shall haue but in small estimation his renowme The Syrians Assyrians the Thebanes the Chaldees the Greekes the Macedonians the Rhodians the Romaines the Hunnes the Germains and the Frenchmen if such Noble-men as amongst these were most famous had not aduentured their liues by such daungerous Enterprizes they had neuer got such immortall fame as they had done to leaue to their posteritie Sextus Cheronensis in his third book of the valiant deedes of the Romaines saith that the famous captaine Marcus Marcellus which was the first of all men that saw the backe of Hannibal in the field was demaunded of one how he durst enter into battell with such a renowmed captaine as Hanniball was To whom he answered Friend I am a Romaine borne and a Captaine of Rome and I must daily put my life in hazard for my Countreys sake for so I shall make perpetuall my renowme Hee was demaunded againe why hee stroke his enemys with such fiercenes and why hee did so pittifully lament those which were ouercome after the victory gotten in battell Hee aunswered the Captaine which is a Romane and is not iudged to bee a tyrant ought with his owne hand to shed the bloud of his enemies and also to shed the teares of his eyes A captaine Romane ought more to aduance him of his clemency then of his bloudy victory And Marcus Aurelius sayeth further when a Romane captaine shall bee in the field hee hath an eye to his enemies with hope to vanquish theÌ but after they bee vanquished hee ought to remember they are men that he might haue been ouercome For fortune sheweth her selfe in nothing so common as in the successes of warre Certainely these were words well beseeming such a man and surely wee may boldly say that all those which shall heare or reade such things will commend the wordes which that Romane spake but few are they that indeed would haue done the feates that hee did For there be many that are readie to praise in their wordes that which is good but there are fewe that in their workes desire to followe the same Such hearts are vnquiet and much altered by sight and enuie that they bare towardes their Auncients which throgh manfulnes attained vnto great triumphs and glorie let them remember what daungers and trauells they passed through before they came thereto For there was neuer Captaine that euer triumphed in Rome vnlesse hee had first aduentured his life a thousand times in the field I thinke I am not deceiued in this that I will say That is to say all are desirous to taste of the marrow of Fame-present but none will breake the bone for feare of perill ensuing If Honour could bee bought with desire onely I dare boldly say it would bee more esteemed in these dayes of the poore page then it was in times past of the valiaunt Romaine Scipio For there is not at this day so poore a man but would desire honour aboue all things What a dolefull case is this to see many gentlemen and young Knights become euil disposed vagabonds and loyterers the which hearing tel of any famous battell fought that many of their estate profession haue don valiaunt seates in the same immediately therewith be styrred and set on fire through Enuyes heate So that in the same furie they chaunge their robes into armour and with all speede prepare themselues to warre to exercise the feates of armes And finally like young men without experience make importunate suite and obtain licence and money of their Friends to go vnto the warres But after that they are once out of their Countreys and see themselues in a straunge place their dayes euill and their nights worse At one time they are commaunded to Skyrmishe and at an other time to watch when they haue victualls they want lodging and when the pay day commeth that pay and the next also is eaten and spent With these and other like troubles and discommodities the poore young men are so astonyed especially when they call to minde the goodly wide Hawles so well hanged and trimmed wherein they greatly delighted to passe the time in Summer-season When they remember their great chimneys at home wherby they comforted their old limmes and how they vsed to sit quietly vppon the Sunnie bankes in winter For the remembrance of pleasures past greatly augmenteth the paines present Notwithstanding their Parents and friends had admonished them therof before And now being beaten with their owne follie and feeling these discommodities which they thought not of before they determine to forsake the warres and eache one to returne home vnto his owne againe But where as they asked licence but once to goe forth now they were enforced to aske it ten times before they could come home And the worst is they went forth loden with money returne home loden with vices But the end why these things are spoken is that sage and vertuous men should marke by what trade the euill disposed seeke to gaine which is not gotten by gasing on the windowes but by keeping the frontiers against their enemies not with playing at Tables in the Tauernes but with fighting in the fieldes not trimmed with cloath of gold or silkes but loden with armour and weapons not praunsing their palfreyes but discouering the ambushment not sleeping vntill noon but watching all night not by aduancing him of his apparrell and handsomnesse but for his stout couragiousnes not banqueting his friends but assaulting his enemies though a knight do these things yet he ought to consider that it is vanitie and foolishnesse But seeing the world hath placed honour in such a vaine thing and that they can attaine to it by none other was the young aduenturous Gentlemen ought to employ therunto their strength with stout courage to atchieue to some great acts worthy of renowne For in the end when the warre is iustly begunne and that in defence of their Countrey they ought to reioyce more of him that dyeth in the hands of his enemies then of him which liueth accompanied with vices It is a great shame and dishonour to men of Armes and young Gentelmen being at home to heare the prayse of them which bee in the wars for the young Gentlemen ought not to thinke it honour for him to heare or declare the newes of others but that others should declare the vertuous deedes of him Oh how many are they in the world this day puffed vp with pride and not very wise which still prate of great renowne and yet passe their life with small honesty For our predecessors fought in the field with their lances but young men now a dayes fight at the table with their tongues Admit that all vaine men desire and procure to leaue a memory of their vanitie yet they ought to enterprise such things in their life wherby they might winne a famous renowne and not a perpetuall shame after their death For there are many departed which haue left such memory of their
defile them nor sell them but caused them to bee apparrelled and safely to bee conducted to their owne natiue Countries And let not this liberty that he did be had in litle estimation to deliuer the captiues and not to defloure the virgins For many times it chaunceth that those which are ouercome with the weapons of the Conquerours are conquered with the delights of them that are ouercome This deede amongst the Greekes was so highly commended and likewise of their enemies so praysed that immediatly the Metinences sent Ambassadors to demaund peace of the Prienenses And they concluded together a perpetuall peace vpon condition that they should make for Bias an immortall Statue sith by his hands and also by his vertues hee was the occasion of the peace and ending of the wars betweene them And truely they had reason for hee deserueth more prayse which winneth the hearts of the enemies in his tents by good example then hee which getteth the victory in the field by shedding of bloud The hearts of men are noble and wee see dayly That oftentimes one shal sooner ouercome many by good then many ouercome one by euill And also they say that the Emperour Seuerus spake these words By goodnesse the least slaue in Rome shall leade mee tyed with a hayre whether hee will but by euill the most puissant man in the world cannot moue mee out of Italy For my heart had rather bee seruant to the good then Lord to the euill Valerius Maximus declareth that when the City of Priene was taken by enemies and put to sacke the wife of Bias was slaine his children taken prisoners his goods robbed the City beaten downe and his house set on fire but Bias escaped safe and went to Athens In this pittifull case the good Philosopher Bias was no whit the sadder but rather sang as he went by the way and when hee perceyued that men maruelled at his mirth hee spake vnto them these words Those which speake of mee for wanting my City my wife and my children and loosing all that I had truely such know not what Fortune meaneth nor vnderstand what Philosophie is The losse of children and temporall goods cannot bee called losse if the life bee saued and the renowne remaine vndefiled Whether this senteÌce be true or no let vs profoundly consider if the iust God suffer that this City should come into the hands of the cruell Tyrants then this prouision is iust For There is nothing more conformable vnto Iustice then that those which receiue not the Doctrine of the Sages should suffer the crueltite of the Tirants Also though my enemies haue killed my wife yet I am sure it was not without the determination of the Gods who after they had created her body immediately appointed the end of her life Therfore why shuld I bewayle her death since the Gods haue lent her life vntill this day The great estimation that we haue of this life causeth that death seemeth vnto vs sodayne and that the life vnwares with death is ouertaken but these are words of the children of vanitie for that by the will of the Gods death visiteth vs and against the willes of men life for saketh vs. Also my Children bee vertuous Philosophers and albeit they be now in the hands of tirants we ought not therefore to call them captiues for a man may not call him a captiue which is laden with yrons but him which is ouerwhelmed with vices And although the fire haue burnt my house yet I know not why I ought to be sad for of truth it was now olde and the winde did blowe downe he tiles the wormes did waste the wood and the waters that ranne downe perished the walles and it was olde and like to fall and perchaunce would haue done greater displeasure For most commonly enuie malice and old houses suddenly without any warning or knocking at the dore assaulteth men Finally there came the fire which quited mee of many troubles First of the trouble that I should haue had in repayring â Secondarily it saued mee money in plucking it downe Thirdly it saued me and mune heyres froÌ much cost and many daungers For ofentimes that which a man consumeth in repayring an old house would with aduantage buy him a new Also those which say that for the taking away of my goods I lacke the goods of Fortune such haue no reason so thinke or say for fortune neuer giueth temporall goods for a proper thing but to those whom shee list when shee will dispose them therefore when Fortune seeth that those më whom shee hath appointed as her distributers do hoarde vp the same to them and to theyr heyres then shee taketh it from them to giue it to another Therfore by reason I should not complaine that I haue lost any thing for Fortune recommendeth vnto any other the temporall goods but I carrie patience and Philosophie with me so that they haue discharged me from all other and haue no more charge but for my selfe alone Laertius declareth in his fifth booke of the sayings of the Gretians That this Byas determined to goe to the Playes of the Mount Olympus wherevnto resorted people of all Nations and he shewed himselfe in this place of so high an vnderstanding that hee was counted supreame and chiefe of all Phylosophers and wonne the name of a true Phylosopher Other Philosophers then being in the same Playes called Olymp calles asked him many questions of diuerse and sundry matters where of I will make mention here onely of some of the chiefest The Questions demaunded of the Phylosopher Byas THE first Question was this Tell mee who is the vnhappiest man in the Worlde Byas answered Hee is most vnhappie that is not patient in aduersitie For men are not killed with the aduersities they haue but with the impatience which they suffer The second was What is most hardest and most troublesome to iudge He aunswered There is nothing more difficult then to iudge a contention betwixt two Friends For to iudge between two enemyes the one remaineth a Friende but to iudge betweene two Friendes the one is made an enemie The third was What is most hardest to measure Wherevnto Byas answered There is nothing that needeth more circumspections then the measuring of Time For the Time should bee measured so iustly that no Time should want to doe well nor any time should abound to doe euill The fourth was What thing is that which needeth no excuse in the accomplishment thereof Byas answered The thing that is promised must of necessitie be performed For otherwise hee that doth loose the credite of his word should lose more then he that should lose the promise to him made The fifth was What thing that is wherein the men as well good as euill should take care Then Byas answered Men ought not in any thing to take so great care as in seeking counsell and counsellours For the prosperous Times cannot bee maintained nor the multitude of enemyes
by themselues the Maidens by them the Vestall Virgins by themselues and all the straunge Embassadors went with the captiues in procession there was a custome in Rome that the same day the Emperor shold weare the Imperiall robe all the captiues which could touch him with their hands were deliuered and al the transgressors pardoned exiles and outlawries were called againe For the Roman Princes were neuer present in any feast but they shewed some noble example of mercie or gentlenes toward the peeple At this time Marcus Aurelius was Emperor of Rome and married with the beautifull Lady Faustina who in the feast of Ianus leauing in procession the company of the Senators came into the procession of the Captiues the which easily touched his robe whereby they obtayned liberty the which they so greatly desired I say desired for truly the Captiue is contented with a small thing And because there is no good thing by any good man done but immediately by the wicked it is repined at this deede was so contrary to the euill as ioyfull to the good for there is nothing bee it neuer so good not so well done but forthwith it shall bee contraried of them that be euill Of this thing I haue seene by experience in this miserable life sundry examples that euen as among the good one onely is noted to be chiefe so likewise among the euill one is noted principall aboue the rest And the worst I finde herein is that the vertuous doe not so much glory of their vertue as the euill and malitious hath shame and dishonour of their vice for vertue naturally maketh a man to bee temperate and quiet but vice maketh him to bee dissolute and retchlesse This is spoken because in the Senate of Rome there was a Senatour called Fuluius whose beard hayres were very white but in malice hee was most cankered blacke so that for his yeares hee was honoured in Rome of many and for his malice he was hated of all The Senator Fuluius made friends in the time of Adrian to succeede in the Empire and for this cause he had alwayes Marcus Aurelius for his competitor and wheresoeuer hee came he alwayes spake euill of him as of his mortall enemy For the enuious heart can neuer giue a man one good word This Senators heart was so puffed with enuy that hee seeing Marcus Aurelius to obtaine the Empire being so young and that hee being so olde could not attaine thereunto there was no good that euer Marcus Aurelius did in the Common-wealth openly but it was grudged at by Fuluius who sought alwayes to deface the same secretly It is the nature of those which haue their hearts infected with malice to spitte out their poison with wordes of spite Oft times I haue mused which of these two are greater the duety the good haue to speake against the euil or else the audacity the euill haue to speake against the good For in the World there is no brute beast so hardy as the euill man is that hath lost his fame Oh would to God the good to his desire had as much power to doe good works as the euill hath strength to his affection to exercise wicked deedes for the vertuous man findeth not one hand to helpe him in vertue to worke yet after hee hath wrought it hee shall haue a thousand euill tongues against his honest doings to speake I would all these which reade this my writing would call to memory this word which is that among euill men the chiefest euill is that after they haue forgotten themselus to be men and exiled both truth and reason theÌ with all their might they goe against truth and vertue with their words against good deeds with their tongs for though it bee euill to bee an euill man yet it is worse not to suffer an other to bee good which aboue all things is to bee abhorred and not to bee suffered I let you know and assure you Princes and Noble men that you in working vertuous deeds shall not want slaunderous tongues and though you bee stout yet you must bee patient to breake theyr malice For the Noble heart feeleth more the enuie of another then hee doth the labour of his owne body Princes should not be dismayed neither ought they to maruell though they bee tolde of the murmuring at their good works For in the end they are men they liue with men cannot escape the miseries of men For there was neuer Prince in the World yet so high but hee hath beene subiect to malitious tongues Truly a man ought to take great pitty of Princes whether they bee good or euill for if they bee euill the good hate them and if they bee good the euill immediately murmureth against them The Emperour Octauian was very vertuous yet greatly persecuted with enuious tongues who on a time demaunded since he did good vnto al men why he suffered a few to murmur against him hee answered you see my friends hee that hath made Rome free from enemies hath also set at liberty the tongues of malitious men for it is not reason that the hard stones should be at liberty and the tender stones tyed Truly this Emperour Octauian by his words declared himselfe to bee a Wise man and of a noble heart and lightly to waigh both the murmurings of the people and also the vanities of their words which thing truly a wise and vertuous man ought to doe For it is a generall rule that vices continually seeke defendors and vertues alwayes getteth enemies In the Booke of Lawes the diuine Plato sayth well that the euill were alwayes double euill because they were weapons defensiue to defend their malitious purpose and also carry weapons offensiue to blemish the good works of others Vertuous men ought with much study to follow the good and with more diligence to flye from the euill For a good man may commaund all other vertuous men with a backe of his finger but to keepe himselfe onely from one euill man hee had neede both hands feet and friends Themistocles the Thebane sayde that hee felt no greater torment in the World then this that his proper honour should depend vpon the imagination of an other for it is a cruell thing that the life and honor of one that is good should be measured by the tongue of an other that is euill for as in the Forge the coales cannot bee kindled without sparkes nor as corruption can not bee in the sinckes without ordure so hee that hath his heart free from malice his tongue is occupied alwayes in sweete and pleasant communication And contrariwise out of his mouth whose stomack is infected with malice proceedeth alwayes words bitter and ful of poyson for if out of a rotten furnace the fire burneth it is impossible that the smoake should be cleare It is but a small time that in prophane loue he that is enamored is able to refraine his loue and much lesse time is the
in keeping them they haue great expences and for to defray such charges they haue but little money For in this case let euery man doe what hee will and let them take what counsel they like best I would counsell all others as my selfe haue experimented that is that the Prince shuld be of so good a conuersation amongst those which are his and so affable and familiar with all that for his good conuersation onely they should thinke themselues well apaide For with rewards Princes recompence the trauells of theyr Seruants but with gentle and faire words they steale and robbe the harts of their subiects Wee see by experience that diuers Marchants had rather buye dearer in one shop because the merchaÌt is pleasant then to buy better cheap in an other wheras the merchant is churlish I meane that there are manie which had rather serue a prince to gaine nothing but loue onely then to serue an other prince for money For there is no seruice better imploied theÌ to him which is honest good and gracious and to the contrary none worse bestowed then on him which is vnthaÌkfull and churlish In Princes Pallaces there shall neuer want euill and wicked men malicious and diuelish flatterers which will seeke meanes to put into theyr Lords heads how they shal raise their rents leuy Subsidies inuent tributes and borrow money but there are none that will tell them how they shal winne the hearts and good willes of their Subiects though they know it more profitable to bee well beloued then necessary to be enriched He that heapeth treasure for his Prince and separateth him from the loue of his people ought not to bee called a faithfull seruant but a mortall enemy Princes and Lords ought greatly to endeauour themselues to bee so conuersant among their Subiects that they had rather serue for good Will then for the payment of money for if mony want their seruice wil quaile and hereof proceedeth a thousand inconueniences vnto Princes which neuer happen vnto those that haue seruants which serue more of good will then for money for hee that loueth with all his heart is not proude in prosperity desperate in aduersity neyther complayneth he of pouertie nor is discontented being fauourles nor yet abashed with persecution finally loue and life are neuer separated vntill they come vnto the graue Wee see by experience that the rablement of the poore Labourers of Sicill is more worth then the money of the Knight of Rome For the Labourer euery time he goeth to the field bringeth some profit froÌ thence but euery time the Knight sheweth himselfe in the market place he returneth without money By the comparison I meane that Princes should bee affable easie to talke with all pleasant mercifull benigne and stout and aboue all that they bee gratious and louing to the end that through these qualities and and not by money they may learne to winne the hearts of their subiectes Princes should greatly labour to bee loued specially if they will finde who shall succour them in aduersity and keepe them from euill will and hatred which those Princes caÌnot haue that are hated but rather euery man reioyceth at their fall and misery for each man enioyeth his owne trauel and truly the furious and sorrowfull hearts take some rest to see that others haue pitty and compassion vpon their griefes Princes also should endeauour themselues to bee loued and well willed because at their death they may of all their seruants and friends bee lamented For Princes ought to bee such that they may be prayed for in their life and lamented and remembred after their death How cursed is that Prince and also how vnhappy is that Common-wealth where the seruants will not serue their Lord but for reward and that the Lorde dooth not loue them but for theyr seruices For there is neuer true loue where there is any particular interest With many stones a house is builded and of many men and one Prince which is the head of all the Common wealth is made For hee that gouerneth the Common wealth may be called a Prince and otherwise not and the Common-wealth cannot bee called or sayde a Common wealth if it hath not a Prince which is the head thereof If Geometrie do not deceyue me the lime which ioyneth one stone with an other suffereth well that it bee mingled with sand but the corner-stone that lyeth on the toppe ought to bee medled with vnslâked lime And it soundeth vnto good reason For if the nether-stones seperate the wall openeth but if the corner stone should slippe the building incontinently falleth I suppse Fathers conscript you vnderstand very well to what end I applie this comparison The loue of one neighbour with an other may suffer to be cold but the loue of a Prince to his people should bee true and pure I meane that the loue amongst frends may passe sometimes although it bee colde but that loue betweene the King and his people at al times ought to be perfect For where there is perfect loue there is no fayned wordes nor vnfaithfull seruice I haue seene in Rome many debates and hurly-burlyes among the people to haue bin pacified in one day and one onely which betweene the Lorde and the Commonwealth ariseth cannot be pacified vntill death For it is a dangerous thing for one to striue with many and for many to contend against one In this case where the one is proud and the other rebelles I will not excuse the Prince nor yet let to condemne the people For in the end he that thinketh himselfe most innocent deserueth greatest blame And from whence thinke you commeth it that Lords now adayes commaund vniust things by furie and the Subiects in iust matters will not obey by reason I will tell you The Lord doing of will and not of right would cast the wills of all in his own braine and deriue from himselfe all counsell For euen as Princes are of greater power then all the rest so they thinke they knowe more then all the rest The contrary hapneth to subiects who beeing prouoked I cannot tell you with what Frensie despising the good vnderstanding of theyr Lorde will not obey that which their prince willeth for the health of them all but that which euery man desireth particularly For men now a dayes are so fonde that euery man thinketh the Prince should looke on him alone Truely it is a strange thing though it be much vsed among men that one man should desire that the garments of all others should be meete for him which is as vnpossible as if one mans Armour should arme a whole multitude But what shall we be Fathers conscript and sacred Senate sith our Fathers left vs this world with such follie and that in these debates and strifes wee theyr children are alwayes in dissention and controuersie and in this wilfalnes wee shall also leaue our children and heyres How many Princes haue I seen and read
to gather with trauell the grape know thou that heere in my palace thou shalt not want of the wine The Gods will not suffer that now in this moment thou shuldst find my heart shut from thee whose gates I found alwaies for the space of twentie yeares open vnto mee Sith that my Fortunes wrought me to the Empire I haue alwayes had two things things before mine eyes that is to say not to reuenge my selfe of mine enemies neither to bee vnthankfull to my friends For I pray to the Gods daylie rather then hereafter through vnthankfulnes my renowm should be defamed that euen now with forgetfulnes my bodie should be buryed Let a man offer to the Gods what sacrifices he will let him doe as much seruice to men as he can yet if he be vnthankfull to his friend hee ought in all and for all to bee vtterly condemned Because thou shouldest see my friend Pulio how greatly the auncient friend ought to bee esteemed 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 Greece there was one named Periander who was Prince Gouernour a great while and he had in him such liuelinesse of Spirit on the one side and such couetousnesse of worldly goods on the other side that the Historiographers are in doubte whether was the greater the Philosophy that hee taught reading in the Schooles or the tyranny that hee vsed in robbing the Common-wealth for truly the science which is not grounded of truth bringeth great damages to the person In the second yeare of my Empire I was in the City of Corinth where I saw the Graue which contained the bones of Periander where about was engrauen in Greeke verses and old letter this Epitaph Within the compasse of this narrow graue Wretched Periander enclosed lyes Whose cruel facts could Greece alone not haue So small a soyle his hunger could suffice Here lodgeth oke loe Periander dead His filthy flesh the hungry wormes doe eate And liuing he with Orphelines good was fed His greedy guts did craue such dainty meate The Tyrant Periander stayeth here Whose life was built to hinder all the rest And eke whose death such profit large did bear As brought reliefe to him that had the least Here wicked Periander resteth now His life did cause great peopled realmes decay His death that forst his liuing sprite to how Assurde them life that stoode in brittle stay The cursed Periander heere doth lye Whose life did shed the poore and simple blood And eke that clambe to riches rule so hye By others swette they sought for wasting good Of Corinth loe here Periander rest To seeme for iust that equall Lawes did frame Yet flitting from the square that they possest By vertues doome deserude a Tyrants name The Catiue Periander sleepeth here That finisht hath his 80. years with shame And though his life that thousands bought so deer Be faded thus yet bloometh stil his blame There was more letters on the graue but because it was alone in the fielde the great waters had worne it so that scarsely the letters could bee roade and truely it was very olde in his time it seemed to bee a sumptuous thing but the negligence of reparation lost it quite and it is not to bee maruelleed at for in the end time is of such power that it causeth renowmed men to be forgotten and all the sumptuousbuildings to decay and fall to the earth If thou wilt know my friend Pulio in what time the tyrant this Philosopher was I will thou know that when Catania the renowned City was builded in Cicilia neere the Mount Ethna and when Perdica was the 4. King of Macedonia and that Cardiced was the third King of the Medes and when Candare was fift king of the Libeans and that Assaradoche was ninth King of the Assyrians and when Merodache was twelfth King of the Caldeaus and that Numa Pompilius raigned second King of the Romanes and in the time of those so good Kinges Periander raigned amongst the Assirians And it is meete thou know an other thing also which is this That this Periander was a Tyrant not only in deede but also in renowme so that they spake of no other thing thorow Greece but it tended hereunto Though hee had euill works hee had good words and procured that the affayres of the Common-wealth should bee well redressed For generally There is no man so good but a man may finde somewhat in him to bee reproued neyther any man so euill but hee hath some thing in him to bee commended I doe yet remember of my age being neyther too yong nor too old that I saw the Emperour Traian my Lord suppe once in Agrippine and it so chanced that wordes were moued to speake of good and euill Princes in times past as wel of the Greekes as of the Romans that all those which were present there coÌmended greatly the Emperour Octauian and they all blamed the cruell Nero for it is an ancient custom to flatter the princes that are present and to murmur at Princes that are past When the good Emperour Traian was at dinner and when he praied in the Temple it was maruell if any man saw him speake any word and that day since hee saw that they excessinely praysed the Emperour Octauian and that the others charged the Emperour Nero with more then needed the good Traian spake vnto them these words I am glad you commend the Emperour Octauian but I am angry you should in my presence speake euill of the Emperour NERO and of none other for it is great infamy to a Prince being aliue to heare in his presence any Prince euill reported after his death Truely the Emperour Octauian was very good but yee will not deny me but hee might haue beene better and the Emperour Nero was very euill but you will graunt mee hee might haue beene worse I speake this because Nero in his first fiue yeares was the best of all and the other nine following he was the worst of all so that there is both cause to disprayse him and also cause to commend him When a vertuous man will speake of Princes that are dead before Princes which are aliue hee is bound to prayse onely one of their vertues that they had and hath no licence to reueale the vices whereof they were noted for the good deserueth reward because he endeauoureth himselfe to follow vertue and the euill likewise deserueth pardon because through frailety he hath consented to vice All these wordes the Emperour Traian spake I being present they were spoken with such fiercenes that all those which were there present both chaunged their colour and also refrayned their tongues For truly the shamelesse man feeleth not so much a great stripe of correction as the gentle heart doth a sharpe worde of admonition I was willing to shew thee these things my
thee so much to keepe thy children from witches For otherwise the cursed Women will doe them more harme then the good milke shal profite them I haue beene moued and prouoked to write thus much vnto thee for the great loue which I do beare thee and also calling to minde that which thou when we were in the sacred Senate oft times toldest me which was that thou diddest desire a sonne And since now thou hast thy petition I would not thou shouldst prouoke the Gods wrath by sorceries For in the faith of a good man I doe sweare vnto thee that when the Fathers are in fauour with the Gods there needeth no sorceries vnto the Children I had manie other things to write vnto thee Some of the which I will coÌmunicate with thy seruant Fronton rather then to send them by letters And maruel not at this for letters are so perillous that if a man be wise hee wil write no more in a close letter theÌ he would declare openly in Rome Pardon me my friend Dedalus though indeede I write not vnto thee as thy appetite would nor yet as my will desireth For thou hast need to know many things and I haue not leaue by letter to put thee in trust therewith I cannot tell what I should write vnto thee of me but that alwayes the Goute doth take me and the worst of all is that the more I growe in yeares the more my health diminisheth For it is an old course of mans frailtie that where wee thinke to goe most surest there haue we most lets The Popinjay which thou didst send me as soone as I receyued it my wife did seaze it and truely it is a maruellous pleasure to heare what thinges it doth speak but in the end the women are of such power that when they wil they impose silence to the liuing and cause that in the graues the dead men speake According to that I doe loue thee and according to that I owe thee and as I haue vsed that which I doe sende thee is very little I say it because that presently I do send thee but two horses of Barbarie twelue swords of Alexandrie and to Fronton thy seruant 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 bid mee I should send thy wife Perusa a cofer full of odoriferous odours of Palestine and another cofer full of her owne Apparrel the which as I thinke thou wilt not a little esteeme For naturally Women are of theyr owne Goods niggardes but in wasting spending of others very prodigall The Almighty gods bee with thee and preserue thee from euill fortune The which I humbly beseech to graunt that vnto thee and mee and vnto my wife Faustine and to thy wife Pertusa that we all meete merily together in Rome for the heart neuer receyueth such ioy as when hee seeth himselfe with his desired friend Marcus of Mount Celio writeth to thee with his own hand CHAP. XXV How excellent a thing it is for a Gentleman to haue an eloquent tongue ONe of the chiefest things that the Creatour gaue to man was to know and be able to speake for otherwise the soule reserued the brute beasts are of more value then dumbe men Aristotle in his Aesconomices without comparison prayseth more the Pythagoricall sort then the Stoicall saying that the one is more conforme to reason then the other is Pythagoras commaunded that al men which were dumbe and without speech should immediately and without contradiction be banished and expulsed from the people The cause why this Phylosopher had commanded such things was for so much as he saide that the tongue is moued by the motions of the soule and that he which had no tong had no soule And hee which hath no soule is but a brute beast and he that is a beast deserueth to serue in the fieldes among brute beasts It is a good thing not to bee dumbe as bruite beasts are and it is a greater thing to speake as the reasonable men doe but it is much more worthy to speake wel as the eloquent Philosophers doe For otherwise if hee which speaketh doth not weigh the sentences more then the wordes oft times the Popingayes shall content theÌ more which are in the cage then the men which doe reade in Schooles Iosephus in the booke De Bello Iudaico sayeth That King Herod not onely with his person and goods but also with all his friends and parents followed and gaue ayde to Marcus Anthonius and to his louer Cleopatra howbeit in the end Octauian had the victory For the man which for the loue of a woman doth enterprise conquests it is impossible that eyther he lose not his life or else that hee liue not in infamy Herod seeing that Marcus Antonius was dead determined to go towards the Emperour Octauian at whose feet he layd his crowne and made a notable Oration wherein hee spake so pleasant words and so high sentences that the Emperour Octauian did not onely pardon him for that hee was so cruell an enemie but also hee confirmed him again vnto his realm and tooke him for his deare and speciall friend For among the good men and noble hearts many euill workes are amended by a few good works If Blundus in the booke intituled Roma triumphante do not deceiue me Pirrus that great King of the Epirotes was stoute and hardy valiant in armes liberall in benefices patient in aduersities and aboue al renowned to be very sweet in words and sage in his answeres They sayde that this Pirrus was so eloquent that the man with whome once hee had spoken remained so much his that from that time forward in his absence hee tooke his part and declared his life and state in presence The aboue named Blundus sayed and Titus Liuius declareth the same That as the Romaines were of all things prouided seeing that King Pyrrus was so eloquent they prouided in the Senate that no Romane Ambassadour should speake vnto him but by a third person for otherwise he would haue perswaded them through his sweet words that they should haue returned againe to Rome as his procurers and soliciters Albeit Marcus Tullius Cicero was Senatour in the Senate Consull in the Empire rich amongst the rich and hardy amongst men of warre yet truely none of these qualities caused him eternall memorie but onely his excellent eloquence This Tullius was so esteemed in Rome for the eloquence of his tongue onely that oft times they heard him talke in the Senate three houres together without any man speaking one word And let not this bee little esteemed nor lightly passed ouer for worldly malice is of such condition that some man may easily speake foure houres then another man shal haue patience to heare him one minute Antonius Sobellicus declareth that in the time of Amilcares the Affrican a Philosopher named Afronio flourished in
and so modest in life that of their family there was neuer found any cowardly man in the field nor any defamed woman in the twone They say of this linage of the Cornenelii among many other there were 4. singular and notable women among the which the chiefe was the mother of Graccht whose name was Cornelia and liued with more honor for the sciences shee read in Rome then for the conquests that her children had in Affrike Before her children were brought into the Empire they talked of none other thing but of their strength and hardinesse throughout the world and therefore a Romain one day asked this woman Cornelia wherof she tooke most vain glory to see her selfe mistresse of so many Disciples or mother of so valiant children The Lady Cornelia answered I doe esteeme the science more which I haue learned then the children which I haue brought forth For in the end the children keepe in honour the life but the Disciples continue the renowme after death And she sayd further I am assured that the Disciples daily wil waxe better and better and it may be that my children will waxe worse and worse The desires of young men are so variable that they dayly haue new inuentions With one accord all the writers doe greatly commend this woman Cornelia in especiall for being wise and honest and furthermore because she read Phylosophy in Rome openly And therefore after her death they set vp in Rome a statue ouer the gate Salaria whereupon there was grauen this Epigram This heape of earth Cornelle doth enclose Of wretched Gracches that loe the mother was Twise happy in the schollers that shee chose Vnhappy thrise in the of spring that shee has AMong the Latines Cicero was the Prince of al the Romane Rethorike and the chiefest with his pen enditing Epistles yet they say that he did not onely see the writings of this Cornelia but read them and did not onely reade them but also with the sentences thereof profited himselfe And hereof a man ought not to maruell for there is no man in the world so wise of himselfe but may further his doings with the aduise of an other Cicero so highly exalted these writings that he sayde in his Rethorike these or such other like words If the name of a woman had not not blemished Cornelia truly she deserued to be head of al Philosophers For I neuer saw so graue sentences proceede from so fraile flesh Since Cicero spake these words of Cornelia it cannot be but that the writings of such a woman in her time were verie liuelesse and of great reputation yet notwithstanding there is no memory of her but that an author for his purpose declareth an Epistle of this maner Sextus Cheronensis in his booke of the prayse of women reciteth the letter which shee sent to her children Shee remaining in Rome and they being at the wars in Affricke The Letter of Cornelia to her two sons Tiberius and Caius otherwise called Gracchi Cornelia the Romane that by the fathers side am of the Cornelii on the mother side of the Fabii to you my two sonnes Gracchii which are in the warres of Affricke such health to you I doe wish as a mother to her children ought to desire You haue vnderstoode right well my children how my father dyed I being but three yeares of age and that this 22. yeares I haue remained widdow and that this 20. yeares I haue read Rethorike in Rome It is 7. yeeres since I saw you and 12. yeares since your brethren my children dyed in the great plague You know 8. yeeres are past since I left my study and came to see you in Cicilia because you should not forsake the wars to come to see me in Rome for to mee could come no greater pain then to see you absent from the seruice of the Common wealth I desire my children to shew you how I haue passed my life in labour and trauell to the entent you should not desire to spende yours in rest and idlenes For to me that am in Rome there can want no troubles be yee assured that vnto you which are in the wars shall want no perils For in warres renowne is neuer solde but by weight or changed with losse of life The young Fabius sonne of my aunt the aged Fabia at the third Calends of March brought mee a letter the which you sent and truly it was more briefe then I would haue wished it for betweene so deere children and so louing a mother it is not suffered that the absence of your persons should be so farre and the letters which you write so briefe By those that goe from hence thither I alwaies doe send you commendations and of those that come from thence hither I doe enquire of newes Some say they haue seene you others tell mee they haue spoken with you so that with this my heart is somwhat quieted for between them that loue greatly it may bee endured that the fight be seldom so that the health be certaine I am sole I am a widdow I am aged and now all my kindred are dead I haue endured many trauels in Rome and the greatest of all is my children of your absence for the paine is greater to be voyd of assured friends then assault is dangerous of cruell enemies Since you are young and not very rich since you are hardie and brought vp in the trauels of Affricke I do not doubt but that you do desire to come to Rome to see know that now you are men which you haue seen when you were children for men doe not loue their Country so much for that it is good as they doeloue it for that it is naturall Beleeue me children there is no man liuing that hath seene or heard speake of Rome in times past but hath great griefe sorrow and pitty to see it at this present for as their hearts are pittifull and their eyes tender so they cannot behold that without great sorrow which in times past they haue seene in great glory O my children you shall know that Rome is greatly changed from that it was wont to be To reade that wee doe reade of it in times past and to see that which wee see of it now present wee must needs esteeme that which the Ancients haue written as a iest or else beleeue it but as a dreame There is no other thing now at Rome but to see iustice corrupted the common-weale oppressed lies blown abroad the truth kept vnder the Satyres silent the flatterers open mouthed the inflamed persons to bee Lords and the patient to be seruants and aboue all and worse then all to see the euill liue in rest and contented and the good troubled and displeased Forsake forsake my Children that City where the good haue occasion to weepe and the euill haue liberty to laugh I cannot tell what to say in this matter as I would say truly the Common weale is at this day such and
banishment To flye the extreame heate of Rome and to reade some bookes which are brought mee from the realme of Palestine I am come hither to Capua and for the haste I made to ride great iourneyes the Ague hath ouertaken me which is more troublesome then perillous For it taketh me with cold and plucketh my appetite from me The 20 day of Ianuary I receyued thy second letter and it hapned that thy letter and my feuer tooke mee both at one instant but the feuer grieeued me in such wise that I could not long endure to reade thy letter Mee thinketh wee haue no stay nor meane thou beeing so briefe and I so long for my long letter hath taken thy grieuous sorrows from mee but thy short letter could not take my feuer from me now that my mind is beating of thy trauell the desire that I haue to remedy it is enflamed I would tel thee one thing succor thee with som counsel but I find that the consolation which thou wantest I cannot giue thee and that which I can giue thee thou needest not In this letter shall not be written that which was in the first but herein I will trauell the best I can to answer thee I wil not occupie my self to comfort thee because I am so out of course with this disease that I haue neyther will to write ne yet any fauour in any pleasant things If perhaps this letter bee not sauoury nor compendious neither so comfortable as those which I was woÌt to write vnto thee attribute not the blame vnto my good will which desireth to serue thee but to the sicknes that giueth no place thereunto For it sufficeth the sicke to be contented with medicines without satisfying theyr friendes If thy comfort consisted in writing many letters and offering thee many words truely I would not sticke to doe that for my feuer but it neither profiteth thee nor satisfieth mee since I haue little to proffer thee much Talking now of this matter I doe remember that the ancient lawes of the Rhodians sayd these words We desire and admonish all men to visite the Captiues the Pilgrimes and the comfortlesse and further we ordaine and commaund that none in the Common wealth be so hardy to giue counsell vnlesse therewith hee giue remedy For to the troubled heart words comforteth little when in them there is no remedy Of a truth the Law of the Rhodians is good and the Romane which shall obserue them much better Assure thy self that I am very desirous to see thee and also I know that thou wouldest as gladly speake vnto me to recount mee all thy griefes Truely I doe not maruell because the wounded heart quieteth himselfe more declaring his owne griefes theÌ hearing another mans consolations Thou writest vnto me of suÌdry things in thy letter the effect whereof that thou certifiest me is that the Iudges and Officers in that Realme bee very rigorous and extreame and that therefore the Cicilians are greatly displeased with the Senate Hitherto thou hast neuer tolde mee lye the which moueth me to beleeue all that thou writest now in thy letter Wherefore I take it for a thing most true that forasmuch as all those of Cicill are malitious and enuious they giue the Iudges fitte occasion to bee cruell For it is a generall rule where men are out of order the Ministers of iustice ought to bee rigorous And though in other realms it chaunced not it is to be beleeued that it is true in this Realme whereof the ancient Prouerbe sayth All those which inhabite the Isles are euill but the Cicilians are worst of all At this day the wicked are so mighty in their malice and the good are so much diminished in their vertues that if by Iustice there were not a bridle the wicked would surmount al the world and the good should vanish immediately But returning to our matter I say that considering with what how many euils wee are enuironed and to how many miseries wee are subiect I doe not maruell at the vanities that men commit but I am ashamed of the cruelty which our iudges execute so that wee may rather call them tyrants which kill by violence then Iudges which minister by iustice Of one thing I was greatly astonied and almost past my sense which is that iustice of right pertayneth to the Gods and they being offended will bee called pittifull and wee others borrow iustice and not beeing offended doe glorifie our selues to be called cruell I know not what man will hurt another since wee see that the Gods forgiuing their proper iniuries haue obtained the renowne of mercifull and wee others punishing the iniuries done vnto another doe remaine with the name of the tirants If the punishment of the Gods were so seuere as our sinnes are filthy and that they should measure vs with this measure the only desert of one offence is sufficient to take life from vs. With reason hee cannot be called a man amongst men but a sauage amongst the sauages that forgetting to be of feeble flesh tormenteth the flesh of his brother If a man he helde himselfe from toppe to toe he shall finde not one thing in him to moue him to cruelty but he shall see in him many instruments to exercise mercy For hee hath his eyes wherewith hee ought to behold the needy and indigent hee hath feete to goe to the Church and Setmons he hath hands to helpe all hee hath his tongue to fauour the Orphanes he hath a heart to loue God And to conclude hee hath vnderstaÌding to know the euill and discretion to follow the good If men owe much to the Gods for giuing them these Instruments to be pittifull truely they are bound no lesse vnto them for taking from them all occasions to be cruell For hee hath not giuen them hornes as to buls neither nailes as to the cat nor yet hee hath giuen them poyson as to the Serpent Finally hee hath nor giuen them so perilous feet as to a horse to strike nor hee hath giuen them such bloudie teeth as to the Lyons to bite Then sith the Gods bee pittifull and haue created vs pittifull and commaunded vs to bee pittifull why do our Iudges desire then to be cruell O how many cruell and seuere Iudges are there at this day in the Romane Empire which vnder the colour of good zeale to iustice aduenture to vndo the common wealth For not for the zeale of iustice but for the desire to attaine to renowne they haue beene ouercome with malice and denyed their owne proper Nature I doe not maruell that a Romane Censor should enuie my house will euill to my friends fauour mine enemies dispise my children with euill eyes behold my daughters couet my goods speake euill of my person but that which I am ashamed of is that diuers Iudges are so greedy to teare mens flesh as if they were Beares mans flesh were nointed with honey CHAP. VIII The Emperour
waste to their treasures what pouerty to their friends what pleasures to their enemies what destruction of the good what liberty of the euill and what occasion they giue to strangers to speake what vniuersall euill they sow in their naturall Countries and what euill poyson they do leaue to their heires I sweare by the faith of a good man that if as I feele it Princes did feele it and as I taste it Princes did taste it and also as I haue proued it princes did proue it I doe not say that with effusion of bloud I would take realmes by force but also they offering them to mee with teares I would not take them willingly For speaking the truth It is not the point of valiant Princes for to sustain an other mans to put their owne in ieopardy I aske now what profite tooke Rome of the conquest of Asia I admit that it durst conquer it that it was hardy in winning it obstinate in fighting and happy in taking it should it therefore be fortunate in maintayning it I say and affirme and of that I say I doe not repent mee That it is possible to take Asia but it is but a follie to presume to maintaine and defend it Doest thou not thinke it a great folly to presume to maintaine Asia since there neuer commeth newes of a victory but that it is occasion of an other battell and that for to sustaine watre they robbe all Italy In Asia our money is spent our children are perished In Asia dyed our Fathers for Asia they make vs pay tributes In Asia the good horses are consumed Into Asia they carry all our corne In Asia all the theeues are nourished From Asia commeth all the seditious persons In Asia all the good doe perish From Asia they send vs all the vices And finally in Asia all our treasures are spent and in Asia all our excellent Romanes are killed And sith this is the seruice that Asia doth to Rome why will Rome continue warre with Asia Other Princes before vs haue conquered Asia taken Asia and possessed Asia but in the end when they saw that it was a Countrey where they feared not the Gods nor acknowledged subiection to their Princes neyther that they were apt to retaine lawes they determined to forsake them because they found by experience that they neyther weary their bodies with warres neither winne their harts with benefits Those Princes being hardy nor so bold to sustain Asia by land should we others presume to succour it by sea They forsake it being neighbours and will wee others maintaine it beeing strangers In my opinion Asia is a Country where all the valiant men haue employed their valiantnesse where all the fooles haue proued their folly where al the proud haue shewed their pride where all the Princes entered in with might where all thetyrants haue employed theyr Life but in the end it neither profiteth the one to will it nor to the others to knowe it and yet much lesse to vanquish it I know not the man that loueth Asia that willeth well to Asia that speaketh well of Asia or that fauoureth the things of Asia since shee giueth vs occasion to speake daily to sigh nightly and to weepe hourely If men attayned to the secrete to know the Fatall Destenyes with the which the Goddes haue created Asia they would not striue so much in the conquest therof For the Gods haue created it in such a signe that it shold be a common pasture where all feede a common Market where all sell a common-Inne where all rest a common table where all play a common House where all dwell a common Countrey where all remaine and thereof it commeth that Asia is desired of manie and gouerned of fewe For beeing as it is a common countrey euery man will make it his owne proper Peraduenture thou wilt thinke my friende Cornelius that I haue spoken now all the euils of Asia but hearken yet I will fourme thee a new question againe For according to the dammages which haue followed from Asia to our mother Rome time shall rather want to write then matter to declare Not without teares I say that which I will say that there was neuer any Romane captaine that did kill tenne thousand Asians with the weapons he brought into Asia but that hee lost a hundreth thousand Romanes with the vices they brought to Rome So that the Asians by the hand of their enemyes dyed with honour and left vs Romanes aliue full of their vices with infamie I aske now what they were that inuented to dine in common places to suppe in secret gardens to apparel the women as men in the Theaters to colour the flesh of Priests with yeallow to noynte the Women as men in the Bath the Senatours going smelling to the Senate Princes to be apparelled with purple against the auncient decree To eate twice in the day as the tyraunt Dennys did to keepe Harlots and concubines as they of Tyre doe to speak blasphemie against the gods which were neuer hearde of before in the Empire These said vices of Asia Asia hath presently sent to Rome At the same time when in those parts of the Orient the warre was kindeled tenne valiant captains brought these vices to Rome whose names my penne shall pardon to tell because their vile offences should not obscure theyr valiaunt deedes Before that Rome conquered Asia we were rich wee were pacient wee were sober we were wise we were honest and aboue all we liued well contented But now since that time we haue giuen our selues to forget the pollicyes of Rome and to learne the pleasure of Asia so that all vices may be learned in Rome as all Sciences may be heard in Greece By this aboue rehearsed all warlike Princes may see what profite they haue to conquer straunge Realms c. Let vs now leaue the vices which in the warres are recouered and talke of mony which the princes couet and loue And in this I say that there is no Prince brought into such extreame pouertie as hee which conquereth a straunge countrey Oh Cornelius thou hast not seene how Princes more of a will then of necessitie doe waste their treasures how they demaund that of another mans and how their owne doeth not suffice them they take those of Churches they seeke great Lones they inuent great Tributes they demaund great Subsidies they giue strangers occasion to speake and make themselues hated of their subjects Finally they pray theyr subiects and humble themselues to their enemies Since I haue declared the dammages of warre I will now declare what the originall of warre is For it is vnpossible that the physition applye vnto the sicke agreeable medecine if we know not of what humour the sicknes doth proceed Princes since they came of men are nourished with men doe counsell with men and liue with men and to conclude they are men Sometimes through pride which aboundeth in them somtimes through want
