fishes al continewe in the same estate wherein they were first created not complayninge nor enuying one the other Man complayneth continually he is neuer satisfied and alwayes desireth to chaunge his estate For the shepherd woulde be a husbandman the husbandman a squier the squier a Knight the knight a King the king an Emperour Therefore I say that few is the number of them that seke amendment of life but infinite are they that trauaile to better their estate and to encrease their goodes The decaye of the common wealth at this present through all the worlde is that the dry and withered okes which haue bene nourished vpon the sharpe mountaynes woulde nowe seme to be daynetie date trées cherished in the pleasaunt gardeins I meane that those which yesterday coulde haue ben pleased with dry acornes in a poore cottage at home at this day wil not eat but of delicate disshes in other mens houses abroade What estate menne ought to take vppon them to kepe their conscience pure and to haue more reste in their life a man cannot easely describe For there is no state in the Church of God but men may therin if they will serue God and profite them selues Nor there is no kind of life in the world but the wicked if they perseuer and continew therin may sclaunder their persons and also lease their soules Plinie in an epistle that he wrote to Fabatus his friēd saith There is nothing among mortal men more common and daungerous than to geue place to vayne imaginacions whereby a man beleueth the estate of one to be much better than the estate of an other And hereof it procedeth that the worlde doth blinde men so that they wil rather seke that which is an other mans by trauaile and daunger than enioy their owne with quiet and rest I say the state of Princes is good if they abuse it not I say the state of the people is good if they behaue them selues obediently I say the estate of the rich is good if they wil Godly vse it I say the estate of the religious is good if they be able to profit others I say the estate of the communaltie is good if they will contente them selues I saye the state of the poore is good if they haue pacience For it is no
with the sword betwene one that for his pastime is set round with deskes of bookes and an other in perill of life compassed with troupes of enemies For many there are which with great eloquence in blasing dedes done in warres can vse their tongs but few are those that at the brunt haue hartes to aduenture their liues This sely philosopher neuer saw man of warre in the field neuer saw one army of men discomfeited by an other neuer heard the terrible trumpet sound to the horrible cruel slaughter of men neuer saw the treasons of some nor vnderstode the cowardnes of other neuer saw how fewe they be that fight nor how many there are that ronne away Finally I say as it is semely for a philosopher and a learned man to praise the profites of peace euē so it is in his mouth a thing vncomely to prate of the perils of warre If this philosopher hath sene no one thing with his eyes that he hath spoken but onely red them in sondry bokes let him recounte them to such as haue neither sene nor red them For warlike feates are better learned in the bloudy fields of Afrike than in the beautifull scholes of Grece Thou knowest right wel king Antiochus that for the space of 36. yeres I had continuall and daungerous warres aswell in Italy as in Spayne in which fortune did not fauor me as is alwaies her maner to vse those which by great stoutnes manhodde enterprise things high and of much difficultie a witnes wherof thou séest me heare who before my berde began to grow was serued nowe whan it is hore I my selfe begin to serue I sweare vnto the by the God Mars kinge Antiochus that if any man did aske me how he should vse and behaue him selfe in warre I would not answere him one word For they are things that are learned by experiēce of déedes not by prating in words Although princes begin warres by iustice and folow them with wisedome yet the ende standeth vpon fickle fortune and not of force nor policie Diuers other things Hannibal saide vnto Antiochus who so wil sée thē let him reade the Apothemes of Plutarche This example noble prince tēdeth rather to this end to condempne my boldnes not to cōmende my enterprise saying that thaffaires of the cōmon wealth be as vnknowen to me as the daungers of the warres were to Phormio Your maiestie may iustely say vnto me that I being a poore simple man brought vp a great while in a rude countrey do greatly presume to describe howe so puissant a prince as your highnes ought to gouerne him self and his realme For of trueth the more ignoraunt a man is of the troubles and alteracions of the worlde the better he shal be coūted in the sight of God The estate of princes is to haue great traines about them the estate of religious men is to be solitarye for the seruaunt of God ought to be alwayes voyde from vaine thoughtes to be euer accompanied with holy meditations The estate of princes is alwayes vnquiet but the state of the religious is to be enclosed For otherwise he aboue all others may be called an Apostata that hath his body in the sell and his hart in the market place To princes it is necessary to speake common with all men but for the religious it is not decente to be conuersaunt with the world For solitary men if they do as they ought should occupy their hands in trauaile their body in fasting their tonge in prayer their harte in contemplacion The estate of princes for the most part is employed to warre but the state of the religious is to desire procure peace For if the prince would study to passe his boundes and by battaile to shed the bloud of his enemies the religious ought to shede teares pray to God for his sinnes O that it pleased almighty God as I know what my boūden dutie is in my hart so that he would giue me grace to accomplish the same in my dedes Alas whan I ponder with my selfe the waightines of my matter my penne through slothe and negligence is ready to fall out of my hand I half minded to leaue of mine enterprise My intent is to speake against my selfe in this case For albeit men maye know thaffaires of princes by experience yet they shall not know howe to speake nor write thē but by science Those which ought to counsaile princes those which ought to refourme the life of princes that ought to instruct them ought to haue a clere iudgement an vpright minde their words aduisedly considered their doctrine holesom their life without suspiciō For who so wil speake of high things hauing no experēce of them is like vnto a blinde man that woulde leade teach him the way which séeth better thā he him self This is the sentēce of Xenophon the great which saith There is nothing harder in this life than to know a wise mā And the reason which he gaue was this That a wise man cānot be knowen but by an other wise mā we maye gather by this which Xenophon saieth that as one wise man cannot be knowen but by an other wise man so lykewise it is requisite that he should be or haue ben a prince which should write of the life of a prince For he that hath ben a mariner sailled but one yere on the sea shall be able to giue better counsaile and aduise than he that hath dwelled .x. yers in the hauen Xenophō wrote a boke touching the institucion of princes bringeth in Cambises the kyng how he taughte and spake vnto kyng Cirus hys sonne And he wrote an other booke likewise of the arte of cheualrye and brought in kyng Phillip how he oughte to teache his sonne Alexander to fight For the philosophers thought that writting of no auctoritie that was not intituled set forth vnder the name of those princes which had experience of that they wrate O if an aged prince would with his penne if not with worde of mouth declare what misfortunes haue happened sins the first time he began to reigne howe disobedient his subiectes haue ben vnto him what griefe his seruauntes haue wrought against him what vnkindnes his frendes haue shewed him what subtile wiles his enemies haue vsed towardes hym what daunger his person hath escaped what tarres haue ben in his palace what faultes they haue said against him how many times they haue deceiued straungers finally what grefes he hath had by day what sorrowful sighes he hath fetched in the night truly I thinke in my thought I am nothing deceaued that if a prynce wold declare vnto vs his hole lif that he wold particularly shew vs euery thing we wold both wōder at that body which had so much suffered also we wold be offended with that hart that had so greatly dissembled It is a troublesom thing a daungerous thing an insolent
were to full of deuises and blamed much the Grecians because they were to curious in speaking fine wordes aboue all other he greately prayseth the Romaynes for that they were very harde of belife that they scarcely alweyes credited the sayings of the Grekes and because they were discrete in admitting the inuencions of the Egyptians The author hath reason to prayse th one and disprayse thother For it procedeth of a light iudgement to credite al the thinges that a man heareth and to doe al thinges that he séeth Returninge therefore now to our matter Marcus Varro sayde there were .5 thinges in the worlde very harde to bringe in whereof none after they were commonly accepted were euer lost or forgottē for euen as things vainely begō are easely left of so things with great feare accepted with much diligence are obserued The first thing that chiefly thoroughout al the world was accepted was al men to liue togethers that is to say they should make places townes villages cities common wealthes For according to the saying of Plato the first best inuentours of the cōmon welth were the antes which according to thexperiēce we sée do liue togethers trauaile togethers do go togethers also for the winter thei make prouisiō togethers furthermore none of these antes do geue thē selues to any priuat thing but al theirs is brought into their cōmō welth It is a meruelous thing to behold the cōmō welth of the antes how netely they trim their hilles to beholde howe they swepe away the graine when it is wet and how they drye it whan they fele any moisture to beholde how they come from their worke and how the one doth not hurt the other And to behold also how they doe reioyce the one in the others trauaile and that which is to our greatest confusion is that if it come so to passe 50000. antes will liue in a little hillocke togethers and two men onely cannot liue in peace and concorde in a cōmon wealth Woulde to God the wisedome of men were so great to kepe them selues as the prudence of the antes is to liue Whan the world came to a certayne age mens wittes waxed more fine than tirantes sprange vp which oppressed the poore theues that robbed the riche rebelles that robbed the quiet murderers that slew the pacient the ydell that eate the swete of other mens browes all the which thinges considered by thē which were vertuous they agréed to assemble liue together that therby they might preserue the good and withstande the wicked Macrobius affirmeth this in the seconde booke of Scipions dreame saying that couetousnes and auarice was the greatest cause why men inuented the commō wealth Plinie in the seuenth booke .56 chap. sayth the first that made small assembles were the Atheniens and the first that builte great cities were the Aegyptians The seconde thinge that was accepted throughout all the worlde were the letters whiche we reade whereby we take profite in writinge Accordinge whereunto Marcus Varro saith the Aegyptians prayse them selues and say that they did inuente them and the Assyrians affirme the contrary and sweare that they were shewed firste of all amongst them Plinie in the seuenth booke saith that in the first age there was in the alphabet no more than 16. letters that greate Palamedes at the siege of Troye added other .4 and Aristotle saithe that immediatly after the beginninge there were founde .18 letters And that afterwardes Palamedes did adde but .2 and so there were 20. and that the Philosopher Epicarmus dyd adde other two which were .22 it is no great matter whether the Aegyptians or the Assyrians first founde the letters But I say and affirme that it was a thing necessary for a common wealth and also for thencrease of man knowledge For if we had wanted letters and writings we could haue had no knowledge of the tyme past nor yet our posteritie coulde haue ben aduertised what was done in our dayes Plutarche in the second booke entituled De viris illustribus and Plinie in the seuenth booke and .56 chapiter doe greately prayse Pirotas bycause he firste founde the fier in a flinte stone They greatly commended Protheus bicause he inuented harneis and they highly extolled Panthasuca bicause she inuented the hatchet They praysed Citheus because he inuented the bowe and the arrowes they greatelye praysed Pheniseus because he inuented the crosse bowe and the slinge They highly praysed the Lacedemonians because they inuented the helmet the spere and the sword They commende those of Thessalia bicause they inuented the combate on horseback and they commende those of Affrike because they inuented the fight by sea But I doe prayse and continually will magnifie not those which founde the arte of fightinge and inuented weapons to procure warre for to kill his neighbour but those which found letters for to learne science to make peace betwene two princes What difference there is to wet the penne with inke and to paynte the spere with bloud to be enuironned with bookes or to be laden with weapons To study how euery man ought to liue or els to goe priuely and robbe in the warres to lie in waight to kill his neighbour There is none of so vaine a iudgement but wil praise more the speculation of the sciences than the practise of the warre Because that in the end he that learneth sciences learneth nought els but how he and others ought to lyue And he that learneth warlike feates learneth none other thinge than howe to sley his neighbour and to destroye others The thirde thinge that equally of all was accepted were lawes For admit that al men now liued togethesr in common if they would not be subiect one to another there woulde contention arise amongest them for that accordinge to the sayinge of Plato there is no greater token of the distruction of a common weale than whan many rulers are chosen therein Plinie in his seuenth booke .56 chapter sayth that a Quéene called Ceres was the first that taught them to sowe in the fieldes to grinde in milles to paste and bake in ouens and also she was the first that taught the people to liue according to the lawe And by the meanes of all these thinges our forefathers called her a goddesse Since that time we neuer haue sene heard nor red of any realme or other nation aswell straunge as barbarous what so euer they were but haue had lawes whereby the good were fauoured and also institutions of greuous paynes wherewith the wicked were punished Although truely I had rather and it were better that the good shoulde loue reason than feare the lawe I speake of those which leaue to doe euill workes for feare onely of fallinge into the punishementes appointed for euill doers For although men approue that which they doe yet God condemneth that which they desire Seneca in an epistle he wrot to his friend Lucille sayde these wordes Thou writest vnto me Lucille that those of
battaile with such a renoumed captaine as Hannibal was to whom he aunswered frend I am a Romaine borne a captaine of Rome and I must daylye put my lyfe in hazard for my countries sake for so I shal make perpetual my renoume He was demaunded againe why he stroke his enemyes with such fiersenes why he did so pitefully lament those which were ouercome after the vyctory gotten in battaile he aunswered the captaine which is a Romaine and is not iudged to be a tiraunt ought with his owne hand to shed the bloud of his enemyes and also to shed the teares of his eyes A captayne Romaine ought more to aduaunce him of his clemencie then of hys bluddie victory And Marcus Marcellus sayth further when a Romaine captaine shal be in the field he hath an eye to his enemyes with hope to vanquishe them but afterl they be vanquisshed he ought to remember they are men and that he might haue bene ouercome For fortune shewith herselfe in nothinge so common as in the successes of warre Certes these were words wel beseming such a man and surely we may boldlye say that al those which shal heare or read such thinges wil commend the words which that Romaine spake but few are they that in dede would haue done the feates that he did For there be many that are ready to praise in their words that which is good but ther are few that in their workes desire to folow the same Such harts are vnquiet much altered by sight and enuie that they bare towards their auncients which through manfulnes atayned vnto great tryumphes and glory let them remember what daungers and trauailes they passed through before they came thereto For there was neuer Captaine that euer triumphed in Rome vnlesse he had first aduentured his life a thousand times in the feld I thinke I am not deceyued in this that I wil say That is to wete al are desirous to tast of the marye of fame presente but none wil breake the bone for feare of peril ensuing Yf honour cold be bought with desire onely I dare boldly say it would be more estemed in these dayes of the poore page then it was in times past of the valyaunt Romaine Scipio For ther is not at this day so poore a man but would desire honour aboue al thinges What a doleful case is this to se many gentlemen and yong knights becom euyl disposed vacabondes and loyterers the whych hearyng tel of any famous battaile fought and that many of their estate and profession haue done valiaunt feates in the same immediately therwith be stirred and set on fire through enuies heate so that in the same furye they chaunge their robes into armour and wyth al spede prepare them selues to warre to exercyse the feates of armes And finally like yong men without experience make importunate sute and obtaine licence and money of their frends to go vnto the warres But after they are ons out of their countrey and see them selues in a straunge place their dayes euyl and their nightes worse at one tyme they are commaunded to skirmish and at an other time to watch when they haue vittailes they want lodging when the pay day cometh that pay the next also is eatē and spent With these other like troubles discommodityes the poore yong men are so astonyed especially when they cal to mind the goodly wide haules so wel hanged trymmed wherin they greatly delighted to passe the time in sommer season When they remember their greate chimneis at home whereby they comforted their olde limmes and how they vsed to sit quietly vpon the sonny bankes in winter For the remembrauncr of the pleasour past greatly augmenteth the paines present Notwithstanding their parents and frends had admonished them hereof before And now being beaten with their owne folye feling these discommodities which they thought not of before they determyne to forsake the warres eche one to retourne home to his owne againe But wher as they asked licence but ons to go forth now they were enforced to aske it .10 times before they could come home And the worst is they went forth loden with money and retourne home loden with vyces But the end why these thinges are spoken is that sage and vertuous men shold marke by what trade the euil disposed seke to gaine which is not gotten by gasing at the windowes but by keping the frountiers against their enemies not with playeng at tables in the tauernes but with fighting in the fields not trimmed with cloth of gold or silkes but loden with armoure weapons not praunsing their palfreis but discouering the ambushmentes not sleaping vntill none but watching al night not by auauncing him of his apparaile and handsomnes but for his stout couragiousnes not banketing his frends but assaulting his enemies though a knight do these things yet he ought to consider that it is vanitye and folishnes But seing the world hath placed honour in such a vaine thyng that they can attaine vnto it by none other way the yong aduenturous gentlmen ought to employe therunto their strength with stout courage to atchieue to some great actes worthy of renowne For in the end when the warre is iustly begonne and that in defence of their countrey they ought to reioyce more of him that dieth in the hands of his enemies thē of him which liueth accompanied with vices It is a great shame and dishonour to men of armes yong gentlemen being at home to heare the prayse of them whych be in the warres for the yong gentlemen ought not to thinke it honour for hym to heare or declare the newes of others but that others shuld declare the vertuous dedes of him O how many are they in the world this day puffed vp with pride not very wise which stil prate of great renowne yet passe their life with smal honesty For our predecessours foughte in the field with their launces but yong men now a dayes fight at the table with their tongues Admit that al vaine men desire procure to leaue a memory of their vanity yet they ought to enterpryse such thyngs in their life wherby they might winne a famous renowne not a perpetual shame after their death For ther are many departed which haue left such memory of their works as moueth vs rather to pitie their folye than to enuy their vertue I aske those that read or heare this thynge if they wil be in loue wyth Nembroth the first tiraunt with Semiramis which sinned with her owne son with Antenor that betrayed Troy his countrey with Medea that slew her children with Tarquine that enforced Lucretia with Brutus that slew Cesar wyth Silla that shed so much bloud with Catilina that played the tiraunt in his countrey with Iugurtha that strangled his bretherne with Caligula that comitted incest with his sisters with Nero that killed his mother wyth Heliogabalus that robbed the temples with Domitian that
in nothing delighted so much as by straunge hands to put men to death and to dryue away flies wyth his owne hands Smal is the nomber of those that I haue spoken in respect of those which I could recite of whom I dare say affirme that if I had bene as they I cannot tel what I would haue done or what I should haue desired but this I know it would haue bene more paynes to me to haue wonne the infamy that they haue wonne then to haue lost the lyfe that they haue lost It profyteth hym lytle to haue his ponds ful of fish his parkes ful of deere whych knoweth neyther how to hunte nor how to fysh I meane to shew by this that it profiteth a man lytle to be in great authority if he be not estemed nor honored in the same For to attayne to honour wysedome is requisite to kepe it pacience is necessarye Wyth great consyderacions wyse men ought to enterpryse daungerous thyngs For I assure them they shal neuer winne honour but wher they vse to recouer slaunder Returnyng therfore to our matter Puisaunt prynce I sweare durst vndertake that you rather desyre perpetual renowne through death then any idell rest in this life And hereof I do not merueile for ther are some that shal alwayes declare the prowesses of good prynces others which wyl not spare to open the vyces of euyl tiraunts For although your imperial estate is much your catholike person deserueth more yet I beleue wyth my hart se with these eyes that your thoughts are so highly bent vnto aduenturous dedes your hart so couragious to set vpon them that your maiestie litle estemeth the inheritaunce of your predecessours in respect of that you hope to gaine to leaue to your successours A captaine asked Iulius Cesar as he declareth in his commentaries why he trauailed in the winter in so hard frost in the sommer in such extreme heate He aunswered I wyl do what lyeth in me to do and afterward let the fatal destinies do what they can For the valiaunt knyght that gyueth in battayle thonset ought more to be estemed then fickle fortune wherby the victory is obtayned sins fortune gyueth the one aduenture gydeth the other These words are spoken like a stout valyaunt captayne of Rome Of how many prynces do we read whom trulye I muche lament to see what flatteries they haue herd wyth their eares being aliue and to redde what slaunders they haue susteyned after their death Prynces and great lords shold haue more regard to that whych is spoken in their absence then vnto that which is done in their presence Not to that whych they heare but to that whych they would not heare not to that whiche they tel them but to that which they would not be told of not to that is wryten vnto them being aliue but to that which is wryten of them after their death not to those that tell them lyes but to those whych if they durst would tel them trouth For men manye times refrayne not their tongues for that subiects be not credited but because the prince in his auctority is suspected The noble vertuous prince shold not flit from the trouth wherof he is certified neyther with flateryes lyes should he suffer himselfe to be deceiued but to examine himselfe se whether they serue him with trouth or deceiue hym with lyes For ther is no better witnes iudge of truth lyes then is a mans owne conscience I haue spoken al this to thintent your maiesty myght know that I wil not serue you wyth that you should not be serued That is to shew my selfe in my wryting a flaterer For it wer neither mete nor honest that flateries into the eares of such a noble prynce shold enter neither that out of my mouth which teach the deuine truth such vaine tales should issue I say I had rather be dispraysed for trew speaking then to be honoured for flatery lieng For of truth in your highnes it shold be much lightnes to heare them in my basenes great wickednes to inuent them Now againe folowing our purpose I say the historyes greatly commend Licurgus that gaue lawes to the Lacedemonians Numa Pompilius that honoured and adourned the churches Marcus Marcellus that had pitye on those whych were ouercome Iulius Cesar that forgaue his enemyes Octauius that was so welbeloued of the people Alexander that gaue rewards and giftes to al men Hector the Troyane because he was so valiaunt in warres Hercules the Thebane because he emploied his strength so wel Vlisses the Grecian because he aduentured himselfe in so many daungers Pirrhus king of Epirotes because he inuented so many engins Catullus Regulus because he suffered so many torments Titus the Emperour because he was father to the Orphanes Traianus because he edified sumptuous goodly buildings The good Marcus Aurelius because he knew more thē al they I do not say that it is requisyte for one prynce in these dayes to haue in him all those qualyties but I dare be bold to affirme this that euen as it is vnpossible for one prince to folow al so likewise it is a great slaunder for him to folow none We do not require princes to do al that they can but to apply themselues to do some thing that they ought And I speake not without a cause that whych I haue sayd before For if princes did occupy themselues as they ought to do they shoulde haue no tyme to be vycious Plynie saith in an epistle that the great Cato called Censor did were a ring vpon his fynger wherin was wryten these wordes Esto amicus vnius inimicus nullius which is be frend to one enemy to none He that would depely consider these few words shal find therin many graue sentences And to apply this to my purpose I saye the prince that would wel gouerne his common weal shew to al equal iustyce desire to possesse a quiet lyfe to get among al a good fame that coueteth to leaue of hymselfe a perpetual memory ought to embrace the vertues of one and to reiect the vices of al. I alow it verye wel that princes should be equal yea surmount many but yet I aduise theym not to employ their force but to folow one For oftētimes it chaunseth that many which suppose themselues in their life to excel al when they are dead are scarcely found equal to any Though man hath done much blased what he can yet in the ende he is but one one mind one power one byrth one life and one death Then sithen he is but one let no man presume to know more then one Of al these good princes which I haue named in the rowle of iustice the last was Marcus Aurelius to thintent that he should weaue his webbe For suppose we read of many prynces that haue compyled notable things the whych are to be redde and knowen
but al that Marcus Aurelius sayd or dyd is worthy to be knowen necessary to be folowed I do not meane this prynce in his heathen law but in hys vertuous dedes Let vs not staye at hys belyef but let vs embrace the good that he did For compare many chrystians wyth some of the heathen loke howe farre we leaue them behynd in faith so farre they excel vs in vertuous works Al the old prynces in times past had som phylosophers to their familiars as Alexander Aristotle King Darius Herodotus Augustus Pisto Pompeius Plauto Titus Plinie Adrian Secundus Traian Plutarchus Anthonius Apolonius Theodotius Claudius Seuerus Fabatus Fynally I say that philosophers then had such authority in princes palaces that children acknowledged them for fathers and fathers reuerenced them as maysters These sage meÌ„ wer aliue in the coÌ„pany of princes but the good Marcus Aurelius whose doctrine is before your maiestie is not aliue but dead Yet therfore that is no cause why his doctrine shold not be admitted For it may be paraduenture that this shal profit vs more which he wrate with his hands then that which others spake with their tongues Plutarche sayth in the time of Alexander the great Aristotle was aliue and Homere was dead But let vs see how he loued the one reuerenced the other for of truth hee slept alway with Homers booke in his hands waking he red the same with hys eyes alwayes kept the doctrine therof in his memory layed when he rested the booke vnder his head The which priuiledge Aristotle had not who at al times cold not be heard much lesse at al seasons be beleued so that Alexander had Homere for his frend and Aristotle for a maister Other of these phylosophers wer but simple men but our Marcus Aurelius was both a wyse phylosopher and a valiaunt prynce and therfore reason would he should be credited before others For as a prince he wyl declare the troubles as a phylosopher he wil redresse them Take you therefore Puisaunt Prince this wise phylosopher and noble emperour for a teacher in your youth for a father in your gouernment for a captayne general in your warres for a guide in your iourneys for a frend in your affayres for an example in your vertues for a maister in your sciences for a pure whyte in your desyres and for equal matche in your deedes I wil declare vnto you the lyfe of an other beinge a heathen and not the lyfe of an other being a chrystian For how much glory this heathen prince had in this world being good and vertuous so much paynes your maiestie shal haue in the other if you shal be wicked and vycious Behold behold noble prince the lyfe of this Emperour you shal se how clere he was in his iudgement how vpright in hys iustyce howe circumspect in hys life how louing to his frends how pacient in his troubles how he dissembled with hys enemies how seuere agaynst Tyraunts how quyet among the quiet how great a frend to the sage and louer of the simple how aduenturous in his warres and amyable in peace and aboue al thinges how high in words and profound in sentences Many tymes I haue bene in doubt with my selfe whether the Eternal maiesty which gyueth vnto you princes the temporal maiestie to rule aboue al other in power and authorytie did exempt you that are princes more from humaine frayltye then he did vs that be but subiects and at the last I knew he did not For I see euen as you are chyldren of the world so you do lyue according to the world I see euen as you trauaile in the world so you can know nothing but things of the world I se because you liue in the fleshe that you are subiect to the myseryes of the fleshe I see though for a tyme you prolong your lyfe yet at the last you are brought to your graue I see your trauaile is great and that within your gates there dwelleth no rest I se you are cold in the wynter and hote in the sommer I se that hunger feeleth you and thirst troubleth you I se your frendes forsake you and your ennemyes assault you I se that you are sadde and lacke ioy I se you are sicke and be not wel serued I see you haue muche and yet that which you lacke is more What wil ye se more seyng that princeâ— die O noble princes great Lordes syns you must die and become wormes meat why do you not in your lyfe tyme serche for good counsayle If the prynces and noble men commit an â—rroure no man dare chastice them wherfore they stand in greater nede of aduyse counsaile For the trauailer who is out of his waye the more he goeth foreward the more he errethe If the people do amisse they ought to be punyshed but if the prince erre hee shoulde bee admonished And as the Prynce wyl the people shoulde at his handes haue punyshment so it is reason that he at their hands should receyue counsayle For as the wealthe of the one dependeth on the wealthe of the other soo trulye if the prince bee vycious the people can not be vertuous If youre maiestie wyl punyshe your people with words commaund them to prynt this present worke in their harts And if your people would serue your hyghnes with their aduise let them likewyse beseche you to reade ouer this booke For therin the subiectes shal fynd how they may amende and you Lordes shal se al that you ought to do wdether this presente worke be profytable or noo I wyll not that my penne shal declare but they whyche reede it shall iudge For we aucthours take paines to make and translate others for vs vse to giue iudgement and sentence From my tender yeres vntil this present I haue liued in the world occupieng my selfe in reading and studieng humaine deuyne bookes and although I confesse my debilitie to be such that I haue not reade so much as I might nor studied so much as I ought yet not withstandinge al that I haue red hath not caused me to muse so muche as the doctrine of Marcus Aurelius hath sith that in the mouth of an heathen god hath put such a great treasor The greatest part of al his workes were in Greke yet he wrote also many in latin I haue drawen this out of greke throughe the helpe of my frends afterwards out of latin into our vulgare tongue by the trauaile of my hands Let al men iudge what I haue suffred in drawing it out of Greke into latin out of the latin into the vulgar and out of a plaine vulgar into a swete and pleasaunt style For that banket is not counted sumptuous vnlesse ther be both pleasaunt meates and sauory sauces To cal sentences to mynd to place the wordes to examine languages to correct sillables what swette I haue suffred in the hote sommer what bytter cold in the sharpe wynter what
I am sory they know so much only for that they subtilly disceiue and by vsury abuse their neighbours and kepe that they haue vniustly gotten and dayly getting more inuenting new trades Finally I say if they haue any knowledge it is not to amend their life but rather to encrease their goods If the diuil could slepe as men do he might safely slepe for wheras he waketh to deceiue vs we wake to vndoe our selues wel suppose that al these heretofore I haue sayd is true Let vs now leue aside craft take in hand knowledge The knowledge which we attaine to is smal that whych we shold attaine to so great that al that we know is the least part of that we are ignoraunt Euen as in things natural the elamentes haue their operacions accordyng to the variety of time so moral doctrines as the aged haue succeded and sciences were discouered Truly al fruites come not together but when one faileth another commeth in season I meane that neyther al the Doctours among the Christians nor al the phylosophers among the gentyles were concurrant at one time but after the death of one good ther came another better The chiefe wysedome whych measureth al thyngs by iustyce and disparseth them accordyng to his bounty wyl not that at one time they should be al wyse men and at an other time al simple For it had not ben reason the one should haue had the fruite and the other the leaues The old world that ran in Saturnes dayes otherwyse called the golden world was of a truth muche estemed of them that saw it and greatly commended of them that wrote of it That is to say it was not gilded by the Sages whych did gilde it but because there was no euyl men whych dyd vngild it For as thexperience of the meane estate nobility teacheth vs of one only parson dependeth aswel the fame and renoume as the infamy of a hole house and parentage That age was called golden that is to saye of gold and this our age is called yronne that is to say of yron This dyfference was not for that gold then was found now yron nor for that in this our age ther is want of theym that be sage but because the number of them surmounteth that be at this day malicious I confesse one thing and suppose many wil fauour me in the same Phauorin the philosopher which was maister to Aulus Gellius and his especial frend sayde ofttimes that the phylosophers in old time were holden in reputacion bycause ther were few teachers and many learners We now a daies se the contrary for infinite are they whych presume to be maysters but few are they whych humble theym selues to be scholers A man maye know how litle wise men are estemed at this houre by the greate veneracion that the phylosophers had in the old tyme. What a matter is it to se Homere amongest the Grecians Salomon amongest the Hebrues Lycurgus amongest the Lacedomoniens Phoromeus also amongest the Grekes Ptolomeus amongeste the Egiptians Liui amongeste the Romaynes and Cicero lykewyse amongeste the Latines Appolonius among the Indians and Secundus amongest the Assirians How happy were those philosophers to be as they were in those dayes when the world was so ful of simple personnes and so destitute of sage men that there flocked greate nombers out of dyuers contries and straung nacions not only to here their doctrine but also to se their persons The glorious saint Hierome in the prologue to the bible sayth When Rome was in her prosperitie thenne wrote Titus Liuius his decades yet notwithstaÌ„ding men came to Rome more to speake with Titus Liuius then to se Rome or the high capitol therof Marcus Aurelius writing to his frend Pulio said these words Thou shalt vnderstand my frend I was not chosen Emperour for the noble bloude of my predecessours nor for the fauoure I had amongest them now present for ther were in Rome of greater bloud and riches then I but the Emperour Adrian my maister set his eyes vpon me and the emperour Anthony my father in law chose me for his sonne in law for no other cause but for that they saw me a frend of the sages an enemy of the ignoraunt Happie was Rome to chose so wise an emperoure and no lesse happye was he to attaine to so great an empire Not for that he was heire to his predecessoure but for that he gaue his mynd to study Truly if that age then were happie to enioye hys person no lesse happie shal ours be now at this present to enioy his doctrine Salust sayth they deserued great glory whych did worthy feates and no lesser renowme merited they whych wrote them in high stile What had Alexander the great ben if Quintus Curtius had not writen of him what of Vlisses if Homere hadde not bene borne what had Alcibiades bene if Zenophon had not exalted him what of Cirus if the philosopher Chilo had not put his actes in memory what had bene of Pirrus kinge of the Epirotes if Hermicles cronicles were not what had bene of Scipio the great Affricane if it had not bene for the decades of Tâ—tus Liuius what had ben of Traiane if the renowmed Plutarche had not bene his frend what of Nerua and Anthonius the meke if Phocion the Greke had not made mencion of them how should we haue knowen the stout courage of Cesar and the great prowesse of Pompeius if Lucanus had not writen them what of the twelue Cesars if Suetonius tranquillus hadde not compiled a booke of their lyues and how should we haue knowen the antiquityes of the Hebrues if the vpright Iosephe had not ben who could haue knowen the commyng of the Lombardes into Italy if Paulus Diaconus had not writ it how could we haue knowen the comming in the going out and end of the Gothes in Spayne if the curious Rodericus had not shewed it vnto vs By these things that we haue spoken of before the readers may perceyue what is dew vnto the Historiographers who in my opinion haue left as great memorye of theym for that they wrote with their pennes as the prynces haue done for that they dyd with their swordes I confesse I deserue not to be named amongest the sages neyther for that I haue wryten and translated nor yet for that I haue composed Therfore the sacred and deuyne letters set a side ther is nothing in the world so curiouslye wryten but neadeth correction as I say of the one so wil I say of the other and that is as I wyth my wyl do renounce the glorye which the good for my learning woulde gyue me so in like maner euyl men shal not want that agaynst my wil wil seke to defame it We other writers smally esteme the labour and paynes we haue to wryte although in dede we are not ignoraunt of a thousand enuyous tongues that wyl backbite it Many now a dayes are so euil taught
