Selected quad for the lemma: judgement_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
judgement_n	error_n	justice_n	reverse_v	2,673	5	12.8281	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09530	Phisicke against fortune, aswell prosperous, as aduerse conteyned in two bookes. Whereby men are instructed, with lyke indifferencie to remedie theyr affections, aswell in tyme of the bryght shynyng sunne of prosperitie, as also of the foule lowryng stormes of aduersitie. Expedient for all men, but most necessary for such as be subiect to any notable insult of eyther extremitie. Written in Latine by Frauncis Petrarch, a most famous poet, and oratour. And now first Englished by Thomas Twyne.; De remediis utriusque fortunae. English	Petrarca, Francesco, 1304-1374.; Twyne, Thomas, 1543-1613.	1579 (1579)	STC 19809; ESTC S114602	539,184	716

good faculties in bandes but thou learnest to forget pacience Sorowe I am kept fast in pryson Reason Some within caues and dennes and some haue enclosed them selues within the circuit of walles choosing vnto them selues voluntarie imprisonment eyther for the loue of God or for hatred of the worlde or for loathsomnesse of the common multitude as dyd many holy fathers in the primitiue Churche Thou yf thou be not disposed that way desirest an end of thyne imprysonmēt stay a while eyther man wyl discharge thee or els death whiche caryeth a key of the pryson doore There is one manner of entrance but sundry sortes of departyng Some haue been let goe vpon pitie some by the course of lawe some through their owne innocencie some by negligence of the keepers some for money some by craft some by breaking prison or vndermining the walles and some haue escaped out of pryson by the freendly darkenesse of the nyght and also since the memory of your fathers some haue been set at libertie by earthquakes and ouerthrowing of the pryson and last of al they that coulde finde none other meanes haue been released from imprisonment by death And lykewyse no lesse dyuers haue been the euentes of them that haue escaped Marius delyuerie from pryson brought hym to the Consulshyp Iulius Caesars imprisonment among the pyrates transported hym to the Empire of the worlde In this age certayne haue passed from pryson to lordshyps and the cheynes whiche they haue shaken from them selues they haue layde vpon other Finally Regulus and Socrates and many moe were not extinguished in prison as it was thaught but rather by an honorable ende discharged out of pryson To conclude the pryson hath sent some vnto great glory some vnto notable fortune some to a kyngdome and many to heauen but al to the graue for it neuer receyued any whom it hath not agayne restored Of Tormentes The .lxv. Dialogue SOROW. I Am vniustly tormented Reason What wouldest thou nowe say if it were iustly For there is no torment greater then the torment of the conscience If this be vpryght contemne these outwarde thinges for thou hast a comforter within thee Sorowe I am tormented very vnwoorthily Reason Take compassion vpon thy tormentour he is more sharpely tormented then thou for although the world crye out agaynst thee yet know this that it is a lesse euil to suffer then to offer an imurie Sorowe I am tormented Reason A newe lamentation for an olde greefe wast thou neuer tormented before Among tormentes thou wast borne among tormentes thou hast lyued among tormentes thou shalt dye tell me now what newe thing is befallen thee The kindes of tormentes are changed but the tormentes them selues do not surceasse Examine the whole course of thy forepassed life recount what euer day thou passedst ouer without torment Perhaps thou mayst finde somthinges shadowed with false ioyes but al thinges full of true tormentes wherof if thou iudge exactly thou wilt confesse that there is no part of this life voyde Wherby it commeth to passe that some not without iust cause haue supposed this whole life to be a continual punishment But you neuerthelesse so demeane your selues as though these Philosophical speeches concerned you not they sticke in the enterance of your eares they pearce not into the closet of your mindes So that ye lament for euery small griefe of the bodie but as for the euerlastyng and deadly punishment of the minde ye do not feele it in the first ye are impacient but in the other without sense Sorow I am layde vpon the wheele Reason What skilleth it whether thou goe vp to the wheele or to the bed to be tormented The tormentours knot shal wring thee and put thee to payne but heare now one with the ague another with the gout another with a shrewysh wyfe another with his sonne another with his louer another with his ryches another with pouertie another by the Phisitions hand another with the schoolemaisters ferula another with a naughtie seruaunt another with a proude lorde another is vexed with an infinite hope and couetous desire another with feare that is more greeuous then any tormentour Search