will but hauing it with him it profiteth him nothing Wee may say of these rich and couetous men that if they heape and keepe they say it is for deere and drye yeares and to relieue theyr parents and friends We may aunswer them that they doe not heape vp to remedie the poore in like necessityes but rather to bring the Common-wealth to greater pouerty For then they sell all things deere and put out their money to great vsurie so that this couetous man doth more harme with that he doth lend them then the drie yeare doth with that it hath taken froÌ them The noble and vertuous men ought not cease to doe well for feare of dry yeares For in the ende if one deare yeare come it maketh al deere and at such a time and in such a case he onely may be called happie which for being free and liberall in Almes shall reioyce that his table should be costly Let all couetous men beware that for keeping of much goods they giue not to the diuell theyr soules For it may bee that before the deare yeare commeth to sel their Corne their bodyes shal be layd in the graue Oh what good doeth GOD to the Nobles giuing them liberal harts and what ill lucke haue couetous men hauing as they haue their harts so hard laced For if couetous men did taste how sweet and necessarie a thing it is to giue they could keepe little for themselues Now sithens the miserable and couetous men haue not the heart to giue to their friendes to depart to their parents to succour the poore to lend to their neighbours nor to sustaine the Orphanes It is for to bee thought that they will spend it on themselues Truly I say no more for there are men so miserable and so hard of that they haue that they thinke that as euill spent which among themselues they spend as that which one robbeth from them of their goods How will the couetous and miserable wretch giue a garment to a naked man which dare not make himselfe a coate How will hee giue to eate to the poore familiar which as a poore slaue eateth the bread of branne and selleth the flower of meale How shal the Pilgrims lodge in his house who for pure misery dare not enter and how doth he visite the Hospitall and releeue the sicke that oft times hazardeth his owne health and life for that hee will not giue one penny to the Physition how shall hee succour secretly the poore and needy which maketh his owne children goe barefoote and naked how can hee helpe to marry the poore maides being orphanes when he suffereth his owne daughters to waxe olde in his house how will hee giue of his goods to the poore Captiues which will not pay his owne men their wages how will he giue to eate to the children of poore Gentlemen which alwayes grudgeth at that his owne spend how should wee beleeue that hee wil apparrell a widdow which will not giue his owne wife a hoode How doth hee daily giue almes which goeth not to the Church on the Sunday because hee will not offer one penny how shall the couetous man reioyce the heart sith for spending of one penny oft times hee goeth supperlesse to bed And finally I say that hee will neuer giue vs of his own proper goods which weepeth alwayes for the goods of another CHAP. XXIIII The Author followeth his matter and with great reasons discommendeth the vices of couetous men ONe of the thinges wherein the diuine prouidence sheweth that we do not vnderstand the maner of her gouernement is to see that shee giueth vnderstanding to a man to know the riches shee giueth him force to seeke them subtilly to gather them vertue to sustaine them courage to defend them and also long life to possesse them And with all this shee giueth him not licence to enioy them but rather suffereth him that as without reason hee hath made himselfe Lord of an other mans of right hee should bee made slaue of his owne thereby a man may know of how greater excellency vertuous pouerty is then the outragious couetousnesse for so much as to the poore God doth giue contentation of that little hee hath from the rich man he taketh contentation of the great deale hee possesseth So that to the couetous man wee see troubles encrease howerly and the gaine commeth vnto him but monethly Let vs compare the rich and couetous man to the poore potter and wee shall see who shall profite most eyther the potter with his pots that he maketh of the earth or else the couetous with his money which he hath in the earth Though I make no answere to this yet answer herein hath already been made that the one is much better at ease with the earth then the other is with the good For the Potter getteth his liuing by selling pots and the couetous man loseth his soule by keeping riches I humbly require the high Princes and also I beseech the great Lordes and further I admonish the other nobles and Plebeians alwayes to haue this word in memory I say and affirme that the more strongly the man keepeth and locketh his treasure the more strongly and priuily is he kept for if hee put two keyes to keepe his treasure he putteth seuen to his heart not to spend them Let the noble and valiant men beware that they giue not their mindes to heape vp treasures for if once their hearts bee kindled with couetousnes for feare of spending a halfe penny they will dayly suffer themselues to fall into a thousand miseries The Plebeians which are very rich may say that they haue not heaped vp much treasures sithence they cannot behold a hundred or two hundred duccats To this I answere that the estates considered ten duccates doe as much harme to a Treasurer as to others ten thousand For the fault consisteth not in keeping or hiding much or litle riches but forsomuch as in keeping them we cease to doe many good workes To mee it is a strange matter that niggardlinesse hath a greater force to the couetous then conscience hath in others For there are many which notwithstanding conscience do profite with the goods of others and the couetous hauing more misery then conscience cannot yet profite with their owne With much care and lesse diligence the couetous men doe prouide that the millers do not rob the meale that their beasts make no wasts that the Hunters run not through the corne that their wine perish not that those which owe them any thing doe not go and make themselues bankroutes that wynets do not eate their corne and the theeues rob not their goods but in the end they watch none so well as themselues for all the others earely or late haue alwayes oportunitie to robbe from them somewhat but the couetous hath neuer the heart to change a duccate Men ought to take great pitty of a couetous man who by his own will
to leaue their heyres and successors And therfore I haue appointed euery thing in common among subiects because that during their liues they might haue honestly to maintaine themselues withall and that they should not leauy any thing to dispose by will after their deathes Herodotus sayth also that it was decreede by the Inhabitants of the Isles Baleares that they should suffer none to come into their Country to bring them any golde siluer Iewels or precious stones And this serued them to great profite For by means of this Law for the space of foure hundred yeares that they had great warres with the Romanes the Carthagenians the French and the Spaniards neuer any of these Nations once stirred to goe about to conquere their land being assured that they had neyther golde nor siluer to robbe or conuey from them Promotheus that was the first that gaue Lawes to the Egyptians did not prohibite golde nor siluer in Egypt as those of the Isles Baleares did in theyr territories neyther did he also commaund that all things should be common as Licurgus but also commanded that none in all his Kingdome should be so hardy once to gather any masse or quantitie of golde or siluer together and to hoord it vp And this he did vpon great penalties for as hee sayde Auarice is not shewed in building of fayre houses neyther in hauing rich moueables but in assembling and gathring together great treasure and laying it vp in their coffers And Plutarch in his booke De Consolatione sayth also That if a rich man dyed among the Rhodians leauing behind him one onely sonne and no more suruiuing him they wold not suffer that he should bee sole heyre of all that his Father left but they left him an honest heritage liuing to his state and calling and to marry him well withall and the rest of all his Fathers goods they dissipated among the poore and Orphans The Lydians that neyther were Greekes nor Romanes but right barbarous people had a law in their common weale that euery man should be bound to bring vp his children but not to be at charges in bestowing theÌ in marriage So that the sonne or daughter that was now of age to marry they gaue them nothing to theyr marriage more then they had gotten with their labour And those that will exactly consider this laudable custome shall finde that it is rather a Law of true Philosophers then a custome of barbarous people Since thereby the children were enforced to labour for their liuing and the parents also were exemted from all manner of couetousnesse or auarice to heape vp gold and siluer and to enrich themselues Numa Pompilius second King of the Romanes and establisher of their Lawes and decrees in the law of the seuen Tables which he made hee left them order onely which way the Romanes might rule their Common-weale in tranquilitie and put in no clause nor chapter that they should make their willes whereby their childreÌ might inherit their fathers goods And therefore being asked why hee permitted in his lawes euery man to get as much goods as he could and not to dispose them by will nor leaue them to their heyres He aunswered because wee see that albeit there are some children that are vnhappy vicious and abominable yet are there few fathers notwithstanding this that wil depriue and disinherite them of theyr goods at their death onely to leaue them to any other heere and therefore for this cause I haue commanded that all the goods that remaine after the death of the owner of them shold be giuen to the Common-weale as sole heyre and successor of them to the end that if their children should become honest and vertuous they should then bee distributed to them if they were wicked and vnhappy that they should neuer bee owners of them to hurt and offende the good Macrobius in his booke De somno Scipionis sayth that there was in the olde time an old and ancient Law amongst the Tuscans duely obserued and kept and afterwards taken vp of the Romanes that in euerie place where soeuer it were in towne or village within their territories on new-yeares day euerie man should present himselfe before the Iudge or Magistrate of the place hee was in for to giue him account of his manner of life and how hee maintained himselfe and in these examinations they did accustome to punish him that liued idely and with knauery and deceipt maintayned themselues as Minstrels Ruffians Dicers Carders Iuglers Coggers Foyster Coseners of men and filching knaues with other loytering vagabonds and rogues that liue of others swet and toyle without any paine or labour they take vpon them to deserue that they eate I would to God if it were his will that this Tuscan Law were obserued of Christians then we should see how few they be in number that giue them selues to any faculty or science or other trade to liue by their owne trauell and industry and how many infinite a number they bee that liue in idle sort The diuine Plato in his Timee sayeth that although an idle man bee more occasion of many troubles and inconueniences in a Common-weale then a couetous man yet is it not alwayes greater for the idle man and that gladly taketh his ease doth but desire to haue to eate but the couetous man doth not only desire to eate but to bee rich and haue money enough All the eloquence and pleasaunt speech that the Orators studied in their Orations the Lawyers in theyr Law and the famous Philosophers in their doctrine and teaching was for no other cause but to admonish and perswade those of the Common-weale to take very good heed in chusing of their gouernours that they were not couetous and ambitious in the administration of their publike affayres Laertius reciteth also that a Rhodian iesting with Eschines the Philosopher sayde vnto him By the immortall Gods I sweare to thee O Eschines that I pitty thee to see thee so poore to whom he aunswered By the same immortall Gods I sweare to thee againe I haue compassion on thee to see thee so rich Sith riches bring but paine and trouble to get them great care to keepe them displeasur to spend them perill to hoorde them and occasion of great daungers and inconueniences to defend them and that that grieueth me most is that where thou keepest thy treasure fast lockt vp there also thy heart is buried Surely Eschines words seemed rather spoken of a Christian then of a Philosopher In saying that where a mans treasure is there is also his hart For there is no couetous man but dayly hee thinkes vpon his hidde treasure but he neuer calleth to mind his sinnes he hath committed Comparing therefore those things wee haue spoken with those thinges wee will speake I say that it becommeth the fauoured of Princes to know that it is lesse seemely for them to bee couetous then others For the greatnesse of their fauour ought not to bee
entent that afterwardes suddenly and at vnawares shee may bring vs into some great aduersity By experience dayly we see that the Sea is seldome times calme but immediately there followeth some perillous Tempest The extreame heate of the day doth prognosticate that terrible thunder is the Euentide I meane when Fortune doth flatter vs with her golden pilles it is a token that shee intendeth to catch vs in her snares The Mylner before the banke broken repayreth the dammes The husband man before it raineth thacketh his house fearing the snow and raine that is to come So likewise the sage man ought to coÌsider that during this life he hath prosperitie but by leaue and aduersity as by patrimony Marcus Aurelius among all other men was hee that knew how to enioy prosperity and also to preuaile of aduersity Though fortune gaue him much prosperitie yet he neuer trusted therein nor for any troubles that euer he receyued in this life he was at any time abashed CHAP. V. Of the sharpe words which Marcus Aurelius spake to his wife and to his daughter WHen the triumphes before named were finished this good Emperour then beeing willing to vnburden his heart and to aduise Faustine and to teach the yong damosell his daughter and to the end that no man should heare it he called them a part and sayde vnto them these words I am not content Faustine with that thy daughter did nor yet with that which thou hast done being her mother The daughters if they will bee counted for good Children must learne to obey their fathers and the mothers if they will be counted good mothers must learn to bring vp their daughters well When the mother is honest and the daughter shamefast the father is excused in giuing counsell It is great shame to the Father being a man that the Mother beeing a woman should chastife his sonne And this is a great reproach to the mother that the daughter should bee chastised by the hands of any man There was a Law enacted amongst the Rhodians that neyther the Fathers should haue to do with the daughters nor the mothers with the Sonnes but the men vsed to bring vp the men and the women the women And in such wise that they abiding all in one house it seemeth vnto the fathers that they had no daughters and vnto the mothers that they had no sonnes Oh Rome Rome I bewaile thee not to see thy streets vnpaued nor to see thy houses so decayed nor to see thy battlements so fallen downe nor thy timber hewed downe not for the diminishing of the inhabitants for all this Time bringeth and Time taketh away but I weepe for thee againe to see thee vnpeopled of good-fathers and vnprouided in the nourishing of their children Rome beganne to decay when the discipline of Sonnes and Daughters was enlarged and that their bridle was set at libertie For there is now such boldnes in Boyes and so little shamefastnes in Gyrles with dishonestie of the Mothers that whereas one Father sufficed for xx Sonnes and one Mother for xx daughters now xx fathers dare scarcely vndertake to bring vp well one Sonne and xxx Mothers one daughter I say this to you Faustine you remember not how you are a Mother For you giue more libertie to your Daughter then ought to bee suffered And now Lucilla remember not how you are a daughter for you shew to haue more libertie then requireth for a young Maiden The greatest gift that the Gods haue giuen to the Matrones of Rome is because that they are women they keepe themselues close and secret because they are Romanes they are shamefast The day when the women want the feare of the Gods secretlie and shame of men openly beleeue me they shall either faile the world or the world them The common wealth requireth it of great necessity that the women which therein inhabite should bee as honest as the Captaines valiant for the Captaines going to warre defend them and the women which abide at home conserue them As now foure yeares passed you saw this great pestilence and I demaunded then to haue account of the people and I found that of a C. and xl M. honest women lxxx M. dyed and of x. M. dishonest women in a manner they scaped all I cannot tell for which I should weep eyther for the lacke that wee haue of the good and vertuous Women in our common wealth or else for the great hurt and dammages that these euill and wicked women doe to the youth of Rome The fire that burneth in Mount Ethna doth not so much endamage those that dwell in Scicill as one euill woman doth within the walls of Rome A fierce beast and a perillous enemie to the Common wealth is an evill woman for shee is of power to commit all euils and nothing apt to doe any good O how many realmes and Kingdomes reade wee of which by the euill behauiours of one woman haue been lost and to resist against them there hath beene neede both of wisedome perils money and force of many men The vices in a woman is as a green Reede that boweth euery way but the lightnes and dishonesty is as a dry Kyxe that breaketh in such wise that the more euill they vtter the more vnlikely is the amendment therof Beholde Faustine there is no creature that more desireth honour and worse keepeth it then a Woman and that this is true wee see by Iustice by Orations by writing and other Trauells man getteth fame and renowm but without it bee by flattering and faire speaking this houre by auncient wryters we can read of few women or none which eyther by writing reading working with Needle spinning or by weauing haue gotten them any great renowme But euen I say of one so I say of another certainly of diuers we reade by keeping themselues closed in their houses being well occupyed in their busines temperate modest in their wordes faithfull to their Husbandes well-ordered in theyr persons peaceable with their Neighbours and finally for beeing honest amongst their owne Familie and shamefast amongst strangers they haue obtained great renown in their life time and left perpetuall memorie of them after their death I will tell you an ancient history as profitable to restraine your vices as it did then augment vertues which is this The Realme of the Lacedemonians saieth Plato was a long time as dissolute through the vnthriftines of the women-kinde as infamed by the vices of the men So that of all Nations they were both called and esteemed barbarous what time Greece of the Phylosophers was called The Mother of Phylosophers Lycurgus a moste wise Phylosopher in knowledge and a right iust king concerning his gouernaÌce partly with his doctrine very profitable and partly with his life most pure ordayned Lawes in the said Realm whereby hee expelled all vices and planted all vertues I cannot tell which of these two were most happyest the King hauing so obedient people or else the
works as moueth vs rather to pitty their follie then to enuie their vertue I aske of those that reade or heare this thing if they will be in loue with Nembroth the first Tyrant with Semiramis which sinned with her owne sonne with Antenor that betrayed Troy his countrey with Medea that slew her children with Tarquine that enforced Lucretia with Brutus that slew Caesar with Sylla that shed so much bloud with Catilina that played the Tyrant in his countrey with Iugurtha that strangled his brethren with Caligula that committed incest with his sisters with Nero that killed his mother with Heliogabalus that robbed the Temples with Domitian that in nothing delighted so much as by straunge handes to put men to death and to driue away flyes with his owne hands Small is the number of those that I haue spoken in respect of those which I could recite of whom I dare say and affirme that if I had beene as they I cannot tell what I would haue done or what I should haue desired but this I know it would haue beene more paines to mee to haue wonne that infamie which they haue wonne then to haue loste the life which they haue lost It profiteth him little to haue his Ponds full of fish and his parkes full of Deere which knoweth neyther how to hunt nor how to fish I meane to shewe by this that it profiteth a man little to be in great auctoritie if hee be not esteemed nor honoured in the same For to attaine to honour wisedome is requisite and to keepe it patience is necessarie With great considerations wise men ought to enterprise daungerous things For I assure them they shall neuer winne honour but where they vse to recouer slander Returning therefore to our matter puissant Prince I sweare and durst vndertake that you rather desire perpetuall renowme through death then any idle rest in this life And hereof I doe not maruell for there are some that shall alwayes declare the prowesses of good Princes and others which will not spare to open the vices of euill tyrants For althogh your Imperial estate is much and your Catholike person deserueth more yet I beleeue with my heart and see with these eyes that your thoughts are so highly bent vnto aduenturous deedes and your heart so couragious to set vpon them that your Maiesty little esteemeth the inheritance of your predecessors in respect of that you hope to gaine to leaue to your successors A Captaine asked Iulius Caesar as he declareth in his Commentaries why he trauelled in the Winter in so hard frost and in the summer in such extreame heate Hee aunswered I will doe what lyeth in mee to doe and afterward let the fatall destinies doe what they can For the valiant knight that giueth in battel the onset ought more to bee esteemed then fickle fortune whereby the victory is obtained since fortune giueth the one and aduentur guideth the other These words are spoken like a stout and valiant Captaine of Rome Of how many Princes doe we reade whom truely I much lament to see what flatteries they haue heard with their eares being aliue and to reade what slaunders they haue sustained after their death Princes and greate Lordes should haue more regard to that which is spoken in their absence then to that which is done in their presence not to that which they heare but to that which they would not heare not to that which they tell them but to that which they would not bee told of not to that which is written vnto them beeing aliue but to that which is written of them after their death not to those that tell them lyes but to those which if they durst would tell them truth For men many times refrayne not their tongues for that Subiects bee not credited but because the Prince in his authority is suspected The Noble and vertuous Prince should not flitte from the truth wherof hee is certified neyther with flatteries and lyes should he suffer himselfe to bee deceyued but to examine himselfe and see whether they serue him with truth or deceyue him with lyes For there is no better witnes and iudge of truth and lyes then is a mans owne conscience I haue spoken all this to the entent your Maiesty might know that I will not serue you with that you should not bee serued That is for to shew my selfe in my Writing a flatterer For it were neyther meete nor honest that flatteries into the eares of such a noble Prince should enter neyther that out of my mouth which teach the truth such vaine tales should issue I say I had rather bee dispraysed for true speaking then to bee honoured for flattery and lying For of truth in your Highnesse it should bee much lightnesse for to heare them and in my basenesse great wickednesse to inuent them Now againe following our purpose I say the Histories greatly doe commend Lycurgus that gaue lawes to the Lacedemonians Numa Pompilius that honoured and addorned the Churches Marcus Marcellus that had pitty and compassion on those which were ouercome Iulius Caesar that forgaue his enemies Octautus that was so welbeloued of the people Alexander that gaue rewardes and gifts to all men Hector the Troian became hee was so valiant in wars Hercules the Thebane because hee employed his strength so well Vlisses the Grecian because hee aduentured himselfe in so many dangers Pyrrhus king of Epirotes because hee inuented so many engines Catullns Regulus because he suffred 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 then al they I doe not say that it is requisit for one Prince in these dayes to haue in him all those qualities but I dare be bolde for to affirme this that euen as it is vnpossible for one Prince to follow all so likewise it is a great slaunder for him to follow none Wee doe not require Princes to doe all that they can but for to apply themselues to do som thing that they ought And I speake not without a cause that which I haue sayde before For if Princes did occupie themselues as they ought to doe they should haue no time to be vicious Plinie sayeth in an Epistle that the great Cato called Censor did weare a Ring vpon his finger wherein was written these words Esto amicus vnius inimicus nullius which is be friend to one and enemy to none He that would deepely consider these few words shall finde therein many graue sentences And to apply this to my purpose I say the Prince that would well gouerne his common weale shew to all equall iustice desire to possesse a quiet life to get among all a good fame and that coueteth to leaue of himselfe a perpetuall memorie ought to embrace the vertues of one and to reiect the vices of all I allow it very wel that Princes should bee equall
vs By these things we haue spoken of before the Readers may perceyue what is due vnto the Hystoriographers who in my opinion haue left as great memorie of them for that they wrote with their pennes as the Princes haue done for that they did with their swords I confesse I deserue nor to be named amongst the Sages neyther for that I haue written and Translated nor yet for that I haue composed Therefore the Sacred and diuine letters set aside there is nothing in the world so curiously written but needeth correction and as I say of the one so will I say of the other and that is as I with my will doe renounce the glory which the good for my learning would giue mee so in like manner euill men shall not want that against my will seeke to defame it Wee other writers smally esteeme that labour and paines wee haue to write although indeede wee are not ignorant of a thousaund enuious tongues that will backbite it Many now adayes are so euil taught or to say better so enuious that when the Author laboreth in his study they play in the streetes when he awaketh they sleepe when he fasteth they eate when hee sitteth turning the leaues of the booke they goe hunting after vices abroade yet for all that they will presume to iudge depraue and condemne an other mans doctrine as if they had the authoritie that Plato had in Greece or the eloquence that Cicero had in Rome When I finde a man in the Latine tongue well seene his vulgar tongue well pâlished in hystories well grounded in Greeke-letters very expert and desirous to spend his time with good bookes this so Heroicall and noble a personage I would desire him to put my doctrine vnder his feete For it is no shame for a vertuous and wise man to be corrected of an other wise man Yet I would gladly know what patieÌce can suffer or heart can dissemble when two or three bee assembled together at meate and after at the table or otherwise one of them taketh a booke at aduenture in his handes against that which another will say it is too long and another will say it speaketh not to the purpose another it is very obscure another the words are not well couched another will say all that is spoken is fayned One will say hee speaketh nothing of profite another hee is too curious and the other hee is too malicious So that in speaking thus the doctrine remaineth suspitious and the Authour scapeth not scot-free Suppose them to be therefore such that speake it as I haue spoken of that at the Table do finde such faults sure they deserue pardon for they speake not according to the Bookes which they haue read but according to the cups of wine which they haue drunke For that Hee that taketh not in iest which is spoken at the Table knoweth not what iesting meaneth It is an olde custom to murmure at vertuous deedes and into this rule entreth not onely those that make them but also those which writethem afterwards Which thing seemeth to be true for that Socrates was reproued of Plato Plato of Aristotle Aristotle of Auerois Sicilius of Vulpitius Lelius of Varro Marinus of Ptolomeus Ennius of Horace Seneca of Aulus Gelius Crastonestes of Strabo Thessale of Gellian Hermagoras of Cicero Cicero of Salust Origines of Saint Hierome Hierome of Rufinus Rufinus of Donatus Donatus of Prosper and Prosper of Lupus Then sith that in these men and in their workes hath beene such need of correction which were men of great knowledge and Lanternes of the World It is no maruell at all that I haue such fortune since I know so little as I doe Hee may worthily bee counted vaine and light which at the first sight as for onely once reading will rashly iudge that which a wise man with much diligence study hath written The Authors and Writers are oft times reproued not of them which can translate and compile workes but of those which cannot reade and yet lesse vnderstand them to the entent simple folkes should count them wise and take their parts in condemning this worke and esteeme him for a great wise man I take God to witnesse who can iudge whether my intention were good or ill to compile this worke and also I lay this my doctrine at the feet of wise and vertuous men to the end they may be protectors and defendours of the same For I trust in God though som would come to blame as diuers do the simple words which I spake yet others would not fayle to relate the good intention that I meant And to declare further I say that diuers have written of the time of the sayde Marcus Aurelius as Herodian wrote little Eutropius lesse Lampridius not so much and Iulius Capitolinus somewhat more Likewise yee ought to know that the Masters which taught Marcus Aurelius sciences were Iunius Rusticus Cinna Catullus Sextus Cheronensis which was nephew to the great Plutarke These three were those that principally as witnesses of sight wrote the most part of his life and doctrine Many may maruel to heare tell of the doctrine of Marcus Aurelius saying it hath beene kept hidde and secret a great while and that of mine owne head I haue inuented it And that there neuer was any Marcus Aurelius in the world I know not what to say now vnto them for it is euident to all those which haue read any thing that Marcus Aurelius was husband to Faustine father to Comodus brother to Anntus Verus and sonne in Law to Antoninus Pius the seuenth of Rome Emperour Those which say I only haue made this doctrine truly I thanke them for so saying but not for their so meaning For truly the Romanes would haue set my Image in Rome for perpetuall renowne if so graue sentences should haue proceeded froÌ my head Wee see that in our time which was neuer seene before and heare that we neuer heard before VVe practise not in a new world and yet wee maruell that there is at this present a newe booke Not for that I was curious to discouer Marcus Aurelius or studious to translate him For truely it is worthy he bee noted of wise persons and not accused of enuious tongues For it chaunceth oftentimes in Hunting that the most simplest man killeth the Deare The last thing which the Romaines conquered in Spayne was Cantabria which was a citie in Nauarre ouer against La-grogne and scituated in a high Countrey where there is now a vaine of Vines And the Emperour Augustus which destroyed it made tenne bookes De Bello Cantabrico wherein are many thinges worthie of noting and no lesse pleasaunt in reading which happened vnto him in the same conquest As Marcus Aurelius was brought mee from Florence so was this other booke Of the warres of Cantabria brought mee from Colleyne If perhaps I tooke paines to Translate this booke as few haue done which haue seene it they would
to bee borne afore him a burning brand and the Councel an Axe of Armes the Priests a Hatte in manner of a Coyse The Senatours a Crusible on their Armes the Iudges a little Balance the Tribunes Maces the Gouernours a Scepter the Bishoppes Hattes of flowers the Oratours a Booke the Cutler 's a Sword the Goldsmith a pot to melt gold and so forth of all other offices strangers excepted which went al marked after one sort in Rome For they would not agree that a stranger should be apparrelled and marked according to the children of Rome O my friend Pulio it was such a ioy then to behold the Discipline and prosperity of Rome as it is now at this present such a griefe to see the calamitie thereof that by the immortall Gods I sweare to thee and so the God Mars guide my hand in Wars that the man which now is best ordered is not worth so much as the most dissolute person was then For then amongst a thousand they could not find one man vicious in Rome and now amongst twenty thousand they cannot find one vertuous in all Italy I know not why the Gods are so cruell against me and fortune so contrary that this forty yeares I haue done nothing but weepe and lament to see the good men dye and immediately to be forgotten and on the other side to see wicked men liue and to be alwayes in prosperity Vniuersally the noble heart may endure all the troubles of mans life vnlesse it bee to see a good man decay and the wicked to prosper which my heart cannot abide nor yet my tongue dissemble And touching this matter my friend Pulio I will write vnto thee one thing which I found in the booke of the high Capitoll where hee treateth of the time of Marius and Silla which truely is worthy of memory and that is this There was at Rome a custome and a law inuiolable sith the time of Cinna that a Censour expresly commaÌded by the Senate should goe and visite the Prouinces which were subiect vnto it throughout all Italy and the cause of those visitations was for three things The first to see if any complained of Iustice The second to see in what case the Common-weale stood The third to the end that yearely they should render obedience to Rome O my friend Pulio how thinkest thou If they visited Italie at this present as at that time they suruaied Rome how ful of errours should they finde it And what decay should they see therin thinkest thou Truely as thou knowest they should see the common wealth destroyed Iustice not ministred and moreouer Rome not obeyed and not without iust cause For of right ought that common-wealth to be destroyed which once of all other hath beene the flower and most beautified with vertues and after becommeth most abhominable and defiled with vices The case was such that two years after the wars of Silla and Marius the Censour went yeerly to Nola which is a place in the Prouince of Campania to visite the same Country as the custome was And in those dayes the time and season being very hote and the Prouince quiet not disturbed with warres and perceyuing that none of the people came to him The Censour said to the Host which lodged him Friend I am a Iudge sent from the Senatours of Rome to visite this land Therefore goe thy wayes quickly and call the good men hither which be among the people for I haue to say vnto them from the sacred Senate This Host who peraduenture was wiser then the Romane Iudge although not so rich goeth to the graues of the dead which in that place were buried and spake vnto them with a loude voyce saying O yee good men come away with mee quickly for the Romane Censour calleth you The Iudge perceyuing they came not sent him againe to call them and the Host as he did at the first time so did he now at the second For when he was at the graues with a loud voice he sayd O yee good men come hither for the censour of Rome would talke with you And likewise they were called the third time with the selfe same words And the Censour seeing no body come was maruellous angry and sayde to the Host Sith these good men disdain to come at my commandement and shew their allegiance to the sacred Senate of Rome that were aliue and not those that are dead the Host made answere O thou Romane Iudge if thou wert wise thou wouldest not maruell at that that I haue done For I let thee vnderstand in this our City of Nola all the good men all I say are now dead and lye here buried in these graues Therefore thou hast no cause to maruell nor yet to bee displeased with my aunswere but I rather ought to bee offended with thy demaund willing me to enquire for good men and thou thy selfe dost offend with the euill dayly Wherefore I let thee know if thou bee ignorant thereof if thou wilt speake with any good man thou shalt not finde him in all the whole world vnlesse the dead bee reuiued or except the Goas will make a new creation The Consull Silla was fiue moneths our Captaine in this our City of Nola in Campania sowing the fruit which ye other Romaines gathered that is to say he left children without Fathers Fathers without children daughters without Mothers and Husbands without Wiues Wiues without Husbands Vncles without Nephewes Subiects without Lords Lords without Tenants Gods without Temples Temples without Priestes Mountaines without Heards and fieldes without fruites And the worst of all is that this wicked and cursed Silla dispeopled this our City of good and vertuous men and replenished it with wicked and vitious persons Ruine and decay neuer destroyed the Walles so much neyther the Mothes euer so many garments nor the Worme rotted so much fruit nor yet the Hayle beate downe so much corne as the disorder and vices of Sylla the Romane Consull did harme which hee brought vnto this land of Campania And although the mischiefe and euils that hee did heere to the men were manifold great yet much greater herein was that which he did to their Customes and Manners For in the end the good men which hee beheaded are now at rest with the dead but the vices which hee left vs in this Land there are none but proude and arrogant men that delight to commaund In this land there are none other but enuious men that know nought else but malice In this land there are idle men which doe nothing but loose their time In this land there are none but gluttons which doe nothing but eate In this land there are none but theeues which entend nought else but robberies In this land there are none but rebels that do nothing but stirre sedition And if thou and all the Romanes esteeme these men for good tarry a while I will goe to call them all to thee For if wee should
as pleasaÌt a voice to sing as euer I heard Romane tongue prompt to speake This was the order of my life and the time that I spent in learning And of good reason a man so occupied cannot chuse but bee vertuous But I sweare and confesse to thee that I did not so much giue my selfe to studie but that euery day I lost time enough For Youth and the tender flesh desireth liberty and although a man accustome it with trauels yet he findeth vacant time in it also for his pleasures Although all the ancient Romaines were in diuers things very studious yet notwithstanding amongst all ouer and besides these there were fiue things whereunto they had euer a great respect and to those that therein offended neyther requests auayled rewards profited nor law olde nor new dispensed Truly their good wils are to be commended and their diligence to bee exalted For the Princes that gouern great Realms ought to employ their harts to make good lawes and to occupie their eyes to see them duely excuted throughout the common-wealth These fiue âeings were these 1 The first they ordayned that the Priests should not be dishonest For in that Realme where Priests are dishonest it is a token that the Gods against the people are angry 2 The second it was not suffered in Rome that the Virgines Vestals should at their pleasure stay abroad For it is but reason that shee which of her owne free will hath heretofore promised openly to bee good should now if shee change her mind be compelled in secret to bee chast 3 The third they decreede that the Iudges should bee iust and vpright For there is nothing that decayeth a common wealth more then a Iudge who hath not for all men one ballance indifferent 4 The fourth was that the Captaines that should goe to the warres should not bee Cowards for there is no like daunger to the Common-wealth nor no like slaunder to the Prince as to commit the charge of men to him in the Field who will be first to commaund and last to fight The fifth was that they which had charge of bringing vp of children should not be vicious For there is nothing more monstrous and more slanderous then he that is a Master of children should bee subiect and seruant to vices How thinkest thou my friend Pulio when all these things were obserued in Rome Thinkest thou that the youth was so dissolute as at this present Thinkest thou indeed that it is the same Rome wherein in times past were so notable good and auncient men Beleeuest thou that it is that Rome wherein in the golden age the old men were so honest and the children so wel taught the Armies well ordered and the Iudges and Senatours so vpright and iust I call God to witnesse and sweare to thee that it is not Rome neyther hath it any likenesse of Rome nor yet any grace to be Rome and hee that would say that this Rome was the olde Rome knoweth little of Rome The matter was this that the auncient and vertuous Romans being dead it seemeth to the Gods that we are not yet worthy to enioy their houses So that eyther this is not Rome or else we bee not the Romanes of Rome For considering the prowesse and vertuous deedes of the auncient Romanes and weighing also our dissolute liues it were a very great infamy for them to call vs their Successors I desired my friend Pulio to write vnto thee al these things to the end thou mayest see what we were and what wee are For great things haue need of great power and require a long time before they can grow and come to their perfection and then afterward at one moment and with one blow they fall down to the ground I haue beene more tedious in my letter then I thought to haue beene and now I haue tolde thee that which with diligence by reason of my great affaires in three or foure times I haue written of that that wanteth in thine and is too much in mine We shall make a reasodable letter and since I pardon thee for being too briefe pardon thou mee also for being too long I saw thee once enquire for Vnicornes horne in Alexandry wherefore now I send thee a good peece and likewise I send thee a horse which in my iudgement is good Aduertise mee if thy daughter Drusilla bee aliue with whom I was wont to laugh and I will helpe her to a marriage The immortall Gods keepe mee O my Pulio thy wife thy stepmother and thy daughter and salute them all from me and Faustine Marke of Mount Celio Emperour of Rome with his owne hand writeth vnto thee CHAP. IIII. Of the excellency of Christian religion which manifesteth the true God and disproueth the vanity of the Ancients hauing so many Gods And that in the olde time when the enemies were reconciled in their houses they caused also that the Gods should embrace each other in the Temples HE that is the onely diuine Word begotten of the Father Lord perpetuall of the Hierarchies more auncient then the Heauens Prince of all Holinesse chiefe head from whom all had their beginning the greatest of all Gods and Creator of all creatures in the profoundnesse of his eternall sapience accordeth all the Harmony and composition of Christian Religion This is such a manner of sure matter and so well layed that neyther the miseries which spring of the infections of naughtie Christians can trouble nor yet the boisterous windes of the Heretiques are able to moue For it were more likely that Heauen and Earth should both perish then it should suspend for one day that there should be no Christian Religion The ancient Gods which were inuentors of worldly things as the foundation of their reproued sects was but a flying sand and an vnstable ground full of daungerous and erroneous abuses so some of those poore wretches looking perhaps like a ship running vpon a rocke suspecting nothing were drowned Other like ruined buildings were shaken in sunder and sell down dead Finally these Gods which only bare the name of Gods shall be for euermore forgotten But hee onely shall bee perpetuall which in God by God and through God hath his beginning Many and sundry were the multitude of the Nations which haue been in times past That is to wit the Sirians the Assyrians Persians Medians Macedonians Grecians Cythians Arginians Corinthians Caldeans Indians Athenians Lacedemonians Africans Vandales Sweuians Allaines Hungarians Germaignes Britons Hebrews Palestines Gentiles Iberthalides Maurians Lucitanians Gothes and Spaniards And truly in al these looke how great the difference amongst them in their customes and manners was so much diuersity was of the Ceremonies which they vsed their Gods which they honoured For the Gentiles had this errour that they sayd one alone was not of power sufficient to create such a multitude as were created If I were before all the Sages that euer were they would not say the contrary
time For it is impossible that to a man of much arrogancy Fortune should bee too long faithfull Though thou be wise and sage I counsell thee alwayes to profite with another mans counsell chiefly in things concerning the gouernement of the estate For to know how to obey and to know how to commaund differ much For to know how to obey commeth by nature but to know how to command commeth by long experience Take this of me for a generall rule that whereas thou seest thy Prayer to be acceptable neuer take vpon thee commaundement for by commandement thou shalt bee feared and by prayer thou shalt be beloued know thou Tiberius the things that content them worst which are in the Courts of Princes are to doe little to haue little and to be little worth For the man that is without fauour in his heart is halfe dead For the contrarie the thing which most perilleth the Fauorites of Princes and maketh them loose theyr Friendship is to bee of great power and great in Authoritie and moreouer then this to profite more of will then knowledge of authoritie then of reason For a man cannot liue long in Friendship which doth what he will in the commonwealth I haue spoken all this to the ende thou shouldest knowe that I greatly maruell at thy prudence and haue no lesse wonder of my patience To see that the Treasours which Iustinian heaped together by great trauell kept and preserued with great care thou wastest without respect what thou doest Wherefore doe not maruell at this For there is no patience can suffer to see the proper goods wasted and spent by the handes of an other which with so great care hath bene gathered together I let thee to know Tiberius that now wee haue neyther Money to keepe nor to giue to others which thing is very perillous for the Pallaces of Princes For the same to haue great store of Treasurs occasioneth Princes to keep their enemies in feare It is necessary for Princes to be stoute and also rich for by their stoutnes they may gouerne their owne and by their riches they way represse theyr enemyes It is not onely necessarie that the Prince bee not poore but also it is requisite that his Common-wealth be rich For where people are poore of theyr Enemyes they are nothing regarded And where the Common-wealth is rich the Prince cannot be greatly poore I will not denie but that it is well done to helpe the poore and succour the needy But yet I say that no man ought to giue the Treasour vnto any one in particular which is and hath been long kept in store for the preseruation of all For oftentimes the Prince which is too liberall in giuing of his owne is afterwards through necessitie compelled âo become a Tyrant and so to take from others I let thee know Tyberius that thou shalt finde few Princes but are eyther prowd malignant or vicious For of a truth Wantonnes Libertie Youth and Riches are commonly most cruell enemyes to honestie Notwithstanding I will not say that all Princes haue beene euill but I will say according to the old prouerbe that there hath been too few good And that those which of Gods mercifull gift eyther are or will be good and vertuous ought to be greatly honoured For no time ought to be called happy but that wherein vertuous Princes doe raigne And furthermore I say to thee Tiberius if Princes become Tyrants for want of Riches so doe they become vicious through aboundance of Treasures And in this case vicious Princes are chastened in the same vice For Auarice hath such power ouer them that it suffereth them not to taste theyr owne delight Againe I let thee know Tiberius that there are many Princes which are of good nature yet becom Tyrants for nothing else but because they be oppressed with pouertie For truely the Noble heart resuseth no danger seeing himselfe assaulted with pouertie Therefore I demaund of thee which is better or otherwise which of these two euils is least that the Prince bee poore and with that a Tyrant or that he be rich and therewith vicious In mine opinion it were much better to be rich and vicious then a Tyrant and poore for in the end if he do euill by vice hee should bee euill vnto no man but to himselfe by riches he should profite all the people And if he be poore and a Tyrant hee should doe great euill to many and by pouerty hee could profit no man For the poore Prince cannot maintaine the rich and much lesse succour the poore without comparison it is much more profitable to the Common-wealth and more tollerable to men that the Prince bee an euill man and therewithall a good Prince then an euil Prince and therewithall a good man For as Plato sayeth The Athenians would alwayes rather seeke a profitable then a stout Prince and the Lacedemonians did erre in willing rather a stoute Prince then profitable Therefore see Tiberius it is more sure and profitable for the Common wealth that Princes haue Treasures to giue liberally among their seruants then that they should bee poore and enforced to oppresse the people with taxes and Subsidies For Princes oft times through pouerty take occasion to leuy great Subsidies in their realmes seigniories CHAP. XV. The answer of Tiberius vnto the Empresse Sophia Augusta Wherein hee declareth that noble Princes need not boarde vp great treasures And of the hidden treasure this good Emperour found by Reuelation in the Pallace where he remained TIberius heard very patiently the admonition of the Empresse wherefore with great reuereÌce hee aunswered and with sweet and gentle words hee spake to her in this sort I haue heard and vnderstood what you haue tolde mee most noble Princesse Sophia and alwayes Augusta and doe receyue your gentle admonitions most humbly thanking you for your louing counsell which principally you giue me in so high a stile For oftentimes sicke men abhorre not meates not for that the meates are not good but because they are not well dressed If it were Gods pleasure I would I knew aswell how to doe these things as you know how to speake them And doe not maruell though I make hereof a doubt for wee greatly desire to prayse vertuous workes but to put them in practise wee are very slow Speaking therefore with such reuerence as is due vnto so high a Lady to euery one of these thinges which your Excellency hath tolde mee I will aunswere in one word For it is reason sith you haue spoken that which you perceiue of my deedes that I speake that which I gather of your wordes You tell me that when I was in Alexandrie I thought not to bee Gouernour of the Empire after Iustinian that I thoght not my selfe worthy to deserue it nor yet looked to come vnto it To this I answere that though by reason I gouerned my selfe at that time yet I ought not to thinke to deserue such a dignitie
nor to come to so high an estate For those which by vertues deserue great Dignities are but fewe and sewer are those which attaine vnto them though they deserue them But if this matter be iudged according to sensualitie I tell you truely Dame Augusta that I thought not onely to deserue it but also I thought to come vnto it And hereof maruell not for it is an infallible rule Where least desert is often-times there is most presumption You say you esteemed mee for a wise man and that by wisedome I could ouer-come any difficult or disordinate appetite To this I answere that you knewe my wisedome either in mine owne busines or else in other mens affaires If in other mens affaires where it did cost mee nought I was alwayes a louer of iustice For there is no man in the world so euill that doth not desire if it bee without his owne cost to be counted liberall But if you iudge mee Dame Augusta on mine owne businesse giue not too light credit For I will that you know there is no man so iust nor of so cleare a iudgement that doth not shewe himselfe fraile in matters which touch his owne interest You say that men which haue their thoughts high and their Fortunes base liue alwayes a pensiue life Truely it is as you say But in mine opinion as the members of the bodyes are but instruments of the minde so is it necessary for men to haue quicke and sharpe wittes if they will not be negligent For if Alexander Pyrrhus Iulius Caesar Scipio and Hanniball had not beene high minded they had neuer bene as they were so Famous Noble and stoute Princes I let you vnderstand most Noble Princesse that men are not to be esteemed as lost for hauing theyr thoughtes high nor yet for hauing their hearts couragious neither for being hardie and stout but they are vndone because they beginne things through folly pursue them without wisedome and atchieue them without discretion For Noblemen enterprising great things ought not to employ theyr force as their noble heart willeth but as wisedome and reason teacheth You say you maruell why I waste the Treasures without care which Iustinian and you gathered together with great paine Now to this I answere you ought not to maruell if all the Treasours you heaped together of so long time were spent and consumed in one day For there is an ancient Malediction on riches hidden and Treasours buryed which Epimenides casteth out saying these words All the Treasours hoorded vp by the Couetous shall bee wasted by the Prodigall You say Through that I wast in fewe dayes you shall haue neither to giue to waste nor yet to eate at the yeares ende To this I answere most gracious Princesse that if you had beene as ready to relieue the Poore as you and Iustinian were diligent to robbe the rich then you should iustly haue complained and I worthily might well haue had iust cause to repent Till now wee haue not seene but that of the Rich you haue made Poore and notwithstanding this yet you haue not gotten enough to builde an Hospitall for the Poore You say that Princes to resist theyr enemyes had neede of great Treasures To this I answer if Princes be proud greedy and of strange Realmes ambicious it is most certaine that they had need of great substances and Treasours to accomplish and maintaine theyr disordinate appetties For the enae of a tyran nous Princââs that he careth not whether by hooke or by crooke hee make himselfe rich in his life But if the Prince be or will be a man reposed quiet vertuou patient peaceable and ãâã couetous of the goods of an other man what need hath he of great treasurs For to speake truly in Princes houses there is more offence in that which aduaunceth then in that which wanteth I will not waste many wordes in answering sith I am much more liberal of deeds then of wordes But to conclude that there is no Prince which in vertuous deedes wasteth so much but if hee will hee may spend much more For in the ende Princes become not poore for spending their goods and Treasours vpon necessaries but for making waste vpon things superfluous And take this word for all that for this hee shall not be the poorer but rather the richer For most certainely it is a generall rule in Christian Religion that God will giue more to his Seruants in one houre then they will waste in 20. yeares Iustinian beeing Emperour 11 yeares who being a Foole and very obstinate in the heresie of the Pelagians dyed to the great offence of the Romaine people whose death was as much desired as his life abhorred For the Tyrannous Prince that maketh many weeping eyes in his life shall cause many reioycing bearts at his death Iustinian being dead Tiberius was elected Emperour who gouerned the Empire through so great wisedome and Iustice that no man was able to reproue him if the Hystories in his time did not deceyue vs. For it seldome happeneth to a Prince to be as he was vpright in Iustice pure in life and cleane in Conscience For fewe are those Princes which of some vices are not noted Paulus Diaconus in his 18. booke of the Romaine Gests declareth a thing both strange and maruellous which besel vnto this Emperour at that time and very worthie to recite at this present And it was that in the Cittie of Constantinople the Romaine Emperours had a Pallace very sumptuous and beseming the authoritie of the Imperiall maiestie which was begun in the time of Constantine the Great and afterwardes as the succession of good and euil Emperors was so were the Buyldings decayed or repayred For it is the deede of a vertuous Prince to abolish vices of the Common-wealth and to make great and sumptuous buildings in his countrey This Emperour Tiberius had spent much of his substance and Treasour for the redeeming of poore captiues to build Hospitals to erect Monasteries to marry and prouide for the Orphares to sucour poore people and widdowes In this and such like hee was so prodigall that it came almost to passe that hee had nothing to eate in his Pallace And truely this was a blessed necessity For Catholike Princes ought to think that wel imployed which in the Seruice of Christ is bestowed And hereof this Emperour was not ashamed but he thought it a great honour and that which onely grieued him was to see the Empresse reioyce so much at his misery For the High and Noble hearts which feele themselnes wounded do not so much esteeme their owne payne as they do to see their enemyes reioyce at theyr griefe God neuer forsooke them that for his sake became poore as appeareth by this It chanced one day that euen as the Emperor Tiberius walked in the middest of his Pallace he saw at his feete a Marble-stone which was in forme of the Crosse of the Redeemer of the world And because it had
thing very dishonest most noble Prince the which to write vnto thee I am ashamed which is for to enlarge thy new Palace thou hast plucked down an old Temple the which thing thou shouldest neyther haue done nor yet haue thought for in the end though the stones of the Temple be of small importance yet the Gods to whom they were dedicated were of much value Pardon me excellent Prince though I et thee vnderstand that this fact hath beene done in such sort that thereby I was amased and all Rome also offended the sacred Senate thou hast greatly vexed and further all iudge thee a dissolute man and all men procure that thou mayst be extreamly punished and hereof maruell not For in Rome they beleeue that the Prince which dareth plucke downe Temples doth little feare the Gods For that thou art a noble Prince and an olde friend of mine I haue trauelled to bring thee in fauour with the Senate and because thou hast no means to excuse thy errour committed they doe not determine to forgiue thee this fault before they see in thee a token of amendment And of truth me thinketh they haue reason For there is nothing that troubleth poore men more then to see that they and not the rich for theyr offences are chastised and punished That which the sacred Senate hath ordayned is that forthwith thou begin to build the Temple a new and that it should be more large hie beutifull and richer then euer it was So that thou take as much of thy Pallace to enlarge the Temple as thou tookest of the Temple to beautifie thy Pallace After thou hast performed this though now thou thinke thy selfe halfe dishonoured thou wilt then thinke thy selfe very happy For not thou of the Gods but the Gods of thee shall haue taken thy house to make their Temple I beleeue well it will be great cost and charges vnto thee before thou hast finished the Temple Wherefore I send thee 40. thousand sexterces to helpe thy building to the end it should be more secret I send thee them by my Secretary Panuntius to whom in all and for all thou shalt giue credite I send thee likewise a coller of gold which one brought me from the riuer of Nyle and because it was too narrow for mee I suppose it will be fit for thee one hath brought me moyles out of Spaine whereof I send thee two Panuntius my Secretary bringeth with him a very good Moyle the which hee esteemeth much so that there is no man that can eyther buy her or borrow her I delight in her so much that I desire thou cause her eyther to be bought or stollen and sent vnto mee here in Rome My wife Faustine saluteth thee to the excellent Queene thy Wife of her part and mine as much as is possible do our commendations these Popingeyes Faustine presenteth vnto her Marcus the Romane Emperour writeth to thee with his owne hand CHAP. XIX How the Gentiles honoured these which were deuout in the seruice of the Gods THe ancient Romane Historiographers agree that at the beginning there were seuen Kinges which gouerned Rome for the space of 24. yeares The second whereof was named Pompilius who amongst all the other was most highly esteemed for none other cause but for that hee was a great worshipper of the Gods and a sumptuous builder of the Temples For the Romane Princes were as much beloued for seruing the Gods as they were honoured for vanquishing their enemies This maÌ was of such sort that he allowed Rome wholy for the Gods made a house for himselfe without the City For it was an ancient Law in Rome that no man should bee so bolde to dwell in any house consecrated for the gods The fift King of the Romanes was Tarquinius Priscus And as Tarquinius Superbus was vicious and abhorred of the people so was this vertuous and welbeloued of the Gods was greatly praysed in all his doings because hee feared God and continually visited the Temples and not contented with those which were finished but built also in the High Capitoll the sacred Temple of Iupiter For no Prince could build any house in Rome for himselfe vnlesse first hee made a Temple for the Gods of the Common-wealth This Temple was had in so great reuerence that as the Romanes honored Iupiter for the God aboue all other Gods so was that Temple esteemed aboue all other Temples In the warres betweene the âalisques the Carpenates two Romane Captaines were vanquished or the which the one named ãâã dyed whereupon rose such a great ãâã among theÌ that many flying ãâ¦ã the warres came backe againe to Rome For the victorious hath alwayes this Priuiledge That though they bee fewe yet they are alwayes feared of them that be ouercome This occasion mâued the Romanes to chuse new Captaines and truely they did like wise men For oftentimes it haâneth by ãâã the Captaines of the warres fortune likewise chaungeth her doings And the Captaine that was elected for the wars was Marcus Purius Camillus who though he were stout and hardy yet before he went to the wars he offered great sacrifices to the Gods and made a vow that if hee returned to Rome victorious hee would build a solemne Temple For it was the custome in Rome that immediately when the Romane Captaine would enterprise to doe any notable thing he should make a vow to build Temples Now when Camillus returned afterwards victorious hee did not onely build a Temple but also furnished it with all manner of implements thereunto belonging which he got by spoyle and vanquishing his enemies And sith he was for this reprehended of some saying that the Romane Captaines should offer theyr hearts to the Gods and diuide the Treasures among the Souldiers hee answered these words I like a man did aske the Gods but one triumph and they like Gods did giue mee many Therefore considering this it is but iust sâth I was ãâã in promising that I should be large in persoââing For euen as I did thanke them for that they gaue me double in respect of that I demaunded so likewise shall they esteeme that which I doe giue in respect of that which I promised At that time when the cruell war was betwixt Rome and the City of Neye the Romanes kept it besieged 5. yeares together and in the end by policie tooke it For it chaunceth sundrie times in warre that that City in short time by policie is won which by great strength a long time hath been defended Marcus Furius Dictator of Rome and at that time Captaine commanded a Proclamation to be had throgh his Host that incontinently after the City was taken none should be so hardy as to kill any of the Citizens but those which were found armed Which thing the enemies vnderstanding vnarmed themselues and so escaped And truly this example was worthy of nothing For as the Captaines ought to shew themselues fierce and cruell at
