vnto the deathe tarry héere and watch and agayne father if it be possible lette this cuppe passe from mée Remember how he was crowned with thornes crucified with théeues scourged and hanged for thy saluation how hée swette water and bloude for thy remission how he endured euen the torments of the damned spirites for thy redemption how he ouercame death that thou shouldst not dye how he conquered the Diuell that thou mighâ—est not be damned When thou shalt record what he hath done to purchase thy fréedome how canst thou dreade bondage When thou shalt beholde the agonyes and anguish of minde that he suffered for thy sake how canst thou doubte of the release of thy soule When thy Sauiour shall be thy Iudge why shouldest thou tremble to heare of iudgement When thou hast a continuall Mediator with God the father howe canst thou distrust of his fauour Turne therefore vnto Christ with a willyng hearte a waylyng minde for thy offences who hath promised that at what time soeuer a sinner repenteth him of his sinnes he shal be forgiuen who â—alleth al those that are heauie laden that they might be refreshed who is the dore to them that knocke the waye to them that séeke the truthe the rocke the corner stone the fulnesse of time it is he that can will poure oyle into thy wounds Who absolued Marie Magdalene from hir sinnes but Christ Who forgaue the théefe his robbery and manslaughter but Christ Who made Mathew the Publycane and tollgatherer an Apostle and Preacher but Christ Who is that good shepehearde that fetcheth home the straye shéepe so louingly vppon his shoulders but Christ Who receiued home the lost sonne was it not Christ Who made of Saul a persecuter Paul an Apostle was it not Christ I passe ouer diuers other histories both of the olde and new Testament which do aboundantly declare what great comâ—orte the faithfull penitent sinners haue alwayes had in hearing the comfortable promises of Gods mercy Canst thou then Atheos distrust thy Christ who reioyceth at thy repentaunce Assure thy selfe that through his passion and bloudshedding death hath lost his sting the Diuill his victory and that the gates of hell shall not preuayle agaynst thée Lette not therefore the bloude of Christ be shed in vayne by thine obstinate and harde hearte Let this perswasion rest in thée that thou shalt receiue absolution fréely and then shalt thou féele thy soule euen as it were to hunger and thirst after rightuousnes Atheos Well Euphues séeing the Holy Ghost hath made thée the meane to make me a man for before the tast of the gospell I was worse then a beast I hope the same spirite wil also lyghten my conscience with his word confirme it to the ende in constancie that I may not only confesse my Christ faithfully but also preach him fréely that I may not only be a Minister of his word but also a Martir for it it be his pleasure O Euphues howe much am I bound to the goodneâ—â— almightie god which hath made me of an infidell a beléeuer of a castaway a Christian of an heathenly Pagan an heauenly Protestant O how comfortable is the féelyng tast of grace how ioyfull are the glad tidings of the Gospell the faithfull promises of saluation the frée redemption of the soule I will endeauour by all meanes to confute those damnable I know not by what names to terme them but blasphemers I am sure which if they be no more certeinly they can be no lesse I sée now the ods betwixt light darkenes faith frowardnes Christ Belial be thou Euphues a witnes of my faith séeing thou hast ben the instrument of my beliefe and I will pray that I shewe it in my lyfe As for thée I accompt my selfe so much in thy debt as I shal neuer be able with the losse of my life to reÌ„der thée thi due but god which rewardeth the zeale of al men wil I hope blesse thee I wil pray for thée Eu. O Atheos little is the debt thou owest me but great is the comfort that I haue receiued by thée Giue the praise to God whose goodnesse hath made thée a member of the mysticall body of Christe and not onely a brother with his sonne but also a coheriter with thy Sauiour There is no heart so hard no heathen so obstinate no miscreaunt or Infidell so impious that by grace is not made as supple as oyle as tractable as a shéepe as faithfull as any The Adamant though it be so harde that nothinge can bruse it yet if the warme bloude of a Goate be poured vpon it it bursteth euen so although the heart of the Atheist and vnbeléeuer be so hard that neither reward nor reuenge can mollyfie it so stout that no perswasion can breake it yet if the grace of God purchased by the bloude of Christe doe but once towch it it renteth in sunder and is enforced to acknowledge an omnipotent and euerlasting Iehoua Lette vs therefore both Atheos I will not nowe call