of â—hose insupportable paynes long before that Princesse dyed if her exceeding bountye and extraordinary fauoures towards him hadde not kepte him from it And in truth that constraynt to eate to speake and to goe by the mouth by y e tongue and by the feete of others that estate neuer to haue rest eyther of bodye or mynde to loose ones selfe in the seruice of hys Mayster to bee shorte those incommodityes vexations troubles and annoyes rehearsed in a Letter of yours whereof you haue indured in your owne person a greate parte fill vp the Cuppe with so bitter a potion that the smell of it yea the verye rememberaunce of it offendeth nature Guaz. You know well that a man winneth not the wager without running Annib. Yet you knowe there are manye whiche runne but onely one winneth and for one which you see recompensed for his seruice you shall heare a number complayne that they haue consumed their goods and hazarded theyr lyues in the seruice of Princes without gayning other thing then a miserable olde age with 〈◊〉 late repentaunce and 〈◊〉 there are of them which are not made to burste eyther with trauayle or with greefe That Golden Chayne neuer liked mee and I haue alwayes counted all seruice vnsure and myserable vnlesse it were one kinde of seruice of a Spanish â—â—â—tleman who after hee hadde long tyme serued his king made hymselfe a monke wryting forthwith to the king that hee was preferred to the seruice of a greater Prince then hâ—e was of whome hee looked for better wages then hee receyued at his maysters handes These Seruauntes which enter into the Ministerye and Seruice of GOD â—â—e no doubte lâ—uâ— well both the Mayster and the Chayne and they are onelye they amongst all others whiche â—â—â—e in seruing but for that our purpose is â—â— speâ—ke of this earthlye and vncertayne seruice retourning to Gentlemen Seruingmen I graunt that for the most part they loue theyr maysters to whome they are lyke in life in mynde and in manners and therefore they thinke themselues happye when they are in theyr presence and when they haue occasion offered to doe them some acceptable seruice And as the baser sorte of seruaunts withdrawe themselues so muche as they maye oute of theyr maysters sighte to the ende they maye not bee sette aboute anye thing so contrarylye the better sort thinke themselues in greate fauour if they bee oftener imployed by theyr Maysters then theyr Fellowes are Guaz. It is for no other cause that Princes are sayde to be better serued then we are but for that their seruants are Gentlemen and ours are otherwise but I shoulde thinke good you came nowe to shew the maner of conuersation betweene the mayster and the seruaunt Annib. Let vs alwayes follow the rule obserued by vs in our discourses first let vs shew the occasion of the discorde and inconueniences which arise euery day amongst theÌ„ and afterwards we will seeke the meane to make all well and to agree them togither Guaz. I thinke we haue already declared one occasion of it when we made mention of the difference betweene theÌ„ in life and maners Annib. You say true but as that occasion is common to the maister and the seruaunt for here are two others whereof the one dependeth of the maister the other of the seruaunt To the one it belongeth to commaund to the other to serue so that if eyther of them fayle in their charge there groweth betweene them trouble and disorder The mayster committeth a fault when he knoweth not howe to commaund and therefore the Philosopher sayde well That it behooueth the Mayster firste to knowe how to commaunde those thinges which the seruaunt oughte to doe but it is not so easye a matter to know howe to commaunde as it is to be a mayster Guaz. You must then prescribe vnto the mayster the maner of commaunding Annib. The manner is set downe if that he set seruice before commaunding that is if he learne to serue before he begin to commaunde Guaz. I am of that mynde for I thinke it a matter impossible that he should know how to play the mayster well who neuer had mayster and for that cause I woulde not chaunge the Duke my Maister for the Emperour for being vsed euen from his infancy to doe continuall seruice fyrst to king Henry and then to king Frauncis and king Charles his children and successors in the kingdome and knowing of what importaunce it is to possesse as well the hearts as the persons of his seruauntes he vseth a wise and a gentle kinde of commaunding ouer his Gentlemen And of the seruice which he doth himselfe I haue noted two good effects the one in that induring much trauayle both in mind and bodye he knoweth by himselfe the payne of his owne seruauntes by reason whereof mooued with pittye hee beholdeth them with a more gracious eye and commaundeth them more gentlye The other for that notwithstanding he is a greate Prince and maye liue at his ease his seruauntes seing him serue continuallye are stirred vp by his example to render him obedience making no account of the payne whiche they indure in his seruice Annib. To say the truth he sheweth himselfe so worthye and courteous a prince that he hath mo seruauntes thorowout all Europe then in his owne court but these times are so vnfortunate that there is no Homer to sette forth the doinges of such an Achilles Nowe returning to the faulte of Maysters we will say once agayne that those onlye knowe well how to commaund which know well howe to obaye And for that few maysters can doe that there are founde almost in euerye house maysters that are vndiscreete proude fantasticall and insolent which intreate their seruauntes no otherwise then if they were slaues speaking imperiously to them being not content vnlesse they see theÌ„ tremble in their presence vsing no speech vnto them but full of terrifying threatning and reuiling Guaz. Of such manner of dealing it commeth that seruantes though good and sufficient begin to growe naught and to wax cold in goodwill and negligent in duty towardes their maisters but those maisters are more vndiscreet which braule and chide with their seruauntes before straungers whereby in my minde they make the straungers thinke they are scarse welcome to their house and besides spite thereby their seruants the most of any thing in the world For profe whereof when a seruaunt seeketh a maister he neuer inquireth whether he be couetous or of an ill life but whether hee be cruell and hard to please Annib. Those are yet worse which speake to their Seruauntes with their handes who belike haue been beaten by their maysters if they haue serued and therefore they will reuenge it vpon their seruaunts or else perchaunce they perswade themselues that their seruauntes can not helpe them selues with their Poignadoes whereof I saw an example at Padua Truely there is nothing that angreth me more then that for I cannot but thinke very ill
