of all the contents and matter contained in this booke FIrst what is a Common wealth cap. 1. f. 1. 2 How many sorts are there of Common wealths cap. 2. f. 11. 3 What is an Aristocratie cap. 3. f. 12. 4 What is a Democratie cap. 4. f. 14. 5 What is a Monarchie cap. 5. f. 20. 6 Which of these sorts is best cap. 6. f. 24. 7 What things are requisite in a king cap. 7. f. 46. 8 Magistrates ought to see iustice administred cap. 8 f. 47. 9 What is a Tyrant cap. 9. f. 48. 10 What is the nature and condition of an Oligarchie cap. 10. f. 53. 11 What differēce between an Oligarchie and a Democratie cap. 11. f. 54. 12 Of law cap. 12. f. 55. 13 Of Magistrates cap. 13. f. 65. 14 Of Counsailors cap. 14. f. 76. 15 Of Iudges cap. 15. f. 85. 16 Of Oeconomikes or domesticall gouernment cap. 16. f. 93. 17 Of Vertue Cap. 17. f. 106. 18 Prudence cap. 18. f. 111. 19 Fortitude cap. 19. f. 123 20 Patience cap. 20. f. 135. 21 Constancie cap. 21. f. 142. 22 Of Tēperance cap. 22. f. 150. 23 Modestie cap. 23. f. 158 24 Chastitie cap. 24. f. 164. 25 Iustice cap. 25. f. 172. 26 Charitie cap. 26. f. 182 27 Obedience cap. 27. f. 187. 28 Hope cap. 28. f. 196. 29 Faith cap. 29. f. 207. 30 Truth cap. 30. f. 207. 31 Friendship cap. 31. f. 212. 32 Liberalitie cap. 32. f. 220. 33 Clemencie cap. 33. f. 227. 34 Peace cap. 34. f. 235. 35 Of Idlenes cap. 35. f. 239. 36 Pleasures and delights cap. 36. f. 246. 37 Intemperance and gluttonie cap. 37. f. 253 38 Lust and lawlesse delites cap. 38. f. 258. 39 Enuie cap. 39. f. 264. 40 Couetousnes cap 40. f. 271. 41 Vsurie cap. 41. f. 276. 42 Ambition cap. 42. f. 281. 43 Anger cap. 43. f. 288. 44 Sedition cap. 44. f. 244. 45 Warre cap. 45. f. 297. 46 Conclusion to the magistrates cap. 46. f. 303. FINIS VVhat is a Common wealth Cap. 1. A Commō wealth is a liuing body compact of sundry estates and degrees of mē this body is cōposed of two sorts namely of the soule the worthiest wight and of the members or parts The soule is the king or supreame gouernour which I so terme for two cōsiderations first by a simile in respect of his authoritie for as Aristotle saieth that anima is tot a in toto et tota in qualibet parte That is is wholly in the whole body and in euery part therof so the king in regard of his authoritie is accounted The second last reason is in respect of his being ending who is no sooner said a king then a king of some Cōmon wealth nor no Common wealth can be rightly a common wealth without a king so the body is no liuing body without the soule nor no longer liueth then the soule remaineth For as Augustine saith Anima in hominem creando infunditur infundendo creatur Or as some would haue it A common wealth is a cōgregation or a multitude of inhabitants beyng as it were the mother of vs all Which we ought to hold so deare that in defence therof we shuld not feare to hazard our liues For as Cic. saith wee are borne not for our selues but for our countrey kindred friends parents childrē parents and friends are deare to vs but our coūtrie chalēgeth a greater loue and exacteth a farther duty This word Common wealth is called of the Latine word Respublica quasi res populica the affaires of the people which the latines cal the Gouernmēt of a cōmon wealth or of a ciuill societie and is termed of the Greciās a politicall gouernment deriued of the Greeke word Polutia which signifieth the regimēt and estate of a citie disposed by order of equitie and ruled by moderation of reason which answereth and concurreth most fitly to this my present discourse purpose as the order estate wherby one or many townes are gouerned administered ordained to that end that euery societie should by due order or policie be framed Al men are naturally borne to affect societie whereof there be 3. sortes the one being giuen to the engendring and procreating of humane race as that of man and woman and this is wholy by nature Nam omnium societatum nulta est magis secundū naturam quam maris foeminae The other addicted to policie and ciuil gouernment as lawmakers within their seueral precincts limits this proceedeth partly by nature partly by other causes The 3. to lewdnes and wickednes as that of pyrates theeues and conspirators which societie nature needeth not this hapneth in many places either for want of lawe or the execution therof This naturall inclination of societie in generall is in it selfe rude and barbarous vnles it be gouerned by counsel and tempered by wisedome wherefore some of themselues eyther by instinct of nature or by diuine essence or secrete influence from aboue haue deliuered vnto their posterities a perfect way and sure reason as a sugred potion or sweete balme of their beneuolence to mitigate this humane societie among whome many were termed authors but God alone hath so framed the state of the whole cōmon wealth the gouernment thereof by his owne eternall prouidēce also cōstituted appointed Moses as an instrumēt to publish the same for our instructiōs knowledge by which meanes many profitable things for the due ordering of a common wealth may be reaped gathered