which burneth alike in the breastes of either partie Neither yet doth friendship ceasse or vtterly perish through absence growing vpon iust and reasonable causes as we may see in Dauid and Ionathan whose friendship cōtinued and lasted still the one notwithstanding being absent from the other for such deepe rooted goodwill and such ardent affection can not be easely quenched Therefore Friendship being first well and surely grounded betweene persons present continueth still euen betweene them being absent and the further they be asunder the greater commonly is the longing desire of either partie to other and the more vehemently doth their enflamed myndes encrease But if this absence and discontinuaunce be long deferred protracted or delayed or if this Friendship were not at the beginning well and throughly settled and grounded then truely such is the fickle condition and inconstancie of the worlde now adaies it is wont commonly either to slyde quite away and take his leaue or at least to waxe cold and not to haue such great heates and desires as before For Aristotle saith and that very truely Silence and absence dissolueth many friendships What is therefore this true and Christian Friendship whereof wee now speake Many men doe bring many reasons whereby they goe about if not altogether and plainly to explicate and at large to displaye yet at least wise to depaynt and somewhat to shadow out the force and nature thereof Some therfore define it with too large circumstaunces and some againe hemme it in within too narrowe a compasse For they which say that Friendship is a consent of mindes in all causes and all matters whatsoeuer doe not well aduise themselues what they say for that they doe stretch the force of Friendshippe further then they ought to doe For there may bee many things wherein two men or moe doe not alwaies agree together in one but be of diuers and sundrie opinions As namely they may at some tymes agree together to doe some good thing and oftentymes againe they may consult together to do some things naughtie and wicked So that in such a case this consent of mindes in them ought rather to be termed a secrete compact a whispering assemblie or a close conference rather then true and stedfast Friendship For they that so define Friendship that they make it to be a consent of goodmē among themselues touching their priuate affayres and dealings onely doe make of Friendshippe as it were a kinde of Merchandize But wee doe thinke that Friendship may very well be thus defined if wee say that it is a Pact or Couenaunt made betweene two persons God himselfe beeing called to witnesse wherein they faithfully promise th' one to th' other mutually to loue cherish and entierly to conserue protect maintaine and defend one the others person estate and goods so farre foorth as it may lawfully bee done without breach of God his lawe or dishonour to his worde Which definition being particularly examined shal the better appeare and be found to carie in it the more certaintie and trueth Hierome in his 5. Epistle doth thus define it Friendshippe is a mutuall loue engraffed in the mynde and a strong linking of the harts together chast sincere and without emulation And first it is called a Pact or Couenant because in Friendshippe this seemeth to be a thing thereunto singularlie and peculiarlie appropriate that there is alwaies betweene faithfull vowed Louers a certaine bargaine or agreement solemnely made So did Ionathan and Dauid agree and consent betwene themselues making a Couenaunt betweene them and that not only once but many times renewed and repeated For as loue and charitie doth generally commaūd and will euery one of vs to bee knit together in a most firme consent of myndes and agreement of iudgements so specially namely in true Friendship it is among Friends most chiefly required that their faithfull hearts and true affections may not bee smoothered in secrecie or kept vnknowne but be apparaunted made open and manifested For such is the force and efficacie of this loue and affection which knitteth and linketh them together that it will not in any wise bee hidd but will breake foorth into open shewe Wherby it commeth to passe that the one vttereth and testifieth to the other what affection raigneth in him and what desire he hath to bee loued againe of the other whom he so ardently fauoureth Among other kindes of men the mutuall goodwill that one beareth to an other may many tymes be kept secrete and vnuttered But betweene Friends it can not in any case so be Therefore they doe vse this testification of their mutual affection and will as it were the liuely voyce of both their hearts and the firmer bond and strōger Buttresse for perpetuitie and continuaunce Now the name of God is vsed and in this case called to witnesse because he is the true Author and very Fountaine of al firme faithfull and stedfast Friendship without whom no maner of Friendship can be good godlie or commēdable For a higher greater mightier or surer witnesse pledge or token of their inward minde and will then God himself is can they haue none and therefore doe they reuerently in this