then was vncorrected and humbly beseaching him sayde that for recompence of all my trauaile I desyred no other rewarde but that no man in hys chamber myghte copye the booke And I in the meane tyme proceded to accomplyshe the worke Bycause I did not meane in suche maner to publyshe it for otherwyse I sayd hys maiestie shoulde be euil serued and I also of my purpose preuented but my synnes caused that the booke was copyed and conueyed from one to another And by the handes of Pages sondrie tymes wryten ▪ so that there encreased dayly in it errours and faultes And synce there was but one originall copye they brought it vnto me to correct whiche if it coulde haue spoken woulde haue complained it selfe more of them that dyd wryte it then of those whyche dyd steale it And thus when I hadde finyshed the woorke and thought to haue publysshed it I perceaued that Marcus Aurelius was now imprinted at Ciuile And in thys case I take the readers to be iudges betwene me and the Imprinters because they maye sée whether it maye stande with lawe and iustice that a booke whyche was to his imperiall maiestye dedicated the auctour thereof beyng but an infant and the booke so vnparfecte and vncorrect without my consent or knowledge shoulde be published Notwithstandynge they ceased not but printed it agayne in Portugall and also in the kyngdome of Nauarre And if the fyrste impression was faultye truly the seconde and the thirde were no lesse So that whyche was wryten for the wealthe of all men generallye eache man dyd applye to the profite of hym selfe particularlye There chaunced another thynge of this booke called the golden booke of Marcus Aurelius whyche I am ashamed to speake but greater shame they shoulde haue that so dishonestly haue done That is some made them selues to be auctours of the whole woorke others saye that parte of it was made and compyled of their owne heades the whyche appeareth in a booke in print wherein the auctour dyd lyke a man voyde of all honestye and in another booke one vsed lykewyse the words whyche Marcus Aurelius spake to Faustine when she asked him the key of hys studye After these theues came to my knowledge iudge you whether it were inoughe to proue my pacience For I had rather they hadde robbed me of my goodes then taken awaye my renowme By this all men shal see that Marcus Aurelius was not then corrected nor in any place parfecte wherby they myght perceaue that it was not my minde to translate Marcus Aurelius but to make a dial◠for Prynces whereby all christien people maye be gouerned and ruled And as the doctrine is shewed for the vse of many so I woulde profite my selfe with that whyche the wise men had spoken and wryten And in this sorte proceadeth the worke wherin I put one or two Chapiters of mine and after I put some epistles of Marcus Aurelius and other doctrine of some auncient men Let not the reader be disceaued to thynke that the one and the other is of the auctor For although the phrase of the languag be mine yet I confesse the greatest part that I knew was of another man although the historiographers and doctours with whome I was holpen were manye yet the doctrine whyche I wrote was but one I will not denye but I haue left out some thinges whiche were superfluous in whose steade I haue placed thinges more swete and profitable So that it neadeth good wittes to make that whyche semeth in one language grosse in another to giue it the apparaunce of golde I haue deuided into three bookes this present diall of Princes The first treateth that the Prince ought to be a good christian The secound howe he ought to gouerne his wife and children The thirde teacheth how he shoulde gouerne his person and his commen wealthe I had begon another booke wherin was conteyned howe a Prince shoulde behaue him selfe in his courte and pallace but the importunitie of my frendes caused me to withdrawe my pen to the ende I might bringe this worke to lighte The Table of the Diall of Princes THe Prologue general of the Auctour The Prologue vpon the booke entituled Marcus Aurelius The Argument of the whole booke The firste Chapter entreateth of the byrthe lynage of Marcus Aurelius where the Auctour reciteth at the beginninge of the booke .iii Chapters in the which he declareth the discourse of his lief for by hys Epistles and doctrine this whole worke is proued Chap. i. Of a letter whiche Marcus Aurelius wrot to his frend Pulio wherin he recounteth the order of his lyef and among other thynges declareth the woordes whyche a poore man of Nola spake vnto the Romaine censor Chap. ii Macus Aurelius concludeth his letter and mencioneth the scienses which he lerned and all the maisters he had and in the end he reciteth fyue notable thinges in the obseruaunce of the whiche the Romaines were very curious Chap. iii. Of the excellencye of the Christian religion whereby the true God is knowen and of the vanities of the auncientes in tymes past Chap iiii How among the Auncientes the Philosopher Bruxellus was estemed and of the wordes he spake vnto them at the hower of his deathe Chap. v. Of the wordes whiche Bruxellus the Philosopher spake to the senate of Rome Chap. vi Howe the Gentiles thought that one God was not of power sufficient to defend them from their enemies Chap. vii Of a letter which the senate sent vnto all those which were subiect to the empire Chap. viii Of the true and liuing God and of the maruailes he wroughte in the old lawe to manifest his diuine power and of the superstition of the false gods Chap. ix That there is but one trewe God and howe that realme is hapie whyche hathe a Kyng that is a good christian Chap. x. Of Sondry gods which the Auncients worshiped of the office of those goddes and how they were reuenged of them that displeased them Chap. xi Of other more naturall and peculiar goddes whyche the Auncient people had Chap xii How Tyberius the knight was chosen gouernour of the empire and afterwards created Emperour onely for beyng a good Christian and how God depriued Iustiniā the yonger both of his sences and empire for beyng an heretike Chap. xiii Of the wordes the empresse Sophia spake to Tiberius Constantinus whiche tended to his reproffe for that he consumed the treasures which she had gathered Chap. xiiii The answer of Tiberius vnto the empresse Sophia wherein he declareth that Princes nede not to hourde vp great treasures Chap. xv How the chieftaine Narsetes ouercame manye battailes onlye for that his wholle confydence was in God And what happened to him by the empresse Sophia Augusta wherin may be noted the vnthanckfulnes of Princes towardes their seruantes Chap. xvi Of a letter the emperour Marcus Aurelius sent to the kynge of Scicille in the whych he recordeth the trauailes they endured to gether in their youthe and
reproueth him of his small reuerence towardes the temples Chap. xvii The Emperour procedeth in his letter to admonishe Princes to be feareful of their gods and of the sentence whyche the senate gaue vpon this kynge for pullinge downe the churche Chap. xviii How the Gentiles honored those whiche were deuoute in the seruyce of the goddes Chap. xix For fiue causes Princes ought to be better Christians then their subiectes Chap. xx Of the Philosopher Bias and of the .x. Lawes whyche he gaue worthie to be had in mynde Chap xxi How God from the beginning punysshed euill men by his Iustice and specially those Princes that despise his churche and mansion house Chap. xxii The auctour proueth by .xii. examples that Princes are sharpely punyshed when they vsurpe boldlye vpon the churches and violate the temples Chap. xxiii How Valentine the Emperour because he was an euill christian loste in one daye both the Empire and his lief and was burned aliue in a shepecoote Chap. xxiiii Of the Emperour Valentinian Gratian his sonne whiche because they were good Christians were alwayes fortunate and that God geueth victories vnto Princes more throughe teares of them that praye then throughe the weapons of those that fyght Chap. xxv Of the godlye Oration which the Emperour Gratian made to his souldiours before he gaue the battaile Chap. xxvi That the captayne Theodosius which was father of the great Emperour Theodosius died a good Christian of the kynge Hysmarus and the byshop Siluanus and the holye lawes whiche they made and established Chap. xxvii What a goodly thing it is to haue but one prince to rule in the publike weale for theyr is no greater enemye to the comon weale then he whyche procureth many to commaunde therin Chap. xxviii That in a publike weale there is no greater destruction then wher Princes dayly consent to new orders and change old customes Chap. xxix When Tyrauntes begame to reigne and vpon what occasion coÌ„maunding and obeing fyrst began and how the authoritie the Prince hathe is by the ordinaunce of God Chap. xxx Of the golden age in tymes past and worldly myserie at this present Chap. xxxi What the Garamantes sayed vnto king Alexander the great when he went to coÌ„quer India and how that the puritie of lief hath more power then any force of warre Chap. xxxii Of an Oration which one of the sages of Garamantia made vnto king Alexander a goodlye lesson for ambitious menne Chap. xxxiii The sage Garamante continueth hys Oration and amonge other notable matters he maketh mencyon of seuen lawes which they obserued Chap. xxxiiii That Princes ought to consider for what cause they were made Princes and what Thales the Philosopher was and of the questions demaunded him Chap. xxxv What Plutarke the philosopher was the wise words he spake to Traâ—an the emperour how the good Prince is the head of the publyke weale Chap. xxxvi The Prince ought to heare the complayntes of all his subiectes and to knowe them all to recompence theyr seruice Chap. xxxvii Of a solempne feaste the Romaynes celebrated to the God Ianus and of the bountie of the Emperour Marcus Aurelius the same daye Chap. xxxviii Of the Emperours answer to Fuluius the senatour wherin he peynteth enuious men Chap. xxxix Of a letter the emperour Marcus Aurelius wrote to hys frend Pulio wherin he declareth the opinions of certayne Philosophers concernynge the felicitie of man Chap. xl That Princes and great Lordes ought not to esteme them selues for beyng fayer and well proportioned of bodye Chap. xli Of a letter whiche Marcus Aurelius wrote to his neuew Epesipus worthie to be noted of all yonge Gentlemen Chap. xlii Howe Princes and noble menne in olde tyme were louers of sages Chap. xliii Howe the Emperour Theodosius prouided wyse menne at the hower of hys deathe for the education of his sonnes Chap. xliiii Cresus kynge of Lidya was a great louer of sages of a letter the same Cresus wrote to the Philosopher Anacarses and of the Philosophers answer agayne to the kyng Chap. xlv Of the wisdome and sentence of Phalaris the Tyraunte and howe he put an Artisan to death for Inuenting newe tormentes Chap. xlvi That sondrye myghtye and puyssant Princes were louers and frendes of the sages Chap. xlvii The ende of the Table of the firste Booke The table of the seconde Booke OF what excellencye mariage is and wher as common people mary of frée wil princes and noble men ought to marye of necessitie Chap. i. Howe by meanes of mariage manye mortall ennemyes haue béene made parfitte frendes Chap. ii Of the sondry lawes the auncients had in contracting matrimony of the maner of celebrating mariage Chap. iii. How princesses great ladyes ought to loue their husbandes and that must be without any maner of witchcraft or sorcerye but onlye procured by wysedome and obedience Chap. iiii The reuenge of a Greciane Ladye on him that had slayne her husbande in hope to haue her to wyfe Chap. v. That pryncesses and greate Ladyes should be obedient to their husbands and that it is a greate shame to the husband to suffer to bee commaunded by his wyfe Chap vi That women especiallye princesses and great ladies shold be very circumspect in goinge abrode out of their houses and that throughe the resort of them that come to their houses they be not ill spoken of Chap. vii Of the commodities and discomodities which folow princesses and great Ladies that goe abroade to visite or abide in the house cap viii That women great with childe namely princesses and great Ladyes ought to bée very circumspect for the danger of the creatures they beare wherein is layed before you manye knowen sorowful mysfortunes hapned to women in that case Cap ix A further rehersal of other inconueniences and vnlucky chaunces happened to women great with child Chap. x. That women great with child chieflye princesses great ladies ought to be gently entreated of their husbands Chap. xi What the Philosopher Pisto was and of the rules he gaue concerning women with child Chap. xii Of thre couÌ„sels which Lucius Seneca gaue vnto a secretary his frende who serued the emperour Nero. And how Marcus Aurelius dsposed al the howers of the day Cap. xiii Of the Importunate sute of the empresse Faustine to the Emperour Marcus Aurelius her husband concerning the key of his closet Chap. xiiii The Emperours aunswere to Faustine touchinge the demaunde of the key of hys closet Chap. xv The Emperour followeth his matter admonishinge men of the plagues great daungers that follow those whych haunt to much the company of women And reciteth also certayne rules for maried men which if they be matched with shrowes and do obserue them maye cause them liue in quyet with their wiues Chap. xvi The Emperour aunswereth more particularly concerning the key of hys closet Chap. xvii That princesses noble women oughte not to bée ashamed to giue their children sucke with their owne breasts
Chap. xviii The auctour stil perswadeth women to gyue their owne children sucke Chap. xix That princesses and great ladyes ought to be verye circumspecte in chosinge their nurces of seuen properties whyche a good nource should haue Chap. xx The auctor addeth .3 other condicions to a good nource that giueth sucke Chap. xxi Of the disputacion before Alexander the great concernyng the sucking of babes Chap. xxii Of wytchcraftes and sorceries which the nources vsed in old time in geuinge their chyldren sucke Chap xxiii Marcus Aurelius wryteth to his frende Dedalus inueighenge againste witches which cure children by sorceries and charmes Chap. xxiiii How excellent a thing it is for a gentleman to haue an eloquent tongue cap. xxv Of a letter which the Athenians sent to the Lacedemonians Chap. xxvi That nources which giue sucke to the children of prynces ought to be discret and sage women Chap. xxvii That women may be no lesse wyse then men though they be not it is not through default of nature but for want of good bringyng vp Chap. xxviii Of a letter which Pithagoras sent to his sister Theoclea she readinge at that time philosophy in Samothracia Chap. xxix The auctor followeth his purpose perswading princesses and great ladies to endeuour them selues to be wise as the women wer in old time Chap xxx Of the worthynes of the lady Cornelia and of a notable epistle she wrote to her .ii. sonnes Tyberius and Caius which serued in the warres Chap. xxxi Of the educacion and doctrine of children whyles they are yong Chap. xxxii Princes oughte to take héede that their children be not broughte vp in vaine pleasures and delights chap. xxxiii That princes and great lords ought to be careful in sekynge men to brynge vp their children Of x. condicions that good schoole maisters ought to haue Chap. xxxiiii Of the ii sonnes of Marcus Aurelius of the whych the eldest and best beloued dyed And of the maisters he reproued for the other named Comodus Chap. xxxv Howe Marcus Aurelius rebuked fiue of the xiiii maisters he had chosen for the educacion of his sonne Comodus And how he bannished the rest from his pallace for their light behauior at the feast of the god Genius Chap. xxxvi That princes other noble men ought to ouersée the tutours of their children lest they conceale the secrete faultes of their scholers Chap. xxxvii Of the Emperours determinacioÌ„ when he commytted his sonne to the tutoures which he had prouyded for his educacion Chap. xxxviii That tutours of princes and noble mens sonnes ought to be very circumspect that their scholars do not accustome them selues in vyces whyles they are yonge and speciallye to kepe them from foure vyces Chap xxxix Of .ii. other vyces perilous in youthe whych the maysters ought to kepe theym from Chap. xl The ende of the Table of the seconde Booke The table of the third Booke HOw Princes and great Lordes ought to trauaile to administer to all equall Iustice Chap. i. The waye that Princes ought to vse in choosing their Iudges Officers in their contreyes Chap. ii Of an oration which a vilian of Danuby made before the senatours of Rome concernyng the tyrannie and oppressions whyche their offycers vse in his contrey Chap. iii. The villayne argueth againste the Romaynes whyche without cause or reason concquered their contreye and proued manifestely that they throughe offendyng of their gods were vancquished of the Romaines Chap. iiii The villayne concludeth his oration against the Iudges which minister not Iustice and declareth howe preiudicial such wycked men are to the common weale Chap. v. That Princes and noble men should be very circumspect in choosyng Iudges and Offycers for therin consisteth the profyt of the publyke weale Chap. vi Of a letter whych Marcus Aurelius wrot to Antigonus his frende wherein he speaketh agaynste the crueltye of Iudges and Officiers Chap. vii The Emperour Marcus continueth his letter agaynst cruel Iudges and reciteth ii examples the one of a pitiefull kyng of Cipres and the other of a cruell Iudge of Rome and in this Chapter is mencioned the erbe Ilabia growing in Cipres on the mounte Arcladye whych beyng cut droppeth bloud c. Chap. viii Of the wordes whych Nero spake concernynge iustyce and of the instruction whych the Emperoure Augustus gaue to a iudge which he sent into Dacia Cap. ix The Emperour foloweth his purpose agaynst cruel iudges declareth a notable imbassage whych came from Iudea to the Senate of Rome to complayne of the iudges that gouerned that Realme Chap. x. The Emperour concludeth his letter agaynst the cruel iudges declareth what the grand father of king Boco spake in the Senate Chap. xi An exhortacion of the auctor to princes noble men to embrace peace and to eschew the occasions of warre Chapter xii The commodities which come of peace Chap. xiii A letter of Marcus Aurelius to him freÌ„d Cornelius wherin he describeth the discommodities of warre and the vanitie of the triumphe Chap. xiiii The Emperour Marcus Aurelius declareth the order that the Romaynes vsed in setting forth men of warre and of the ouâ—tragious vilanies whyche captaynes and souldiours vse in the warres Chap. 15. Marcus Aurelius lamenteth with teares the follye of the Romaynes for that they made warre wyth Asia And declarethe what great domage commeth vnto the people wher the prince doth begin warres in a straung countrey Chap. xvi That prynces and great lords the more they grow in yeres should be the more discrete and vertuous to refraine from vices Chap. xvij That princes when they are aged shold be temperate in eating sober in drynking modest in apparel aboue al true in their communication Chap. xviii .. Of a letter of the Emperour Marcus Aurelius to Claudius and Claudinus wherein he reproueth those that haue many yeres and litle discrecion Chap. xix The emperour foloweth his letter and perswadeth those that are olde to giue no more credit to the world nor to any of hys flatteries Chap. xx The emperour procedith in his letter proueth by good reasons that sith the aged persons wil be serued and honoured of the yong they ought to be more vertuous and honest then the yong Chap. xxi The emperour concludeth his letter sheweth what perilles those old men lyue in which dissolutly like yong children passe their dayes and geueth vnto them holsom counsel for the remedy therof Chap. xxii Princes ought to take hede that they be not noted of Auarice for that the couetous man is both of god man hated Cap xxiii The auctor foloweth his matter wyth great reasons discoÌ„mendeth the vices of couetous men Chap. xxiiii Of a letter whyche the emperour M. Aurelius wrot to his freÌ„d Cincinatus wherin he toucheth those gentlemen which wil take vpon them the trade of marchaundise againste their vocations deuided into 4. chapters Chap xxv The Emperour procedeth his letter declareth what vertues men ought to vse and the vices which
they ought to eschew Cap. xxvi The Emperour concludeth his letter parswadeth his frend Cincinatus to dispise the vanities of the world sheweth though a man be neuer soo wise yet he shall haue nede of a nother mans counsel chap. xxvii The auctor perswadeth princes great lordes to fly couetousnes and auarice and to become liberal which is a vertue semely for a Royal parson Cap. xxviii The auctor parswadeth gentlemen and those the professe armes not to abase them selues by taking vpoÌ„ them any vile offices for gaine sake Cap. xxix Of a letter themperoure wrote to his neighbour Marcurius wherin men maye learne the daungers of those whyche trafficke by sea see the couetousnes of them that trauaile by land Cap xxx The Emperour foloweth his matter concludeth his leter rebuking his frende Marcurius for that he toke thought for the losse of his goods He sheweth the nature of fortune the conditions of the couetous man Cap. xxxi That princes and noble men ought to consider the misery of mans nature that brute beasts are in some points reason set a part to be preferred vnto man cap. xxxii The auctor compareth the misery of meÌ„ with the liberty of beasts Cap. xxxiii The Emperoure wryteth his letter to Domicius to comfort him being banyshed for a quarrel betwixte him and another about the running of a horse verye comfortable to al them that haue bene in prosperitye and are now brought into aduersity Cap. xxxiiii That princes noble men ought to be aduocattes for widowes fathers of orphanes and helpers of al those whych are comfortles xxxv That the troubles gréefes sorowes of women are much greater thenne those of men wherfore prynces noble men ought to haue more compassion vpon womeÌ„ then on men Cap. xxxvi Of a letter which the Emperour wrote to a Romane lady named Lauinia comforting her for the death of her husband which is a great consolation for all those that are sorowfull for the dissease of their frendes Chap. xxxvii The Emperour perswaded widâ—es to put their wylles vnto the will of god exorteth them to liue honestly Chap. xxxviii That princes noble men ought to dispise the world for that ther is nothing in the world but plaine disceyte Chap. xxxix The emperour speaketh vehemently against th disceytes of the world Chap. xl Of a letter whych the Emperour Mar. Aure. wrot to Torquatus to comfort him in his banishement whyche is notable for all menne to learne the vanities of thys worlde Chap. xli The Emperour perswadeth al men by strong highe reasoÌ„s not to trust the world nor any thing therin Chap. xlii Princes and noble men oughte not to beare with Iuglers iesters parasites minstrelles loyterers nor with any such kynd of raskals And of the lawes which the Romains made in this behalfe Chap. xliii How some loyterers were punished by the auncientes and of these raskalles of our time Chap. xliiii Of a letter whiche the Emperour wrot to a frende of his certifieng him that he hadde banished from Rome the iesters iuglers conterfet fooles parasytes ruffiaÌ„s minstrels vacabondes and al other loyterers a notable letter for such as kepe couÌ„terfait foles in their houses Chap. xlv Howe the Emperour founde the sepulchres of many lerned Philosophers in Helespont whereunto he sent all these loyteres Chap. xlvi The emperour declareth the cause why these iesters and iuglers were admytted into Rome Chap. xlvii That Princes and noble men ought to remember that they are mortall and muste dy wher are sondry notable consolations against the feare of death Chap xlviii Of the death of the Emperour Mar. Aur. and how they are few frendes whiche dare say the truth vnto sickmen Chap. xlix Of the confortable wordes whiche the secretarye Pannutius spake to the Emperour Marcus Aurelius at the houre of hys death Chap. l. Pannutius the secretary exorteth al men wyllingly to accept death and vtterly to for sake the world his vanity Chap. li. The aunswere of the Emperour Marcus to Panutius his secretary wherin he declared that he toke no thought to forsake the world but all hys sorowe was to leaue behynde him an vnhappy childe to enherite the Empyre Chap. lii The Emperour Marcus Aurelius concludeth his matter and sheweth that sondrye yong Princes for beyng vitious haue vndone theÌ„ selues and impouerished their Realmes Chap. liii Of the wordes which the emperour M. Arelius spake vnto his sonne Commodus necessary for all noble yonge gentlemen to vnderstand Chap. liiii The emperour Mar. aur among other holsome counsels exorteth his son to kepe wise sage meÌ„ about him for to giue him counsell in all his affaires Chap. lv The emperour foloweth his matter and exorteth his sonne vnto certain particuler thinges worthy to be engraued in the hartes of men Char. lvi The good Marcus Aurelius Emperour of Rome endeth his purpose life And of the last wordes whiche he spake to his son CoÌ„modus of the table of counsels whiche he gaue him Chap. lvii The end of the Table of the third boke The table of the fourth booke The Epistle to the Reader The Prologue The Argument That it is more necessary for the courtier abidyng in court to bée of lyuely spirite audacitie theÌ„ it is for the souldiour that goeth to serue in the warres Chap. i. Of courtiers brawles quarels with the harbingers for ill lodging Chap. ii How the courtier shoulde entreate hys hoste or mayster of the house wheare he lyeth Chap. iii. What the Courtier must doo to wynne the Princes fauour Chap. iiii What maners and gestures becom the courtier when he speaketh to the Prince Chap. v. How the courtier should behaue himself to knowe and to visite the noble men and gentle men that bée great with the Prince and contynuing still in court Chap. vi Of the good countenaunce modestie the courtier should haue in behauing himselfe at the prince or noble mans table in that time of his meale Cap. vii What companye the courtier shoulde kepe and how he should apparel hymselfe Chap. viii Of the wyse maner the courtier should haue to serue and honour the Ladyes and gentlewomen and also to satisfye please the vsshers porters of the kyngs house Chap. ix Of the greate paynes and troubles the courtier hath that is toild in sutes of lawe and howe he must suffer and behaue himselfe with the Iudges Chap. x. The auctor speaketh of the beloued of the court admonishing them to be pacient in their troubles and that they be not partial in th affayres of the common weale Chap. xi That thofficers and beloued of the court should be very diligent and careful in the dispatche of the affayres of the prynce and common weale and in correctynge and reformyng their seruaunts they should also be very circumspct and aduised Chap. xij That the déerlings of the court beware they be not proude and hyghe minded for lightlye they neuer fal but
the Catholicke Churche that they dyshonour not Gods mynisters and maintayne heresyes For as this accursed Emperoure Valente for his wicked doinges was condignely punished by the hands of the almighty God So let them be assured the selfe same god wil not pardon their offences For it is a rule infallible that the prince which is not a good christian shall fall into the hands of his cruell enemyes ¶ Of the Emperour Valentinian and Gracian hys sonne whych reigned in the time of saynte Ambrose whyche because they were good Christians were alwayes fortunate and that god gyueth victorye vnto Princes more throughe the teares of them that pray then through the weapons of those that fyght I Valentinian and Valent were brethrene and the eldest of them was Valentinian who succeded in the Empire after the death of his father to be pretor of the armies For amonges the Romaines there was a lawe in vre that if the father died in the fauour of the people of right the sonne without any other demaunde was heire This Valentinian was a lusty yong man of a sanguine complection and of his body well shaped and aboue al he was a good Christian and of all the people generallye welbeloued For nothynge adorneth the noble man more then to be counted ciuill and corteous of behauior At that time wher the Emperoure Iulian persecuted moste the chrisstians Valentinian was pretor of the armies and when Iulian was aduertised that Valentinian was a christian he sent vnto him and bad hym do sacrifice to the idols of the Romaine Emperour or els to forsake the office of his pretorship Iulian would gladly haue killed Valentinian but he durst not For it was a law inuiolable amonges the Romaynes that no citizen should be put to death without decre of the Senate Valentinian receyuing the message of this Emperour Iulian aduertised of his will which was to renownce his faith or to leaue his office he dyd not only resigne his office but therwithal forgaue the Emperour all the money he ought him for arreragies of his seruyce And because he woulde lyue with a more quyete conscience he wente from Rome into a cloyster where he bannyshed hym selfe for two yeares and a halfe and for this he was hyghlye estemed and commended For it is a good signe that man is a good Christian whyche of his owne free will renounceth worldlye goodes Shortlye after It happened that Iulian the Emperoure wente to conquer the Realme of Persia wherein a battaile he was very sore wounded and fell downe deade in the presente place For to the mishappes of fortune the Emperour with all his estate pleasours is asmuch subiect as is the poorest man that lyeth in the streates When the newes came to Rome that Iulian was dead by the consent of all Valentinian was created Emperoure so that he beinge bannyshed for Christes sake was called againe and crowned Prince of the Romaine empire Let no man care to lose al that he possesseth let no man way to see him selfe despised for Christes sake For in the end no men can in a thousand yeares so much abase vs as god in one houre can exalt vs. In the same yere which was from the foundation of Rome a thousand a hundred and .xix. in a citie called Atrobata it rained very fine wull so that all the citie became riche In the same yeare in the citie of Constantinople it hailed suche great stones that they killed many men left no herdes in the fieldes aliue At the same tyme there came an earthquake throughout Italy so likewyse in Scicille that many housen fell and slewe sundry persons and aboue all the sea rose in suche sorte that it drowned many cities nighe thereunto Paulus Diaconus in the .xi. booke De gestibus Romanorum saieth that the emperour Valentinian was of a subtile witte of graue coūtenaunce eloquēt in speache yet he spake litle stoute in his affaires and diligent in his busines in aduersities pacient and a great enemy of the vicious temperat in eating and drinking a frend of religious persons so that they saide he resembled the emperour Aurelius For after that the emperour Marcus Aurelius died with whom the felicitie of the Romaine empire ended they euer vsed thenceforth in Rome to compare and liken the young and newe come princes to the auncient emperours their antecessours That is to wete if the prince wer couragious they said he was like Iulius Caesar if he were vertuous they saide he was an other Octauian if he were fortunate that he was Tiberius if he were rashe they sayde he was Caligula if he were cruell they compared him to Nero if he were merciful thei sayde he was like to Traian or Antonius Pius if he were beawtifull they likened him to Titus if he were idle they compared him to Domitian if he were paciēt they called him Vespasius if he were tēperat they likened him to Adrian if he were deuoute to their gods then he semed Aurelianus finally he that was sage and vertuous they compared him to the good Marcus Aurelius This emperour Valentinian was a good Christian and in al his affaires touching the empyre very wyse and circumspecte and yet he was noted for one thynge very muche and that was that he trusted and fauoured his seruauntes so muche and was so led by his friendes that through their occasion they abusinge his loue and credite there arose manye dissentions emonges the people Seneca sayde once to the Emperoure Nero I wyll that thou vnderstande Lorde that there is no pacience can suffre that twoo or three absolutly commaunde all not for that they are moste vertuous but for that they are moste in fauour with thee O princes and great Lordes if you were as I am I knowe not what you would doe but if I were as you be I woulde behaue my selfe in suche sorte to them of my house that they should be seruauntes to serue and obeye me and not boste themselues to be in suche fauour to commaunde me For that prince is not sage that to content a fewe getteth the hatred of all The Emperour Valentinian died in the fiue and fifty yeare of his byrthe and eleuen yeare of his Empyre of so longe sickenesse that his vaynes were so dried vp that they could not drawe one droppe of bloude out of his body And at the daye of his funeralles where the dead corps was greatly bewayled Saint Ambrose made anexcellent sermon in commendation of him for in those dayes when any prince departed that fauoured muche the Churche all the holy Byshoppes mete at his buriall The two brethren being Emperours that is to wete Valentinian and Valent through the desire of the father in lawe of Gracian that was father to his wyfe and desirous to haue one of his doughters children chose Valentinian to bryng vp who had a sonne named Gracian whiche was created emperour so young that as yet he had no berde And truly the Senate would not haue suffered it
nor adulterer but Tarquine the proude onely for that he was euill cōdicioned By the faith of a good man I sweare vnto you Fathers cōscript that if the miserable Tarquine had bene beloued in Rome he had neuer bene depriued of the Realme for committing adultery with Lucretia for in the end if euery light offence which in youth is committed should be punished within short space there should be no common wealth All these euils both before and after Tarquine were committed by the auncientes in the Romaine empire whiche were suche as these of this young and lighte prince and were nothing in comparison vnto thee For truly cōsidering the youth of the one and the experience of the other the greatest offence of the younge is but a counterfaite to the least that the olde committeth Iulius Caesar last dictatour and firste Emperour of Rome being a thing commendable bothe to Senatours to salute the Emperour on their knees and to the Emperour to rise againste them and resalute eche one according to his order because of presumption and that he woulde not obserue this ceremonie with .xxiii. woundes they dispatched him of his life Tiberius was an Emperour whom they blame for drunkennes and Caligula was an Emperour also whom they accuse of inceste with his sisters Nero was an Emperour who for that he slewe his mother and his maister Seneca hath for euer bene named cruell Sergius Galba was a deuouring and gluttonous Emperour for that he caused for one onely banket seuen thousand byrdes to be kylled Domitian was an Emperour who was greatly noted of all euils For all euils whiche in many were scattered in him alone were founde All these miserable princes in the ende were betraied hanged and beheaded And I sweare vnto ye fathers conscript that they died not for their vices but because they were proude and euill conditioned For finally the prince for one vice only cannot muche endomage the people but for being to haulty and presumptuous of euill conditions he may destroy a common wealth Let princes and great lordes be assured that if they geue many occasions of euill will afterwardes one only suffiseth to stirre their subiects to destroy them For if the lord shew not his hatred it is for that he will not but if the subiecte doe not reuenge it is for that he cannot Beleue me fathers conscripte and sacred Senate that euen as the Phisitians with a litle triacle purge manye euyll humours of the bodye soo the sage Prynces wyth verye lyttle beneuolence drawe out of their subiectes muche fylthines of harte diuerting their ill willes into true and faithfull loue And because the members should be agreable with the head in myne opinion it behoueth the people to obey the commaundement of the prince and to honour and reuerence his person and the good prince to be iuste and equall to all in generally and gentle in conuersation with euery one O happy common wealth wherein the prince findeth obedience in the people and the people in like maner loue in the prince For of the loue of the Lorde springeth obedience in the subiecte and of the obediēce of the subiectes springeth loue in the Lorde The Emperour in Rome is as the spyder in the middest of her cobwebbe the which being touched with the needels pointe by one of the threedes of the same be it neuer so litle immediatly the spider feeleth it I meane that all the workes whiche the Emperour doth in Rome are immediatly published through out all the countrey For in fine since princes are the myrrour of all they cannot well cloake their vices I see fathers conscripte that I haue bene iudged here of worldly malice because I accompanied the captiues in procession and also because I suffred my selfe to be touched with them to the ende they might enioye the priuiledge of their libertie and in this case I render most humble thankes to the immortall gods because they made me a mercifull Emperour to set those at libertie that were in prysone and that they made me not a cruel tyraunt to set those in pryson whiche were at libertie For the prouerbe saieth that with one beane a man may take two pigeons euen so chaunsed the lyke herein yesterdaie For the benefite was done for those miserable captiues but the example of humanitie was shewed to all straunge nations And knowe ye not that whē the prince vnloseth the irons from the feete of the captiues he byndeth the hartes landes and goodes of his subiectes concluding therfore I saye that to princes it were more safetie and to the common wealthe more profite to be serued in their palaces by free hartes with loue then by subiectes whiche are kept vnder by feare ¶ Of a letter the emperour Marcus Aurelius sent to his frende Pulio declaring the opinion of certaine philosophers concerning the felicitie of man Cap. xl MArcus Aurelius Emperour of Rome tribune of the people high byshop seconde consull and monarche of all the Romaine empire wysheth to the Pulio his olde frende health to thy persone and prosperitie againste thy euill fortune The letter that thou wrotest vnto me from Capua I receyued here at Bethinia and if thou diddest wryte it with a good hart I did read it with willing eyes whereof thou oughtest somewhat to content thee For it is an auncient saying of Homere that that whiche is well vewed with the eyes is tenderly beloued of the harte I protest vnto thee by the faithe of the immortall gods that I doe not wryte vnto thee as a Romaine emperour that is to saye from the lorde to the seruaunt for in this sorte I should wryte vnto thee briefe and touching the purpose which thing ought not to be done to the peculier frende For the letters of graue men should neuer beginne the letters of vs frendes should neuer ende I wryte vnto thee my frende Pulio as to a priuate frende to an olde companion of mine and as to him whiche is a faithfull secretary of my desyres and in whose company I was neuer displeased in whose mouth I neuer founde lie and in whose promise there was neuer breache made And the thing being thus I should commit treason in the lawe of frendship if I kept secret from thee any of my inward conceites For all the griefes whiche lie buried in the woful harte ought not to be communicate but with a faithful frende Doest thou thinke Pulio that the Romaine emperour hath litle trauaile to wryte vnto thee as Emperour to speake as Emperoure to walke as Emperoure and to eate as emperour and finally to be as emperour in deede certes I doe not meruaile hereat For truly the life of the vertuous emperour is but a dial which ordereth or disordereth the comon wealth and that wherof I marueile is of the foly of Rome vanitie of the common wealth For as much as all saye that the prince if he wil seme graue be well estemed of the people ought to goe softly to
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