thée but Theophilus fly vnto that Christ which hath through his mercy not our merits purchased for vs the enheritaunce of euerlasting lyfe ¶ Certeine Letters writ by Euphues to his friendes Euphues to Philautus IF the course of youth had any respect to the staffe of age or the liuing man any regarde to the dying moulde we would with greater â—are wheÌ„ we were young shunne those things which should griue vs when we be olde and wyth more seueritie direct the sequele of our lyfe for the feare of present death But such is eyther the vnhappinesse of mans condition or the vntowardnesse of his crolâ—ed nature or the wilfulnesse of his minde or the blindnesse of his heart that in youth he surfiteth wyth delightes preuenting age or if he liue continueth in dotage â—orgetting death It is a world to sée how in our flourishing tyme when we best may we be worst willing to thriue And howe in fadinge of our dayes when we moste shoulde we haue least desire to remember our ende Thou wilt muse Philaâ—tus to here Euphues to preach who of late had more minde to serue his Ladye then to worshippe his Lorde Ah Philantus thou art now a Courtier in Italy I a scholler in Athens and as hard it is for thée to follow good counsayle as for me to enforce thée séeing in thée there is little will to amend and in mée lesse authoritie to commaunde yet will I exhort thée as a friende I woulde I myght compell thée as a Father But I haue heard that it is peculier to an Italian to stande in hys owne conceite and to a courtier neuer to be controlde which causeth me to feare that in thée which I lament in others That is that either thou séeme to wise in thine owne opinion thinking scorne to be taught or to wilde in thine attempts in reiecting admonishmeÌ„t The one procéedeth of selfe loue and so thy name importeth the other of méere
thou not remember Philautus that Greece is neuer without some wily Vlisses neuer void of some Synon neuer to séeke of some deceitfull shifter Is it not commonly saide of Grecians that crafte commeth to them by kinde that they learne to deceiue in their cradell Why then did his pretended curtesie bewitch thée with such credulytie shall my good will bée the cause of his ill wil bicause I was content to be his friende thought he mée méete to be made his foole I sée now that as the fish Scolopidus in the floud Araris at the waxinge of the Moone is as white as the driuen snow and at the wayning as blacke as the burnt coale so Euphues which at the first encreasing of our familyaritie was very zealous is nowe at the last cast become most faythlesse But why rather exclaime I not agaynst Lucilla whose wanton lookes caused Euphues to vyolate his plyghted fayth Ah wretched wenche canst thou bâ— so lyght of loue as to chaunge with euery winde so vnconstant as to preserre a new louer before thine olde friende Ah well I wotte that a newe broome sweepeth cleane and a new garment maketh thée leaue off the olde thoughe it be fitter and newe wine causeth thée to forsake the olde though it be better much lyke to the men in the Ilande Scyrum which pull vpp the olde tree when they se the young beginne to spring and not vnlike vnto the widow of Lesbos which changed all hir olde golde for new glasse haue I serued thée thrée yeares faithfully and am I serued so vnkindely shall the fruite of my desire be tourned to disdayne But vnlesse Euphues had inueigled thée thou haddest yet bene constant yea but if Euphues had not séene thée willyng to be wonne he would neuer haue woed thée but had not Euphues enticed thée with faire wordes thou wouldest neuer haue loued him but haddest thou not giuen him faire lookes he would neuer haue lyked thée I but Euphues gaue the onset I but Lucilla gaue the occasion I but Euphues first brake his minde I but Lncilla first bewrayed hir meaning Tush why go I about to excuse any of them séeing I haue iuste cause to accuse them both Neyther ought I to dispute which of them hath proffered me the greatest villanye sith that eyther of them hath committed periurie Yet although they haue founde me dull in perceiuing theire falshood they shall not finde me slacke in reueÌ„ging their folly As for Lucilla séeing I meane altogether to forgette hir I meane also to forgiue hir least in séeking meanes to be reuenged mine olde desire be renewed Philautus hauing thus discoursed with himselfe began to write to Euphues as followeth ALthoughe hetherto Euphues I haue shrined thée in my heart for a trustie friende I will shunne thée héerafâ—er as a trothles foe and although I cannot sée in thee lesse witte then I was wâ—nt yâ—t doe I finde lesse honestie I perceiue at the last although béeing deceiued it be to late that Muske although it be swéet in the smell is sower in the smacke