behalf and for this purpose call him as Witnesse to their Cōscience and protestatiō And what better witnesse of their professed promise can they bring then God himselfe Whose name or authoritie can they vse that can and wil more seuerely and sharply punish their breach and contempt then he For their desire and wishe is that the couenant pact league promise vowe protestation agreeement and consent so betweene them mutually made and enterchaungeablie receiued and taken should not be for a tyme but for euer not momentanie but perpetuall not fleeting and fading but permanent and stable For this intent therefore I say doe they vse and enterpose the name of God building their matters vpon him who is the strongest and surest foundation And thus doe we reade that Ionathan and Dauid knit their Friendship made their couenaunt before the Lord. It is further also written of the same Ionathan that he gaue vnto Dauid as a pledge bonde or pawne of their newe begon Friendshippe not onely the solemne cyting of the name of God but also other visible giftes and outward testifications to wit his Robe Girdle Sword Bowe and such other garments and furniture as at that tyme he had for such heartie curtesies maketh men not onely the mindfuller but also more religious keepers and obseruers of their promise and couenant It is said in the definition to be betweene two because neuer or very seldome is firme and fast Friendship among moe then twaine And therefore for the preseruing of it stable stedfast and vnuiolated there must not a third be taken into this knot of true Friendshippe Now whereas it is written of Dionysius King of Sicile that he earnestly requested to be taken into the perfect bond of sincere amitie together with Damon Pythias it
maketh nothing against this our saying For there was no such nere coniunction of mynds with him as was betweene them two them selues the one with the other but it was rather an admiration of that most rare Friendship and surpassing goodwill of men among themselues which vnto a most mightie King seemed admirable happie and entierly to bee wished for and which also seemed farre safer and blessedder then that his royall estate and condition So were Ionathan and Dauid friendes together being but onely two For Friendship betweene moe then two groweth out of estimation looseth of his dignitie and price is contemned and lesse accoumpted of and in trueth forfaiteth his wonted force and proper vertue It followeth in the definition Of mutually louing defending cherishing mainteyning one an other For these be the very chiefest and principallest effects of Friendship that such as bee true friendes in deede must mutually loue one the other and that not faynedlie and clokedlie but euen truely and sincerely and because of such their mutuall sinceritie and true loue they doe also mutually defend cherish maintaine and protect one an other Last of all there is added in the definition so farte foorth as may lawfully bee done without offence to GOD or dishonor to his most glorious Maiestie Wherein be set downe the endes whereunto and the bounds how farre Friendship may stretch beyond which bounds it is not in any wise lawfull to passe So that hereby we see three especiall poyntes most necessarie and behoouefull for the better explication and further opening of the force vertue efficacie nature of Frendshippe namely to bee heere opened handled and discussed viz. 1 The scope and marke whereat Frends doe ayme 2 The very effects of Friendship 3 The Endes and bounds that must bee layed out and of Frindes in their Friendship to be kept and obserued Which three poynts I purpose here particularly to prosecute after that I haue first laied downe myne opinion and iudgement of this question Whether an holie firme and neere friendship lincked and vowed betwene certaine godly and faithfull persons bee any way repugnaunt to that charge and Commaundement of our heauenly Father touching the louing of all men in generall The fourth Chapter Contayning a question Whether the lawe of Friendship doe any whit oppugne the generall Commaundement of God touching loue and charitie to all men FIrst such men as holde opinion that there is herein a repugnācie doe alledge two reasons The one is The generall Commaundement of God wherby we are charged to loue one an other Now if it bee lawfull for some particular persons to contract within them selues a kinde of more streict and nere amitie then with others then thinke they that this generall Rule of louing all men indifferently is transgressed and broken Their second reason is this Our dueties commaunded and enioyned vnto vs in that generall Commaundement of Loue ought to bee so great towards all men yea towards our very Enemies that greater better or faithfuller can there not ne possiblie ought there to be shewed vnto those whom wee call and tearme Friendes What force or effect then say they is there in this singular and speciall goodwill mutuall agreement and inward Friendshippe onely betwene some two and no moe By these two Arguments they thinke this same neere bond infringible consent firme loue and singular force of speciall