set ryse my sonne Marke and sithens nowe thou arte yong it is but iust that thou geue me place whiche am aged If it bee true that it is xxxiii yeares sithens thou askedst place in the theathers as and old man tell mee I praye thee and also I coniure thee with what oyntement hast thou anoynted thy selfe or with what water hast thou wasshed thy selfe to become yonge O Claude if thou hadst founde anye medicyne or dyscouered anye herbe where with thou couldest take whyte heares from mens heades and from women the wrincles of theire face I sweare vnto thee and also I doe assure thee that thou shooldest be more vysyted and serued in Rome then the god Apollo is in his Temple at Ephesus Thou shouldest wel remember Annius priscus the old man whiche was our neighbour and somewhat a kinne to thee the whiche when I tolde him that I coulde not bee filled with his good woordes and to behold his auncient white heares he saied vnto me O my soone Mark it appereth wel that thou hast not byn aged because thou talkest as a yong maÌ„ for if white heares do honour the ê‘son they greatlye hurt the harte For at that houre when they se vs aged the straungers do hate vs ours do not loue vs. And he told me more I let the wete my sonne Marke that many times my wyfe and I talking of the yeares of another perticularly when she beholdeth mee and that I seeme vnto her so aged I saye vnto her and swere that I am yet yoÌ„ge and that the white heares came vnto me by great trauailes and the age by sicknes I do remember also that this Annius Priscus was senatour one yeare and bycause he woulde not seeme aged but desired that men shoulde iudge hym too bee yonge he shaued his bearde and hys heade which was not accustomed amonge the senatours nor Censours of Rome And as one day amongest the other Senatours he entred into the hyghe Capitolle one sayde vnto hym Tell me man from whence comest thou What wylte thou and why comest thou hither howe durste thou being no senatour enter into the Senate he aunswered I am Annius priscus the aged howe chauÌ„ceth it that nowe you haue not knowen me they replyed vnto hym if thou werte Annius Priscus thou woldest not come thus shauen For in this sacred senate can none enter to gouerne the coÌ„mon wealth vnlesse his parsoÌ„ be endued with vertues and his heade with white heares and therfore thou art banished and depriued of thy office For the olde which lyue as the yong ought to be punished Thou knowest wel Claude and Claudine that that which I haue spoken is not the faynyng of Homere neither a fable of Ouide but that you your selues saw it with your eyes and in his banishment I dyd helpe him with money and more ouer he was banished another time for the lightnes he dyd commit in the nighte in the citye and I meruaile not hereof for we see by experyence that old men whiche are fleashed in vices are more obstinate to correct then the yong O what euill fortune haue the olde men which suffered them selues too waxe olde in vyces for more daungerous is the fier in an old house then in a new and a greate cut of a sworde is not so perilous as a rotten fistule Though old men were not honest and vertuous for the seruice of the gods and the common wealth for the saieng of the people nor for the example of the yong yet he ought to be honest yf it weare but for the reuerence of their yeares If the pore old man haue noe teeth how shall he eate If he haue no heate in his stomacke howe can he dysgest If he haue no taste how can he drinke if hee be not strong howe can he be an adulterer If hee haue no feete howe can he goe If hee haue the palsy howe can hee speake if hee haue the goute in his handes howe can hee play Fynally suche lyke wordlye and vicyous men haue employed their forces beinge yonge desirous to proue al these vices and when they are old it greueth them extreamelye that they can not as yet accoÌ„pplishe their desiers Amongest all the faultes in old men in my opinion this is the chefest that since they haue proued al thiÌ„ges that they shoold stil remaine in their obstinat folly There is no parte but they haue trauailed no villany but they haue assayed no fortune but they haue proued no good but they haue persecuted no euyl but hath chaunced vnto theÌ„ nor there is any vice but they haue attempted These vnhappy men which in this sorte haue spent all their youth haue in the end their combes cut with infirmities diseases yet they are not somuch greued with the vices which in them do abound to hinder them froÌ„ vertues as they are tormented for wante of corporall courage to further them in their lusts O if wee were gods or that they would geeue vs licence to know the thoughts of the old as wee see with our eies the deeds of the yong I swear to the God Mars and also to the mother Berecinthe that without comparison we woold punishe more the wicked desiers which the aged haue to be wicked then the light deeds of the yong Tel mee Claude and thou Claudine do you think though you behaue your selues as yong you shall not seme to bee old know you not that our nature is the corruption of our body and that our body hindereth our vnderstandings and that the vnderstandyngs are kept of our soule that oure soule is the mother of desiers that our desiers are the scourge of our youth that our youth is the ensigne of our age age the spye of death that death in the end is the house where life taketh hys herber and from whence youth flyeth a fote and from whence age can not escape a horsback I woold reioyce that you Claude and Claudine woolde tell me what you fynde in lyfe that somuche therwith you should bee contented since now you haue passed foure score yeares of lyfe duryng the which tyme either you haue been wycked in the world or els you haue been good Yf you haue been good you ought to think it long vntil you be with the good gods if you haue been euil it is iust you dye to the end you bee no worse For speaking the truth those which in .3 score 10 yeares haue been wicked in woorks leaue smal hope of their ameÌ„dment of lyfe Adrian my lord being at Nola in Campania one brought vnto him a nephew of his from the study where as the yong child had not profyted a lytel for hee became a great Gretian and latinest and more ouer he was faire gratious wise honest And this Emperor Adrian loued his nephew so much that hee saied vnto him these woords My nephew I know not whither I ought to say vnto thee that thou art good or euil for
graue Leauing aside the said opinions I say that for sinne only seruitude came to dwell in vs entered into the world for if there had ben no sinners we ought to beleue there had bene no lordes nor seruauntes For as much as seruitude generally entred into the world through sinne I say that the signorie of princes is by the deuine commaundement for he saith by me the king doth gouerne and by me the prince doth minister iustice I conclude in this sorte with this reason that since it is true princes are sent by the handes of god for to gouerne vs we are bounde in all and for all to obey them for there is no greater plague in a publike weale then to be disobedient to the prince ¶ Howe king Alexander the great after he had ouercome king Darius in Asia went to conquere the great India and of that whiche happened vnto him with the Garamantes and howe the good life hath more power then any force of warre Cap. xxxii IN the yeare of the creation of the worlde .4970 in the firste age of the worlde and in the .4027 yeares of the foundation of Rome Iaâ—o being highe priest in Hierusalem Decius and Mamilius at Rome consulles in the thirde yeare of the monarchie of the Greekes Alexander the great sonne to Philipe of Macedonia king gaue the laste battayle to Darius kinge of Persia wherein kyng Alexander escaped very sore wounded Darius slayne so that the whole Empire of the Perses came vnder the gouernaunce of the Grekes For the vnfortunate princes doe not onely lose their lyues with which they came into the worlde but also the realmes whiche they did inherite After that Darius was dead and Alexander sawe him selfe lorde of the fielde that the Perses and Medes were become subiecte to the Gretians thoughe manye kynges and lordes died in those cruell battayles yet it semed to Alexander a trifle to be gouernour of all Asia wherefore he determined in persone to goe conquere the great India For proude and stoute hartes obteining that which they desire immediatly begin to esteme it as litle All his armies repaired placing gouernours in all the realmes of Asia Alexander departed to conquer the great India for he had promised and sworne to his gods that through al the world there should be but one Empire and that that shoulde be his and more ouer that he would neuer passe through any straunge realme or countrey but it should geue obedience vnto him or els forthwith he woulde destroye it For tyrannous hartes haue neuer any regarde to the domage of another vntill they haue obtained their wicked desiers Alexander then going to conquere realmes and destroye prouinces by chaunce one said vnto him that on the other syde of the mountaines Riphei towardes the partes of India was a barbarous nation whiche were called Garamantes as yet neuer coÌ„quered neither by the Perses Medes Romaines nor Grekes neither any of theÌ„ euer triumphed ouer them For they had no weapons nor estemed them not sithe they had no ryches Kinge Alexander who for to subdue realmes and straunge countries was very diligente and hardy and to see newe thinges very desyrous determined not onely to sende to see that countrey but also to go him selfe in persone and in that place to leaue of him some memorye which thing forthwith he accomplished For he left them Alters as Hercules left in Gades pillars For mans harte is so stoute that it trauayleth not onely to compare with many but also to excell all The Embassadours of Alexander were sent to Garamantes to aduertise them of the comming of kyng Alexander the great and of the terrible and cruell battayles whiche he in warres had ouercome and to declare vnto them howe the puissaunt kynge Darius was slayne and that all Asia was vnder his subiection and howe euery citie did yelde them selues against whome he neither lifted spere nor sworde because all yelded to his commaundement With these and suche other lyke thynges they would haue feared them for wordes oftimes maketh menne more afraide specially when they are spoken of stoute menne then doe the swordes of cowards Lucius Bosco saith in his thirde booke of the antiquities of the Gretians of whom the originall of this historie is drawen that after the Embassadours of Alexander had spoken to the Garamantes they were nothyng at all troubled for the message neither did they flie from Alexander nor they prepared any warre neither toke they in hande any weapons nor yet they did resiste him Yea and the chiefest of all was that no man of all the countrey euer departed out of his house finally they neither aunswered the Embassadours of Alexander to their message nor yet spake one worde vnto them And truly the Garamantes had reason therin and did in that right wysely for it is a folly for a man to perswade those men with wordes whiche enterpryse any thing of will It is a marueilous matter to heare tell of the histories of those Garamantes that is to saye that all their houses were of equall height all men were appareled a lyke the one had no more authoritie then another in fedyng they were no gluttons in drynking wyne they were temperate of plees and debates they were ignoraunt they would suffer no idle man to lyue among them they had no weapons because they had no ennemies and generally they spake fewe wordes but that whiche they spake was alwayes true Kyng Alexander being somewhat informed of those Garamantes and their lyfe determined to sende for them and called them before his presence and instantly desired them if they had any wyse men amonge them to bryng them vnto hym and by wrytinge or by worde of mouthe to speake somewhat vnto him For Alexander was suche a frende to sage men that all the realmes whiche he ouercame immediatly he gaue to his men excepting the sages whiche he kepte for his owne persone Quintus Curtius by kyng Alexander sayeth that a prince doeth well spende his treasours to conquere many Realmes onely to haue the conuersation of one wyse man And truly he had reason for to princes it is more profite in their lyfe to be accompanied with sages then after their death to leaue great treasures to their heires Certayne of those Garamantes then beinge come before the presence of Alexander the greate one amonge them as they thought the moste auncientest him selfe alone the residue keapynge silence in the name of them all spake these wordes ¶ Of an oration whiche one of the sages of Garamantia made vnto kyng Alexander A goodly lesson for al ambitious men Cap. xxxiii IT is a custome king Alexander amongest vs Garamantes to speake seldome one to another and scarsely neuer to speake with straungers especially if they be busy and vnquiet men for the tongue of an euyll man is no other but a playne demonstration of his enuious harte When they tolde vs of thy comming into this countrie immediatly we determined not
that amongest the myshappes of fortune we dare saye that ther is no felycitie in the world And he only is happie from whom wisedom hath plucked enuious aduersitie and that afterwards is brought by wisedome to the highest felycitye And thoughe I would I cannot endure any lenger but that the immortall gods haue the in their custoditye and that they preserue vs from euyl fortune Sith thou art retired now vnto Bethinie I know well thou wouldest I should write the some newes from Rome and at this presente there are none but that the Carpentines and Lusitaines are in great strife and dissension in Spayne I receiued letters how that the barbarous were quyet though the host that was in Illiria were in good case yet notwistanding the army is somwhat fearefull and timerous For in all the coaste and borders ther hath bene a great plague Pardon me my frend Pulio for that I am so sickely that yet I am not come to my selfe For the feuer quartaine is so cruel a disease that he which hath it contenteth himselfe with nothinge neither taketh pleasure in any thing I send the .ii. of the best horses that can be found in al Spayne also I send the ii cuppes of gold of the richest that can be founde in Alexandria And by the lawe of a good man I swere vnto the that I desire to sende the ii or .iii. howers of those which trouble me in my feauer quartaine My wife Faustine saluteth the and of her part and mine also to Cassia thy olde mother and noble widowe we haue vs commended Marcus the Romaine Emperour with his owne hande writeth this and againe commendeth him vnto his dere frend Pulio ¶ That princes and great Lordes ought not to esteme them selues for being fayre and wel proportioned Cap. xli .. IN the time that Iosue triumphed amongest the Hebrues and that Dardanus passed from great Grece to Samotratia and when the sonnes of Agenor were seking their sister Europe and in the time that Siculus reigned in Scicil in great Asia in the Realme of Egipt was buylded a great cytie called Thebes the which king Busiris built of whom Diodorus Sicculus at large mencioneth Plynie in the .36 chapter of his naturall historie and Homere in the second of his Iliade and Statius in al the booke of his Thebiade do declare great meruelles of this citye of Thebes which thing ought greatly to be estemed for a man oughte not to thinke that fayned whiche so excellente auctours haue writen For a truth they say that Thebes was in circuite .40 myles and that the walles were .30 stades hye and in breadthe .6 They say also that the citie had a hundreth gates very sumptuous and strong and in euery gate .ii. hundreth horsemen watched Through the middest of Thebes passed a great riuer the which by mylles and fishe dyd greatly profite the citie When Thebes was in his prosperity they say that there were two hundreth thousand fiers and besydes all this al the kynges of Egipt were buried in that place As Strabo sayth De situ orbis when Thebes was destroyed with enemies they found therin lxxvii tombes of kings whych had bene buried there And here is to be noted that al those tombes were of vertuous kings For among the Egiptians it was a law inuiolable that the king which had bene wicked in his lyfe should not be buried after his death Before the noble and worthy Numantia was founded in Europe the riche Carthage in Affricke and the hardye Rome in Italy the goodly Capua in Campaigne and the great Argentine in Germanie and the holy Helia in Palestine Thebes onlye was the most renowmed of all the world For the Thebanes amongest al nacions were renowmed aswel for their riches as for their buyldings and also because in theyr lawes customes they had many notable seuere things al the men were seuere in their workes although they would not be knowen by their extreame doinges Homere sayth that the Thebanes had v. customes wherein they were more extreme then any other nacion 1. The first was that the children drawing to v. yeres of age were marked in the forehead with a hoote yron because in what places so euer they came they should be knowen for Thebanes by that marke 2. The second was that they should accustome their children to trauaile alwayes on foote And the occasion why they dyd this was because the Egiptians kept their beastes for their gods and therfore when so euer they trauayled they neuer rydde on horsebacke because they should not seme to sitte vpon their god 3. The third was that none of the citizens of Thebes shold mary with any of straunge nacions but rather they caused them to marrye parentes with parentes because that frendes maryeng with frendes they thoughte the frendshippe and loue should be more sure 4. The fourthe custome was that no Thebane should in any wise make a house for himselfe to dwel in but first he should make his graue wherin he should be buryed Me thinketh that in this point the Thebanes were not to extreme nor excessiue but that they did lyke sage and wise men yea and by the law of veryte I sweare that they were sager then we are For if at the least we dyd imploye our thought but two howers in the weke to make our graue it is vnpossible but that we should correcte euerye daye our life 5. The fift custome was that all the boies which were excedinge faire in their face shoulde be by theym strangled in the cradell and all the girles whiche were extreame foule were by them killed sacrifised to the godds Sayeng that the gods forgotte themselues when they made the men faire and the women foule For the man which is very faire is but an vnparfite woman and the woman which is extreme foule is but a sauage and wilde beast The greatest God of the Thebaines was Isis who was a red bull nourisshed in the riuer of Nile and they had a custome that all those which had red heere immediately should be sacrifyâ—ed The contrarye they did to the beastes for sithe their God was a bul of tawnye couloure none durst be so bold to kyl any beasts of the same coloure In such fourme and maner that it was lawfull to kyll both men and women and not the brute beastes I do not say this was wel done of the Thebaines to sley their children nor yet I do say that it was wel done to sacrifice men women which had red or taunye heere nor I thinke it a thinge reasonable that they should do reuerence to the beastes of that coloure but I wonder why they should so much dispise foule women and faire men sith all the world is peopled bothe with faire and foule Then sith those barbarous lyuyng as they did vnder a false law did put him to death whom the Gods had adorned with any beautie we then which are Christians by reason ought much lesse to esteme
the beautie of the body knowing that most commonly thervpon ensueth the vnclennes of the soule Vnder the christall stone lyeth oftentimes a daungerous worme in the faier wal is nourisshed the venemous Coluber within the middell of the white tothe is ingendered great paine to the gummes in the fynest clothe the motes do most hurt and the most fruitful tree by wormes is sonest perisshed I meane that vnder the cleane bodyes faire countenaunces are hid many and abhominable vyces Truly not only to children which are not wise but to all other which are lyght and fraile beauty is nothing els but the mother of many vyces and the hinderer of all vertues Let princes and great Lords beleue me which thinke to be faire and wel disposed that where there is great aboundaunce of corporal goods and graces there ought to be great bones of vertues to be able to beare them For the moste highe trees by great windes are shaken I say that it is vanytie to be vaine glorious in any thinge of this world be it neuer so parfite and also I saye that it is a greate vanytie to be proude of the corporall beautye For amonge all the acceptable giftes that nature gaue to the mortalles there is nothinge more superfluous in man and lesse necessarie then the beautye of the body For truly whether we be faire or foule we are nothing the better beloued of God neyther thereby the more hated of men O blyndnes of the world O lyfe which neuer lyueth nor shal lyue O death which neuer hath end I know not why man through the accident of this beautye shoulde or durst take vpon him any vaine glory or presumption sith he knoweth that all the fairest and most parfitest of flesh must be sacrificed to the wormes in the graue And knowe also that all the propernes of the members shal be forfeited to the hongry wormes which are in the earth Let the great scorne the lytle asmuch as they will the faire mocke the foule at their pleasure the hole disdaine the sicke the wel made enuy the deformed the white hate the blacke and the Giantes dyspise the dwarfes yet in the end al shall haue an end Truly in myne opinion the trees beare not the more fruit for that they are streight only nor for being high neither for geuing great shadowe nor for being beautifull nor yet for being great By this comparison I meane that though a noble stout man be proper of parson and noble of linage shadowing of fauour comlye in countenaunce in renowne very high and in the common wealth puissaunt that therfore he is not the better in lyfe For truly the common wealthes are not altered by the simple labourers which trauaile in the fieldes but by the vicyous men which take great ease in their liues Vnlesse I be deceiued the swine and other beastes are fed vnder the okes with the acornes and amonge the pricking briers and thornes the swete roses do grow the sharpe beeche giueth vs the sauoury chesnutts I meane that the deformed and litle creatures oft times are most profitable in the common wealth For the lytle and sharpe countenaunces are signes of valiaunt and stout hartes Let vs cease to speake of men which are fleshely being eftsones rotten and gone and let vs talke of sumptuous buildinges which are of stone which if we should go to se what they were we may know the greatnes and the height of them Then we shal not know the maner of their beauty and that which semed to be perpetuall in shorte space we see it ende and loase the renowne in such sort that ther is neuer memory of them after Let vs also leaue the auncient buildinges and come to the buildings now a days and one shal see that there is no man that maketh a house be it neuer so strong nor so faire but liuing a lytle while he shal see the beauty therof decay For ther are a great nombre of auncient men which haue sene both the toppes of famous and stronge buyldings made also the foundacion and ground therof decayed And that this is true it appeareth manyfestly for that if the toppe decay or the walles fall or els if the tymber be weke or the ioyntes open or the windowes waxe rotten or the gates do breake the buildinges forth with do decay What shall we say of goodly haules and galleries well appointed the which within short space by coles or candels of childrē or by torches of pages or smoke of chimneys by cobwebbes of spyders become as dry foule as before they were freshe and faire Then if that be true which I haue said of these things I would now gladly know what hope man cā haue of the cōtinuaunce of his beauty since we se the like destruction of corporal beauty as of stones wood bricke and clay O vnprofitable Princes O children of vanity to folyshe hardy do you not remember that all your healthe it subiecte to sicknes as in the payne of the stomack in the heate of the lyuer in the inflamacion of the feete in the distemperaunce of humors the mocions of the ayre in the coniunctions of the Moone in the Eclipse of the sunne I say do not you knowe that you are subiect to the tedyous sommer and vntollerable winter Of a trouth I cannot tel how you can be among so many in perfections and corruptions so full of vaine glory by your beauty seing and knowinge that a litle feuer doth not only deface and marre the beauty but also maketh and couloureth the face al yelow be it neuer so wel fauoured I haue maruailed at one thing that is to wete that all men are desirous to haue all things about their body cleane their gownes brushed their coates nette the table handsome and the bedde fine and only they suffer their soules to be foule spotted and filthi I durst say and in the faith of a christian affirme that it is a great lacke of wisedome and a superfluitie of folye for a man to haue his house cleane and to suffer his soule to be corrupted I would know what preheminence they haue which are fayre aboue others to whom nature hath denyed beautye Peraduenture the beauteful man hath two soules and the defourmed creature hath but one peraduenture the most fayrest are the most healthful and the most deformed are the most sicklyest Peraduenture the most fayrest are the wysest and the most defourmed the most innocentes peraduenture the fairest are most stoute and the defourmed most cowardes peraduenture the fayre are most fortunate and the foule most vnluckyest peraduenture the fayre only are excepted from vyce and the foule depryued from vertue peraduenture those whych are fayre of ryght haue perpetuall lyfe and those whych are foule are bound to replenyshe the graue I say no certaynlye Then if this be true why do the great mocke the litle the fayre the foule the right the crooked and the whyte the blacke since they know
the prince all their goods but also they must them selues in parson hazard their lyues If they tell vs that that they keepe is to geeue and dispose for their soules at their dying day I say it is not only want of wisdome but extream folly For at the hour of death princes ought more to reioyce for that they haue geeuen then for that at that time hee geeueth O how princes and great lords are euyll counsailed since they suffer them selues to bee slaundered for beeing couetous only to heap a lyttle cursed treasure For experience teacheth vs no man can bee couetous of goods but needs hee must bee prodigal of honor and abandon liberty Plutarche in the booke which hee made of the fortune of Alexander sayth that Alexander the great had a priuat seruaunt called Perdyca the which seeyng that Alexander liberally gaue all that which by great trauel hee attayned on a day hee said vnto him Tell mee most noble prince sithens thou geeuest all that thou hast to others what wilt thou haue for thy self Alexander aunswered The glory remaineth vnto mee of that I haue wonne gotten the hope of that which I wil geeue winne And further he said vnto him I wil tel thee true Perdyca If I knew that men thought that all that which I take were for couetousnes I swere vnto thee by the god Mars that I woold not beat down one corner in a town and to winne all the world I woold not go one days iourney My intention is to take the glory to my self and to deuyde the goods amongst others These woords so high were woorthy of a valyant and vertuous prince as of Alexander which spake thē If that which I haue read in books do not begyle mee that which with these eies I haue seene to become rych it is necessary that a man geeue for the princes and great lords which naturally are geeuen to bee liberall are alwaies fortunat to haue It chaunceth oft tymes that some man geeuing a little is counted liberall an other geeuing much is counted a nigard The which proceedeth of this that they know not that liberality nigardnes consisteth not in geeuing much or lytle but to know well how to geeue For the rewards and recompences which out of tyme are distributed do nother profit them which receiue them neither agree to him which geeueth them A couetous man geeueth more at one tyme then a noble and free hart doth in .20 thus saieth the common prouerb it is good comming to a niggards feast The difference beetwene the liberality of the one and the mysery of thother is that the noble and vertuous doth geeue that hee geeueth to many but the nigard geeueth that hee geeueth to one onely Of the which vnaduisement princes ought greatly to beware For if in such case one man alone shoold bee found which woold commēd his liberality there are ten thousand which woold condemne his couetousnes It happeneth oft times to princes and great lords that in deed they are free to recompence but in geeuing they are very vnfortunat And the cause is that they geeue it not to vertuous persons and well cōdicioned but to those which are vnthankfull and do not acknowledge the benefit receyued So that in geeuing to some they haue not made them their frends and in not geeuing to others they haue made them their enemies It suffyseth not to princes great lords to haue great desire to geeue but to know when how or where to whom they ought to geeue For if they bee accused otherwise to heap vp treasures they ought also to bee condemned for that they do geeue When a man hath lost all that hee hath in play in whoors in bankets and other semblable vyces it is but reason they bee ashamed but when they haue spent it like noble stout and liberal men they ought not to bee discontented for the wise man ought to take no displesure for that hee loseth but for that hee euil spendeth and hee ought to take no pleasure for that hee geeueth but for that hee geeueth not well Dion the grecian in the lyfe of the Emperor Seuerus saith that one day in the feast of the God Ianus when hee had geeuen dyuers rewards and sundry gifts as well to his own seruaunts as to strangers and that hee was greatly commended of all the Romains hee said vnto them Do you think now Romains that I am very glad for the gifts rewards and recompenses which I haue bestowed and that I am very glorious for the praises you haue geeuen mee by the god Mars I swere vnto ye and let the god Ianus bee so mercifull vnto vs all this yere that the pleasure I haue is not so great for the I haue geeuen as the grief is for that I haue no more to geeue ¶ The auctour foloweth his intencion and perswadeth gentlemen and those that professe armes not to abase them selues for gaines sake to take vpon them any vyle function or office Cap. xix PLutarche in his Apothemes declareth that king Ptolomeus the first was a prince of so good a nature and so gentle in conuersation that oft times hee went to supper to the houses of his familiar frinds and many nights hee remayned there to sleap And truly in this case hee shewed him self to bee welbeeloued of his For speaking according to the trueth a prynce on whose lyfe dependeth the hole state of the common wealth ought to credit few was the table and allso fewer in the bed Another thing this Ptolomeus did whych was when hee inuited his frends to dinner or supper or other straungers of soome hee desired to borow stooles of thothers napkins of others cups and so of other things for hee was a prodygall prince For all that his seruaunts in the morning had bought beefore the night folowing hee gaue it away One day al the nobles of his realm of Egipt assembled togethers and desired him very earnestly that hee woold be more moderat in geeuing for they said through his prodygality the hole realm was impouerished The king aunswered You others of Egipt are marueylously deceiued to think that the poore and needy prince is troubled In this case I dare say vnto you that the poore and needy prince ought to think him self happy for good princes ought more to seeke to enrich others then to heap vp treasures for them selues O happy is the common wealth whych deserueth to haue such a prince and happy is that tongue which coold pronounce such a sentence Certainly this prince to all princes gaue good example and counsel that is to weete that for thē it was more honor and also more profit to make others rich thē to bee rich them selues For if they haue much they shal want no crauers and if they haue lytle they shal neuer want seruaunts to serue them Suetonius Tranquillus in the booke of Cesars sayeth that Titus the Emperour one night after supper
merite to suffer many troubles if we haue not pacience therin During the time of this our miserable life we cannot denay but in euery estate there is bothe trouble and daunger For then onely our estate shal be perfit when we shal come gloriously in soule and body without the feare of deathe and also whan we shall reioyce without daungers in life Retourninge agayne to our purpose mightie Prince although we all be of value little we all haue little we all can attaine little we all know little we al are able to doe little we all do liue but little Yet in all this little the state of Princes semeth some great and high thing For that worldely men say there is no such felicitie in this life as to haue authoritie to commaunde many to be bounde to obey none But if either subiectes knewe how dere Princes by their power to commaunde or if Princes knewe howe swete a thinge it is to liue in quiet doutelesse the subiectes would pitie their rulers and the rulers would not enuy theyr subiectes For ful few are the pleasures which Princes enioy in respecte of the troubles that they endure Sithe then the estate of Princes is greater than al that he may doe more than all is more of value than all vpholdeth more than all and finally that from thence procedeth the gouernement of all it is more nedefull that the house the person and the life of a Prince be better gouerned and ordred than all the reste For euen as by the yard the marchante measureth al his ware so by the life of the Prince is measured the whole common weale Many sorowes endureth the woman in nourishing a waywerde childe great trauaile taketh a scholemaister in teaching an vntowarde scholler much paine taketh an officer in gouerning a multitude ouergreate howe greate than is the paine and peril whereunto I offer my selfe in takinge vpon me to order the life of such a one vpon whose life hangeth all the good state of a common weale For Princes and great Lords ought of vs to be serued and not offended we ought to exhort them not to vexe them we ought to entreate them not to rebuke them we ought to aduise them and not to defame them finally I say that right simple recken I that surgiō which with the same plaisters he layed to a hard héele séeketh to cure the tender eyes I meane by this cōparison that my purpose is not to tel princes and noble men in this booke what they be but to warne them what they ought to be not to tell them what they doe but to aduise them what they ought to doe For that noble man which will not amende his lyfe for remorse of his owne conscience I doe thinke that he wil amende it for the writing of my penne Paulus diaconus the historiographer in the second booke of his commentaries sheweth an antiquitie right worthy to remember and also pleasaunt to reade Although in dede to the hinderaunce of my selfe I shall reherse it It is as of the henne who by longe scraping on the donghill discouereth the knife that shall cut hir owne throte Thus was the case Hannibal the moste renowmed Prince and captayne of Carthage after he was vainquished by thaduenturous Scipio fled into Asia to kinge Antiochus a Prince then liuinge of great vertue who receiued him into his realme tooke him into his protectiō and right honourably enterteyned him in his house And certes king Antiochus did herein as a pitefull Prince for what can more beautifie the honor of a Prince than to succor nobilitie in their nedefull estate These two Princes vsed diuers exercises to spende the time honorably thus they diuided tyme. Sometime to hunt in the mountaines otherwhile to disporte them in the fieldes oft to vewe their armies But mostly they wente to the scholes to heare the Philosophers And truly they did like wise skilfull men For there is no hower in a daye otherwise so well employed as in hearinge a wise pleasaunt tonged man There was at a time in Ephesus a famous philosopher called Phormio which openly red and taught the people of that realme And one day as these twoo Princes came into the schoole the philosopher Phormio chaunged the matter whereupon be red and of a sodayne began to talke of the meanes and wayes that Princes ought to vse in warre of thorder to be kepte in geuing battaile Such so straunge and high phrased was the matter which he talked of that not onely they merueiled which neuer before sawe him but euen those also that of longe tyme had dayly hearde him For herein curious and flourisshing wittes shewe their excellency in that they neuer wante fresh mater to entreate vpon Greatly gloried the king Antiochus that this philosopher in presence of this straunge prince had so excellentlye spoken so that straungers might vnderstand he had his realme stored with wise mē For couragious and noble princes esteme nothing so precious as to haue men valiāt to defend their frontiers and also wise to gouerne their commō weales The lecturered king Antiochus demaunded of the prince Hannibal howe he liked the talke of the philosopher Phormio to whome Hannibal stoutely aunswered and in his aunswere shewed him self to be of that stoutnes he was the same day whā he wanne the great battayle at Cannas For although noble harted and couragious princes lose all their estates and realmes yet they will neuer confesse their hartes to be ouerthrowen nor vaynquisshed And these were the words that at that time Hannibal said Thou shalt vnderstande kinge Antiochus that I haue séene diuers dotinge olde men yet I neuer sawe a more dootarde foole than Phormio whom thou causest such a great philosopher For the greatest kinde of foly is whan a man that hath but a little vaine science presumeth to teach not those which haue only science but also such as haue most certeine experience Tel me kinge Antiochus what harte can brooke with pacience or what tonge can suffer with silence to sée a sely man as this philosopher is nourished all his life time in a corner of Grece studieng philosophie to presume as he hath done to talke before the prince Hannibal of the affaires of warre as though he had bene either lorde of Affrike or captayne of Rome Certes he either full little knoweth him self or els but little estemeth vs. For it appeareth by his vaine words he would seme to know more in matters of warre by that he hath red in bookes than doth Hannibal by the sundry and great battayles which he hath fought in the fieldes O king Antiochus how far and how great is the difference betwene the state of philosophers the state of captaynes betwene the skill to reade in schole and the knowledge to rule an armie betwene the science that these wise men haue in bookes and thexperience that thothers haue in warre betwene their skil to write with the penne and ours to fight
learned and the other very eloquente and thus it came to passe that in liuinge they folowed Plato and in eloquence of speache they did imitate Callistratus For there are diuers menne sufficiently well learned whiche haue profounde doctrine but they haue no waye nor meanes to teache it others Demosthenes hearing Calistratus but ones was so far in loue with his doctrine that he neuer after hearde Plato nor entred into his scole for to harken to any of his lectures At which newes diuers of the sages of Grecia marueiled much seing that the tonge of a man was of such power that it had put all their doctrine to scilence Although I apply not this example I doute not but your maiestie vnderstandeth to what end I haue declared it And moreouer I say that although Princes haue in their chambers bookes so well corrected and men in their courtes so wel learned that they may worthely kéepe thestimacion which Plato had in his schole yet in this case it shoulde not displease me that the difference that was betwen Plato and Calistratus should be betwene Princes and this booke God forbidde that by this sayeng men should thinke I meane to disswade Princes from the company of the sage men or from reading of any other booke but this for in so doinge Plato shoulde be reiected which was diuine and Calistratus embraced which was more wordly But my desire is that sometime they would vse to reade this booke a little for it may chaunce they shal finde some holsome counsayle therein which at one tyme or other may profite them in their affaires For the good careful Princes ought to graffe in their memory the wise sayings which they reade forget the canekred iniuries wronges which are done thē I do not speake it without a cause that he that readeth this my writing shall finde in it some profitable counsaile For all that which hath bene writen in it hath bene in euery worde sentence with great diligence so wel weyed and corrected as if therein onely consisted the effecte of the whole worke The greatest griefe that learned menne feele in their writing is to thinke that if there be many that view their doings to take profit therby they shall perceiue that there are as many moe which occupy their tonges in the sclaunder and disprayse thereof In publishinge this my worke I haue obserued the maner of them that plant a new gardein wherein they set Roses which giue a pleasaunt sauour to the nose they make faire grene plattes to delight the eyes they graft fruitful trées to be gathered with the handes but in the end as I am a man so haue I written it for menne and consequently as a man I may haue erred for there is not at this daye so persite a painter but another will presume to amende his worke Those which diligētly wil endeuour themselues to reade this booke shall find in it very profitable counsailes very liuely lawes good reasons notable sayinges sentences very profound worthy examples histories very ancient For to say the trueth I had a respect in that the doctrine was auncient the stile new And albeit your maiesty be the greatest Prince of all Princes and I the least of all your subiectes you ought not for my base condicion to disdayne to cast your eyes vppon this booke nor to thinke scorne to put that thing in proofe which semeth good For a good letter ought to be nothing the lesse estemed although it be written with an euill penne I haue sayde and will say that Princes and greate Lordes the stouter the richer and the greater of renoume they be the greater nede they haue of all men of good knowledge about them to coūseil them in their affaires and of good bookes which they maye reade and this they ought to do aswel in prosperitie as in aduersitie to the end that their affaires in time conueniente may be debated and redressed For otherwise they shoulde haue time to repent but no leasure to amende Plinie Marcus Varro Strabo and Macrobius which were historiographers no lesse graue than true were at greate controuersie in prouinge what thinges were most autentike in a common weale and at what time they were of all menne accepted Seneca in a pistle he wrote to Lucillus praysed without cessing the common wealth of the Rhodiens in the which with much a doe they bent them selues altogether to kepe one selfe thinge and after they had therupon agréed they kept and mainteyned it inuiolately The diuine Plato in the sixte booke entituled De legibus ordeyned and commaunded that if any citizen did inuente any new thing which neuer before was reade nor harde of the inuentour thereof should first practise the same for the space of .10 yeares in his owne house before it was brought into the common wealth and before it shold be published vnto the people to th ende if the inuencion were good it should be profitable vnto him and if it were noughte that than the daunger and hurte therof should lighte onely on him Plutarche in his Apothemes saith that Licurgus vpō greauous penalties did prohibite that none should be so hardye in his common wealthe to goe wanderinge into straunge countreys nor that he shoulde be so hardy to admit any straungers to come into his house and the cause why this lawe was made was to th ende straungers shoulde not bringe into their houses thinges straunge and not accustomed in their common wealthe and that they trauailing through straunge contreis shoulde not learne newe customes The presumption of menne now a dayes is so great and the consideracion of the people so small that what so euer a man can speake he speaketh what so euer he can inuente he doth inuente what he would he doth write and it is no marueill for there is no man that will speake againste them Nor the common people in this case are so lighte that amonges them you may dayly sée new deuises and whether it hurt or profit the common wealth they force not If there came at this day a vayne man amonges the people which was neuer sene nor hearde of before if he be any thing subtile I aske you but this question shal it not be easy for him to speake and inuente what he listeth to set forth what he pleaseth to perswade that which to him séemeth good and al his saienges to be beleued Truly it is a wonderfull thinge and no lesse sclaunderous that one shoulde be sufficient to peruerte the sences and iudgementes of all and all not able to represse the lightnes and vanitie of one Things that are newe and not accustomed neither princes ought to allowe nor yet the people to vse For a newe thinge oughte no lesse to be examined and considered before it be brought into the common wealth than the greate doutes whiche aryse in mennes myndes Rufinus in the prologue of his seconde booke of his apologie reproueth greately the Egyptians because they
but al that Marcus Aurelius sayd or dyd is worthy to be knowen necessary to be folowed I do not meane this prynce in his heathen law but in hys vertuous dedes Let vs not staye at hys belyef but let vs embrace the good that he did For compare many chrystians wyth some of the heathen loke howe farre we leaue them behynd in faith so farre they excel vs in vertuous works Al the old prynces in times past had som phylosophers to their familiars as Alexander Aristotle King Darius Herodotus Augustus Pisto Pompeius Plauto Titus Plinie Adrian Secundus Traian Plutarchus Anthonius Apolonius Theodotius Claudius Seuerus Fabatus Fynally I say that philosophers then had such authority in princes palaces that children acknowledged them for fathers and fathers reuerenced them as maysters These sage meÌ„ wer aliue in the coÌ„pany of princes but the good Marcus Aurelius whose doctrine is before your maiestie is not aliue but dead Yet therfore that is no cause why his doctrine shold not be admitted For it may be paraduenture that this shal profit vs more which he wrate with his hands then that which others spake with their tongues Plutarche sayth in the time of Alexander the great Aristotle was aliue and Homere was dead But let vs see how he loued the one reuerenced the other for of truth hee slept alway with Homers booke in his hands waking he red the same with hys eyes alwayes kept the doctrine therof in his memory layed when he rested the booke vnder his head The which priuiledge Aristotle had not who at al times cold not be heard much lesse at al seasons be beleued so that Alexander had Homere for his frend and Aristotle for a maister Other of these phylosophers wer but simple men but our Marcus Aurelius was both a wyse phylosopher and a valiaunt prynce and therfore reason would he should be credited before others For as a prince he wyl declare the troubles as a phylosopher he wil redresse them Take you therefore Puisaunt Prince this wise phylosopher and noble emperour for a teacher in your youth for a father in your gouernment for a captayne general in your warres for a guide in your iourneys for a frend in your affayres for an example in your vertues for a maister in your sciences for a pure whyte in your desyres and for equal matche in your deedes I wil declare vnto you the lyfe of an other beinge a heathen and not the lyfe of an other being a chrystian For how much glory this heathen prince had in this world being good and vertuous so much paynes your maiestie shal haue in the other if you shal be wicked and vycious Behold behold noble prince the lyfe of this Emperour you shal se how clere he was in his iudgement how vpright in hys iustyce howe circumspect in hys life how louing to his frends how pacient in his troubles how he dissembled with hys enemies how seuere agaynst Tyraunts how quyet among the quiet how great a frend to the sage and louer of the simple how aduenturous in his warres and amyable in peace and aboue al thinges how high in words and profound in sentences Many tymes I haue bene in doubt with my selfe whether the Eternal maiesty which gyueth vnto you princes the temporal maiestie to rule aboue al other in power and authorytie did exempt you that are princes more from humaine frayltye then he did vs that be but subiects and at the last I knew he did not For I see euen as you are chyldren of the world so you do lyue according to the world I see euen as you trauaile in the world so you can know nothing but things of the world I se because you liue in the fleshe that you are subiect to the myseryes of the fleshe I see though for a tyme you prolong your lyfe yet at the last you are brought to your graue I see your trauaile is great and that within your gates there dwelleth no rest I se you are cold in the wynter and hote in the sommer I se that hunger feeleth you and thirst troubleth you I se your frendes forsake you and your ennemyes assault you I se that you are sadde and lacke ioy I se you are sicke and be not wel serued I see you haue muche and yet that which you lacke is more What wil ye se more seyng that princeâ— die O noble princes great Lordes syns you must die and become wormes meat why do you not in your lyfe tyme serche for good counsayle If the prynces and noble men commit an â—rroure no man dare chastice them wherfore they stand in greater nede of aduyse counsaile For the trauailer who is out of his waye the more he goeth foreward the more he errethe If the people do amisse they ought to be punyshed but if the prince erre hee shoulde bee admonished And as the Prynce wyl the people shoulde at his handes haue punyshment so it is reason that he at their hands should receyue counsayle For as the wealthe of the one dependeth on the wealthe of the other soo trulye if the prince bee vycious the people can not be vertuous If youre maiestie wyl punyshe your people with words commaund them to prynt this present worke in their harts And if your people would serue your hyghnes with their aduise let them likewyse beseche you to reade ouer this booke For therin the subiectes shal fynd how they may amende and you Lordes shal se al that you ought to do wdether this presente worke be profytable or noo I wyll not that my penne shal declare but they whyche reede it shall iudge For we aucthours take paines to make and translate others for vs vse to giue iudgement and sentence From my tender yeres vntil this present I haue liued in the world occupieng my selfe in reading and studieng humaine deuyne bookes and although I confesse my debilitie to be such that I haue not reade so much as I might nor studied so much as I ought yet not withstandinge al that I haue red hath not caused me to muse so muche as the doctrine of Marcus Aurelius hath sith that in the mouth of an heathen god hath put such a great treasor The greatest part of al his workes were in Greke yet he wrote also many in latin I haue drawen this out of greke throughe the helpe of my frends afterwards out of latin into our vulgare tongue by the trauaile of my hands Let al men iudge what I haue suffred in drawing it out of Greke into latin out of the latin into the vulgar and out of a plaine vulgar into a swete and pleasaunt style For that banket is not counted sumptuous vnlesse ther be both pleasaunt meates and sauory sauces To cal sentences to mynd to place the wordes to examine languages to correct sillables what swette I haue suffred in the hote sommer what bytter cold in the sharpe wynter what
The fifthe was that they whiche had charge of bringinge vp of children shoulde not be vicious For there is nothinge more monstruous and more sclaunderous then he that is maister of children should be subiecte and seruaunt to vyces How thinkest thou my frende Pulio whan al these thinges were obserued in Rome Thinkest thou that the youthe was so dissolute as at this present thinkeste thou in deede that it is the same Rome wherin in times past were so notable good and auncient men beleuest thou that it is that Rome wherin in the golden age the olde men were so honest and the children so well taught the armies wel ordered and the iudges and Senatours so vpright and iuste I call God to witnes and sweare to the that it is not Rome neyther hath it any likenes of Rome nor yet anye grace to be Rome and he that would say that this Rome was the old Rome knoweth lytle of Rome The matter was this that the auncient and vertuous Romaynes being dead it semeth to the gods that we are not yet woorthye to enioye their houses So that eyther this is not Rome or els we be not the Romaines of Rome For considering the prowesse and vertuous deedes of the auncient Romaines and wayeng also our dissolute lyues it wer a very great infamy for them to call vs their successours I desier my frend Pulio to write vnto the all these thinges to th end thou mayest se what we were and what we are For great things haue neede of great power and require a long tyme before they can growe and come to their perfection and then afterward at one moment with one blow they fal downe to the ground I haue bene more tedious in my letter than I thoughte to haue bene and now I haue told the that which wyth dyligence by reason of my great affayres in thre or foure tymes I haue wryten of that that wanteth in thine and is to much in myne we shal make a reasonable letter and since I pardon the for being to briefe pardon thou me also for being to long I saw the ones enquire for vnicornes horne in Alexandry wherfore now I send the a good peece and likewise I send the a horse which in my iudgement is good Aduertise me if thy doughter Drusilla be alyue wyth whom I was wont to laugh and I wyll healpe her to a mariage The immortall gods kepe the O my Pulio thy wife thy stepmother and thy doughter and Salut them all from me and faustine Marke of Mounte Celio Emperour of Rome with his owne hand wryteth vnto the. ¶ Of the excellency of christian religion whych manyfesteth the true God and disproueth the vanitye of the auncyents hauyng so many Gods And that in the olde tyme when the enemyes were reconcyled in their houses they caused also that the gods should embrace eche other in the Temples Cap. iiii HE that is the onely diuyne worde begotten of the Father lorde perpetuall of the Hierarchies more aunciente then the heauens Prince of all holynesse chiefe head from whom all had their begynning the greatest of all gods and creatore of all creatures in the profundnesse of his eternall sapience accordeth all the harmony and composition of Christian religion This is suche a maner of sure matter and so well laid that neyther the miseries which spring of thinfections of naughty Christians can trouble nor yet the boysterous windes of the heretiques are able to moue For it wer more likely that heauen and earthe shoulde both perishe then it should suspend for one daye and that ther sholde be no Christian religion The auncient godds whyche were inuentours of wordly thinges as the foundacion of their reproued sectes was but a flienge sande and an vnstable ground ful of daūgerous erronious abuses so some of those poore wretches lokyng perhappes lyke a shippe ronning vppon a rocke suspectynge nothyng were drowned Other like ruyned buildynges were shaken in sonder and fell downe dead finally these gods whiche onely bare the name of gods shal be for euermore forgotten But he onely shal be perpetual whiche in god by god thorough god hath his beginninge Many and sundry were the multitude of the nacions whiche haue bene in times past That is to wyt the Sirians the Assirians Persiās Medians Macedoniās Grecians Cythians Arginians Corinthiās Caldeās Indiās Athenians Lacedemonians Africans Vandales Svveuians Allains Hongarians Germaignes Britons Hebrevves Palastines Gentiles Iberthailides Maurians Lucitanians Gothes and Spaniardes And truely in all these loke howe greate the difference amongest them in their customes and maners was so much diuersitie was of the ceremonies which they vsed and of their gods which they honoured For the gentiles had this errour that they sayd one alone was not of power sufficient to create suche a multitude as were created If I were before al the sages that euer were they would not say the contrary but without cōparison the gods whome they worshypped and inuented were greater in multitude then the realmes and prouinces whiche they conquered and possessed For by that folie the auncient poetes durst affirme in their writinges that the gods of one nation and countrey wer mortal enemies to the gods of another prouince So that the gods of Troye enuied the gods of Grece more then the princes of Grece enuied the princes of Troye What a strange thinge was it to see the Assirians in what reuerence they worshypped the god Belus The Egiptiās the god Apis. The Caldeans the god Assas The Babiloniās the deuouring dragon The pharaones the statue of gold The Palestines Belzebub The Romaines honoured the god Iupiter The Affricās the god Mars The Corinthians the god Apollo The Arabians the God Astaroth The Arginians the Sonne Those of Acaia the Moone The Cidonians Belphegorn The Amonites Balim The Indians Baccus The lacedemonians Osiges The Macedonians did sacrifice to Marcury The Ephesians to their goddesse Diana The Grekes to Iuno The Armenians to Liber The Troiās to Vesta The Latins to Februa The Tarentines to Ceres The Rhodians as saieth Apolonius Thianeus worshypped the God Ianus and aboue all thinges wee oughte to meruaile at this That they striued oftentimes amongest them selues not so muche vpon the possessions and signories of Realmes as vppon a certaine obstinacie they had to maintaine the gods of the one to be of greater power then the others For they thoughte if their gods were not estemed that the people should be impouerished vnfortunate and persecuted Pulio in his second booke De dissolatione regionum orientarum declareth that the first prouince that rebelled againste the Emperour Helius Adrianus which was the fiftenth Emperour of Rome was the land of Palestine against the which was sent a captaine named Iulius Seuerus a manne of great courage and verye fortunate and aduenturous in armes This captaine did not only finishe the warres but he wrought such an outragious destruction in that land that he besieged 52. cities and raced them to the ground
