Discourse is that which giueth an edge vnto the soule and maketh it steele-hard and vnpierceable euen vnto the sharpest point of the strongest passion vsually we proue admirable at euery such exercise as we haue before hand accustomed our selues vnto what difficulty soeuer it may seem to carry with it On the other side there is nothing bee it neuer so easie which will not seeme hard and difficult and withall much trouble vs if it do finde vs but nouices and new apprentises therein How often thinke yee must Canius haue needs thought vpon death and reuolued in his mind what thing it should bee who being condemned by the Tirant and sent to the place of execution was so farre from being any whit dismayed thereat in his minde that merrily and as it were iestingly he bid the Centurion who came for him remember that he was stronger by the aduantage of one table then he against whom hee played at that houre And who taking his leaue of his neerest and deerest acquaintance for his last farewell vttered no other words but these Now my deere friends I shall presently finde that which I haue so long longed after so much desired to know if the soule bee immortall and whether men in dying do feele the separation of the Soule and Body which they indure We must needes thinke that this poore Pagane had a long time exercised himselfe in commanding and ouer-ruling his passions and that hee had aforehand armed and fenced himselfe with faire resolutions seeing that with such constancy and grauity he went to vndergo a death both cruell and vniust If the onely desire to vnderstād what should become of the soule after death could make the torment and torture not onely tollerable but also acceptable vnto him what resolution then ought the certaine and assured knowledge of the soules immortality together with the hope of eternall felicity worke in such as doe seriously meditate vpon the same in their mindes May not these goods thinke ye make vnto such minds not onely supportable but euen comfortable delectable both death it selfe and all other disasstrous afflictions which they endure seeing they are as the waues which do push vs forward vnto the sweete and sure port of euerlasting rest and repose DIS 2. Of the choyce of Callings and Affaires MAn is not borne to liue his armes a crosse but rather as one of the fairest members of this faire frame he must confer and contribute his whole trauell and paine to the conduction and conseruation of that ciuill societie and condition wherein hee is placed But because that of the choyce which men make of a calling their rest and quietnesse doth principally depend and that nothing doth so much auaile to the leading of a contented life as when they find themselues fit for the same they ought me thinketh before all other things to take a tryall of their owne strength and seriously bethinke themselues of that charge which they are about to embrace Because vsually wee presume too much vpon our owne power and attempt more then our ability is fit to atchieue And this error we see is incident almost to all our actions hence it is that some will dispend more then their meanes may well beare Others in labouring and toyling goe beyond their abilities some are not maisters of their owne anger others there DISC. 3. Of prouidence and foresight YEe must take order that yee be not surprised of any humaine accident whereof if it be possible yee haue not bene before-hand prudently foreseene which thing yee shall easily performe if in all the affaires yee shall take in hand in the first place ye doe diligently fore-bethinke your selfe of such inconueniences and crosse encounters as may fall out in the same according to the nature quality and ordinary issue of the affaires and certainely such foresight doth maruailously mittigate sweeten and abate the sharpnes and harshnes of all such sinister accidents and chances the which cānot bring you in so doing any sensible or notable alteration and change by reason of their not comming vpon you as vnlooked for But contrarily they doe not a little endamage such persons as suffer themselues to be surprised neither do consider how that nature sending thē into this world hath allotted them rough and vneasy seates Such men doe not minde how that about their owne dores many times they haue with their eyes seene the louing wiues weeping and bewailing their deceased husbands and the husbands with dewy eyes burying their beloued wiues and deere children They doe not ponder how that such persons as did yesterday walke and talke with them to day dead lye buried in their graues So apt are we to be deceiued and so little foresight haue we in our owne fortune that what we see daily with our eyes happen vnto others we neuer or sildome consider that the like may befall our owne selues If we would take such notice of things as wee ought wee should rather find occasion offered vs to maruaile how that disasters and dangers which doe follow vs at the heeles haue delayed so long to ouertake vs and hauing ouertaken vs how it could bee possible that they should haue handled vs so harmlesly and gently as they haue done O how grosly we deceiue our selues when as for feare that men take vs to be timerous and feareful we thinke ill to forecast and foresee dangers and will not a whit mistrust our owne iudgement It behooueth the man who is minded to make saile to know that hee is in the possibility to haue a storme and wee must know that the chance which hath hapned to one may likewise befall vnto vs and