to morow the rust of diseases taketh him and afterwardes by aduersitie he is writhen and by infirmities he is diseased by riches he is whetted by pouerty he is dulled agayne and finally oftentimes it chaunseth that the more sharpe he is whetted so muche the more the lyfe is put in hasarde It is a true thinge that the fete and handes are necessary to clyme to the vanyties of youth and that afterwardes stumblynge a lytle immediately rowling the heade downewardes we discende into the miserie of age For to oure seamynge yesterdaye we knewe one that was yonge and beautifull and with in shorte tyme after we heare that he is dead and rotten When I consider manye men aswell frendes as enemyes whiche were not long a goe florisshyng in beautye and youth and presently I see them to be olde and drye sycke and foule truly I think that as then I dreamed of them or that they be not nowe as they were then What thynge is more fearefull or more incredible then to see a man become miserable in shorte space that the fashion of his visage shoulde chaunge the beautie of the face shoulde be loste the beard waxe whyte the heade bauld the cheekes and forheade full of wrynckelles the teethe as whit as Iuorye become blacke the lighte feete by the goute to seme crepeled and afterwarde waxeth heauie the palsey weakeneth the strong arme the fyne smothe throte with wrinckelles is pleated and the bodye that was streight and vpryghte waxeth weake and croked Aboue all that I haue spoken I say to the Epesipus which presumest to be faire that he which through hys propernes in youth was the mirrour of all becommeth to be such a one that he douteth whether he be the selfe same now in his age that he was in his youth Doe what thou wilte prayse and gloryfye thy beautie asmuch as thou thinckest good yet in the ende the beautie of men is none other but as a veile to couer their eyes a payre of fetters for the fete manacles for the handes a lyme rodde for the winges a these of tyme an occasion of daunger a prouoker of trouble a place of lecherye a sinke of all euill and fynallye it is an inuentour of debates and a scourge of the affectioned man Since thou haste forsaken thy studye I am not bound to send the any thing chiefely wasting thy monye in childysh and youthfull toyes but notwithstandyng all those thinges I sende the by Aulus Vegenus two thousande crounes for thy apparaile and trulye thou shalt be very vnthankfull if thou dost not knowe the benefite done vnto the. For a man ought to giue more thākes for that which is done of curtesie then for that which is offered of necessitie I cannot tell what to let the vnderstande in these partes but that thy sister Anania Salaria is maried who sayeth she is contente I praye God it be so for with money men maye be holpen to mariages but it lyeth in the gods to contente the parties If thou wilte know of Toringa thy cosen thou shalte vnderstande she is imbarked in the fleete whyche went to Spaine and in dede I neuer thought otherwise on her after she had hene .3 dayes hydde in the waye of Salaria For maydes that will betimes gather their grapesi t is a token that they will goe on warfare with souldyars Of Annius Rufus thy frende and companion I certify the that he is gon into the I le of Helespont and he goeth by the authority of the senate to vnderstand the gouernement therof and albeit he be yong yet he is wise and therfore I suppose he will render a good accompt of his commission For of these two extremities the aged that do decline or the yong that are wise I had rather holde my selfe to the wisdom of the yong then to the white berdes of the aged My wife Faustine saluteth the and be thou assured that in thy affaires at the least to my seming she is very fauourable vnto the and dayly she instauntely requireth me not to be angrye with the sayenge that sage men oughte not to esteme the lyghtenes of youth and that there is no olde man that is sage but he which in all thinges was lighte and youthefull I say no more to the in this case but if thou wylte be good I cannot denaye that thou art not my nepheue my old scoler and seruaunte For if in the I se amendment I wil withdrawe mine ire For trulye amonge the louing hartes there is nothing that plucketh vp the euill will vnles it be the good lyfe At the request of my wife Faustine I haue writen the this worde and I saye no more but that of her parte and mine thou commende vs to all the vniuersitie The Gods haue the in their custodye to whom it may please to gyue the amendement of lyfe Marcus Aurelius the romaine emperour to the Annius Epesipus wryteth with his owne hand How princes and great Lordes in olde time were louers of wise men Chap. xliii ONe of the chiefest thynges that wanne reputacion and eternall memorye to the auncient princes and Gouerners was that they sought wyse men to be alwayes couersaunt about them whose graue counsaile their realmes alwayes obserued and obeyed It profiteth a king litle to leade with him a greate nomber of sages to gouerne him and his realme if his subiectes are armed with malice not to obey hym Let princes knowe whiche esteme not the counsaile of sages that their commaundement of other shall not be regarded For the lawe whiche by will is made and not of right ordeined deserueth not to be obeyed We which turne and tosse the leaues of the auncient histories cannot denay but that the romaines naturally were proude Yet we muste confesse that as they haue ben stout in thinges touching warres so they haue shewed them selues temperate in the affaires of the publike weale And truly herin Rome declared her wisedom might for as by hardye and stoute captaynes the enemies were destroied in warre so by sages and wise men the common wealth was gouerned and mainteined in peace Ofte tymes with my selfe I muse whereuppon all these discordes grew betwene lords and subiectes princes and vassalles and my count being made I finde that they haue both reason For the subiectes complaine of the litle loue of their lorde and the lordes complaine of the great disobedience of their subiectes For to say the truth disobedience is so much augmented and the desier of commaundement is become so licencious that it semeth to the subiectes that the waighte of a fether is lead and on the cōtrary it semeth to princes that for the flieng of a flye they should draw their swordes All this euill and damage commeth not but because the princes haue not with them wise men whiche maye counsaile them for there was neuer any good prince that credited euil counsaile There are two thinges in princes and prelates whiche gouerne the soule th one is the
but for the residue it is a greuous burden and painfull office The like matter came to Ptolomeâ—s king of Egipt of whom the queene his wife did greatly complaine Admitte that all the Grekes haue bene estemed to be very wyse amongest all those the Athenians were estemed of most excellent vertue for the sages that gouerned the common wealth remained in Athens with the philosophers which taught the sciences The sages of Athens ordeined that all the neighbours and inhabitauntes might kepe twoo lawful wiues furthermore vpon paine of greuous punishmentes did coÌ„maunde that none shuld presume nor be so hardie to maintaine any concubine for they sayde when men haunte the companie of light women commonly they misuse their lawfull wiues As Plutarche saith in his politiques the cause why the Grekes made this lawe was considering that man coulde not nor ought not to liue without the company of a womaÌ„ and therfore they wold that man shuld mary with two wiues For if the one were diseased and lay in yet the other might serue in bedde wayte at the table and doe other busynes in the house Those of Athens had an other great respect and consideration to make this lawe which was this that if it chaunced the one to be barrayne the other should brynge foorth chyldren in the common wealthe and in suche case she that brought forth children should be estemed for maistres and the other that was barraine should be taken for a seruaunt WheÌ„ this law was made Socrates was married with Xantippa and to accomplish the lawe he toke an other called Mitra whiche was the doughter of the philosopher Aristides and sithe those two women had great quarrels debates together and that thereby they slaundered their neighbours Socrates sayde vnto them My wyues you see righte well that my eyes are holowe my legges are wythered my handes are wryncled my head is balde the body is litle and the heares are whyte why doe ye then that are so faire stand in coÌ„tention and strife for me that am so defourmed though Socrates sayde these wordes as it were in ieste yet suche woordes were occasion that the quarrelles and strifes betwene them ceased The Lacedemonians that in tyme of peace and warre were alwayes contrarie to the Athenians obserued it for an inuiolate lawe not that one man should mary with twoo wyues but that one woman should mary with twoo husbandes and the reason was that when one husbande should go to the warres the other should tary at home For they sayde that a man in no wyse should agree to leaue his wife alone in the common wealth Plinie wryting an Epistle to his frende Locratius and saint Hyerome wryting to a friere called Rusticus saieth that the Athenians dyd vse to marie the bretherne with the sisters but they did not permitte the Auntes to marie with their nephewes neither the vncles with their neices For they saide that brothers and sisters to marye togethers was to marye with their semblable but for vncles to marye nieces and auntes with nephewes was as of fathers to doughters of mothers to sonnes Melciades whiche was a man of great renowne amongest the Gretians had a sonne called Cymonius who was maried to his syster called Pinicea and beinge demaunded of one why he toke his sister in mariage he aunswered my syster is fayre sage ryche and made to my appetite and her father and myne dyd recommaund her vnto me and since by the commaundement of the Gods a man ought to accomplishe the behestes and requestes of fathers I haue determined since nature hath geuen her me for my syster willingly to take her for my lawfull wyfe Diodorus Siculus sayth that before the Egiptians receiued any lawes euery man had as many wyues as he would and this was at the libertie of both parties for as muche as if she would go she went liberally and forsooke the man and likewise he left her when she displeased him For they saide that it was impossible for men and women to liue long togethers without muche trouble contentions and brawles Diodorus Siculus said one thing speaking of this matter that I neuer red in any booke nor heard of the auncientes paste whiche was that amongest the Egiptians there was no difference in children for they accoÌ„pted them all legittimate though they were children of slaues For they saide that the principall doer of the generation was the father and not the mother and that therefore the children whiche were borne among them toke only the fleshe of the mother but they did inherite the honour and dignitie of the parte of the father Iulius Caesar in his commentaries saieth that in great Britaine called nowe Englande the Britons had an vse that one woman was maried vnto fiue men the which beastlines is not redde to haue bene in any nation of times paste for if it be sclaunder for one man to haue diuers wyues why shoulde it not also be a sclanderous and shamefull thing for one woman to haue many husbandes The noble and vertuous women ought to be maried for twoo causes The first to the ende God should geue them children and benediction to whome they may leaue their goodes and their memory The second to th end they should liue euery one in their owne house accompanied and honoured with their husbandes For otherwise I saie for a truthe that the woman that is not contented and satisfied with her owne propre husbande will not be contented nor satisfied with all men in the worlde Plutarche in his apotheames sayeth that the Cymbres did vse to mary with their propre naturall doughters the whiche custome was taken from them by the Consul Marius after that he did ouercome them in Germany and that of them he had triumphed at Rome For the chylde whiche was borne of suche mariage was sonne of the doughter of one sole father and was sonne and brother of one onely mother and they were also cosins nephewes and brother of one onely father brother Truly suche custome procedeth rather of wylde beastes then of reasonable creatures for many or the more parte of brute beastes after the females haue brought forth males within one yeare after they doe accompany with their dammes which brought them forth Strabo in the situation of the worlde and Seneca in an Epistle saye that the Lydes and the Armenians had a custome to sende their doughters to the Ryuers and hauens of the sea to gette their mariages selling their owne bodies to straungers so that those whiche would marie were firste forced to sell their virginitie The Romains whiche in all their affayres and busynesses were more sage and modeste then other nations vsed muche circumspection in all their mariages For they kepte it as an auncient lawe and vse accustomed that euery Romaine should marie with one woman and no mo For euen as to kepe two wyues among the Christians is a great conscience so was it demed amongest the Romaines muche infamie Amongest the
and committe sondrie other mischiefes whiche the women doe not but in steade of kylling menne sheading bloude and other notorious euilles that men doe they imploye them selues to increase men And since it is so then women rather then men oughte to haue dominion and commaunde in the common wealthe for women increase the common wealth and men dyminishe it For neyther deuine nor humayne lawe commaundeth that the foolyshe man should be free and gouerne and that the wyse woman should be bonde and serue Those of Achaia affirmed this opinion and groundeth them selues vppon this reason and obserued it as a custome that the husbandes should obeye and the wyues commaunde And so they dyd as Plutarche sayeth in the booke of consolation for the husbande swept and made cleane the house made the bedde wasshed the bucke couered the table dressed the dynner and went for water And of the contrary part his wyfe gouerned the goodes aunswered the affayres kepte the money if she were angrye shee gaue hym not onely foule woordes but also ofte tymes layed her handes on hym to reuenge her anger And hereof came this auncient prouerbe the which of many is redde and of fewe vnderstanded that is to wete Vita Achaiae the lyfe of an Achaian When in Rome the husband suffred to be ruled commaunded of his wyfe the neighbours would saie vnto him in maner of a reproche Vita Achaiae whiche is as muche as if a man would say go go as thou art since thou liuest after the law of Achaia where men haue so litle discretion that they suffer them selues to be gouerned be it well or euil of their wyues and that euery woman commaundeth her husbande Plinie in an epistle that he wrote reproued greatly his frende Fabatus for that he kepte in his house a wyfe the whiche in al his doinges ruled and commaunded him wherein he tolde him that he durst do nothinge without her commaundement And to make the matter to seme more heinous in the latter ende of his epistle he saide these wordes Me valde poenitet quod tu solus Rome polles vita Achaiae whiche is it greueth me muche that thou alone in Rome shouldest leade the life of one of Achaia Iulius Capitolinus sayth that Anthonius Caracalla being in loue with a faire Lady of Persia and seing that he could not enioy her nor obtaine his desire promised to marie her according to the lawe of Achaia and truly she shewed her selfe more wise in her aunswere theÌ„ he did in his demaund telling him that she would not nor might not marye for because she had promised her selfe to the goddesse Vesta and that she had rather be a seruaunte of the gods then a mistresse of men The Parthes had a law contrary to them and likewise those of Thrace the which so lytle esteamed women that their husbandes vsed them none otherwise then lyke seruauntes And in this case men had so great lybertie or to say better lightnes that after a woman had borne and brought forth twelue children the children remayned in the house and the husbande 's sold their wiues to them that wold giue most or els they chaunged them for others that were more yong And the children agreed to the selling of their owne mother to thintent that their father might refresh himselfe with another that was more yong and the old and baren woman should eyther be buried quicke or els serue as a slaue Dionisius Halicarnaseus sayth that the Lides had a law and the Numidians in lyke maner that the woman should commaund thinges without the house and the man should prouide for those that were within But according to my poore iudgement I cannot tell how this law was kept nor how they could fulfil it for by reason the wife should not go out of the house but very lytel and therfore me thinketh that they ought not to commaund any thing abroade nor the husband should enter into another mans house for to commaund there Ligurgus in the lawes that he gaue to the Lacedemonians sayth that the husbands should prouyde abrode see al thinges necessarie for the house and that the wiues should keape and dipose them within so that this good philosopher deuided the trauaile betwene the man and the woman but yet notwithstanding he reserued the rule and aucthority to the man For to say the truth it is a monsterous thing that the wife shoulde commaund the husband in his house Vnder our Christian relygion ther is neyther deuine nor humaine lawes but wil preferre man aboue all other thinges and though some philosophers would dispute to the contrary that manye men would haue folowed theym yet me thinketh that a man should not prayse nor commende them for their opinyons For there can be nothyng more vaine nor lyght then by mans lawe to giue that aucthority to woman which by nature is denyed her We se by experience that women of nature are al weake fraile feareful and tender and finally in matters of weight not very wise Then if matters of gouernment requyre not only science experience but also strengthe courage to enterprise doubtfull things wisedome for to know them force to execute them dyligence for to folow them pacyence to suffer them meanes to endure theym and aboue all great strengthe and hope to compasse them why then wyl they take frome man the gouernemente in whom all these thynges abounde and giue it to the woman in whome all these these thyngea do wante The ende whye I speake these thynges before is to requyre to counsell to admonishe and to perswade Princesses and great Ladyes that they thinke it spoken if they wil be happie in mariage to th end they should be obedient to their husbandes for speaking the truth in that house where the wife commaundeth the husband we may cal her a masculyne woman and him a feminine man Many women are deceyued in thinking that in commaunding their husbands they lyue more honorably and be better esteamed but truly it is not so for all those that see and perceiue it accompteth the woman for vaine and the men in lyke maner for folyshe I know and can tel right wel that there are some husbande 's so excessiue in spending and so wanton in liuing that it were not only good that their wiues should rule them but also chastice theym but yet in the end I saye that notwithstandynge all this is better and more tollerable that all the goodes be lost then betwene them any malyce hate or dissencion should â—yse If a womans chyldren dye she may bring forth others if she loose her goods she may get them againe if her seruauntes goeth from her she may find others if she se her self sad God may comfort her if she be sicke she may be healed but if she be at debate with her husband I cannot tell what she shal do for the wife that forsaketh the frendship of her husband gyueth to all men occasion to speake of her follye
childe and this not onely vntyll suche tyme as she is delyuered but also vntil such time as the childe be weyned from the breaste The Philosopher Arethus thirdly demaunded hym why euery one had her chambre seuerally the Indian aunswered Thou knowest that nowe naturally reigneth so muche malice in the woman that she alwayes enuieth the felicitie of an other And if they were altogethers they would haue amongest them suche quarrelles and debates that they woulde corrupte the milke whiche they should geue to the childe Fourthly the philosopher Arethus asked why in euery chambre there was a great bedde and a litle pallet since there was but one woman one childe whereunto the Indian aunswered In this India they do not consent that the nources should slepe togethers in one bedde with the younge childe whome they nourishe for when the women are heauy a sleape not taking heade to the child they many times ouerlay the poore infante and so smother it aliue Fiftly the philosopher asked why ioyning to the beddes there was nettels which are without sauour in eating and daungerous in touching The Indian aunswered I let thee knowe that in this India against all nature the children wepe not whyles they are younge and therefore they haue growing by the beddes nettelles to make them weape for our philosophers telleth vs that if dayly the childe doth weape twoo houres it profiteth hym not onely for the health of his body but also for to prolonge his lyfe Furthermore the philosopher for the sixt asked why ther was so many twigs like Rosemary by the bed side whereunto the Indian aunswered Knowe thou that in India there is an olde plague that we can not defend our selues from these witcheis the whiche by their sorceries and with the only lookes of their eyes destroyeth many chyldren and they saye that all the children whiche shal be perfumed with those herbes can take no hurte through the lookes of those witcheis ¶ Of a letter which Marcus Aurelius sent to his frend Dedalus in the end wherof he enueyeth against those women whiche cure children by sorceries charmes and enchauntementes Cap. xxiiii PRincesses and great Ladies oughte to take hede that their nources be not witches and that they doe not suffer the babes whyles they are yet younge to take any charmes or sorceries for the medecine putteth the life of the creature in perill and those sorceries doe not only harme to the body of the chylde but also to the soule of her selfe whiche vseth it To prayse more them that are past and to confounde more the presente I wyll that those whiche shall reade this doe reade a letter of Marcus Aurelius whiche he sent to a frende of his in the ende whereof it appeareth howe great ennemies the auncientes were to witches charmers and to al kynde of sorcerers for truly I knowe not which was greater either the temperaunce that they had in nourishing their children beinge gentilles or the foolyshe hardinesse whiche we haue being Christians Here foloweth therefore the letter in the ende of the whiche he speaketh against witches and euill women ¶ The letter of the Emperour Marcus Aurelius MArcus Aurelius the Romaine Emperoure felowe with his brother Annius Verus in the same Empire wysheth to thee Dedalus his especiall frende health to thy persone and good fortune against all euil Since the daye that thou diddest take shippinge at the hauen of Ostia I read no letter of thine neither haue I sene as yet any man of thy house yea and more ouer they coulde not tell me whether thou were alyue or dead Wherfore thy frendes did imagine that some mishappe befel to thee and thy shippe or els for the misliking of the countrey thou shouldest returne againe Because that men whiche doe sayle as thou goe alwayes in daunger to be drowned by some tempest if they do escape they do dispaire in the straunge countrey by solitarines but when I sawe Fronton thy seruaunt I was very ioyfull and much more when I vnderstode thou were aliue after thy great trauaile Truly I receiued great pleasure of that thou wrytest in thy letter that thou art contented with the countrey for to me it is a straunge thyng that a man being nourished in the deliciousnes of Rome should finde hym selfe contented in an other straunge Realme and nation When Rome was Rome and Italy was named great Grece thither came of all sortes of people and nations to learne vertues noblenes and others for to geue them selues to vices and pleasures Because if Titus Liuius deceyue me not Rome spent all her treasures in Asia and Asia employed all her vices and delicatenes in Rome Thou wrytest to me in thy letter of so many thynges and Fronton thy seruaunt hath tolde me so many newes of that lande that by the immortall Gods I sweare vnto thee I can not tel what for to wryte vnto thee nor what to aunswere thy seruaunte For the more the straunge newes doe please the eares in hearing them so muche the more doe they seeme to be vncredible The noble and stoute personages though they would be esteamed and iudged true in their saiyng hauinge seene many wounders with their eies yet when they doe counte them then they ought to be very moderate in their tongues For it is a shame to the honest man to declare a thing wherein may be any doubte whether it be true or not I wyll briefly aunsweare all the thynges of thy lettre and the aunswere shal be not accordyng to thy desyre but according to that I perceaue of thee and the worlde And before I begynne I beseche thee that if my penne shall erre in wrytinge that thy harte pardonne me For thy fewe yeares as yet dothe not let thee knowe the worlde and my whyte heares and hored bearde dothe geue me authoritie to aduertyse thee of that whiche is to come and to condemne thee of that whiche is paste Thou sayest that in the Sea thou haste paste many daungers and that for to lighten the shippe thou diddest caste muche of thy goodes into the Sea In this case me thinketh thou oughtest greatly to thanke the tempesteous waues whiche hauinge power to drowne thee contented them selues with thy marchaundyse For they whiche sayle the Seas ought not to regarde the goodes they loose but the life whiche they saue Thou sayest that in the Sea thou were greatly accompaignied with passingyers and that thou hast taried lenger in thy viage then thou thoughtest or diddest desire This I saye vnto thee my frende Dedalus that though the dayes were many thou diddest staye yet notwithstandinge the griefes were more which thou receiuedst For it is vnpossible that those men which sayle muche should not be troubled with the mariners and also in feare of tempestes To that I aunswere thee thee the more thou were loden with compaignions the lesse thy money weyed for it is a generall rule that where the iorney is longe and the company great there the purce of
necessitie muste nedes ware thynne Thou sayest that through the moisture of the Sea assone as thou were landed thou diddest feele thy selfe taken with the goute To this I aunswere thee that thou haste the goute in thy feete or els in thy handes and if thou haste it in thy feete it shal be an occasion that thou shalt kepe thy house and if thou haste it in thy handes it shal be an occasion that thou shalt playe no more at Tables as thou were wonte to doe and also thou shalt not waste as thou haste done thy owne money And if thou haste not chaunged thy condition whiche thou haddest I am assured that onely for to encrease thy goodes thou wilte thinke thy goute welcome Thou sayest in that countrey thou haste founde many soueraigne and experte Phisitians for to remedye thy disseases To that I aunswere as Plato sayeth that in the countrey where there is many Phisitians there are many vyces and many vitious For man by excessiue delicatenes commeth to sicknes and by the meane trauayle he is healed As long as oure aunciēt fathers were without Phisitians in Rome which was foure hundred yeares so longe and no more they shewed them selues sober in eating and drynkinge For euen as by temperaunce healthe proceadeth so of phisicke proceadeth glotony Thou sayest that the countrey is very fertile and that amongest other thinges there is much woode whiche we lacke here in Rome To this I aunswere that if thou haste much wood thou hast litle bread For it is an auncient prouerbe that wher the fiers are great the barnes are fewe And if thou saiest that thou art content with the woode of that countrey I let the knowe that I am not discontented with the bread of Italy For in the end a man shall soner finde wood to heate the ouen then corne to cary to the mille Truly it is a good thing to haue woode for the Wynter but it is better to haue corne for the Wynter and Sommer For they call it no honger when woode lacked for the aged but when bread wanteth for the younge Thou saiest in that countrey there are many waters and that the water is very cleare and colde and furder that the aboundaunce thereof is suche that euery house hath a fountaine To this I aunswere thee that where the waters doe abounde there wanteth healthe continually And I doe not marueile thereat for the moiste and dankyshe places are alwayes daungerous vnhealthfull and noysome If this had bene in the tyme of the golden worlde when men knewe not what wyne mente but that all dranke water without comparison that countrey had bene better then this For the more the dronkennes of wyne is infamous the more sweter and profitable is that of the water Thou knowest well that a Fountaine whiche I haue in my gardein by the streate Salaria was occasion that at one tyme seuen of my house died togethers And if I had not made a conduite to voyde the standing water I thinke it had made an ende of me and of all my familie Wherefore I praye thee haue respecte vnto the health of thy personne rather then to enioye the freshenes of the water For my parte I thinke him onely happy who hath his body healthfull and his harte at ease Prayse as muche the lande as they wyll enioye thou the freshenes thereof as muche as thou canst and fill thee with the freshe and colde water and wryte vnto thy frendes how plentie it is in the ende I sweare vnto thee my frende Dedalus that more money shall issue out of Rome to vie wyne in Candia then buttes of the colde water of that countrey shall enter into Rome Thou sayest that in that countrey there is suche aboundaunce of fruites that thou thinkest thou shalt neuer be satisfied therewith To that I aunsweare That thing whiche I best lyke is a wynter fruite yet neither seing it nor eating it I can content my selfe For the countrey where fruites abounde in wynter is neuer without feuers and sicknesses in Sommer Octauian Augustus the famous Emperour of memorie seinge that Rome in Sommer was very subiect to diseases commaunded on greuous paines that the fruites of Salon should not enter into Rome to be solde And this is a marueilous thinge that Rome by this meanes dyd not onely fynde her selfe hole but also the Phisitians went out of Rome of their owne wylles and affections For it is a greate token that the people is healthfull when the Phisitions are poore Thou saiest in that countrey there are many Iuglers and Players To this I aunswere thee That their pastimes shal not be vnto thee suche and so pleasaunte as the griefes and displeasures thou shalt haue when they craftely shall picke thy pourse For Iuglers and players make playes and sporte in ieste but they wyll be payed in good earnest Thou saiest in that countrey there is great aboundaunce of vynes and that the wyne is sauoury to smell and very swete and pleasaunt to taste whereunto I answere That there shal not be so many vynes in the fieldes as dronkardes amongest the people for as thou knowest the daye that I maried Topina my niece my vncle Getellius had but onely one vyne tree and yet with the wyne that came thereof he made him selfe his houshold and al those that were at the mariage dronke That which I wyl say is not without weeping in the olde time Mars was the God most honoured and estemed beinge the God of battailes but nowe Bachus whiche is God of wyne is moste honoured serued and exalted For the time that a Roman was wont to employ in the marshal campe to handle weapons nowe they consume in playing and drinking in the Tauernes Titus Liuius in his Annales saith that those of Gallia Transalpina vnderstanding that the Italians had planted vines came to conquere the countrey So that if they had neuer planted vynes in Italy the Frenche menne had neuer destroyed the countrey The auncient Romaines whiche were prouided against all inconueniences cōsidering that wyne was the cause of their destruction commaunded to destroy al the vynes of the Empire through the which pollicie they were deliuered from all the Frenche men for when the warres were ended there remained not one Frenche man in all Italy when they knewe that there were no more vynes therein Thou saiest that in that countrey there are many Gentlemen and honourable Senatours with whom thou talkest and passest away the time To this I aunswere that if it be true there are many idle men and also fewe true talkers for those men whiche haue spente their youth in the warres when they are aged do not employ the time but in hearing newes and telling lyes Thou saidest that there are very faire women in that countrey of gesture semely and of their personnes comly To this I aunswere That if there be many which be faire there are as many whiche are dishonest For if the woman with her beautie hath not wisedome
and honestie in her selfe she putteth her selfe in peryl her husband in much care Thou saiest that in that countrey there are women which are Sooth sayers Sorcerers and Enchauntours the which doe boaste and vaunte them selues that they wil heale infantes that they can weyne them better then others To this I aunswere That I would iudge it muche better that children should neuer be healed then that they should be healed by the hands of so euill women For the profitte that they doe by their experience openly is nothing in respect of the daunger wherein they put the creatures by their sorceries secretly Torquatus Laertius my vncle had a doughter of a marueylous beautie the whiche because he had none other chylde was heyre of all his patrimonie The case therefore was suche that as the doughter wepte one daye a lytle to muche the nource whiche gaue her sucke to appease and stylle her thynkynge to geue her sorceries to caste her in a sleape gaue her poyson to destroye her so that when the teares of the innocent babe ceased then the cryes of the wofull mother beganne Calligula which was the sonne of the good Germanicus the great though amongest the Cesars he was the fourth and amongest the Tiraunts the first when in Rome they vsed to giue lytle scroules written which they said to be of such vertue that they could heale al maner of agues and diseases of yonge children he commaunded by the consent of the Senate that the man or woman which should make them should dye immedyatly by iustice and that he which would by them carie them to sel or geue them through Rome shold be whipt and banyshed for euer Thy seruaunt Fronton hath told me newes that thou hast a sonne borne wherof I am very glad and moreouer he sayd that a woman of Sannia did norishe it and gaue it sucke The which as by an euyl chaunce hath a spice of sorcerye By the immortal gods I do coniure the and for the loue I beare the I desire the that immediatly thou put her out of thy house suffer not so wicked a woman to eate bread ther one day for euery creature which is nourished by sorceries and charmes shal eyther haue his life short or els fortune shal be contrarie vnto him I let the wete my frend Dedalus that I haue not meruaile a litle at many Romaines the which do permit and also procure that their children shold be healed cured which charmes and sorceries For my part I take it to be a thing to be certaine that the men which by the wil of god fal sicke shal neuer heale for any dyligence that man can do And wher as children are sicke by euil humors or that they are not very healthful because the gods wil take lyfe from them in this case if their disease proceade of an euil humour let them aske physicions for natural medecins And if their disease come because the gods are prouoked then let their fathers appease the gods with sacrifices For in the end it is vnpossible that the disseases of the hart should be healed by the meanes of any medycins of the body Do not marueile my frende Dedalus if I haue spoken more in this article then in others that is to wete to perswade the so much to kepe thy children from wytches for otherwise the cursed women wil do them more harme then the good mylke shal profite them I haue ben moued prouoked to write thus much vnto the for the great loue which I do beare the and also calling to minde that whiche thou when we were in the sacred senate oft times toldest me whiche was that thou diddest desire a sonne And since now thou hast thy peticion I would not thou shouldest prouoke the gods wrathe by sorceries For in the fayth of a good man I do sweare vnto the that when the fathers are in fauour with the gods ther neadeth no sorceries vnto the chyldren I hadde manye other thinges to write vnto the some of the whiche I wil communicate with thy seruaunt Fronton rather thenne to sende theym by letters And meruaile not at this for letters are soo perillous that if the manne bee wise hee will write no more in a closse letter thenne he would declare openly in Rome pardonne mee my frende Dedalus thoughe in dede I write not vnto the as thy appetyte woulde nor yet as my wyl desirethe For thou haste neade to knowe manye thinges and I haue not leaue by letter to putte thee in truste therewith I can not tell what I shoulde writte to thee of mee but that alwayes the Goute doth take mee and the worste of all is that the more I growe in yeares the moore my healthe dymâ—yssheth for it is an olde course of mannes frailetye that wheare wee thynke to goe most suerest there haue we most let The Popingaye which thou diddest send me as sonâ— I receyued it my wife did sease it and truly it is a merueylous thing to heare what thinges it doeth speake but in the end the women are of such power that when they wil they impose sylence to the liuing and cause that in the graues the dead men speake Accordyng to that I do loue the according to that I owe the and as I haue vsed that which I do send the is very lytle I say it bycause that presently I do send the but ii horses of barbarie .xii. sweardes of Alexandrye to Fronton thy seruaunt for a new yeares gift for his good newes I haue giuen him an office which is worth to him 20. thousand Sexterces of rent in Cecyl Faustine did byd me I shoulde send thy wife Pertusa a cofer full of odyferous oders of palestine and another cofer ful of her owne apparell the which as I thinke thou wilt not lytel esteme For naturally women are of their owne goods nigardes but in wasting and spending of others very prodigal The almighty gods be with the and preserue me from euyl fortune The which I humbly besech to graunte that vnto the and me vnto my wife Faustine and to thy wife Pertusa that we all mete merely togethers in Rome for the hart neuer receiueth suche ioy as when he seeth him selfe with his desired frend Marcus of Mount Celio writeth to the with his owne hand ¶ Howe excellent a thinge it is for a gentleman to haue an eloquent tongue Cap. xxv ONe of the chefest things that the creatour gaue to man was to know be able to speake for otherwise the soule reserued the brute beastes are of more value then doÌ„me men Aristotle in his Aeconomices without comparison prayseth more the Pithagoricall sort then the Stoical sayeng that the one is more conforme to reason then the other is Pithagoras commaunded that all men which were domme and without speache should imediately without contradiction be banished and expulsed from the people The cause why this phylosopher had commaunded such thing was forsomuche
