passeth in my thoughte than the shorte clothe doothe in a false weuers handes Ye haue strayned it on the tentours and drawen it on the perche for to to lengthen the lyfe If ye were made faire and clere cordwainers waxe and swete of sauour that ye myghte be drawen out at lengthe hit were welle doone but ye are but as fruyte of almondes semynge drie without and worme eaten within For the loue that I haue to you and for neyghbourheed that ye haue had with me I desire styll frendshyppe of you that lyke as I knewe you yonge and very yonge so to knowe you olde and very olde I say not that ye surmoūt in age but your wytte fayleth you O Claudius and Claudine I wylle ye knowe that to susteyne youthe and to deface age to length the lyfe and driue awaye dethe it is not in mennes handes that desyre hit it is the goddis that doo gyue it whiche accordinge to iustyce and our couetyse giueth vs lyfe by weighte and deathe without measure Ye may know that our nature is corruption of our body and our bodye is putrifaction of our wytte and our wytte is guyde to our soule and our soule is mother of our desyres and our desires are sleers of our youthe our youth token of our age and our age spye of our dethe and dethe the house of our lyfe wherinto youthe gothe on fote and from age we canne not flee on hors backe I wolde wyte a thinge of you what fynde ye in this lyfe wherfore dothe lyfe content you after .lxxx. yeres of age eyther ye haue ben good or yl if ye haue bene good and vertuous ye shal not reioyce you with yll goddis if ye haue benne yll ▪ than as well desire dethe to thentente ye shulde be no more yll orels iustly ye might be slayn by iustice For he y t hath ben yll tyll .lx. yeres of age in him there is no hope of amendmente Whan the couragious great Pompeie and Caius Cesar were ennemies and beinge in cruell ciuil battailes Rome was infamed and them self lost The annales shew that suche as came in fauour of Iulius Cesar cam out of the west and the succours of Pompeie out of the easte among other there came certayne people out of Barbarie dwellyng amonge the mountayns Riffees toward Inde Their custome was whan they came to thage of .l. yeres to make great fyres and brenne them selfe quicke in sacrifyce to theyr goddis and the same daye the parentes and chyldren wolde make great feastes and eate of the flesshe halfe brente and drynke wyne with the ashes of the bones This was sene with the eies of Pompei bicause that som accomplyshed the yeres of fyftye in the campe O golden worlde wherin were suche men O happy people that in all the worldes to come hath left such a memorie of them They dispised the worlde and forgatte them selfe What strokes gaue they to fortune What delytes for the fleshe and howe lyttell sette they by theyr lyues and yet more to set so small store by deathe O what bridel was this for the vicious and what hope for the vertuous what confusion for them that loued this lyfe and what ensaumple not to feare dethe haue they left vs And sith they dispised their owne propre lyfe it is then to be thoughte that they dyed not to thentent to take other mens goodes to thynke that our lyfe neuer shall haue ende therfore our couetyse neuer hath ende O glorious people and .x. M. tymes blessed that lefte theyr sensualitie and vanquyshed theyr natural wyll beleue not that ye se but gyue faythe to that ye neuer sawe as they that se nothyng go agaynst the fatal destenies who goethe agaynste the waye of fortune gyue a wrynche to the lyfe robbe the body at the dethe wynne honour of the goddis not that they shulde length your lyfe but to take the reste of the lyfe Archagatus surgien and Anthonius the phisitien and Esculapius the father of medicines I thynke wanne but lyttell in that lande Who commaunded these Barbariens to take sirope in the mornyng and to take pylles at night and to refreshe them with mylke to take clere barly to annoynt theyr lyuers to daye to be lette blode and to morowe to take a purgation to eate one thing and to absteyn fro many thinges Than me thinke that they beynge of .l. yere of aege and you of lxxx at the leaste shulde be egall with them in wysedome And if ye wyll not take deth in good worth yet at the leest amende the yll lyfe I remembre well of a long tyme that Fabricius our neybour wylled vs to beware of a mockerie the whiche if it be not