that which hangeth ouer the heads of all may fall vpon any one of vs all without exemption or exception whatsoeuer The man who marketh well anothers misfortune as a thing which may no lesse befall vnto himselfe then it hath already done vnto his fellow hath this aduantage that before any such mischance take hold of him he is already armed against the fury and force of the euill Then were it too late for a man to make head against a danger when it is already come bootlesse should it be for him to say I did not think forsooth that such a mis-fortune should haue befalne mee And why so I pray you is there any wealth in this world which hath not following after at her heeles pouerty and need or is there any health that is not apt to be diminished by a lingring disease or any honour or grace which is not inpossibility to be turned into dishonor disgrace or what high rising is there which is not apt to haue a dolefull downe fall or is there any estate from the pedlar euen to the Prince exempt from alteration and that which hath befalne to one may it not likewise befall vnto another It were a matter both tedious and contrary to our designe to discourse of such as fortune if so wee may
the other Champions to winne likewise theirs at running Contrariwise such as despising and disdaining their owne good do sighingly seeke after another mans do they not liue in displeasure and paine They say that in times past there was a notable kinde of men in Baeotia which did complaine of their gods because that their figge trees did not beare grapes and that their vines did not bring forth figges Wee must imagine that God hath fashioned framed diuersly men for diuers affairs that each one ought to content himselfe with that ability or place which God hath imparted vnto him without passing beyond his owne to pursue and follow after that which is anothers For this kind of people make none account at all of that which they haue but onely of that which they would haue they go alwaies looking a farre off and little thinke of the place wherein they are There was of old in a certaine Temple an image pourtraied which did represent the manner of men that alwayes wait on the time to come and neglect the good oportunity of the time present The picture was of a Rope-maker who did still work but suffered an Asse that stood behinde him to eate vp his worke And thus do the ingrate people in Gods behalfe who making no reckoning of the goods they enioy suffer them to be buried in obliuion and are alwaies couetous of things to come In the harmony of the world the differences or distances are to bee obserued so likewise in humane things all are not of one sort And as in musick there are tunes and sounds some graue some sharpe and some meane of the mingling whereof the skilfull Musitian maketh a sweete melodie so doth the prudent man make an harmony of the good euill that occurre in this life not taking the good or the euill alone but consorting and tempering the one with the other as things which in this world can neuer bee fully seuered That faire prouerbe vttered by Eurypides but vsed of all prouing true That sorrow and mans life are sisters of one wombe DISC. 12. Of Aduersity ADuersity is of it owne nature grieuous and heauy vnto our hearts as sickenesse the losse of children or of friends with such like other dismall accidents But yet in part wee follow the popular opinion in the apprehension thereof and this we doe principally in our owne wants and in the necessities of ours as also in the matter of affronts circumuentions and scoffes and when as we imagine that the honour is not deferred vs which we do deserue And against these crosses of the second kind mee thinketh it were good for vs to apply vnto our selues the saying of the Poet Menander That which hath befallen you is not indeed grieuous but onely it seemeth to you so and that it is so it may appeare in that ye haue your minde and body as much at cōmandement as yee had before the crosse did befall you And against the crosses of the first kind yee ought to consider how that ye endure nothing contrary to the lawe and course of humane things in regard that all these accidents are annexed vnto mans being and that from his birth they are allotted to him for ordinary and the truth is that nature hath not framed vs so feeble to beare out aduersity as we make our selues to be Let vs rather alwaies thinke that it is but our inferiour part which is subiect vnto fortune that we haue the principall in our owne power and that that which lyeth in vs as concerning vertue cannot bee ouercome by any other thing else without our cōsentment also we know that we haue not need of any great forces for the doing hereof wee hauing none to fight against but our owne selues and seeing that the better part of the victory consisteth in maistering of our owne will whereunto adde this that God will alwaies fauour the man who through the ayde of rectified reason disposeth himselfe to be the stronger Fortune if so it be lawful for a Christiā to speak may wel make thee poore abase thee afflict thee but she is not able to make thee vitious lasie or ill-conditioned neither can she bereaue thee of the courage vigor of minde wherein doth lye greater strength to gouerne thy soule then there is in the Art of Nauigation to direct a ship For the Marriner let him be neuer so skilfull and wise in his Art cannot with all his skill asswage the surging tempest of the Sea nor yet take away fearefull apprehensions from another mans fantasie