vnto the flie which flieth about the candle with pleasure you purchace your death and in steede of consuming and staruing your euill you giue it nourishment For thinking to receiue solace by meanes of a solitarie life you fill your self full of ill humors which take roote in you and there lie in waite readie to search out secrete and solitarie places conformable to their nature to flie all mirth and company and as hidden flames by force kept downe are most ardent so these corrupt humours couertly lurking with more force consume and destroy the faire pallace of your minde And therefore I would wish that leauing that wrong opinioÌ„ wherby hithervnto you went about cleane contrarie to redresse your euil you should change your order of procéeding to account solitarinesse for poyson and companie for an Antidote and the foundation of life and to frame your selfe to cast of solitarinesse as a concubine to take companie into your fauour as a lawfull spouse Guaz. Yet I haue heard many famous Phisitions of this opinion which experience also sheweth that to haue health of body it is necessarie to haue contentment of minde Annib. It is true now what will you inferre of that Guaz. Mary if that be true it shal folow likewise that solitarines is good for the body bicause it recreates the mind what say you now Annib. I haue alreadie shewed you that the pleasure of solitarinesse considering your compleâ—ion is counterfeite I now further prooue it to you For the true pleasure to speak humanly is that which naturally giueth pleasure to al persons in generall And therfore though solitarinesse be agréeable to melancholike persons yet it is vnpleasant to all other which you shall better vnderstand if you marke howe some women with childe long to eate things which al other folke abhorre and yet for all that we must not say that such meats are conuenient for though they please some women yet commonly they are displeasant to al. And when the melancholike person the woman with childe shal be rid the one of his false imagination the other of her altered taste they will haue in hate the things aboue said Guaz. You make mée now doubt least I bée in worse case then I am aware of for you meane by your wordes to include me in the number of the melancholike which haue their wit so bréeched that they cannot discerne swéete from sowre But if I flatter not my selfe I haue a whole minde within my crasy body and my pleasure is common to other men of good taste and though company pleaseth some yet I knowe many of great valour and déepe vnderstanding which cannot away with company and loue solitarinesse so wel as fishes doe the water so that either I am besides my selfe or els the definition which you haue assigned to pleasure is besides the trueth considering that not only conuersation but diuers other pleasures are acceptable to some irksome to other som. As it falleth out of games of feasts of Musicke and other delightes from which a great many men flie more willingly leane to graue matters and these are for the most part meÌ„ of good calling not of the coÌ„mon sort Annib. God graunt that I may neuer haue more occasion to doubt that your brain is distempered then it euer entred into my thought to say it if I shold say it rather I theÌ„ you might be thought scarse wel in my wits your reasons make nothing against the definition which I assigned to pleasure but rather confirme it For those which like not of games musicke Feasts companies haue either by long studie great conteÌ„plation or by som other accident got an habite custome to be melancholik And though in the world there be found a greater nuÌ„ber of these theÌ„ of y e other yet in this they make no number for that in these pleasures before said they haue lost their taste by chaunce not by nature wheras those pleasures do delight naturally By this same reason we are to set downe this other ground That man being a compagnable creature loueth naturally the conuersation of other men and doing the contrarie he doth offend nature her self for which fault many haue done penance For som by remaining inclosed in these voluntarie prisons become ill fauoured leane forlorne filled full of putrified blood by meanes whereof their life and manners come to corruption Insomuch that some take after the nature of sauage beasts some waxe couragelesse stand in feare of their owne shadowes I ceasse to rehearse vnto you what hath happened to diuers men who by liuing long time in solitarinesse haue falne into such vehement and frantike fansies that they haue giuen occasion to bée laughed at and pitied Wherfore waying the things which are to bée read in writers coÌ„cerning those kind of men and the things which I my selfe haue séene I thinke nothing at all strange that which is reported of a poore séelie soule who thinking himselfe to be transfourmed into a grain of Millet for a long time durst not come foorth of his chamber for feare the poultrie would eate him vp And as it is not possible without great labour and sleight to take away the false imagination from these kind of Melancholike persons so there are other sortes of them that haue made themselues away by the meanes either of water or fire or sworde or by throwing theÌ„selues headlong from on high or els at the ending of their daies by their naturall death they haue giuen some certaine testimonie of their follie Like as the melancholike Athenian did who no lesse at his death then in his life time refusing the conuersation of men left these verses vpon his Tombe Heere doe I lie ne am the same I heeretofore was woont to bee Thou Reeder neuer aske my name A wretched end God send to thee Guaz. I am satisfied in this point I yéeld vnto you that solitarines is an enemy to health but I would know on the contrarie side what pleasure I may looke for by Conuersation séeing that for one man which I méet with to my minde I light vppon more then a hundred which either by ignorance either by pride either by follie either by ambition either by altercation or by vnséemely behauiour doe so vexe and trouble me that my minde and bodie both receiue great hurt thereby Anniball I haue no marueile of that for the number of the insufficient is farre greater then of the accomplished yet it is your part so much as you may to leaue those and leane to these and séeing our age doeth so participate with the qualitie of yron that there are not any to be found of the golden world with whom you may be conuersaunt it is not amisse to call to minde that câ—mmon prouerbe amongst couÌ„trie men That wee must not leaue to sowe corne for feare least the byrdes eate it vp so likewise we must not sticke to come foorth of our