that the leafe of the Cedar trée though it be faire to be séene yet the siroppe depriueth sight that friendshippe though it be plighted by shaking the hande yet it is shaken off by fraude of the hearte But thou hast not much to boaste off â—or as thou hast wonne a fickle Lady so hast thou lost a faythfull friende How canst thou be secure of hir constancie when thou hast had such tryall of hir lyghtenesse Howe canst thou assure thy selfe that she will be faithfull to thée which hath bene faithlesse to mee Ah Euphues let not my credulytie be an occasion héereafter for thée to practise the lyke crueltie Remember this that yet ther hath neuer bene any faithles to his friend that hath not also bene fruitelesse to his god But I waye this trechery the lesse in that it commeth from a Grecian in whome is no trothe Thoughe I be to weake to wrastle for a reuenge yet God who permitteth no guyle to be guyltlesse will shortely requite this iniury thoughe Philautus haue no pollycie to vndermine thée yet thine owne practises will be sufficient to ouerthrow thée Couldest thou Euphues for the loue of a fruitelesse pleasure vyolate the league of faythfull friendeshippe Diddest thou waye more the entising lookes of a lewd wenche then the entyre loue of a loyall friende If thou diddest determine with thy selfe at the firste to be false why diddest thou sweare to bée true If to bée true why arte thou false If thou wast mynded both falselye and forgedlye to deceiue mée why diddest thou flatter and dissemble with mée at the firste If to loue me why doest thou flinche at the last If the sacred bands of amitie did dâ—lyght thée why diddâ—st thou breake them if dislyke thée why diddest thou prayse them Dost thou not know that a perfect friâ—nde should be lyke the Glazeworme which shineth mâ—st bright in the darke or lyke the pure Franckâ—ncâ—nsâ— which smelleth most swéete when it is in the 〈◊〉 or at the leaste not vnlyke to the Damaske Rose which is sweeter in the still then on the stalke But thou Euphues dost rather resemble the Swallow which in the Summer créepeth vnder the eues of euery house and in the Winter leaueth nothing but durte behinde hir or the humble Bee which hauing sucked honny out of the faire flower doth leaue it loath it or the Spider which in the finest webbe doth hang the fairest Fly. Dost thou thinke Euphues that thy crafte in betraying me shall any whit coole my courage in reuenging thy villany or that a Gentleman of Naples will put vpp such an iniury at the hands of a Scholler And if I doe it is not for want of strengthe to maynteyne my iust quarrell but of will which thinketh scorne to gette so vayne a conquest I know that Menelaus for his tenne yeares warre endured ten yeares woe that after all his strife he wan but a Strumpet that for all his trauails he reduced I cannot say reclaymed but a straggeler which was as much in my iudgement as to striue for a broken glasse which is good for nothing I wish thée rather Menelaus care then my selfe his conquest that thou beeing deluded by Lucilla maist rather know what it is to be deceiued then I hauinge conquered thée should prooue what it were to bring backe a dissembler Séeing therefore there can no greater reuenge lyghte vppon thee then that as thou hast reaped where an other hath sowen so an other may thresh that which thou hast reaped I will pray that thou mayst be measured vnto with the lyke measure that thou hast meaten vnto others that as thou hast thought it no conscience to betray me so others may déeme it no dishonestie to deceiue thée that as Lucilla made it a lyght matter to forsweare hir olde friend Philautus so she may make it a mocke to forsake hir new phéere Euphues Which if it come to passe as it is
trauaile then hée to haue thée dead to rydde him of trouble And not seldome hath thy mother wished that eyther hir wombe had ben thy graue or the ground hirs Yea al thy friends with open mouth desire eyther that God will send thée grace to amende thy lyfe or griefe to hasten thy death Thou wilt demaunde of mée in what thou dost offend and I aske thée in what thou dost not sinne Thou swearest thou arte not coâ—etous but I saye thou arte prodigall and as much sinneth he that lauisheth without meane as he that hoordeth without measure But canst thou excuse thy selfe of vice in y thou art not couetous certeinly no more then the murtherer would therefore be guiltlesse bicause he is no coyner But why go I about to debate reason with thée when thou hast no regard of honestie though I leaue héere to perswade thée yet will I not cease to pray for thée In the meane season I desire thée yea in Gods name commaund thée that if neither the care of thy parents whom thou Souldest comfort nor the counsaile of thy