Knights Companions in warre most thankefully I accept your seruice in that you haue solde your goods and do offer your liues here to accompany mee in the warres and herein you shew your duties for of right you ought to loose your goods and to venture your liues for the defence and surety of your Country But if I giue you some thanks for your company know you that I giue much more for your good counsell which presently you giue me for in great conflicts seldome is found together both good counsell and stout hearts If I haue enterprised this battell in hope of mans power then you had had reason that wee should not giue the battell seeing the great multitude that they haue and the small number that wee are for as you say the weighty affayres of the publike weale should not vnaduisedly bee committed to the incertainety of Fortune I haue taken vpon mee this daungerous and perillous warres first trusting that on my part iusticeremaineth and sith God is the same onely iustice I trust assuredly hee will giue mee the victory in this perillous conflict For iustice auayleth Princes more that they haue then the men of warre doe which they lead Wherfore sith my cause is iust and that I haue God the onely Iudge therof on my side me thinketh if for any worldly feare I should cease to giue the battell I should both shew my selfe to be a Prince of small faith and also blaspheme God saying hee were of small iustice For God sheweth most his power there where the frailenesse of man hath least hope Then sith I beginne the warre and that by mee the warre is procured and for mee you are come to the warre I haue determined to enter into the battell and if I perish therein I shall bee sure it shall bee for the memory of my person and the saluation of my Soule For to dye through iustice is not to dye but to change death for life And thus doing if I lose my life yet therefore I lose not my honour and all this considered I doe that which for the Common-wealth I am bound For to a Prince it were great infamy and dishonour that the quarrell being his owne should by the bloud of others be reuenged I will proue this day in battell whether I was chosen Emperour by the diuine will or not For if God this day causeth my life to bee taken froÌ me it is a manifest token he hath a better in store for me and if through his mercy I be preserued it signifieth that for some other better thing he granteth me life For in the end the sword of the enemy is but the scourge of our offences The best that I see therefore in this matter to bee done is that till three dayes be passed the battell bee not giuen and that wee confesse our selus this night in the morning prepare our selus to receiue our Redeemer and besides this that euery man pardon his Christian brother if he haue had any wrong or iniury done him for oft times though the demaund of the war bee iust yet many mishaps befall therein through the offences of those which pursue follow the same After that three dayes are past each thing according to my sayings before accomplished in euery point as behoueth then let God dispose all things as hee shall see good for now I am fully determined to aduenture my life in battell Wherefore my valiant and stout warriours doubt not at all for this day I must eyther vanquish mine enemies or else suffer death and if I dye I doe that which needes I must Wherefore I will now cease to exhort you any more desiring you to consider that whereunto your duties leadeth you remembring that you are come as knights and in the defence of your Country you wage battell for now we are come to that pinch that deedes must more auaile vs then words for peace ought to be maintained by the tongue but wars ought to be atchieued by sword Al these words then ended and three dayes past the Emperour in person gaue the battell where the conflict slaughter on both sides was very terrible yet in the end the Emperour Gracian had the victory ouer his enemies and there dyed in that conflict 30. thousand Gothes and Almaines and of the Romanes there were not slaine but fiue thousand For that Army only is preserued which to the diuine will is conformable Let all other Princes take example by this noble Prince let theÌ coÌsider how it behoueth theÌ to be good Christians and that in great warres and conflicts they neede not feare the great number of their enemies but they ought greatly to see that the wrath of God bee pacified For the heart is more dismaied with the secret sinnes then it is feared with the open enemies CHAP. XXVII That the Captaine Theodosius which was Father of the Great Emperour Theodosius dyed a good Christian And of the King Hismarus and the Bishop Siluanus And of a Councell that was celebrated with the Lawes which they made and established in the same THe two brethren being Emperours that is to say Valentinian and Valente in the coastes of Africke the realme of Mauritania a Tyrant vsurped the place of a King against the Romanes who was named Thyrmus a man hardy in trauels and in daungers stout For the aduenturous hearts oftentimes doe commit many tyrannies This tyrant Thyrmus by much crueltie came possessed of the realme of Mauritania and not contented therewith but also by tyranny possessed a great part of Affricke and prepared as Hannibal did an huge armie to passe into Italy to dye in challenging the Empire of Rome This was a renowmed Tyrant that neuer tooke pleasure in any other thing so much as to spoyle and robbe others of their goods The Romaines that in all their doings were very sage and of the tyranny of tyrants sufficiently monished immediately prepared a great Army to passe into Affricke and to spoyle the realme and to destroy the Tyrant by the commandement and decree of the Senate and that for no pact or couenant the Tyrant should liue And without doubt this commaundement was iust For to him that is a destroier of the Common-wealth it is not punishment inough to take away his life At that time there was a Knight in Rome whose name was Theodosius a man well strucken in yeares and yet better approued in warres but he was not the richest howbeit hee vaunted himselfe as truth was to bee of the bloud of Traian the great Emperour vpon which occasion he was greatly honoured and feared in Rome for the Commons were so noble gracious towards their Princes that all those which from the good and vertuous Emperour descended were of the whole Common-wealth greatly esteemed This noble Theodosius was of yeers so auncient and so honoured in his olde age for his gray hayres so noble of lynage and so approued in warres that he was
diminished We ordaine that from two yeares to two yeares all the Bishoppes Abbots and Prelates of our Realme doe assemble and celebrate a Prouinciall counsell and that in this counsell there be no temporall matters spoken of but of the disorders and misgouernances of Churches For the Church is not lost for the lacke or scarsitie of Money but for the too great aboundance of riches We ordaine that all Prelates which are now and shall be hereafter wee desire that when they will call any counsell in our Realmes that before the celebration of the same they certifie vs lest vnder that colour or cloake of a holy Counsel there should some suspicious Assemblie bee had Wee ordaine that from henceforth the Princes and great Lords be bound to repaire to the sacred Counsell with all the company of the holy Bishops For it were more meete they should come to destroy false Heretickes in winning their soules then to fight against their Enemyes in losing theyr liues Wee ordaine that the Prince which commeth not to the counsels through negligence that vnto him the Sacrament of the Bodie of Christ be not ministred vntill the next counsell be celebrated And if perchance hee refuse not to come through negligence but through malice wee will that they proceed against him as a suspect person in the Faith of Christ For the Christian Prince that of malice only committeth an offence is not perfite in the holie Catholike Faith Wee ordaine that at the first assemblie of the Counsell all the Prelates together openly and afterwards eache one by himselfe priuately shall say the Creede singing the which thing finished the King himselfe alone shall say the Creede likewise For if the Prince be suspected of the holy Catholike Faith it is vnpossible that his people should bee good Christians Wee ordaine that in this Counsell the Prelates haue libertie and authortie to say vnto the King that that is comely and decent and the King likewise to say in the Counsell what he thinketh best so that the Prelates might tell the King without feare of his little care he hath in destroying the Heretickes and Heresies of his Realme and likewise the King might tell the Prelates their negligence that they vse in the charge of their flocke For the end and intention of Counsells ought not to be any otherwise then a scourge for offences past and a reformation of the euils to come We ordaine that all the Princes of Affricke immediately before they doe any other thing in the morning doe openly and diligently come to Morning prayer And wee will also that there be present all his Courtiers and priuate Counsellors which with theÌ ought to enter into counsell For that creature cannot giue any good counsell who hath not reconciled himselfe vnto God before Wee ordaine that the Archbishops Bishops and Abbottes continually during the time of the counsell doe euery day confesse themselues to Almighty God seruing him deuoutly and that one of them doe preach vnto the people Gods word For if euery Prelate bee bound to giue good example alone then beeing all together they shall giue it much better Wee ordaine that Princes as much as lyeth in them doe giue vnto their subiects good examples and that on the Sabboth day in especiall and other Feastiualldayes they repayre vnto the Cathedrall Church to heare diuine Seruice and there reconciling themselues to God that they do publikely in the presence of the congregation receyue the holy Communion and Supper of the Lord. For it would bee a great slander to Princes which ought to reprehend others of theyr faultes that a man should neuer see them come to the Church and be partakers of the holy Sacrament Wee ordaine that al Easter chiefly Princes doe goe to the church Cathedrall and that the Metropolitane bee there in person to celebrate the holy Communion and the Gospell beeing said the Prince himselfe shal be bound to say with a lowde voyce the Creede confirmed in the sacred counsell of Nicene For that good Princes ought not only in theyr hearts to befaithful vnto IESVS CHRIST but are also bound openly with theyr mouthes to confesse it before the people Wee ordaine that Princes be not so hardie to haue in their Court aboue two Bishops the one to giue him ghostly counsell and the other to preach vnto him the word of God And those we will that the Councell assigne vnto him and that they bee bound to finde two persons of the most ancient and vertuous which shall remaine in the Court no more but two yeares and that afterwards others be placed there in their steades For there is nothing more monstrous then to see the Church long without Prelates CHAP. XXVIII What a godly thing it is to haue but one Prince to rule the publike weale for there is no greater enemie to the common weale then hee which procureth many to commaund therein as by reasons following it shall be proued OFt times with my selfe alone I consider that sith the diuine prouidence which dooth all things by weight measure and that of her and none other all creatures are ruled and gouerned and that furthermore with God there is no exception of persons for hee maketh the one rich and the other poore the one sage and the other simple the one whole and the other sicke the one fortunate and the other vnlucky the one seruant and the other master And let no man maruell though I muse thereat for the variety of time is the beginner of dissentions among the people In mans iudgement it seemeth that it were better all were alike in apparrell all equall in commaunding none greater then others in possessions all to content themselues with one kind of meate and that the names commaunding and obeying were vtterly abolished brought to naught So that if the miseries of the one and prosperities of the other were put out from that day forward I protest there should bee no enuy in the World Laying aside mans opinion which ought not to be compared to the diuine mystery I demand now what reason sufficed to thinke that of two brethren that is to say Iacob and Esau both children of holy and deuout persons the diuine prouidence would the one should be chosen and the other despised that the one should commaund and the other obey the one to be disinherited beeing the eldest and the other to inherite being the youngest That which chaunced to Iacob with Esau the same chaunced to the children of Iacob and Ioseph who being partaker and chosen God prouided and ordayned that to Ioseph beeing the youngest his brethren should serue and obey him This thing was repined at of all the eleuen brethren howbeit their intentions auayled not for it is vnpossible for mans malice to disorder that which the diuine prouidence hath appointed wee see dayly nothing else but that which man decreeth in a long time God disposeth otherwise in one moment Truly it is not euill
ought to be friend to one and enemie to none Besides all this wee haue amongst vs great friendshippes good peace great loue much rest and aboue all wee holde our selues contented for it is better to enioy the quietnesse of the graue then to liue a discontented life Our Lawes are few but in our opinions they are good and are in seuen words onely included as here followeth Wee ordaine that our children make no more Lawes then wee their Fathers doe leaue vnto them for new Lawes maketh them to forget good and ancient customes We ordaine that our Successors shall haue no moe Gods then two of the which the one God shall bee for the life and the other for the death for one God well serued is more worth then many not regarded Wee ordaine that all bee apparrelled with one cloath and hosed of one sort and that the one haue no more apparrell then the other for the diuersity of garments engendreth folly among the people Wee ordaine that when any woman which is maried hath had three children that then shee bee separated from her husband for the aboundance of children causeth men to haue couetous hearts And if any woman hath brought forth any mo children then they should bee sacrificed vnto the Gods before her eyes We ordaine that all men and women speake the truth in all things and if any bee taken in a lye committing no other fault that immediately hee bee put to death for the same For one lyer is able to vndoe a whole multitude We ordaine that no woman liue aboue forty yeares and that the man liue vntil fifty and if they dye not before that time that then they be sacrificed to the Gods for it is a great occasion for men to bee vicious to thinke that they shall liue many yeares CHAP XXXV That Princes ought to consider for what cause they were made Princes and what Thales the Philosopher was of the 12. questions asked him and of his answere he made vnto them IT is a common and olde saying which many times by Aristotle the noble and vertuous Prince hath beene repeated That in the end all thinges are done to some purpose for there is no worke neyther good nor euilâ but he that doth it meaneth to some end If thou demaundest the Gardener to what end he watereth so oft his plants hee will answere thee it is to get some money for his hearbes If thou demaundest why the riuer runneth so swift a man will answere thee that it his to the end it should returne from whence it came If thou demaundest why the trees budde in the spring time they will answere to the end they may beare fruite in haruest If wee see a traueller passe the mountaines in the snow the riuers with perill the woods in feare to walke in extreame heate in Sommer to wander in the night time in the colde winter and if by chance a man doth aske one of them saying Friend whether goest thou wherefore takest thou such paines And hee aunswereth Truly sir I know no more then you to what end neyther can I tell why I take such paines I aske thee now what a wise man would answere to this innocent Traueller Truly hearing no more hee would iudge him to bee a foole for he is much infortunate that for all his trauell looketh for no reward Therefore to our matter a Prince which is begotten as an other man borne as an other man liueth as an other man dyeth as an other man And besides all this commaundeth all men if of such a one wee should demaund why God gaue him signiory and that he should answere hee knoweth not but that he was borne vnto it In such case let euery man iudge how vnworthy such a King is to haue such authority For it is vnpossible for a man to minister iustice vnlesse hee knew before what iustice meaneth Let Princes and noble men heare this word imprint it in their memory which is that when the liuing God determined to make Kings and Lords in this world hee did not ordaine them to eate more then others to drinke more then others to sleepe more then others to speake more theÌ others nor to reioyce more then others but hee created them vpon condition that sith he had made theÌ to commaund more then others they should be more iust in their liues theÌ others It is a thing most vniust and in the Common wealth very slaunderous to see with what authority a puissant man commandeth those that bee vertuous and with how much shame himselfe is bound to all vices I know not what Lord he is that dare punish his subiect for one onely offence committed seeing himselfe to deserue for euery deede to bee chastised For it is a monstrous thing that a blinde man should take vpon him to leade him that seeth They demaunded great Cato the Censor what a King ought to doe that he should be beloued feared and not despised he answered The good Prince should be compared to him that selleth Tryacle who if the poyson hurteth him not hee selleth bis Triacle well I mean therby that the punishment is takeÌ in good part of the people which is not ministred by the vitious man For hee that maketh the Tryacle shall neuer bee credited vnlesse the proofe of his Triacle bee openly knowne and tryed I meane that the good life is none other then a fine Triacle to cure the Common-wealth And to whome is he more like which with his tongue blazeth vertues and imployeth his deedes to all vices then vnto the man who in the one hand holdeth poyson to take away life and in the other Triacle to resist death To the end that a Lord bee wholy obeyed it is necessary that all that he commaundeth bee obserued first in his owne person for no Lord can nor may withdraw himselfe from vertuous works This was the answere that Cato the Censor gaue which in mine opinion was spoken more like a Christian then any Romane When the true God came into the World he employed 30. yeares onely in workes and spent but two yeares and a halfe in teaching For mans heart is perswaded more with the worke hee seeketh then with the word which hee heareth Those therfore which are Lords let them learne and know of him which is the true Lord and also let Princes learne why they are Princes for he is not a Pylot which neuer sayled on the seas In mine opinion if a Prince will know why he is a Prince I would say to gouern well his people to command well and to maintaine all in iustice and this should not bee with words to make them afrayde neyther by works which should offend them but by sweet words which should encourage them and by the good workes that should edifie them for the noble and gentle heart cannot resist him that with a louing countenance commaundeth Those which will rule and make tame fierce and wilde beasts do
I see Fathers conscript that I haue bin iudged here of worldly malice because I accompanyed the captiues in procession and also because I suffered my selfe to bee touched with them to the ende they might enioye the priuiledge of their libertie and in this case I render most humble thanks vnto the immortall Gods because they made mee a mercifull Emperour to set those at Libertie that were in prison and that they made me not a cruell tyrant to set those in prison which were at liberty For the prouerb saith that with one bean a man may take 2. pigeons eueÌ so chanced the like herein yesterday For the benefite was don for those miserable Captiues but the example of humanitie was shewed to all strange nations And know ye not that wheÌ the prince vnloseth the irons froÌ the feet of the captiues he bindeth the harts goods and lands of his subiects Concluding therefore I say that to the Princes it were more safety and to the Common wealth more profite to be serued in their Pallaces by free hearts with loue then by subiects which are kept vnder by feare CHAP. XL. Of a Letter which the Emperour Marcus Aurelius sent to his friend Pulio declaring the opinion of certaine Philosophers concerning the felicitie of man MArcus Aurelius Emperour of Rome tribune of the people high Bishop secoÌd Consull and Monarche of al the Romane Empire wisheth to thee Pulio his olde friend health to thy person and prosperitie against thy euill fortune The letter that thou wrotest vnto mee from Capua I receyued here at Bethinia and if thou diddest write it with a good heart I did reade it with willing eyes wherof thou oughtest somewhat to content thee For it is an olde saying of Homer That that which is well viewed with the eyes is tenderly beloued of the heart I protest vnto thee by the faith of the immortall gods that I do not write vnto thee as a Romane Emperour that is to say from the Lord to the seruant for in this sorte I should write vnto thee briefe and touching the purpose which thing ought not to bee done to the peculiar friend For the Letters of graue men should neuer beginne and the Letters of vs friends should neuer end I write vnto thee my friend Pulio as to a priuate friend to an olde companion of mine and as to him which is a faithfull secretary of my desires and in whose company I was neuer displeased in whose mouth I neuer found lye and in whose promise there was neuer breach made And the thing being thus I shuld commit treason in the law of friendship if I keepe secret from thee any of my inward conceites for all the griefes which lye buried in the wofull heart ought not to bee communicated but with a faithfull friend Doest thou thinke Pulio that the Romane Emperour hath little trauell to write vnto thee as Emperour to speake as Emperour to walke as Emperour and to eate as Emperour and finally to bee as Emperour indeed Certes I do not maruell hereat For truely the life of the vertuous Emperour is but a Dyall which ordereth or disordereth the Common-wealth and that whereof I maruell is of the folly of Rome and vanity of the Common wealth For as much as all say that the Prince if he will seem graue and be well esteemed of the people ought to goe softly to speake little to write briefly so that for writing of letters they will he be briefe and for conquering of strange Realmes they doe not rebuke him although hee be long Wise men should desire that their Princes be of gentle condition to the end they fall not to tyranny That they haue their mind vncorrupted to minister to all equall iustice that their thought bee good not to desire straunge Realms that they haue their hearts voide from wrath that they bee sound within to pardon iniuries that they loue their Subiects to bee serued of them that they know the good to honour them and that they know the euill to punish them and as for the surplus we little regard whether the King go fast whether he eate much or write briefe For the danger is not in that which is in the lacke of his owne person but it is in the negligence that he vseth in the common-wealth I haue receyued my Friend Pulio great comfort of thy letter but yet much more I should haue receiued of thy presence for the letters of auncient friends are but as a remembrance of times past It is a great pleasure to the Mariner to talke of the perils past being in the hauen and to the Captain to glorie of the battell after the victorie I meane aboue all pleasures this is the greatest to men beeing now faithfull friends to talke of the trauells dangers which they had passed when they were young men Belieue me in one thing do not doubt therof There is no man that knoweth to speak that knoweth to possesse nor that caÌ iudge or take any pleasure neyther that well knoweth how to keep the goods which the gods haue giuen him vnlesse it be hee that hath bought it deerely with great trauell For with all our hearts wee loue that thing which with our owne proper labour and trauell wee haue gotten I aske thee one thing who is hee that oweth most to the Gods or that is most esteemed amongst men of Traian the iust which was brought vp in the Warres of Dace Germanie and Spaine or of Nero the cruell which was nourished in all the deliciousnes of Rome Truely the one was none other then a Rose among bryers and the other was but a Nettle amongst flowers I spake this because the good Traian hath gouerned his life in such sorte that alwayes they will smell the Rose by the pleasant sauour but the cruell Nero hath left the sting the nettle of his infamie I will not speake all because many are and were made good but for the most part the princes which were brought vp deliciously gaue euery man occasion that al shuld be offended for the euill gouernance of their liues in their Realmes and because they neuer experimented any kinde of trauell in themselues they do little esteeme the paines of another I will not that thou thinke my friend Pulio that I haue forgotten the time that is past though the Gods brought me to the Empire present For thogh we together were tossed with the torments of youth yet now wee may repose our selues in the calmes of our age I do remember that thou and I did study in Rhodes in letters and after we had sowen weapons in Capua it hath pleased the gods that the seedes of my Fortunes should ripen heere in Rome and to thee and to others better then I Fortune would not giue one only eare I doe not giue thee licence that thy thought be suspicious of me sith thou of my hart art made a faithfull Friend for if vnconstant Fortune doth trust mee
by vices and deliciousnesse but by weapons and prayers The Romanes were very sore grieued with the and a city of this Consull Lucius Pius and not contented to haue beheaded him and to haue set on his graue so defamous a title but made proclamation forthwith thorow out all Rome by the sound of a Trumpet how al that Lucius Pius had done the sacred Senate condemned for nothing and should stand to no effect For there was an auncient Law in Rome when they beheaded any by iustice they should also take away the authority hee had in Rome After the warres were ended and all the land of Sarmatia subiect the Consull Lucius Pius came to Rome for reward of his trauell required the accustomed triumph the which was not onely denyed him but also in recompence of his fact hee was openly beheaded and by the decree of all the Senate about his graue was written this Epitaph And not contented with these things the sacred Senate wrote to the Sarmates that they did release them of their homage making themselues subiects of the Romanes wherefore they restored them againe to their liberty They did this thing because the custome among the stoute and valiant Romanes was not to gette nor winne Realmes in making their enemies drunke with delicate Wines but in shedding their proper bloud in plaine field I haue tolde thee this my friend Pulio because the Consull Lucius Pius did perceyue that the Sarmates put all their felicity to ingorge themselues with wine Of the Philosopher Chylo IN the 15. Dinastia of the Lacedemonians and Deodeus beeing King of Medes Gigion being king of Lides Argeus being king among the Macedonians and Tullius Hostilius king of the Romaines in the Olympiade 27. there was in Athens a Phylosopher borne in Greece whose name was Chylo one of the seuen Sages which the Greekes had in theyr treasurie In that time there was great warres betweene the Athenians and the Corinthians as wee may perceyue by the Greeks histories which we see written Since Troy was ruinated and destroyed there was neuer peace in Greece for the warres betwixte the Greeks and Troyans was neuer so great as that which afterwards they made among themselues Sith the Greekes were now wise meÌ they did deuide the offices of the Commonwealth according to the ability of euery person that is to know that to the stoute and hardy men they gaue the gouernment to the sage they recommended the Embasies of of strange countreys And vpon this occasion the Athenians sent the Phylosopher Chilo to the Corinthians to treate of peace who came vnto the cittie of Corinth By chaunce on that day there was celebrated a great Feast wherefore hee found all men playing at dice the women solacing themselues in theyr gardens the Priestes shorte with theyr crosse-bowes in the Temples the Senatours played in the consistory at tables the maisters of Fence played in the streetes And to conclude hee found them all playing The Philosopher seeing these things without speaking to any man or lighting off from his horse returned to his countrey without declaring his message and when the Corinthians went after him and asked him why hee did not declare the cause of his comming he aunswered Friends I am come from Athens to Corinth not without great trauell and now I returne from Corinth to Athens not lattle offended and yee might haue seene it because I spake neuer a word to any of you of Corinth For I haue no commission to treate of peace with vnthrifty players but with sage gouernours Those of Athens commaunded mee not to keepe company with those that haue theyr haÌds occupyed with Dyce but with those that haue theyr bodyes loden with harnes and with those which haue theyr Eyes dazeled with Bookes For those men which haue warres with the Dyce it is vnpossible they should haue peace with theyr Neighbours After he had spoken these words he returned to Athens I let thee vnderstand my friende Pulio that the Corinthians thinke it to be the greatest felicity in the world to occupy dayes and nights in playes and maruel not hereat neither laugh thou them to scorne For it was told mee by a Greeke being in Antioche that a Corinthian esteemed it more felicitie to winne a game then the Romaine Captaine did to winne a Triumph As they say the Corinthians were wise and temperate men vnlesse it were in Playes in the which thing they were too vicious Me thinke my friend Pulio that I answer thee more amply then thou requirest or that my health suffereth that which is little so that both thou shalt be troubled to read it and I here shall haue paine to write it I will make thee a briefe summe of all the others which now come to my remembrance the which in diuersethings haue put theyr ioy and chiefest felicities Of Crates the Philosopher CRates the Philosopher put his felicity to haue good fortune in prosperous nauigation saying that hee which sayleth by sea can neuer haue perfect ioy at his his heart so long as hee confidereth that between death and life there is but one bourd Wherefore the heart neuer feeleth so great ioy as when in the Hauen he remembreth the perils which hee hath escaped on the sea Of Estilpho the Philosopher EStilpho the Philosopher put all his felicity to bee of great power saying that the man which can doe little is worth little and he that hath little the gods doe him wrong to let him liue so long For hee onely is happy which hath power to oppresse his enemies and hath wherewithall to succour himselfe and reward his friendes Of Simonides the Philosopher SImonides the Philosopher put all his felicity to bee well beloued of the people saying That churlish men and euill conditioned should bee sent to the mountaines amongst brute beasts For there is no greater happinesse or felicity in this life then to bee beloued of all in the Common-wealth Of Archita the Philosopher ARchita the Phylosopher had all his felicitie in conquering a Bartell saying that naturally man is so much friend to himselfe and desireth so much to come to the chiefe of his enterprise that though for little trifles he played yet he would not bee ouercome For the heart willingly suffereth all the trauels of the life in hope afterwardes to win the victory Of Gorgias the Philosopher GOrgias the Philosopher put al his felicity to heare a thing which pleased him saying That the body feeleth not so much a great wound as the heart doth an euill word For truely there is no musicke that soundeth so sweete to the eares as the pleasant wordes are sauourie to the heart Of Chrysippus the Philosopher CHrysippus the Philosopher had all his felicity in this Worlde in making great buildings saying that those which of themselues left no memory both in their life and after their death deserued infacny For great and sumptuous buildings are perpetuall monuments of
it is he that shall hereafter destroy the Romaine people as Suetonius Tranquillus affirmeth in the booke of Caesar Albeit that Iulius Caesar was vncomlie in his behauior yet in naming onely his name he was so feared through the world as if by chance any king or Princes did talke of him at their table as after supper for feare they could not sleepe that night vntill the next day As in Gallia Gotica where Iulius Caesar gaue battell by chance a French knight tooke a Caesarian knight prisoner who beeing led prisoner by the Frenchmen said Chaos Caesar which is to say Let Caesar alone Which the Gaulloys hearing the name of Caesar let the prisoner escape and without any other occasion hee fell besides his horse Now then let Princes and great Lords see how little it auaileth the valiant man to bee faire or foule sith that Iulius Caesar being deformed only with naming his name caused all men to feare to change their countenance Hanniball the aduenterous captaine of Carthage is called monstruous not onely for his deedes he did in the world but also for the euill proportion of his bodie For of his two eyes he lacked the right and of his two feete he had the left foote crooked and aboue all he was little of body and verie fierce and cruell of countenance The deeds and conquests which Hanniball did among the people of Rome Titus Liuius declareth at large yet I will recite one thing which an Historiographer declareth and it is this Frontine in the book of stoutenesse of the Penians declareth that in seuenteene yeeres that Hannibal warred with the Romaines he slue so great a number that if the men had bin conuerted into Kine and that the blood which was shed had beene turned into Wine it had beene sufficient to haue filled and satisfied his whole armie being foure score thousand footmen and seuenteene thousand horsemen in his campe I demand now how many were at that time fairer and more beautifull of their bodyes and countenance then he was whose beautie at this day is forgotten whereas his valiantnesse shall endure for euer For there was neuer any Prince that left of him eternall memorie only for being beautiful of countenance but for enterprising great things with the sword in the hand The great Alexander was no fairer nor better shapen then another man For the Chronicles declare of him that he had a litle throte a great head a blacke face his eyes somewhat troubled the body little and the members not well proportioned and with all his deformitie hee destroyed Darius king of the Perses and Medes and he subdued all the tyrants he made him selfe Lord of all the Castles and took many kings and disherited and slue mightie Lords of great estate hee searched all their riches and pilled all their treasors and aboue all things all the earth trembled before him not hauing the audacitie to speake one word against him Of a letter the Emperour Marcus Aurelius wrote to his Nephew worthie to be noted of all yong Gentlemen CHAP. XLII SExtus Cheronensis in his second booke of the life of Marcus Aurelius declared that this good Marcus Aurelius had a sister called Annia Melena the which had a sonne named Epesipus who was not onely nephew but also Disciple to Marcus Aurelius And after he was created Emperour he sent his nephew into Greece to study the Greeke tongue and to banish him from the vices of Rome This yong Epesipus was of a good and cleare iudgement well made of his body and faire of countenance and sith in his youth he esteemed his beauty more then his learning the Emperour his vncle wrote him a letter in Greeke which sayd thus Marcus Aurelius the Romaine Emperour first Tribune of the people and Bishop wisheth to thee Epesipus his Nephew and Scholler health and doctrine In the third Calends of December came thy cousin Annius Verus at whose comming all our parentage reioyced and so much the more because that hee brought vs newes out of Grecia For truely when the heart hath the absence of that he loueth it is no minute of an houre without suspition After that thy cousen Annius Verus had spoken in generally to all bringing newes from their friends and children we talked together and he gaue me a letter of thine which is contrary to that which was written mee out of Greece because thou writest to mee that I should send thee mony to continue thee in studie and they did also write vnto me from thence that thou art more youthfull and giuen more to the pleasures of the world then becommeth thee Thou art my blood thou art my Nephew thou wert my Scholler and thou shalt bee my sonne if thou art good But God wil neuer that thou be my Nephew nor that I shall call thee my sonne during the time that thou shalt be yong fond light and frayle For no good man should haue parentage with the vitious I cannot deny but that I loue thee from the bottome of my stomacke and so likewikewise thy vnthriftinesse greeueth me with all my heart For when I read the letters of thy follies I will content my selfe For the sage wise men though against their willes they heare of such things past yet it pleaseth them to redresse other things that may come heareafter I know well that thou canst not call it to minde though perhaps thou hast it that when thy vnlucky mother and my sister Annia Melena died she was then yong enough for she was no more but eighteene yeares of age and thou haddest not then foure houres For thou wert borne in the morning and shee dyed iust at noone-tide so when the wicked childe possessed his life then the good mother tasted death I can tell thee that thou hast lost such a mother and that I haue lost such a sister that I beleeue there was no better in Rome For she was sage honest and faire the which things are seldome seene now a dayes For so much as thy mother was my sister and that I had brought her vp and marryed her I read then Rethorike at Rhodes because my pouertie was extreame that I had no other thing but that which by reading Rethorike I did get When newes came vnto me of the death of thy mother and my sister Annia Milena al comfort laid on side sorrow oppressed my heart in such wise that all members trembled the bones shiuered my eyes without rest did lament the heauy sighes ouercame me at euery minute my heart vanished away from the bottome of my heart I inwardly lamented and bewayled thy vertuous mother and my deare sister Finally sorrow executing his priuiledge on mee the ioyfull company greeued me and onely with the louely care I quieted my selfe I know not nor cannot expresse vnto thee how and in what sort I tooke the death of my sister Annia Milena thy mother for in sleeping I dreamed of her and dreaming I saw her when I was awake
sate perisheth in the graue but vertue science makes men to be of immortall memory The gods neuer commanded it neither the studies and vniuersities of Italy suffered it to haue the body fine and trimme the visage faire and cleare and the heart full of Phylosophy for the true Phylosopher of all other things esteemeth least the setting forth of the body For that the demonstrations and tokens of a true perfect phylosopher is to haue his ere 's troubled his eye bries burnt and the head bald the ball of his eyes sunke into his head the face yellow the body leane and feeble the flesh dry the soâte vnhosed the garment poore the eating little and the watching great Finally he ought to liue as a Lacedemonian and speake as a Grecian The tokens of a valiant renowmed captain are his wounds and hurts and the signe of a studious phylosopher is the despising of the world For the wise man ought to thinke himselfe as much dishonored if they call him stout and sturdie as a captaine when they call him a coward and negligent I like well that the phylosopher study the ancient antiquities of his forefathers that wrote the profound things for the time to come that hee teach profitable wholesome doctrines to those which are now aliue that he diligently enquire of the motion of the starres that he consider what causeth the alteration of the elements But I sweare vnto thee Epesipus that neuer sage of Rome came to those things nor phylosopher of Greece likewise but in searching the quietnesse of the soule despising the pleasures of the body Touching the body I am like to beasts but concerning the spirit I am partly like to the gods sith that following the things of the flesh I am made lesse then my self and in following the motions of the spirit I am made more then I am For truly sensualitie maketh vs inferiour to beasts and reason maketh vs superiour vnto men The worldly malice presumption naturally desireth rather to mount then to descend and to command rather then to be commanded And since it is so why do we by vices abase our selues to do lesse then beasts being possible for vs by vertues to do more then men Amongst all the members which men can haue there is nothing more tender to breake nor any thing more easy to corrupt then is the handsomnes of the body where we are so proud For in mine opinion to esteeme himselfe to be a handsome and proper person is no other thing but to esteeme our selues that dreaming we shal be rich and mighty and afterwards awaking we find our selues to be poore and miserable And me thinkes thâs thing to be true because I will declare what it is to see a yong man in his first age the head litle the haire yeallow the brow long the eyes green the cheeks whit the nose sharp the lips coloured the beard forked the face liuely the necke small the body of good proportion the arme little the fingers long and to conclude so well proportioned in his members that mens eyes should alwayes desire to behold him and the hearts alwayes seeke to loue him If this yong man so faire and well proportioned remained long time in his beautie and disposition it were good to desire it to procure it to keepe it to pay sâ it and to loue it well for in the end if we loue the beautie in beasts and buildings by greater reason wee should desire it in our selues But what shall wee say that when we do not watch this litle floure which yesterday florished on the tree faire and whole without suspition to be lost one little hoary frost sodainly wasteth and consumeth it the vehement wind ouerthrows it the knife of enuy cutteth it the water of aduersitie vndoeth it and the heate of persecutions pineth it and finally the worme of short life gnaweth it and the putrifaction of death decayeth and bringeth it down to the ground O mans life that art alwayes cursed I count fortune cruell and thee vnhappy since she will that thou tarriest on her which dreaming giueth thee pleasures and waking worketh the displeasures which giueth into thy hands trauell to tast and suffereth thee not onely to listen after quier which will thou proue aduersitie and agree that thou haue prosperitie but at her will finally she giueth ther life by ounces and death without measure The wicked and vitious say that it is a great pleasure to liue in ease but I protest vnto them that there was neuer any mortall man had so much pleasure in vices but that he remained in great paine after that they were banished from him For the heart which of long time hath bene rooted in vice incontinently is subiect to some great alteration I would all would open their eyes to see how wee liue deceiued for all the pleasures which delight the body make vs beleeue that they come to abide with vs continually but they vanish away with sorrows immediatly And on the contrary part the infirmities and sorrowes that blind the soule say that they come onely to lodge as guests and ramaine with vs continually as housholders I maruell of thee Epesipus why thou doest not consider what shall becom of the beauty of thy body hereafter sith thou leest presently the beauty of those departed interred in the graue By the diuersitie of fruits man doth know the diuersitie of trees in the Orchyard that is to say the Oake by the Acornes the Date tree by the Dates and the Vines by the Grapes but when the roote is dry the body cut the fruit gathered the leafe fallen and when the tree is layd on fire and become ashes I would now know if this ashes could bee knowne of what tree it was or how a man might know the difference of the one froÌ the other By this coÌparison I meane to say that for so much as the life of this death the death of this life commeth to seeke vs out wee are all as trees in the Orchard whereby some are knowne by the rootes of their predecessors others by the leaues of their wordes others by the branches of their friendes some in the flowers of their beauty and other some by the barke of their foule skinne The one in their mercifulnesse the other in their stoutenesse other in their hardinesse beeing aged others in their hastinesse of their youth others in their barrennesse by theyr pouerty others by their fruitfulnesse in riches Finally in one onely thing wee are all alike that is to say that all vniuersally goe to the graue not one remayning I aske now when death hath done his office executing all earthly men in the later dayes what difference is there then betweene the fayre and the foule which lye both in the narrow graue certainely there is none and if there bee any difference it shall bee in the making of their graues which vaine men inuented And I doe
decline or the young that are wise I had rather holde my selfe to the wisedome of the young then to the white beardes of the aged My wife Faustine saluteth thee and be thou assured that in thy affayres at the least in my seeming shee is very fauourable vnto thee and dayly shee instantly requireth mee not to bee angry with thee saying that Sage men ought not to esteeme the lightnes of youth and that there is no olde man that is sage but he which in all things was light and youthfull I say no more to thee in this case but if thou wilt be good I cannot deny that thou art not my Nephew my old Scholler and seruant for if in thee I see amendment I will withdraw mine ire For truly among the louing hearts there is nothing that plucketh vp the euill will vnlesse it be the good life At the request of my wife Faustine I haue written thee this word and I say no more but of her part and mine thou commend vs to all the Vniuersity The Gods haue thee in their custodie to whom it may please to giue thee amendment of life Marcus Aurelius the Romane Emperour to thee Annius Epesius writeth with his owne hand CHAP. XLIII How Princes and great Lords in olde time were louers of wise men ONe of the chiefest things that wan reputation and eternall memory to the ancient Princes and Gouernours was that they sought wise men to bee alwayes conuersant about them whose graue counsell their Realmes alwayes obserued and obeyed It profiteth a King little to leade with him a great number of Sages to gouerne him and his Realme if his Subiectes are armed with malice not to obey him Let Princes know which esteeme not the counsell of Sages that their commaundement of other shall not bee regarded for the Law which by will is made and not of right ordayned deserueth not to be obeyed Wee which turne and tosse the leaues of the auncient Histories cannot deny but that the Romaines naturally were proud Yet wee must confesse that as they haue beene stout in things touching warres so they haue shewed themselues temperate in the affayres of the publike weale And truly herein Rome declared her wisdome and might for as by hardy and stout Captaines the enemies were destroyed in warre so by Sage and Wise men the common wealth was gouerned and maintained in peace Oft times with my selfe I muse whereupon all these discords grew betweene Lords and subiects Princes and vassels and my count beeing made I finde that they haue both reason for the subiects complaine of the little loue of their Lord and the Lords complaine of the great disobedience of their subiects for to say the truth disobedience is so much augmented the desire of commandement is become so licentious that it seemeth to the Subiects that the weight of a feather is leade and on the contrary it seemeth to Princes that for the flying of a flie they shuld draw their swords All this euill and damage commeth not but because that Princes haue not with them wise men which may counsell them for there was neuer any good Prince that credited euill counsell There are two things in Princes and Prelates which gouern the soule the one is the dignity of the office and the other is the nature of the person It may well be that one may bee good in his person and euill in his gouernment and the contrary hee may bee euill of his person and good in gouernment And therefore Tullius Cicero saith that there neuer was nor shall be such a Iulius Caesar in his person nor so euill a Gouernour as hee was for the Common-wealth It is a great grace in a man to be good but it is much more that hee bee a good Prince And for the contrary it is a great euill for a man to be euill but it is much worse for him to be an euill Prince For the euill man is onely euill to himselfe but the euill Prince endamageth all others for the more the poyson is scattered through the bodie in so much more danger he is of his life I meane the more power a man hath ouer the Common-wealth so much the more euill and dammage hee doth if his life bee euill I maruel why Princes great Lords should bee so curious to search the best medicines to cure their bodies and that they are so slacke and slow in seeking sage persons to gouerne their Common wealth For without comparison it is greater damage that the Common wealth bee euill gouerned then if the Prince and Gouernour thereof should be sicke in his person Hetherto wee haue neither read nor seene that any Prince hath perished for lacke of physicke but for lacke of Counsellours Wee haue seene and reade of infinite Kings and Realmes that haue beene destroyed and vtterly vndone The lacke of a Physitian may cause danger in mans person but the lacke of a wise man may set discord among the people for where there is any tumult amongst the people a ripe counsell of aâ Wise man profiteth more then a hundred purgations of rubarbe Isidorus in the fourth book of his Etimologies affirmeth that the Romans were foure hundred yeares without Physitions For Esculapius the sonne of Apollo was the last Physition in Greece And in the Temple of the same Esculapius they set by the Image of Archabuto a man very notable in Surgery For the Romanes were so beneficiall to vertuous persons that to euery one that exceeded other in any kind of vertue they rewarded him with money they set vp a Statue of him for memory or else they made him free in the common wealth And then when the Surgian Archabuto was become auncient and very rich and when by occasion of great and daungerous wounds hee did cut off the armes and legges of certaine Romans thought him a cruell and an vnnaturall man Wherefore they droue him out of his house and killed him with stones in the field of Mars And let no man man maruell therat for oftentimes meÌ suffer lesse harm in enduring the paine then to tarry for the cruell remedies the Surgians apply vnto it Some will say that when Rome was without Surgeans the Romanes were discomfited and halfe lost To this I will answere that they neuer had a more prosperous time then in the foure hundred yeares when they were without Surgeans for then was Rome vndone when they receyued Surgeans for at that time they droue Philosophers out of Rome I doe not speake this as a preiudice to any Surgean for mee thinketh that Princes cannot be without som among them For as the flesh is seeble and delicate so dayly needeth it remedies to comfort it The sage Surgeons giueth vs none but good and healthfull counsels for they doe not perswade vs to any other thing but that wee bee sober and continent in eating drinking sleeping trauelling and working and that in all things we should be temperate The end why I
Bull and that the cruelty of the torment shuld be experimented in none saue onely on the inuentor Truely in this case Phalaris shewed himselfe not a cruell tyrant but rather a mercifull Prince and a Sage Phylosopher for nothing can bee more iust then that the inuention of the maâce bee executed on the fraile flesh the inuentor Now because Phalaris was a greate friend of Sages the Philosophers of Greece came oftentimes to see him which were very gently receyued of him Though to say the trueth they profited more with his goods then he did with their Philosophy This tyrant Phalaris was not onely a friend of Sages but also hee was very well learned and deepely seen in morall Philosophy the which thing appeareth well in the Epistles which he wrote with his owne hand I can not tell wherein hee shewed himselfe greater eyther in the sentences and doctrines which hee wrote with his penne or in the slaughter and cruelties which he did with his sword O how many companions had Phalaris the tyrant in this case in times past and that as I would there were none also at this time present which in their pleasant wordes did resemble the Emperour Nero. I neuer read other thing of those that are gone neither haue I seene otherwise of those that are present but many they are that blase vertues and infinite which runne after vices For of truth wee are very light of tongue and too feeble of flesh The Epistles which this Phalaris wrote are knowne to al men I meane of those which know Greek or Laten and for those that know them not I was willing to draw these that are present and to put them in our vulgar tongue for two causes The one to the end Princes might see how good a thing it is to be Sage and how tyrants âwere praysed for being Sages and giuing good counsell The other to the end the people might see how easie it is to speake wel and how hard it is to worke well For there is nothing better cheape in the world then counsell The sententences therefore of the Epistles of Phalaris are these which follow in such sort as I could most briefly gather them to reduce them in good and profitable stile to write them The particular loue which princes shew to one more then to another breedeth oftentimes much enuy in their realmes For the one being loued and the other hated of this commeth hatred and of hatred commes euill thoughts of euill thoughts proceedeth malice and of malice commeth euill words the which breake out into worse deeds Finally when a Prince sheweth not to equals his fauour indifferently he setteth fire in his commonwealth Princes ought to forbid and sages ought to consent that rebels and quarellers shuld trouble those which are quiet and peace makers for when the people rise immediatly couetousnesse is awaked When couetousnesse groweth iustice falleth force and violence ruleth snatching reigneth lecherie is at libertie the euill haue power and the good are oppressed finally all do reioyce one to liue to the preiudice of another and euery man to seeke his owne priuate commoditie Manie vaine men do raise discentions and quarrels amongst the people thinking that in troubled water they should augment their estates who in short space doe not onely lose the hope of that they sought but also are put out of that they possessed For it is not onely reasonable but also most iust that those by experience feele that which their blinde malice will not suffer them to know It is much good for the people that the gouernours bee not vnfortunate but that of their nature they were happy For to luckie princes fortune giueth many things euen as they demand yea and giueth them better then they locke for The noble and valiant Princes when they see themselues with other princes or that they are present in great acts ought to shew the freenes of their hearts the greatnesse of their realme the preheminence of their person the loue of their commonwealth and aboue all the discipline of their court and the grauitie of their counsell and pallace For the Sage and curious men should not behold the prince in the apparrell which hee weareth but the men which he hath to counsell him The Sage men and those that be not couetous if they doe employ their forces to heape vp treasures ought to remember in their hearts how to employ themselues to spende their money well Sith fortune is Mistresse in all things and that to her they doe impute both good and euill workes hee alone may be called a princely man who for no contrariety of fortune is ouercome For truly that man is of a stout courage whose heart is not vanquished by the force of Fortune Though we prayse one for valiant with the sword wee will not therefore prayse him for excellent with the penne Although hee bee excellent with his penne hee is not therefore excellent with his tongue Though he haue a good tongue hee is not therefore well learned And though hee be learned hee hath not therfore a good renowm And thogh hee hath a good renowme he is not therefore of a good life For wee are bound to receiue the doctrine of many which write but we are not bound to follow the liues which they doe leade There is no worse office amongst men then for to take the charge to punish the vices of another and therefore a man ought to fly from it as for the pestilence for in correcting vices hatred is more sure to the corrector then amendment of life is to the offender He hath possesseth much that hath good friends for many aide their friends when they would haue holpeÌ them more if they could For the true loue is not wearyed to loue nor ceaseth not to profite Though Sage men haue lost much they ought not therfore to dispaire but that they shall come to it againe in time For in the ende time doth not cease to doe his accustomed alterations nor perfect friends cease not to doe that which they ought The proud disdainfull man for the most part alwayes falleth into some euill chaunce therefore it is a commendable medecine some times to be perseecuted for aduersitie maketh a wise man liue more safely to walke in lesse daunger For so much as wee doe excuse him which coÌmitteth the fault there is neither the offender nor the offence but deserueth paine For such a one that committeth the faulte through sudden anger did euill and if hee did commit it by deliberation he did much worse To desire to doe all things by reason is good and likewise to lay them all in order is good but it is very harde For temperate men haue such respect in compassing their doings and by weight to cast all the inconueniences that scarcely they euer determine to goe about it To the man which hath gouernement two things are dangerous that is to say too soone or too late
