troth so much as a tattling tongue that neuer lyeth being in maner impossible that amongst many woords some lye bee not enterlaced All things consisteth not in other more or lesse saue only in the vse that men haue of yt For if a man doo vse to eat lytle hee always goeth from the table yf wee vse to sleepe litle wee also leaue our bedd And if wee accustome our selues also to lye wee shall haue it in such a ê¯tinuall vse as though wee woold wee shall neuer leaue it after For there are diuers sorts of men that as they accustome them selues to eat drink oft times in a day so doo they vse to lye euery hower But I ask what is the greatest most parfyt thing in this life that a man whilst hee lyueth may enioy I dare boldly say that it is neither nobilitie great parentage nor fauor neither the great estate helth nor ryches but rather that it is the sole honor which tatlers and liars may neuer enioy because they are neuer credited nor beleeued in their woords What fame credyt honor reputacion or good can hee haue out of whose mouth there coÌ„meth nothing but lies A lyer deserueth credit of no man neither that any man shoold deale with him in any thing much lesse coÌ„mit any matter of trust into his hands no nor loue him nor accept of him but rather as detracter defamer of mens good name wee should banish him our company Anniball that was the myghty prince of the Carthagians so valyaunt in warlick prowes so hardy to follow yt therewithall so fortunat to ouercome his enemies was yet notwithstanding blamed of Titus Liuius and reputed for a malignant and periured person For hee neuer gaue that hee promysed to his frends neither euer kept any couenaÌ„t or agreement made with his enemies Such was not Gneus Pompeius sonne to Pompeie the great with whom Octauian and Mark Antony both his mortal enemies being at supper with him on the sea Menodorus the captayn of his army sent him woord if it were his pleasure hee woold so lyuely haue hoyst vp the sayles of the ship that hee would soone haue peryshed them or sunked the shyp they were in To which message Pompeie gaue this auÌ„swer Thou shalt tell Menodorus my captayn that if I were Menodorê° as he is that neuer knew what trothment I would haue followed his aduice haue doon that hee sendeth to mee for but if hee were Pompeius as I am which keepes my woord and promesse with all men such a thought and treason would neuer haue occupied his head Woords suer woorthy of so noble a prince sonne of so great and woorthy a father Herodotus writeth also that when the Egiptians woold make any new amyty betwixt them selues or bee in league and confederate them selues with straungers they vsed to bynd their thombs hard to the thombs of those with whom they woold ioyne in frendshyp and then with an instrument pricked euery one of their thombs that the blood spurted out which they sucked the one the other with their tongue inferring thereby that they woold rather shead their whole bloud then in one iot to falsify break that freÌ„dship promised between theÌ„ Is it not a goodly thing to heare him that sweareth by the masse of mine honesty so god ketch mee by my good sooth by cock pye other like nyse othes only vnder simplicity thereof to make you beleeue a lye hee wil tel you which in deede wee shoold least then beleeue when hee is most ruffe in his othes For it is most certayn the more a lyer enforceth his woords with abundance of othes the lesse hee is to bee beleeued For that is a playn demonstration that it is a prepensed lye hee woold make vs beleeue for a trueth It is a sport to see a true man a lyar in argument together for the true man enforceth his woords none otherwise but thus Truely frend it is euen thus as I tell thee thou mayst if thou wilt beleue mee And the other to defend maintayn his lye hee will inuocate for witnes al the saynts in heauen as many relicks as are on the earth yea al the deuils of hell so that for defence of the trueth it sufficeth to stand fast on his feete but for defence of a lye hee must runne through the whole world If I were a king or prince to throw the beloued out of fauor to put my men out of seruice to depriue men of their office dignity or to disgrade a knight of his order of knighthood or to geeue no more fayth nor credit to an other I woold desire no better occasion or testimony then once to take hym with a lye And I woold thynk it lesse ill that the fathers shoold rather pardon a great fault in their children the frend in his frend the maister in his seruant theÌ„ to beare with them in one lye For by time the wings of sinne is cut but to lye is of such condicion the elder a man waxeth the more force power it hath of him It is not inough for a man to bee free of this vice but hee must also fly sequester him self froÌ„ the felowship of those that are possessed with that foule inueterate error For it is commoÌ„ly seene when a man woold bring out a sodein lye to geeue it more credit hee will auouch his frend for a witnes saiyng hee knoweth yt was present with mee Now those that heareth this famous lye knoweth the very troth in deede of the matter as it was coÌ„demneth his frend hee auoucheth although hee bee innocent in the matter for that hee is brought in for testimony as they doo this notorius and shameles lyar I should ly also for compagny if I should deny to tell you that being in the court vpon a tyme in a good presence a frend of myne stuck not to forge a lye amongst others and sayd that hee had sayled in a shyp made all of the canes of Synamon and hee auouched mee for a wytnesse affyrmyng that I was likewise wyth him in hys company in the shyp and I to saue hys honor hee beeyng my very frend beeyng ashamed hee should incurre the name of a lyer was compelled seriously to confyrm hys tale wyth hym whereof I repented mee after wyth all my hart For thereby I was in secret noted of the hearers to bee as great a lyar as hee Also an other time when I weÌ„t to preach at the court being diseased of the gout I walked vp down with a staff of a reede to stay mee with al the self same ê‘son I told you of before told amoÌ„gst the prelates that were in the chappel where I preached that hee had geeuen mee a reede or cane to walk withall that from one knobb to an other it woold hold three great pottes of wyne Lo now by my exaÌ„ple you may gather what shame and dishonesty an honest and
gods in the temples And peraduenture their pride fyersenes beinge seene and our innocency knowen fortune wil dispose another thing For it is a generall rule that it is vnpossible for a prince to haue the victorye of that warre whiche by malyce is begonne and by pryde and fyersenes pursued It hath semed good vnto vs synce theyr cause is vniust and oure righteous to endeuoure oure selues by all meanes howe to resyst this Barbarous people For oft times that which by iustice was gotten by neglygence is lost For the remedie of this mischiefe to come the sacred senate hath prouided these thinges following and for the accomplyshing therof your fauour and ayde is necessarye 1 First of al we haue determined to repaire with al dyligēce our diches walles gates and bulwarkes and in these places to arme al our frendes But to accomplishe that and diuers other for the necessitie of warfare we lacke mony for ye know wel inoughe that the warre cānot be prosperous wher enemyes abound and money is scarse 2 Secondarilye we haue commaunded that all those whiche be sworne knightes and soldiours of Rome repaire immediatly to Rome and therfore ye shal send to vs all those which are vnder thage of 50. and aboue thage of 20. For in great warres aunciente men for counsaile and younge men and lustye to execute the same are required 3 Thirdly we haue agreed and concluded that the citie be prouided of victualles municion defence at the least for 2. yeres Wherfore we desire ye that ye send vs frō you the tenth part of wine the fift part of flesh and the third part of your bread For we haue al sworne to die yet we meane not to dye for famine asseged as feareful mē but fighting in plaine feld like valiāt Romains 4 Fourthly we haue prouided since the vnknowē barbarous come to fight with vs that you bring vs to Rome straunge gods to helpe and defend vs. For you know wel inough that since the great Constantine we haue ben so pore of gods that we haue not but one god whom the Christiās do honour Therfore we desire you that you wil succour vs with your gods in this our extreame necessity For amongest the Gods we know no one alone sufficiēt to defend al the Romaine people from their enemies The walles therefore being wel repayred and al the young and warrelike men in garrison in the cytie the batteries wel furnished and the treasour house wel replenished with mony aboue al the tēples wel adourned with gods we hope in our gods to haue the victory of our enemyes For in fighting with men and not against gods a man ought always to haue hope of victorye For ther are no men of such might but by god and other men may be vainquished Fare ye wel c. After this letter was sent through al the dominiō of the Romaines not taryenge for answere of the same they foorthwith openly blasphemed the name of Christ and set vp idolles in the temples vsed the ceremonies of the gentiles that which was worse then that they said openly that Rome was neuer so oppressed with tirantes as it hath ben since they wer Christians And further they sayde if they called not againe all the gods to Rome the cytie should neuer be in safegard for that they had dyshonoured and offended their gods and caste theym oute of Rome and that those Barbarous were sent to reuenge their iniury But the deuine prouidence which geueth no place to humayne malice to execute his forces before the walles were repaired and before the messaungers broughte aunsweare and before the straunge gods coulde enter into Rome Randagagismus king of the Gothes with 2000000. of barbarous without the effusion of Christian bloud sodainlye in the mountaynes of Vesulanes wythe famyne thirste and stones which fell from heauen loste all his armye not one left alyue but himselfe whoe had hys heade strycken of in Rome And this thing the eternal wisedome broughte to passe to th ende the Romaynes shoulde see that Iesus Christe the true God of the Christians had no neede of straunge gods to defend his seruauntes ¶ Of the true and lyuing god and of the maruailes he wrought in the old lawe to manyfest his deuine power and of the supersticion of the false gods Cap. ix O Grosse ignoraunce and vnspekeable obstinacy O Iudgemēts of God inscrutable What thinke these gentyles by the true god They searched the false gods to helpe them had a lyuing god of their owne they sought gods ful of gyle and disceyte and worse then that they thought it necessary that that God which created al things should be accompanyed with their gods to defend them which could make nothinge Let now all theyr gods come forth into the fyeldes on the one syde and I will go forthe alone in godlye company that is to say with the hygh god on thother parte And we wyll compare the deades and proue the aydes of their false God against wyth the least worke of our true god And they shall clearelye perceiue their falsehode and our truth For the tongue that speaketh of God can neuer beare with any lye and that whiche speaketh of Idolles can neuer dysclose anye truth Yf they esteme him much for creatinge the world with his might is it any lesse to preserue and gouerne it by his wisedome For many thinges are done in a moment for the preseruacion wherof long tyme is requysyte and much paynfull trauaile necessarye I demaunde further what God of the gentyles could do that whych our God hath done that is to knowe within one Arcke to make quyet the Lion with the leoperd the wolfe with the lambe the Beare with the Cow the Tigar with the Cocodryll the stoned horse with the Mare the Dogge with the Catte the foxe with the Hennes the houndes with the hares and so of other beastes whose enmytye is greater th one agaynst other then that of man is against men For thenmyty amōges men proceadeth of malice but that of beasts procedeth of nature Also I demaunde what God if it wer not the true God so mightye could sley and drowne in one hower and moment so many men women beastes so that al those which were in the world eight only excepted perrisshed in the deluge of Noy The iudgement of god by ordynaunce their offences deserued this so maruelous a domage For god neuer executed any notable punishmēt but first it came through our wicked offences And if this be coūted for a greate thynge I wyll that another thing be had in great estymacion Which is that if god shewed his rygorous iustice in this punishment incontinently he shewed his might clemency in remedyeng it in that of these eyght persons which were but few the generacion dyd multiplye in so great a nomber that they dyd replenysh many and great Realmes Wheron a man ought to marueil for according as Aristotle sayth the great thinges are easely