broken there shall folowe great dysshonour And sith he shewed me soo good a lesson I wyll paye you with the same money I wyll shewe it you if ye poore aged folkes doo not knowe it ye be suche that your eyes are bleared your noses droppynge your heares whyte your herynge dulle your tongue faulterynge your tethe waggynge your face wrincled your fete swollen your shuldres croked and your stomake distempered finally if the graues coude speake they myght ryghtfully calle for you to come and inhabite in them Of trouthe it is great compassion to beholde yonge ignoraunce that open theyr eies to knowe the infortunes of this lyfe whan it is tyme to close them and to entre into the graue And therof cometh that it is in vayne to giue counsaile to vain yong peple For youth is without experiēce of that it doth is suspect of that it hereth wyl not beleue that is said and disprayseth other mens coūsel is ryght pore of their owne And therfore I saye Claudius and Claudyne my frendes I fynde without comparison none so ylle an ignorance of goodnes that holdethe these yonge personnes as is the obstinacy of these aged personnes in yll The diffinition of yll is a manne not to knowe that he oughte to knowe yet it is wors to haue the knowlege of wysedome and to lyue lyke a brute beaste O ye olde goutye people ye forgette your selfe and renne in poste after the lyfe and ye neuer regarde whatte shall falle tyll ye be suche as ye wolde not and without power to retourne backe herof cometh that ye lacke of lyfe ye wyll supplye it with foly Than awake ye that be slombringe haue no force to slepe open your slepy eies and accustome you to do well Take that is nedeful for you and fynally appoynt you betimes with dethe or he make execution of your lyfe Lii yeres I haue knowen them of the worlde yet I could neuer know none so olde nor so putrifyed in their membres but that their hartes were hole to thynke vnhappynesse and their tongues hole to make lyes Take hede ye poore olde persons me thynke syth somer is paste ye haste forward with the tyme and if ye tary a small season yet ye make haaste to take lodgynge
wyse women to be neyghbours to fooles Great peryll it is to them that be shamefast to be with them that be shameles great peryl it is to them that be of a meke and styll maner to be with them that be bolde and rude great perylle it is for them that be chaste to be with them that lyue in auoutrie great peryll it is for the honourable to be with them that be disfamed For the women defamed thinke that all other be defamed and desyre that they shulde be defamed and procure to haue them defamed and say they be yll famed And to thentent to couer theyr owne infamy they infame all other that be good O you ladyes in amours it is longe syth ye knew me and I you and if ye speke I speke if ye knowe I knowe if ye be styll I am styll if ye speke openly I wyl not speke in secret Thou knowest wel Auilina that made the ieste how Eumedes solde calues deter in the boucherie than thou soldest the innocent vyrgins in thy house Thou knowest wel Turinga that one day thou recknedst all thy louers but thou coudest not recken them on thy fyngers but desyredst to haue a bushell full of peason And thou Lucia Fuluia knowest welle whan thou were thou wotest where with Breto and madest peace with thy husbande thou tokest hym a syde and saydeste but if thou myghtest lye out of thy house ones a weeke he shuld not lye in the house And thou Retoria knowest wel that in thy yonge dayes two yeres thou were appoynted on the see with a Pyrate so that he shulde take no moo to satisfie a. C. men of warre in the galey Thou Egna Corcia knowest well that whan the censure entred to take the he founde .v. mens gownes in which thou wentest euer by nyght thou haddest but one womans gowne that thou warest on by day Thou knowest well Pesylane Fabrice that Aluinus Metellus thou beinge maried before the Censure demaunded openly his part of that thou gatest in thy house with thy secrete louers And thou Camil knowest well not beinge content with thyn owne nation but by reason of the great hauntynge that thou haddest with straungers thou canst speake all maner of languages I wyl marke them that haue marked me hurte theym that haue hurte me persecute theym that haue persecuted me and infame them that haue infamed me All other my pen