Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	affection_n	heart_n	love_n	1,789	5	5.2534	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49302	The loves of Charles, Duke of Mantua, and of Margaret, Countess of Rovera translated out of Italian.; Amore di Carlo Gonzaga, duca di Mantova, e della contessa Margarita della Rovere. English	Leti, Gregorio, 1630-1701.	1669 (1669)	Wing L3274; ESTC R2877	74,616	204

Wife and his own misfortune was so publick his melancholly grew to that height that he saw not any body that Saluted him in the Streets and he fancyed every minute that People were making Hornes at him behind his back The Countess who had a good Nose smelt out the reason of the Change in her Husbands Humour and redoubled her Caresses to him fearing least this jealousie which he appear'd so insensible of before his Marriage might product some unhappy effect for it is certain that had she known him to be of a jealous humour she would never have Marryed him In the mean time as the Earle and his Countess walked one evening after Supper upon the Town Walls the Earl ask'd his Wife Did his Highness waite upon you often As he was wont reply'd she seeing to what end he spoke it And What did you do together said the Earle to which she answer'd The same that you did with the Dutchess at Mantua Thus they both rallyed one another The Husband perceiving what it was to have such a Wife and the wife lamented the trouble of having such a Husband yet nevertheless the Earles jealousies had some intermissions his Melancholly often giving place to his Joy so that his Wife and Brothers in-Law felt some time the effects of the one and then of the other Whil'st these things pass'd in the Year 1652 the Dutchess was brought to bed of a Son which is now the onely Prop of the House of Gonzague the Consolation of his Mother the Glory and Hope of the State to which he gives great hopes promising very much shewing himself a great and brave Prince and expressing aversion for an idle lazy life and on the contrary a great inclination for all the exercises of Warr It is believed that since the Birth of that young Prince the Duke convers'd not with the Dutchess as his Wife the reason of this opinion is his assiduous love to the Countess as also because the Dutchess has not been with Child from that time This indifference of the Duke towards the Dutchess was also impute● to two other causes the first to h●● Natural coldness the other to I know not what strange devise of the Countess the last fearce is doubted of for as report has said this Woman fearing to lose the Dukes Friendship after h●… Marriage and seeking to injoy alone ● good without which she despis'd all others resolv'd to tempt all wayes to prevent that which she thought an obstacle to her design to that end having told her thoughts to one of her Sisters she by her meanes became acquainted with a certain Magician who dwelt at Sir Sauveur near to Casal the Countess went to him and obtain'd some words from him That he bid her be confident she should enjoy the Dukes Friendship alone but because this Sorcerer was of an intelligence with a certain Religious Dominican that Lady gain'd him by his meanes she rewarding him by not refusing him the satisfaction he requir'd of her so after that this Charme succeeded so well by the help of this Reverend Father that by their Diabolical Inventions the Duke had that knot tyed usually so fatal to Marriage Others have believ'd that this was a false report and that this Witchcraft took no effect but that the Duke made it a pretext to avoid the Dutchess whom he lov'd not and devote himself to the Countess whom he ador'd in which there is no likelihood For let any body imagine how it can be possible for a young Prince to live in the company of his Wife without touching her if there had not been some reason diabolical or supernatural to hinder him so that it must certainly be believ'd that the Countess did bewitch the Duke The old Dutchess troubled at the Dukes infirmity told him he should make use of some spiritual or natural remedies to cure him but what was very strange he laught at her advice which made people believe that it was done by his own consent It has been said that that natural coldness of the young Duchess compar'd to the Constitution so contrary of the Countess contributed very much for the small affection he had for her but how could the Duchess leave off that purity so rare and commendable which she had alwayes made th● ornament of her life to comply wit● the Dukes desires and which he fo●… in another There is no doubt be that she lov'd as much as any other woman could do but with a sincere true and real love for to say truth she was not in the number of those that onely made a shew of love but she lov'd her husband from the bottom of her heart so that all her affection was within having not those little foolish fondnesses which some other wives study with so much affectation to shew their loves In a word her affection was truly great though she did not make shew of it but to clear all this I think it to some purpose to say something by the way to discover what the Dukes inclinations were naturally and also of that of the Countess Margaret All men naturally take great delight in the Caresses they receive it is certain that the Duke was more inclin'd to that satisfaction than any man so that it may almost be said that weakness was a fault of nature in him who so desired to be courted by the women without which it is thought the Duke would have been insensible for them they say that this inclination of the Dukes was caus'd by the Conversation of the Ladies of the Court amongst whom he was brought up and spent most of his youth having alwayes been caress'd by one or other of those Ladies that waited on his Mother who lov'd nothing more than to see the women make much of him and to be under the conduct of that sex and particularly the Lady Margaret who had so us'd him to her carresses that he could not think of carressing his wife if he were not prepar'd by hers which is a thing that seldom happens but what the one could not do the other was perfect in and exercis'd her art so to the humour of the Duke that he could not defend himself from her Charms though he had a mind to it also the Courtships to him mov'd rather by ambition to domineer and govern the Duke than by any sentiment of nature which is believ'd by the little care she took to court her husband at that rate and certainly the very Sirenes and Cir●… were never capable of more inti●…ments and flattering carresses than she us'd to please the Duke See here the poison of this Marriage see here the Fall of the Dukes to putation a Princess too modest and little sensible of Carresses and a Prince too desirous of those kind of Charm●… and on the other side a woman experienc'd in all the crafts of Love to gain the heart of this Prince and take it from the Princess and it is stedfasth believ'd that if the