Friendship is encountred and taken away because it maketh vs say they the more remisse negligent and slacke to loue ayde assist and relieue others which are not so fastlie ioyned in heart vnto vs because thereupon wee haue more minde to please and benefite those whom we haue specially chosen for our deare and neere Friends letting all others in a maner to passe by without any helpe at our handes at all For answere whereunto we say that there be other and the same most strong and inuincible Arguments to confirme approue establish and warrant this speciall kinde of entier Amitie among men prouing the same to bee to the godlie not onely lawful and allowable but also honest lawdable and necessarie First the authoritie of the Sacred Scriptures which teacheth vs that wee ought to loue such as wee admit and receiue into our inward Friendship And therfore the Spirite of GOD thundreth out threates comminations and punishments against violaters and breakers of this inward amitie and profession of speciall Loue. Secondly the example of godly men who both publiquely and priuately haue sundrie tymes solēnely entred into religiously with mutuall consent professed this neere strict bond of Amitie Which deede and purpose of theirs God himself both praiseth and also setteth the same forth vnto vs as a patterne to imitate In this sorte were Dauid and Ionathan lincked together in a most firme bonde of perfect Friendship And those couenants which among Kinges and Princes and high Estates are called Leagues are among priuate persons tearmed Amitie But Leagues are allowable and warrantable by the lawe of God And therfore Amitie and Friendship also Thirdly Nature her self together with the common speach and settled opinion of al Nations for there is no people but highly extolleth the vertue of Frendship and hath deuised notable sentences of praise in condemnation thereof as namely this Wee haue no lesse neede for the vse of this life of Friendship then we haue of water and fier Notablie and excellently is the same discoursed vpon and cōmēded vnto vs in their learned works both by Aristotle and Cicero And it is the common receiued opinion and vsuall tearme of Nature of all people of the world generallie against the which whosoeuer resisteth and againe saieth speaketh euen against his owne Conscience Finally these former Arguments of the againsayers are vnsufficient and prooue nothing because they may both of them be easily answered and quickly confuted As first I say and answere that by entring into a certaine hearty and inward friendship with some one particuler person the generall Commaundement and Precept of almightie God is neither hindred nor taken away For God himself who teacheth vs to loue all men hath notwithstanding by his Lawe appoynted certaine degrees of Loue for vs to followe whereby wee are to loue some more tenderly and dearely then other some For he willeth vs not to yeeld alike and equall loue vnto all men indifferently and without respect seeing that wee are commaunded to loue our wife more then our parents our Children aboue Straungers and them which bee of the houshold of Faith more then Infidels Seeing therefore in respect of consanguinitie kindred and proximitie of bloud it is lawfull for vs to make a difference by louing our neerest friendes more ardently and with greater affection then others and to discerne betwene the inwarde heartie loue which wee beare to them and the common generall loue which vniuersallie we beare to all others why may wee not also bee allowed the same in respect of our vowed promise
sworne couenant and professed Amitie And our Sauiour Iesus Christ being the patterne of all true Loue is saied to haue loued Iohn aboue all the rest of his Disciples Their second Argument is vaine and friuolous They demaund this question what is there left for any speciall Friendship when as all men in generall yea our very Enemies ought of vs to be vnfaynedly loued To whom let this briefly suffice for answere that albeit we loue all and shewe our selues ready and willing to helpe relieue and defend all yet be some more specially commended vnto our care then other some Therfore the goodliest and fayrest fruite of Loue is this noble vertue Friendship The fifth Chapter To what scope and drift true friendshippe tendeth THE common vulgar sorte of men ioyne together in friendship one with an other for many considerations and for sundry endes purposes For either they knit themselues in league together in respect of some priuate gayne commoditie and profite that the one hopeth to reape by the other or els for some respect of pleasure or finally because they seeke thereby to attaine some preferment honour dignitie praise or countenaunce The true Christian friend of whom we here speake is farre from any of these endes neither respecteth he any of all these aforesayd purposes but his chiefe and principall drift is that in this his Friendship God specially may be truely honored and his Neighbour vnfainedly loued For this onely thing doe al the godlie specially care for and this marke doe they in the whole course of their loue chiefly ayme and shoote at But as