their serpentine tongues Annib. Your request is very reasonable whereto I briefly answere saying vnto you That like as certaine beastes hauing to incounter with Serpentes haue first recourse to certaine simples which being eaten haue power to represse and mortifie their venome so hauing often to incounter with the euil tongued we ought to be armed w t some preseruatiue And for my part I finde no presenter remedie when in our presence a foule mouthed railer fileth his toung to touch someone then to abase our eyes and not to séeme to take pleasure in his railing spéech For when he perceiueth we delight not in his words he wil forbeare to speake euill You know that arrowes will not sticke in stones so neither wil their rotten roots stick fast but where they find y e ground soft apt to receiue them And I say thus much vnto you further that if wee will seeke diligently which is the greater fault either to giue eare to an euill speaker or to speake yl of others we shall confesse in the end as others haue done that we are not able to giue any determinate iudgement of it And to say the trueth whosoeuer giueth hearing to a slaunderous detractor giueth him occasion to offende and it is so greate chaunce but that hee him selfe is one of the same stampe So that he which speaketh thinketh he committeth no fault or at least if he doe that hée parteth it in the middle giuing one halfe to the hearer and taking the other vnto him selfe Whereby it commeth to passe that like two blinde men which leade one an other they fall both into one ditch Let vs then stoppe our eares against the woordes of suche manner of people and so dooing wee shall represse their vnbridled tongues and get great honour and credite with the wise And as it is well done to beare no part in the yll report of others so is it a déede deseruing commendation to make no account of the slaunders which others rayse of vs. And wée ought to prepare our selues to haue our eares as readily at our commaunde as they haue their tongues By the example of Alexander the great who making warre against an other King and hearing one of his souldiers speake yll of him rebuked him sharpely saying I giue thée pay to fight against mine enemy not to rayle against him The same Alexander vnderstanding that some misreported him went not about any way to reuenge it but answered sagely with a Princely modestie that it belonged to a King to doe well and heare yll * Ad héereto the saying of Augustus who hearing that Tiberius was verie sory that hee bare him self so modestly patiently towardes those that spake yll of him wrote vnto him these woordes Doe not my Tiberius héerein followe your youthfull fansie and take it in such skorne that there are some which speake ill of vs for that is sufficient if we be in that case that none can doe vs harme Also he sayde to another touching this matter that in a free â—itie men ought to haue free speeches Guaz. But all princes haue not the corage of Alexander or Augustus Annib. Truely if it be yll done to blemish the renoume of priuate persons it is much woorse to misreport princes â—pecially our naturall and leige Lordes and those which doe it are to be detested of all men for that in speaking yll of them they prouoke them to wrath and oftentimes giue theÌ„ occasion to alter their conditions and of gentle and curteous to become rough and cruell Neyther can they excuse themselues by saying that there are naughtie princes and tyrantes for so much as they haue receiued a commaundement from God to obey their rulers what soeuer they areâ— in confirmation whereof it is sayde if Nero be thy prince rebell not against him Guaz. Now that wee haue done with those pricking and thorny tongues haue you any other sorte of persons which are at least to be borne withall and tollerated in our conuersation though they be not to be desired Annib. A certaine Philosopher being asked what beast in the world he thought to be worst answered of wilde ones the euill tounged of tame ones the flatterer and therefore I thinke we shall proceede in our discourses very orderly if hauing spoken alreadie of those wilde beastes wee shall now intreate of these tame ones whose breath is so venomous y t it poisoneth the hearts of those y t giue eare vnto theÌ„ Guaz. And in what row I pray you put you these Annib. There are of them two sorts the one openâ— the other secret The open flatterers are those who constrained through néede and hunger rather then any thing else get them to the houses of great personages and there playe their parte so wel that they make them beléeue according to the Prouerbe that gloe Wormes are lanternes and that the Moone is made of a gréene Chéese Or at least they wil be sure to say or doe some thing that shal be acceptable vnto them And these get the name not onely of slatterers but also of Parasites and iesters Like as one Nicesias who seeing the flies bit as soone the handes as soone the face of Alexander sayd O how much better are these flies then other which haue the fauour to tast of your royall blood * And another séeing Dionisius standing a good way of out of his hearing to laugh with certaine of his familiers he fel to laughing to and as Dionisius asked him why he laughed he answered For that I know al your woordes to be so ful of wittie pleasantnesse that they wil make any man laugh * You sée likewise the comedies both of the time past and of the present furnished with these flatterers and Gnathoes whom for that they haue been pointed at as they goe in the streetes and openly noted for infamous persons wee ought too auoide as intollerable and men of vile condition and of no valour and who often like slaues are well and truely beaten for their scurrilous and broade iesting And as the Ape which is not fit to garde the house as the mastiffe neither to beare a burden as the Asse or horse neither to eare the ground as the Oxe giueth himselfe to make vs laugh with his mops and mowes and to indure a thousand villanies so these flatterers hauing no honest or profitable trade to commend themselues by frame themselues to delight the eyes and eares of others to their owne great shame and reproch Next after these followe the secret flatterers who vnder the colour of friendship and good will cunningly and artificially insinuate them selues into other mens fauour and by their subtil deuises and false perswasions make them fall into many errours Guaz. You put these same as I thinke in the number of the tollerable Annib. Iust. Guaz. And I would holde rather that they should be put in the number of the desirable Annib. Why so Guaz. For that though all reprooâ—e flatterie in woorde