through the whole state of mankynde and thou shalt scarse finde one man that lyeth not vpon the wheele and beyng a thousand sundry sortes of tortures doo you feare none but those that are made of wood Sorowe I am tormented Reason In the middest of thy tormentes comfort thy selfe eyther with thyne innocencie or with iustice for if thou be vniustly tormented thou hast a cause to reioyce whereby thou hast purchased experience to thy selfe and others and also a certayne bryghtnesse is added vnto thy vertue the fame of handled and aduaunced thynges is more renowmed and spices the longer they be beaten the sweeter they smell and most excellent wares are set a loft to the viewe that they may be seene the better But yf thou be tormented deseruedly thou hast thy remedye in thy handes but clottered fylth is purged by fyre and difficultie and a desperate sicknesse muste haue a sharpe cure who so is weery of his disease wyl not refuse any bytter thyng and he that is sory for his synnes wyll not eschewe any punishment Sorow I am laide on the racke Reason If without desart thou hast a meane to despise the crueltie of another from an hygh But yf deseruedly when thou art plucked from the earth thou mayst the more euidently beholde thyne offence and that which thou art now sorowful for the committyng thou shalt not be grieued for the sufferyng of the punyshment Sorow I am tormented Reason Eyther thy vertue is tryed or thy vyce punyshed the one is often profitable the other alwayes expedient It is a good tryall for the ryghteous to suffer punyshment but there is nothyng woorse then to suffer the gyltie to escape vnpunished Sorowe I am tormented Reason Learne the way vnto patience and death Of vniust iudgement The Lxvj. Dialogue SOROWE I AM condemned by vniust iudgement Reason There haue been some ere nowe condemned by the sentence of one iudge or by the testimonie of a fewe witnesses who haue ben often tymes acquitted eyther by the voice of the common people or by theyr secrete iudgement or whiche is better by theyr owne conscience or whiche is best of al by Gods owne iudgement For the best appealyng is vnto the eternall iudgement seate of the most iust and hygh iudge and he it is that vseth to reuerse the false iudgementes of other by a wrytte of errour Sorowe I am condemned vniustly Reason As the vnryghteous are ouerthrowen by iustice so are the ryghteous by iniurie Then whereas is vniust condempnation there the partie condempned is innocent and there is no man so foolysh vnlesse he were starke mad that would haue this be contrarie and had rather be condemned iustly then vniustly There is none so feareful vnlesse he be too bad but had rather be condemned by an vnrighteous doome then acquitted

of men that whiche he hath not but shall diminishe or loose that which he hath Ioy. Al the whole common people speake well of mee Reason I haue alredie sayde and nowe I repeate it agayne Whatsoeuer the multitude thinketh is vayne whatsoeuer they speake is false whatsoeuer they dislyke is good whatsoeuer they like is euyll whatsoeuer they commende is infamous whatsoeuer they doo is foolyshe Then goe thy wayes nowe and vaunt thy selfe of the foolyshe speache of madde men Of wysedome The .xii. Dialogue IOY I Haue obteyned wysedome Reason A great thyng yf it were true and whiche can not be separated from vertue And therefore yf thou haddest imbraced that this were to be allowed but both of them are more easie in opinion then in effecte Ioy. I am wyse Reason Beleeue mee yf thou were so in deede thou wouldest neuer say so For a wyse man knoweth howe muche it is that he lacketh and therefore he boasteth not but suspecteth Ioy. I professe my selfe to be wyse Reason It were well yf there were so many wyse men as there are professours of wysedome But the one of these is verie harde the other verie easie Ioy. I am wyse Reason If thou wylt be a wyse man in deede suppose not thy selfe to be so It is the first steppe of folly for a man to thinke hym selfe wyse and the next to professe hym selfe to be so Ioy. By my studie I haue artained to wisedome Reason In deede by that meanes men attayne vnto it but whether thou hast attayned vnto it recount with thy selfe It is not a matter of small studie requiryng a space of tyme as other Artes doo it requireth the whole lyfe of a man be it neuer so long If a man as they say runnyng all the day come to the euenyng it is sufficient That most notable saying of Plato as many other also of his is wel knowen wherein he pleaseth Cicero well and me also to wit That he is happie to whom it hath chaunced yea in his olde age to attaine vnto wysedome and true opinions These whether thou hast met withall halfe way or rydyng vpon some fleeyng Horse hast attayned vnto before thy tyme it may be doubted for that thou art so soone be come wise Ioy. I haue receyued the perfection of my wysedome from heauen Reason I confesse in deede that wysedome is an heauenly gyft but truely he was