death with paine but wher life is without profit Fourthly I dye ioyfully not so much for the profit I haue don to men as for the seruice I haue done to the gods For regarding to how many profitable things we employ our life we maye say we liue onlye the time which is employed to the seruice of god Ceasinge to speake further of my person I wil worthy Senatours disclose vnto you a high secret which toucheth your comon welth this it is That our father Romulus founded Rome Numa Pompillius erected the high Capitol Aneus Marcius enclosed it with walles Brutus deliuered it from Tyraunts the good Camillus droue out the frenchmen Quintus Scicinnatus augmēted her power but I leaue it peopled with gods which shal defend Rome better then walles or men For in the end the feare of one god is more worth then the strength of al men When I came to Rome it was a confusion to se how it was peopled with men vnfurnished of gods For ther wer but 5. gods that is to wete Iupiter Mars Ianus Berecinthia and the goddess Vesta But now it is not so For ther remayneth for euery one a priuate god Me thinketh it an vniust thing that treasouries shold be ful of gold the temples void of gods As ther is 28000 housholdes so you may account your selues happie that I leaue you 28000. gods by the vertu of the which I cōiure you Romains that eche of you be contented with the god of his house and haue no care to applye to himselfe the gods of the common wealth For he that empropreth to him self that which ought to be cōmon to al is to be blamed of god and hated of mē This shal be therfore the order that you shal kepe and haue towards the gods if you wil not erre in their seruice That is to vnderstand ye shal kepe the mother Berecinthia to pacify the ire of the gods ye shal kepe the goddesse Vesta to turne from you the wicked destenies Ye shal kepe the god Iupiter shal commit vnto him the gouernment of your common wealth And also ye shal kepe him for the god aboue all the gods in heauen and earth For if Iupiter dyd not temper the ire which the gods aboue haue against you there shoulde be no memorye of men here beneth in earth Of other particuler gods which I leaue you vse your particuler profit But yet notwithstāding in the meane season Romaines take you hede to your selues and if at any time fortune should be contrary let no man be so hardy to speake euil of the god which he hath in his house For the gods tel me that it was sufficient inough to dissemble with theym whiche serue them not not to pardon those that offend them And do not deceiue your selues in sayeng that they are priuate gods and not able to help themselues For I let you know that ther is not so lytle a god but is of power sufficient to reuenge an iniurye O Romaynes it is reason that al from hensforth liue ioyfully and in peace and furthermore thinke your selues assured not to be ouercome by your enemyes because nowe youre neyghbours of you and not you of them shal desire to borow gods and because ye shall se me no more ye thinke I must dye and I thinke because I dye I shall beginne to liue For I go to the gods and leaue amonge you the gods because I departe ¶ Howe the Gentiles thoughte that one God was not able to defende them from their enemies and how the Romans sent throughout al the Empire to borow gods when they foughte agaynst the Gothes Cap. vii IN the yeare of the foundacion of Rome 1164. which accordynge to the count of the Latins was 402. from the incarnacion as Paulus Orosus in the sixte boke De machina mundi saieth Paulus Diaconus in the 12. boke of the Romaine histories The gothes which as Spartian sayeth wer called otherwise Gethules or Meslagethes wer driuen out of theyr countrey by the Huns came in to Italy to seke new habitacions and became natural built houses At this time there was an Emperour of Rome named Valentine a man of smal reputacion courage in warres and endued with few good cōdicions for that he was of Arian his secte The kynges of these Gothes wer two renowmed men whose names wer Randagagismus and Alaricus Of the which two Randagagismus was the chiefest and most puissaunt and he had a noble mynde and a very good wit He led with him at the leaste 2000000. Gothes the which all with him and he with them made an othe to shed asmuche bloude of the Romaines as they coulde and offer it to their gods For the barbarous people had a custome to noynte the god whiche was at that time in the tēple of Venus with the bloud of their enemys whom they had slaine The newes of the comming of this cruell tiraunt was published throughout all Italie Whose determinacion was not only to race the walles of Rome downe to the earth batter towers dungions houses walles and buildynges but also he purposed to abolyshe and vtterlye to brynge to noughte the name of Rome and likwyse of the Romaines Of this thing all the Italiens were in great and merueilous feare And the most puissaunt and couragious knightes and gentlemen agreed togethers to retire within the walles of Rome and determined to die in that place to defend the liberty therof For amōges the Romaines there was an aunciente custome that when they created a knyghte they made him sweare to kepe thre thinges 1 First he sware to spende all the dayes of his lyfe in the warres 2 Secoundarely he sware that neyther for pouerty nor ryches nor for any other thinges he shoulde euer take wages but of Rome onelye 3 Thirdly he sware that he woulde rather chuse to dye in libertye then to liue in captiuitie After all the Romaynes scatered abrode in Italie wer together assēbled in Rome they agred to sende letters by their pursiuantes not only to their subiectes but also to al their confederate Theffecte whereof was this ¶ Of a Letter sent from the senate of Rome to all the subiects of the Empire Chap. viii THe sacred Senate and all the people of Rome to all their faythfull and louing subiectes and to their deare frendes and confederates wysheth health victory against your enemies The varietie of time the negligence of you all the vnhappy successe of our aduentures haue broughte vs in prosses of tyme that wher as Rome conquered Realmes and gouerned so many straunge signoryes now at this day commeth straungers to conquere and destroye Rome in such sorte that the Barbarous people whom we were wont to kepe for sclaues sweare to become our lords and masters We let you know now how al the Barbarous nacion hath cōspired against Rome our mother and they with their king haue made a vowe to offer al the Romaines bloud to their
after their death were changed into gods the wycked into deuils whych thing the Auctoure proueth by soundry examples Cap. x. ALthough the common opinion of the simple people was that ther were many gods yet not withstandinge al the Phylosophers affyrmed that ther was but one God who of some was named Iupiter the whiche was chiefe aboue al other gods Others called him the first intelligence for that he had created al the world Others called him the first cause because he was the beginner of all things It semeth that Aristotle vnderstode this thinge and was of this opinion forasmuch as he sayth in his .12 booke of his metaphisickes All superiour and inferiour thinges wold be well ordered and many thinges muche better by tharbitrement of one then by the aduice of many Marcus Varro in hys booke De theologia mistica Tullius in hys booke De natura Deorum although these were gentyles and curious enoughe of the Temples yet they do mocke the gentiles whych beleued ther were manye gods that Mars Mâ—rcury and lykewyse Iupiter the whole flocke of gods which the gentyles set vp wer al mortal men as we are But because they knew not that ther wer good nor bad angels nor knew not that ther was any paradise to reward the good nor hel to torment the euil They held thys opinion that the good men after their death wer gods and the euyl men deuils And not contented with these folysh abuses the deuil brought them into such an errour that they thought it consisted in the Senates power to make some gods and other deuils For when ther dyed at Rome any Emperour if he had bene wel willed of the Senate immediatly he was honoured for a god and if he died in dyspleasure of the Senate he was condemned for a deuyl And to the end we do not speake by fauour but by writting Herodian sayth that Faustine was the doughter of Antonius Pius wife of Marcus Aurelius which wer Emperours the one after the other And truly ther wer few eyther of their predecessours or of their successours which wer so good as they wer and in myne opinion more better therfore was she made a goddesse and her father a god An Emperour that coueteth perpetual memory must note 5. thinges which he should haue in his life That is to saye pure in lyfe vpright in iustice aduenturous in feates of armes excellent in knowledge and welbeloued in his prouinces which vertues were in these 2. excellente Emperors This Empresse Faustine was passing fayre and the wrytters praise her beauty in such sorte that they sayde it was vnpossible for her to be so beautiful but that the gods had placed som deuine thing in her Yet not with standing this added therunto it is doubtful whether the beauty of her face was more praysed then the dishonestie of her lyfe discommended For her beauty maruelously amazed those that saw her her dishonesty offended them moch that knew her Yet after the Emperour Marcus Aurèlius had triumphed ouer the Parthians as he went visitinge the prouinces of Asia the goodlye Faustine in 4. daies dyed in the mounte Taurus by occasion of a burnynge feuer and so annealed was caried to Rome And since she was the daughter of so good a father and wife of so dearely beloued an Emperour amonges the Gods she was canonyzed but consideringe her vnconstant or rather incontinent lief it was neuer thought that the Romaines would haue done her so much honor Wherfore the Emperour reioysed so much that he neuer ceased to render thankes vnto the Senate For truely the benefite ought to be acceptable to him that receiueth it especially whan it commeth vnloked for The contrary came to the death of Tiberius third Emperour of Rome which was not only killed and drawen throughe the streates by the Romans but also the priestes of all the Temples assembled together and openly prayed vnto the gods that they would not receiue him to them and prayed to the infernal furyes that greauously they would torment him sayinge it is iustly required that the Tirant which dispraiseth the life of the good in his life should haue no place amoÌ„gest the good after his death Leauing the common opinion of the rude people whiche in the olde time had no knowledge of the true god declaring the opinion of Aristole which called god the first cause the opinion of the Stoickes which called him the firste intelligeÌ„ce and the opinion of Cicero which vnder the colour of Iupiter putteth none other god but him I saye and confesse according to the religion of christian faith there is but one only God which is the creatour of heauen and earth whose excellency and puissaunt maiestie is litle to that our tong can speake For our vnderstaÌ„ding can not vnderstand nor our iudgemeÌ„t can determine neither our memory can comprehende and much lesse our tonge can declare it That which princes and other faithful ought to beleue of god is that they ought to know god to be almighty and incomparable a god immortall incorruptible immouable great omnipotent a perfite and sempiternall God for all mans power is nothing in respecte of his diuine maiesty I saye that our lord god is the onely hyghe god that if the creature hath any good it is but a meane good For a man comparing wel the good which he possesseth to the misery and calamitie whiche persecute him with out doubte the euill which foloweth him is greater then the good which accompanieth him Also our god is immortall and eternall which like as he had no beginning so shall he neuer haue ending And the contrarye is to the miserable man which if some see him borne others see him dye For the byrth of the children is but a memory of the graue to the aged Also God onely is vncorruptible the which in his beyng hath nother corruption nor diminution but al mortall men suffer corruption in their soules throughe vyce and in their bodyes through wormes for in the end no man is priuileged but that hys bodye is subiecte to corruption and hys soule to be saued or damned Also God is no chaungelyng and in this case thoughe he chaungeth his worke yet he chaungeth not his eternall counsayle But in men it is all contrarye for they oftetimes beginne their busynes with grauitye and afterward chaung theyr counseill at a better tyme and leaue it lyghtlye I haue now shewed you that God only is incomprehensible the maiestie of whom can not be attained nor his wisedome vnderstanded which thing is aboue mans intelligence For there is no man so sage nor profound but that an other in an other tyme is as sage and profound as he Also God onely is omnipotent for that he hath power not only ouer the lyuinge but also ouer the dead not onely ouer the good but also ouer the euill For the man which doth not feele his mercy to giue him glory he wil make him feele his
but also obtayned the death which they neuer feared for oftentimes it chaunceth to ambitious men that in their greatest ruffe and when they thinke their honoure sponne and wouen then their estate with the webbe of their lyfe in one moment is broken If at that time one had demaunded the Tiraunt Laodicius aspiring to the kingdome of Sicille Ruphus Caluus who loked to be Emperour of Rome what they thought of them selues assuredly they wolde haue sworne their hope to haue bene as certaine as ours was doubtful For it is naturall to proude men to delight them selues and to set their hole mynd vpon vaine deuises It is a straunge thing and worthy memory that they hauing the honour in their eyes fayled of it we not thinking therof in our harts should obtaine it But herein fortune shewed her mighte that she prouided hope for those whiche loked for least and dispaire for others that hoped for most which thing greaued them at the very hart For no pacience can endure to se a man obtaine that without trauaile which he could neuer compasse by much laboure I cannot tell if I should say lyke a simple Romaine that those thinges consist in fortune or if I should say like a good philosopher that all the gods do ordeine them For in the ende no fortune nor chaunce can do any thing without the gods assent Let the proude and enuious trauaile asmuche as they will and the ambicious take asmuch care as they can I say and affirme that lytle auayleth humaine dilygence to attaine to great estates if the gods be their ennemyes Suppose that euil fortune do ordeine it or that the god and gods do suffer it I see those which haue their thoughtes highe oftentimes are but of base estate and so in fine to come to mischiefe or extreme pouertie and those that haue their thoughtes low are humble of hart and for the more part are greatly exalted by fortune For many oftentimes dreame that they are lords and men of great estate which when they are awake fynd them selues slaues to all men The condicion of honor is such as I neuer read the lyke and therfore such as haue to do with her ought to take good hede For her conditions are such she enquireth for him whom she neuer saw she renneth after him that flyeth from her she honoreth him that estemeth her not and she demaundeth him which willeth her not she geueth to hym that requyreth her not she trusteth him whom she knoweth not Finally honor hath this custome to forsake him that estemeth her and to remaine with him whych litle regardeth her The curious trauellers aske not what place this or that is but do demaund what way they must take to lead them to the place they goe I meane that princes noble men ought not directly to cast their eyes vpon honour but in the way of vertue which bringeth them to honour For dayly we se many remaine defamed only for seking honour and others also exalted and extemed for flying from her O myserable world thou knowest I know the wel and that which I know of the is that thou art a sepulcher of the dead a pryson of the lyuyng a shop of vyces a hangeman of vertues obliuion of antiquitye an enemye of thinges presente a pitfall to the riche and a burden to the poore a house of pilgrames and a denne of theues Finally O world thou art a sclaunderer of the good a rauenour of the wicked and a deceuer and abuser of al and in the O world to speake the truth it is almost impossible to liue contented and muche lesse to lyue in honour For if thou wilt geue honor to the good they thnke them selues dishonored esteme thy honour as a thing of mockerie And if perchaunce they be euyl light thou suffrest them to come to honour by way of mockery meaning infamy and dishonour vnto them O immortal gods I am oftentimes troubled in my thought whose case I should more lament eyther the euyl man auaunced with out deserte or the good mā ouerthrowen without cause And trulye in this case the pitiful man wil haue compassiō on them both For if the euil liue he is sure to fal and if the good fal we doubt whether euer he shall rise againe If al falles were alike al woulde be healed and cured with one salue but some fal on their feete some on their sides others stumble and fall not and other fal downe right but some do giue them a hād I meane some ther are which fal from their estate loase no more but their substaunce others fal and for very sorow loase not onely their goodes but their life with all Other ther are that fal who neither loase their life nor goodes but their honor onely So according to the discreciō of fortune the more they haue the more stil he taketh from them and I greatly muse why the gods do neuer remedy it for whē fortune once beginneth to ouerthrow a poore mā she doth not only take al he hath from hym but all those which may wil succoure him So that the poore man is bound more to lament for another mans euil then for his owne proper There is a great dyfference betwene the mishappes of the good and aduentures of the euill For of the ill we cannot saye that he discendeth but that he falleth and of the good we may only say that he discendeth and falleth not For in the end the true honour doth not consist in the perfection and dignity that a man hath but in the good life that he leadeth It is a miserie to se the vaine men of this worlde when they go about to get any thing and to compasse any great matter of importaunce to marke their earely rysing in a morning their late going to bed at night and the loke which they cast vpon other men to note howe importunate they are to some and how troublesome they are to others and afterward notwithstandinge their longe sute and great paine an other man whiche lyttle thought thereof commeth to that honour reioysing and without trauaile which he before by so greate paines and with soo greate expenses of money hath sought so that in seeking honour by trauaile he commeth to infamye with shame For I my selfe haue sene sondry things lost by negligence and many moe by to much dilygence ¶ The Emperour procedeth in his lettter to admonishe princes to be feareful of their gods and of the sentence which the Senate gaue vppon this king for pulling downe the Churche Cap. xviii AL these things most excellēt prince I haue told the for none other cause but to agrauate this case to shew the peril therof For the good phisition to take away the bytternes of the pille ministreth some swete suger to delight the pacient withal The xx day of the moneth of Ianuary here before the Senate was presēted a long large informaciō of the
all perill and daunger The Romaines being aduertised of their gentlenes by the messengers which were come safe aliue did so muche reioyce that they ordeined in Rome that the nobles of Liparie shuld be made Senatours of Rome all the others shoulde be confederate of aliaunce vnto thē And they caused further that two priestes of Lipari should always remain in the temple of Iupiter whiche priuilege was neuer graunted to any other straungers but to them only For the Romaines had so great zeale loue to their gods that in the seruices of the temples they trusted none but those which were natiue auncient of Rome and also were both wyse and vertuous When Quintus Fabius Publius Decius were in the warres against the Samnites Toscanes and likewyse against the Vmbres many marueilous terrible signes were sene in Rome which thinges did not onely feare those that sawe them but also those which heard of thē Vpon which occasion the Romaines and the Romaine matrones both night and daye offered great sacrifices to the gods For they saide if we can once pacifie the wrath of the gods in Rome we shall neuer neade to feare our enemies in the fielde The thing was this that as the Romaine matrones went visiting the temples to appease the ire of the gods many Senatours wyues came to the temple of chastitie to offer sacrifice For in the time of the puissant power of the Romaines the women did sacrifice in the temples of the gods At that tyme came Virginea the daughter of Aureus Virgineus the Consul Plebeian the which was forbiddē to do sacrifice for that she was none of the Senatours wiues but a Plebeian as much to saie as a craftes womā no gentilmans daughter borne For the noble women were had in so great veneration so highly estemed that al the other semed in respect of thē but handmaides sclaues The noble Romaine Virginea seing her to be so repulsed disdained of the other matrons made of her own propre house a sēple to the goddesse of chastitie and with much deuotion reuerence honoured her The whiche thing being published abroade throughout Rome many other women came thither to doe sacrifice likewise For fortune is so variable that oftentimes those which of pryde haue forbidden vs their houses come after by humilitie to serue vs at ours For this cause this Virginea the foundresse was so greatly praysed that the Romaines in her life made her patrice that is a noble Romaine and after her death caused her image and statue to be made and set vp in the high Capitoll and aboue this image were grauen certaine Greeke letters the effecte whereof was this Patrice the great this Image doth present That in her life did giue with mynde deuout The Gods her house and therfore to them went When liuely breth by death was chased out Of all these hystories aboue named Titus Liuius maketh mencion in his first decade the seconde fift and ninth booke though he declareth thē more at large yet this shal suffice for my purpose I haue sought among the gentils these few exāples to reproue christiā princes to th end they might se how studious feruent our fathers were in the seruice of their Idols cōtrariwise how cold negligēt we are to honour serue our true liuing god It is a shame to tell how the auncient Romains with all their hartes did serue the gods without any vnderstanding how those which are christiās for the most part serue the true God not in truthe but with hypocrisie and dissimulation Fo the children of this worlde will take no paynes but for to prouoke the pleasures of the body Many wondred for what occasion God did so muche for them and they did nothing for God To this may be aunswered that if they had knowen one true God all the sacrifices they hadde done to their other gods they would haue done to him only and as God is iust so he rewarded them in their temporall prosperities not for that they did well but for that they desired to doe well For in our deuine lawe God doth not regard what we are but what we desire to be Christian princes maruayle muche what the occasion should be that they are not so fortunate as the Gentils were To this may be answered that either they be good or euill If they be good truly God should do them wrong if for the paiment of their faithful seruices he should recompence thē with those worldly vanities For without doubt one onely louing countenaunce of god in the worlde to come is more worth then all the temporall goods of this world present But if these suche great lordes be euil in their personnes ambitious in gouerning their dominions not pitifull to wydowes and fatherlesse not fearfull of god nor of his threatninges and moreouer neuer to haue mynde to serue him but only when they see them selues in some great ieopardie in suche case God will not heare them and muche lesse fauour them For without doubt the seruice is more acceptable whiche of free wyll proceadeth than that whiche of necessitie is offred ¶ For fiue causes princes ought to be better Christians then their subiectes Cap. xx IN myne opinion Princes ought and are bounde to be vertuous for fiue causes I saye vertuous in that they should loue and feare God For he onely may be called vertuous which in the catholique faith of the church and in the feare of God hath alwayes remayned constant First princes should feare loue serue and loue one onely god whom they worshippe for that thei acknowledge him onely and none other to be the head both of heauen and earth For in the ende there is nothing so puissaunt but is subiecte to the diuine power And truly the prince is is great perill of damnation of his soule if in his gouernemēt he hath not alwayes before his eies the feare and loue of the supreme prince to whom we must render of all our doynges an accōpt For the prince hath great occasion to be vicious thinking that for the vice he shall not be chastised I haue redde in diuerse sundry writinges and I neuer founde one auncient prince to be contented with one only god but that they had serued many gods Iulius Caesar caried fiue gods painted in a table and Scipio the great caried seuen portered in mettall And furthermore they were not contented to haue many but yet in sacrifices and seruices they offred vnto them all The Christian princes whiche kepe and haue but one very true and omnipotent god are so vnthankefull that they thinke it muche to serue and giue acceptable seruice vnto him And though peraduenture some saie that it is more painefull to serue one true god then all these false gods to this I aunswere That to serue them it is both trauaile paine but to serue our god it is both ioye and felicitie For in seruing those it
knewe howe small a thing it is to be hated of men and howe great a comfort to be beloued of god I sweare that you woulde not speake one worde although it were in ieste vnto men neither woulde you cease night nor day to commende your selues vnto god for god is more mercifull to succour vs then we are diligent to call vppon hym For in conclusion the fauour whiche men can giue you other men can take from you but the fauour that god will giue you no man can resiste it All those that possesse muche should vse the company of them whiche can doe muche and if it be so I let you princes wete that all men can not thynke so muche togethers as god him selfe is able to doe alone For the crie of a LyoÌ„ is more fearefull then the howling of a woulfe I confesse that princes and great lordes maye sometimes gayne and wynnne of them selfes but I aske them whose fauoure they haue neade of to preserue and kepe them we see oftentymes that in a short space many come to great authoritie the whiche neither mans wisedome suffiseth to gouerne nor yet mans force to kepe For the authoritie whiche the Romaines in sixe hundred yeares gayned fighting against the Eothes in the space of three yeares they loste We see dayly by experience that a man for the gouernement of his owne house onely nedeth the councell of his friendes and neighbours and doe princes great lordes thinke by their owne heades onely to rule and gouerne many realmes and dominions ¶ What the Philosopher Byas was of his constancie whan he lost all his goodes and of the ten lawes he gaue worthy to bée had in memorie Cap. xxi AMong all nations and sortes of men whiche auaunt them selues to haue had with them sage men the Gretians were the chiefest whiche had and thought it necessary to haue not onely wyse men to reade in their scholes but also they chose them to be princes in their dominions For as Plato saith those whiche gouerned in those daies were Philosophers or els they sayde and did like Philosophers And Laertius wryteth in his second booke De antiquitatibus Grecorum that the Gretians auaunted them selues muche in this that they haue had of all estates persons moste notable that is to wete seuen women very sage seuen Queenes very honest seuen kings very vertuous seuen Captaines very hardy seuen cities verie notable seuen buildinges very sumptuous seuen Philosophers well learned whiche Philosophers were these that folowe The first was Thales Milesius that inuented the Carde to sayle by The seconde was Solon that gaue the first lawes to the Athenians The thirde was Chilo who was in the Orient for Embassadour of the Athenians The fourth was Pittacus Quintilenus who was not only a philosopher but also Captaine of the Mitelenes The fifth was Cleobolus that descended froÌ„ the auncient linage of Hercules The sixte was Periander that long tyme gouerned the realme of Corinth The seuenth was Bias Prieneus that was prince of the Prieneans Therfore as touching Bias you muste vnderstande that when Romulus reigned at Rome and Ezechias in Iudea there was great warres in Grecia betwene the Metinenses and the Prieneans and of these Prieneans Bias the philosopher was prince and Captaine who because he was sage read in the vniuersitie and for that he was hardy was chiefetaine in the warre and because he was wyse he was made a Prince and gouerned the common wealth And of this no man ought to marueile for in those dayes the Philosopher that had knowledge but in one thing was litle estemed in the common wealth After many contentions had betwene the Metâ—nenses and Prienenses a cruell battayle was fought wherof the philosopher Bias was captaine and had the victorie and it was the first battayle that euer anye Philosopher gaue in Greece For the whiche victorie Greece was proude to see that their Philosophers were so aduenturous in warres and hardy of their handes as they were profound in their doctrine and eloquente in their toungues And by chaunce one brought him a nomber of women and maydens to sell or if he listed to vse them otherwyse at his pleasure but this good philosopher did not defile them nor sell them but caused them to be apparailed and safely to be conducted to their own natiue countries And let not this liberalitie that he did be had in litle estimation to deliuer the captiues and not to defloure the virgins For many times it chaunseth that those whiche are ouercome with the weapons of the conquerours are conquered with the delightes of them that are ouercome This deede amongest the Grekes was so highly commended and likewyse of their enemies so praysed that immediatly the Metinenses sent Embassadours to demaunde peace of the Prienenses And they concluded perpetuall peace vpon condition that they shoulde make for Bias an immortall statue sith by his handes and also by his vertues he was the occasion of the peace and ending of the warres betwene them And trulye they had reason for he deserueth more prayse which wynneth the hartes of the enemies in his tentes by good example then he whiche getteth the victorie in the fielde by shedding of bloud The hartes of men are noble and we see daily that oftentyme one shal soner ouercome many by good then many ouercome one by euyll and also they saye that the Emperour Seuerus spake these wordes By goodnes the least slaue in Rome shall leade me tied with a heere whether he wyll but by euill the most puissaunt men in the worlde can not moue me out of Italy For my harte had rather be seruaunt to the good then Lorde to the euill Valerius Maximus declareth that when the citie of Priene was taken by enemies put to sacke the wyfe of Bias was slayne his children taken prysoners his goodes robbed the citie beaten downe and his house set on fire but Bias escaped safe and went to Athens In this pytiful case the good philosopher Bias was no whit the sadder but rather sang as he went by the way and when he perceiued that men marueiled at his mirthe he spake vnto them these wordes Those whiche speake of me for wantinge my citie my wife and my children and losing al that I had truly such know not what fortune meaneth nor vnderstande what philosophie is The losse of children and temporall goodes cannot be called losse if the life be safe and the renowne remaine vndefiled Whether this sentence be true or no let vs profoundly consider if the iust god suffer that this citie should come into the handes of the cruell tyrauntes then this prouision is iuste for there is no thing more conformable vnto iustice then that those whiche receyue not the doctrine of the Sages shoulde suffer the cruelties of the Tyrauntes Also thoughe my ennemies haue kylled my wyfe yet I am sure it was not withoute the determynation of the Gods who after they created her bodye immediately appoynted the
to breake the good auncient customes We ordeine and commaund that the gouernour of the Prienenses do worship and honour the gods and that he be a louer of the sacred temples For otherwise he that honoreth not god wil neuer mynister equal iustice vnto men We ordeine commaund that the prince of Prienenses be contented with the warres which his auncetours lefte him and that he do not forge new matters to inuade any other straunge countreis and if perchaunce he would that no man in this case be bounde neyther with money nor in person to follow or serue him For the god Apollo tolde me that that man whiche will take another mans goods from hym by force shall lose his owne by iustice We ordeine and commaunde that the gouernor of the Prienenses go to pray and worship the gods twise in the weeke and lykewise to visite them in the temples and if he do the contrarie he shal not only be depriued of the gouerment but also after his death he shal not be buried For the prince that honoreth not god in time of his lyfe deserueth not his bones should be honored with sepulture after his death ¶ How god from the beginning punished men by his iustyce and speciallye those Princes that dispise his Churche and howe all wicked Christians are parishioners of hell Cap. xxii WHen the eternall creator who measureth the thinges by his Omnipotencye and wayeth them by his effectuall wisedome created al things aswel celestiall as terrestial vysible as inuisible corporate as incorporate not only promised to the good whyche serued him but also threatened the euyll with plagues whych offended hym For the iustice and mercy of god go alwayes together to thintent the one should encourage the good and the other threaten the euyl This thinge semeth to be true for that we haue but one god which hath created but one word wherin he made but one gardeine in the whiche garden ther was but one fountaine and neare to that fountayne he appointed only one man one woman and one serpente nere vnto which was also one tre only forbidden which is a thinge meruelous to speake and no lesse feareful to see how god dyd put into the terrestial paradyse the same daye that the creacion of the worlde was finyshed booth a sword and gibet The gibet was the tree forbidden wherof they dyd eate wherfore our fathers were condemned And the sword was the punishment wherwyth we al as miserable chyldren at this day are beheaded For truly they dyd eate the bytternes of their fault and we do feele the griefe of the paine I meane not to shewe howe our God by hys power doothe raise vppe that whyche is beaten downe howe wyth his wysedome he guideth those which are blind how by his wyl he dissembleth wyth the euyll doers neyther wil I tel how he through his clemency pardoneth the offences and through his light lyghtneth the darknes nor how through his ryghteousnes he amendeth that whych is broken and through hys liberality paieth more then we deserue But I wyll here declare at large howe our omnipotente God through his iustice chastiseth those whiche walke not in his pathes O Lorde god howe sure may thy faithfull seruauntes be for their small seruices to receiue great rewardes and contrary the euill ought alwayes to lyue in as great feare lest for their heynous offences thou shouldest geue them cruel punishmentes For though god of his bounty will not leaue any seruice vnrewarded nor of his iustice will omitte any euill vnpunished yet for all that we ought to knowe that aboue all and more than all he wil rigorously chastise those which maliciously despise the holy catholyke faith For Christe thinketh him selfe as much iniuried of those whiche persecute his church as of those that laide handes on his persone to put him to death We rede that in times past god shewed sondry greuous and cruel punishmentes to diuerse high lordes and princes besides other famous and renowmed men But rigour had neuer such power in his hande as it had against those whiche honoured the infamed Idoll and violated the sacred temples For to god this is the most heinous offence to forsake the holy catholike faith in his life and to dispaire in his mercy at the houre of his death Woulde to god we had so much grace to acknowledge our offences as god hath reason to punishe our sinnes For if it were so thē we would amend in time to come god would graunt vs a generall pardon for al that is past I see one thing wherin as I thinke I am not deceiued which is this that the frailnes miseries which we commit we thinke them naturall and in the satisfaction and amendement of the same we say they are straunge so that we admit the fault condemne the paine which therby we do deserue The secret iudgements of god do suffer it and our offences do deserue it I do not deny but that the euyll may hold possesse this life at their pleasour but I sweare vnto them when they shal lest thinke of it they shal lose their life to their great displeasour for the pleasurs of this life are so vnconstant that we scarce begin to taste thē when they vade out of their sight It is a rule infallible whiche bothe of the good euill hath bene proued that all naturally desire rather to abound than to want and all that which greatly is desired with great diligēce is serched and through great trauaile is obteined and that thing which by trauaile is attained with loue is possessed that which by loue is possessed with much sorow is lost bewailed lamented For in th end we can not deny but that the watry eies do manifestly shewe the sorowfull hartes To the fine wittes and stout harts this is a continuall torment and endlesse paine a worme that alway gnaweth to cal to mind that he must lose the ioyfull life whiche so entierly he loued and taste the fearfull death whiche so greatly he abhorred Therfore to proue this matter which I haue spoken of before it is but reason that princes know if they do not know that euen as the diuine prouidence exalteth them to high estates they not deseruing thē so likewise his rigorous iustice will bring them to nought if they be vnthankeful for his benefites For the ingratitude of benefittes receiued maketh the man not worthy to receiue any mo The more a man through benefits is bound the more greuous punishment if he be vnthankefull he deserueth Al wyse men shuld finde if thei apply their mindes therunto that in chastising god calleth those offences first to his mind which are furthest from the thoughtes of men For before the tribunal of god our secret faultes are alwaies casting out bloud to th end he should execute of our persons open iustice And further I saie that in this case I doe not see that the prince is exempted more though he liue
Prince a house should abounde for his pleasours and to the immortall God there should wante a temple for his relickes The daye therefore appointed when they should carie the relicke of Gibeah to Bethleem there mette thirty thousand Israelites with a great nombre of noble men which came with the king besyds a greater nombre of straungers For in such a case those are no which come of their owne pleasure then those which are commaunded Besides al the people they say that all the nobilitie of the realme was there to thend the relicke should be more honoured his persone better accompanied It chaunced that as the lordes and people wēt singing and the king in persone dauncing the whele of the chariot began to fall and goe out of the waye the whiche prince Oza seing by chaunce set to his hand and his shoulder against it because the Arcke wher the relick was should not fall nor breake yet notwithstanding that sodainly and before thē all he fell downe dead Therfore let this punishmēt be noted for truly it was fearfull and ye ought to thinke that since god for putting his hande to the chariot to holde it vp stroke him with death that a prince shoulde not hope seking the destruction and decaye of the churche that god will prolong his life O princes great lordes and prelates sith Oza with suche diligence loste his life what do ye hope or loke for sith with such negligence ye destroy and suffer the churche to fall Yet once againe I doe retourne to exclaime vpon you O princes and great lordes syth prince Oza deserued such punishement because without reuerence he aduaunced him selfe to staye the Arke which fell what punishement ought ye to haue whiche through malice helpe the churche to fall ¶ Why kyng Balthasar was punished DArius kyng of the Perses and Medes besieged the auncient citie of Babilon in Chaldea wherof Balthasar sonne of Nabuchodonosor the great was kinge and lorde Who was so wicked a childe that his father being dead he caused him to be cut in .300 pieces gaue him to .300 haukes to be eaten because he should not reuiue againe to take the goodes and riches from him which he had left him I knowe not what father is so folishe that letteth his sonne liue in pleasures afterwardes the intrelles of the hauke wherewith the sonne hauked should be the wofull graue of the father which so many men lamented This Balthasar then being so besieged determined one night to make a great feast and banket to the lordes of his realme that came to ayde him and in this he did like a valiaunt and stoute prince to th ende the Perses and Medes might see that he litle estemed their power The noble and high hartes do vse when they are enuironed with many trauayles to seeke occasions to inuent pleasours because to their men they may giue greater courage and to their enemies greater feare He declareth of Pirrus kynge of the Epirotes when he was besieged very streightly in the citie of Tharenta of the Romain captaine Quintus Dentatus that then he spake vnto his captaines in this sort Lordes frendes be ye nothing at al abashed since I neuer here before sawe ye afraide though the Romaines haue compassed our bodies yet we haue besieged their hartes For I let you to wete that I am of such a cōplexion that the streighter they kepe my body the more my hart is at large And further I say though the Romains beate down the walles yet our harts shall remaine inuincible And though there be no wall betwene vs yet we wyll make them knowe that the hartes of Greekes are harder to ouercome then the stones of Tarentine are to be beaten downe But retourninge to king Balthasar The banket then being ended and the greatest parte of the night spent Balthasar the kyng being very well pleased that the banket was made to his cōtentation though he was not the sobrest in drynking wyne commaunded all the cuppes of golde and siluer with the treasour he had to be brought and set on the table because all the bidden gestes shoulde drinke therin King Balthasar did this to that ende the princes and lordes with all his captaines shoulde manfully helpe him to defende the siege and also to shewe that he had muche treasour to pay them for their paynes For to saye the truthe there is nothing that encourageth men of warre more than to see their rewarde before their eies As they were drinking merily at the banket of these cups which Nabuchodonosor had robbed from the temple of Hierusalem sodenly by the power of God and the deserte of his offences there appeared a hand in the wal without a body or arme which with his fingers wrote these wordes Mane Thetel Phares which signifieth O kinge Balthasar god hath sene thy life and findeth that thy malice is nowe accomplished He hath commaunded that thou and thy realme shoulde be wayed and hath found that ther lacketh a great deale of iust weight wherfore he comaundeth that thy life for thine offences be taken from thee and that thy realme bee put into the handes of the Perses and Medes whiche are thine enemies The vision was not frustrate for the same night without any lenger delay the execution of the sentence was put in effect by the enemies The king Balthasar died the realme was lost the treasours were robbed the noble men takē and al the Chaldeans captiues I would nowe knowe sith Balthasar was so extreamely punished only for geuing his concubines and frindes drinke in the sacred cuppes what payne deserueth princes and prelates then which robbe the churches for prophane thinges How wicked so euer Balthasar was yet he neuer chaunged gaue sold nor engaged the treasours of the Sinagoge but wat shall we say speake of prelates whiche without any shame wast chaunge sell and spende the churche goodes I take it to be lesser offence to giue drinke in a chalice as king Balthasar did to one of his concubines then to enter into the churche by symony as many do nowe a daies This tyraunt was ouercome more by folie than by couetousnes but these others are vanquished with foly couetousnes and simony What meaneth this also that for the offence of Nabuchodonosor in Hierusalem his sonne Balthasar shoulde come and be punished For this truly me thinke not consonaunt to reason nor agreable to mans lawe that the father should commit the theft and the sonne should requite it with seuen double To this I can aunswere that the good child is bounde to restore all the good that his father hath lefte him euill gotten For he that enioyeth the thefte deserueth no lesse punishement then he that committeth the theft For in th end both are theues and deserue to be hanged on the galowes of the deuine iustice ¶ Why Kyng Ahab was punished IN the first booke of Malachie that is to wete in the third booke of kinges the .viii. chap. It is
the Catholicke Churche that they dyshonour not Gods mynisters and maintayne heresyes For as this accursed Emperoure Valente for his wicked doinges was condignely punished by the hands of the almighty God So let them be assured the selfe same god wil not pardon their offences For it is a rule infallible that the prince which is not a good christian shall fall into the hands of his cruell enemyes ¶ Of the Emperour Valentinian and Gracian hys sonne whych reigned in the time of saynte Ambrose whyche because they were good Christians were alwayes fortunate and that god gyueth victorye vnto Princes more throughe the teares of them that pray then through the weapons of those that fyght I Valentinian and Valent were brethrene and the eldest of them was Valentinian who succeded in the Empire after the death of his father to be pretor of the armies For amonges the Romaines there was a lawe in vre that if the father died in the fauour of the people of right the sonne without any other demaunde was heire This Valentinian was a lusty yong man of a sanguine complection and of his body well shaped and aboue al he was a good Christian and of all the people generallye welbeloued For nothynge adorneth the noble man more then to be counted ciuill and corteous of behauior At that time wher the Emperoure Iulian persecuted moste the chrisstians Valentinian was pretor of the armies and when Iulian was aduertised that Valentinian was a christian he sent vnto him and bad hym do sacrifice to the idols of the Romaine Emperour or els to forsake the office of his pretorship Iulian would gladly haue killed Valentinian but he durst not For it was a law inuiolable amonges the Romaynes that no citizen should be put to death without decre of the Senate Valentinian receyuing the message of this Emperour Iulian aduertised of his will which was to renownce his faith or to leaue his office he dyd not only resigne his office but therwithal forgaue the Emperour all the money he ought him for arreragies of his seruyce And because he woulde lyue with a more quyete conscience he wente from Rome into a cloyster where he bannyshed hym selfe for two yeares and a halfe and for this he was hyghlye estemed and commended For it is a good signe that man is a good Christian whyche of his owne free will renounceth worldlye goodes Shortlye after It happened that Iulian the Emperoure wente to conquer the Realme of Persia wherein a battaile he was very sore wounded and fell downe deade in the presente place For to the mishappes of fortune the Emperour with all his estate pleasours is asmuch subiect as is the poorest man that lyeth in the streates When the newes came to Rome that Iulian was dead by the consent of all Valentinian was created Emperoure so that he beinge bannyshed for Christes sake was called againe and crowned Prince of the Romaine empire Let no man care to lose al that he possesseth let no man way to see him selfe despised for Christes sake For in the end no men can in a thousand yeares so much abase vs as god in one houre can exalt vs. In the same yere which was from the foundation of Rome a thousand a hundred and .xix. in a citie called Atrobata it rained very fine wull so that all the citie became riche In the same yeare in the citie of Constantinople it hailed suche great stones that they killed many men left no herdes in the fieldes aliue At the same tyme there came an earthquake throughout Italy so likewyse in Scicille that many housen fell and slewe sundry persons and aboue all the sea rose in suche sorte that it drowned many cities nighe thereunto Paulus Diaconus in the .xi. booke De gestibus Romanorum saieth that the emperour Valentinian was of a subtile witte of graue coūtenaunce eloquēt in speache yet he spake litle stoute in his affaires and diligent in his busines in aduersities pacient and a great enemy of the vicious temperat in eating and drinking a frend of religious persons so that they saide he resembled the emperour Aurelius For after that the emperour Marcus Aurelius died with whom the felicitie of the Romaine empire ended they euer vsed thenceforth in Rome to compare and liken the young and newe come princes to the auncient emperours their antecessours That is to wete if the prince wer couragious they said he was like Iulius Caesar if he were vertuous they saide he was an other Octauian if he were fortunate that he was Tiberius if he were rashe they sayde he was Caligula if he were cruell they compared him to Nero if he were merciful thei sayde he was like to Traian or Antonius Pius if he were beawtifull they likened him to Titus if he were idle they compared him to Domitian if he were paciēt they called him Vespasius if he were tēperat they likened him to Adrian if he were deuoute to their gods then he semed Aurelianus finally he that was sage and vertuous they compared him to the good Marcus Aurelius This emperour Valentinian was a good Christian and in al his affaires touching the empyre very wyse and circumspecte and yet he was noted for one thynge very muche and that was that he trusted and fauoured his seruauntes so muche and was so led by his friendes that through their occasion they abusinge his loue and credite there arose manye dissentions emonges the people Seneca sayde once to the Emperoure Nero I wyll that thou vnderstande Lorde that there is no pacience can suffre that twoo or three absolutly commaunde all not for that they are moste vertuous but for that they are moste in fauour with thee O princes and great Lordes if you were as I am I knowe not what you would doe but if I were as you be I woulde behaue my selfe in suche sorte to them of my house that they should be seruauntes to serue and obeye me and not boste themselues to be in suche fauour to commaunde me For that prince is not sage that to content a fewe getteth the hatred of all The Emperour Valentinian died in the fiue and fifty yeare of his byrthe and eleuen yeare of his Empyre of so longe sickenesse that his vaynes were so dried vp that they could not drawe one droppe of bloude out of his body And at the daye of his funeralles where the dead corps was greatly bewayled Saint Ambrose made anexcellent sermon in commendation of him for in those dayes when any prince departed that fauoured muche the Churche all the holy Byshoppes mete at his buriall The two brethren being Emperours that is to wete Valentinian and Valent through the desire of the father in lawe of Gracian that was father to his wyfe and desirous to haue one of his doughters children chose Valentinian to bryng vp who had a sonne named Gracian whiche was created emperour so young that as yet he had no berde And truly the Senate would not haue suffered it
them do giue vnto their subiects good exāples that on the sabbotte day in especially other Festiuall dayes they repaire vnto the cathedral Church to here deuine seruice ther reconcileng them selues to god that they publickly in the presence of the congregaciō receiue the holy comunion supper of the Lord. For it would be a great sclaunder to Princes which ought to reprehend others of their faults that a man should neuer see them come to the Church and be partakers of that holye Sacrament We ordaine that at Easter chiefly Princes do go to the church Cathedrall and that the Metropolitan be there in person to celebrate the holy communion and the gospel being sayd the Prince hymselfe shal be bound to say with a loude voice the crede confirmed in the sacred counsaile of Nicene For the good Princes ought not only in their hartes to be faithful vnto Iesus Christ but are also bound openly with theyr mouthes to confesse it before the people We ordeine that Princes be not so hardie to haue in their courte aboue two bishoppes the one to giue him ghostlye counsell and the other to preache vnto him the word of God And those we will that the counsell assigne vnto him and that they be bound to find two personnes of the most auncient and vertuous which shall remaine in the courte no more but two yeares and that afterwardes others be placed there in their steades For there is nothinge more monstrous then to see the Churche longe withoute prelates ¶ What a goodly thynge it is to haue but one Prince to rule the publike weale for there is no greater enemye to the common weale then he whiche procureth many to commaund therin as by reasons folowing it shal be proued Cap. xxviii OFte tymes with my selfe alone I consider that sithe the deuine prouidence which doth all thinges by weight and measure and that of her and by none other all creatures are gouerned and that furthermore with God there is no accepcion of personnes for he maketh the one ryche and the other poore the one sage and the other symple the one hole and other sicke the one fortunate and the other vnluckye the one seruaunt and the other maister let no man merueile thoughe I muse therat for the varietie of time is the beginner of dissencions amonge the people In mans iudgmēt it semeth that it were better all were alike in apparel al equal in commaunding none greater then others in possessions al to content them selues with one kynde of meate and that the names of commaunding and obeing were vtterly abolysshed and brought to nought So that if the myseries of the one and prosperities of the other were put out from that day forward I protest there should be no enuy in the world Layeng asyde mans opinion whiche oughte not to be compared to the deuine misterie I demaund now what reason sufficed to thincke that of two brethren that is to wete Iacob and Esau both children of holy and deuout personnes the deuine prouydence woulde the one shoulde bee chosen and the other dispised that the one shoulde commaunde and the other obeye the one to be disherited beinge the eldeste and the other to inherite beinge the yongeste That whyche chaunced to Iacob with Esau the same chaunced to the children of Iacob and Ioseph who beinge patriarkes and chosen God prouided and ordeyned that to Ioseph beinge the youngeste his bretherne should serue and obeye hym This thinge was repined at of all the eleuen bretherne how be it their intencions auayled not for it is vnpossible for mans malice to disorder that which the deuine prouidence hath appointed we se daylye nothing els but that which man decreeth in a longe time god disposeth otherwise in one moment Truly it is not euill done but wel ordeined For in the ende sithe man is man in fewe thinges he can be eyther certaine or assured and sith God is God it is vnpossible that in any thinge he should erre It is a great benefite of the creator to be willing to reforme and correct the workes of the creatures For if God woulde suffer vs to do after our owne mindes we should be quyte contrarie to his pleasure God without a great mysterye did not ordeine that in one family there shoulde be but one father amonge one people there shoulde be but one citizen that should commaunde in one prouynce ther should be but one gouernor alone and also that one king alone should gouerne a proude Realme and likewise that by one onlye captaine a puissant armye should be led And furthermore and aboue all he willeth that there be but one Monarchyall king and Lord of the world Truly all these thinges are such that we with our eyes do see them and know them not we heare them with our eares and vnderstand them not we speake them with our tongues and know not what we say For truly mans vnderstanding is so dull that wythout doubt he is ignoraunt of more then he knoweth Appolonius Thianeus compassing the moste part of Asia Affricke and Europe that is to say from the bridge of Nilus wher Alexander was vnto Gades where the pillers of Hercules were he beinge one day in Ephese in the Temple of Diana the priestes asked him what thing he wondered at most in all the world for it is a generall rule that men which haue sene much alwayes do note one thing aboue another Althoughe the Philosopher Appolonius greatlyer estemed the workes then the speakinge of them that demaunded this question yet forthwith he made them this aunswere I let you know priestes of Diana that I haue bene throughout Fraunce England Spayne Germany throughe the Laces and Lidians Hebrues and Greekes Parthes and Medes Phrigians and Corinthians and so with the Perses and aboue all in the great Realme of India for that alone is more worthe then all these Realmes together I wyl you vnderstand that all these Realmes in manye and sondrye thinges do dyffer as in languages personnes beastes mettals waters fleshe customes lawes landes buyldinges in apparel and fortes and aboue all dyuers in their Gods and Temples For the language of the one dyffereth not so muche from the language of the other as the Gods of Europe differ from the Gods of Asia and the Temples and gods of Asia and Europe differ from them of Affrike Amonges all thinges which I haue sene of two onlye I dyd meruaile which is that in all the partes of the worlde wherin I haue trauailed I haue seen quyet men troubled by sedycious parsones the humble subiect to the proude the iust obedient to the tyraunt I haue sene the cruel commaunding the merciful the coward ruling the hardye the ignoraunt teaching the wise aboue al I saw that the most theues hunge the innocent on the gallowes The other thing wherat I marueiled was this that in al the places circuite wher I haue bene I know not neither could I find any man that
was euerlasting but that all are mortal in the ende both high lowe haue an end for many are layde to nighte into their graue which the next day following thought to be aliue Leaue aside the deuine iudgment in that he spake he said highly and like a Philosopher for it semeth to be a pleasaunt thing to see how men gouerne the world Therfore now to the matter it is but reason we know the cause of this so auncient a noueltye whiche is that God wylleth and ordeinethe that one onlye commaunde all and that all together obey one For there is nothing that God doth thoughe the cause therof be vnknowen to vs that wanteth reason in his eternall wisedome In this case speakyng like a Christian I saye that if our father Adam had obeyed one onlye commaundemente of God whiche was forbydden him in the terrestial Paradise we had remayned in lybertie vpon the earth and should haue bene Lordes and maisters ouer al. But sith he would not then obey the Lord we are nowe become the slaues of so many Lords O wicked sine cursed be thou sith by the onely the world is broughte into suche a bondage without teares I cannot speake that which I would that through our first fathers which submitted them selues to sinne we their children haue lost the sygnorye of the world For sithe they were prisoners to synne in their hartes lytle auaileth the lybertie of their bodyes There was great dyuersitie betwixt the opynions of Pythagoras and the opinyons of Socrates for somuch as those of Socrates scoole saide that it were better all thinges should be common and all men equall Thother of Pythagoras scoole sayde the contrarie and that the common wealthe were better wherin eche one had his owne proper and all should obey one so that the one of them dyd admit and graunte the name of seruantes and thothers dyd despise the name of Lordes As Laertius in his first booke of the life of Philosophers sayth that the Philosopher Demostenes was also of the same opinyon that to the end the people should be well gouerned he would two names should be vtterly abbolished and taken a way that is to wete Lords and subiectes masters and seruaunts for the one desirous to rule â–ª by fyersnes and thothers not willyng to obeye by tyranny would shedde the bloud of the innocent and would be vyolent agaynst the poore they would destroy the renowmed famous people and tyrannes would waxe stout the which thyngs should be taken away if there were no sygnorye nor seruytude in the world But notwithstanding these thinges the Phylosopher in his first booke of his pollitiques sayth that by fower natural reasons we may proue it to be very necessarie that Princes do commaund and the people obey The first reason is of the partes of the Elements symple and mixt For we se by experience that the Elementes do suffer to th ende they wold be ioyned together the one to haue more power then al the whyche is shewed by experyence forasmuch as the Element of the fyer the Element of the ayer and the Element of the water do obey the Element of the earth doth commaund For against their nature he bryngeth them all to the earth But if all the noble and chiefest Elements were obedyente to the most vile Element onely to forme a body myxt it is a greater reason that al obeye to one vertuous person that the common wealth mighte therby the better be gouerned The second reason is of the bodye the soule in the armony wherof the soule is the mistresse which commaundeth and the body the seruaunt which obeyeth fo the body neither seeth heareth nor vnderstandeth without the body The sage Philosopher by this wil infer that the sage men should naturally be lords ouer others For in the world ther is nothing more mâ—nstrous then that fooles should coÌ„maund wise men obey The third reason taketh his ground on beastes for we se by experience that diuers beastes by thonely knowledge of men are gouerned therfore it is but mete that many men which are more lyker beastes then the beastes theym selues do suffer them selues to be gouerned and ruled by wise men For the common weale is more profited by a brute beast then it is by a witlesse man The fourth reason proceadeth of women for we se that they being created to the image of God god commaundeth and ordayneth that they should be subiect to man presupposing their knowledge not to be so great as the knowledge of men Therfore if this thing be thus why could not diuerse mortal men who with out comparison know lesse then women take theym selues for happie that one alone would commaund gouerne them so that such one were a sage vertuous parson Sithe man is naturally pollytike which is to be a frend of company the company engendreth enuy afterwards discord norisheth warre warre bringeth in tiranny tiranny destroyeth the comon wealth the common wealth being lost all men thinke their liues in peryl Therfore it is very necessarie that in the common wealth many be gouerned by one alone for to conclude ther is no common wealth wel gouerned but by one alone The great trauayles and inconuenyences which the auncientes found in tymes past were the occasion that it was ordeyned in the publyke weale that all should obey one Sythe that in a campe one onely Captaine is obeyed and in the sea one Pilot followed in the monasterye all obeye one prelate and in the Churche all obeye one byshoppe and syns in a hyue of bees one bee onely leadeth all the rest it were not reason that men should be without one king nor the common wealth without a gouernour Those men that will not haue a king in a common wealth are lyke vnto drones waspes which without trauaile eate the swete of others And mine opinion in this case should be that euery man that will not be commaunded as an abiect of the common weale should be expulsed and cast out therof For in a common wealthe ther can be no greater enemye then he that desireth that many should rule therin In that publike weale where one alone hath care for al al obey the commaundement of one onely there God shal be serued the people shal profit the good shal be estemed the euil dispised and besides that tirannes shal be suppressed For a gouernaunce of many is not profitable onlesse they referre theym selues to the iudgemente of a fewe and to the arbitermente of one alone Oh howe manâ—e people and Realmes because they woulde not obey their princes by iustice haue since by cruell tirannes bene gouerned with tyrannye For it is euen a iuste plage that they which disire the scepters of righteous Princes shoulde feale and proue the scourge of cruell tirauntes Alwayes it was and shal be that in the worlde there was one to commaunde another to obeye one to gouerne and another to bee gouerned
