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A38567 MoriƦ encomium, or, The praise of folly written originally in Latine by Des. Erasmus of Rotterdam ; and translated into English by John Wilson.; Moriae encomium. English Erasmus, Desiderius, d. 1536.; Wilson, John, 1626-1696. 1668 (1668) Wing E3208; ESTC R15059 80,052 172

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of that burden of life which the more manly Age finds enough to do to stand upright under 't And sometimes too like Pla●tus's Old-man he returns to his three Letters A. M. O. the most unhappy of all things living if he rightly understood wha● he did in 't And yet so much do I befriend him that I make him well receiv'd of his friends and no unpleasant Companion for as much as according to Homer N●stor's discourse was pleasanter than H●ney Melle dulcior fluit Oratios whereas Achilles's was both bitter and malicious and that of Old-men as he has it in another place florid In which respect also they have this advantage of children in that they want the onely pleasure of t'others life we 'll suppose it pratling Adde to this that old men are more eagerly delighted with children and they again with Old-men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 like to like quoth the Divel to the Collier For what difference between them but that the one has more wrinckles and years upon his head than the other Otherwise the brightness of their hair toothless mouth weakness of body love of Milk broken speech chatting toying forgetfulness inadvertency and briefly all other their actions agree in every thing and by how much the nearer they approach to this Old-age by so much they grow backward into the likeness of Children until like them they pass from life to death without any weariness of the one or sense of t'other And now let him that will compare the benefits they receive by me with the Metamorphoses of the Gods of whom I shall not mention what they have done in their pettish humours but where they have been most favourable turning one into a Tree another into a Bird a third into a Grashopper Serpent or the like as if there were any difference between perishing and being another thing But I restore the same man to the best and happiest part of his life And if Men would but refrain from all commerce with Wisdom and give up themselves to be govern'd by me they should never know what it were to be old but solace themselves with a perpetual youth Do ●ut observe our grim Philosophers that are perpetually beating their brains on knotty Subjects and for the most part you 'll find ●em grown old before they are scarce young and whence is it but that thier continual and restless thoughts insensibly prey upon their spirits and dry up their Radical Moisture Whereas on the contrary my fat fools are as plump and round as a Westphalian Hogg and never sensible of old age unless perhaps as sometimes it rarely happens they come to be infected with Wisdom So hard a thing it is for a man to be happy in a●● things and to this purpose is that no sma●● testimony of the Proverb that sayes Folly 〈◊〉 the onely thing that keeps Youth at a stay a● Old age afar off as it is verifi'd in the Braba●ders of whom there goes this common fa●ing That Age which is wont to render other M● wiser makes them the greater Fools and ye● there is scarce any Nation of a more jocun● converse or that is less sensible of the mise● ry of Old age than they are And to these as in scituation so for manner of living comnearest my friends the Hollanders and wh● should I not call them mine since they are 〈◊〉 diligent observers of me that they are com● monly call'd by my name of which they are 〈◊〉 far from being asham'd they rather pride them selves in 't Let the foolish world then b● packing and seek out Medeas Circes Ven●●ses Aurora's and I know not what other Fountains of restoring Youth I am sure I am th● onely person that both can and have mad● it good 'T is I alone that have that wonderful Juice with which Memnons daughter prolong'd the youth of her Grandfather Tithon I am that Venus by whose favour Phaon became so young again that Sappho fell in love with him Mine are those Herbs if yet there be any such mine those Charms and mine that Fountain that not onely restores departed Youth but which is more desirable pre●rves it perpetual And if ye all subscribe to ●is Opinion that nothing is better than south or more execrable than Age I con●eive you cannot but see how much ye are ●depted to me that have retain'd so great a ●od and shut out so great an evil But why 〈◊〉 I altogether spend my breath in speaking of ●ortals View Heaven round and let him at will reproach me with my name if he ●nd any one of the Gods that were not stink●g and contemptible were he not made ●ceptable by my Deity Whence is it that ●●cchus is always a Stripling and bushy-hair'd ●●t because he is mad and drunk and spends ●s life in Drinking Dancing Revels and ●ay-games not having so much as the least ●ciety with Pallas And lastly he is so far ●●om desiring to be accounted wise that he ●elights to be worshipp'd with Sports and ●ambals nor is he displeas'd with the Pro●erb that gave him the sirname of Fool Mo●cho stultior A greater Fool then Bacchus ●hich name of his was chang'd to Morychus or that sitting before the gates of his Temple ●e wanton Countrey people were wont to ●edaub him with new Wine and Figgs ●nd of scoffs what not hath not the antient ●omedies thrown on him O foolish God say they and worthy to be born as thou wert of th● Father's th gh And yet who had not rather b● thy Fool and Sot alwayes merry ever young and making sport for other people than either Homer's Jupiter with his crooked Counce● terrible to every one or old Pan with his Hubbubs or smutty Vulcan half cover'd with C●●ders or even Pallas her self so dreadful wither Gorgon's Head and Spear and a Counte●nance like Bul-beef Why is Cupid alway Pourtrai'd like a Boy but because he is a verWagg and can neither do nor so much a● think of any thing sober Why Venus ever i● her prime but because of her affinity wit● me Witness that colour of her Hair so resembling my Father from whence she is call'● Venus aurea the golden Venus And lastly ever laughing if ye give any credit to the Poets or their followers the Statuaries Wha● Deity did the Romans ever more religioush odore than that of Flora the foundress of all pleasure Nay if ye should but diligentl● search the lives of the most sowre and morose of the Gods out of Homer and the rest of the Poets you would find 'em all but so many pieces of Folly And to what purpose should I run over any of the other gods tricks when ye know enough of Jupiters loose Loves when that chast Diana shall so far forget her Sexe as to be ever hunting and ready to perish for Endymion But I had rather they should hear these things from Momus from whom heretofore they were wont to have their shares till in one of their angry humours they