a great man and a friende to heauen that sayde these woordes Not that I haue nowe receyued it or am perfect Ioy. I learned wysedome with a greedie mynde Reason As the desyre of money and many other thynges is euyl so the thyrst of wysedome is good But whether thou be capable of so great a thyng consider Surely he of whom I spake before As for mee ●●yth he I doo not thinke that I haue atteyned it And doubelesse he was a great man who talkyng with God of hym selfe sayd thus Thine eyes haue seene myne imperfection This is the propertie of a wyse man to acknowledge and confesse his owne imperfection Ioy. I am called a wyse man. Reason Neyther thine owne nor any other mans saying can euer make thee a wise man but the thyng it selfe Ioy. I am commonly called a wyse man. Reason The common people hath learned as it were by their owne aucthoritie to call mad men wyse and wyse men mad that is to say to esteeme falshood for trueth and trueth for falshood There is nothyng so far of from vertue and trueth as is the opinion of the common people Ioy. All men call me wyse Reason This perhappes maketh somwhat to thy fame but nothyng to thy wysedome But I perceyue that thou cleauest to the titles of learnyng then which there is nothing more liberal Howbeit they are not sufficient to make them wyse men that are not but they make them synguler and notable and honest and honourable and excellent so that they are ashamed of the simple tytle of wysedome whiche vnto how fewe in deede it is due it is straunge to vnderstande notwithstandyng custome hath so preuayled that it is numbred vp among excellent styles and tytles whiche they that heape them togeather in suche wyse do knowe that them selues do lye But they are wyllyng to be counted ciuil yf it were but by lying You that reade them and thynke them not only to be true but somewhat inferiour to the trueth are deceyued by a common errour No man wyll enquire of his owne matters Euery man beleeueth other men of hym selfe Wouldest thou knowe how wyse thou art cast thyne eyes behynde thee Remember howe often in this lyfe thou hast stumbled how many tymes thou hast erred howe often thou hast tripped and fallen howe many shamefull thynges howe many sorowful thynges how many irksome thynges thou hast committed and then cal thy selfe a wise man yf thou darest but I suppose thou wylt not dare Ioy. I know my selfe to be wise Reason Learned perhaps thou wouldest say For there be some in deede that are learned although but fewe but none almost that are wyse It is one thyng to speake wysely and another thyng to lyue wysely one thyng to be called another thyng to be wyse in deede There haue been some that haue sayd that there is no man wyse which saying howe true or false it is I doo not dispute Truely it is to peremptorie an opinion and prone to dispayre and repugnant to the studie of wisedome The Hebrues do much commend of theyr wyse Solomon who howe wyse he was in deede his number of wyues and concubines witnesseth but most of all his woorshyppyng of false gods The Romanes vaunt of theyr wyse Laelius and Cato Greece whylest it flooryshed is sayde to haue had seuen wyse men These seemed vnworthie of that title vnto those that came after They that excuse them say that they dyd not take vpon them that title but that it was attributed vnto them through the errour of the people There was one onely that by his owne possession and in his owne iudgment was wyse the most foole of them all Epicurus Whiche title he woulde perticipate with Metrodorus neyther dyd he refuse so honourable a gyft at his friendes handes and toke it in good part to be called w●se that the same glory of his what euer it was might be the errour of the other Socratis only was iudged wyse by the Oracle of Apollo Perhaps for this purpose that by a false testimony the false God might mooue hym to m●onesse and pryde who came neare in deede to a wyse man This much I haue sayde of the auncient wyse 〈◊〉 As for our age it is more happy wherein there are not reckoned one or twayne or seuen but in euery towne are numbred multitudes of wyse men as it were flockes of sheepe ●nd it is no marueyle that there are so many seeyng they are so easily made There commeth a foolysh young man to the Churche his maisters prayse and extoll hym eyther vpon loue or ignorance he