illustrious Republick with which he held great Correspondence for the interest and considerations of his own State Therefore she took the occasion of petitioning that Senate in private to interpose their authority to deliver her from her troubles and to take the Duke from his scandalous way of life with the Countess That Senate who does nothing without great Caution and Prudence did not think this a necessary business for the whole body of the Counsel to take notice of therefore they order'd Monsieur Justiniani to undertake it as a particular man and to use all possible diligence in the affair That Lord did not fail to receive that Commission with much respect and submission but he was not without fear that he should be able to effect nothing to the satisfaction of the Senate nor of the Archduchess he nevertheless omitted no opportunity of surprizing the Duke to talk to him about it and having found an hour fit for his purpose he begun to talk of this Commission with an admirable Eloquence back'd with Reasons so solid an never yet was seen come from the tongue of that Excellent Oratour but all his Eloquence and strong Reasons were unprofitable all the Discourses of this Illustrious Lord producing no effect and made no impression in the heart of the Duke who answer'd resolutely to that Oracle of the Senate that there was but one remedy to cure so great a sickness and that was To send for an Executioner from Venice to cut his heart out of his breast because as long as it staid there it must of necessity be the Countesses and without depriving him of his heart it was impossible to take from him the love he bore to the Countess After that reply Justiniani found it to no purpose to press him further and to undertake any more against so great a wilfulness as he discover'd in the Duke That Prince then shutting his eyes to all kind of Considerations lived with the Countess like a Husband with his Wife he carried her along with him when he went a Hunting and also to the Palace royal of Mantua where his wife the Archduchess also lay he eat with the Countess slept with her and caressed her in the presence of all his Courtiers almost before the face of that poor Princess his wife who although she saw not what they ordinarily did did not fail to hear of it having the story of what passed between those two Lovers brought to her every day all the Embassadours the Gentlemen Noblemen as also all the Ladies of Mantua admired the great Goodness of this Princess to suffer with so much Patience so great an injury or to say better such an affliction of heart for to say the truth that dishonest love of the Dukes brought more glory to the Duchess than any disgrace because she in that Patience expressed so great a vertue in despising jealousie and mocking at all those carnal pleasures of Matrimony and letting the world see that all her trouble and mortification proceeded onely from no other cause than the sin her Husband committed and therefore we are not to call that Patience of hers a corporeal injury but an affliction of Spirit There wanted no Ladies nor Gentlemen about the Court who counsell'd the Duchess from time to time to revenge her self of that Prostitute by one of those Draughts so common in Italy as the onely remedy to put an end not onely to her own affliction but also the Duke her husbands adultery and to take away the dishonour of the Countesses Family besides the depriving the Court of its great trouble Amongst the rest there were two persons of very large Consciences as one may say wide as a Friars sleeve offered themselves voluntarily to do this deed the one was a Tailor who proffered to end the Countesses life with the Shot of a Harquebuz which he would in private Shoot at her and no body should know of it and that he would take great care in chusing his time asking for recompence of that action but two hundred Pistols to keep him in any place he should be forc'd to fly to it not being possible after doing that to think of returning back to his own house or if they thought that summe too much for him he askt no more than a good Recommendation to the Archduke to be favourably treated with him The other person that offered to dispatch the Countess was a Lady and her kinswoman honourable by reason of her age who believing her self interested in the dis-reputation the Countess had brought upon her Family and touched with shame and compassion for the Archduchess offered her self also to poison this adulterous Countess so privately that none should ever know it But that poor Princess who lookt upon all those Miseries as being by the permission of Heaven and receiving them as coming from the hands of God did not onely blame those bloudy resolutions and tragical designes of those murtherers but she also forbid them for ever the presenting themselves before her with those Propositions and it is said that one day as she was discoursing with her Confessour in the presence of the Governess of her house of the scandalous life the Duke liv'd with that Countess and the Proposals had been offered her of revenging that adultery That Confessour told her That great persons might commit a small evil to deliver themselves from a greater Which the Duchess scarce heard him say but guessing well his design which was onely to carry her to revenge she quickly replyed We had rather suffer the Countess to live with her sin than ●… let her die with ours These words sufficiently testifie● the great goodness and admirable ve●tue of that excellent Princess with which she indured all her disgrace so well that she took more delight in suffering whil'st others were pleas'd than she could have taken satisfaction amongst all kind of prosperities whil'st other people had been unhappy also she never went about to buy her own repose by a Crime and satisfie the desires of her body by an offence so prejudiciall to her soul which makes me believe that God will take her in to his particular care during her Regency and so much the more because she prefers the interest of her Maker before all those of the world The Emperour and the Archduke sent by their Ambassadours a desire to the Duke of Mantua that he would a little open his eyes and consider the great scandal he liv'd in even in the fight of all the Princes of Italy protesting that they propounded this to him not out of resentment but were press'd to it out of the tender affection they bore to his person They also assur'd him that they had not been solicited to this motion by the Princess their kinswoman who complain'd not in the least to them of ill treatment but on the contrary protested to them that the Duke her Husband honour'd her very much and except in the bed neer him to which the