how to punishe the folyshe captaines and suffereth to be commaunded and gouerned by sage phylosophers Ye know right wel that al our warre hath not bene but only for the possessions of cityes and lymites of the riuer Milina Wherfore by this letter we declare vnto you and by the immortal Gods we sweare that we do renownce vnto you al our right on such condicion that you do leaue vs Heuxinus your embassadour philosopher The great Athens desyreth rather a phylosopher for her scholes then a hole prouince of your realmes And do not you other Lacedemonians thinke that that which we of Athens do is light or foolishe that is to wete that we desire rather one man to rule then to haue a whole prouynce whereby we may commaunde many For this philosopher shal teach vs to lyue wel and that land gaue vs occasion to dye euil and syth we now of your old enemies do become your true frends we wyl not onlye geue you perpetual peace but also counsayle for to keape it For the medycine which preserueth health is of greater excellencye then is the purgacion which healeth the disease Let the counsaile therfore be suche that as ye wyll the yonge men do exercise theym selues in weapons that so ye do watche and se that your children in time do learne good letters For euen as the warre by the cruell sword is followed so likewise by pleasaunt wordes peace is obteyned Thinke not ye Lacedemonians that without a cause we do perswade you that you put youre children to learne when as yet they are but yong and tender and that ye do not suffer them to ronne to vyces For on the one part wise men shall want to counsaile and on the other fooles shal abound to make debate We Athenians in lyke maner will not that ye Lacedemonians do thinke that we be frendes to bablers For our father Socrates ordeyned that the first lesson which should be geuen to the scholer of the vnyuersity should be that by no meanes he shold speake any word for the space of ii yeares for it is vnpossible that any man should be wise in speaking vnlesse he haue pacience to be sylente We thinke if you thinke it good that the phylosopher Heuxinus shal remaine in our Senate and thinke you if we profite by his presence that ye may be assured yee others shal not receyue any domage by the counsayles he shal geue vs. For in Athens it is an auncient law that the senate cannot take vpon them warres but that by the Philosophers first it must be examined whither it be iust or not We write none other thinge but that we beseche the immortal Gods that they be with you and that it please theym to contynewe vs in this perpetual peace For that only is perpetual which by the gods is confirmed ¶ That nurces which giue sucke to the children of Princes ought to be discret and sage women Chap. xxvii THE pilgrimes which trauaile through vnknowen contries straung mountaynes with great desire to go forward and not to erre do not only aske the way which they haue to go but also do importune those whom they mete to point them the way with theyr finger For it is a greuous thing to trauaile doubtfully in feare and suspicion By this comparison I meane that since I haue much perswaded that the fathers do learne teach their childrē to speake wel it is but reason that they do seke them some good maisters For the counsaile hath no authoritie if he which geueth it seketh not spedely to execute the same It is much for a man to be of a good nature or els to be of an euil inclinacion to be rude in vnderstanding or els to be lyuely in spirite and this not only for that a man ought to do but also for that he ought to say For it is no smal thing but a great good benefite whē the man is of a good nature of a good vnderstanding and of a cleare iudgemēt This notwithstandyng I say that al the good and cleare iudgements are not alwayes eloquent nor al the eloquentest of liuely spirites and vnderstanding We se many men which of a smal mater can make much for the contrary we se many men which haue great knowledge yet no meanes to vtter it So that nature hath geuen them highe vnderstanding through negligence of bringinge vp it is hidde Oftentimes I do meruaile that the soule of the babe when it is borne for th one parte is of no lesse excellencye then the soule of the old man when he dyeth And on the other side I muse at the babe which hath the members so tender wherwith the soule dooth worke his operacyons that they lytle seme to participate with reasonable creatures For wher the soule doth not shew her selfe mistres it wanteth lytle but that the man remaineth a beast It is a wonder to se the children that as yet beinge .ii. yeares of age they lyft their feete for to go they hold themselues by the walles for faulyng they wil open their eyes to know and they fourme a defused voice to speake so that in that age a creature is none otherwise then a tre at the first spring For the tree .ii. moneths being past beareth leaues immediatly and the child after ii yeres beginneth to frame his words This thing is spoken for that the Fathers which are wise should beginne to teache their children at that age For at that time the vynes beare grapes and other trees their fruite For the perilles of this lyfe are such that if it were possible the father before he see his sonne borne ought to admonishe them how he shold liue In mine opinion as they conuey the water about to turne the mille so from the tender youth of the infant they ought to shew and teach him to be eloquent affable For truly the child learneth distinctly to pronounce his words when he doth sucke the milke of his nource We cannot deny but that the children being but ii or iii. yeres old it is to sone to giue them maisters or correcters For at that age a nourse to make them cleane is more necessarie then a maister for to correct their speache On the one part the children are very tender for to learne to speake wel and on the other part it is necessarie that when they are very yong and lytle they shold be taught and learned I am of that opinion that princesses and great Ladyes should take such nources to giue their children sucke that they should be sound to giue them their milke and sage for to teache them to speake For in so yong and tender age they do not suffer but that she which giueth them sucke doth teache them to speake the firste wordes As Sextus Cheronensis in the Booke of the diuersityes of the Languages saythe The Toscans were the firste whiche called the natural tongue of the contrey the mother tongue which is to
were more hardy stout then the Romaynes but the Romaynes were more honest pleasaunt and gracious then the Grekes And if this be true I do counsayle princesses and great Ladyes that they haue no more enuye at the honesty of the Matrones of Rome then at the boldnesse of the ladyes of Grecia For women were not borne to sley men in the warre but to spinne sow and liue wel like good housewiues in the house ¶ That women may be no lesse wise then men though they be not it is not through default of nature but for want of good bringing vp Cap. xxviii CEasing to speake ingenerally it is but reason we speake particulerly and that we reduce to memorye some aunciente histories of wise and discrete women aswel Grekes as Romaines and for that these Ladyes seing what others were in tymes past may know what theyr duty is at this present In mine opinion the duty that the meÌ„ of this present haue to folow the corage that the auncients had in fighting the selfe same desire ought womeÌ„ of this present to haue to folow the auncient women in deuout liuing For ther is no good thinge in the world at this present daye but the like hath bene sene of our auncients heretofore When any sodaine new vnacustomed thing doth happen men that neuer saw the like vse to say that there was neuer the lyke in the world yet in dede they say not true For though the thinge be vnto them new it is through their ignoraunce and simplenes whiche neyther haue reade it by them selues nor heard it of others For this excellencye hath the man that is learned that for what so euer he heareth or sayth he is nothing abashed at Since women now a dayes are so ignoraunt that scarcely any of them can reade wel he that shal reade this wil maruaile why I do perswade them to learne But the truth knowen what the auncients were and what they did know from this time forwarde I beleue they woulde greatly reproue the women of this present For the time which the auncient women spent in vertues and studies these of this present consume in pleasures and vyces Boccace in the boke of the praise of women sayth that Lucyus Sylla was a great compagnion of Marius the Consul in the time of the warre of Iugurtha and was no lesse a frend of Caius Cesar in the time of the first ciuill warres My penne neadeth not to be ocupied to write any thing of the life of Sylla For al the historiographers do not only reproue the cruelties which he vsed to his enemyes but also condempne him for the lytle fayth he obserued his frends This Consul Sylla had thre doughters the one of them was named Lelia Sabyna the which of al the Sisters was leste fayre but amongest al the Romaines she was most sagest For she red openly in Rome in a chayre both Greeke and Latyn After the warres of Mithridates Lucius Sylla came to Rome wher he beheaded thre thousand Romaynes which came to salute him although before by his word he had assured them al. And in deade also iustely Lucius Sylla had bene vtterly vndone for his fact if his doughter had not made to the Senate a wise oration For oft times it chaunceth that the wisedome of the good child doth remedy the follye of the wicked-Father The historians say that this Lelya Sabyna had not only a great grace in readyng but also she had much excellency in writing For she wrote many letters and Orations with her owne hand which her Father Lucius Sylla afterwardes learned by hart and as he was in dede quycke of sprite so he vsed to recyte them to the Senate alwaies for his purpose And let no man maruaile hereat for ther are some of so grose vnderstaÌ„ding that that which they write and study they can scarsely vtter and others againe are of such lyuely wyttes that of that onely which they haue heard it seameth meruailous to heare with what eloquence they wil talke Bycause Sylla had such and so excellent a doughter in his house he was esteamed for a sage and wise Councellour throughout al the common wealth He was counted verye absolute in executing strong in mayntaynynge and for right eloquent in speakinge Finally of this came thys auncyente prouerbe which sayth Lucius Sylla gouerneth his owne countreye wyth the eloquence of hys Tongue and is Lorde of straunge nacions by the force of his sworde What the great Plato hath bene and what great aucthoritie he hath had amongest his countrie men and amongest the straungers it is apparent for so much as the Greekes do acknowledge him of al other Philosophers to be the Prince and likewise the Latynes by one consent cal him deuine And me thinketh that in doing this they do no philosopher iniurie for as Plato in his lyfe time had great modestie so truly in his writing he exceaded mans capacitie And Historian called Hyzearchus declareth that Lasterna and Axâ—othea were two Grekes very well learned and amongest the scollers of Plato chiefely renowmed The one was of so parfect a memorie the other of so high an vnderstanding that Plato oft times beinge in the chayre and these two not ready he would not beginne to read And being asked wherfore he read not his lecture he aunswered I wil not read for that ther wanteth here vnderstanding to conceiue and also memorie to retaine Meaning that Lasterna was absent that Axiothe was not yet come The wisedome of those two women ought to be much synce Plato without them woulde not vtter one word vnlesse they were present in his schole For Plato esteamed more the vnderstandyng and memorye of those two women alone then he did the Phylosophy of his other Scollers together Aristippus the philosopher was Scholler to Socrates and of the moste renowmed of Athens He had a doughter called Aretha the which was so wel learned in Greke and Latyn letters that the common renowne said the soule of Socrates was entred into Aretha and the cause that moued them to say this was because she redde and declared the doctrine of Socrates in such wise that it seamed to most men she had rather write by hand then learne by study Boccace in the second boke of the praise of women sayth that this Aretha was so excellent a woman that she did not only learne for her selfe but also to teache others did not only teache in diuers Scholes but also she wrote many and sundry bookes one inespecially in the prayse of Socrates an other of the maner of bringing vppe children an other of the warres of Athens an other of the tyrannical force an other of the common wealth of Socrates an other of the infelicities of womeÌ„ an other of the Tyllage of the auncientes an other of the woÌ„ders of mount Olympus an other of the vaine care of the Sepulcre an other of the prouisioÌ„ of the Antes an other of the workmanshippe of the Bees in
want no perils For in warres renoune is neuer sold but by weight or chaunged with losse of lyfe The yong Fabius son of my aunt the aged Fabia at the .iii. CaleÌ„des of March brought me a letter the whych you sent and truely it was more briefe then I would haue wyshed it For betwene so dere children and so louinge a mother it is not suffered that the absence of your parsonnes shoulde be so farre and the letters whyche you write so briefe By those that goe from hence thyther I alwayes do sende you commendations and of those that come from thence hyther I doe enquire of newes Some saye they haue sene you other tell me they haue spoken with you so that with thys my hart is somwhat quieted For betwene them that loue greatly it may be endured that â—he sight be seldome so that the health be certain I am sole I am a widow I 〈◊〉 aged and now all my kinred is dead I haue endured many trauailes in Rome and the greatest of all is my children of your absence For the paine is greater to be voide of assured frendes theÌ„ assault is daungerous of cruel enemies Since you are yong and not very ryche since you are hardy and brought vp in the trauailes of Afrike I do not doubte but that you doe desire to come to Rome to se and know that now you are men whiche you haue sene when you were children For men doe not loue their countrey so much for that it is good as they do loue it for that it is naturall Beleue me children ther is no maÌ„ liuing that hath sene or hard speake of Rome in times past but hath great griefe sorow and pitie to se it at this present For as their hartes are pitiefull and their eyes tender so they can not behold that without great sorow which in times past they haue sene in great glory O my children you shal know that Rome is greatly chaunged from that it was wont to be To reade that that we do reade of it in times past to se that whyche we se of it now present we must nedes esteme that whiche the auncientes haue writen as a gest or els beleue it but as a dreame Ther is no other thing now at Rome but to see iustice corrupted the commen weale oppressed lyes blowen abroade the truth kept vnder the satires silent the flatterers open mouthed the inflamed personnes to be Lordes and the pacient to be seruauÌ„tes and aboue al and worse then all to se the euil liue in rest contented and the good troubled displeased Forsake forsake my children that citie where the good haue occasioÌ„ to weape the euil haue liberty to laugh I can not tel what to say in this mater as I would say Truly the coÌ„mon weale is at this day such so woful that eche wise man without coÌ„parison wold haue greater pleasure to be in the warres of Affrik then in the peace at Rome For in the good war a man seeth of whom he shold take hede but in the euil peace no maÌ„ knoweth whom to truste Therefore my children since you are naturall of Rome I wil tel you what Rome is at this present I let you know that the vestall virgines are now dissolute the honour of the gods is forgotten the profit of the coÌ„mon weale no maÌ„ seketh of the excercise of chiualry ther is no memory for the orphanes widowes ther is no man that doth aunswere to ministre iustice thei haue no regard the dissolute vices of the youth ar without measure Finally Rome that in times past was a receypt of all the good vertuous is now made a denne of al theues vitious I feare me I feare me least our mother rome in shorte time wil haue some sodein great fal And I say not without a cause some great fall for both men Cities that fall froÌ„ the top of their felicity purchase greater infamy with those that shal com after theÌ„ the glory that they haue had of theÌ„ that be past Peraduenture my childreÌ„ you desire to se the walles buildinges of Rome for those thinges which childreÌ„ se first in their youth the same they loue kepe alwaies in memory vntill their age As the auncient buildinges of rome are destroyed the few that ar now builte so would I you should loose your earnest affection to come to se theÌ„ For in dede the noble hartes are ashamed to se that thing amisse which they caÌ„ not remedye Do not thynke my chyldren thoughe Rome be made worse in maners that therfore it is diminished in buildinges For I let you vnderstand if you know it not that if a wall doth decay there is no man that doth repaire it If a house fall ther is no man that wil rayse it vp again If a strete be foule ther is no man that wil make it cleane If the riuer cary awaye any bridge there is no man that will set it vp again If any antiquitie decaye ther is no man that wil amend it If any wood be cut ther is no man that wil kepe it If the trees waxe old ther is no man that will plant theÌ„ a newe If the pauement of the streates be broken ther is no man that wil ley it again Finally ther is nothing in Rome at this day so euil handled as those thinges whiche by the commoÌ„ voices ar ordered These thinges my childreÌ„ though I do greatly lament as it is reason yet you ought litle to esteme them al but this al only ought to be estemed with droppes of bloud to be lamented That now in Rome when the buildinges in many places fal downe the vices all wholy together are raised vp O wofull mother Rome since that in the the more the walles decay the more the vices increase Peraduenture my childreÌ„ since you are in those frountiers of Affrike you desire to se your parentes here in Rome And therat I meruaile not for the loue which our naturall countreye do gyue the straung countrey can not take awaye All those which come from those parties doe bring vs no other certaine newes but of the multitude of those which dye are slain in Afrik therfore since you send vs such newes froÌ„ thence loke not that we should send you any other then the like from hence For death hath such auctoritie that it killeth the armed in the warres sleyeth the quiet in peace I let you know that Licia your sister is dead Drusio your vnckle is dead Torcquatus your neyghbour is dead His wife our cousin her .iii. doughters are dead Fabius your great frend is dead Euander his childreÌ„ ar dead Bibulus which red for me in the chaire the last yere is also dead Finally ther are so many so good with al that be dead that it is a great shame pitie to se at this present so many euill as do liue Know ye my children that all
the negligence of the fathers in bringing vp their childrē Sextus Cheronensis in the second boke of the sainges of the Philosophers declareth that a citezen of Athens sayed on daye to Dyogenes the Phylosopher these wordes Tel me Diogenes what shall I doe to be in the fauour of the gods and not in the hatred of men for oft tymes amonges you Philosophers I haue hard saye that there is great difference betwene that that the Goddes wil and that which men loue Diogenes aunswered Thou speakest more then thoughtest to speake that the gods will one thinge and men another for the gods are but as a center of mercy and men are but as a denne of malice if thou wilte inioye rest in thy dayes and keape thy lyfe pure and cleane thou must obserue these thre thinges The first honour thy gods deuoutly For the man which doeth not serue and honour the gods in all his enterprises he shal be vnfortunate The second be very diligent to bring vp thy children well For the man hath no enemy so troublesome as his owne son if he be not wel brought vp The third thyng be thankefull to thy good benefactours and frendes For the Oracle of Apollo sayeth that the man who is vnthankefull of all the worlde shal be abhorred And I tell the further my frend that of these thre thinges the most profitable though it be more troblesome is for a manne to teache and bring vp his children well This therefore was the aunswere that the Philosopher Diogenes made to the demaunde of the Cytezen It is great pytie and griefe to see a yonge child how the bloud doth stirre him to se how the fleshe doth prouoke him to accomplishe his desire to se sensualyte go before and he himselfe to come behinde to se the malicious world to watche him to se howe the deuill doth tempt him to se how vyces bynde him and in all that whych is spoken to se how the father is negligent as if he had no children wher as in deed the old man by the few vertues that he hath had in his youth may easely know the infirmites and vices wherewith his sonne is compassed If the expert had neuer ben ignoraunt if the fathers had neuer ben children if the vertuous had neuer ben vicious if the fyne wittes had neuer ben deceiued it were no meruaile if the Fathers were negligent in teachyng their children For the lytell experience excuseth men of great offences but synce thou arte a father and that fyrst thou were a sonne synce thou arte old and hast ben yong and besides al this synce that pride hath enflamed the lechery hath burned the wrath hath wounded the negligēce hath hindred the couetousnes hath blinded the and glotonie surfeted the tell me cruell father since so manye vices haue reigned in the why hast thou not an eye to thy childe whom of thy owne bloud thou hast begotten And if thou doest it not bycause he is thy childe thou oughtest to do it bycause he is thy nearest For it is vnpossible that the child whych with many vyces is assaulted and not succoured but in the end he should be infamed and to the dishonour of the father most wickedly ouercome It is vnpossible to kepe flesh well fauored vnlesse it be first salted It is vnpossible that the fishe should liue without water It is vnpossible but that the Rose should wyther whiche is of the thorne ouergrowen So like it is vnpossible that the fathers should haue any comforte of their chyldren in their age vnlesse they haue instructed them in vertue in their youth And to speake further in this matter I saye that in the Christian catholike religion where in dede there is good doctrine ther alwayes is supposed to be a good conscience Amongest the wryters it is a thinge well knowen howe Eschines the philosopher was banished from Athens and with all his family came to dwell at Rhodes The occasion was because that he and the philosopher Demosthenes were in great contention in the common wealth Wherefore the Athenians determined to banish the one and to keape the other with them And truly they dyd well for of the contentions and debates of sages warres most commonly aryse amongest the people This philosopher Eschines being at Rhodes banished amongest others made a solempne oration wherein he greatly reproueth the Rhodians that they were so negligente in brynging vp their children saiyng vnto them these wordes I let you vnderstande Lordes of Rhodes that your predecessours aduaunced them selues to discende and to take their beginning of the Lides the whiche aboue all other nations were curious and diligent to bring vp their children and hereof came a lawe that was among them which sayed We ordeine and commaunde that if a father haue many chyldren that the moste vertuous should enherite the goods and riches and if there were but one vertuous that he alone should inherite the whole And if perchaūce the children were vitious that then al should be depriued from the heritage For the goods gotten with trauaile of vertuous fathers ought not by reason to be inherited with vitious children These were the wordes that the philosopher spake to the Senate of the Rhodes and because he sayde in that Oration many other thinges whiche touche not our matter I wyll in this place omitte them For among excellent wryters the wryting loseth muche authoritie when the authour from his purpose digresseth into an other matter To saye the truthe I doe not maruayle that the children of princes and great lordes be adulterers and belly gods for that on the one parte youth is the mother of Idlenes and on the other litle experience is the cause of great offences And furthermore the fathers being once dead the children enherite their goodes as quietly being loden with vices as if in dede they were with all vertues endued If the younge children did knowe for a certaine that the lawes of the Lydes should be obserued that is to witte that they shoulde not enherite vnlesse they be vertuous it is vnpossible but that they would leade a good life and not in this wyse to runne at large in the worlde For they doe absteine more from doing euill fearyng to lose that whiche they doe possesse then for any loue to doe that whiche they ought I doe not denaye but according as the natures of the fathers is dyuers so the inclinations of the chyldren are variable For so muche as some folowyng their good inclination are good others not resisting euil sensualities are euill But yet in this matter I saye that it lieth muche in the father that doeth brynge them vp when as yet they are younge so that the euill whiche nature gaue by good bryngyng vp is refrayned For oftetymes the good custome doeth ouercome all euill inclination Princes and great lordes that wylbe diligent in the instruction of their chyldren ought to enforme their maisters and tutors that shall teache theim to what vyces and
examples whiche they geue then in the faulte and offence that they committe All the aunciente wryters affirme that the triumphant Rome neuer began to decay vntil the Senate was replenished with sage serpentes and destitute of simple doues For in the ende there is nothing that soner destroyeth princes then thinking to haue about them wyse men that should counsell them when in dede they are malitious that seke to deceiue them What a thing was in olde time to see the pollicie of Rome before that Sylla and Marius did alter it before that Catilina and Catullus did trouble it before that Iulius Caesar and Pompeius sclaundered it before that Augustus and Marcus Antonius destroyed it before that Tiberius and Caligula did defame it and before that Nero and Domician did corrupt it For the most parte of these though they were valiaunt wan many Realmes yet notwithstanding the vices whiche they brought vs were more then the Realmes they wanne vs. And the worst of all is that al our kingdomes are loste and our vices abide still If Liuius and the other historiographers doe not deceiue vs in olde time they might haue sene in the sacret Senate some Romaines so auncient with heere 's so honorable others so expert mē others aged so modest that it was a wonder to see the maiestie they did represente and a comforte to heare that which they sayde I speake not that without teares whiche I wyll saye that in steade of these auncient aged personnes there sprange vp other younge bablers the whiche are suche and so manye that all the common wealth is altered and Rome her selfe sclaundered For that lande is cursed and with muche miserie compassed where the gouernaunce of the young is so euil that al wyshe for the reuiuing of the dead If we credite that which the auncientes wrote we cannot denay but that Rome was the mother of all good woorke as the auncient Grece was the beginner of al sciences So that the effect of the Grekes was to speake the glory of the Romaynes was to worke But nowe through our woful◠destenies it is all contrary for Grece hath banished from it all the speakers to Rome and Rome hath banished from it all the sages to Grece And if it be so as it is in dede I had rather be banished to Grece with the sages then to take parte with Rome among the fooles By the faithe of a Christian I sweare vnto you my frendes that I being young sawe an Oratour in Rome which was brought vp in the pallace of Adrian my Lorde whose name was Aristonocus of his body he was of meane stature leane of face also he was of an vnknowen countrey but he had such a pleasaunt tongue that though he had made an oration in the senate of three houres long there was no mā but willingly was desirous to heare him For in the old time if he that made an Oration in the Senate were eloquent in his speache he was heard no lesse then if God Apollo had spoken him selfe This philosopher Aristonocus was on the one parte so gentle in his speache and on the other parte so disolute in his life that he neuer spake worde to the Senate but it deserued eternall memory and out of that place they neuer sawe him do good worke but it merited greuous punishement As I haue sayed though in that tyme I was young yet I remember that to see this philosopher so loste all the people did pitie and the worste of all was that they neuer hoped of his amendement since daily more and more he loste his honour For there is no man that by his eloquence may haue suche renowme but in the ende he may lose it againe by his euil lyfe Now I aske you my frends sithe you are in the reputation of sages which was better or to saye better whiche had bene lesse enuied that this philosopher had bene a simple man and of good life then to be as he was a man of high eloquence and of euill condition It was vnpossible if he had once heard of me that whiche many times I haue hearde say of him that he had not counsayled me yea and futher to doe it he had constrained me rather to chose the graue then to lyue in Rome with infamy For he is vnworthy to lyue amongest men whose wordes of all are approued and his workes of all condemned The firste dictatour in Rome was Largius and the first lordes of the knightes was Spurius And from the tyme of the first dictatour vntill the time of Silla and Iulius whiche were the first tyrauntes were foure hundred and fiftie yeares In the whiche space we neuer redde that any Philosopher spake any vayne wordes nor yet committed any sclaunderous deades And if Rome had done any otherwyse it had bene vnworthy of suche prayse and estimation as it had for it is vnpossible that the people be well gouerned if the Sages whiche gouerne them are in their liues dissolute I protest to the immortall Gods sweare by the faithe of a Christian that when I consider that whiche at this present with myne eyes I see I can not but sighe for that that is past and wepe for that which is present That is to wete to see then howe the armies fought to see howe the younge men trauayled to be good to see howe well princes gouerned to se the obedience of the people and aboue all it was a merueilous thing to see the libertie and fauour whych the Sages had and the subiection and small estimation that the simple were in And nowe by our euil fortune we see the contrary in our woful time so that I cannot tell whither first I should bewaile the vertues and noblenes of them that are past or the vices infamies of these whych are present For we neauer ought to cease from praysinge the goodnes of the good nor to cease from reprouyng the wyckednes of the euill O that I had bene in that glorious worlde to se so honorable and auncient sages to gouerne in pleasure and for the contrary what grefe pytye shame and dishonor is it to se now so many dissolute sages and so many yong and busy heades the whych as I haue sayd doe destroye all Rome and slaunder all Italy and dishonor them selues For the want of vertue whyche in them aboundeth endomageth the comon wealth and the other vyces wherewith they are replenished corrupteth the people in such sorte that the weale publyke is more dyshonored through the dissolute life of them then it is anoyed by the weapons of their enemies I say agayn and repete my frendes that the prosperity of Rome endured .400 and .xv. yeres in the whych time there was a great maiestie of workes and a marueilous simplicity of wordes aboue all that the best that it had was that it was rich of the good and vertuous men and poore of euill and vitious loyterers For in the end that citie cannot
I saye that the tutors and masters of princes and great Lordes ought not to be contented onely to know what science what doctrine and what vertue they oughte to shewe and teache their scollers but also with greater care and diligence the yought to know from what euils or wicked customes they ought to withdraw thē For when the trees are tender and yong it is more necessary to bowe them and cut of the superfluous braunches with knyues then to gather their furtes with Baskettes Those which take vpon them to gouerne Moyles of great pryse value and those that tame and breake horses of a good race take great paines that such beastes be light that they leape wel and be well made to the sporre and bridel but they take much more paines that they be gentill familiar faithfull and aboue all that they haue no euill qualities Then sith it is so masters ought diligently to watche if they be good that in yong Princes there be no apparaunce of any notable vices For al the vertues which the yong do learne doth not them so much profit as one onely vice doth them hurte if they doe therunto consent knowyng that therby they may be herafter blamed or despised For if any man knew a beast that is wyld and stoburne and not gentill and will bye him at greate pryce suche a one hath his head more full of follyes then of wysedome Albeit that maisters ought to withdraw their scollers from many euil customes amōgest all there ar foure principall in any of the which if the prince be defamed the maister which hath taught him should deserue great punishment For according to the humaine lawes and customes al the domage and harme that the beastes do the vineyarde the keper that hath charge therof shall as he is bound recompence First the maisters ought to refraine in suche sort the tonges of their scollers that neyther in sport nor in earnest they permit thē to tell lyes For the greatest faulte that is in a good and vertuous man is to be briefe in the truth and the greatest villanye that is in a vicious man is to be long in lyes Merula in that .v. booke of Cesars saith that the firste war that Vlpius Traianus made was against Cebalus king of Daces who rebelled against the Romaines and with no smal victorie ouercame the Emperour Domitian in a battaile which they fought togethers For as Nasica sayd the pleasures that Rome had to see many victories were not so greate as the displeasure was whyche she toke to see her selfe once ouercome The good Vlpius Traianus gaue battaile to kyng Cebalus wherin Cebalus was not onely ouercome but also taken and afterwardes broughte before the emperour Traianus whyche sayde vnto him these wordes Speake Cebalus why didest thou rebell agaynst the Romaynes since thou knowest that the Romaynes are vnuincible The kyng Cebalus aunswered him If the Romaines could not be ouercom how did I then ouercome the Emperour Domitian Traian the Emperour sayde vnto hym againe Thou art greatly deceyued kynge Cebalus to thinke that when thou ouercamest the Emperour thou haddest ouercome the Romaines For when that Romulus founded Rome the Gods ordeyned that though their emperour dyed in anye battaile yet not withstandyng it is not to be thought that the empyre is ouercome The Hystoriographers made a great matter of the wordes that this Vlpius Traianus spake For therin he shewed that the Romaine empire was vnuincible After that this kyng Cebalus was dead and that for his desertes he was depriued as the Emperour Traian was a mercifull prince so he prouided that a litel child that Cebalus hadde shoulde be brought vp in his pallace with intention that if the childe became good they woulde geue hym the Realme whiche his father thorough Treason hadde loste For in Rome there was an auncient lawe that all that whiche the father lost by treason the sonne should recouer by hys faithfull actes It chaunced that the good Traian takyng his pleasure in the gardins of Vulcan sawe the sonne of kyng Cebalus and many other yong children of Rome stealynge fruite forth of an orchard and it is no wonder for the Locustes did not so much harme to the Corne as the children do to the fruites when they entre into the orchardes When the emperour afterwardes demaunded him frō whence he came he aunswered from his studye hearyng Rethoricke but in dede he came from stealing of fruite The emperour Traian was so angrie displeased that the child was a lyer that he commaunded he should vtterly be depriued and made voyde of al hope to recouer the realme of his father The Emperour Traian was greatly importuned as well of straung Imbassatours as of hys owne Countrey men that he would chaung that cruel sentence For prynces in a furie do commaund that which when they are pacient they doe vndo The emperour Traian aunswered them if the father of this child which was kyng Cebalus had bene a true prince he had not loste hys lyfe neyther hys Realme nor had not put me th empyre so many times in daunger but since the father was a lyer and the sonne is not true it were to vniust a thynge to render him the Realme For to me it should be great reproche and to our mother Rome as much dishonour that she beyng the mother of truthe shoulde geue realmes to children beyng lyers This was it that Vlpius Traian spake vnto the sonne of kyng Cebalus Marcus Aurelius the .xvii. Emperour of Rome had .ii. sonnes as before we haue rehersed the eldest of the whiche was called Comodus and his father procured greatly to disinherit him of the empire For he would that the second son named Verissimus should haue inherited it and he did not onely determine it but also spake it oft times openly For that thing is with great difficulty dissembled that excessiuely is beloued By chaunce an olde Senator and frend of Marcus the emperour one daye both goyng out of the Senate house sayd vnto him I meruaile at the much most excellent prince why thou doest disherite thy sonne which is eldest to make thine heyre the yongest knowynge that they are both thy sonnes and that the gods haue geuen the no others but them For the good fathers are bound to chasten their children but they haue not licence to disherit them The emperour Marcus Aurelius aunswered him If thou were a greke philosopher as thou art a Romain citizen and if thou knewest the fathers loue towardes hys childe thou wouldest not take pitie one my sonne whiche vndoeth the Empire but thou shouldest haue compassion on me his father which doth disherit him For the chyld scarcely knoweth what he loseth but I that am hys father doe bewayle the domage whyche I doo vnto hym For in the ende there is not in the world so cruel a father but if his sonne should be hurt with the pomell of the swerde in the hande the father would fele incontinentlye the
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
Censour being very aged the Senatour sayed vnto him one day in the Senate Thou knowest now Cato that presentlye we are in the Calendes of Ianuarie wherein we vse to deuide the offices amonge the people Wherefore we haue determined to create Manlius Calidanus Censours for this yeare wherefore tell vs if they be as thou thinkest able and sufficient to supply that rome Cato the Censour aunswered them in this wise Fathers conscripte I let you were that I doe not receiue the one nor admit the other For Manlius is very riche and Calidanus the citizeine extreame poore and truely in bothe there is greate perill For we see by experience that the riche officers are to muche subiect to pleasures and the poore officers are to muche geuen to auaryce And further he saide in this case me thinketh that your Iudges whom ye ought to choose should not be so extreame poore that they shoulde wante wherewith to eate neither so riche that they shoulde surmount in superfluity to geeue them selues to muche to pleasures For menne by greate aboundaunce become vicious and by great scarsitie become couetous The Censor Cato being of suche aucthoritie it is but reason that wee geeue credite to his woords since he gouerned the romaine Empire so long space though indede all the poore be not couetous nor all the riche vicious yet hee spake it for shys intent because bothe those Romaynes were noted of these ii vices For the poore desire to scrape and scratche and the riche to enioye and kepe Whiche of those twoe sortes of men princes should chose I cannot nor dare not rashely determine And therefore I doe not counsaile them either to despise the poore or to choose the riche but that they geue the auctoritie of iustice to those whom they knowe to be of good conscience and not subiect to couetousnes For the iudge whose conscience is corrupted it is vnpossible he should minister equall iustice A man maye geue a shrewed gesse of suspicion in that iudge whether he be of a britell conscience or no yf he see him procure the office of iustice for him selfe For that manne whiche willinglye procureth the charge of conscience of another commonlye lyttle regardeth the burthen of his owne ¶ Of a letter which themperour Marcus Aurelius wrote to Antigonus his frend answering an other which he sent hym out of Scicile wherin he aduertised him of the crueltie of the romaine Iudges and this letter is deuyded into .5 Chapters Cap. vii MArcus Aurelius companion in the empire tribune of the people present lye being sicke wissheth vnto thee Antigonus healthe and comforte in thy banishement To flye the extreame heate of Rome and to reade some bookes which are brought me from the realme of Palestine I am come hether to Capua and forthe haste I made to ryde greate iourneis the ague hath ouertaken mee whiche is more troublesome then perillous For it taketh me wyth colde and plucketh my appetite from me The .20 daye of Ianuary I receiued thy second letter and it hapned that thy letter and my feuer tooke me bothe at one instaunt but the feuer greued me in suche wise that I coulde not longe endure to reade thy letter Mee thinketh we haue no staye nor meane thou being so briefe and I so longe for my longe letter hath taken thy greauous sorowes from the but thy shorte letter coulde not take my feuer from me Now that my mynd is beating of thy trauaile the desire whyche I haue to remedy it is enflamed I woulde tell the one thinge and succour thee with some counsaile but I fynde that the consolation whiche thou wantest I cannot geue the and that whiche I can geue the thou nedest not In this letter shal not be written that which was in the firste but herein I will trauaile the best I can to aunswere thee I will not occupye my selfe to comfort thee because I am so out of course with this dysease that I haue neither wil to write ne yet an◠fauoure in anye pleasant thinges If perhappes this letter bee not sauory so compendious neither so comfortable as those which I was woase to write vnto thee attribute not the blame vnto my good will which desireth to serue the but to the sickenes that geueth no place thereunto For it suffiseth the sicke to be contented with medecynes without satisfyinge theire fryndes If thy comfort consisted in writing many letters offering the many worde truelye I woulde not sticke to doe that for all my feuer But it neither profiteth the nor satisfieth me since I haue lyttle to profer the muche Talkinge nowe of this matter I doe remember that the auncient lawes of the Rhodians saide these wordes Wee desire admonishe all menne to visite the captiues the pilgrimes and the comfortlesse and further we ordeine comaund that none in the common wealth be so hardye to geue counsaile vnlesse therwith he geue remedy For to the troubled harte wordes comforteth litle whē in them there is no remedye Of a truthe the lawe of the Rhodians is good the Romaine whiche shall obserue them much better Assure thy self that I am very desirous to see thee also I knowe that thou wouldeste as gladlye speake vnto me to recount me all thy griefes Truelye I doe not meruayle because the wounded hart quieteth him self more declaring his owne griefes then hearinge another mannes consolations Thou writest vnto mee of sondrye thinges in thy letter the effecte whereof that thou certifiest mee is that the iudges and officers in that realme be verye rygorous and extreame and that therefore the Cicilians are greatlye displeased with the Senate Hitherto thou hast neuer tolde me lye the whiche moueth mee to beleue all that thou writest nowe in thy letter Wherefore I take it for a thinge moste true that for asmuch as all those of Cicil are malicious and enuyous they geue the iudges iust occasion to be cruell For it is a generall rule where men are out of order the ministers of iustice ought to be rygorous And thoughe in other realmes it chaunsed not it is to be beleued that it is true in this realme wher of the auncient prouerbe saieth All those whiche enhabite the Iles are euill but the Cicillians are worste of all At this daye the wicked are so mightye in theire malices and the good are so much diminished in theire vertues that if by iustyce there were not a brydel the wicked woulde surmount all the world and the good shoulde vanishe immediatlye But retourninge to our matter I saye that consideringe with what and howe manye euylles we are enuiroined and to howe manye miseries wee are subiecte I doe not meruaile at the vanities that menne committe but I am ashamed of the crueltie whiche our iudges execute So that we maye rather call them tyrauntes which kill by violence then iudges which minister by iustice Of one thing I was greatly astonyed and almost past my sence which is that iustice of right