Alexander though thou callest thy selfe lorde of all yet thou hast but onely the name thereof and others thy seruauntes subiectes haue all the profites for the gredy and couetous hartes do trauaile and toyle to get and in wasting that whiche they haue gotten they pyne awaye And finally Alexander thou wilt not denie me that all that whiche thou hast in the longe conquest gotten is litle and that whiche of thy wysedome and quietnes thou hast lost is much For the Realmes whiche thou hast gotten are innumerable but the cares sighes and thoughtes whiche thou hast heaped vpon thy harte are infinite I let the knowe one thing that you princes are poorer then the poore subiectes for he is not ryche that hath more then he deserueth but he that desireth to haue lesse then that he possesseth And therfore princes you haue nothing for though you abound in great treasures yet you are poore of good desires Nowe Alexander let vs come to the pointe and caste accompte and let vs see to what ende thy conquest wil come Eyther thou arte a man or thou arte a God And if thou be any of the gods commaunde or cause that we be immortall and if thou canst doe any suche thing then take vs and our goods withall For perpetuitie of the lyfe by no riches can be boughte O Alexander I let thee vnderstande that therefore we seke not to make warre with thee for we see that bothe from thee and also from vs death will shortly take away the life For he is a very simple man that thinketh alway to remayne in an other mans house as in his owne If thou Alexander couldest geue vs as god euerlastinge life eche man would trauayle to defende his owne house but sithe we knowe we shal die shortly we care litle whether to thee or any other our goods riches remaine For if it be folly to dwell in an other mans house as in his owne it is a greater folly to him that loseth his life in taking thought and lamenting for his goodes Presuppose that thou art not god but a man I coniure the then by the immortal gods and do require the that thou lyue as a man behaue thy selfe as a man and couet no more then an other man neither desyre more nor lesse then a man for in the end thou shalt die as a mā and shal be buried as a man and throwen into the graue then there shal be no more memorie of thee I tolde thee before that it greued me to see thee so hardy couragious so apte and so younge and nowe it greueth me to see thee so deceiued with the world and that which I perceiue of thee is that then thou shalt knowe thy folly when thou shalt not be able to finde any remedy For if the proude younge man before he feleth the wound hath all redy the oyntment You whiche are Grecians call vs Barbarous because we enhabite the mountaines But as touching this I say that we reioyce to be Barbarous in our speache and Greekes in our doinges and not as you which haue the Grecians tongue and doe Barbarous workes For he that doth well speaketh rudely is no barbarous man but he which hath the tongue good and the life euill Sithe I haue begonne to that ende nothing remaynd vnspoken I will aduertise thee of our lawes and life and marueile not to here it but desire to obserue and kepe it for infinite are they whiche extolle vertuous workes but fewe are they whiche obserue the same I let thee wete Alexander that we haue short life we are fewe people we haue litle landes we haue litle goodes we haue no couetousnes wee haue fewe lawes we haue fewe houses wee haue fewe frendes and aboue all we haue no enemies For a wyse man ought to be frende to one and enemy to none Besides all this we haue amongest vs great frendshippes good peace great loue much reste and aboue all we holde our selues contented For it is better to enioy the quietnes of the graue then to liue a discontented life Our lawes are fewe but in our opinions they are good and are in seuen wordes onely included as here foloweth We ordaine that our children make no more lawes then we their fathers doe leaue vnto them for newe lawes maketh them forget good and olde customes We ordayne that our successours shall haue no mo Gods then twoo of the whiche the one god shal be for the life and the other for the death for one God well serued is more worth then many not rewarded We ordaine that all be appareled with one cloth and hosed of one sorte and that the one haue no more apparell then the other for the diuersitie of garmentes edgendreth folly among the people We ordeine that whan any woman which is maried hath had thre childrē that then she be separated from her husband for the aboundaunce of children causeth men to haue couetous hartes And if any woman hath broughte forth any mo children then they should be sacrificed vnto the gods before her eies We ordeine that all men and women speake the truthe in all thinges and if any be taken in a lie committing no other fault that immediatly he be put to death for the same For one lyer is able to vndo a whole multitude We ordeine that no woman liue aboue .xl. yeres and that the man lyue vntill fiftie and if they die not before that time that then they be sacrifised to the gods for it is a great occasion for men to be vicious to thinke that they shal lyue many yeares ¶ That princes ought to consider for what cause they were made princes and what Thales the philosopher was of the .xii. questions asked him and of his aunswere he made vnto them Cap xxxv IT is a commen and an old saiyng whiche many times by Aristotle the noble prince hath bene repeted that in the ende all thinges are done to some purpose for there is no worke neither good nor euill but he that doth it meaneth it to some end If thou demaundest the gardener to what ende he watereth so oft his plantes he wil aunswere thee it is to get some money for his herbes If thou demaundest why the ryuer runneth so swift a man wil aunswere thee that his ende is to the sea from whence it came If thou demaundest why the trees budde in the spring time they will aunswere to the ende they may beare frute in haruest If we see a trauayler passe the mountaines in the snow the ryuers with perill the woodes in feare to walke in extreme heate in sommer to wander in the night time in the colde wynter if by chaunce a man doth aske one of them saiyng frend whether goest thou wherfore takest thou such paines and he aunswereth truly syr I know no more then you to what ende neither can I tell why I take so much paines I aske thee now what would a wyse man aunswere to
this innocent trauayler Truly hearing no more he would iudge him to be a foole for he is muche infortunate that for all his trauaile loketh for no rewarde Therfore to our matter a prince which is begotteÌ„ as an other man borne as an other man lyueth as an other man dieth as an other man and besides al this commaundeth all men if of suche one we should demaunde why god gaue him signory and that he should answere he knoweth not but that he was borne vnto it in such case let euery man iudge how vnworthy suche a kyng is to haue such authorie For it is vnpossible for a man to minister iustice vnlesse he knowe before what iustice meaneth Let princes and noble men heare this worde and let them imprinte it in their memory whiche is that when the liuing god determined to make kinges and lordes in this worlde he did not ordeyne theym to eate more then others to drynke more then others to sleape more then others to speake more then others nor to reioyce more then others but he created them vpon condition that sithe he had made them to commaunde more then others they shoulde be more iuste in their lyues then others It is a thinge moste vniuste and in the common wealth very sclaunderous to see with what authoritie a puissaunt man coÌ„maundeth those that be vertuous and with how much shame himselfe is bounde to all vices I knowe not what lorde he is that dare punishe his subiecte for one onely offence committed seing him selfe to deserue for euery deede to be chastised For it is a monsterous thing that a blynd man should take vppon him to leade him that seeth They demaunded great Cato the Censor what a king ought to do that he should be beloued feared and not despysed he answered The good prince should be compared to hym that selleth tryacle who if the poyson hurte hym not he selleth his triacle well I meane thereby that the punyshement is taken in good parte of the people which is not ministred by the vicious man For he that maketh the triacle shall neuer be credited vnlesse the profe of his triacle be openly knowen and tried I meane that the good lyfe is none other then a fine triacle to cure the coÌ„mon wealth And to whome is he more lyke whiche with his tongue blaseth vertues and imployeth his deades to all vyces then vnto the man who in the one hand holdeth poyson to take away lyfe and in the other tryacle to resiste deathe To the ende that a lorde be wholy obeyed it is necessary that all that he coÌ„maundeth be obserued firste in his owne persone for no lorde can nor may withdrawe him selfe from vertuous workes This was the aunswere that Cato the Censor gaue whiche in mine opinion was spoken more like a Christian then any Romaine When the true god came into the worlde he imployed thirtie yeares onely in workes and spente but two yeres and a halfe in teaching For mans harte is perswaded more with the worke he seeketh then with the worde whiche he heaâ—eth Those therefore whiche are lordes let them learne and knowe of him which is the true lorde and also let princes learne why they are princes for he is not a Pylot which neuer sayled on the seas In mine opinion if a prince will know why he is a prince I would saye to gouerne well his people to commaunde well and to mainteyne all in Iustice and this should not be with wordes to make them afrayde neyther by workes whiche should offende them but by swete wordes whiche should encourage them and by the good workes that shoulde edifie them For the noble and gentle harte can not resiste hym that with a louynge countenaunce commaundeth