doth pardon bicause they haue perdoned me in their play And bycause my letter hath begonne in that ye haue done to my person therfore I wyl end it in that it feleth of your good names And thus I conclude that a man may scape free fro all domages with absteynynge fro them But fro women there is no way but to fle fro them Thus I ende and demaunde of the goddis that I may see of you as ye desyre to se of me And sythe ye be louers I counsell you as ye haue sent me your ieste for a mocke in lykewyse for a mocke to receyue the answere Marke Rodian to the amorous ladies of Rome ¶ A letter sent by Marc the emperour to Boemia a louer of his that wolde haue gone with him to the warres The .xv. letter MArc pretour Romayn sent to the warres of Dacy sēdeth salute to y e his louer Boemia which art in y e pleasures of Rome I being scaped fro the cruel battel haue red the few lines writen with thy hande haue harde of the a long informatiō I say to the thou haste put me in a more great abashement than the feare of myn enmies In takynge thy letter into my hande forthwith the herbe of malyce entred into my herte Whan I tempre my body with thy delytes I thinke my hart is fre fro the venym of thy amours I of my wyll and thou bicause thou canste do no more we haue giuen vs to be free of our pleasures I thinke as wel as to make a deuorse of our enmies But suche as ye be so ye do banyshementes of amours and treasures of passions The loue of you al ought to be digested with pylles but the passion of one of you wyll not be oppressed with al the Rubarbe in Alexandrie Ye shewe your selfe cruell to pardon an ennemy and euery day light to chaūge louers Curiously I haue kepte you al the whyle that delytes ouerpressed my youth yet I coude neuer se in any woman no certayntie nor reason in loue but hate at the last Thy present lightnes quarelleth with my youthe past and it is bycause thou seest not in me the auncient will towarde the nor the present seruice And certaynly herynge thyn accusation and not my iustification as iustly thou paiest me with deth as I paie the with forgetfulnes The whiche forgettynge is as straunge to be in him that serueth as vngentilnes in the ladye that is serued Thinkest thou that I haue forgotten the lawe of Venus where as it commandeth that the curious louers shuld exercise their strēgthes in armes and occupie theyr hartes in loue and also that their apparell be very clenely their fete well compassed their bodies stedfast and not waueryng their voyces lowe and softe and sadde in coūtenance their eies open gasynge at wyndowes and their hartes redy to fle in the aire Of trouth my loue Boemia he is but a grosse louer that holdethe his wylle in captyuitie and his vnderstandynge free The vnderstandynge oughte to be loste where as wyll is in prison I saye this to thentent that thoughe myne age haue lefte the exercyse yet my spirite hathe not forgotten the art Thou complaynest bicause I gyue my selfe to rest that I haue greatly forgotten the. I wyll not deny the trouthe the day of forgettynge maketh the muster of my thoughtes and reason whiche is prouisour declareth that it is not to my grauite to permyt that I shuld loue nor thy age to suffre to be beloued As nowe thou knowest that dyuers thynges that youthe dissimuleth in yonge persons in age meryteth greuous correction The dedes done in youthe procedethe of ignorance but the vilanies done in age procedeth of malyce Whan I kepte the Cautons I ietted in the stretes I sange balades I gased to the wyndowes I played on instrumentes I scaled the walles I wakened lyght persons thinkest thou that I wyst what I dyd in my youth and nowe that I se my selfe promoted fro these pleasures and decked with soo many whyte heares and apparayled with soo many dolours I thynke nowe I was not than or elles I dreame as nowe not knowynge the wayes that I haue gone not seinge the wayes full of stones I haue fallen ere I was ware I haue fallen in snares seking no guyde I was entred into the whirlepoole and by the grossenes of my boldnes I was lost and therfore I haue deserued pardon And nowe that I am out of the thornes and bushes thou woldest haue me farther in than euer I was And now that I can not take the purgations