friends which thou shouldest credit nor the rigor of the lawe which thou oughtest to â—eare nor the authority of the Magistrate which thou shouldest reuerence can allure thée to grace Yet the lawe of thy Sauiour who hath redéemed thée and the punishment of the almightie who continually threatneth thée draw thée to ameâ—dement otherwise as thou liuest now in sinne so shalt thou diâ— with shame and remaine with Sathan from whome he that made thée kéepe thée ¶ Liuia from the Emperours court to Euphues at Athens IF sickenesse had not put mée to silence and the weaknesse of my body hindred the willingnesse of my minde thou shouldest haue had a more spéedy aunswere and I no cause of excuse I knowe it expedient to retourne an aunswere but not necessary to wryte it in posse for that in thinges of grâ—ate importaunce wée commonly looke before wée leape and where the heart droupeth through faintnesse the hande is enforced to shake through féeblenesse Thou sayest thou vnderstandest howe men liue in the courâ—e and of me thou desirest to knowe the estate of women certes to dissemble with thée were to deceiue my selfe and to cloake the vanities in court were to clogge mine owne conscience wyth vices The Empresse keepeth hir estate royall and hir maydens will not léese an ynch of their honour shée endeauoureth to sette downe good lawes and they to breake them shée warneth them of excesse and they studye to exâ—éede she sayth that decentâ— attire is good thoughe it be not costly and they sweare vnlesse it bée déere it is not comely She is héere accompted a slut that commeth not in hir silkes and shée that hath not euerye fashion hath no mans fauour They that be most wanton are reputed most wise and they that be the idlest liuers are déemed the finest louers There is great quarelling for beautie but no question of honestie to conclude both women and men haue fallen héere in court to such agréement that they neuer â—arre about matters of religion bycause they neuer meane to reason of them I haue wished oftentimes rather in the countrey to spinne then in the courte to dawnce and truely a distaffe doth better become a mayden then a Lute and sitter it is with the nedle to practise howe to liue then with the pen to learne how to loue The Empresse gyueth ensample of vertue and the Ladyes haue no leasure to followe hir I haue nothing els to write Heere is no good newes as for badde I haue tolde sufficient yet this I must adde that some there bée whiche for their vertue deserue prayse but they are onely commended for theire beautie for this thincke courtiers that to be honest is a certeine kinde of countrey modestie but to bée amiable the courtly curâ—esie I meane shortly to sue to the Empresse to bée dysmissed of the court which if I obtayne I shall thinckâ— it a good rewarde for my seruice to bée so well rydde from such seueritie for beléeue mée there is scarce one in courte that eyther feareth GOD or meaneth good I thancke thée for the booke thou dyddest sende mée and as occasion shall serue I wyll requyte thée Philautus beginneth a little to lysten to connsayle I wishe him well and thée too of whome to heare so muche good it doth mee not a little good Pray for mée as I doe for thée and if opporâ—unitie be offered write to me Farewell ¶ Euphues to his friend Liuia DEare Liuia I am as gladde to heare of thy welfare as sorrowfull to vnderstande thy newes and it doth mée as much good that thou art recouered as harme to thincke of those which are not to be recured Thou hast satisfied my request and aunswered my expectation For I longed to knowe the manners of women and looked to haue them wanton I lyke thée well that thou wylte not conceale their vanities but I loue thée the better that thou doest not followe them to reproue sinne is the signe of true honour to renounce it the part of honestie All good men wyll accompte thée wyse for thy truth and happye for thy tryall for they saye to absteine from pleasure is the chiefest pietie and I thincke in courte to refraine from vice is no little vertue Straunge it is that the sounde oye viewinge the sore shoulde not be dimmed that they that handle pitch should not be defiled that they that continue in court should not be infected And yet it is no great meruaile for by experience we sée that the Adamant cannot drawe yron if the Diamond 〈◊〉 it â—or vice allure the courtier if vertue be retained Thou praysâ—st the Empresse for instituting good lawes and grieuest to sée them violated by the Ladyes I am sory to thincke it should be so and I sigh in that it cannot be otherwise Wher ther is no héed takeÌ„ of a commaundement there is small hope to be looked for of amendement Where duetie can haue no show honestie can beare no sway They that cannot