there may be assigned many endes and scopes wherefore Friendship is sought for and concluded among men so is there one speciall and as it were a proper chiefe and peculiar ende thereof And that is this looke whome GOD hath adorned and blessed with some speciall giftes aboue others and therby mooued vs to haue the same partie for his rare qualities in admiration vnto such an one doe we willingly adioyne our selues and with him desire wee most gladly to enter into entier familiaritie The first meanes therefore that firmely knitteth this moste friendly agreement of mindes together is the will of God which mooueth and draweth our hearts so to doe And next is the admiration of the rare vertues and singular giftes which we see in an other in so much that we earnestly desire because of the same to bee in his companie to haue his vnfained loue and to stand assuredly in his fauour And because we commonly admire and most especially loue those vertues wherein wee chiefly take most delight and whereunto we feele in our selues by God his good gift some sparkes and inclinations it commeth therfore to passe thereby that there is seene in those that enter into this fast bond of friendship a similitude and likenesse of maners and affections the one with the other and that being thus linked together they doe by a certaine inwarde testimonie and secrete iudgement retaine one and the same consent in all things and still iumpe together in one opinion This third cause therefore for the procuring and piecing of firme and true Friendship is of most excellent force and beareth most effectuall sway I meane the similitude of maners and like delight in studies and affections For to will and iust alike that is to say what the one willeth the other to will the same and what the other nilleth the other to be alike affected is firme and stedfast Friendship Friendes therefore commonly take delight in thinges alike and chiefly for the most parte frame themselues by natures conduction and inclination vnto the loue and studie of one and the selfe same vertue The first foundation therefore of Friendship is grounded vpon likenes of studies and similitude of maners For in that we hope to be defended maintained and protected by our friendes in that we our selues desire to be amiable and admirable to the good and godly in that finally we seeke a faithfull companiō and helper vnto whome to impart our whole deuises and counsailes all these are rather effects of true Friendship then ends thereof Certes in that firme and fast agreement of mynds betweene Dauid and Ionathan there was none other scope or ende respected then this which we here mention As touching that sentence of our Sauiour Christ Make you friendes of the vnrighteous Mammon it is not to bee otherwise vnderstood then that we must learne to bestowe our wealth and money better then the common sorte of men doe namely vpon the poore and needie which may commēd vs vnto God by their prayers and not vpon the rich and wealthie whom we commonly notwithstanding are more readie to pleasure and benefite To conclude therefore with Cicero Where is this holy Amitie godly Friendship if the partie whom wee professe to loue and choose to our friende bee not truely sincerely vnfainedly and onely for himselfe and by himselfe ardently affectionatly and hartily loued The sixt Chapter Of the effects of true Friendship THere bee three especiall effects of true Friendship to witte mutuall loue in God an holie consent of myndes and an interchaungeable or reciprocall defence maintenaunce assistaunce and protection one of an other to the vttermost of abilitie and power First as touching Loue It is an affection of the heart by the which wee especially loue some one more thē others wishing vnto him all welfare and prosperous successe And this Loue is called Dilectio as who should say Delectio which signifieth a choyse or an electiō culling out the word Diligere to loue is so named of an other like worde Deligere which signifieth to pick or choose out because that party whō we tenderly loue we specially pick and choose out frō among all others and haue a speciall care and desire for his well doing and prosperitie more then for all others besides Therefore we loue all men in a generalitie but we tenderly and affectionatly embrace but fewe or but some one onely or paraduenture none at all For there is a greater vehemencie and a more effectuall signification in this word Diligere then there is in the word Amare although to loue be the signification both of the one and the other which difference is wel noted by that most eloquent Marcus Cicero in one of his familiar Epistles written to Paetus Whereby wee may see that force and violēce is not the way to procure and knit firme Friendship betweene parties nor yet feare but rather a free choyse of the mynde and an hartie good liking toward some peculiar person vpon whom God so disposing our heart wee franklie and in full measure bestowe the whole zeale of our entier fauour For a man that enrolleth himselfe once in the Register of a perfect and sincere friend doth so effectuously and dearely loue his friend that he euen accoumpteth and acknowledgeth him as an other himselfe and wisheth no better in any respect to himselfe