of good inhabitauntes oughte to be praysed and not the great edifices Our predecessours haue triūphed on strangers as weake and feeble and nowe they may triumphe on vs also as menne that be more vanquysshed with vyces than any of the other By the myghtynes and prowesses of our predecessours we that be nowe are greattely honoured and exalted and by the smalle estimation of vs that be now they that come after vs shall be greatly ashamed Of a very trouthe it is a great shame to saye and no lesse infamy to doo that the goodnesse and trauayle of the auncientes shuld nowe be tourned and conuerted to folies and presumption My sonne loke wel on thy selfe that the reyne of thy youthe and lybertie of the empire cause the nor to commytte vyce He is not called onely free that is free borne but he that dieth within the same O how well are the sclaues borne that after their deth are free by their goodnes howe many haue died sclaues by their noughtynes that were borne free There is fredome where noblenes abydeth The prowes of thy persone shal gyue the more hardines and libertie than thauctoritie of thempire It is a generall rule that euery vertuous man of necessitie is to be holden hardye and euery vicious man of necessitie is to be reputed a cowarde Nowe boldely they be chastised that be noted with any vice and coldely they be chastised that deserue chastisement Let the prince be in a certayn that the loue of his people and the lybertie of his offyce hath not wherwith to vpholde hym in armes spred abrode on the erth without the dyuers vertues assembled in his person ¶ Certaynly Octauius Cesar subdewed mo nations by the renoume of his vertues than dydde Gaius his vncle with his army of many men All the worlde ioy of a vertuous prince and it semeth that al the world ryseth ageinst a vicious prince Vertue is a strong castell and can neuer be wonne it is a riuer where nedeth no rowing a see that moueth not a fire that quencheth not a treasure that neuer hath ende an army neuer ouercome a burden that neuer werieth a spie that euer retourneth a sygne that neuer deceyueth a playne waye that neuer fayleth a syrope that healeth forthwith and a renoume that neuer peryssheth O my sonne if thou knewest what thyng it is to be good and what a man thou shuldest be if thou were vertuous thou woldest doo seruyce to the goddes good renoume to thy selfe pleasure to thy frendes and engender loue of straungers and finally all the worlde shulde feare and loue the. I remembre that in the boke of yeres of the battayle of Tarentyne I founde that the renoumed Pyrrhus king of the Epyrothiens bare in a rynge grauen these wordes To a vertuous man is but a smalle rewarde to be lorde of all the erthe and it is but a small chastisement to take a vicious mans lyfe fro hym ¶ Truly it was a worthy sentence of such a prince What thinge is it be it neuer so difficile begonne by a vertuous man but there is hope to haue a good ende therof Sothly I haue sene in dyuers parties of myn empyre dyuers men very darke of good fame very lowe in goodes and vnknowen of their kynne and bloud vndertake so great thynges that to my semyng it was a feareful audacitie to begynne And yet by the wynges of vertue all onely they haue had good renoume at the last By the immortal goddis and as the god Iupiter bryng me in his mancion and stablyshe the in all that is myne There were ones a gardyner and a potter dwellynge in Rome whyche only by their vertues caused to put tenne vycious senatours out of the senate and the fyrste occasyon was for makynge a hedge of thorne and a potte for the workemanshyp and labour whereof the Senatours wolde not paye theym I tell it the my sonne bycause that vyce maketh a bolde personne thoughtefulle and vertue causeth hym that is in thought to take strengthe and boldenes I was wel ware of two thinges in my lyfe not to pleade agaynst the clerenes of iustyce nor to take part ageynst a vertuous person For with vertue god susteyneth vs and with Iustyce the people are well gouerned and ruled ¶ Of other more partycular counsaylles gyuen by the emperour to his sonne Cap. xlvi NOwe to come to thinges more particular Seinge sonne that thou arte yonge and that nature can not denye the And as in all dyfficile thinges ripe counselle is necessarie no lesse to comfort thestate of our lyuing we desire some recreations For thy youth I leue y e with gret lordis children with whom thou mayst passe the tyme And to teache the I