Those whiche wyll rule and make tame fierce and wylde beastes doe threaten and rebuke them a hundred tymes before they beate them once and if they keape them tied they shewe them sondrie pleasures So that the wyldenes of the beaste is taken away onely by the gentyll and pleasaunt vsage of the man Therefore sithe we haue this experience of brute and sauage beastes that is to wete that by their wel doing and by the gentle handling of them they voluntarely suffer them selues to be gouerned muche more experience we reasonable men ought to haue that is to knowe that being right and well gouerned we shoulde huÌ„blye and willingly obey our soueraigne lordes For there is no man so harde harted but by gentyll vsage will humble him selfe O princes and noble men I will tell you in one worde what the lorde oughte to doe in the gouernement of his commoÌ„ wealth Euery prince that hath his mouth full of troth his handes open to geue rewardes and his eares stopped to lyes and his hert open to mercy such a one is happy and the realme which hath him may wel be called prosperous and the people maye call them selues fortunate For where as truth liberalitie and clemency ruleth in the harte of a prince there wronges iniuries and oppressions doe not reigne And contrariwyse where the prince hath his harte flesshed in crueltie his mouthe full of tyrannies his handes defyled with bloude and enclineth his eares to heare lyes suche a prince is vnhappy and muche more the people the whiche by suche one is gouerned For it is vnpossible that there is peace and iustice in the common wealthe if he whiche gouerneth it be a louer of lyes and flatterers In the yere foure hundreth and fourty before the incarnatioÌ„ of Christ whiche was in the yere .244 of the foundation of Rome Darius the fourthe being kyng of Persia and Brutus and Lucius at Rome Counsulles Thales the great Phylosopher floryshed in Greece who was prince of the seuen renowmed sages by the whiche occasion all the realme of Greece had and recouered renowme For Greece boasted more of the seuen sages whiche they had then Rome did of all the valiaunt captaines whiche she nouryshed There was at that tyme muche contention betwene the Romaynes and the Greekes for so muche as the Greekes sayde they were better because they had mo sages and the Romaines sayde the contrary that they were better because they had alwayes mo armies The Greekes replied againe that there were no lawes made but in Grece And the Romaines to this answered that though they were made in Greece yet they were obserued at Rome The Greekes sayde that they had great vniuersities to make wyse men in And the Romaines sayde they had many great temples to worship their Gods in for that in the ende they oughte to esteme more one seruice done to the immortall goddes then all the other commodities that myghte come vnto men A Thebane knight was demaunded what he thoughte of Rome and Greece and he aunswered me thynkes the Romaines are no better then the Greekes nor the Greekes than the Romaines For the Greekes glorie in their tongues and the Romaines in their lances But we referre it to vertuous workes For one good worke
Carthage had as great priuileges as now our sanctuaries haue for the safegard of misdoers for in times past al such offēdours as could enter into the house wher a woman lay in child bed should haue ben free frō correction of iustice As Fronto saith in his booke of the veneration of the gods the Galloys Transalpins did not only honour reuerence the womē with child but also with much care diligence watched her deliuery for it litle auaileth the shippe to haue passed safe the daungerous seas if at the shore she be cast away The case was in this sort that al the auncient gentils honoured some gods in their temples kept other in their houses the which were called Lares Penates when any woman began to labour eche neighbour brought his familiar god vnto her to present her with all because they thought that the more gods there were of so much more power they were to kepe her frō perils Speaking like a christian truly those gods were of small value since they could not helpe the woman safely to be deliuered that was in trauaile ¶ What the Philosopher Pisto was and of the rules he gaue concerning women with childe Cap. xii IN the tyme of Octauian the Emperour was a phylosopher called Pisto whiche was of the secte of Pithagoras and when Rome florished he was very familiar with the Emperour Octauian and welbeloued of all the people whiche ought not to be a litle estemed for he which of the prince is most fauoured commonly of the people is moste hated This Emperour Octauian was a prince very desirous of all vertuous thinges so that when he dyned with his captaines he spake of warre when he supped with the sages he reasoned of sciences and he that vttered any dishonest or idle worde in his presence he alwayes afterward toke him as his enemy This Pisto was very graue in weightie affaires very pleasaunt in slentes and iestes ofte times he was demaunded many questiōs of the Emperour whereof the answers of some according to the demaundes and questions here foloweth The Emperour said to Pisto of all these that liueth whom takest thou to be moste foole to whom the Philosopher aunswered In my opinion I take him to be moste foole of whose worde there commeth no profite for truly he is not so very a foole that slingeth stones into the winde as he that vttereth vayne wordes Tell me Pisto whom ought we of right to desire to speake and whom of right to commaunde to be silent he aunswered It is good when speache doth profite and good to kepe silence when speache is hurtfull for the one desiring to mainteine the good and the other to defende the euil warres beginne throughout all the worlde Tell me Pisto from what thing ought the fathers moste to kepe their children he sayd In my opiniō parentes ought in nothing to watche so much as to kepe them from being vicious for the father ought rather to haue his sonne die well then to liue euill Tell me Pisto what shall man do if he be brought to this extremitie that if he speake truthe he condempneth him selfe and if he make a lie he saueth him selfe The vertuous man saide he ought rather to chose to be ouercome by truthe then to ouercome by lies for it is vnpossible that a man which is a lier should continue long in prosperitie Tell me Pisto what shall man doe to obtaine reste he aunswered As I thinke the man can not haue reste vnlesse he forsake worldly affaires for the menne that are occupied with weightie affaires can not be without great cares are alwayes accompanied of great troubles Tell me Pisto wherein a man sheweth him selfe to be most wyse he aunswered There is no greater profe to knowe a wyse man then if he be paciēt to suffer the ignoraunt for in suffering an iniury the harte is more holpen by wysedome then by knowledge Tell me Pisto what is that thing that the vertuous man may lawfullye desire he aunswered All that that is good so that it be not to the preiudice of any other may honestly be desired but in my opinion that onely ought to be desired whiche openly without shame may be demaunded Tell me Pisto what shal men doe with their wiues when they are great with child to cause that the child in safetie may be deliuered he aunswered In the world there is nothyng more perylous then to haue the charge of a woman with child For if the husbande serue her he hath payne trauaile and if perchaunce he doe not contente her she is in daunger In this case the wiues of Rome and their husbandes also oughte to be very diligent and to the thinges folowyng more careful the which I shew them more for counsell then for commaundement For good coūsell ought to haue as much auctoritie in the vertuous as the commaundement hath in the vitious Thou Octauian as thou arte a mercifull and a pitieful Emperour and that kepest thy Nece Cossucia great with childe I know thou desirest that she had presentely good and luckye deliuery and that she were deliuered of her paine all the whyche thou shalte see if thou doest marke these thynges that I will shew the here folowynge First the woman oughte to beware of dauncing leapinge and running for leaping oftentimes maketh man to loose his speache and women with childe to loose their life wherfore it is not reason that the folly of the mother should be permitted to put in hazarde the lyfe of the childe The secound the woman beyng with child ought to beware that she be not so hardye to enter into gardeyns wher there is much frute and that for eating to many she be not yll deliuered for it is no reason that the likerousnes of the mother be punished with the death of the childe The third the woman with child ought to beware of ouer harde lacing herselfe about the midle for many Roman Dames for to seme propre doe weare their gownes so streighte that it is an occasion to kyll their creatures which is a heynous mater that the yonge babe should loose hys lyfe bycause his mother shoulde seme pretye The fourth the women with child ought to beware of eating in a great banket for oftetimes there commeth a sodayne deliueraunce only through eating without measure and it is not mete that for tastinge a thyng of litell value the mother and the child should both loose their liues The fifte the woman beyng with child ought to beware that she giueth no eare to any sodayne newes For she is in more daunger for hearynge a thing that greueth her then for suffering long sicknes that paineth her and it were vniust that for knowing of a trifeling matter the mother that is to be deliuered the child that is to be borne should both in one momēt perish The sixte the woman with child ought to beware that she go not by any meanes to any feastes wher ther
purenes of conscience but also in the outward apparance and cleanes of lyfe For it is vnpossible that the child be honest if the mayster be dissolute The 3. it is necessary that tutors and gouernours of princes and great lordes be true men not only in their words but also in their couenauntes For to say the truth that mouth which is alwaies ful of lyes ought not by reason to be a teacher of the truth The 4. condicion it is necessary that the gouernours of princes great lordes of their owne nature be liberall for oft tymes the greate couetousnes of maisters maketh the harts of princes to be gredy and couetous The 5. it is necessary that the maisters and gouernours of princes great lords be moderate in wordes very resolute in sentences so that they ought to teach the children to speake litle to harken much For it is the chefest vertue in a prince to heare with pacience and to speake wyth wisedome The 6. condicion is it is necessary that the maysters and gouernours of princes and great lords be wise men and temperate so that the grauitye of the mayster maye restrayne the lyghtnes of the Schollers for there is no greater plagues in Realmes then for princes to be yong and their maisters to be lyght The 7. it is necessarye that the maisters and tutors of princes and greate lords be wel learned in diuinity and humanitie in such sort that that which they teach the princes by word they may shew it by writing to the end that other princes may execute and put the same in vre for mens harts are soner moued by the examples of those which are past then by the words of them that are present The 8. condicion it is necessarie that the maisters and tutors of princes be not giuen to the vice of the flesh for