and a Friend doe not onely differ in deed and in name but sure and certaine it is that Flatterie is the rankest poyson the most daungerous plague to Frendshippe that possiblie can bee The which although it carie an outward shewe of great affection and syncere goodwill yet doubtlesse doth it vtterly vndoe the bond of Friendship vtterly weaken and enfeeble his strength and vtterly each way destroye and marre the nature thereof For the Flatterer resembleth and counterfaiteth the wordes of an vnfained Friend but not his honest mynde neither his syncere loue nor his true hearted Affection Moreouer all these three poyntes aboue specified ought among Freendes to bee common For Friendes not onely straine them selues mutually to requite curtesies but also in these their curtesies couet the one to surmount passe yea to preuēt as much as in them is the one the other And therfore these perfourmances of mutuall Loue of mutuall Consent of mutuall Defence Protection and Assistaunce bee actions enterchaungeable and reciprocall But yet not so as that a Friend should purposelie bestowe a curtesie vpon his Friend in hope of as good a turne or as large a benefite at his handes againe for no other godly honest man extendeth his loue and charitie toward his neighbour mercenarywise or as it were letting and fearming it out for hyre and gaine but because the force and nature of Friendship is such that it will not haue these things otherwise then mutually and reciprocally returnable All curtesies therefore are betweene them giuen taken restored and requited mutually howbeit and let this bee well noted not alwaies alike not alwaies equally nor in semblable proportion For many tymes the one receiueth at the handes of the other more curtesie and greater benefite then he is able againe in the like measure to requite and repay either by reason of the great oddes of the estate and condition of friendes or els for the difference of their wealth and abilitie As for example the one peraduenture is very rich the other poore the one fortunate the other miserable the one exiled and banished the other liuing at home in his natiue Countrey But all these notwithstanding he that hath lesse stoare and smaller pittaunce of abilitie although perchaunce he requite not so amplie and beneficially as hee receiued yet requiteth hee and returneth as much as he is able Wherevpon I say that curtesies and benefites among Friendes are alwaies mutuall and enterchangeable but yet not alwaies alike and equall as appeareth in Ionathan and Dauid Yea Friends doe not onely mutually protect defend and maintaine one an others person credite state wealth and possessions but also as much as they are able procure the same to bee bettered and augmented And therefore there is no maner of rancorous enuie or spightful disdaine betweene them For there is not a greater nor a certainer plague nor a more fretting Canker vnto syncere and true Frendship next to Adulation and Flatterie then is Spight and Enuie The seuenth Chapter The right Ends of true and Christian Frendshippe IN discussing the Boundes and Endes of true and Christian Friendship there bee two especiall poynts to bee decided that are commōly brought into question The first is of the Tyme how long it ought to remaine and bee continued The second of the maner and way how it ought to be obserued retayned and kept that is to say what how farre and how much one friend is to perfourme and to doe for an other Cōcerning the first which is of the Tyme let this stand for a definitiue and resolute answere that if the syncere vowe and vnfained goodwill of them that godly enter into this Christian league of Friendship be aduisedly considered it ought to be endlesse and to continue betweene them perpetually euen so long as they both shall liue in this world And yet many tymes without any fault of theirs by some casuall error and mishappe it may so fall out that there may be good cause either vtterly to renounce and breake of or at least to withdrawe and relent Friendshippe For what if the one of the Friendes should renye his faith and of a faithfull beleeuer become a faithlesse Infidell and of a Christian become a Turke or a Pagan Certes in this case all Friendship is vtterly to be forsaken and all Amitie if after sundrie exhortations and admonitions hee still persist in his obstinate miscreancie must be quight renounced Howbeit such a greeuous Apostacie and such an horrible backsliding breedeth in the mynd of a Friend no small heauinesse and sorowe yea and many tymes also causeth him for a tyme to suspende his determination and to linger some while in hope of amendment and repentance For euen so likewise at the death of our Friend although wee verily beleeue and rest assured that his soule is receiued into euerlasting blisse yet doe wee sorowe and lament and that sometyme very much as wee may see in Dauid But yet must wee obeye the lawes of God and of our frailtie Least otherwise wee should like the olde Gyaunts goe about to make warre against God or irreligiously