perteineth to the gods and they being offended wil bee called pitifull wee others borowe iustice and not being offended do glorifie our selues to be called cruell I knowe not what manne wil hurte an other since we see that the gods forgeuing theire proper iniuries haue attained the renowme of mercifull and we others punishinge the iniuries done vnto an other doe remaine with the name of tyrauntes If the punishment of the gods were so seuere as our sinnes are filthye that they shoulde measure vs wyth this measure the onely desert of one offence is sufficient to take life from vs. With reason he cannot be called a manne amongest menne but a sauage amongest the sauages that forgetting to be of feble flesh tormenteth the flesh of his brother If a man beholde him selfe from toppe to toe he shal finde not one thinge in him to moue him to crueltie but he shall see in him many instrumentes to exercise mercye For he hath his eyes wherewith hee ought to beholde the neady and indigent he hath feete to goe to the church and sermons hee hath handes to helpe all he hath his tongue to fauoure the Orphane hee hath a harte to loue god and to conclude he hath vnderstanding to know the euyll and discretion to followe the good If menne owe much to the goddes for geuinge them these instrumentes to bee pitifull truelye they are bounde no lesse vnto them for takinge frō them all occasions to be cruell For he hath not geuen them hornes as to bulles neither nayles as to the catte nor yet he hath geuen them poyson as to the serpent Fynallye he hath not geeuen them so perilous feete as to a horse to strike nor he hath geeuen them such bloudye teethe as to the Lyon to byte Then sith the gods be pitefull and haue created vs pitifull and cōmaunded vs to be pitifull why do our iudges desire then to bee cruell O howe manye cruell and seuere iudges are there at this daye in the Romayne empire whiche vnder the coloure of good zeale to iustice aduenture to vndoe the common welth For not for the zeal of iustice but for the desire to attaine to renowne they haue bene ouercome with malyce and denied theire owne proper nature I do not meruaile that a Romaine censour shoulde enuye my house will euyll to my fryndes fauour myne enemies dispise my children with euyll eyes beholde my doughters couet my goods speke euyll of my parsone But that whiche I am ashamed of is that dyuers iudges are so gredye to teare mennes fleshe as if they were beares and mans fleshe were noynted with honye ¶ The Emperour continueth still his letter speakinge againste cruell iudges and reciteth two examples the one of a pitifull kinge of Cipres the other of a cruell iudge of Rome Cap. viii BY the faith of a good manne I swere vnto thee frende Antigonus that I being yong knewe a iudge in Rome whose name was Lycaronicus a mā of hygh stature his flesh neither to fatte nor to leane his eyes were some what bloudye and redde he was of the lynage of the Senatours and on hys face he had but a little bearde and on his heade he had manye whyte heares This Licaronicus of long tyme was iudge in Rome in the romaine lawes he was well learned and in customes and policies very experte of his owne nature he spake lyttle and in the aunswers he gaue he was verye resolute Amongest all those which were in Rome in his tyme he hadde this excellencye whiche was that to all he ministred equall iustice and to suters with greate speede he gaue briefe expedition and dispatched them immediatlye They coulde neuer withdrawe him by requestes neuer corrupt him with giftes nor begyle him with wordes nor feare him with threatninges neither would he receiue a brybe of anye that did offer it him And besydes this hee was verye seuere in condicion churlyshe in wordes vnflectible in requestes cruell in punishementes suspitious in affaires and aboue all he was hated of many and feared of all How muche this Lycaronicus was hated it cannot bee reported and of howe manye he was feared no man can thinke For in Rome when anye man was iniuried hee saide I praye god that Licaronicus may liue lōg When the children did crye the mothers immediatlye saide vnto them Take heede of Lycaronicus and streight waye they helde theire peace so that wyth the onelye name of Lycaronicus menne were astonied and chyldren kepte sylence Thou oughtest also to knowe Antigonus that when anye commotyon dyd aryse in a citye or in anye other prouince or that anye sclaunder rose and encreased therein they were wel assured and they saide that no other shoulde goe thither but onelye Lycaronicus And to saye the truthe when hee was arryued at that citie or prouynce the rebelles were not onelye fledde but also dyuers innocentes were for feare of his crueltye hyd For Lycaronicus was so resolute a parsonne that some for yll factes others for consentinge some for that they fauoured not the good right others for that they kept them secrete none escaped to be tormented of his parsonne or punyshed in goodes Thinkest thou Antigonus that they haue beene fewe whom this Iudge hath caused to bee whipte and carted cast into welles beheaded taken banished and put in the stockes during the tyme that the Romaines hadde him with them By the immortall gods I swere vnto thee and as Genius the god of nature maye helpe mee that the gallouses and gibbets were so furnished with feete handes and heades of menne as the shambles were with oxen sheepe and kyddes This Lycaronicus was so fleshely to shed humain bloud that he was neuer so conuersant nor had so merye a countenaunce as the same daye hee shoulde cause any manne to be drowned in Tyber hanged in mount Celio be headed in the strete Salario tormented or cast into the prison Marmortina O cruell o fyerse and vnspeakable condition that this iudge Lycaronicus hadde For it was not possible that he shoulde bee brought vp betweene the delicate armes of the Romaines but in the vile intrailes of you venemous serpents I retourne ones more to saye that it is vnpossible he shoulde be norished with the delicate milke of women but with the cruell bloude of Tigres If thys Licaronicus were cruell why did they geue him suche aucthoritie I curse suche auctoritie If he did it for that he had greate zeale to iustyce I curse such zeale of iustice If hee did it to winne more honour I curse that honour for that mā shal be cursed of the gods and hated of menne which taketh life from others thoughe it bee by iustice onelye to encrease his renowne The gods are muche offended and the people greatly domaged where the Senate of Rome calleth that Iudge gentle whiche is corrupted and him that is cruell iuste So that nowe amongest the Romayne people those whiche heale with oyle are not credited but those onelye whiche cure with
be feared mynystringe extreame iustice Thâ—y tâ—ke vppon them the estates of greate lords they liue of the swet of the poore they supply with malice that which they want in discrecion and that which is worst of all they myngle another mans iustice with their own proper profyte Therfore here more what I wil say vnto thee that these cursed iudges seinge them selues pestred with sundrye affaires and that they want the eares of knoweledge the sailes of vertue and the ankers of experience not knowing howe to remedy such smal euils they inuent others more greater they disturbe the coÌ„mon peace only for to augment their owne particuler profyt And finally they bewayle theire owne domage and are dyspleased withe the prosperity of an other Nothing can be more iust that since they haue fallen into offyces not profitable for them they do suffer though they would not great domages so that the one for taking gifts remaine slaundered and the other forgeuing theÌ„ remayneth vndone Harken yet I wil tell thee more Thou oughtest to knowe that the beginnings of these Iudges are pryde ambition their means enuy and malice and their endinges are death and destruccion For the leaues shall neuer be grene where the rootes are dry Yf my counsel should take place in this case suche Iudges should not be of counsayle with princes neyther yet should theye be defended of the pryuate but as suspecte men theye shoulde not onelye be caste from the common wealthe butte allso theye shoulde suffer death It is a great shame to those which demaund offyces of the Senate but greater is the rashnes and boldenes of the counsailers whyche doe procure them and we may say both to the one and to the other that neither the feare of god dothe withdrawe them nor the power of Princes dothe bridell them nor shame dothe trouble them neyther the common wealthe dothe accuse them and fynallye neyther reason commaundeth them nor the lawe subdueth theÌ„ But harke and I will tell thee more Thou oughtest alwaies to knowe what the fourme and maner is that the Senatours haue to deuide the offices for somtimes they geue them to theire frindes in recompence of theire frindship and other times they geue them to their seruauntes to acquite their seruices and sometime allso they geue them to solicitours to the end theye shall not importune them so that fewe offices remaine for the vertuous the whiche onely for beinge vertuous are prouided O my frinde Antigonus I let you to wete that since Rome dyd kepe her renowme and the common wealth was well gouerned the dylygence whiche the Iudges vsed towardes the Senate to the ende theye mighte geeue them offices the selfe same oughte the Senate to haue to seke vertuous men to commit suche charge into theire handes For the office of iustice oughte to be geuen not to him whiche procurethe it but to him that best deserueth it In the yeare of the foundacion of Rome .6 huÌ„dreth 42. yeares the Romaine people had manye warres throughout al the world To wete Chaius Celius againste those of Thrace Gneus Cardon his brother against the Sardes Iuniê° Scilla against the Cymbres Minutius Rufus against the Daces Scruilius Scipio against the Macedonians and Marius Consull againste Iugurtha kynge of Numidians and amongest all these the warre of the Numidians was the most renowmed and also perylous For if Rome had many armies against Iugurtha to conquere him Iugurtha hadde in Rome good frindes whiche did fauour him King Boco at that time was kinge of Mauritanes who was Iugurthas frinde in the end he was afterwards the occasion that Iugurtha was ouerthrowen that Marius toke him These two kinges Marius the CoÌ„sull brought to Rome triumphed of them leadinge them beefore his triumphaunt chariot their neckes loden with yrons their eies ful of teares The which vnlucky fortune al the Romaines which beheld lamented toke great pytye of the staungers whom they heard The nighte after the triumphe was ended it was decreed in the Senat that Iugurtha should be beheaded leauing king Boco aliue depryued of his countrey And the occasion therof was thys The Romaines had a custome of longe time to put no man to execucion beefore that first with great dyligence they had looked the auncient bookes to se if any of their predecessoures had done any notable seruice to Rome whereby the poore prisoner might deserue his pardon It was founde written in a booke which was in the highe Capitoll that the graundefather of kynge Boco was very sage and a special friende to the Romayne people and that once hee came to Rome and made dyuers Orations to the Senat and amongst other notable sentences there was found in that booke that he had spoken these wordes Woe be to the that realme where all are such that neither the good amongest the euill nor the euill amongest the good are knowen Woe vppon that realme which is the enterteiner of al fooles and a destroier of all sages Woe is that realme where the good are fearefull and the euill to bolde Woe on that realme where the pacient are despysed and the sedicious commended Woe on that realme whiche distroie the those that watche for the good and crowne the those that watche to doe euill Woe to that realme where the poore are suffered to be proude and the riche tiraunts Woe to that realme where all knowe the euil and no man doth follow the good Woe to that realme what so manye euil vices are openly committed withe in an other countrey dare not secretly be mencioned Woe to that realme where all procure that they desire where all attaine to that theye procure where all thinke the that is euill where all speake that they thinke finally where al may doe that which they will In such and so vnfortunate a realme where the people are so wicked let euery man beware he bee not inhabitaunt For in shorte time they shal se vpon him eyther the yre of the gods the fury of the men the depopulation of the good or the desolation of the tyrauntes Diuers other notable things were conteyned in those oracions the which are not at this present touching my letter But for asmuch as we thought it was a verye iuste thing that they should pardon the follye of the nephewe for the desertes of the wise grandfather Thou shalt reade this my letter openlye to the Pretours Iudges which are resydente there and the case shal be that when thou shalte reade it thou shalt admonishe them that if they will not amende secretlye we will punishe them openlye I wrote vnto thee the last daye that as touchynge thy banyshement I woulde be thy frinde and be thou assured that for to enioye thy olde friendeshyppe and to perfourme mye woorde I wyll not let to daunger mye parsone I wrytte vnto Panutius my secretary to succoure thee with two thousande Sesterses wherewith thou mayest relieue thy pouertye and from hence I sende thee
to lawe and the christian wyth the pagan without comparison the soule of a christian oughte more to be estemed then the lyfe of a Romayne For the good Romaine obseruethe it as a lawe to dye in the warre but the good christian hathe this precepte to lyue in peace Suetonius Tranquillus in the seconde booke of Cesars sayethe That amonge all the Romayne prynces there was noe prynce so wellbeloued nor yet in the warres so fortunate as Augustus was And the reason hereof is beecause that prynce neuer beganne anye warre vnlesse by greate occasyon he was thereunto prouoked O of how many prynces not ethnicks but christians we haue hearde and reade all contrarye to thys whyche is that were of suche large conscience that theye neuer tooke vppon them anye warre that was iuste to whom I sweare and promyse that since the warre which they in thys worlde beeganne was vniuste the punishemente whiche in an other theye shall haue is moste righteous Xerxes kynge of the Perses beynge one dayeat dynner one broughte vnto hym verye faire and sauourye fygges of the prouince of Athens the whyche beeinge sette at the table he sweare by the immortal goddes and by the bones of his predecessours that he would neuer eate fygges of hys countreye but of Athens whych were the beste of all Greece And that whyche by woorde of mouthe kynge Xerxes sweare by valiaunt dedes withe force and shielde he accomplished and wente foorthwith to conquere Gretia for noe other cause but for to syll him selfe wythe the sygges of that countreye so that he beganne that warre not onelye as a lyghte prynce but also as a vicious man Titus Liuius sayethe that when the Frenche men did cast of the wine of Italy immediately they put them selues in armes and went to conquere the countreye witheout hauinge anye other occasion to make warre againste them So that the Frenchemen for the lycorousnes of the pleasaunt wynes loste the deare bloude of theire owne hartes Kyng Antigonus dreamed one nighte that he sawe kinge Methridates withe a fyeth in hys hande who lyke a mower dyd cut all Italy And there fell suche feare to kynge Antigonus that he determined to kyll kynge Methridates so that this wicked prince for credytinge a lighte dreame set all the worlde in an vprore The Lumberdes beeinge in Pannonia herde saye that there was in Italy sweete fruites sauowry fleshe odoriferous wynes faire women good fish litle colde and temperate heate the whyche newes moued them not onelye to desire them but also theye toke weapons to goe conquere Italye So that the Lombardes came not into Italye to reuenge them of theire enemies but to bee there more vicious and riotous The Romaynes and the Carthagiens were friendes of longe time but after they knew there was in Spaine great mynes of golde and of siluer immediatelye arose betweene them exceadynge cruell warres so that those twoe puissaunt realmes for to take eche from other their goods destroyed their own proper dominions The authors of the aboue said were Plutarchus Paulus Diaconus Berosus Titus Liuius O secret iudgements of god which suffreth such thyngs O mercyful goodnes of thee my Lord that ê‘mitteth such things that through the dreame of on price in his chaÌ„ber another for to robbe the treasures of Spayne another to fly the colde of Hungary another to drinke the wines of Italy another to eat figges of Grece shoulde put al the countrey to fire bloud Let not my pen be cruel against al princes which haue vniust warres For as Traianus said Iust warre is more worthe then fayned peace I commend approue and exalt princes whiche are carefull stout to kepe and defende that which their predecessours lefte them For admit that for dispossessing them hereof cometh all the breache with other Princes Loke how much his enemy offendeth his conscience for taking it so much offendeth he his common wealth for not defending it The wordes whiche the diuine Plato spake in the first booke of his laws dyd satisfye me greatly which were these It is not mete we should be to extreme in coÌ„mending those which haue peace nor let vs be to vehement in reprouing those whiche haue warre For it may be now that if one haue warre it is to the end to attaine peace And for the contrary if one haue peace it shal be to the ende to make warre In deede Plato sayde verye true For it is more worthe to desire shorte warre for longe peace then short peace for longe warre The philosopher Chilo being demauÌ„ded whereby a good or euil gouernour might be knowen he auÌ„swered There is nothing wherby a good and euill man maye be better knowen then in that for the which they striue For the tyranous Prince offrethe him selfe to dye to take from an other but the vertuous prince trauaileth to defend his own WheÌ„ the redemer of this worlde departed from this worlde he sayde not I geue ye my warre or leaue ye my warre but I leaue ye my peace and geeue you mye peace Thereof ensuethe that the good christian is bounde to keepe the peace which Christ so muche commaunded then to inuent warre to reuenge his proper iniurye which god so much hated If princes dyd that they oughte to doe and in this case woulde beleue me for no temporall thing they shoulde condescend to shed mans bloud if nothinge els yet at the leaste the loue of hym whiche on the crosse shed hys precious bloude for vs shoulde from that cleane disswade vs. For the good Christians are commaunded to bewaile theire owne sinnes but they haue no licence to shed the bloude of their enemies Fynally I desire exhorte and further admonishe al princes and great lordes that for his sake that is prince of peace they loue peace procure peace kepe peace and liue in peace For in peace they shal be rich their people happye ¶ Themperour Marcus Aurelius writeth to his friend Cornelius wherein he dyscribeth the discomodyties of warre and the vanitie of tryumphe Cap. xiiij MArcus Emperoure wysheth to thee Cornelius hys faithful frend helth to thye person and good lucke against all euill fortune Withein fiftene daies after I came from the warre of Asia whereof I haue triumphed here in Rome remembrynge that in times paste thou weare a companyon of my trauaile I sent immedyatly to certyfy thee of my triuÌ„phes For the noble harts do more reioice of their friÌ„ds ioy theÌ„ they do of their own proê‘ delights If thou wilt take pains to come wheÌ„ I seÌ„d to cal thee be thou assured that on the one part thou shalt haue much plesure to se the great abuÌ„daÌ„s of riches that I haue brought out of Asia to beeholde mye receiuinge into Rome on the other thou canst not kepe thy selfe from weepinge to se suche a sorte of captiues the which entred in before the triuÌ„phant chariotes bounde naked to augment to the coÌ„querours most glory also to them vanquished to be a greater
so much the more were the philosophers deuided amongest them selues When they were so assembled truely they did not eate nor drinke out of measure but some pleasaunt matter was moued betwene the masters and the scollers betwene the yong and the olde that is to wete which of them coulde declare any secrete of phylosophye or anye profound sentence O happy were such feastes and no lesse happy were they that thether were bidden But I am sory that those whiche nowe byd and those that are bidden for a trouth are not as those auncients were For there are noe feastes now adays of phylosophers but of gluttons not to dispute but to murmour not to open doubtfull things but to talke of the vices of others not to confirme aunciente amities but to begynne newe dissensions not to learne any doctrines but to approue some nouelty And that whiche worste of all is that the olde striue at the table with the yonge not on hym whiche hathe spoken the moste grauest sentence but of hym whyche hathe dronke moste wyne and hathe rinsed most cuppes Paulus Diaconus in the historye of the Lumbardes declarethe that foure olde Lumbardes made a banket in the whiche the one dranke to the others yeres and it was in this manner Theye made defyaunce to drinke two to twoe and after eche man had declared howe many yeres olde he was the one drāke as manye times as the other was yeares olde and likewise his companion pledged him And one of these foure companions had at the leaste 58. yeares the second .63 the thyrde .87 the fourthe .812 so that a man knowethe not what they did eate in this banket eyther litle or muche but we knowe that hee that dranke least dranke 58. cuppes of wine Of this so euill custome came the Gothes to make this lawe which of manye is reade and of fewe vnderstanded where it sayeth We ordeyn and commaūd on payne of deathe that no olde man drinke to the others yeres being at the table That was made because they were so muche geuen to wyne that they dranke more ofte thenne they did eate morselles The Prynces and greate Lordes whyche are nowe olde oughte to bee verye sober in drinkynge synce theye oughte greatlye to be regarded and honoured of the yonge For speakinge the truthe and withe libertie whan the olde man shall bee ouercome with wine he hath more necessitie that the yong man leade him by the arme to his house then that hee shoulde take of his cappe vnto hym or speake vnto hym with reuerence Also prynces and greate lordes oughte to be verye circumspecte that whenne theye become aged theye bee not noted for yonge in the apparayle whiche theye weare For althoughe that for wearinge a fyne and riche garmente the prynce dothe not enriche or enpouerishe his common wealthe yet we cannot denye but that it dothe much for the reputacion of his persone For the vanytie and curiositie of garments dothe shewe great lightnes of minde According to the varietye of ages so ought the diuersitie of apparaile to bee whiche semethe to bee verye cleare in that the yonge maydes are attyred in one sorte the maried women of an other sorte the widdowes of an other And lykewise I woulde saye that the apparayle of children oughte to be of one sorte those of yonge men of an other and those of olde men of an other whyche oughte to bee more honester then all For men of hoarye heades oughte not to be adourned withe precious garmētes but withe verteous workes To goe cleanlye to be well apparayled and to be well accompanied we doe not forbydde the olde especiallye those whych are noble and valyaunt men but to goe to fine to go with great traynes and to goe verye curious wee doe not allowe Let the olde men pardon mee for it is not the office but of yonge fooles For the one sheweth honestye and the other lightnes It is a confusion to tell it but it is greater shame to doe it that is to weete that manye olde men of oure time take noe small felicitye to put caules on theire heades euerye manne to weare iewels on theire neckes to laye theire cappes withe agglettes of golde to seeke oute dyuers inuencions of mettall to loade theire fingers wythe riche ringes to goe perfumed wythe odiferous fauoures to weare newe fashioned apparayle and fynallye I saye that thoughe theire face bee full of wrincles they can not suffer one wrincle to be in theire gowne All the auncient historiens accuse Quintus Hottensius the Romayne for that euerye tyme when hee made hym selfe readye he hadde a glasse beefore hym and as muche space and tyme had hee to streyghten the plaites of his gowne as a woman hadde to trymme the heares of her heade This Quintus Hortensius beinge Consul goynge by chaunce one day through Rome in a narrowe streat met wythe the other Consul where throughe the streightnes of the passage the plaightes of his gowne weare vndone vppon whych occasion hee complayned to the senate of the other Consull that he had done hym a greate iniurye sayinge that he deserued to lose hys lyfe The authoure of all this is Macrobius in the thyrde booke of the Saturnales I can not tell if I be deceiued but we maye saye that al the curiositye that olde men haue to goe fine wel appareled and cleane is for no other thinge but to shake of age and to pretende righte to youthe What a griefe is it to see dyuers auncient men the whiche as ripe figges do fal and on the other side it is a wonder to see howe in theire age they make them selues yonge In this case I saye woulde to god we might see them hate vices and not to complaine of the yeares which theye haue I praye and exhorte princes and greate lordes whom oure soueraigne lorde hathe permitted to come to age that theye doe not despise to be aged For speaking the truthe the man whiche hathe enuye to seeme olde doth delight to liue in the lightnes of youthe Also man of honour oughte to be verye circumspecte for so muche as after theye are beecome aged theye bee not suspected of theire friends but that both vnto their friends foes they be counted faythfull For a lye in a yonge mannes mouthe is but a lye but in the mouthe of an olde manne it is a heynous blasphemye Prynces and great lordes after they are become aged of one sorte they oughte to vse them selues to geue and of thother to speake For good prynces oughte to sell woordes by weighte and geeue rewardes withoute measure The auncient oftentymes complayne sayinge that the yonge will bee not conuersaunt with them and truely if there be anye faulte therin it is of them selues And the reason is that if sometimes theye doe assemble togethers to passe awaye the tyme if the olde man set a talkinge he neuer maketh an ende So that a discrete man had rather go .xii. miles on foote then to heare an olde man
moue mee to speake and the faythe whyche I owe vnto you dothe not suffer mee that I shoulde keepe it close For manye thinges oughte to be borne amonge friendes thoughe theye tell them in earnest whiche ought not to be suffered of others thoughe theye speake it in gest I come therefore to shewe the matter and I beseche the immortall goddes that there bee noe more then that whiche was tolde mee and that it bee lesse then I suspecte Gaius Furius youre kinsman and my especiall friende as hee went to the realme of Palestyne and Hierusalem came to see mee in Antioche and hathe tolde mee newes of Italy and Rome and among others one aboue al the residewe I haue committed to memorye at the whiche I coolde not refraine laughinge and lesse to bee troubled after I hadde thought of it O how manye thinges doe wee talke in gest the whiche after wee haue well considered geeue occasion to be sorye The emperoure Adrian mye good lorde had a Iester whose name was Belphus yonge comelye and stoute allbeeit hee was verye malicious as suche are accustomed to bee and whiles the imbassadours of Germaine supped with the Emperour in greate ioye the same Belphus beeganne to iest of euery one that was present according to his accustomed manner with a certeine malicious grace And Adrian perceiuing that some chaunged colour others murmured and others weare angrye hee saide vnto thys Iester frinde Belphus if thou loue mee and mye seruice vse not these spytefull iestes at our supper which being considered on may turne vs to euil rest in our beddes Gaius Furius hath tolde me so many slaunders chaunced in Italy such nouelties done in Rome such alteracion of our Senate such contentiō strife betwene our neighbours suche lightnes of yow twoo that I was astonied to here it ashamed to writ it And it is nothing to tell after what sort he told thē vnto me onlesse you had sene how earnestly he spake them imagining that as he told thē without taking anye paine so did I receiue them as he thought with out any griefe though in deede euerye woorde that he spake seemed a sharpe percinge arrowe vnto my hart For oft times some telleth vs thynges as of small importaunce the whiche do pricke our hartes to the quicke By the oppynion of all I vnderstande that you are verye olde and yet in your owne fantasies you seame verye yonge And further theye saye that you apparell youre selues a newe nowe as thoughe presentlye you came into the worlde moreouer they saye that you are offended with nothinge so muche as when theye call you olde that in theaters where comedies are played and in the fieldes where the brute beastes do runne you are not the hindmost and that there is no sport nor lightnes inuented in Rome but first is registred in youre house And finally they say that you geue your selues so to pleasures as thoughe you neuer thought to receiue displeasures O Claude and Claudine by the god Iupiter I sweare vnto you that I am a shamed of your vnshamefastnes am greatly abashed of your maners and aboue all I am excedingly greeued for your great offence For at that time that you ought to lift vp your handes yow are returned againe into the filth of the world Many thinges men commyt which though they seme graue yet by moderacion of the person that committeth them they are made light but speaking according to the trouthe I fynde one reason wherebye I mighte excuse youre lightnes but to the contrarye I see tenne wherebye I maye condempne youre follyes Solon the phylosopher in hys lawes sayde to the Athenians that if the yonge offended hee shoulde bee gentlye admonished and grieuouslye punished beecause hee was strong and if the olde dydde erre he shoulde be lightlye punished and sharpelye admonished sithe he was weake and feble To this Licurgus in his lawes to the Lacedemonians sayde contrarye that if the yonge did offende hee shoulde bee lightly punished and greuously admonished sins through ignoraunce he dyd erre and the olde manne whiche did euill shoulde be lightly admonished and sharpely punished sins through malice he did offend These two phylosophers being as theye haue bene of suche authoritie in the worlde that is paste and consideringe that their lawes and sentences were of suche weighte it shoulde be muche rashenesse in not admittinge the one of them Nowe not receyuyng the one nor reprouynge the other mee thynketh that there is greate excuse to the yonge for theire ignoraunce and greate condempnacion o the aged for theire experience Once agayne I retourne to saye that you pardone me mye friendes and you oughte not greatlye to weye it thoughe I am somewhat sharpe in condempnation since you others are so dissolute in youre liues for of youre blacke lyfe mye penne dothe take ynke I remember well that I haue harde of thee Claude that thou haste bene lusty and couragious in thye youthe so that thye strengthe of all was enuyed and the beauty of Claudine of all men was desired I will not write vnto you in this letter mye frindes and neigheboures neither reduce to memorye howe thou Claude haste imployed thy forces in the seruice of the common wealth and thou Claudine hast wōne muche honoure of thy beautye for sundrye tymes it chaunced that men of manye goodlye gyftes are noted of greuous offences Those whiche striued with thee are all dead those whom thow desiredst are dead those which serued thee Claudine are deade those whiche before thee Claudine sighed are deade those which for thee died are nowe dead and sins all those are dead withe they re lightnesse do not you others thinke to dye your follyes allso I demaunde nowe of thy youthe one thinge and of thy beauty another thinge what do you receiue of these pastimes of these good interteinmentes of these abundances of these great contentacions of the pleasures of the worlde of the vanytye that is paste and what hope you of all these to carye into the narrowe graue O simple simple and ignoraunt persones howe oure life consumeth and we perceiue not howe we liue therein For it is no felicitie to enioy a short or long life but to knowe to employe the same well or euill O children of the earthe and disciples of vanytie nowe you knowe that tyme flyethe without mouing his wynges the life goeth without liftinge vppe hys feete the worlde dispatcheth vs not tellinge vs the cause men beegile vs not mouinge theire lippes our flesh consumeth to vs vnwares the heart dieth hauing no remedy finally our glory decayeth as if it had neuer bene and death oppresseth vs wythoute knockinge at the doore Thoughe a man be neuer so simple or so very a foole yet he can not denaye but it is impossible to make a fier in the botome of the sea to make a waye in the ayre of the thinne bloude to make roughe sinewes and of the softe vaines to make harde bones I
honored you but that which most I maruel at is that you forget your selues For you neuer coÌ„sider what you ought to bee vntil such time as you bee there where you would not bee and that without power to return back again Awake awake since you are drownd in your dreams open your eyes since you slepe so much accustom your selues to trauells sithens you are vacabonds learne that which beehoueth you sithens now you are so old I mean that in time conuenient you agree with death beefore he make execution of life .52 yers haue I known the things of the world yet I neuer saw a woman so aged through years nor old man with members so feble that for want of strength could not if they list doo good nor yet for the same occasion shoold leaue to bee euel if they list to bee euel It is a meruelous thing to see and woorthy to note that al the corporal members of man waxeth old but the inward hart and the outward tonge for the hart is always green to inuent euils the toung is alwais able to tel lies My opinion should bee that the pleasant somer being past you shoold prepare your selues for the vntemperat winter which is at hand And if you haue but few days to coÌ„tinew you shoold make hast to take vp your lodging I mean that sith you haue passed the days of your life with trauel you shoold prepare your selues against the night of death to bee in the hauen of rest Let mockries passe as mockries and accept truth as truth that is to weete that it were a very iust thing and also for your honor necessary that al those which in times past haue seene you yoÌ„g foolish shoold now in your age se you graue and sage For there is nothing that so much forgetteth the lightnes and folly of the youth as dooth grauity and constancy in age When the knight ronneth his carire they blame him not for that the horse mayn is not finely commed but at the end of his race hee shoold see his horse ameÌ„ded and looked to â–ª what greater confusion can bee to any parson or greater sclauÌ„der to our mother Rome then to see that which now adays therin wee see that is to weete the old which can scarcely creap through the streats to beehold the plays and games as yong men which serch nought ells but pomp and vanity It greeueth mee to speak it but I am much more ashamed to see that the old Romayns do dayly cause the white hears to be plucked out of their heads bicause they would not seeme old to make their berd small to seme yong wearing their hosen very close theyr sherts open beefore the gown of the senatour imbrodred the Romayn signe richly enameled the coller of gold at the neck as those of Dace Fringes in their gowns as those of Saphire hoopes in their hatts as the Greekes and perles on their fingers as those of India What wilt thou I tell thee more then I haue told thee but that they weare their gowns long and large as those of Tharenthe and they wear theim of the colour as men of warr and euery weeke they haue chaunge as players and the woorst of all is that they show them selues as doting in loue now in their age as others haue doon hertofore in their youth That old men are ouercom by yong desires I do not meruel for that brutish lust is as natural as the daily foode but the old men being old men should be so dissolute heerewith men iustly ought to be offended For the old men couetous and of flesh vicious both offend the gods and sclaunder the coÌ„mon wealth O how many I haue known in Rome who in their youth haue been highly praysed and esteamed and afterwards through geeuing theÌ„ self to very much lightnes in theyr age haue been of all abhorred And the woorst of al is that they haue lost al their credit their parents their fauor and their poore innocent children theyr profit For many times the gods permit that the fathers committing th offence the pain shoold fall vpoÌ„ their owne childreÌ„ The renowmed Gaguino Cato who desceÌ„ded from the high lignage of the sage Catoes was fiue years Flamen preest administrator to the vestal virgins three years pretor two years Censor one year dictator and fiue times CoÌ„sull being .75 years old hee gaue him self to folow serue and to desire Rosana the doughter of Gneus Cursius a lady of trouth very yong and fair and of many desired and much made of time afterwards passing away and god Cupide dooing his office the loue was so kindled inwardly in the hart of this old man that he rann almost madde So that after he had consumed all his goods in seruing her dayly hee sighed and nightely he wept onely for to see her It chaunced that the sayd Rosana â—el sick of a burning ague wherwith she was so disteÌ„pered that shee could eat no meat but desired greatly to eat grapes and sithens there were none ripe at Rome Gaguino Cato sent to the riuer of Rheyn to fetch som beeing farre and many miles distant from thence And when the thing was spred through Rome that all the people knew it and the senat vnderstanding the folly of him the fathers commaunded that Rosana should bee locked vp with the vestal virgins the old man banished Rome for euer to the end that to theÌ„ it shoold bee a punishmeÌ„t to others an example Truly it greued mee sore to see it also I had great payns in writiÌ„g it For I saw the father die in iÌ„famy his childreÌ„ liue in pouerty I beleue that al those which shal hear this exaÌ„ple al those which shal reade this wryting shall find the fact of this amorous old man both vile and filthy and they will allow the senteÌ„ce of the senat which they gaue against him for good and iust I swere that if Gaguino Cato had had as many yong men in his banishment as hee left old men louers that followed his example in Rome ther shoold not be cast away so many men neyther so many women euyl maried It chaunceth oft tymes that when the old men specially beeyng noble and valyant are aduertysed of theyr seruants are rebuked of their pareÌ„ts are prayed of their frends accused of their enemies to bee dishonest in such a place they aunswer that they are not in loue but in iest When I was very yong no lesse in wisdome theÌ„ in age one night in the Capitoll I met with a neighbour of mine the which was so old that hee might haue taken mee for his nephiew to whom I sayd these woords Lord Fabricus are you also in loue hee aunswered mee You see that my age suffereth mee not that I shoold bee a louer if I shoold bee it is but in sport Truly I marueiled to meete him at that hour and I was ashamed to haue such an answer In old men of