for whose preseruations as amōgst the Grecians Persians Iewes in these our daies many were accoūted authors of reformations yet howsoeuer wee ought somewhat to restraine our libertie diminish our credit endammage our liues in the greatest ieopardy for the safetie hereof So deare was the loue of Vlysses to his coūtry that he preferred his natiue soile Ithaca before immortalitie Camillus a noble Romane being Dictator six times though banished yet when the Frenchmen had taken the Citie of Rome compelled the Romās to redeeme their heads with golde he with the Ardeats with whom hee liued exild slewe the Frenchmen saued the citie from bondage So Horatius Cocles a valiant Romane with two more at a bridge that entred into Rome kept backe and caused the whole armie of Porsenna to retire vntill the bridge was broken downe behind them then in spite of his enemie armed as hee was did swim safe into the citie and saued his countrie So likewise Cynegirus a man of excellent vertue willing to incurre any torture or torment for his countries safety who after many conflicts had with his enemies whom hee put to flight and hardly pursued vntill they were cōpelled to take shipping yet this valiant man being not willing to let them saile scot-free fastened his right hand on one of their shippes not letting goe his hold vntill it was cut off and then he held with his left hand of which also he
knowledge of our soueraigne good and the ende of our life dependeth Wherefore we may in no sorte behaue our selues more prudently then by cōsidering how we may deale imprudently Such a prudent man was Agesilaus king of the Lacedemonians who when there was a battel to be pitched at Mantinia by his subiectes the Lacedemonians counselled them thus wisely that they should bēd all their force and strength and leuell at Epiminondas saying It was a poinct of prudence to cut off the hartiest souldier first of all meaning that valiant men were the causers of victory which when they had obserued obtained the conquest and so preuented the daunger and preserued their liues safety Whereby it was concluded that in warre one prudent man was of greater force to subdue then an whole army of vnwisemen For as Homer saieth Ille sapit solus volitant alii velut vmbrae Likewise Ioseph so excelled in prudence in aduising Pharao to prouide a man of wisedome and vnderstanding and set him ouer the land of Egypt saying Let Pharao make and appoint Officers ouer the land and take vp the first part of the land of Egypt in the seuen plenteous yeeres also let them gather all the foode of these good yeeres that come and lay vp corne vnder the hand of Pharao for foode in the citie and let them keepe it so the foode shal be for the prouisiō of the land against the seuen yeres of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt that the land perish not for famine the saying pleased Pharao and al his seruants and therfore accoūted Ioseph a most prudent and wise man In like sort the prudence of Licurgus the reformer lawmaker of the Lacedemoniās was the cause of the maintenaunce of their flourishing estate aboue 500. yeeres so that it was the chiefest in all Greece both for glory excellency of gouernment from whence they digressed not vntill such time as they wholy neglected those lawes and godly ordinances the which hee gaue them Wherefore to conclude the vigor strength of this vertue in all actions whether it be ingeneral to all in a Monastike life or Oeconomicall appertaining to families or politike which is the chiefest of all vsed to the good of the Commō wealth hath such efficacy that nothing without the same may rightly be effected for the confirmation whereof and a finall conclusiō we need no more then the liuely example of Argos which had his head inuironed with a hundred watching eies signifying vnto vs that he was euery way endued with great prudēce and singular discretiō wherfore if a Pagan and a Heathen man by the reportes of the Poets so excelled in the atchiuement of vertue wisedome and prudence how much the rather ought wee Christians to bee furnished with the same as an onely ornament of all actions For although the wit of mā is most precious and apt to al goodnes glistering as the yron brasse more more in wearing whose sharpnes and brightnes is like the sparkle that soonest kindleth desire though eloquence be a diuine influence and inuentiō the daerling of nature neuerthelesse inuention bringeth forth oft times a rude deformed matter and eloquence singeth a song harsh voide of tune concord of true melody without prudence by which men are alwaies cloathed and inuested with a mild and setled disposition wherein it steadeth them no lesse then a shippe floting on the Sea doeth the presence of a Pilote that may prudently vndertake wisely execute whatsoeuer he knoweth to be good after mature deliberation and cōsideration of all the circumstances of the fact If therfore a gouernour be not endued with prudence learning ciuill policy cannot be maintained and his Empire or gouernment auaileth not 1 Prudence reformeth