conformitie together that hardly one can bée knowne from the other I woulde gladly haue you instruct mée howe I ought to behaue my selfe not to bée reputed a flatterer Annib. You must obserue therein two things the one neuer to praise a man in his presence a fault that fewe can take héede of not remēbring the saying of the Gréeke Poet Hee which speaketh ill of mee behinde my backe doeth mee no wrong hee which speaketh well of me before my face reprocheth mee But for that there are some whiche will thinke you eyther proude or enuious if you praise them not the other thing to bée obserued you must take with them another course which is to imitate the dogge of Aegypt which drinketh at the riuer of Nyle and then runneth his way so you must séeme to acknowledge their deserts that you wil not vtter their praises in their presence for feare to bee thought to flatter them leauing neuerthelesse this little Suger in their mouth Guaz. Haue you any other persons of the ranke of the tollerable which are neither to bée desired nor auoyded Annib. I haue saide vnto you alredy that to the vice of flatterie gainesaying is opposed and therefore I thinke good wée speake of these contentious fellowes whiche obstinately withstand the opinions of other and wil neuer leaue till they haue the last woorde not waying the dislyking or displeasure of others Guaz. Albeit I cannot abide the qualities and company of such manner of men yet I remember I haue hearde a vertuous and noble Gentleman to make good account of them saying That those are indued with excellent wittes which can maintayne their priuate opinions against the common opinion of all and that wée hearken vnto them with more attention and admiration And in good sooth if you shoulde with a long discourse prooue vnto mée that the Sunne is cléere and hot you woulde make mée haue no great lyst to listen vnto you for that you shoulde tell mée nothing but that which I knowe before but if you will make good that it is obscure and colde O howe you woulde stirre vp my spirites and make mée attentiue to heare you It was therefore that a certaine Philosopher hearing that there was one preparing himselfe to make a speache in the praise of Hercules answered Why who discommendeth him Beholde on the contrarie with howe great pleasure and admiration wée reade the Paradoxes of diuers wittie and learned writers specially the pleasant pamphlets made in praise of the plague and of the French poxe And if you replie that this belongeth rather to a fantasticall Poet then to a graue authour I woulde haue you consider in what estimation the Philosopher Fauorine is onely for the fame hee hath woone for extolling with many and singuler praises the quarterne Ague which notwithstanding the Frenchmen wishe to their enimies as the greatest euill which may befall them And therfore I am of opinion that in things of most difficultie consisteth most excellencie and admiration And I sée you Philosophers dispute and argue one against another and holde singuler opinions farre from the trueth so that the Gentleman of whom I spake euen now would place these men rather amongst the desirable then the tollerable Annib. I thinke good that whom you haue nowe named should bée put in the rowe of the desirable and commendable which deserue not the name of contentious for though they swarue from the trueth yet they haue some shew of reason in their talke and besides they do not thinke what they say doing it to no other ende but to shewe their sharpe and good wit not that they haue conceiued any such opinion in themselues so that it were great folly to thinke that Fauorine was desirous to haue the quarterne Ague and those other writers the Plague But those whom I call contentious and ouerthwarters are for the most parte grosse headed fellowes and it is an olde saying that the vice of contradiction is proper to men of small discretion who oppugne the trueth either of ignorance or of obstinacie and they are like to Heretikes who being conuicted by inuincible reasons yet will yéelde nothing at all but reply still to the contrarie Moreouer these contentious companions loue to bée doeing with euerie one and yet still goe by the worse and when they are able to mainteine Argument no longer by any reason they enter into a chafe and séeke to get the vpper hande by outcries swearing threatning and arrogant demeanour And some time it happeneth that they méete with men of like nature whereby euen for very trifles they fall to dyre debate and strife Touching that you alledge afterwardes of Philosophers I answers you that it is not only laweful and méete for them to dispute but also for all other men when they enter into reasoning amongest themselues and are of contrary opinions and he deserueth greatest praise which defendeth the hardest part and though they disagrée in wordes yet they disagrée not in loue and mutuall goodwill but séeke with one accord the trueth not vnlyke to those which make Cordes who though they winde and twist one contrarie to the other yet they thereby accomplishe the worke they take in hande But yet disputations haue their boundes and limites prescribed which it is not lawful to passe without loosing the name of a Disputer getting the title of contentious caueling Sophisters who many times thereby come to mischiefe and by being too earnest in contrarying haue béen distraught of their right vnderstanding And as things by making them too thinne and fine are soone broken so by too much contention the trueth is made intricate and doubtfull And therefore those are to bée called contencious who not of purpose to dispute or exercise their wit but of a contemptuous arrogancie hold argumentes not only repugnant to the trueth but altogether dissonant from reason Guaz. What doe you take to bée the occasion of this fault Annib. Marry a mother with her two children to wit ignorance with selfe loue and vaine perswasion whereof it commeth that those which knowe nothing thinke they know all thinges and holde their ignorance for wisedome Guaz. In déede the first Chapter of fooles is to estéeme themselues wise Annib. You knowe it is the easiest thing in the worlde for a man to deceiue himselfe but the wise man admonisheth vs not to bée wise in our owne conceite for that such wisedome is called diuelish and verily hée which knoweth most taketh vpon him least and yéeldeth to reason And therefore no maruell though the ignoraunt people bee full of contention Wee will then conclude that to reason without reason is to take paines to make himselfe euyll thought of and that these caueling quarellous merchantes are greatly to be blamed notwithstanding we must be faine to beare with them Guaz. As you haue shewed the way howe wée may defend our selues against slaunderers flatterers so I wold haue you shew your mind how wée should behaue ourselues with