in my life and for the gifts he sends mee now at my death For one friend can doe more to another then to offer him his person to depart with his proper goods Tell the king thy father that I maruell what hee should meane that I now beeing foure score yeares of age and haue walked all my life time naked in this world should now be laden with vestures and money since I must passe so great a gulfe in the Sea to go out of this world The Egyptians haue a custome to lighten the burden of their Camels when they passe the Desartes of Arabia which is much better then to ouercharge them I meane that he onely passeth without trauell the dangers of the life which banisheth froÌ him that thought of temporall goods of this world Thirdly thou shalt say to the King thy Father that from hence forth when any man will dye he doe not succour nor helpe him with Money Golde nor Riches but with good and ripe counsell For Golde will make him leaue his life with sorrow and good Counsell will moue him to take his death with patience The fifth king of the Macedonians was called Archelaus who they say to be the grandfather of king Philip father of the great Alexander This king boasteth himselfe to descend from Menelaus King of the Grecians and principall Captaine which was at the destruction of Troy This king Archelaus was a great friend to the Sages and amongst others there was a Poet with him called Euripides who at that time had no lesse glory in his kinde of Poetrie then Archelaus in his king dome being king of Macedonia For now a dayes we esteeme more the Sages for the bookes which they wrote then we do exalt kings for the Realms which they ruled or the battels which they ouercame The familiaritie which Euripides had with the king Archelaus was so great that in the Realme of Macedonie nothing was done but first it was examined by the hands of this Philosopher And as the simple and ignorant would not naturally be subiect to the Sage it chanced that one night Euripides was talking a long time with the King declaring vnto him the ancient Histories and when the poore Poet would depart to goe home to his house his enemies espyed him and let the hungrie dogges flie vpon him the which did not onely teare him in peeces but also eate him euery morsell So that the intrayles of the dogges were the wofull graue of the most miserable Poet. The King Archelaus being certified of this wofull case immediately as soone as they told him was so chafed that almost he was bereft of his senses And hereat maruell not at all For gentle hearts doe alter greatly when they are aduertised of any suddaine mishappe As the loue which the King had to Euripides in his life was much so likewise the sorow which he felt at his death was very great for he shed many teares from his eyes he cut the hairs off his head he rounded his beard hee changed his apparrell which he ware and aboue all he made as solemne a funerall to Euripides as if they had buried Vlisses And not contented with al these things he was neuer merry vntill such time he had done cruell execution of the malefactors for truely the iniury or death which is done vnto him whom wee loue is no other but as a bath and token of our owne good wills After iustice was executed of those homicides and that some of the bones all gnawne of the dogs were buried a Grecian Knight said vnto King Archelaus I let the know excellent king that all Macedonta is offended with thee because that for so small a losse thou hast shewed so great sorrow To whom king Archelaus aunswered Among Sages it is a thing sufficiently often tryed that noble hearts ought not to shew themselues sad for mishaps and sodaine chances for the king being sadde his Realme cannot and though it might it ought not shew it selfe merry I haue heard my father say once that Princes should neuer shed teares vnlesse it were for one of these causes 1 The first the Prince should bewaile the losse danger of his common wealth for the good Prince ought to pardon the iniuries done to his person but to reuenge the least act done to the Common-wealth he ought to hazard himselfe 2 The second the good Prince ought to lament if any man haue touched his honour in any wise for the prince which weepeth not drops of bloud for the things touching his honour deserueth to be buried quicke in his graue 3 The third the good Prince ought to bewayle those which can little and suffer much For the Prince which bewayleth not the calamities of the poore in vaine and without profit liueth on the earth 4 The fourth the good Prince ought to bewayle the glory and prosperity wherein the tyrants are For that Prince which with tyranny of the euill is not displeased with the hearts of the good is vnworthy to bee beloued 5 The fift the good Prince ought to bewayle the death of Wise men For to a Prince there can come no greater losse then when a wise man dyeth in his Common wealth These were the words which the King Archelaus answered the Grecian Knight who reproued him because he had wept for the death of Euirpides the Philosopher The ancient Historiographers can say no more of the estimation which the Philosophers and wise men had as well the Greekes as the Latines but I will tell you one thing worthy of noting It is well knowne through all the world that Scipio the Ethnicke was one of the worthiest that euer was in Rome for by his name and by his occasion Rome got such a memory as shall endure And this was not only for that he conquered Affricke but for the great worthinesse of his person Men ought not to esteeme a little these two giftes in one man that is to say to be happy and aduenturous For many of the Auncients in times past wanne glory by their swords and after lost it by their euill liues The Romane Historiographers say that the first that wrote in Heroicall meeter in the Latine tongue was Ennius the Poet the workes of whom was so esteemed of Scipio the Ethnick that when this aduenturous and so luckie Romane dyed he commaunded in his will and testament that they should hang the image of this Ennius the Poet ouer his graue By that the great Scipio did at his death wee may well coniecture how great a friend he was of Sages in his life since he had rather for his honour see the Statue of Ennius on his graue then the banner wherwith he wonne and conquered Affricke In the time of Pirrus which was King of the Epirotes and great enemy of the Romanes flourished a Philosopher named Cinas borne in Thessaly who as they say was the Disciple of Demosthenes The Historiographers at that time did so much
esteeme this Cinas that they sayde he was the Master and measure of mans eloquence for he was very pleasant in words and profound sentences This Cinas serued for three offices in the Palace of king Pirrus 1 First he made pastime at his Table in that hee did declare for he had a good grace in things of laughter 2 Secondarily he wrote the valiant deedes of his history for in his stile hee had great cloquence and to write the truth he was a witnesse of sight 3 Totrdly he went for Ambassadouring at affayres of great importance for he was naturally subtill and witty and in dispatching businesse hee was very fortunate He vsed so many meanes in his businesse and had so great perswasion in his words that hee neuer tooke vpon him to speake of things of warre but eyther he set a long truce or else hee made a perpetuall peace The King Pirrus saide to this Cinas O Cinas for 3. things I thanke to the immortall Gods 1 The first for that they created mee a King and not a seruant for the greatest good that mortall men haue is to haue liberty to commaund many and not bee bound to obey any 2 The second I thanke the immortal gods for that they naturally made mee stout of heart for the man which with euery trifle is abashed it were better for him to leaue his life 3 The third I giue the immortall gods thanks for that in the gouernement of my commonwealth and for the great affaires and busines of my realme as well in wars as in other things they gaue me such a man as thou art in my company For by thy gentle speech I haue conquered and abtained many Cities which by my cruell sword I could neuer winne nor attaine These were the words which Pyrrus sayd vnto his friend Cinas the Poet. Let euery Prince know now how great louers of wise men those were in times past and as vpon a sodaine I haue recited these few examples so with small study I haue heaped infinite Histories The end of the first Booke THE SECOND BOOKE OF THE DYALL OF PRINCES WHEREIN THE AVTHOR TREATETH HOW NOBLE Princes and great Lordes should behaue themselues towardes their Wiues And how they ought to nourish and bring vp their Chyldren CHAP. I ¶ Of what excellencie Marriage is and whereas common people marrie of free will Princes and Noble-men ought to marry of necessitie AMong al the friendships companies of this life there is none so naturall as that betweene the husband the wife liuing in one house For all other companyes are caused by free will onely but this proceedeth both by wil and necessitie There is at this day no Lyon so fierce no Serpent so venemous no Viper so infectiue no Aspicke so mortall neyther any beast so terrible but at the least both male and female do once in the yeare meete and conioyne and although that in brute beasts there lacketh reason yet notwithstanding they haue a natural instinction to assemble themselues for the conseruation of their kinde In this case men deserue no lesse reproch then Beasts merite praise For after that the Females by generation are bigge they neuer agree that the Males should accompanie with them According to the diuersity of Nations so among theÌselues they differ the one from the other in Lawes Languages Ceremonies customs but in the ende all agree in one thing for that they enforce themselues to celebrate marriage As the Scripture teacheth vs Since the world was created there hath nothing bene more ancient then the Sacrament of Marriage For that day that Man was formed the selfe same day he celebrated mariage with a Woman in the terrestriall Paradise The ancient Hystoriographers aswell Greekes as Latines wrote many great things in the praise of Mariage but they could not say nor write so much as continuall experience doth shew vs. Therfore leauing the superfluous and taking the most necessary wee say that fiue commodities follow the Sage man who hath taken the yoke of Matrimonie The first is the memorie which remaineth to the children as successors and heyres of their Fathers For as the Phylosopher Pythagoras sayeth When a father passeth out of this present life and leaueth behinde him a Childe being his Heyre they cannot say vnto him that hee dyeth but that he waxeth young in his Childe since the child doth inherite the Flesh the Goods and the memorie of the Father Among the ancients it was a common prouerbe that the taste of all tastes is Bread the sauour of all sauours is Salt and the greatest loue of all Loues is from the Fathers to their children And though perchaunce we see the Father shew some rigor to their children we ought not therefore to say that they hate them and despise them for the tender loue of the Father to the Sonne is such that hee cannot endure him to doe any thing amisse or worthy of rebuke Not only men of reason and brute beasts but also the Hedge and Garden-trees to their possibilitie procure to continue their kinde and it is plainly seene in that before the fruits and hearbs were formed to be eaten the seeds and kirnels were made to be kept Men naturally desire honor in their life and memorie after theyr death Therefore I say that they come to honour by High and Noble and Heroycall facts but the Memorie is left by the good and Legittimate children For the children which are borne in adultrie are begotten in sinne and with great care are nourished The second benefit of Marriage is that they auoyd adulterie and it is no small matter to auoyde this vice For the Adulterers are not onely taken in the Christian religion for offenders but euen amongst the Gentiles also they are counted infamous The sage Solon in the lawes that he gaue vnto the Athenians commaunded vpon streight precepts that they should Marrie to auoyde adulterie vpon paine that the childe borne in adultrie should be made the common slaue of the Cittie The Romanes as men foreseeing all things ordained in the tables of theyr Lawes that the children which were born in adultery should not be heyres of the Goods of theyr Fathers When the Oratour Eschynes was banished out of Athens as he came by the Rhodes he tooke no such pains in any one thing as he did in perswading the Rhodians to marry and not to liue in adulterie For among those barbarous Matrimonie was not common but onely among them which were Officers of the Commonwealth Cicero in a familiar Epistle saith that the great Romaine Marcus Porcio being gouernor in the Common-wealth neuer agreed that an Vnckle of his should bee maister of the Romain chiualry vnlesse he were marryed which office was promised him by the Senate His name was Rufus a stout and valiant man of warre this notwithstanding Marcus Porcio saide that that praise which Rufus deserued for being valiant and hardie he lost againe for liuing
deaths should not be buryed CHAP. II. ¶ The Authour following his purpose declareth that by meanes of Marryage many mortall enemies haue beene made good and perfite Friends BY sundrie examples that we haue declared and by all that which remaineth to declare a man may knowe well enough of what excellencie Matrimonie is not onely for the charge of Conscience but also for the things touching honour for to say the truth the men that in the Common-wealth are married giue small occasion to bee slaundered and haue more cause to be honourd VVe cannot deny but that Matrimony is trouble some and chargeable to them that be marryed for two causes The one is in bringing vp their children and the other in suffering the importunities of their Mothers Yet in fine we cannot deny but that the good and vertuous wife is shee that setteth a stay in the house and keepeth her husband in estimation in the Common-wealth for in the publike affayres they giue more faith and credite vnto those that are charged with children then vnto others that are loaden with yeeres The fifth commoditie that ensueth Matrimony is the peace and reconciliations that are made betweene the enemies by meanes of Marriage Men in this age are so couetous so importune and malicious that there are very few but haue enemies wherby groweth contention and debate for by our weaknesse we fall daily into a thousand occasions of enmities and scarcely wee can finde one to bring vs againe into friendship Considering what men desire what things they procure and whereunto they aspire I maruell not that they haue so few friends but I much muse that they haue no more enemies For in things of weight they marke not who haue beene their friends they consider not they are their neighbours neyther they regard that they are Christians but their conscience laid a part and honestie set a side euery man seeketh for himselfe and his own affayres though it bee to the preiudice of all his neighbours What friendshippe can there bee amongst proud men since the one will goe before and the other disdayneth to come behinde What friendshippe can there bee amongst enuious men since the one purchaseth the other possesseth VVhat loue can there be between two couetous men since the one dare not spend the other is neuer satisfied to hourd heap vp For all that we can read see goe and trauell for all that we may do we shall neuer see nor heare tell of men that haue lacked enemies for either they be vicious or vertuous If they be euil and vicious they are alwaies hated of the good and if they be good vertuous they are continually persecuted of the euill Many of the ancient Philosophers spent a great part of their time and lost much of their goods to search for remedies and meanes to reconcile them that were at debate contention and to make them by gentlenes good friends louers Some said that it was good profitable to forget the enmities for a time for many things are pardoned in time which by reasoÌ could neuer take end Others said that for to appease the enemies it was good to offer mony because mony doth not only breake the feminate tender hearts but also the hard and craggy rocks others said that the best remedy was to set good men to bee mediators between them in especially if they were sage wise men for the honest faces and stout hearts are ashamed wheÌ they are proserred mony the good do humble theÌselues by intreaty These means wel considered and the remedies wel sought out to make friends there are none so ready and so true as Marriage for the marriage done Sacramentally is of such and so great excellency that betweene some it causeth perfect friendshippe and betweene others it appeaseth great iniuries During the time that Iulius Caesar kept him elfe as father-in-law to the great Pompeius and that Pompeius held himselfe his sonne in law there was neuer euill will nor quarells betweene them but after that Pompeius was diuorced from the house of Caesar hatred enuy and enmities engendred betweene them in such sort that they contended in such and so cruell warres that Pompeius against his will lost his head and also Iulius Caesar shortned his life When those that dwelled in Rome rauished and robbed the daughters of the Sabines iâ after they had not changed their counsell and of theeues to become husbands without doubt the Romans bad beene all destroyed for the Sabines had made an oath to aduenture both their goods and their liues for to reuenge the iniuries done vnto them their daughters and wiues but by the meanes of Marriage they were conferred in great amitie and loue For the Romanes receiued in marriage the daughters of the Sabines whome before they had rauished Greater enmitie there cannot be then that of God towards men through the sin of Adam notwithstanding there neuer was nor neuer shall be greater friendship then that which was made by the godly marriage and for greater authoritie to confirme marriage the Sonne of God would that his Mother should be marryed and afterward hee himselfe was present at a Mariage where hee turned the Water into Wine though now adayes the euill maried men doe turne the wine into water He doth not speake here of Religious persons nor men of the Church neither of those which are closed in deuout places for those fleeing the occasions of the world and choosing the wayes lesse dangerous haue offered their soules to GOD and with their bodies haue done him acceptable Sacrifices for there is difference betweene the Religion of Christ and the sinfull Sinagogue of the Iewes for they offered Kidds and Muttons but heere are not offered but teares and sighs Leauing therefore all those secrets apart which men ought to leaue to God I say and affirme that it is a holy and commendable counsell to vse his profite with the Sacrament of Marriage the which though it bee taken of all voluntarily yet Princes and great Lords ought to take it necessarily For that Prince that hath no wife nor children shall haue in his Realme much grudging and displeasure Plutarch in the Booke hee made of Marriage sayth that amongst the Lidians there was a law well obserued and kept that of necessitie their Kings and Gouernours should be marryed and they had such respect to this thing and were so circumspect in this matter that if a Prince dyed and left his Heyre an infant they would not suffer him to gouerne the Realme vntill he were married And they greatly lamented the day of the departing of their Queene out of this life for with her death the gouernment ceased the Royall authoritie remayned voyde and the Common-wealth without gouernment so long time as the King deferred to take another wife and so they were sometimes without King or gouernment For Princes are or ought to be the mirrour and example of all to
when they brought out these Innocent wiues from prison to execute iustice supposing they were men the Lacedemonians vnderstaÌding the faith fulnes of the women determiued that they should not onely bee pardoned but also that they should bee greatly rewarded and honored for the good examples of other women to whom they were marryed The ancient and great renowmed Panthea when newes was brought her that her husband was dead in battaile shee her owne selfe determined to goe seeke him out with hope that as yet he was not vtterly dead and finding him dead with the bloud of him she washed all her body and likewise her face strikeing with a knife her selfe to the heart and imbracing her husband she yeelded vp the ghost and so together they were carried to the graue Porcia the daughter of Marcus Porcia the great when shee heard that her husband Brutus was taken and slaine she felt for that newes so great sorrow that all her friends seeing her take the matter so grieuously hid from her all Iron wherewith shee might kill her selfe and did labour to keep and preserue her from danger wherein shee might fall and shorten her life For she was so excellent a Romane and so necessary to the Common-wealth that if they had lamented the death of Brutus her husband with teares of their eyes they ought to bewaile the losse of his wife Porcia with drops of bloud in their hearts Porcia therefore feeling in her selfe a wofull and afflicted heart for the death of her entirely beloued husband to declare that that which shee did was nor fayned nor for to please the people but to satisfie her great and maruellous loue since shee found neyther sword nor knife to kill her selfe nor cord to hang her selfe neither well to drowne her in she went to the fire and with as great pleasure did eate the hot fiery coales as an other would haue eaten any delicate meates We may say that such kinde of death was very strange and new which the Romane found to encrease augment and manifest her loue Yet wee cannot deny but that shee wanne to the posteritie of her name a perpetuall memorie For as a Noble Dame she would quench with coales of fire her burning heart that enflamed was with fiery brands of loue As Diodorus Seculus sayth it was a law and custome amongst the Lidians to marry themselues with many wiues and when by chance their husbands dyed the wiues which they had met together and fought in some plaine place And the women which remained onely aliue and of the conflict had the victory cast themselues into the graue of their husband so that those women then fought for to dye as men now fight for to liue CHAP. V. Of the reuenge a woman of Greece tooke of him that had killed her husband in hope to haue her in marriage PLutarch in the Booke that he made of the Noble and worthy Women declareth a thing worthy of rchearsall and to be had in memory In the Citie of Galacia were two renowmed Citizens whose names were Sinatus and Sinoris which were by bloud Cousins and in familiaritie friends and for the loue of a Greekes daughter being very Noble beautifull and exceeding gracious they both striued to haue her in marriage and for to attaine to their desires they both serued her they both followed her they both loued her and for her both of them desired to dye For the dart of loue is as a stroke with a clod of earth the which being throwne amongst a company doth hurt the one and blinde the others And as the fatal destinies had ordained it Sinatus serued this Lady called Camma in âuch sort that in the end he obtained her in marriage for his lawfull wife which thing when Sinoris perceiued he was ashamed of his doings and was also wounded in his hart For he lost not onely that which of so long time he had sought loued and serued but also the hope to attaine to that which chiefly in his life he desired Sinatus therefore seeing that his wife Camma was noble meeke gratious faire and louing and that in all things shee was comely and well taught decreed to offer her to the Goddesse Diana to the end that shee would preserue her from perill and keepe her from infamie Truly we caÌnot reproue the knight Sinatus for that hee did nor wee ought to note him for rash in his councell for hee sawe that his wife was very faire and therefore much desired For with great difficultie that is kept which of many is desired Though Camma was now maryed and that shee was in the protection of the goddesse Diana yet notwithstanding her olde friend Sinoris died for her sake and by all means possible he serued her continually he importuned her dayly he followed her and hourely he required her And all this he did vpon certaine hope he had that such diligent seruice should suffice to make her change her sacred minde and as shee had chosen Sinatus for her husbande openly so hee thought she should take him for her friende secretly For many women are as men without tast through sicknes the which eate more of that that is hurtfull and forbiddeÌ then of that which is healthsome and commaunded Not without a cause Camma was greatly renowmed throughout al Galatia for her beauty and much more amonge the vertuous esteemed for her honestie The which euidently in this was seene that after she was married Sinoris could neuer cause her to receiue any Iewell or other gift nor that she would hear him speake any word nor that shee would shew her selfe in the window eyther to him or to any other to the end to bee seene in the face For it is not sufficient for Ladyes to bee pure good but also to giue no occasion for men to iudge that if they durst they would be euill As it is true indeede that the heart which is entangled with loue dare boldly aduenture himselfe in many kinde of dangers to accomplish that which he desired so Sinoris seeing that with fayre words he could not flatter her nor with any gifts winne her determined to kill Sinatus her husband vpon hope that when she should be widdow he might easily obtaine her in matrimony For he thought although Camma was not euill it was not for that she wanted desire to doe it but because she had no commodious place to accomplish it And to be short Sinoris would needes execute and bring to effect his deuilish and damnable entent so that soone after hee vilely slew his said companion Sinatus After whose death the Noble Lady Camma was of Sinoris greatly desired and by his Parents much importuned that she would condiscend to take and marry him and that she would forgiue him the death of her husband Sinatus which then was buried And as she was in all her doings such a Princely woman she imagined with her selfe that vnper the pretence of marriage she might haue
dyed Truely this case was no lesse to be lamented then the other for so much as Gaius lost his Sister the Husband lost his Wife and his Childe and the wife and the childe lost their liues and for that that Rome lost so Noble and excellent a Romane and aboue all for that it chaunced in such a time of so great ioy and pleasure For there can come no vnluckier newes then in the time of much myrth to heare tell of any great mischance Of this matter mention is made in Blandus in the book of the declinatioÌ of the Empire The second warre of Affrike which was betweene Rome and Carthage was in the 540. yeares after the Foundation of Rome wherein were Captaines Paulus Emilius and Publius Varro the which two Consulls fought the great and famous bloudy Battell of Cannas in the Prouince of Apulia I say famous because Rome neuer lost such Nobilitie and Romaine youth as shee lost in that day Of these two Consulles Paulus Emilius in the Battell was slayne and Publius Varro was ouercome and the most couragious Hanniball remained conquerour of the Field wherein dyed xxx Senatours and 300. officers of the Senate and aboue xl thousand footmen and three thousand horsemen Finally the end of all the Roman people had been that day if Hannibal had had the witte to haue followed so noble a victory as he had the courage to giue so cruell a Battell A litle before that Publius Varro departed to goe to the warres hee was married to a faire and young Romaine called Sophia and within seuen moneths shee was quicke and as newes was brought her that Paulus Aemilius was dead and her husband ouercome she died suddenly the creature remaining aliue in her bodie This case aboue all was very pittifull in that that after he himselfe was vanquished and and that he had seene his companion the Consull Emilius slaine with so great a number of the Romane people Fortune would that with his own eyes he should behold the entrailes of his wife cut to take out the Childe and likeewise to see the Earth opened to burie his wife Titus Liuius saith that Publius Varro remained so sorrowfull in his heart to see himselfe ouercome of his enemyes and to see his wife so suddenly and so vnluckely stricken with death that all the time that his life endured he neyther combed his beard slept in bed nor dined at the Table and hereat we ought not to maruel for a man in his hart may be so wounded in one houre that hee shall neuer reioyce all the dayes of his life If wee put no doubts in Titus Liuius the Romaines had long and tedious warres against the Samnites which endured for the space of lxiii yeares contiually vntill such time as the Consull Ancus Rutilius who was a vertuous man did set a good appointment of peace between the Samnites and the Romanes For the noble stout harts ought alwaies by vertue to bring their enemies to peace These warres therfore being so cruell and obstinate Titus Venurius and Spurius Posthuminus which were Romaine Captains were ouercome by Pontius the valiant Captaine of the Samnites who after the victorie did a thing neuer seene nor heard of before That is to say that all the Romaine prisoners whom hee tooke hee put about theyr necks a yoke wherein was written In spight of Rome the Romaines shall be subtects to the yoke of the Samnites Wherewith indeed the Romains were greatly iniuried wherefore they sought stoutto be reueÌged of the Samnites for the harts that are haughty proud caÌnot suffer that others haue theyr mindes lofty and high The Romaines therefore created to bee Captaine of the Warre one named Lucius Papirius who had Commission to goe against the Samnites This Lucius was more Fortunate in his doings then comely of his person for he was deformed of his face notwithstanding hee did so good seruice in the warre and Fortune fauoured him so well that he did not onely ouercome and vanquish but also destroyed them and though the iniurie which the Samnites did to the Romaines was great yet truely the iniurie which the Romaines did to the Samnites was much greater For Fortune is so variable that those which yesterday we saw in most prosperitie too day wee see in greatest aduersitie This Lucius Papirius therfore did not only vanquish the Samnites kept them prisoners and made yokes for theyr neckes but also he bound them with cords together in such sort that they made them plough the ground drawing two and two a plough And yet not herewith conteÌted but with gads they pricked and tormented them If the Samnites had had pitie of the Romaines beeing ouercome the Romaines likewise would haue taken compassion of them when they were Conquerours And therefore the prosperous haue as much neede of good counsell as the miserable haue neede of remedie For the man which is not merciful in his prosperitie hee ought not to maruel though he finde no friendes in his necessitie This Lucius Papirius had a Daughter maried to a Senator of Rome who was called Torquatus and she was called Ypolita And about that time that she should haue bene deliuered shee went forth to receiue her Father the which she ought not to haue don for the throng of the people in receiuing him being great and she herselfe being great with child by a most heauie chaunce as she would haue passed in at a narrow gate shee was so prest in the throng that she chaunged her life for death and her Father turned his mâth and ioy into sorrow and sadnes For he tooke the death of his daughter very heauilie and so much the more because it was so suddenly I say hee tooke it heauily since he was so stoute a man and so Sage withall that all Rome thought much that any such sudden chaunce should haue dismayed so worthie a man that of his wisedome he could take no benefite but heereat let no man maruell For ther are many that haue harts to shed the bloud of their enemies and yet caÌnot withholde the teares of their eyes Annius Seuerus in the third booke De infelieitate Fortuna saith that the day that this wofull mishap chaunced to Lucius Papirius hee lift vp his eyes to the Heauens and weeping saide Oh Fortune deceiuer of all mortall men thou madest mee to conquere in warre to the intent to ouercome me in peace My mind was to declare vnto you all these ancients hystories to the end that al may know how tender women with childe are and how diligent their Husbands ought to bee to preserue them since there is nothing so tender to be kept nor any glasse so easie to be broken For there is much glasse that thogh it fall to the ground yet it doeth not breake but a woman with Childe onely for treading her foote awry we see with daunger to be deliuered CHAP. XI That Women great with childe and especially Princesses great
ladyes ought to be gently vsed of theyr Husbands IF wee vnderstand the Chapter before wee shall finde that women with childe haue bin in great daÌgers some through leaping some by dauncing others by eaung others by banquetting others throgh gadding others by straight lacing and all this proceedeth throgh their own follies that seeke to bee destroyers of theyr owne bodyes Truly herein Princesses and great Ladyes are worthie of much rebuke when throgh their own follies they are not safely deliuered of their creatures And I would gladly they toke example not only of reasonable men but also of brute beasts for there is no beast so brute in the wilde mountains but escheweth that which to his life and death will be hurtfull The Beares the Lyonnesse and the Wolfes neuer issue out of their caues and dennes so long as they be bigge and this they doe to auoyde the dangers of the Hunters because at that time they would not be coursed Then seeing these things are done by the brute beastes whose younglings are alwayes hurtfull vnto men to the intent theyr rauening greedie Whealpes might safely bee brought foorth to deuoure our innocent Cattell How much more then ought the Woman to be carefull for her fruite which is the increase of christian congregation If Women brought not forth and Children were not borne though there be earth yet there should bee none to people it For GOD created all things to serue the creature and created the creatures to serue their Creator Let VVomen that are with childe take example by the Chesse-nuts and Wal-nuts how and in what sort they defend their fruite after that of theyr blossoms they are depriued for the chessenuttree defendeth his fruit with a rough and hard huske the wall-nut keepeth her fruite with a thicke shale in like maner so that the water cannot wet them nor the winde shake them Now since that the Trees which haue but a vegetatiue life and the Beasts but a Sensitiue life take such heede to themselues when they feele them ready to bring forth their fruite much more women with child ought to take heede to themselues since they haue reason and vnderstanding lest through theyr negligence the creature should perish Let euery man iudge how little he loseth when he loseth nuttes and chessenuts and for the contrarie let euery men iudge what the Church looseth when the women with child do not bring forth their fruit into the light of baptisme For our mother the holy Church bewaileth not for that the vines are frozen but for the soules that are lost To the ende that the man may see fruitfull blessing which hee desireth that the woman with child may see her selfe well deliuered the Husband ought to beware that hee enforceth her not much to labour and the woman likewise ought to be circumspect that shee take not too much idlenes For in women with child this is a generall rule that too much trauell causeth them before theyr time to deliuer and too much idlenesse putteth them in daunger The man is cruell that will haue his Wife trauell and take as much paines when shee is big as he would at another time when she is not with childe for the man which is clothed can not runne so swifte as hee that is naked Aristotle in the sixt booke de Animalibus saith When the Lyonnesse is bigge with whelp the Lyon doth not only hunt for her himselfe but also both night day he wandreth coÌtinually to watch her I meane that Princesses and great Ladyes when they be with Childe should bee of theyr Husbands both tended and serued For the man cannot do the woman so great a pleasure before her lying down as she doth to him when she bringeth forth a sonne Considering the daunger that the woman abideth in her deliueraunce and beholding the paines that the Husband taketh in her seruice without comparison that is greater which she suffereth then that which hee endureth For when the woman deliuereth she doth more then her power and the Husband though hee serueth her well doeth lesse then his duetie The gentle and louing Husband ought not one moment to forsake his wife specially when hee seeth shee is great For in the law of a good Husband it is written that hee should set his eyes to beholde her his handes to serue her he shold spend his goods to cherish her and should giue his heart to content her Let not men thinke it paines to serue their wiues when they are with childe for their labour consisteth in their strength but the trauell of their wiues is in their entrails And that which is most pitiful is that when the sorrowfull women will discharge their burden on the earth they often times bring theÌselues vnto the graue The meane women of the Plebians ought no lesse to be reproued for that when they are with child they would be exempted from all businesse of the house the which neyther they themselues ought to desire nor yet their husbands to suffer for idlenesse is not onely an occasion not to deserue heauen but also it is a cause whereby women oft times haue ill successe in their trauaile for considering both the daintie Lady with childe that hath her pleasure and doth little and on the other side the poore mans wife which moderately laboureth you shall see that the great Ladyes for all their pleasures abideth more danger then the other doth with all her labour The husband ought to keepe his wife from taking too much paynes for so ought he to doe and the wife likewise ought to flee too much pleasure for it behoueth her For the meane trauell is no other but occasion of a safe deliuerie The women with childe also ought to take heede to themselues and in especially noble great ladies that they be not too greedy hasty in eating For the woman being with child ought to be sober and the woman which is a great eater with great pains shal liue chaste Women with child oft times doe disorder themselues in eating licorous meats and vnder the colour of feeding themselues their infant they take too excessiuely which is not onely vnholsome for the Childe but also dishonour for their mothers For truely by the excesse of the Mother being with child commeth many diseases to the infant wheÌ it liueth The Husbands also ought neyther to displease nor grieue their Wiues especially when they see them great with childe for of truth oftentimes she deliuereth with more daunger by reason of the offences that men doe vnto them then by the aboundance of meates which they doe eate Though the Woman when shee is with Childe in some things doth offend her Husband yet hee like a wise man ought to forbeare her hauing respect to the childe wherewith she is great and not to the iniuries that she hath committed For in the end the Mother cannot bee so great an offender but the child is much more innocent For
and in this place they talked with him that had businesse and truely it was a great policie for where as the Prince doth not sit the suitor alwaies abridgeth his talke And when the day began to waxe hot he went to the high Capitoll where all the Senate tarryed for him and from thence hee went to the Coliseo where the Ambassadours of the Prouinces were and there remained a great part of the day Afterwards he went to the Chappell of the Vestall Virgins and there he heard euery Nation by it selfe according to the order which was prescribed Hee did eate but one meale in the day and it was very late but he did eate well not of many and diuers sorts of meate but of few and good for the abundance of diuers strange meates breedeth sundry diseases They sawe him once a weeke goe through Rome and if hee went any more it was a wonder at the which time he was alwayes without company both of his owne and also of strangers to the entent all poore men might talke with him of their businesse or complaine of his Officers for it is vnpossible to reforme the Common-wealth if he which ought to remedie it be not informed of the iniuries done in the same He was so gentle in conuersation so pleasant in words so Noble amongst the Great so equall with the least so reasonable in that hee did aske so perfect in that he did worke so patient in iniuries so thankefull of benefites so good to the good and so seuere to the euill that all loued him for being good and all the euill feared him for being iust A man ought not little to esteeme the loue that the people bare to this so good a Prince and Noble Emperour for so much as the Romanes haue been thus that for the felicitie of their estate they offered to their Gods greater Sacrifice then they did in any other Prouinces And Sextus Cheronensis saith that the Romanes offered more Sacrifices to the Gods because they should lengthen the life of the Emperour then they did offer for the profite of the Common-wealth Truely their reason was good for the Prince that leadeth a good life is the heart of the Common-wealth But I doe not maruell that the Emperour was so well willed and beloued of the Romane Empire for he had neuer Porter to his Chamber but the two houres which hee remayned with his wife Faustine All this being past the good Emperour weat into his house into the secretst place hee had according to the counsell of Lucius Seneca the key whereof he alone had in his custodie and neuer trusted any man therewith vntill the houre of his death and then he gaue it to an olde ancient man called Pompeianus saying vnto him these words Thou knowest right well Pompeianus that thou being base I exalted thee to honour thou being poore I gaue thee riches thou being persecuted I drew thee to my Palace I being absent committed my whole honour to thy trust thou being olde I marryed thee with my daughter and doe presently giue thee this Key Behold that in giuing thee it I giue thee my heart and life for I will thou know that death grieueth mee not so much nor the losse of my wife and children as that I cannot carry my Bookes into the graue If the Gods had giuen mee the choyse I had rather choose to be in the graue inuironed with Bookes then to liue accompanied with fooles for if the dead doe read I take them to be aline but if the liuing doe not read I take them to be dead Vnder this key which I giue thee remayneth many Greeke Hebrew Latine and Romame Bookes and aboue all vnder this key remaineth all my paynes swet and trauells all my watchings and laboures where also thou shalt finde Bookes by mee compiled so that though the wormes of the earth doe eate my body yet men shall finde my heart whole amongst these Bookes Once againe I doe require thee and say that thou oughtest not a little to esteeme the key which I giue thee for wise men at the houre of their death alwayes recommend that which they best loue to them which in their liues they haue most loued I doe confesse that in my Studie thou shalt finde many things with mine owne hand written and well ordered and also I confesse that thou shalt finde many things by me left vnperfect In this case I thinke that though thou couldest not write them yet thou shalt worke them well notwithstanding and by these meanes thou shalt get reward of the Gods for working them Consider Pompeian that I haue beene thy Lord I haue beene thy Father-in-law I haue beene thy Father I haue beene thy Aduocate and aboue all that I haue beene thy speciall friend which is most of all for a man ought to esteeme more a faithfull friend then all the Parents of the world Therefore in the faith of that friendshippe I require that thou keepe this in memorie that euen as I haue recommended to others my Wife my Children my Goods and Riches So I doe leaue vnto thee in singuler recommendation my Honour for Princes leaue of themselues no greater memorie then by the good learning that they haue written I haue beene eighteene yeeres Emperour of Rome and it is threescore and three yeeres that I haue remayned in this wofull life during which time I haue ouercome many Battailes I haue slayne many Pyrates I haue exalted many good I haue punished many euill I haue wonne many Realmes and I haue destroyed many Tyrants but what shall I doe wofull man that I am sith all my companions which were witnesses with me of all these worthy feates shall be companions in the graue with the greedy wormes A thousand yeeres hence when those that are now aliue shall then be dead what is hee that shall say I saw Marcus Aurelius triumph ouer the Parthians I saw him make the buildings in Auentino I sawe him well beloued of the people I saw him father of the Orphanes I saw him the scourge of Tyrants Truely if all these things had not beene declared by my Bookes or of my friends the dead would neuer haue risen againe to haue declared them What is it for to see a Prince from the time he is borne vntill the time hee come to dye to see the pouertie he passeth the perills he endureth the euill that hee suffereth the shame that he dissembleth the friendshippe that hee fayneth the teares which hee sheddeth the sighes that hee fetcheth the promises that hee maketh and doth not endure for any other cause the miseries of this life but onely to leaue a memorie of him after his death There is no Prince in the world that desireth not to keepe a good house to keepe a good table to apparell himselfe richly and to pay those that serue him in his house but by this vaine honour they suffer the water to passe through their lippes not drinking thereof As
great Carthage who being of the yeares of 81 dyed in the first yeere of the wars of Punica they demaunded this Philosopher what it was that he knew he answered He knew nothing but to speake well They demaunded him againe what hee learned He answered Hee did learne nothing but to speake well Another time they demaunded him what hee taught Hee answered He taught nothing but to speake well Me thinketh that this good Philosopher in fourescore yeares and one said that he learned nothing but to speake well hee knew nothing but to speake well and that he taught nothing but to speake well And truely hee had reason for the thing which most adorneth mans life is the sweet pleasant tongue to speake well what is it to see two men in one counsell the one talking to the other the one of them hath an euill grace in propounding and the other excellent in speaking Of such there are some that in hearing them talke three houres wee would neyther be troubled nor wearied and of the contrary part there are others so tedious and rude in their speech that as soone as men perceiue they beginne to speake they auoyde the place And therefore in mine opinion there is no greater trouble then to hearken one quarter of an houre a rude man to speake and to be contrary there is no greater pleasure then to heare a discreete man though it were a whole weeke The diuine Plato in the Booke of Lawes sayde that there is nothing whereby a man is known more then by the words he speaketh for of the wordes which we heare him speake we iudge his intention eyther to bee good or euil Laertius in the life of the Phylosopher saieth that a young childe borne at Athens was brought vnto Socrates the great phylosopher being in Athens to the ende he should receyue him into his companie and teach him in his Schoole The yong childe was strange and shamefast and durste not speake before his Maister wherefore the Phylosopher Socrates sayd vnto him Speake friend if thou wilt that I know thee This sentence of Socrates was very profound I pray him that shall reade this writing to pause a while thereat For Socrates will not that a man be known by the gesture he hath but by the good or euill wordes which he speaketh Though eloquence and speaking well to euery man is a cause of augmenting their honour and no diminisher of their goods yet without comparison it shineth much more is most necessary in the Pallaces of Princesses and great Lords for men which haue common offices ought of necessity hearken to his naturall Countrimen and also to speake with strangers Speaking therefore most plainely I say that the Prince ought not to trauell onely to haue eloquence for the honour of his person but also it behoueth him for the Common-wealth For as the Prince is but one and is serued of all so it is vnpossible that hee haue so much as will satisfie and content them all And therefore it is necessary that hee requite some with money and that hee content others with good words For the Noble heart loueth better a gentle worde then a reward or gift with the tong of a rude man Plato Liuius Herodotus Vulpicius Eutropius Diorus Plinie and many other innumerable ancient Historiographers doe not cease to prayse the eloquence of Greeke princes and Latines in their workes Oh how blessed were those times when there were sage Princes and discreete Lordes truely they haue reason to exalt them For many haue obtayned and wonne the royall crownes and scepters of the Empire not so much for the great battels they haue conquered nor for the high bloud and generation from whence they are discended as for the wisedome and eloquence which they had Marcus Aurelius was naturall of Rome borne in Mount Celio hee was poore in patrimony and of base lynage little in fauour left and forsakeÌ of his parents and besides all this onely for being vertuous in this life profound in doctrine and of so high eloquence the Emperour Antonius called Pius gaue him his daughter Faustine for wife who being reproued of many because he gaue his daughter to so poore a Philosopher answered I had rather haue a poore Philosopher then a rich foole Pulio in his seuenth booke of the Romaine lawes sayth that in Rome there was a law very well kept and obserued of the Consels by a custom brought in that the Dictators Censor and Emperors of Rome entred into the Senate once in the weeke at the least and in this place they should giue and render account in what state the common wealth remayned O would to God that at this present this Law were so kept and obserued for there is none who doth minister so good iustice as he which thinketh to giue account of his doings They say that Caligula the fourth Emperour of Rome was not onelie deformed infamous and cruell in his life but also was an Idiot in eloqueÌce and of an euill vtterance in his communication so that hee among all the Romane Princes was constrained to haue others to speake for him in the Senate This wicked man was so vnfortunate that after his cruell and infamous death they drew him throughout Rome and set vpon his graue this Epitaph Caligula lyeth here in endlesse sleepe That stretcht his raigne vpon the Empires head Vnfitte for rule that could such folly heape And fitte for death where vertue so was dead I Cannot tell why Princes do praise themselues to be strong and hardie to bee well disposed to bee runners to iust well and doe not esteeme to be eloquent since it is true that those gifts doe profite them onely for their life but the eloquence profiteth them not onely for to honour their life but also to augment their renowne For wee doe reade that by that many Princes did pacifie great seditions in the common wealth and besides that they deserued immortall memory Suetonius Tranquillus in the first book of Caesars sayth that the aduenturous Iulius Caesar being as yet but 16. yeares of age when there dyed in Rome an aunt of his called Cornelia at her buriall hee made an Oration in the which hee beeing so young shewed maruellous great eloquence which was so accepted that day in al people that in the end euery man iudged him to bee a valiant Romane Captaine And as Appianus declareth they say that Silla spake these words That which I perceyue of this young man Caius Caesar is that in the boldnesse of his tongue he declareth how valiant he ought to bee in his person Let therefore Princes and great Lordes see how much it may profite them to know to speake well and eloquently For wee see no other thing dayly but that a man of base lynage by his eloquence commeth to be exalted and the other which of linage is nobly borne for want of speaking well and being eloquent is the first that discendeth most vilest of all other
the time past Wherin thou being a woman shewest thy selfe more then a woman because the nature of women is to cast their eyes onely in that that is present and to forget that is past They tell me that thou doest occupy thy selfe now in writing of our Country And truely in this case I cannot say but that you haue matter enough to write on For the warres and trauels of our times haue beene such and so great that I had rather reade them in bookes then to see them with my eyes And if it bee so as I suppose it is I beseech thee heartily and by the immortall Gods I coniure thee that in writing the affayres of thy Countrey thou doest vse thy penne discreetely I meane that thou doe not in this case blemish thy writing by putting therein any flattery or lesing For oft times Historiographers in blasing more then truth the giftes of their Countrey cause worthily to be suspected their writing Thou knowest very well how that in the battell past the Rhodians were ouercome and that ours remained victorious Mee thinketh thou shouldst not in this case greatly magnifie extoll or exalt ours because in the end they fought to reuenge their iuiury neyther thou oughtest to blame the Rhodians for they did not fight but in the ayde of Rome I speake this my sister because for to defend their owne women shew themselues Lyons and for to defend the things of another man men shew themselus chickens For in the end hee onely may bee counted strong the which defendeth not his owne house but which dyeth defending his and another mans I will not deny the naturall loue of my Country nor I will not deny but that I loue them that write and speake well thereof but mee thinketh it is not reason that they should disprayse the goodnesse and truth of other Countries nor that they should so highly commend the euill and vilenesse of their owne For there is not in the world this day so barren a realme but may bee commended for something therein nor there is so perfect a nation but in somthings may be reproued Thou canst not deny me but that amoÌgst thy brethren I am the eldest and thou canst not deny but that amongst all thy Disciples I am the youngest and since that for being thy Disciple I ought to obey thee thou likewise for that I am thy eldest brother oughtest to beleeue me By the faith of a people I doe counsell thee my sister that thou do trauell much to be profound in thy words vpright in thy life and honest of thy person and besides all this true in thy writing For I let thee vnderstand that if the body of the man without the soule is little regarded I sweare vnto thee that the mouth of a man without truth is much lesse esteemed CHAP. XXX The Authour followeth his purpose perswading Princesses and other Ladies to endeauour themselues to be wise as the women were in olde time THis therefore was the letter which Pythagoras sent to his sister Theoclea whereby is shewed the great humility of him and the hie eloquence of her Hierchus the Greeke and Plutarch also in the booke of the gouernement of Princes say that Pythagaras had not onely a sister which was called Theoclea of whom he learned so much Philosophy but also he had a daughter the wisedome and knowledge of whom surmounted her Aunt and was equall to her Father I thinke it no lesse incredible which is spoken of the daughter then that which is spoken of the Aunt which is that those of Athens did reioyce more to heare her speake in her house then for to heare Pythagoras reade in the Schoole And it ought to bee beleeued for the saying of the graue Authours on the one part and by that wee daily see on the other part For in the end it is more pleasure to heare a man tell mery tales hauing grace and comelynes in his words then to heare a graue man speake the truth with a rude and rough tongue I haue found in many writings what they haue spoken of Pythagoras and his Daughter but none telleth her name saue only in an Epistle that Phalaris the Tyrant wrote I found this worde written where hee saith Polychrata that was the Daughter of the Phylosopher Pythagoras was young and exceeding wise more faire then rich and was so much honoured for the puritie of her life and so highly esteemed for her pleasaunt Tongue that the word which shee spake spinning at her Distaffe was more esteemed then the Phylosophie that her Father read in the schoole And he saide more It is so great a pittie to see and heare that women at this present are so dishonest and in their tongues so malicious that I haue greater pleasure in the good renowme of one that is dead then in the infamie of all them which are aliue For a good woman is more worth with her distaffe spinning then a hundred euill Queenes with their royall Scepters reigning By the words which Phalaris said in his letter it seemed that this Daughter of Pythagoras was called Polichrate Pythagoras therefore made manie Commentaryes as well of his owne countrey as of strangers In the end he dyed in Mesopotamia where at the houre of his death hee spake vnto his Daughter Polichrate and saide these wordes I see my Daughter that the houre wherein I must ende my life approcheth The Gods gaue it mee and now they will take it from mee Nature gaue me byrth and now shee giueth me death the Earth gaue me the bodie and now it returneth to ashes The woefull Fatall destenyes gaue mee a little goods mingled with many trauells So that Daughter of al things which I enioyed here in this world I carrie none with mee For hauing all as I had it by the way of borrowing now at my death eache man taketh his owne I die ioyfully not for that I leaue thee rich but for that I leaue thee learned And in token of my tender heart I bequeathe vnto thee all my Bookes wherein thou shalt finde the treasure of all my trauells And I tell thee that that I giue thee is the riches gotten with mine owne sweate and not obtained to the preiudice of another For the loue I beare vnto thee Daughter I pray thee and by the immortall Gods I conjure thee that thou bee such and so good that although I die yet at the least thou mayst keepe my memorie For thou knowest well what Homer sayth speaking of Achilles and Pyrrhus That the good life of the Childe that is aliue keepeth the renowne of the Father which is dead These were the wordes which the Phylosopher spake to his daughter lying in his death bed And thogh perhaps hee spake not these wordes yet at the least this was the effect and meaning As the great Poet Mantuan sayth King Euander was father of the grant Pallas and he was a great friend of king Eneas he vaunted himselfe to