abuses past ordereth thinges present foreseeth things to come 2 Iustice without Prudēce is dissolued into cruelty temperance into fury and fortitude into tyranny 3 It is a point of great Prudence to lament the life of a wicked man more then the death of the iust 4 To the prudent it is more pleasant to heare coūsell mixt with mirth then to the foolish to wāt sport mixt with rudenesse 5 He that searcheth out prudence findeth treasure in this life and enioyeth perfect happines in the life to come Of Fortitude Cap. 19. FOrtitude is an inuincible vertue or courage of the mind vndertaking any peril in an honest good cause also it is defined of some to be a firie humor of the spirit inflaming the minde with boldnes in all assayes conducting the body thorow a million of perils in attempting harde aduentures because nothing ought to bee hard for a valerous mā to attempt which might daunt abate his courage This vertue is of two sorts either consisting of the meere strength of the body which ought not to be termed fortitude because there be many men that haue stout bodies and great strength and yet cowards And is therfore called naturall vigor or els fortitude otherwise it is taken for the constancy of the minde and so it is termed a morall vertue wherefore by the assent of the Philosophers it deserueth the vppermost roome and the greatest dignitie amōgst morall vertues for two considerations First in respect of the primate and chiefest man whose minde attaineth this vertue Secōdly in respect of the whole citie which he enioieth and in enioying defendeth her territories and turrets aduenturing any enterprise for the security thereof The properties of this vertue consist in two things First in despising outward casualties not beeing moued to admire thereat in admiring not to desire or wish any thing but what is honest holding the flagge of defiance against the allure and becke of fortune suffering al things patiently if any thing happen bitter or grieuous which is a token of an inuincible minde as Cicero saith Si quid obtigerit aequo animo paratoque morear neque enim turpis mors forti viro potest accidere neque immatura consulari nec misera sapienti The second is that if thou art of that minde and courage see thou imploy thy selfe in those thinges which are most difficult and full of perill which may as well cōserue the life of man as sundry other things thereunto appertaining that it may be said as it was of a certaine Philosopher who being busied touching his countreys affaires and pleading truce for his friends liues hapned to fall into the lapse of his enemies and hauing many cowardly souldiers who regarding neither their friends liues nor their owne countreys security most timerously flying demaunded of this valiant mā what they should do to whom hee answered that they should report to those that were aliue that he valiantly fighting for their security died and I will in like sort report to the dead that you escaped cowardly as being the last in the field and first in flight We see therefore that courage and magnanimity are daunted with no danger and yet conquer
by perseuerance triumph with honor So then as we shall finde our bounden dutie to honour our countrey with all gratitude to defend it with all power and might shewing our selues valiant and couragious following the example of Curtius the Romane when there appeared a great gulfe in the market place which could by no meanes be stopped an answere being giuen by the Oracle that it was onely to be stopped by that which was of most value to the city of Rome he deeming that the citie had nothing so precious as stout valiant men armed himself and leapt into the gulfe which stopt immediatly declaring thereby how light men ought to esteeme their liues when as the same might yeeld profit and coÌ„modity to their countrey in regard of such aduentures which euery man ought in the behalfe of his couÌ„trey to enterprise Herehence it hapneth out sometime that diuers rash wilfull meÌ„ carried with an erronious opinion do esteeme it mere cowardnes not to fight for euery light offeÌ„ce which is well approued to be otherwise as AlexaÌ„der the sonne of Mammena testifieth who hearing that Artaxerxes the king of the Persians came with a great army of souldiors about to inuade the Romane Empire it behoueth valiant moderat men said Alexander to wish alwaies the best to beare patiently whatsoeuer happeneth contrary to their expectation for it is the point of fortitude neither to encombate for euery small trifle triumph in prosperity nor yet to be dismaid in aduersity concluding with Cicero that a valiant man should bee alwaies girded with patience garded with constancy the one to perseuer in wel doing the other to tolerate sundry enormities for Fortes magnanimi sunt noÌ„ qui faciuÌ„t sed qui propulsant iniuriam Calling to mind that not onely they which do offend are valiant men but they which do defend HereupoÌ„ Laches demaunded of Socrates what Fortitude was he answered It was a vertue by which a man not forsaking right and custome