as they are yong and naturallye giuen to the flesh so they haue no strength to abide chast neyther wisedome to be ware of the snares Therefore it is necessarye that theyr maisters be pure and honeste for the Dyscyples shall neuer bee chaste if the mayster bee vicyous The 9. it is necessary that the masters and tutors of Princes and greate lords haue good condicions bycause the children of noble men being daintely brought vp alwayes learne euill condicions the which their maisters ought to reforme more by good conuersacion then by sharpe correction For oftentimes it chaunceth that whereas the maister is cruel the scholer is not merciful The .10 it is necessary that the maisters and tutors of prynces and great lordes haue not only sene and red many things but also that they haue proued chaungeable fortune For since noble mens sonnes by the gift of god haue great estates they ought therefore to prouide to speake to many to aunswere to many and to entreat with many and it is very profitable for them to be conuersaunt with expert men for in the end the approued mā in councel hath preheminence I was willyng to bringe in these rules in my writing to the end that fathers may kepe them in their memory when they do seke maysters to teach their children for in my opinyon the father is more in fault to seke an euil maister then the maister is to make an euyl scholer For if I choose euyl taylers to cut my gowne it is my faulte that the cloth is lost and my gowne marred Albeit the Romaines were in al their doings circumspect yet for this one thinge I must enuy the good doctrine which they gaue to noble mens children For wythout doubt it is vnpossible that in any city there by a good common wealth vnlesse they are very circumspect to bring vp yong children Sabellicus in his rapsodies sayth that in the 415 yeres of the foundacion of Rome Qintus Seruilius and Lucius Geminus then consulles being in the warre against the Volces the stout aduenturous captaine Camillus there rose a great strife and contencion in Rome amongest the people and the knights and that contencion was vpon the prouision of offyces For in great common wealthes it hath bene an aunciente quarell that in knights and gentlemen there surmounteth pride in commaundyng and amonge the people ther wanteth pacience in obeyinge The knightes and gentlemen would they should chose a Tribune Millitare in the senate to speake in the name of al the knyghtes that were absent and present for they sayd that sence they were alwayes at the warre the whole common wealth remained in the power of the people The commons on the other part importuned and desired that a new officer should be created the whych should haue the charge to examine and take accompt how the youth of Rome were brought vp bycause the comon people did accuse the knights gentlemen that the longer they remained in the warres the more sensuallye their chyldren lyued in Rome It was decreed then that a Tribune Millitare should be erected the which in aucthority and dignytie should be equal with the senatours that he should represente the state of warlike knights but that office continued no longer then foure yeres in Rome that is to wete til the time that Camillus retourned from the warres For thinges that are grounded of no reason of them selues they come to nought Al the knights gentlemen sought to the vttermost of their power to maintaine their preheminēce on the other side al the cominalty of Rome was against it In the end the good captaine Camillus called al the knights gentlemen to gethers and sayd vnto them these words I am greatly ashamed to se that the stoutnes should be so lytle of the Romaine knights that they should cōdiscend to the wil of the Plebians for in dede the myghty do not get so much honour to ouercome the lytle as the litle do to striue with the great I say that the strife debate amongest you in Rome doth displease me muche therfore you knights if you wil not lose your honours you must eyther kil them or ouercome them You cannot ouercome them bycause they are many kyll them you ought not for in the end they are youres therfore ther is no better remedy then to dissemble with theym For things which suffer no force nor obserue not iustyce ought alwayes vntil conuenient time to be dissembled The immortal gods did not create Romaine knights to gouerne people but to conquere Realmes And I say further that they dyd not create vs to teach lawes to oures but to giue lawes to straungers And if we be the children of our fathers immitators of the auncient Romanes we wil not content our selues to commaund in Rome but to commaund those which do commaund in Rome For the hart of a true Romaine doth lytle esteame to se himselfe lord of this world if he know that ther is another to conquere You others did creat this Tribune Millitare we being in the warre whereof now theris no necessitye since we are in peace
I saye that the tutors and masters of princes and great Lordes ought not to be contented onely to know what science what doctrine and what vertue they oughte to shewe and teache their scollers but also with greater care and diligence the yought to know from what euils or wicked customes they ought to withdraw thē For when the trees are tender and yong it is more necessary to bowe them and cut of the superfluous braunches with knyues then to gather their furtes with Baskettes Those which take vpon them to gouerne Moyles of great pryse value and those that tame and breake horses of a good race take great paines that such beastes be light that they leape wel and be well made to the sporre and bridel but they take much more paines that they be gentill familiar faithfull and aboue all that they haue no euill qualities Then sith it is so masters ought diligently to watche if they be good that in yong Princes there be no apparaunce of any notable vices For al the vertues which the yong do learne doth not them so much profit as one onely vice doth them hurte if they doe therunto consent knowyng that therby they may be herafter blamed or despised For if any man knew a beast that is wyld and stoburne and not gentill and will bye him at greate pryce suche a one hath his head more full of follyes then of wysedome Albeit that maisters ought to withdraw their scollers from many euil customes amōgest all there ar foure principall in any of the which if the prince be defamed the maister which hath taught him should deserue great punishment For according to the humaine lawes and customes al the domage and harme that the beastes do the vineyarde the keper that hath charge therof shall as he is bound recompence First the maisters ought to refraine in suche sort the tonges of their scollers that neyther in sport nor in earnest they permit thē to tell lyes For the greatest faulte that is in a good and vertuous man is to be briefe in the truth and the greatest villanye that is in a vicious man is to be long in lyes Merula in that .v. booke of Cesars saith that the firste war that Vlpius Traianus made was against Cebalus king of Daces who rebelled against the Romaines and with no smal victorie ouercame the Emperour Domitian in a battaile which they fought togethers For as Nasica sayd the pleasures that Rome had to see many victories were not so greate as the displeasure was whyche she toke to see her selfe once ouercome The good Vlpius Traianus gaue battaile to kyng Cebalus wherin Cebalus was not onely ouercome but also taken and afterwardes broughte before the emperour Traianus whyche sayde vnto him these wordes Speake Cebalus why didest thou rebell agaynst the Romaynes since thou knowest that the Romaynes are vnuincible The kyng Cebalus aunswered him If the Romaines could not be ouercom how did I then ouercome the Emperour Domitian Traian the Emperour sayde vnto hym againe Thou art greatly deceyued kynge Cebalus to thinke that when thou ouercamest the Emperour thou haddest ouercome the Romaines For when that Romulus founded Rome the Gods ordeyned that though their emperour dyed in anye battaile yet not withstandyng it is not to be thought that the empyre is ouercome The Hystoriographers made a great matter of the wordes that this Vlpius Traianus spake For therin he shewed that the Romaine empire was vnuincible After that this kyng Cebalus was dead and that for his desertes he was depriued as the Emperour Traian was a mercifull prince so he prouided that a litel child that Cebalus hadde shoulde be brought vp in his pallace with intention that if the childe became good they woulde geue hym the Realme whiche his father thorough Treason hadde loste For in Rome there was an auncient lawe that all that whiche the father lost by treason the sonne should recouer by hys faithfull actes It chaunced that the good Traian takyng his pleasure in the gardins of Vulcan sawe the sonne of kyng Cebalus and many other yong children of Rome stealynge fruite forth of an orchard and it is no wonder for the Locustes did not so much harme to the Corne as the children do to the fruites when they entre into the orchardes When the emperour afterwardes demaunded him frō whence he came he aunswered from his studye hearyng Rethoricke but in dede he came from stealing of fruite The emperour Traian was so angrie displeased that the child was a lyer that he commaunded he should vtterly be depriued and made voyde of al hope to recouer the realme of his father The Emperour Traian was greatly importuned as well of straung Imbassatours as of hys owne Countrey men that he would chaung that cruel sentence For prynces in a furie do commaund that which when they are pacient they doe vndo The emperour Traian aunswered them if the father of this child which was kyng Cebalus had bene a true prince he had not loste hys lyfe neyther hys Realme nor had not put me th empyre so many times in daunger but since the father was a lyer and the sonne is not true it were to vniust a thynge to render him the Realme For to me it should be great reproche and to our mother Rome as much dishonour that she beyng the mother of truthe shoulde geue realmes to children beyng lyers This was it that Vlpius Traian spake vnto the sonne of kyng Cebalus Marcus Aurelius the .xvii. Emperour of Rome had .ii. sonnes as before we haue rehersed the eldest of the whiche was called Comodus and his father procured greatly to disinherit him of the empire For he would that the second son named Verissimus should haue inherited it and he did not onely determine it but also spake it oft times openly For that thing is with great difficulty dissembled that excessiuely is beloued By chaunce an olde Senator and frend of Marcus the emperour one daye both goyng out of the Senate house sayd vnto him I meruaile at the much most excellent prince why thou doest disherite thy sonne which is eldest to make thine heyre the yongest knowynge that they are both thy sonnes and that the gods haue geuen the no others but them For the good fathers are bound to chasten their children but they haue not licence to disherit them The emperour Marcus Aurelius aunswered him If thou were a greke philosopher as thou art a Romain citizen and if thou knewest the fathers loue towardes hys childe thou wouldest not take pitie one my sonne whiche vndoeth the Empire but thou shouldest haue compassion on me his father which doth disherit him For the chyld scarcely knoweth what he loseth but I that am hys father doe bewayle the domage whyche I doo vnto hym For in the ende there is not in the world so cruel a father but if his sonne should be hurt with the pomell of the swerde in the hande the father would fele incontinentlye the