In this case lette no manne saye I am excepted for vntyll thys daye there hath noo Prynce nor Knyghte beene seene but hathe trauayled vnder thys yooke I warne and praye and importunatelye requyre you all that you be loyall and faythefull seruauntes to the ende you may deserue to haue louing Lords For generally the prince that is wicked causeth his subiects to rebel the sedicious subiect maketh his lord to become a tiraunt It is a great thing to the people that their Princes be good or euil For there are no Princes so stable nor so temperate that alwayes will dissemble the euil nor there is no gouernor so very a tyraunte but sometimes wil acknowledge the good Oftimes god suffereth that ther be Emperours in the Empire kinges in realmes and gouernors in the prouinces Lordes in the cities and prelates in the churches not al only as that common wealth desireth nor as the good gouernmente requyreth but as the offence of the multitude deserueth For now a dayes we se many the haue the charge of soules in the church which deserue not kepe the sheape in the field That to be true plainly it doth appeare For such do not gouerne but disorder they do not defend but offend they do not resist the enemyes but ingage sel the innocent they are no iudges but tirannes they are not gentil pastores but cruel hangmen they are not incre asers of the common wealthe but distroyers of iustice they are not ordeynors of lawes but inuentors of trybutes their hartes wake not to good but to inuent and worke al mischefe and finally God sendeth vs such prelates and gouernors not for that they shoulde be mynisters of his lawes but for that they should be scourges for oure offences ¶ That in a publike weale there is no greater destruction then where princes dayly consent to new orders and chaunge olde customes Cap. xxix IN the first booke of the Kinges the viii Chapter of the holye and sacred scripture is sayde that Samuel when he was old in his steade placed his two sonnes to gouerne the people whose names were Iohel and Abiah for that naturally the fathers are desirous to aduaunce their children to honor The sonnes of Samuell were residente and helde the iudgemente in the citye of Beersheba whyche was the fortheste parte of Iudea and the olde Samuel wente to dwell in the citie Ramah The honorable and moste aunciente menne amonge the people of Ierusalem assembled togither and decreed to send Embassadors to Samuel which should be the wisest men of all the Sinagoge For the auncientes in those dayes were so circumspect that they neuer committed any affayres of the common wealthe into the handes of yonge men The auncientes then being arriued at Ramah spake these wordes vnto Samuel Samuel thou art now old and for thy yeres thou canst not gouerne the people therfore thou lyke a pytefull father hast committed the gouernmente of the people into the handes of thy children Wherfore we let the know in this case that thy children are couetous First they do receiue brybes of the suters And secondarilye they do great iniurie to the people Therfore we are come to require the to giue vnto vs a king that may gouerne vs and that might leade vs in battaile For we wil no more iudges to iudge vs but kinges for to gouerne vs. The aged Samuel hearinge the imbassage was ashamed of that the auncientes of Iudea had told him First seing his children to be euill Secondarily because they would take their offices from them And truly herein Samuell had iust occasion both to be ashamed also sorye For the vyces wickednes of the yong children are swords that passe throughe the hartes of the old and aunciente fathers Samuel seing that the Hebrues were determined to depriue theym of their office and gouernement of the people had none other remedye but euen to make his mone to god of his griefe god hearing his complaintes said vnto him Samuel be not sad nor lament not for their demaunding a kinge as they do they do not mislike thy parson but they dispraise my prouydence maruel not though they forsake thy children for they are somwhat to yong sith they haue forsaken me their god worship false idolles Syth they demaund a king I haue determined to giue them one but first tel tow thē the cōdicions of the king which are these The king whom I wil geue you shall take your chyldren with your chariottes beastes shal sende them loden with burdens And yet therwith not contented he shall make your children postes by the wayes tribunes cēturions in his battailes shal make them laborers and gardyners in his gardins he shal make them sowe his sedes past his bread and furbishe his harnes and armour You shal haue besides delicate tender doughters the which you shal litle enioy for the king that I wil geue you shal commaund them to kepe attend those that are wounded in the warres he shal make them cookes in his pallace and caters of his expences The king that I wil geue you if he hādel your sonnes and doughters euil much worse he wil handle your goods For on the beastes fertile feldes that you haue his herd shal fede he shal gather the best grapes of your vines he shall chose of your oliue trees the best olyues oyles and if anye fruit afterwards remaine in your feilds he wil they shal be gathered not by you but of his workemen afterwards the king that I wil geue you shal oppresse you much more For of euery pecke of corne you shal geue him one of tenne shepe you must nedes geue him one so that of al things which you shal gather against your wylles you shal giue the tenth of your slaues the king shal be serued soner then you and he shal take al your Oxen that labour and trauaile in your owne possessions shal bring them to ploughe in his owne ground and tenements So that you shal pay tribute and the king shal take his owne profite for the wealth and commoditie of his pallace And al thys which I haue rehersed before the King shal haue whom I wil geue you The historye which here I haue declared is not Ouide neither yet the Eglogges of Virgil ne yet the fayninge of Homer but it is the sentence the very worde of god O mortal ignoraunce that we demaund and know not why nor wherfore to whom nor wher neyther when we demaund which causeth vs to fall into sondry errors For few men are so wise that they offend not in chosing that they can aske with reason The Hebrues asked as they thinke the better and god geueth them the worse they aske one to gouerne them and god gyueth them a Tiraunt to destroy them they aske one that should maintayne them in iustice and he threatneth them with tiranny they require one that should geue them
to be blamed for those which haue credit for their euil are many and those whych haue power to do well are very fewe ¶ Of the golden age in times past and worldly miserie which we haue at this present Cap. xxxi IN the first age golden world al liued in peace ech man toke care for his owne lands euery one planted sowed their trees corne eueryone gathered his frutes and cut his vynes kned their breade and brought vp their children and finally all liued by their owne proper swette trauaile so that they all liued without the preiudice or hurt of any other O worldly malice O cursed wicked world that thou neuer sufferest things to remaine in one estate and thought I cal the cursed maruaile not therat for when we are in most prosperitie then thou with death persecutest vs most cruelly Without teares I say not that I wil say that 2000 yeres of the world wer past before we knew what the world ment god suffering it and worldly malice inuenting it ploughes were turned into weapons oxen to horses goades to lances whippes to arrowes slinges to crosbowes simplycitye into malice trauaile into Idlenes rest to paine peace to warre loue to hatred charitie to crueltie Iustice to tyranny profite to domage almes to theft aboue al fayth into Idolatrie And finallye the swete they had to profite in their owne goods they tourned to bloud sheading to the domage of the comon wealth And herein the world sheweth it selfe to be a world herein worldly malice sheweth it selfe to be malicious in somuch as the one reioyceth the other lamenteth the one reioceth to stomble to the end the other may fall breake his necke the one reioyceth to be poore to the end the other maye not be riche the one reioyseth to be dispraised to the end the other may not be honored the one delighteth to be sad to the ende the other shoulde not be merye to conclude we are so wicked that we banishe the good from our owne house to the end that the euill might enter in at the gates of an other man When the creator created the whole world he gaue to eche thinge immediatly his place that is to wete he placed intelligence in the vppermoste heauen he placed the starres in the firmament the planettes in the orbes the byrdes in the ayre the earth on the center the fyshes in the water the serpentes in the holes the beastes in the mountaines and to al in generallye he gaue place to reste them selues in Now let princes and great Lordes be vaine glorious sayenge that they are Lords of the earth for truly of all that is created god only is the true Lord therof because the miserable man for his part hath but the vse of the fruit for if we thinke it reasonable that we should enioy the profite of that which is created then were it more conuenient we should acknowledge god to be the Lord therof I do not deny but confesse the God created al things to the end they should serue man vpoÌ„ condicion that maÌ„ shold serue God likewise but wheÌ„ the creature riseth against god immediatly the creator resisteth against man For it is but reason that he be disobeyd who one only coÌ„maundemeÌ„t wil not obey O what euil fortune hath the creature only for disobeying the comaundement of his creator For if man had kept his coÌ„maundement in Paradise god had conserued to the world the signorie but the creatures whome he created for his seruice are occasion to him of great troubles for the ingratitude of benefit heapeth great sorow to the discret hart It is great pitie to behold the man that was in paradise that might haue bene in heauen now to se him in the world aboue al to be interred in the intrailes of the earth For in terrestiall paradise he was innocent in heauen he had bene blessed but nowe he is in the worlde enuirouned with cares and afterwardes he shal be throwen into hys graue and gnawen of the wormes Let vs nowe see the disobedience wee hadde in the commaundemente of GOD and what fruite we haue gathered in the world For he is very simple that dare commit any vice taking no delight nor pleasure therof in his body In my opinion through the sinnes whiche our forefathers committed in paradise the seruitude remaineth in vs their children which are on the earth For so much as if I entre into the water I drowne if I touche the fire I burne if I cone neare a dog he biteth me if I threaten a horse he casteth me if I resiste the wynde it bloweth me downe if I persecute the serpent he poysoneth me if I smite the beare he destroieth me and to be brief I saie that the man that without pitie eateth men in his life the wormes shal eate his intrailes in the graue after his death O princes great lordes lode your selues with cloth of gold heape vp your great treasours assemble many armies inuente Iustes Torneis seke your pastimes reueÌ„ge your selues of your enemies serue your selues with your subiectes marrye your children to mighty kinges set them in great estate cause your selues to be feared of your enemies imploye your bodies to al pleasures leue great possessions to your heires rayse sumptuous buildinges to leaue memory of your persons I sweare by him that shal iudge me that I haue more compassion to see your sinfull soules then I haue enuy to see your vicious liues For in the end all pastimes will vanishe away and they shal leaue you for a gage to the hungry wormes of the earth O if princes did consider though they haue bene borne princes created norished in great estates that the day thei are borne death immediatly commeth to seke the end of their life and taketh them here and there when they are whole when they are sicke now tombling then rising he neuer leaueth them one houre vntill their woful burial Therfore sith it is true as in dede it is that that whiche princes possesse in this life is but small that which they hope in the other is so great truly I marueile why princes the which shal lie so straight in the graue dare liue in such so great largenes in their life To be riche to be lordes to haue great estates men should not therof at al be proude since they see how fraile mans condicion is for in th end life is but lone but death is enheritage Death is a patrimonie heritage which successiuely is inherited but life is a righte which daily is surrendred For death counteth vs somuche his owne that oftimes vnwaâ—es he coÌ„meth to assault vs life taketh vs such straungers that oftetimes we not doubting therof it vanisheth away If this thing theÌ„ be true why wil princes great lordes presume to coÌ„maunde in a straunge house which is this life as in their own house which is the
thee if they toke the prysoner though perchaunce in times past they vsed thy father Philip euill and haue now disobeied thee his sonne It were better counsell for thee to make them thy frendes by gentlenes then to confirme them ennemies by crueltie For the noble and pitifull hartes when they are reuenged of any make of them selues a bucherye Wee can not with trouthe saye that thy trauayles are well imployed to wynne suche honour sythe thy conuersation and lyfe is so vnconstaunt For trulye honour consisteth not in that flatterers saye but in that whiche Lordes doe For the great familiaritie of the wycked causeth the lyfe to be suspected Honour is not gotten by lyberall geuinge of treasoures at hys death but by spendynge it well in his lyfe For it is a sufficient profe that the man whiche esteameth renowme dothe lytle regarde money and it is an apparaunte token that man who lytle esteameth money greatlye regardeth his renowme A man wynneth not honour by murdering innocentes but by destroying tyrauntes for all the armonie of the good gouernement of princes is in the chastising of the euill and rewarding the good Honour is not wonne in taking and snatching the goodes of an other but in geuing and spendinge his owne For there is nothing that beautifieth the maiestie of a prince more thē to shewe his noblenes in extending mercy and fauour to his subiectes and geuing giftes and rewardes to the vertuous And to conclude I will let the know who he is that winneth both honour in this life and also a perpetuall memory after his death and that is not he whiche leadeth his lyfe in warres but he that taketh his death in peace O Alexander I see thou arte younge and that thou desirest honour wherfore I let thee vnderstande that there is no man farther from honour then he whiche procureth and desireth the same For the ambicious mē not obteining that which they desire remayne alwayes defamed and in wynning and getting that whiche they searche honour notwithstanding will not followe them Beleue me in one thynge Alexander that the true honour ought through worthy deades to be deserued and by no meanes to be procured for all the honour that by tyranny is wonne in the ende by infamy is lost I am sory for thee Alexander for I see thou wantest iustice since thou louest tyranny I see thou lackest peace because thou louest warre I see thou art not ryche because thou hast made all the worlde poore I see thou lackest rest because thou sekest contention and debate I see thou hast no honour because that thou winnest it by infamy I see thou wantest frendes because thou haste made them thyne ennemies Finally I see thou doest not reuenge thy selfe of thy ennemies because thou arte as they would be the scourge to thy selfe Then since it is so why arte thou alyue in this world sithe thou lackest vertues for the which life ought to be desired For truly that man whiche without his owne profite and to the domage of another leadeth his life by iustice ought forthwith to lose his breath For there is nothing that soner destroieth the weale publyke then to permit vnprofitable men therein to liue Therefore speaking the trouthe you lordes and princes are but poore I beleue thou conquerest the worlde because thou knowest not thy superiour therein and besydes that thou wylte take lyfe from so many to the ende that by their death thou maiest wynne renowme If cruell and warrelike princes as thou arte should inherite the liues of them whome they slaye to augmente and prolonge their liues as they doe inheritie goodes to maintayne their pryde although it were vnmeate then warre were tollerable But what profiteth the seruaunt to lose his life this day and his maisters death to be differred but vntil the morowe O Alexander to be desirous to commaunde muche hauinge respite to liue but litle me thinketh it were a great foly and lacke of wysedome Presumptuous and ambicious men whiche measure their workes not with the fewe daies they haue to liue but with the arrogant and haughty thoughtes they haue to commaunde They leade their lyfe in trauayle and take their death with sorowe And the remedy hereof is that if the wyse man cannot obtayne that which he would he should content him selfe with that which he may I let thee knowe Alexander that the perfection of men is not to see much to heare much to knowe much to procure much to come to much to trauayle much to possesse much and to be able to doe much but it is to be in in the fauour of the gods Finally I tell thee that that man is perfecte who in his owne opinion deserueth not that he hath and in the opinion of another deserueth muche more then that he possesseth We are of this opinion amonge vs that he is vnworthy to haue honour who by suche infamous meanes searcheth for it And therfore thou Alexander deseruest to be sclaue to many because thou thinkest to deserue the signorie ouer all By the immortall gods I sweare I can not imagine the great mischiefe which entred into thy breast so vnrighteously to kill kyng Darius whose vassale and frende thou wert onely because thou wouldest possesse the Empire of the whole worlde For truly seruitude in peace is more worth then signorie in warre And he that shall speake against that I haue spoken I saye he is sicke and hath loste his taste ¶ The sage Garamante continueth his oration shewing that perpetuitie of life can not be bought with any worldly treasure Among other notable matters he maketh mention of the seuen lawes which they obserued Cap. xxxiiii THou wilt not deny me Alexander that thou wert more healthfull when thou waste kyng of Macedonia then thou art nowe being lorde of all the earth for the excessiue trauayle bryngeth menne out of all order Thou wilt not denye me Alexander that the more thou gettest the more thou desirest for the hart which with couetousnes is set on fier cannot with wood and bowes of riches but with the earth of the graue be satisfied and quenched Thou wilt not denie me Alexander but the aboundaunce that thou thy selfe hast semeth vnto thee litle and the litle whiche an other man possesseth semeth vnto thee muche for the gods to the ambicious couetous hartes gaue this for penaunce that neither with enough nor with to muche they should contente them selues Thou wilt not denie me Alexander if in dede thy harte be couetous that first the pleasures of life shall ende before thy couetousnes for where vices haue had power long time in the harte there death onely and none other hath authoritie to pluck vp the rootes Thou wilt not denie me Alexander that though thou hast more then all yet thou enioyest least of any for the prince that possesseth muche is alwayes occupied in defending it but the prince that hath litle hath time and leasure in quiet to enioye it Thou wilt not denie me
this innocent trauayler Truly hearing no more he would iudge him to be a foole for he is muche infortunate that for all his trauaile loketh for no rewarde Therfore to our matter a prince which is begotteÌ„ as an other man borne as an other man lyueth as an other man dieth as an other man and besides al this commaundeth all men if of suche one we should demaunde why god gaue him signory and that he should answere he knoweth not but that he was borne vnto it in such case let euery man iudge how vnworthy suche a kyng is to haue such authorie For it is vnpossible for a man to minister iustice vnlesse he knowe before what iustice meaneth Let princes and noble men heare this worde and let them imprinte it in their memory whiche is that when the liuing god determined to make kinges and lordes in this worlde he did not ordeyne theym to eate more then others to drynke more then others to sleape more then others to speake more then others nor to reioyce more then others but he created them vpon condition that sithe he had made them to commaunde more then others they shoulde be more iuste in their lyues then others It is a thinge moste vniuste and in the common wealth very sclaunderous to see with what authoritie a puissaunt man coÌ„maundeth those that be vertuous and with how much shame himselfe is bounde to all vices I knowe not what lorde he is that dare punishe his subiecte for one onely offence committed seing him selfe to deserue for euery deede to be chastised For it is a monsterous thing that a blynd man should take vppon him to leade him that seeth They demaunded great Cato the Censor what a king ought to do that he should be beloued feared and not despysed he answered The good prince should be compared to hym that selleth tryacle who if the poyson hurte hym not he selleth his triacle well I meane thereby that the punyshement is taken in good parte of the people which is not ministred by the vicious man For he that maketh the triacle shall neuer be credited vnlesse the profe of his triacle be openly knowen and tried I meane that the good lyfe is none other then a fine triacle to cure the coÌ„mon wealth And to whome is he more lyke whiche with his tongue blaseth vertues and imployeth his deades to all vyces then vnto the man who in the one hand holdeth poyson to take away lyfe and in the other tryacle to resiste deathe To the ende that a lorde be wholy obeyed it is necessary that all that he coÌ„maundeth be obserued firste in his owne persone for no lorde can nor may withdrawe him selfe from vertuous workes This was the aunswere that Cato the Censor gaue whiche in mine opinion was spoken more like a Christian then any Romaine When the true god came into the worlde he imployed thirtie yeares onely in workes and spente but two yeres and a halfe in teaching For mans harte is perswaded more with the worke he seeketh then with the worde whiche he heaâ—eth Those therefore whiche are lordes let them learne and knowe of him which is the true lorde 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 saye to gouerne well his people to commaunde well and to mainteyne all in Iustice and this should not be with wordes to make them afrayde neyther by workes whiche should offende them but by swete wordes whiche should encourage them and by the good workes that shoulde edifie them For the noble and gentle harte can not resiste hym that with a louynge countenaunce commaundeth Those whiche wyll rule and make tame fierce and wylde beastes doe threaten and rebuke them a hundred tymes before they beate them once and if they keape them tied they shewe them sondrie pleasures So that the wyldenes of the beaste is taken away onely by the gentyll and pleasaunt vsage of the man Therefore sithe we haue this experience of brute and sauage beastes that is to wete that by their wel doing and by the gentle handling of them they voluntarely suffer them selues to be gouerned muche more experience we reasonable men ought to haue that is to knowe that being right and well gouerned we shoulde huÌ„blye and willingly obey our soueraigne lordes For there is no man so harde harted but by gentyll vsage will humble him selfe O princes and noble men I will tell you in one worde what the lorde oughte to doe in the gouernement of his commoÌ„ wealth Euery prince that hath his mouth full of troth his handes open to geue rewardes and his eares stopped to lyes and his hert open to mercy such a one is happy and the realme which hath him may wel be called prosperous and the people maye call them selues fortunate For where as truth liberalitie and clemency ruleth in the harte of a prince there wronges iniuries and oppressions doe not reigne And contrariwyse where the prince hath his harte flesshed in crueltie his mouthe full of tyrannies his handes defyled with bloude and enclineth his eares to heare lyes suche a prince is vnhappy and muche more the people the whiche by suche one is gouerned For it is vnpossible that there is peace and iustice in the common wealthe if he whiche gouerneth it be a louer of lyes and flatterers In the yere foure hundreth and fourty before the incarnatioÌ„ of Christ whiche was in the yere .244 of the foundation of Rome Darius the fourthe being kyng of Persia and Brutus and Lucius at Rome Counsulles Thales the great Phylosopher floryshed in Greece who was prince of the seuen renowmed sages by the whiche occasion all the realme of Greece had and recouered renowme For Greece boasted more of the seuen sages whiche they had then Rome did of all the valiaunt captaines whiche she nouryshed There was at that tyme muche contention betwene the Romaynes and the Greekes for so muche as the Greekes sayde they were better because they had mo sages and the Romaines sayde the contrary that they were better because they had alwayes mo armies The Greekes replied againe that there were no lawes made but in Grece And the Romaines to this answered that though they were made in Greece yet they were obserued at Rome The Greekes sayde that they had great vniuersities to make wyse men in And the Romaines sayde they had many great temples to worship their Gods in for that in the ende they oughte to esteme more one seruice done to the immortall goddes then all the other commodities that myghte come vnto men A Thebane knight was demaunded what he thoughte of Rome and Greece and he aunswered me thynkes the Romaines are no better then the Greekes nor the Greekes than the Romaines For the Greekes glorie in their tongues and the Romaines in their lances But we referre it to vertuous workes For one good worke
compassiō vpon their griefes Princes also should endeuour them selues to be loued well willed because at their death they maye of all their seruauntes and frendes be lamented For princes ought to be suche that they may be prayed for in their life and lamented and remembred after their death Howe cursed is that prince and also howe vnhappy is that common wealth where the seruauntes wyll not serue their Lorde but for rewarde and that the Lorde doth not loue them but for ther seruices For there is neuer true loue where there is any particuler intereste With many stones a house is buylded and of many men and one prince whiche is the head of all the common wealth is made For he that gouerneth the common wealth may be called a prince and otherwyse not and the common wealth can not be called nor sayde a common wealth if it hath not a prince whiche is the head thereof If Geometrie doe not deceiue me the lyme whiche ioyneth one stone with an other suffereth well that it be myngled with sande but the corner stone that lyeth on the toppe ought to be medled with vnslekyd lyme And it soundeth vnto good reason For if the nether stones seperate the wall openeth but if the corner should slippe the buylding incontinently falleth I suppose fathers conscript you vnderstande very well to what ende 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 be true and pure I meane that the loue amongest frendes may well passe sometymes though it be colde but the loue betwene the kyng and his people at all tymes oughte to be perfect For where there is parfite loue there is no fained wordes nor vnfaithfull seruice I haue seene in Rome many debates among the people to haue bene pacified in one day and one onely which betwene the Lord and the common wealth aryseth can not be pacified vntyll death For it is a daungerous thing for one to stryue with many and for many to contende against one In this case where the one is proude and the other rebelles I wyll not excuse the prince nor let to condemne the people For in the end he that thinketh himself moste innocent deserueth greatest blame From whence thinke you cōmeth it that Lordes nowe a daies doe commaunde vniust thinges by fury that subiectes in iuste matters wyll not obey by reason I will tell you The Lorde doing of will and not of right would caste the willes of all in his owne braine and deriue from him selfe all counsayle For euen as princes are of greater power then all the reste so they thinke they knowe more then all the reste The contrary happeneth to subiectes who beinge prouoked I can not tel you with what frenesy despising the good vnderstanding of their Lord will not obey that that their princes willeth for the health of them all but that whiche euery man desireth for him selfe particularly For men nowe a dayes are so fonde that euery man thynketh the prince should loke on him alone Truely it is a straunge thing though it be muche vsed among men that one should desire that the garmentes of all other should be mete for him whiche is as impossible as one mans armour shoulde arme a multitude But what shall we be Fathers conscripte and sacred senate sith our fathers lefte vs this worlde with suche foly and that in these debates stryfes we their children are alwayes in dissention and controuersie and in this wilfulnes we shall also leaue our children and heires How many princes haue I seene and read of in my time of my predecessours whiche were vtterly vndone by to muche pryde and presumption But I neuer read nor heard of any whiche were destroyed for being courteous and louing to his subiectes I will declare by some examples whiche I haue read in bookes to the ende that the Lordes may see what they wynne by their good conuersation and what they loase by being to haulty The realme of the Sydonians was greater then that of the Caldeans in weapons and inferiour in antiquitie vnto that of the Assirians In this realme there was Debastia whiche was called a linage of kinges that endured two hundreth and .xxv. yeares because all those kinges were of a commendable conuersation And an other of Debastia endured no longer then fourty yeares And our auncientes tooke pleasure of peace whereof we are destitute and were ignoraunt of the warres whiche we nowe vse so muche Alwayes they desired to haue kinges whiche should be good for the common wealth in peace rather than valiaunt and couragious for the warre As Homere in his Iliade saieth the auncient Egiptians called their kinges Epiphanes and had a custome that Epiphanes alwaies should enter into the temples barefoote And because it chaūsed the Epiphane on a time to come into the churche hoased he was immediatly for his disobedience depriued and expulsed from the realme and in his steade an other created Homere declareth here that this king was proude euill conditioned wherefore the Egiptians depriued him and banished hym the realme taking occasion that he did not enter into the temple barefoote For truly when Lordes are euil willed and not beloued for a litle trifle and occasion the people will arise and rebell against them The saide Homere saide also that the Parthes called their kynges Assacides that the sixte of that name was depriued and expulsed the realme for that of presumption he had hym selfe to the mariage of a knight and being bidden and desired would not go to the mariage of a poore Plebeyan Cicero in his Tusculanes saith that in olde time the people perswaded their princes to communicate with the poore that they should abstaine and flye from the ryche For among the poore they may learne to be mercifull and with the ryche they shall learne nothing but to be proude Ye knowe right well Fathers conscript howe this our countrey was first called great Grece afterwarde it was called Latium and then Italie And when it was called Latium they called their kynges Marrani and truly though their borders were but narrowe yet at the leaste their stoutnes was great The Annales of those times say that after the thirde Siluius succeded a Marrane who was proude ambitious and euill cōdicioned in such sorte that for feare of the people alwaies he slept locked vp and therfore they depryued and banished him the Realme For the auncientes saide that the king should locke his dores at no houre of the nighte against his subiectes neither he should refuse in the daie to geue them audience Tarquine whiche was the last of the seuen kinges of Rome was very vnthankefull towards his father in lawe he was an infamie to his bloud a traytour to his countrey and cruell of his persone who also enforced the noble Lucretia and yet notwithstanding this they doe not call him vnthankefull infamous cruell traytour
that the vayne glory which they haue and their beauty also shal haue an end to day or to morow A man that is faire and wel proportyoned is therfore nothyng the more vertuous he that is deformed euil shapen is nothing therfore the more vicious so the vertue dependeth not at all of the shape of the bodye neyther yet vyce procedeth of the deformitye of the face For dayly we se the difformytie of the body to be beautyfied wyth vertues of the mynd and the vertues of the mynd to be defaced wyth the vyce of the body in his works For truly he that in the vsage of his lyfe hath any botche or imperfectyon is worse then he that hath foure botches in hys shoulders Also I say that though a man be great yet it is not true that therfore he is strong so that it is not a general rule that the bigge body hath always a valiaunt and couragious hart nor the man whych is lytle of parson shold be of a vyle false hart For we se by experyence the greatest men the most cowards the least of personage the most stout and hardy of hart The holy scripture speake of king Dauid that he was redde in his countenaunce not bygge of body but of a meane stature yet not withstanding as he and the mighty Gyaunt Golias were in campe Dauid kylled Golias wyth a sling with hys owne sword cut of hys head We ought not maruayle that a lytle sheaperde should sley so valyaunt myghty a Gyaunte For oft tymes of a lytle sparke commeth a great lyght and contrary wise by a great torche a man can scarsely see to do any thinge This kinge Dauid dyd more that he being lytle of body and tender of yeres killed the Lions recouered the lambes out of the Woulfes throtes and besides this in one day in a battaile with his owne handes he slew to the nomber of 800 men Though we cannot find the like in our tyme we may well ymagine that of the 800. which he slew there were at least .300 of theym as noble of linage as he as riche in goodes as faire in countenaunce and as high of stature but none of these had so much force courage since he escaped aliue they remayned in the field deade Thoughe Iulius Cesar was bigge enoughe of body yet notwithstandinge he was euyll proporcioned For he had his head all bald his nose very sharpe one hande more shorter then the other And albeit he was yong he had his face ryuelled his coulour somewhat yeallowe and aboue all he went somewhat croked his girdel was halfe vndone For men of good wittes do not employ themselues to the setting out of their bodyes Iulius Cesar was so vnhandsome in his bodye that after the battaile of Pharsalique a neighbour of Rome said vnto the great Oratour Tullius Tell me Tullius why hast thou folowed the parcialities of Pompeius since thou art so wise knowest thou not that Iulius Cesar ought to be lord and monarche of all the world Tullius then aunswered I tell the true my frend that I seing Iulius Cesar in his youth so euyl vnsemely girded iudged neuer to haue sene that that is sene of him and did neuer greatly regard him But the old Silla knew him better For he seinge Iulius Cesar so vncomely and so slouenly appareiled in his youth oftentimes sayd vnto the Senate beware of this yong man so euil marked For if you do not watche wel his procedings it is he that shall hereafter destroye the Romaine people as Suetonius Tranquillus affirmeth in the booke of Caeser Albeit that Iulius Caeser was vncomely in his behauiour yet in naminge onlye his name he was so feared through the worlde as if bechaunce any king or princes did talke of him at their table as after supper for feare they coulde not slepe that night vntill the next day As in Gallia Gotica wher Iulius Caesar gaue a battaile by chaunce a Frenche knight toke a Cesarian knight prysonner who being ledde prisonner by the frenchmen sayde Chaos Cesar whyche is to say Let Caesar alone Which the Gaulloys hearing the name of Caeser let the prysoner escape and without any other occasion he fel besides his horse Now then let princes and great lordes se how lytle it auayleth the valiaunt man to be faire or foule sith that Iulius Caesar being so deformed only wyth naming his name caused all men for feare to chaunge their countenaunce Hannibal the aduenturous Captaine of Carthage is called monstruous not only for his deedes he did in the world but also for the euyl proporcion of his bodye For of hys two eyes he lacked the right and of the two feete he had the left foote croked and aboue al he was lytle of body verye fyerse cruell of countenaunce The deedes and conquestes which Hannibal did among the people of Rome Titus Liuius declareth at large yet I wyll recite one thing which an historiographer declareth and it is this Frontine in the booke of the stoutnes of the Penians declareth that in xvii yeres that Hannibal warred with the Romaines he slew so great a nomber that if the men had bene conuerted into Kyne and that the bloud which was shed had bene turned into wine it had bene sufficient to haue fylled and satisfyed his hole armye being 80. thousand foote men and 17 thousande horse men in his campe I demaunde nowe howe many were at that tyme faierer and more beautifull of their bodies and countenaunce then he was whose beautie at this daye is forgotten where as his valiauntnes shall endure for euer For there was neuer prince that lefte of him eternall memorie onely for beinge beautifull of countenaunce but for enterprysinge great thinges with the sworde in the hand The great Alexander was no fairer nor better shapen thē an other man For the chronicles declare of him that he had a litle throte a great head a blacke face his eies somewhat troubled the bodie litle and the members not well proporcioned and with all his deformitie he destroyed Darius king of the Perses and Meedes and he subdued al the tyrauntes he made him selfe lorde of all the castles and tooke many kynges and disherited and slewe mightie Lordes of great estates he searched all their ryches and pylled all their treasours and aboue all thinges all the earth trembled before him not hauinge the audacitie to speake one worde against him ¶ Of a letter the Emperour Marcus Aurelius wrote to his Nephew worthy to be noted of all young gentlemen Cap. xlii SExtus Cheronensis in his seconde booke of the lyfe of Marcus Aurelius declared that this good Marcus Aurelius had a syster called Annia Milena the whiche had a sonne named Epesipus who was not onely nephewe but also disciple to Marcus Aurelius And after he was created Emperour he sent his nephewe into Grece to studye the Greeke tongue and to bannyshe him from the vices of Rome This
to morow the rust of diseases taketh him and afterwardes by aduersitie he is writhen and by infirmities he is diseased by riches he is whetted by pouerty he is dulled agayne and finally oftentimes it chaunseth that the more sharpe he is whetted so muche the more the lyfe is put in hasarde It is a true thinge that the fete and handes are necessary to clyme to the vanyties of youth and that afterwardes stumblynge a lytle immediately rowling the heade downewardes we discende into the miserie of age For to oure seamynge yesterdaye we knewe one that was yonge and beautifull and with in shorte tyme after we heare that he is dead and rotten When I consider manye men aswell frendes as enemyes whiche were not long a goe florisshyng in beautye and youth and presently I see them to be olde and drye sycke and foule truly I think that as then I dreamed of them or that they be not nowe as they were then What thynge is more fearefull or more incredible then to see a man become miserable in shorte space that the fashion of his visage shoulde chaunge the beautie of the face shoulde be loste the beard waxe whyte the heade bauld the cheekes and forheade full of wrynckelles the teethe as whit as Iuorye become blacke the lighte feete by the goute to seme crepeled and afterwarde waxeth heauie the palsey weakeneth the strong arme the fyne smothe throte with wrinckelles is pleated and the bodye that was streight and vpryghte waxeth weake and croked Aboue all that I haue spoken I say to the Epesipus which presumest to be faire that he which through hys propernes in youth was the mirrour of all becommeth to be such a one that he douteth whether he be the selfe same now in his age that he was in his youth Doe what thou wilte prayse and gloryfye thy beautie asmuch as thou thinckest good yet in the ende the beautie of men is none other but as a veile to couer their eyes a payre of fetters for the fete manacles for the handes a lyme rodde for the winges a these of tyme an occasion of daunger a prouoker of trouble a place of lecherye a sinke of all euill and fynallye it is an inuentour of debates and a scourge of the affectioned man Since thou haste forsaken thy studye I am not bound to send the any thing chiefely wasting thy monye in childysh and youthfull toyes but notwithstandyng all those thinges I sende the by Aulus Vegenus two thousande crounes for thy apparaile and trulye thou shalt be very vnthankfull if thou dost not knowe the benefite done vnto the. For a man ought to giue more thākes for that which is done of curtesie then for that which is offered of necessitie I cannot tell what to let the vnderstande in these partes but that thy sister Anania Salaria is maried who sayeth she is contente I praye God it be so for with money men maye be holpen to mariages but it lyeth in the gods to contente the parties If thou wilte know of Toringa thy cosen thou shalte vnderstande she is imbarked in the fleete whyche went to Spaine and in dede I neuer thought otherwise on her after she had hene .3 dayes hydde in the waye of Salaria For maydes that will betimes gather their grapesi t is a token that they will goe on warfare with souldyars Of Annius Rufus thy frende and companion I certify the that he is gon into the I le of Helespont and he goeth by the authority of the senate to vnderstand the gouernement therof and albeit he be yong yet he is wise and therfore I suppose he will render a good accompt of his commission For of these two extremities the aged that do decline or the yong that are wise I had rather holde my selfe to the wisdom of the yong then to the white berdes of the aged My wife Faustine saluteth the and be thou assured that in thy affaires at the least to my seming she is very fauourable vnto the and dayly she instauntely requireth me not to be angrye with the sayenge that sage men oughte not to esteme the lyghtenes of youth and that there is no olde man that is sage but he which in all thinges was lighte and youthefull I say no more to the in this case but if thou wylte be good I cannot denaye that thou art not my nepheue my old scoler and seruaunte For if in the I se amendment I wil withdrawe mine ire For trulye amonge the louing hartes there is nothing that plucketh vp the euill will vnles it be the good lyfe At the request of my wife Faustine I haue writen the this worde and I saye no more but that of her parte and mine thou commende vs to all the vniuersitie The Gods haue the in their custodye to whom it may please to gyue the amendement of lyfe Marcus Aurelius the romaine emperour to the Annius Epesipus wryteth with his owne hand How princes and great Lordes in olde time were louers of wise men Chap. xliii ONe of the chiefest thynges that wanne reputacion and eternall memorye to the auncient princes and Gouerners was that they sought wyse men to be alwayes couersaunt about them whose graue counsaile their realmes alwayes obserued and obeyed It profiteth a king litle to leade with him a greate nomber of sages to gouerne him and his realme if his subiectes are armed with malice not to obey hym Let princes knowe whiche esteme not the counsaile of sages that their commaundement of other shall not be regarded For the lawe whiche by will is made and not of right ordeined deserueth not to be obeyed We which turne and tosse the leaues of the auncient histories cannot denay but that the romaines naturally were proude Yet we muste confesse that as they haue ben stout in thinges touching warres so they haue shewed them selues temperate in the affaires of the publike weale And truly herin Rome declared her wisedom might for as by hardye and stoute captaynes the enemies were destroied in warre so by sages and wise men the common wealth was gouerned and mainteined in peace Ofte tymes with my selfe I muse whereuppon all these discordes grew betwene lords and subiectes princes and vassalles and my count being made I finde that they haue both reason For the subiectes complaine of the litle loue of their lorde and the lordes complaine of the great disobedience of their subiectes For to say the truth disobedience is so much augmented and the desier of commaundement is become so licencious that it semeth to the subiectes that the waighte of a fether is lead and on the cōtrary it semeth to princes that for the flieng of a flye they should draw their swordes All this euill and damage commeth not but because the princes haue not with them wise men whiche maye counsaile them for there was neuer any good prince that credited euil counsaile There are two thinges in princes and prelates whiche gouerne the soule th one is the
dignitie of the office and the other is the nature of the person It may wel be that on may be good in his person and euill in his gouernement and the contrary he may be euil of his person and good in gouernement And therfore Tullius Cicero sayeth that there neuer was nor shall be such a Iulius Cesar in his person nor so euill a gouernour as he was for the common wealth It is a great grace in a mā to be good but it is much more that he be a good prince and for the contrary it is a great euil for a man to be euill but it is much worse for him to be an euil prince For the euill man is only euil to him selfe but the euill prince indomageth al others for the more the poison is scatered through the body in so much more daunger he is of his lyfe I meane the more power a man hath ouer the common wealth so much the more euil and domage he doth if his life be euill I maruell why princes and great lordes should be so curious to serche the best medicines to cure their bodies that they are so slacke slow in seking sage persons to gouerne their cōmon wealth For wtout cōparison it is greater domage that the common wealth be euill gouerned then if the prince and gouernour therof should be sicke in his person Hitherto we haue neyther red nor sene that any Prince haue perrished for lacke of phisike but for lacke of counsailours we haue seen and red of infinite kinges and realmes that haue ben destroyed and vtterly vndone The lacke of a phisicion maye cause daunger in mans person but the lacke of a wise man may set discord amongest the people For where ther is any tumulte amongest the people a ripe counsaile of a wyse man profiteth more then a hundreth purgacions of rubarbe Isidorus in the forth boke of his Etimologies affirmeth that the romaines were foure hundreth yeares without phisicions For Esculapius the sonne of Apollo was the laste phisician in Grece And in the tēple of the same Esculapius they set by the image of Archabuto a man very notable in surgery For the romaynes were so beneficious to vertuous parsones that to euery on that exceaded other in any kynde of vertue they rewarded him with mony they set vp a statute of him for memory or els they made him fre in the common wealth And then when the surgian Archabuto was become auncient and very riche when by occasiō of great and daungerous wondes he dyd cutte of the armes and legges of certayne Romaynes they thought him a cruell an vnnaturall man Wherfore they droue him out of his house and killed hym with stones in the fielde of Mars And let no man maruel therat for oftētimes men suffer lesse harme in enduring the paine then to tary for the cruell remedies the surgians applie vnto it Some men will say that when Rome was without surgians the romaynes were disconfaited and halfe lost To this I wil aunswere that they neuer had a more prosperous time ▪ then in the .400 yers when they wer wtout surgians For then was Rome vndone whē they receiued surgions for at the tune they droue philosophers out of rome I do not speake this as a preiudice to any surgian for me thinketh that princes cannot be without some amōg them For as the fleshe is feble and delicate so dayly nedeth it remedies to comforte it The sage surgeons geueth vs none but good and healthfull counsailes For they do not perswade vs to any other thing but that we be sober and continent in eating drynking sleapinge trauailing and workinge and that in all thinges we should be temperat The end why I speake these thinges is to perswade princes prelates and great lordes that the great diligence they haue to seke surgeans the somme of money they wast to mainteyne and content them they should spend parte of that to seke wise men to counsaile their personnes For if men knewe what it were to keape a wyse man to commaunde in their house they would giue for on only wise man al their goods Ye ought to haue pitie and compassion vpon those princes and great lordes which lose so many dayes in the moneth and so many houres in the daye in speaking of warres buildinges weapons meates beastes of huntinges and medecines and oftentimes of othermens doinges of other vaine thinges not necessary for mans lyfe And this cōmunication they vse with those that are neither vertuous nor wise the which can neither wisely talke nor yet aunswere directly vnto that whiche is asked Oftentimes it chaunseth that a prince at randon moueth a matter which they neuer sawe writen before nor with their eares they neuer hard the like neither in all their life time they had knowledge therof and yet they will seme to giue iudgement of it or better to saye obstinatlie to cotend as if all the dayes of their lyfe they had studyed it which thing procedeth of great shame and euil bringyng vp For the priuy counsaile may speake before their princes but be they neuer so priuye with licence or without licence it is not lawfull for them to contend Helius Spartianus in the lyfe of Alexander Seuerus sayeth that the emperour Seuerus was demaūded once by an embassadour of Graece what thing was most painefull to hym in Rome wherunto the emperour aunswered There is nothing greueth me more then when I am mery that my seruauntes should rayse any strife or debate I am not displeased that matters shuld be debated but this greueth me when on wil obstinately striue that hath no ground of that he speaketh ▪ For the mā whych giueth reason of that he speaketh cannot be called obstinate Theodosius the Emperoure was once demaunded what a prince ought to do to be good wherunto he aūswered the vertuous prince whē he goeth abroad ought to haue graue and wise men in his compagnie to discourse with all when he is at his meate to haue wyse men at his bourde disputing and when he withdraweth him self a parte to be reading with wise men and finally at all vacant tymes he ought to be founde with sage men counsaling For the knight which entreth into battaile without weapons is as hardye as the prince whiche will gouerne the common wealth without the counsaile of wyse men Lampridius in the booke of the Romayne gestes saieth that the emperour Marcus Aurelius nether at hys meate at his going to bed at his vprising in his trauaile opēly nor secretely suffered at any time that fooles shuld sing or cōmunicate with him but only wise vertuous men whō always he most intierly loued Of truthe he had reason for there is nothing be it in iest or in earnest but is better lyked of a wise man then of a foole Yf a prince be sad cānot a wise man peraduenture by the saienge of the holy scripture counsell him better then a foole by folysh wordes Yf a
Prince be prosperous shall it not be better to kepe him in the same prosperity to associate him selfe with a wyse man rather then to put his trust in a foole and malicious person Yf a prince be destitute of money cannot perchaunce a wise man find him better meanes to get it theÌ„ a foole which doth nothing but aske If a prince wil passe the time away shall not he be more comforted with a wise man that rekeneth vnto him the sauorye histories done in times past then harkening a foole speakyng folishely declaring thinges dishonestly with the sayenges of the malicious of the tyme present That that I speake of surgians the selfe same I speake of foles For I do not say that they keape them for their pastime though truly we might better say to loase their time then to passe their time For that may iustly be called time lost which is spent without the seruice of God profite of theyr neighbours That which I most maruel at is not so much for the great authority the fooles haue in the pallaces of princes great lordes as for the litle succour credite which wise men haue among them For it is a great iniury the fooles should enter into the palace of princes euen vnto their bed side and that one wise maÌ„ may not nor dare not enter into the halle So that to the on there is no dore shut and to the other there is no gate open We which are at this present of right do commend those that were before vs for no other cause but that in times past though the sages were few in nomber the world was replenished with barbarous people yet the sages of those barbarous people were greatly estemed and had in reuerence And this custome endured long tyme in Grece that when a philosopher passed by a Greke he rose and spake vnto hym and he might not sit for the contrary al those which shal liue here after will reproue vs which are at this presente Forasmuch as we haue so great a multitude of sages and do not liue amongest barbarous but amongest Christians and it is a grefe to see and shame to write how litle wise meÌ„ are estemed For at this day throughe oure offences not those which haue most science but those which haue most ryches in the common wealthe doe commaund I know not whether the deuine wisdom hath depriued theÌ„ or that the worldly malice hath lost the tast of them For now a dayes ther is no sage that liueth al alone to be wise but it is necessary for him to trauaile how to gaine his liuing for necessitie enforceth him to violate the rules of true philosophy O world world I know not how to escape thy handes nor how the simple man ideote defendeth him selfe out of thy snares when the sage and wyse men yea with al their wisdome can scarsely set their foote sure on the ground For al that wise men of this world know is litle ynough to defend them from the malitious Readyng that which I read of time past and seing that which I se of time present I am in doubte which was greater the care that vertuous princes had in seekyng out sages to counsell theÌ„ or the great couetousnes that others haue at this present to discouer mynes and treasures Speaking therfore in this matter as I thinke I desire that those which haue the charge of gouernement whether he be prince prelate or priuate parson I passe not that they once may haue about them sage meÌ„ that be wise in dede and that they would loue them aboue all the treasour they had heaped For in the end of good counsaill there commeth profite and much treasour is a token of great daunger In the old time when vertuous Princes died and that they lefte their children for successours in their Realmes besides that forasmuch as they saw their children yong euill instructed in the affaires of their realmes they committed them to tutours that should teache theÌ„ good workes doctrine rather than they would giue them surueyours whych should encrease augment their cofers and rentes For truly if the common wealth be defended with great treasures it is not gouerned with good counsayles The princes which are yong accustomely are giuen to vyces for in the one part youth reigneth on the other part honesty wanteth And to such truly vices ar very daungerous specially if they want sages to counsaile theÌ„ to keape them from euil company For the couragious youth will not be brydeled nor their great libertie can be chastysed Princes without doubt haue more nede of wyse men about them to profyte them in their counsailes then any of all their other subiectes For synce they are in the view of all they haue lesse licence to commyt vice than any of all For if they doe behold all and that they haue auctoritie to iudge all will they nill they they are beholden and iudged of all Princes ought to be circuÌ„spect whom they trust with the gouernemeÌ„t of their realmes and to whom they commytte the leading of their armies whom they send as embassatours into straunge countreys and whom they trust to receiue and keape their treasurs but much more they ought to be circumspecte in examinyng of those whom they choose to be their counsalours For looke what he is that counsaileth the Prince at home in his palace so likewyse shall his renowne â—e in straunge countreis and in his owne common wealthe Why should they not then willingly examin and correct their own proper palace Let princes know if they doe not know that of the honestie of their seruauntes of the prouidence of their counsayles of the sagenes of their personnes and of the order of their house dependeth the welfare of the common wealth For it is impossible that the braunches of that tree whose rootes are dried vp should be sene to beare grene leaues How the Emperour Theodosius prouided wise men at the houre of his death for the edification of his .2 sonnes Archadius and Honorius xliiii Chap. IGnatius the Hystorian in the boke that he made of the .2 Theodosij of the .3 Archadij and of the .4 Honorii declareth that the first and great Theodosius being fyftie yeares old and hauing gouerned the Empire .11 yers lyenge on his death bed called Archadius and Honorius his .2 sonnes and committed them to Estilconus and Ruffinus to be instructed and ordeined them lykewise for gouerners of their estates and signories Before that the father dyed he had now created his children Cesars beyng then of the age of .17 yeares Therfore the father seynge them not as yet rype nor able to gouerne their Realmes and signories he committed them vnto maisters and tutours It is not alwayes a generall rule though one be of .25 yeares of age that he hath more discretion to gouerne realmes then another of .17 For dayly we see that we allow and commend the .10 yeares of one