repelleth the force of his enemy which he confuted saying A maÌ„ after the maner of the Scythians no lesse in flying then in persisting ouercommeth his enemy and so in like maner may be called a valiant man Wherefore Homer calleth him a valiant man which dareth according to opportunity and as time place and occasion shall require boldly resist or feare his enemy gathering hereby that a valiant man or light not for euery trifle or light occasioÌ„ fight or encombat For it is a rude thing as Cicero saith after the maner of beasts to coÌ„mit such wilfull rashnes vnles it be in defence of countrey or for vertue honesty sake regarding both time place the person for as he is called desperate and rash that fighteth for euery small matter so againe are they accounted valiant that suffer and tolerate small iniuries vnlesse they impaire their credit or derogate â—â—om their honesty then if they resist not an iniâ—â—e if it be offered they are in as great a fault as Cicero saieth as if they should forsake both countrey parents children deeming it better to die free then to liue captiue of which opinioÌ„ was Mucius Scaeuola that valiant man who willing to incurre any sinister hap for the safety of his countrey was taken of his enemies at which time he thought to slay the king his enemy but missing the king slew the secretary and was afterwards brought to a great fire to be burnt into the which he willingly thrust his hand that had falled to slay the king and suffered it to be burnt to ashes Likewise also Abraham was of such excellent valure that when he heard that his brother was taken by the kings of Sodome and Gomorrha brought foorth of them that were borne and brought vp in his house three hundred eighteene and pursued them vnto a place called Dan. In like maner Mithridates king of Pontus after he had pestered the Romanes with warres the space of 40. yeres during which time he behaued himselfe no lesse valiant in minde then hardy in body in resisting their strong forces and withal in attempting the fortitude of the Romanes thogh he was by fortune shaken in his old yeers and eclipsed of his wealth frieÌ„ds countrey kingdome al worldly chiualry yet in despight of fortune went to Celta meaning with them to transport into Italy whereby the Romanes might haue intelligeÌ„ce that albeit he of his friends and countrey by the frowne of fortune was depriued yet neyther fortune nor the Romanes could subdue his valiant hart In this triumphed valiant men because they might not be vanquished and gloried being free from subiection 1 Lightning or thunder-claps dismay infants and threates annoy fooles but nothing dismaieth the resolution of a valiant man 2 Fortitude is the champion to equity which neuer ought to striue except in righteous actions 3 Valure is a wise mans coate a fooles cognizance 4 Those that are stout in body cowards in mind are dissemblers with God maÌ„ with God because they may be good and will not with man because they seeme and are not Of Patience Cap. 20. PAtience is an excellent vertue beloÌ„ging aswel to outward empire as to inward gouernance it is said to be the shielde of intolerable wroÌ„gs the vaÌ„quisher of wickednes that lighteneth the burden of aduersity and is a sure carde against all assaults and passions of the soule seasoning the ioys of prosperity and retaining a continuall glad assemblaÌ„ce in aduersity and dolor consisting stoutly and valiantly in sustaining all labours and griefes for the loue of honesty and vertue For as S. Augustine sayeth it is more coÌ„mendable to conteÌ„ne an iniury the therewith to bee grieued or to pine by reason that in despising we seeme aâ— though we were not moued therewith or felt nothing regarding it nothing at all but on the contraryside hee that is thereat sturred or grieued endureth torment feeleth the smart because the more impatient we be in sustaining iniuries we aggrauate the griefe by so much the more and grieuous and vneasie is the burden thereof Patience then sucking the dregges of sorrow and pestered with the bitter pils of distresse is made more strong and perfect which seemeth to be wel approued by the Lacedemonians who were noted to bee patterns of patience sustaining all paines wars vinde and weather So likewise as Plinie reporteth Anarchus of all men was most patient in all his torments which is a speciall token of an heroicall minde to set light by small wrongs and litle regard meane aduentures But as for this kinde of patience these examples may serue because wee haue sufficient daily before our eies wherefore I will draw neerer vnto the inward gouernance vpoÌ„ whom patience should attend to the subuersion and oppressing of naturall passions to the sustaining of the frowardnes of fortune lest that they which haue the fuÌ„ction of authority be imploied in matters of great importance their liues be