be enforced to obedience by authoritie will neuer be wonne by fauour for béeing without feare they commonly are voide of grace as farre be they carelesse from honour as they be from awe and as ready to dispise the good counsaile of their Péeres as to contemne the good lawes of their Prince But the breaking of lawes doth not accuse the Empresse of vice neither shall hir makinge of them excuse the ladies of vanities The Empresse is no more to be suspected of erring then the Carpenter that buildeth the house bée accused bicause théeues haue broken it or the Mintmaister condemmed for his coyne bicause the traitor hath clipped it Certeinly God wil both reward the godly zeale of thy Prince and reuenge the godlesse doinges of the people Moreouer thou saist that in the court all be sluttes that swimme not in silkes and that the idlest liuers are accompted the brauest louers I cannot tell
to scorne double thy lightnesse in â—â—â—ning so often Such was the hope that I conceiued of thy constancie that I spared not iâ— al places to blaze thy loialtie but now my rash conceite will proue me a lyer and thée a light huswife Nay sayd Lucilla nowe shalt not thou laugh Philautus to scorne séeing you haue both druncke of one cup in miserie Euphues it is a great comfort to haue a companion I doubt not but that you wil both conspire against me to worke some mischiefe although I nothing feare your mallice whosoeuer accompteth you a lyar for praising me may also déeme you a letcher for being enamoured of me and whosoeuer iudgeth mée light in forsaking of you may thincke thee as lewde in louing of me for thou that thoughtest it lawfull to deceiue thy friende must take no scorne to be deceiued of thy foe Then I perceiue Lucilla sayd he that I was made thy stale and Philautus thy laughinge stocke whose friendship I must confesse in déede I haue refused to obteine thy fauour and sithens an other hath won that we both haue lost I am content for my part neyther ought I to be grieued seing thou art fickle Certes Euphues said Lucilla you spend your winde in wast for your welcome is but small your chere is like to be lesse fancie giueth no reason of his chaunge neither wil be coÌ„trolled for any choice this is therfore to warne you that from hencefoorth you neither sollicite this suite neither offer any way your seruice I haue chosen one I must néeds confesse neither to be compared to Philautus in wealth nor to thée in wit neither in birth to the worst of you both I thinck God gaue it me for a iust plague for renouncing Philautus choosing thée and sithens I am an ensample to all women of lightnesse I am lyke also to be a myrrour to them all of vnhappinesse which ill lucke I must take by so much the more patiently by howe much the more I acknowledge my selfe to haue deserued it worthely Well Lucilla aunswered Euphues this case bréedeth my sorrowe the more in that it is so sodeine and by so much the more I lament it by howe muche the lesse I looked for it In that my welcome is so colde and my chéere so simple it nothing toucheth me séeinge your furye is so hotte and my misfortune so greate that I am neither wyllinge to receiue it nor you to bestowe it if tract of time or want of tryall had caused this Metamorphosis my griefe had bene more tollerable and your fléetinge more excusable but comming in a moment vndeserued vnlooked for vnthoughte off it encreaseth my sorrowe and thy shame Euphues quoth shée you make a longe haruest for a little corne and angle for the fishe that is already caught Curio yea Curio is he that hath my loue at his pleasure and shall also haue my life at his commaundement and although you déeme him vnworthy to enioye that which earst you accompted no wight worthy to embrace yet séeinge I estéeme him more worth then any he is to be reputed as chiefe The Wolfe chooseth him for hir make that hath or doth endure most trauaile for hir sake Venus was content to take the black Smith with his powlt foot Cornelia here in Naples disdained not to loue a rude Miller As for chaunging did not Helen the pearle of Greece thy countriwoman first take Menelaus then Theseus and last of all Paris if brute beastes giue vs ensamples that those are most to be lyked of whome we are best beloued or if the Princesse of beautye Venus and hir heyres Helen and Cornelia shewe that our affection standeth on our free wyll then am I rather to bee excused then accused Therefore good Euphues bée as merrye as you maye bée for time maye so tourne that once agayne you maye bée Nay Lucilla sayd he my haruest shall cease séeing others haue reaped my corne as for anglinge for the fishe that is alreadye caught that were but méere folly But in my minde if you bée a fishe you are either an Ele which as soone