weight and measure plentifull and chiefly if there be good doctrine for the young and little couetousnesse in the old Affro the Historiographer declareth this in the tenth booke De rebus Atheniensium Truly in my opinion the words of this philosopher were few but the sentences were many And for none other cause I did bring in this history but to profite mee of the last word wherein for aunswere hee sayeth that all the profite of the Common wealth consisteth in that there be princes that restraine the auarice of the aged and that there bee Masters to teach the youthfull We see by experience that if the brute beasts were not tyed and the corne and seedes compassed with hedges or ditches a man shold neuer gather the fruit when they are ripe I meane the strife and debate will rise continually among the people if the yong men haue not good fathers to correct them and wise masters to teach them Wee cannot deny but though the knife be made of fine steele yet sometimes it hath neede to bee whet and so in like manner the young man during the time of his youth though he doe not deserue it yet from time to time hee ought to bee corrected O Princes and great Lords I know not of whom you take counsell when your sonne is borne to prouide him of a Master and gouernour whom you chuse not as the most vertuous but as the most richest not as the most sagest but as the most vile and euill taught Finally you doe not trust him with your children that best deserueth it but that most procureth it Againe I say O princes and great Lords why doe you not withdraw your children from their hands which haue their eyes more to their owne profite then their hearts vnto your seruice For such to enrich themselus doe bring vp princes viciously Let not Princes thinke that it is a trifle to know how to finde and chuse a good Master and the Lord which herein doth not employ his diligence is worthy of great rebuke And because they shall not pretend ignorance let them beware of that man whose life is suspitious and extreame couetous In my opinion in the pallace of princes the office of Tutorshippe ought not to be giuen as other common offices that is to say by requests or money by priuities or importunities eyther else for recompence of seruices for it followeth not though a man hath beene Ambassadour in strange Realms or captaine of great Armies in warre or that hee hath possessed in the royall pallace Offices of honour or of estimation that therefore he should bee able to teach or bring vp their children For to bee a good Captaine sufficeth onely to be hardy and fortunate but for to bee a Tutour and gouernour of Princes hee ought to be both sage and vertuous CHAP. XXXV Of the two children of Marcus Aurelius the Emperour of the which the best beloued dyed And of the Masters he prouided for the other named Comodus MArcus Aurelius the 17. Emperour of Rome in the time that hee was married with Faustine onely daughter of the Emperour Antonius Pius had onely two sonnes whereof the eldest was named Comodus and the second Verissimus Of these two children the heyre was Comodus who was so wicked in the 13. yeares he gouerned the Empire that hee seemed rather the Disciple of Nero the cruell then to discend by the mothers side from Antonius the mercifull or sonne of Marcus Aurelius This wicked child Comodus was so light in speech so dishonest in person and so cruell with his people that oft-times hee being aliue they layed wagers that there was no vertue in him to bee found nor any one vice in him that wanted On the contrary part the second sonne named Verissimus was comely of gesture proper of person and in witte very temperate and the most of all was that by his good conuersation of all hee was beloued For the fayre and vertuous Princes by their beauty draweth vnto them mens eyes and by their good conuersation they winne their hearts The child Verissimus was the hope of the common people and the glory of his aged Father so that the Emperor determined that this child Verissimus should bee heyre of the Empire and that the Prince Commodus should bee dishenherited Wherat no man ought to maruell for it is but iust since the childe dooth not amend his life that the father doe dishenherite him When good will doth want and vicious pleasures abound the children oft times by peruerse fortune come to nought So this Marcus Aurelius being 52. yeares old by chance this childe Verissimus which was the glory of Rome and the hope of the Father at the gate of Hostia of a sodaine sicknesse dyed The death of whom was as vniuersally lamented as his life of all men was desired It was a pittifull thing to see how wofully the Father tooke the death of his entirely beloued son and no lesse lamentable to beholde how the Senate tooke the death of their Prince being the heyre for the aged Father for sorrow did not go to the Senate and the Senate for a few dayes enclosed themselues in the hie Capitoll And let no man maruell though the death of this young Prince was so taken through Rome for if men knew what they lose when they lose a vertuous Prince they would neuer cease to bewayle and lament his death When a Knight a Gentleman a Squire an Officer or when any of the people dyeth there dyeth but one but when a Prince dyeth which was good for all and that he liued to the profite of all then they ought to make account that all do dye they ought all greatly to lament it for oft times it chanceth that after 2. or 3. good Princes a foule flocke of Tyrants succeede Therfore Marcus Aurelius the Emperor as a man of great vnderstanding and of a princely person though the inward sorrow from the rootes of the heart could not bee plucked yet hee determined to dissemble outwardly to bury his grieues inwardly For to say the truth none ought for any thing to shewe extreame sorrow vnlesse it be that hee hath lost his honour or that his conscience is burdened The good Prince as one that hath his vineyarde frozen wherein was all his hope contented with himselfe with that which remaineth his so deerly beloued sonne being dead and commaunded the Prince Comodus to be brought into his pallace being his onely heire Iulius Capitolinus which was one of those that wrote of the time of Marcus Aurelius saide vpon this matter that when the Father saw the disordinate frailenesse and lightnes and also the little shame which the prince Comodus his Sonne brought with him the aged man beganne to weepe and shed teares from his eyes And it was because the simplenesse and vertues of his deere beloued Sonne Verissimus came into his minde Although this Noble Emperour Marcus Aurelius for the death of
and vertuous workes are now ful of babling Orators and none issue out from thence at this present but the euill and vitious So that if the sacred Romane lawes are exalted once in a weeke with their tongs they are broken ten times in the day in their works What will you I say more since I cannot tell you any thing without hurting my mother Rome but that at this present all the pleasures of vaine men is to see their children ouercome others by disputing but I let you vnderstand that all my glory shall bee when my sonne shall surmount others not in words but in silence not to be troublesome but to bee patient not in speaking subtill words but in doing vertuous works For the glory of good men is in working much and speaking little Consider my friends and doe not forget it that this day I commit my honor vnto you I put into your hands the estate of Comodus my sonne the glory of Rome the rest of the people which are my subiects the gouernement of Italie which is our Country and aboue all I referre vnto your discretion the peace and tranquility of the whole common wealth Therefore hee that hath such a charge by reason ought not to sleep for as the wise men say To great trust is required much diligence I will say no more but that I would my sonne Comodus should be so wel taught that he should haue the feare of God the science of Philosophers the vertues of the ancient Romanes the approued counsell of the aged the courage of the Romane youth the constancy of you which are his Masters Finally I would that of all the good he should take the good as of me hee ought to take the heritage succession of the Empire For hee is the true prince and worthy of the Empire that with his eyes doth behold the great Signiories he ought to inherite and doth employ his heart how to gouerne it whereby hee shall liue to the great profite of the Common wealth And I protest to the immortall Gods with whom I hope to goe and to the goodnesse of my predecessors whose faith I am bound to keepe I protest to the Romane lawes the which I did sweare to obserue in the conquest of Asia wherein I am bound my selfe to continue and to the friendshippe of the Rhodians the which I haue offered my selfe for to keepe to the enmitie of the Affricanes the which not for me but for the oath of my predecessors I bound my selfe to maintaine And I protest vnto the vessell of the high Capitoll where my bones ought to bee burnt that Rome doe not complaine of mee beeing aliue nor that in the world to come shee curse mee after my death If perchance the prince Comodus my sonne by his wicked life should bee occasion of the losse or hinderance of the Common-Wealth And though you which are his Masters vndoe it for not giuing him due punishment and hee thorow his wicked gouernement destroy it yet I discharge my selfe by all these protestations that I haue made which shall bee witnesses of my will For the Father is bound no more towardes his Childe but to banish him from his pleasures and to giue him vertuous Masters And if hee bee good hee shall bee the glory of the Father the honour of himselfe the wealth of you and the profite and commodity of the whole Common wealth CHAP. XXXIX The Tutors of Princes and Noble mens children ought to be very circumspect that their Schollers doe not accustome themselues in vices whiles they are young and specially they must keepe them from foure vices THe good and expert Surgeons vnto great daungerous wounds doe not onely apply medicins and ointments which do resolue and stoppe but also minister other good playsters for to restraine and heale them And verily they shew themselues in the one no lesse sage then in the other expert for as great diligence ought to bee had to preserue the weake flesh to purge the rotten wound to the end it may be healed so likewise the wise Trauellers learne diligently the way before they take vpon them any iourney that is to say if there bee any dangers in the way eyther of robbing or slaying wherein there is any by-path that goeth out of the high-way Truly hee that in this point is circumspect is worthy to bee counted a Sage mam for according to the multitude of the perilles of the world none can be assured vnlesse hee know first where the daunger is wherein hee may fall To shew therfore that which by these parables I meane I say that the Tutours and Master of Princes and great Lordes ought not to bee contented onely to know what science what doctrine and what vertue they ought to shew and teach their Schollers but also with greater care and diligence they ought to know from what euilles or wicked customes they ought to withdraw them For when the trees are tender and young it is more necessary to bow them and cut off the superfluous branches with kniues then to gather their fruits with baskets Those which take vpon them to gouerne Moyles of great price and value and those that tame breake horses of a good race take great paines that such beasts be light that they leape well and be well made to the spurre and bridle but they take much more paines that they be gentle familiar and faithfull and aboue all that they haue no euill qualities Then sith it is so Masters ought diligently to watch if they bee good that in young Princes there be no apparance of any notable vices for the vertues which the young doe learn doth not them so much profite as one onely vice doth them hurt if they doe thereunto consent knowing that thereby they may bee hereafter blamed or despised For if any man knew a beast that is wilde and stubborne and not gentle and will buye him at a great price such a one hath his head more full of follies then of wisedome Albeit that Masters ought to withdraw their Schollers from many euill customes amongst all there are foure principals in any of the which if the Prince bee defamed the master which hath taught him should deserue great punishment For according to the humane Lawes and Customes all the damage and harme that the beasts doe to the vineyarde the keeper that hath charge thereof shall as he is bound recompence First the Master ought to reform in such sort the tongus of their schollers that neyther in sport nor in earnest they permit them to tell lyes for the greatest fault that is in a good and vertuous man is to bee briefe in the truth and the greatest villany that is in a vicious man is to bee long in lyes Merula in that 5. booke of Caesars sayeth that the first warre that Vlpius Traianus made was against the Romanes and with no small victory ouercame the Emperour Domitian in a battell which they
age lay in Winter season in an Isle called Chetyn which now is called Cypres wherein is a little mountain as yet full of Wood which is called the mount of Archadia where groweth an hearbe called Ilabia which the Auncients say that if it bee cut it droppeth bloud and the nature of it is that if one doe rubbe any man with the bloud thereof hote although hee would not yet hee shall loue him and if they doe annoint him with the bloude that is colde hee shall hate him Of this hearbe wee neede not doubt any thing at all for I did proue it and anointed one with that bloud who would sooner loose his life then that loue which he bare mee There was a Kingin that Isle of great example of life and greatly renowned of clemency though in deed neyther by writing nor by wordes I could neuer know his name but that hee was buried vnder foure pillars in a Tombe of Marble and about the Tombe were engrauen these Greeke and ancient letters where amongst other things these wordes were engrauen The mighty gods whiles they drew out the length Of my weake yeares to passe the floud of life This rule I had my Common wealth to strength To nourish peace and stint vaine blasts of strife By vertues way if ought I could obtaine By vices path I neuer sought to get By dreadles peace if I could right attaine By clattering armes blind hazard could not let By curteous meanes if I could ouercome By raging threates I heaped vp no dread By secret shiftes if I might guide my dome By open force I nowlde the paine were spread By gentle read if I could chastice eke By sharpe wayes no further proofe I sought In outward sight I neuer thought to stricke Before I had to couerte chekes them brought My free consent could neuer vainely heare My tongue to tell one sweet entising lye Nor yet my hollow eares would euer heare Their crooked tales that flatter oft awry My schooled heart was alwayes taught to stay From eager lust of others heaped good I forst my selfe his proper wealth to way And stand content as fortune iudgement stoode My friends decay I alwayes watcht to ayde And recked not for bent of enuies bow In huge expence I neuer lauish payde My glittring golde nor spared yet to low For grieuous faults I neuer punisht wighi With mind appeased but erst I would forgiue My griefe did grow when iust reuenge did hight And eke I ioyed to pardon men to liue A mortall man amongst blinde heapes of men Nature my mother produced me here And therefore loe inclosed in this denne The eagre wormes my senselesse carcasse teare Amongst the Wights that vertue did enhaunce A vertuous life I freely passed on And since that death his kingdome did aduance My heauenlie sprite to haunt the Gods is gone HOw thinkest thou Antigonus what Epitaph was this and what prince ought he to be of whom I should say his life ought to bee glorious and his memory eternall I sweare vnto thee by the law of a good man and as the Gods may prosper me I tooke not so much pleasure in Pompey with his Hierusalem in Semiremis with her India in king Cyrus with his Babylon in Caius Caesar with his Gawles in Scipio with his Affrike as I haue in the king of Cypres in his graue For more glorie hath that king there in that sharpe mountaine being deade then others haue had in prowde Rome beeing aliue CHAP. IX ¶ Marcus Aurelius continueth his Letter against cruell Iudges Of the words which the Emperor Nero spake concerning Iustice and of the instructions the Emperour Augustus gaue to a Iudge which hee sent into Dacia NEITHER for that which I write in this Letter nor yet for that king Cirus had in his Graue my intention is not to defende the euil to the ende that for their euill deedes and outragiousnesse they should bee punished for by this means it shold bee worse for mee to fauour them then for them to bee euill for they through debility do offend and I by malice doe erre But in this case it seemeth vnto mee and to all others which are of good iudgement that since frailety in men is naturall and the punishment which they giue is voluntary Let Iudges therefore in ministring iustice shew that they do it for the weale of the Common-wealth and not with a mind for to reuenge To the end the faulty may haue occasion to amned the faultes past and not reuenge iniuries present the diuine Plato in the books of his Common-wealth sayde that Iudges ought to haue two things present before their eyes that is to say that in iudging things touching the good of others they shew no couetousnes and in punishing any man they shew no reuenge For Iudges haue licence to chastice the bodie but therefore they haue no licence to hurt theyr hearts Nero the Emperour was greatly defamed in his life and verie cruell in his iustice And withall his cruelties it chanced that as one in a day brought him a iudgement for to subscribe to behead certain murtherers Hee fetching a great sigh sayd these words O how happy were I if I had neuer learned to write onely to bee excused to subscribe this sentence Certainely the Emperour Nero for speaking such a pittifull word at that time deserued immortal memory but afterwardes his so cruell life peruerted so notable a sentence For speaking the truthe one euil word sufficeth to deface manie good wordes O how many realmes and countreyes haue bin lost not so much for the euills which in those the wicked haue committed as for the disordinate Iustices which the ministers of iustice therein haue executed For they thinking by rigour to correct the dammages past haue raysed vppe present slaunders for euer It is knowne to all men who and what the Emperour Augustus hath bin who in all his doings was exceeding good For he was noble valiant stout fierce and a louer of iustice and aboue all very pittifull And for so much in other things hee shewed his pitie and clemencie he ordained that no prince should subscribe iudgements of death with his owne hand neyther that hee should see iustice done of any with his owne eyes Truely the law was pittifully ordained and for the cleannes purenes of Emperors very necessary For it seemeth better for Princes to defend theyr Landes with the sharpe sword then to subscribe a sentence of death with the cruell penne This good Emperour Augustus was very diligent to chuse ministers of iustice and very carefull to teach them how they should behaue themselues in the Common-wealth admonishing them not onely of that they had to doe but also of that they ought to flie For the ministers of iustice oftentimes faile of theyr duetie In Capua there was a gouernour named Escaurus who was a iust iudge though hee were somewhat seuere whom the Emperour Augustus sent to the realme of Dace to take charge
of that prouince And amongst diuers other things hee spake these wordes vnto him to retaine them in his memorie Friend Escaurus I haue determined to plucke thee from Capua and to put into thy custodie the gouernment of the prouince of Dace where thou shalt represente the Royall maiestie of my person and thou oughtest also to consider well that as I make thee better both in honour and goods So thou in like case shouldest make thy selfe better in life and more temperate in iustice thou hast been a little too rigorous and in thy life somewhat too rashe I counsell thee therefore I doe desire thee and furthermore I doe strictly command thee that thou chaunge thy trade and course of life and haue a great respect to myne honour and good name For thou knowest right well that the onely profite and honour of the Common-wealth of Romaine Princes consisteth in hauing good or euill ministers of their iustice If thou wilt doe that I would wish thou shouldest I let thee vnderstand that I doe nor commit mine Honour in thy trust neyther my iustice to the intent thou shouldest become an enuyer of the innocent and a scourge of transgressours but that onely with the one hand thou helpe to sustaine the good and with the other thon endeuour to helpe to amend the euill And if thou wilt more particularly know my intention I do send thee to the end thou shouldest be graundfather to the Orphans an aduocate for the widdowes a playster for the grieued a staffe for the blinde and a father to all Let therefore the resolution of all bee to reioyce mine enemyes to comfort my friendes to lift vppe the weake and to fauour the strong So that thou bee indifferent to all and partiall to none to the ende that thorough thy vpright dealing mine may reioyce to dwell there and strangers desire to come serue me here This was the instruction which the Emperour Augustus gaue to the Gonernour Escaurus And if a man will consider and weigh his wordes well hee shall finde them compendious enogh that I would they were written in our Iudges hearts By thy letter thou declarest that the Iudges whom the Senate sent to that Isle are not very honest nor yet without some suspicion of couetousnesse Oh wofull commonwealth where the Iudges thereof are cruell dishonest and couetous For the cruell Iudges seeke nought else but the bloud of innocents they couet the goods of the poore and they slaunder the good to such and so wicked a commonwealth I would say that it were better to remaine in the mountaines among the bruit beasts then by such vniust Iudges to bee gouerned in a Common-wealth for the fierce Lions which of all beasts are most cruell if in his presence the hunter prostrate himselfe on the earth before him the Lion will neyther touch him nor his garment O my friend Antigonus dost thou thinke that if the Common-wealth bee vnhappy which hath such Iudges that therefore Rome may reioyce which prouided them By the faith of a good man I sweare vnto thee that I count the Senators worse which sent them then the Iudges which went thither It is a great griefe to a noble and stout heart to demand Iustice of a man which neyther is true nor yet obserueth Iustice but it is a greater griefe to see a Iudge that to many hath executed tyranny and to many poore men hath done sundry wrongs afterwards not with the life hee leadeth but with the authoritie hee hath presumeth to correct diuers iudges Hee that hath the office to punish the vitious ought himselfe to bee voyd of all vices otherwise he that hath that Office by tyranny executeth iustice and furthermore he is a traytor to the Common-wealth It is vnpossible that any Iudge should bee good vnlesse hee hath the authority of his office for accessary and his pure life for principall The end why a Iudge is sent in prouinces is to define doubtfull causes to reforme their manners to fauour those that can little and by violence to enforce those that can doe much And for the most part there is no Common-wealth so weake but may well hang a thiefe vpon the gallouse though there came no Iudge from Rome to giue sentence O how many Iudges are there now a dayes in Rome which haue caused diuers to bee hanged regarding nothing but the first thiefe and they remaine free hauing robbed all the people Which ought to thinke themselues assured that though punishment be deferred yet in the end the fault shall not be pardoned for the offences which men in their life time doe dissemble the Gods after their death doe punish It is much good for the Common wealth and no lesse honour for the Prince which hath the charge thereof that the Iudge bee honest of person and diligent in iustice and that in no vice for the which he punisheth other he be noted or defamed himselfe For much is the office of iustice peruerted when one theefe hangeth another on the gallowes CHAP. X. The Emperour followeth his purpose in his letter against cruell Iudges and declareth a notable Ambassage which came from Iudea to the Senate of Rome to complaine of the Iudges that gouerned that Realme IN the third yeare after Pompeius took the City of Helya which now is called Hierusalem Valerius Gracchus a Romane borne was sent at that time into that Region for the Romans This Gracchus was very stout of courage subtil in affayres and honest in life but notwithstanding all this in conuersation he was vnbrideled and in the administration of iustice exceeding rigorous when the Iewes saw themselues not onely subiect to the Romanes but besides that euill handeled they determined to send their Embassador to Rome to the intent to informe the Senate of the tyrannies and oppressions which were coÌmitted in the land And for to accomplish the same they sent a very aged man as by the haires of his head did appeare who was learned in the Hebrewe Greeke and Latine letters For the Hebrews are very apt to all Sciences but in weapons great Cowardes This Hebrewe came to Rome and spake to the Senate in this wise O Fathers conscript O happy people your good Fortune and fatall destenyes permitting it or to say better We forsaking our GOD Hierusalem which of all the Cities was Ladie and mistresse and of all the Hebrewes in Palestine mother wee see it now presently seruant and Tributarie to Rome whereof wee Iewes ought not to maruell neyther yee Romaines to be prowde For the highest Trees by vehement windes are soonest blowne downe Great were the Armies which Pompeyus had whereby we were vanquished but the greater hath our offences bin since by them wee doe deserue to be forsaken of our God For wee Hebrewes haue a GOD which doth not put vs vnder the good or euil fortune but doeth gouerne vs with his mercie and iustice I will that yee heare one thing by mouth but I
knew that there was in Spaine great mynes of gold and siluer immediately arose betweene them exceeding cruell warres so that those two puissant Realmes for to take from each other their goods destroied their owne proper Dominions The Authors of the aboue saide were Plutarchus Paulus Diaconus Berosus and Titus Liutus O secrete iudgements of God which sufferest such things O mercifull goodnes of thee my Lord that permitteth such things that through the dreame of one prince in his chamber another for to robbe the treasures of Spaine another to flye the colde of Hungarie another to drinke the Wines of Italy another to eate figs of Greece should put all the Countrey to fire and bloud Let not my penne bee cruell against all Princes which haue vniust warres For as Traianus sayd Iust warre is more worth then fained peace I commend approue and exalt princes which are carefull and stout to defend and keepe that which their predecessors left them For admitte that for dispossessing them hereof commeth all the breach with other princes Looke how much his enemy offendeth his conscience for taking it so much offendeth he his Common-wealth for not defending it The wordes which the diuine Plato spake in the first booke of his Lawes did satisfie me greatly which were these It is not meete we should be too extream in commending those which haue peace nor let vs bee too vehement in reproouing those which haue warre For it may bee now that if one haue warre it is to the end to attaine peace And for the contrary if one haue peace it shall be to the end to make warre Indeed Plato sayd very true For it is more worth to desire short warre for long peace then short peace for long warre The Philosopher Chilo being demanded whereby a good or euill Gouernour might be knowne he answered There is nothing whereby a good and euill man may bee better known then in that for which bey striue For the tyrannous Prince offereth himselfe to aye to take from another but the vertuous Prince trauelleth to defend his owne When the Redeemer of this world departed from this world hee sayde not I giue yee my warre or leaue yee my warre but I leaue you my peace and giue you my peace Thereof ensueth that the good Christian is bound to keepe the peace which Christ so much commaunded then to inuent warre to reuenge his proper iniurie which God so much hated If Princes did that they ought for to doe and in this case would beleeue mee for no temporall thing they should condiscend to shedde mans bloud if nothing else yet at the least the loue of him which on the Crosse shedd his precious bloud for vs should from that cleane disswade vs. For the good Christians are commaunded to bewayle their owne sinnes but they haue no licence to shed the bloud of their enemies Finally I desire exhort and further admonish all princes and great Lords that for his sake that is prince of peace they loue peace procure peace keepe peace and liue in peace For in peace they shall bee rich and their people happie CHAP. XIIII The Emperour Marcus Aurelius writeth to his friend Cornelius wherein hee describeth the discommodities of warre and the vanitie of Triumph MArcus Aurelius wisheth to thee Cornelius his faithfull friend health to thy person and good lucke against all euil fortune Within fifteene dayes after I came from the warre of Asia whereof I haue triumphed here in Rome remembring that in times past thou wert a companion of my trauell I sent immediately to certifie thee of my triumphes For the noble hearts doe more reioyce of their friends ioy then they do of their owne proper delights If thou wilt take paines to come when I send to call thee bee thou assured that on the one part thou shalt haue much pleasure to see the great abundance of riches that I haue brought out of Asia and to beholde my receiuing into Rome and on the other thou canst not keepe thy selfe from weeping to see such a sorte of Captiues the which entred in before the triumphant chariots bound and naked to augment the conquerours most glory and also to them vanquished to be a greater ignomie Seldome times we see the Sun shine bright all the day long but first in the Summer there hath beene a mist or if it be in the winter there hath beene a frost By this Parable I meane that one of the miseries of this world is that wee shall see few in this world which now bee prosperous but before haue had fortune in some cases very malitious For wee see by experience some come to bee very poore and other chaunce to attaine to great riches so that through the empouerishing of those the other become rich and prosperous The weapon of the one causeth the other to laugh so that if the bucket that is empty aboue doth not goe downe the other which is ful beneath cannot come vp Speaking therefore according to sensuality thou wouldest haue beene glad that day to haue seene our triumph with the abundance of riches the great number of Captiues the diuersity of beasts the valiantnes of the Captaines the sharpenesse of wittes which wee brought from Asia and entred into Rome wherby thou mightest well know the daungers that wee escaped in the ware Wherefore speaking the truth the matter betweene vs and our enemies was so debated that those of vs that escaped best had their bodies sore wounded and their veins also almost without bloud I let thee know my Cornelius that the Parthians are warlike men in dangerous enterprises very hardie and bold And when they are at home in their Country euery one with a stout hart defendeth his house and surely they doe it like good men and valiant Captaines For if we other Romanes without reason and through ambition doe goe to take an other mans it is meete and iust that they by force doe defend their owne Let no man through the aboundance of malice or want of wisedom enuie the Romane Captaine for any triumph that is giuen him by his mother Rome for surely to get this onely one dayes honour he aduentureth his life a thousand times in the field I will not speake all that I might say of them that wee ledde foorth to the warres nor of them which wee leaue here at home in Rome which bee all cruell Iudges of our fame for theyr iudgement is not vpright according to equity but rather proceedeth of malice and enuie Though they take mee for a patient men and not farre out of order yet I let thee know my Cornelius that there is no patience can suffer nor heart dissemble to see many Romanes to haue such great enuie which through their malitious tongues passe not to backebite other mens triumphes For it is an olde disease of euill men through malice to backebite that with theyr tongue which through their cowardnesse they neuer durst enterprise with their
Triumphes they went before in the Temples they did sit downe they spake to the Senate before all others they had their garments furred they might eate alone in secret and by their onely word they were credited as witnesses Finally I say that in all thinges they serued them and in nothing they annoied them After the people of Rome beganne warre with Asia they forsooke all their good Romane customes immediately And the occasion hereof was that since they had no men to sustaine the Common-wealth by reason of the great multitude of people which died in the warre they ordained that all the young men should marry the young maides the widdows the free and the bond and that the honour which had beene done vntill that time vnto the olde men from henceforth should bee done vnto the maried men though they were yong So that the most honoured in Rome was hee not of most yeares but he that had most children This Law was made a little before the first battell of Carthage And the custome that the married men were more honoured then the old endured vntil the time of the Emperour Augustus which was such a friend of Antiquities that hee renued all the walles of Rome with new stone and renued all the auncient customes of the Common-wealth Lycurgus in the lawes which he gaue to the Lacedemonians ordayned that the young men passing by the olde should doe them great reuerence and when the old men did speake then the younger should be silent And hee ordained also that if any olde man by casualtie did lose his goods and came into extreame pouertie then hee should be sustained of the Common wealth and that in such sustentation they should haue respect not onely to succour him for to sustain him but further to giue him to liue competently Plutarch in his Apothegmes declareth that Cato the Censor visiting the corners of Rome found an olde man sitting at his dore weeping and shedding many teares from his eyes And Cato the Censour demanding him why he was so euill handled and wherefore hee wept so bitterly the good olde man answered him O Cato the Gods beeing the only Comforters comfort thee in all thy tribulations since thou art ready to comfort mee at this wofull houre As well as thou knowest that the consolations of the Heart are more necessarie then the physicke of the bodie the which being applyed sometimes doeth heale and an other time they do harme Behold my scabby hands my swollen legs my mouth without Teeth my peeled Face my white beard and my balde head for thou beeing as thou art discreete shouldest be excused to aske mee why I weepe For men of my Age though they weepe not for the little they feele yet they ought to weep for the ouermuch they liue The man which is loaden with teares tormented with diseases pursued with Enemies forgotten of his friends visited with mishaps and with euill will and pouertie I know not why he demandeth long life For there can be no sharper reuengement of vices which wee commit then to giue vs long life Though now I am aged I was young and if any young man should doe me any iniurie truely I would not desire the Gods to take away his life but that they would rather prolong his life For it is great pittie to heare the man which hath liued long recount the troubles which he hath endured Know thou Cato if thou doest not know it that I haue liued 77. yeares and in this time I haue buryed my Father my Grand-father two Aunts and fiue vncles After that I had buryed 9. Systers and 11. Bretheren I haue buryed afterwards two lawfull wiues and fiue bond-women which I haue had as my lemmans I haue buryed also 14. children and 7. marryed daughters and therewith not contented I haue buryed 37. Nephewes and 15. Nieces and that which grieueth me most of all is that I haue buryed two good friendes of mine One of the which remayned in Capua and the other which remained was resident heere at Rome The death of whome hath grieued me more then all those of my alyance and pareÌtage For in the world there is no like losse to that where a man looseth him whom entierly he loueth and of whome also hee is deerely beloued The fatall Destenyes ought to content themselues to haue annoyed my house with so many misfortunes But all this and aboue all this they haue left me a wicked nephewe which shall be mine heyre and they haue left vnto me that all my life I shall lament Oh Cato for that thou owest to the Common-wealth I doe desire thee and by the immortal Gods I doe conjure thee that since thou art a vertuous Romane and Censor of the people that thou prouide for one of these two things that is to say that this my nephew doe serue me or else ordeyne that I dye forthwith For it is a great crueltie that those doe pursue mee which are aliue since it is now fourtie yeares that I ceased not to bewayle the dead Cato beeing well informed of that the olde man had tolde him and since he found all that true which he spake he called vnto his presence the young Nephewe and sayde vnto him these wordes If thou wert such a Childe as thou oughtest to bee thou shouldest excuse mee of paine and thy selfe of trauell But since it is not so I pray thee take paciently that which I shall commaund thee and bee thou wel assured that I will not commaund thee any thing but that which shal be correspondent to Iustice For the vicious younglings as thou art ought to be more ashamed of the vnbrideled youthfulnesse they haue committed then for all the punishments which is giuen vnto them First I commaund thou bee whipt because thou art become so disobedient and troublesome to thy Graundfather Secondly I commaunde that thou bee banished the limites of Rome because thou art a vicious young man Thirdly I commaund that of all the goods which thou hast enherited thou shalt bee disinherited because thou doest not obey thy Graundfather And the cause why I giue such seuere sentence is to the ende that from henceforth the young shall not disobey the Aged and also that those which haue inherited great treasours shall not thinke that men should permit them to bee more vicious then others Phalaris the Tyraunt writing to a Friende of his which was very aged saide these words the which seemed rather spoken of a Phylosopher then of a tyrant I haue maruelled at thee and am offended with thee my friend ãâã to know as I doe that in yeares thou art very aged and in workes very young and also it grieueth mee that thou hast lost the credit of knowledge in the Schooles It grieueth me more that through thee the priuiledges should bee lost which the olde men haue accustomed to haue in Greece that is to say that all the thieues all the periured and all the murtherers were
a perpetuall memorie What contempt of world what forgetfulnesse of himselfe what stroke of fortune what whippe for the flesh what little regard of life O what bridle for the vertuous O what confusion for those that loue life O how great example haue they left vs not to feare death Sithens those here haue willingly despised their owne liues it is not to be thought that they dyed to take the goods of others neither yet to thinke that our life should neuer haue end nor our couetousnesse in like manner O glorious people and ten thousand fold happy that the proper sensuality being forsaken haue ouercom the naturall appetite to desire to liue not beleeuing in that they saw and that hauing faith in that they neuer saw they striued with the fatall Destenies By the way they assaulted fortune they changed life for death they offered the body to death and aboue all haue wonne honour with the Gods not for that they shoulde hasten death but because they should take away that which is superfluous of life Archagent a Surgeon of Rome and Anthonius Musus a Physition of the Emperour Augustus and Esculapius father of the Phisicke should get little money in that Countrie Hee that then should haue sent to the barbarous to haue done as the Romanes at that time did that is to say to take sirrops in the mornings pils at night to drinke milke in the morning to annoint themselues with gromeâseed to bee let bloud to day and purged to morrow to eate of one thing and to abstaine from many a man ought to thinke that hee which willingly seeketh death will not giue money to lengthen life CHAP. XXII The Emperour concludeth his letter and shewed what perils those olde men liue in which dissolutely like young children passe their dayes and giueth vnto them wholesome counsell for the remedy thereof BVt returning to thee Claude and to thee Claudine me thinketh that these barbarous men beeing fifty yeares of age and you others hauing aboue threescore and tenne it should be iust that sithence you were elder in yeares you were equall in vertue and though as they you wil not accept death patiently yet at the least you ought to amend your euill liues willingly I doe remember that it is many yeares sithens that Fabritius the young sonne of Fabritius the olde had ordayned to haue deceiued mee of the which if you had not told me great inconueniences had happned and sithens that you did me so great a benefite I would now requite you the same with another the like For amongst friends there is no equal benefite then to deceiue the deceyuer I let you know if you do not know it that you are poore aged folks your eyes are sunke into your heads the nostrels are shut the haires are white the hearing is lost the tongue faultereth the teeth fall the face is wrinkled the feete swolne and the stomacke cold Finally I say that if the graue could speake as vnto his Subiects by iustice he might commaund you to inhabite his house It is great pitty of the yong men and of their youthfull ignorance for then vnto such their eies are not opened to know the mishaps of this miserable life when cruell death doth end their dayes and adiorneth them to the graue Plato in his booke of the Common wealth sayde that in vaine wee giue good counsels to fond and light young men for youth is without experience of that it knoweth suspitious of that it heareth incredible of that is tolde him despising the counsell of an other and very poore of his own For so much as this is true that I tell you Claude and Claudine that without comparison the ignorance which the young haue of the good is not so much but the obstination which the olde hath in the euill is more For the mortall Gods many times doe dissemble with a thousand offences commited by ignorance but they neuer forgiue the offence perpetrated by malice O Claude and Claudine I doe not maruell that you doe forget the gods as you doe which created you and your Fathers which begot you and your parents which haue loued you and your friends which haue honoured you but that which I most maruell at is that you forget your selues For you neuer consider what you ought to bee vntill such time as you bee there where you would not bee and that without power to returne backe againe Awake awake since you are drowned in your dreames open your eyes since you sleepe so much accustome your selues to trauels sithence you are vagabonds learne that which behoueth you since now you are olde I meane that in time conuenient you agree with death before he make execution of life Fifty two yeeres haue I knowne the things of the world and yet I neuer saw a Woman so aged thorough yeares nor old man with members so feeble that for want of strength could not if they list doe good nor yet for the same occasion should leaue to bee euill if they list to be euill It is a maruellous thing to see and worthy to note that all the corporall members of Man waxeth old but the inward hart and the outward tongue For the heart is alwayes giuen to inuent euills and the tongue is alwayes able to tell Lyes Mine opinion is that the pleasaunt Summer beeing past you should prepare your selues for the vntemperate winter which is at hand And if you haue but fewe dayes to continue you should make hast to take vp your lodging I meane that sith you haue passed the dayes of your life with trauell you should prepare your selues against the night of death to be in the hauen of rest Let mockeryes passe as mockeries and accept trueth as truth that is to say that it were a very iust thing and also for your honour necessarie that all shose which in times past haue seen you young and foolish should now in your age see you graue and sage For there is nothing that so much forgetteth the lightnesse and follyes of youth as doth grauity and constancie in Age. When the Knight runneth his carriere they blame him not for that the Horses mane is not finely combed but at the end of his race he shold see his horse amended and looked vnto What greater confusion can be to any person or greater slaunder to our mother Rome then to see that which now a dayes therein we see That is to say that the old which can scarcely creepe through the streetes to beholde the playes and games as young men which search for nought else but onely pompe and vanitie It grieueth mee to speake it but I am much more ashamed to see that the olde Romaines do daylie cause the white haires to be plucked out of their heads because they would not seeme old to make their beard small to seem yong wearing their hosen very close their shyrts open before the gowne of the Senatour embrodered the Romane signe richly enamelled the
thousand to helpe to marry her and the other thousand to helpe for to releeue your pouerty My wife Faustine is sicke and I send you another 1000. Sesterces to giue to the Vestall virgins to pray to the Gods for her My wife sendeth to thee Claudine a Cofer by the immortall Gods I sweare vnto thee I cannot tell what is in it I beseech the Gods sithence you are aged to giue you a good death and to me and Faustine they suffer vs to leade a good life Marcus of mount Celio with his own hand writeth this CHAP. XXIII Princes ought to take heede that they be not noted of auarice for that the couetous man is both of God and man hated THe great Alexander King of Macedony and Darius the vnfortunate King of Persians were not onely contrary in wars and conquests which they made but also in the conditions and inclinations which they had For Alexander naturally loued to giue and spend and Darius to the contrarie to heape locke and keepe When the fame of Alexander was spredde abroade throughout all the word to bee a Prince of honour and not couetous his owne loued him intirely strangers desired to serue him faithfully The miserable King Darius as he was noted of great auarice and of small liberality so his did disobey him and strangers hated him whereof may be gathered that Princes and great Lords by giuing do make them selues rich and in keeping they make themselues poore Plutarch in his Apothegmes declareth that after King Darius was dead and Alexander had triumphed ouer all the Orientall parts a man of Thebes being in the market place of Athens setting forth the fortune of Alexander for the sundry Countryes which hee had conquered and describing the euill fortune of Darius for the great number of men which hee had lost a Philosopher with a loude voyce sayd O man of Thebes thou art greatly deceyued to think that one prince loseth many seigniories and that the other Prince winneth many Realmes For Alexander the Great wann nought but stones and couerings of Cities for with his liberality hee had already gotten the good wils of the Citizens and on the contrary the vnfortunate Darius did not lose but stones and the couertures of Cities for with his couetousnesse and auarice hee had now lost all the hearts of those of Asia And further this Philosopher sayde vnto him that Princes which will enlarge their estates and amplifie their realmes in their conquests ought first to winne the hearts and to bee noble and liberall and afterwards to send their armies to conquer the Forts and wals for otherwise little auayleth it to winne the stones if the hearts do rebell Whereby a man may gather that that which Alexander wanne he wanne by liberality and stoutenesse and that which King Darius lost he lost for being miserable and couetous And let vs not maruell hereat for that Princes and great Lordes which are ouercome with auarice I doubt whether euer they shall see themselus Conquerours of many realmes The vice of auarice is so detestable so euil so odious and so perillous that if a man should employ himselfe for to write all the discommodities thereunto belonging my penne shoulde do nought else then to presume to drye vp all the water in the sea For the stomacke where auarice entreth causeth a man to serue vices worship Idols If a vertuous man would prepare himselfe to thinke on the great trauel and little rest that this cursed vice beareth with him I thinke that none would be vicious therein Though the couetous man had no other trauell but alwayes to goe to bed with daunger and to rise vp with care Mee thinketh that it is a trouble sufficient for such a one when he goeth to bed thinketh that hee should bee killed in his bedde or that sleeping his coffers should be rifled and from that time he riseth hee is alwayes tormented with feare to lose that which he hath wonne and carefull to augment that little too much The diuine Plato in the first booke of his Common-wealth sayde these words The men be made rich because they neuer learned to bee rich for he which continually and truly will become rich first ought to abhorre couetousnesse before he begin to occupie himselfe to locke vppe goods For the man which setteth no bond to his desire shall alwayes haue little though hee see himselfe Lord of the world The sentence of the Stoyckes doth satisfie my mind much whereof Aristotle in his politikes maketh mention where he sayth That vnto great affayres are alwayes required great riches and there is no extreame pouertie but where there hath beene great aboundance c. Thereof ensueth that vnto Princes and great Lordes which haue much they want much because vnto men which haue had little they can want but little If wee admonish worldlings not to be vicious they will alwayes haue excuses to excuse themselues declaring why they haue been vicious the vice of Auarice excepted to whome and with whom they haue no excuse For if one vaine reason be ready to excuse there are two thousand to condemne them Let vs put example in all the principall vices and wee shall see how this onely of Auarice remaineth condemned and not excused If we reason why a noble Prince or great Lord is hautie and proude He will aunswere that hee hath great occasion For the naturall disposition of men is rather to desire to commaund with trauell then to serue with quyetnes and rest If we reproue any man that is furious and giuen to anger hee will aunswere vs that we maruell not since we maruell not of the proude For that the enemy hath no more authority to trouble any man then the other to take reuenge of him If we blame him for that he is fleshly and vicious he will answer vs that hee cannot abstaine from that sinne For if any man can eschew the actes he fighteth continually with vncleane thoughts If wee say that anie man is negligent hee will answere vs that he deserueth not to be blamed For the vilenes of our nature is such that if we do trauell it immediately it is wearie and if we rest it immediately it reioyceth If wee rebuke any man that is a glutton hee will answere vs that without eating and drinking wee cannot liue in the world for the Diuine Word hath not forbidden man to eate with the mouth but the vncleane thoughts which come from the heart As of these few vices we haue declared so may wee excuse all the residue but to the vice of couetousnesse none can giue a reasonable excuse For with money put into the coffer the soule cannot profite nor the bodie reioyce Boetius in his booke of consolation said That Money is good not when wee haue it in possession but when wee want it And in very deede the sentence of Boetius is very profound For when man spendeth money he attaineth to that he
on the earth with the goods and the miserable father goeth weeping to hell with his sinnes CHAP. XXV Of a letter which the Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote to his friend Cincinnatus who beeing a Romane Knight became a marchant of Capua wherein hee toucheth those GentlemeÌ which take vpon them the trade of Marchanaize against their vocation It is diuided into three Chapters MArke the Emperour with his brother Annius Verus felow in the Empire wisheth to thee Cincinnatus of Capua health to thy person and grace against thy euill fortune From the feast of our mother Berecinthe I haue seene neyther seruaÌt of thy house nor read letter of thy hand which maketh me suspect greatly that thy health is in danger or that thou mistrustest our friendshipp for earnest friendship requireth dayly communication or visitation I pray thee be not so carelesse from henceforth and doe not forget vs in such wise I meane that thou wilt come and see vs or at the least that thou wilt write vnto vs often for the letters of faithfull friends though vtterly they doe not take from vs the desire of the presence yet at the least they make vs hope for a meeting I know that thou mayest answere mee that in the Common wealth of Capua thou art so busied that it is impossible thou shouldest write vnto mee hereto I answere thee That in no affayres thou canst be so occupied that it bee a lawfull let not to communicate or write vnto thy friend For we may well call the time which wee liue to bee well employed which is spent in the seruice of God and in the conuersation of our friends All the residue that we waste in talking trauelling sleeping eating resting wee ought not to write it in the booke of life but in the Register of death For albeit that in such seÌblable works the body is refreshed yet therewith the heart cannot be comforted I sweare vnto thee therefore my friend that it is impossible that man take any contentation of any worldly thing where the heart is not at rest for our comfort is not in the sinewes or in the bones of the body but in the liuely power of the soule It is long sithence that you and I haue knowne together it is long time likewise that I loued thee and thou me and sith wee are so true olde friends it is but reason that with good works wee doe renue our friendship For falsly they vsurpe the name of friendshippe which are not conuersant one with the other no more then if they were strangers The man which speaketh not to me which writeth not to mee which seeth me not which visiteth me not which giueth me not and to whome I giue not I would not hee were my enemy but it little auaileth mee that hee cal mee friend for particular friendship consisteth not in abundance but that friends do open their harts and talke with their persons Peraduenture thou wilt say that the great distance which is from Rome to that Country hath been occasion to diminish our friendshippe for the noble hearts are on fire with the presence of that they loue and haue great pain with the absence of that they desire I answere that the farther the delicious wines are sent from the place where they grow the greater strength they haue I meane that herein true friends are knowne when their persons are surthest seuered for then are their wills most conioyned Tell mee I pray thee Cincinnatus sithence alwayes thou hast found mee a diligent friend in thy seruice why doest thou mistrust my faithfull good will The greene leaues outwardly doe shew that the tree inwardly is not drie I meane that the good workes outwardly doe declare the feruentnes of the heart inwardly If thou Cincinnatus presumest to bee a true friend of thy friend I will thou know this rule of friendship which is where perfect loue is not there wanteth alway faithfull seruice and for the contrary he that perfectly loueth assuredly shall be serued I haue beene am and will be thine therfore thou shalt doe me great iniurie if thou art not mine CHAP. XXVI The Emperour proceedeth in his Letter declareth what vertues men ought to vse and the vices which they ought to eschew IN times past I beeing yong and thou olde I did succour thee with money and thou me with good counsell but now the world is otherwise changed in that thy white hayres doe iudge thee to be old and thy works doe cause thee to be yong Therefore necessity compelleth mee that we change our stile which is that I succour thee with counsell though thou giue me no money therefore for I count thy couetousnesse to bee such that for all the good counsell and Counsellours of Rome thou wilt not vouchsafe to giue one quatrine of Capua Now for the good that I wish thee and for that which I owe to the Law of friendshippe I will presently giue thee a counsell whereby thou maiest know what a good man ought to doe to bee beloued of God and feared and loued of men If thou wilt quietly leade thy life in this miserable World retaine this well in memory which I write vnto thee First the good deeds thou hast receyued of any those shalt thou remember and the wrongs thou hast sustained them shalt thou forget Secondarily esteeme much thy owne little and weigh not the much of an other Thirdly the company of the good alwaies couet and the conuersation of the euill dayly flye Fourthly to the great shew thy selfe graue and to the small more conuersant Fiftly to those which are present do alwaies good works and of those that be absent alwaies speake good words Sixtly weigh little the losse of fortune and esteeme much things of honour The seuenth to winne one thing neuer aduenture thou manie nor for many things doubtful do not aduenture any one thing certaine Finally and lastly I pray thee and aduertise thee that thou haue no enemie and that thou keepe but one friend He which among the good will bee counted for good none of these things hee ought to want I know well that thou wilt haue great pleasure to see these my counsels well written but I ensure thee I shal haue greater pleasure to see them in thy decdes well obserued For by writing to giue good counsell it is easie but by workes to follow the same is maruellous hard My faithfull friendship to thee plighted and thy great ability considered caused mee alwayes for thee in Rome to procure honourable offices and by my sute thou hast beene Edite and Tribune and master of the horses wherein thou behauedst thy selfe with such wisedome that all the Senate therefore yeelded mee most hearty thanks I procuring them for thee and thou for thy selfe winning such perpetuall renowme One thing of thee I vnderstand which with good will I would not haue knowne and much lesse that any such thing by thee should haue bin committed that is to say
be so many couetous men in the common wealth for nothing can bee more vniust then one rich man heape vp that which wold suffice 10000. to liue with all we cannot deny but that cursed auarice to al sorts of men is as preiudicial as the moth which eateth all garments Therefore speaking the truth there is no house that it doth not defile for it is more perillous to haue a clod of earth fall into a mans eye then a beame vpon his foote Agesilaus the renowmed king of the Lacedemonians beeing asked of a man of Thebes what word was most odible to be spoken to a King and what word was that that could honor him most hee aunswered The Prince with nothing so much ought to bee annoyed as to say vnto him that hee is rich and of nothing hee ought so much to reioyce as to be called poore For the glory of the good Prince consisteth not in that hee hath great treasures but in that hee hath giuen great recompences This word without doubt of all the world was one of the most royallest and worthyest to be committed vnto me morie Alexander Pyrrhus Nicanor Ptholomeius Pompeius Iulius Caesar Scipto Hanniball Marcus Porlius Augustus Cato Traian Theodose Marcus Aurelius c. All these Princes haue bin very valiaunt and vertuous but adding hereunto also the Writers which had written the deeds that they did in their liues haue mentioned also the pouertie which they had at their death So that they are no lesse exalted for the riches they haue spent then for the prowesses they haue done Admit that men of meane estate be auaritious and Princes great Lords also couetous the fault of the one is not equall with the vice of the other though in the ende all are culpable For if the poore man keepe it is for that hee would not want but if the knight hoord it is because he hath too much And in this case I would say that cursed bee the Knight which trauelleth to the end that goods abound and doth not care that betweene two bowes his renowm fall to the ground Sithens Princes and great Lordes will that men doe count them Noble vertuous and valiaunt I would fayne know what occasion they haue to be niggards and hard If they say that that which they keepe is to eate herein there is no reason for in the end where the rich eateth least at his table there are many that had rather haue that which remaineth then that which they prouide to eate in their houses If they say that that which they keepe is to apparrell them herein also they haue as little reason for the greatnes of Lordes consisteth not in that they should bee sumptuously apparrelled but that they prouide that their seruants goe not rent not torne If they say it is to haue in their chambers precious iewels in their hals rich Tapestry as little would I admit this answere for all those which enter into Princes Pallaces doe behold more if those that haunt their chambers bee vertuous then that the Tapestries be rich If they say it is to compasse their Cities with walles or to make fortresses on their frontiers so likewise is this answere among the others very cold For good Princes ought not to trauell but to be well willed and if in their realms they be welbeloued in the world they can haue no walles so strong as in the hearts of their Subiects If they tell vs that that they keepe is to marry their children as little reason is that for sithence Princes and great Lords haue great inheritances they need not heape much For if their children bee good they shall encrease that shall be left them and if by mishappe they be euill they shall as well lose that which shall bee giuen them If they say vnto vs that which they heape is for the wartes in like manner that is no iust excuse For if such warre bee not iust the Prince ought not to take it in hand nor the people thereunto to condiscend but if it be iust the common-wealth then and not the Prince shall beare the charges thereof For in iust warres it is not sufficient that they giue vnto the Prince all their goods but also they must themselues in person hazzard theyr liues If they tell vs that they keepe it to giue and dispose for theyr soules at their dying day I say it is not onely for want of wisedome but extreame sollie For at the houre of death princes ought more to reioyce for that they haue giuen then for that at that time they giue Oh how Princes and great Lordes are euill counselled since they suffer themselues to be slaundered for being couetous onely to heape a little cursed treasure For experience teacheth vs no man can be couetous of goods but needs he must be prodigall of honour and abandon libertie Plutarche in the Booke which hee made of the fortunes of Alexander saith That Alexander the great had a priuate seruant called Perdicas the which seeing that Alexander liberally gaue all that which by great trauell hee attained on a day he said vnto him Tell mee most Noble Prince sithens thou giuest all that thou hast vnto others what wilt thou haue for thy selfe Alexander answered The glorie remaineth vnto mee of that I haue wonne and gotten and the hope of that which I will giue and winne And further he said vnto him I will tell thee Perdicas If I knew that men thought that all that which I take were for couetousnes I sweare vnto thee by the God Mars that I would not beate downe one corner in a Towne and to winne all the world I would not go one dayes iourney My intention is to take the glorie vnto my selfe and to diuide the goods amongst others These words so high were worthy of a valiant and vertuous Prince as of Alexander which spake them If that which I haue read in books doe not beguile mee and that which with these eyes I haue seen to become rich it is necessarie that a man giue For that Princes and great lords who naturally are giuen to bee liberall are alwayes fortunate to haue It chaunceth oft times that some man giuing a little is counted liberal and another giuing much is counted a niggard the which proceedeth of this that they know not that liberalitie and niggardnesse consisteth not in giuing much or little but to knowe well how to giue For the rewardes and recompences which out of time are distributed doe neyther profite them which receyue them neyther agree to him which giueth them A couetous man giueth more at one time then a noble and free heart doeth in twentie thus saith the prouerbe It is good comming to a niggardes feast The difference betweene the liberality of the one and the misery of the other is that the noble and vertuous doth giue that he giueth to many but the niggard giueth that hee giueth to one onely Of the which vnaduisement
