Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	word_n	worthy_a	write_n	19	3	8.2162	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A16676	The schollers medley, or, an intermixt discourse vpon historicall and poeticall relations A subiect of it selfe well meriting the approbation of the iudicious, who best know how to confirme their knowledge, by this briefe suruey, or generall table of mixed discourses. ... By Richard Brathvvayte Oxon.	Brathwaite, Richard, 1588?-1673.	1614 (1614)	STC 3583; ESTC S106127	82,694	128

be in●…lamed and prouok●… by t●…ir 〈◊〉 and glory 〈◊〉 to imitate th●…●…n th●… lik●… A●… there is nothing cer●…ainely that 〈◊〉 m●…re 〈◊〉 impr●…ssion in a resolued minde th●…n th●…●…port of ●…ormer exploits Hearing this man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and vigilant 〈◊〉 to contemne all 〈◊〉 oppose himselfe to ●…ll dangers whereby he ●…ght 〈◊〉 some-thing ●…orthy memory Anoth●…r sustai●…ing 〈◊〉 labours to purc●…ase hims●…lfe but a little ●…lory This man subiected to Seawrackes exposed to the mercy of the 〈◊〉 enuiro●…ed and hemmed in by emin●…nt danger●… y●…t moderating his passions armes himselfe against th●… perils of Se●… aduerse wi●…ds the menaces of ruine with resolution ●…o endure the worst of fates euer meditating of that motiue to patience No●…cere hoc primum 〈◊〉 Quid facere Victor debet Uictus pati These obseruations are receipts or cordials against the maladies of Fortune A man thus resolued cannot be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a P●…ince for hee gouernes a Dominion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Empire more imperious a Dia●…hy o●… Monarchy rather hauing disconsorting affections euer laying Siege and Battry to the pallace of the 〈◊〉 ●…hich moued Plutarch in his Morals defini●… to con●…lude That he who mod●…rated his affections 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but hee that neuer past the bound●… and 〈◊〉 of temp●…rate motiues nor felt the deluding enforcements o●… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●…im was wholy vertuous But the Mo●…als p●…oposition was better then his conclusion 〈◊〉 mortall since the staine of his Originall Puri●… co●…ld 〈◊〉 subsist so secure or remai●…e so vnmoueabl●… as neuer to be engage●… to perturbations the 〈◊〉 attendants of 〈◊〉 In this first entrance to my Discourse hauing spo●… some-thing in generall of the vse and fruit of Hystory hauing by an equall diameter determined the proper place and center at which such Historicall relations ought to tend I will descend to the diuision of Histories which may properly branch themselues into Diuine Discursiue Morall Physicke or Mixt. For Diuine I will not comprehend them in my discourse being such as depend on their owne Arches drained from the pure Spring of Coelestiall Wisedome and therefore impossible to erre either in Action or Relation yet necessarily now and then immixed with morall Histories because their weight may better poise in the scale of euery Iudicious Reader when hee seeth Morall Discourse so well fortefied as by the pillar of Truth Albeit I approue of Hesiods words Fabulous Relations should not nor ought they to be authorised by Holy Writings It was a Pagans obseruation and worthy ours So should our prophane Pamphleters restraine their libidinous writings more and either write that which should propagate themselues a generall reputation without derogation to the sacred Writings of the Almighty or silence their workes least they should depraue many for a priuate reward or pedling gaine More I insist vpon this because too many haue I knowne steeped in this promiscuous Subiect well read in Scripture to wrest them otherwise Babes and Sucklings for they cannot reach to the depth of such Mysteries but onely touch them to corrupt them But their Cymerian Cloude when it shall be dispersed aud the Raies of a reasonable vnderstanding to them exhibited They will repent them I feare it not and heauens grant that repentance be not like the after-raine out of season of their prophaner mixtures O let them turne their eye of consideratiō whosoeuer they be to the miserable end of Lucian Cleand Metrodoras whose disastrous fals answered their blasphemous risings contemning the sacred Writ of Heauen and prostituting their labours to the merited censure of confusion But too much of them Times are not so easy to be wained from their habite of errour or induced to a course of more Sanctimony Lampes and Oilely Studies were made fruitlesse at Epictetus death his Lanthorne hung vp as a Monument of his vertues made a deeper impression in his Schollers then all our Mo●…iues Precepts or Examples can ●…o in ours that Age was more apprehensiue of Good thi●… of Ill. Now to our Discursiue Histo●…ies Many discourse without matter onely descanting vpon idle Theames more obserued for their idlenesse then for any Subiect wher●…on they entreate Such be