these ouerthwart persons Annib. When you perceiue your selfe to preuaile nothing by reasoning with your friende that there is doubt of some disorder you ought rather to bowe then to breake féeding his humour if it bée not in such a case as silence may bréede greater offence For when a man forsaketh reason and suffereth himselfe to bée ouercome with anger it is our parts wisely to beare with his imperfection according to the Prouerbe Cut not the fire with the yron and we must permit sometimes prudencie to giue place to timeritie Guaz. I knowe a Gentleman who if hée chaunce to fall in companie with one of these obstinate fellowes rather then hée will stande in contention with him vseth to say Sir wée will neuer striue about the matter I am content it shal be as you say And as one of them asked him whiche eye of the right or of the left was able to discern a thing furthest to take from him all occasion of contention he answered foorthwith which it shall please you Annib. Such answeres if they bée made in gentle maner without scoffing they are very conuenient and they are of force to make the obstinate acknoweledge his fault Guaz. Doe you not thinke wée haue spoken enough of these manner of men Annib. I thinke wée may couple with these some other troublesome fellowes who offend not by ignorance but sharpen their wittes onely to prouoke others who vpon euery worde will make a Comentarie and lye in waite to take others in a trippe in that they shall say This fault is peculiar to certaine schoolemaisters and other professours of learning who will oft times shape very newe founde answeres and nowe and then propose such doubtfull doubtes that are enough to make a dogge runne a myle without looking behinde him But sometime they méete with mates that dresse them in their kinde and yéelde them the honour which is due vnto them Like as a poore craftie clowne serued his sonne who about euery worde woulde bée arguing with him for hauing one day nothing but foure egges vpon the table for their dinner The young gentleman forsooth to shewe his wit would néedes vndertake to prooue that there were vii for that the iii. is contained in the number of foure and iiij and iij. make vij The father to auoyd strife tooke the iiij egges saying I wil eate these take you y e other iij. Guaz. What resteth now to bée spoken of Annib. We haue now to speake of lyers who swarue from the trueth for another purpose and in other sort then the contentious doe And first and formost lyars are flatterers dissemblers boasters vaine glorious neuer ceassing to set foorth their owne praises enterlacing lyes amongest them a fault though not great yet which greatly misliketh vs. For there is nothing spites vs more then to heare a man commend himselfe Guaz. Those are tearmed houshold witnesses who perhaps praise themselues for lacke of good neighbours Annib. They should do better to spend that time which they imploy in praising or to say more truely in blaming themselues in getting by their commendable déedes true praise which onely procéedeth from praise worthie persons But they are so farre in loue with themselues that they are nothing set by of others forgetting the saying That hée which washeth his mouth with his owne praise soyleth himselfe with the suddes that come of it and that praise in a mans owne mouth is spilt But as the fault of these vaine speakers is light when it hurteth no body so it is gréeuous and haynous when it is preiudiciall to others And amongst many examples which might bée alleaged the wickednesse of those is not to bée concealed which make boast of their worthie conquestes in loue matters bewraying the frailenesse of some women to whom they haue promised secresie by a thousand false othes Which afterwardes the windes disperse amid the ayre Guaz. The othes of louers carry as much credite as the vowes of Mariners But what think you of others who falsly make their vaunt to haue had the vse of that woman to whom they neuer in their liues spake worde and séeke to spot her with reproch in such sort as in old time false the accuserers of innocent Susanna did Annib. Those which blowe foorth such blastes deserue to haue their winde stopt with a halter and those deserue litle lesse which wil lightly beléeue such lewde tales and report thē again in such sort that in short space a most honest woman shal be most wrōgfully takē of the people for a common harlot I leaue it vnto you to thinke what a harts grief it is to her to be so vniustly slaundered Let vs therfore conclude that all lyes which turne to the hurt or dishonour of others are diuelish and detestable Guaz. I cannot for my part away with the company of those other lyars which at no time tell trueth though it turne not to the hurt of any Annib. You haue reason for as he which plainly telleth the trueth sheweth himself to be an honest man of noble condition so he which lieth doth the act of a slaue of a disloyal vniust vndiscrete person * And therfore wise men ought to print in their heart the saying of Pithagoras who being demaunded when men did any thing which might make them like to God answered when they tell the trueth * And if you marke well the nature of lyers you shall finde them to bée impudent and without shame and therefore well saide the Philosopher That iustice resembled a pure virgin for that the puritie therof is spotted by leasings And though lying bée vnséemely for euery man yet is it more tollerable in one of base calling and who is driuen thereto of necessitie And therefore in holy Scripture a riche man being a lyar is greatly reproued Guaz. There are diuers which thinke to get the name of pleasant conceited fellowes by telling some monstrous strange tale to make the hearers merie or cause them to maruell and craue the Poets priuiledge to vse the figure Hyperbole at their pleasure Like as hée which tolde that going a hunting hée found a Boore so olde that hée was become starke blinde and that another young Boore for very compassion put his taile into the olde ones mouth so lead him out to féede Now hée shooting at them cut of the young Boores taile which hung still in the old Boores mouth and running quickly tooke the taile in his hand and brought the poore Boore by a long way euen vnto the Citie thinking stil that his fellowe had lead him Annib. I thinke it troubled him more to tell this tale then to leade the Boore Guaz. These felowes perswade themselues so earnestly to beléeue a lye that they woulde haue you beleeue it too and if you doe not they thinke you misuse them Annib. It is well doone not to beléeue them but they do vs wrong to force vs to beléeue that which is false which