they winne it and as I think the reason hereof is for the dissembling with them by lytle and little they gather together dyuers thinges and afterwardes whē they thinke least thereon it is taken from them all at once For the iust iudgement of the gods is that since without reason they haue done euyll to others others by reason should come in lyke maner which doe euyll vnto them It is vnpossible that the valyant and sage man who in his deedes presumeth to be wise should take any taste in an other mans good for if he dyd he woulde neuer content him selfe with anye thinge sith he hath not a conscience in that which is euil gotten I know not Romaines whether you vnderstande mee but because you shall vnderstād me better I say that I maruaile I should rather wonder how the man keping another mans goods can sleepe or rest one hour sith he knoweth he hath done iniury to the gods slaūdered his neighbours pleased his enemies lost his frendes endomaged those that he robbed woorst of all that he hath put his personne in perill And I saye that he hath put his person in peryl for the day that any man determineth to take my goods he wyl also the same day if he can take my lyfe It is an odyous thing to the gods and very slaunderous amōg men that men should haue so much thorough theire fleshly desyres vertue bounde and the raine of theire euill workes so much at lybertie that another mans misery seemeth to him riches and that his owne riches semeth to hym selfe pouertie I care not whether he be Greke barbarous Romaine present or absent I say and affirme that he is and shal be cursed of gods and hated of men whiche without consideracion wil change his good fame into shame iustice into wronge right into tiranny trouthe into lyes the certaine for the doubtful hatyng hys owne proper and syghing for that of other mennes He that hath his chiefe intencion to gather goods for his children and seketh not a good name among the renowmed it is iust that such one doe not onely lose the goods whych he hath gathered but also that wythout good name he remaine shameful among the wicked Since you other Romaines naturally are proud pryde doth blynd you you thinke your selues happy that for hauing so much as ye haue more then others that therfore you should be more honored then al the which truely is not so For if presently you wyl not open your eies cōfesse your own errors you shal se that wheras you auaunt your selues to be lords of strāge prouinces you shal fynd yourselues made slaues with your own proper goods Gather asmuch as you wyl let them doe all you do commaund them yet as I thynk it lytle auaileth to haue Plebeians houses wyth goodes and contrarywyse the hartes to bee possessed wyth couetousnes For the ryches which are gotten with couetousnes and are kept wyth auarice doe take away the good name from the possessour and do nothyng auaile to maintein his lyfe It cannot be suffered many dayes and much lesse hidde many yeares that one man should be coūted bothe for riche among the ryche and for honoured among the honorable for it is vnpossible that he whych is a great louer of temporall goods should be a frynde of hys good name O if the couetous men were of theire own honor as gredy as they are of the goods of an other desyrous I swere vnto you by the immortall gods that the lytle woorme or moth of couetousnes would not gnawe the rest of theyr lyfe nor the canker of infamy shoulde destroy they re good name after theire death Herken you Romaynes herken what I wyll saye and I beseche the gods that you may vnderstande it For otherwise I should lose my labour and ye others should take no fruite of my wordes I se that all the worlde hateth pryde yet there is none that will folow humanitie Euery man condemneth adultery and yet I se no man that liueth chaste Euery man curseth excesse and I se no man lyue temperatly Euery man praiseth pacience and I se no man that wyll suffer Euerye manne blameth slouth and I se no man but those that are ydel Euery one blameth auaryce and yet euery man robbeth One thyng I saye not wythout teares in thys senate openly I doe declare it whych is that wyth the tonge euery man prayseth vertue and yet they them selues with all their lymmes are seruants vnto vyces Do not thynke that I saye thys onely for the Romaynes whych be in Illiria but for the Senatours whych I se here in the Senate Al you Romaynes in your deuyses about your armes haue this for your word Romanorum est debellare superbos parcere subiectis Truelye you shoulde better haue saide Romanorum est spoliare innocentes reddere subiectos For you Romayns are but destroyers of the people that be peaceable and robbers of the swette laboures of strangers ¶ The vyllayne argueth againste the Romaynes which without cause or reason conquered theire countreye and proued manifestlye that theye thoroughe offending of their goddes were vanquished of the Romaynes Cap. iiii I Aske ye Romaines what occasion ye haue that are brought vp nigh to the ryuer of Tyber against vs that liue in peace nigh to the riuer of Danuby Peraduenture ye haue seene vs frendes to youre foes or els we haue shewed our selues your enemies peraduenture you haue hard say that forsaking our owne land we should go conquere forein realmes peraduenture ye haue bene aduertised that we rebelling against our owne lordes should become obedient to the crewell barbarous peraduenture ye haue sent vs some imbassadour to desire vs to be your frendes or els there came some from vs to rome to defye ye as our enemies peraduenture some king died in our realme whiche by his testament made ye heirs to our realme wherby you claime your title and seke to make vs your subiectes peraduenture by some auncient lawe or custome ye haue founde that the noble and worthy Germany of necessitye is subiecte to the proude people of Rome peraduenture we haue destroied your armies we haue wasted your fieldes sacked your cities spoiled your subiectes or fauored your enemies so that to reuenge these iniuries ye should destroy oure lād if we had ben your neighbours or you ours it had ben no maruel though one should haue destroied the other For it chaūseth oftentimes that through controuersy of a litle pece of ground tedious warres betwene people arise Of a trouth none of all these things which I haue named hath chaunsed betwene ye Romaines and vs Germaines For in Germany we felte youre tyrannie so sone as we hard of your renowne If ye be greeued with that I haue saide I pray you be not offended withe that I wil say whiche is that the name of Romaines the crueltie of tyrants arriued together in one day vpon our people
talke three houres If with such efficacie wee perswade olde men that they be honest in theire apparaile for a truthe we will not geue them licence to be dissolute in their wordes sins there is a great difference to note some man in his apparaile or to accuse him to bee malicious or a bablet For to weare riche apparayle iniuryeth fewe but iniurious wordes hurte manye Macrobius in the firste booke of the dreames of Scipio declareth of a philosopher named Crito who liued a hundreth and fiue yeares and till fyltye yeares he was farre oute of course Butte after he came to bee aged he was so well measured in his eatynge drinking and so ware in his speache that they neuer sawe him doe any thinge worthye reprehension nor heard him speake worde but was worthy of notynge On this coÌ„dicioÌ„ we would geue liceÌ„ce to many the till fifty yeres they should be yoÌ„g so that from thence forth they would be clothed as olde men speake as old meÌ„ they should esteme them selues to be olde But I am sorye that al the spring time dothe passe in flower and afterwardes they fall into the graue as rotten before they finde any time to pull them out The olde doe complain that the yong doe not take theire aduise and theire excuse herein is that in theire wordes theye are to longe For if a manne doe demaunde an olde man his opynion in a case immediatelye hee will beginne to saye that in the life of suche and suche kynges and lordes of good memorye this was done and this was prouyded So that when a yonge man aske them counsaile howe he shall behaue hym selfe with the lyuinge the olde man beginneth to declare vnto him the life of those whiche bee dead The reason whye the olde men desire to speake so longe is that since for theire age they can not see nor goe nor eate nor slepe they woulde that al that tyme theire members weare occupyed to doe their duties al that time theire tonge shoulde be occupied to declare of theire times past All this being spoken what more is to say I knowe not but that we should contente oure selues that the olde men shoulde haue theire fleshe as muche punished as they haue their toÌ„gue with talke martired Though it be very vile for a yong man to speak slander to a yonge manne not to saye the truthe yet this vice is muche more to be abhorred in old princes other noble worshipful meÌ„ which ought not only to thynke it theire dutie to speake truthe but also to punishe the enemies therof For otherwise the noble and valyaunt knyghtes shoulde not lose a lytle of theire aucthoritie if a manne sawe on theire heades but white heares and in theire mouthes founde nothing but lyes ¶ Of a letter of the Emperour Marcus Aurelius to Claudius and Claudinê° reprouinge them beinge olde men for that they lyued youthefullye Cap. xix MArke Emperoure borne in mounte Celio desyreth to yowe my neyghboures Claude and Claudine healthe of youre persones and amendement of youre liues I beeinge as I am at the conquest of Asia and yow remaynynge alwaies in the pleasures of Rome we vnderstande youre newes very late and I thinke oure letters arriue there as late NotwithstaÌ„dynge to all those whiche goe thither I geeue aunsweres for you others and of al those which come hither I demaunde of your healthe And doe not demaunde of others howe well and howe muche I loue you but of your own proper hartes and if your harte saye that I am a feyned friende then I take my selfe condempned If perchaunce youre hartes dothe tell you that I loue you beinge true in dede that I hate you or if I tell you that I hate you beeinge true that I loue you of truthe I woulde plucke suche a harte oute of my body and giue it to be eaten of the beastes For there is noe greater dysceyte then that whiche the man doth to him selfe If a straunger begile me I ought to dissemble it if an enemie deceiue mee I ought to reuenge it if mye fryend misuse me I oughte to complayne of hym but if I doe deceiue my selfe wyth whom shall I comforte my selfe For there is no pacience that can suffer the hart to deceyue him selfe in anye thinge whiche he hathe not deepely considered Peraduenture ye will saye that I doe not esteame you and that I haue not written any letter vnto you of long time To this I aunswere That you doe not attrybute the faulte to mye neglygence but to the greate distaunce of Countreis that there is from hence to Rome also to the greate affayres of Asia For amongest other discommodities the warre hath this also that it depriueth vs of the sweete conuersacion of our countrey I haue alwaies presumed to be youres and at this present am at no mannes pleasure more then at yours And sins you haue alwaies knowen of me what you desired to know I haue espied in you others that whiche of force I