to say as it was a poore people But Nero beyng drowned in lasciuiousnesse and reproches was not able to measure or reckon his goodes But Varius Heliogabalus the most effeminate and fylthy beast that euer lyued and the shame of your Empyre a shameful thyng to speake or heare woulde vouchsafe to haue the loathsome ordu●● and burden of his belly to be receyued into none other vessell then of golde a thyng not to be ouerslypped yf it were but to set foorth the irkesome and outragious desire of mortall men When as he well remembred that not only the meales and dayly dyet of suche men as the aboue named are but also the sacrifices of the Gods were woont to be serued and celebrated in earthen vesselles O miserable Citie in continuaunce of tyme by destiny fallen vnto so fylthy handes But rather O golde the extreame desire of couetousnesse O hope that art the last and ende of humane trauayles thou that art the woonder vnto eyes and the amazyng vnto myndes to what vses wast thou conuerted I woulde commend the deede or at leastwyse not reprooue it for that there is no mockerie more meete for so shameful errour of man yf so be it hadde proceeded from a man of sounde iudgement and perfect reason but now who dareth deny but that goodes are excellent and to be wished which men doo in suche sort seeke after with swoorde and wickednesse whyle neglectyng the best they abounde with the worst Sorow I passe foorth a poore life in trauel Reason Cleantes was constrayned by neede to drawe water to water hearbes in a garden withal and Plautus to lift vp sackes corne vpon a hand querne How great a Philosopher was the one and the other a Poet and againe how poore a gardiner was the first and the other a baker Who both after their woorke was doone the residue of the night wherein they should haue taken their rest suche was the courage of theyr mynde the one applyed his tyme vnto the studie of Philosophie the other to the wrytyng of Commedies that he myght sell them for money Lactancius Firmianus a man of great learning and rare eloquence among his compeeres beeyng also schoolemaister vnto the sonne of a great Prince led his lyfe in great pouertie of all thynges yea of common necessaries Horace was borne poore Pacunius lyued poorely Statius was poore both of them solde theyr Comedies and thereby gotte theyr lyuyng To be short Virgill also was sometyme a poore man vntyll contrary to the common custome ryches hapned vnto his wit. There be many such examples in al degrees of men and I omit these because there are very many who for the desire they hadde vnto heauenly ryches haue not only with indifferent myndes but gladly and wyllyngly chosen not only pouertie but also hunger thyrste nakednesse and all kyndes of miseries vppon the earth If that by these as it were humble and earthly examples thou art not mooued the Lorde of heauen hym selfe was here in poore estate that he myght teache by his example that this pouertie is the way whereby men attayne vnto great ryches He I say by whom Kynges doo reigne was borne in pouertie lyued in pouertie dyed naked whom in the meane whyle al the Elementes obeyed and thou sellie wretche doest grieuously beare the state of thy Lorde and maister and art not ashamed of thy foolyshe insolencie Certaynely who so thynkyng on hym shall arme hym selfe with vertue being very riche in pouertie and needyng nothyng wyll not desyre a Kynges riches Sorowe I haue no store of riches Reason As no riches are sufficient for a needie and base mynde so vnto a ryche and franke courage no pouertie commeth amisse as for the first he leaneth vnto that whiche is anothers but he of whom I spake last trusteth vnto his owne to builde vppon another mans grounde is a losse but to builde vppon his owne is a vantage Sorowe I am very poore Reason If thou obey necessities thou canst neuer be poore but if thou be subiect to lustes thou shalt neuer be riche Sorowe Hytherto I haue ben poore yea I am a very begger Reason Mens fortune and state dooth not continue for as from great riches vnto extreame pouertie so from extreame pouertie vnto great ryches there is often exchange I suppose thou hast read in Quintus Curtius the Historian how one called Abdolominus at the commaundement or rather permission of Kyng Alexander from a poore gardyner was aduaunced vnto the kingdome of Sidon and by contemning the kingdome is reputed greater then the kyngdome Truely whiche thou canst not choose but haue read Romulus from a shepheards cottage becomming the founder of so great a citie was the first that tooke vppon hym the Romane Crowne and the sixt Kyng ascended vnto the Kingly dignitie from a very base and as some haue thought from a seruyle degree neither more wealthie was the rising of Alexander sonne to King Priamus nor of Cyrus the most famous of al the Persian Kinges neyther were their beginnings much other then was that of Romulus Gaius Marius who had ben and shoulde haue been often Consull of Rome before he atteyned vnto any of these degrees of honour being an hyrelyng ploughman spent the first yeeres of his lyfe in the fieldes and at length after so many victories and triumphes and betweene those seuen times that he was Con●ul besides his hydyng of him selfe in the Fennes and his imprisonment he begged also a litle peece of bread Iulius Caesar that shoulde afterwarde be Lorde of all the worlde and by his Testament dispose it vnto his heyres that shoulde be Lordes of al the worlde after hym was poore when he was a young man Thou hauyng the company and felowship of suche woorthie men canst thou not eyther hope for ryches or contemne