leue olde Romains that haue nouryshed the serued me of whom thou shalt take counsell The inuention of interludes of theatres to fyshe in pōdes to hunt wilde beastes to course in the fieldes to hauke for byrdes and to exercise dedes of armes are the thynges that thy youthe desyreth And youth with youth ought to kepe companye in doinge the same But behold my son that in orderyng of armies to apply the warres to pursue vyctories to accepte truce to confyrme peace to reyse tributes to make lawes to promote some and dismisse other to chastyse the yll and recompence the good in all these thinges that be so chargeable they that be of clere mynde redy broken and trauayled of their bodies whyt heared ought to be takē to coūsel the. And sith thou art yōge lusty of body reioyce sport with them that be yong whan thou art emperor than touching thy secrete affaires take coūsel of them y t be old Beware my son of all extremities For as yll may the prince be vnder the colour of grauitie to be rulyd by the ancient persones as vnder the colour of pastyme to kepe cōpany with yonge folkes It is no generall rule that all yonge persons shall alwayes be yonge and lyght nor that all olde persons shulde be always wyse I am sure of one thynge that if the yonge man be borne with foly the olde man lyueth and dieth with couetyse Therfore my sonne beware be not extreme in extremities For the yonge people wyll corrupte the with their lyghtnes and olde folkes wil depriue thy mind with theyr couetousnes What thing can be more monstrous than a prince that commaundeth euery man to be commaunded of one Sothely the gouernyng of diuers can not be gouerned wel by the opinion of one alone Than the prince that gouernethe many oughte to haue the intention and opinion of dyuers ¶ In the annales of the Pompeyens I founde a lyttell boke of remembrance the which great Pompeie bare alway with hym wherin were dyuers good counselles and aduertisementes the which were gyuen in diuers parties of the worlde Amonge the whiche I founde these wordes He that gouerneth the common welthe and putteth the gouernance to them that are old sheweth hym selfe vnable and he
a sure lyfe ye wyll committe your selfe to the chaunces of fortune and where as other haue necessitie of you ye put your selfe to be in the necessitie of other And thoughe the prince make no warre he shuld not suffre his people to warre Euery manne ought to leaue the warre Frend Cornelius I demaund of the whether is more trauaylle to his persone or domage to his realme a kynges ennemies orels his owne armie His ennemies robbe on the costes but our men robbe all the londe The enmyes maye be resisted but we dare not speake to our owne men The ennemies enuade vs on one day and recule backe ageyn but our garisons robbe daily and abyde styll The strangers haue some feare but ours are shameles and at the last the farther that our ennemies goo the more they waxe liberall and our armies of men euery daye encrease in crueltie in suche wyse that they offend the goddis and be importunate to theyr princes and noyful to the people lyuynge to the domage of euery man and be vnprofytable to al men By the god Mars I swere to the and as I maye be holpen in the warres that I gouerne with my hande I haue mo complayntes dayly from the senate on the capitaynes that ben in Illyrike than on all the ennemies of the Romayne people I haue more feare in mainteynynge one standarde of a hundred menne than to giue battaylle to .l. M. ennemies For the goddis and fortune dispatche a battayle in an houre be it good or badde but with these other I can do nothyng in al my lyfe Thus it hath ben my frende Cornelius and thus it is and thus it shall be Thus I founde it thus I holde it and thus I shall leaue it Our fathers dyd inuente it and we susteyne it that be their chyldren and for ylle it shal abyde to our heires I say to the one thyng and I thynke I am not deceyued therin To endure so great domage and to no profitte of the people I thinke it a great foly in man or els a great punishement of the goddis Be the goddis soo iuste in all iustice and so true in all veritie that they wyll suffre vs without reason to do yl in strange landes to whom we dydde neuer good and in our owne howses to haue shrewde tournes of them to whom we haue alwaye done good These thynges frende Cornelius I