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	write_v	writing_n	735	4	9.0744	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77581	The life of the renowned Sr Philip Sidney. with the true interest of England as it then stood in relation to all forrain princes: and particularly for suppressing the power of Spain stated by him. His principall actions, counsels, designes, and death. Together with a short account of the maximes and policies used by Queen Elizabeth in her government. Written by Sir Fulke Grevil Knight, Lord Brook, a servant to Queen Elizabeth, and his companion & friend.	Greville, Fulke, Baron Brooke, 1554-1628.	1651 (1651)	Wing B4899; Thomason E1288_1; ESTC R208970	75,650	263

Princely Shepherd or Shepherdish King which creatures of scorn seldome fail to become fit sacrifices for home-born discontentments or ambitious forrain spirits to undertake and offer up Againe who sees not the chanceable arrivall of Euarchus into Arcadia his unexpected election to the temporary Soveraignty of that State his sitting in a cloudy seat of judgement to give sentence under a mask of Shepherds against his Son Nephew Neeces the immediate successors to that Scepter and all accused and condemned of rape paricide adulteries or treasons by their own Lawes I say who sees not that these dark webs of effeminate Princes be dangerous forerunners of innovation even in a quiet and equally tempered people So that if Sir Philips had not made the integrity of this forrain King an image of more constant pure and higher strain than nature makes those ordinary mouldes wherein she fashioneth earthly Princes even this opportunity and map of desolation prepared for Euarchus wherein he saw all the successors of this Province justly condemned under his own sentence would have raised up specious rights or pretences for new ambition in him and upon the never-failing pillars of occasion amasednes of people and sad offer of glorious novelties have tempted him to establish this Election for a time successively to him and his for ever To be short the like and finer moralities offer themselves throughout that various and dainty work of his for sounder judgements to exercise their Spirits in so that if the infancie of these Ideas determining in the first generation yield the ingenuous Reader such pleasant profitable diversity both of flowers and fruits let him conceive if this excellent Image-maker had liv'd to finish and bring to perfection this extraordinary frame of his own Common-wealth I meane the return of Basilius from his dreames of humor to the honor of his former Estate the marriage of the two sisters with the two excellent Princes their issue the warres stirred up by Amphialus his marriage with Helena their successions together with the incident Magnificences pompes of state providences of councells in treaties of peace or aliance summons of warres and orderly execution of their disorders I say what a large field an active able spirit should have had to walk in let the advised Reader conceive with grief Especially if he please to take knowledge that in all these creatures of his making his intent and scope was to turn the barren Philosphy precepts into pregnant Images of life and in them first on the Monarch's part lively to represent the growth state and declination of Princes change of Government and lawes vicissitudes of sedition faction succession confederacies plantations with all other errors or alterations in publique affaires Then again in the subjects case the state of favor disfavor prosperitie adversity emulation quarrell undertaking retiring hospitality travail and all other moodes of private fortunes or misfortunes ●n which traverses I know his purpose was to limn out such exact pictures of every posture in the minde that any man being forced in the straines of this life to pass through any straights or latitudes of good or ill fortune might as in a glasse see how to set a good countenance upon all the discountenances of adversitie and a stay upon the exorbitant smiling of chance Now as I know this was the first project of these workes rich like his youth in the freedome of affections wit learning stile form and facilitie to please others so must I again as ingenuously confess that when his body declined and his piercing inward powers were lifted up to a purer Horizon he then discovered not onely the imperfection but vanitie of these shadowes how daintily soever limned as seeing that even beauty it self in all earthly complexions was more apt to allure men to evill than to fashion any goodness in them And from this ground in that memorable testament of his he bequeathed no other legacie but the fire to this unpolished Embrio From which fate it is onely reserved untill the world hath purged away all her more gross corruptions Again they that knew him well will truly confess this Arcadia of his to be both in form and matter as much inferior to that unbounded spirit of his as the industry and Images of other mens works are many times raised above the writers capacities and besides acknowledge that howsoever he could not choose but give them many aspersions of spirit and learning from the Father yet that they were scribled rather as pamphlets for entertainment of time and friends than any accompt of himself to the world Because if his purpose had been to leave his memory in books I am confident in the right use of Logick Philosophy History and Poësie nay even in the most ingenuous of Mechanicall Arts he would have shewed such tracts of a searching and judicious spirit as the professors of every faculty would have striven no less for him than the seaven Cities did to have Homer of their Sept. But the truth is his end was not writing even while he wrote nor his knowledge moulded for tables or schooles but both his wit and understanding bent upon his heart to make himself and others not in words or opinion but in life and action good and great In which Architectonical art he was such a Master with so commending and yet equall waies amongst men that whersoever he went he was beloved and obeyed yea into what Action soever he came last at the first he became first at the last the whole managing of the business not by usurpation or violence but as it were by right and acknowledgment falling into his hands as into a naturall Center By which onely commendable monopolie of alluring and improving men how the same drawes all windes after it in fair weather so did the influence of this spirit draw mens affections and undertakings to depend upon him CHAP. II. HEre I am still enforced to bring pregnant evidence from the dead amongst whom I have found far more liberall contribution to the honor of true worth than among those which now live and in the market of selfnesse traffique new interest by the discredit of old friends that ancient wisdome of righting enemies being utterly worn out of date in our modern discipline My first instance must come from that worthy Prince of Orange William of Nassau with whom this young Gentleman having long kept intelligence by word and letters and in affaires of the highest nature that then passed currant upon the stages of England France Germany Italy the low Countries or Spaine it seemes that this young Gentleman had by his mutuall freedome so imprinted the extraordinary merit of his young yeares into the large wisdome and experience of that excellent Ptince as I passing out of Germany into England and having the unexpected honor to finde this Prince in the Town Delph cannot think it unwelcome to describe the clothes of this Prince his posture of body and minde familiarity and