princes ought carefully to beware For if in such case one man alone should be found which would commende his liberality there are ten thousand which would condemne his couetousnes It happeneth ofte times to princes and great Lordes that indeede they are free to recompence but in giuing they are very vnfortunate And the cause is that they giue it not to vertuous persons and wel conditioned but to those which are vnthankefull and doe not acknowledge the benefite receyued So that in giuing to some they they haue not made them their frieÌds and in not giuing vnto others they haue made them their Enemyes It sufficeth not vnto Princes and great Lordes to haue a great desire to giue but to know when how or where and to whom they ought to giue For if they bee accused otherwise to heape vp treasures they ought also to be condemned for that they doe giue When a man hath lost all that he hath in play in Whores in Banquets and other semblable vices It is but reason they bee ashamed but when they haue spent it like noble stout and liberall men they ought not to bee discontented for the wise man ought to take no displeasure for that he loseth but for that hee euill spendeth and hee ought to take no pleasure for that hee giueth but for that he giueth not well Dion the Grecian in the life of the Emperour Seuerus sayth That one day in the Feast of the God Ianus when hee had giuen diuers rewardes and sundry gifts as well to his owne seruants as to strângers and that he was greatly commended of all the Romanes he sayde vnto them Doe you thinke now Romans that I am very glad for the gifts rewards and recompences which I haue bestowed and freely giuen and that I am very glorious for the prayses you haue giuen mee by the God Mars I sweare vnto you and let the God Ianus bee so mercifull vnto vs all this yeare that the pleasure I haue is not so great for that I haue giuen as the griefe is for that I haue no more to giue CHAP. XXIX The Author followeth his intention and perswadeth Gentlemen and those that professe Armes not to abase themselues for gaines sake to take vpon them any vile function or office PLutarch in his Apothegmes sayeth that King Ptolomeus the first was a Prince of so good a nature and so gentle in conuersation that oft times he went to supper to the houses of his familiar friendes and many nights he remayned there to sleepe And truely in this case hee shewed himselfe to be welbeloued of his For speaking according to the truth a Prince on whose life dependeth the whole state of the CommoÌwealth ought to credite few at the Table and also fewer in the bed Another thing this Ptolomeus did which was when he inuited his friendes to dinner or supper or other strangers of some he desired to borrow stools of others napkins and of others cups and so of other things for hee was a prodigall Prince For all that his seruants in the morning had bought before the night following he gaue it away One day all the Nobles of his Realme of Egypt assembled together and desired him very earnestly that hee would bee more moderate in giuing for they sayd through his prodigality the whole Realme was empouerished The king answered You others of Egypt are maruellously deceiued that the poore and needy prince is troubled In this I dare say vnto you that the poore and needie Prince ought to thinke himselfe happie For good Princes ought more to seeke to enrich others then to heape vp Treasures for themselues Oh happie is the Common-wealth which deserueth to haue such a prince and happy is that tongue which could pronounce such a sentence Certainly this Prince to all princes gaue good example and counsell That is to say that for them it was more honor and also more profite to make others rich then to be rich themselues For if they haue much they shal want no crauers and if they haue little they shall neuer want seruants to serue them Suetonius Tranquillus in the booke of Caesars sayth that Titus the Emperour one night after supper from the bottome of his heart fetched a heauie sighe and hee being demaunded of those which were at his table why hee sighed so sore hee aunswered Wee haue lost at this day my Friendes By the which wordes the Emperour meant that he counted not that day amongst those of his life wherin he had giuen no reward nor gift Truly this Noble Prince was both valiaunt and mightie since hee sighed and had displeasure not for that which in many dayes hee had giuen but because that one day he had failed to giue any thing Pelopa of Thebes was a man in his time very valiaunt and also Rich and sith hee was fortunate in getting and liberall in spending one asked him why hee was so prodigall to giue he aunswered If to thee it seemeth that I giue much to mee it seemeth yet I should giue more sithens the goods ought to serue me and not I to honor them Therefore I will that they call mee the spender of the goods and not the stewardes of the house Plutarche in his Apothegmes saith that K. Darius flouting at K. Alexander for beeing poore sent to know where his Treasures were for such great Armyes To whom Alexander the great aunswered Tell King Darius that hee keepeth in his coffers his treasours of mettall and that I haue no other Treasours then the hearts of my Friendes And further tell him that one man alone can robbe all his treasors but he and all the world can not take my Treasures from mee which are my Friendes I durst say affirming that Alexander saide That hee cannot bee called poore which is rich of Friends For we say by experience Alexander with his Friendes tooke king Darius treasures from him and king Darius with all his treasures was not puissant enough to take Alexanders friendes from him Those which of theyr naturall inclination are shamefast and in estate Noble they ought aboue all things to flye the slaunder of couetousnes For without doubt greater is that honour which is lost then the goods that are gotten If Princes and great Lordes of their owne naturall inclination be liberall let them followe their nature but if perchaunce of their own nature they are enclyned to couetousnes let them enforce their will And if they will not doe it I tell them which are present that a day shall come when they shall repent For it is a generall rule that the disordinate couetousnes doe raise against themselues all venemous tongues Thinke that when you watch to take mens goods that others watch in like manner to take your honor I doe not thinke that your life can be sure For there is no law that doeth ordaine nor pacience that can suffer to see my neighbour liue in quiet by the sweat of my browes
from Enemyes it is but meete and reasonable they finde me and my SeruaÌts For that they say I suffer me not to be entreated it is true For daily and hourely they aske mee so many vniust and vnreasonable things that for them and for mee it is better to denye 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 doe mee seruice as to aske some particular thing for their profite For that they say I am not pittifull among the miserable and will not heare the Widdowes and Orphanes in no wise to that I will agree For I sweare vnto thee by the immortall Gods that my gates were neuer shut to Widdowes and Orphanes Pulto in the life of the Emperour Claudius sayth that once a poore widdow came before Claudius the Emperour with weeping eyes to desire him of iustice The good Prince being moued with compassion did not onely weepe as shee but with his owne hands dried her teares And as there was about the Emperour many Noble Romaines one amongst them saide thus vnto him The authority grauitie of Romaine Princes to heare their Subiects in iustice sufficeth onely though they drye not the teares of theyr faces This Emperour Claudius aunswered Good Princes ought not to bee contented to doe no more then iust ludges but in doing iustice a man must know that they are pittiful For oftentimes those which come before Princes doe returne more contented with the loue they shewe them then with the Iustice they minister vnto them And further he saide For as much as you say That it is of small authority also of lesse grauitie that a Prince doe weepe with a widdowe and with his hands wipe her eyes I aunswere thee that I desire rather to bee partaker of the griefes with my Subiectes then to giue them occasion to haue their eyes full of teares Certainely these wordes are worthie to bee noted and no lesse followed Admit that clemencie in all things deserueth to bee praised yet much more ought it to be coÌmended when it is executed on women And if generally in all much more in those which are voyde of health and comfort For Women are quickly troubled and with greater difficultie comforted Plutarche and Quintus Curtius say that good entertainment which Alexander the great shewed vnto the wise and children of king Darius after hee was vtterly vanquished exalted his clemencie in such sort that they gaue rather more glorie to Alexander for the pittie and honesty which hee vsed with the children then for the victorie he had of the Father And when the vnhappie King Darius knewe the clemencie and pittie which the good King Alexander vsed towards his wife and his children hee sent vnto him his Embassadors to the ende that on his behalfe they should thanke him for that that is past and should desire him that hee would so continue in time to come Saying that it might chaunce that the Gods and Fortune would mittigate theyr wrath against him Alexander aunswered vnto the Embassadours these wordes Yee shall say in my behalfe to your king Darius that hee giue mee no thankes for the good and pittifull worke which I haue shewed or done to his captiue Women since hee is certaine I did it not for that hee was my friend and that I would not cease to doe it for that he is mine enemie But I haue done it for that a gentle Prince is bound to doe in this case For I ought to employe my clemencie vnto Women which can doe nought but weepe and my puissant power Princes shall feele which can doe nought else but wage battell c. Truely those wordes were worthie of such a Prince Manie haue enuie at the surname of Alexander which is great And he is called Alexander the great because if his heart was great in the enterprises hee tooke vppon him his courage was much more greater in Citties and Realmes which he gaue Manie haue enuie at the renowme which they giue Pompeyus because they call him great for this excellent Romaine made himselfe conquerour of xxii Realmes and in times past hath bin accompanyed with xxv Kings Manie haue enuie at the renowme of Scipto the Africane because hee ouercame and conquered the great and renowmed cittie of Carthage the which citty in riches was greater then Rome in Armes and power it surmounted all Europe Many haue enuie at Scipio the Asian who was called Asian because he subdued the prowd Asia the which vntill his time was not but as a church-yarde of Romaines Many haue great enuie at the immortall name of Charles the great because being as he was a little king he did not only vanquish and triumph ouer many Kings and Realms but also forsooke the royall Sea of his owne Realme I doe not maruell that the prowde Princes haue enuie against the vertuous and valiant Princes but if I were as they I would haue more Enuie at the renowm of Anthoninus the Emperour then of the name and renowme of all the Princes in the worlde If other Princes haue attained such prowd names it hath bin for that they robbed many Countreys spoyled many Temples coÌmitted much tiranny dissembled with many Tyrants pesecuted diuers Innocents and because they haue takeÌ from diuers good men not onely their goods but also theyr liues For the world hath such an euill propertie that to exalte the name of one onely he putteth downe 500. Neyther in such enterprises nor yet with such Titles wanne the Emperour Anthoninus Pius his good name and renowme But if they call him Authoninus the pittifull it is because hee knewe not but to bee the Father of Orphanes and was not praysed but because hee was the onely Aduocate of Widdowes Of this most excellent Prince is read that he himselfe did heare and iudge the complaints and proces in Rome of the Orphanes And for the poore and Widdowes the gates of his Pallace were alwayes open So that the porters which hee kept within his Pallace were not for to let the Entrie of the poore but for to let and keepe backe the rich The Hystoriographers oftentimes say that this good Prince sayde That the good and vertuous Princes ought alwayes to haue theyr Hearts open for the poore and to remedie the Widdowes and Father-lesse and neuer to shutte their Gates against them The God Apollo sayeth that the Prince which will not speedily iudge the causes of the poore the Gods will neuer permit that hee be well obeyed of the rich O high and worthie wordes that it pleased not the God Apollo but our Liuing GOD that they were written in the hearts of Noble Princes For nothing can be more vniust or dishonest then that in the pallaces of Princes and great Lordes the rich and the fooles should be dispatched and the Widdowes and Orphanes friendes should haue no audience Oh happie
and not once but an hundreth times treble happie is hee that will haue commiseration remembring the poore afflicted and oppressed and open his hande to comforte and relieue them and doeth not shutte his coffers from helping them vnto him I assure and promise that at the streight day of iudgement the proces of his life shall be iudged with mercie and pittie CHAP. XXXVI ¶ That the troubles griefes and sorrowes of Widdowes are much greater then those of Widowers wherefore Princes and Noble-men ought to haue more compassion vpon the Women then on men IT is great pity to see a Noble and vertuous man sorrowful alone and a widower if especially he liued contented when he was married For if hee will not marrie he hath lost his sweete companie and if he thinke to marrie another let him be assured hee shall scarcely agree with his seconde wife There is much sorow in that house where the woman that gouerned it is dead For immediately the Husband forsaketh himselfe the childreÌ do lose their obedience the seruants become negligent the hand-maydes become wanton the Friends are forgotten the house decayeth the goods waste the apparell is lost And finally in the widdowers house there are many to robbe and few to labour Both heauy and lamentable are the thoughtes of the widdower For if hee thinketh to marry it grieueth him to giue his children a stepmother If he cannot be marryed hee feeleth greater paine seeing him all the day to remaine alone so that the poore miserable man sigheth for his Wife hee hath lost and weepeth for her whome he desireth to haue Admit that this bee true there is great difference froÌ the cares and sorrows of womeÌ to that of men A thing very cleare for so much as the widdower lawfully may go out of his house hee may go to the fields he may talke with his Neighbours hee may be occupyed with his friendes hee may follow his sutes and also he may be conuersant and refresh himselfe in honest places For commonly men are not so sorrowfull in taking the death of their wiues as the wiues are in taking the death of their Husbands All this is not spoken in the disfauour of wise and sage men whom we see make small streams with the teares of their eyes for the death of their wiues But for many other vaine and lightmen which the 9. dayes of the Funerall past a man doth see without any shame to goe throughout their streets beholding the ladies and Dam sells which are in the windowes Truely the wofull women which are honest vse not such lightnesse For whiles they are widdows it is not lawfull for them to wander abrode to go out of their houses nor to speake with strangers nor practise with her owne nor bee conuersaunt with her Neighbours nor plead with their creditors but agreable to their woefull estate to hyde and withdraw themselues within their houses and to lock themselues into their owne Chambers and they thinke it their dutyes to water theyr plants with teares and importune the Heauens with sobs and sighes Oh how wofull O how grieuous O how sorrowfull is the state of Widdows For somuch as if a Widdow goe out of her house they take her for dishonest If shee will not come out of her house she loseth her goods If she laugh a litle they count her light If shee laugh not they count her an hypocrite If she go to the Church they note her for a gadder If she go not to the Church they say she is vnthankfull to her late husband If she go ill apparelled they account her a niggard If she go cleanly handsom they say now she wold haue a new husband If she doe maintaine herselfe honestly they note her for presuÌptuous If she keepe company immediately they suspect her house Finally I say that the poore miserable Widdowes shall finde a thousand which iudge their liues and they haue not one that will remedie their paine Much looseth that Woman which loseth her Mother which hath borne her or her Sisters which shee loueth or the friends which she knoweth or the goods which she hath heaped vp But I say and affirme that there is no greater losse in the worlde 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 all are lost together After that the wife doth see her louing Husband in the graue I woulde aske her What good could remaine with her in her house Since wee know that if her husband were good hee was the Hauen of all her Troubles the remedie of all her necessities the inueÌtor of all her pleasurs the true loue of her heart the true lord of her person and idoll whom she honored Finally hee was the onely faithfull steward of her house and the good father of all her children and familie Whether Familie remaineth or not whether children remaineth or not in the one and in the other trouble and vexation remayneth most assuredly to the poore Widdow If perchaunce shee remaine poore haue no goods let euery man imagine what her life can bee For the poor miserable and vnhappy woman eyther will aduenture her person to get or will loose her honestie to demaunde An honest woman a Noble and worthy woman a delicate woman a sweete woman a woman of renowme a woman that ought to haue care to maintaine Children and familie ought to haue great reason to be full of anguish sorrow to see that if she will maintaine her selfe with the Needle shee shall not haue sufficiently to finde her bread and water If she gaine with her bodie shee looseth her soule If shee must demaund of others shee is ashamed If shee fulfill the testament of her Husband she must sell her Gownes If shee will not pay his debtes they cause her to bee brought before the iudges As women naturally are tender what heart will suffer them to endure such inconueniences and what Eyes can abstayne to shed infinite teares If perchaunce goods do remaine to the miserable widdow she hath no little care to keepe them She is at great charges and expences to sustaine and maintaine her selfe in long suite about her lands much trouble to augment them and in the end much sorrowe to depart from them For all her children and heyres doe occupie themselues more to bethinke them how they might inherit then in what sort they ought to serue her When I came vnto this passage a great while I kept my penne in suspence to see whither I ought to teach this matter or no that is to say that oftentimes the poore Widdowes put openly the demaund of their goods and the Iudges doe secretly demaund the possession of their person So that first they doe iniurie to her honor before they do minister iustice to her demaunds Though perchaunce shee hath no childe yet therefore shee remaineth not without any comfort and for that the parents
which we are ignorant we haue no paine to attaine vnto them and lesse griefe also to lose them My intention to tell thee this was because that I knew that which I would not haue knowne and haue heard that which I would not haue heard that is to say that the dayes and troubles of Claudinus thy husband are ended and now thy sorrowes Lauinia his wife doe beginne It is now a good while that I haue known of the death of the good Claudinus my friend and thy husband though I did dissemble it And by the God Mars I sweare vnto thee that it was not for that I would not bewaile him but because I would not discomfort thee For it were extreame cruelty that shee which was so comfortlesse and sorrowfull for the absence of so long time should bee killed with my hand through the knowledge of the death of her so desired husband It were too vnkind and vnseemely a thing that shee of whom I haue receyued so many good works should receiue of me so euill newes The auncients of Carthage held for an inuiolable Law that if the Father did tell the death of his sonne or the sonne the death of the Father or the woman the death of her husband or the husband the death of his wife or any other semblable wofull and lamentable death that he should bee cast into the prison among them which were condemned to die It seemed to those of Carthage that he which sayde vnto another that his brother kinsman or friend was dead immediately they should kill him or hee ought to dye or at the least hee should neuer bee seene in his presence If in this case the Law of the Carthaginians was inst then I ought to be excused though I haue not told this heauie newes For as oft as we see him who hath brought vs any euill tidinges our sorrowes by his sight is renewed againe Since Claudinus thy Husband dyed I haue not had one houre of rest for to passe the time away for feare least such woefull and sorrowfull newes should come to thy knowledge But now that I know that thou knowest it I feele double paine For now I feele his death my care and thy want of consolation and the dammage by his death shall followe the Romaine Empire Thou hast lost a noble Romaine valiaunt in bloud moderate in prosperities pacient in aduersities couragious in daungers diligent in affaires wise in counsels faithful to his friends subtill and wary of his Enemyes a louer of the common-wealth and very honest in his person and aboue all and wherof I haue most enuie is that hee neuer offended man in his life nor hurt any with his tongue We finde seldome times so many vertues assembled in one man For saying the truth if a man doe narrowly examine the vices of manie which presume to be very vertuous I sweare that he should finde more to reproue then to praise Since thou hast lost so good a Husband and I so faithfull a Friend wee are bound thou to bewaile so great a losse and I to sigh for so good a companion And this I do not desire for Claudine who now resteth among the Gods but for vs others which remaine in daunger of so many euills For the dead doe rest as in the sure Hauen and we others doe faile as yet in raging Sea O thou heauy heart how doe I see thee betweene the Bell and the clappers that is to say that thou wantest the companie of the good and art enuironned with the flocke of euill For the which occasion I doubt often times whether I may first bewaile the euill which liue or the good which are dead because in the ende the euill men do offend vs more which we finde then doth the good men which we loose It is a great pittie to see the good and vertuous men dye but I take it to be more sorrow to see the euill and vitious men liue As the diuine Plato sayeth the gods to kill the good which serue them and to giue long life to the euill which offend them is a mysterie so profound that daily wee doe lament it and yet wee can neuer attayne to the secretes thereof Tell me I pray thee Lauinia knowest thou not now that the Gods are so mercifull with whom we go when we dye and that men are so wicked with whom we be whiles we liue that as the euill were borne to dye so the good dye to liue For the good man though hee dye liueth and the euill man though he liue dyeth I sweare vnto thee by the Mother Berecynthia and so the God Iupiter do preserue mee that I speake not this which I will speake fainedly which is that considering the rest that the dead haue with the Gods and seeing the sorrowes and troubles wee haue here with the liuing I say and affirme once againe that they haue greater compassion of our life then wee others haue of their death Though the death of men were as the death of beasts that is to say that ther were no Furyes nor diuels which should torment the euill and that the Gods should not rewarde the good yet wee ought to be comforted to see our friends die if it were for no other but to see them deliuered from the thraldome of this world The pleasure that the Pilot hath to bee in sure Hauen the glorie that the captaine hath to see the day of victorie the rest that the Traueller hath to see his journey ended the contentation that the workeman hath to see his work come to perfection all the same haue the dead seeing themselues out of this miserable life If men were borne alway to liue it were reason to lament them when we see them dye but since it is true that they are borne to dye I would say since needes dye wee must that wee ought not to lament those which dye quickly but those which liue long I am assured that Clandine thy Husband remembring that which in this life hee hath passed and suffered and seeing the rest that hee hath in the other though the Gods would make him Emperour of Rome he would not be one day out of his graue For returning to the worlde hee should dye againe but being with the Gods hee hopeth to liue perpetually Ladie Lauinia most earnestly I desire thee so vchemently not to pierce the heauens with thy so heauie sighes nor yet to wette the earth with thy so bitter teares since thou knowest that Claudine thy husband is in place where there is no sorrowe but mirth where there is no paine but rest where hee weepeth not but laugheth where hee sigheth not but singeth where he hath no sorrowes but pleasures where hee feareth not cruell death but enioyeth perpetuall life Since therefore this is true it is but reason the widdow appease her anguish considering that her husband endureth no paine Oftentimes with my selfe I haue thought what the Wddowes ought to imagine
when they see themselues in such cares and distresse And after my count made I finde that they ought not to thinke of the companie past nor wofull sollitarines wherein they are presently and much lesse they ought to thinke on the pleasures of this world but rather to remember the rest in the world to come For the true widdowe ought to haue her conuersation among the liuing and her desire to be with the dead If till this present thou hadst paine and trouble to looke for thy Husband to come home haue thou now ioy that hee looketh for thee in Heauen wherein I sweare vnto thee that thou shalt be better vsed of the Gods then he was here of men For in this world wee know not what glorie meaneth and there they know not what paines are Licinius and Posthumius thy vnkles tolde mee that thou art so sorrowfull that thou wilt receiue no comfort but in this case I thinke not that thou bewailest so much for Claudinus that alone doest thinke thou hast lost him For since wee did reioyce together in his life wee are bound to weepe together at his death The heauie and sorrowfull hearts in this worlde feele no greater griefe then to see others reioyce at their sorrowes And the contrary heereof is that the wofull and afflicted heart feeleth no greater ioy nor rest in extream mishappes of Fortune then to thinke that others haue sorrow and griefe of their paine When I am heauie and comfortles I greatly ioy to haue my friend by me and my heart doth tell me that what I feele hee feeleth So that all which my Friend with his eyes doeth bewayle and all that which of my griefes he feeleth the more wherewith hee burdeneth himselfe and the more thereof he dischargeth me The Emperour Octauian Augustus the Hystories say on the riuer of Danuby found a kinde of people which had this straunge custome that with eyes was neuer seene nor in bookes at any time neuer read which was that two Friendes assembled and went to the aulters of the Temples and there one friend confederate with another so that theyr hearts were marryed as man and wife are marryed touching their bodies swearing and promising there to the gods neuer to weepe nor to take sorrow for any mishappe that shold come to their persons So that my friend should come to lament and remedy my troubles as if they had bin his owne and I should lament and remedie his as if they had bin mine Oh glorious world O age most happie O people of eternall memorie wherein men are so geentle friends so faithfull that theyr owne trauells they forgot and the sorrows of strangers they bewayled O Rome without Rome O time euill spent O time to vs others euill employed O wretches that alwaies are carelesse now a dayes the stomacke and intrailes are so seuered from the good and the hearts so ioyned with the euill that men forgetting themselus to be men become more cruell then beasts I labour to giue thee life and thou seekest to procure my death Thou weepest to see mee laugh and I laugh to see thee weepe I procure that thou doe not mount and thou seekest that I might fall Finally without the profite of anie wee cast our selues away and without gaine we doe reioyce to ende our liues By the faith of a good man I sweare vnto thee Lady Lauinia that if thy remedy were in my handes as thy griefe is in my heart I would not be sorrie for thy sorrowes neyther thou so tormented for the death of thy husband But alas though I miserable man haue the heart to feele thy anguish yet I want the power to remedie thy sorrowes CHAP. XXXVIII ¶ The Emperor proceedeth in his letter and perswadeth widdows to put theyr willes to the will of God and exhorteth them to liue honestly SInce thy remedie my desire cannot be accomplished because it is a thing vnpossible to receiue speake with the dead and not hauing power mee thinkes that thou and I should referre it to the Gods who can giue much better then wee can aske O Ladie Lauinia I desire thee earnestly and as a Friend I counsell and admonish thee and with all my heart I require thee that thou esteeme that for well done which the Gods haue done that thou conforme thy selfe to the will of the Gods and that thou will nought else but as the Gods will For they onely knowe they erre not wherfore they haue assaulted thy husband with so sudden death and vnto thee his wife haue lent so long life The Gods beeing as they are so mighty and so sage what is hee that can be iudge of their profound iudgements The Gods knowe right well those which serue them and those which offend them those which loue them and those which hate them those that praise them and those that blaspheme them those that yeelde them thanks and those which are vnthankefull And I tell thee further that oftentimes the Gods are serued more with them which are buryed in the graues then with those which goe weeping through the Temples Wilt thou now enter into account with the Gods thou oughtst to note and consider that they haue left thee Children to comfort thy selfe they haue left thee goods wherewith thou mayest auoyde pouertie they haue left thee Friends by whome thou shalt be fauoured they haue left thee parents of whom thou art beloued they haue left thee a good name for to be esteemed and health wherewith thou mayest liue Finally I say that small is that which the Gods take from vs in respect of that they leaue vs. After one sort we ought to behaue our selues with men and after another wee ought to serue the Gods For to men sometimes it is requisite to shew a countenance for to humble them but to the Gods it is necessary to lye flat on the grounde with thy stomacke to honour them And if the Oracle of Apollo doe not deceyue vs the Gods are sooner with humilitie wherewith wee worship them appeased then with presumptuous Sacrifices which wee offer vnto them contented Since thou art widdow Lady Lauinia and art a wise and vertuous Woman beseech the Gods to preserue thy children to defend thy renowme and not to seuer thy Friendes from thee and that thou scatter not thy goods to preserue thy person in health and aboue all to bee in theyr fauour Thou canst not winne nor loose so much in all thy life as the Gods can giue or take from thee in one houre Would to GOD the widow knew how little shee winneth among men and how much she loseth among the Gods when shee is not pacient in aduersitie For impatience oftentimes prouoketh the Gods to wrath We see it in mans bodie by experience that there are sundrie diseases which are not cured with wordes spoken but with the hearbs therevnto applyed And in other diseases the contrary is seene which are not cured with costly medicines
thinke thou wilt do so For by the faith of a good man I sweare vnto thee that my heart neither suspected iâ nor yet the aucthority of so graue a Romane doth demand it for to thee onely the fault should remaine and to me the wonder Heartily I commend vnto thee thy honesty which to thy selfe thou oughtest and the care which behooueth so worthy and notable a widow For if thou art tormented with the absence of the dead thou oughtest to comfort thee with the reputation of the liuing At this present I will say no more to thee but that thy renowne among the present be such and that they speake of thee so in absence that to the euill thou giue the bridell to be silent and to the good spurres to come and sefue thee For the widow of euill renowne ought to be buried quicke Other things to write to thee I haue none Secret matters are dangerous to trust considering that thy heart is not presently disposed to heare newes It is reason thou know that I with thy parents and friends haue spoken to the Senate which haue giuen the office that thy husband had in Constantinople to thy sonne And truly thou oughtest no lesse to reioyce of that which they haue said of thee then for that they haue giuen him For they say though thy husband had neuer beene Citizen of Rome yet they ought to haue giuen more than this onely for thy honest behauiour My wife 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 sorrow which was not little I send thee foure 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 Romane Matrons are greater then are the goods that their husbands doe leaue them The gods which haue giuen rest to thy husband O Claudine giue also comfort to thee his wife Lauinia Marcus of mount Celio with his owne hand CHAP. XXXIX That Princes and Noble men ought to despise the world for that there is nothing in the world but plaine deceit PLato Aristotle Pythagoras Empedocles Democrates Seleucus Epicurus Diogenes Thales and Methrodorus had among them so great contention to describe the world his beginning and propertie that in maintaining euery one his opinion they made greater wars with their pens then their enemies haue done with their lances Pythagoras sayde that that which wee call the World is one thing and that which wee call the vniuersall is an other the Philosopher Thales said that there was no more but one World and to the contrarie 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 ende Aristotle seemed to say that the world was eternall But Plato sayde clearely that the world hath had beginning and shall also haue ending Epicurus sayd that it was round as a ball Empedocles saide that it was not as a bowle but as an egge Chilo the Philosopher in the high Mount Olimpus disputed that the world was as men are that is to say that hee had an intellectable and sensible soule Socrates in his Schoole sayeth and in his doctrine wrote that after 37 thousand yeares all things should returne as they had beene before That is to say that he himselfe should bee borne anew and should be nourished and should reade in Athens And Dennis the Tytant should returne to play the Tyrant in Syracuse Iulius Caesar to rule Rome Hannibal 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 vaine questions and speculstions the auncient Philosophers consumed many yeares They in writing many bookes haue troubled their spirites consumed long time trauelled many Countryes and suffered innumerable dangers and in the end they haue set forth few truthes and many lyes For the least part of that they knew not was much greater then all that which they euer knew When I tooke my penne in my hand to write the vanity of the world my intention was not to reproue this material world the which of the four Elements is compounded that is to say of the earth that is cold and drie of the water that is moist and cold of the ayre that is hote and moist of fire that is drie and hote so that taking the world in this sort there is no reason why we should complaine and lament of it since that without him we cannot liue corporally When the Painter of the world came into the world it is not to be beleeued that he reproued the water which bare him when hee went vpon it nor the ayre that ceased to blow in the sea nor the earth that trembled at his death nor the light which ceased to light nor the stones which brake in sunder nor the fish which suffered themselues to bee taken not the trees which suffered themselues to be drie nor the monuments that suffered themselues to bee opened For the creature acknowledged in his Creator omnipotency and the Creator founded in the creature due obedience Oftentimes and of many persons wee heare say O woefull world O miserable world O subtill world O world vnstable and vnconstant And therefore it is reason wee know what the world is whereof the world is from whence this world is whereof this world is made and who is lord of this world since in it all things are vnstable all things are miserable all things deceitfull all things are malicious which cannot be vnderstood of this materiall worlde For in the fire in the aire in the earth and in the water in the light in the Planets in the stones and in the Trees there are no sorrowes there are no miseryes there are no deceytes nor yet any malice The world wherein wee are borne where we liue and where we die differeth much from the world whereof we doe complaine for the world against whom wee fight suffereth vs not to be in quyet one howre in the day To declare therefore my intention this wicked World is no other thing but the euill life of the Worldlings the Earth is the desire the fire the couetise the water the inconstancie the ayre the folly the stones are the pride the flowers of the Trees the thoughts the deepe Sea the heart Finally I say that the Sunne of this world is the prosperity and the moon is the continuall change The Prince of this so euill a world is the diuell of whom IESVS CHRIST laid The prince of this world shall now be cast out and this the Redeemer of the World sayeth For he called the worldlings and their worldly liues the world For since they be seruants of sinne of
their Lordes boorde but they must needs haue a cast at my Lord himselfe to cheare him withall which intollerable abuse ought not to be suffred but with most sharpe correction punished But what shall wee say that for the most part the Lords are so vaine and the Iesters so presumptuous and arrogant that the Lords haue more care to content them then they haue to please the Lords In the house of a Lord a foole at the end of the yeare will aske more then any other of those which are most auncient so that the follies of the one are more acceptable then the seruices of all It is shame to speake it and no lesse for to write it that the children of vanity are so vaine that they bribe a foole or a Iester no lesse in these dayes to the entent he may bee a meane for them vnto the Prince then they did in times past desire Cicero to make an Oration for them before the Senate It is for want of vnderstanding and through the vilety of the person oppression of the heart and disprayse of renowne to be desirous by the means of fooles to attaine to any thing For he can haue no great wisdom which putteth his hope in the fauour of a foole What remaineth for me to say when I haue sayde that which I will say And it is that if a Iester or foole say openly to some Lord God saue your life my good Lord. Oh hee is a Noble man indeed he will not sticke to giue him a gowne of silke and entring into a Church hee would not giue a poore man a halfe penny O what negligence is there of Princes O what vanity of Lordes since they forsake the poore and wise to enrich the Iesters and fooles they haue enough for the world and not for Iesus Christ they giue to those that aske for his Louers sake and not to those which aske for the health of the soule Hee ought not to doe so for the Knight which is a Christian and not a worldling ought rather to will that the poore doe pray for him at the houre of death then that the fooles and Iesters should prayse him in his life What doth it profite the soule or the body that the Iesters do praise thee for a cote thou hast giuen them and that the poore accuse thee for the bread thou hast denied them Peraduenture it will profite thee as much that a foole or a flatterer goe before a Prince apparrelled with a new liuerie of thine as the poore man shall do thee damage before God to whom thou hast denyed a poore ragged shirt All Gentlemen and Noble Parsonages in the name of our Sauiour Iesus Christ I admonish exhort and humbly require that they consider well what they spend and to whom they giue for the good Princes ought to haue more respect of the necessities of the poore then of the follyes of counterfeytes Giue as yee will diuide as yee list for at the houre of death as much as yee haue laughed with the fooles for that yee haue giuen them so much shall yee weepe with the poore for that you haue denyed them At the houre of death it shall bee grieuous paines to him that dyeth to see the flesh of the Orphanes all naked and to he holde counterfaite fooles loden with their garments Of one thing I am amazed that indifferently euery man may become a foole and no man let him and the worst of all is if once a foole become couetous all the world afterwards cannot make him to bee in his right sences Truely such one which hath no reason to bee a foole at the least he hath good occasion since hee getteth more to eat playing then the others doe by working O what negligence of the Princes and what smal respect of the Gouernours of the Common wealth is this that a yong man whole stoute strong and valiant should be suffered to goe from house to house from table to table and onely for babling vaine wordes and telling shamefull lyes hee should bee counted a man of an excellent tongue Another folly there is in this case that their words are not so foolish as their deedes are wicked though they haue a good or euill grace yet in the end they be counted in the Common wealth as loyterers and fooles I know not whether in this case is greater eyther their folly or our lightnesse for they vse vs as fooles in telling vs lyes and wee pay them good money The Romanes did not permit in their Common wealthes olde stale Iesters nor wee Christians ought to retaine into our houses idle loiterers Yee ought to know that more offendeth hee which sinneth with a deformed woman then hee which sinneth with a beautifull Lady And he which is drunke with sowre Ale offendeth more then hee which is drunke with sweet wine And so in like manner greater offence commit they which lose their times with fooles that haue no grace then with Iesters which haue good wits for it may be permitted sometime that the Sage man for the recreation of his Spirits doe frequent the company of some pleasant man CHAP. XLIV Of a Letter which the Emperour wrote to Lambertus his friend Gouernour of Hellespont certifying him that he had banished from Rome all fooles and loytering Players and is diuided into three Chapters a notable Letter for those that keepe counterfeyte fooles in their houses MArcus Aurelius onely Emperour of Rome Lord of Asia confederate with Europe friends of Affricke and enemy of the wars wisheth health to thee Lambert Gouernor of the Isle of Helespont With the furres which thou didst send mee I haue caused my gowne to be furred and am girded with the girdle which thou didst present me and am greatly contented with thy hounds For all is so good that the body doth reioyce to possesse it and the eyes to beholde it and also the heart to render thanks for it Where I did aske a few things of thee in iest thou hast sent me many in earnest wherein not as a seruant but as a friend thou hast shewed thy selfe For the office of noble and worthy hearts is to offer to their friends not onely that which they demaund but that also which they doe thinke they will demaund Truly thou hast better measured thy seruices by thy noblenesse then I thee demaund by my couetousnesse For if thou doest remember I did demaund of thee onely 12. skinnes and thou hast sent mee 12. dozen I tolde thee that I desired 6. hounds for to hunt thou hast sent mee 12. of the best that can bee found in the Isle In such sort that I had honour and thou hast wonne renowne For in the little I haue demaunded thou shalt see my little couetousnesse and in the much thou hast sent mee they shall perceiue thy great liberalitie I esteeme highly that which thou hast sent mee and I beseech the Gods send thee good lucke For thou knowest wee may
their trauell and with a good will it should be granted for the gods vse for a little seruice to giue a great reward Triphon and Agamendo aunswered vnto the god Apollo that for their good will for their trauell and for their expences they demaunded no other reward but that it would please him to giue them the best thing that might bee giuen vnto man and that vnto them were most profite saying That the miserable men haue not the power to eschew the euill nor wisedome to chuse the good The god Apollo answered that he was contented to pay them their seruice which they had done and for to grant them that which they had demaunded By reason whereof Triphon and Agamendo hauing dined suddenly at the gates of the temple fel down dead so that the reward of their trauel was to plucke them out of their miserie The reason to declare these two examples is to the ende that all mortall men may knowe that there is nothing so good in this worlde as to haue an ende of this life and though to lose it there be no sauour yet at the least there is profite For wee would reproue a traueller of great foolishnes if sweating by the way he would sing and after at his iourneyes ende hee should beginne to weepe Is not hee simple which is sorry for that hee is come into the Hauen is not hee simple that giueth the battell and fighteth for that hee hath got the victorie Is not he stubborne which is in great distresse and is angry to be succoured Therefore more foolish simple and stubborn is hee which trauelleth to dye and is loath to meete with death For death is the true refuge the perfect health the sure Hauen the whole victorie the flesh without bones Fish without scales and corne without slrawe Finally after death wee haue nothing to bewayle and much lesse to desire In the time of Adrian the Emperour a Phylosopher called Secundus being meruellously learned made an oration at the funerall of a Noble Romaine Matrone a Kins-woman of the Emperours who spake exceedingly much euill of life and maruellous much good of death And when the Emp demanded him what death was The phylosopher aunswered thus Death is an eternall sleepe a dissolution of the bodie a terror of the rich a desire of the poore a thing inhetitable a pilgrimage vncertaine a Theefe of men a kinde of sleeping a shadow of life a separation of the liuing a companie of the dead a resolution of all trauels and the end of all ydle desires Finally Death is the scourge of all euill and the chiefe reward of the good Truely this Phylosopher spake very well and hee should not doe euill which profoundly would consider that hee had spoken Seneca in an Epistle declareth of a Phylosopher whose name was Bessus to whom when they demanded what euill a man can haue in Death since men feare it so much Hee aunswered If any damage or feare is in him who dyeth it is not for the feare of death but for the vice of him which dyeth Wee may agree to that the Phylosopher saide that euen as the deafe cannot iudge harmony nor the blind colours so likewise they cannot say euill of death especially he which neuer tasted it For of all those which are dead none returned again to complaine of Death and of these fewe that liue all complaine of life If any of the dead returned hither to speak vvith the liuing and as they haue proued it so they vvould tell vs. If there were any harme in secrete death it were reason to haue some feare of death But though a man that neuer saw heard felt nor tasted death doeth speake euill of Death should wee therefore feare Death Those ought to haue done some euill in their life which doe feare speake euill of death For in the last houre in the streight iudgement the good shal be known the euill discouered There is no Prince nor Knight rich nor poore whole nor sicke lucky nor vnluckie which I see with their vocations to be contented saue onely the dead which in theyr graues are in peace rest and are neither couetous proud negligent vain ambicious nor dissolute So that the state of the dead ought to bee best since wee see none therein to bee euill contented And since therefore those which are poore âoe seek the meanes wherwith to endch themselues those which are sad rio seeke wherby to reioyce and those which are sicke to seeke to be healed why is it that those which haue such feare of Death doe seeke remedie against that feare In this case I would say that he which will not feare to die let him vse himself well to liue For the guyltles taketh away feare from death The diuine Plato demaunded Socrates how hee behaued himselfe in life and how he would behaue himselfe in death He answered I let thee know that in youth I haue trauelled to liue well and in age I haue studyed to die well and sith my life hath been honest I hope my death shall be ioyfull And although I haue had sorrow to liue I am sure I shall haue no paine to dye Truely these wordes are worthie of such a man Men of stout harts suffer maruellously when the swear of theyr trauell is not rewarded when they are faithful and their rewards aunswereth nothing to their true seruice when for their good seruices their Friends become vnthankefull to them when they are worthy honour and that they preferre them to honorable room and office For the noble and valiant harts doe not esteeme to loose the rewarde of their labour but thinke much vnkindenesse when a man doeth not acknowledge theyr trauells Oh happie are they that dye For without inconuenience and without paine euery man is in his 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 we merited death There was neuer nor neuer shall be iudge so iust nor in iustice so vpright that giueth reward by weight and paine by measure but that somtimes they chasten the innocent absolue the guiltie they vexe the faultlesse and they dissemble with the culpable For little auaileth it the playntife to haue good iustice if conscience want to the iudge that should minister it Truely it is not so in Death but all ought to account themselues happie For he which shall haue good iustice shall bee sure on his parte to haue the sentence When great Cato was Censor in Rome a famous Romaine dyed who shewed at his death a maruellous courage and when the Romains praised him for that hee had so great vertue and for the words he had spoken Cato the Censor laughed at that they sayd for that they praised him And he being demanded the cause of his laughter annswered Yee maruell at that I laugh and I laugh at that yee maruell For the perills
demaund thee how it is possible that I which haue heard thee speake so well of death doe presently see thee so vnwilling to leaue life since the gods commaund it thy age willeth it thy disease doth cause it thy feeble nature doth permit it the sinfull Rome doth deserue it and the sickle fortune agreeth that for our great miserie thou shouldest die Why therefore sighest thou so much for to die The trauels which of necessitie must needes come with stout heart ought to be receiued The cowardly heart falleth before hee is beaten downe but the stout and valiant stomacke in greatest perill recouereth most strength Thou art one man and not two thou owest one death to the gods and not two Why wilt thou therefore being but one pay for two and for one onely life take two deaths I meane that before thou endest life thou diest for pure sorrow After that thou hast sayled and in the sayling thou hast passed such perill when the gods doe render thee in the safe Hauen once againe thou wilt runne into the raging Sea where thou scapest the victorie of life and thou dyest with the ambushments of death Threescore and two yeeres hast thou fought in the Field and neuer turned thy backe and fearest thou now beeing enclosed in the Graue Hast thou not passed the pykes and bryers wherein thou hast beene enclosed and now thou tremblest being in the sure way Thou knowest what dammage it is long to liue and now thou doubtest of the profit of death which ensueth It is now many yeeres since death and thou haue beene at defyance as mortall enemies and now to lay thy hands on thy Weapons thou flyest and turnest thy backe Threescore and two yeeres are past since thou wert bent against fortune and now thou closest thy eyes when thou oughtest ouer her to triumph By that I haue told thee I meane that since wee doe not see thee take death willingly at this present we do suspect that thy life hath not in times past beene very good For the man which hath no desire to appeare before the gods it is a token he is loaden with vices What meanest thou most noble Prince why weepest thou as an infant and complainest as a man in despaire If thou weepest because thou dyest I answer thee that thou laughest as much when thou liuedst For of too much laughing in the life proceedeth much wayling at the death Who hath alwaies for his heritage appropriated the places being in the common wealth The vnconstancy of the minde who shall bee so hardy to make steadie I meane that all are dead all die all shall die among all wilt thou alone liue Wilt thou obtaine of the gods that which maketh them gods That is to say that they make thee immortall as theÌselues Wilt thou alone haue by priuiledge that which the gods haue by nature My youth demandeth thy age what thing is best or to say better which is lesse euill to die well or to liue euill I doubt that any man may attaine to the meanes to liue well according to the continuall and variable troubles and vexations which daily we haue accustomed to carrie betweene our hands alwayes suffering hunger cold thirst care displeasures temptations persecutions euill fortunes ouerthrowes and diseases This cannot be called life but a long death and with reason wee will call this life death since a thousand times we hate life If an ancient man did make a shew of his life from time he is come out of the intrailes of his mother vntill the time hee entreth into the bowels of the earth and that body would declare al the sorrowes that he hath passed and the heart discouer all the ouerthrows of fortune which he hath suffered I imagine the gods would maruell and men would wonder at the body which hath endured so much and the heart which hath so greatly dissembled I take the Greeks to be more wise which weepe when their children bee borne and laugh when the aged dye then the Romanes which sing when their children are borne and weepe when the olde men die Wee haue much reason to laugh when the olde men die since they dy to laugh and with great reason wee ought to weepe when the children are borne since they are borne to weepe CHAP. LI. Panutius the Secretarie continueth his exhortation admonishing all men willingly to accept death vtterly to forsake the world and all his vanities SInce life is now condemned for euill there remaineth nought else but to approoue death to be good Oh if it pleased the immortall gods that as I oftentimes haue heard the disputation of this matter so now that thou couldest therewith profite But I am sorry that to the Sage and wise man counsell sometimes or for the most part wanteth None ought to cleaue much to his owne opinion but sometimes he should follow the counsell of the third person For the man which in all things will follow his owne aduise ought well to be assured that in all or the most part hee shall erre O my Lord Marke sith thou art sage liuely of spirit of great experience and ancient didst not thou thinke that as thou hadst buried many so likewise some should burie thee What imaginations were thine to thinke that seeing the ende of their dayes others should not see the end of thy yeares Since thou diest rich honorably accompanied olde and aboue all seeing thou diest in the seruice of the commonwealth why fearest thou to enter into thy graue Thou hast alwaies beene a friend as much to know things past as those which were hid and kept secret Since thou hast prooued what honours and dishonours deserue riches and pouertie prosperitie and aduersitie ioy and sorrow loue and fear vices and pleasures mee seemeth that nothing remaineth to know but that it is necessarie to know what death is And also I sweare vnto thee most noble Lord that thou shalt learne more in one houre what death is then in an hundred yeares what life meaneth Since thou art good and presumest to be good and hast liued as good is it better that thou die and goe with so many good then that thou scape and liue amongst so many euill That thou feelest death I maruell nothing at all for thou art a man but I doe maruell that thou dissemblest it not since thou art discreet Many things doe the sage men feele which inwardly doe oppresse their heart but outwardly they dissemble them for the more honour If all the poyson which in the sorrowfull heart is wrapped were in small peeces in the feeble flesh scattered then the wals would not suffice to rubbbe neither the nayles to scratch vs. What other thing is death but a trap or doore wherewith to shut the shop wherein all the miserie of this wofull life are vendible What wrong or preiudice doe the gods vnto vs when they call vs before them but from an old decayd house to change