must speake For in the end I haue not sene any possesse so much to be worthe so much to know so much nor in all things to be so mighty but that one day he shoulde neede his poore friende The diuine Plato sayde and allso well that the manne whyche louethe with his hart neyther in absence forgetteth neyther in presence becommeth negligent neither in prosperitie he is proude nor yet in aduersitie abiect neyther he serueth for profite nor yet he loueth for gayne and fynallye he defendethe the case of his friende as his owne Diuers haue beene the opinions whiche the auncients helde to affirme for what ende friendes were taken and in the ende they were fully resolued that for .4 causes we ought to chose frindes The first we ought to haue friendes to treate and be conuersant with all for according to the troubles of this life there is no time so pleasauntlye consumed as in the conuersacion of an assured friende The seconde is we ought to haue friendes to whom we may disclose the secretes of our hartes for it ys muche comforte to the wofull harte to declare to his fryende his doubtes if he perceiue that he doth fele them in deede The thirde we oughte to searche and chose friendes to th end they helpe vs in oure aduersities For litle profytethe it my harte that with teares the friendes doe heare all that I bewaile onlesse afterwardes in dede he will take paines to refourme the same The fourth we ought to seke and preserue frindes to th end they be protectors of our goodes and likewise iudges of our euilles for the good frinde is no lesse bound to withdrawe vs from the vices whereby we are sclaundered then to deliuer vs from our enemies by whom we may be slayne The ende whye I tolde you all thys was if that in this letter you chaunce to lyghte of any sharpe worde that you take it pacientlye considerynge that the loue whych I beare yowe dothe
then that of thy merits Thou hast taken on thee an office wherwith that which thy cōpaignions in many days haue robbed thou in one hour by disceit doost get afterwards the time shal come when all the goods which thou hast gotten both by trueth falshod shal be lost not only in an hour which is long but in a momēt which is but short Whether wee geeue much wee haue much wee may doo much or wee liue much yet in the end the gods are so iust that all the euill wee doo cōmit shal bee punished for all the good wee woork wee shal bee rewarded so that the gods oftentimes permit that one alone shall scourge many and afterward the long time punisheth all ¶ The Emperor concludeth his letter and perswadeth his frend Cincinnatus to despise the vanities of the world and sheweth though a man bee neuer so wyse yet hee shall haue need of an other mans counsell Cap. xxvii IF I knew thy wisdom esteemed the world vanities therof so much as the world doth possesse thee and thy days as by thy white hears most manyfestly doth appeere I neede not take the payns to perswade thee nor thou shooldst bee annoied in hearing mee Notwithstanding thou beeing at the gate of great care reason woold that some shoold take the clapper to knock therat with some good counsell for though the raser bee sharp it needeth sometimes to bee whet I mean though mans vnderstanding bee neuer so cleere yet from time to time it needeth counsel Vertuous men oft times do erre not because they woold fail but for that the thīgs are so euil of digestiō that the vertu they haue suffiseth not to tell them what thing is necessary for their profit For the which cause it is necessary that his will bee brydled his wit fyned his oppinion changed his memory sharpned aboue all now and then that hee forsake his own aduise and cleaue vnto the counsell of an other Men which couet to make high sumptuous fair and large buildings haue grete care that the foundacion therof be surely layd for where the foundacions are not sure there the whole buyldings are in great daunger The maners and conditions of this world that is to weete the prosperous estates whervpon the children of vanity are set are founded of quick sand in that sort that bee they neuer so valyaunt prosperous and mighty a litle blast of wynd dooth stirre them a little heat of prosperity doth open them a showre of aduersity doth wet them and vnwares death striketh them all flatt to the ground Men seeing they cannot bee perpetuall doo procure to continue thē selues in raising vp proud buyldings and leauing to their children great estates wherin I count them fooles no lesse then in things superfluous For admit the pillers bee of gold the beams of siluer and that those which ioyn them bee kings and those which buyld them are noble and in that mining they consume a thousand yeres beefore they can haue it out of the ground or that they can come to the bottoms I swere vnto them that they shall fynd no stedy rock nor lyuely mountain wher they may buyld their house sure nor to cause their memory to bee perpetuall The immortall gods haue participated all things to the mortall men immortality only reserued and therfore they are called immortall for so much as they neuer dye and wee others are called mortall bycause dayly wee vanish away O my frend Cincinnatus men haue an end and thou thinkest that gods neuer ought to end Now greene now rype now rotten fruit is seuered from this lyfe from the tree of the miserable flesh esteem this as nothing forsomuch as death is naturall But oft times in the leaf or flower of youth the frost of some disease or the peril of some mishap dooth take vs away so that whē wee think to bee aliue in the morning wee are dead in the night It is a tedious long woork to weue a cloth yet when in many days it is wouen in one moment it is cut I mean that it is much folly to see a man with what toil hee enricheth him self into what perill hee putteth him self to win a state of honor afterwards whē wee think litle wee see him perish in his estate leauing of him no memory O my frend Cincinnatus for the loue that is between vs I desire thee by the immortal gods I coniure thee that thou geeue no credit to the world which hath this condiciō to hide much copper vnder little gold vnder the colour of one truth hee telleth vs a thousand lyes with one short pleasure hee mingleth ten thousand displesures Hee beegyleth those to whom hee pretendeth most loue and procureth great domages to them to whom hee geeueth most goods hee recompenseth them greatly which serue him in iest and to those which truely loue him hee geeueth mocks for goods Finally I say that when wee sleepe most sure hee waketh vs with greatest perill Eyther thou knowst the world with his deceyt or not if thou knowest him not why doost thou serue him if thou doost know him why doost thou follow him Tell mee I pray thee wooldst not the take that theef for a foole which woold buy the rope wherwith hee shoold bee hanged the murtherer that woold make the swoord wherwith hee shoold bee beheaded the robber by the high way that woold shew the well wherin hee shoold bee cast the traitor that shoold offer him self in place for to bee quartered the rebel that shoold disclose him self to bee stoned Then I swere vnto thee that thou art much more a foole which knowest the world will folow it serue it One thing I wil tel thee which is such that thou oughtest neuer to forget it that is to weete that wee haue greater need of faith not to beliue the vanities which wee see then to beeleue the great malices which with our ears wee here I retorn to aduise thee to read cōsider this woord which I haue spoken for it is a sentence of profound mistery Doost thou think Cincinnatus that rych men haue litle care to get great riches I let thee weet that the goods of thys world are of such condicion that beefore the poore man dooth lock vp in hys chests a .100 crowns hee feeleth a thousād greefes cares in his heart Our predecessors haue seen it wee see it presently our successors shal see it that the money which wee haue gotten is in a certein nomber but the cares trauails which it bringeth are infinit Wee haue few paynted houses few noble estats in Rome the wtin a litle time haue not great cares ī their harts cruel enmities with their neighbors much euil wil of their heirs disordinat importunities of their frends perilous malices of their enemies aboue al in the Senate they haue innumerable proces oft times to lock a litle good in their chests
pleasure of the shee geueth mee neither greefe of that shee taketh froÌ„ me nor I wyl haue respect when she telleth mee truth nor I doo not regard it though she tel mee a lye Finally I will not laugh for that shee asketh mee nor I wil weepe for that shee sendeth mee I wyll now tel thee my frend Domitiê° one thing and hartely I desire thee to keepe it in memory Oure lyfe is so doubtfull and fortune so sodaine that wheÌ„ shee thretneth she stryketh not always neyther doth shee threaten alwaies when shee stryketh The man which presumeth to bee sage and in all things well prouyded goeth not so fast that at euery steppe hee is in daunger of falling nor so softly that in long tyme hee cannot aryue at his iorneys end For the false fortune gauleth in steed of strikyng in steed of gauling striketh Therefore since in years I am older then thou and haue more experience of affairs if thou hast marked that I haue told thee thou wylt remember wel that which I will say vnto thee which is that that part of thy life is troublesome which vnto the seemeth to be most sure wylt thou that by example I tell thee al that which by woords I haue spoken Behold Hercules of Thebes who escaped so many daungers both by sea and by land and afterwardes came to dy in the armes of a harlotte Agamemnon the great Captaine of Greekes in the x. years which hee warred agaynst Troy neuer had any peryl and afterwards in the nyght they kylled hym entring into his own house The vnuincyble Alexander the great in al the conquests of Asia dyd not dye and afterwards with a lytle poyson ended hys life in Babilon Pompeius the great dyed not in the conquest of his enemys and afterwardes his frende Ptholomeus slew him The couragyus Iulius Cesar in .lii. battells could not be ouercom and afterwards in the Senate they slew him with xxiii wouÌ„ds Hannibal the terryble captaine of Carthage slew hym selfe in one moment which the Romaynes could not dooe in xvii years onelye bycause hee would not com into the hands of hys enemys Asclipius medius brother of great Pompeius in xx years that he was a rouer on the seas neuer was in any peryll afterwards drawyng water out of a well was drowned therin Tenne Captaynes whoÌ„ Scipio had chosen in the coÌ„quest of Affrike iestynge on a bridge fell into the water and ther were drowned The good Bibulê° going triuÌ„phing in his chariot at Rome a tile fel on his head so that his vayne glory was the end of his good lyfe What wylt thou more I saye vnto thee but that Lucia my sister hauynge a needel on her brest her childe betweene her armes the chyld layeng his hand vppon the needell and thrust it into her breast wherby the mother dyed Gneus Ruffirius Which was a very wyse man and also my kinseman one daye keamyng hys whyte heares strake a tooth of the comb in his head wherwith hee gaue him selfe a mortall wounde so that in short space after his lyfe had end but not his doctrine nor memory How thinkest thou Domitiê° by the immortal gods I swear vnto thee that as I haue declared to thee this small nomber so I coold recite thee other infinyte What mishap is this after so many fortunes what