not onely replenished with toiles and heinous displeasures but withall bee subiect vnto diuers casualties To these the onely prouiso and ready way to haue patience is thought by two waies inuented First a direct and an vpright consciēce a true constant opiniō in the estimatiō of goodnes which seldom procedeth by instinct of nature vnlesse it be exquisit and excellent but by the diligent study attaining of vertue For hee which bendeth himselfe to reuenge doth imitate his doings who is molested with impatience and he that imitateth an euil man wil hardly proue good himselfe it were difficult and harde for a valiant man to tolerate any iniury without reuenge though oftentimes he is accoūted more valiāt in suffering then in hasty reuēging for he that enterpriseth any thing hastily may repent him by leysure Neuerthelesse I denie not but it is almost a thing impossible for a couragious man to tolerate an indignity the which if he doth suffer the onely and the surest way to be reuēged is to contemne rebuke it and to liue with such godly courage behauiour and vpright life that the doer and actor of the wrong shal haue sufficient occasion thereat to be ashamed or at leastwise lose the fruites of his enuy hauing no ioy of thy hinderance and damage Antisthenes was wont to glory that he had sufficient vertue to the attaining of felicity wanted nothing saue onely the strēgth of Socrates meaning his mayle coate of patience was a sufficient armour of proofe Tiberius Cesar was in this one thing most highly cōmended because he refused honors that wer gratefully profered him shunned flattery and suffered all reproches patiently saying that in a free citie there ought to be free toūgs that is to say void of iniquity and tempered with this mild soueraigne named Patience Whose aduice Iulius Cesar seemed to imitate whē Catullus the Poet wrote very many contumelious Epigrams against him he notwithstanding not onely forgaue him but was recōciled and often inuited him to his house But omitting to speak any more of this vertue sithens it seemeth sufficient to the instruction of a gouernour if any thing remaine I referre him to Plutarch and Plato where he may find sufficient to satisfie his minde and accomplish his expectation 1 The sweetest salue to a deformed shape is patience and no greater reuenge can be profered to Fortune then to liue contentedly in the midst of misery 2 The final end of patiēce is the expectatiō of promises 3 He may be well verified to be right patient which in his outrage can bridle his owne affections 4 Patience winketh at apparant follies and refraineth to prosecute manifest iniuries Of Constancy Cap. 21. COnstancy is a fortitude as Aristotle saieth perseuering in well doing defined of Cicero to be a prouident guide teaching vs the force efficacy of wisedome and directing vs to tread our steps stedfastly in the continuall trace of vertue our nature beeing fraile lest that any puffe of vanity or gale of winde should tosse our light affections like the bramble being wauering and wanting stay wee are ready to shipwrack at euery sudden waue or the least blast vnlesse wee be cunningly guided by a Pilote of experience whom neither feare of aduersitie exterior dammage nor priuate familiarity may cause to desist from so commendable and comely a vertue as constancy in which remaineth nothing worthy of blame as a note of blemish for albeit we haue both by nature and nurture obtained the guerdon due vnto our labour doe misse of constancy when experience claspeth hold on vs if we then omit any parte of our gotten talent or effected vertue moued by priuate affection feare of aduersity or any other exterior dammage desisting from constancy prouing vnstable and wauering in our actiōs then is the estimation of our credit eclipsed what may be worthy of commendations in vs. A man in nothing lesse resembleth a man then to proue in his action vnconstāt which is a great blemish in any man as appeared in Metellus which after his master Diodorus being dead laied vpon his sepulchre a stone made after the fashion of a Crowe which Cicero vnderstanding said that he had well rewarded him because he taught him to flie and not to speake Whereby he noted the inconstancy of Metellus Also heretofore men were rebuked for their inconstancy and likened to women and to children to the one because in respect of their infancy and young yeeres were not able to effect any thing to the other as being the weaker sort at whose handes no great exploit was to be expected but now a daies it is contrary for women are noted for the most part to bee of greater constancy then men and if any proue vncōstāt the feminine sort are accustomed to terme the same to resemble some wauering or vncōstant man what should bee the cause of this I know not vnlesse it might come to passe that men for their leuity are too often saide to resemble women and so with Caeneus changing sexe who of a woman became man so men become women Constancy beyng a property only vnto man ought to bee of no small reputation for as the wise man saieth It is better to haue a constant enemy then an vnconstant friend whereof we haue diuers liuely examples therefore I will drawe a little neerer to the nature and property of constancy The property of a constant