them Sorowe I am waxen poorer then I was Reason It is well thou shalt also be more humble light and at libertie then thou wast They that goe on a daungerous iourney loue to goe lyght Thou shalt want thine accustomed ryches and thy Myse and thy Theeues and thy stubberne Seruauntes and all other thynges that folowe wealth feygned friendes folowyng and catchyng Parasites and all the whole housholde flocke of those that wyll laugh with thee to thy face but wyll mocke and byte thee behynde thy backe To be short yf thou compare thy lost ryches with the troubles that thou hast lost also with them thou wylt call it agayne Surely to speake nothyng of securitie humilitie sobrietie quietnesse modestie whiche are the companions of pouertie yf she brought none other commoditie with her then that she deliuereth a man from the troupes of deceiptful flatterers and from the tyrranny of proude seruantes there were cause sufficient not only to suffer her but also to wyshe for her yea to seeke after pouertie But let this suffise thee for thou complaynest more then neede is whereat I woulde woonder in thee vnlesse I had obserued it of long tyme in

and louers of money ye seeme to be waxed deafe vnto holsome admonition and counsell whatsoeuer hath been sayde by vertuous and learned men specially agaynst this poynt of humane madnesse Thou hast heard your Satyrike Poet protesting For he that woulde be ryche and soone be rych and vnto these woordes he addeth But what reuerence of lawes what feare or shame is there euer in the couetous man that desireth hastely to be ryche This sayeing the wyse man among the Hebrewes compriseth in fewe woordes Who so sayth he maketh haste to be ryche can not be without blame Thou hast heard also another Countreyman of yours whether he were a Satyricall or Lyricall Poet saying It is neyther house nor lande not heapes of siluer nor golde that are able to expell Feuers out of the owners diseysed bodie nor cares out of his minde The selfe same thyng this strange wyse man comprehended in fewe woordes saying Richesse doo not helpe in the day of vengeaunce But he tolde moreouer what woulde helpe Righteousnesse sayth he shall delyuer a man from death Since therefore the money whiche thou lamentest to be lost in tyme of greatest necessitie can not profite the bodye nor mynde I marueyle eyther why it shoulde so muche be wyshed for when it is gone or loued when it is present With these and suche other thynges your Oratour beyng mooued There is no signe so euident of a base and vile minde sayth he as to loue ryches But the Ecclesiastike Oratour There is nothyng sayth he more wicked then a couetous person nothing more vniust then to loue money And the aucthoritie of very many that agree in this matter from whiche there is almost none that dissent is of suche multitude and grauitie that the common peoples errour striueth to no purpose against the iudgement of the wyse And therefore as there is none more vniust so is there no desyre more ardent then the desyre of money as beyng a thyng vpon whiche men are perswaded that all thinges depende that can be wyshed for But contrariwyse the voyces of the best learned men cry out experience and trueth crieth out the multitude of auncient and new examples crieth out that great masses of money are profitable to none but haue been pernitious to many are gotten with sinne and toyle kept with feare and carefulnesse and lost with complaint and heauinesse Let the louers of money declare eyther what falshood is in these woordes or goodnesse in theyr ryches And to the ende that a thyng so much commended may be vprightly considered let euery man cal vnto his remembrance whatsoeuer he hath seene or read perfectly and sincerely concerning this matter setting apart al regard of the common peoples clamour and the glittering of the mettalles And for that all men haue not had the lyke occasion to see and trie let those thynges be called to mynde whiche are set downe in wrytyng by famous auctours whiche the learned myght alwayes reade and heare at their pleasure And is it not well knowen that money brought in newe and vnaccustomed manners and that effeminate rychesse by meanes of hatefull riotousnesse dyd peruert whose ages that before lyued most commendably And that rychesse adioyned with couetousnesse and ouerflowing pleasures through sensualitie and lasciuiousnesse brought in the desire to ouerthrowe and destroy all whiche both by wryting and effect hath often been founde to be true That the couetous man is alwayes in neede That iron is hurtful but golde more hurtfull That the wicked thyrst of golde d th enforce mens mindes vnto any mischiefe and that the spirites are weakened onely with the sight of money Is not golde able to passe through a garison of armed men and to breake stones more forcibly then a thunderbolt and dooeth not hereof spryng treason both agaynst honestie and lyfe By a golden showre of rayne Danaès virginitie was expugned