reproch after such glory What peril after such surety what euil luck after such good successe What dark night after so clere a day What so euil enterteinment after so great labour What sentence so cruel after so long proces O what inconuenience of death after so good beginnyng of lyfe Being in their steade I can not tel what I would but I had rather choose vnfortunat lyfe honorable death then an infamous death and honorable lyfe That man which wyll bee counted for a good man and not noted for a brute beast ought greatly to trauayle to lyue wel and much more to dye better For the euill death maketh men doubt that the lyfe hath not been good and the good death is the excuse of an euyl lyfe At the beeginnyng of my letter I wrate vnto thee how that the gowt troubleth mee euil in my hand I say it were to much to wryte any leÌ„ger though the letter bee not of myne owne hand these two days the loue that I bear thee and the grief that holdeth mee haue stryued together My wyll desireth to wryte and my fingers cannot hold the penne The remedy herof is that since I haue no power to doo what I would as thine thou oughtst to accept what I can as myne I say no more herein but as they tel mee thou buildest now a house in Rhodes wherfore I send thee a thousand sexterces to accomplysh the same My wife Faustine saluteth thee who for thy paine is sore dyseased They tell vs thou hast bene hurt wherfore shee sendeth thee a weight of the balme of Palestyne Heale thy face therwith to the end the scarres of that wound doo not appere If thou findest greene almonds and new nutts Faustine desyreth thee that thou wilt send her some By another man shee sendeth a gowne for thee and a kirtell for thy wyfe I conclude and doo beeseech thee immortall Gods to geeue thee all that I desire for thee and that they geeue mee all that thou wyshest mee Though by the hands of others I wryte vnto thee yet with my hart I loue thee ¶ That Princes and noble men ought to bee aduocates for widows fathers of orphanes and helpers of all those which are comfortles Cap. xxxv MAcrobius in the third book of the Saturnalles saieth that in the noble cyty af Athens there was a temple called Misericordia which the Athenians kept so well watched and locked that without leaue and lycence of the Senat no man might enter in There were the Images of pitifull princes onely and none entred in there to pray but pitefull men The Atheniens abhorred always seuere and cruel deeds beecause they would not bee noted cruell And therof cometh this maner of saying that the greatest iniury they could say vnto a man was that hee had neuer entred into the scoole of the philosophers to learne nor in to the temple of Misericordia to pray So that in the one they noted him for simple and in the other they accused him for cruell The historiographers say that the most noble linage that was at that time was of a king of Athens the which was exceeding rych and lyberall in geeuing and aboue all very pitifull in pardoning Of whom it is written that after the great treasours which hee had offered in the temples and the great riches hee had distributed to the poore hee tooke vppon him to bring vp all the orphans in Athens and to feede all the widows O how much more did that statut of the sayd pytyfull king shine in that temple who norished the orphanes then the ensignes which are set vp in the Temples of the captaines which
within a yere shee is met in euery place of Rome what auaileth it that for few days shee hydeth her self from her parents and frends and afterwards shee is found the first at the theaters what profiteth it that widows at the first doo morne and go euil attired and afterwards they dispute and coÌ„plain of the beauty of the romayn wiues what forceth it that widows for a certein tyme doo keepe their gates shutt and afterwards their housen are more frequented then others What skilleth it that a man see the widows weep much for their husbands and afterwards they see them laugh more for their pastymes Fynally I say that it lytle auaileth the woman to seeme to suffer much openly for the death of her husband if secretly shee hath an other husband all ready found For the vertuous and honest wydow immediatly as shee seeth an other man alyue shee renueth her sorow for her husband that is dead I will shew thee Lady Lauinia a thing that beefell in Rome to the end thou think not I talk at pleasure In the old time in Rome ther was a noble and woorthy Romayn Lady wife of the noble Marcus Marcellus whose name was Fuluia And it happened so that this woman seeing her husband buryed in the field of Mars for the great greef shee had shee scratched her face shee ruffled her hear shee tore her gown and fell down to the earth in a found by the reason wherof two Senators kept her in their arms to th end shee shoold torment her self no more To whom Gneus Flauius the Censour said Let Fuluia go out of your hands shee will this day doo all the penaunce of wydows Speaking the trueth I know not whether this Romain spake with the Oracle or that hee were a deuine but I am assured that al hee spake came to passe For that this Fuluia was the wyfe of so excellent a Romayn as the good Marcus Marcellus was I woold that so vnlucky a chaunce had not happened vnto her which was that whyles the bones of her husband were a burning shee agreed to bee maried to an other and which was more to one of the Senators that lyfted her vp by the armes shee gaue her hand as a Romayn to a Romayn in token of a faithfull mariage The case was so abhominable that of all men it was dispraised that were present and gaue occasion that they neuer credit wydows afterwards I doo not speak it Lady Lauinia for that I think thou wilt doo so For by the faith of a good man I swere vnto thee that my hart neyther suspecteth it nor yet the auctority of so graue a Romayn dooth demaund it for to thee onely the fault shoold remain and to mee the wonder Hartely I commend vnto thee thy honesty whych to thy self thou oughtest and the care whych beehoueth so woorthy and noble a wydow For if thou art tormented wyth the absence of the dead thou oughtst to comfort thee with the reputacion of the lyuing At this present I will say no more to thee but that thy renowm among the present bee such and that they speak of thee so in absence that to the euill thou geeue the brydell to bee silent and to the good spurres to come and serue thee For the widow of euill renowm ought to bee buried quick Other things to write to thee I haue none Secrete matters are daungerous to trust considering that thy hart is not presently disposed to here news It is reason thou know that I with thy parents and frends haue spoken to the Senat which haue geeuen the office that thy husband had in Constantinople to thy sonne And truely thou oughtst no lesse to reioyce of that whych they haue sayd of thee then for that they haue geeuen him For they say though thy husband had neuer been citizen of Rome yet they ought to haue geeuen more then thys onely for thy honest beehauiour My wyfe Faustine saluteth thee and I will say I neuer saw her weepe for any thing in the world so much as shee hath wept for thy mishap For shee felt thy losse which was very great and my sorow whych was not lytle I send thee .iiii. thousand sexterces in money supposing that thou hast wherewith to occupy them as well for thy necessaries as to discharge thy debts For the complaints demaunds and processes which they minister to the Romayn matrons are greater then are the goods that their husbands doo leue them The gods which haue geeuen rest to thy husband O Claudine geeue also comfort to thee his wyfe Lauinia Marcus of mount Celio wyth his own hand ¶ That Princes and noble men ought to despyse the world for that there is nothing in the world but playn disceit Cap. xxxix PLato Aristotle Pithagoras Empedocles Democrites Selcucus Epicurus Diogenes Thales Methrodorus had among them so great contention to describe the world his beginning and property that in maintaining euery one hys oppinion they made greater warres with their pennes then their enemies haue doon wyth their launces Pithagoras sayd that that which wee call the world is one thyng and that which wee call the vniuersall is an other The philosopher Thales sayd that there was no more but one world and to the contrary Methrodorus the astronomer affirmed there were infinit worlds Diogenes sayd that the world was euerlasting Seleucus sayd that it was not true but that it had an end Aristotle seemed to say that the world was eternall But Plato sayd cleerely that the world hath had beginning and shall also haue endyng Epicurus sayd that it was round as a ball Empidocles sayd that is was not as a bowl but as an egge Chilo the philosopher in the high mount Olimpus disputed that the world was as meÌ„ are that is to weete that hee had an intellectible and sensible soule Socrates in his schoole sayth in his doctrin wrote that after .37 thousand yeres all things shoold returne as they had been beefore That is to weet that hee him self shoold bee born a new shoold bee norished shoold read in Athens And Dennis the tyraÌ„t shoold return to play the tyraÌ„t in Siracuse Iuliê° Cesar to rule Rome Hanniball to conquer Italy and Scipio to make warre against Carthage Alexander to fight against king Darius and so foorth in all others past In such and other vayn questions and speculations the auncient philosophers consumed many yeres They in writing many books haue troubled their spirits consumed long tyme trauayled many countreys and suffred innumerable daungers and in the end they haue set foorth few trueths and many lyes For the least part of that they knew not was much greater then all that which they euer knew When I took my penne in my hand to write the vanity of the world my entention was not to reprooue this materiall world the which of the fower elements is compounded That is to weete of the earth that is cold and dry of the water that is moyst