man as the Philosophers do affirme is not to insult in prosperity nor to pine in troubles or calamity nor to mourne in aduersity but as Plato saith to holde a meane betweene submission ambition guided by reason wherby we may note the ambitious and enuious men to be excluded of whom there is no meane obserued nor true constancy vsed beeing by these vices as by a cable rope haled with vnsatiable desire making no period or comma frō the highest Zodiack climate to the lowest Centre by which meanes their mindes cannot be permanent Moreouer we must not deceiue our selues in deeming that the stiffe necked and stubborne man is constant although hee continueth as beyng void of al vertue in his peruerse opiniō as Zeno the philosopher wel testifieth saying Facilius esse ventrem inflatum emergere quam quemuis improbum ad aliquid agendum cogere Who yeeldeth to no man is sooner like a Serpent to be broken then bent but on the contrary side the constant man persisteth not according to opinion as the stubborne man which is grounded Innanibus as they say quasi labentibus fundamentis vpon no certaine fundation but vpon true knowledge or science wherein he is assured not to erre Such a constant man was Anaxarcus the philosopher that when he was beaten in a hollow stone of Micocreon the tyrant was of such inuincible mind that he bad the tirāt Knock knock this carcase of Anaxarcus but thou shalt neuer infringe his constancy Likewise Alexander had such great cōstancy in trusting his friend against
misreport that it saued his life whereof all men despaired Xantippe the wife of Socrates did report that Socrates had alwaies the same countenance both going from home returning home which was a signe of great constancy wherefore nothing is more requisite in a gouernour then during all his life time in all actions to proue stable and constant 1 To liue to God to cōtemne the world to feare no mishap are the ensignes of constancy 2 The treasure that men gather in processe of time may faile friends may relent hope may deceiue vaine glory may perish but cōstancy may neuer be conquered 3 Constancy is the blessing of nature the soueraine salue of pouerty the mistresse of sorrow the end of misery 4 It is the signe of leuity and lightnes of wit vnaduisedly to promise what a man may not or will not performe Of Temperance Cap. 22. TEmperance is a vertue moderating and bridling lusts defined by Aristotle to be a meane in moderating of the pleasures of the body may bee fitly likened to a lampe that shineth lightneth and expelleth away the dim and obscure passions that may enuiron it before this vertue can be rightly setled wee must be void of distemperature or annoyāce of cōtrary vice to the attaining whereof wee must vse such meanes as the Chyrurgians doe Before they apply any medicine or salue co cure any festered vlcer or wound they first drawe out all bad and corrupt humors dead and rotten flesh and then do proceede further to the cure thereof so must we begin first to cleanse purge the mind of all distemperate humors or noysome passions which may seeke harbour rest therin so that this vertue may haue no seate or roome to abide whereby as her nature and property is it may preserue both priuate and humane society curing the soule most miserably throwē downe in vice restoring it againe to her accustomed abode therin foreseing all disordered and vnbridled appetites to yeeld to the yoke of reason discretion which is not onely effected by the abstaining from meat and drinke but also in vanquishing the lust and bridling lasciuious affections and suppressing wanton wils which are the vtter wracke and ruine of man the which to subdue is thought by wise men a greater conquest thē to ouercome an enemy in the field as by their deeds doctrine it euidently appeareth Antisthenes that famous man did so much loath vntēperate pleasure that he was wont to say that he had rather waxe madde then to be moued thereby proclaiming openly I will be distracted rather thē I wil delight in vntemperature because the Phisition may cure this malady and madnes but pleasure or any vntemperature when it causeth a man to be void of reason without himselfe is a mischiefe that hath no remedy and is vncurable Likewise Demosthenes that famous Orator of Greece affirmed no greater euill to happen to any earthly wight which had any tast of vertue then incontinence and vntemperature accompting it the greatest vertue that could bee to abstaine and vtterly to abandon banquetting swilling and drinking because temperance doth very much auaile vs which is especially tried in contemning and abandoning pleasures in all actions This is it that deserued that daily commendation of Solon which was wont to crie out Ne quid nimis Wherefore the Persians listening thereunto caused their children in all actions daily to bee exercised herein Likewise the Turkes doe obserue daily this vertue with all modesty in such forte that they excell the Greekes and the Romanes who are wont in warre to sustaine themselues with bread half baked and rice with the