and lykewyse there was one cause of the ouerthrowe of the Greeke Poet Amphiareus and his couetous wife to wit the fatall golde which being wel contemned by Argia Eriphila yll wished for and yll gotten brake vp his house and began the occasion of horrible wickednesse Is it not most truely and properly sayde that false and transitorie ryches can neyther perfourme that which they promise neyther quenche the thyrst of the minde but encrease it neyther dryue away cares but bring them nor relieue necessities but encrease them And that The loue of money encreaseth as muche as the money it selfe encreaseth And likewyse this saying may be added Money maketh no man ryche but rather contrariwyse there is no man in whom it hath not engendred a greater desire of it And no lesse this Care followeth money as it encreaseth and greater hunger of it And agayne To them that aske many thynges many thynges are wantyng and likewyse They that possesse muche doo lacke muche Finally that whatsoeuer they be they are not permanent and continuyng as beyng reposed in the handes of Fortune subiect euermore vnto variable chaunces and at leastwyse to be lost by death For when the ryche man sleepeth he shall carie nothyng away with hym yf he open his eyes he shall fynde nothyng and yet he can not leaue that nothyng to whom he woulde for why Man passeth away in an Image and vaynely troubling hym selfe he heapeth vp ryches together and knoweth not for whom he shall gather them Whyle these and a thousande suche lyke sayinges of wyse and learned men doo in suche sort sounde about our eares notwithstandyng infinite desire to haue hath made you deafe so that the rych men of this worlde are in vayne admonished not to be too hyghly wyse nor to trust in the vncertainetie of ryches but in the liuing GOD who geueth all thing plenteously to enioy them to do good and to become ryche in good woorkes for they that would be ryche namely in these ryches that are commonly wyshed for fall into temptation and snares of the Deuyll and many vnprofitable and hurtfull lustes that drench men in death and destruction For couetousnesse is the roote of all mischieues This counsayler wyll they more harken vnto then they wyll heare hym that sayeth Trust not in wickednesse neyther couet after rapine yf ryches doo abounde set not thy hart vpon them Neither him more then his sonne saying Whoso trusteth in his ryches shall come to destruction And agayne not more then all these hym that is aboue all whose heauenly doctrine can not be contemned but of mad and frantike persons who truely calleth ryches and the companions of ryches pleasures and cares by the name of thornes whiche choake the seede of holsome woordes this spake he in whose mouth was founde no guyle The lyuely trueth I say spake this and dooest thou thynke that he founde any fayth vpon the earth Surely none at all or but very litle And that whiche he tearmeth thornes the worlde calleth chiefe sweetnesse and pleasure And where as one saith that pearles and precious stones and vnprofitable gold

repeate often vnto my selfe the same place the better to endure the payne neuerthelesse I shal be neuer able of my selfe neyther by the helpe of Cicero nor any other to finde sufficient abilitie there vnto Reason This distrust I doo not discommende but rather prayse let no man trust muche to hym selfe but in all difficulties seeke helpe not of man but of GOD howbeit not in suche sort that he beleeue that there shall come Angelles downe from heauen armed to delyuer hym GOD sometyme perhappes fauoureth wicked men but as for the slouthfull he neuer helpeth them If thou wouldest seeme woorthie of succour doo as muche as in thee lyeth to styrre vp to aduaunce and to arme thy mynde whiche beyng doone bryng hym foorth into the feelde agaynst the Enimies Sorowe The residue I suppose I vnderstand what thou meanest but this one thyng I demaunde whiche be these weapons of the minde whereof thou speakest Reason This is well Nowe I conceyue some hope of thy welfare In the sharpnesse of matters to weepe is womanyshe but endeuour agaynst a thyng to resiste it to seeke counsell and helpe is the part of a man and effectuall to preuayle The weapons of the minde and the skyll and policie in fighting are many and diuers accordyng to the diuersitie of the enimies Neyther is there any duetie in Philosophie more profitable or holye then to entreate of these whiche as I suppose doo more appertayne vnto you then to knowe what the Planettes doo what the aspect of Iupiter promiseth in a natiuitie what Saturne threatneth beyng in coniunction with Mars what qualities Mercurius the wanderyng interpretour taketh from the father and brethren what he boroweth of euerie one that he meeteth what is the cause of showers and heate whereof come earthquakes by what power and force the deepe Seas doo swell and not to knowe from whence the colde heate swellyng quakyng and weakenesse of the minde proceede and by what