and reproue the .40 yeares of an other Ther are many princes tender of yeres but ripe in counsailes and for the countrary there are other princes old in yeares yong in counsailes When the good Emperour Vespasian died they determined to put his sōne Titus in the gouernement of the empire or some other aged Senator because they said Titus was to yong And as they were in controuersie of the matter the Senatour Rogerus Patroclus said vnto the Senate For my parte I require rather a Prince which is yong and sage then I do a prince which is old and foolysh Therfore now as touchyng the children of Theodosius one day Estilconus the tutour of Archadius speaking to a greke philosopher very sage whose name was Epimundus sayde thus vnto him Thou and I long time haue bene acquainted together in the palace of the emperour Theodose my lord who is dead and we ar aliue thou knowest it had bene better that we .2 had died and that he had liued For there be many to be seruauntes of princes but there ar few to be good princes I feele no greater griefe in this world than to know many princes in one realme For the man whiche hath sene many princes in his lyfe hath sene many nouelties and alterations in the common wealth Thou knowest well that when Theodosius my maister died he spake to me these wordes the which wer not spoken without great sighes and multiplienge of teares O Estilconus I dye and am going into an other world wherin I shall giue a streighte accompte of the Realmes and seignories which I had vnder my charge And therfore when I thinke of myne offences I am meruelously afrayed But when I remember the mercy of God then I receiue some conforte and hope As it is but mete we should trust in the greatnes of his mercy so likewise is it reason we should feare the rigour of his iustice For truly in the christian law they are not suffred to liue as we which are Princes that liue in delightes of this world and afterward without repentaunce to goe streighte to Paradyse Then when I thinke of the great benefittes which I haue receiued of God and of the great offences which I haue committed when I thynke of the long tyme I haue lyued and of the litle which I haue profited also that vnprofitably I haue spent my time On the one part I am loath to dye for that I am afrayed to come before the tribunall seate of Iesus Christ and on the other part I would liue no lenger because I do not profit The mā of an euil life why doth he desire to lyue any longer My lyfe is now finished the tyme is shorte to make amendes And sithe god demaundeth nought els but a contrite harte with all my harte I doe repente and appeale to his iustice of mercie from his Iustice to his mercy because it maye please him to receiue me into his house and to giue me perpetuall glorie to the confusion of al my synnes and offences And I protest I dye in the holy catholike faith commend my soule to god my body to the earth to you Estilconus Ruffinus my faithful seruauntes I recōmende my dere beloued children For herby the loue of the childrē is sene in that the father forgetteth thē not at the houre of his death In this case of one only thing I doe warne you one only thing I require you one only thing I desire you one onely thing I cōmaund you that is that you occupye not your mindes in augmentinge the Realmes seignories of my childrē but only that you haue due respect to giue thē good education vertuous seruāts For it was only the wise men which I had about me that thus long haue mainteined me in this great auctoritie It is a goodly thing for a prince to haue stoute captains for the warres but without comparison it is better to keape haue wise men in his palace For in the end the victory of the battaille consisteth in the force of many but the gouernement of the common weale oftentimes is putte vnder the aduise of one alone These so dolefull and pitiefull wordes my lord and maister Theodosius spake vnto me now tell me Epimundus what I should doe at this present to fulfill his commaundement For at his harte he had nothing that troubled him so much as to thinke whether his children would vndoe or encrease the cōmon wealthe Thou Epimundus thou art a Grecian thou art a philosopher thou hast vnderstandyng thou art an olde seruaunt thou arte my faithfull frend therfore for al these thinges thou art bound to giue me good healthful counsaile For many times I haue heard Theodosius my maister say that he is not accompted sage which hath turned the leaues of many bookes but he which knoweth and can geue good healthful counsailes Epimundus the philosopher aunswered to these wordes Thou knowest wel Lord Estilconus that the auncientes and great Philosophers ought to be brief in wordes and very parfect in their workes For otherwise to speake muche worke litle semeth rather to be done like a tyraunt then like a greeke philosopher The Emperour Theodosius was thy Lord and my frend I say frend because it is the libertie of a greeke Philosopher to acknowledge no homage nor seruice to any superiour For he in his hart can haue no true sciēce that to rebuke the viicous kepeth his mouth shut In one thing I cōtent my selfe in Theodose aboue al other princes which were in the Romaine empire and that is that he knew and talked wisely of al his affaires and also was very diligēt to execute the same For all the fault of Princes is that they are prompte bold to talke of vertues and in executing them they are very slacke fearefull For such Princes can not continew in the vertue which they doe commende nor yet resyste the vyce which they do dispraise I graunt that Theodosius was an executour of iustice mercifull stoute sober valiaunt true louyng thankfull and vertuous and finally in all thinges and at all times he was fortunate For fortune oftentimes bringeth that to Princes which they will and desire yea many times better then they looke for Presuppose it to be true as it is most true that the time was alwayes prosperous to the Emperour Theodosius yet I doubte whether this prosperity wil continew in the succession of his children For worldlye prosperitie is so mutable that with one only man in a moment she maketh a thousande shrewde turnes and so much the more it is harde to continue stedfast in the second heyre Of slowe and dull horses come oftentimes couragious and fyerse coltes and euyn so of vertuous fathers come children euill brought vp For the wicked children inherite the worste of the father whiche is ryches and are dysenherited of the best whiche are vertues That whiche I perceyue in this matter as
realme but that first he had bene brought vp in the studies of Grece I will not denie that all the renowmed tyrauntes haue not bene nourished in Scicile but also thou shalt not deny me that they were not borne in Grece Therfore see and beholde to whom the fault is from the mother whiche bare them or froÌ„ the nurse which gaue theÌ„ suck I do not say that it shal be but I say that it may wel be that if I were there in Grece I should be a better philosopher than thou if thou were here in Agrigentine thou wouldest be a worser tyraunt thaÌ„ I. I would thou shouldest thinke that thou mightest be better in Grece where thou art and that I might be worse in Agrigentine where I am For thou dost not so muche good as thou mightest doe and I do not so much euil as I may do The conning man Perillus came into these partes and hath made a Bul wherin he hath put a kind of torment the most feare fullest in the world and truly I caused that that which his malyce had inuented should be of none other than of himselfe experimented For there is no iuster law that when any workeman haue inuented engins to make other men dye then to put them to the torments by them inuented to know the experience in them selues I beseche the hartely to come and se me and be thou assured thou shalt make me good For it is a good signe for the sicke when he acknowledgeth his sicknes to the Physitian I saye no more to the but that once againe I returne to solicite the that thou faylest not to come to se me For in the end if I do not profite of the I am sure thou shalt profite by me and if thou winnest I cannot lose ¶ How Philippe kyng of Macedonia Alexander the great the king Ptolomeus the king Antigonus the king Archelaus and Pâ—rrus kynge of the Epirotes were all great louers and frendes of the sages Cap. xlvii IF Quintus Curtius deceiue me not the great Alexander sonne to kyng Philyppe of Macedome dyd not deserue to be called great for that he was accompanied with thousands of men of warre but he wanne the renowne of great for that he had more philosophers on his counsaile then all other princes had This great prince neuer toke vpon him warres but that firste the order of executyng the same shoulde before his presence be examyned of the sages and wise philosophers And truly he had reason For in affaires wher good counsaile haue proceded they may alwayes loke for a good end These Historiographers whych wrote of great Alexander as wel the Grecians as the Latines knowe not whether the fiersnes wherwith he stroke his enemyes was greater or the humanitie wherewith he embraced his counsayle Though the sage philosophers whych accompanied the great Alexander were many in nombre yet notwithstandyng amongest all those Aristotle Anaxarcus and Onosichrates were his most familiars And herein Alexander shewed hymselfe very wise For wise princes ought to take the counsaile of many but they ought to determine and conclude vpon the opinion of few The greate Alexander did not contente himselfe to haue sages with hym neyther to sende onlye to desire those whiche were not his but oftentymes himselfe in personne woulde goo see theym vysite theym and counsayle with theym Saying that the Princes whiche are the seruauntes of sages come to be made maisters and Lordes ouer all In the time of Alexander Magnus Diogenes the philosopher lyued who neither for entreatye nor yet for any promises made would come to see Alexander the great Wherfore the great Alexander went to se him and when he had desired him to go with him and acompany him Diogenes aunswered O Alexander since thou wilte winne honoure in keapinge of menne in thy companye it is not reason that I shoulde loose it to forsake my study For in folowing the I shall not folow my selfe and being thyne I shal cease to be myne Thou arte come to haue the name of the greate ALEXANDER for conqueringe the worlde and I haue attayned to come to renowme of a good Phylosopher in flyeng the world And if thou dost ymagine that thou hast gotten and wonne I thinke that I haue not erred nor lost And since thou wilt be no lesse in aucthoritye then a king do not thinke that I wil lose the estimacion of a philosopher For in the world there is no greater losse vnto a man then when he looseth his proper lybertie When hee had spoken these wordes Alexander said vnto them that were about him with a loude voyce By the immortall gods I sweare and as god Mars rule my handes in battaile if I were not Alexander the greate I would be Diogenes the Philosopher And he sayd further in myne opinion there is no other felycitie vpon the earth then to be Alexander king who commaundeth al or to be Diogenes to commaund Alexander who commaundeth all As king Alexander was more familyar with some philosophers then with others so he estemed some bookes more then others And they say he read oftentimes in the Iliades of Homere which is a booke where the storye of the destruction of Troy is and that when he slept he layde vnder his head vpon a bolster his sword and also his booke When the great king Alexander was borne his father King of Macedonie did two notable things The one was that he sent many and very riche giftes into the I le of Delphos wher the Oracle of Apollo was to the end to present theym with him and to praye him that it would please him to preserue his sonne The other thing that he did was that immediatly he wrote a letter to the greate Philosopher Aristotel wher in he sayd these words ¶ The letter of king Philippe to Aristotle the philosopher PHilippe king of Macedonie wisheth healthe and peace to the Philosopher Aristotel which readeth in the vniuersitie of Grece I let the vnderstand that Olimpias my wife is brought to bedde of a goodly man child wherof both she and I and all Macedonie do reioyce For kinges realmes ought to haue great ioy when there is borne any sonne successour of the naturall prince of the prouince I render thankes vnto the immortall gods haue sent many great giftes to the Temples and it was not so much for that I haue a sonne as for that they haue giuen him vnto me in the time of so great and excellent philosopher I hope that thou wilt bringe him vp and teache him in such sort that by heritage he shal be Lord of my patrimonye of Macedonie and by desert he shal be lorde of all Asia so that they should call him my sonne and the his father Vale foelix iterumque vale Ptolomeus father in lawe who was the viii kinge of the Egiptians did greatly loue the sages as wel of Caldea as of Grece and this thinge was estemed for a great vertue in king Ptolome
a man haue hys desire that is to say to haue his wife great with child and redy to bring forth good fruite afterward to se the woful mother through some sodeine accident peryshe the innocent babe not to be borne When the woman is healthful bigge with child she is worthy of great reproch if eyther by runnyng leaping or dauncing any mischaunce hap vnto her And truly the husband hath great cause to lament this case for without doubt the gardiner fealeth great grefe in his hart when in the prime time the tre is loden with blosomes and yet by reason of some sharpe and bitter froste it neuer beareth fruit It is not only euyl that women should runne leape when they are bigge great with chyld but it is also dishonest and specially for great Ladies for alwayes women that be common dauncers are esteamed as light housewiues The wiues in general princesses and great ladies in particuler ought to go temperately to be modest in their mouinges for the modeste gate argueth discretnes in the person Al women naturally desire to be honoured reuerenced touching that I let them know that ther is nothing which in a common wealth is more honor for a woman then to be wise ware in speaking moderate quyet in going For it is vnpossible but that the woman which is lyght in her going and malycious in her talking should be dispised and abhorred In the yere of the foundacion of Rome .466 the romaines sente Curius Dentatus to make warre agaynst king Pirrus who kept the city of Tharent did much harme to the people in Rome for the Romaines had a great corage to conquere straunge realmes therfore they could haue no pacience to suffer any straunger to inuade theirs This Curius Dentatus was he which in the end ouercame king Pirrus was the fyrst that brought the Oliphantes to Rome in his tryumphe wherfore the fiercenes of those beasts astonyed the Romaine people much for they weyed lytel the sight of the kyngs loden with irons but to se the Oliphants as they did they wondered much Curius Dentatus had one only sister the which he intierly loued They wer seuen children two of the which dyed in the warres other thre by pestilence so that ther were none left him but that sister wherfore he loued her with al his hart For the death of vnthriftye children is but as a watch for childrē vnprouided of fauoures This sister of Curius Dentatus was maried to a Romaine consul was conceiued gone .7 moneths with child and the day that her brother triumphed for ioy of her brothers honor she leaped daunced so much that in the same place she was deliuered so vnluckely that the mother toke her death the chyld neuer lyued wherupon the feast of the triumphe ceased and the father of the infant for sorow lost hys speach For the hart which sodainly feleth grefe incontinently loseth vnderstanding Tibullus the Grecian in the third booke De casibus triumphi declareth the hystorie in good stile how and in what sorte it chaunced Nyne yeares after that the kings of Rome weare bannyshed from the rape that Tarquine dyd to the chast Lucretia the Romaine created a dignytie whiche they called DICTATVRA and the Dictatoure that hadde this office was aboue al other lord chiefe for the Romaines perceiued that the common wealth could not be gouerned but by one head alone And because the Dictatour had so great aucthority as the Emperour hath at this present to th end they should not become tirauntes they prouided that the office of the Dictatoursship should last no longer then vi moneths in the yeare the which past and expired they chose another Truly it was a good order that that office dured but vi moneths For oft tymes princes thinkinge to haue perpetual aucthority become necligent in vsing iustice The first dictatour in Rome was Largius Mamillus who was sent against the Volces the which at that time were the greatest enemies to the Romaines for Rome was founded in such a signe that alwayes it was beloued of fewe and abhorred of many As Titus Liuius saith this Largius Mamillus vanquished the Volces triumphed ouer theym in the end of the warre distroyed their mighty citye called Curiola and also distroyed and ouerthrewe many places and fortresses in that prouince for the cruel hartes do not only distroy the personnes but also take vengeaunce of the stones The hurtes which Largius Mamillus did in the country of the Volces were maruelous and the men which he slewe were many and the treasories he robbed were infinite and the captiues which he had in his triumphe were a great nomber amongest whom inespecial he brought captiue a noble mans doughter a beautiful gentlewoman the which he kept in his house for the recreacion of his person for the aunciente Romaines gaue to the people al the treasours to maintayne the warre they toke to them selues al the vycious things to kepe in their houses The case was that this damsel being with child Largius Mamillus brought her to solace herselfe in his orchard wher were sondry yonge fruites and as then not ripe to eate wherof with so great affection she did eate that forthwith she was delyuered in the same place of a creature so that on the one part she was delyuered and on the other part the chylde died This thinge chaunsed in the gardeins of Vulcan two dayes after the triumphe of Largius Mamillus a ruful and lamentable case to declare forasmuch as both the child that was borne the mother that was delyuered and also the father that begat it the selfe same day dyed and were buried all in one graue and this thing was not wythout great waylyng lamenting throughout al Rome For if with teares their lyues myght haue bene restored wythout doubt none of them should haue ben buried The first sonne of Rome which rebelled against rome was Tarquin the proud The second that wythstode Rome being as yet in Lucania was Quintus Marcius The third that went agaynst Rome was the cruel Silla The domages which these thre did to their mother Rome were such and so great that the thre seueral warres of Affricke were nothing to be compared to those thre euil children for those enemyes could scarcely se the walles of Rome but these vnnatural chyldrē had almost not left one stone vpon another A man ought not greatly to esteme those buildings that these tirauntes threw to the ground nor the buildings that they distroyed neither the men that they slew nor the women that they forced ne yet the orphanes which they made but aboue al things we ought to lament for that that they brought into Rome For the comon wealth is not distroyed for lacke of riches sumpteous buildings but because vices abound vertuous want Of these thre Romaynes he whose name was Quintus Marcius had ben consul thrise once Dictatour
women of Italie are so dissolute that though men doe not regarde them yet they doe entyse them If men flie they call them If men goe backe they approche If men are sadde they make them mery If men are silente they force them to speake and finally men begynne the loue in sporte and they temper it in suche sorte that they tourne it all into earnest I let thee wete Faustine that the meanes whereby nature worketh in man is very straunge but the shame whiche the Gods put in women is more marueilous And if it be true as it is true in dede that the men doe loose the stynge of the fleshe and that the women doe not loose the shame of the visage I thynke it is impossible that there should be a chaste or vertuous woman in Rome For there is no common wealth more vndone then that where the women haue lost their shame O women what reason haue they whiche flie form you whiche are wery of you whiche forsake you whiche forget you whiche make them selues straungers and furthermore whiche are dead and buried For the hungrie wormes gnawe in the graue onely the frayle and slymie fleashe of the dead but you women destroy the goodes honoure and lyfe of the liuing Oh if the noble hartes knewe what euill doth folowe them for dallieng with women I sweare vnto them that they would not serue them continually as they doe serue them but also they would haue no luste nor desier to beholde them What wilt thou I saye any more to thee Faustine but that some scape out of your handes for effeminate and sclaundered others hurte by your tongues others persecuted with your workes other deceiued with your countenaunces others despysed through your hatred others desperate through your inconstancie others condempned by your light iudgementes others troubled through your vnkyndnes finally those that escape beste are of your hartes abhorred and through your folly destroyed Then since the man knoweth that he muste passe all those daungers I can not tel what foole he is that wyll either loue or serue you For the brute beaste that once hath felte the sharpe teethe of the dogge wil vnwillingly euer after come nere vnto the stake Oh vnto what perils doth he offer him selfe whiche continually doth haunte the company of women For as much as if he loue them not they despise him and take him for a foole If he doth loue them they accompt him for light If he forsake thē they esteme him for no body If he followe them he is accompted loste If he serue them they doe not regarde him If he doe not serue them they despyse hym If he wyll haue them they wyll not If he will not they persecute him If he doe aduaunce him selfe forth they call hym importunate If he flie they saye he is a cowarde If he speake they saye he is a bragger If he holde his peace they saye he is a dissarde If he laughe they saye he is a foole If he laughe not thei say he is solempne If he geueth them any thing they say it is litle worth he that geueth them nothing he is a pinchpurse Finally he that haunteth them is by them sclaundered and he that doth not frequent them is esteamed lesse then a man These thinges so sene so harde and so knowen what shall the poore and miserable man doe inespecially if he be a man of vnderstanding For though he would absent him selfe from women the flesh doth not geue him licence though he would folow womē wisedom wyl not condiscende Some men thinke in al their thoughts that by seruices and pleasures they may content women But I let them knowe if they know it not that the woman is neuer contented though mā doth what he can as maide that he do al that he ought to do as a husbād though he taketh paines for her sake aboue his force though with the swet of his browes he releaueth her neade though euery houre he putteth him self in daunger yee in the end she wil geue him no thankes but will say that he loueth an other that he doth but that to please and satisfie her It is a long time since I desired to tel thee this Faustine but I haue deferred it vntil this present houre hoping thou wouldest not geue occasion to tel it thee For among wise men those wordes ought chiefly to be esteamed which fittely to the purpose are declared I remember that it is sixe yeres since Anthonius Pius thy father chose me to be his sonne in law and that thou chosest me for thy husband I thee for my wife all the which thinges were done my wofull aduentures permitting it Adrian my lord commaunding it The good Anthonius Pius gaue his onely doughter in mariage vnto me and gaue me likewyse his noble Empire with great treasures he gaue me also the gardēs of Vulcanali to passe the time therin But I thinke that on both sides we were deceiued He in chosing me for his sonne in lawe I in taking thee for my wife O Faustine thy father and my father in law was called Anthonius Pius because to al he was merciful saue only to me to whom he was most cruel for with a litle flesh he gaue me many bones And I confesse the truthe vnto thee that nowe I haue no more teethe to byte nor heate in my stomake to digeaste and the worste of all is that many tymes I haue thought to rage on my selfe I wyll tell thee one worde though it doth displease thee whiche is that for thy bewtie thou art desyred of many and for thy euil conditions thou arte despysed of all For the fayre women are lyke vnto the golden pylles the whiche in sighte are very pleasaunte and in eatinge veray noysome Thou knowest well Faustine and I also that we sawe on a daye Drusio and Braxille his wife which were our neighbours and as they were brauling togethers I spake vnto Drusio suche wordes what meaneth this lorde Drusio that being nowe the feaste of Berecinthia and being as we are adioyninge to her house and presente before so honourable assemblie and furthermore thy wyfe beinge so faire as she is howe is it possible there shoulde bee any stryfe betweene you Men which are maried to deformed personnes to the end that they might kil them quicly should alwaies fal out with their wiues but those that are maried to fayer women they oughte alwayes to liue togethers in ioy and pleasure to the end they may liue long For when a fayre woman dyeth though she haue lyued a hundreth yeres yer she dyeth to sone and though a deformed woman lyueth a smal time yet not withstandyng she dieth to late Drusio as a man being vexed lifting vp his eyes into the heauens fetchinge a greuous sighe from the bottome of his hart sayed these wordes The mother Berecinthia pardon me and her holy house also and al the companye besides forgeue me for by
as he sayd that the tongue is moued by the mocions of the soule that he whiche had no tongue had no soule And he which hath no soule is but a brute beast and he that is a beast deserueth to serue in the fields among brute beasts It is a good thing not to be domme as bruyte beastes are and it is a greater thing to speake as the reasonable men do but it is muche more worthye to speake wel as the eloquent philosophers do For otherwise if he which speaketh doth not wey the sentences more then the wordes ofte tymes the popingayes shal content them more which are in the cage then the men which do read in scooles Iosephus in the booke De bello Iudaico saith that king Herode not onely with his personne and goodes but also with all his frendes and parentes folowed and gaue ayde to Marcus Anthonius and to his louer Cleopatra howbeit in the end Octauian had the vyctorie For the man which for the loue of a woman doth enterprise conquestes it is impossible that eyther he loose not his lyfe or els that he lyue not in infamy Herode seing that Marcus Anthonius was dead determyned to go towardes the Emperour Octauian at whose feete he layd his crowne and made a notable oration wherein he spake so pleasaunt wordes and so hyghe sentences that the Emperour Octauian did not only pardon him for that he was so cruell an enemye but also he confirmed him againe into his Realme and toke him for his deare and special frend For among the good men and noble hartes many euil workes are amended by a few good words If Blundus in the booke intituled Roma triumphante do not deceiue me Pirrus the great king of the Epirotes was stout and hardy valiaunt in armes liberal in benefites pacient in aduersityes and aboue al renowmed to be very swete in wordes and sage in his aunswers They sayd that this Pirrus was so eloquent that the man with whom once he had spoken remayned so much his that from that time foreward in his absence he toke his part and declared his life and state in presence The aboue named Blundus saied and Titus Liuius declareth the same that as the Romaynes were of al things prouided seing that king Pirrus was so eloquent they prouided in the senate that no Romaine Embassadour shold speake vnto him but by a third person for otherwise he would haue perswaded them through his sweate woordes that they shoulde haue retourned againe to Rome as his procurers Soliciters Albeit Marcus Tullius Cicero was Senatour in the Senate consul in the Empire rich amongest the rich and hardy amongest men of warre yet truly none of these qualyties caused him eternal memorie but only his excellent eloquēce This Tullius was so estemed in Rome for the eloquence of his tongue only that oft times they hard hym talke in the Senate iii. houres togethers without any man speakinge one word And let not this be lytle estemed nor lightly passed ouer for worldlye malyce is of such condicion that some man may more easely speake 4. howers then another man shal haue pacience to heare him one minute Anthonius Sabellicus declareth that in the time of Amilcares the Affricans a Philosopher named Afronio florished in great Carthage who being of the yeres of 81. dyed in the first yeare of the warres of Punica They demaunded this Phylosopher what it was that he knew he aunswered He knew nothing but to speake wel They demaunded him againe what he learned he aunswered He did learne nothinge but to speake wel Another time they demaunded him what he taught he aunswered He taught nothing but to speake wel Me thinketh that this good phylosopher in 80. yeres and one said that he learned nothing but to speake wel he knew nothing but to speake wel that he taught nothing but to speake wel And truly he had reasō for the thing which most adorneth mans life is the sweate pleasaunte tongue to speake wel What is it to see ii men in one councel the one talking to the other the one of them hath an euyll grace in propounding and thother excellent in speaking Of such there are some that in hearing theym talke .iii. houres we would neither be trobled nor weryed and of the contrarie part there are others so tedyous and rude in their speache that as sone as men perceiue they beginne to speake they auoyde the place And therfore in mine opinyon ther is no greater trouble thenne to herken one quarter of an houre a rude man to speake and to be contrarye ther is no greater pleasure thenne to heare a dyscreate man though it were a whole weke The deuyne Plato in the Booke of Lawes sayd that there is nothynge whereby a manne is knowen more thenne by the woordes he speaketh for of the woordes whyche we heare hym speake we iudge his intention eyther to be good or euil Laertius in the lyfe of the Phylosophers sayeth that a yong child borne at Athens was brought vnto Socrates the great phylosopher being in Athens to the end he shold receiue him into his company teach him in his scoole The yong chyld was straunge and shamefaste and durst not speake before his maister wherfore the philosopher Socrates said vnto him speake frend if thou wilt that I know the. This sentence of Socrates was very profound and I pray him that shal reade this wryting to pause a while therat For Socrates wil not that a man be knowen by the gesture he hath but by the good or euyl wordes which he speaketh Though eloquence and speaking wel to euery man is a cause of augmenting their honour and no dimynissher of their goodes yet withoute comparison it shineth muche more and is most necessarie in the pallaces of Prynces and great Lordes For men which haue common offices ought of necessity harken to his naturall contrymen also to speake with straungers Speking therfore more plainly I say that the Prince ought not to trauaile only to haue eloquence for the honour of his person but also it behoueth him for the comon wealth For as the prince is but one and is serued of all so it is vnpossible that he haue so much as wil satisfye and content them al. And therfore it is necessarie that he requyte some mith money that he content others with good wordes For the noble hart loueth better a gentle worde then a reward or gift with the tongue of a rude man Plato Liuius Herodotus Vulpicius Eutropius Diorus Plynie and many other innumerable auncient historyographers do not cease to prayse the eloquence of greeke princes and latynes in their workes O how blessed were those tymes when ther were sage princes and discrete lords truly they haue reason to exalt them For many haue obteyned and wonne the royal crounes and septures of the Empire not so much for the great battailes they haue conquered nor for the highe bloud and generacion from whence
they are dyssended ▪ as for the wisedom and eloquence which they had Marcus Aurelius was natural of Rome borne in mount Celio he was poore in patrimony and of base lynage lytel in fauour lefte and forsaken of his parentes and besides al this only for beinge vertuous in his lyfe profound in doctrine and of so high eloquence the Emperour Anthonius called Pius gaue him his daughter Faustine for wife who being reproued of many bycause he gaue his doughter to so poore a philosopher aunswered I had rather haue a poore philosopher then a riche foole Pulio in his seuenth booke of the Romaine lawes sayth that in Rome ther was a law very wel kept obserued of the consulles by a custome brought in that the Dictatours Censors and Emperours of Rome entered into the Senate once in the weke at the least and in this place they should geue and render accompt in what state the common wealth remayned O would to God that at this present this law were so kept and obserued for ther is none who doth minister so good iustice as he which thinketh to giue accompt of his doings They say that Calligula the fourth Emperoure of Rome was not only deformed infamous and cruel in his lyfe but also was an Idiote in eloquence and of an euyl vtteraunce in his communycacion So that he among al the Romaine princes was constrayned to haue others to speake for him in the Senate This wickedman was so vnfortunate that after his cruel and infamous death they drew him throughout Rome and set vppon his graue this Epitaphe ¶ Calligula lyeth here in endles sleape That stretchte his raigne vpon the Empires heade Vnfytte for rule that could such folly heape And fytte for death wher vertue so was dead I Cannot tel why princes do prayse them selues to be strong and hardy to be wel disposed to be runners to iust wel and do not esteame to be eloquent sinse it is true that those giftes do profite them only for their life but the eloquēce profiteth them not only for to honour their life but also to augment their renowme For we do reade that by that many Princes dyd pacifye great sedycions in the common wealth and besides that they deserued immortall memorie Suetonius Trancquillus in the firste booke of Cesars sayth that the aduenturous Iulius Cesar being as yet but 16. yeares of age when there dyed in Rome an aunt of his called Cornelia at her buriall he made an oracion in the which he being so yong shewed marueilous great eloquence which was so accepted that day in al people that in the end euery man iudged him to be a valiaunt Romane captaine And as Appianus declareth they say that Silla spake these wordes That which I perceiue of this yong man Caius Cesar is that in the boldnes of his tongue he declareth how valiaunt he ought to be in his person Let therfore Princes and great Lords se how much it may profite them to know to speake wel and eloquently For we se no other thing dayly but that a man of base lynage by his eloquence commeth to be exalted and the other which of lynage is nobly borne for wante of speaking wel and being eloquent is the first that discendeth most vilest of al other Thentencion wherupon I wrate these things was for no other but to admonishe perswade and pray al princes and great lordes that whiles their children are yong they should put them to wise and learned men to the end they should teache them not only how they ought to liue but also how they ought to speake For to personnes of estate it is a great infamy to do or to inuent to do a thing and afterward not to know how to geue a reason therof Polidorus in the third booke of his commentaries sayth that when the Lacedemonians were put to flyght by the Athenians in Rota Millina it is called Millina bycause the battaile was in the riuer of Milline the Lacedemonians sent a phylosopher called Heuxinus to treate of peace with the Athenians who made such an eloquent oracion to the Senate of Athens that hee dyd not only obtaine the peace which he desired for his country but for himselfe also he wanne perpetual renowme At the phylosophers retourne the Athenians gaue him a letter which sayd in this sort ¶ Of a letter whiche the Athenians sente to the Lacedemonians Cap. xxvi THe Senate people and Sages of Athens wisheth healthe to the persons and peace to the common wealth of you of the senate and people of the Lacedemonians We take the immortal gods to recorde that in the laste battaile we had no lesse dyspleasure to se ye ouercome then on the contrary we had pleasure to se vs remaine victorious For in the end the daungers and inconueniences of the cruel warres are so great that the euill and daunger is certeine to them that are vanquished and the profite is doubtful to them that haue ouercommed We would gladly that that which now ye wil ye would haue willed soner that which now ye require demaund that before ye had requyred and demaunded But what shal we do sinse it was ordeined to your and our woful destenies that he should loose the battaile and that we of your losse can take no profite For it is a rule vnfallible that al that which the gods haue ordeyned no worldly wight can amende nor humaine power resist Ye demaund that warre may cease and leaue of and that we take truise for .iii. monethes and that during this time peace concord may be concluded To this we make aunswere That the senate of Athens hath not accustomed to graunt peace afterwards for to retourne to warre For amongest vs Athenians we haue an auncient law that freely we do accept the cruel warre and liberallye we doe graunt perpetual peace In our scoles and vniuersities we trauaile to haue Sages in time of peace for to helpe vs with their counsayles in the time of warre And they do counsaile vs that we neuer take vpon vs truse vpon suspect condicion And in dead they counsaile vs well For the fayned and dyssembled peace is muche more perrillous then is the manifest warre The philosopher Heuxinus your embassadour hath spoken to vs so highly and eloquentlye in this Senate that it semed to vs very vniust if we should deny him and gaine say that he requireth vs. For it is much more honestye to graunt him peace whiche by sweete and pleasaunt words doth demaund it then him which by force and sharpe sword doeth requyreth it Let the case therfore be that the Senate people and Sages of Athens haue ordeyned that warre do cease with the Lacedemonians and that al discordes contencions dissentions and debates do end that perpetual peace be graunted vnto them And this thing is done to the end al the world should know that Athens is of such courage wythe the hardy and so very a frend to the Sages that she knoweth
were more hardy stout then the Romaynes but the Romaynes were more honest pleasaunt and gracious then the Grekes And if this be true I do counsayle princesses and great Ladyes that they haue no more enuye at the honesty of the Matrones of Rome then at the boldnesse of the ladyes of Grecia For women were not borne to sley men in the warre but to spinne sow and liue wel like good housewiues in the house ¶ That women may be no lesse wise then men though they be not it is not through default of nature but for want of good bringing vp Cap. xxviii CEasing to speake ingenerally it is but reason we speake particulerly and that we reduce to memorye some aunciente histories of wise and discrete women aswel Grekes as Romaines and for that these Ladyes seing what others were in tymes past may know what theyr duty is at this present In mine opinion the duty that the meÌ„ of this present haue to folow the corage that the auncients had in fighting the selfe same desire ought womeÌ„ of this present to haue to folow the auncient women in deuout liuing For ther is no good thinge in the world at this present daye but the like hath bene sene of our auncients heretofore When any sodaine new vnacustomed thing doth happen men that neuer saw the like vse to say that there was neuer the lyke in the world yet in dede they say not true For though the thinge be vnto them new it is through their ignoraunce and simplenes whiche neyther haue reade it by them selues nor heard it of others For this excellencye hath the man that is learned that for what so euer he heareth or sayth he is nothing abashed at Since women now a dayes are so ignoraunt that scarcely any of them can reade wel he that shal reade this wil maruaile why I do perswade them to learne But the truth knowen what the auncients were and what they did know from this time forwarde I beleue they woulde greatly reproue the women of this present For the time which the auncient women spent in vertues and studies these of this present consume in pleasures and vyces Boccace in the boke of the praise of women sayth that Lucyus Sylla was a great compagnion of Marius the Consul in the time of the warre of Iugurtha and was no lesse a frend of Caius Cesar in the time of the first ciuill warres My penne neadeth not to be ocupied to write any thing of the life of Sylla For al the historiographers do not only reproue the cruelties which he vsed to his enemyes but also condempne him for the lytle fayth he obserued his frends This Consul Sylla had thre doughters the one of them was named Lelia Sabyna the which of al the Sisters was leste fayre but amongest al the Romaines she was most sagest For she red openly in Rome in a chayre both Greeke and Latyn After the warres of Mithridates Lucius Sylla came to Rome wher he beheaded thre thousand Romaynes which came to salute him although before by his word he had assured them al. And in deade also iustely Lucius Sylla had bene vtterly vndone for his fact if his doughter had not made to the Senate a wise oration For oft times it chaunceth that the wisedome of the good child doth remedy the follye of the wicked-Father The historians say that this Lelya Sabyna had not only a great grace in readyng but also she had much excellency in writing For she wrote many letters and Orations with her owne hand which her Father Lucius Sylla afterwardes learned by hart and as he was in dede quycke of sprite so he vsed to recyte them to the Senate alwaies for his purpose And let no man maruaile hereat for ther are some of so grose vnderstaÌ„ding that that which they write and study they can scarsely vtter and others againe are of such lyuely wyttes that of that onely which they haue heard it seameth meruailous to heare with what eloquence they wil talke Bycause Sylla had such and so excellent a doughter in his house he was esteamed for a sage and wise Councellour throughout al the common wealth He was counted verye absolute in executing strong in mayntaynynge and for right eloquent in speakinge Finally of this came thys auncyente prouerbe which sayth Lucius Sylla gouerneth his owne countreye wyth the eloquence of hys Tongue and is Lorde of straunge nacions by the force of his sworde What the great Plato hath bene and what great aucthoritie he hath had amongest his countrie men and amongest the straungers it is apparent for so much as the Greekes do acknowledge him of al other Philosophers to be the Prince and likewise the Latynes by one consent cal him deuine And me thinketh that in doing this they do no philosopher iniurie for as Plato in his lyfe time had great modestie so truly in his writing he exceaded mans capacitie And Historian called Hyzearchus declareth that Lasterna and Axâ—othea were two Grekes very well learned and amongest the scollers of Plato chiefely renowmed The one was of so parfect a memorie the other of so high an vnderstanding that Plato oft times beinge in the chayre and these two not ready he would not beginne to read And being asked wherfore he read not his lecture he aunswered I wil not read for that ther wanteth here vnderstanding to conceiue and also memorie to retaine Meaning that Lasterna was absent that Axiothe was not yet come The wisedome of those two women ought to be much synce Plato without them woulde not vtter one word vnlesse they were present in his schole For Plato esteamed more the vnderstandyng and memorye of those two women alone then he did the Phylosophy of his other Scollers together Aristippus the philosopher was Scholler to Socrates and of the moste renowmed of Athens He had a doughter called Aretha the which was so wel learned in Greke and Latyn letters that the common renowne said the soule of Socrates was entred into Aretha and the cause that moued them to say this was because she redde and declared the doctrine of Socrates in such wise that it seamed to most men she had rather write by hand then learne by study Boccace in the second boke of the praise of women sayth that this Aretha was so excellent a woman that she did not only learne for her selfe but also to teache others did not only teache in diuers Scholes but also she wrote many and sundry bookes one inespecially in the prayse of Socrates an other of the maner of bringing vppe children an other of the warres of Athens an other of the tyrannical force an other of the common wealth of Socrates an other of the infelicities of womeÌ„ an other of the Tyllage of the auncientes an other of the woÌ„ders of mount Olympus an other of the vaine care of the Sepulcre an other of the prouisioÌ„ of the Antes an other of the workmanshippe of the Bees in
to moch aboundaunce and libertie of youth is no other but a prophesie manifest token of disobedience in age I knowe not why princes and great lordes do toile and oppresse so much and scratche to leaue their children great estates and on the other syde we see that in teachyng them they are and shew theim selues to negligent for princes great lordes ought to make account that all that whych they leaue of their substaunce to a wicked heyre is vtterly lost The wise men and those which in their coÌ„sciences are vpright and of their honours carefull oughte to be very diligent to bring vp their children chiefly that they consyder whether they be mete to inherite their estates And if perchaunce the fathers se that their children be more giueÌ„ to follie then to noblenes and wysdome then should I be ashamed to se a father that is wise trauaile al the dayes of his life to leaue much substaunce to an euill brought vp child after his death It is a griefe to declare and a monstrous thyng to se the cares whych the fathers take to gather ryches and the diligence that children haue to spende them And in this case I saye the sonne is fortunate for that he doeth inherite and the Father a foole for that he doth bequeth In my opinion Fathers ar bound to enstructe theyr Children well for two causes the one for that they are nearest to them and also bycause they ought to be theyr heyres For truely with great greyfe and sorow I suppose he doth take his death which leaueth to a foole or an vnthrifte the toile of all his life Hyzearcus the Greeke hystorien in the booke of his antiquities and Sabellyquus in his generall history sayeth that a father and a sonne came to complaine to the famous phylosopher and auncient Solon Solinon the sonne complayned of the father and the father of the sonne First the son informed the quarel to the Phylosopher sayeng these wordes I complayne of my father bycause he beyng ryche hath dysheryted me and made me poore and in my steade hath adopted another heyre the whyche thyng my father oughte not nor cannot doe For sence he gaue me so frayle flesh it is reason he geue me hys goods to maintayne my feblenes To these wordes aunswered the father I complayne of my sonne bycause he hathe not bene as a gentle sonne but rather as a cruell enemye for in all thynges since he was borne he hath bene disobedient to my will wherfore I thought it good to dysheryte hym before my death I woulde I weâ—e quite of all my substaunce so that the goddes hadde quyte hym of hys lyfe for the earthe is very cruell that swalloweth not the chyld alyue whyche to hys father is dysobedyent In that he sayeth I haue adopted another chyld for myne heyre I confesse it is true and for somuche as he sayeth that I haue dysinheryted hym and abiected hym from my herytage he beynge begotten of my owne bodye hereunto I aunswere That I haue not disinheryted my sonne but I haue disinheryted his pleasure tothentent he shal not enioy my trauaile for there can be nothing more vniust then that the yonge and vitious sonne should take his pleasure of the swette and droppes of the aged father The sonne replyed to his father and sayd I confesse I haue offended my father and also I confesse that I haue lyued in pleasures yet if I maye speake the trueth thoughe I were disobedient and euill my father oughte to beare the blame and if for this cause he doeth dysherite me I thynke he doth me great iniurye For the father that enstructed not hys sonne in vertue in hys youthe wrongfullye dysheryteth hym though he be disobedient in hys age The father agayne replyeth and saieth It is true my sonne that I brought the vp to wantonly in thy youth but thou knowest well that I haue taughte the sondrye tymes and besydes that I dyd correcte the when thou camest to some discretion And if in thy youth I dyd not instructe the in learnyng it was for that thou in thy tender age dydest wante vnderstandyng but after that thou haddest age to vnderstand discrecion to receiue and strength to exercyse it I began to punyshe the to teache the and to instructe the. For where no vnderstandyng is in the chyld there in vaine they teache doctrine Sence thou arte old quoth the sonne and I yong sence thou arte my father and I thy sonne for that thou hast whyte heres of thy bearde and I none at all it is but reason that thou be beleued I condemned For in this world we se oftetimes that the smal aucthoryty of the parson maketh hym to lose hys great iustyce I grauÌ„t the my father that when I was a childe thou dydst cause me to learne to reade but thou wylte not denye that if I dyd coÌ„mit any faulte thou wouldest neauer agree I should be punyshed And hereof it came that thou sufferyng me to doe what I woulde in my youth haue bene dysobedient to the euer since in my age And I saye to the further that if in this case I haue offended trulye me thinketh thou canst not be excused for the fathers in the youthe of their children oughte not onely to teache them to dispute of vertues and what vertue is but they ought to inforce them to be vertuous in dede For it is a good token when youth before they know vyces hath bene accustomed to practice vertues Both parties thou diligentlie hard the good Philosopher Solon Solinon spake these wordes I geue iudgement that the father of thys child be not buried after hys death and I commaunde that the sonne bycause in hys youth he hath not obeyed his father who is olde should be dysinheryted whiles the father lyueth from all hys substaunce on suche condition that after hys death hys sonnes should inheryte the heritage and so returne to the heires of the sonne and line of the father For it were vniust that the innocencie of the sonne should be condempned for the offence of the father I doe commaunde also that all the goods be committed vnto some faithful parson to th end they may geue the father meate and drinke durynge hys lyfe and to make a graue for the sonne after hys death I haue not with out a cause geuen suche iudgement the which comprehendeth lyfe and death for the Gods wyll not that for one pleasure the punyshement be double but that we chastyse and punyshe the one in the lyfe takynge from hym hys honour and goods and that we punyshe others after there death takyng from them memorye and buriall Truly the sentence which the Philosopher gaue was graue and would to God we had him for a iudge of this world presentlye for I sweare that he should finde many children now a dayes for to disheryte and mo fathers to punishe For I cannot tell which is greater the shame of the children to disobey their fathers or
the negligence of the fathers in bringing vp their childrē Sextus Cheronensis in the second boke of the sainges of the Philosophers declareth that a citezen of Athens sayed on daye to Dyogenes the Phylosopher these wordes Tel me Diogenes what shall I doe to be in the fauour of the gods and not in the hatred of men for oft tymes amonges you Philosophers I haue hard saye that there is great difference betwene that that the Goddes wil and that which men loue Diogenes aunswered Thou speakest more then thoughtest to speake that the gods will one thinge and men another for the gods are but as a center of mercy and men are but as a denne of malice if thou wilte inioye rest in thy dayes and keape thy lyfe pure and cleane thou must obserue these thre thinges The first honour thy gods deuoutly For the man which doeth not serue and honour the gods in all his enterprises he shal be vnfortunate The second be very diligent to bring vp thy children well For the man hath no enemy so troublesome as his owne son if he be not wel brought vp The third thyng be thankefull to thy good benefactours and frendes For the Oracle of Apollo sayeth that the man who is vnthankefull of all the worlde shal be abhorred And I tell the further my frend that of these thre thinges the most profitable though it be more troblesome is for a manne to teache and bring vp his children well This therefore was the aunswere that the Philosopher Diogenes made to the demaunde of the Cytezen It is great pytie and griefe to see a yonge child how the bloud doth stirre him to se how the fleshe doth prouoke him to accomplishe his desire to se sensualyte go before and he himselfe to come behinde to se the malicious world to watche him to se howe the deuill doth tempt him to se how vyces bynde him and in all that whych is spoken to se how the father is negligent as if he had no children wher as in deed the old man by the few vertues that he hath had in his youth may easely know the infirmites and vices wherewith his sonne is compassed If the expert had neuer ben ignoraunt if the fathers had neuer ben children if the vertuous had neuer ben vicious if the fyne wittes had neuer ben deceiued it were no meruaile if the Fathers were negligent in teachyng their children For the lytell experience excuseth men of great offences but synce thou arte a father and that fyrst thou were a sonne synce thou arte old and hast ben yong and besides al this synce that pride hath enflamed the lechery hath burned the wrath hath wounded the negligēce hath hindred the couetousnes hath blinded the and glotonie surfeted the tell me cruell father since so manye vices haue reigned in the why hast thou not an eye to thy childe whom of thy owne bloud thou hast begotten And if thou doest it not bycause he is thy childe thou oughtest to do it bycause he is thy nearest For it is vnpossible that the child whych with many vyces is assaulted and not succoured but in the end he should be infamed and to the dishonour of the father most wickedly ouercome It is vnpossible to kepe flesh well fauored vnlesse it be first salted It is vnpossible that the fishe should liue without water It is vnpossible but that the Rose should wyther whiche is of the thorne ouergrowen So like it is vnpossible that the fathers should haue any comforte of their chyldren in their age vnlesse they haue instructed them in vertue in their youth And to speake further in this matter I saye that in the Christian catholike religion where in dede there is good doctrine ther alwayes is supposed to be a good conscience Amongest the wryters it is a thinge well knowen howe Eschines the philosopher was banished from Athens and with all his family came to dwell at Rhodes The occasion was because that he and the philosopher Demosthenes were in great contention in the common wealth Wherefore the Athenians determined to banish the one and to keape the other with them And truly they dyd well for of the contentions and debates of sages warres most commonly aryse amongest the people This philosopher Eschines being at Rhodes banished amongest others made a solempne oration wherein he greatly reproueth the Rhodians that they were so negligente in brynging vp their children saiyng vnto them these wordes I let you vnderstande Lordes of Rhodes that your predecessours aduaunced them selues to discende and to take their beginning of the Lides the whiche aboue all other nations were curious and diligent to bring vp their children and hereof came a lawe that was among them which sayed We ordeine and commaunde that if a father haue many chyldren that the moste vertuous should enherite the goods and riches and if there were but one vertuous that he alone should inherite the whole And if perchaūce the children were vitious that then al should be depriued from the heritage For the goods gotten with trauaile of vertuous fathers ought not by reason to be inherited with vitious children These were the wordes that the philosopher spake to the Senate of the Rhodes and because he sayde in that Oration many other thinges whiche touche not our matter I wyll in this place omitte them For among excellent wryters the wryting loseth muche authoritie when the authour from his purpose digresseth into an other matter To saye the truthe I doe not maruayle that the children of princes and great lordes be adulterers and belly gods for that on the one parte youth is the mother of Idlenes and on the other litle experience is the cause of great offences And furthermore the fathers being once dead the children enherite their goodes as quietly being loden with vices as if in dede they were with all vertues endued If the younge children did knowe for a certaine that the lawes of the Lydes should be obserued that is to witte that they shoulde not enherite vnlesse they be vertuous it is vnpossible but that they would leade a good life and not in this wyse to runne at large in the worlde For they doe absteine more from doing euill fearyng to lose that whiche they doe possesse then for any loue to doe that whiche they ought I doe not denaye but according as the natures of the fathers is dyuers so the inclinations of the chyldren are variable For so muche as some folowyng their good inclination are good others not resisting euil sensualities are euill But yet in this matter I saye that it lieth muche in the father that doeth brynge them vp when as yet they are younge so that the euill whiche nature gaue by good bryngyng vp is refrayned For oftetymes the good custome doeth ouercome all euill inclination Princes and great lordes that wylbe diligent in the instruction of their chyldren ought to enforme their maisters and tutors that shall teache theim to what vyces and