have a reverend ambition to be tried and approved currant This I doe the more confidently affirm because it will be confessed by all men that this one mans example and personall respect did not onely encourage Learning and Honour in the Schooles but brought the affection and true use thereof both into the Court and Camp Nay more even many Gentlemen excellently learned amongst us will not deny but that they affected to row and steer their course in his wake Besides which honour of unequall nature and education his very waies in the world did generally adde reputation to his Prince and Country by restoring amongst us the ancient Majestie of noble and true dealing As a manly wisdome that can no more be weighed down by any effeminate craft than Hercules could be overcome by that contemptible Army of Dwarfs This was it which I profess I loved dearly in him and still shall be glad to honour in the great men of this time I mean that his heart and tongue went both one way and so with every one that went with the Truth as knowing no other kindred partie or end Above all he made the Religion he professed the firm Basis of his life For thls was his judgement as he often told me that our true-heartednesse to the Reformed Religion in the beginning brought Peace Safetie and Freedome to us concluding that the wisest and best way was that of the famous William Prince of Orange who never divided the consideration of Estate from the cause of Religion nor gave that sound party occasion to be jealous or distracted upon any apparance of safety whatsoever prudently resolving that to temporize with the Enemies of our Faith was but as among Sea-guls a strife not to keep upright but aloft upon the top of every billow Which false-heartednesse to God and man would in the end find it self forsaken of both as Sir Philip conceived For to this active spirit of his all depths of the Devill proved but shallow fords he piercing into mens counsels and ends not by their words oathes or complements all barren in that age but by fathoming their hearts and powers by their deeds and found no wisdome where he found no courage nor courage without wisdome nor either without honesty and truth With which solid and active reaches of his I am perswaded he would have found or made a way through all the traverses even of the most weak and irregular times But it pleased God in this decrepit age of the world not to restore the image of her ancient vigour in him otherwise than as in a lightning before death Neither am I for my part so much in love with this life nor believe so little in a better to come as to complain of God for taking him and such like exorbitant worthyness from us fit as it were by an Ostracisme to be divided and not incorporated with our corruptions yet for the sincere affection I bear to my Prince and Country my prayer to God is that this Worth and Way may not fatally be buried with him in respect that both before his time and since experience hath published the usuall discipline of greatnes to have been tender of it self onely making honour a triumph or rather trophy of desire set up in the eyes of Mankind either to be worshiped as Idols or else as Rebels to perish under her glorious oppressions Notwithstanding when the pride of flesh and power of favour shall cease in these by death or disgrace what then hath time to register or fame to publish in these great mens names that will not be offensive or infectious to others What Pen without blotting can write the story of their deeds Or what Herald blaze their Arms without a blemish And as for their counsels and projects when they come once to light shall they not live as noysome and loathsomely above ground as their Authors carkasses lie in the grave So as the return of such greatnes to the world and themselves can be but private reproach publique ill example and a fatall scorn to the Government they live in Sir Philip Sidney is none of this number for the greatness which he affected was built upon true Worth esteeming Fame more than Riches and Noble actions far above Nobility it self CHAP. IV. ANd although he never was Magistrate nor possessed of any fit stage for eminence to act upon wherby there is small latitude left for comparing him with those deceased Worthies that to this day live un-envied in story Yet can I probably say that if any supreme Magistracie or employment might have shewed forth this Gentlemans Worth the World should have found him neither a mixt Lysander with unactive goodness to have corrupted indifferent Citizens nor yet like that gallant Libertine Sylla with a tyrannizing hand and ill example to have ordered the dissolute people of Rome much less with that unexperienced Themistocles to have refused in the seat of Justice to deale equally between friends and strangers So that as we say the abstract name of goodness is great and generally currant her nature hard to imitate and diversly worshipped according to Zones complexions or education admired by her enemies yet ill followed by her friends So I may well say that this Gentlemans large yet uniform disposition was every where praised greater in himself than in the world yet greater there in fame and honour than many of his superiors reverenced by forrain Nations in one form of his own in another easily censured hardly imitated and therefore no received Standard at home because his industry judgement and affections perchance seemed too great for the cautious wisdomes of little Monarchies to be safe in Notwithstanding whosoever will be pleased indifferently to weigh his life actions intentions and death shall find he had so sweetly yoaked fame and conscience together in a large heart as inequality of worth or place in him could not have been other than humble obedience even to a petty Tyrant of Sicily Besides this ingenuitie of his nature did spread it self so freely abroad as who lives that can say he ever did him harm whereas there be many living that may thankfully acknowledge he did them good Neither was this in him a private but a publique affection his chief ends being not Friends Wife Children or himself but above all things the honour of his Maker and service of his Prince or Country Now though his short life and private fortune were as I sayd no proper stages to act any greatness of good or evill upon yet are there even from these little centers of his lines to be drawn not Astronomicall or imaginary but reall lineaments but such as infancy is of mansestate out of which nature often sparkleth brighter rayes in some than ordinarily appear in the ripeness of many others For proof wherof I will pass from the testimonie of brave mens words to his own deeds What lights of sounder wisdome can we ascribe to our greatest men of affairs than