asked whether hée had rather bée Achilles or Homer made answere Tell mée thou thy selfe whether thou hadst rather bée a Trumpetter or a Captaine But though this answere make for armes yet I pray you tell mee what you thinke to bée the end and marke that wise and worthie men shoote at Guaz. I thinke it bée to leaue behinde them that which may triumphe ouer death and according to the saying of the Poet. May fetch a man foorth of his graue and keepe him still aliue Annib. You say well but whereof dependeth this immortalitie and euerliuing name Guaz. Of learning and histories whereby it is conserued for euer Annib. You may sée then that learning is aboue armes for that learning of it selfe is able to purchase immortalitie but armes cannot doe it without the aide of learning which Alexander the great knew well enough who calling Achilles happie for that it was his hap to haue so excellent a setter foorth of his doings woulde say no more but that hée desired likewise to light vpon one who with the like grace woulde gather into one booke his trauelles conquests and renowmed Acts which without some suche excellent wit to commend them to posteritie he knew would soone be buried in obliuion Guaz. I thinke verily that without some spurre of euerlasting praise fewe men woulde bée pricked forward to enterprise any thing worthie praise Annib. Wée all couet this glory as the fruite and lawfull reward of our trauell and there is no man but is right glad to cōsecrate his name to immortalitie For proofe wherof it is tolde that a certaine writer published in print a little pamphlet of his owne making intituled The contempt of glory wherein by many notable reasons hée indeuoured to prooue that it is a vanitie vnséemely for a man to gape after glory in consideration of his owne works But that writer was afterwards charged to haue committed the same fault which hée found fault with in others for that hee had set his name in the first page and beginning of his booke Whereby it was apparantly knowne that if hee had contemned glory in déede as he went about to perswade others by wordes he would haue caused his book to haue béen imprinted without his name whiche being blazed in the fore front as it was gaue a manifest signe how desirous he was of glory but Cicero would neuer dissemble in that point who in a long letter opēly and earnestly requested Luceius to gratifie him in thrée thinges The first that he would set downe separately from his other histories the conspiracy of Cateline therby to giue immortall fame to his name the second that he woulde add some thing in respect of the frēdship which was betwene them The third that he would publish his book with al spéed possible that while he were yet liuing he might taste of the swéetenesse of his owne glory I will not héere let passe Augustus who ioyned to his last will and Testament his owne acts péece by péece appointing that they shoulde bee ingrauen vpon his tombe in pillers of brasse But how many other may a man rehearse who went canuassing about and crauing for this bruite this glory by the meane either of histories or of images or of tombes or of pictures or of buildinges or other memorials Guaz. It séemeth a greater maruell to mée that so honourable a desire should enter into the hearte of a common Courtisan named Trine who being very rich suche time as Alexander the great razed the walles of Thebes went and profered the Thebanes to repaire them at her owne charges so that they would bée content that to her euerlasting fame shée might cause only these wordes to bée ingrauen in the wall Alexander razed it and Trine raised it Annib. This woman was better to bée borne withal who sought glory with her owne money then some are who get it at other mens cost and being not able to leaue behinde thē a good report by help of their owne vertue attribute theeuishly to themselues the doings of strangers of which sorte of men it is not long since that wee vsed some speeche Touching armes I reply that the déedes of famous Captaines worthie souldiers die with them if they haue not some to set them foorth in writing or vnlesse they haue ioyned to their prowesse in armes the knowledge of good letters So that by the example of Caesar they may be able to hold the speare in the rest with one hand and with the other the pen to write their own acts which were very necessary especially in these our dayes wherein the memory of diuers worthy souldiers yea Princes Gentlemen who haue atchieued many valiant exploites hath béen lost is yet from time to time lost Whereas if they had béen so wel set foorth as y e famous men were in time past they should neuer haue had cause to haue enuied the glory of Annibal Marcellus Caesar or y e Scipios but had béen equal to them in euery respect Guaz. Héereby may be gathered how profitable the conuersatiō of the learned men is how important it is to haue the friendship familiaritie of writers who with one drop or two of ynke may prolong our life through many ages Annib. They haue power not only to prolong life but to abridge it And therevpon a certain Captaine vsed to say that the pennes of writers pearce the souldiers corslets We know wel how diuers writers either to please others either led by affection or moued vpon some other occasion haue in their histories contrary to their duety magnified exalted aboue the trueth the doings of some captaines abased or els concealed the notable enterprises of other some and by the force of their hand and penne haue lift vp the litle and thrust downe the great Guaz. Touching that I remember that P. Iouius being blamed for the infidelitie of his historie he could not deny it saying yet that he comforted himselfe knowing that when a hundred yeres were once expired there would be no man liuing that could gainsay his writing so y t the posteritie shold be driuen of necessitie to giue vndoubted credite vnto them Annib. Perchaunce he would not haue put himselfe in that hazard if hée had not made his account by the maiestie elegancie of his history to make al the writers of this time afeard to write against him * But as y e world goeth those shew themselues wise men whiche kéepe the learned their friends which receiue them into their fauour and protection not so much for their owne behoofe as for the loue of vertue which thing brought great glory to Alexander to Augustus to Mecenas who bestowed honours maruellous rewards vpon diuers Gramarians Orators Poets philosophers Neither thinke I méet to let passe the example of Pius y e seconde who in the warres of his time gaue expresse cōmandement that y e honor goods life of the people of Arpines should