to preferre our owne affections before the feare of the Lord our maker Therfore there may oftentymes be giuen most iust occasion to breake and renounce Friendship but yet the vowe and purpose at the first ought so syncerely to be made and intended as that it should last continue and be retayned for euer And therefore that tearme and sentence which by some is vsed is most beastly and reprooueable Loue as though thou shouldest one day hate Which sentence and aduise if it should preuaile and bee allowed then farewell all fast Friendship for then is all the force pith and strength thereof vanished then bee all the synewes of it loosed and weakened and all that firme trust and assured opinion that ought to be among Frendes safely boldly and willingly to impart and cōmunicate together their myndes one with an other and one to reueale and open his secretes vnto an other is vtterly dashed and put to flight For why neither will they neither dare they aduenture so to doe for feare of afterclappes Finally to the ende they may thankfully pleasantly trustily and boldly liue together this silthie Deuilish tearme of diffidence and distrust Loue as though thou shouldest one day hate must bee quight banished and vtterly remoued out of their mynds although as I said afore it may sometyme so fall out that we may and ought to hate those whom aforetyme wee haue right dearely loued but this thing happeneth contrary to the hope desire and wish of Friendes Therefore let this sentēce of trust and good opinion rather take place be heard Loue as though thou shouldest neuer hate So long therefore as those two Friendes doe liue together they ought in heart vowe to cōserue keepe and maintaine their Frendshippe with all maner of behoouefull curtesies and not to conceiue so much as any suspition either of breaking
or vtter dissoluing thereof For this course doe they still take that are true and faithfull Friendes within themselues But there is an other question here moued When the one of the Friendes is dead what ought the other Frend being aliue to do with the deceased parties Children and how is he in respect of the Friendshippe which hee bare to their father to deale with them and whether the same Friendshippe ought to be continued towarde the Children of him beeing dead or no Truely it very well standeth with the rule of Equitie and Reason that as Children bee heyres of their fathers Landes and Goodes so also to enherite their fathers Friendship accordingly as Isocrates writing to Demonicus hath most excellently set downe Because among the fathers Goodes his Frendship is also reckened and is many times farre better and profitabler then al the enheritance that the Father leaueth or can bequeath vnto his Children And to such effect commonly is Friendship embraced and entred into with an heartie desire and affectionate vowe of the Parents that the fruite thereof may redound and bee continued euen vnto their posteritie and Children Thus did the Friendship betweene Ionathan and Dauid reach and extend vnto the Children of Ionathan Which although it may seeme to bee done by Pact and Couenaunt at the first agreed vpon betwene them yet doubtlesse is this euer included in the wish and desire of all Friendes that the fruict of their mutuall Friendshippe and loue should also after a sorte appertaine and be entailed vnto their children for that euery godly and faithfull person hath speciall respect to prouide not onely for himselfe but also for his Children those that depend on him Therefore are both the Wife and Children of the deceassed Friend to be tenderly loued and all other thinges besides that appertained vnto him yea the very Dogges and the Cattaile that belonged vnto him and all this through an inward affection of hearty goodwil borne vnto the late owner and by the law and duetie of perfect Friendshippe Howbeit not in such measure and proportion as the partie Friend himselfe being deceassed but the exceeding great loue vehement zeale of their late firme Amitie and stedfast coniunction liueth still in the breast of him that remayneth aliue and sendeth foorth many sparkes of his vnfayned loue wheresoeuer he beholdeth and is brought into godly remembraunce of his deceassed Frend by his true and liuely Images which be his Children left behinde Hereupon there groweth yet an other question about that gift of Goodes which Dauid bestowed on Ziba the seruant of Mephibosheth which gift notwithstanding that he was afterward better enfourmed of the trueth of the matter and of Ziba his treacherous infidelitie towarde his Maister yet did he not wholly and entierly reuoke For the Goodes which in right belōged vnto Mephibosheth who was the Sonne of Ionathan he gaue vnto Ziba whereas he had afore in remembraunce of his Friend Ionathan appoynted the same vnto this his Sonne and had giuen commaundement that the same should be assigned and assured vnto him thereby to shewe himselfe thankfull and myndfull of the firme Friendshippe betweene himselfe and Ionathan father of the sayd Mephibosheth Yet Dauid being afterwards suttly beguiled and craftily deceiued by Ziba reuoked his former gift made to