sufficient to protect and defende mee in all my causes And shortly after these words passed betweene tham Marke Anthonie shewed the friendship hee bare to the one and the enmitie hee had to the other For he caused Tullie to be put to death and raysed Salust to great honour A Friend may well imparte to the other all his owne as bread wine money time conuersation and such like but hee cannot notwithstanding giue him part of his heart for that suffereth it not to be parted nor deuided because it caÌ be giueÌ but to one alone This graunted to bee true as needs it must doubtles that the heart cannot bee deuided but onely giuen to one then is it of necessitie that hee that will seeke to haue many Friends must needs repaire to the shambles to prouide him of many hearts Many vaunt themselues and thinke it a glory to haue numbers of friends but let such well consider to what vse that legendarie of Friendes doe serue them they shall then easily finde they stand them in no oeher steede but to eate to drinke to walke to babble and to murmure togethers and not one to helpe the other with their goods fauour and credite at their neede nor friendly to reprooue them of theyr faults and vices which doubtles ought not to bee so For where true and perfect friendship raigneth neyther I with my friend nor hee with mee should dissemble any vice of faulte Ouide sayth in his booke De Arte amandi that the law of true and vnfained Loue is so streight that no friendship but mine in thy heart should harbour and in mine should lodge none others loue but thine for loue is none other thing But one heart liuining in two bodyes and two bodyes obeying in one heart In this World there is no treasure comparable to a true and sure Friend sith to a faithfull Friende a man may safely discouer the secrets of his heart bewray vnto him his gryping griefes trusting him with his honour committing to his guyde and custodie all his goods hee shall succour him in his miserie counsell him in perill reioyce at his prosperitie and mourne at his aduersitie And in fine I conclude such a friend neuer wearyeth to serue him in his life nor to lament him after his death I graunt that Golde and Siluer is good Kinsefolkes are good and Money is good but true friends exceede them all without comparison For all these things cannot warrant vs from necessitie if sinister Fortune plunge vs into it but rather encrease our torments and extreamitie Also they doe not reioyce vs but rather heape further griefes vpon vs neither doe they succour vs but rather eache houre giue vs cause to complaine and much lesse do they remember and aduise vs of that that is good but still doe deceyue vs not directing vs the right way but still bringing vs out of our way and when they haue led vs awry out of the High-way they bring vs into Desart woods and high and dangerous mountaines whence from we must fall downe headlong A true friend is no partaker of these conditions but rather hee is sorry for the least trouble that happeneth to his friend hee feareth not neither spareth his goods nor the daunger of his person he careth not to take vpon him any painfull iourney quarrels or sutes nor yet to put his life in euery hazard of death And yet that that is most of all to bee esteemed is that like as the heart and bowels euer burne with pure and sincere loue so doth hee wish and desire with gladsome mind to beare the burthen of all his friends mishaps yea more then yet is spoken of Alexander the Great offered great presents to the Philosopher Zenocrates who would not vouchsafe to receyue them much lesse to beholde them And beeing demaunded of Alexander why he would not receyue them hauing poore kinsfolkes and parents to bestow them on hee answered him thus Truely I haue both brothers and sisters O Alexander yet I haue no kinsman but him that is my friend and one onely friend I haue who hath no need of any gifts to bee giuen him For the onely cause why I chose him to be my sole and only friend was for that I euer saw him spise these worldly things Truly the sentence of this good Philosopher Zenocrates is of no small efficacy for him that will aduisedly consider of it sith that not seldome but many times it happeneth that the great troubles the sundry dangers the continuall necessities and miseries wee suffer in this vale of misery haue for the most part procceded from our parents and afterwards by our friends haue beene mediated and redressed Therefore since wee haue thought it good and necessary to chose a friend and that hee bee but one onely each man must bee wise lest in such choise hee be deceyued For oft times it happeneth that those that take little regarde herein grant their friendship to such a one as is too couetous impatient a great babler seditious and presumptuous and of such conditions that sometimes it should be lesse euill for vs to haue him our enemie then to account of him as of our deer friend Him whom wee will chuse for our faithfull friend amongst other manners and conditions hee must chiefly and before all bee indued with these that he be courteous of nature fayre spoken hard and stout to indure pain patient in troubles sober in diet moderate in his words graue and ripe in his counsels and aboue all stedfast in friendshippe and faithfull in secrets And whom wee shall find with these laudable vertues and conditions adorned him may wee safely take and accept for our friend But if wee see any of these parts wanting in him wee ought to shun him as from the plague knowing for certainety that the friendshippe of a fayned and fantasticall friend is much worse and perillous then the enmity of a knowne and open enemy for to the hands of one wee commit our heart and faith and from the deceites and treasons of the other wee defend our selues with our whole force and power Seneca writing to his deere and faithfull friend Lucillus sayeth vnto him I pray thee O Lucillus that thou order and determine thine affayres by the aduice and counsell of thy friend but also I doe remember thee that first thou see well what manner of friend thou hast chosen thee for there is no marchandise in the world this day that men are so soone beguiled in as they are in the choise of friends Therfore the graue sentence of Seneca wisely wayed wee should assent with him in opinion that sith no man buyeth a Horse but hee first causeth him to bee ridden nor bread but first hee seeth and handleth it nor wine but hee tasteth it nor flesh but first he wayeth it nor corne but hee seeth a sample nor house but hee doth first value it nor Instrument but that first hee playeth on it
and iudgeth of his sound It is but reason hee should be so much the more circumspect before hee choose his Friend to examine his life and condition since all the other things wee haue spoken of may bee put in diuers houses and corners but our Friend we lodge and keepe deerely in our proper be wells Those that write of the Emperour Augustus say that he was very strange and scrupulous in accepting Friends but after hee had once receyued them into his friendship hee was very constant and circumspect to keepe them For hee neuer had any friend but first he had some proofe and tryall of him neyther would hee euer after forsake him for any displeasure done to him Therefore it shold alwayes be so that true friends should beare one to an other such loue and affection that the one beeing in prosperitie should not haue occasion to complaine of himselfe in that hee did not relieue his friends necessitie being in aduersitie nor the other being poore and needy should grudge or lament for that his friend being rich and wealthie would not succour him with all that hee might haue done for him For to say the trueth where perfect friendship is there ought no excuse to be made to doe what possible is the one for the other The friendship of young men commeth commonly or for the most part at the least by beeing companions in vice and follie and such of right ought rather to be called vacabonds then once to deserue the name of true friends For that cannot bee called true friendship that is continued to the preiudice or derogation of vertue Seneca writing againe to Lucillus saith these words I would not haue thee thinke nor once mistrust O my Lucillus that in all the Romaine Empire I haue any greater Friende then thuo but with all assure thy selfe that our Friendship is not so straight between vs that I would take vpon mee at any time to doe for thee otherwise then honesty should lead mee For though that loue I beare thee hath made thee Lord of my libertie yet reason also hath left mee vertue free The Authour proceedeth on Applying that wee haue spoken to that wee will now declare I say I will not acknowledge my selfe your seruant for so should I bee compelled to feare you more then loue you much lesse will I vaunt my selfe to bee your Kins-man for so I should importune and displease you and I will not brag that heretofore wee haue beene of familiar acquaintaunce for that I would not make any demonstration I made so little account of you and lesse then I am bound to doe neyther will I boaste my selfe that I am at this present your familiar and welbeloued For indeed I should then shew my selfe to bee too bolde and arrogant but that that I will confesse shall be that I loue you as a Friend and you mee as a Kins-man albeeit this friendship hath succeeded diuersly till now For you being Noble as you are haue bountifully shewed your friendship to mee in large and ample gifts but I poore and of base estate haue onely made you sure of mine in wordes Plutarch in his politikes sayd That it were far better to fell to our friends our workes and good deedes whether they were in prosperitie aduersitie or necessitie then to feede them with vaine Flattering wordes for nothing Yet it is not so generall a rule but that sometimes it happeneth that the loftie and high words on the one side are so profitable and the workes so few and feeble on the other side that one shal be better pleased and delighted with hearing the sweete and curteous wordes of the one then he shall be to be serued with the colde seruice and workes of the other of small profite and value Plutarche also in his booke De animalibus telleth vs that Denis the Tyrant beeing one day at the Table reasoning of diuers and sundrie matters with Chrysippus the Phylosopher it chaunced that as hee was at dinner one brought him a present of certaine Sugar-cakes wherefore Chrysippus ceasing his former discourse fell to perswade Denis to fall to his cakes To whome Denis aunswered on with your matter Chrysippus and leaue not off so For my heart is better contented with thy sweete and sugred wordes then my Tongue is pleased with the delicate taste of these mountain-cakes For as thou knowest these cakes are heauie of digestion and doe greatly annoy the stomack but good workes doe meruellously reioyce and comfort the heart For this cause Alexander the great had the poet Homer in greater veneration beeing dead then all the other that were aliue in his time not for that Homer euer did him seruice or that hee knew him but onely because of his learned Bookes hee wrote and compiled and for the graue sentences he found therein And therefore he bare about him in the day time the booke of the famous deedes of Troy called the Illyades hanged at his neck within his bosome and in the night hee layde it vnder his bolster at his beds-head where hee slept In recompence therefore Syr of the many good turnes I haue receyued at your hands I was also willing to compyle and dedicate this my little Treatise to you the which I present you with all my desires my studyes my watches my sweatte and my troubles holding my selfe fully satisfyed for all the paines I haue taken so that this my simple trauell be gratefull vnto you to whom I offer it and to the publike weale profitable Being well assured if it please you to trust me and credite my wryting you shall manifestly know how freely I spake to you and like a friend and not deceyue you as a flatterer For if the beloued and Fauourites of Princes chaunce to bee cast out of fauour it is because euery man flattereth him and seeketh to please him and no man goeth about to tell him trueth nor that that is for his honour and fittest for him Salust in his booke of the warres of Iugurtha sayth that the high heroycall facts and deedes were of no lesse glorie to the Hystoriographers that wrote them then they were to the captaine that did them For it happeneth many times that the Captaine dying in the battell hee hath wonne liueth afterwardes notwithstanding by the Fame of his noble attempt And this proceedeth not only of the valiant deeds of Arms he was seene doe but also for that wee read of him in worthy Authors which haue written thereof Wee may well say therefore touching this matter that as well may wee take him for a true friend that giueth good counsell as hee which doeth vs great pleasure and seruice For according to the opinion of the good Emperor Marcus Aurelius who who saide to his Secretarie Panutius that a man with one pay may make full satisfaction and recompence of many pleasures and good turns shewed but to requite a good counsell diuers thankes and infinite seruices are requisite If we
beÌt to bloudy wars went to see speake with Diogines the Phylosopher offring him great presents discoursing with him of diuers matters So that wee may iustly say This good Prince of himselfe tooke paines to seeke out wise men to accompanie him electing by others choyce and aduise all such as hee made his Captaines to serue him in the warres It is manifest to all that Dyonisius the Syracusan was the greatest Tyrant in the worlde and yet notwithstanding his Tiranny it is a wonder to see what sage and wise men he had continually in his Courte with him And that which makes vs yet more to wonder of him is that hee had them not about him to serue him or to profite one jote by their doctrines and counsell but onely for his honour and their profite which enforceth mee to say concurring with this example that sith Tyrants did glorie to haue about them Sages wise and worthie men Much more should those reioice that their works deeds are noble freeharted And this they ought to do not onely to bee honoured with them openly but also to be holpen with their doctrine and counsells secretly And if to some this should seeme a hard thing to follow we will say that worthy men not being of abilitie and power to maintayne such Wise-men ought yet at least to vse to reade at times good and vertuous books For by reading of vertuous Bookes they may reape infinite profite As for example By reading as I say these Good Authours the desire is satisfied their iudgement is quickned ydlenesse is put away the heart is disburdened the Time is well employed and they lead their liues vertuously not being bound to render account of so manie faults as in that time they might haue committed And to conclude it is so good an exercise as it giueth good example to the Neighbour profite to himselfe and health to the soule We see by experience after a man taketh vppon him once the Studie of holie Scriptures and that hee frameth himselfe to bee a Diuine hee will neuer willingly thenceforth deale in any other studyes and all because he will not forgoe the great comfort and pleasure he receyueth to reade those holy sayings And that causeth that we see so manie learned wise men for the more part subiect to diuers diseases and full of Melancholike humours For so sweete is the delight they take in theyr Bookes that they forget and leaue all other bodily pleasure And therefore Plutarche writeth that certaine phylosophers being one day met at the lodging of Plato to see him demanding what exercise he had at that time Plato answered theÌ thus Truely my brethren I let you know that euen now my onely exercise was to see what the great Poete Homer said And this he tolde them because that they took him euen then reading of some of Homers bookes and to say truely his aunswere was such as they should all looke for of him For to reade a good booke in effect is nothing else but to heare a wise man speake And if this our iudgement and aduise seeme good vnto you we would yet say more that you should profite more to reade one of these bookes then you should to heare speake or to haue conference with the Author him selfe that made it For it is without doubt that all Writers haue more care and respect in that their penne doth write then they haue in that their tongue doth vtter And to the end you should not thinke we cannot proue that true that we haue spoken I giue you to vnderstand that euerie Author that will write to publish his doing in print to lay it to the shew and iudgement of the world and that desireth thereby to acquire honour fame and to eternize the memory of him turneth many bookes conferreth with other wise and lerned men addicteth himselfe wholy to his book endeauoureth to vnderstand well oft refuseth sleepe meat and drinke quicneth his spirites doing that he putteth in writing exactly with long aduise and consideration which he doth not when hee doth but onely speake and vtter them though oft in deede by reason of his great knowledge in speech vnawares there falleth out of his mouth many godly and wise sentences And therefore God hath giuen him a goodly gift that can reade and him much more that hath a desire to study knowing how to chuse the good bookes from the euill For to say the truth there is not in this world any state or exercise more honourable and profitable then the study of good books And we are much bound to those that read more to those that study and much more to those that write any thing but most doubtlesse to those that make compile goodly books and those of great and high doctrine for there are many vaine and fond bookes that rather deserue to be throwne into the fire then once to be read or looked on for they do not only shew vs the way to mocke them but also the ready meane to offend vs to see them occupie their braines and best wittes they haue to write foolish and vaine things of no good subiect or erudition And that which is worst of all yet they are occasion that diuers others spend as much time in reading their iests and mockeries as they would otherwise haue imploied in doctrine of great profit and edifying the which to excuse and defend their error say they did not write them for men to take profite thereby but only to delight and please the Readers to passe the time away merily whom we may rightly answer thus That the reading of ill and vaine bookes cannot bee called a pastime but aptly a very losse of time And therefore Aulus Gelius in the fifteenth of his booke writeth that after the Romanes vnderstood the Orators and Poets of Rome did giue themselues to write vain voluptuous and dishonest bookes causing Enterludes and Poeticall Comedies to be played they did not only banish them from Rome but also out all the parts of Italy for it beseemed not the Romane grauity neyther was it decent for the Weale publike to suffer such naughty bookes among them and much lesse for to beare with vicious and lasciuious gouernours And if the Romane Panims left vs this for example how much more ought wee that are Christians to continue and follow it since that they had no other Bookes for to reade saue onely Histories and we now a dayes haue both Histories and holy Scriptures to read which were grauÌted vs by the church to the end that by the one we might take some honest pleasure and recreation and with the other procure the health of oursoules Oh how farre is the Common-wealth nowe-adayes digressed from that wee wryte and counsell since we see plainely that men occupie themselues at this present in reading a nuÌber of Books the which only to name I am ashamed And therfore said Aulus Gelius in his 14. book That there
ability in the rents of an other mans goods and their liberty in seruice and subiection of those that gaue them wages and hired them by the day And would to God their bloud were not tainted with some other notable blot There is a plague also in the Court which alwayes dureth and neuer leaueth Court that is that those that are alwayes least worth and are of least calling doe presume and take vpon them most and also are worst to please of all others And this they doe their power being small that they would supply that in wordes countenance which they want in deeds and effects Ilye if I saw not once in the country of Aragon a Gentleman that hired a whole house where himselfe and his family were very well lodged and commodiously after that I remeÌbred I met with him in Castilla where he could not content himself with the charge of eight houses besides his first hee was appointed to and the occasion was for that in Aragon hee payed for that house hee had and for these he payed nothing So that of an others purse euery man coueteth to shew his magnificence and to declare his follies but wheÌ they defray their own charge they are as hard as flint and goe as neere to worke as may be It is very true that if there be any disorder and trouble to bee lodged in the Court it commeth also for the most part of the Harbingers without whom the Courtiers could neuer be well lodged although the Prince had commaunded they should be lodged neere him Albeit in the court a man may easily exempt himselfe from the Princes counsell and iustice of the same hauing no sutes there and from the counsel and affayres of wars being no captaine From the Sinod of the Spirituality being no Ecclesiasticall person and from that of the Indians going to no Magitians from the conuentions of Marchants keeping safely their Marchandise and from the correction of the Lord high Marshall of the Court not being foolish and insolent yet neuerthelesse there is no Courtier be hee neuer so high or great in fauour that can auoyde himselfe from the Harbingers authority but hee must needs come vnder his lee being in their power to dispose the lodgings as they thinke good to lodge them honourably or meanely to please or displease them to lodge or dislodge them And if the Courtier happen at any time to quarrell or fall out with them I warrant him he shal be remembred of the Harbingers in his lodging and possibly a Horsekeeper yea perhapps his enemy shall bee better lodged then he or else hee may seeke his lodging in the streets where he will For all other iniuries or offences in Courte whatsoeuer the Courtier may easilie redresse them by iustice but for those he receiueth of the harbinger he must take them quietly and be contented with them For otherwise we shoulde not only offend them but iniure our selues make them prouide vs of no lodging so hereby wee should vtterly be dislodged vnprouided And therfore they beare with many thinges in that office which they would not doe in any other office as for example Those kind of officers must be much made of of others well intreated accoÌpanied feasted flattred folowed yea many times serued and wayted vpon I meane in seruing their turne annointing their hands and alwayes enriching their gloues with sompeece of gold or siluer and alas the silly Courtier that hath not such soueraign ointment in his boxe to cure these aboue recited sores but onely to serue his owne turne if hee be not his kinsman or neare allyed let him yet at least get acquainted with him and make him his friend an easie thing to bring to passe if hee doe not vexe him nor giue him ouerthwart language and sometimes he must inuite him to dinner and supper For in the court there is no goodnes gotten neyther by the King by the beloued by the noble men by the honourable of his Councell Treasurers nor yet by the Harbingers but in suffering them and doing them alwaies good and acceptable seruice And if perchance the Harbingers wrong you and doe you displeasure or that they should say you were troublesome and importunate yet be you wise for to beare with them in any case seeme not to heare them For what loseth the Courtier if hee beare now and-then with a few crooked words at the Harbingers hands marry by forforbearing them he happily commeth to be lodged the better Suppose the Courtier bee not alwayes lodged to his mind and desire should he immediately complaine of them or murmur at them no sure he he should but so doing shew himselfe of small education For what skilleth it though among many poundes of good meate the Butcher sometimes mingle a morsell of liuer lungs or lights of the Beast And therefore a man should not blame the poore Harbingers so much as they doe for they are not commanded of the King to build new lodgings but such as they are to diuide them among the traine of his Court So that they do lodge Courtiers in such as they finde and not in those they would adding thereto that they haue regarde vnto their estates and demerits and not to the affections and willes of the persons they lodge For it were more reason they should appoint the greatest and best lodgings to the noblest pesonages eldest seruants of Court then to the late and new come Courtier whose youth can better away with an ill nights lodging then the gray hayres of the old Courtier Otherwise the seruice of the olde Courtier that hath spent his young yeeres in Princes Courts to the great paine and trouble of their persons and in his seruice should for guerdon bee payde with ingratitude if hee should not be preferred to the best commodious lodging for his ease and also the first to be aduanced by the Prince before the young Seruiture Now if it be honest and reasonable that the Harbinger haue greate consideration to the merites of him that hee lodgeth Euen so it is fitte the Courtier should weigh the presse of the Court and incommodious place where the Harbingers are constrained to lodge them knowing that to day the Court remoueth to such a place where there are happily sixe thousand houses and to morrow perhaps there are not a thousand therefore if in such a place hee find but narrow Fustian to make him a doublet let him take patience till such time as they remoue to another place where they shall finde broad cloath inough to make them large clokes CHAP. III. How the Courtier should entreate his host or master of the house where hee lyeth THe good and ciuill Courtier must also entreate his Hoast well where he lieth for else if hee come into his lodging brauling and thretning it may be that besides hee will keepe his heart and good cheare secret froÌ him he will not also open his
they should be throwne at their tayle and kept filthily for as charily and daintily doth a poore labouring and hus bandman keepe his woollen coverlet and setteth as much by it as doth the iolly Courtier by his quilt or ouerpaine of silke And it chanceth oft times also that though at a neede the poore mans bed costeth him lesse money then the rich mans bed costeth him yet doth it serue him better then the rich and costly bed serueth the Gentleman or Nobleman And this to be true we see it by experience that the poore husbandman or Citizen sleepeth commonly more quietly and at his case in his poore bedde and cabben with sheetes of towe then doth the Lord or rich Courtier lying in his hanged Chamber and bed of sickenesse wrapped in his finest Holland sheetes who still sigheth and complaineth And finally wee conclude that then when the Court remoueth and that the Courtier departeth from his lodging where he lay hee must with all courtesie thanke the good man and good wife of the house for his good lodging and courteous intertainment hee hath had of them and must not sticke also to giue them somewhat for a remembrance of him and besides giue certaine rewards among the maides and men seruants of the house according to their ability that he may recompence them for that is past and winne their fauour for that is to come CHAP. IIII. What the Courtiers must doe to win the Princes fauour DIodorus Siculus saith That the honour reuerence the Egyptians vsed ordinarily to their princes was so great that they seemed rather to worship them then to serue them for they could neuer speake to them but they must first haue licence giuen them When it hapned any Subiect of Egypt to haue a suite to their Prince or to put a supplication to them kneeling to them they sayde these words Soueraigne Lorde and Mightie Prince if it may stand with your Highnesse fauour and pleasure I will boldly speake if not I will presume no further but hold my peace And the selfe reuerence and custom had towards God Moses Aaron Tobias Dauid Salomon and other Fathers of Egypt making like intercessioÌ when they spake with God saying Domine mi Rex Si inueni gratiam in oculis tuis loquar ad Dominummeum O my Lord and King if I haue found fauour in thy sight I will speake vnto thee if not I will keepe perpetuall silence For there is no seruice ill when it is gratefull and acceptable to him to whom it is done as to the contrary none good when it pleaseth not the party that is serued For if he that serueth be not in his masters fauor he serueth he may wel take paine to his vndoing without further hope of his good wil or recompence Wherfore touching that I haue said I inferre that hee that goeth to dwell and abide in the Court must aboue all endeuour himselfe all hee can to obtaine the princes fauour and obtaining it hee must study to keepe him in his fauour For it should little preuaile the Courtier to bee beloued of all otherr and of the Prince onely to be misliked And therefore Alcamidas the Grecian being once aduertised by a friend of his that the Athenians did greatly thirst for his death and the Thebans desired his life hee answered him thus If those of Athens thirst for my death and them of Thebes likewise desiring my life I can but bee sorry and lament Howbeit yet if K. Philip my soueraigne Lord and Master holde me still in his grace and fauour and repute me for one of his beloued I care not if all Greece hate maligne me yea and lye in waite for me Indeed sir it is a great thing to get into the princes fauour but when he hath gotten it doubtlesse it is a harder matter to know how to keepe it For to make them loue vs and to win their fauour wee must doe a thousand manner of seruices but to cause them to hate and dislike of vs the least displeasure in the world sufficeth And therefore the paine and trouble of him that is in fauour in the Court is great if hee once offend or bee in displeasure For albeit the prince do pardon him his fault yet he neuer after returneth into his fauor againe so that to conclude hee that once onely incurreth his indignation hee may make iust reckoning neuer after or maruellous hardly to be receyued againe into fauour Therefore sayeth the diuine Plato in his bookes De Republica That to be a King and for to raigne to serue and to be in fauour to fight and to ouercome are three impossible thinges which neyther by mans knowledge nor by any diligence can be obtained onely remaining in the hands and disposing of fickle fortune which doth deuide and giue them where it pleaseth her and to whom she fauoureth best And truely Plato had reason in his saying for to serue and to be beloued is rather happe and good fortune then industry or diligence Since wee see oft times that in the Court of princes those that haue serued but three yeares onely shall bee sooner preferred and aduanced then such one as hath serued perhaps 20. or 30. yeares or possible all his life time And further hee shall bee both displaced and put out of seruice by meanes of the other And this proceeds not through his long and faithfull seruice hee hath done but onely by reason of the good happe that followeth him Although Plato telleth that to gette Realmes and Seigniories to ouercome battels and to be fauoured and beloued of princes be things graunted to vs rather by hazard and fortune then by force of good works and laudable actes or by long toyling in painefull seruice yet the Noble and stout heart therefore should not cease at any time to enterprise and manfully to execute in euery occasion presented to him to atchieue to fame and honour neyther for any pain and labour to lose the hope to obtaine his pretended purpose for men sometimes lose many things rather through timerousnes and want of audacity then for that they lacke good happ or fortune To see in the Court of princes some to bee richer more honoured more noble more esteemed better beloued more wayted vpon better serued and better welcome then others and more seared then others we may by these tokeÌs know that fortune hath not vsed to reward those with such fauours and preferments which liue at home idely and much lesse Courtiers who liue in Court with all pleasure and delicacie wherewith they are neuer wearied Let no man bee so fond to thinke that fortune is so bountifull and liberall that for his authority or onely thought shee will be once moued to lift him out of misery to exalt him to higher place and dignity without som secret and priuate respect had to his vertue For when shee many times vpon a suddaine rayseth any to high and great estate it commeth by the
passioned in casting his seruice in the Princes teeth saying All others haue been recompenced saue onely him whom the Prince hath cleane forgotten For Princes will not that wee onely serue them but that we also at their willes and pleasures tarry for recompence and not to haue it when wee gape or are importune for it Howbeit it is lawfull notwithstanding humbly and lowly without choler or passion to put the Prince in remembrance of all that wee haue done for him and of the long time we haue spent in seruing him Also the curious Courtier shall not shew himselfe to dislike at all of the Prince neyther by heaping of many words to induce him to hear him with the better good will For mens hearts are so prone to ill that for one onely vnpleasant or ouerthwart word spoken to them they lightly forget a thousand seruices done them Socrates being one day demanded what hee thought of the Princes of Greece answered There is no other difference betweene the names and propeties of the gods that of princes but that the gods were immortall and these mortall For these mortall princes vse in a manner the like authoritie heere in earth that the Gods immortall do in Heauen aboue Saying further also that I alwaies was am and will bee of that minde that my mother Greece remain a common weale But since it is determined to bee gouerned by princely Monarchy I wish them in al and for al to acknowledge their obedience and allegiance to their King and Soueraigne For when they would otherwise vse it they may bee assured they shall not onely goe against mortal Princes but also against the eternall God Suetonius Tranqutllus sayth that Titus the Emperour being aduertised that the Consuls would kill him and vsurpe his Empire aunswered thus wisely Euen as without the diuine will and prouidence I could neuer haue possessed the Emperiall Crowne so without their permission sufferaÌce it lyeth in no mans power to depraue mee of it For to vs men it pertayneth onely to keepe the Emperiall iurisdiction and to the gods alone to giue and defend it Which wee haue spoken to the end no man presume to be reuenged of his Prince neyther in word nor deede for to speake ill of him wee should rather purchase vs their high indignation and displeasure then procure vs any cause or suggestion to be reuenged of him Let the good Courtier bee also aduised that in talking with the Prince he bee not too obstinate to contende with the Prince or any other in the Princes presence For this name of arrogant and selfe willed becommeth not the person of a wise Courtier For we know that in sport and argument euery man desireth to ouercome how trifling soeuer the matter bee And therefore wee reade in the Life of the Emperour Seuerus that Publius the Consull iested one day with Fabritius his Companion and tolde him he was in loue Whom Fabritius answered I do doe confesse it is a fault to bee in loue but yet it is a greater faulte for thee to bee so obstinate as thou art for loue proceedeth of wit and discretion but obstinacy commeth of folly and great ignorance If perchance the King aske the Courtiers opinion in those matters they discoursed if he know his opinion to agree with the Princes Let him therfore tell it him hardly but if it be contrary let him holde his peace not contend against him framing som honest excuse to conceale his opinion But if perhaps the King were obstinate and bent to his opinion in any thing and that through his selfe will and obstinacie he would do any thing vnreasonable or preiudiciall to his Common-wealth and that great detriment might come thereby yet for all this in such case the Beloued Courtier should not at that instant be too plain with him to let him vnderstand his error neyther yet should hee suffer him altogether to passe his way vntouched but in some fine manner and proper words as may become the place best to giue him to vnderstand the truth But to vse it with more discretion hee shall not need before them all to open his whole mind but to keepe his opinion secret expecting a more apter time when the King shall be apart in his Priuie Chamber and then franckely to tell him his whole minde with all humility and reuerence and to shew him the plaine truth without keeping any one thing from his knowledge For otherwise in telling the King openly he should make him ashamed and in dissembling his faulte also priuily he should not be admonished of his error committed Now therefore let our conclusion bee that the Courtier that proceeds in his matters rather with opinion obstinacy then discretion and iudgement shall neuer be in fauour with the Prince nor yet beloued in the Court For it is as necessary for the Courtier that will seeke the fauour of the Prince and loue of the Court to impose his tongue to silence as it is to dispose his body to all manner of seruice I know there are some such rash vndiscreet and arrogant fooles that as much do boast and reioyce to haue spoken vndiscreetly to the King and without respect of his princely Maiesty as if they had done some maruellous thankefull seruice with whome truely no man ought to be greatly offended for such fond bosts and vants as they make and much lesse also with that that happens to them afterward The Courtier also must bee well aduised that albeit the king for his pleasure doe priuilie play with his handes or iest with his tongue with the Courtier and that he take great pleasure in it yet that he in no case presume to doe the like yea thoogh hee were assured the Kings Maiesty would take it well but let him modestly behaue himselfe and shew by his words and countenance that hee thinketh the Prince doth honour him in pleasing his Maiesty to vse those pastimes and pleasant deuises with so vnworthy a person as he is For the Prince may lawfully play and sport himselfe with his Lordes and Gentlemen but so may not they againe with him For so doing they might be counted very fond and light With a mans companions and coequals it is lawfull fot euery man to bee merry and playe with all But with the Prince let no man so hardy once presume further more then to serue honour and obey him So that the wise Courtier must endeauour himselfe alwayes to come in fauour by his wisedome and courtly behauiour in mattsrs of weight and importance and by great modesty and grauity in thinges of sport and pastime Therefore Plutarch in his Apothegmes sayth That Alcibiades amongst the Greekes a worthy Captaine and a man of his owne Nature disposed to much mirth pleasure being asked once by some of his familiar friends why he neuer laughed in Theaters Banquets and other coÌmon playes where hee was aunswered them thus Where others eate I faste where others
take paine and play I rest mee and am quiet where others speake I am silent where they laugh I am courteous and iest not For wise men are neuer knowne but among fooles and light persons When the Courtier shall vnderstand or heare tell of pleasant thinges to be laughed at Let him in any case if he can flye from those great laughters and fooleries that hee bee not perhaps moued too much with such toâes to laugh too lowde to clappe his hands or to doe other gestures of the bodie or admirations too vehement accompanied either with a rude and barbarous manner of behauiour then with a ciuill and modest noblenesse For ouer great and excessiue laughter was neuer engendred of wisdome neyther shal he euer be counted wise of other that vseth it There are also an other sort of Courtiers that speake so coldly laugh so drily and with so ill a grace that it were more pleasure to see them weep then to laugh Also to nouell or to tell tales to delight others and to make them laugh you must be as briefe as you can that you weary not and comber not the Auditory pleasant and not biting nor odious Else it chanceth oftentimes that wanting any of these conditions from iesting they come many times to good earnest Elius Spartianus in the life of the Emperour Seuerus sayth that the sayd Em-Emperour had in his Court a pleasant foole and hee seeing the foole one day in his dumpes and cogitations asked him what he ayled to be so sadde The foole made answere I am deuising with my selfe what I should doe to make thee merry And I sw are to thee my Lord Seuerus that for as much as I weigh thy life so deare possibly I study more the nights for the tales I shall tell thee in the morrow after then doe the Senators touching that they must decree on the next day And I tell thee further my Lord Seuerus that to bee pleasant and delighting to the Prince hee must neyther be a very foole nor altogether wise But though hee bee a foole yet hee must smatter somewhat of a wiseman and if hee bee wise hee must take a little of the foole for his pleasure And by these examples wee may gather that the Courtier must needs haue a certaine modesty and comely grace as well in speaking as hee must haue a soft sweet voyce in singing There are also some in Court that do not spare to go to Noble mens bords to repast which being in deede the vnseemely grace it selfe yet in theyr wordes and talke at the boorde they would seeme to haue a maruellous good grace wherein they are oft deceyued For if at times the Lordes and gentlemen laugh at them it is not for any pleasure they take in their talke but for the ill grace and vncomely gestures they vse in their talke In the banquets and feasts Courtiers make sometimes in the Summer there are very oft such men in theyr company that if the wine they dranke tooke their condition it should bee drunke eyther colder or hoter then it is CHAP. VI. How the Courtier should behaue himselfe to know and to visite the Noble men and Gentlemen that be great with the Prince and continuing still in Court THe Courtier that commeth newly to the Court to serue there must immediately learne to know those that are in authority and fauour in the Court and that are the Princes Officers For if hee doe otherwise neyther should he be acquainted with any Noble man or Gentleman or any other of the Princes seruants neither would they also giue him place or let him in when he would For wee bee not conuersant with him wee know not and not being conuersant with him we trust him not and distrusting him wee commit no secrets to him So that hee that will come in fauour in the Court must make himselfe knowne and be friend to all in generall And hee must take heede that hee beginne not so suddenly to bee a busie suiter in his owne priuate affayres or for his friend for so hee shall be soone reputed for a busie soliciter rather then a wise Courtier Therefore hee that will purchase fauour and credite in the Court must not bee carefull to preferre mens causes and to entermeddle in many matters For the nature of Princes is rather to commit their affayres into the hands and trust of graue and reposed men then to busie and importunate soliciters The Courtier also may not bee negligent to visite the Prelates Gentlemen and the fauoured of the Court nor to make any difference betweene the one and the other and not onely to visite their parents and friends but his enemies also For the good Courtier ought to endeauour himselfe the best he can to accept al those for his frends at least that he cannot haue for parents and kinsfolkes For amongest good and vertuous Courtiers there should neuer bee such bloudy hate that they should therefore leaue one to company with another and to bee courteous one to another Those that be of base mind doe shew their cankred hearts by forbearing to speake but those that bee of Noble bloud and valiant courage beginne first to fight ere they leaue to speake together For there is also an other sort of Courtiers which beeing sometimes at the Table of Noble men or else where when they heare of some quarrell or priuate displeasure they shew themselues in offer like Lyons but if afterwards their helpe be craued in any thing and that they must needs stand by their friend and draw on his his side then they shew themselues as still as Lambes and gentle inough to bee entreated Amongst other the new come-Courtier hath to be acquainted withall he must learne to know those the Prince fauoureth and loueth best on whome hee must wayte and attende vpon and doe all the seruice he can without grudge and disdaine For there is no King but farre off on him hath an other King that still contrarieth his minde and preuenteth him of his intent and pleasure And euer neere vnto him some whom hee loueth and fauoureth that may dispose of the Prince as hee listeth Plutarch writing to Traian sayde these words I haue O Traian great pitty on thee for the first day thou tookest vpon thee the Imperiall Crowne of the Romane Empire of a free man thou thraldest thy selfe to bondage For onely you other Princes haue authority to giue liberty to al others but neuer to graunt it to your selues saying moreouer that vnder the colour of royall liberty you shall remaine more subiect then your owne subiects that euer obey you For if you command many in their houses also one alone after commaundeth you in your owne Courte Now although many commanded the Prince or that he would follow the counsell but of a few or that hee loued one aboue an other or that hee consented one alone should gouerne him the good Courtier neede not once to open
strife comming to the Noble-mans eare whome they accompanie it might easily happen that that companie that came to wayte vpon him and to doe him honour and seruice should then seeme to dishonour and offend him Little knoweth he what honor meaneth when in these trifles hee seeketh it For the wise and courteous Courtyer hath not only to seeke honour with them with whom he rideth cheeke by cheeke but also with those that are beloued of the Prince Now when the Noble-man is accompanyed and that hee is come hard by the Court your Courtyers bee readie to alight off your horse quickely before him and when hee shall likewise take his horse againe be as ready to take your horse backe before him For doing thus you shall bee neare about him when hee lighteth off his horse and afterwards helpe him when hee mounteth on his horse againe If perhaps at the comming in of a Chamber the Lordes seruants want consideration or that they remember not to holde open the cloth ouer the dore the good and diligent Courtier should sodenly put himselfe before him to lift and hold it vp For many times it is as great an honour for a Courtier to be accounted one of good maner and bringing vp in the Court as out of the Court it is to be reputed a great and famous Captaine in wars And since the Courtier is determined to accompany some noble man to the Court hee is also bound by the Lawes of the Court to wayte vpon him home againe which if hee doe the Noble man shall bee more beholding to him for the attendance hee hath giuen vpon him then for his coÌpany to ride with him If any come to speake with the courtier that were equall with him in degree or meaner of calling or condition then himselfe it is one of the first and chiefest points of ciuility good manner not to suffer him to open his lips to speake to him before hee haue his cappe on his head for one to talke commonly with the other with his cappe in his hand is of great authority and reuerence as from the duty of the subiect to the Prince or that of the seruant to the Master The good Courtier must euer speake againe to him that speaketh to him do him reuerence that doeth him reuerence put off his cappe to him that putteth off his and this hee must doe without any respect that hee is his friend or foe for in the effects of good maners no man ought so much to bee an Enemie that the enmitie should breake the boundes of curtesie and humanity It is rather fit for common persons then for Courtlike gentlemen in so meane things to shewe their enmitie For to say truely the good Courtyer should not shewe the enmitie of the heart by putting on or pulling off his Cap but by taking sworde in hand to reuenge his quarrell And if the Courtyer were in the Church Court or in the Chappell of the Prince and set and an other gentleman happely commeth in the same place where he is he must doe him the curtesie to giue him the place and seat and to pray him to sit downe yea and if there were no other place fit for the gentleman to sit in and that of curtesie also hee would not offer him that iniurie to accept it yet at the least let the Courtyer doe what hee may to make him take a peece of his stoole that parting with him his seate the other may also come to part with him his heart If those that were set hard by the Courtyer begun to talke in secrete together he should rise from thence or goe a little aside from them For in the Court they wil say he is ill taught and brought vp and wanteth ciuilitie and good manners that will seeme to harken to any bodyes tales or secrets The Courtyers must haue frienship also with the Porters to open him the Court-gates that are kept fast chained in that they be contented to suffer their Moyle or Foot-cloth-nagge to enter into the vtter-court And the like must be practised with the gentlemen-Vshers of the Chamber and Captaine of the Garde to whom hee must doe a thousand pleasures that they may respect his person and let him come in when he wil. and the next way to winne his friendship and to continue them friendes and to be welcome of them is to feast them otherwhiles sometimes with a banket but especially not to faile them with a new-yeares gift on New-yeares day what Trifle or present soeuer it bee That Courtyer that is not acquaynted with the Vshers and doth them no pleasures may bee well assured that those aboue in the Hall will make him tarry in the vtter-Court and those that stand at the gate of the Cheyne they will make him light in the myre With the Vshers of the priuie-Chamber hee must needes deale honourably withall as to come and see them sometimes and to do them much honour in giuing them some faire iewell or presenting them with a Gowne or Coate-cloth of silke or veluet And thus he shall be assured they will not only let him into the priuie-chamber but they will also procure him to speake with the Prince at his best leysure To make the yeomen of the Guarde also that make gentlemen giue place and stand a loose off-from the Prince it cannot bee but very profitable for the Courtyer to haue them his friends For many times they may helpe vs to a fit place to talke with the King it is such a trouble and charge to speake with the Prince that if wee haue not greaat Friendship with these we haue spoken of and that we doe them some pleasures before we come to the Court they will shut the dores against vs and wee shall come home ashamed of our selues For a Courtyer to bee acquaynted with the Ladies and gentlemen of the Court it is rather of pleasure then of necessitie albeit it be true that the young-Courtyer that serueth not some Ladie or Dame in the Court shall be rather blamed of his shamefastnesse and Cowardly heart then approued for his modestie and grauitie In deede for a young-Gentleman that is rich noble and free-harted it is an honest and comely entertainment to become some Ladyes seruaunt of the Court But for him that is poore liuing in disgrace and out of fauour let him vtterly flye the loue of Courtly Dames and sticke to the poor-friends ship of deuout Nunnes For the property of Courtly Mistresses is to empty their seruants-purses and the manner of religious-Nunnes to beg alwayes of him that visites her The Courtyer that offereth himselfe to serue any Ladie or gentlewoman in court doth bind himselfe to a streight religion For sometimes hee must kneele by her of one knee sometimes he must stand vppon his Feete before her and alwayes he must haue his cap in his hand and he may not speake to her vnlesse shee commaund him first and if shee aske any thing
of him hee is bound to giue it her straight if hee can and though shee frowne vppon him yet hee may not bee angrie with her so that the Courtyer must needes imploy his whole person and goods in seruing of her that hee loues For the Courtyer that is marryed surely it is not fit for him to loue any other woman then his wife neyther is it honest for the woman to be serued with any married courtyer For these manner of loues are to no other ende but for him to be merry with her and for her to get somewhat of him Let the Courtyer be very wise and beware that he doe not loue and serue such a gentlewoman whom he cannot obtaine to his wife For otherwise it should be a great corsiue to his heart and a more shame to see another before his eyes to enioy her and eate of that fruite which hee had now to his great coste and charges made now a fruitfull Orch-yard And if it happen that his Mistresse whom he serueth be nobly borne very fayre of complexion pleasant of condition of good grace and behauiour in her conuersation very wise fine in her doings hee may bee well assured hee shall neuer forget this griefe and sorrow and so much the more if hee did loue her with all his heart and vnfainedly There is great difference between that we lose and that wee haue For if the heart lament for the losse of that wee haue it bewayleth bitterly to lose that wee loue Also the Courtier must be aduised that hee tell not to any that his wife hath told him or any thing that hath passed secretly between theÌ For women are of such a quality that for any thing they doe they would neuer heare of it againe willingly and those secrets that another commits to them of trust they can neuer keepe them secret There is a Law common between women and their Louers for if they goe abroad their louers must attende vpon their persons and if they buy any thing in the streete as they goe they are bound to pay for it And if they be too late abroad they must prouide them of torches to bring them home with and when the Court remoueth froÌ place to place theirs is the charge to defray their expences by the way and if any doe them iniury they are bound to reuenge their quarrell If they fall sicke they must doe them a thousand pleasures and seruices if any challenge bee made in Court of tilt turney or barriers they must bee the first and best mounted and armed aboue others if they may possible with all not forgetting their Ladyes colours and deuise offering themselus nobly to performe the challenge giuing them to vnderstand that for their sakes they neyther feare to aduenture their liues nor spare for any charge to doe them all honour and seruice with out doubt wee may speake it truely that hee putteth himselfe to great perill and danger whatsoeuer hee bee that serueth women But when the wise Courtier is now become a seruaunt to any Lade hee must beware in any case hee entertaine or serue any other then his mistresse for if hee did it otherwise hee should raise a mortall hate and discorde betweene these women by reason whereof many slaunders broiles might ensue It is a naturall thing to all women that to hate any man a hundred will come to agree in one opinion but to loue him you shall not finde two of one minde The good Courtier must couet the best he can to be alwayes at the making ready of the King and at meat and that for two causes The one for that hee may be ready to doe him seruice and the other for that at such a time they shall haue an apt time to treate with the Prince in any thing hee will if he haue any occasion of busines with him And when the King is eyther at his meate or that hee bee putting on his apparrell let the good Courtier be circumspect he come not too neere the Table where he sitteth nor that hee touch the Kings apparell he weareth on for no man ought once to presume to bee so hardy to meddle with his meate or his apparrell vnlesse he be Shewer or Chamberlaine And if in this time of repast or making him ready there were present any Iesters or fooles that sayd or did any thing to make them laugh The good Courtier must take heede that hee laugh not too loud as in such cases many are wont to doe For in such a case the Prince would be better pleased at the modesty of the Courtier then at the knauery of the foole The honest Courtier must not haue a foole his friend nor his enemy for to make him his friend hee is too dishonest and to be his enemy hee is too vile and cowardly I wish the Courtier not to bee angry with him what soeuer he doth for many times it happeneth that the friendshippe of a wise man doth not so much benefite or pleasure as the enmity and displeasure of one of these fooles doth hurt And if hee will giue them any thing as he must needes let him beware he giue him not occasion to condemne his conscience and that hee stoppe their mouthes For the Courtier that is Christian shall giue as much more to the poore to pray to God for him as hee shall giue to others to speake well of him to the king When the King sneeses and that the Courtier bee present hee must straight put off his cappe and bowe himselfe in a manner to the ground but for all that hee must take heed he say not Christ helpe you or God blesse you or such other like For to doe any maner of courtesie or honor is pertinent onely to Courtiers But to say Christ helpe or God blesse you is the Country manner And if the King by chance should haue any hayre or feather to flye vppon his clothes or any other filthy thing about him none but the chamberlaine onely should take it away and none other Courtier should once presume to take any thing from his backe or to touch his garment neyther any other person vnlesse it were in case to defend him When the king is set at the table the Courtier may not come into the Kitchen nor much lesse leane vpon the surueying boorde For though hee did it perhaps but to see the order of the suruey and seruice of the Prince yet it may bee suspected of some hee meant worser matter and and thereby they should iudge ill of him If the Prince haue a felicity in hawking the Courtier must endeauour himselfe to keepe a cast or two of good Falcons and if in hunting then he must haue good Greyhounds And when hee is eyther a hawking or hunting with the King hee must seeke to serue him so diligently that day that he may both find him game to sport with and procure for himselfe also fauour at the Princes hand Many