neuer had any one thought of their dead fathers Hee which of pure couetousnes and misery suffreth him self to dye for hunger and cold I think hee hath small deuotiō to geeue almes and much lesse to doo any man good If the couetous man say vnto vs that that which hee keepeth is for no other cause but to buyld a sumptuous chappell and to leaue of them some memory to this I aunswer That if such one doth it with his own proper swet and maketh restitucion of all the euill that hee hath doon it shal bee sanctified of all good men commended but if the couetous will that many liue in great pouerty only to make a rich tomb god doth not commaund that neither doth the church admit it for sacrifice done to god with the cryes and swet of others is not acceptable If the couetous tell vs that though they heap treasures it is not but at their death to distribute it to the poore and to bee brought honestly to the ground I say that I commend this purpose so his intent bee accordingly performed but I am sory the couetouse man shoold think hereby to merit and that hee shoold thus discharge the wickednes of his lyfe for the distribution of a lytle mony after his death I woold think it more sure that princes and great lords shoold spend their goods to mary poore maydens beeing orphans in their lyfe then to commaund money to bee dealt after their death For oft tymes the heirs or their executors the body interred doo little performe the will of the testator and much lesse obserue the legacyes beequethed though it bee to the vtter vndooing of the poore orphans O what guerdon and commendacion deserueth hee that iustly and truely dischargeth the legacies of the dead and of the surplus if any bee or with their own releeue the orphans and mary the poore maydens keeping them from the vyces of this world Suppose that a couetous man chaunceth to traffique at Medine in Spaine at Lions in Fraunce at Lisbone in Portingal at London in England at Andwarp in Flaunders at Millain in Lombardy at Florence in Italy at Palermo in Scicil at Prage in Boeme and at Buda in Hungary finally with his eies hee hath seene all Europe and by trafique hee hath knowledge of all Asia Admit now that in euery place hee hath gotten goods and that which hee hath gotten was not with whole cōscience but according to the companies so hath the offences been dyuers In this case if at the hour of death when the couetous man deuydeth hys money beetweene the children hee might also deuyd his offences so that hee dispossessing him self of the goods might therby bee free from the offences then it were well But alas it is not so for the wicked children lyue tryumphing on the earth with the goods and the miserable father goeth weepyng to hell wyth his sinnes ¶ Of a letter which the Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrot to his frend Cincinatus who beeing a Romayn knight became a marchaunt of Capua wherin hee toucheth those gentlemen whych take vpon them the trade of marchandise against their vocation It is deuyded into .iii. Chapters Cap. xxv MArck the Emperor with his brother Annius Verus fellow in the Empire wisheth to thee Cincinatus of Capua health to thy person and grace against thy euill fortune From the feast of our mother Berecinthe I haue seene neither seruaunt of thy house nor read any letter of thy hand which thing maketh mee suspect greatly that thy health is in daunger or that thou mistrustest our frendship for earnest frendship requireth dayly communication or visitation I pray thee bee not so careles from henceforth and doo not forget vs in such wise I mean that thou wilt come and see vs or at the least that thou wilt write vnto vs often for the letters of faithful frends though vtterly they doo not take from vs the desire of the presence yet at the least they make vs hope for a meeting I know that thou maist answer mee that in the common wealth of Capua thou art so busyed that it is impossible thou shooldst write vnto mee heereto I answer thee That in no affaires thou canst bee so occupied that it bee a lawful let not to communicat or write vnto thy frend For wee may wel call the tyme which wee liue to bee wel employed which is spent in the seruice of god and in the conuersation of our frends All the residue that wee wast in talking traueling sleeping eating and resting wee ought not to write it in the booke of lyfe but in the register of death For al bee it that in such semblable woorks the body is refreshed yet therwith the heart cannot bee comforted I swere vnto thee therfore my frend that it is impossible the man take any contentation of any worldly thing where the hart is not at rest for our comfort is not in the sinnues or in the bones of the body but in the liuely power of the soul It is long sithens that you and I haue knowen togethers it is long time likewise that I loued thee and thou mee and sith wee are so true old frends it is but reason that with good woorks wee doo renew our frendship For falsly they vsurp the name of frendship which are not cōuersant one wyth the other no more then if they were strāgers The man which speaketh not to mee which wryteth not to mee which seeth mee not which visiteth mee not which geeueth mee not to whom I geeue not I woold not hee were my enemy but it litle auaileth mee that hee call mee frend for perticuler frendship consisteth not in aboundance but that frends doo open their harts and talk with their persons Peraduēture thou wilt say that the great distaunce which is from Rome to that countrey hath beene occasion to deminish our frendship for the noble harts are on fier with the presence of that they loue and haue great paine with the absence of that they desire I aunswer that the farder the delicious wines are sent from the place where they grow the greater strength they haue I mean that heerein true frends are knowen whē their persons are furthest seuered for then are their willes most conioined Tell mee I pray thee Cincinnatus sithens always thou hast found mee a diligent frend in thy seruice why doost thou mistrust my faithfull good will The greene leaues outwardly doo shew that the tree inwardly is not dry I mean that the good woorks outwardly do declare the feruentnes of the hart inwardly If thou Cincinnatus presumest to bee a true frend of thy frend I will thou know this rule of frendship which is Where perfect loue is not there wāteth alway faithful seruice for the contrary hee the perfectly loueth assuredly shal bee serued I haue been am wil bee thyne therfore thou shalt doo mee great iniury if thou art not myne ¶ The Emperor proceedeth in his letter and declareth what
persoÌ„ moderat in speach exercised in the warre couragious of hart happy in Armes and honest in lyfe fynally of all hee ought to bee beeloued for his vertue and of none hated for hys vice The knights in whom these vertues shyned bright in Rome had dyuers lyberties that is to weete that they onely myght weare ryngs ryde on horsback thorough the streats they myght haue a shylde shit their gates at dynner they myght drynk in cuppes of siluer speake to the senat and make defyaunces they might demaund the ensigne weare weapons take the charge of imbassage and ward at the gates of Rome The auctour hereof is Blondê° in the booke of De Italia illustrata If Plinie deceiue vs not in an Epystle and Plutarche in his pollitiks Seneca in a tragedy and Cicero in his paradoxes there was nothing wherein the auncients were more circumspect then in electing of their knights Now it is not so but that one hauing mony to buy a lordshyp immediatly hee is made knight and that which is woorst when hee is made a knight it is not to fight agaynst the enemies in the field but more freely to commit vices and oppresse the poore in the towns To the end hee may bee a good christian hee ought to think vpon Iesus crucyfyed and to bee a good knight hee ought always to beehold the arms of hys shyeld the which his graundfather or great graundfather wanne For they shall see that they wanne them not beeing vicious in their houses but in sheding the blood of their enemies in the frontiers ¶ Of a letter which the emperor wrote to Mercurius his neighbour a marchaunt of Samia wherein men may learn the daungers of those which traffyck by sea and also see the couetousnes of them that trauaile by land Cap. xxx MArcus Aurelius Emperour of Rome borne in mount Celio wysheth to thee Mercurius his speciall frind health and consolation in the gods the onely comforters It seemeth well that wee are frends sytheÌ„s wee doo the woorks of charyty For I vnderstanding here thy mishap immedyatly sent a messenger to coÌ„fort thee in hearing my disease thou seÌ„dell a frend of thine to visit mee Wherefore men may perceiue if thou hadst mee in mind I did not forget thee I vndestand that the messenger that went the other that came met in Capua the one caried my desire for thee the other brought thy letter for mee And if as diligeÌ„tly thou hadst read mine as I attentiuely haue hard thine thou shooldst thereby plainly know that my hart was as ful of sorow as thy spyrit was ful of pain I was very glad great thanks I yeeld thee for that thou didst send to comfort mee in my feuer tertian thy visitacion comfort came at the same hour that it left mee But if the gods did leaue this fact in my hands euen as they thought it good to fix the feuer in my bones I woold not leaue thee wtout comfort nor geeue place to the feuer to retourn again O how great is our pride the misery of mans life I speak this beecause I doo presume to take many realms froÌ„ other yet I haue not the power to pluck the feuer out of my own bones Tel mee I pray thee Mercurius what profit is it to vs to desire much to procure much to attain much to presume much since our days are so brief our ê‘sons so frayl It is long time since wee haue been bouÌ„d togethers in freÌ„dship many years haue passed sitheÌ„s wee haue knoweÌ„ the one the other the day that thy frendship trusted my faith immediatly my faith was bound that thy euils shoold bee mine my goods thine for as the deuine Plato said that only is true frendship where the bodies are .2 the willes but one I count that suspicious frendship where the harts are so deuided as the wils are seuered for there are diuers in Rome great frends in woords which dwell but ten houses in sunder haue their harts ten thousand miles distant When thow wenst from Rome I came from Samia thou knowst the agreement which wee made in Capua whereof I trust thou wilt not deceiue mee now but that I am another thou here that thou shooldst bee another I there so that my abseÌ„ce with thy presence thy presence wyth mine absence bee always together By relacion of thy messenger I vnderstoode that thou hadst lost much goods but as by thy letter I was enformed that anguish of thy parson was much greater As wee vnderstand here thou didst send a ship laden with marchandise to Grece the mariners factours desiring more to profit by their wisedome then to accomplish thy couetousnes did cast the marchandise into the Sea only they trauailed to saue their persons In deede in so streyght perilous a case thou hast no reason to accuse them nor yet they are bound to satisfy thee for no man can commit greater folly then for the goods of others to hazard his own propre life Pardon mee Mercury I pray thee for that I haue spoken allso for that I wil say which is that for so much as the mariners factours were not thy children nor thy kinsmen nor thy frends so that thy marchandise might haue come to the haueÌ„ safe thou hadst lytle passed if they had al been drowned in the deepe goulf of the sea Further I say though I woold not say it thow much lesse here it that according to the litle care which you other couetous men haue of the children factors of others and according to the disordinat loue which yow haue to your proper goods where as thou weepest bitterly for the losse of thy goods though thou hadst seen al the mariners drowned thou wooldst not haue shed one teare For Romain marchants weepe rather for ten crowns lost which they can not recouer then for ten men dying the which ten crowns woold haue saued Mee thinketh it is neither iust nor honest that thou doo that whych they tell mee thou doost to complain of thy factours and accuse the maryners only to recouer of the poore men by land that which the fish haue in their possession in the Sea For as thou knowest no man is bound to chauÌ„ge health life nor the renowm of their parsons for the recouery of goods Alas what pyty haue I on thee Mercury in that the ship was loden with thy marchandise and the woorst of all is that according to my vnderstanding thy feelyng the Pirats haue not cast such fardels into the sea as thoughts hath burdened oppressed thy hart I neuer saw man of such condicion as thou art for that thow seest that the shyp vntil such time as they cast that marchandise ouer the boord could not saile safely and yet thou doost lode thy self with ryches to goe to thy graue O greeuous and cursed riches with the which neither in the deepe seas neither yet in
had robbed the wydows All the auncient princes I say those that haue beene noble and valiaunt and that haue not had the name of tiraunts though in some things they were noted yet they always haue been praysed estemed and commended to bee gentle and mercifull so that they recompensed the fiersnes and cruelty which they shew to their enemies with the mercy clemency which they vsed to the orphans Plutarch in his politikes sayeth that the Romayns among them selues ordeyned that all that which remayned of bankettes feasts which were made at mariages and triumphs shoold bee geeuen to wydows and orphans And this custome was brought to so good an order that if any rich man would vse his profit of that which remayned that orphans might iustly haue an accion of felony against him as a thing robbed from them Aristides the philosopher in an oration hee made of the excellencie of Rome sayeth that the princes of Persia had this custom neuer to dyne nor sup but first the trumpets shoold blow at their gates the which were more loud then armonious And it was to this end that al the widows orphans shoold cōe thither for it was a law amongst them that all that which was left at the royal tables should bee for the poore and indigent persons Phalaris the tyrant writing to a freend of his said these woords I haue receued thy brieef letter with the rebuke likewise which thou gauest mee therin more bitter thē tedyous And admit that for the time it greeued mee yet after I came to my selfe I receyued thereby great comfort For in the end one louing rebuke of his freend is more woorth then a fayned flattery of his enemy Amongst the things wherof thou accusest me thou sayst that they take mee for a great tiraunt beecause I disobey the gods spoyl the temples kil the priests pursue the innocents rob the people and the woorst of all that I doo not suffer mee to bee entreted nor permit that any man be conuersaūt with mee To that they say I disobey the gods in very deed thei say true For if I did all that the gods would I shoold doo litle of that men doo ask mee For as much as they say I robb the temples therunto also I graūt For the immortal gods doo demaund rather of vs pure harts then that wee shoold buyld their temples For that they say I kil priests I confes also that it is true For they are so dissolute that I think I doo more seruices to the gods to put them to death then they doo in dooing their sacrifices whiles they liue For that they say I rob the temples I also confes it for I defending it as I doo frō enemies it is but meete and resonable they finde mee and my seruants Fo◠that they say I suffer mee not to bee entreated it is true For dayly and hourely they ask mee so many vniust vnreasonable things that for them and for mee it is better to denay them then for to graunt them For that they say that I am not conuersant with any I confesse it is true For euer when they come into my pallace it is not so much to doo mee seruice as to ask mee some particuler thing for their profit For that they say I am not pitefull amongst the miserable will not heare the wydows and orphans in no wise to that I will agree For I swear vnto thee by the immortal gods that my gates were neuer shutt to widowees and orphans Pulio in the life of the Emperor Claudius sayth that on s a poore widow came before Claudius the Emperor with weeping eies to desire him of iustice The good prince beeing mooued with compassion did not onely weepe as shee but with his own hands dried her teares And as there was about the emperor many noble Romains one amongst them sayd vnto him For the authority grauitye of Romayn princes to heare their subiects in iustice suffiseth onely though they dry not the teares of their faces This emperor Claudius aūswered Good princes ought not to bee contented to doo no more than iust iudges but in dooing iustice a mā must know that they are pitefull For oftētimes those which come beefore princes doo returne more contented with the loue they shew them then with the iustice they minister vnto theym And furder hee sayd For asmuch as you say that it is of small aucthoryty and also of lesse grauity that a prince doo weepe with a widowe and with his hands wype her eyes I aunswer thee that I desire rather to bee partaker of the griefes with my subiects then to giue them occasion to haue theyr eyes full of teares Certeynly these woords are worthy to bee noted and no lesse followed Admit that clemency in all things deserueth to bee praysed yet much more ought it to bee commended when it is executed on weemen And if generally in all much more in those which are voyd of health and comfort For weemē are quickly troubled and with greater difficulty comforted Plutatche and Quintus Curtius saie the good intertainment which Alexander the great shewed vnto the wife and chyldren of kyng Darius after hee was vtterly vanquished exalted his clemency in such sorte that they gaue rather more glory to Alexander for the pity and honesty which hee vsed with the children then for the victory hee had of the father And whē the vnhappy king Darius knew the clemency and pity which the good Alexander vsed to his wyfe and his chyldren hee sent vnto him his embassadours to the end that on his beehalf they shoold thanke hym for that that is past and shoold desire hym that hee would continew so in tyme to come saing that it might chaunce that the Gods and fortune would mitigat their wrath against him Alexander aunswered to the imbassadours these words Yee shall say in my beehalf to your king Darius that hee geeue mee no thankes for the good and piteful woork that I haue doon to his captyue weemen since hee is certain I did it not for that hee was my frend and I would not cease to doo it for that hee is myne enemy But I haue doon it for that a gentle Prince is bound to doo in such a case For I ought to employ my clemency to weemen which can doo nought but weepe my puissaunte power Princes shal feele which can doo nought els but wage batayle Truly these woords were worthy of such a prince Many haue enuy at the surname of Alexander which is great And hee is caled Alexander the great because if his hart was great in the ēterprises hee took vpon him his courage was much more greter in cities realmes which hee gaue Many haue ēuy at that renowme which they geeue Pompeius beecause they cal him great for this excellent Romayn made him self cōqueror of .22 realmes in times past hath been accompanied with 25. kings Many haue enuy at the renowme of Scipio the Affricā
who was caled Affricane beecause hee ouercame and conquered the great and renowmed city of Carthage the which city in riches was greater then Rome in armes power it surmounted all Europe Many haue enuy at Scipio the Asian who was called Asian beecause hee subdued the proud Asia the which vntil his tyme was not but as a church yard of Romains Many haue great enuie at the imortall name of Charles who was called Charles the great beecause beeing as hee was a litle king hee did not only vanquish and triumph ouer many kings and straunge realmes but also forsake the royall sea of his own realme I doo not maruayl that the proud princes haue enuy agaynst the vertuous and valiant princes but if I were as they I would haue more enuy at the renowme of Antonius the emperor then of the name and renowme of all the princes in the world If other princes haue attayned such proud names it hath been for that they robbed many countreys spoyled many temples committed much tyranny dissembled with many tyraunts persecuted diuers innocents beecause they haue takē frō diuers good mē not onely their goods but also their liues For the world hath such an euel property that to exalt the nāe of one only he putteth down 500. Neither in such ēterprises nor with such titles wā the emperor Anthonius Pius his name and renowne But if they cal him Anotonius the pitefull it is beecause he knew not but to bee father of Orphans and was not praysed but beecause hee was aduocate of wydows Of this most excellent prince is read that he himselfe did here and iudge the cōplaints and processe in Rome of the orphans And for the poore and wydows the gates of his pallace were always open So that the porters which hee kept within his pallace were not for to let the entre of the poore but for to let and keepe back the rich The historiographers oftētimes say that this good prince sayd that the good and vertuous princes ought alwayes to haue their harts open for the poore and to remedy the wydows and neuer to shut the gates agaynst them The god Apollo sayth that the prince which will not speedely iudge the causes of the poore the gods will neuer permit that hee bee well obeyed of the rich O high and woorthy woords that it pleased not the god Apollo but our lyuing god that they were written in the harts of princes For nothing can bee more vniust or dishonest then that in the pallace of princes and great lords the rich and fooles shoold bee dispatched and the widows and orphans frinds should haue no audience Happy and not once but a hundreth times happy is hee that will remember the poore afflicted and open his hand too comfort them and dooth not shut his cofers from helping them vnto him I assure and promise that at the strayght day of iudgement the proces of his life shall bee iudged with mercy and pity ¶ That the troubles griefes and sorows of widdows are much greater then those of widdowers where fore princes and noble men ought to haue more compassion vpon the weemen then on men Cap. xxxvi IT is great pity to see a noble and vertuous man sorowfull alone and a widower if especially hee liued cōtented when hee was maryed For if hee will not mary hee hath lost his sweete company and yf hee think to mary an other let him bee assured hee shall scarcely agree with his second wife There is much sorow in that house where the woman that gouerned it is dead For immediatly the husband forsaketh him self the children doo lose their obedience the seruants beecome neglygent the hand maides beecome wantō the frēds are forgotten the house decayeth the goods wast the apparel is lost finally in the widowers house there are many to robbe few to labor Heauy lamentable are the thoughts of the widower for if hee thinketh to mary it greueth him to geeue his children a stepmother If hee can not bee maryed hee feeleth greater payne seeing him al the day to remayne alone so that the poore miserable mā sigheth for his wife hee hath lost weepeth for her whom hee desireth to haue Admit that this bee true there is great difference from the cares sorows of weemen to that of men A thing very clere for so much as the widower lawfully may goe out of his house hee may goe to the fields hee may talk with his neigbours he may bee occupied with his frēds hee may folow his sutes also hee may bee conuersant refresh him selfe in honest places For commonly men are not so sorowful in taking the death of their wyues as the wyues are in taking the death of their husbands All this is not spoken in the disfauour of wise and sage men whom wee see make small streames with the teares of their eyes for the death of their wiues But for many other vaine light men which the 9. dayes of the funeral past a mā dooth see without any shame to go thro ought the strets beeholding the ladies and damsells which are in the windows Truly the wofull women which are honest vse not such lightnesse For whyles they are widowes it is not lawfull for them to wander abrode to goe out of the house nor speake with straūgers nor practise with her own nor bee conuersant with her neighbours nor plead with their creditours but agreable to their wofull estate to hide and withdraw them selues in their houses and to lock them selues in their chambers and they think it their dutye to water theyr plāts with teares and importune the heauēs with sighes O how wofull o how greuous o how sorowfull is the state of wydowes for so much as if a widow go out of her howse they take her for dishonest If shee wil not come out of the house shee loseth her goods If shee laugh a litel they count her light If she laugh not they call her an hipocrit If shee goe to the church they note her for a gadder If shee go not to the churche they say shee is vnthākfull to her late husband If shee go il apparayled they coūt her to bee a nigard If she go clenly and handsome they say nowshee would haue a new husband If shee do mainteyne her selfe honestly they note her to bee presumptuous If shee keepe company immediatly they suspect her house Finally I say that the poore miserable widows shall find a thousand which iudge their liues and they haue not one that wil remedy their paynes Much loseth the woman who loseth her mother which hath borne her or her sisters which she loueth or the frīdes which shee knoweth or the goods which shee hath heaped vp but I saye and affirme that ther is no greater losse in the world vnto a woman then the losse of a good husband For in other losses there is but one onely losse but in that of the husband al are loste together
within a yere shee is met in euery place of Rome what auaileth it that for few days shee hydeth her self from her parents and frends and afterwards shee is found the first at the theaters what profiteth it that widows at the first doo morne and go euil attired and afterwards they dispute and coÌ„plain of the beauty of the romayn wiues what forceth it that widows for a certein tyme doo keepe their gates shutt and afterwards their housen are more frequented then others What skilleth it that a man see the widows weep much for their husbands and afterwards they see them laugh more for their pastymes Fynally I say that it lytle auaileth the woman to seeme to suffer much openly for the death of her husband if secretly shee hath an other husband all ready found For the vertuous and honest wydow immediatly as shee seeth an other man alyue shee renueth her sorow for her husband that is dead I will shew thee Lady Lauinia a thing that beefell in Rome to the end thou think not I talk at pleasure In the old time in Rome ther was a noble and woorthy Romayn Lady wife of the noble Marcus Marcellus whose name was Fuluia And it happened so that this woman seeing her husband buryed in the field of Mars for the great greef shee had shee scratched her face shee ruffled her hear shee tore her gown and fell down to the earth in a found by the reason wherof two Senators kept her in their arms to th end shee shoold torment her self no more To whom Gneus Flauius the Censour said Let Fuluia go out of your hands shee will this day doo all the penaunce of wydows Speaking the trueth I know not whether this Romain spake with the Oracle or that hee were a deuine but I am assured that al hee spake came to passe For that this Fuluia was the wyfe of so excellent a Romayn as the good Marcus Marcellus was I woold that so vnlucky a chaunce had not happened vnto her which was that whyles the bones of her husband were a burning shee agreed to bee maried to an other and which was more to one of the Senators that lyfted her vp by the armes shee gaue her hand as a Romayn to a Romayn in token of a faithfull mariage The case was so abhominable that of all men it was dispraised that were present and gaue occasion that they neuer credit wydows afterwards I doo not speak it Lady Lauinia for that I think thou wilt doo so For by the faith of a good man I swere vnto thee that my hart neyther suspecteth it nor yet the auctority of so graue a Romayn dooth demaund it for to thee onely the fault shoold remain and to mee the wonder Hartely I commend vnto thee thy honesty whych to thy self thou oughtest and the care whych beehoueth so woorthy and noble a wydow For if thou art tormented wyth the absence of the dead thou oughtst to comfort thee with the reputacion of the lyuing At this present I will say no more to thee but that thy renowm among the present bee such and that they speak of thee so in absence that to the euill thou geeue the brydell to bee silent and to the good spurres to come and serue thee For the widow of euill renowm ought to bee buried quick Other things to write to thee I haue none Secrete matters are daungerous to trust considering that thy hart is not presently disposed to here news It is reason thou know that I with thy parents and frends haue spoken to the Senat which haue geeuen the office that thy husband had in Constantinople to thy sonne And truely thou oughtst no lesse to reioyce of that whych they haue sayd of thee then for that they haue geeuen him For they say though thy husband had neuer been citizen of Rome yet they ought to haue geeuen more then thys onely for thy honest beehauiour My wyfe Faustine saluteth thee and I will say I neuer saw her weepe for any thing in the world so much as shee hath wept for thy mishap For shee felt thy losse which was very great and my sorow whych was not lytle I send thee .iiii. thousand sexterces in money supposing that thou hast wherewith to occupy them as well for thy necessaries as to discharge thy debts For the complaints demaunds and processes which they minister to the Romayn matrons are greater then are the goods that their husbands doo leue them The gods which haue geeuen rest to thy husband O Claudine geeue also comfort to thee his wyfe Lauinia Marcus of mount Celio wyth his own hand ¶ That Princes and noble men ought to despyse the world for that there is nothing in the world but playn disceit Cap. xxxix PLato Aristotle Pithagoras Empedocles Democrites Selcucus Epicurus Diogenes Thales Methrodorus had among them so great contention to describe the world his beginning and property that in maintaining euery one hys oppinion they made greater warres with their pennes then their enemies haue doon wyth their launces Pithagoras sayd that that which wee call the world is one thyng and that which wee call the vniuersall is an other The philosopher Thales sayd that there was no more but one world and to the contrary Methrodorus the astronomer affirmed there were infinit worlds Diogenes sayd that the world was euerlasting Seleucus sayd that it was not true but that it had an end Aristotle seemed to say that the world was eternall But Plato sayd cleerely that the world hath had beginning and shall also haue endyng Epicurus sayd that it was round as a ball Empidocles sayd that is was not as a bowl but as an egge Chilo the philosopher in the high mount Olimpus disputed that the world was as meÌ„ are that is to weete that hee had an intellectible and sensible soule Socrates in his schoole sayth in his doctrin wrote that after .37 thousand yeres all things shoold returne as they had been beefore That is to weet that hee him self shoold bee born a new shoold bee norished shoold read in Athens And Dennis the tyraÌ„t shoold return to play the tyraÌ„t in Siracuse Iuliê° Cesar to rule Rome Hanniball to conquer Italy and Scipio to make warre against Carthage Alexander to fight against king Darius and so foorth in all others past In such and other vayn questions and speculations the auncient philosophers consumed many yeres They in writing many books haue troubled their spirits consumed long tyme trauayled many countreys and suffred innumerable daungers and in the end they haue set foorth few trueths and many lyes For the least part of that they knew not was much greater then all that which they euer knew When I took my penne in my hand to write the vanity of the world my entention was not to reprooue this materiall world the which of the fower elements is compounded That is to weete of the earth that is cold and dry of the water that is moyst
during life but as lendyng whych ought to bee rendered the day following I know not what man is so very a foole that in the world dooth hope for any perpetuall thyng For all that hee geeueth hee geeueth with such condicion that they shall render it vnto him when hee shall demaund it and not at the dyscrecion of him that dooth possesse it Peraduenture the world can geeue vs perpetual life I say certainly no. For in the sweetest tyme of all our lyfe then sodainly wee are assaulted of cruell death Peraduenture the world can geeue vs temporall goods in abundaunce I say certaynly no. For no man at any tyme had so much riches but that whych hee wanted was more then that hee possessed Peraduenture the world can geeue vs perpetual ioy I say certaynly no. For exemptyng those days whych wee haue to lament and allso the hours whych wee haue to sygh there remayneth not for vs one moment to laugh Peraduenture hee can geeue vs perpetuall health I say certaynly no. For to men of long lyfe without comparison the diseases are more which they suffer then the years are whych they lyue Peraduenture the world can geeue vs perpetuall rest I say certaynly no. For if the days bee few wherein wee see the elements without clouds fewer are the howers whych wee feale our harts without cares Therefore synce that in this myserable world there is no health perpetuall nor lyfe perpetuall nor ryches perpetuall nor ioy perpetuall I woold know what it is that the worldlyngs woold of the world synce they know that it hath no good thing to geeue them but onely by lendyng or by vsury If it bee vsury there is no gayn of money but rather retourn with restitucion of vices O children of vanyty O maisters of lyghtnes synce it is so that yee now determyne to follow and serue the world looke not of the world to haue any thyng but thyngs of the world In it is nothyng but pryde enuy leachery hate yre blasphemy auaryce and folly And if yee ask yf hee haue in hys gouernaunce any vertuous thyng hee will aunswer you that hee dooth neuer sell such marchaundyse in hys shop Let no man thynk that the world can geeue vs that whych it hath not for it self And if wee will chaunge any thyng with it and it with vs hee is so subtil to sel so curious to buy that that which hee taketh shal bee of great measure and that which hee selleth vs shal want much weight ¶ Of a letter the Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote to hys frend Torquatus to comfort hym in hys banishment which is notable for all men to learn the vanities of this world Cap. xli MArcus Emperour of Rome companion in the empyre with hys brother Annius Verus to thee Torquatus of the city of Gayetta wisheth health to thy parson strength against thy euil fortune I being in the Temple of the vestal virgins about three moneths hence I receyued a letter of thine the which was in such sort that neither mine eyes for that tyme could make an end to read it nor synce I haue had the hart to aunswer it For in the inconueniences of our frends if wee haue no faculty nor might for to remedy it at the least wee are bound to beewaile it Thy sorow maketh mee so heauy thy payn dooth trouble mee so much I am so carefull of thy anguish so tormented with thy grief that if the gods had geeuen power to wofull men to depart theire sorows as they haue geeuen to rych men to depart their goods by the faith I owe to god I sweare that as I am the greatest of thy frends I woold bee hee which shoold take the most part of thy griefes I know ryght well and as well as hee that hath prooued it that asmuch difference as there is beetween the bark the tree the mary and the bone the corn the straw the gold and the drosse the trueth and the dreames so much is there to here the trauailes of another and to tast his own Notwithstandyng comfort thy self my frend Torquatus for where the frends bee trew the goods and the euills are common beetwyxt them Oftentymes with my self I haue marueiled to what end or intencion the immortall Gods haue geeuen trauaile and torments to men synce it is in their power to make vs to lyue wythout them I see no other thyng why the myshaps ought pacyently to bee suffered but beecause in those wee know who are our faithfull frends In battaile the valyaunt man is knowen in tempesteous weather the Pilot is knowen by the touch stone gold is tryed and in aduersyty the frend is knowen For my frend dooth not ynough to make mee mery vnlesse allso hee dooth take part of my sorow I haue heard say here and now by thy letter I haue seene how they haue banished thee from Rome and confyscated thy goods and that for pure sorow thow art sick in thy bed whereof I maruell not that thou art sick but to bee as thou art aliue For saying to thee the trueth where the hart is sore wounded in short space it hath accustomed to yeeld vp vnto the body I see well that thow complaynest and thou hast reason to complayn to see thy self banyshed from Rome and thy goods confiscate to see thy self out of thy countrey without any parentage yet therefore thy sorow ought not to bee so extreame that thow shooldst put thy lyfe in hazard For hee alone ought to haue lycence and allso is bound to hate lyfe whych dooth not remember that hee hath serued the Gods nor hath doone any profyt to men If the affaires of the Empire dyd not occupy mee and the emperyall maiesty dyd not wythdraw mee I woold immedyatly haue to come to comfort thy person where thow shooldst haue seene by experience wyth what grief I feele thy trouble And therefore if thou takest mee for thy frend thow oughtst to beeleeue of mee that which in this case I woold of thee which is that as thow hast been the most entyer frend which I had in Rome so ys thys the thing that most I haue felt in this lyfe Tell mee my frend Torquatus what is it thow suffrest there that I doo not lament here It may bee that sometyme thow laughest but I allways weepe sometimes thow comfortest thy self but I am allways sad It may bee that thow lightnest thy payn but I am in sighyng It may bee that sometymes thow castest from thee sorow but for mee I cannot receiue consolation It may bee that thow hopest remedy of longlyfe but for mee I fynd no remedy more healthfull then present death Fynally I say that here I feele all that thow feelest there and furthermore I suffer all that which as a frend I ought to suffer here so that both our paynes are made one most cruell sorrow wherewyth my wofull lyfe is tormented I woold greatly desire to come and see thee and to help to