Mephibosheth and tooke away from him all that he had afore bestowed vpon him Now the question is this whether this last fact of Dauid may bee defended or how can hee any wayes bee excused but that he dealt herein directly and flatly against the lawes and endes of true Friendship First and formost when as the same Dauid might easilie haue espyed the falshood of Ziba and how cunningly he had bene deceiued and circumuented by his treacherie and false tales yet shewed hee not so much fauour and compassion vnto his deare Friendes Sonne as either seuerely to punish and sharpelie reuenge so notable a villanie and fraudulent cosenage wrought against him by his owne seruaunt nor yet to restore vnto him all his Goodes againe Certes in this case as I thinke Dauid cannot at any hand bee excused but that hee greatly offended and sinned and that moe waies then one to wit first in respect of being a King and secondly as being the professed and sworne Friende of Ionathan the father of this Mephibosheth In that he was a King his office and duetie had beene to haue punished and reuenged the open treacherie and manifest falshood of the Seruaunt against his Lord and Maister And in that he was a Friend his duetie had bene to haue relieued protected the Sonne of his deceassed Friend being shamefully abused and lewdly deceiued through the fraude of his owne Seruaunt and pitifully despoyled of all his Goodes by him that was his Vassall His office and duetie I saye had bene in remembraunce of the great Friendshippe betweene him and Ionathan to haue defended and supported his Sonne being oppressed and afflicted and being well able to haue restored him to his fathers inheritance But in that Dauid neglected and omitted so to doe surely therein he is worthy of great reprehension and to be deemed and accoumpted as one vtterly vnmyndfull of his office and duetie Furthermore to haue transgressed the Boundes and to haue sinned against the lawes of true Friendship yea and quight to haue forgotten both his promise and the benefites which he had afore receiued Therefore this fact of Dauid is not by any that are professed Friendes to be imitated and followed neither to be drawne into example If any man to excuse Dauid will say that because he had bound himself by an Oath and had now alreadie giuen the same Goodes vnto Ziba that therefore he could not lawfully call backe his promise the answere hereunto is easilie shaped For Dauid had afore giuen the very same Goodes vnto Mephibosheth and therefore in that partition of them which hee graunted to bee equally made betweene them both hee cleared not himselfe from the Conscience of his Oath before God For he sware also vnto Ziba that he would giue vnto him all the whole Goodes of Mephibosheth and not a moytie or portion of them onely And yet he assigned vnto him but onely a part and tooke an other part away from him And therefore euen in this same partition Dauid brake his Oath and therein is he manifestly culpable afore God for taking his Diuine name in vaine To be short there can no excuse bee pretended nor any reason as I thinke alledged whereby Dauid in this case can bee cleared either frō the foule fault of breach of Friendship or of his solemne Oath lōg afore sworne vnto Ionathan The second thing that in the discussing of the Endes of Friendshippe is brought into question is of the Maner and Way how and in what sorte and how farre by the lawes of Friendshippe Friendes must doe one for an other Sūmarily such Maner such Bounds such Endes such Limites and Markes must to the
same bee appoynted and so farre must mutuall curtesies among Friendes be enterchaungeably perfourmed as that at no hand the Maiestie Will and glorie of God be any way hindered or in anywise dishonoured For further then so neither ought they to goe neither is it in anywise lawfull for a Christian man further to presume For although among vs men that Friend is highly and dearely to be loued vnto whom by Vowe and Oath wee haue most strictly bound our selues yet is God more to bee loued vnto whom we owe both our selues and our Friends and all things els that we haue and in whose name and authoritie al the force substaunce and effect of Friendship is founded and established So did Paule loue Peter but yet he loued the glorie of God more So did Aristotle loue Plato but yet as he him selfe saieth he loued the trueth more And the very Heathen and Paynim people being demaunded concerning the boundes of Friendship and how farre one Friend were to deale and to doe for an other could eloquently and pithily answer euen as did Pericles that they would both speak doe goe for their Frend but yet no further then to the Aultar that is no further then Religion and Conscience should warrant them Their opinion therefore their doctrine was this that a man lawfully may doe for his Friend all the pleasure he possiblie can sauing and forprising his conscience and obedience to the word of God but no further And herein truely saied they well As also Aulus Gellius hath likewise noted For although we bee to hazard the losse of our owne state and wealth yea and of our life also for our Friendes