as one hathe holde of hir taile will slippe out of his hand or else a Mynnowe which will be nibbling at euery baite but neuer biting But what fishe soeuer you bée you haue made both mée and Philautus to swallow a Gudgen If Curio bée the person I would neither wishe thée a greater plague nor him a deadlyer poyson I for my part thincke him worthy of thée and thou vnworthy of him for although hée bée in bodye deformed in minde foolishe an innocent borne a begger by misfortune yet doth hée deserue a better then thy selfe whose corrupt manners haue staynde thy heauenly hewe whose light behauiour hath dimmed the lightes of thy beautie whose vnconstant mynde hath betrayed the innocencie of so many a Gentleman And in that you bringe in the example of a beast to confirme your folly you shewe therein your beastly disposition which is readie to followe suche beastlinesse But Venus played false and what for that séeinge hir lightnesse serueth for an example I woulde wishe thou mightest trye hir punishment for a reward that béeing openly taken in an yron net al the world might iudge whether thou be fish or flesh and certes in my minde no angle will holde thee it must be a net Cornelia loued a Miller and thou a miser can hir folly excuse thy fault Helen of Greece my countriewoman borne but thine by profession chaunged and rechaunged at hir pleasure I graunte Shall the lewdenesse of others animate thée in thy lightnesse why then dost thou not haunt the stewes bicause Lais frequented them why doest thou not loue a Bull séeing Pasiphae loued one why art thou not enamoured of thy father knowing that Mirha was so incensed these are set down that we viewing their incontinencie should flye the like impudencie not follow the like excesse neither can they excuse thée of any inconstancie Merrie I will be as I may but if I may héereafter as thou meanest I will not and therefore farewell Lucilla the most inconstant that euer was nursed in Naples farewell Naples the most cursed towne in all Italy and women all farewell Euphues hauing thus gyuen hir his last farewell yet beeing solitary began a fresh to recount his sorrow on this manner Ah Euphues into what a quandarie art thou brought in what sodeine misfortune art thou wrapped it is like to fare with thée as with the Eagle which dyeth neither for age nor with sickenesse but wyth famine for although thy stomacke hunger yet thy heart will not suffer thée to eate And why shouldest thou torment thy selfe for one in whome is neyther fayth nor feruencie O the counterfaite loue of women Oh inconstant sex I haue lost Philautus I haue lost Lucilla I haue lost that which I shall hardlye finde againe a faythfull friende A foolishe Euphues why diddest thou leaue Athens the nourse of wisdome to inhabite Naples the
nourisher of wantonnesse Had it not bene better for thée to haue eaten salt with the Philosophers in Greece then sugar with the courtiers of Italy But behold the course of youth which alwayes inclyneth to pleasure I forsooke mine olde companions to search for new friends I reiected the graue and fatherly counsayle of Eubulus to follow the brainesicke humor of mine owne will. I addicted my selfe wholy to the seruice of women to spende my lyfe in the lappes of Ladyes my lands in maintenance of brauerie my witte in the vanities of idle Sonnets I had thought that women had bene as we men that is true faithfull zealous constant but I perceiue they be rather woe vnto men by their falshood gelousie inconstancie I was halfe perswaded that they were made of the perfection of men would be comforters but now I sée they haue tasted of the infection of the Serpent and will be corasiues The Phisition saythe it is daungerous to minister Phisicke vnto the patient that hath a colde stomacke and a hotte lyuer least in giuing warmth to the one he inflame the other so verely it is harde to deale with a woman whose wordes séeme feruent whose heart is congealed into harde yce least trusting their outwarde talke he be betraied with their inwarde trechery I will to Athens ther to tosse my bookes no more in Naples to lyue with faire lookes I will so frame my selfe as al youth héereafter shal rather reioice to se mine amendmeÌ„t then be animated to follow my former lyfe Philosophie Phisicke Diuinitie shal be my studie O the hidden secrets of Nature the expresse image of morall vertues the equall ballaunce of Iustice the medicines to heale all diseases how they beginne to delyght me The Axiomaes of Aristotle the Maxinis of Iustinian the Aphorismes of Galen haue sodaynelye made such a breache into my minde that I séeme onely to desire them which did onely earst detest them Iâ— witte be employed in the honest study of learning what thing so pretious as witte if