vertues their children are moste inclined and this ought to be to encourage them in that that is good and contrary to reproue them in all that is euill For men are vndone for no other cause when they be olde but for that they had so much pleasures when they are younge Sextus Cheronensis in the seconde booke of the saiynges of the auntientes saieth that on a daye a citezen of Athens was byenge thinges in the market and for the qualitie of his persone the greatest parte of them were superfluous and nothing necessary And in this case the poore are no lesse culpable then the ryche and the ryche then the poore For that is so litle that to susteyne mans lyfe is necessary that he which hath lest hath therunto superfluous Therfore at that tyme when Athens and her common wealth was the lanterne of all Grece there was in Athens a lawe long vsed and of great tyme accustomed that nothing should be bought before a philosopher had set the pryce And truly the lawe was good and would to God the same lawe at this present were obserued for there is nothing that destroyeth a cōmon wealth more then to permitte some to sell as tyrauntes and others to buye as fooles When the Thebane was buying these thinges a philosopher was there present who sayed vnto him these wordes Tell me I praye thee thou man of Thebes wherefore doest thou consume and waste thy money in that whiche is not necessary for thy house nor profitable for thy persone the Thebane aunswered him I let the knowe that I doe buye all these thynges for a sonne I haue of the age of .xx. yeares the whiche neuer did thinge that seamed vnto me euill nor I neuer denayed hym any thing that he demaunded This philosopher aunswered O howe happy were thou if as thou arte a father thou were a sonne and that which the father saieth vnto the sonne the sonne would saye vnto the father but I am offended greatly with that thou hast tolde me For vntill the childe be .xxv. yeares olde he ought not to gaynesaye his father and the good father ought not to condescende vnto the appetites of the sonne Nowe I call the cursed father since thou arte subiect to the wyll of thy sonne and that thy sonne is not obedient to the wyl of his father so that thou alterest the order of nature For so muche as the father is sonne of his sonne and the sonne is father of his father But in the end I sweare vnto thee by the immortall Gods that when thou shalt become old thou shalt weape by thy selfe at that whiche with thy sonne thou diddest laughe when he was younge Though the wordes of this philosopher were fewe yet a wyse man wyll iudge the sentences to be many I conclude therfore that princes and great lordes ought to recōmende their children to their maisters to th ende they may teache them to chaunge their appetites and not to folowe their owne wil so that they withdrawe them from their own will and cause them to learne the aduise of an other For the more a man geueth a noble man sonne the brydle the more harder it is for them to receiue good doctrine ¶ Princes ought to take hede that their children be not brought vp in vayne pleasures and delightes For oftetimes they are so wicked that the fathers would not only haue them with sharpe discipline corrected but also with bitter teares buried Chap. xxxiii BY experience we see that in warre for the defence of men rampiers fortes are made according to the qualitie of the enemies those which sayle the daungerous seas doe chose great shippes whiche may breake the waues of the raging Sea so that all wyse men according to the qualitie of the daunger doe seke for the same in time some remedy Oftetymes I muse with my selfe and thynke if I coulde finde any estate any age any lande any nation any realme or any worlde wherein there hath bene any man that hath passed this life without tasting what aduersitie was for if suche a one were founde I thinke it should be a monstrous thing throughout all the earth and by reason both the dead and liuing should enuie hym In the ende after my counte made I finde that he whiche yesterdaye was ryche to daye is poore he that was hole I see hym to daye sicke he that yesterdaye laughed to daye I see hym wepe he that had his hartes ease I see hym nowe sore afflicted he that was fortunate I see hym vnlucky finally hym whom we knewe aliue in the towne now we see buried in the graue And to be buried is nothing els but to be vtterly forgotten for mans frendshyp is so frayle that when the corps is couered with earth immediatly the dead is forgotten One thinge me thinketh to all men is greuous to those of vnderstandyng no lesse payneful whiche is that the miseries of this wicked worlde are not equally deuided but that oftetymes all worldly calamities lieth in the necke of one man alone For we are so vnfortunate that the world geueth vs pleasures in sight troubles in profe If a man should aske a sage man now a daies who hath liued in meane estate that he would be contented to tel him what he hath paste since three yeares that he began to speake vntill fifty yeares that he began to waxe olde what thinges thinke you he would tel vs that hath chaunced vnto him truly al these that here folowe The grefes of his children the assaultes of his enemies the importunities of his wife the wantonnes of his doughters sicknes in his person great losse of goods general famine in the citie cruel plagues in his coūtrey extreme colde in wynter noysome heate in sommer sorowful deathes of his frendes enuious prosperities of his enemies finally he wil say that he passed such so many thinges that oftimes he bewailed the wofull life desired the swete death If the miserable man hath passed such things outwardly what would he saye of those which he hath suffred inwardly the whiche though some discrete men may know yet truly others dare not tell For the trauailes which the body passeth in fifty yeres may wel be counted in a day but that which the hart suffereth in one day cannot be counted in a hundred yeres A man cannot denay but that we would coūte him rashe which with a rede would mete an other that hath a sword him for a foole that would put of his shoes to walke vpō the thornes But without cōparison we ought to esteame him for the most foole that with this tender fleshe thinketh to preuaile against so many euil fortunes for without doubt the man that is of his body delicate passeth his life with much paine O how happy may that mā be called which neuer tasted what pleasure meaneth For men whiche from their infancy haue bene brought vp in pleasures for want of wisdome know not how to
Emperour of Rome saieth that an Embassadour of Britayne being one daye in Rome as by chaunce they gaue hym a froward aunswere in the Senate spake stoutely before them all and said these wordes I am sory you will not accepte peace nor graunte truce the whiche thing shal be for the greater iustification of our warres For afterwardes none can take but that whiche fortune shall geue For in the ende the delicate fleshe of Rome shal fele if the bloudy swordes of Britayne wil cut The Englishe historie saieth and it is true that though the countrey be very colde and that the water freseth ofte yet the women had a custome to cary their children where the water was frosen breaking the Ise with a stone with the same Ise they vsed to rubbe the body of the infante to the ende to harden their fleshe and to make them more apt er to endure trauailes And without doubt they had reason for I wyshe no greater penitence to delicate men then in the wynter to see them without fire and in the Sommer to wante freshe shadow Sith this was the custome of the Britayns it is but reason we credit Iulius Caesar in that he saieth in his comentaries that is to wete that he passed many daungers before he could ouercome them for thei with as litle feare did hyde them selues and dyued vnder the cold water as a very man would haue rested him selfe in a pleasaunt shadowe As Lucanus and Appianus Alexandrinus saie amongest other nations whiche came to succour the great Pompei in Pharsalia were the Messagetes the which as they say in their youth did sucke no other but the milke of Camels and eate bread of Acornes These barbarous did these thinges to the ende to harden their bodies to be able to endure trauail and to haue their legges lighter for to rōne In this case we can not cal them barbarous but we ought to cal them men of good vnderstanding for it is vnpossible for the man that eateth muche to runne fast Viriatus a Spanyarde was king of the Lusytaines and a great enemy of the Romains who was so aduenterous in the warre so valiaunt in his persone that the Romains by the experience of his dedes found him vnuincible For in the space of .xiii. yeres they could neuer haue any victory of him the whiche when they sawe they determined to poyson him did so in dede At whose death they more reioysed then if they had wonne the signorie of all Lusitanie For if Viriatus had not died they had neuer brought the Lusitaines vnder their subiection Iunius Rusticus in his epitomie saith that this Viriatus in his youth was a herde man kept cattel by the ryuer of Guadiana after that he waxed older vsed to robbe assault men by the highe wayes And after that he was .xl. yeares of age he became king of the Lusitaines and not by force but by election For when the people sawe theym selues enuirouned and assaulted on euery side with enemies they chose rather stout strong and hardy men for their captaines then noble men for their guydes If the auncient hystoriographers deceiue me not whē Viriatus was a thefe he led with him alwayes at the leaste a hundred theues the whiche were shodde with leaden shoes so that when they were enforced to ronne they put of their shoes And thus although all the daye they wente with leaden shoes yet in the night they ranne lyke swyfte buckes for it is a generall rule that the loser the ioyntes are the more swifter shall the legges be to ronne In the booke of the iestes of the Lumbardes Paulus Diaconus sayeth that in the olde tyme those of Capua had a lawe that vntyl the chyldren were maryed the fathers shold geue them no bedde to sleape on nor permit them to sitte at the table to eate but that they should eate their meates in their handes and take their reste on the grounde And truely it was a commendable lawe for reste was neuer inuented for the younge man whiche hath no bearde but for the aged beinge lame impotent and crooked Quintus Cincinatus was seconde Dictator of Rome and in dede for his desertes was the first emperour of the earth This excellente man was broughte vp in so great trauaile that his hands were found full of knottes the ploughe was in his armes and the swette in his face when he was sought to be Dictator of Rome For the auncientes desired rather to be ruled of them that knewe not but how to plow the ground then of them that delyted in nothing els but to liue in pleasurs among the people Caligula which was the fourth emperour of Rome as they say was brought vp with such cost and delicatnes in his youth that they were in doubt in Rome whether Drusius Germanicus hys father employed more for the Armyes then Calligula hys sonne spent in the cradel for his pleasurs This rehersed agayne I would now knowe of princes great lordes what part they would take that is to wete whether with Cincinatus whych by his stoutnes wanne so many straunge countreys or with Caligula that in hys fylthy lustes spared not his proper sister In myne opinyon ther nedeth no great deliberacion to aunswere this questyon that is to wete the goodnes of the one and the wickednes of the other for there was no battayle but Cincinatus did ouercome nor there was any vyce but Caligula dyd inuent Suetonius Tranquillus in the second booke of Cesars sayth that when the chyldren of the Emperour Augustus Cesar entred into the hygh capitol wher al the senate were assembled the Senatours rose out of their places and made a reuerence to the children the whych when the Emperoure Augustus saw he was much displeased and called them backe agane And on a day being demaunded why he loued his children no better he aunswered in this wise If my chyldren wil be good they shal syt hereafter wher I sit now but if they be euil I will not their vices shold be reuerenced of the Senatours For the aucthoritie grauity of the good ought not to be employed in the seruice of those that be wicked The 26. Emperour of Rome was Alexander the which though he was yong was asmuch esteamed for hys vertues amongest the Romaynes as euer Alexander the great was for hys valiauntnes amongest the Grekes We can not say that long experience caused him to come to the gouernment of the common wealth for as Herodian saith in his syxt booke the day that the Senatours proclamed him emperour he was so lytle that his owne men bare him in their armes That fortunate Emperour had a mother called Mamea the which brought him vp so wel dilygently that she kept alwayes a great gard of men to take hede that no vicious mā came vnto him And let not the diligence of the mother to that child be litle estemed For princes oft times of their owne nature are good by euyl conuersacion
purenes of conscience but also in the outward apparance and cleanes of lyfe For it is vnpossible that the child be honest if the mayster be dissolute The 3. it is necessary that tutors and gouernours of princes and great lordes be true men not only in their words but also in their couenauntes For to say the truth that mouth which is alwaies ful of lyes ought not by reason to be a teacher of the truth The 4. condicion it is necessary that the gouernours of princes great lordes of their owne nature be liberall for oft tymes the greate couetousnes of maisters maketh the harts of princes to be gredy and couetous The 5. it is necessary that the maisters and gouernours of princes great lords be moderate in wordes very resolute in sentences so that they ought to teach the children to speake litle to harken much For it is the chefest vertue in a prince to heare with pacience and to speake wyth wisedome The 6. condicion is it is necessary that the maysters and gouernours of princes and great lords be wise men and temperate so that the grauitye of the mayster maye restrayne the lyghtnes of the Schollers for there is no greater plagues in Realmes then for princes to be yong and their maisters to be lyght The 7. it is necessarye that the maisters and tutors of princes and greate lords be wel learned in diuinity and humanitie in such sort that that which they teach the princes by word they may shew it by writing to the end that other princes may execute and put the same in vre for mens harts are soner moued by the examples of those which are past then by the words of them that are present The 8. condicion it is necessarie that the maisters and tutors of princes be not giuen to the vice of the flesh for as they are yong and naturallye giuen to the flesh so they haue no strength to abide chast neyther wisedome to be ware of the snares Therefore it is necessarye that theyr maisters be pure and honeste for the Dyscyples shall neuer bee chaste if the mayster bee vicyous The 9. it is necessary that the masters and tutors of Princes and greate lords haue good condicions bycause the children of noble men being daintely brought vp alwayes learne euill condicions the which their maisters ought to reforme more by good conuersacion then by sharpe correction For oftentimes it chaunceth that whereas the maister is cruel the scholer is not merciful The .10 it is necessary that the maisters and tutors of prynces and great lordes haue not only sene and red many things but also that they haue proued chaungeable fortune For since noble mens sonnes by the gift of god haue great estates they ought therefore to prouide to speake to many to aunswere to many and to entreat with many and it is very profitable for them to be conuersaunt with expert men for in the end the approued mā in councel hath preheminence I was willyng to bringe in these rules in my writing to the end that fathers may kepe them in their memory when they do seke maysters to teach their children for in my opinyon the father is more in fault to seke an euil maister then the maister is to make an euyl scholer For if I choose euyl taylers to cut my gowne it is my faulte that the cloth is lost and my gowne marred Albeit the Romaines were in al their doings circumspect yet for this one thinge I must enuy the good doctrine which they gaue to noble mens children For wythout doubt it is vnpossible that in any city there by a good common wealth vnlesse they are very circumspect to bring vp yong children Sabellicus in his rapsodies sayth that in the 415 yeres of the foundacion of Rome Qintus Seruilius and Lucius Geminus then consulles being in the warre against the Volces the stout aduenturous captaine Camillus there rose a great strife and contencion in Rome amongest the people and the knights and that contencion was vpon the prouision of offyces For in great common wealthes it hath bene an aunciente quarell that in knights and gentlemen there surmounteth pride in commaundyng and amonge the people ther wanteth pacience in obeyinge The knightes and gentlemen would they should chose a Tribune Millitare in the senate to speake in the name of al the knyghtes that were absent and present for they sayd that sence they were alwayes at the warre the whole common wealth remained in the power of the people The commons on the other part importuned and desired that a new officer should be created the whych should haue the charge to examine and take accompt how the youth of Rome were brought vp bycause the comon people did accuse the knights gentlemen that the longer they remained in the warres the more sensuallye their chyldren lyued in Rome It was decreed then that a Tribune Millitare should be erected the which in aucthority and dignytie should be equal with the senatours that he should represente the state of warlike knights but that office continued no longer then foure yeres in Rome that is to wete til the time that Camillus retourned from the warres For thinges that are grounded of no reason of them selues they come to nought Al the knights gentlemen sought to the vttermost of their power to maintaine their preheminēce on the other side al the cominalty of Rome was against it In the end the good captaine Camillus called al the knights gentlemen to gethers and sayd vnto them these words I am greatly ashamed to se that the stoutnes should be so lytle of the Romaine knights that they should cōdiscend to the wil of the Plebians for in dede the myghty do not get so much honour to ouercome the lytle as the litle do to striue with the great I say that the strife debate amongest you in Rome doth displease me muche therfore you knights if you wil not lose your honours you must eyther kil them or ouercome them You cannot ouercome them bycause they are many kyll them you ought not for in the end they are youres therfore ther is no better remedy then to dissemble with theym For things which suffer no force nor obserue not iustyce ought alwayes vntil conuenient time to be dissembled The immortal gods did not create Romaine knights to gouerne people but to conquere Realmes And I say further that they dyd not create vs to teach lawes to oures but to giue lawes to straungers And if we be the children of our fathers immitators of the auncient Romanes we wil not content our selues to commaund in Rome but to commaund those which do commaund in Rome For the hart of a true Romaine doth lytle esteame to se himselfe lord of this world if he know that ther is another to conquere You others did creat this Tribune Millitare we being in the warre whereof now theris no necessitye since we are in peace
of Athens no vycious man could enter nor idle word be spoken neither they dyd consent that any ignoraunt philosopher should come in to read there As by chaunce many phylosophers were come from the mout Olimpus amongest the residue ther was one came to se the phylosophers of Athens who was natife of Thebes a man as afterwards he declared him selfe in mortal natural Phylosophy very wel learned and since he desired to remayne in Athens he was examined and of many and dyuers thyngs demaunded And amongest the others these folowing were some of them Firste they asked him what causeth women to be so frowarde since it is true that nature made them shamefast and created them simple the Philosopher aunswered A Woman is not frowarde but bycause she hath to much her wil and wanteth shame Secondarily they asked him why yong men are vndone he aunswered bycause time aboundeth them for to do euil and maysters wanteth to enforce them to do good Thirdly they asked him why are wise men deceyued aswel as the simple he aunswered The wise man is neuer deceyued but by him that vseth faire words and hath euil condicions Forthly they asked him of whom mē ought most to beware he aunswered That ther is to a man no greater enemye then he which seeth that thing in the which he desireth to haue in him selfe Fifthly they asked him why many princes beginne wel and end euil he aunswered princes begin wel bycause their nature is good they end euil bycause no man doth gaine say them Sixtly they asked him why do princes comit such follyes he aunswered Bicause flatterers aboundeth that deceiue them true men wanteth which should serue them Seuenthly they asked him why the auncients were so sage men at thys present so simple he aunswered Bycause the auncients did not procure but to know they present do not trauaile but for to haue Eightly they asked him why so many vyces were nourished in the pallace of princes he aunswered Bycause pleasures abound and councel wanteth The ninth they asked him why the most part of mē liued without rest few without paine he aunswered No man is more without suffereth more paine thē he which dieth for the goods of another litle estemeth his owne The tenth they asked him wherby they myght know the common wealth to be vndone he aunswered There is no comon wealth vndone but where the yong are light and the old vicious The xi they asked him wherwith the comon wealth is mainteyned he aunswered The common wealth cannot decay wher iustice remayneth for the poore punishment for the tiraunts weight and measure plentiful chefely if ther be good doctrine for the yong lytle couetousnes in the old Affro the historiographers declareth this in the x boke De rebus attheniensium Truly in my opinion the words of this philosopher were few but the sentences were many And for none other cause I dyd bring in this history but to profite me of the last word wherin for aunswere he saith that al the profite of the commō wealth consisteth in that ther be princes that restrayne the auarice of the aged that there be maisters to teach the youthful We se by experience that if the brute beasts were not tied the corne seedes compassed with hedges or ditches a man should neuer gather the fruite when they are ripe I meane that strife debate wil rise continually amonge the people if the yonge men haue not good fathers to correct them wise maisters to teach them We cānot deny but though the knife be made of fyne steele yet sometimes it hath nede to be whet so in lyke maner the yong man during the time of his youth though he do not deserue it yet from time to time he ought to be corrected O princes great lords I know not of whom you take councell when your sonne is borne to prouyde him of a maister gouernour whom you chose not as the most vertuous but as the most richest not as the most sagest but as the most vile euil taught Finally you do not trust him wyth your children that best deserueth it but that most procureth it Againe I say O princes great lords why do you not wtdraw your childrē from their hands which haue their eyes more to their owne profite thē their harts vnto your seruice For such to enrich themselues do bring vp princes vyciously Let not princes thinke that it is a trifle to know how to find chose a good master the lord which herein doth not employ his dyligence is worthy of great rebuke And because they shal not pretend ignoraunce let them beware of that man whose life is suspicious and extreame couetous In my opinion in the palace of princes the office of tutorship ought not to begeuen as other comon offices that is to wete by requestes or money by priuyties or importunities eyther els for recompence of seruices for it foloweth not though a man hath ben imbassadour in straunge realmes or captaine of great armies in warre or that he hath possessed in the roial palace offices of honour or of estemaciō that therfore he should be able to teach or bring vp their children For to be a good captayne sufficeth only to be hardy and fortunate but for to be a tutour and gouernour of princes he ought to be both sage and vertuous ¶ Of the ii children of Marcus Aurelius the Emperour of the which the best beloued dyed And of the maisters he prouided for the other named Comodus ▪ Chap. xxxv MArcus Aurelius the xvii Emperour of Rome in that time that he was maried with Faustine only doughter of the Emperour Antonius Pius had only ii sonnes wherof the eldest was Comodus and the second Verissimus Of these ii chyldren the heyre was Comodus who was so wycked in the 13 yeres he gouerned the empire that he semed rather the disciple of Nero the cruel then to descend by the mothers syde from Anthonius the mercifull or sonne of Marcus Aurelius This wicked chyld Comodus was so light in speach so dishonest in parson so cruel with his people that oft tymes he being aliue they layed wagers that ther was not one vertue in him to be found nor any one vyce in him that wanted On the contrary part the second sonne named Verissimus was comely of gesture proper of personne in witte verye temperate the most of al was that by his good conuersacion of al he was beloued For the faire and vertuous princes by theyr beauty draweth vnto them mens eyes by their good conuersacion they winne their harts The child Verissimus was the hope of the comon people the glory of his aged father so that the Emperour determined that this chyld Verissimus shold be heyre of the Empire and that the prince Comodus should be disherited Wherat no man ought to maruaile for it is but iust since the child
one being sad which departed but very wel pleased For it is not comely for the magnificence of a prince that the mā which cōmeth to his pallace only for his seruice should returne murmuring or without rewarde This good emperour shewed him selfe sage to seke many sages he shewed him self wise in the choice of some of a good vnderstāding in dispatching others in cōtenting thē all For as we see daily by experience though the elections be good cōmonly great affections thereupon engender For those for not being chosen are sory to see the others chosen are shamefast In such case likewyse let it not be esteamed litle to serche a good remedy For the goldsmith ofttymes demaundeth more for the workemanship then the siluer is worth I meane that somtime princes do deserue more honour for the good meanes they vse in their affaires then for the good successe whereunto it commeth For the one aduenture guideth but the other wisedome aduaunceth The good emperour not contented with this prouided that those .xiiii. philosophers whiche should remaine in his pallace should sitte at the table and accompany his persone the which thing he did to see if their life wer cōformable to their doctrine if their words did agree to their works For ther are many mē which ar of a goodly tōgue of a wicked life Iulius Capitolinus and Cinna Catullus whiche were writers of this history say that it was a wonder to see howe this good Emperour did marke them to know if they were sober in feading temperate in drinking modest in going occupied in studieng and aboue all if they were very sage in speakynge and honest in liuing Would to God the princes of our tyme were in this case so diligent and carefull and that in committing in truste their affaires they would not care more for one then for others For speaking with due reuerence there aboundeth no wysedome in that prince whiche committeth a thing of importaunce to that man whom he knoweth not whether he is able to brynge it to passe or not Many talke euill and maruaile that princes and great lordes in so many thinges doe erre and for the contrary I maruaile howe they hitte any at al. For if they committed their waightie affaires to skilfull men though perhappes they erre once yet they hitte it a hundred times but when they committe their busines to ignoraunt men if they hitte once they misse a thousand times againe In this case I say there is nothing destroyeth younge Princes more then for that they committe not their affaires to their olde and faithfull seruauntes For in fine the vnfained loue is not but in him that eateth the princes bread daily It is but reason that other princes take example by this prince to seke good maisters for their children and if the maisters be good and the schollers euyll then the fathers are blamelesse For to princes and great lordes it a great discharge of conscience to see though their children be loste yet it is not for want of doctrine but for aboundaunce of malice The Romaine prince had a custome to celebrate the feaste of the God Genius who was God of their byrthe and that feaste was celebrated euery yeare once whiche was kepte the same daye of the byrth of the Emperour ioyfully throughout all Rome for at this day al the prysoners were pardoned and deliuered out of the pryson Mamortina Yet notwithstanding you ought to knowe that if any had sowed sedition amonge the people or had betrayed the armies or robbed or done any mischiefe in their temples those three offences were neuer pardoned nor excused in Rome Euen as in Christian religion the greatest othe is to sweare by God so amongest the Romaines there was no greater othe then to sweare by the God Genius And since it was the greatest othe none could sweare it but by the licence of the Senate and that ought to be betwixt the handes of the priestes of the God Genius And if perchaunce suche an othe were taken of light occasion he which sware it was in daunger of his life For in Rome it was an auncient lawe that no man should make any solempne othe but that first they should demaunde licence of the Senate The Romaines did not permitte that lyers nor disceiuers should be credited by their othes neither did they permitte them to sweare For they said that periured men doe both blaspheme the Gods and deceiue men The aboue named Marcus Aurelius was borne the .xxvii. day of Aprill in Mounte Celio in Rome And as by chaunce they celebrated the feaste of the God Genius which was the daye of his birth there came maisters offence Iuglers and common players with other loyterers to walke and solace them selues For the Romaines in their greate feastes occupied them selues al night in offring sacrifices to the gods and afterwardes they consumed all the day in pastimes Those iuglers and players shewed so muche pastime that all those which behelde them were prouoked to laughe and the Romaines to say the truth were so earnest in matters of pastime and also in other matters of weight that in the daye of pastimes no man was sadde and in the time appointed for sadnes no man was mery So that in publike affaires they vsed all to mourne or els all to reioyce Cinna Catullus saith that this good Emperour was so wel beloued that when he reioyced all reioyced and when the Romaine people made any great feast he him selfe was there present to make it of more authoritie and shewed such mirth therein as if he alone and none other had reioyced For otherwyse if the prince loke sadly no man dare shewe him selfe mery The historiographers say of this good emperour that in ioyfull feastes and triumphes they neuer saw him lesse mery then was requisite for the feast nor they euer sawe him so mery that it exceaded the grauitie of his persone For the prince whiche in vertue presumeth to be excellent ought neither in earnest matters to be heauy nor in thinges of small importaunce to shewe him self light As princes nowe a daies goe enuironned with menne of armes so did then the good Emperour go accompanied with sage philosophers Yea and more then that which ought most to be noted is that in the dayes of feastes pleasures the princes at this present goe accompanied with hongry flatterers but this noble Emperour went accompanied with wise men For the prince that vseth him selfe with good company shall alwayes auoyde the euil talke of the people Sextus Cheronensis saith that a Senatour called Fabius Patroclus seing that the Emperour Marcus went alwaies to the Senate and Theaters accompanied and enuironned with sages saide one daye to him merily I pray thee my lorde tell me why thou goest not to the Theater as to the Theater to the Senate as to the Senate For to the Senate Sages ought to go to geue vs good councell and to the Theaters fooles to make vs pastime To
this the good Emperour aunswered my frend I saye thou art much deceaued For to the sacred Senate wherein there are so many sages I would leade all the fooles to the ende they might become wise and to the Theaters where all the fooles are I would bring the sages to the ende to teache them wisedome Truly this sentence was fit for him that spake it I admonishe princes and great lordes that in steade to kepe company with fooles flatterers parasites they prouide to haue about them wyse and sage mē in especially if the fooles be malicious for the noble hartes with one malicious worde are more offended then if they were with a venemous arrow wounded Therfore returning to our matter as the emperour was in the feast of the god Genius that with him also were the .xiiii. sage philosophers maisters of the prince Comodus a iugler more conning then al the rest shewed sondry trickes as cōmonly such vaine loiterers are wont to doe For he that in like vanities sheweth most pastime is of the people most beloued As Marcus Aurelius was sage so he set his eies more to beholde these .xiiii. maisters then he did stay at the lightnes of the fooles And by chaunce he espied that fiue of those laughed so inordinatly at the folly of these fooles that they clapt their hands they bet their feete lost the grauitie of sages by their inordinat laughter the which was a very vncomly thing in such graue persons For the honest modestie of the body is a great witnes of the wisedome and grauitie of the mynde The lightnes and inconstancie of the sages sene by the Emperour and that al the graue Romaines were offended with them he toke it heauely as well to haue brought them thether as to haue bene disceiued in electing them Howe be it with his wysedom then he helped him selfe as muche as he coulde in not manifesting any griefe in his harte but he dessembled and made as though he sawe them not For sage princes muste nedes feale thinges as men but they ought to dissemble them as discrete The Emperour presently would not admonish them nor before any reproue them but he let the feaste passe on and also a fewe dayes after the whiche being passed the Emperour spake vnto them in secret not telling them openly wherein he shewed him selfe a mercifull prince for open correction is vniuste where secret admonition may take place The thinges whiche Marcus Aurelius saide to those fiue maisters when he put them out of his house he him selfe did wryte in the third booke and the first chapter vnder the title Ad stultos pedagogos And saide that he said vnto them these and suche other like wordes ¶ Of the wordes whiche Marcus Aurelius spake to fiue of the ▪ xiiii maisters whiche he had chosen for the education of his sonne and howe he sent them from his pallace for that they behaued them selues lightly at the feaste of the God Genius Chap. xxxvi MY will was not my frendes to forsee that whiche can not be excused nor I wyll not commaunde you that whiche I ought not to commaunde but I desire that the gods of their grace doe remaine with me and that with you the same iust gods may goe and that likewyse from me and from you the vnlucky and vnfortunate chaunces may be withdrawen For the vnlucky man were better be with the dead then remayne here with the liuing Since that nowe I had receiued you and with great diligence sought you to that ende you should be tutors to my sonne the prince Comodus I proteste to the immortall gods that I am sory and that of your shame I am ashamed and that of your paine the greatest part is mine And it can be no otherwyse for in the worlde there shoulde be no frendship so streight that a man therefore shoulde put his good name in daunger The sages that I haue sought were not prouided onely to learne the prince Comodus but also to refourme al those that liued euill in my pallace And nowe I see the contrary for where I thought the fooles should haue bene made wyse I see that those that were wyse are become fooles Knowe you not that the fine golde defendeth his purenes among the burning cooles and that the man endued with wysedome sheweth hym selfe wyse yea in the middest of many fooles For truely as the golde in the fire is proued so among the lightenes of fooles is the wisedome of the wyse discerned Do not you knowe that the sage is not knowen among the sages nor the foole among the fooles but that amonge fooles wyse men doe shyne and that amonge the sages fooles are darkened for there the wyse sheweth his wysedome and the foole sheweth his folly Doe not you knowe that in the sore woundes the surgian sheweth his cunning and that in the daungerous diseases the phisition sheweth his science And that in the doubtful battailes the captaine sheweth his stoutnes and that in the boysterous stormes the maister sheweth his experience So in like maner the sage man in that place where there is great ioye and solace of people ought to shewe his wisdome and discretion Do not you know that of a moderate witte there proceadeth a cleare vnderstandinge a sharpe memory a graue persone a quiet minde a good name and aboue all a temperate tongue For he only ought to be called wyse who is discreate in his workes and resolute in his wordes ▪ Doe not you knowe that it litle auaileth to haue the tongue experte the memory liuely the vnderstāding cleare to haue great science to haue profounde eloquence a swete style and ample experience if with all these thinges you be as maisters and in your workes as wicked men certainely it is a great dishonour to a vertuous emperour that he should haue for maisters of young princes those which are schollers of vaine Iuglers Doe not you know that if all the men of this worlde are bounde to leade a good life that those which presume to haue science are muche more bounde then others are whiche by their eloquence presume to confounde the worlde For it is a rule certayne that alwayes euill workes take awaye the credit from good wordes And to the ende it seame not vnto you that I speake of fauour I wyll brynge here into your memory an auncient lawe of Rome the whiche was made in the tyme of Cinna whiche saide We ordeine and commaunde that more greauous punishement be geuen vnto the sage for one folly onely committed by him openly then to the simple man for a greater offence cōmitted secretly O iuste very iust law O iust and happy Romaines I saye vnto all those that togethers did finde ordeine the law For the simple man sleyeth but one man with his swerde of wrath but the sage killeth many by the euil example of his life For according to the saiyng of the deuine Plato the princes and sage sinne more by the euill
be called prosperous whych hath in it many people but that which hath in it few vices Speakyng therfore more perticulerly the cause that moued me to put you from me is bycause in the day of the great feast of god Genius you shewed in the presence of the senate your litle wisedom and great foly for so much as all men did behold more the lightnes of your parson then they did the follies of the iuglers If perchaunce you shewed your folly to th entent men should thinke that you were familiar in my royal pallace I tell you that the errour of your thought was no lesse then the euil and example of your work for no man ought to be so familiar with princes but whether it be in sporte or in earnest he ought to do him reuerence Since I geue you leaue to departe I know you had rather haue to helpe you in your iorney a litle money then many councelles but I will geue you both that is to wete mony for to bring you to your iournies end and also counsels to the end you may lyue And meruail not that I geue counsel to them that haue an office to councel others for it chaunceth oftetimes that the phisition do cure the diseases of others and yet in dede he knoweth not his owne Let therfore the last word counsell be when you shal be in the seruices of princes and great lordes that first you labour to be coūted honest rather then wise That they do chose you rather for quiet men then for busy heades and more for your fewe woordes then for your much bablyng For in the pallace of Princes if the wise man be no more then wise it is a great happe if he be moch estemed but if he be an honest man he is beloued and wel taken of all That Princes and other noble men ought to ouer see the tutours of their children least they conceale the secret faultes of their scollers Chap xxxvii VVe haue before rehersed what conditions what age and what grauity maisters ought to haue which should bring vp the children of Princes Now reason would we shold declare what the counsels should be that princes shold geue to the maysters and tutours of their children before they ought to geue them any charge And after that it is mete we declare what the counsel shal be whyche the mayster shall geue to hys dyscyple hauyng the gouernement of hym For it is vnpossible ther should happen any misfortune wher rype counsel is euer present It shal seame vnto those that shal profoundly consider this matter that it is a superfluous thing to treate of these thinges for either princes chose that good or els they chose the euil If they chose not good maisters they labour in vaine to geue thē good counsel for the folish maiser is lesse capable of coūsel thē the dyssolute scoler of holsome admonitiō If perchaunce princes do make elections of good maisters then those maisters both for them selues and also for others ought to minister good counsels For to geue councell to the wyse man it is either a superfluous dede or els it cōmeth of a presumptuous man Though it be true that he whych dare geue councel to the sage man is presumptuous I saye in lyke maner that the dyamonde beyng set in gold loseth not his vertue but rather increseth in pryce value I meane that the wiser a man is somuche the more he oughte to desire to knowe the opinion of another certainly he that doeth so cannot erre For to none his owne councell aboundeth somuch but that he nedeth the counsell and opinion of another Though princes and great lordes do se with their eyes that they haue chosen good maisters and tutors to teache their children yet they ought not therfore to be so negligent of them selues but that sometimes they may geue the maysters counsell For it maye be that the maysters be both noble and stout that they be auncient sage moderate but it may be also that in teaching children they are not expert For to masters and tutours of princes it is not somuche necessary that science doth abounde as it is shame that experience shoulde want When a riche man letteth out his farme or maner to a farmor he doth not only consider with him selfe before what rent he shall pay hym but also he couenanteth with hym that he shall keape his groundes well fensed and ditched and his howses well repaired And not contented to receiue the thirde parte of the frute of his vine but also he goeth twyse or thrise in a yeare to visite it And in seyng it he hath reason for in the end the one occupyeth the goods as tenaunte and the other doth viewe the grounde as chefe lord Then if the father of the family with so great diligence doeth recōmend the trees and the groūd to the labourer how much more ought the father to recōmend his children to the maisters for the father geuing coūcell to the maister is no other but to deliuer his child to the treasurer of sciēce Princes and great lords cānot excuse them selues of an offence if after that they haue chosen a knight or gentleman for to be maister or els a learned wise man to be tutour they are so necligēt as if they neuer had had children or did remember that their childrē ought to be their heires certainly this thing shold not be so lightly passed ouer but as a wise man which is careful of the honor profit of his child he ought to be occupied aswel in taking hede to the maister as the maister ought to be occupied in taking hede to the child For the good fathers ought to know whether the maister that he hath chosen can cōmaund and whether his child wil obey One of the notablest princes among the auncientes was Sculeucus king of the Assiriās and husband of Estrabonica the daughter of Demetrius kyng of Macedony a lady for her beauty in al Grece the most renowmed thoughe of her fame in dede she was not very fortunat This is an olde disease that hapneth alwayes to beautiful women that ther be many that desire them mo that slaunder them This king Seuleucus was first maryed with another woman of whom he had a sonne called Antigonus the whyche was in loue with the second wife of his father that is to wete with the quene Estrabonica and was almost dead for loue The whiche the father vnderstandyng maried his sonne with her so that she that was his stepmother was hys wife and she that was a faire wyfe was a faire doughter he which was hys sonne was made his sonne in lawe he which was father was stepfather The aucthor herof is Plutarke in his liues as Sextus Cheronensis saith in the third boke of the sayenges of the grekes The king Seuleucus laboured diligently to bring vp his son Antigonus well wherfore he sought him .ii. notable maisters the one a greke
and more profyte of the scoller he maye be soner vertuous then vitious For there is more courage required in one to be euil then strenght in another for to be good Also the maisters commenly haue another euill property worse then this whyche is they beare with their scollers in some secreat vices when they are yong from the whiche they cannot be withdrawen afterwarde when they are olde For it chaunceth oftetimes that the good inclination is ouercome by the euill custome and certainly the maisters whych in such a case should be apprehended ought to be punished as traitors pariured For to the mayster it is greater treason to leaue his disciple amongest vices then to delyuer a forte into the handes of the enemyes And let no man maruaill if I call such a mayster a treator for the one yeldeth the forte whych is but of stones builded but the other aduentureth hys sonne who is of his proper body begotten The cause of al this euill is that as the children of Princes ought to enherite realmes and the children of greate lordes hope to inherite the great estates so the maisters are more couetous then vertuous For they suffer their puples to runne at their own willes whē they be yong to thend to winne their hartes when they shal be olde so that the extreame couetousnes of the maisters now a dayes is suche that it causeth goodmens sonnes commonly to be euil and vitious O tutors of princes and maisters of great lordes I do admonyshe you and besides that I counsell you that your couetousnes deceiue you not thynkynge that you shal be better estemed for being clokers of vices then louers of vertues For there is none old nor yong so wicked but knoweth that good is better then euill And further I say to you in this case that oftetimes God permitteth when those that wer children become old their eyes to be opened wherby they know the harme that you haue done them in suffering them to be vitious in thier youth at what tyme your dutye had bene to haue corrected their vices You thought by your goods to be honored for your flattery but you find the contrary that you are despised worthely For it is the iust iudgement of god that he that committeth euill shall not escape without punyshment and he that consealeth the euill committed shal not liue vndefamed Diadumeus the Historiographer in the lyfe of Seuerus the .xxi. Emperour de clareth that Apuleius Rufynus who hadde ben consull twise and at that tyme was also tribune of the people a man who was very aged and likewise of greate aucthoritie thoroughe oute Rome came one daye to the Emperour Seuerus and sayed vnto him in this sorte Moste inuicte Prince alwayes Augustus know that I had .ii. children the whiche I committed to a mayster to bring vp and by chaunce the eldest increasinge in yeares and diminishing in vertues fell in loue with a Romaine ladye the which loue came to late to my knowledge for to such vnfortunat men as I am the disease is alwayes past remedy before the daunger thereof commeth to our knowledge The greatest grefe that herein I fele is that his mayster knew and consealed the euill and was not onely not a meanes to remedye it but also was the chefe worker of the adultery betwene them to be committed And my sonne made hym an oblygation wherin he bounde hym selfe if he woulde bryng hym that romaine lady he would geue hym after my death the house and herytages whych I haue in the gate Salaria and yet herwith not contented but he and my sonne together robbed me of much money For loue is costlye to hym that maynteineth it and alwayes the loues of the children are chargefull to the fathers Iudge you now therefore noble Prince thys so heinous and slaunderous cause for it is to muche presumption of the subiecte to reuenge any iniury knowyng that the lorde hym selfe will reuenge all wronges When the Emperour Seuerus hadde vnderstode this so heynous a case as one that was both in name and dede seuere commaunded good inquisition of the matter to be hadde and that before his presence the shoulde cause to appeare the father the sonne and the mayster to the ende eche one should alledge for his owne right for in Rome none could be condemned for anye offence vnlesse the plainetife had first declared the faulte before hys presence and that the accused shold haue no tyme to make hys excuse The trueth then knowen and the offenders confessyng the offences the Emperour Seuerus gaue iudgement thus I commaunde that this mayster be caste alyue amonge the beastes of the parke Palatine For it is but mete that beastes deuoure hym whyche teacheth others to lyue lyke beastes Also I doe commaunde that the sonne be vtterly dysinheryted of all the goodes of hys father and banyshed into the Iles Balleares and Maiorques For the chylde whiche from hys youth is vitious oughte iustlye to be banyshed the countrey and dysherited of hys fathers goods This therfore of the maister and of the sonne was done by the complaint of Apuleius Rufinus O howe vnconstant fortune is and howe oft not thynkyng of it the threde of lyfe doth breake I saye it bicause if this maister had not bene couetous the father hadde not bene depriued of his sonne the childe hadde not bene banished the mother had not bene defamed the common weale had not bene slaundered the master of wylde beastes hadde not bene deuoured neyther the Emperour hadde bene so cruell agaynst them nor yet their names in Hystories to their infamies hadde alwayes continued I doe not speake thys without a cause to declare by writyng that whyche the euyll do in the world For wyse menne ought more to feare the infamye of the litle penne then the slaunder of the bablyng tongue For in the ende the wicked tongue can not defame but the lyuynge but the litle penne doth defame them that are that were and the shal be To conclude thys my mynde is that the mayster shoulde endeuour hym selfe that hys scooller shoulde be vertuous and that he doe not dispayre though immediately for hys paines he be not rewarded For thoughe he be not of the creature let hym be assured that he shal be of the creatour For God is so mercyefull that he ofte tymes takynge pitie of the swette of those that be good chastneth the vnthankfull and taketh vpon him to require their seruices Of the determination of the Emperour when he committed his childe to the tutours whyche he had prouided for his education Chapter xxxviii CInna the Hystorien in the first booke of the times of Comodus declareth that Marcus Aurelius the Emperour chose .xiiii. masters learned and wise men to teache hys sonne Comodus of the whyche he refused fyue not for that they were not wyse but for that they were not honeste And so he kepte these nyne onely whyche were both learned in the sciences and also experte in bringyng vp the chyldren of
I saye that the tutors and masters of princes and great Lordes ought not to be contented onely to know what science what doctrine and what vertue they oughte to shewe and teache their scollers but also with greater care and diligence the yought to know from what euils or wicked customes they ought to withdraw thē For when the trees are tender and yong it is more necessary to bowe them and cut of the superfluous braunches with knyues then to gather their furtes with Baskettes Those which take vpon them to gouerne Moyles of great pryse value and those that tame and breake horses of a good race take great paines that such beastes be light that they leape wel and be well made to the sporre and bridel but they take much more paines that they be gentill familiar faithfull and aboue all that they haue no euill qualities Then sith it is so masters ought diligently to watche if they be good that in yong Princes there be no apparaunce of any notable vices For al the vertues which the yong do learne doth not them so much profit as one onely vice doth them hurte if they doe therunto consent knowyng that therby they may be herafter blamed or despised For if any man knew a beast that is wyld and stoburne and not gentill and will bye him at greate pryce suche a one hath his head more full of follyes then of wysedome Albeit that maisters ought to withdraw their scollers from many euil customes amōgest all there ar foure principall in any of the which if the prince be defamed the maister which hath taught him should deserue great punishment For according to the humaine lawes and customes al the domage and harme that the beastes do the vineyarde the keper that hath charge therof shall as he is bound recompence First the maisters ought to refraine in suche sort the tonges of their scollers that neyther in sport nor in earnest they permit thē to tell lyes For the greatest faulte that is in a good and vertuous man is to be briefe in the truth and the greatest villanye that is in a vicious man is to be long in lyes Merula in that .v. booke of Cesars saith that the firste war that Vlpius Traianus made was against Cebalus king of Daces who rebelled against the Romaines and with no smal victorie ouercame the Emperour Domitian in a battaile which they fought togethers For as Nasica sayd the pleasures that Rome had to see many victories were not so greate as the displeasure was whyche she toke to see her selfe once ouercome The good Vlpius Traianus gaue battaile to kyng Cebalus wherin Cebalus was not onely ouercome but also taken and afterwardes broughte before the emperour Traianus whyche sayde vnto him these wordes Speake Cebalus why didest thou rebell agaynst the Romaynes since thou knowest that the Romaynes are vnuincible The kyng Cebalus aunswered him If the Romaines could not be ouercom how did I then ouercome the Emperour Domitian Traian the Emperour sayde vnto hym againe Thou art greatly deceyued kynge Cebalus to thinke that when thou ouercamest the Emperour thou haddest ouercome the Romaines For when that Romulus founded Rome the Gods ordeyned that though their emperour dyed in anye battaile yet not withstandyng it is not to be thought that the empyre is ouercome The Hystoriographers made a great matter of the wordes that this Vlpius Traianus spake For therin he shewed that the Romaine empire was vnuincible After that this kyng Cebalus was dead and that for his desertes he was depriued as the Emperour Traian was a mercifull prince so he prouided that a litel child that Cebalus hadde shoulde be brought vp in his pallace with intention that if the childe became good they woulde geue hym the Realme whiche his father thorough Treason hadde loste For in Rome there was an auncient lawe that all that whiche the father lost by treason the sonne should recouer by hys faithfull actes It chaunced that the good Traian takyng his pleasure in the gardins of Vulcan sawe the sonne of kyng Cebalus and many other yong children of Rome stealynge fruite forth of an orchard and it is no wonder for the Locustes did not so much harme to the Corne as the children do to the fruites when they entre into the orchardes When the emperour afterwardes demaunded him frō whence he came he aunswered from his studye hearyng Rethoricke but in dede he came from stealing of fruite The emperour Traian was so angrie displeased that the child was a lyer that he commaunded he should vtterly be depriued and made voyde of al hope to recouer the realme of his father The Emperour Traian was greatly importuned as well of straung Imbassatours as of hys owne Countrey men that he would chaung that cruel sentence For prynces in a furie do commaund that which when they are pacient they doe vndo The emperour Traian aunswered them if the father of this child which was kyng Cebalus had bene a true prince he had not loste hys lyfe neyther hys Realme nor had not put me th empyre so many times in daunger but since the father was a lyer and the sonne is not true it were to vniust a thynge to render him the Realme For to me it should be great reproche and to our mother Rome as much dishonour that she beyng the mother of truthe shoulde geue realmes to children beyng lyers This was it that Vlpius Traian spake vnto the sonne of kyng Cebalus Marcus Aurelius the .xvii. Emperour of Rome had .ii. sonnes as before we haue rehersed the eldest of the whiche was called Comodus and his father procured greatly to disinherit him of the empire For he would that the second son named Verissimus should haue inherited it and he did not onely determine it but also spake it oft times openly For that thing is with great difficulty dissembled that excessiuely is beloued By chaunce an olde Senator and frend of Marcus the emperour one daye both goyng out of the Senate house sayd vnto him I meruaile at the much most excellent prince why thou doest disherite thy sonne which is eldest to make thine heyre the yongest knowynge that they are both thy sonnes and that the gods haue geuen the no others but them For the good fathers are bound to chasten their children but they haue not licence to disherit them The emperour Marcus Aurelius aunswered him If thou were a greke philosopher as thou art a Romain citizen and if thou knewest the fathers loue towardes hys childe thou wouldest not take pitie one my sonne whiche vndoeth the Empire but thou shouldest haue compassion on me his father which doth disherit him For the chyld scarcely knoweth what he loseth but I that am hys father doe bewayle the domage whyche I doo vnto hym For in the ende there is not in the world so cruel a father but if his sonne should be hurt with the pomell of the swerde in the hande the father would fele incontinentlye the
my seconde sonne such an estate and duchye and to my doughter suche landes and to all I recommend iustice to the ende they doe obserue it and cause it to bee obserued euerye one in his owne countrey It is muche to note that the father dothe not saie that he leaueth vnto his sonne iustice but that he doth recommend it vnto hym so that the good princes ought to thinke that they haue not inherited iustyce of theire predecessoures in fourme of a patrimonie but that God gaue it vntoo them of truste Prynces of all thinges maye bee called lordes saue onelye of iustice wherof they are but onely ministers We dare boldly saye that the prince or gret lord which iudgeth causes not according to the diuine wil but accordīg to theire owne affection we will not call him a iuste iudge but a rouing theefe For the prince is muche worse whiche robbeth god of iustice then the theefe whiche stealeth the goods from menne Suetonius Tranquillus reciteth much wickednes of Domician and the greatest of all was the poore the Orphans and those whiche coulde doe little he alwaies punished the other that were riche and of aucthoritie he pardoned He compounded with some for money and with other he dissembled for fauour Lampridius saide of Alexander Seuerus the .25 Emperour of Rome that he neuer kepte in his courte anye euyll man or suffered any of his parentes to be vicious And when he was demanded on a time why he banished one of his cosyns since he was yong a child he aunswered them whiche entreated him for him and alleged That though he was yonge his cosin yet Charior est mihi respub as if more plainly he had said I haue none other nerer of kinne to me in my palace then the common wealth O high and muche more higher woordes worthy for a truthe to bee written in princes hartes whereby they ought to be aduertised that he said not I take for my kynne one parte of the common wealthe For the prince whiche feareth god and desired to be founde iust as he will indifferentlye bee obeyed of all so ought he equally to administer iustice to all If they wyll not credite me nor my penne let them credit Plato in the bookes of his common wealth who geueth libertie and lycence to all the Plebeyans to the end that euery one doe loue his wife his children and his parentes And this sorte of loue he will not that princes haue to whome he perswadeth that first aboue all thinges they loue theire common wealthe for if the Prince doe loue anye other thinge aboue his common wealth it is vnpossible but that one daye for the loue of that he wil writhe iustice When Plato gaue not lycēce to Princes not to enlarge their loue on diuers thinges peraduenture he woulde counsaile them that they shoulde doe some wronges It chaunseth ofte tymes that princes doe omitte iustice not for that they will not administer it but because they will not be enfourmed of thinges whyche they ought to remedye and looke vnto And thys is vnexcusable where he hurteth hys honour and burdeneth hys conscience For at the daye of iudgement thoughe he bee not accused for malyce yet he shal bee condemned for neglygence The prince which is carefull to see and enquire the dominages of his realmes we maye saye that if he doth not prouyde for them it is because he can doe no more but hee whiche is neglygent to see them and knowe them we cannot saye but if hee leaue to prouyde it is for that hee will not The prince or greate lorde whych dare take vppon him suche thynges what name or renowme maye we geue him I woulde not we shoulde call suche a one father of the common wealth but destroyer of hys countrey For there can be no tirannye greater nor more vnequall then for the Phisicion to aske his duetye for hys cure before he hath begone to minister the medicine That Princes and greate lordes desyre to knowe theire reuenewes I alowe them but in that they care not to knowe the dommages of theire common wealthes I doe discommende them For the people paye tribute to theire Princes to the ende they shoulde delyuer them from theire enemies and defende them from tyrauntes For the iudges whyche wil bee euill thoughe I saye muche it will profite lytle but to those whyche desyre to be good that whiche is spoken as I thinke suffyseth Notwithstandinge that whiche is spoken I say that iudges and gouernours ought to consider well with them selues and see if they wil be counted for iust ministers or cruell tirauntes For the office of a tyraunt is to robbe the common wealth and the office of the good Prince is to refourme the people Princes and greate lordes haue more busynes then they thinke they haue to see all those whiche will see them and to heare all those whiche will cōplain vnto them And the cause hereof is admitte that whiche the subiect demaundeth he presentlye cannot geue nor that whereof he complaineth he cannot remedye yet notwithstandynge they remaine after a sorte contented sayeng that they haue nowe shewed all theire complaintes and iniuries to their princes For the wounded hartes often tymes vtter their inward paines whiche they feele without any hope to receiue comfort of that which they desyre Plutarche in his Apothegmes sayeth that a poore and aged woman desired kyng Philipe of Macedonie whiche was the father of kinge Alexander the greate that he woulde heare her with iustice and sithe she was verye importunate vppon him kyng Philip saied on a daye vnto her I praye the woman be cōtented I swere by the gods I haue no leasure to heare thy complainte The olde woman aunswered the kinge Beholde king Phillyppe if thou hast not time to heare me with iustice resigne thy kingdome another shall gouerne thy common wealthe ¶ Of an oracion whiche a villayne dwellinge neere to the ryuer of Danuby made before the Senatours of Rome concerning the tyranies and oppressions which their officers vsed in his countrey And the oracion is deuyded into three Chapters Cap. iii. IN the .x. yeare of the reigne of the good emperour Marcus Aurelius there happened in Rome a generall pestilence the whiche being so outragious the good emperour went into Campaigne whiche at that tyme was verye healthfull and without diseases thoughe it was very drye and wanted much of that which was necessarie yet notwithstanding the good Emperour was there with all the principall Senatours of Rome For in tyme of pestilence men doe not seeke where they should reioice their parsonnes but where they maye saue theire lyues Marcus Aurelius being there in Campania was sore vexed with a feuer And as his condicion was alwaies to be amongest Sages so at that tyme hys sickenes required to be visited of phisicions The resorte that he had in hys pallace was verye greate as well of Philosophers for to teache as of phisitions for to dispute For this