pouder of flesh which is dried in the Sunne their drinke is faire water such as the ancient Carthaginians vsed in warre by prescription of law as Plato saieth In like maner Agesilaus king of the Lacedemoniās passing through the city of Thracius being mette and entertained by the Nobles and the people with diuersity of banquets and rare dainties to gratifie his comming who neuerthelesse tasted not their dainties feeding onely on bread and drinke cōmanded his foote men to feed vpon such cheere saying that a Prince ought not to pamper himselfe with varieties or dainty cheere but to abstayne meaning that immoderate eating and drinking do inferre great dammages to mans body which were onely ordained to sustaine the life of man which otherwise vsed do cause great sinne before God and man and ingendreth diuers diseases and sicknesses as dropsies sundry other infections Who would not therefore considering the discommodity hereof refraine and willingly loath all vnsatiable gluttons as Vitellus Appitius to which cormorāts neither land water ayre might bee sufficient which is the greatest blemish that can be in any man Iulius Cesar so much abhorred intemperance as Plutark rehearseth that he was accounted in regard thereof the very lampe and Lanthorne of all Europe for his abstinēce thought the very mirror of Italy who by ouercōming of himselfe ouercame all Europe so no lesse are all gouernours for their temperance and abstinence to deserue praise and fame then dignity honour for their rule and Empire 1 Heroicall vertues are made perfect by the vnity of temperance and fortitude which seperated becomes vitious 2 There is nothing in the world that deserues greater felicity then moderatiō that ouercommeth the assaults of the flesh and the fruites of a good life are reuiued by it 3 Temperance enforceth vs to yeeld to reason bringeth peace to the minde and mollifieth the affections with concord and agreement 4 It is vnpossible for him to praise temperance whose delight is in pleasure or affect gouernment that delighteth in riot Of Modesty Cap. 23. MOdesty is a temperate vertue or a precinct or limite which honesty commaundeth to be obserued so called as Aristotle saith because it obserueth a meane not exceeding nor declining in any thing And as Osorius saieth It is a vehement feare shamefastnes of ignominy or reproch but Plato calleth it the onely preseruer of all vertue which first shineth or appeareth in youthes like a lampe and especially in those which are of the greatest towardnes whō we perceiue to blush not for any infamy or reproche which they haue cōmitted but for feare of cōmitting any thing worthy the reprehēsiō which is the only felicity in all estates and may be called the onely repairer of decayed vertue Sith then the country which we must desire to inhabite is so high and heauēly and the way thither is Modestie wherefore then desiring to enioy this happy countrey do wee refuse the way for doubtlesse as Osorius saieth that hee which altogether hath lost this vertue and passeth the goale is either of presumption or of meere slownesse reputed and may bee well thought to haue no sparkle of honesty Was not impudence and ouerboldnes one of the greatest blemishes that Cicero was wont to reprehend in Cateline But modesty now a daies as Plato saieth is exilde out of the land
haue authority or gouernment or are admitted into any place of dignity or estimation in the Common wealth 1 Pure chastity is beauty to our soules a heauenly grace to our bodies peace to our desires 2 Chastity is the seale of grace the marke of the iust the crowne of virginity the glory of life and comfort in matrimony 3 Chastity is like the stars in heauen and beauty is like the marigold which openeth her leaues no lōger then the sunne shineth so beauty endureth but for a moment 4 Chastity is a signe of true modesty which in extremity is crowned with eternity whose presence striketh more shame thē the sight of many wicked and immodest persons can stirre to filthines with their immodest speaches Of Iustice Cap. 25. IVstice being an excellent and matchlesse vertue is thought expedient to be in all degrees and especially in the gouernours of the Common wealth without the which nothing is cōmendable for it is the right guide vnto godlines goodnes and the knowledge of God the which vertue Cicero called the Queene and mistresse of all vertues and defined it to be the habite of the minde which respecteth the publike cōmodity yeldeth equally euery man his owne This vertue Aristotle calleth the affection of the minde by which men are prone to administer iustice as being the fundatiō of all other vertues which allots no priuiledge to defraude any mā of his right wherefore as being by the prouidēce of God inuented for the accōplishment hereof there were certaine Images of Iudges by report set vp at Athens hauing neither hands nor eyes describing that rulers and Magistrates should neither be infected with bribes or any other way drawen from that which was lawfull right To this purpose as it seemeth in the originall