meanes the heate may be tempered the swellyng asswaged the quakyng and weakenesse strengthned and confirmed In whiche practice although Aristotle doo laugh and gybe at Socrates yet perhappes afterwarde he changed his minde and followed the same studie not a lytle But these matters are commonly to be founde dispearsed in the writinges of the Philosophers wherewith to furnyshe the ignoraunt were ouer tedious and too long a matter for this breefe discourse and vnto the skylfull superfluous who needeth not to be taught but onely admonished Sorowe I knowe it is so neyther demaunded I of all thinges but onely this one what weapons thou wouldest specially minister vnto me wherewith I myght encounter this myne enimie Payne agaynst whom I nowe fyght Reason Herevnto can I not answeare thee better nor brieflyer then doth Cicero For he asketh the question as thou dooest And what weapons sayth he are these He answeareth immediatly Earnest endeuour Confyrmation and Inwarde communication Sorowe Discourse I praye thee vppon euery one of them for I haue read them many tymes heretofore howbeit I am afearde lest it happen vnto me as it doth vnto many who when they reade any thyng to them selues thynk that they vnderstand all but when they come to vtter them selues before other then perceyue they that they vnderstand nothing And therefore tel me yf you please what is this earnest endeuour Reason This appeareth sufficiently yf thou proceede a lytle forwarde in Ciceroes owne woordes but that thou shalt not seeme to aske any thyng of me in vayne I wyl declare the same another way There be many thynges like in the mindes and bodyes and as there is no force of the bodye so great so lykewyse is there no strength of the minde of such power which with a sudden and heauie burden wyl not quayle and bende See that they be euermore prouided and readie least they be both ouerthrowen by their owne greatnesse but that when neede shal require they be founde prepared for many tymes a very valiant man hath been sore afearde at the sudden meetyng of a mightie enimie Geue thy mind space to refresh it selfe and to shewe foorth it owne strength in the present danger and then shall it receiue the assault of the enimie with securitie The Champions that are redie to combat at the exercise called Caestes make redie their armes and set their necke and shoulders vnto the burden by bending their strength they shew the more valure in the fight hauing prepared them selues they beare that weight more easily vnder which if they went slouthfully to worke they might happen to fal more dangerously In like maner whensoeuer there appeareth any great difficultie the minde must be bent against it whiche if it be throughly doone it shal become conquerour ouer all extremities otherwyse incredible it is to be spoken howe soone a sluggyshe and vnprouided minde is ouerthrowen by a small occasion This is that same earnest endeuour of minde whereof Cicero speaketh or whether thou haddest rather haue it tearmed an Intention of the minde for both these woordes haue but one signification indifferently as thou feest vsed by him deriued both from one woord Sorowe I perceiue and heare thee gadly but what is Confirmation Reason I wyll shewe thee In the mindes that are most valiant there are some poyntes of distrust to be sounde ioyned with other laudable affections and although they be truely perswaded yet false matters sounde about their eares and suche a multitude of populare errours assemble them selues to vanquishe the castle of their minde that it is an hard matter for it to keepe vpright iudgement For sometime there commeth vppon it a certaine dulnesse and sometime a doubting whether those thynges be true or not which are commonly reported by men of great learnyng and holynesse concerning the vertue of patience of the cumlinesse of honestie and the bryghtnesse of glorie or rather that whiche is disputed by others and liked of the common people to witte that the best thyng that can be is to be out of payne that there is nothing woorse then payne and that pleasure is the ende of all whatsoeuer is good also that as for the fyrst they are the sayinges but of fewe but these the speeches welnigh of al men whereof some tymes the noyse is so great that these fewe voyces of those that doo exhort can not be heard and the keepers of the Castles beyng made afearde forsake their charge and prouide for them selues by flyght In this case the minde whiche is doubtful and vncertaine to whiche syde to turne ought to be rescued with a freshe force that it fall not from it auncient perswasion as sometime dyd Dionisius Heracleontes who when on a time being ouercome with payne he had reiected that opinion of his Schoolemaister Zeno concerning payne he deserued to be mocked of his Schoolefellow Cleantes Let him not I say forget but resist and keepe his feete within the steppes which he hath possessed vnderstanding what is a true thing in deede and what