feuer which I haue I sawe this villaine standing boldely a whole houre on his feete al we beholdinge the earthe as amazed coulde not aunswere him one word For in dede this villaine confuted vs with his purpose astonied vs to se the litle regarde he had of his life The senate afterwardes being al agreed the next day folowing we prouided new iudges for the ryuer of Danuby cōmaunded the villaine to deliuer vs by writing all that he had saide by mouth to the end it might be registred in the booke of good saiyng of straungers which were in the senate And further it was agreed that the saide villaine for the wise wordes he spake should be chosen senatour and of the free men of Rome he should be one and that for euer he should be sustayned with the cōmon treasour For our mother Rome hath alwaies bene praysed estemed not only to acquite the seruices which hath bene done vnto her but also the good wordes which were spoken in the Senate ¶ That princes noble men oughte to be very circumspect in chosinge iudges and offycers for therein consistethe the profyte of the publike weale Cap. vi ALexander the great as the historiographers say in his youth vsed hūting very much specially of the mountains that which is to be marueiled at he would not hunt Deare goats hares nor partriges but Tigers Lyberdes elephants cocodrilles and Lyons So that this mighty prince did not onely shewe the excellency of his courage in conqueringe proude princes but also in chasing of cruel sauage beasts Plutarche in his Apothegmes saiethe that the greate Alexander had a familiar seruaunt named Crotherus to whom often times he spake these words I let the to know Crotherus that the valyāt princes ought not only to be vpright in their realmes which they gouern but also to be circumspect in pastimes which they vse that the auctoritie whiche in the one they haue wonne in the other they do not lose When Alexander spake these wordes truely he was of more auctoritie then of yeares But in the ende he gaue this example more to be folowed cōmanded then to be reproued or blamed I saye to be folowed not in the huntinge that he exercysed but in the great courage which he shewed To the Plebeyans men of base condicion it is a litle thing that in one matter they shew their might in other things they re small power is knowen but to princes greate lordes it is a discommendable thing that in earnest matters any man should accuse them of pryde in thinges of sport they should count them for light For the noble valiaunt Prince in thinges of importaunce ought to shew great wisedome in meane things great stoutnes The case was such that Alexander the great hunting on the wilde mountaines by chaunce met with a cruel Lion as the good Prince would wyn his honor with the Lion also the Lion preserue his own life they were in griepes the one of the other so faste that bothe fell to the earthe where they striued almoste halfe an houre but in the ende the lyon remained there deade and the hardye Alexander escaped all bloudye This huntynge of Alexander and the Lyon thoroughe all Grece was greatlye renowmed I say gretly renowmed because the grauers painters drew a pourtrait forthwith in stone worke of this huntinge the grauers hereof were Lisippus and Leocarcus marueilous grauers of anuk workes which they made of mettall where they liuely set forth Alexander the Lion fighting also a familiar seruant of his named Crotherus being among the dogges beholding thē So that the worke semed not onely to represent an aūcient thing but that the Lyon Alexander Crotherus the dogges semed also to be aliue in the same chase Whē Alexander fought with the Lyon ther came an Embassatour from Sparthes to Macedonia who spake to Alexander these wordes Woulde to god immortall prince that the force you haue vsed with the Lyon in the mountain you had imployed against some prince for to be Lorde of the earth By the wordes of the Embassatour the deedes of Alexander may easely by gathered that as it is comly for Princes to be honest valiaunt and stout so to the contrary it is vnsemely for them to be bolde and rashe For thoughe princes of their goodes be lyberall yet of their lyfe they oughte not to be prodigall The diuine Plato in the tenth booke of his laws saieth that the .2 renowmed Philosophers of Thebes whose names were Adon Clinias fell at variaunce withe them selues to know in what thing the prince is bound to aduenture his life Clinias said that he ought to dye for any thing touching his honour Adon saide the contrarye That he should not hazarde his life vnles it were for maters touching the affaires of the common wealth Plato saieth those .2 philosophers had reason in that they saide but admit that occasion to dye shoulde be offred the prince for the one or the other he ought rather to dye for that thing touching iustice then for the thinge touchinge his honour For there is no great difference to dye more for the one then for the other Applying that we haue spoken to that we will speake I say that we do not desire nor we wil not that princes and greate lordes doe destroy them selues with Lions in the chase neither aduenture their persones in the warres nor that they put their liues in peril for the common weale but we only require them that they take some paines and care to prouide for thinges belonging to iustice For it is a more naturall hunting for princes to hunt out the vicious of their common weales then for to hunt the wilde bores in the thicke woodes To the end princes accomplish this which we haue spoken we wil not aske them time when they ought to eat slepe hunt sport recreate thē selues but that of the foure and twenty houres that be in the daye and nyghte theye take it for a pleasure and commoditie one houre to talke of iustice The gouernement of the commonweale consisteth not in that they should trauaile vntil they sweate and molest theire bodies shed theire bloude shorten theire lyues and lose theire pastimes but all consistethe in that they shoulde be dylygent to forsee the domages of their common wealth and likewise to prouyde for good mynysters of iustice We doe not demaunde Prynces and greate lordes to geue vs theire goodes nor we forbydde them not to eate to forsake slepe to sporte to hunte nor to putte theire lyues in daunger but we desyre and beseeche them that theye prouyde good mynysters of iustice for the common wealthe Firste they oughte to be very dyligente to serche them oute and afterwards to be more circūspect to examine thē for if we sighe withe teares to haue good Prynces we oughte muche more to praye that wee haue not euill offycers What profytethe it
euylles and inuentoures of all vyces Wherein appeareth your lytle care and muche tyrannye For all sayde openlye in Asia that the theues of Rome doe hang the theues of Iewrye What will ye I shall saye more Romaynes but that wee lyttle esteame the theeues whiche keepe the wooddes in comparison of the Iudges whyche robbe vs in oure owne houses O howe wofull were oure fatall destenyes the daye that we became subiecte to the Romaynes Wee feare no theues whiche shoulde robbe vs in the highe waye wee feare no fyre whiche should burne oure goods nor we feare no tyrauntes whyche shoulde make warre againste vs neyther anye Assirians whiche shoulde spoyle oure countrey we feare not the corrupte ayre that shoulde infect vs neyther the plague that shoulde take oure lyues from vs but wee feare youre cruell iudges whyche oppesse vs in the common welthe and robbeth vs of oure good name I saye not without a cause they trouble the common wealthe For that layde a parte whiche they saye that layde a parte whiche they meane and that layde aparte whiche they robbe immediatelye they write to the Senate to consent vnto them not of the good whyche they fynde in the auncientes but of the lightnes whiche they see in the yonge And as the Senatoures doe heare them here and doe not see them there so ye geeue more credite to one that hathe beene but three monethes in the prouince then to those whiche haue gouerned the common wealth .30 yeares Consyder Senatoures that ye haue beene made and appointed Senatours in this place for that ye were the wysest the honestest the beste experimented and the most moderate and vertuous Therefore in this aboue all shal bee seene if ye bee vertuous in that you do not beleue all For if those bee manye and of dyuers nations whiche haue to doe with you muche more dyuers and variable are theire intencions and endes for the whiche they entreate I lye if youre Iudges haue not done so manye wronges in iustice forsaken theire disciplyne that they haue taught the youth of Iudea inuencions of vyces whiche neither hathe bene hearde of oure fathers neyther reade in oure bookes ne yet seene in oure tyme. Ye others Romaines since ye are noble and myghtye ye disdaine to take counsayle of menne that bee poore the whiche ye ought not to doe neither counsail youre frendes to doe it For to knowe and to haue lytle seldome times goeth together As manye counsayles as Iudea hath taken of Rome so manye lett nowe Rome take of Iudea You ought to knowe thoughe your Captaynes haue wonne manye realmes by sheddynge bloude yet notwithstandyng your iudges ought to keepe them not with rygorous sheddynge of bloud but with clemencye and winnynge theire hartes O Romaynes admonishe commaunde praye and aduertyse youre Iudges whome ye sende to gouerne straunge prouynces that they imploye them selues more to the common wealthe of the realme then they re handes to nomber theire fynes and forfettes For otherwise they shall sclaunder those whiche sende them and shall hurte those whome they gouerne You re Iudges in iuste thinges are not obeyed for anye other cause but forasmuche as firste they haue commaunded manye vniuste thinges The iuste commaundementes make the humble hartes and the vniuste commaundementes doe turne and conuerte the meeke and humble menne to seuere and cruell personnes Humayne malyce is so geeuen to commaunde and is so troublesome to be commaunded that though they commaunde vs to doe good wee doe obey euylle the more they commmaund vs euyll the woorse they bee obeyed in the good Beleue me Romaines one thinge and doubte nothinge therin that of the great lightnes of the iudges is sprong the little feare and greate shame of the people Eche Prince whiche shal geue to anye iudge the charge of iustice whō he knoweth not to bee able doth it not so much for that he knoweth wel how to minister iustice but because he is verye craftye to augment his goodes Let hym be well assured that when he least thinketh on it his honour shal bee in moste infamye his credite lost hys goodes diminished and some notable punyshement lyght vppon his house And because I haue other things to speke in secreate I will here conclude that is open and fynallye I saye that if ye will preserue vs and our realme for the whiche you haue haserded youre selues in manye periles keape vs in iustice and wee wil haue you in reuerence Commaunde as Romaynes and wee will obey as Hebrues geue a pytefull president and ye shall haue all the realme in safegarde What will ye I saye more but that if you be not cruell to punishe our weaknesse we will be verye obedient to your ordinaunces Before ye prouyde for to commaunde vs thinke it well to entreate vs for by prayeng with al mekenes and not commaundinge with presumpcion ye shall fynde in vs the loue whyche the fathers are wonte to fynde in theire children and not the treason whiche the lordes haue accustomed to fynde in their seruauntes ¶ The Emperour concludeth hys letter againste the cruell iudges and declareth what the graundfather of king Boco spake in the Senate Cap. xi ALl that whiche aboue I haue spoke the Hebrue saide and not without greate admiracion he was hearde of all the Senate O Rome without rome whiche nowe haste nought but the walles and arte made a common stewes of vyces What diddest thou tell mee when a straunger dyd rebuke and taunte thee in the myddest of thy Senate it is a generall rule where there is corruption of custome lyberties are alwaies loste which seemeth moste true here in Rome For the Romaines which in tymes past went to reuenge theire iniuries into straunge countreys nowe others come out of straunge countreyes to assaulte them in theire owne houses Therefore since the iustice of Rome is condemned what thinkest thou that I beleeue of that I le of Cicil tell mee I praye thee Antigonus from whence commeth thinkest thou so greate offence to the people and suche corruption to iustice in the common wealth Yf peraduenture thou knowest it not harken and I will tell the. It is an order whereby all goeth without order Thou oughtest to know that the counsayloures of princes beinge importunate and the Prince not resistinge them but suffringe them they deceyue hym some wyth couetousnes other with ignoraunce geeue from whome they ought to take and take from whome they ought to geeue they honour them who do dyshonour them they witholde the iuste and delyuer the couetous they dyspyse the wyse and trust the lyghte fynallye they prouyde not for the offyces of personnes but for the persons of offyces Harke Antigonus I wyl tell the more These myserable iudges after thei are prouided inuested in the auctority of their offices wherof they wer vnworthy seing thēselues of power to cōmaūd that the dygnitie of their offices is muche more then the desert of theire personnes immediatelye they make them selues to
not geeuen thee nor neuer will geeue thee For the goddes are so iuste in deuydynge theire giftes that to them to whom theye geue contentacion theye take from them ryches and to those whom theye geeue riches they take their contentacion Plutarche in the fyrste of hys pollytike puttethe this example and he declareth not the name of thys phylosopher O howe greate a benefyte is that whiche the goddes geeue to prynces and greate lordes in geeuinge them theire healthe in geeuynge them ryches and in geuinge them honour but if besides those hee geueth them not contentacion I saye that in geeuynge them the goodes hee geuethe them trauaile and daunger For if the trauaile of the poore bee greater thenne the trauayle of the riche wytheoute comparison the discontentacion of the ryche is greater then the discontentacion of the poore Menne lytle regardynge theire healthe beecome sicke lytle esteeminge theire riches beecome poore and beecause theye knowe not what honoure is theye become dishonoured I meane that the rashe prynces vntill suche time as theye haue benne well beaten in the warres will alwayes lytle regarde peace The daye that yowe prynces proclayme warres agaynste youre enemies you set at lybertye all vyces to your subiectes Yet yowe saye youre meanynge is not theye shoulde bee euyll I saye it is true Yet all thys ioyned togethers ye geeue them occasion that theye bee not good Let vs knowe what thynge warre is and then we shall see whyther it bee good or euill to followe it In warres theye doe noughte els but kyll menne robbe the temples spoyle the people destroye the innocentes geeue lybertie to theeues seperate friendes and rayse stryfe all the whiche thynges cannot bee done wytheoute greate hurte of iustyce and scrupulosytie of conscyence The sedycious manne hym selfe canne not denaye vs that if twoe Prynces take vppon them warres beetweene them and that bothe of them seeme to haue ryghte yet the one of them onelye hathe reason So that the prynce whyche shall fyghte agaynste iustice or defende the vniuste cause shall not escape oute of that warre iustifyed Not issuynge oute iustifyed hee shall remayne condempned and the condemnation shall be that all the losses murders burnynges hangynges and robberies whiche were done in the one or other common wealthe shall remayne vppon the account of hym whyche tooke vppon hym the vniuste warre Allthoughe hee dothe not fynde an other prynce that will demaunde an accoumpte of hym heare in thys lyfe yet hee shall haue a iuste iudge that will in another place laye it to hys charge The prince whiche is vertuous and presumethe to be a christian beefore hee beeginne the warre oughte to considre what losse or profyte will ensue thereof Wherein if the ende bee not prosperous hee loseth his goodes and honoure and if hee perchaunce attaine to that he desyred peraduenture his desire was to the domage of the common wealthe and then hee oughte not to desire it For the desire of one should not hurte the profite of all When GOD oure lorde dyd create prynces for prynces and people accepted them for their lordes it is to beleue that the goddes neuer commaunded suche things nor the men would euer haue excepted such if they had thought the princes would not haue done that they were boūd but rather that whereunto they were enclined For if men follow that whereunto theire sensualitie enclinethe them they do alwaies erre Therefore if they suffer them selues to bee gouerned by reason they are always sure And besides that princes should not take vppon them warres for the burdening of theire conscience the mispendinge of their goodes and the losse of their honour they ought also to remember the dutie that they owe to the common wealth the which they are bounde to kepe in peace and iustice For we others nede not gouernours to search vs enemies but princes which may defend vs from the wicked The diuine Plato in his .4 booke de legibus sayeth that one demaunded him why he did exalt the Lidians so much and so muche dispraise the Lacedemonians Plato aunswered If I cōmend the Lidians it is for that they neuer were occupied but in tilling the field and if I do reproue here the Lacedemonians it is because theye neuer knewe nothinge els but to conquere realmes And therefore I saye that more happie is that realme where men haue their handes with labouring full of blysters then where theire armes in fightinge are wounded withe sweordes These wordes whiche Plato spake are verye true and woulde to god that in the gates and hartes of princes they were written Plinius in an epistle sayethe that it was a prouerbe muche vsed amongest the Grekes that he was kyng whiche neuer sawe kynge The lyke maye we saye that he onelye maye enioye peace whiche neuer knewe what warre meant For simple innocent though a man be there is none but will iudge him more happye whiche occupyeth his handekerchiefe to drye the sweate of his browes then he that breakethe it to wipe the bloude of his heade The princes and greate lordes which are louers of warre ought to consider that they do not onelye hurte in generall all men but also specially the good and the reason is that allthoughe they of their own willes do abstaine from battaile doe not spoile do not rebell nor sleye yet it is necessarie for them to endure the iniuries and to suffer theire owne losse and damages For none are meete for the warre but those whiche litle esteeme theire life and muche lesse theire consciences If the warre weare onely with the euill againste the euill and to the hurte and hinderaunce of the euill litle shoulde theye fele whiche presume to be good But I am sory the good are persecuted the good are robbed and the good are slaine For if it were otherwyse as I haue sayde the euill againste the euill we would take litle thought both for the vanquishinge of the one and muche lesse for the destruccion of the other I aske nowe what fame what honoure what glorye what victorie or what riches in that warre can be wonne wherein so manye good vertuous wyse men are loste There is suche penurye of the good in the worlde and such nede of them in the common wealthe that if it weare in oure power wee wythe oure teares oughte to plucke them oute of theire graues and geeue them lyfe and not to leade them into the warres as to a shambles to be put toe deathe Plinie in one epistle and Seneca in an other saye that when theye desyred a Romayne captain that with his army he should enter into a greate daunger whereof greate honoure shoulde ensue vnto hym and lytle profyte to the cōmon wealthe He aunswered For nothynge woulde I enter into that daunger if it were not to geue life to a romayn citizē For I desire rather to go enuironed with the good in Rome then to go loden with treasures into my coūtreye Comparinge prince to prince and lawe
as if it were his owne To thys I aunswere that I am not myghtye ynough to remedy it except by my remedye there shoulde spring a greater inconuenience And since thou hast not bene a Prince thou couldest not fall into that I haue nor yet vnderstand that whych I saie For princes by theire wisedome knowe manye thinges the whych to remedy they haue no power So it hath beene so it is so it shal be so I founde it so I keepe it so wil I leaue it them so I haue read it in bookes so haue I seene it with my eyes so I heard it of my predecessours and finallye I saye so our fathers haue inuented it and so wyll wee theire children sustaine it and for this euyll wee will leaue it to our heires I wyll tell thee one thinge and imagine that I erre not therein whych is consideringe the great dommage and lytle profyte which the men of warre doe bringe to our common wealth I thynk to doe it and to sustaine it either it is the folly of menne or a scourge geuen of the gods For there can be nothinge more iust then for the goddes to permit that we feele that in our owne houses whiche we cause others in straunge houses to lament All those thinges I haue written vnto thee not for that it skilleth greatly that thou knowe them but that my harte is at ease to vtter them For as Alcibiades saide the chestes and the hartes ought alwaies to bee open to theire frendes Panutius my secretary goeth in my behalfe to visite that land and I gaue him this letter to geue the with two horses wherewith I think thou wilt be contented for they are gennettes The weapons and ryches whyche I tooke of the Parthes I haue nowe deuyded notwtstanding I doe sende thee .2 Chariottes of them My wyfe Faustine greeteth thee and I sende a riche glasse for thy doughter and a Iewell with stones for thy sister No more but I beseche the Gods to geeue thee a good lyfe and mee a good death ¶ The admonition of the Aucthour to Princes and greate Lordes to thintent that the more they growe in yeares the more they are bounde to refraine from vyces Cap. xvii AVlus Gelius in hys booke De noctibus Atticis sayeth that there was an auncient custome amongest the romaynes to honour and haue in great reuerence aged men And this was so inuiolate a law amongest them that there was none so noble of bloode and lynage neyther so puissaunt in ryches neither so fortunate in battayles that should goe before the aged men which were loden with whit heares so that they honoured them as the gods and reuerenced them as theire fathers Amongest other the aged menne had these preheminences that is to wete that in feastes they sate highest in the triumphes they went before in the temples they did sitte downe they spake to the Senate before all others they had their garments surred they might eat alone in secrat and by theire onlye woorde they were credited as witnesses Fynally I saye that in all thinges they serued them and in nothinge they annoyed them After the people of Rome began warre wyth Asia they forsooke all theire good Romayne customes immediatlye And the occasyon hereof was that since they had no menne to sustaine the common wealth by reason of the great multytude of people which dyed in the warre they ordeyned that al the yong menne should mary the yong maides the wydowes the free and the bonde and that the honour whyche hadde bene done vntyll that tyme vnto the olde menne from henceforthe shoulde be done vnto the maried menne though they were yong So that the moste honoured in Rome was hee not of moste yeares but he that had most children This lawe was made a little before the firste battaile of Catthage And the custome that the maried menne were more honoured then the old menne endured vntill the tyme of the Emperour Augustus whiche was such a frende of antiquyties that hee renewed all the walles of Rome with newe stones and renewed all the auncient customes of the common wealth Licurgus in the lawes whiche hee gaue to the Lacedemonians ordayned that the young menne passinge by the olde shoulde doe them greate reuerence whē the olde dyd speake then the younger shoulde bee sylent And he ordained also that if any olde man by casualtye dyd lose hys goods and came into extreame pouertie that he shoulde bee sustained of the comon wealth and that in suche sustentacion they shoulde haue respecte not onely to succour him for to sustaine hym but further to geue him to lyue competently Plutarche in hys Apothegmes declareth that Cato the Censoure visitinge the corners of Rome founde an olde manne sittinge at his doore weepinge and sheddinge manye teares from hys eyes And Cato the Censoure demaundynge hym why hee was so euyll handeled and wherefore he wepte so bitterlye the good olde manne aunswered hym O Cato the Gods beinge the onelye comfortours comforte thee in all thy tribulations since thou arte readye to comforte mee at this wofull hower As well as thou knowest that the consolations of the harte are more necessarye then the phisike of the bodye the whiche beeynge applyed sometymes doeth heale and an other tyme they doe harme Beholde my scabbed handes my swollen legges my mouth without teethe my peeled face my white beard and my balde heade for thou beinge as thou arte descreete shouldest be excused to aske mee why I weepe For menne of my age thoughe they weepe not for the lyttle they feele yet they ought to weepe for the ouermuche they lyue The manne which is loden with yeares tormented with diseases pursued with enemyes forgotten of his frendes visited with mishappes and with euill wyll and pouertie I knowe not why hee demaundeth long life For there can be no sharper reuengemēt of vyces whych we commit then to geue vs long lyfe Though now I am aged I was yong and if any yong manne should doe me anye iniurye truelye I would not desire the gods to take his lyfe but that they woulde rather prolonge his lyfe For it is a great pitie to heare the man whyche hath lyued longe account the troubles whiche he hath endured Knowe thou Cato if thou doest not knowe it that I haue lyued .77 yeares And in thys tyme I haue buried my father my graundefather twoe Auntes and .5 vncles After that I had buried .9 systers and .11 Brethren I haue buried afterwardes twoe lawfull wyfes and fyue bonde women whyche I haue hadde as my lemmans I haue buryed also .14 chyldren and .7 maryed doughters and therewith not contented I haue buryed .37 Nephues and .15 Nieces and that whyche greaueth me moste of all is that I haue buryed two frendes of myne one which remained in Capua the other which was residente here at Rome The death of whom hath greued me more then all those of my aliaunce and parentage For in the worlde there is no
so much the more were the philosophers deuided amongest them selues When they were so assembled truely they did not eate nor drinke out of measure but some pleasaunt matter was moued betwene the masters and the scollers betwene the yong and the olde that is to wete which of them coulde declare any secrete of phylosophye or anye profound sentence O happy were such feastes and no lesse happy were they that thether were bidden But I am sory that those whiche nowe byd and those that are bidden for a trouth are not as those auncients were For there are noe feastes now adays of phylosophers but of gluttons not to dispute but to murmour not to open doubtfull things but to talke of the vices of others not to confirme aunciente amities but to begynne newe dissensions not to learne any doctrines but to approue some nouelty And that whiche worste of all is that the olde striue at the table with the yonge not on hym whiche hathe spoken the moste grauest sentence but of hym whyche hathe dronke moste wyne and hathe rinsed most cuppes Paulus Diaconus in the historye of the Lumbardes declarethe that foure olde Lumbardes made a banket in the whiche the one dranke to the others yeres and it was in this manner Theye made defyaunce to drinke two to twoe and after eche man had declared howe many yeres olde he was the one drāke as manye times as the other was yeares olde and likewise his companion pledged him And one of these foure companions had at the leaste 58. yeares the second .63 the thyrde .87 the fourthe .812 so that a man knowethe not what they did eate in this banket eyther litle or muche but we knowe that hee that dranke least dranke 58. cuppes of wine Of this so euill custome came the Gothes to make this lawe which of manye is reade and of fewe vnderstanded where it sayeth We ordeyn and commaūd on payne of deathe that no olde man drinke to the others yeres being at the table That was made because they were so muche geuen to wyne that they dranke more ofte thenne they did eate morselles The Prynces and greate Lordes whyche are nowe olde oughte to bee verye sober in drinkynge synce theye oughte greatlye to be regarded and honoured of the yonge For speakinge the truthe and withe libertie whan the olde man shall bee ouercome with wine he hath more necessitie that the yong man leade him by the arme to his house then that hee shoulde take of his cappe vnto hym or speake vnto hym with reuerence Also prynces and greate lordes oughte to be verye circumspecte that whenne theye become aged theye bee not noted for yonge in the apparayle whiche theye weare For althoughe that for wearinge a fyne and riche garmente the prynce dothe not enriche or enpouerishe his common wealthe yet we cannot denye but that it dothe much for the reputacion of his persone For the vanytie and curiositie of garments dothe shewe great lightnes of minde According to the varietye of ages so ought the diuersitie of apparaile to bee whiche semethe to bee verye cleare in that the yonge maydes are attyred in one sorte the maried women of an other sorte the widdowes of an other And lykewise I woulde saye that the apparayle of children oughte to be of one sorte those of yonge men of an other and those of olde men of an other whyche oughte to bee more honester then all For men of hoarye heades oughte not to be adourned withe precious garmētes but withe verteous workes To goe cleanlye to be well apparayled and to be well accompanied we doe not forbydde the olde especiallye those whych are noble and valyaunt men but to goe to fine to go with great traynes and to goe verye curious wee doe not allowe Let the olde men pardon mee for it is not the office but of yonge fooles For the one sheweth honestye and the other lightnes It is a confusion to tell it but it is greater shame to doe it that is to weete that manye olde men of oure time take noe small felicitye to put caules on theire heades euerye manne to weare iewels on theire neckes to laye theire cappes withe agglettes of golde to seeke oute dyuers inuencions of mettall to loade theire fingers wythe riche ringes to goe perfumed wythe odiferous fauoures to weare newe fashioned apparayle and fynallye I saye that thoughe theire face bee full of wrincles they can not suffer one wrincle to be in theire gowne All the auncient historiens accuse Quintus Hottensius the Romayne for that euerye tyme when hee made hym selfe readye he hadde a glasse beefore hym and as muche space and tyme had hee to streyghten the plaites of his gowne as a woman hadde to trymme the heares of her heade This Quintus Hortensius beinge Consul goynge by chaunce one day through Rome in a narrowe streat met wythe the other Consul where throughe the streightnes of the passage the plaightes of his gowne weare vndone vppon whych occasion hee complayned to the senate of the other Consull that he had done hym a greate iniurye sayinge that he deserued to lose hys lyfe The authoure of all this is Macrobius in the thyrde booke of the Saturnales I can not tell if I be deceiued but we maye saye that al the curiositye that olde men haue to goe fine wel appareled and cleane is for no other thinge but to shake of age and to pretende righte to youthe What a griefe is it to see dyuers auncient men the whiche as ripe figges do fal and on the other side it is a wonder to see howe in theire age they make them selues yonge In this case I saye woulde to god we might see them hate vices and not to complaine of the yeares which theye haue I praye and exhorte princes and greate lordes whom oure soueraigne lorde hathe permitted to come to age that theye doe not despise to be aged For speaking the truthe the man whiche hathe enuye to seeme olde doth delight to liue in the lightnes of youthe Also man of honour oughte to be verye circumspecte for so muche as after theye are beecome aged theye bee not suspected of theire friends but that both vnto their friends foes they be counted faythfull For a lye in a yonge mannes mouthe is but a lye but in the mouthe of an olde manne it is a heynous blasphemye Prynces and great lordes after they are become aged of one sorte they oughte to vse them selues to geue and of thother to speake For good prynces oughte to sell woordes by weighte and geeue rewardes withoute measure The auncient oftentymes complayne sayinge that the yonge will bee not conuersaunt with them and truely if there be anye faulte therin it is of them selues And the reason is that if sometimes theye doe assemble togethers to passe awaye the tyme if the olde man set a talkinge he neuer maketh an ende So that a discrete man had rather go .xii. miles on foote then to heare an olde man
moue mee to speake and the faythe whyche I owe vnto you dothe not suffer mee that I shoulde keepe it close For manye thinges oughte to be borne amonge friendes thoughe theye tell them in earnest whiche ought not to be suffered of others thoughe theye speake it in gest I come therefore to shewe the matter and I beseche the immortall goddes that there bee noe more then that whiche was tolde mee and that it bee lesse then I suspecte Gaius Furius youre kinsman and my especiall friende as hee went to the realme of Palestyne and Hierusalem came to see mee in Antioche and hathe tolde mee newes of Italy and Rome and among others one aboue al the residewe I haue committed to memorye at the whiche I coolde not refraine laughinge and lesse to bee troubled after I hadde thought of it O how manye thinges doe wee talke in gest the whiche after wee haue well considered geeue occasion to be sorye The emperoure Adrian mye good lorde had a Iester whose name was Belphus yonge comelye and stoute allbeeit hee was verye malicious as suche are accustomed to bee and whiles the imbassadours of Germaine supped with the Emperour in greate ioye the same Belphus beeganne to iest of euery one that was present according to his accustomed manner with a certeine malicious grace And Adrian perceiuing that some chaunged colour others murmured and others weare angrye hee saide vnto thys Iester frinde Belphus if thou loue mee and mye seruice vse not these spytefull iestes at our supper which being considered on may turne vs to euil rest in our beddes Gaius Furius hath tolde me so many slaunders chaunced in Italy such nouelties done in Rome such alteracion of our Senate such contentiō strife betwene our neighbours suche lightnes of yow twoo that I was astonied to here it ashamed to writ it And it is nothing to tell after what sort he told thē vnto me onlesse you had sene how earnestly he spake them imagining that as he told thē without taking anye paine so did I receiue them as he thought with out any griefe though in deede euerye woorde that he spake seemed a sharpe percinge arrowe vnto my hart For oft times some telleth vs thynges as of small importaunce the whiche do pricke our hartes to the quicke By the oppynion of all I vnderstande that you are verye olde and yet in your owne fantasies you seame verye yonge And further theye saye that you apparell youre selues a newe nowe as thoughe presentlye you came into the worlde moreouer they saye that you are offended with nothinge so muche as when theye call you olde that in theaters where comedies are played and in the fieldes where the brute beastes do runne you are not the hindmost and that there is no sport nor lightnes inuented in Rome but first is registred in youre house And finally they say that you geue your selues so to pleasures as thoughe you neuer thought to receiue displeasures O Claude and Claudine by the god Iupiter I sweare vnto you that I am a shamed of your vnshamefastnes am greatly abashed of your maners and aboue all I am excedingly greeued for your great offence For at that time that you ought to lift vp your handes yow are returned againe into the filth of the world Many thinges men commyt which though they seme graue yet by moderacion of the person that committeth them they are made light but speaking according to the trouthe I fynde one reason wherebye I mighte excuse youre lightnes but to the contrarye I see tenne wherebye I maye condempne youre follyes Solon the phylosopher in hys lawes sayde to the Athenians that if the yonge offended hee shoulde bee gentlye admonished and grieuouslye punished beecause hee was strong and if the olde dydde erre he shoulde be lightlye punished and sharpelye admonished sithe he was weake and feble To this Licurgus in his lawes to the Lacedemonians sayde contrarye that if the yonge did offende hee shoulde bee lightly punished and greuously admonished sins through ignoraunce he dyd erre and the olde manne whiche did euill shoulde be lightly admonished and sharpely punished sins through malice he did offend These two phylosophers being as theye haue bene of suche authoritie in the worlde that is paste and consideringe that their lawes and sentences were of suche weighte it shoulde be muche rashenesse in not admittinge the one of them Nowe not receyuyng the one nor reprouynge the other mee thynketh that there is greate excuse to the yonge for theire ignoraunce and greate condempnacion o the aged for theire experience Once agayne I retourne to saye that you pardone me mye friendes and you oughte not greatlye to weye it thoughe I am somewhat sharpe in condempnation since you others are so dissolute in youre liues for of youre blacke lyfe mye penne dothe take ynke I remember well that I haue harde of thee Claude that thou haste bene lusty and couragious in thye youthe so that thye strengthe of all was enuyed and the beauty of Claudine of all men was desired I will not write vnto you in this letter mye frindes and neigheboures neither reduce to memorye howe thou Claude haste imployed thy forces in the seruice of the common wealth and thou Claudine hast wōne muche honoure of thy beautye for sundrye tymes it chaunced that men of manye goodlye gyftes are noted of greuous offences Those whiche striued with thee are all dead those whom thow desiredst are dead those which serued thee Claudine are deade those whiche before thee Claudine sighed are deade those which for thee died are nowe dead and sins all those are dead withe they re lightnesse do not you others thinke to dye your follyes allso I demaunde nowe of thy youthe one thinge and of thy beauty another thinge what do you receiue of these pastimes of these good interteinmentes of these abundances of these great contentacions of the pleasures of the worlde of the vanytye that is paste and what hope you of all these to carye into the narrowe graue O simple simple and ignoraunt persones howe oure life consumeth and we perceiue not howe we liue therein For it is no felicitie to enioy a short or long life but to knowe to employe the same well or euill O children of the earthe and disciples of vanytie nowe you knowe that tyme flyethe without mouing his wynges the life goeth without liftinge vppe hys feete the worlde dispatcheth vs not tellinge vs the cause men beegile vs not mouinge theire lippes our flesh consumeth to vs vnwares the heart dieth hauing no remedy finally our glory decayeth as if it had neuer bene and death oppresseth vs wythoute knockinge at the doore Thoughe a man be neuer so simple or so very a foole yet he can not denaye but it is impossible to make a fier in the botome of the sea to make a waye in the ayre of the thinne bloude to make roughe sinewes and of the softe vaines to make harde bones I
if thou be euill lyfe shal bee euyl imployd on thee and if thou bee good thou oughtest to die imediatly and because I am woors thē all I liue lōger then all These woordes which Adrian my lord sayed doe plainely declare and expresse that in short space the pale and cruel death doth assaulte the good and lēgthneth life a great while to the euil The opinion of a philosopher was that the gods are so profound in their secrets high in their misteryes and so iust in their woorks that to men which least profit the common wealth they lengthen lyfe longest and though he had not sayd it we others see it by experience For the man which is good and that beareth great zeale and frendship to the common wealth either the gods take him from vs or the enemies do sley him or the daungers doe cast him away or the the trauailes do finish him When great Pompeius Iulius Cesar became enemyes from that enmite came to cruel warres the cronicles of that time declare that the kings and people of the occidental part became in the fauour of Iulius Cesar and the mightiest most puisaunte of al the oriental parts came in the ayd of great Pompeius beecause these two Princes were loued of few and serued and feared of al. Amongst the diuersity and sundry nations of people which came out of the oriental part into the host of the great Pompeius one nation came maruelous cruel barbarous which sayd they dwelled in the other side of the mountayns Riphees which go vnto India And these barbarous had a custome not to liue no longer then fifty years therfore when thei came to that age they made a greater fier and were burned therin aliue and of their owne willes they sacrificed them selues to the gods Let no man bee astoined at that wee haue spoken but rather let them maruel of that wee wyl speak that is to say that the same day that any man had accomplished fifty years immediatly hee cast him self quick in to the fier and the parents children and his freends made a great feast And the feast was that they did eat the fleash of the dead half burned and drank in wyne and water the asshes of his bones so that the stomak of the children beeing aliue was the graue of the fathers beeing dead All this that I haue spoken with my toung Pompeius hath seen with his eies for that some beeing in the camp did accomplish fifty years bycause the case was straunge hee declared it oft times in the Senate Let euery man iudge in this case what hee will and condemne the barbarous at his pleasure yet I wyll not cease too say what I think O golden world which had such men O blessed people of whom in the world to come shal bee a perpetuall memory What contēpt of world what forgetfulnes of him self what stroke of fortune what whip for the flesh what litell regard of lyfe O what bridell for the veruous O what confusion for those that loue lyfe O how great example haue they left vs not to feare death Sithens those heeare haue wyllingly dispised their own liues it is not to bee thought that they died to take the goods of others neither to think that our life shoold neuer haue end nor our couetousnes in like maner O glorious people and .10 thousand sold happy that the proper sensuallyty beeing forsaken hath ouercome the natural appetyte to desire to liue not beeleeuing in that they saw and that hauing faith in that they neuer saw they striued with the fatall destines By the way they assalted fortune they chaunged life for death they offred the body to death and aboue al haue woon honor with the gods not for that they should hasten death but because they should take away that which is superfluus of life Archagent a surgiō of Rome and Anthonius Musus a phisition of the Emperor Augustus and Esculapius father of the phisick shoold get litel mony in that country Hee that thē shoold haue sēt to the barbarous to haue doone as the Romaynes at that tyme did that is to wete to take siroppes in the mornings pylls at night to drynk mylk in the morning to noynt them selues with gromelsede to bee let bloud to day and purged to morrow to eat of one thing and to abstein from many a man ought to think that hee which willingly seeketh death wil not geue mony to lengthen lyfe ¶ The Emperor concludeth his letter and sheweth what perilles those old men lyue in which dissolutely like yong children passe their days and geeueth vnto them holsome counsell for the remedy therof Cap. xxii BVt returning now to thee Claude to thee Claudine mee thinketh that these barbarous beeing fifty years of age and you others hauing aboue thre score and 10. it should bee iust that sithens you were elder in years you were equal in vertue and though as they you wyl not accept death paciently yet at the least you ought to amend your euel liues willingly I do remember that it is many years sithens that Fabritius the yong sonne of Fabritius the old had ordeyned to haue deceiued mee of the which if you had not told mee great inconueniences had hapned and sithens that you did mee so great a benefit I woold now requite you the same with an other like For amongst frends there is no equal benifit then to deceyue the deceyuer I let you know if you doo not know it that you are poore aged folks your eyes are soonk into your heads the nostrels are shutt the hears are white the hearing is lost the tonge faltreth the teeth fall the face is wrincled the feete swoln the stomak cold Finally I say that if the graue could speak as vnto his subiects by iustice hee myght commaund you to inhabit his house It is great pity of the yong men and of their youthfull ignorante for then vnto such their eyes are not opened to know the mishaps of this miserable life when cruell death doth end their dayes and adiorneth thē to the graue Plato in his book of the common wealth sayd that in vaine wee geeue good counsels to fond light yongmen For youth is without experiēce of that it knoweth suspicious of that it heareth incredible of that is told him despising the counsayl of an other and very poore of his own Forsomuch as this is true that I tell you Claude and Claudine that without comparison the ignorance which the yong haue of the good is not so much but the obstinacion which the old hath in the euel is more For the mortal gods many times do dissemble with a .1000 offeces committed by ignorance but they neuer forgeeue the offence perpetrated by malice O Claude and Claudine I doo not meruel that you doo forget the gods as you doo which created you and your fathers which beegot you and your parēts which haue loued you and your frends which haue
first ought to abhorre couetousnes before hee beginne to occupie hym selfe to locke vp goods For the man which setteth no bond to his desire shall alwayes haue litle thoughe he see himselfe lord of the worlde Truly this sentence was worthilye spoken of such a man The sentēce of the Stoyckes doth satisfy my mind much wherof Aristotel in his pollitikes maketh mēcion where he sayth that vnto great affayres are alwaies required great riches there is no extreame pouerty but where there hathe beene greate aboundaunce Therof ensueth that to princes and great lordes which haue much they wāt much bicause to men which haue had litel they can not wāt but litel Yf we admonishe wordlings not to be vitious they wil alwayes haue excuses to excuse theim selues declaring why they haue bene vitious the vice of auarice excepted to whom and with whom they haue no excuse For if one vaine reason be readye to excuse then there are .2000 to condemne them Let vs put example in all the principall vices and we shall se how this onely of auarice remaineth condemned and not excused If we reason why a prince or great lord is haulty and proude he wil aunswere that he hath great occasion For the natural disposition of men is rather to desire to commaūd with trauaile then to serue with rest Yf we reproue any man that is furious and geuen to anger he will aunswere vs that we maruaile not since we maruaile not of the proude For the enemy hath no more auctority to trouble any man then the other to take reuēge of him Yf we blame him for that he is fleshly and vitious he will aunswer vs that he can not absteyne from that sinne for if any man can eschew the acts he fighteth continually with vncleane thoughtes Yf we say that any man is negligent he will aunswere vs that he deserueth not to be blamed for the vilenes of our nature is suche that if we do trauaile it immediatly it is weary and if we rest it immediatly it reioyceth Yf we rebuke any man that is a glutton he wil aunswer vs that without eatinge and drinkinge we can not lyue in the worlde for the deuine worde hath not forbidden man to eate with the mouthe but the vncleane thoughtes which come from the hart As of these fewe vices we haue declared so maye we excuse al the reasidue but to the vice of couetousnes none can geue a reasonable excuse For with money put into the cofer the soule cānot profite nor the bodye reioyce Boetius in his booke of consolation sayd that money is good not when we haue it in possessiō but when we want it in very dede the sentence of Boetius is very profound for when man spendeth mony he attayneth to that he wil but hauinge it with him it profiteth him nothinge We may say of riche and couetous men that if they heape and kepe they say it is but for deare and drye yeres and to releue their parents frendes We may aunswere them that they do not heape vp to remedye the poore in suche like necessities but rather to bringe the commonwealth to greter pouertye For then they sel al thinges deare and put out theyr money to great vsury so that this couetous man dooth more harme with that he dooth lend them then the dry yere dooth with that it hath taken from theim The noble and vertuous men ought not to cease to do wel for feare of dry yeres for in the ende if one deare yeare come it maketh all dere and at such a time and in such a case he onely may be called happy which for being free and liberal in almes shall reioyce that his table should be costlye Let couetous mē beware that for keaping of much goodes they giue not to the deuel their soules for it may be that before the deare yere cometh to sel their corne their bodies shal be layd in the graue O what good dooth god to the noble men geuing them liberal hartes and what ill luck haue couetous men hauing as thei haue their hartes so hard laced For if couetous men did tast how sweete and necessary a thing it is to giue they could kepe litle for them selues Nowe sithens the miserable and couetous men haue not the hart to giue to their frendes too depart to theire parentes to succour the poore to lend to their neighboures nor to susteyne the orphanes it is to be thought that they wil spend it on them selues Truly I saye no more for there are men so miserable and so hard of that they haue that they thinke that as euyll spent whiche amonge theim selues they spende as that which one robbeth from them of their goods Howe will the couetous and miserable wretche geue a garmēte to a naked man which dare not make him selfe a cote How wil he geue to eate to the poore famylyar which as a poore slaue eateth the bread of branne and sellethe the floure of meale How shal the pilgrimes lodge in his house who for pure miserye dare not enter and howe doth he visite the hospitall and reliue the sicke that oft times hasardeth his owne helth and life for that he wil not geue one penye to the phisition how shall he succour secretly the poore and neady which maketh his owne children go barefoote and naked how can he helpe to marye the poore maydes being orphanes when he suffereth his owne daughters to waxe old in his house how wil he geue of his goodes to the poore captiues which will not paye his owne men their wages how wil he geue to eate to the children of poore gentelmen which alwayes grudgeth at that his owne spende howe should we beleue that he wil apparel a widowe hwich wil not giue his owne wife a hoode howe doth he dayly giue almes which goeth not to the churche on the Sonday because he wil not offer one peny how shal the couetous mā reioice the hart sith for spending of one peny oft times hee goeth supperles to bed And finally I saye that he wil neuer giue vs of his owne proper goodes which weapeth alwayes for the goodes of an other ¶ The auctor foloweth his matter and with great reasons discommendeth the vices of couetous men Cap. xxiiii ONe of the thinges wherin the deuine prouidence sheweth that we do not vnderstand the maner of her gouerment is to see that she geueth vnderstandinge too a man too knowe the riches she geueth him force too seeke theim subtiltye too gather them vertue too susteyne them courage too defend them and also longe life to possesse them And with al this she gyueth him not licence to enioye them but rather suffereth him that as withoute reason he hath made him selfe lorde of an nother mans of righte he shoulde bee made sclaue of his owne thereby a man may knowe of howe greater excellencye vertuous pouertye is then the outragious couetousnes for so much as to the poore god doth giue contentation of
Lido of whom the Atheniens demaunded what they shoold doo with the treasure and dead body mee thinketh quod thys philosopher that if those which are lyuing did know any siluer or gold which the tyraunt tooke from them it shoold bee restored again immediatly and doo not meruell that I doo not require it to bee put in the common treasure For god will not permit that the commonwealth bee enriched with the theft of Tyraunts but with the swet of the inhabitants If any goods remayn which doo not appere from whom they haue beene taken mee thinketh that they ought to bee distributed among the poore for nothing can bee more iust then that which the goods wherewyth the tyraunt hath enpouerished many wyth the self same wee shoold enrich some As touching his buriall mee thinketh hee ought to be cast out to the 〈…〉 to bee eaten and to the dogs to bee gnawen And let no man thynk this sentence to bee cruell for wee are bound to doo no more for him at his death then hee did for him self in his lyfe who beeing so ouercome with auaryce that hee woold neuer disburse so much money as shoold buy him seuen foote of earth wherin his graue shoold bee made And I will you know that the gods haue doon a great good to all Greece to take lyfe from this tyrant First it is good because much goods are dispersed which heeretofore lay hid and serued to no purpose Secondly that many tongues shall rest for the treasours of this tirant made great want in the common welth and our tongues the greatest part of the day were occupied to speak euill of his parson Mee thinketh this philosopher hath touched two things which the couetous man dooth in the common wealth that is to wete that drawing much gold siluer to the hid treasure hee robbeth the marchandise wherwith the people doo liue The other dommage is that as hee is hated of all so hee causeth rancour malice in the harts of all for hee maketh the rych to murmour and the poore to blasphem One thing I read in the laws of the Lombards woorthy of truth to bee noted and knowen and no lesse to bee folowed which is that all those which shoold haue gold siluer money silks clothes euery yere they shoold bee registred in the place of iustice And this was to the end not to consent nor permit them to heap much but that they shoold haue to buy to sell and to trafik wherby the goods were occupyed among the people So that hee which did spend the money to the profit of his house it was taken for good of the common wealth Yf christians woold doo that now adays which the Lombardes did there shoold not bee so many treasures hid nor so many couetous men in the commonwealth for nothing can bee more vniust then that one rych man shoold heap vp that which woold suffise ten thousand to liue wyth all Wee can not deny but that the cursed auarice and disordinat couetise to al states of men is as preiudiciall as the moth which eateth all garments Therfore speaking the truth and wyth lyberty ther is no house that it dooth not defyle for it is more perilous to haue a clod of earth fall into a mans eye then a beam vppon his foot Agesilaus the renowmed king of the Lacedemonians beeing asked of a man of Thebes what woord was most odible to bee spoken to a king and what woord that was that coold honor him most hee aunswered The prince with nothing so much ought to bee annoied as to say vnto him that hee is rich and of nothing hee ought so much to reioice as to bee called poore For the glory of the good prince consisteth not in that hee hath great treasures but in that hee hath geeuen great recompences Thys woord without doubt of all the world was one of the most royallest and worthiest to bee committed vnto memory Alexander Pirrhus Nicanor Ptolomeê° Pompeius Iulius Cesar Scipio Hanniball Marcus Portius Augustus Cato Traian Theodose Marcus Aurelius all these princes haue beene very valiant and vertuous but addyng heereunto also the writers which haue writeÌ„ the deedes that they did in their lyues haue mencioned also the pouerty 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 state bee auaricious and princes and great lords also couetous the fault of the one is not equall with the vice of the other though in the end all are culpable For if the poore maÌ„ keepe it is for that hee woold not want but if the knight hoord it is beecause he hath to much And in this case I woold say that cursed bee the knight which trauaileth to the end that goods abound and dooth not care that betweene two bowes his renowmsall to the ground Sithens princes and great lords will that men doo count them noble vertuous valyaunt I woold know what occasion they haue to bee nigards and hard Yf they say that that which they keepe is to eat heerein there is no reasoÌ„ for in the end where the rich eateth least at his table ther are many that had rather haue that which remaineth then that which they prouide to eat in their houses If they say that that which they keepe is to apparel them heere in also they haue as lytle reason for the greatnes of lords consisteth not in that they shoold bee sumptuously appareled but that they prouide that their seruaunts go not rent nor torne If they say it is to haue in their chambers precious iewels in their halles rich Tapestry as little woold I admit this answer for all those which enter into princes palaces doo beehold more if those that haunt their chambers bee vertuous then that the tapestries bee rych If they say that it is to compasse their cities with walles or to make fortresses on their fronters so lykewise is this aunswer amongst the others very cold For good princes ought not to trauel but to bee well willed and if in their realms they bee welbeeloued in the world they can haue no walles so strong as the harts of their subiects If they tell vs that that they keepe is to mary their children as little reason is that for sithens princes and great lords haue great inheritaunces they neede not heap much For if their children bee good they shall encrease that shal bee left them and if by mishap they bee euill they shall aswell lose that that shal bee geeuen them If they say vnto vs that that which they heap is for the warres in like maner that is no iust excuse For if such warre bee not iust the prince ought not to take it in hand nor the people therunto to condescend but if it bee iust the common wealth then not the prince shal bere the charges therof For in iust warres it is not sufficient that they geeue