foolish Phantastickes that spend their Oile vpon vnnecessary Subiects I haue apprehended many of this vaine but they shall be namelesse talking of strange Horse-races such as their barra●…ne Muse neuer conceiued others of Fabulous Histories neuer found out by that Arch-Artist Nature whence they deriued their foundation for such I passe vntouched being such as they hardly conceiue their owne writings Discursiue Histories are either true or feygned If true they comprehend in them a certaine ground not onely forti●…ied by a reasonable production but also by the authority of such whose Authentiquest labours claime to themselues a kinde of Authority without further proofe Such wee reade to be the Labours of Cornel T●…c Tit Liu Trogus Pompeius and many others whose Subiect confirme their authority Being such as repres●…nt the diuerse euents of things done by Histori●…all Relation and Ocular presentation For diuers of those worthy Historiographers haue bene interrested euen in such probable and generally allowed discourses by personall presence in the management of such affaires as Commineus of all Histories amongst our Moderne most approueable being an eye witnesse of what he writ But in ample tearmes to explaine what the condition of an Historian is let mee in briefe yet materiall words expresse what he meanes Not such as inueigh against States or politique Gouernments for such are rather Satyrists then Historians nor such as personate the entire acts of a Marti●…list by assentatiue tearmes which are such as insinuate themselues by a glossing Stile to win the affection of their Patron lesse to be borne with be these then the other subiecting the free vse of Historie to a Parasite and Oylie tongue which moued Alexander so exceedingly against Aristobulus as that on a time hearing his owne Actes deblazoned farre aboue truth he commanded his labours should be throwne ouer Boord saying Hee was almost induced to throw Aristobulus after A Caueat very nece●…sary for all clawing Par●…sites that make their Pen Mer●…enary and therefore as may be inferred vpon their workes dare not vnrip the vitiousnesse of times least by vnbosoming Truth they should incurre the offence of some person to whom their labours are ingaged their fortunes subiected and their endeauours partially deuoted Plato banished all Poets Athens But a fauourable Glosse would restaine that Ostracisme onely to peculiar wits petulant I meane such as the Prince of Sparta prescribed his well-gouerned Citty for presenting some obscoene verses to his Queene But I wonder why Plato excluded not these Historians since their Labours were prostitute like the publique Strumpet for gaine making their Wr●…tings to the opinion imitation of that Scarabee of History who being demanded why he wrote not truth of such a Prince replyed Viuit quis veralice●… His life kept him in a●…e he durst not expresse

hopes of these men attaine sometimes ends aboue expectance Such was H●…luius Pertinax his successe who neuer aiming at the Title of Emperour was crowned when he was from thoughts of Titulary honour most sequestred R●…pugnansque suscipiens vsing a kinde of withstanding ere he would entertaine so great a weight And in al histories if we obserue the diuers occurrents which befell men in great and eminent places we shall see euer the honestest purposes seconded with the happiest euents and the disproportion of the end euer sorting with the discordance of the minde for the intention is discussed by him that layeth the foundation and of all Empires in dust at his pleasure breathing euer vpon the sincere purposes of the good and confounding the deepe defigues vpon what pretence soeuer grounded of the euill In Mixt Histories as the scope whereat they ai●… is mixed part with profite and part with delight to make the Discourse m●…re compleat So should the seriousnesse of the subiect attract a kinde of Maiesty to it for impossible it is either with trimnesse of words propriety of aptly-annexed and duly-applied sentences or any other elegancy whatsoeuer to make a subiect of it selfe light and friuolous beare the portray of state For words if well applyed illustr●…te and add●… a beauty but not any way better the weight of the matter There be three things which be especially required in Histories of this nature to make them perfect first Truth in ●…incerely relating without hauing any thing as Tacitus obserueth ●…austum ex van●… foisted in by our owne inuention to smooth the passage of our story Secondly an explanation in discouering not onely the sequels of things but also the causes and reasons drawing to the conclusions Thirdly iudgement in distinguishing things by approuing the best and disallowing the contrary For the first stories should be true or at least resemble truth because by so much they are more pleasing by how much they resemble truth the neerer and so much more gracefull by how much more