either by flatterie either by promoting either by â—laundering or by false accusing and other naughtie meanes whiche those that are learned will neuer lightly vse but enough of this And for that wée saide but erewhile that the learned receiueth great contentment in the companie of the vnlearned let vs nowe consider howe little that contentment is in respect of that whiche he receiueth being in the companine of his like For no doubt a learned man taketh much more pleasure in the company of the learned who know yea and allowe better of his learning then in the company of the ignorant who vnderstande it not so well neither are able to iudge of it Besides when hée is amongest the ignorant hée taketh pleasure only in that which hée himselfe giueth But when hée is with the learned he delighteth both in it which hée giueth that hée receiueth for that by turnes hée doeth both teach and learne Moreouer hée hath a nother contentment to know that where is greatest conformitie in estate in life and in study there is greatest agréement in good will and amitie and consequently greater pleasure and contentment * yea that effect is bred among theÌ„ which is found amongst flowers which being separated one from another giue a good smell but being bounde together in a posie they recreate the spirites a great deale more like as it was well saide by a Poet Two good men ioyned together doe in goodnesse more excel And roses ioyned with lielies haue a great deale sweeter smell Yea it is a Philosophers saying that one in comparison of two is no bodie * And truely amongest all other companies and societies there is not any more firmely and néerely linked together then this of the learned who for the most part loue better amongest themselues then kinsfolke and brethren doe agreeing in like studies and like affections they can not but take pleasure one in another and reduce them selues from the number of many as it were into one vnited body Guaz. All other assemblies may be well termed strange and externall and this same familiar and internal wherein the mindes are exercised in reasoning teaching and discoursing of things which appertaine to the knowledge of vertue and goodnesse And these are the true freendships which last long Annib. It is a common saying that the bondes of vertue binde more straightly then the bondes of blood And in trueth one good man may be sayd to be a néere kinsman to another good man by the conformitie of their minds and manners * Guaz. Héereby I imagine how great the concorde the pleasure the profit is which is reaped by the Academie of the illustratie as they tearme them established in this citie Annib. You are deceiued in your imagination for this Academy being assembled in the name of God you may well thinke that he is in the midst of them and that hee mainteineth it in peace and amitie What comfort euery one receiueth by it I cannot sufficiently set foorth vnto you for that I haue tried in my selfe and seene plainely in other Academikes that there is not any one so afflicted with the common miseries of this citie and with his priuate troubles who setting once his foote into the hal of the Academie seemeth not to ariue at the hauen of tranquilitie and beginneth not to cléere his minde of care casting his eyes about the hall to see those goodly deuises full of profounde mysteries I may well say of my selfe that when my bodie is shut within it all my yrkesome thoughtes are shut out the which attend me at the doore and at my going out get vppon my shoulders but touching the good which commeth of his happie assembly you may be assured in thinking to your selfe what diuersitie of learning is there handled sometimes with publike lectures sometimes with priuate reasoninges which breede that delight which commeth of giuing and receiuing as we haue sayde before And I may say without arrogancie that the Academie borrowing me as it were to reade in Philosophie hath payed mee home with interrest béeing not onely bettered in that parte but also moued with some knowledge in diuinitie poetrie and other laudable sciences whereof I knowe I am not altogether voide Guaz. I haue noted by long experience that for the most parte those are smally accounted of in companie which haue bestowed al their studie in one onely profession For drawing them once out of that you shall finde them very sottes and fooles Whereas on the contrary those are very well thought of who besides their chiefe profession are able to discourse reasonablie well and with discretion of other matters In so much that the knowledge they shew in those bye matters bringeth them so much the more honour by how much they are estraunged from their ordinary profession Wherefore seeing in companie wee commonly deuise of diuerse thinges leaping from one matter into another there is nothing in my iudgement that doeth vs more honour or maketh vs better liked of in good companie then to be readie at all assayes and haue a mouth for euery matter to be able to perfourme which I consider that the companie of many learned men is very auaileable like as that of the Academies is Annib. We haue alredie sayde that it is not in one man to speake sufficiently of all thinges by reason of the shortenesse of his lyfe but for so much as all learning is not in one alone it is good that manie assemble togeather to make amongest them one perfect man as it falleth out in those learned companies Guaz. Seeing the conuersation of these Academikes is so auayleable I looke you shoulde set downe some orders for them which they ought to obserue to mainteine themselues long in agréement and amitie Annib. I should thinke I should commit a fault if I should speake any thing of that for that it were according too the Prouerb to instruct Minerua knowing that it is in them rather to teach then to be taught the orders of conuersation Besides that they haue lawes and orders set downe in writing by force whereof friendship and concord is inuiolably kept amongest them Guaz. I pray you yet at the least to tell and recount vnto me the order of the Academie of the illustrati in this citie and to declare vnto me the originall of it and what is the manner of their conuersation together Annib. If I should throughly satisfie your request this day would not be enough to doe it but to content you somewhat I briefly say vnto you that these Academikes desirous to trauayle continually for their owne glorie the vniuersall benefite haue proposed vnto themselues the enterprise of the sunne which going out of the Horizon ascendeth to the opposite of the moone which setteth in the West and vpon this deuise are set these wordes Lux indeficiens with the name of Illustrati The lawes of the Academie are a great manie but they are referred al chiefly to the honour of God