haue writen to the not bycause I thynke it nedefull that thou shuldeste knowe it but my spirite resteth in shewyng of it Panutius my secretatrie went to visite this land and on the way I gaue him this letter and I do send to the two horses I thynke they be good The armour and iewels that I won on the Parthes I haue departed them Howe be it I sēde the a chariot of theym My wyfe Faustyne salutethe the and sendeth to thy wife a riche glasse and an ouche of precious stones to thy doughter I beseche the goddis to giue the good lyfe and me a good death Marcus thy loue writeth to the Cornelius his frend ¶ To Torcates beinge at Gayette in consolation of his banysshement ¶ The .iii. letter MArke of mount Celio companion of the empire to the Torcate beinge at Gayette patricien Romain salute to thy person and vertue and force against aduers fortune It is a thre monthes sythe I receiued thy letter the whiche myn eies myght not make an ende to rede nor my handes to answere I am so heuy for thy heuinesse so peinfull for thy peyn and so hurt with thy wounde that where as thou wepest with thyn eies outwardely I weepe with my harte inwardly I wote what difference is betwene the tree and the croppe and the dreme fro the trouthe I here of thy trauayles by straunge persons and I fele them in myn owne person But where as true frendes be the peynes are in cōmen The greate infortunes ought to be suffred for one thynge bycause they declare who ar the true frendes I knowe by thy letter howe thou arte banyshed from Rome and all thy goodes confyscate and that for pure heuynes thou arte sycke in thy body I wolde go se the and counsayle thy person bycause that thou myghtest see with what harte and wyll I doo wepe for thy mysaduenture But if thou take me for thy trewe frende beleue me as I beleue the that is howe moche I feele thy mysaduenture Of trouthe as thou art banyshed bodyly soo am I banysshed inwardely in my harte And yf thy goodes or substaunce be taken away fro the I am robbed of a good frende and companyon And yf thou lackeste thy frendes I am abydynge amonge myn enmies Though I might remedy by workynge of my power thy banyshment yet I wyl counsaile thy spirite with certain wordis If I be not forgetfull I neuer sawe the contente in this lyfe bycause thou were euer besye in thy prosperitie and wery of any aduersitie And as nowe I se the dispayre as though thou were but new come into this worlde I haue knowen the this .xxxii. yeres in great ioy and nowe thou complaynest of .vi. monethes that fortune hathe tourned her whele O Torcate nowe thou mayst knowe that vertuous men feare more two dayes of prosperitie than two hundred of aduerse fortune O howe manye menne and howe manye ryche cities haue thou and I sene slyppe fro their prosperities throughe their vycyous lyuynge and straunge enmities In suche wise that theyr vaynglorye and slypper prosperitie endured but two dayes and the hurtes and losse that they haue hadde and the cruell and extreme enmities the whiche also that they haue wonne lasteth to this daye in their heires Contrarye wyse we see some set in the height of tribulations the whiche haue escaped by castynge away vyces clothynge them with vertues wery of euyll warkes folowynge goodnes beinge frendes to all and ennemies to none What wylte thou that I shulde say more They that are happye are ouercome in peace and they that are vnhappy do ouercomme other in warre Therfore my frende Torcate it semeth to me no lesse necessite to gyue good counsayle than to prosper with great prosperitie to remedy them that are in gret heuynesse For as wery are they that go the playn way as they that costeth the hyghe mountaynes By thy letter I perceiue that what tyme thou hopedst to haue ben in most quietnes and rest this yll fortune and chaunce fell on the. Be nat abashed therof For thoughe that all newe chaunces causeth newe thoughtes presently yet therby cometh more cause of stedfastnes in tyme to come Certaynly the tree beareth not so moche fruite there as it springeth first as it dothe whan it is newe set in an other place And all good smelles are more odoriferous if they be wel medled and chaufed togyther I pray the tell me abydynge in the worlde beinge a chylde of the same and louing the world what hopest thou to haue of the worlde but worldly thinges the worlde shall always