probable and doubtfull we haue many Histories euen of this kinde mixed that comprehend in them nothing lesse then truth yet by their smooth carriage and their proper circumstances with such aptnesse drained and disposed they haue been taken for truth and registred amongst workes of more s●…rious consequence Such were those Apologae Fabulae whereof we haue in part spoken before which contained in them many pitthy and graue 〈◊〉 and worthy obseruation in the excellentest Moral these are fitly called by Tully Mirrors of Mans life Patternes of Manners and Images of truth Their neere resemblance of truth made the reader more attentiue subiecting his eare to Discourses probable more then to things surpassing the bounds and limits of beliefe as producing vnheard of miracles meere conceptions of the braine phanaticke Chymeras A Gyant immured in a rocke yet able to pierce it through win a whole Monarchy with his owne single hands lead a multitude of Kings captiues and returne home without a wound Here strange Inchaunted Castles Ladies and Knights detained in most base seruitude by an Airy Monster there admirable victories purchased vpon incredible oddes and to be belieued it pleaseth the Painter so to deliniate their vertues But of these erronious stories there be some obserue no methode planting an Arcadie in a Brittanny as if by some super-natural accident there were a transplantation of Regions or some Earth-quake in the Authors braine whence this immane Colosse of an irregular Discourse proceeded Which strange representations be not vnlike to your Lanskip where vpon the sea whatsoeuer we see by land seemes in our saile to go with vs Euen so do these vain Historians make strange obiects vnto vs of places impossible transiting whole Countries to make an impolished straine of pastorall musicke one good Bell-weather would make as perfect harmony sound well in a Clownes eare To be short my opinion positiuely is this That Historian which can ioyne profite with a modest delight together in one body or frame of one vnited discourse grounding his story vpon an essentiall truth deserues the first and principall place and he who vpon a fained discourse can proportion it to a likenesse of truth merits the next As for him that like one of Duke Humphreyes Knights obserues neither meane nor measure but gorge their own insatiate appetites with full messes of vntruths without probability should be dealt withall as that wandring Italian Squire was vsed for his monstrous lying Tost in a Blanket till his erring spirit by suffumigations or some such like meanes were canuased out of him Great blemishes these be to so reputed a Profession aiming neither at profite nor modest delight but imitating your Mercenary Actors spurt out some obsoene ieast to make a prophane Rogue applaud him and sure if the strict doome and censure of banishment were to be inflicted vpon any kinde of learning rather should it be pronounced against such as these then any The Pagans haue abhorred them and much more odious should they bee in a Christian Common-wealth where vertue should be the scope of all our actions They are like some Comoedies wee reade now a daies The first Act whereof is in Asia the next in Affrica the third in Europa the fourth in America and if Ptolomeus or Marcus Paulus had found out a fi●…fth part of the world no question but it had beene represented on their vniuersall Stage Such as these ought to haue some distinct language Utopian or some other grunting tongue eng●…ossed to themselues For they should profite more by being lesse vnderstood Much they speake of vallour and many imaginary Heroes are pitching their Pauillions But I will take my leaue of them with my French Prouerbe Beaucoup de bruit è peu de fruict Much bruite but little fruite Battels more fierce by report then Alcahors That was but Kings their 's Giants and one of those Giants as able to vanquish all those Kings as for Milo to carry his Bull on his shoulders For the second Their should be an explanation in discouery of the causes with a direct and graduall proceeding to the sequels As thus in description of a solemne Iust or Tournament it is necessary for the Historian to show the cause why such solemnities were instituted I do know many things there be in Discourses which may be as well implyed as inserted But in Festiuals solemne Games euents of Duellors or publicke Trials The causes forcing should and ought to be as well deciphered as the ends succeeding How should we haue knowne of the vniting of the Sabines with the Romanes or the occasion of their Marrying together but by those dissembled feasts ordained by Romulus to bring his purpose to effect The circumstances of which feast are with a certaine concordancy amongst most of the Romane Writers agreed on standing though with too nice prec●…senesse I confesse vpon the place occasion and houre of the day with such a liuely Transcription as