sake neither ought this losse and daunger to be refused if we will bee true Friends in deede yet the glorie of God and the eternall saluation of our Soule ought more to bee esteemed and regarded then any cause of our Friend whatsoeuer it bee And we neither may neither ought to bee thought herein to faile or to come shorte in the office and duetie of a faithfull Friend if we denye at our Friends request be it neuer so earnest to doe any thing that is vnlawfull and vniust or against the law of God and Godlines yea wee must rather doe the parte of a godly and Christian Friend in shewing our selues readie rather to obey God then Man and also to haue more care of our Friends saluation and Soule health then of any worldly wealth or transitorie commoditie And let him whosoeuer he bee that requesteth vs to doe for him any vnlawfull act blame and accuse himselfe for asking rather then vs for denying and for not obeying and feeding his humour For he it is which transgresseth and breaketh the true bounds of perfect and faithfull Friendshid and not we Wee must not sticke many times to suffer our name fame to bee vniustly reported and spoken of among the vulgar sorte of People but neuer must wee either for Friend or any man els commit that which is filthie vngodlie fraudulent vnhonest or wicked Whereby it euidently appeareth that that sentence of Marcus Tullius Cicero in his Booke of Friendship and other Philosophers also is erroneous false and vtterly to bee reiected for they say If the case so stande or if the matter so fall out that our Friends willes in vniust causes must bee furthered holpen whereon either dependeth their life and death or their fame and credite Wee may in such a case for their sakes digresse swerue and wander somewhat out of the path of honestie so that it be not in a matter extreemely villanous or wherein vtter shame and reproach may grow For there bee certaine boundes how farre to wade in our Friends behalfe and wherin a man in respect of Friendship is pardonable Wee both may and also ought I say to gratifie and pleasure our Friend but by committing sinne or offending the Commaundements of God to cast away both our Friend and our selues we may not nor ought not in any wise Therefore maye wee not for our Friends cause or at his request either waste spoyle consume and set on fier Churches Palaces and houses neither ought we to warre and beare Armes against our Countrey neither violently to assault or contemptuously abuse the Magistrate neither any way iniuriously to hurt any priuate person For Loue saieth the Apostle reioyceth not in iniquitie Neither is it lawfull to lye for our friends sake therby to helpe his cause or to bring him out of any extremitie albeit at some tyme and in some cases it is not forbidden vs in our Friendes cause to dissemble a matter or to make semblaunce countenaunce as though some things were true which in deed are not so such things I meane as whereby neither God is dishonored nor our Neighbour damnisted An example whereof we haue in Ionathan as appeareth 1. Sam. 20. vers 29. So that wee neither allowe the example and fact of Hushai the Archite neither in any wise thinke it meete and lawfull to be imitated who for that duetifull seruice that hee would seeme to doe vnto Dauid and for that entier and loyall Friendship that he bore vnto him circumuented and entrapped an other to wit Absolon by craft and subtiltie For he lyed and dissembled with Absolon and therein hee greatly sinned although hee was not onely aduised and admonished but also requested and earnestly entreated by Dauid so to deale and so to doe But in all these things we must diligently marke and carefully respect not onely what our Friend requesteth at our handes to be done for him but much rather to consider what beseemeth vs or any Christian man in duetie and Conscience to perfourme And thus much of Friendship and of the Endes Bounds and Circumstaunces thereof briefly and summarily haue wee hitherto discoursed vpon aduised consideration and diligent meditation of that faithfull Friendshippe that was betweene Dauid and Ionathan Laus Deo FINIS Tho Newtonus Cestreshyrins Ad adyta virtuti aditus A TREATISE touching Dyceplay and prophane Gaming Wherein as Godly recreations and moderate disportes bee Christianly allowed and learnedly defended so all vaine ydle vnlawfull offensiue and prophane Exercises bee sharply reproued and flatly condemned Written in Latine by Lambertus Danaeus Englished by Tho Newton Filia auaritiae Nutrix est alea surti Pestis amicitiae triste furoris opus Imprinted at London for Abraham Veale 1586. To the right Worshipfull his very good Frend Maister William Higham Esquier one of her Maiesties Iustices of the Peace in the Countie of Essex VNkind is he that hauing receiued curtesie at an other mans hands denieth it vnkinde againe is he that dissembleth and will not seeme to know it vnkinde likewise is hee that studieth not one way or other to requite it but of all others the most vnkind and vnthankefull is he that quite forgetteth it Much to blame therfore were I good Maister Higham if for the manifolde benefites receiued from