of those which triumph tyrannously ouer their poore seruauntes from iniuring of whom they ought rather to abstayne then of their equals for that it is an act of great bountye to keepe ones selfe from oppressing those whom he maye easily oppresse And therfore it behoueth wise maisters to forbeare beating their Seruants remembring that the supreme mayster is not well pleased with him who will take reuenge out of his handes and not leaue the punishment of his seruauntes to his diuine pleasure vnlesse it be for such offences as are punishable by humane lawes Other maisters are of this fond humour that they will haue their seruauntes vnderstande their minde in making only a sign as if themselues were dumme and their seruauntes Diuiners Some will haue their seruaunts doe three or foure thinges at once not hauing the iudgement to consider that as a sextine sayd a man cannot cary the crosse and ring the bels altogether Some are so curious that if they had a thousand seruantes they would trouble them all and yet would neuer be content for that none of them all can please them whose fashion it is euery moneth to chaunge a seruant Guaz. We haue at the court a gentleman who about six monethes since bestowed vppon a seruant of his a liuery cloake whyche since that tyme hee hath bestowed vppon foure others and taken it styll from them agayne and a lyttle before our departure out of Fraunce hee sente vnto mee in the Euening hys seruaunt to sollicyte a letter of fauoure whiche I shoulde wryght in the Dukes name about certayne businesse of his and willing him to retourne the next morning to haue the letter the next day there came another to demaunde it to whom as I sayde hee was not the same who came the day before he answered Though I bee not he yet I am in his apparell which my mayster thys Mornyng pulled from hys backe to putte vppon me Annib. That in my iudgment is a shamefull thyng and thoughe it bee no dyshonoure to the mayster to vncloathe Peter to cloath Paule yet at the least he receaueth dishonour in chaunging so oft hys seruants for hee therby sheweth hymselfe an impatient manne and harde to please and besides spreadeth hys secretes and doynges the farther abroade for when a seruaunte departeth from his Mayster in what sorte soeuer it bee whether contented or dyscontented hee cannot refrayne from reporting where soeuer hee goe the lyfe and beehauyoure of hys former Mayster and thoughe wyth one trueth hee myngle a hundreth lyes yet there bee ynowe that wyll beleeue hym And besides the Mayster is troubled to time hys new seruauntes to hys fancye Amongest other yll Maysters maye also bee comprehended some so impatient and so vnreasonable that they wyll inioyne theyr seruauntes to impossibilityes yea and exacte thynges at theyr handes before they are commaunded them but the worst of all are those who will burthen their seruantes wrongfully with some naughtye dealing and therevpon turne them away keeping * theyr sweet * and the sweet which is due vnto them for it Guaz. It is an easie matter to finde a staffe to beate a dog Annib. It would be too long to rehearse all y e imperfections which are in those maisters which neuer serued Guaz. Yea but those same haue serued and do serue daily for that they are seruantes to their owne vices Annib. I holde well with your saying I will therefore passe to the occasion of disagreement betweene the mayster and the seruaunt which commeth by the seruauntes when they know not how to serue and obay I meane by the vnfit to serue not only fooles and ignoraunt Asses but also dishonest and knauishe Companions who though they are sufficient to execute any thing committed to their charge yet they haue some notable faulte whereby their Maysters haue iust cause to put them awaye but it is as harde a matter to fynde Seruauntes without faultes as Dropsye Patients without thyrst and though their faultes bee inumerable yet their cheefest ornamentes are the three properties of a Dogge to wit the gullet for that they are Gluttons barking for that the maister canne doe nothing but they will forthwith reporte it abrode which the seruant in the Commedie shewed saying hee was full of chinkes whereat went out euery thing which entred in at his eares next byting which is so naturall vnto thē that let their maisters doe neuer so well by them yet they wil not stick to call them vngrateful and to speake the worst word in their belly by them according to the saying of the Poet Of sory seruantes the worst part is the tongue But they are worse then dogges for that besides the properties before spoken of they are proud and arrogant wherevppon it is sayd Of surly seruantes euery court is full That vyce is accompanyed wyth lying a thynge of all others moste seruile framing themselues neuer to tell the trueth to their maysters nor perchaunce to theyr ghostly fathers but that were a smal matter if their faythlesnesse were not so great that not content with fetching from their maisters in disbursing of their money and with proloyning from them otherwise they will not be faythfull in matters touching their honour and credite I conclude that their least fault deserueth the Gally and that according to the saying We haue so many enemies as we haue seruantes but this is to be vnderstood of the base and rascall sort for it is not to be said but that as there are good maisters so likewise are there good seruantes Guaz. I thinke it well but to take away all disorder it is requisite that the good maister and the good seruant bee matcht together for if they be not both good it is hard for y e wisdome of the one to supply the want of discretiō in y e other Annib. I thinke so but we must here call to mynde that whiche we haue already sayd That the golden world being gone the maister and seruant must thinke that there is not absolute perfection to be found in any person and that some imperfections must be borne withall on both sides so that the best and most necessary partes be not wanting whiche consideration not onlye the seruant ought to haue remembring that it is his dutye to submit himselfe to the will and pleasure of his maister but the maister much more knowing that seruantes being for the most part of base condition and naturally inclined to do ill wil not haue that fidelity diligence and affection towardes him as he would haue towardes any Prince that hee shoulde serue and considering that it were better for him to winke at some faults in his seruantes then to disquiet himselfe in going about to refourme them Guaz. I pray you then tell me which are those imperfections which are to be tollerated in seruants Annib Your demaunde putteth me in mynd of a faulte I committed the other day in rehersing the imperfections of others for that which I sayd vnto you