And wylde forests where swarmed heards of dere thousands of sheepe no cattal could not want with new encrease to store the wasted yere VVhole rowts I kept of seruile wights to sarue Defauts of princely courts with yrkesom toyle whose skilful hand from conning coold not swarue their sway was most to deck my daynty soyle The learned wights of musikes curious art I trayned vp to please mee with their play whose sugred tunes so sayled to my hart As flowing greef agreed to ebbe away The tender maides whose stalk of growing yeres yet reached not to age his second rayn whose royall fames were swalowed in no cares But burnt by loue as beauties lot doth gayn Lo I enioyed to feede my dulled spirite with strayned voice of sweete alluring song but yet to mount the stage of more delight I ioyed to see their comly daunces long The hilles of massy gold that I vpheapt So hugie were by hoord of long excesse That clottered clay with prouder price was kept In sondry realmes when ruthfull need did presse In some I say my bodies roling guyde did gase for nought but subiect lay to sight My iudge of sounds wisht nothing to abyde but was instild to kindle more delight The clother of my corps yet neuer felt that pleasde him ought but ay it toucht agayn my sycher of sauours if ought bee smelt that might content his woold was neuer vayn The greedy sighes of my deuoured brest Trauailed in thought to conquer no delight but yelded straight as wyer to the wrest to office such as wanton will be hight But when the doores of my abused eyen were hoysed vp with lookes and lookes agayn And that my egre hands did ay enclyne to touch the sweete that seasond still their payn VVhen wanton tast was fed with eche conceit That strange deuise brought forth froÌ„ flowing wit when restlesse will was ballast with the waight of princely reach that did my compasse fit I saw by serch the sory vnstable bloome the blasted fruit the flitting still delight The fyckle ioy the oft abused doome the slipper stay the short contented syght Of such as set their heauen of lingring lyfe In pleasures lappe that laughes at their abuse whose froward wheele with frowning turn is ryse to drown their blisse that blyndly slept with vse For lo the course of my delighting years that was embraste in armes of fansies past when wisdoms sonne through follies clouds aperes doth blush to here the count that pleasure cast So now I see the masse of huge delight with flattering face dooth promise but decay whose flitting foot entysed once to flight his restles wings doo seeke to sore away Lo thus hee slips reclaimd with endles payn Possest a while departing soone agayn This sayeth the sage Salomon talking of the things of the world the which as hee spake of the world so had hee proued it in deede in his parson Crediting as it is reason to such high doctrin I cannot tell what my pen can write more in this case since hee saith that after hee had all proued experimented possessed and tasted hee found that all that wee procure haue in this world is vanity O princes and great lords I beesech yee and in the name of Iesus christ I exhort you with great discretioÌ„ to enter into this deepe seas since thys order is so disordered that it bringeth all disorders euil customs For al those which shall trauail by the way when they shal think to goe most sure in the midst of their iourney they shal finde them selues to bee lost None ought to agree with the world for that hee might liue sure in his house for day night to all worldlings hee hath his gate open making their entry large sure But let vs beeware wee enter not and much more that wee lode not our selues with his vices and bee delighted with his pleasures For since wee doo waxe worse and that wee are entered therein though wee doo repent by no way wee fynd the sure comming out but the first wee must wel pay for our lodging I maruell not though the worldlings at euery moment bee deceiued sins superfyciously they beehold the world with their eies loue it profouÌ„dly with their harts But if they desyred as profoundly to consider it as they do vaynly follow it they shoold see very plain that the world did not flatter them with prosperity but threaten them with aduersity So that vnder the greatest point of the dye which is the vi is hyd the least which is the ase I woold counsel princes great lordes that they woold not beeleeue the world nor his flatteries and much lesse beeleeue them selues nor their vayn ymaginacions The which for the most part doo think that after they haue trauailed and heaped vp great treasure they shall enioy but their own trauail without the trouble of any man or that any man doo goe again them O how vayn is such thought and how oft dooth it chaunge contrary The world is of such an euill condicion that if hee let vs rest our first sleepe as well vs as that which wee haue gotten immediatly in the morning yea oftentimes an hower from thence hee waketh vs with a new care now hee hath prepared for vs some mean to occupy our selues about some other trouble ¶ The autour followeth his intencion and speaketh vehemently against the dysceyts of the world Cap. xl THemperor Traian sayd one day to his maister which was Plutarche the great phylosopher tell mee master why there are commonly moe euill then good and why without comparison there are mo which follow vices than those which embrace vertue The great Plutarche aunswered As our naturall inclinacion is more geeuen to lasciuiousnes and neglygence then to chastity and abstinence so the men which doo enforce them selues to follow vertue are few and those which geeue slack the reyns to vices are many And know thou if thou knowst it not most noble Prince that all thys euill proceedeth that men doo follow men and that they suffer not reason to follow reason Feeble and myserable is our nature but in the end wee caÌ„ not denâ—y that for all our trauailes wee may fynd remedy in it which seemeth to bee true For so much as if the sunne dooth annoy vs wee doo retire to the shadow If wee are greeued goyng on foot wee doo remedy it goyng on horseback If the sea bee daungerous wee saile with shyps If the cold doo vexe vs wee approch neere the fyer If thurst dooth trouble vs wee doo quench it with drink If rayn dooth wet vs wee go into houses If the plague bee in one place wee fly into another If wee haue enemies wee comfort our selues wyth our frends Fynally I say that there is no sorow nor trauaile but that a maÌ„ hath found some rest remedy This presupposed to bee true as it is trouth in deede now I ask all the worldlings if they haue found any remedy against
the troubles disceits of this world If I bee not deceiued if I vnderstand any thing of this world the remedy which the world geeueth for the troubles certainly are greater trauailes then the trauailes them selues so that they are salues that doo not heal our wounds but rather burn our flesh When the diseases are not very old rooted nor daungerous it profiteth more oftentimes to abide a gentle feauer then to take a sharp purgacion I mean that the world is such a deceyuer and so double that hee dooth contrary to that hee punisheth That is to weete that if hee doo perswade vs to reuenge an iniury it is to the end that in reuenging that one wee shoold receiue a thousand incōueniences And where as wee think it taketh from vs it encreaseth infynite So that this cursed guide making vs to beeleeue it leadeth vs vpon the dry land among our frends causeth vs to fall into the imbushment of our enemies Princes and great lords in the thoughts they haue and in the woords that they speak are greatly esteemed and afterwards in the woorks which they doo and in the affaires they trauaile are as litle regarded The contrary of all this dooth the wicked world who with al those hee companieth in his promisses hee is very gentle afterwards in his deedes hee is very proud For speakyng the trouth it costeth vs deare and wee others doo sell it good chepe I say much in saying that wee sell it good chepe but in manner I shoold say better that wee geeue it willingly For few are those in number which cary away wages of the world and infinite are those which doo serue it onely for a vayn hope O princes and great lords I counsaile and require you that you doo not trust the world neither in word deede nor promise though hee sweare and sweare agayn that hee will keepe all hee hath promised with you Suppose that the world dooth honor you much flatter you much visit you oft offer you great treasures and geeue you much yet it is not beecause hee wil geeue it yee by lytle lytle but that afterwards hee might take it all from yee again in one day For it is the old custome of the world that those whych aboue all men hee hath set beefore now at a turn they are furdest beehinde What may wee haue in the world and in his flatteries since wee doo know that one day wee shall see our selues depryued thereof and that which is more hee vseth such craft and subtilty with the one and the other that in old men whom reason woold shoold not bee vicious hee the more to torment their parsons hath kyndled a greater fyer in their harts so that this malicious world putteth into old ryches a new couetousnesse and in the aged engendreth cruell auaryce and that in that tyme when it is out of tyme. Wee ought greatly to consyder how by the world wee are deceyued but much more wee ought to heede that wee bee not by it distroyed For where as wee thynk to bee in open lyberty hee keepeth vs secret in pryson Wee thynk wee are whole and hee geeueth vs sicknesse Wee thynk wee haue all things yet wee haue nothing Wee thynk that for many yeares long shal bee our life when that at euery corner wee are assaulted of death Wee think that it counteth vs for mē that bee wise when hee keepeth vs bond like vnto fooles We think that it encreaseth our good when that in deede it burdeneth our cōsciens Fynally I say that by the way where wee thynk to contynue our renowme and life wee lose without recouery both lyfe and fame O filthy world that when thou doost receiue vs thou doost cast vs of when thou doost assēble vs thou doost seperat vs when thou seemest to reioice vs thou makest vs sad when thou pleasest vs how thou displeasest vs when thou exaltest vs how thou hūblest vs when thou doost chastice vs how thou reioicest Fynally I say that thou hast thy drynks so impoysoned that wee are without thee with thee and hauyng the theefe within the house wee goe out of the dores to seeke hym Though men bee diuers in gestures yet much more are they variable in their appetites And sith the world hath experiēce of so many years it hath appetites prepared for all kynd of people For the presumptuous hee procureth honors to the auaricious hee procureth riches and to those which are gluttons hee presenteth dyuers meats The fleshly hee blindeth with women and the negligent hee letteth rest and the end why hee dooth all these things is that after hee hath fed them as fysh hee casteth vpon them the nettes of all vices Note princes and great lords note noble men though a prince doo see him self lord of all the world hee ought to thynk that of no value is the seignory onles hee him self bee vertuous For litle it profiteth that hee bee lord of the vicious which is him self the seruant of all vices Many say that the world dooth beeguile them and other say that they haue no power against the world To whō wee may aunswere That if at the first temptacions wee woold haue resisted the world it is vnpossible that so oftentimes it durst assault vs. For of our small resistaunce commeth his so great audacity I can not tell if I shall dissemble I shal hold my peace or whither I shal say that I woold say since it greeueth my hart so much onely to think of it For I feele my eyes redyer to lament it then my fingers able to write it It is so that euery man suffereth himself to bee gouerned so of the world as if god were not in heauen hee had not promised to bee a good christian here in earth For all that hee will wee will that which hee followeth wee follow and that which hee chooseth wee choose And that which is greatest sorow of all if wee doo refrayn our selues from aduersity it is not for that of our own nature wee woold cease from it but beecause the world will not commaund vs to doo it Litle is that which I haue spoken in respect of that I will speak which is that the world hath made vs now so ready to his law that from one hower to another it chaungeth the whole state of this life So that to day hee maketh vs hate that which yesterday wee loued he maketh vs complayn of that which wee commended hee maketh vs to bee offended now with that which beefore wee did desire hee maketh vs to haue mortall enemies of those which before were our speciall frends Fynally I say that the world maketh vs to loue that in our lyfe which afterwards wee beewaile at the hower of death If the world did geeue vnto his minyons any perfect and accomplished thing it were somewhat that for a time a man should remayn in the seruice of his house But since that in the world all things are graunted not
wee shall write but such as they shal finde vs so shall wee bee iudged And that which is most fearfull of all the execucion and sentence is geeuē in one day Let princes and great lords beeleeue mee in this Let them not leaue that vndoon till after their death which they may doo during their lyfe And let them not trust in that they commaund but in that whiles they liue they doo Let them not trust in the woorks of an other but in their own good deedes For in the end one sigh shal bee more woorth then all the frends of the world I counsel pray and exhort all wise and vertuous men and also my self with them that in such sort wee liue that at the hour of death wee may say wee liue For wee cannot say that wee lyue whē wee liue not well For all that tyme which without profit wee shall liue shall bee counted vnto vs for nothing ¶ Of the death of Marcus Aurelius the Emperor and how there are few frends which dare say the truth to sick men Cap. xlix THe good Emperor Marcus Aurelius now beeing aged not only for the great yeres hee had but also for the great trauels hee had in the warres endured It chaunced that in the .xviii. yere of his Empire and .lxxii. yeres from the day of his birth and of the foundation of Rome .v. hundreth xliii beeing in the warre of Pannony which at this tyme is called Hungary beeseeging a famous citie called Vendeliona sodaynly a disease of the palsey tooke him which was such that hee lost his life and Rome her Prince the best of lyfe that euer was born therein Among the heathen princes some had more force then hee other possessed more ryches then hee others were as aduenturous as hee and some haue knowē as much as hee but none hath been of so excellent and vertuous a lyfe nor so modest as hee For his life beeing examined to the vttermost there are many princely vertues to follow few vices to reproue The occasion of his death was that going one nyght about his camp sodeinly the disease of the palsey tooke him in his arme so that from thence forward hee coold not put on his gown nor draw his sword and much lesse cary a staffe The good emperor beeing so loden with yeres and no lesse with cares the sharp winter approching more and more great aboundance of water and snow fell about the tenis so that an other disease fell vppon him called Litargie the which thing much abated his courage and in his hoast caused great sorow For hee was so beeloued of all as if they had been his own children After that hee had proued all medicins and remedies that coold bee found and all other things which vnto so great and mighty princes were accustomed to bee doon hee perceiued in the end that all remedy was past And the reason hereof was beecause his sicknes was exceeding vehement he him self very aged the ayer vnholsom aboue al beecause sorows cares oppressed his hart Without doubt greater is the disease that proceedeth of sorow then that which proceedeth of the feuer quartain And thereof ensueth that more easely is hee cured which of corrupt humors is full then hee which with profound thoughts is oppressed The emperor then beeing sick in his chamber in such sort that hee coold not exercise the feats of arms as his men ranne out of their camp to scirmidge the Hungarions in lyke maner to defend the fight on both parts was so cruell through the great effution of blood that neither the hungarion had cause to reioyce nor yet the romayn to bee mery Vnderstanding the euil order of his specially that .v. of his captains were slain in the conflict that hee for his disease coold not bee there in person such sorows persed his hart that although hee desired foorthwith to haue dyed yet hee remained two days three nights without that hee woold see light or speak vnto any man of his So that the heat was much the rest was small the sighs were continuall and the thirst very great the meat lytle and the sleepe lesse and aboue all his face wrynkled and his lips very black Sometimes hee cast vp his eyes and another tyme hee wrong his hands always hee was sylent and continually hee sighed His tong was swollen that hee coold not spit and his eyes very hollow with weeping So that it was a great pity to see his death and no lesse compassion to see the confusion of his pallace and the hinderaunce of the warre Many valiant captains many noble Romayns many faithfull seruaunts and many old frends at all these heauines were present But none of them durst speak to the Emperor Marke partly for that they tooke him to bee so sage that they knew not what counsel to geeue him and partly for that they were so sorowfull that they coold not refrayn their heauy tears For the louing and true frends in their lyfe ought to bee beeloued and at their death to bee beewailed Great compassion ought men to haue of those which dye not for that wee see them dye but beecause there are none that telleth them what they ought to doo Princes and great lords are in greater perill when they dye then the Plebeyans For the counsaylour dare not tell vnto his Lord at the hour of death that which hee knoweth and much lesse hee will tell him how hee ought to dye and what things hee ought to discharge whiles hee is aliue Many goe to visit the sick that I woold to god they went some other where And the cause heereof is that they see the sick mans eyes hollow the flesh dryed the arms without flesh the colour enflamed the ague continuall the payn great the tong swollen nature consumed and beesydes al this the house destroyed and yet they say vnto the sick man bee of good cheere I warrant you you shall liue As yong men naturally desire to liue and as death to all old men is dredfull so though they see them selues in that dystresse yet they refuse no medicine as though there were great hope of lyfe And thereof ensueth oftentymes that the miserable creatures depart the world without confessing vnto god and making restitutions vnto men O if those which doo this knew what euil they doo For to take away my goods to trouble my person to blemish my good name to sclaunder my parentage and to reprooue my lyfe these woorks are of cruell enemyes but to bee occasion to lose my soul it is the woorke of the deuill of hell Certeinly hee is a deuyll whych deceiueth the sick with flatteries and that in steede to healp hym to dye well putteth him in vayn hope of long lyfe Heerein hee that sayth it winneth lyttle and hee that beeleeueth it aduentureth much To mortall men it is more meete to geeue counsels to reform their consciences with the truth then to hasard their houses
space of an hour Considering the omnipotency of the diuine mercy it suffiseth ye and I say that the space of an hour is to much to repent vs of our wicked lyfe but yet I woold counsell all since the sinner for to repent taketh but one hour that that bee not the last hour For the sighs and repentaunce which proceed from the bottom of the hart penetrate the high heauens but those which come of necessity dooth not perse the seeling of the house I allow and commend that those that visit the sick doo counsell them to examin their conscienses to receiue the communion to pray vnto god to forgeeue their enemiez and to recommend them selues to the deuout prayers of the people and to repent their sinnes fynally I say that it is very good to doo all this but yet I say it is better to haue doon it beefore For the diligent and carefull Pirate prepareth for the tempest when the sea is calm Hee that deepely woold consider how little the goods of this lyfe are to bee esteemed let him goe to see a rich man when hee dyeth and what hee dooth in his bed And hee shall fynd that the wife demaundeth of the poore husband her dower the doughter the third part the other the fift the child the preheminence of age the sonne in law his mariage the phisition his duity the slaue his liberty the seruants their wages the creditors their debts and the woorst of all is that none of those that ought to enherit his goods wil geeue him one glasse of water Those that shall here or read this ought to consider that that which they haue seene doon at the death of their neighbors the same shall come to them when they shal bee sick at the point of death For so soone as the rych shutteth his eyes foorthwith there is great strife beetweene the children for his goods And this strife is not to vnburthen his soule but whych of them shall inherit most of his possessions In this case I will not my penne trauel any further since both rich and poore dayly see the experience hereof And in things very manyfest it suffyseth only for wyse men to bee put in memory without wasting any more tyme to perswade them Now the Emperor Marcus Aurelius had a secretary very wise and vertuous through whose hands the affairs of the Empire passed And when this secretary saw his lord and maister so sick and almost at the hour of death and that none of his parents nor frends durst speak vnto him hee plainly determined to doo his duity wherein hee shewed very well the profound knowledge hee had in wisdom and the great good will hee bare to his lord This secretary was called Panutius the vertues and lyfe of whom Sextus Cheronensis in the lyfe of Marcus Aurelius declareth ¶ Of the comfortable woords which the Secretary Panutius spake to the Emperor Marcus Aurelius at the hour of his death Cap. l. O My lord and maister my tong cannot keepe silence myne eies cannot refrayn from bitter tears nor my hart leaue from fetching sighes ne yet reason can vse his duity For my blood boyleth my sinnews are dryed my pores bee open my hart dooth faint and my spirit is troubled And the occasion of all this is to see that the wholsom counsels which thou geeuest to others either thou canst not or wil not take for thy self I see thee dye my lord and I dye for that I cannot remedy thee For if the gods woold haue graunted mee my request for the lengthning of thy lyfe one day I woold geeue willingly my whole life Whether the sorow bee true or fained it nedeth not I declare vnto thee with woords since thou mayst manyfestly discern it by my countenaunce For my eies with tears are wet and my hart with sighs is very heauy I feele much the want of thy company I feele much the domage which of thy death to the whole common wealth shal ensue I feele much thy sorow which in thy pallace shal remaine I feele much for that Rome this day is vndoon but that which aboue al things dooth most torment my hart is to haue seen thee liue as wise and now to see thee dye as symple Tell mee I pray thee my lorde why doo men learn the Greek tong trauel to vnderstand the hebrew sweat in the latin chaunge so many maisters turn so many bookes and in study consume so much money and so many yeres if it were not to know how to passe lyfe with honor and take death with pacience The end why men ought to study is to learn to liue well For there is no truer science in man then to know how to order his life well What profiteth it mee to know much if thereby I take no profit what profiteth mee to know straunge languages if I refrain not my tong from other mens matters what profiteth it to study many books if I study not but to begyle my frends what profiteth it to know the influence of the starres and the course of the elements if I cannot keepe my self from vyces Fynally I say that it lytle auayleth to bee a maister of the sage if secretly hee bee reported to bee a folower of fooles The cheef of all philosophy consisteth to serue god and not to offend men I ask thee most noble prince what auaileth it the Pilot to know the art of sayling and after in a tempest by neglygence to perish What auayleth it the valyaunt captayn to talk much of warre and afterwards hee knoweth not how to geeue the battayl What auaileth it the guyde to tell the neerest way and afterwards in the midst to lose him self All this which I haue spoken is sayd for thee my Lord. For what auayleth it that thou beeing in health shooldst sigh for death since now when hee dooth approch thou weepest because thou wooldst not leaue life One of the things wherein the wise man sheweth his wisedom is to know how to loue and how to hate For it is great lightnes I shoold rather say folly to day to loue him whom yesterday wee hated and to morow to sclaunder him whom this day wee honored What Prince so hygh or what Plebeyan so base hath there been or in the world shall euer bee the whych hath so lyttle as thou regarded lyfe and so hyghly commended death What thyngs haue I wrytten beeing thy Secretary with my own hand to dyuers prouynces of the world where thou speakest so much good of death that sometymes thou madest mee to hate lyfe What was it to see that letter which thou wrotest to the noble Romayn Claudines wydow comforting her of the death of her husband which dyed in the warres Wherein shee aunswered That shee thought her trouble comfort to deserue that thou shooldst write her such a letter What a pitifull and sauory letter hast thou written to Antigonus on the death of thy child Verissimus thy sonne so much desired Whose death
aduise ought wel to bee assured that in al or the most part hee shall erre O my lord Mark sith thou art sage liuely of spirit of great experience and auncient didst not thou think that as thou hadst buried many so like wise some should burie thee What imaginacions were thine to think that seeing the end of their days others should not see the end of thy yeares Since thou diest rych honourably accompanied old and aboue all seeing thou diest in the seruice of the common wealth why fearest thou to enter into thy graue Thou hast always beene a frend as much to know things past as those which were hid and kept secret Sins thou hast proued what honors and dishonors doo deserue ryches and pouerty prosperity and aduersity ioy and sorow loue and feare vices pleasures mee seemeth that nothing remayneth to know but that it is necessarye to know what death is And also I sweare vnto thee most noble lord that thow shalt learn more in one hour what death is then in a hundreth years what life meaneth Since thou art good and presumest to bee good and hast lyued as good is it not better that thow dye goe with so many good then that thow scape and liue amongst so many euill That thou feelest death I maruell nothing at all for thou art a man but I doo maruail that thou dissemblest it not since thou art discrete Many things doo the sage men feele which inwardly doo oppresse their hart but outwardly they dissemble them for the more honor If all the poyson which in the sorowfull hart is wrapped were in small peeces in the feeble flesh scattered then the walles woold not suffice to rubbe neither the nayles to scratch vs. What other thing is death but a trap or doore where with to shut the shop wherein all the miseries of this wofull lyfe are vendible What wrong or preiudice doo the gods vnto vs whē they cal vs beefore them but from an old decaied house to chaunge vs to a new builded pallace And what other thing is the graue but a strong fort wherein wee shut our selues from the assaults of lyfe broyles of fortune Truely wee ought to bee more desirous of that wee fynd in death then of that wee leaue in lyfe If Helia Fabricia thy wife doo greeue thee for that thou leauest her yong doo not care For shee presently hath litle care of the perill wherein thy lyfe dependeth And in the end when shee shall know of thy death shee will bee nothing greued Trouble not thy self for that shee is left widow For yong women as shee is which are maried with old men as thou when their husbands dye they haue their eies on that they can robbe and their harts on them whom they desire to mary And speaking with due respect when with their eies they outwardly seeme most for to beewaile then with their harts inwardly doo they most reioyce Deceyue not thy self in thinking that the empresse thy wife is yong and that shee shal fynd none other Emperor with whom agayn shee may mary For such and the like will chaunge the cloth of gold for gownes of skynnes I mean that they woold rather the yong shepeheard in the field then the old emperour in his royall pallace If thou takest sorow for the children whom thou leauest I know not why thou shooldst do so For truely yf it greeue thee now for that thou dyest they are more displeased for that thow lyuest The sonne that desireth not the death of his father may bee counted the onely Phenix of this world for if the father bee poore he wisheth him dead for that hee is not maintained if hee bee rich hee desireth his death to enherit the sooner Sins therefore it is true as in deede it is it seemeth not wisedome that they sing thou weepe If it greue thee to leaue these goodly pallaces these sūptuous buildings deceiue not thy self therein For by the god Iupiter I sweare vnto thee that since that death dooth finish thee at the end of .lxii. yeares tyme shal consume these sūptuous buildings in lesse then xl If it greeue thee to forsake the cōpany of thy frends neighbors for them also take as litle thought sins for thee they wil not take any at all For amongst the other compassions that they ought to haue of the dead this is true that scarcely they are buryed but of their frends neighbors they are forgotten If thou takest great thought for that thou wilt not dye as the other emperors of Rome are dead mee seemeth that thou oughtst allso to cast this sorow from thee For thou knowst ryght wel that Rome hath accustomed to bee so vnthankful to those which serue her that the great Scipio also woold not bee buryed therein If it greeue thee to dye to leaue so great a seignory as to leaue the empire I can not think that such vanity bee in thy head For temperat reposed men when they escape from semblable offices do not think that they lose honor but that they bee free of a troblesome charge Therefore if none of al these things moue thee to desire lyfe what should let thee that through thy gates enter not death it greeueth men to dye for one of these two things eyther for the loue of those they leaue beehynd them or for the feare of that they hope Sins therefore there is nothing in this lyfe worthy of loue nor any things in death why wee shoold feare why doo mē feare to dye According to the heauy sighs thou fetchest the bitter tears thou she dest according also to the great payn thou shewest for my part I think that the thing in thy thought most forgotten was that the gods shoold cōmaund thee to pay this debt For admit that al think that their life shal end yet no man thinketh that death wil come so soone For that men think neuer to dye they neuer beeginne their faults to amend so that both life fault haue end in the graue togethers Knowst not thou most noble prince that after the long night cōmeth the moist morning Doost thou not know that after the moyst morning there commeth that cleere sunne Knowst not thou that after the cleare sunne cōmeth the cloudy element Doost thou not know that after the dark myst there commeth extream heat And that after the heat cometh the horrible thunders after the thunders the sodeyn lightnings that after the perilous lightnings commeth the terrible hayle Fynally I say that after the tempesteous troublesome time commonly commeth cleare faire weather The order that time hath to make him self cruel gentill the self same ought men to haue to liue dye For after the infancy cōmeth chyldhod after chyldhod commeth youth after youth cōmeth age after age cōmeth the fearfull death Finally after the fearful death cōmeth the sure life Oftentimes I haue read of thee not seldome hard that
destroy thy selfe For men which haue not the gods mercifull and the men frendly doo eat the bread of grief and drink the tears of sorow I am sure thy sorow is not so great to see that the nyght dooth end my life as is the pleasure which thou hast to see that in short space thou shalt bee emperor of Rome And I doo not maruell hereat For where sensuality reigneth reason is banished constrayned to fly Many loue diuers things beecause of trouth they know them not the which if they did know without doubt they woold hate them Though men loue in mockry the gods men hate vs in earnest In al things wee are so doubtfull and in all our woorks so dysordered that at some tyme our vnderstanding is dull and loseth the edge an other tyme it is more sharp then it is necessary Thereby I mean that the good wee wil not here and much lesse wee will learn it but of the euil wee know more then beehoueth vs or necessity requireth I will counsaile thee my sonne by woords that which in lxii yeares I haue learned by scyence and experience And since thou art as yet so yong it is reason that thou beleeue him which is aged For since wee prynces are the mirrour of all euery man dooth beehold vs wee other doo not beehold ourselues This day or to morow thou shalt enherit the Romain empire think that inheriting the same thou shalt bee lord of the world Yet if thow knewst how many cares and perilles cōmaunding bringeth with it I sweare vnto thee that thou wooldst rather chose to obey all then to commaund one Thou thinkest my sonne that I leaue thee a great lord for to leaue thee the empire which is not so For all they haue neede but of thee and thou alone hast neede of all Thou thinkest that I leaue thee much treasure leauing thee the great reuenews of the empire the which also is as litle For though a prince haue treasures in aboundance yet if hee want frends hee hath great want of tresures Thou thinkest also my sonne that I leaue thee that thou bee obeyed of all and that none dare gayn say thee Truly it ought not to bee so For it is more meete for the prince which desireth to preserue his lyfe and augment his honor to bee conformable to the will of all then to desire that all shoold bee agreable to him For thou my sonne that knowest not what truth is lies wil not greeue thee For asmuch as thou knowest not what rest is the broyls and mocions of the people shall not vex thee For that thou knowest not what frends meane thou shalt esteeme it litle to haue enemies For if thou were pacient reposed true a louing man thou wouldst not only refuse the empire of Rome but also the wooldst curse the father which woold leaue thee such inheritance I will thou know if thou knowest it not that in leauing thee the empire I leaue thee not riches but pouerty not rest but trauayle not peace but warr not frends but enemies not pleasures but displeasures finally in place I leaue thee where alwayes thou shalt haue somwhat to beewayle And though thou wouldst thou shalt not laugh I aduertise admonish and also exhort thee my sonne to think that all that which I leaue thee is vanity lightnes and folly and a disgised mockry And if thou beeleuest it is in mockry from hensforth I know thou art deceyued I haue liued longer then thou I haue read more than thou and with great payne haue gone further than thou And sins that with all these aduertisements in the end I find my selfe mocked hopest thou to liue surely and escape without fraud or guyle When thou shalt think to haue the empire in rest then shall there arise a prouince in Affrica or in Asia the losse of the which should come to a great inconuenience and for to recouer it great charges would ensue When thou thinkest to recouer frends then shall straunge enemyes inuade thee So that in flattering and reioysing our frends wee can not keepe theym and in flying and reiecting theym wee can not defend our selues When thou shalt think to bee in gretest ioy then shall some care oppresse thy hart For princes which haue and possesse much the news which geeue them pleasure are very seldome but the thinges which annoy them come hourely When thou shalt think to haue liberty to doo what thou wilt then shalt thou bee most restrayned For the good and well ordered princes ought not to go whither their wanton desires moueth theym but where it is most lawful and decent for the honour of their estates When thou shalt think that none dare reproue thee for that thou art emperour then oughtst the most to beeware For if they dare not threaten euell princes with woords they haue the hardines to sell them by treason If they dare not punish them they dare murmour at them and these which can not bee their frendes doo procure to bee their enemies fynally if they lay not hands on their persons thei let their tong runne at large to prate of their renoune When thou shalt thynk to haue satisfyed thy seruants then wyll they demaund recompence for their seruices For it is an old custome among courtyers to spend freely and couet greedily Therefore if thou doost credit these things I know not who is so foolish that for his enherytaunce desyreth such sorow For admit that any man come to the empire without comparison the rest is more woorth which the empire taketh from him then the pleasures which it geeueth him If the empire of Rome were as well corrected and ordred as in old time it was accustomed to bee though it were great payne to gouerne it yet it were more honor to keepe it but it is so rooted in vices and so many tirāts are entred therin that I woold tak thē more wise to iudge it a mockry then those which embrase it as an honor If thou knewst what Rome is woorth what Rome hath what Rome may and what Rome is I sweare vnto thee that thou wouldst not labor much to be lord therof For though Rome with walles bee strongly compassed yet of vertuous Citezins it is greatly vnprouided If the inhabitants bee great the vices are without nomber Finally I say that the stones which are in the buyldings in one day may bee counted but the euils which are therin in a .1000 yeres can not bee declared By the faith of a good man I sweare vnto thee my sonne that when I beegan to reygne in 3. yeres I repaired the decayed walles that were of Rome fallen and one onely streete to liue wel in xx yers I could not refourme The deuine Plato said very well That much more ought the great cityes to glorify to haue vertuous citezins then to haue proud sumptuous buildings Beeware beeware my sonne that the inconstancy of youth and the liberty which thou
to god and confesseth to the world that hee more rashely then wysely plonged him self into so graue and deepe a matter and whose yong yeres and vnskilfull head might both then and now haue excused his fond enterprise heerein For the second and last I must needes appeal to all the woorshipfull and my beeloued compaignyons and fellow students of our house of Lyncolnes Inne at that tyme from whence my poore english Dyall tooke his light To whose iust and true reports for thy vndoubted satisfaction and discharge of my poore honesty I referre thee and wholly yeld mee These recyted causes for purgacion of my suspected fame as also for established assurance of the lyke and thy further doubt of mee heereafter I thought good gentle reader to denounce vnto thee I myght well haue spared thys second and last labor of myne taken in the reformacion and correction of thys Dyall enlarging my self further once agayn wyth the translation of the late and new come fauored courtier and whych I found annexed to the Dyall for the fourth and last booke If my preceeding trauell taken in the settyng foorth of the first three books and the respect of myne honesty in accomplyshing of the same had not incyted mee vnwillyng to continue my first begonne attempt to bring the same to his perfyt and desyred end whych whole woork is now complete by thys last booke entituled the fauoured courtyer Whych fyrst and last volume wholly as yt lyeth I prostrate to the iudgement of the graue and wyse Reader subiecting my self and yt to the reformation and correction of hys lerned head whom I beeseech to iudge of mee wyth fauor and equity and not wyth malyce to persecute my same and honest intent hauyng for thy benefit to my lyttle skill and knowledge imployed my symple talent crauyng no other guerdon of thee but thy good report and curteous acceptaunce heereof Whych dooyng thou shalt make mee double bound to thee First to bee thankfull for thy good will Secondly to bee considerate how hereafter I take vppon mee so great a charge Thirdly thou shalt encourage mee to study to increase my talent Fourthly and lastly most freely to beestow thincrease thereof on thee and for the benefit of my countrey and common weale whereto duety byndeth mee Obseruing the sage prudent saying of the renowmed orator and famous Cicero with which I end and thereto leaue thee Non nobis solum nati sumus ortusque nostri partem patria vendicat partem parentes partem amici In defence and preseruation whereof good reader wee ought not alone to employ our whole wittes and able sences but necessity enforcing vs to sacrifice our selues also for benefit thereof From my lord Norths house nere London the .10 day of May. 1568. Thine that accepteth mee Th. North. ¶ The prolog of this present woork sheweth what one true frend ought to doo for an other Addressed to the right honorable the lord Fraunces Conos great commaunder of Lyon THe famous Philosopher Plato beesought of al his disciples to tel theÌ„ why hee iornyed so oft from Athens to Scicille beeing the way hee trauelled in deede very long and the sea hee passed very daungerous aunswered them thus The cause that moues mee to goe from Athens to Scicille is only to see Phocion a man iustinal that hee dooth and wise in all that hee speaketh and beecause hee is my very frend and enemy of Denys I goe also willingly to him to ayd him in that I may and to councell him in all the I know and told them further I doo you to weete my disciples that a good philosopher to visit and help his frend and to accompany with a good man shoold think the iorney short and no whit paynfull though hee shoold sulk the whole seas and pace the compase of the earth Appolonius Thianeus departed from Rome went through all Asia sayled ouer the great flud Nile endured the bitter cold of mount Caucasus suffered the parching heat of the mountayns Riphei passed the land of Nassagera entred into the great India And this long pilgrimage tooke hee vppon him in no other respect but to see Hyarcus the philosopher his great and old frend Agesilaus also among the Greekes accompted a woorthy Captayn vnderstanding that the kyng Hycarius had an other captayn his very frend captyue leauing all his own affayres apart traueling through dyuers countreis went to the place where hee was and arryued there presented him self vnto the kyng and said thus to him I humbly beeseech thee O puissant king thou deigne to pardon Minotus my sole and only frend and thy subiect now for what thou shalt doo to him make thy account thou hast doon it to mee For in deed thou canst neuer alone punish his body but thou shalt therewith also crucify my hart Kyng Herod after Augustus had ouercome Mark Antony came to Rome and laying his crown at the Imperiall feete with stout corage spake these woords vnto him Know thou mighty Augustus if thou knowst it not that if Mark Antony had beeleeued mee and not his accursed loue Cleopatra thou shooldst then haue proued how bitter an enemy I woold haue been to thee and hee haue found how true a frend I was and yet am to him But hee as a man rather geeuen ouer to the rule of a womans will then guyded by reasons skill tooke of mee but money only and of Cleopatra counsell And proceeding further sayd Lo here my kingdom my person and royall crown layd at thy princely feete all which I freely offer to thee to dispose of at thy will pleasure pleasing thee so to accept it but yet with this condicion inuict Augustê° that thou commaund mee not to here nor speak yll of Mark Antony my lord and frend yea although hee were now dead For know thou sacred prince that true frends neither for death ought to bee had in obliuioÌ„ nor for absens to bee forsaken Iulius Cesar last dictator and first emperor of Rome dyd so entierly loue Cornelius Fabatus the consull that traueling togethers through the alps of Fraunce and beeing beenighted farre from any town or harber saue that only of a hollow caue which happely they lighted on And Cornelius the consull euen then not well at ease Iulius Cesar left him the whole caue to th end hee might bee more at rest and hee him self lay abroad in the cold snow By these goodly examples wee haue resited and by dyuers others wee coold resite may bee considered what faithfull frendship ought to bee beetwixt true and perfect frends and into how many daungers one frend ought to put him self for an other For it is not enough that one frend bee sory for the troubles of an other but hee is bound if neede were to goe and dye ioyfully wyth him Hee only deseruedly may bee counted a true frend that vnasked and beefore hee bee called goeth with his goods and person to help and releeue his frend But in this our
good turns I haue receiued at your hands I was also willyng to compyle and dedicate this my lytle treatise to you the which I present you wyth all my desyres my studyes my watches my swett and my troubles holding my self fully satisfyed for all the payns I haue taken so that this my simple trauell bee gratefull to you to whom I offer yt and to the publyke weale profitable Beeing well assured if it please you to trust mee and credyte my wrytyng you shall manifestly know how freely I speak to you and lyke a frend and not deceiue you as a flatterer For if the beeloued and fauored of princes chaunce to bee cast out of fauor it is beecause euery man flattereth hym and seeketh to please him and no man goeth about to tell him troth nor that that is for his honor and fittest for him Salust in his booke of the warres of Iugurtha sayth that the hygh heroycall facts and noble deedes were of no lesse glory to the historiographer that wrote them then they were to the captayn that dyd them For it happeneth many tymes that the Captayn dying in the battell hee hath woone lyueth afterwards notwythstandyng by the fame of his noble attempt and this proceedeth not only of the valyaunt deedes of armes hee was seene doo but also for that wee read of him in woorthy authors which haue amply written thereof Wee may well say therefore touching this matter that aswell may wee take hym for a true frend that geeueth good counsell as hee whych dooth vs great pleasure and seruyce For according to the oppinion of the good Marcus Aurelius who sayd to his secretary Panutius that a man with one pay may make full satisfaccion and recompeÌ„ce of many pleasures and good turns shewed but to requyte a good counsell dyuers thanks and infinite seruices are requisite If wee wil credit the auncient historiographers wee shall fynd it true that the vertuous emperors the fortunate kyngs and the valyaunt Captains when they shoold enterprise to goe conquer their enemies either they sought for some philosopher or they choose some other honest learned man of whom they tooke councel touching all their affayrs beefore they prest any soldiers Comparing the tymes past with the tymes present wee think that haue read some what that the tyme past was as pure grayn and this now as chaffe and straw the one as the tyme calme and still in the sea and this as wauering and tempesteous that then the fyne and pure mettall and this now the drosse thereof The other the marie and this the bones the one the cleer day and the other the dark night For in these days in princes courts and noble mens houses they glory more to haue a scoffing knaue or iester to make them laugh then they recken of a graue and wyse man to geeue them counsell Alexander the great in all hys warres woold always bee accompanyed with the wyse Aristotle Cyrus kyng of Persia with the philosopher Chilo Kyng Ptolomie wyth Pithinus the philosopher Pirrhus kyng of Epyre wyth Zatirus Augustus themperor wyth Symonides Scipio thaffrican wyth Sophocles Traian themperor wyth Plutarche Antonius themperor wyth Gorgias now all these famous princes caried not with theÌ„ so many learned philosophers to fyght in battell with armed weapon in hand like other their soldiers but only to vse their couÌ„cel aduice So that the great battels they ouerthrew and the woorthy victories they wanne with the noble tryumphs doon was as much by the graue counsell of these good and wise Philosophers as by the force of their army and prowes of their Captayns The greatest good turn and benefit one frend can doo for an other is to know to geeue good counsell to his frend in his greatest neede and not without cause I say to know to geeue counsell For it happeneth oft tymes that those that thought to haue geeuen vs good remedy by their counsell wanting in deede discrecion and iudgement in the same haue caused vs to runne into further daungers And therefore Seneca beeing once demaunded of themperor Nero what hee thought of Scipio thaffrican Cato the censor answered him in this maner I think it was as necessary that Cato was born for the comon wealth as Scipio for the warres for the good Cato wyth his prudent counsell expelled vice out of the wealth publike and the other with his noble courage and great armies did euer wythstand the force of the enemies According to the saying of Seneca let vs also say after him that hee is very arrogant that presumes to geeue an other counsell but with all wee say agayn that if the counsell bee found good hee hath geeuen to his frend in his neede and necessity asmuch praise deserueth hee that gaue it as hee that knew how to take it Now after thexample of the auncient philosophers which went to the warres not to fight but only to geeue counsell I will syr for those things that pertayn to your seruyce and profit take vppon mee the offyce of a philosopher and for the first doctrin of my philosophy I say that if it please you to receiue these counsels whych my penne dooth write to you at this present I promise you and by the faith of a christian man I swear that they shal bee such excellent helps to you for the preseruation of your credyt and fauor you are now in as you may bee enriched by the true and diligent seruice of your seruaunts For if a man woold with an oth ask the trueth of Plato Socrates Pithagoras Diogenes Licurgus Chilo Pittachê° and of Apolonius and also of all the vniuersity and company of the other philosophers they woold swere and affirm that the felicity of man consisteth not in great might in great aucthority and possessions but only in deseruing much For the honor fauor and dignityes of this mortall lyfe are more to bee praised and had in veneratioÌ„ when they are placed in a condigne and woorthy person then they are beeing possessed of an vnwoorthy and graceles man allotted to hym not by vertue but by fortune And therefore your aucthority beeing great at this present exalted thereto by gods diuine will and prouydence and now in the hyghest degree of prosperity I woold wish you my good lord lesse then any other courtier to trust to fortunes impery For yf the earthquakes sooner bryng to ground the proud and stately Pallaces then the mean and low howses if ofter fall on the highest mountayns the dreadfull lightnings and tempests then on the lowest hilles if among the greater multitude of people the plagues bee rifer then amongst the fewer nomber yf they vse rather to spread their netts and lay the byrdlyme on the green and thickst bows then on the dry and wythered sticks to snare the sely byrds withall If always the stillest seas doo foreshew to vs a greater tempest following and if that long health bee a watch vnto a great and daungerous sicknes ensuyng by this
also I will inferre that those that are atchiued to sublime estate hygh degree are commonly more subiect to fall then those of mean and baser sort The emperor Augustus on a tyme demaunded of the Poet Virgill that hee woold teach him how hee might conserue him self in thempire and alwayes bee acceptable to the publike weal. To whom Virgill aunswered I think O mighty Cesar that to reigne long in thempire thou must consideratly looke into thy self examining thy lyfe and dooings and how much thou shalt see thy self excell and exceede all those of thy empire in dignity So much more must thou endeuor thy self to surmount all others in vertue and we orthynes For hee is vnwoorthy to rule a multitude that is not chief himself in all vertues Those therefore that in court of princes bere office and aucthority ought earnestly to desire and indeuour them selues to auoyd the fylthy sink of vice and to seeke the cleere spring of vertue For otherwise they shal bee more defamed for one vyce or defect found in them then honored for their office and authority they haue ¶ The aucthor concludeth According to the saying of the poet Virgill to the Emperor Augustus I am also of oppinion my Lord that you ought to bee very circumspect and well aduised in looking into your self who you are what power you are of what you are woorth and what you possesse and dooyng thus you shall fynd that among your wise councellors you are the greatest among the rich among the best esteemed among the most fortunat among your secretories among the rulers amongst all those of your realm subiects you are euer the greatest And therefore as you are greatst and supreme aboue them all so you ought the more to force to bee the most vertuous of them all For els it were against all reason beeing the greatest to bee the least and most inferior of all For truely none ought to bee praised for good for that hee is of power force possessions wealth much woorth in fauor of dignity neither for any nobilitie that is in him if these natural gifts bee not accompagnied with vertue good woorks The auncient historiographers do highly commend the greatnes of Alexander the knowledge of Ptholomie the iustice of Numa Pompilius the clemency of Iulius Cesar the pacience of Augustus the trueth of Traian the pity of Antonius the temperancy of Constantius the continency of Scipio and the humanity of Theodosius so that wee may say these so great noble princes haue wonne more honor by their vertues then they haue atchyued by tryumphant victories Albeeit a man bee neuer so dishonest vicious and lasciuious and that hee bee rooted in all ydlenes let vs say and auouch it for a trueth that it is impossible if hee may return to looke back on him self and that hee may cal to mynd what maner of man hee hath been what hee is at this present to what end hee may come but that the remembraunce of his forepassed faults and deeds shoold bee more greeuous and yrksom to him then the great delight his body shoold take of the present pleasures For neither the woorms in the vynes nor the locusts in the corn nor the moths in the garments nor the litle woorms in the wood are so hurtful and dommageable as sinnes are of power to make a man sorowfull For to say truely the pleasure wee receyue when wee commyt them is not so great as is the displeasure wee feele after wee remember them The whych I considering my lord yt causeth mee to looke ouer myne old memorials to examyne my memory to strengthen my iudgement and to seeke a new kynd of study to no other end but to fynd out sweete woords dyuers doctryns and straunge historyes by means whereof I myght withdraw you from vayn and worldly delights to cause you to walk in the right path and to affect things vertuous and honest though I haue always knowen them as acceptable to you as they haue been familier For princes seruaunts the more they are busied with affairs the lesse they know them selues And therefore great payn suffereth hee and wyth ouer venymous poyson is hee infected that wyth others and for other occupyeth all hys time and for his own sowl health cannot spare a moment of tyme. O what comfort and quiet were it vnto my hart if it were assured it had taken the ryght way in the doctrine which I write to you and that I had not erryd in the counsels I geeue you so that in readyng my booke you myght acquire profit thereby and I of my trauel therein reap my full contentation And to the end my Lord wee may better expresse the matter search the wound and stoppe the vayns that wee may leaue no part vncured or dreggs of infection if heetherto I haue vsed playnesse I will now speak more playnly to you and yet as one frend vseth to an other And therefore may it please you to accept these smal written preposes in this book among al the residue proceeding from the hands of one that rather desyreth the health of your sowl then the gayn and satisfaction of your affects and desyres ¶ All you that bee princes familiers and beeloued Courtiers obserue and retayn with you these few precepts and counsels 1 NEuer tell my lord to any all that you think Shew not all that you haue Neyther take all that you desire Tell not all that you know Much lesse neuer doo all that you may For the right path way to bring the fauored courtier into hys Princes disgrace is to bee addicted to hys sensuall appetytes and vayne humors and not to bee guyded wyth reason and discrecion 2 Beware also you trust not nor commit to the hasard of fortunes ticklenes such things as touch and conserue your parson honor goods and conscience For the wyse courtier that lyueth in his princes grace will not rashly put him self in daunger in hope to saue him self harmles at all tymes when hee listeth 3 Although euery man offer his seruice to you and seeme to bee at your commaundement when you shall neede him yet I tell you syr I woold not wish you had eyther neede of them or of mee For many of those lyne and curious courtiers which are the first that offer them selues to draw on your syde and to stand by you if neede bee are commonly at the very pinch the first and redyest to throw stones at our faces 4 In other mennes matters busy not your self to much and in your own stryue not wyth tyme but take leysure For lyuing after thys rule you shall long keepe your self in the good and quyet estate you are in and otherwise some inconuenience myght lightly fall vppon you that shoold make you remember what you were wont to bee 5 The imminent perill and daunger those are in which are mounted to the toppe of some high thyng or to the cliffe of some hygh and rocky mountayn where they