in the idle trade of loue what thing more pestilent then witte The proofe of late hath bene verefied in me whome nature hath endued with a lyttle witte which I haue abused with an obstinate will most true it is that the thing the better it is the greater is the abuse and that ther is nothing but through the mallice of man may be abused Doth not the fire an element so necessarie that without it man cannot lyue as well burne the house as burne in the house if it be abused Doth not Treacle as wel poyson as helpe if it be taken out of time Doth not wine if it be immoderately taken kill the stomacke enflame the lyuer murther the droncken Doth not Phisicke destroy if it be not well tempred Doth not law accuse if it be not ryghtly interpreted Doth not diuinitie condemne if it be not faythfully construed Is not poyson taken out of the Honnysuckle by the Spider venime out of the Rose by the Canker dunge out of the Maple trée by the Scorpion Euen so the greatest wickednesse is drawne out of the greatest wit if it bée abused by will or entangled with the world or inueig-with women But séeinge I sée mine owne impietie I wyll endeuoure my selfe to amende all that is paste and to be a myrrour of godlynes héereafter The Rose though a lyttle it be eaten with the Canker yet béeing distilled yéeldeth swéete water the yron thoughe fretted with the ruste yet béeing burnte in the fire shyneth brighter and witte although it hath bene eaten with the canker of his owne conceite and fretted with the rust of vaine loue yet beeinge purified in the still of wisedome and tryed in the fire of zeale will shine bright and smell swéete in the nosethrilles of all young nouises As therefore I gaue a farewell to Lucilla a farewell to Naples a farewell to woemen so now doe I giue a farewell to the worlde meaning rather to macerate my selfe with melancholye then pine in follye rather choosinge to dye in my studye amiddest my bookes then to courte it in Italy in the company of Ladyes It happened immediatly Ferardo to retourne home who hearing this straunge euent was not a lyttle amazed and was nowe more readye to exhorte Lucilla from the loue of Curio then before to the lykinge of Philautus Therefore in all haste with watryâ— eyes and a wofull heart began on this manner to reason with his daughter Lucilla daughter I am ashamed to call thée séeing thou hast neyther care of thy fathers tender affection nor of thine owne credite what sprite hath enchaunted thy spirite that euery minute thou alterest thy minde I had thought that my hoary haires should haue found comforte by thy golden lockes and my rotten age greate ease by thy rype yeares But alas I sée in thée neyther witte to order thy doinges neyther will to frame thy selfe to discretion neither the nature of a child neyther the nurture of a mayden neyther I cannot without teares speake it any regarde of thine honour neyther any care of thine honestie I am nowe enforced to remember thy mothers deathe who I thincke was a Prophetesse in hir lyfe for oftentimes shée woulâ—e saye that thou haddest more beautie then was conuenient for one that shoulde bée honeste and more câ—ckering then was méete for one that shoulde bée a Matrone Woulde I had neuer lyued to bée so olde or thou to bée so obstinate eyther woulde I had dyed in my youthe in the courte or thou in thy cradle I woulde to God that eyther Iâ— had neuer bene borne or thou neuer bredde Is this the comfort that the parent reapeth for all his care Is obstinacie payed for obedience stubbernnesse rendred for duetie mallitious desperatenesse for filiall feare I perceiue now that the wiâ—e Paynter saw more then the foolish parent can who paynted loue going downeward saying it might well descend but ascende it coulde neuer Danaus whome they reporte to bée the father of fiftie children had amonge them all but one that disobeyed him in a thinge most dishonest but I that am father to one more then I would be although one be all haue that one most disobedient to me in a request lawfull and reasonable If Danaus séeing but one of his daughters without awe became himselfe without mercie what shall Ferardo doe in this case who hath one and all most vnnaturall to him in a most iust cause Shall Curio enioy the fruite of my trauailes possesse the benefite of my labours enherit the patrimony of mine auncestors who hath neither wisedome to increase theÌ„ nor wit to kéepe theÌ„ wilt thou Lucilla bestow thy self on such an one as hath neither comlines in his body nor knowledge in his minde nor credite in his countrey Oh I would thou haddest eyther bene euer faithfull to Philautus or neuer faithlesse to Euphues or would thou wouldest be more fickle to Curio As thy beautie hath made thée blaze of Italy so will thy