Whereas vertue and wisedome in a well ordered minde doth assure and settle the body for it preserueth it from diseases through temperance pulleth it backe from wicked and vitious dispositions by continuance and whereas any thing wherin there is danger shal present it selfe vnto our minde as if it were in a dangerous shoare it is good that wee leaue it and passe further or else if the euill be vnauoydable let him comfort himselfe and thinke with himselfe that the hauen is not very farre off and that his soule goeth out of the body as out of a crasy or broken barke holding death for a sweete and assured harbour chiefly considering that in regard of the nature of the soule her out-going from this life is her in-going to a better The which consideration ought to adde much vnto the courage of Christians Yea and make them not to feare that which bringeth afrightmēt vnto others And truely if wee had skill and courage enough toward the blowes of froward fortune to looke her in the face and to meete her in the way with a stoute stomack prepared to sustaine all her assaults nothing in the world could dismay vs or yet put vs to paine And this thing should certainely come to passe if we could once bee accustomed neuer to promise to our selues any great or assured hopes or yet any certaine and settled estate during this miserable life and if wee would take heed diligently cōsidering whether those things we do account as euill be so euill as we deeme them to be or if happely they be not so euill but rather lesse then wee imagine Finally this thing should come to passe if we would behold a farre off and wisely foresee frowning fortune for in so doing we might assure our selues that at her comming she should not afright vs but the neerer shee came to vs the bolder wee might bee to looke her in the face and to esteeme her not to be so lusty and strong as her picture would import and if no man bee able to boast during this life so farre as to say I am exempted from this bitter potion at least may he say thus though I must swallow it down yet shall I not be agast weepe and waile I will not neither dispaire as many men do I will not bring my selfe into so deplorable a plight as diuers do amidst their disasters Though pouerty pinch me more thē
is to be prised and praised when as they did portrait and paint their Gods naked attributing vnto them all things according as they conceited to bee most befitting their natures and as for my selfe I shall neuer repute that man poore who is placed without the reach power of fortune There is one thing sufficient to expresse vnto vs the nature of pouerty to wit that no vertuous man speaketh thereof but he praiseth it and auoucheth that the wisest haue beene those who haue suffered the same with most contentment and truly it is a great weaknesse and tendernesse in vs not to bee able to endure that which so many others haue well endured and it can be no other thing but a vaine apprehension and a friuoulous feare of enduring and suffering which maketh vs so feeble hearted for if we were indeed of a generous magnanimous disposition we would loue and like that for our selues which we approue in others and therefore howsoeuer that this peeuishnesse and softnesse of ours is not altogether to be comported with wee ought at least to limite our affections and dresse our selues in such sort that fortune may finde the lesse aduantage to offend vs for a little body that can couer gather it selfe together vnder a buckler marcheth on towards the enemy much more surely then a bigger body doth that lyeth at large and open vnto blowes If it were not mine intention to husband the time to spare paper I could enlarge my discourse by reciting of almost innumerable examples aswell of heathens as of Christians which haue placed a great part of their perfection in pouerty But yee ought to consider one thing for all that Iesus Christ was poore who was Lord of the whole world his Disciples were poore which did possesse all things and the Saints were poore which might haue beene rich If yee should neuer dye I would aduise you to set your affection vpon riches but I see that those to whom they most befall doe finde sooner the end of their liuing then of their longing But why should a man torment himselfe for a thing that hee must necessarily leaue and why is he not rather content quietly with that which is needfull chiefly considering that the fairest kinde of wealth is for a man to bee neither too poore nor yet too farre off from pouerty DISC. 18. Of Death IT seemeth that all incommodities and mis-fortunes may bee borne with either by the meanes of a long custome or by the helpe of a strong discourse onely death and the apprehension thereof is the thing that putteth vs in greatest feare Now the onely remedy and true easing of this euill is that ye make this reckoning of the world and all that is therein that yee haue nothing which is your owne neither life nor liuing no not so much as your owne selfe but that yee liue alwaies at borrowing as holding your very life not in property but on condition to restore it vnto him againe who hath lent it you whensoeuer hee shall require it at your hands yet for all this yee must not not neglect it as thing not yours but must keepe it faithfully and carefully in regard that God hath trusted you with the custody thereof and when it is time to render it to him that gaue it not grudgingly but gladly and with a cheerefull countenance in the meane time thanking God the giuer of all good