sinneth with a beautifull lady And hee which is drunk with sower ale offendeth more then hee which is drunk with sweete wyne And so in like maner greater offence commit they which lose their times with fooles that haue no grace then with iesters which haue good witts For it may bee permitted sometyme that the sage man for the recreation of his spyrits doo frequent the company of some pleasant man ¶ Of a letter which the Emperor wrote to Lambertus his frend gouernor of Helespont certifying him that hee had banished from Rome all fooles and loytering plaiers and is deuided into .3 chapters a notable letter for those that keepe counterfet fooles in their howses Cap. xlv MArcus Aurelius onely Emperor of Rome lorde of Asia confederate with Europe frendes of Affricke and enemy of the warres wisheth health to thee Lambert gouernour of the I le of Helespont With the furres which thou didst send mee I haue caused my gowne to bee furred and am girded with the girdel which thou didst present mee and am greatly contented with thy hounds For all is so good that the body doth reioyce to possesse it and the eyes to beehold it and also the hart to render thanks for it Where I dyd ask a few things of thee in iest thou hast sent mee many in ernest wherin not as a seruant but as a frend thou hast shewed thy selfe For the office of noble and worthyharts is to offer to their frends not onli that which they demaund but that also which they think they wil demaund Truly thou hast better measured thy seruices by thy noblenes then I thee demaund by my couetousnes For if thou doost remember I did demaund of thee only .xii. skinnes and thou hast sent mee .12 dosen I told thee that I desired .6 hounds for to hunt and thou hast sent me .12 of the best that can bee foūd in the I le In such sorte that I haue had honor and thou hast wonn renowne For in the litel I haue demaunded they shall see my lytel couetousnes and in the much thou hast sent mee they shall perceiue thy great lyberalyty I esteeme highly that which thou hast sente mee and I beeseech the gods send thee good luck For thou knowst wee may render thankes for the benefits receyued but wee haue not the power to requite the gentlenes shewed For the man which dare receiue of an other any gift dooth bynd hym selfe to bee his slaue I can not bee thy slaue for I am thy frend and thereof thou oughst to reioyce more then an other For beeing a seruaunt I should serue thee with feare but beeing thy frend I wyl profit thee with frendship Therfore to declare the cheefe occasiō wherfore I write vnto thee at this present I say I send thee .3 ships loden with iesters iuglers loyterers vacabonds and fooles and yet I doo not send vnto thee al the vacabonds which are in Rome for thē thy Ile should bee peopled with straungers The office that they had was that soom of thē iested and rayled at the table soome sang sundry malicious songs at mariages others told lies and news for their dinners at the gates other playd comon plays in the streats other enterteined the roman matrones with foolish nouells and tales others set forth vayne and light bookes of rymes and ballets and yet I swere vnto thee by the god Hercules these loiterers wanted no fooles to here them I let thee weete my frend Lambert that these loyterers are such and their scolers in nomber so many that though the maysters may bee in .3 ships caried yet the schollers could not bee in an hundred transported Of one thing I meruell much and also I affirme that the Gods bee offended since earthquakes ouerthrew the houses the great waters cary away the bridges the frost freese the vines the corrupt ayre infecteth the wise men and yet is there no plague that consumeth the fooles O how vnhappy art thou Rome vnto him that shall well beehold thee and dilygently serch thee For in thee wanteth valyant captayns honest Senatours iust Cēsors faithfull officers and vertuous Princes and onely there aboundeth fooles iesters plaiers dysers loyterers and vacabōds O what seruice thou shouldst doo to the gods and profit to our mother Rome if for .3 ships of fooles thou didst send vs one bark only of wise men I would not say but I wyll not cease to say that I haue seene fooles that I haue heard many folys but I neuer saw so great fooles nor hard such extreme folly as that of some noble romains and Italyens who think it a great act to keepe a foole in their house I iudge him to bee a greater foole that so desireth to keepe a foole then the foole hym selfe For a foole hath a semblaunce of the sage after that hee accompanieth with a sage but the sage sheweth him selfe a foole after hee accompanieth with a foole Why doo men seeke thinges of mockry since all that is in the world is mockry Why seeke wee fooles Since all that wee say is nothing but foly Why doo wee reioyce with those which flatter vs since there are none that say one onely trueth Why doo wee seeke fained fooles Since that all or the most parte of vs all are very fooles I see dyuers in Rome the which though they company with honest men are dissolute companyeng with sages they are symple treating with wise men they are without consideracion and beeing conuersant with fooles they think to bee sage If wee keepe company with pitefull wee shal bee pityfull If wee bee conuersant with the cruell wee shall bēe cruel If wee comunicate with lyers wee shal bee lyers Yf wee haunt the true wee shal be true and if wee desire the foolish wee shal bee fooles For according to the masters and doctrines wee haue such shall bee the sciences which wee shall learne the woorks which wee shal folow The famous tirant Dionisius the Siracusane which was in Scicil saied vnto the philosopher Diogenes Tel mee Diogenes what kinde of mē ought wee to haue in our houses with what persons ought wee to deuide our goods Diogenes aunswered him The wise man which will liue in peace with the comon wealth and that wyl not see his goods euyll employd ought not to geeue to eat nor to accompany with any but with the aged persons which should counsaile them and with the yong which should serue them with frends which should fauour them and with the poore to the end they should prayse them Denis the tiraunt greatly commēded that which Diogenes the philosopher told him but hee could neuer profyt with that counsayle For as hee shewed him selfe a tirant in robbing so hee shewed him selfe also vndiscreete in spending Presuppose that that which Diogenes the philosopher spake were true that is to weete that wee ought to feede the aged seruants frends and poore wee see by this aunswere it is not iust to geeue to eat
taketh away fear from death The deuine Plato demaūded Socrates how hee beehaued him self in life and how hee woold beehaue him self in death hee aunswered I let thee weete that in youth I haue traueled to liue wel and in age I haue studied to dye well and sith my life hath been honest I hope my death shal bee ioyful And though I haue had sorow to lyue I am sure I shall haue no payn to dye Truely these woords were woorthy of such a man Men of stout harts suffer maruelously when the swet of their trauel is not rewarded when they are faithful and their reward answereth nothing to their true seruice when for their good seruices their frends beecome vnthankful to them when they are woorthy honor and that they preferre them to honorable rome and office For the noble and valyant harts doo not esteeme to lose the reward of their labor but think much vnkindnes when a man dooth not acknowledge their trauel O happy are they that dye For without inconuenience and without payn euery man is in hys graue For in this tribunall iustice to all is so equally obserued that in the same place where wee haue deserued life in the same place wee merited death There was neuer nor neuer shall bee iudge so iust nor in iustice so vpryght that geeueth reward by weight payn by measure but somtimes they chastice the innocent and absolue the gylty they vex the faultlesse and dissemble with the culpable For litle auayleth it the plaintif to haue good iustice if conscience want to the iudge that shoold minister Truely it is not so in death but all ought to count them selues happy For hee which shall haue good iustice shal bee sure on his part to haue the sentence When great Cato was censor in Rome a famous Romayn dyed who shewed at his death a merueylous courage and when the Romayns praised him for that hee had so great vertu and for the woords hee had spoken Cato the Censour laughed at that they sayd for that they praised him And hee beeing demaunded the cause of his laughter aunswered Ye maruell at that I laugh and I laugh at that you maruel For the perils and trauels considered wherein wee liue and the safety wherein wee dye I say that it is no more needful to haue vertue strength to liue then courage to dye The aucthor heereof is Plutarch in his Apothegmes Wee cannot say but that Cato the Censour spake as a wise man since dayly wee see shamefast and vertuous persons suffer hunger cold thrist trauel pouerty inconuenience sorows enmities and mishaps of the which things wee were better to see the end in one day then to suffer them euery hour For it is lesse euill to suffer an honest death then to endure a miserable lyfe O how small cōsideration haue men to think that they ought to dye but once Since the trueth is that the day when wee are born and comen in to the world is the beeginning of our death and the last day is when wee doo cease to liue If death bee no other but an ending of lyfe then reason perswadeth vs to think that our infancy dyeth our chyldhod dyeth our manhod dyeth our age shall dye whereof wee may consequently conclude that wee dye euery yere euery day euery hour and euery moment So that thinking to lead a sure lyfe wee tast a new death I know not why men fear so much to dye since that from the time of their birth they seeke none other thing but death For time neuer wanted to any man to dye neither I knew any man that euer failed of this way Seneca in an epistle declareth that as a Romain woman lamented the death of a child of hers a philosopher said vnto her Woman why beewaylest thou thy child she aunswered I weepe beecause hee hath liued .xxv. yeres I woold hee shoold haue liued till fyfty For amongst vs mothers wee loue our children so hartely that wee neuer cease to beehold them nor yet end to beewayl them Then the Philosopher said Tell mee I pray thee woman why doost thou not complayn of the gods beecause they created not thy sonne many yeres beefore hee was born as well as thou complaynest that they haue not let him liue .l. yeres Thou weepest that hee is dead so soone and thou doost not lament that hee is borne so late I tel thee true woman that as thou doost not lament for the one no more thou oughtst to bee sory for the other For wythout the determination of the gods wee can not shorten death and much lesse lengthen life So Plinie sayd in an epistle that the cheefest law whych the gods haue geeuen to humayn nature was that none shoold haue perpetuall life For with disordinat desire to liue long wee shoold neuer reioice to goe out of this payn Two philosophers disputyng beefore the great Emperor Theodose the one sayd that it was good to procure death and the other lykewise sayd it was a necessary thing to hate lyfe The good Theodose takyng hym by the hand said All wee mortalles are so extreem in hatyng and louyng that vnder the colour to loue and hate lyfe wee lead an euyll lyfe For wee suffer so many trauels for to preserue it that sometymes it were much better to lose it And further hee sayd dyuers vayn men are come into so great follies that for fear of death they procure to hasten death And hauing consideration to this mee seemeth that wee ought not greatly to loue lyfe nor with desperation to seeke death For the strong and valiaunt men ought not to hate lyfe so long as it lasteth nor to bee displeased with death when hee commeth All commended that whych Theodose spake as Paulus Diaconus sayth in his lyfe Let euery man speak what hee will and let the philosophers counsell what they list in my poor iudgement hee alone shal receiue death without payn who long before is prepared to receiue the same For sodayn death is not only bitter to hym which tasteth it but also it feareth him that hateth it Lactantius sayd that in such sort man ought to liue as if from hence an hour after hee shoold dye For those men which will haue death beefore their eies it is vnpossible that they geeue place to vain thoughts In my oppinion and also by the aduyse of Apuleius it is as much folly to fly from that which wee cannot auoyd as to desire that wee cannot attain And this is spoken for those that woold flye the vyage of death which is necessary and desire to come agayn which is vnpossible Those that trauell by long ways if they want any thing they borow it of their company If they haue forgotten ought they returne to seeke it at their lodging or els they write vnto their frends a letter But I am sory that if wee once dye they will not let vs return agayn wee cannot speak and they will not agree
good turns I haue receiued at your hands I was also willyng to compyle and dedicate this my lytle treatise to you the which I present you wyth all my desyres my studyes my watches my swett and my troubles holding my self fully satisfyed for all the payns I haue taken so that this my simple trauell bee gratefull to you to whom I offer yt and to the publyke weale profitable Beeing well assured if it please you to trust mee and credyte my wrytyng you shall manifestly know how freely I speak to you and lyke a frend and not deceiue you as a flatterer For if the beeloued and fauored of princes chaunce to bee cast out of fauor it is beecause euery man flattereth hym and seeketh to please him and no man goeth about to tell him troth nor that that is for his honor and fittest for him Salust in his booke of the warres of Iugurtha sayth that the hygh heroycall facts and noble deedes were of no lesse glory to the historiographer that wrote them then they were to the captayn that dyd them For it happeneth many tymes that the Captayn dying in the battell hee hath woone lyueth afterwards notwythstandyng by the fame of his noble attempt and this proceedeth not only of the valyaunt deedes of armes hee was seene doo but also for that wee read of him in woorthy authors which haue amply written thereof Wee may well say therefore touching this matter that aswell may wee take hym for a true frend that geeueth good counsell as hee whych dooth vs great pleasure and seruyce For according to the oppinion of the good Marcus Aurelius who sayd to his secretary Panutius that a man with one pay may make full satisfaccion and recompeÌ„ce of many pleasures and good turns shewed but to requyte a good counsell dyuers thanks and infinite seruices are requisite If wee wil credit the auncient historiographers wee shall fynd it true that the vertuous emperors the fortunate kyngs and the valyaunt Captains when they shoold enterprise to goe conquer their enemies either they sought for some philosopher or they choose some other honest learned man of whom they tooke councel touching all their affayrs beefore they prest any soldiers Comparing the tymes past with the tymes present wee think that haue read some what that the tyme past was as pure grayn and this now as chaffe and straw the one as the tyme calme and still in the sea and this as wauering and tempesteous that then the fyne and pure mettall and this now the drosse thereof The other the marie and this the bones the one the cleer day and the other the dark night For in these days in princes courts and noble mens houses they glory more to haue a scoffing knaue or iester to make them laugh then they recken of a graue and wyse man to geeue them counsell Alexander the great in all hys warres woold always bee accompanyed with the wyse Aristotle Cyrus kyng of Persia with the philosopher Chilo Kyng Ptolomie wyth Pithinus the philosopher Pirrhus kyng of Epyre wyth Zatirus Augustus themperor wyth Symonides Scipio thaffrican wyth Sophocles Traian themperor wyth Plutarche Antonius themperor wyth Gorgias now all these famous princes caried not with theÌ„ so many learned philosophers to fyght in battell with armed weapon in hand like other their soldiers but only to vse their couÌ„cel aduice So that the great battels they ouerthrew and the woorthy victories they wanne with the noble tryumphs doon was as much by the graue counsell of these good and wise Philosophers as by the force of their army and prowes of their Captayns The greatest good turn and benefit one frend can doo for an other is to know to geeue good counsell to his frend in his greatest neede and not without cause I say to know to geeue counsell For it happeneth oft tymes that those that thought to haue geeuen vs good remedy by their counsell wanting in deede discrecion and iudgement in the same haue caused vs to runne into further daungers And therefore Seneca beeing once demaunded of themperor Nero what hee thought of Scipio thaffrican Cato the censor answered him in this maner I think it was as necessary that Cato was born for the comon wealth as Scipio for the warres for the good Cato wyth his prudent counsell expelled vice out of the wealth publike and the other with his noble courage and great armies did euer wythstand the force of the enemies According to the saying of Seneca let vs also say after him that hee is very arrogant that presumes to geeue an other counsell but with all wee say agayn that if the counsell bee found good hee hath geeuen to his frend in his neede and necessity asmuch praise deserueth hee that gaue it as hee that knew how to take it Now after thexample of the auncient philosophers which went to the warres not to fight but only to geeue counsell I will syr for those things that pertayn to your seruyce and profit take vppon mee the offyce of a philosopher and for the first doctrin of my philosophy I say that if it please you to receiue these counsels whych my penne dooth write to you at this present I promise you and by the faith of a christian man I swear that they shal bee such excellent helps to you for the preseruation of your credyt and fauor you are now in as you may bee enriched by the true and diligent seruice of your seruaunts For if a man woold with an oth ask the trueth of Plato Socrates Pithagoras Diogenes Licurgus Chilo Pittachê° and of Apolonius and also of all the vniuersity and company of the other philosophers they woold swere and affirm that the felicity of man consisteth not in great might in great aucthority and possessions but only in deseruing much For the honor fauor and dignityes of this mortall lyfe are more to bee praised and had in veneratioÌ„ when they are placed in a condigne and woorthy person then they are beeing possessed of an vnwoorthy and graceles man allotted to hym not by vertue but by fortune And therefore your aucthority beeing great at this present exalted thereto by gods diuine will and prouydence and now in the hyghest degree of prosperity I woold wish you my good lord lesse then any other courtier to trust to fortunes impery For yf the earthquakes sooner bryng to ground the proud and stately Pallaces then the mean and low howses if ofter fall on the highest mountayns the dreadfull lightnings and tempests then on the lowest hilles if among the greater multitude of people the plagues bee rifer then amongst the fewer nomber yf they vse rather to spread their netts and lay the byrdlyme on the green and thickst bows then on the dry and wythered sticks to snare the sely byrds withall If always the stillest seas doo foreshew to vs a greater tempest following and if that long health bee a watch vnto a great and daungerous sicknes ensuyng by this
remouing of the court for some courtiers there are that bee so poore that for wāt they canne hardli follow the court and others also that are rych are compelled to beare many of their charges with whome they are in company with by the way and some of those are so rude ill brought vp that they had rather beare their charge al their iourny then once againe to haue them in their company But a godsname what shall wee say yet of the wretched courtier whose coffers and horse are arrested at his departing for his debts Truly I ly not for once I sawe a courtiers moyle sold for her prouinder shee had eaten that mony not sufficient to pay the host the courtier remaining yet detter of an ouerplus the poore man was stripped euen of his cappe and gloues for satisfaction of the rest Also there is an other sorte of needy courtiers so troblesome and importune that they neuer cease to troble their freends to borow money of their acquayntance soome to fynd themselues soome to apparell them selues others to pay their dets others to play and others to geeue presents so that at the remouing day when they haue nothing wherwith to pay nor content their crediters then are they sued in lawe and arrested in theyr lodging and the credyters many tymes are not satisfyed with theyr goods but take execution also of theyr bodyes laying them in fast prison till they bee payd and satisfied of their whole dett O what a folly may bee thought in those that cannot moderat theyr expences according to theyr ability For to say vprightly hee should cut his garments according to his cloth and measure his expences with his reuenues and not followyng his affection and desire For the gentleman or courtier in the end hath not the meane nor commodity to spend as the contry man hath that lyueth at home at ease in his contry spēdeth such commodityes as hee brings into his howse but the courtier consumeth in court not his owne alone but also that of others And therfore in courte or els where let euery wise man bee diligent to bring his affaires to end but yet let him so moderate and vse his expences as hee shall not neede nor bee driuen to morgage and gage that hee hath For hee that feasteth and rowteth with others purse of that that is lent hym cannot choose but in the end hee must breake and deceyue his crediters Therfore all woorthy men that loue their honor and feare reproche ought rather to suffer honger cold thirst care paine and sorow then to bee had in the check rowle of riotous and prodigall spenders trustles of their promise and suspected of their woords There is yet an other great troble in the court of princes and that is the exceding derth of vittels the vnresonable wāt of howses and the great price of horses for many times they spend more for straw and litter for their horse then they doo in other places for hey otes and bread And further if the courtier bee a poore gentillman and that hee would feast and bancket his frends or companions hee shall spend at one dinner or supper somuch that hee shal bee constrained to fast a hole weeke after Therfore if the courtier wil be wel vsed in folowing of the court hee must not only know and speake too but also loue and inuite at tymes the bouchers vittlers fruterers keepers and softers Fishmongers and poulterers and other purueiers of the same of whōe hee shall alwaies haue asmuch neede of his prouision as hee shall haue of the iudges to shew him Iustice when hee shal neede it For meate bread wyne wood hey otes straw are comōly very deare in court For fewe of al these things are to bee bought in court but of others infinit things to bee sold to profit and gaine the poore courtiers that els had no shyft to liue And yet is there a litle more trouble in court and that is that continually letters are sent to the courtier from his frends to obtaine of the prince or his counsel his dispatch in his priuate affaires or for his seruants or tenants or other his frends And manie times these sutes are so ill welcome to the courtier that hee had rather haue pleasured his frend with a peece of mony then they should haue layd vpon him so waighty a matter And beesides this there is yet an other troble that the bringet of the letter must needes ly at the courtiers house attending his dispatch so that the courtier delaiyng his frends busines augmenteth his greefe and keeping the messenger there increaseth his charge And if perchanse his busines bee not dispatched and the sute obteyned those that wrote to him will not think hee left it of for that bee would not doo it or take paines therin but for that hee wanted fauour and credit or at least were very negligent in following their cause And that that vexeth them thorowly yet is that their parents and frends weene which are in the contry farr from court that this courtier hath all the courtiers at his commaundement that hee may say and doo what hee wil there And therfore his frends when they haue occasion to imploie him in court and that they wryte to him touching their affaires and that hee hath now taken vpon him the charge and burden of the same seeing him selfe after vnable to discharge that hee hath enterprised and can not as hee would satisfie his frends expectacion then hee faleth to dispaire and wissheth hee had been dead when hee first tooke vpon him this matter and that hee made them beeleeue hee could go thorough with that they had cōmitted to him beeing vnpossible for him hauing small credit and estimation amongst the nobility and councellers Therefore I would neuer councell him that hath brethern frends or other neere kynsfolks in court to go seeke them out there albeeyt they had matters of great weight and importance on hope to bee dispatched the sooner by their credite fauour and sute and for this cause for that in court there is euer more priuy malice and Enuy then in other places wherefore they can not bee reuenged one of the other but must tary a tyme and then when they see oportunity they set in foote to ouerthrow and secretly to put back their enemyes sute Now lo these things and other infinite plagues doo light on these poore vnfortunate courtiers incredible happely to any but the old and experienced courtier Yf the old and wise courtier would count all the fauors and mischances the derth and aboundance the frendships and enmities the contentation and displeasures the honor infamy hee hath endured in the court I beeleeue assuredly wee should not bee a litle sory for that body that had suffryd somuch but much more for that hart that had abidden al those stormes and broyls Whan the courtier seeth that hee is not hard of the prince nor spoken to of the
in woords to seeke also to help and releeue him with some what Licurgus in his lawes hee made ordeyned that it should not bee lawfull for any man to come to see a prisoner but hee should held to delyuer hym nor any poore man but hee shoold relieue him nor any sick or diseased parson but hee should help and comfort him to his able power And truly mee thinks Licurgus had great reason to make this law synce wee see that in experience that a mans mynd for one onely thing that is geeuen him ys better contented and satisfyed then with a thousand woords that they can speak to hym And if his house whom they goe to vysyt and where hee dwelleth bee his own inheritaunce and fee symple or that hee hath it by lease or purchase or that hee buylt it out of the ground or if hee haue repayred or new coated yt the courtier must pray him to let him see yt and when hee hath seen yt hee must greatly commend it to him for all mortall men haue this commō fault and humor that wee must bee praysed of our dooings and not reproued for our faults Further if they vysyt any sick person they must remember they speak but lytle to him and that softly and pleasant matters for otherwise yt should seeme and they wil also beeleeue hee came to see him rather to aggrauat his sicknes more then to comfort him Wee must euer make short visytacions not onely with the sick dyseased but the whole sound And then the good courtier must take his leaue of them when hee is euen in his most pleasant discourse to th end they may intreat him to tary longer and not to tary till they seeme to licence him by outward signes ceremonies hee that shal goe visyt an other let him take heede hee bee not so long tedious in hys talke that the parson whom hee visyteth doo rise beefore him For it were too playn a token hee were weery of his cōpany long tariyng syth hee rose beefore him to geeue him occasion to depart Yf his wife whom hee visiteth bee not a sister or kynswomen of the courtiers that visyts him or that they bee not of very familyar acquaintance togethers hee should not once seeme to ask for her much lesse to desire to see her For as Scipio sayeth a man should not trust any to see his wife nor to prooue his sweord It is also a custome vsed among courtiers that when they goe to any mans house to see him beefore they light of on their horse they send to know whether hee bee within or no. And when the courtier taketh his leaue of him hee hath visyted hee must not suffer the gentilman to bring him out of his chamber to accompany him much lesse to come down the staiers with him which if hee vse in this manner the other shall bee bound to thank him for his comming shal cōmend him for his ciuility And if it happen when wee goe to vysyt some noble man or other beeloued of the court at his lodging that at our comming hee is redy to come out of his house to ride abrode in the fields to take ayre or to ride to the court to solicyte some of his affaires or to ride abrode into the town for his pleasure the dylygent courtyer must willyngly accompany him offer him al the seruice hee can so hee shal deserue double thanks of him th one for his cōmyng the other for his gentle offer company To visyt the princes seruants it is not the maner for that they are always occupied in the princes seruice neither shal they haue such time of leysure as other haue And beecause they haue no time comodious to see thē at home at their own houses yet at the least the good courtier must needes accompany them at times when they goe abroade For there is more reason the esteemed courtier should make more of him that accompanieth him then of the other that is too importunat toublesome to him ¶ Of the good countenaunce and modesty the courtier should haue in beehauyng hym self at the prince or noble mans table in the tyme of hys meale Cap. vii THose that are abiding still in princes court must in any case goe seldom or not at al abrode to others tables but always to keepe their own For that courtier that runneth from table to table to eat of thers cost to haue his meat free is not so sparing of his purse as hee is too prodygall and lauish of his good reputacion Therefore Eschines the phylosopher beeing demaunded one day what a man should doo to bee counted good hee aunswered thus To beecome a parfyt Greeke hee must goe to the church willingly and of good deuotion and to the warres of necessity but to feasts and bankets neither of will nor of necessity onlesse it bee to doo them honor and pleasure that doo inuite thee Suetonius Tranquillus writeth that themperor Augustus prohibyted in Rome that no man should conuite eche other to feast or banket with an other but if his frend woold doo him the honor to come to his feast that then hee should send him home to his house of that meat hee should haue had at the feast and banket with them at their houses And whan hee was asked of certayn of his frends what hee ment to make this law hee gaue them this aunswer The cause that moued mee good frends to forbyd playes and bankets in Rome was because in play no man can keepe him self from swearing terrible blaspheming the name of god and in bankets euery man is geeuen to detect and defame his neighbor Cicero reconteth of Cato the Censor that hee lying in his death bed at the mercy of god should say these woordes Fower things I remēber I haue doon in my life wherein I haue rather shewed my self a voluptuous negligent Barbarian then a wise good Romain citisin for the which I fynd my self sore greeued The first is this For that I spent a whole day forgot to serue the gods did not profyt my cōmon weale in any thing which I should neuer haue doone For it is as great a dishonor for a philosopher to bee counted an idle neglygent person as it is for a noble hart to bee counted a rank coward The second is for that safly I myght once haue gon by land perilously I hasarded my self vpon the water A thing which I shoold wel haue let alone For neuer no wise man should euer haue put him self into peril onles yt were only for the seruice of the gods for the increase of his honor or for the defence of his countrey The thyrd is that I opened once a great secret matter of importaunce to a woman which I ought lesse to haue doon then al the rest For in graue matters things of counsell there is no woman capable to geeue counsel much
what ill so euer hee heareth spokeÌ„ of him I woold wish him not seeme to know it much lesse to be aÌ„gry with al nor once to geue a dishonest woord to the reporters therof For his choller ouer past the euel woords hee hath spoken to them in his anger may tourn hym to more displeasure then hee hath doone him hurt that caused him speak these woords And therefore surely to bridel the tongue is rather a diuine then humayn vertue and cheefely in that instant when the hart is mastered and subdued with cholorick passions For afterwards yt happeneth many times that beeing quyet agayn in our mynds wee are sory for that wee haue spoken in our anger yea agaynst them that haue angred vs. If the courtier should way euery woord that is spoken agaynst him and esteeme euery thing that is doon to him hee should purchace him self a continuall and sorowfull life yea and out of measure a troblesome and vnpleasant syth princes courts are euer full of serpent tongues and venomous harts and that it lyeth not in mans power to let that the harts of men hate vs not and that their tongues speak not ill of vs I would aduise the courtier to take all the ill that is spoken of him in sport and myrth and not in anger Seneca sayd and that wysely spoken that there is no greater reuenge to punish an iniurious woord then to seeme to laugh at yt For it is a thing more naturall and proper to weomen then men to desire to take reuenge of woords wyth the lyke woords agayn syth the noble hart that esteeme hys honor must not haue his hands in his tongue but his tongue in his hands O how many haue wee seen both out of court and in court the which for no other respect but to reuenge one onely seely woord that touched them not much would put theÌ„ selues their goods and fame in perill and yet in the end had not that reuenge neyther they desyred but rather redoubled it gaynst them selues in losyng their fond and vayn attempt Therefore to conclude those that wylbee great in fauor and estimacion in the prynces court and those also that are now in fauor and credit with the prynce and that desire to contynue and perseuer in his fauor still must not make account of any woords spoken to hym or offences doone hym for all that are in fauor haue neede to suffer and no occasion to reuenge Tyll this present day I neuer saw any that receyued any hurt or detriment by beeing pacient but beeyng impacient I haue seene numbers cast them selues away you must also know that in all places wheare troupe and company of people bee there is always euer discord and diuersities in oppynions and iudgements of men So that it happeneth many tymes in a common weale yea and yt meeteth sometimes in one house that all shall bee of one blood and kynred yet in pryuat willes and affections mortall enemies And therefore suer yt is a thing woorthy to bee noted and no lesse to be wondered at to see the father with the sonnes the vncles with the neuews the graundfathers with the children the sonne in lawes with their father in lawes and brothers with their brothers and systers the one to bee as farre different from the other as white and black and as much frends as the dogge and the catte And all this is caused onely for that they are rather wedded to a self wyll and oppinion they haue then they are addicted to loue and affect that that nature byndeth them to Wee see also many yong courtiers that though they bee vertuous and noble hauing inherited and succeeded in nobility of blood their auncestors by means whereof they are honored and reuerenced and possessyng also the greatnes and aboundaunce of their goods and ryches whych makes them wealthy and mayntayns them honorably enioying the noble parentage for whych they are regarded hauyng many frends and seruaunts that doo them great seruyce and pleasure And all in respect of their noble auncetors and yet notwithstanding all these great thyngs wee haue spoken they follow their own inuentions and imaginations which their auncetors knowing would haue fled and hate and myslyke that that they doubtles beeing alyue woold haue followed And therefore it is rather a token of lightnesse then of good wyll for one to leaue to help and releeue his own frends and kynsfolks to succour and doo good to straungers or others whom hee neuer knew nor can tell what they are For I assure you that one of the greatst losses and myshaps that can come to a noble house is to haue new frendshyp and partialyty with straungers and men vnknowen That gentelman that geeueth him self to follow such one as pleaseth hys fantasy best and that leaueth to lean to those whom hys auncestors heretofore both loued and lyked shall see those old frends not onely leaue and forsake hym but clean geeue hym ouer to hys wyll and shortly after shall fynd his substaunce and faculty consume and wast away beesydes the honor of hys house to bee brought to vtter decay and oblyuion And this wee haue spoken onely to aduise the prynces officers and such as haue credyt and aucthority that they doo not wyth fauor support and ayd any partiall sect namely that that concerneth the state and body of common weale For the esteemed of the prince more easly and with lesse occasion doo vndoe them selues and lose the credyt they haue woone by reason of their partialities and factions they mayntayn then they doo for the dayly benefyts and suyts they importune the prince in Wherefore the seruaunts and officers of the kyngs house although they bee in good fauor with the prince and that it please him to lyke well of them yet they may not so hardyly support any to doo hurt to others and so absolutly as if they were the lords and princes them selues For albeeyt yt pleaseth the kyng to call them to honor and to enrych them with goods and possessyons yet the kyng can not nor wyll not lyke that they shall bee suborners of factions and quarells amongst their subiects in the common wealth And yet neuerthelesse it happeneth many tymes that those that see them selues onely in fauor aboue others will presume to doo vyolence and wrong to others trustyng to their great credyt and fauor they are in that that shall suffice to cloke and hide any fault they shall commyt which they neuer ought to think nor yet for any respect in the world to doo For such vnhaply myght bee the cryme they commyt that although it bee in the prynces power to doo great thyngs for them yet hee could not at that tyme with his honor excuse their offence nor seeme to protect theÌ„ in their lewdnes wtout great murmur and discontentacion of his subiects I know very well that in court the mindes affections and oppynions of courtiers are so dyuers and vaâ—iable that notwithstandyng the beloued of the
nor by slyght of wytt procured to deceyue or begyle nether hee called his frends to help hym to withstand his enemies but only craued remedy against his vnhonest and vaine desires And vndoubtedly hee had reason For a man may easely absent hym selfe frō his enymys but to fly from hym selfe it is an impossible thing And therfor mee thinkes it is a thing more to bee lamented then writtē to see that a multitude of corporall enymes cannot vanquish and ouercome vs and yet notwithstanding when wee are alone and think nothing of it this only vice of the flesh doth not alone make vs stumble but fall downe ryte on the ground For nether to become religious a priest a fryer nor to dwell in churches nor to bee shut vp in cloysters to sequester our selues from the world nor to chaūge state and condition For all this I saye I see none of all these things helpe vs mortall mē to defend vs from this vyce and sinne But the further wee seeke to fly from yt the more danger wee find to fal in to it And albeit to auoide other vices and synnes it shall suffise vs to bee admonished yet against that alone of the flesh it behoueth vs to bee armed For ther is no synne in the world but that there are meanes for mē to auoid it this only excepted of the flesh where with all wee are ouercome and taken prysoners And to proue this true it is aparant thus Where rayneth pryde but amongst the potentates where enuy but amongst equalls anger but amongst the impatient glotony but amongst gourmans auarice but amongest the rych slothe but amongest the idle And yet for all these the synne of the flesh generally raigneth in al men And therfore for not resisting this abhominable vice wee haue seene Kings lose ther Kyngdoms noblemen ther landes and possessiōs the maried wiues their auowed fayth the religion nonnes their professed virginity so that wee may compare this synne to the nature and condicion of the venomus serpent which beeing aliue stings vs and after hee is dead offendeth vs with his noysome stink Examples by Dauid who for all his wisedom could not preuayl against that synne nor Salomon for al his great knowledge nor Absolon for al his diuine bewty nor Sampson with his mighty force which notwtstanding the great fame they had for their renowmed vertues yet thorough this onely defect they lost al accōpaniyng with harlots licencious weomen Into which shameful felowship fel also Holofernes Annibal Ptholomeus Pirrhus Iulius Cesar Augustus Marcus Antonius Seuerus and Theodotius many other great princes with these aboue recyted the most part of the which wee haue seene depriued of their crownes and afterwards them selues haue come to their vtter shame dishonor on their knees to yeeld them selues to the mercy of these their infamed louers crauing pardō forgeeuenes Many graue writers of the Gretians say that the imbassadors of Lidia comming one day into the chamber of Hercules vpon a sode in to speak with him they found him lying in his curtesans lap shee pulling his rings of on his fyngers hee dressed on hys head with her womenly attier shee in exchange on hers beedect with his royal crown They write also of Denis the Siracusan that albeeit of nature hee was more cruel then the wilde beast yet hee beecame in the end so tractable pleasant by the meanes of a curtisan his frend called Mirta that shee onely did confirme al the prouisions depeches of the affaires of the weale publike hee onely did but ordein and appoint them And if the histories written of the Gothes deceyue vs not wee fynd that Antenaricus the famous kyng of the Gothes after hee had triumphed of Italy that hee had made hymself lord of all Europe hee beecame so farre in loue with a louer of his called Pincia◠that whilst shee combo his head hee made clean her slippers Also Themistocles the most famous captain of the Greekes was so enamored of a woman hee had taken in the warrs of Epirus that shee beeing afterwards very sick when shee purged her self hee woolde also bee purged with her if shee were let blood hee would also bee let blood yet that that is woorst to bee lyked is that hee washed his face with that blood that came out of her arme so that they might truly say though shee were his prisoner yet hee was also her slaue subiect When Kyng Demetrius had takē Rhodes there was brought to him a faire gentlewoman of the cyty which hee made his frend in loue this loue beetwixt them by tyme grew so great that shee shewing her selue vpō a time to bee angry with Demetrius refusing to sit nere him at the table also to ly with him Demetrius vtterly forgetting him self royal estate did not only on his knees pray her to pardō him but also imbrasing her cōueighed her in his armes īto his chamber Myronides the Gretian albeeit hee had made subiect to hym the Kingdome of Boetia yet was hee notwithstanding made subiect with the loue of Numidia his louer Hee enflamed thus with loue of her shee like wise striken with couetous desire of his goods in fine they agreed that hee should geeue her al the spoyle hee had wonne in the warres of Boetia that shee shoold let him lye with her in her house onely one night Annibal made warres seuenteen yeares with the romains in all that time hee was neuer vanquished till that hee was ouercome with the loue of a yong mayden in the City of Capua which prooued a most bitter loue to him sith thereby it happened that where as hee had so many yeares kept in subiection all Italy hee now was made a subiect at home in his own country Plutarke in his booke De republica writeth that Phalaris the tirant woold neuer graunt a man any thing hee desired nether euer denied any thing that a dissolute woman requested No smal but great disorder happened to the comon weale of Rome by the occasion of the Emperor Calligula who gaue but 6000. sexterces onely to repaire the wals of Rome gaue otherwise for surring one gown alone of his lemans a 10000 sexterces By al these exāples aboue resyted wee may easely vnderstād how daungerous a thing it is for the courtier to haue frendship acquaintance with weomen of so vyld a faculty For the woman is of like quality that a knot tyed of cords is which is easely tyed of sundry knots and very hardly afterwards to bee vndoon agayn Heretofore wee haue beesought courtiers the fauored of princes that they shoold not bee so liberall in cōmaunding now once agayn wee pray them to bee ware of fornication adultry for albeeit this sinne of the flesh bee not the greatest in faut yet is it the most daūgerous in fame There is no King prelat nor knight in this world so vicious and dishonest of life but