an vpright and a iust man was chosen by full consent and assent of the communalties of an equall indifferency which should excell in vertue to decide all controuersies lest the inferiour fort should bee ouerpressed by mighty and wealthy mē such a man at that time held the superiority and ruled as a King All this was effected for the executing of iustice and the right administration thereof which is so necessary that no gouernors without it can rightly rule nor no Common wealth be wel established which ought to bee of force amongst the greatest enemies according to the nature and disposition thereof which is a perpetual and a constant will yeelding euery one his owne by euen portion wherein prudence magnanimity and cōstancy as assistants or gards are requisit the one to distinguish lawful things from vnlawful the other not to be daunted or held backe by any sinister chaunce the third and last to perseuere in yeelding iustice For as Osorius saieth In repub bene cōstituta leges sunt in armorum tutela sic in bene moratis animis omnia iustitiae praescripta fortitudinis praesidio prudentiae auxilio constantiae adminiculo muniūtur In a well ordered Common wealth lawes are in stead of weapons so in well moderated mindes all the rights and prescripts of Iustice are patronized by the safegard of fortitude by the ayd of prudence and vnder the wing of constancy Of this iustice as Cicero sayth there be two sortes the one Distributiue the other Commutatiue and is of Aristotle called in greek Diorthotick in English Correctiue or as the Philosophers do say there are foure sorts of iustice the first celestiall the second naturall the third ciuill the fourth iudiciall Celestiall is the perfect consideration and duty to God naturall is that which al men haue among themselues by nature ciuil is that which is made eyther by lawes of nature the statutes of the people the consultation of the Senators or the authority of graue and wise men and the deuice of Princes as amōgst the Athenians Romanes iudiciall iustice depēded vpon lawes made for the commodity of the cōmon welth But because of these Plato de legibus and Cicero with diuers others haue spokē sufficiently I will leaue off to speake any thing of the diuersity of the sortes and nature thereof but yet not forgetting the quality I thinke it meet to proceed farther because as Cicero testifieth without this vertue there is nothing done or effected any maner of way which in processe of time weareth not away excepting Iustice which the more ancient it is the more it flourisheth wherfore there ought to bee no time which should bee void of iustice as it well appeared by Byas the sage and graue Philosopher being to iudge a man to die bewailed and lamēted the misery of the mā and thought woorthily hee should bewaile his sinister fortune whom a certaine mā beholding demaunded why he should weepe and powre teares when it rested at his pleasure to condemne or free any man To whom Bias answered I must of necessity pardon the frailty of nature but to erre frō iustice law is a pernitious thing and not to be tolerated meaning that iustice was a measure ordained from God amongst his creatures to his honor the defence of the feeble and innocent without which hee esteemed nothing perfect except it were guided by this vertue wherefore he ought not to erre herein nor derogate any thing from the property being the fundation of all creatures Therfore as it were for the auerring of this saying Manlius Torquatus shewed himself so iust in the executing of iustice that he condēned his owne sonne caused him to be put to deth being against equity a conquerour deeming that hee owed more duty to maintain the rights of iustice then eyther loue towards his sonne or els to the triūph glory of the cōquest that his sonne had gotten Phocion also of Athens being of Antipater requested that hee would vse iniustice priuily answered him Thou canst not vse me both a friend and a flatterer for a friend doth so long continue a friend as Iustice and equity doe permit him Meaning that neither friends nor kinsmen should be an occasion to hinder the execution of iustice which being neglected both the loue of God mā is cōtemned and the destruction of the state of the Common wealth almost in a moment decaied and ruinated as we may see in diuers cities and countries and also in the gouernours thereof as King Philip was killed by Pausanias a gentleman for denying iustice at the marriage of his daughter Cleopatra and diuers others by the transgression hereof Wherefore let euery good christian and especially gouernors eschew iniustice and be moued with zeale to discharge their dutie and execute with equity and iustice whatsoeuer they vndertake for the reuerēce they do owe towards God and the regard of their coūtries safety 1 Iustice is the mother of vertues the right spouse of fortitude for which kings be created and by whose vertue they rule 2 Iustice allots no pardon to the wicked which might bring the hazard of the coūtrey 3 Iustice requireth equity equity iudgeth with lenity