bee borne by any likelyhoode of the prentices owne ability Nay sure of the Masters cost as best able whose purse paieth for the good cheare though hee good man fare at home but thinly But well since it toucheth not our matter I will returne againe where I left All these thinges notwithstanding they are dishonest they are somtimes tolleruble and to bee borne so that with these faults they would bee diligent to dispatch men and easily to talke withall But alas for pitty wee see that for all these complaints they heare and for all the requests and intreaty that may be made to them they will neuer take pen in hand before the poore suiter take his hand out of his purse that they may feele him a little We haue spoken all these thinges to admonish remember and beseech the fauoured of the Prince and other their officers that neyther themselues nor their seruants vnder them be long and slow in dispatching such things as they haue charge and chiefly of poor and miserable Suters For if we consider the qualities and conditions of men Wee see that to many Suiters it were lesse detriment and more profit to bee answered quickly though they were denied then dispatched slowly as to haue it graunted to their great charge and long trouble Truly me thinkes it is a great secret of God to know why all those that are Suiters in the Court of Princes and those also whom wee sue to are all mortall And all the Suites that wee labour for seeme yea to say more truly are immortall And hereof wee see a dayly experience that the Suiters dye and their suites liue for euer being neuer determined O excellent Art and fine deuice of suite that Courtiers are wont to vse that are gratefull to Princes as for familiar example They find a way to put in a thousand manner of lets to hinder and delay the sutes because that when by tract of time they haue more then halfe despayred the hopelesse Suiters they then to reuiue them againe and to make their honour seeme the greater dispatch them euen in a moment without let or delay and to the suiters whole contentation It is good reason the Noble Prince haue a regard of the things hee giues and to whome they graunt them and likewise of the Time and place For in receyuing fauour for a good turne at the Princes hand they sometimes make more account and estimate of the Liberalitie and bountifull minde of the Prince then they will doe of the giftes themselues Sure it is a good thing and laudable for those that are continually about the person of the Prince that they be easie to be spoken withall pacient to heare wise in aunswering of good fame in their life and readie to dispatch and doe good For being otherwise they may be well assured they shall shew the marke and white for their enemies to shoote their piercing shafte at and shall giue the Suters also occasion to complaine and speake ill of them And therefore to cut them short I giue them this counsell that in those things they are besought that they be not too harde to bee entreated and in that they are requested that they bee neuer too straunge nor drawing backe much lesse couetous and in those things that are giuen them they bee neuer vnthankfull and with those that they are daylie conuersant that they bee very well aduised and considered and those thinges whereof they are aduertised that they endeauour themselues to keepe it in minde and memory and neuer to forget it And if they shal do otherwise let them assure themselues and trust vnto it that if they in time of suite shall shut the dores against the poore suiters that the common people also will neuer open their hearts once to serue or loue them Princes seruantes should so gouerne themselues that though there were found some ill persons that dispised them for that they might doe much and were of great authority yet that there might bee many others also honest that should prayse and commend them for the great good they doe That man that is enuied dispraysed defamed disloued and all thought of of all should thinke it lesser ill to die honestly theÌ to liue with shame and in disgrace of euery man For to say truely me thinketh no man could liue a more bitter and hard life although hee abode many sorrowes then to see him disliked generally of the common weale It is an honest and naturall thing for men to endeauour themselues by all diligence and industry to get much but it should bee farre better and much more worth to procure themselues good will For in effect nothing doth more satisfie and glad the heart and maketh it more quiet then to thinke that hee is beloued and well accepted of all It is a most certaine Rule that the foes and enemies of the fauoured Courtiers neuer ioyne in friendship with others but with those whome they know to bee full of passions and quarrels like themselues Of which detractors if any one happen at times to go to the house of the honoured of the Court vpon any occasion of suite and that they cannot presently speake with them they will not say I warrant you that he was busie and could not speake with him but that hee was so proud and so haughty that hee would not once heare nor see them Wee are so willing and forward in wishing well and so selfe-willed and obstinate in hating that vpon a light occasion many times wee doe loue those wee loue and with as much lesse occasion we defame and speake il of those wee hate Therefore the fauored of Princes shal do great seruice to GOD and much profite to the Common-weale if they giue order to dispatch all Suters high or low speedily Since it is to the King onely that they impute the denyall of their Sutes but for the delayes and prolongation of them that only they lay to the charge of the Fauourites and beloued of Princes And those that are great with the Prince may not excuse themselues by reason of the numbers of matters they haue in their hands For if he be alone and that it lye in his hands only to dispatch all and that hee is not able to satisfie them all it cannot bee but that some one of his Friends will aduertise the King that hee cannot doe all and how the people complaine and the poore-Suters finde themselues agrieued which purchase him great enemyes and yll-willers by reason the Common-wealth is so altered So that he shall not tarry long but the Prince vnderstaÌding of these complaints will ioyne a companyon with him to ease him of some parte of his paines And therfore the Noble princes and great Personages should admonish and warne the Officers well whom they take to dispatch matters that they bee wise and Learned men vertuous and of good life and that they bee not too partiall in theyr doings nor too sharpe and rough in
see infinite presents brought into his house to be greedy of money and to haue a great train of seruants to wayte vpon them All these are things not onely to make theÌ murmur and repine at but also when time and place serueth to condemne and accuse them to the Prince And this were but little to murmur at them and accuse them so that they did not defame them and diminish their honour and reputation For they tell it abroad afterwards eyther that they are corrupted with presents or that they doe robbe and steale from the Prince their master And therefore I returne once againe to admonish them and specially the officer of the Court that they shal not neede neyther is it requisire they make any ostentation of their riches if they be wise at least For besides that euery body will murmur against him they will not spare to bring it to the Princes cares quickly so that by misfortune it might happen to him that the King would doe that with his seruant that the hunter doth oft with his beasts hee taketh that many times he cherisheth him and giueth him meate to eate not to bring him vp but to fat and kill him for his owne eating CHAP. XV. That the fauoured of the Court shoulde not trust too much to their fauour and credite they haue nor to the prosperitie of their life A worthy Chapter full of good doctrine WHat reputation Paul the Apostle had amongest the Christians the like had the great Cato the Iudge among the Romanes who in the progression of his life proceeded so honestly and in the gouernement of the publike weale was so iust that hee deserued that this Epitaph should be written vpon his Pallace gate O Cato great whose euerlasting fame Amidst the earth still liues with honour due Was neuer none could thee oppresse with shame For iudgement wrong whereby the guiltlesse rule Was nere none durst presse to thee with suites Or fill thy hands with bribes or flatter thee Whereby thou shouldest not shew the worthy fruits Of iustice zeale as Iudges all should bee Among all the noble and renowmed Romanes hee onely would neuer suffer statue or Image of his to bee set vp in the high Capitoll Whereat diuers maruelling and imagining diuersly what was his meaning hee beeing one day in the Senate sayde to them these words openly I will they shall seeke the good workes I haue done by which I did deserue that my Image should be erected in the Capitoll then to giue theÌ cause to goe search and enquire what linage I was of what was my life with intent to pull downe my Image For it happeneth many times that those whom inconstant fortune from a low estate hath raysed vp to high degree and steppe of honour doe become afterwardes by the same occasion rather defamed then praysed for there are many that are reuerenced honoured openly by reason of theyr honour and dignity they haue at this present of whom they make a iesting stocke afterwards when they see them fall Lucan sayeth that Pompeius would say many times when he would speake of these worldly things My friends I can tell you a true thing whereby you may know the little occasion wee haue to trust humane felicities Example you may see in mee which attained to the Romane Empire without any hope I had euer to come vnto it and afterwards also not mistrusting any thing euen suddenlie it was taken from mee and I depriued of it Lucius Seneca beeing banished from Rome wrote a letter to his mother Albuina in which hee did both comfort her and himselfe and wrotte thus O my deare mother Albuina I neuer in all my life beleeued or trusted vnstabel Fortune although there haue bin many peaces and leagues made betwixt her and our house for if at a time the trayteresse consented that for a space I should bee quiet and at rest shee did it not of good will shee had to leaue to pursue me but for to giue me a more cloaked seuerity For when shee seeth wee thinke our selues assured then with al her force and fury shee giueth vs the assault as if shee came to assault the Enemies Campe And I tell thee further yet good mother that all the good shee wrought in mee and the honour shee heaped on mee and all the faculties and aboundance of riches she broght to my house hee tolde mee shee gaue them freely but I alwayes aunswered her I did accept in way of imprest not of gift Her promises therefore shee offered mee the honour she layd vpon mee and the riches she gaue me shee layde them vp in such a corner of my house that either by day or by night she might at her pleasur when shee would take them all from mee without that shee should trouble at all therefore my iudgement or that shee should sorrow my heart a whit And because thou shouldest know how I did esteeme of fortune I tell thee that I euer thought it good neuer to let any thing come within me âor into my heart but only neere vnto me and so I was contented to esteeme it and to keepe it vnder good safety âââ not that I therefore applyed and gaue all my affection and minde vnto it I was glad to haue fortune my friend but if I lost her I was neuer sorry for her Finally I conclude that when she came to assault mee and to robbe my house she might well conuay all that was to put in the Arke but not that shee could euer carry away the least sigh of my heart They say that K. Philip father of Alexander the Great beeing aduertised of three great victories hapned in sundry places to his Army kneeled down on both his knees and holding vp his hands to the heauens sayd O cruel fortune O merciful gods I beseech you most humbly that after so great a glory and victory as this you haue hitherto giuen mee you will moderate your correction and punishment which after this I looke for that you will graunt mee that you punish me with pity and not with vtter destruction and ruine And yet he added this furder to his words Not without cause I Conjure thee Oh Fortune and doe beseeche you immortall Gods that you wil punish me fauourably but not to vndoe me because I am assured that ouermuch felicitie and prosperitie of this life is no more but a prediction and presage of a great calamitie and an yll insuing happe Truely all the Examples aboue recited are worthie to be noted and to be kept alwayes before the eyes of our mindes sith by them wee come to know that in the prosperitie of this our thrawled life there is litle to hope for and much to be afrayd of It is true wee are very fraile by nature since we are borne fraile we liue fraile and daylie wee fall into a thousand fraylties but yet notwithstanding we are not so frayle but wee may if we will resist vice
And all this commeth onely because one sort of people followeth an other but one reason seldome followeth another If wee fall if we stumble if wee be sicke if we breake our face are we sure that seruing as we do the world that the world will recure and remedie vs No sure it is not so For the remedy the world is wont to giue to our troubles is euer notwithstanding greater trouble then the first so that they are like vnto Searing-yrons that burne the flesh and heale not the wound For the world is full of guile and deceyte and subtill to deceiue but very slowe to giue vs remedy And this we see plainly For if it perswade vs to reuenge any iniury receyued it doeth it onely in reuenging of that to make vs receiue a thousand other iniuries And if sometimes wee thinke wee receiue some comfort of the world of our paines and troubles of the body if afterwardes ouer-lodeth our mindes with a Sea of thoughts and cogitations So that this accursed and flattering world maketh vs belieue perswadeth vs the right and perfite way and in the end we are cast vnwares into the Nets of all wickednes priuily layde to ensnare vs. How great soeuer a man bee in fauor with the king how noble of bloud how fine of wit and how warie soeuer hee be let euery man bee assured that practiseth in the world he shall in the ende be deceyued by him For hee costeth vs very deere and wee sell our selues to him good cheape I tolde you but little to tell you we solde our selues good cheape for I should haue saide better in saying we haue giuen out selues in preye wholly to him without receiuing any other recompence And in deede they are very fewe and rare that haue any reward of him and infinit are they that serue him without any other recompence more then an ydle foolish and vaine-hope Oh Trayterous Worlde in how short a time doest thou receyue vs and afterwardes with a glimce of an Eye suddenly doest put vs from thee thou gladdest and makest vs sorrowfull thou callest vs to honour and abasest vs thou punishest vs and doest vs a thousand pleasures And finally I say thou doest make vs so vile and poysonest vs with thy vile labourers that without thee wee are yet euer with thee and that that grieues vs worst of all is that hauing the Thiefe in the house we goe out of the house to giue him place and make him owner When the world knoweth one once that is prowd and presumptuous he procureth him honour to another that is couetous riches to another that is a glutton good meats to an other that is carnall the commoditie of womeÌ to another that is idle quyet and ease and all this doth the Trayterous Worlde to the ende that after as Fish whom hee hath fed hee may laye the net of sinne vpon vs to catch vs in If we would resist the first temptations the World offreth vs it is impossible hee durst so many times assaulte vs. For to say truely by our small and weake resistance increaseth his ouer-great audacitie I would these Louers of this worlde would but tell me a little what ãâã or what Hope they can hope of him Why they should suffer so manie eâcumbers broyles and troubles as they doe To thinke the Worlde can giue vs perpetuall life it is a mockery and extreame madnes to hope of it For we see when life is most deare to vs and that we are lothest to leaue the world then arriueth Death in an vnhappie houre to swallow vs vp to depriue vs of all this our worldly felicitie To hope that the World will giue vs assured Myrth euen this is also a madnes For the dayes excepted we must lament and the houres allottod out to complaine alas we shal see but a small surplus of Time left to laughe and be mertie I can say no more but exhort euery man to looke well about him what he doth and that he be aduised what hee thinketh For when we thinke and belieue wee haue made peace with Fortune euen then is she in battel against vs. And I doe assuredly belieue that that I now prepare my selfe to speake euen presently shall be read of manie but obserued of few and that is that I haue seene those come out of their owne proper houses mourning and lamenting that had spent and consumed all their time in laughing and making good cheere seruing this miserable world which is but only a giuer of all euils a ruine of the good a heap of sinne a tyraunt of vertues a traitor of peace and warre a sweet water of errors a riuer of vices a persecutor of the vertuous a combe of lyes a deuiser of nouelties a graue of the ignorant a cloake of the wicked an ouen of lechery and finally a Charibdis where all good and noble hearts doe perish and a Sylla where all Noble desires and thoughts are cast away together For it is most certaine that this Worlding that is not content with this World and that leaueth his first estate and that taketh vpon him a new manner of life and chaungeth from house to house and from Countrey to Countrey hee shall neuer notwithstanding content himselfe nor quiet his mind And the cause hereof is that if a Worlding depart out of his house neuer to come againe into it there are yet at hand immediatly other ten licentious persons that do but watch to enter into his house Speaking more particularly I say that in the Court of Princes they account them happy and fortunate that be in fauour with the Prince that haue great affairs in Court that bee rich and of power that be serued and honoured of euerie man and that take place goe before euery man So that it may be said that the common people doe not cal those fortunate that deserue to be fortunat but onely those that haue enough But the auncient Philosophers were not of this mind and much lesse are the wise vertuous men at this day For we see that in the Court of Princes many lacke fauor rather then life others lacke both fauour and life together and others not onely their life and fauour but also their goods and faculties So that all that their fauour and credite haue giuen them in many yeares and by sundry griefes and troubles they come afterwardes to lose them euen vpon a suddain and in short time I graunt notwithstanding that it is a great honour profite and furtherance for the Courtier to bee in his Princes fauour but neuerthelesse hee cannot deny me but that it is a dangerous thing also For naturally a great familiarity bringeth also a great enuy with it sith the beloued of the Princes is commonly euill willed of the Common weale And that which is most daungerous is that to obtain the fauor of his Prince hee must so behaue himselfe that his seruice must bee more rare better and exquisite
child-bearing Whether doest thou desire to goe put thy selfe then in a barrell and cast it into the Riuer so shalt thou become pure and white Wee haue eaten the fresh fish and now thou wouldest bring hither the stinking salt fish O Boemia Boemia in this case I see no trust in youth nor hope in age For vnder this thy hored age there is hid the pangues of frayle youth Thou complainest that thou hast nothing it is an old quarrel of the auncient amorous Ladyes in Rome that taking all thinges they say they haue left them nothing The cause thereofis where you do lacke credite there you would haue it accomplished with money Beleeue me louing friend the foolish estate of vnlawfull gaming both giueth an vnsure estate and also an euill fame to the person I know not how thou art so wastfull for if I pulled off my rings with the one hand thou pickedst my purse with the other greater wars haddest thou then with my Coffers then I haue now with my enemies I neuer had iewell but thou demaundedst it of mee and thou neuer askedst mee thing that I denyed thee I finde and bewaile now in my age the high parts of my youth Of trauell pouerty thou complainest I am hee that hath great neede of the medicine for this opilation and playsters for the sonne and colde water for such a burning feuer Doest thou not well remember how I did banish my necessity into the land of forgetfulnesse and placed thy good wil for the request of my seruice in the winter I went naked and in the sommer loaded with clothes In the mire I went on foot and rode in the fayre way When I was sad I laught when I was glad I wept Being afraid I drew out my strength and out of strength cowardnes The night with sighes and dayes in wayling I consumed When thou haddest neede of any thing I robbed my father for it Tell mee Boemia with whom diddest thou sulfill thine open follyes but with the misorders that I did in secret Thinke you what I thinke of the amorous Ladies in Rome that yee be mothes in olde garments a pastime for light persons a treasure of fooles and the sepulchres of vices This that seemeth to mee is that in thy youth euery man gaue to thee for that thou shouldest giue to euery one now thou giuest thy selfe to euery man because euery one should giue them to thee Thou tellest mee that thou hast two sonnes and lackest helpe for them Giue thanks to the gods for the mercy they shewed thee To xv Children of Fabritius my neighbour they gaue but one Father and to thine onely two sonnes they haue giuen fifteene Fathers Wherefore diuide them to their Fathers and euery one shall bee well prouided for Lucia thy daughter indeed and mine by suspect remember that I haue done more in marrying of her then thou diddest in bringing her forth For in the getting of her thou calledst many but to marry her I did it alone Verie little I write thee in respect of that I would write Butrio Cornely hath spoken much to mee on thy behalfe and hee shall say as much to thee on my part It is long agoe sithence I knew thy impatience I know well thou wilt sende mee another more malitious I pray thee since I write to thee in secrete discouer mee not openly and when thou readest this remember what occasion thou hast giuen me to write thus Although wee bee fallen out yet I will send thee money I send thee a gowne and the Gods bee with thee Boemia and send mee from this war with peace Marke Pretour in Daeia to Boemia his Louer and ancient friend in Rome CHAP. IX The aunswere of Boemia to the Emperour Marcus Aurelius wherein is expressed the great malice and litle patience of an euill woman BOemia thy auncient Louer to thee Mark of Mount Celio her naturall enemie desireth vengeance of thy person and euill fortune during thy life I haue receyued thy letter and thereby perceyue thy spitefull intents and thy cruell malices Such naughty persons as thou art haue this priuiledge that sith one doth suffer your villanies in secret you will hurt them openly but thou shalt not doe so with mee Marke Althogh I am not treasuresse of thy good yet at the least I am of thy naughtinesse All that I cannot reuenge with my person I will not spare to doe it with my tongue And though we women for weakenesse sake are easily ouercome in person yet know thou that our hearts are inuincible Thou sayest escaping from a battell thou receyuedst my Letter wherof thou wast sore agast It is a common thing to them that be slothful to speak of loue for fooles to treate of bookes and for Cowards to blaze of Armes I say it because the aunswere of a Letter was not needfull to rehearse to a woman whether it was before the battell or after I thinke well thou hast escaped it for thou wert not the first that fought nor the last that fled I neuer saw thee goe to the iwarre in thy youth that euer I was fearefull of thy life for knowing thy cowardlinesse I neuer tooke care for thy absence I alwayes iudged thy person safe Then tell mee Marke what doest thou now in thy age I thinke thou carriest thy lance not to serue thy turne in thy warre but to leane on when the gout taketh thee The head-peece I iudge thou hast not to defend thee from the strokes of swords but to drinke withall in tauernes I neuer saw thee strike any man with thy sword but I haue seene thee kill a thousand women with thy tong O malitious Marke if thou wert as valiant as thou art spitefull thou shouldest be no lesse feared among the barbarous nations then thou art abhorred with good reason amongst the Romanes Tell me what thou list but thou canst not deny but both thou hast beene and art a slacke louer a cowardly knight an vnknown friend auaricious infamed an enemy to all men and friend to none Moreouer wee knew thee a light young man condemne thee now for an olde doting foole Thou sayest that taking my letter into thy hands forthwith thy heart receyued the hearbe of malice I beleeue thee well vnsworne for any thing touching malice dooth straight finde harbour in thy brest the beasts corrupted do take poysoÌ which the sound and of good complexion refufeth Of one thing I am sure thou shalt not dye of poyson For seldom times one poyson hurteth another but it driueth out the other O malicious Marke if all they in Rome knew thee as well as the vnhappy Boemia doth they should see how much the wordes that thou speakest differ from the intention of thy hart And as by the bookes thou makest thou meritest the name of a Philosopher euen so for the ilnesse thou inuentest thou doest deserue the name of a Tirant Thou sayest thou neuer sawest constancy in a Womans loue nor end in
thy malice onely sufficeth to poyson many that bee good the euilnes only of one woman shal be enogh to spoile take away thy good renowm One difference there is betwen thee and me thy Faustine which is that my facts are in suspect yours done in deede mine bee secrete but yours known openly I haue but stumbled but ye haue fallen For one only fault I deserue punishment but you deserue pardon for none My dishonor dyed with my fact and is buryed with my amendment but your infamie is borne with your desires nourished with your malices and still with your works Finally your infamie shall neuer dye for you liued neuer well Oh Marke malicious with all that thou knowest doest thou not know that to dye well doth couer an euill fame and to make an ende of an euill life doth beginne a good fame Thou ceasest not to say euill onely of suspect which thy false iudgements giueth and yet wouldest thou wee should conceale that wee see with our eyes Of one thing I am sure that neither of thee nor of Faustine there are or haue been any false witnesses For there are so many true euils that there needeth no Lyes to be inuented Thou sayest it is an olde custome with the amorous Ladies in Rome though they take it of many yet they are the poorest of all because we want credit we are honoured for siluer It is most certaine that of holly wee looke for prickes of acornes husks of netles stinging and of thy mouth malices I haue seriously noted I neuer heard thee say well of any nor I neuer knew any that would thee good What greater punishment can I desire for thy wickednenes nor more vengeance for my iniuries then to see al the amorons Ladies of Rome discontented with thy selfe and ioy to think on thy death cursed is the man whose life many doe bewayle and in whose death euery one doth reioyce It is the property of such vnthankefull wretches as thou art to forgette the great good done to them and to repent the little they giue How much the noble hearts do reioice in giuing to other so much they are ashamed to take seruice vnrewarded For in giuing they are lords and in taking they become slaues I aske what it is thou hast giuen me or what thou hast receyued of mee I haue aduentured my good Fame and giuen thee possession of my person I haue made thee lorde of mee and mine I banished mee from my countrey I haue put in peril my life In recompence of this thou doest detect mee of miserie Thou neuer gauest mee ought with thy heart nor I tooke it with good will nor it euer did me profit As all things recouer a name not for the workes wee openly see but for the secret intention with which we work Euen so thou vnhappie man desirest mee not to enioy my person but rather to haue my money Wee ought not to call thee a cleere Louer but rather a Theefe and a wily person I had a little Ring of thine I minde to throw it into the riuer and a gowne thou gauest me which I haue burnt And if I thought my bodie were increased with that Bread I did eate of thine I would cut my flesh being whole and let out my bloud without feare Oh malicious Marke thy obscured malice will not suffer thee to vnderstand my cleare letter For I sent not vnto thee to aske mony to relieue my pouertie and solitarines but onely to acknowledge and satisfie my willing hart Such vaine and couetous men as thou are contented with gifts but the harts incarnate in loue are not satisfied with a little money For Zoue is rewarded alwayes with loue The man that loueth not as a man of reason but like a brute beast and the woman that loueth not where she is beloued but onely for the gaine of her bodie Such ought not to bee credited in words nor their personages to be honoured For the loue of her ends when their goods faileth and his loue when her beautie decayeth If the beautie of my face did procure thy loue and thy riches onely allured my good will it is right that wee should not bee called wise Louers but rather foolish persons O cursed Mark I neuer loued thee for thy goods although thou likedst me for that I was faire Thou sayedst the Gods vsed great pittie on me to giue me few children and them manie Fathers The greatest fault in women is shamelesse and the greatest villany in men is to be euill sayers Diuers things ought to bee borne in the weaknesse of women which in the wisedome of men are not permitted I say this for that I neuer saw in thee temperance to cloke thine owne maliciousnes nor wisdome to shadow the debilitie of others Then I loued with my hart and now I abhorre thee with all my heart Thou sayest my Children haue many Fathers but I sweare vnto thee that the children of Faustine shall not be fatherles although thou dye And if the Gods as thou sayest haue beene pittifull to my Children no lesse art thou vnto straunge children For Faustine keepeth thee but to excuse her faultes and to bee tutor to her Children Oh cursed Marke thou needest not to take thought for thy children haue no need to be marryed For one thing wee are bound to thee that is the example of thy patience for since thou sufferest Faustine in so manie open infamyes it is no great neede wee suffer any secretes in thee For this present I say no more I ende my Letter desiring shortly to see the ende of thy life CHAP. X. ¶ Marcus Aurelius writeth to the Ladie Macrine the Romane of whome beholding her at a window he became enamored Which declareth what force the beautie of a faire woman hath in weake man MArke the verie desirous to the Ladie Macrine greatly desired I knowe not well whither by euill chaunce or by hap of my good aduenture not long agoe I saw thee at a window where thou haddest thy arms as close is I mine Eyes displayed that cursed be they for euer for in beholding thy Face forthwith my heart abode with thee as prisoner The beginning of thy knowledge is the ende of my reason and falling in shunning one euil come infinite trauells vnto men I say it for this if I had not bin idle I had not gone out of my house and not gone out of my house I had not passed by the streete And not going through the street I had not not seen thee at the windowe and not seeing thee at the window I had not desired thy person and not desiring thy person I had not put thy fame in so great peril nor my life in doubt nor we had giueÌ no occasion to Rome to speake of vs. For of truth Lady Macrine in this case I condemne my selfe For very willingly I did behold thee I did not salute thee thogh thou desiredst to be seene Sith thou wert set vp as
men are to die Too much merriment in life breedeth woe in death A custome of the Grecians and Romains Wise men do outwardly dissemble inward griefes The custoÌe of many widowes There are two things that grieue men at their death The same order that Time keepeth man ought to follow This transitory life not worth the desiring Man neuer happy till death The trauell of death is harder then all the trauell of life The cause why men feare death He giues best counsel to the sorrowfull that is himselfe likewise tormented The occasion why Aurelius tooke his death heauily Children brought vp in liberty wantonnes easily fals into vices It is perillous to be adorned with naturall giftes to want requisite vertues What parents should glory of in their children Many yong vicious princes in Rome The cruell inscription in Coligulaes brooch The cruelty of Nero to his Mother They seldome mend that are vicious in youth The difference betweene the poore and the rich in death Vicious children by an ancient law disinherited Fiue things that oppressed Marcus Aurelius heart The counsell of the Emperour to his sonne Comodus What words cannot doe treason will The sinnes of a populous Cittie not to be numbred As vice intangleth the vicious so vertue cleaneth to the vertuous Disobedience of children is their vndoing Ripe counsell proceedeth from the aged The pastime that Princes should seeke Princes are to accompanie Ancient men All young men are not light nor all olde men sage Princes that rule many must take counsell of many Weighty affayres are to be dispatched by counsell Whose couÌsell is to be refused The marks of an vndiscreet prince or ruler It is more perillous to iniure the dead then the liuing The duty of a thankefull child Ministers are to bee honoured of all men A good admonition for children how to vse their stepmothers Women are of a tender condition Princes that doe iustice doe get enemies in the execution thereof The Emperour here concludeth his speech and endeth his life Death altereth all things Deferring of the punishment is not the pardoning of the fault The wisedome of God in disposing his gifts A Table of good counsell The painefull iourney the Philosophers booke to viâât good âen The properties of a true friende What Loue is A remarkeable saying of Zenocrates Great eate is to bee had in choosing a friend The saying of Seneca touching frindship Good workes doe maruellously cheare the heart The times past better then the times present A question demaunded by the Emperour Augustus of Virgil and his answere Sinne is not so pleasaot in the committing as it is likesome in the remembraÌce Good counsell for all men especially for Courtiets Christians are in all things to be prefered before all others What the Author or wryter of books should ayme at A wise man reserueth some time for his profite and recreation Leârned men greatly honored in times past The letter of K. Phili to Aristol at the birth of his sonne Alexander The benefite that accreweth by companying with wise men They are oft times most known that least seeke acquaintaÌce No misery comparable to that of the Courtier Why this name Court was adhibited to the Pallace of Princes It is more difficult to bee a Courtier then a religious person Many a Courtier spends his time all The life of aâ Courtier an open penance The Courtier is abridged of his liberty An honest hart is more greeued to shew his misery then to suffer it The Courtyer subiect to much trouble What epences the Courtier is at The misery that Courtiers are subiect vnto How Courtyers ought to order their expences The trouble courtyers haue with Friends The griefe of thâ courtyer that caÌnot pleasure his friend The mishaps of the Court are more then the fauors The Courtier wanteth many things hee would haue Few purchase fauor in the court A speech of Lucullus and may well bee applyed to euery Courtier Courtiers are rather grieued then relieued with the princely pompes of the Court. The particular troubles of theÌ which follow the Court. The Ambition of the Courtyers Many rather glory to be right Courtiers tken good Christians The Courtyer of least calling proues most troublesom All Courtiers subiectto the authority of the Harbingers How a courtyer may make the Harbinget his friend How the Harbinger is to appoint his lodgings The Courtier must entrear his host well where hee lyeth âow the Courtier may make his host beholden to him It is necessary for Courtiers to keepe quiet seruants The Courtier is to commaund his seruants courteously to aske of his Host all needfull things Too many women about the Court. The care the Courtier ought to haue of his Apparell How the Courtier is to demeane himselfe at his departure from his lodging The troble of him that is in fauour in the court is great Want of audacity hinders good fortunes The reason why fortune rayseth some and throweth down others The course he must take that would bee in his Princes fauour The saying of Dionisius to Plato other Philosophers that came to visite him Backbyting is a kinde of treason especialây against princes The law of A drian the Emperour againest sedicious persons Good seruice demaÌds recompence though the tongue bee silent Things to be eschewed of him that would speake with the King In what sort the Courtier is to demand recompeuce of the prince The Courtier shoulde not be obstinate How princes are to be spoken to if they be in an error How the Courtier must demean himselfe when his Prince sporteth before him Where wise men are best known What disposition should be in a Princes Iester He that will come to fauour in the Court must be acquainted with all the Courtiers in the Court. A Prince hath alwais some fauourite The inconueniences that follow the needles reasoning of that the King allowes Betweene words spokeÌ the inteÌt with which they were spoken is great difference It is best for the Courtier to bee ãâã friendshippe with all if can possible There is no man but giues more credit to one then another Wherein true visitation of our betters or friends consisteth The indiscretion of some that are visited The discretion the Courtyer is to vse in his curtesie One gyft in necessitie is better then a thousand words Two things which a maÌ should not trust any with A custome wherein the Courtier may lauish hia reputation When a wise man may put himselfe in perill How hee that is biddeÌ to a feast may purchase thaÌkâ of the bidder To what ende wee should desire riches Many not ãâã to serue God as their own bellies How he is welcome that is a common runner to other mens Tables How he is to demeane himself that will visite noble means Table Many loue to haue their cheere and attendance commended Wine tempered with water bringth 2. commodities No man ought to complaine of want at anothers table What talke should bee vsed at the
Table To whose table it is best for a feast hanter to resort Ill company loseth a mans credit Wherefore Noblemen Knights GentlemeÌs sonnes are sent to the Court. With whom the young Courtier should accompanie himselfe What vices the young Courtyer should eschew A meane ought to be vsed in apparell Whence new fashions in apparrell proceede Who may bee rightly termed a Courtier A good order for it ãâã great noties There is almost no end of a womans talke Where the Courtier should spare and spend How the Courtiers seruant should bee apparrelled A good caueat for Courtiers The custome of many iudges Contention for place in accompanying a noble man A point of âood manââs to bee obserued in âaring or âeaking to âur superiours Hee is ill taught that listneth to other men speaking in secret What the propertie of courtly Mistresses is The nature of women in hating or louing to man The friendship of a wise man doth not so much good as a fooles displeasur doth hurt Diuers and sundry sorts of Courtiers The heauie happe of those that are in Sutes of Law What misery the poore Clyents Suters are subiect vnto What torments are incident to those that haue sutes in law A Iudge not to trust too much to his memory The weake knowledge of some Counsellers The Lawyers Physitians to be compared together How the poore ãâã should demeane himselfe when he commeth before the Iudge How euery wise and prudent Courtier should behaue himselfe The Courtiers paines insupportable A worthy saying of Seneca Kindred are not alwayes friends Great seruitude and trouble to liue in the Court. A lesson for him that meaneth to be a Courties By what meanes affaires are dispatched How the seruants and Officers of the Court must be entreated The intollerable exaction of a Secretaries Clerke Some suiters dye but their suites neuer haue end The fauoured of the court ought to bee easily spoken with What persons should be chosen for gouernors The cruelty of Rhehoboam and his punishment Pride was the ouerthrow of Pompey many other Princes Pride the ruine and decay of all things The speech of Anacharses the Philosopher to Alexander The fauourites of princes ought to beware of pride The fauourites of princes ought to beware of complaints A worthy speech of Agathocles K of Scicilia Pride of all other faults inexcusable The lawes of Lycurgus King of the Lacedemonians A Law amongst the Tuscans worthy to be obserued A worthy saying of Plutarch He that will be a Courtyer must shun couetousnes A good caueat for young Courtiors The couetous desire of some Courtiers An Epitaph of Queene Semiramis The covetousnes of King Cyrus rewarded with deceite Who knoweth who shall enioy his riches after his death An Epitaph of Cato written ouer his gate The speech of Philip K. of Macedonie The vncertaintie of this worlds felicitie Examples of many Fauourites of Princes that haue come to vntimely ends A worthy saying of Euripides the Philosopher The fauourites of the Court compared âo a game at Tables A Diseourse betwixt Fortune the Consul Seuerius How suddenly the fauours of princes change A worthie saying of Plato A worthy saving of Seneca A true saying of Socrates The speech of king Agesilaus The follie of olde Courtiers The foolish opinion of an olde Courtier A worthy saying of Plutarch A good Caueat for Courtiers ãâ¦ã In what veneration the ancients held them that were continent A worthy sentence and worthy to be engrauen in euery mans heart The sinnes of the flesh goeth beyond all other Plutark de Repub. It is impossible that the Courtier that liueth disordinately should continue in faÌuour with the Prince Courtiers must beware of dishonest women What daÌger followeth the courtier that keepeth leawd women The painefull trauel and industry of Saint Paul A worthy speech of Socrates the phylosopher A worthy saying of the diuine Plato Another sentence of Plato ãâ¦ã The Author continueth his speech concerning the abuse of feasts Fearefull examples of those that haue made riotous feasts Wholsome lawes of the Romains against gluttonie A Law made by Iulius Caesar King Philip noted of drunkennes How carefull a man ought to be to bridle his tongue Anaxagoras his opinion concerning the tongue Plutarch reciteth a Law vsed among the Lidians What punishment by a Law of the Lidians was due to him that would defame his neighbour A speech of King Darius What behauiour belongeth to a Courtier A wise saying of Acaticus the Philosopher A speech of Pythagoras The Courtyer ought to be a tâue Secretarie A worthy answere of Anasillus No seruaÌt so hurfull as hee that reuealeth his maisters secrets The sentence of Denis vpoÌ Byas a Courtyre Courtiers ought to keepe their secrets from women Pamphylus reported neuer to haue tolde a true tale A worthy speech of the Emperour ãâã in concerning lyers How hatefull and odious a Lyer ought to be esteemed among men Wee ought not to belieue one that sweareth much Priests ought not to distemble nor be double in their words
friend Pulio because that since Traian spake for Nero and that hee found in him some prayse I doe thinke no lesse of the tyrant Periander whom though for his euill works hee did wee doe condemne yet for his good words that he spake and for the good lawes which hee made wee doe prayse For in the man that is euill there is nothing more easier then to giue good counsell and there is nothing more harder then to work well Periander made diuers lawes for the Common wealth of the Corinthians whereof here following I wil declare some Wee ordaine and command that if any by multiplying of wordes kill another so that it were not by treason that hee bee not therefore condemned to dye but that they make him slaue perpetuall to the brother of him that is slaine or to the next of his kinne or friendes for a short death is a lesse paine then a long seruitude Wee ordaine and commaund that if any thiefe bee taken hee shall not dye but with a hote yron shall bee marked on the forehead to bee knowne for a theefe for to shamelesse men long infamy is more paine then a short life wee ordaine and commaund that the man or woman which to the preiudice of an other shall tell any lye shall for the space of a moneth carry a stone in their mouth for it is not meete that hee which is wont to lye should álwayes bee authorized for to speake Wee ordaine and commaund that euery man or woman that is a quarreller and seditious person in the common wealth bee with great reproach banished from the people for it is vnpossible that hee should be in fauour with the gods which is an enemy to his neighbor Wee ordaine and commaund that if there bee any in the Common wealth that haue receyued of an other a benefite and that afterwards it is proued he was vnthankefull that in such case they put him to death for the man that of benefites receyued is vnthankefull ought not to liue in the world among men Behold therefore my friend Pulio the antiquity which I declared vnto thee and how mercifull the Corinthians were to murtherers theeues and Pirates And contrary how seuere they were to vnthankefull people whom they commaunded forthwith to be put to death And truely in mine opinion the Corinthians had reason for there is nothing troubleth a wise man more then to see him vnthankefull to him whom heo hath shewed pleasure vnto I was willing to tell thee this history of Periander for non other cause but to the end thou shouldest see and know that for as much as I do greatly blame the vice of vnthankefulnes I will labour not to bee noted of the same For hee that reproueth vice is not noted to be vertuous but hee which vtterly flyeth it Count vpon this my word that I tell thee which thou shalt not thinke to bee fayned that though I bee the Romane Emperor I will be thy faithfull friend and will not fayle to bee thankeful towards thee For I esteeme it no lesse glory to know how to keep a friend by wisdome then to come to the estate of an Emperour by Phylosophy By the letter thou sentest thou requiredst me of one thing to answere thee for the which I am at my witts end For I had rather open my treasure to thy necessities then to open the books to answer to thy demands although it be to my cost I confesse thy request to be reasonable and thou deseruest worthy prayse for in the end it is more worth to know how to procure a secret of Antiquities past then to heape vp treasures for the necessities in time to come As the Philosopher maketh Philosophie his treasure of knowledge to liue in peace and to hope and to looke for death with honour so the couetous being such a one as hee is maketh his treasure of worldly goods for to keepe and preserue life in this world in perpetual warres and to end his life and take his death with infamy Herein I sweare vnto thee that one day employed in Philosophy is more worth then ten thousand which are spent in heaping riches For the life of a peaceable man is none other then a sweet peregrination and the life of seditious persons is none other but a long death Thou requirest me my friend Pulio that I write vnto thee wherein the Ancients in times past had their felicity know thou that their desires were so diuers that some dispraysed life others desired it some prolonged it others did shorten it som did not desire pleasure but trauels others in trauels did not seeke but pleasures that which variety did not proceede but of diuers ends for the tastes were diuers and sundry men desired to tast diuers meates By the immortall gods I swear vnto thee that this thy request maketh me muse of thy life to see that my Philosophy answereth thee not sufficiently therein For if thou aske to proue mee thou thinkest mee presumptuous if thou demaund in mirth thou countest mee to bee too light if thou demaundest it not in good earnest thou takest mee to bee simple if thou demaundest mee for to shew it thee be thou assured I am ready to learne it if thou demandest it for to know it I confesse I cannot teach it thee if thou demandest it because thou mayest be asked it be thou assured that none will bee satisfied with my answere and if perchance thou doest aske it because sleeping hast dreamed it seeing that now thou art awake thou oughtest not to beleeue a dreame for all that the fantasie in the night doth imagine the tong doth publish it in the morning O my friend Pulio I haue reason to complaine of thee for so much as thou doest not regard the authority of my person nor the credite of thy Philosophy wherefore I feare least they will iudge thee too curions in demaunding and mee too simple in answering all this notwithstanding I determine to answere thee not as I ought but as I can not according to the great thou demaundest but according to the little I know And partly I doe it to accomplish thy request and also to fulfill my desire And now I thinke that all which shal reade this letter will bee cruell Iudges of my ignorance Of the Philosopher Epicurius IN the Olimpiade 103. Serges being King of Perses and the cruell tyrant Lysander Captaine of the Peloponenses a famous battell was fought betweene the Athenians and Lysander vpon the great Riuer of Aegeon whereof Lysander had the victory and truly vnlesse the histories deceyue vs the Athenians took this conflict grieuously because the battell was lost more through negligence of their Captaines then through the great number of theyr enemies For truely many winne victories more through the cowardlinesse that some haue then for the hardinesse that others haue The Philosopher Epicurus at that time florished who was of a liuely wit but of a meane stature
harme that gnaweth the wood the moth to the garments the sparke vnto the towe the Locust vnto the corne neither the wyuell to the garners as the Captaines to the people For they leaue no beast but they lull nor orchard but they robbe nor wine but they drinke nor doue house but they clime nor temple but they spoile nor chace but they hunt no sedition but they rayse no villany but that they commit And they do more then they ought to do for they eate without meaning to pay and they will not serue vnlesse they be wel payed and the worst of all is that if they haue their pay immediately they change or play it If they be not paide they robbe and mutine forthwith so that with pouertie they are not content and with riches they waxe vicious and insolent The matters is now come to such corruption and there is at this day men of warre in Rome so carelesse that here no captaine seems but an example of murderers a sturrer vp of sedicious persons an enuyer of the good a partaker with all euill a thiefe of theeues a Pirate of rouers and finally I do not say that they seeme to bee but I doe affirme that they are the scourge of your vertuous and a refuge of the vitious I would not say this but yet not withstanding I ought to say it because it is a thing so farre out of order and so much to bee laughed at that these wicked men though they are our familiar enemies there is no Prince that ruleth them nor Iustice that correcteth them nor feare that doth oppresse them nor law that subdueth them nor shame that refraineth them nor parents that correct them nor punishment that doth abase them nor yet death that dooth end them but now as men which are without remedy wee let them eate of all CHAP. XVI The Emperour Marcus Aurelius pursueth his Letter shewing the great damages that haue ensued for the wars begunne with strange realmes O Vnfortunate Rome who was not wont to haue such euill lucke but the elder thou art the more vnluckie I see thee For by writings wee reade and also with our eyes we see that the more fortunate a city or person hath beene in the beginning the more froward fortune is vnto him in the ending Truly in those ancient times and in those glorious worlds I say when they were peopled with true Romanes and not as now they which haue no children but bastards the Armies were so well taught that came from Rome as the philosophers which were in the schooles of Greece If the Greeke writings doe not lye vnto me Philip the great King of Macedony for this is so renowmed in histories and his sonne the Great Alexander for this was so fortunate in the Warres that they had their armies so well correct that it rather seemed a Senate which gouerned then a Campe which fought In that wee can gather out of Titus Liuius and other Writers from the time of Quintus Cincinnatus Dictator vntill the noble Marcus Marcellus were the most prosperous times of the Romane Empire For before Kings did trauell and afterwardes it was persecuted with Tirants In these so happy times one of the greatest felicities that Rome had was to haue the warre-like discipline well corrected And then Rome beganne to fall when our Armies beganne to doe damage For if those of the war haue truce with vices the others of the Common wealth cannot haue peace with vertues O cursed bee thou Asia and cursed bee the day that with thee wee had conquest For wee haue not seene the good that haue followed vs of thy conquest vntill this present and the losse damage which from thee come vnto vs shall be lamented in Rome for euer O cursed Asia we spend our treasures in thee and thou hast giuen vnto vs thy vices In chaunge of our valiant men thou hast sent vs thy fine mineons wee haue wonne thy Cities and thou triumphest of our vertues Wee battered thy fortes and thou hast destroyed our manners we triumph of thy Realmes and thou diddest cut the throtes of our friends Wee made to thee cruell warres thou conquerest from vs the good peace With force you were ours and with good will wee are yours Wee are vniust Lords of thy riches and iust tenants of thy vices Finally thou Asia art a wofull graue of Rome and thou Rome art a filthie sinke of Asia Since our auncient Fathers did content themselues with Rome alone why should not we their children content our selues with Rome and Italy but that wee must goe to conquer Asia where we aduentured our honour and spende our treasure If those auncient Romanes beeing as they were so princely Barons of life and so valiant in fighting and so hardy for to commaund did content themselues with this little border why shoulde not wee content our selues not beeing as they are hauing a Realme rich and vitious I know not what toye tooke vs in the head to goe conquer Asia and not to contente our selues with Rome Italy was not so poore of riches nor so destitute of Cities nor so vnpeopled of people nor so solitary of beasts nor so vndecked with buildings nor so barren of good fruits but that of all these thinges wee had more then our fathers wished and also more then wee their children deserued For mee I would say that it is for want of iudgement or aboundance of pride for vs to seeke to exceed our Forefathers in Seigniorie when wee are not coequall vnto them in vertue I was contented with all things of my forefathers saue onely that they were a little proude and seditious and herein wee their children doe resemble them well For so much as we are not onely proude and feditious but also couetous and malitious so that in vertuous things wee goe backeward and in vnlawfull workes wee goe forward What is become of the great victories that our forefathers had in Asia What is become of the infinite Treasure they haue robbed in the Countrey What is become of the great number of captiues that they tooke in the warre What is become of the riches which euery one brought home to his house What is becom of the valiant Kinges which they tooke in that Conquest What is become of the Feastes and Triumphes wherewith they entred triumphing into Rome VVhat wilt thou I say more vnto thee in this case my friende Cornelius but that all they which inuented the warre are dead all those which defended that Countrey are dead all those which entred triumphing into Rome are dead and finallie all the riches and triumphes which our Fathers brought from Asia they and those in short space had an end except the vices and pleasures whereof wee see there is no end O if the valiant Princes knew what a thing it is to inuent wars in strange Realmes what trauels they seeke for their persons what cares in their hearts what trouble to their subiects what
but with comfortable wordes The ende of this comparison tendeth to this effect that all the afflicted harts should know that somtimes the the hart is more comforted with one benefite which they doe then with an hundred words which they speake And at an other time the sorrowfull hart is more lightned with one worde of his friendes mouth then with all the seruice of others in the worlde Oh wretch that I am for as in the one and in the other I am destitute So in all I do want For considering thy greatnes and weyghing my little knowledge I see my selfe very vnable For that to comfort thee I want science and for to helpe thee I want riches But I cease not to haue great sorrow if sorrow in payment may be receyued That which with my person I can doe neyther with paper or iuke I will requite For the man which with word only comforteth in effect being able to remedy declareth himselfe to haue beene a fayned Friend in times past and sheweth that a man ought not to take him for a faithfull friend in time to come That which the Romaines with the widdowes of Rome haue accustomed to doe I will not presently doe with rhee Lady Lauinia that is to say that thy Husband being dead all goe to visite the Widdow all comfort the widdow and within a few dayes after if the wofull widdow haue neede of any smal fauor with the Senate they withdraw themselues together as if they had neuer knowne her Husband nor seene her The renowme of Romaine widdowes is very dayntie For of their honestie or dishonestie dependeth the good renowme of their person the honour of their parents the credite of their childreÌ and the memory of the dead For this therfore it is healthfull counsell for wise men to speake few words to widowes and to doe infinite good works What auaileth it wofull widowes to haue their Cofers filled with letters and promises and their eares stuffed with words and flatteries If hitherto thou hast taken mee for thy neighbour and parent of thy husband I beseech thee henceforth that thou take mee for a husband in loue for father in counsell for brother in seruice and for aduocate in the Senate And all this so truly shall be accomplished that I hope thou wilt say that which in many I haue lost in Marcus Aurelius alone I haue found I know well as thou doost in like maner that when the hearts with sorrowes are ouerwhelmed the spirits are vexed and troubled the memory is dulled the flesh doth tremble the spirit doth change and reason is withdrawne And since that presently sorrow and care in thy house doe remaine let the gods forsake me if I abandon thee let them forget mee if I remember thee not But as Claudine remained thine wholly till the houre of death so Marcus Aurelius will euermore be thine during his life Since I loue thee so entirely and thou trustest me so faithfully and that thou with sorrowes art so replenished and my heart with care so oppressed let vs admit that thou Lady Lauinia hast the aucthority to command me in thy affaires and I licence to counsell aduertise thee of things touching thy honour and person For oftentimes the widowes haue more neede of a meane remedy then of a good counsell I earnestly desire thee to leaue the lamentation of the Romane widowes that is to know to shut the gates to teare their haires to cut their garments to goe bare legged to paint the visage to eate solitarily to weepe on the graues to chide her Chamberlaines to poure out water with teares to put Acornes on the graues and to bite their nailes with the teeth For these things and such other semblable lightnesse behooueth not the grauity of Romane Matrons either to see them or else to know them Since there is no extremity but therein vice is annexed I let thee know Lady Lauinia if thou bee ignorant thereof that the widowes which are so extreame doe torment themselues doe trouble their friends do offend the gods do forsake theirs in the end they profit not the dead and to the enuious people they giue occasion to talke I would thinke and me seemeth that the women which are Matrons and widowes ought to take vpon them such garment and estate the day that the gods take life from their husbands as they entend to weare during their life What auaileth it that a widow bee one moneth shut vp in her house and that afterwards within a yeare she is met in euery place of Rome what auaileth it that for few dayes she hideth her selfe from her parents and friends and afterwards shee is found the first at the theaters what profiteth it that widowes at the first doe mourne and goe euill attired and afterwards they dispute and complaine of the beauty of the Romane wiues what forceth it that widowes for a certaine time doe keepe their gates shut and afterwards their houses are more frequented then others What skilleth it that a man see the widowes weepe much for their husbands and afterwards they see them laugh more for their pastimes Finally I say that it little auaileth the woman to seeme to suffer much openly for the death of her husband if secretly she hath another husband already found For the vertuous and honest widow immediatly as she seeth another man aliue she renueth her sorrow for her husband that is dead I will shew thee Lady Lauinia a thing that befell in Rome to the end thou thinke not I talke at pleasure In the olde time in Rome there was a noble worthy Romane Lady wife of the noble Marcus Marcellus whose came was Fuluia And it happened so that this woman seeing her husband buried in the field of Mars for the great priese she had she scratched her face shee ruffled her haire shee tore her gowne and fell downe to the earth in a sound by the reason whereof two Senatours kept her in their armes to the end she should torment her selfe no more To whom Gneus âlâuius the Censour said Let Fuluia goe out of your hands she will this day doe all the penance of widowes Speaking the truth I know not whether this Romane spake with the Oracle or that hee were a Diuine but I am âssured that all hee spake came to paile For that this Fuluia was the wise of so excellent a Romane as that good Marcus Marceilus was I would that so vnlucky a chance had not happened vnto her which was that whiles the bones of her husband were a burning she agreed to be married to another and which was more to one of the Senatours that lifted her vp by the armes she gaue her hand as a Romane to a Romane in token of a faithfull marriage The case was so abhominable that of all men it was dispraised that were present and gaue occasion that they neuer credite widowes afterwards I doe not speake it Lady Lauinia for that I