wee shall write but such as they shal finde vs so shall wee bee iudged And that which is most fearfull of all the execucion and sentence is geeuē in one day Let princes and great lords beeleeue mee in this Let them not leaue that vndoon till after their death which they may doo during their lyfe And let them not trust in that they commaund but in that whiles they liue they doo Let them not trust in the woorks of an other but in their own good deedes For in the end one sigh shal bee more woorth then all the frends of the world I counsel pray and exhort all wise and vertuous men and also my self with them that in such sort wee liue that at the hour of death wee may say wee liue For wee cannot say that wee lyue whē wee liue not well For all that tyme which without profit wee shall liue shall bee counted vnto vs for nothing ¶ Of the death of Marcus Aurelius the Emperor and how there are few frends which dare say the truth to sick men Cap. xlix THe good Emperor Marcus Aurelius now beeing aged not only for the great yeres hee had but also for the great trauels hee had in the warres endured It chaunced that in the .xviii. yere of his Empire and .lxxii. yeres from the day of his birth and of the foundation of Rome .v. hundreth xliii beeing in the warre of Pannony which at this tyme is called Hungary beeseeging a famous citie called Vendeliona sodaynly a disease of the palsey tooke him which was such that hee lost his life and Rome her Prince the best of lyfe that euer was born therein Among the heathen princes some had more force then hee other possessed more ryches then hee others were as aduenturous as hee and some haue knowē as much as hee but none hath been of so excellent and vertuous a lyfe nor so modest as hee For his life beeing examined to the vttermost there are many princely vertues to follow few vices to reproue The occasion of his death was that going one nyght about his camp sodeinly the disease of the palsey tooke him in his arme so that from thence forward hee coold not put on his gown nor draw his sword and much lesse cary a staffe The good emperor beeing so loden with yeres and no lesse with cares the sharp winter approching more and more great aboundance of water and snow fell about the tenis so that an other disease fell vppon him called Litargie the which thing much abated his courage and in his hoast caused great sorow For hee was so beeloued of all as if they had been his own children After that hee had proued all medicins and remedies that coold bee found and all other things which vnto so great and mighty princes were accustomed to bee doon hee perceiued in the end that all remedy was past And the reason hereof was beecause his sicknes was exceeding vehement he him self very aged the ayer vnholsom aboue al beecause sorows cares oppressed his hart Without doubt greater is the disease that proceedeth of sorow then that which proceedeth of the feuer quartain And thereof ensueth that more easely is hee cured which of corrupt humors is full then hee which with profound thoughts is oppressed The emperor then beeing sick in his chamber in such sort that hee coold not exercise the feats of arms as his men ranne out of their camp to scirmidge the Hungarions in lyke maner to defend the fight on both parts was so cruell through the great effution of blood that neither the hungarion had cause to reioyce nor yet the romayn to bee mery Vnderstanding the euil order of his specially that .v. of his captains were slain in the conflict that hee for his disease coold not bee there in person such sorows persed his hart that although hee desired foorthwith to haue dyed yet hee remained two days three nights without that hee woold see light or speak vnto any man of his So that the heat was much the rest was small the sighs were continuall and the thirst very great the meat lytle and the sleepe lesse and aboue all his face wrynkled and his lips very black Sometimes hee cast vp his eyes and another tyme hee wrong his hands always hee was sylent and continually hee sighed His tong was swollen that hee coold not spit and his eyes very hollow with weeping So that it was a great pity to see his death and no lesse compassion to see the confusion of his pallace and the hinderaunce of the warre Many valiant captains many noble Romayns many faithfull seruaunts and many old frends at all these heauines were present But none of them durst speak to the Emperor Marke partly for that they tooke him to bee so sage that they knew not what counsel to geeue him and partly for that they were so sorowfull that they coold not refrayn their heauy tears For the louing and true frends in their lyfe ought to bee beeloued and at their death to bee beewailed Great compassion ought men to haue of those which dye not for that wee see them dye but beecause there are none that telleth them what they ought to doo Princes and great lords are in greater perill when they dye then the Plebeyans For the counsaylour dare not tell vnto his Lord at the hour of death that which hee knoweth and much lesse hee will tell him how hee ought to dye and what things hee ought to discharge whiles hee is aliue Many goe to visit the sick that I woold to god they went some other where And the cause heereof is that they see the sick mans eyes hollow the flesh dryed the arms without flesh the colour enflamed the ague continuall the payn great the tong swollen nature consumed and beesydes al this the house destroyed and yet they say vnto the sick man bee of good cheere I warrant you you shall liue As yong men naturally desire to liue and as death to all old men is dredfull so though they see them selues in that dystresse yet they refuse no medicine as though there were great hope of lyfe And thereof ensueth oftentymes that the miserable creatures depart the world without confessing vnto god and making restitutions vnto men O if those which doo this knew what euil they doo For to take away my goods to trouble my person to blemish my good name to sclaunder my parentage and to reprooue my lyfe these woorks are of cruell enemyes but to bee occasion to lose my soul it is the woorke of the deuill of hell Certeinly hee is a deuyll whych deceiueth the sick with flatteries and that in steede to healp hym to dye well putteth him in vayn hope of long lyfe Heerein hee that sayth it winneth lyttle and hee that beeleeueth it aduentureth much To mortall men it is more meete to geeue counsels to reform their consciences with the truth then to hasard their houses
with lyes With our frends wee are shamelesse in their life and also bashfull at their death The which ought not to bee so For if our fathers were not dead and that wee did not dayly see these that are present dye mee thinketh it were a shame and also a fear to say to the sick that hee alone shoold dye But since thou knowst as well as hee and hee knoweth as well as thou that all doo trauell in this perillous iurney what shame hast thou to say vnto thy frend that hee is now at the last point If the dead shoold now reuyue how woold they complayn of their frends And thys for no other cause but for that they woold not geeue them good counsell at their death For if the sick man bee my frend and that I see peraduenture hee will dye why shall not I counsell him to prepare him self to dye Certeinly oftentimes wee see by experyence that those which are prepared and are ready for to dye doo escape and those which think to liue doo perish What shoold they doo which goe to vysit the sick perswade them that they make their testaments that they confesse their sinnes that they discharge their conscience that they receiue the Communion and that they doo reconcile them selues to their enemies Certeinly all these things charge not the launce of death nor cut not the threed of lyfe I neuer saw blyndnes so blynd nor ignoraunce so ignorant as to bee ashamed to counsell the sick that they are bound to doo when they are whole As wee haue sayd heere aboue Princes and great Lords are those aboue all other that liue and dye most abusedly And the cause is that as their seruaunts haue no harts to perswade them when they are mery so haue they no audacity to tell them trueth when they are in peril For such seruaunts care lytle so that their maisters beequeath them any thing in theyr willes whether they dye well or lyue euyll O what misery and pity is it to see a Prince a Lord a gentleman and a rych person dye if they haue no faythfull frend about them to help them to passe that payn And not wythout a cause I say that hee ought to bee a faythfull frend For many in our lyfe doo gape after our goods and few at our deaths are sory for our offences The wyse and sage men before nature compelleth them to dye of their own will ought to dye That is to weete that beefore they see them selues in the pangues of death they haue their consciences ready prepared For if wee count him a foole whych will passe the sea without a shippe truely wee will not count him wise which taketh his death without any preparacion beefore What loseth a wise man to haue his will well ordained in what aduenture of honor is any man beefore death to reconsile him self to his enemies and to those whom hee hath born hate and malyce What loseth hee of his credit who in his lyfe tyme restoreth that which at his death they will commaund him to render wherein may a man shew him self to bee more wise then when willingly hee hath discharged that which afterwards by proces they will take from him O how many princes great lords are there which only not for spending one day about their testament haue caused their children and heirs all the days of their life to bee in trauerse in the law So that they supposing to haue left their children welthy haue not left them but for atturneis and counselers of the law The true and vnfained Christian ought euery morning so to dyspose his goods and correct his lyfe as if hee shoold dye the same night And at night in like maner hee ought so to commit him self to god as if hee hoped for no lyfe vntill morning For to say the truth to sustein life there are infinit trauels but to meete death there is but one way If they will credit my woords I woold counsell no man in such estate to liue that for any thing in the world hee shoold vndoo him self The rich and the poore the great and the small the gentlemen and the Plebeians all say and swear that of death they are exceeding fearfull To whom I say and affirm that hee alone feareth death in whom wee see amendment of lyfe Princes and great lords ought also to bee perfect beefore they bee perfect to end beefore they end to dye beefore they dye and to bee mortified beefore they bee mortified If they doo this with them selues they shall as easely leaue their lyfe as if they chāged from one house to an other For the most part of men delight to talk with leisure to drink with leisure to eat with leisure to sleep with leisure but they dye in haste Not without cause I say they dye in haste since wee see thē receiue the sacrament of the supper of the lord in haste make their willes by force with speed to confesse and receiue So that they take it and demaund it so late and so without reason that often times they haue lost their senses and are ready to geeue vp the spirit when they bring it vnto them What auaileth the ship maister after the ship is sonk what doo weapons auayl after the battell is lost What auaileth pleasures after men are dead By that I haue spoken I will demaund what it auaileth the sick beeing heuy with sleep and beereft of their senses to call confessors to whom they confesse their sinnes Euill shal hee bee confessed whych hath no vnderstandyng to repent him self What auayleth it to call the confessor to vnderstand the secret of his conscience when the sick man hath lost his speach Let vs not deceiue our selues saying in our age wee will amend heereafter make restitution at our death For in myne oppinion it is not the poynt of wyse men nor of good christians to desire so much tyme to offend and they wil neuer espy any to amend Woold to god that the third part of tyme which men occupy in sinne were employed about the meditations of death and the cares which they haue to accomplish their fleshly lusts were spent in beewayling their filthy sinnes I am very sory at my hart that thei so wickedly passe their life in vyces and pleasures as if there were no God to whom they shoold render account for their offences All worldlings willingly doo sinne vppon hope only in age to amend and at death to repent but I woold demaund him that in this hope sinned what certeinty hee hath in age of amendment and what assuraunce hee hath to haue long warning beefore hee dye Since wee see by experience there are mo in nomber which dye yong then old it is no reason wee shoold commit so many sinnes in one day that wee shoold haue cause to lament afterwards all the rest of our lyfe And afterwards to beewail the sinnes of our long life wee desire no more but one