the vnhappie matrone Lucrece were the cause that she was desired but the beautie of her vysage the grauytie of her personne the honesty of her lyuing the keping of her selfe close in her house the spendyng of her time and credite among her neighboures the great renowne that she had among straūgers prouoked the folish Tarquine to comit with her adultrye by force What thinke you wherof came this I shal shew you We that be euyl are so euyl that we vse euil the goodnes of them that be good The fault hereof is not in the Ladyes of Rome but rather in the immortal goddes Their cleane honestye declareth our cruel malice Faustine you say your doughter is to yong to be maried Do you not know that the good father oughte to endoctrine his sonnes frome their age and to prouide for his doughters whyles they be yonge Of a trouth if the fathers be fathers and the mothers mothers as sone as the goddes haue geuen them a daughter forthwith they ought to be myndfull therof and neuer forget it til they haue prouided her a husband The fathers ought not to tary for riches nor the mother for her linage the better to mary them so what with the one and the other the time passeth and the doughter waxeth aged and in this maner they be to old to be maried and to lyue alone they cānot so that they themselues liue in paine the fathers in thought and the parentes in suspection least they should be cast away O what great ladyes haue I knowen the doughters of great senatours which not for fault of richs nor of vertues in their persons but al only for differring of time and driuyng from one houre to an other so that at last sodaine death come to the fathers and no prouision was made for the doughters So that some were couered vnder the earth after their death others buried with forgetfulnes being alyue Eyther I lye or els I haue red in the lawes of the Rhodians these wordes We commaund the father in maryinge tenne sonnes to trauaile but one daye but to mary one vertuous doughter let hym trauaile ten yeares yea and hazarde his bodye in the water vppe to the chinne sweate droppes of of bloude alter the stomake disherite all his sonnes lose his goodes and aduenture his person These words in this law were pitiful for the doughters no lesse graue for the sonnes For .x. sonnes by the law of men are bound to go ouer al the world but the doughter by this good law ought not to go out of the house I say moreouer that as things vnstable thret fallyng so likewise it chaunceth to yong damosels which thinketh al their time lost and superfluous vnto the day of their mariage Homere sayth it was the custome of ladyes of Grece to count the yeres of their life not from the time of their birth but from the time of their mariage As if one demaunded a Grecian her age she would aunswere .20 yeres if it were .20 sithe she was maried though it wer .60 yeres sith she was borne Affirming after they had a house to gouerne and to commaund that day she beginneth to liue The Melon after it is ripe and abydeth still in the gardeine cannot escape but eyther it must be gathered or els it rotteth I say the mayden that tarieth long tyll she be maried can not escape eyther to be taken or infamed I wil saye no more As sone as the grapes be ripe it behoueth that they be gathered so it is necessary that the woman that is come to perfect age be maried And the father that doth this casteth peril out of his house bringeth himselfe out of care and getteth much contentacion of his doughter ¶ Of a letter whych the Emperour Marcus Aurelius sent to Piramon hys especial frend to comfort him in his troubles Cap. vii MArke oratour Romaine borne at mount Celio to Piramon of Lion my great frend desireth health to thy person and strengthe and vertue against thy sinister fortune In the thirde kalendes of Ianuarye I receyued thy letter wherby I perceiue thou hast receyued one of myne I regard not much thy words but I esteame greatlye thy meanynge So that without declaring therof I haue gathered the sentence Reason would because I haue writen so often to the that thou shouldeste the better vnderstand me but thou art so slouthful that though I call the thou wilt not heare nor though I strike the thou wilt not fele But now to come to the purpose Thou knowest Piramon how nere we be in parentage aunciēt in frendship stedfast in loue and tender of herts how faithful in al things wherin one true frend might proue another Thou remembrest well when we were at Rhodes that we dwelled together in one house and did eate at one table al that thou thoughtest I did it in effect and that I sayd thou neuer gainesaydest Certainly thou were in my harte and I in thine entrailes I was thine and thou were myne We being together it semed to al other that we were but one of one wil. What a matter is this Thou writest how thou art heauy yet thou doest not tel the cause why Thou complaynest that thou art almost dead and thou shewest me not who taketh from the thy life If thou wilt not shew to me thy troubles sith thou art my frende I wil thou know that I demaund it of right If thou wilt not I wyl that thou know that the piteful gods haue determyned that al pleasures ioye shal departe from my house and that al heuines sorowes shal be lodged in my person Sith I am prince of al honor in tribulacion if thou wouldest thou canst not escape out of my siegnory For if thou complaine that thou art vnhappye in fortune then I esteme my selfe to be happie in vnhappines I demaund one thing of the when hast thou sene me haue sufficient and thou nede when hast thou sene me slepe and thou wake and when hast thou trauailed and I rested Of trouth sith the goods and persons are their owne proper the trauailes and euil aduentures are alwaies common One thing thou oughtest to know if in myne amytie thou wilt perseuer that all my goodes are thine al thyne euyls are myne sith thou was borne to pleasure I to trouble I say not this fainyngly for thou haste had experience of me that when Maria thy sister died who was no lesse vertuous then faire thou perceiuedst wel when she was with earth couered dead I was with sorowes ouerwhelmed alyue and at the sowne of my teares thine eyes daunced Sythe thou hast such confidence in my person surely thou maist discouer to me thy paine Yet as often as I haue demaunded there hath no famed excuses wanted I require the and desire the againe and in the name of the Gods I pray the and in their names I coniure the that thou powre al thy sorowes into mine
day in hearing tydings another day in doing seruyces somtime liking darknes sometime lothing lyght being in company and solitary lyueth and finally the poore louer may that he wil not and would that he may not More ouer the counsel of his frends auayleth hym nothing nor the infamy of his enemyes not the losse of goodes the aduenture of honour the losynge of his lyfe nor the sekyng of death neyther commyng neare nor flyeng farre nor seing with his eyes ne hearing with his eares nor tasting with his mouth nor fealing with his hand to conclude to get vyctory he is alway at warre wyth hym selfe Then I would ye louers knewe from whence your loue doth come it is this The entrayles wherof we are bread be fleshe the breastes that we sucked are fleshe the armes wherin we be fastned be of flesh the thoughts which we thynke be fleshly the workes which we do are fleshly the men with whom we lyue are of flesh and the wonder for whom we dye are flesh by whych occasion commeth the reuerting of our flesh to flesh many fre harts are intangled with the snares of loue It semeth wel my ladies ye were gendered in puddels as before is mencioned of the Egiptians the puddels haue no cleare water to drincke nor fruite to eate nor fish to be taken nor shyppe to sayle in I meane that in your lyues ye be filthy your personnes wythout shame in aduersitye weake and feble in prosperity ful of deceite and guyle false in your woordes and doubteful in your doynges in hatynge without measure in loue extreame in gifts couetous in takyng vnshamefast finally I say ye are the ground of feare in whom the wise men find peril the simple men suffer iniury In you the wise men hold their renowne slaundered the simple men their lyfe in penury Let vs omit the opinion of the Egiptians and come to the Grekes which say that in the desertes of Arabia the sonne shineth hottest at the beginning ther was found one womaÌ„ with one bird called the Phenix which bird was created on the water and the woman engendered by the great heat of the sonne of the pouder of trees in this wise Ther was a tree sore eaten with wormes vpon a time a blast of lightning set it on fier burnt it so as amongest the ashes of that rotten tre the first woman was made found Although I be a Roman philosopher yet can I not disalow the opinion of the greke philosopher Of trouth ye amorous dames ye haue your tongues of the nature of fire and your condicions like the pouder of a rotten tre Accordyng to the dyuersity of beasts so nature hath in diuers parts of the body placed their strength as the Eagle in her byl the Vnicorne in the horne the serpent in the taile the bul in the head the beare in his pawes the horse in the breast the dogge in the teath the bore in the tuske the doues in the winges the women in their tongues For of trouth the flight of the doue is not so hyghe as the fantasy of your folyshnes is vaine the cat scratcheth not so sore with her nayles as ye scratch the folish men with your importunities The dogge hurteth not hym so much that he runneth after as ye do the sorowful louer that serueth you the life of him is not in so muche daunger that catcheth the bul by the hornes as the same of him that falleth in your hands To conclude the serpent hath not so much poison in his taile as ye haue in your tongues I accept the Romaine ladies a part for ther are many very noble whose lyues are not touched with complaint nor good fames had in suspect Of such neither my letter speaketh ought nor my penne writeth but of those women I speake that be such as al the venemous beastes in the world haue not so much poison in their bodyes as one of those hath in their tongues And sith the gods haue commaunded our fate doth permit that the life of men cannot passe without women I aduise the youth besech the aged I wake the wise instrucâ—â—â—mple to shonne women of euyl name more then the comon pestilence Râ—â—â—â—ng the auncient lawes of Plato I find written this We comaund that al women openly defamed bee openlye banished the citye to thintente that others seing the sinne punished may abhorre the same for feare to fal in the like paine The same law said further we comaund that they pardon a woman for al her faults she committeth bodely in case ye se amendment likewise in her but we wil that no fault be pardoned committed by the tongue For actual sinne done is the frailety of nature the tongue only of malyce O deuyne Plato maister measure of al knowledge science prince of al philosophers When thou in the golden world maydst such lawes in whiche time ther was such scarsitye of those women which were euil and so great plenty of them that were good what should we do now in Rome wher there be so many euil openlye and none good in secret women naturally oughte to be shamefast in their face temperate in wordes wise of wit sober in going honest in conuersacion pitiful in correction ware in their lyuyng auoyding companyes faithfull in their promyse constaÌ„t in loue Fynally she that wil be counted honest let her not trust to the wisedome of the wise nor commit her fame to the wanton youth let euery wise woman take hede what he is that promyseth her ought For after that the flames of Venus be set on fire and Cupide shotte his arrowes the rich offereth all that he hath and the poore al that he may The wise man wil euer be her frend and the simple man for euer her seruaunt The wise man wil lose his lyfe for her and the simple wil accept his death for her The old men say they wil be frendes to their frendes and the yonge man wil say he wil be enemy to their enemyes The aged promysing to pay her debtes the other to reuenge her iniuries Finally the one because to hide their pouertie and the other to publyshe their beautie leade these fooles losing their lyues bringinge their fame to ende I wil leaue to speake of the good women for I mind not to charge them with ought I aske you amorous ladyes yf Plato was amongest you when ye made a play of my lyfe drew my picture about Rome no surely for that I se in your act now I do suspect that to be true which hath bene sayd of others for there are fewe in Rome that execute the paine of Platoes law One thing ye cannot deny if I were the worst of al men at the last ye se the end of my vylanies but this you caÌ„not deny that she which is least euil of al you the naughtines of her life I could not sufficiently set out in my lyfe Yt
accompte that we haue gotten that we hope to get Tel me what cōmeth of these vaine pleasures the time euil spent the fame in way of perdition the goodes cōsumed the credite lost the goddes offendeth the vertues sclaundered from whence we get the names of brute beastes and sir names of shame Suche be ye and others Thou writest in thy letter howe thou wouldest willingly leue Rome and come to see me in the warres of Dacia Considering thy folly I laugh but knowing thy boldnes I beleue thee And when I thinke on this I tourne to my bosome peruse thy seale doubting whether the letter were thyne or not The vaynes of my hart do chaunge my colour doeth tourne imagening that either shame hath vtterly forsaken thee or els grauitie hath wholy abandoned me for such lightnes should not be beleued but of the like persons Thou knowest wel he that doth euil deserueth punishment soner then he that doth infamy I would aske the whether thou wilt go thou suffredest to be cut as sower grape now thou woldest be sold for good wine thou camest in with cheries yet wouldest remain as quinces We haue eaten the in blossomes thou wilt be like the fruite the nuttes be pleasaunt but the shelles be hard By dong thou were made ripe in thy youthe thou wenest to be in stil Thou art nought els but rotten And if thou be rotten thou art to be abhorred Thou art not content with .xl. yeres which thou hast wherof xxv thou didest passe in tast like to swere wine that is sold or like the melōs that be rype melow Art not thou that Boemia which lacketh two teethe before are not thine eies sonken into thy head thy heares whiter thy fleashe wryncled thy hand perished with the gout one ribbee marred with child bearing Whether doest thou desire to go put thy selfe then in a barel cast it into the ryuer so shalt thou become pure white We haue eaten the fresh fish now thou wouldest bring hether the stinking salt fishe O Boemia Boemia in this case I see no trust in youthe nor hope in age For vnder this thy hored age there is hid the panges of fraile youth Thou cōplainest that thou hast nothing it is an olde quarell of the auncient amorous ladies in Rome that taking all thinges they say they haue left them nothing The cause therof is where you doe lacke credite there ye would haue it accomplished with money Beleue me louing frende the folish estate of vnlawfull gaming both geueth an vnsure state also an euill fame to the persone I knowe not howe thou art so wastful for if I pulled of my ringes with the one hande thou pickedst my purse with the other greater warres haddest thou then with my coffers then I haue now with my enemies I neuer had iewel but thou demaundedst of me thou neuer askedst me thing that I denied thee I find bewayle nowe in my age the high partes of my youth Of trauel pouertie thou complainest I am he that hath great nede of the medicine for this opilation plaisters for the sonne cold water for such a burning feuer Doest thou not wel remember how I did banish my necessitie into the land of forgetfulnes placed thy good wil for the request of my seruice in the winter I went naked in the sommer loded with clothes In the mire I went on foote rode in a faire way When I was sad I laught when I was glad I wept Being afraid I drew out my strength out of strēgth cowardnes The night with sighes daies in wayling I consumed When thou hadest nede of any thing I robbed my father for it Tel me Boemia with whom diddest thou fulfil thine open follies but with the misorders that I did in secret wote ye what I thinke of the amorous ladies in Rome that ye be mootes in olde garmentes a pastime for light persones a treasure of fooles the sepulcres of vices This that semeth to me is that in thy youth euery mā gaue to thee for that thou shouldest geue to euery one nowe thou geuest thy selfe to euery man because euery one should geue them to thee Thou tellest me that thou hast two sonnes lackest helpe for thē Geue thākes to the gods for the mercy they haue shewed thee To .xv. children of Fabritius my neighbour they gaue but one father to thine only two sonnes they haue geuē .xv. fathers Wherfore deuide them to their fathers euery one shal be wel prouided Lucia thy doughter in dede mine by suspect remēbre that I haue done more in marieng of her then thou diddest bringing her forth For in the getting of her thou callest many but to mary her I did it alone Very litle I wryte to the in respect of that I would wryte Butrio Cornely hath spoken much to me on thy behalf he shall say as much to the in my part It is long ago sithe I knew thy impacience I know wel thou wilt sende me another more malicious I pray the sence I write to the in secret discouer me not openly whē thou readest this remēbre what occasion thou hast geuen me to write thus Although we be fallen out yet I will sende the money I send the a gown the gods be with thee Boemia and sende me from this warre with peace Marke pretour in Daci to Boemia his louer auncient frend in Rome ¶ The aunswere of Boemia to the Emperour Marcus Aurelius Wherin is expressed the great malice and litle pacience of an euill woman Cap. xii BOemia thine aunciēt louer to thee Marke of mount Celio her natural enemy desireth vengeance of thy persone euill fortune duryng thy life I haue receiued thy letter therby perceiue thy spiteful intētes thy cruel malices Such naughty persons as thou art haue this priuiledge that sith one doth suffre your villanies in secrete you wil hurt thē openly but thou shalt not do so with me Marke Although I am not treasoresse of thy good yet at the least I am of thy naughtines Al that I cānot reuēge with my person I wil not spare to do it with my tongue And though we women for weakenes sake ar easely ouercom in persone yet knowe thou that our hartes are inuincible Thou saiest escaping from a battaile thou receiuedst my letter wherof thou wast sore agaste It is a common thing to them that be slouthfull to speake of loue for fooles to treat of bookes for cowards to blase of armes I say it because the answere of a letter was not nedeful to rehearse to a woman whether it was before the battaile or after I thinke wel thou hast escaped it for thou wert not the first that fought nor the last that fled I neuer saw that go to the warre in thy youth that euer I was feareful of thy life for knowing thy cowardlines I
neuer toke care for thy absence I alwaies iudged thy persō safe Thē tel me Marke what dost thou now in thy age I thinke thou carieste thy lance not to serue thy tourne in thy warre but to leane on whē the gout taketh the Thy head pece I iudge thou hast not to defend the from stroks of swords but to drinke withal in tauernes I neuer sawe the strike any man with thy sword but I haue sene the kil a thousand womē with thy tongue O malicious Marke if thou wert as valiaunte as thou art spiteful thou shouldest be no lesse feared among the barbarous nacions then thou art abhorred with good reason amongest the Romaines Tel me what thou list but thou canst not deny but both thou hast bene arte a slacke louer a cowardly knight an vnknowen frend auaricious infamed an ennemy to all men frend to none Moreouer we that knew the a lyght yong mā condemne the now for an old doting foole Thou saiest that taking my letter into thy handes forthwith thy hart receiued the hearbe of malyce I beleue the wel vnsworne for any thing touching malyce doth streight find harber in thy brest The beasts corrupted do take poison which the sound of good complection refuseth Of one thing I am sure thou shalt not die of poison For seldom times one poison hurteth another but it driueth out the other O malicious Marke if al they in Rome knew the as wel as the vnhappie Boemia dothe they should se how much the words that thou speakest differ from the intencion of thy hart And as by the bookes thou makest thou meritest the name of a philosopher euen so for the ilnes thou inuentest thou dost deserue the name of a tiraunt Thou saist thou sawest neuer constancy in a womans loue nor end in her hate I ioy not a litle that other ladies in Rome as wel as I doo know thy smal wisedom Behold Marke I wil not mocke the For thou art such a one as neuer deserued that one shold begin to loue nor end to hate Wilt thou haue stabilite in loue and thou vnthankeful of thy seruyce wilte thou serue in mockerie and be beloued faithfully wilt thou enioy the parson without spending any of the goods wilt thou haue no complaints on the thou ceasest not thy malice Thou knowest the il of womē I wil thou know that we be not so folishe as ye wene vs nor thou so wise as thou praisest thy selfe to be Hitherto we haue sene mo men folow the desire of women then women haue liked to folow men I haue sene a thousand times yea thou thy selfe that one man hath not so mighty a hart as to ouercome three wise womē one woman holdeth her selfe strong inough to subdue .iii. C. lighte persons Thou saist thou art ashamed of my lightnes to se me forsake Rome come to the into the warres Great is the loue of the countrey and many leaue much goodes which they haue in straunge landes to lyue poorely in their owne but greater is thy loue sith I would leaue Rome with the delites therin come to seke the in straung lands amonge the rude souldiours O malicious Marke O straunge frend If I leaue Rome it were to goe seke my harte whiche is with thee in the warres And certainly oftentimes when I thinke of thy absence I fall into a swoune as one that hadde no harte but I neuer fynde remedy I thinke oure loue is not like to these beastes whiche haue their myndes only vpon sensual pleasures without the cōioyning of the louing hartes I sweare to the by the goddesse Vestal the mother Berecinthia that thou owest more to me for the loue I haue borne to thee in one day then for the seruice I haue done to thee in .xxii. yeres Behold vnhappy Marke howe much and dearly I loued thee In thy presence I alwayes behelde thee and absent I alwayes thought of thee sleping I dreamed on thee I haue wepte for thy sorowes and laught at thy pleasures and finally al my wealth I wished thee and al thy misfortunes I toke as mine I ensure thee of one thing that I fele not so much the persecution thou hast done to me as I doe the wayling forgetfulnes thou shewest to me It is a great griefe to a couetous man to lose his goodes but without comparison it is a greater torment for the louer to see his loue euill bestowed It is a hurt that is alwayes sore and a payne alwayes paynefull a sorowe always sorowfull and it is a death that neuer endeth O if men knewe howe dearly and faithfully women doe loue when they are bent to loue and with what malicious harte they hate being set to hate I sweare to you ye would neuer company with them in loue or if ye did loue them ye would neuer leaue for feare of their hate And as there is neuer great hate but where there was first much loue euen so thou shalt neuer be greatly hated for that thou wert neuer truly beloued of the ladies The sorowful Boeme hath loued thee xxii yeares of her life and nowe she onely hateth thee till after her deathe Thou sayst I may be eaten for veriuyce and yet would be solde for wyne I knowe I haue erred as one both young and light and when I founde me to straye out of the waye I was to farre gone and my mishappe coulde no other way nor remedy It is a great losse of all losses when there is no remedy I haue offended as a weake and frayle woman but thou as a man strong I erred by simple ignoraunce but thou of a purposed and wilful malice I sinned not knowyng that I did amisse but thou knewest what thou diddest I did credite thy wordes as a faithfull knighte and thou betraidest me with a .1000 lyes as a common lier Tell me diddest not thou seke occasion to come into my mothers house Getulia to entise me her doughter Boemia to thy mynde diddest not thou promise my father to teache me to reade in one yeare and readest me Ouide of the act of loue didest not thou sweare to mary me and after withdrewe thy hande as a false adulterer doest thou not knowe that thou neuer foundest in my persone any vyllany nor in thy mouthe any truthe At the least thou canst not deny but thou hast offended the gods thou art defamed amongest mē odious to the Romains a sclaunderer of the good folkes an example to the ill and finally a traitour to my father a breaker of thy faith to my mother and to me the vnhappy Boemia an vnkynde louer O malicious Marke hast thou not cut me in leaues offering to my father to kepe his vines safe Euell may the chicken truste the Kyte or the Lambes the Wolfe or the Doues the Faucon but thou arte worse to bring vp the doughters of good men O cursed Marke a hurtfull keaper of vines hath the Matrone of Rome founde thee in
set ryse my sonne Marke and sithens nowe thou arte yong it is but iust that thou geue me place whiche am aged If it bee true that it is xxxiii yeares sithens thou askedst place in the theathers as and old man tell mee I praye thee and also I coniure thee with what oyntement hast thou anoynted thy selfe or with what water hast thou wasshed thy selfe to become yonge O Claude if thou hadst founde anye medicyne or dyscouered anye herbe where with thou couldest take whyte heares from mens heades and from women the wrincles of theire face I sweare vnto thee and also I doe assure thee that thou shooldest be more vysyted and serued in Rome then the god Apollo is in his Temple at Ephesus Thou shouldest wel remember Annius priscus the old man whiche was our neighbour and somewhat a kinne to thee the whiche when I tolde him that I coulde not bee filled with his good woordes and to behold his auncient white heares he saied vnto me O my soone Mark it appereth wel that thou hast not byn aged because thou talkest as a yong maÌ„ for if white heares do honour the ê‘son they greatlye hurt the harte For at that houre when they se vs aged the straungers do hate vs ours do not loue vs. And he told me more I let the wete my sonne Marke that many times my wyfe and I talking of the yeares of another perticularly when she beholdeth mee and that I seeme vnto her so aged I saye vnto her and swere that I am yet yoÌ„ge and that the white heares came vnto me by great trauailes and the age by sicknes I do remember also that this Annius Priscus was senatour one yeare and bycause he woulde not seeme aged but desired that men shoulde iudge hym too bee yonge he shaued his bearde and hys heade which was not accustomed amonge the senatours nor Censours of Rome And as one day amongest the other Senatours he entred into the hyghe Capitolle one sayde vnto hym Tell me man from whence comest thou What wylte thou and why comest thou hither howe durste thou being no senatour enter into the Senate he aunswered I am Annius priscus the aged howe chauÌ„ceth it that nowe you haue not knowen me they replyed vnto hym if thou werte Annius Priscus thou woldest not come thus shauen For in this sacred senate can none enter to gouerne the coÌ„mon wealth vnlesse his parsoÌ„ be endued with vertues and his heade with white heares and therfore thou art banished and depriued of thy office For the olde which lyue as the yong ought to be punished Thou knowest wel Claude and Claudine that that which I haue spoken is not the faynyng of Homere neither a fable of Ouide but that you your selues saw it with your eyes and in his banishment I dyd helpe him with money and more ouer he was banished another time for the lightnes he dyd commit in the nighte in the citye and I meruaile not hereof for we see by experyence that old men whiche are fleashed in vices are more obstinate to correct then the yong O what euill fortune haue the olde men which suffered them selues too waxe olde in vyces for more daungerous is the fier in an old house then in a new and a greate cut of a sworde is not so perilous as a rotten fistule Though old men were not honest and vertuous for the seruice of the gods and the common wealth for the saieng of the people nor for the example of the yong yet he ought to be honest yf it weare but for the reuerence of their yeares If the pore old man haue noe teeth how shall he eate If he haue no heate in his stomacke howe can he dysgest If he haue no taste how can he drinke if hee be not strong howe can he be an adulterer If hee haue no feete howe can he goe If hee haue the palsy howe can hee speake if hee haue the goute in his handes howe can hee play Fynally suche lyke wordlye and vicyous men haue employed their forces beinge yonge desirous to proue al these vices and when they are old it greueth them extreamelye that they can not as yet accoÌ„pplishe their desiers Amongest all the faultes in old men in my opinion this is the chefest that since they haue proued al thiÌ„ges that they shoold stil remaine in their obstinat folly There is no parte but they haue trauailed no villany but they haue assayed no fortune but they haue proued no good but they haue persecuted no euyl but hath chaunced vnto theÌ„ nor there is any vice but they haue attempted These vnhappy men which in this sorte haue spent all their youth haue in the end their combes cut with infirmities diseases yet they are not somuch greued with the vices which in them do abound to hinder them froÌ„ vertues as they are tormented for wante of corporall courage to further them in their lusts O if wee were gods or that they would geeue vs licence to know the thoughts of the old as wee see with our eies the deeds of the yong I swear to the God Mars and also to the mother Berecinthe that without comparison we woold punishe more the wicked desiers which the aged haue to be wicked then the light deeds of the yong Tel mee Claude and thou Claudine do you think though you behaue your selues as yong you shall not seme to bee old know you not that our nature is the corruption of our body and that our body hindereth our vnderstandings and that the vnderstandyngs are kept of our soule that oure soule is the mother of desiers that our desiers are the scourge of our youth that our youth is the ensigne of our age age the spye of death that death in the end is the house where life taketh hys herber and from whence youth flyeth a fote and from whence age can not escape a horsback I woold reioyce that you Claude and Claudine woolde tell me what you fynde in lyfe that somuche therwith you should bee contented since now you haue passed foure score yeares of lyfe duryng the which tyme either you haue been wycked in the world or els you haue been good Yf you haue been good you ought to think it long vntil you be with the good gods if you haue been euil it is iust you dye to the end you bee no worse For speaking the truth those which in .3 score 10 yeares haue been wicked in woorks leaue smal hope of their ameÌ„dment of lyfe Adrian my lord being at Nola in Campania one brought vnto him a nephew of his from the study where as the yong child had not profyted a lytel for hee became a great Gretian and latinest and more ouer he was faire gratious wise honest And this Emperor Adrian loued his nephew so much that hee saied vnto him these woords My nephew I know not whither I ought to say vnto thee that thou art good or euil for
and grow in great aucthority Which cannot bee wythout hearing a lytle secrete hate and enuy against those that doo passe them in this fauor and auctority and without suspect and fear of others which in this are their equals companions It were a good counsel for those that haue lyued in the court of princes til they bee growen old grey headed that they shoold determine liue the rest of their yeres as good christiās not to passe them as courtiers so that though they haue geuen the world the meal yet they shoold in thend geeue the bran to Iesus Christ I know euery man desireth to liue in princes courtz yet they promise they wil not dye in court And since it is so mee thinks it is a great folly presūption for such men to desire to liue long in such state where they woold not dy for al the gold in the world I haue liued in court many yeres at this presēt I haue forsakē it quite wherfore I dare boldly sai that if once a man come to enioy a quiet life and reposed rest I am assured hee woold for euer hate and dislike to bee a courtier longer But alas like as these sēceles courtiers remember not the lyfe to come but only account of their vain courtly lyfe present reputing that the most blessed and happy of any other So god seeing their folly and fond addicted mynd to the vanity of court to plague them with all and scourge them with their own rodd dooth graunt them no other nor better rest then that they only inioy in princes court and so feedes them with their own humor And therefore it is truely said That rest contentation neuer entreth into a sinners house O you woorthy and noble courtiers O you beloued and fauored courtiers I wil remember you yea and again remember you that you presume not to cutt or pull of the wings of tyme since you neither shall haue tyme nor mean to pluck one fether from him much lesse the least knowledge how to doo it And therefore it is sayd Yll cutteth the knife if the edge bee broken and yll can hee gnaw bones that lacketh his teeth And if it seeme good vnto you and mee also that to day it is tyme to gather the fruit of the vyne of our youth let vs goe now again to seeke it about by the means of our amendement And if the pype or caske wherein wee shoold put our wyne bee fusty with the malignity and peruersnes of our wicked dooings Let vs season them with new and better wyne of good and holy desires And now to conclude if to sequester them selues from court it bee a holsom counsell for courtiers much more holsome and necessary it is for such as bear sway and reputation about the prince For other courtiers dayly lyue in hope to enlarge their countenaunce and credit to grow into fauor and auctority but these darlings and belyked of princes are continually afrayd to fall and vtterly to bee put out of fauor ¶ Of the continency of fauored courtiers and how they ought to shonne the company conuersation of vnhonest women and to bee carefull quickly to dispatch all such as sue vnto them Cap. xvii TItus Liuius and Plutarch wryteth that the Romains had in such veneration those men that lyued chast and those weomen also that professed virgins life that they erected statures of them in the senat house carying them thorough the citie in tryumphant chariots recommending them selues to their deuout prayers and geeuing them great giftes and presents and finally adored them as gods And this was their reason in that they honored them as gods for that they being of flesh lyuing in flesh did leaue to vse the woorks and instinct of the flesh which they held a thing more diuine then humayn Filostratus sayth that Appolonius Thianeus was borne without any payn or grief to his mother in all her trauell And that the gods spake to him in his eare that hee raised the dead to lyfe healed the sick knew the thoughts of men diuined of things to come how hee was serued wyth princes honored of the people and folowed of all the philosophers yet they dyd not make so great a woonder of all these things spoken of him as they did for that hee was neuer maried and more ouer neuer detected with the knowledge of any woman liuing much lesse suspected Whilest Carthage was enuironed with seege one eche syde a virgin of Numidia taken prisoner was presented to Scipio and shee was very faire which Scipio notwithstanding woold not only not deflower but set her at lyberty and maried her very honorably Which act of his was more apprised of the romayn writers thē was his conquest of Numidia the restoring of Rome her liberty the destruction of Charthage the socour and relife geeuen to Asia and the enobling of his comon wealth For in all these enterprises hee still fought against others but in the effects of the flesh hee fought agaynst hym selfe And therfor he must needs bee maruelous wise and of good iugement that can subdew the desiers and motions of the flesh For wee doo as much couet to follow these carnall desiers as wee are apt to our meate when wee are a hongred Cruel and bitter are the assauts of the flesh to the spirit and wonderfull is the payn the spirit abideth to resist the motions of the same which by no meanes can bee ouercome but by eschewing the occasions therof As in brideling the desires punishing the flesh liuing with spare diet incresing learning geeuyng hym selfe to teares and all together shutting the gates of our desires O yf this vice of the flesh came of aboūdance of heate or rage of blood wee might soone remedy yt with letting our selues blood Yf it wer by any sicknes of the hart yt should bee cured by interior medecines Yf of the lyuer wee would refresh it with oyntments If of melancony humor wee would wash away al the opilations If of cholex wee would procure esy purges But alas it is a disease so farr from pitty that it misliketh wee should call for phisitions and cannot abide wee should offer it any remedy It cannot bee denied but that ciuil warr is most greeuous and dangerous in a comon wealth But much more perilous is that at home beetwixt the husband and the wyfe but most ieoperdious of all is that a man hath with him selfe For wee cannot recken any other our enymy but our owne desyers I remember I saw once written in a courtiers house these woords which truly deserued to bee written in golden letters and the woords were these The dredfull warrs that I alas sustaine against my self perforce my self dooth straine where blind desier becomes my mighty so the wreckfull gods vouch saue it doo not so Surely hee that wrote this for his woord mee think hee was no foole nor euil christian syth hee nether sought for mony