and chiualry to bee a right courtier It happeneth many times that after the courtier bee come to his lodging hee lyketh of yt well and is well pleased with all but when hee hath been in others lodgins hath looked vpon them straight way hee falleth out of liking of his owne and thinketh him selfe il lodged to others And this misliking groweth not of his ill lodging but of an inward mallice spite hee hath to see his enemy preferred to a better then his own For such is the secret hate enuy in princes court a thing comon to courtiers that they disdaine not only to thanke the harbingers for their care takē of them in placing them in good lodgings but they must also complaine and speake ill of them for the good lodgings they haue geeuen to their aduersaries and compaignions better then that of theirs There is also a fowle disorder in court among the harbingers in appointing lodgings and litell modesty beesides in courtiers in asking them For such there are that many times nether they nor their parents haue any such lodgings at home in their own howses as they will demaund only for their horskeepers seruants But the great payne of the court is yet that such nouels as come newly to court they say they are of great estimation in the contry rich and of an auncient howse and his father of great autority and estimation and when the troth is knowen his fathers autority and first estimation was of good laborers husbandmen their only rents and reuenues consisting in that thei gat by the daily swet labour of their persons and their power and ability in the rents of an other mans goods and their liberty in seruice subiection of those that gaue them wages and hyred them by the day And I would to god their bloud were not tainted with some other notable blot There is a plague also in the court which alwayes dureeth and neuer leaueth court and that is that those that are alwayes least woorth and of least calling doo presume take vpon them most also are woorst to please of al others And this they doo their power beeing small that they would supply that in woords countenance which they want in deedes and effects I ly if I saw not once in the county of Aragone a gentilmā that hyred a whole howse wheare him selfe and his famely were very well lodged and comodiously after that I remembred I met with him in Castilla wheare hee could not content him selfe with the change of eight howses beesides his first hee was appointed to and the occasion was for that in Aragon hee paied for that howse hee had and for these hee paied nothing So of others purse euery man coueteth to showe his magnificence and to declare his follyes but when they deffray their owne charge they are hard as flynt and goe as neere to woorke as may bee It is very true that if there bee any disorder troble to bee lodged in the court it cometh also for the most parte of the harbingers without whome the courtiers could neuer bee well lodged although the prince had commaunded they should bee lodged neere him Albeeit in the court a man may easiy exempte him self from the princes councel iustice of the same hauing no sutes there and from the councell and affaires of warres beeing no captaine From the sinode of the spiritualty beeing no ecclesiastical persone and from that of the Indians going to no Magicians from the conuention of marchāts keeping safely their marchandise from the correctiō of the lord high marshal of the court not beeing foolish insolēt yet neuertheles there is no courtier bee hee neuer so high or great in fauor that can auoyde him selfe from the harbingers autority but hee must needes come vnder his lee beeing in their power to dispose the lodgis as they think good to lodge thē honorably or meanly to please or displease thē to lodge or dislodge them And if the courtier happē at any tyme to quarel or fal out which thē I warrāt him hee shal bee remēbred of the harbingers in his lodging and possibly a horskeeper yea perhapps his enemy shal be better lodged then hee or els hee may seeke his lodging in the streats where hee shal For all other iniuryes or offences doon in court whatsoeuer the courtier may easely redresse them by Iustice but for those hee receyueth of the harbinger hee must take them quietly and bee contented with them For otherwise wee should not onely offend them but iniure our selues and make them to prouyde vs of no lodging so heerby wee should vtterly bee dislodged and vnprouided And therfore they doo beare with many things in that office which they would not doo in any other office as for example Those kynd of officers must bee much made of of others well intreted accompanied feasted flattered followed yea and many tymes serued and waited vpon I meane in seruing their turne anoynting their hands and alwayes inritching their gloues with some peece of gold and siluer and alas the seely courtier that hath not such soueraigne oyntment in his box to cure these aboue recited sores but only to serue his owne turne if hee bee not his kynseman or neere allied let him yet at least get acquaynted with him make him his frend an esye thing to bring to passe if hee doo not vex him nor geeue him thwart language somtymes hee must inuite him to dinner supper For in the court there is no goodnes gotten neyther by the kyng by the beloued by the noble men by the honorable of his councel treasorers nor yet by the harbingers but in suffering them dooing them always good acceptable seruice And if percase the harbingers wrong you doo you displeasure or that they should say you were troblesome and importunat yet bee you wyfe to beare with them in any case and seeme not to heere them For what loseth the courtier if hee bare now and then with a fewe crooked woords at the harbingers hands mary by forbearing them hee haply cometh to bee lodged the better Suppose the courtier bee not alwayes lodged to his mind and desire should hee imediatly complayne of them or murmur at them no suer hee should but so dooing shewe him selfe of small education For what skylleth yt though among many pounds of good meate the boucher sometyme myngle a morsell of lyuer longes or lightes of the beast And therfore a man should not blame the poore harbingers somuch as they dooth For they are not commaunded of the king to buyld new lodgings but such as they are to deuide them amongst the trayne of his court So that they lodge courtiers in such as they find not in those they would adding therto that they haue regard to their estates demerits not to the affections willes of the persons they lodge For it were more reasō they should
footecloth more nete and clenly then the groomes and pages of the chamber haue his apparell and this proceedes of their great slouth negligēce And truely this passeth the bounds of shamefast degree yea and commeth much to charge the courtiers conscience the small account hee hath so to let his garments and apparell and other hys mouables to bee spoiled and lost And this happeneth very oft by the negligence of their pages and seruaunts which now throweth them about the chambers dragges them vpon the grownd now sweeps the house with thē now they are full of dust then tattered and torne in peeces here their hose seam rent there their shooes broken so that if a poore man come afterwards to buy them to sell agayn it will rather pity those that see them then geeue them any corage to buy them Wherefore the courtier ought not to bee so careles but rather to think vppon his own things and to haue an eye vnto them For if hee goe once a day to his stable to see his horses how they are kept and looked to hee may lykewise take an other day in the weeke when hee may fynd leisure to see his wardroppe how his apparell lyeth But what paciens must a poore man take that lendeth his implements and apparell to the courtiers that neuer laieth them abroad a sunning to beat out the dust of them nor neuer layth them in water to wash and white them bee they neuer so fowl And al bee it the beds and other implements lent to the courtier bee not of any great value yet it is not fitt they shoold bee thrown at theyr tayl kept filthyly For as charely and dayntily dooth a poore laboring and husband man keepe his wollen couerlet and setteth as much by it as dooth the iolly courtier by his quilt or couerpane of silk And it chaunceth oft tymes also that though at a neede the poore mans bed costeth him lesse money then the rich mans bed costeth him yet dooth it serue him better then the ritch and costly bedd serueth the gentleman or nobleman And this to bee true wee see it by experience that the poore husbandman or citizen slepeth commonly more quietly at his ease in his poor bed cabean with his sheets of tow then dooth the lord or ritch courtier lying in his hanged chamber bed of silk wrapped in his fynest holland shetes who still sigheth cōplayneth And fynally wee conclude that then when the court remoueth that the courtier departeth from his lodging where hee lay hee must with all curtesy thank the good man and good wife of the house for his good lodging curteous intertainment hee hath had of them must not stick also to geeue them somwhat for a remembrance of him and beesides geeue certein rewards among the maides men seruants of the house according to their ability that hee may recompence them for that is past win their fauor for that is to come ¶ What the courtier must doo to winne the Princes fauor Cap. iiij DIodorus Siculus saith that the honor and reuerence the Egiptians vsed ordinarily to their Princes was so great that they seemed rather to woorship them then to serue them for they coold neuer speak to them but they must first haue lycence geeuen them When it happened any subiect of Egipt to haue a sute to their prince or to put vp a supplication to thē kneeling to them they sayd these woords Soueraigne lord mighty prince yf it may stand with your highnes fauor pleasure I wil boldly speak yf not I will presume no further but hold my peace And the self reuerence custome had towards god Moyses Aaron Thobias Dauid Salomon and other fathers of Egipt making like intercession when they spake wyth god saying Domine mi rex Si inueni gratiam in oculis tuis loquar ad dominum meum O my lord and king yf I haue found fauor in thy sight I wil speak vnto thee yf not I will keepe perpetuall sylence For there is no seruyce yll when yt is gratefull acceptable to him to whom it is doon as to the contrary none good when it pleaseth not the party that is serued For if hee that serueth bee not in his maisters fauor hee serueth hee may well take pains to his vndooyng wtout further hope of his good will or recompence Wherefore touching that I haue sayd I inferre that hee that goeth to dwell abyde in the court must aboue all indeuer him self all hee can to obtayn the princes fauor and obtayning it hee must study to keepe him in his fauor For it shoold lyttle preuaile the courtier to bee beeloued of all others and of the prince only to bee mislyked And therefore Alcamidas the Grecian beeing once aduertised by a frend of his that the Athenians did greatly thirst for his death the Thebans desyred his life hee answered him thus If those of Athens thirst for my death them of Thebes likewise desyring my life I can but bee sory lament How bee it yet if King Phillip my soueraigne lord maister hold mee still in hys grace fauor repute mee for one of his beeloued I care not if all Greece hate and dysloue mee yea and lye in wayt for mee In deede it is a great thing to get into the princes fauor but when hee hath gotten it doubtles it is a harder matter to know how to keepe it For to make them loue vs and to winne their fauor wee must doo a thousand maner of seruyces but to cause them to hate and dislyke of vs the least dyspleasure in the world suffyseth And therefore the pain and trouble of hym that is in fauor in the court is great if hee once offend or bee in displeasure For albeeit the prince doo pardon him hys fault yet hee neuer after returneth into his fauor agayn So that to conclude hee that once only incurreth his indignation hee may make iust reckening neuer after or maruelous hardly to bee receiued agayn into fauor Therefore sayth the diuine Plato in his bookes De republica that to bee a king and to raigne to serue and to bee in fauor to fyght and to ouercome are three impossible things which neither by mans knowledge nor by any diligence can bee obtayned only remaining in the hands and disposing of fickle fortune whych dooth diuyde and geeue them where it pleaseth her and to whome shee fauoreth best And truely Plato had reason in his saying for to serue and to bee beeloued is rather happ and good fortune then industry or diligence Since wee see oft times that in the court of princes those that haue serued but three yeres only shal bee sooner preferred and aduaunced then such one as hath serued perhaps .xx. or .xxx. yeres or possible al his life tyme. And further hee shal bee both displaced and put out of seruice by means of thother And this proceeds not through his long and
hee dooth commād the like and self same should the esteemed and fauored of the court obserue in his requests hee maketh For many tymes the requests of the beeloued in court are with more celerity performed then the comissions of the prince are accomplished Let the courtier alwayes haue in his mynde also that if hee meete with any nobleman or Knyght by the way hee doo in any condition retorne with him and keepe him compaigny although the nobleman or Knight stryue with him not to haue him goe back with him yet let him not suffer him self to bee ouercome to let all men know that notwithstanding the noble man or Knight passe him in degree or apparell yet hee shall not exceede him in curtesy and ciuility This compaigny is to bee vnderstanded to bee offered the knyght when hee rydeth in to the city of pleasure and not whā hee goth alone and showeth by his forehead an vnpleasant countenance trobled in his mynd Yet the courtyer neuerthelesse must offer him selfe to accompaigne him which if hee doo accept hee may not then importune or withstand him to doo yt For wheare hee should think to bee accounted courteous they would repute him a troblesom man Whan the courtier shall accompaigny any noble man of the court let him not then seme to contend with other courtiers for place and honor in his presence who should bee before or behynd an other For this strife comyng to the noble mans eares whome they accompaginy it myght easely happen that that compaigne that came to wayte vpon him and to doo hym honor and seruice should then seeme to dishonor and offend hym Lytel knoweth hee what honor meaneth when in these trifles hee seeketh it For the wise and curteous courtier hath not only to seeke honor with them with whome hee rydeth cheeke by cheeke but also with those that are beeloued of the prince Now when the noble man is accompaignyed and that hee is come hard by the court you courtyers bee ready to lyght of your horse quickly before him and when hee shall lykewise take his horse agayne bee as redy to take your horse back before him For dooing thus you shal bee nere about hym when hee lighteth of on his horse and afterwards help him when hee mounteth on his horse againe If perhapps at the comyng in of a chamber the lords seruants want consideration or that they remember not to hold open the cloth ouer the doore the good and dilygent courtyer should sodenly put hym selfe beefore hym to lyft and holde yt vp For many tymes yt is as great an honor for a courtier to bee accounted one of good maner and bringing vp in the court as out of the court it is to bee reputed a great and famous captaine in warres And seence the courtier is determined to accompaigne some noble man to the court hee is also bounde by the lawes of the court to wayte vpon hym home agayne which if hee doo the noble man shal bee more beeholding to him for the attendance hee hath geeuen vpon him then for his compaigne to ryde with hym If any came to speake with the courtier that were equall with him in degree or meaner of calling or condition then him selfe yt is one of the first and cheefest poynts of ciuility and good maner not to suffer him to open his lippes to speake to him beefore hee haue his cappe on his head for one to talke comonly with the other with his cappe in his hand is of great autority and reuerēce as from the duty of the subiect to the prince or that of the seruant to the master The good courtier must euer speake agayne to him that speaketh to him doo him reuerence that dooth him reuerens put of his cappe to him that putteth of his and this hee must doo without any respect that hee is his frend or foe For in the effects of good maner no man ought to bee so much an enemy that the enmity should breake the boundes of curtesy and humanity It is rather fyt for comon persons then for courtlike gentlemen in so mean things to show their ēmitt For to say truly the good courtier should not show the enmity of his hart by putting on or pulling of his cappe but by takyng sworde in hand to reuenge his quarel And yf the courtier were in the church court or in the chappell of the prince and set and an other gentilman happely cometh in the same place wheare hee is hee must doo him the curtesy to geeue him his place and seate to pray him to sit downe yea and if there were no other place fyt for the gentilmā to sit in and that of courtesy also hee would not offer him that iniury to accept yt yet at the least let the courtier doo 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 hart If those that were sett hard by the courtier beegonne to talke in secret togethers hee should ryse from thence or go a litell asyde from them For in the court they will say hee is ill taught and brought vp and wanteth ciuility and good maners that will seeme to harken to any bodyes tale or secrets The courtiers must haue frendshipp also with the porters to open him the court gates that are kept fast cheyned in that they bee contented to suffer theyr moyle or foote cloth nagge to enter into the vtter court And the like must bee practised with the gentlemen vsshers of the chamber and captaine of the garde to whome hee must doo a thousād pleasures that they may respect his person let him come in whan hee will And the next way to wynne this frendshipp and to contynew them frends and to bee welcome of them is to feaste them otherwhile sometyme with a dinner some tyme with a bancket but especially not to saile them of a new yeares gift on neweyears day what trifle or present so euer it bee That courtier that is not acquainted with the vsshers and dooth them no pleasures may bee well assured that those aboue in the hall will make hym tarry in the vtter courte and those that stand at the gate of the cheyne they wil make him light in the myer With the vsshers of the priuy chamber he must needes deale honorably withall as to come and see them somtymes and to doo them much honor in giuyng them some fayre iewell or presentyng them with a gowne or coate cloath of silke or veluet And thus hee shall bee assured they will not only let him into the priuy chamber but they will also procure hym to speake with the prince euen at his best leysure To make the yemen of the garde also that maketh gentlemen geeue place and stand alofe of from the prince yet can not bee but very profitable for the courtier to haue them his frends For many tymes they may helpe vs to a fit
and all his power comming against mee And not only the realmes of Asia shall fight for mee but also I will commaund the ground that I tread on to ryse against him But what was the fattal end of Pompeies pryde His captains lost the battell his children their Realmes and seignories and hee in fyne his head Rome her liberty and his frends their lyues Themperor Domitian also was so vicious in his dooings and so proud in his thoughts that hee openly commaunded the gouernors and magistrats of his realm in all their edicts and proclamations to say these woords Domitian our god our prince commaundeth that this thing bee doon But loe the fynall end of his pryde in taking vppon him the name of a god by consent and counsell of his wicked wife Domitia hee had seuen deadly wounds geeuen him in his bedd with a dagger And thus wofully hee ended his glorious lyfe Plutarch recounteth also that king Demetrius was the proudest prince that euer raigned For hee was not contented to see him self serued of al men like a great mighty prince as hee was but hee made them also honor him as a god And hee woold not suffer any straunge imbassatours to come into his presence but they shoold bee appareled lyke priests Aman was also very familier wyth the king Assuerus and although all those of his realm did him great seruyce and that straungers had him in great veneration and did honor him maruelously yet was there a glorious Mardocheus that woold neuer doo him reuerence nor once put of his capp to hym by reason whereof thys Aman that was in so great fauor commaunded a gybbet of fyfty yards high to bee set vp for Mardocheus whom hee woold haue hanged on that gibbet to bee reuenged on him for the iniury hee had doon him But the diuine will of God was such Fortune dyd permit it that on the same galloes Aman thought to haue putt Mardocheus to death on the self same himself was hanged Themistocles and Aristides were two famous men among the Greekes and because they were both great Prynces and Philosophers and had in great reputation of all those that knew them there was such a secret emulation and ambition betweene them the one to raigne ouer the other that both aspyring eche to commaund other there folowed great disorders and oppressions of the subiects of their commonweal Wherefore Themistocles moued with pity and compassion of so great a tyraunt whych for their sakes theyr commonweal indured one day in the market place beefore all hys people wyth a lowd voyce spake these woords Know you O you people of Athens that if you doo not lay hands on my exceeding presumption and on the ouergreat ambition of Aristides that our gods wil bee offended the temples will fall down to the hard foundation our treasures wil bee consumed our selues destroyed and our common weales brought to vtter ruyn and decay Therefore once agayn good people I say brydle brydle these our inordinat and vnspeakable affections beetymes lest the rayns layd on our neckes wee runne to farre O golden woords of a prince and woorthy eternall fame Lucanus also when hee woold reproue the presumption and pryde of the Romayn princes sayd that Pompei the great coold neuer abyde to haue any for his compagnion or equall with him within Rome And Iulius Cesar also woold neuer suffer that there shoold bee any greater in the world then hym self And therefore to discourse a lyttle of this abhominable and horrible vyce of pryde wee haue not wythout great reason layd beefore you these approued examples beefore wee beginne to reprooue it For in all things thexamples wee shew you are wont to moue vs more then the reasons wee seeme to tell you of For that that I haue seene for that I haue read and for that that I haue hard say also of others I am most assured and resolued thereof that by the only cause of this wycked sinne of pryde proceedeth the ruyn and vtter decay of all our greatest things and affairs of our lyfe for by all other sinnes a man may in deede descend and declyne from his degree and state of honor and estimacion but by this only sinne hee cannot chose but hee must fall down flat to the grownd They fynd out the middest and center of the earth the depth of the sea and the highest tops of Riphei mountains the end of the great mount Caucasus and the beginning of the great fludd Nile and only the little hart of man touching desire to rule commaund can neuer fynd end Thinsatiable couetousnes is such that it cannot bee contented with the things wee haue but only with those wee repute of lesse price Lykewise ambition and pryde to cōmaund cannot bee conteined within bounds but only by obeying For neuer no vyce can haue end if hee that hath it dooth not leaue it and banish it from him After Alexander the great had conquered all Asia and had subdued the great India hee was one day reproued of the great Philosopher Anacharses who told him these woords Sith thou art now O Alexander lord of all the earth why doost thou weary thy self so much in thy affairs as no payn seemeth troublesom to thee To whom Alexander answered Thou hast told mee many times Anacharses that besides this world there are also three others And if it bee so as thou sayst how great a reproche and infamy were it to mee that beeing three other worlds I shoold bee lord but only of one Therefore I doo dayly sacrifyce to the gods that though they take mee out of the lyfe of this world yet at least that they wil not deny mee of so glorious a conquest I confesse that the Scriptures excepted I haue no woords so ryfe in memory as these whereby may easely bee perceiued that to quiet and content a proud hart the seignory of the whole world is not yet sufficient and how ended the pryde of this glorious prince euen thus Hee that hoped to cōquer bee lord of the three other worlds dyd not rule this one only aboue .iii. yeres Wee may boldly say this swere it may also playnly proue it to any that desire to see it that hee wanteth both wit knowledge that taketh vpō him to bee proud and presumptuous For the more hee looketh into him self and considereth and reconsidereth his state and calling what hee is hee shall fynd in him a thowsand occasions fit to humble him but neuer a one only to make him proud and haughty How great rych myghty noble and woorthy so euer the parson bee euery tyme that wee happen to see him and that wee haue no acquayntaunce of hym And that wee desyre to know what hee is wee doo not ask of what element of what sea of what fyre of what planet of what clymat of what sunne of what moone nor of what aier but only of what countrey hee is of and where hee was borne For
sodeinly to rise in fauor and to bee rich al in short time By thys I inferre that the wise man euer desireth first to bee in fauor before hee couet to bee rich but the foole Ideot desireth first to bee rich then in fauor last Not few but many wee haue seen in princes courts which though fortune in short time hath exalted to the first degree of riches made theÌ„ cheefe in fauor yet wtin short space after shee hath made theÌ„ also lose their riches fal from the top of their honor It is most certain that if one haue enemies in the court onely for that hee is infauor hee shal haue as many moe if beeing in fauor hee bee also rich For wee are al of so ill a condicion in things that touch our particular profyt that all that wee see geeuen to others wee think sodeinly taken away from our selues Wee haue heretofore sayd that it is not fit for the courtier and those that are in fauor to coÌ„maund for his profit al that hee list neither al those that hee may And wee now at this present also aduise them to take heede that they doo not accept take al that is offered preseÌ„ted although they may lawfully doo it For if hee bee not wise in coÌ„mauÌ„ding moderatin taking a day might come that he should see himself in such extremity that hee should bee inforced to cal his frends not to couÌ„sel him but rather to help succor him It is true that it is a natural thing for a courtier that hath 20. crownes in his purse to desire sodeinly to multiply it to a .100 from a .100 to .200 froÌ„ 200. to a .1000 froÌ„ a .1000 to 2000. and from .2000 to 10000. So that this poore wretched creature is so blinded in couetousnes that hee knowth not nor feeleth not that as this auar ce ê¯tinually increaseth augmenteth in him so his life dayly diminisheth and decreaseth beesides that that euery man mocks scornes him that thinketh the true coÌ„tentacion consisteth in commaunding of many in the faculty of possessing much riches For to say truly it is not so but rather disordinat riches troubleth greeueth the true contentacion of men and awaketh euer in them dayly a more appetite of couetousnes Wee haue seen many courtiers rich beloued but none in deede that euer was contented or wearied with commaunding but rather his life should faile him then couetousnes O how many haue I seene in the court whose legges nor feete haue ben able to cary them nor their body strong inough to stand alone nor their hands able to wryte nor their sight hath serued them to see to read nor their teeth to speak neither their iawes to eat nor their eares to heare nor their memory to trauaile in any suyt or matter yet haue not their tongue fayled them to require presents and gifts of the prince neither deepe and fyne wit to practise in court for his most auaile and vantage So incurable is the disease and plague of auarice that hee that is sick of that infirmity can not bee healed neither with pouerty nor yet bee remedied with riches Sence this contagious malady and apparant dauÌ„ger is now so commonly knowen and that it is crept into courtiers and such as are in high fauor and great autoritie by reason of this vile sinne of auarice I would counsell him rather to apply him self to bee well thought of and esteemed then to endeuor to haue inough Albeit Queene Semiramis was wife to king Belius and mother of king Ninus and although by nature shee was made a woman yet had shee a hart neuer other wise but valiaunt and noble For after shee was wyddow shee made her self lord by force of armes of the great India and conquered all Asia and in her life time caused a goodly tombe to bee made wheare shee would lyfe after her death and about the which shee caused to bee grauen in golden letters these woords VVho longs to swell with masse of shining gold and craues to catch such wealth as few possest This stately tomb let him in haste vnfold where endles hopes of hatefull coyne doo rest Many days and kings reignes past before any durst open this sepulker vntill the comming of the great Cyrus who commaunded it to bee opened And beeing reported to him by those that had the charge to seeke the treasure that they had sought to the bottomles pyt and wolrds end but treasure they coold fynd none nor any other thing saue a stone wherein were grauen these woordes Ah haples knight whose high distraughted mynd by follies play abused was so â—ych that secret tombs the care as could not bynd but thow wouldst reaue them vp for to be rich Plutarke and also Herodotus which haue both writen this history of Semiramis doo shew affirm that Queene Semiramis got great honor by this gest kyng Cyrus great shame dishonor If courtiers that are rych think beleeue that for that they haue money inough at their wil that therefore they should bee farre from al troubles miseries they are farre deceiued For if the poore soul toile hale his body to get him only that that hee needeth much more dooth the rich maÌ„ torment burn his hart til he bee resolued which way to spend that superfluous hee hath Ihesu what a thing is it to see a rich man how hee tormenteth him self night day imagyning deuising with him self whether hee shal with that money that is left buy leases mills or houses aÌ„nuities vines or cloth laÌ„ds tenemeÌ„ts or pastures or some thing in fee or whether he shal eÌ„rich his soÌ„ne with the thirdes or fifts after al these vain thoughts gods wil is to stryke him with deth sodeinly not onely before he haue determined how hee should lay out or spend this money but also before hee haue made his will I haue many times told it to my frends yea preached it to them in the pulpit and wrytten yt also in my bookes that it is farre greater trouble to spend the goods of this world wel and as they ought to bee spent then it is to get them For they are gotten wyth swet and spent with cares Hee that hath no more then hee needeth it is hee that knoweth wel how to part from them to spend theÌ„ but hee that hath abundaÌ„s more then needeful dooth neuer resolue what hee should doo Whereof followeth many times that those which in his life time were enemies to hym shall happeÌ„ to bee heires after his death of all the goods money hee hath It is a most suer certain custome among mortal men that commonly those that are rych men while they are aliue spend more money vaynly in things they would not that they haue no pleasure in where in they would least lay it out and after their death they leaue the most part of their inheritance
inough But the auncient phylosophers were not of this mynd and much lesse are the wise men vertuous men at this day For wee see that in the court of prynces many rather lack fauor then lyfe and others lack both fauor and lyfe togethers and others not onely their lyfe and fauor but also all their goods and faculties So that all that that their fauor and credit haue geeuen them in many yeares and by sundry greefes and troubles they come afterwards to lose them euen vppon a sodeyn and in short time I graunt notwithstanding that it ys a great honor profyt and furtheraunce for the courtier to bee in his princes fauor but neuertheles hee cannot deny mee but that it is a daungerous thing also For naturally a great famyliarity bringeth also a great enuy wyth yt syth the beloued of the prince is commonly ill willed of the common weale And that that is yet most daungerous is that to obtayn the sauor of hys prince hee must so behaue him self that his seruice must bee more rare better and exquysite then all others and otherwise to fall in disgrace and to make the prynce forget all the good seruice hee hath doone hym hys whole life tyme hee neede but the least displeasure and fault hee can commit Eusenides was maruelously beloued with Tolomey who after fortune had exalted and brought him to honor and that hee was growen to great wealth sayd one day to Cuspides the phylosopher these woords O my frend Cuspides tell mee I pray thee of thy fayth is there any cause in mee to bee sad syth fortune hath placed mee in so great autoryty and honor as shee can deuise to doo and that the kynk Tolomey my lord hath now no more to geeue mee he hath alredy beene so bountyfull to mee To whom the philosopher aunswered saying O Eusenides yf thou wert a phylosopher as thou art a beeloued seruaunt thou wouldst tell mee an other tale then that thou tellest mee now For although kyng Tolomey hath no more to geeue thee knowst not thou that spyghtfull fortune hath power to take away from thee many thynges For the noble hart feeleth more greefe and displeasure to come down one staire or step then to clymme vp a hundred Not many days after these woords passed betweene Cuspides and Eusenides yt happened that one day Kyng Tolomey found Eusenides talkyng with aleman or curtesan of hys which hee loued deerely whereat hee was so much offended that hee made her straight drink a cuppe of poyson and caused him to bee hanged before his own gates The emperor Seuerus had one in so great fauor and credit which was called Plautius hee loued hym so extreamely trusted him so much that hee neuer read letter but Plautius must read it and hee neuer graunted commissyon or lycence to any man but it must passe vnder Plautius seale neither dyd hee euer graunt any thyng but at the request of Plautius nor dyd make warres or peace without the counsell and aduice of Plautius The matter fel out so that Plautius entring one night into the emperors chamber armed with a priuy cote his yll hap was such that a litle of his brest before was open whereby was spyed the mayle which Bahhian seeyng beyng the emperors eldest sonne sayd vnto hym these woords Tell mee Plautius doo those that are the beloued of prynces vse to come into they re bed chamber at these howers armed with Iron coate I sweare to thee by the Immortall gods and let them so preserue mee in the succession of the Empire that syth thou comest armed with Iron thou shalt also dye with Iron Which presently tooke place For before hee went out of the chamber they strake of his head The Emperor Comodus that was sonne of the good Emperor Marcus Aurelius had a seruaunt called Cleander a wise and graue man old and very pollytyck but with all a litle couetous This Cleander was oft times requested of the pretoryne compaigny that is to say of the whole band of souldiours that hee woold commaund they might bee payd their pay dew to them and to perswade him the better to pay it they shewed him a bill signed from the Emperor to which bill hee aunswered That the emperor had nothing to doo in the matter For although hee were lord of Rome yet had hee not to deale in the affaires of the common weale These discourteous and vnseemely woords related to the emperor Comodus and perceiuing the small obedyence and respect of duty that Cleander shewed to him hee cōmaunded foorth with hee should bee slayn to his great shame that all his goods should bee confiscat Alcimenides was a great renoumed kyng among thee Greekes as Plutark writeth of him and hee fauored one Pannonius entierly wel to whom only hee did not commit his person his trust but also the whole affaires and dooings of the the comon weale hee might dispose of the goods of the kyng at his wil and pleasure without leaue or licence So that al the subiects found they had more benefit in seruing of Pannonius then in pleasyng of the Kyng Therefore the king the beloued Pannonius playing at the balle togethers they came to contend vppon a chase and the one sayd it was thus the other sayd it was contrary and as they were in this contention the kyng commaūded presently those of his gard that in the very place of the chase where Pannonius denied they should strike of his head Constantius the Emperor also had one whom hee lyked very well and made much of called Hortentius which in deede might well bee counted a princes derling for hee dyd not onely rule the affaires of the common weale of the pallace of warres his goods and person of the emperor but also hee was euer placed aboue all the Imbassatours at his table And when the emperor went in progresse or any other iorny hee euer had him to his bedfellow Thus things beeing in this state I tel you it happened that one day a page geeuing the emperor drink in a glasse the glasse by myshap fell out of the pages hand and brake in peeces whereat the emperor was not a litle displeased and offended And euen in this euil vnhappy hower came Hortentius to the Kyng to present hym certayn bylles to signe of hasty dyspatch which was a very vnapt tyme chosen and the emperor contented yet to signe yt could neither the first nor the second tyme because the penne was ill fauordly made and the ink so thyck that yt would not wryte whych made the kyng so angry that euen presently for anger hee commaunded Hortensius head to bee striken of But to the end wee may come to the knowledge of many things in few woords I wyll shew you how Alexander the great slew in hys choller hys deere accounted Cratherus and Pirrhus Kyng of the Epirotes Fabatus hys secretory The Emperor Bitillion hys greatest frend Cincinatus Domitian the emperor Rufus of his
chamber Adrian the Emperor hys onely fauored Ampromae Dioclesian hys frend Patritius whom hee loued as hym self and always called hym frend and compaignion Diadumeus Pamphilion hys great treasorer For whose death hee was so sorowfull that hee would haue made him self away beecause hee caused him to bee so cruelly slayn All these aboue named and infynyt others also some were maisters some lords some kyngs and some of great autority and fauor about princes by whose tragicall histories and examples wee may plainly see that they did not onely lose their goods fauor and credit but also vpon very light occasions were put to death by sweord Therefore mortall men should put no trust in worldly things syth that of lytle occasion they become soone great and of much lesse they sodeinly fall and come to woorse estate then before And therefore kyng Demetrius askyng one day Euripides the philosopher what hee thought of humayn debility and of the shortnes of this lyfe aunswered Mee thinks O Kyng Demetrius that there is nothyng certayn nor suer in this vnstable life syth all men liuing and al things also that serues them indure dayly some clipse and hereunto replied sodainly Demetrius sayd O my good Euripides thou hadst sayd better that all things vegitiue and sensitiue and ech other liuing thyng dooth not onely feele the eclipses efforce and chaunge from day to day but from hower to hower and minute to minute Meaning kyng Demetrius by these woords hee spake that ther is nothing so stable in this world bee it of what state or condicion yt will bee but in a twyinkling of an eye is ready to runne into a thousand daūgers and perils albeit wee bee all subiect of what state or degree so euer wee bee to sundry diuers thrales mishaps yet none are so neere neighbors to them as those that are in highest autority and greatest fauor with princes For there are many that shoots to hit down the white of their fauor but few that beyng down will once put it vp agayn and restore yt to his place For to lyue a contented life a man had neede to want nothing neither to haue any occasion to trouble him But the things that trouble vs in this vale of misery being so many and of such aboundaunce and those things contrarily so few rare to come by that wee neede and want wee may iustly account this life wofull and myserable aboue all others For sure farre greater are the greeues and dyspleasures wee receyue for one onely thing wee want then the pleasures are great wee haue for a hundreth others whereof wee haue aboundaunce Besides that the familiars of princes cannot think them selues so mighty and fortunat that any man may presume to cal them blessed or happy For if some serue and honor them others there are that persecute them and if in their houses they haue that flatter them and make much of them there wāt not in the court others that murmur at them and speak ill of them And yf they haue cause some times to reioyce that they are in fauor so haue they likewise continuall trouble and feare that they shal fall and bee put out of fauor And if they glory to haue great treasure they sorow also to haue many enemies And if the seruices and company they haue doo delight them the continuall buysines they haue doo vex them So that wee may say of thē as of plaistering of houses which are neuer so faire but they become black with some spot in time and woormes and other vermine do eat and wast them If there bee none that dare once admonish these great men in authority and tell them their faults by woord of mouth yet I will take vppon mee to doo yt wyth my wrytyng and say that they speake nothyng but it is noted their steps they tread are seene euery morsell of meat they eat ys marked they are accused for the pleasures they take and all thyngs that they haue are obserued All the pleasures that is doone them is regystred and all ill that that they know by them is published And fynally I conclude that the fauored of prynces are a game at tables whereat euery man playeth not wyth dyce nor cardes but onely with serpents tongues And therefore I haue sayd it and once agayn I returne to say That all those that are accepted of prynces must lyue contynually very wisely and aduysedly in all their dooyngs for it is trew and too trew that euery mans tongue runnes of them and much more yf they had tyme and opportunity like as they defame them with their tongues so would they offend them with their hands Wee doo not speak thys so much that they should looke to defend their lyfe but to foresee that they may preserue their honor and goods from perill and to geeue them by thys precept a good occasion to looke about them For to put them in disgrace wyth the Kyng all the days of they re lyfe to their vtter vndooyng and ouerthrow the kyng neede but onely geeue eare to his enemies ¶ The aucthor admonisheth those that are in fauor and great with the prynce that they take heede of the deceipts of the world and learne to lyue and dye honorably and that they leaue the court beefore age ouertake them Cap. xvi WHan kyng Alderick kept Seuerine the Romayn consull prisoner otherwise named Boetius that consull complayned much of fortune Saying alas fortune why hast thou forsaken mee in my age since thou dyddest fauor mee so much in myne youth and that I had serued thee so many years why hast thou left mee to the hands of myne enemyes To which complaynts fortune made aunswer thus Thou art vnthankfull to mee O Seuerius sith I haue vsed my things with thee in such maner as I neuer vsed the like with any other Romayn And that this ys trew I tell thee Consider O Seuerius that I made thee whole and not sick a man and no woman of excellent wyt and vnderstandyng and not grosse and rude rych and not poore wyse and not foolysh free and not bond a Senator and no plebeyan noble and valyaunt and not cowardly a Romayn and no barbarus or straunger born in great and not mean estate a graue man and no light nor vayn person fortunat and not vnlucky woorthy of fame and not obliuyon to conclude I say I gaue thee such part in the common weale that thou hadst good cause to haue pyty of all others and all others cause to haue spight and enuy at thee Agayn replyed Seuerius to this aunswer and sayd O cruell and spightfull fortune how liberall thou art in the things thou speakest and resolute in the things thou disposest sith always thou doost what thou wilt and seldome that thou oughtst And thou knowest there is no such myshap as to remember a man hath once been rich and fortunat in his tyme and to see him self now brought to extreame mysery Heare
keapyng their doughters I sweare that there was neyther grape nor cluster but it was either eaten or gathered by the. Thou diddest eate me grene for the which I promise the it hath set thy teeth on edge Thou sayest I was riped by power of heat and straw It greueth me not so much that thou saiest it as that thou geuest me occasion to say to the thy shame is so shamelesse and thy euil so malicious that I cannot make aunswere to thy purpose onlesse I rubbe the on the quycke I aske the when thou mariedst Faustine whether thou foundest them grene or ripe thou knowest wel and so do I also that other gaged the vessel and thou drankest the lyees other had the meate and thou the huskes other did eate them being grene and with the refuge set thy teath on edge O cursed Marke behold how great thy euels are and how the goddes haue iustly punished the that beinge yonge thou couldest not deserue to be beloued of thy louers nor yet now in thy age thy wife kepe her faith to the. For me to be reuenged of thy parson I nede no more but to se the maried to Faustine By the mother Berecinthia I promise the that if thy smal wisedome mighte attaine to know at the ful what they say of the and her in Rome thou wouldest wepe both day and night for the life of Faustine and not leaue the woful Boemia O Marke litle care is taken for the and how farre is our vnderstanding vncoupled from thy thoughtes For through thy great learninge thy house in the day tyme is a schole of philosophers and the wantonnes of thy wife Faustine in the night maketh it a receite of ruffians It is a iust iudgement of the goddes sith that thy malice onely sufficeth to poison many that be good the euilnes onely of one woman shal be enough to spoile and take away thy good renowm One difference ther is betwene the and me and thy Faustine which is that my facts are in suspect and yours done in deed mine be in secret but yours knowen openly I haue but stombled but you haue fallen For one onely fault I deserue punishment but you deserue pardon for none My dishonour dyed with my fact and is buried with my amendmēt but your infamy is borne with your desires nourished with your malices stil with your works Finally your infamy shal neuer dye for you liued neuer wel O Marke malicious with al that thou knowest dost not thou knowe that to dye wel doth couer an euil fame and to make an end of an euyl life doth begin a good fame Thou ceasest not to say euil onely of suspect which thy false iudgements geueth and yet wouldest thou we shold conceale that we se with our eyes Of one thing I am sure that neyther of the nor of Faustine ther are hath bene any false witnes For ther are so many true euilles that ther neadeth no lyes to be inuented Thou saiest it is an old custome with the amorous ladies in Rome though they take of many yet they are the porest of al because we want credite we are honored for siluer It is most certaine that of holly we loke for pricks of acorns huskes of nettels stinginge and of thy mouth malices I haue seriously noted I neuer heard the say wel of any nor I neuer knew any that would the good What greater punishmēt can I desire for thy wickednes nor more vengeaunce for my iniuries then to se al the amorous ladies of Rome discontented with thy life and ioy to thinke on thy death cursed is the man whose life many do bewaile and in whose death euery one doth reioyce It is the propertie of such vnthankeful wretches as thou art to forget the great good done to them to repent that litle they geue How muche the noble harts do reioyce in geuing to other so much they are ashamed to take seruice vnrewarded For in geuing they are lords in taking they become sclaues I aske what it is thou hast geuen me or what thou hast receiued of me I haue aduentured my good fame and geuen thee possession of my persone I haue made thee lord of me and mine I banished me from my countrey I haue put in perill my life In recompence of this thou dost detect me of misery Thou neuer gauest me ought with thy harte nor I toke it with good will nor it euer did me profite As all thinges recouer a name not for the worke we openly see but for the secrete intention with which we worke Euen so thou vnhappy man desirest me not to enioye my parsonne but rather to haue my money We ought not to call thee a cleare louer but rather a thefe a wily persone I had a litle ring of thine I minde to throwe it into the riuer a gowne thou gauest me which I haue burnt And if I thought my body were increased with the bread I did eate of thine I would cut my fleshe being whole let out my bloud without feare O malicious Marke thy obscured malice wyl not suffer thee to vnderstande my cleare letter For I sent not to thee to aske money to relieue my pouertie and solitarines but only to acknowledge satisfie my willing hart Such vayne couetous men as thou are cōtented with giftes but the hartes incarnate in loue are not satisfied with a litle money For loue is rewarded alway with loue The man that loueth not as a mā of reason but like a brute beast the woman that loueth not where she is beloued but onely for the gaine of her body such ought not to be credited in wordes nor their persones to be honored For the loue of her endes when goods faileth and his loue when her beautie decaieth If the beautie of my face did procure thy loue they riches only allured my good wyl it is right that we should not be called wyse louers but rather folishe persons O cursed Marke I neuer loued thee for thy goodes although thou likedst me for that I was faire Then I loued with my hart now I abhorre thee with all my hart Thou saiest the gods vsed great pitie on me to geue me fewe children them many fathers The greatest faulte in women is shameles the greatest villany in men is to be euill sayers Diuers thinges ought to be borne in the weakenes of women which in the wisedome of men are not permitted I say this for that I neuer saw in the tēperance to cloke thine own maliciousnes nor wisedome to shadow the debilitie of others Thou saiest my children haue many fathers but I sweare to thee that the children of Faustine shal not be fatherles although thou die And if the gods as thou saiest haue ben pitifull to my childrē no lesse art thou to straunge children For Faustine kepeth the but to excuse her faultes to be tutor to her children O cursed Marke thou nedest not take thought for
but also before them he did dishonour hym and shame him to his power whiche thinge made him vtterly to dispaire For there is nothing that spiteth a man more then to haue before hys enemies any iniurie or dishonoure done vnto him of his superiour The empresse Sophia therfore deserued great reproche for speakinge suche dishonest wordes to Narsetes to send him to thread the nedels in that occupacion where the damsels wrought For it is the duty of a noble princesse to mitigate the ire of Princes when they are angry and not to prouoke them further to anger Narsetes then alwaies dowting the empresse Sophia neuer after retourned into Naples where she was but rather came from Naples to Rome a yeare before the Lumbardes came into Italy where he receiued all the sacramentes and like a deuout ChristiaÌ„ dyed His body was caried to Alexandria in a coffine of siluer al sette with precious stones and ther was buried And a man cannot tel whither the displeasour were greater that all Asia had not to see Narsetes aliue or the pleasour that Sophia had to see him deade For the vnpacient hart especially of a woman hath no rest vntill she see her enemye dead ¶ Of a letter the Emperour Marcus Aurelius sente to the Kynge of Scicile in which he recordeth the trauailes they endured togethers in their youth and reproueth him of his small reuerence towardes the temples Chapter xvii MArcus Aurelius sole Emperour of Rome borne in mouÌ„te Celio called the old tribune wisheth health and long lyfe to the Gorbin Lord kynge of Sicile As it is the custome of the Romaine Emperoures the firste yeare of my reigne I wrate generallye to all that I le the seconde yeare I wrate generallye vnto thy courte and palace and at this presente I write more particulerlye to thy parsone And although that Princes haue greate Realmes yet they ought not therfore to cease to coÌ„municate with their old frendes Since I toke my penne to write vnto the I stayed my hande a great while from writing and it was not for that I was slouthfull but because I was a shamed to see all Rome offended with the. I let the to weâ—e most excellent prince that in this I say I am thy true frend for in my hart I fele thy trouble and so sayd Euripides that whiche with the harte is loued with the hart is lamented But before I shew thee the cause of my writing I will reduce into thy memory some thinges past of our youth and therby we shall see what we were then and what we are now for no man dothe so muche reioyce of his prosperitie present as he whiche calleth to minde his miseries past Thou shalt call to minde most excellent Prince that we two togethers did learne to reade in Capua and after we studyed a litle in Tarentum and from thense we went to Rhodes where I redde Rhethorike and thou hardest philosophie And afterwardes in the ende of x. yeres we went to the warres of Pannonia where I gaue my selfe to musike for the affectioÌ„s of yong men is so variable that daily they would know straunge realmes and chaunge offices And in all those iourneis with the forse of youth the swete company with the pleasaunte communicacion of sciences and with a vaine hope we did dissemble our extreme pouerty which was so great that many times and ofte we desired not that whiche manye had but that litle which to few abounded Doest thou remember that when we sayled by the goulfe Arpin to goe into Helesponte a long and tempestuous torment came vpon vs wherin we were taken of a pirate and for our raunsome he made vs rowe about .ix. monethes in a gally wheras I cannot tell whiche was greater either the wante of bread or the abundaunce of stripes whiche we alwaies endured Hast thou forgotten also that in the citie of Rhodes when we were beseged of Bruerdus puissaunt kyng of Epirotes for the space of fourtene monethes we were tenne withoute eatyng fleshe saue onely .ii. cattes the one whiche we stole and the other whiche we bought remember that thou and I being in Tarent were desired of our host to go to the feast of the great goddesse Diana into the whiche temple none coulde enter that day but those which were new apparelled And to say the trouthe we determined not to go thither thou because thy garmentes were torne and I because my shoes were broken and that bothe the tymes we were sicke in Capua they neuer cured vs by dyet for our dyseases neuer proceded of excesse but of extreame hunger An often times Retropus the phisician for his pleasour spake to vs in the vniuersitie and sayd Alas children you dye not through surfeting and muche eatinge And truly he sayde trouth for the contrey was so dere and our mony so scarse that we did neuer eate vntyl the time we could endure no lenger for famine Dost thou not remember the great famine that was in Capua for the which cause we were in the warre of Alexandria wherin my fleshe dyd tremble remembring the great perilles whiche we passed in the goulfe of Theberynthe What snowes all wynter what extreme heate all sommer what general famine in the fieldes what outragious pestilence amongest the people and worste of all what persecution of straungers and what euill will we had of ours remember also that in the citie of Naples when we made our prayer to the profetesse Flauia she told vs what shoulde become of vs after we lefte our studies She tolde me that I should be an Emperour and sayde that thou shouldest be a kynge To the whiche aunswere we gaue suche credite that we toke it not onelye for a mocke but also for a manifest iniurye And nowe I doe not merueile in that then we bothe marueled wonderfull muche For enuyous fortune practised her power more in pluckyng downe the ryche then in setting vp the poore Beholde excellente Prince the greate power of the goddesse the whele of fortune the variety of times who would haue thought when I hadde my handes all rough and scuruy with rowing in the galley that betwene those handes the scepter of the Romayne Empire should haue ben put who would haue thoughte when I was so sicke for lacke of meat I should euer haue surfited by to muche eating who would haue thought when I could not be satisfied with cattes fleshe that I shoulde haue then glutted with to moch dainty meates who wold haue thought at that time when I left going into the temple because my shoes were broken that another tyme should come when I shoulde ryde triumphyng in chariotes and vppon the shoulders of other menne who woulde haue thought that that which with my eares I hard of the prophetesse in Campagnia I should see here with my eyes in Rome O how many dyd hope at the time we were in Asia to be gouernours of Rome and lords of Sicille which not only fayled of the honour that they desired
great age and grauitie such request can not bee called loue but grief not pastime but losse of time not mockry but villany for of loue in iest ensueth infamy in deede I ask you Claude and Claudine what a thing is it to see an old man to bee in loue Trulye it is no other but as a garland before the tauern dores wher al men think that ther is wine and they sel nought els but vineger They are egges white without and rotten within they are golden pilles the tast wherof are very bitter and as ēpty boxes in shops which haue new writings on them or as a new gate and with in the house is full of filth and cobwebs finally the old louer is a knight of Exchetes which helpeth to lose mony and can deliuer no man from peril Let this woord bee noted and alwayes in your memory committed that the old man which is vitious is but as a leeke which hath the head white the tayle green Mee thinketh that you ought to break the wings of time since that you haue feathers to flye withal Deceiue not your self nor your frends and neighbours saying that ther is time for all For the amendment is in your hands but time is in the hands of god to dispose Let vs come now to remedy this great domage do what you can by the day of youth and deferr it not vntil the night of age for ill cutteth the knife when the edge therof is dulled and ill can hee knaw the bones which is accustomed to eat the flesh I tel you and aduertise you that when the old and rotten houses beeginneth to fall vnder set not them with rotten wood but with hard timber I mean with the vpright thoughts of accompts which wee ought to geue to the gods of our life and to mē of our renoume Forthe I say that if the vine bee gathered of our vertues we ought to graffe againe the amendment and if the shreds of our gatherings bee drye and withered through our peruers woorks wee ought to set them agayn with new mould and good desires The gods are so gentle to serue and so good to content that if for all the seruices wee ow them and for the gifts which they geeue vs wee can not pay them in good woorks they demaund nomore in payment but good willes Finally I say that if thou Claude and Claudine haue offred the meale of youth to the world offer now the blood of age to the gods I haue written longer then I had thought to do Salute all my neyghbours specially Drusio the patrician and noble Romayne widdow I remember that Gobrine your niece did me a pleasure the day of the feast of the mother Berecinthia wherfore I sēd 2. thou sand Sesterces one thousand to help to mary her and the other thousand to help to reliue your pouerty My wife Faustine is sick and I send you another .1000 Sesterces to geeue to the vestal virgines to pray to the gods for her My wife sendeth to thee Claudine a cofer by the immortal gods I swear vnto thee I can not tel what is in it I beeseech the godds sithens you are aged to giue you a good death and to mee Faustine they suffer vs to lead a good life Marcus of mount Celio with his owne hand writeth this ¶ Princes ought to take heede that they be not noted of auarice for that the coueious man is both of god and man hated Cap. xxiii THe great Alexander king of Macedony and Darius the vnfortunat king of the Persyes were not onely contrary in warres and conquests which they made but also in the conditions and inclinations which they had For Alexander naturally loued to geeue and spēd and Darius to the contrary to heape lock keepe When the fame of Alexander was spred abrode through out all the world to bee a prince of honor and not couetous his owne loued him entierly and straungers desyred to serue him faithfully The miserable kyng Darius as hee was noted of great auarice and of small liberality so his did disobey him and straungers hated him Whereof may bee gathered that princes and great lords by geeuing do make them selues rich in keeping they make theym selues poore Plutarche in his apothegmes declareth that after king Darius was dead Alexander had triumphed ouer al the oriental parts a man of Thebes beinge in the market place of Athenes setting foorth the fortune of Alexander for the sundry countreys which hee had conquered and describing the euel fortune of Darius for the great nomber of men which hee had lost a philosopher with a loude voice sayd O man of Thebes thou art greatly deceiued to think that one prince loseth many seignories and that the other Prince winneth many realmes For Alexander the great wanne nought but stones and couerings of cities for with his liberality he had alredie gotten the good willes of the cite sins And to the contrary the vnfortunat Darius did not lose but stones and the couertures of cities for with his couetousnes and auarice he had now lost al the hartes of those of Asia And farther this philosopher sayd vnto him that princes which wil enlarge their estates and amplify their realmes in their conquests ought first to winne the harts to bee noble and liberal and afterwards to send their armies to conquer the forts and walls for otherwise litel auayleth it to winne the stones if the hartes do rebell Wherby a man may gather that that which Alexander wan hee wan by liberalitye and stoutnes and that which king Darius lost he lost for beeinge miserable and couetous And let vs not meruail hereat for the princes great lordes which are ouercome with auarice I doubt whither they euer shal see theym selues cōquerors of many realmes The vice of auarice is so detestable so euel so odious so perilous that if a mā shoold ēploy hī self to write al the discōmodites therūto belongīg my penne should do nought elles then to presume to dry vp all the water in the sea For the stomake where auarice entreth causeth a man to serue vices worshippe Idolles If a vertuous man woulde prepare him selfe to think on the great trauaile and litell reste that this cursed vice beareth with him I thinke that none would be vicious therin Though the couetous man had no other trauaile but alwayes to go to bed wyth daunger and to rise vp with care Me thinketh it is a trouble sufficient for such one when he goeth to bed thinketh that he should be killed in his bed or that sleping his cofers should be rifled and from that time he riseth he is alwayes tormented with feare to lose that which he hath wonne and careful to augmēt that litel in to much The deuine Plato in the first boke of his common welth said these wordes the men be made riche because they neuer learned to bee riche for he which continually and truelye will become riche