things for the time ye haue had the vse and aid thereof and saying vnto him in this or the like manner Lord I render vnto thee againe this soule and life with as good an hart as it pleased thee to giue me the same yea euen euen with a better and readier will then I did receiue it for when thou gauest me this soule thou gauest it to a little weake creature which knew not the good thou then didst bestow but now thou dost receiue it againe at the hands of a creature more accomplished who knoweth what it is hee commendeth into thine hands and therefore rendereth it vnto thee withall franknesse and readinesse of will and truly we may easily imagine that it is not a thing otherwise difficult for a substance to returne to the the p ace whence it first came the body therefore must returne to the earth and the soule if it go the right way must goe to him that gaue it To bee short that man doubtlesly neuer learned well to iue who knoweth not how to die we must therefore in this case bee so affected towards our selues as wee are wont to be in the behalfe of fencers which must fight in a barred field for wee commonly hate him that beareth himselfe faint-heartedly and fauour the other who out of a braue courage had rather choose to dye then to bee ouercome Besides that the feare of death is sometimes the cause or occasion of death to him that flyeth fastest from it And seeing yee know well that life was giuen you vpon condition to render it 〈…〉 ought not to be so vniust as to desire to enioy that thing for aye which was giuen vnto you to a day by making your selfe Lord and owner of the thing whereof yee are onely a depositarie or keeper Moreouer men will say that it is a matter much importing to wit the feare and apprehension of death and that it is the extreame of all terrible things But ye ought to vnderstand that Death is not to bee found fault with for this seeing that it proceedeth not from the nature of death but from our owne imbecility who are commonly ouertaken and intangled with delights with a desire of this transitory life and with an immoderate loue of this miserable flesh And if yee take good heede it is 〈…〉 selfe that is dreadfull as the opinion which wee hold concerning the same For euery man feareth it according to his iudgment apprehension and conscience And if it be so that yee haue no feare thereof but onely for this occasion then lay the blame vpon your selfe and not vpon it For in this case it fareth with men of euill conscience when they must dye as it doth riotous spend-thrifts when they must pay their debts They will not come to an account for the distrust which they haue of their ability to satisfie for what they haue done And to say that ye feare death by reason that it is the last point and periode of man hath but little reason in it For the soule is alwaies the fore it liueth alwaies and cannot dye The Greekes call mans decease the end giuing vs thereby to vnderstand that it is the period and end of wearisome life The holy Scripture calleth it a sleep to assure vs of an assured resurrection and to the end wee weepe not as the Infidels doe which are without hope Let vs consider with our selues how many holy men and women haue prised it and desired it as the onely easement of all their anguish The writes of Salomon Iob and the Histories of Gods Saints are ful of the praises of this Christian desire of death What a vanity is it to loue so much this miserable life this Iaile this prison this vale of teares seeing that the longer we liue the longer wee liue in sinne the more daies we spend the more waies wee offend and so goe on each houre purchasing vnto our selues a new paine and punishment Finally to shut the doore vnto all fearefull apprehensions of death we must learne to do two things which the world can neuer teach vs the one is to liue well for a vertuous and Christian life maketh euen agreeabe the very memory of death the other is that we beleeue that the thing which it hath pleased God to affoord vs for a remedy and easement of our manifold labours and toyles is not so harsh nor so horrible as we do imagine it is And for a finall conclusion let vs remember how that the Saints haue had life in affliction and death in affection The Authors Conclusion BEHOLD here the floures that I haue gathered here there out of the garden of the flourishing wits and writs of the wise which I haue passed mine eies ouer Them I lay out in common betweene you and me euen as the busie bees do in their hiues with all they haue reaped in the faire and well furnished gardens or flourie fields to the end we together may draw out thereof the sugred hony of this sweet and pleasant Tranquility of mind I am of the opiniō for my part that if the ancient poets had throughly knowne thereof they would not haue put themselues in paine to compose any other Nectar or brue any other Ambrosia besides this for the diet of their gods but should haue thoght them well feasted in seruing them with this dish alone for all messes and at meales Seeing therefore we haue the oportunity offered vs of finding out and vsing so diuine a thing let vs make vse of it in the most thrifty manner wee possible may acknowledgeing in the meane time that this Tranquility we talke of is a gift from heauen which the bountifull influence of the worlds-maker must distill into our minds hee being the true and liuing well-spring whence floweth all our felicity and blisse Whose name therefore according as wee are bound wee blesse and magnifie for euer Amen FINIS