asked whether hée had rather bée Achilles or Homer made answere Tell mée thou thy selfe whether thou hadst rather bée a Trumpetter or a Captaine But though this answere make for armes yet I pray you tell mee what you thinke to bée the end and marke that wise and worthie men shoote at Guaz. I thinke it bée to leaue behinde them that which may triumphe ouer death and according to the saying of the Poet. May fetch a man foorth of his graue and keepe him still aliue Annib. You say well but whereof dependeth this immortalitie and euerliuing name Guaz. Of learning and histories whereby it is conserued for euer Annib. You may sée then that learning is aboue armes for that learning of it selfe is able to purchase immortalitie but armes cannot doe it without the aide of learning which Alexander the great knew well enough who calling Achilles happie for that it was his hap to haue so excellent a setter foorth of his doings woulde say no more but that hée desired likewise to light vpon one who with the like grace woulde gather into one booke his trauelles conquests and renowmed Acts which without some suche excellent wit to commend them to posteritie he knew would soone be buried in obliuion Guaz. I thinke verily that without some spurre of euerlasting praise fewe men woulde bée pricked forward to enterprise any thing worthie praise Annib. Wée all couet this glory as the fruite and lawfull reward of our trauell and there is no man but is right glad to cōsecrate his name to immortalitie For proofe wherof it is tolde that a certaine writer published in print a little pamphlet of his owne making intituled The contempt of glory wherein by many notable reasons hée indeuoured to prooue that it is a vanitie vnséemely for a man to gape after glory in consideration of his owne works But that writer was afterwards charged to haue committed the same fault which hée found fault with in others for that hee had set his name in the first page and beginning of his booke Whereby it was apparantly knowne that if hee had contemned glory in déede as he went about to perswade others by wordes he would haue caused his book to haue béen imprinted without his name whiche being blazed in the fore front as it was gaue a manifest signe how desirous he was of glory but Cicero would neuer dissemble in that point who in a long letter opēly and earnestly requested Luceius to gratifie him in thrée thinges The first that he would set downe separately from his other histories the conspiracy of Cateline therby to giue immortall fame to his name the second that he woulde add some thing in respect of the frēdship which was betwene them The third that he would publish his book with al spéed possible that while he were yet liuing he might taste of the swéetenesse of his owne glory I will not héere let passe Augustus who ioyned to his last will and Testament his owne acts péece by péece appointing that they shoulde bee ingrauen vpon his tombe in pillers of brasse But how many other may a man rehearse who went canuassing about and crauing for this bruite this glory by the meane either of histories or of images or of tombes or of pictures or of buildinges or other memorials Guaz. It séemeth a greater maruell to mée that so honourable a desire should enter into the hearte of a common Courtisan named Trine who being very rich suche time as Alexander the great razed the walles of Thebes went and profered the Thebanes to repaire them at her owne charges so that they would bée content that to her euerlasting fame shée might cause only these wordes to bée ingrauen in the wall Alexander razed it and Trine raised it Annib. This woman was better to bée borne withal who sought glory with her owne money then some are who get it at other mens cost and being not able to leaue behinde thē a good report by help of their owne vertue attribute theeuishly to themselues the doings of strangers of which sorte of men it is not long since that wee vsed some speeche Touching armes I reply that the déedes of famous Captaines worthie souldiers die with them if they haue not some to set them foorth in writing or vnlesse they haue ioyned to their prowesse in armes the knowledge of good letters So that by the example of Caesar they may be able to hold the speare in the rest with one hand and with the other the pen to write their own acts which were very necessary especially in these our dayes wherein the memory of diuers worthy souldiers yea Princes Gentlemen who haue atchieued many valiant exploites hath béen lost is yet from time to time lost Whereas if they had béen so wel set foorth as y e famous men were in time past they should neuer haue had cause to haue enuied the glory of Annibal Marcellus Caesar or y e Scipios but had béen equal to them in euery respect Guaz. Héereby may be gathered how profitable the conuersatiō of the learned men is how important it is to haue the friendship familiaritie of writers who with one drop or two of ynke may prolong our life through many ages Annib. They haue power not only to prolong life but to abridge it And therevpon a certain Captaine vsed to say that the pennes of writers pearce the souldiers corslets We know wel how diuers writers either to please others either led by affection or moued vpon some other occasion haue in their histories contrary to their duety magnified exalted aboue the trueth the doings of some captaines abased or els concealed the notable enterprises of other some and by the force of their hand and penne haue lift vp the litle and thrust downe the great Guaz. Touching that I remember that P. Iouius being blamed for the infidelitie of his historie he could not deny it saying yet that he comforted himselfe knowing that when a hundred yeres were once expired there would be no man liuing that could gainsay his writing so y t the posteritie shold be driuen of necessitie to giue vndoubted credite vnto them Annib. Perchaunce he would not haue put himselfe in that hazard if hée had not made his account by the maiestie elegancie of his history to make al the writers of this time afeard to write against him * But as y e world goeth those shew themselues wise men whiche kéepe the learned their friends which receiue them into their fauour and protection not so much for their owne behoofe as for the loue of vertue which thing brought great glory to Alexander to Augustus to Mecenas who bestowed honours maruellous rewards vpon diuers Gramarians Orators Poets philosophers Neither thinke I méet to let passe the example of Pius y e seconde who in the warres of his time gaue expresse cōmandement that y e honor goods life of the people of Arpines should
THE CIVILE CONuersation of M. Steeuen Guazzo written first in Italian and nowe translated out of French by George Pettie deuided into foure bookes In the first is conteined in generall the fruites that may bee reaped by conuersation and teaching howe to knowe good companie from yll In the second the manner of conuersation meete for all persons which shall come in any companie out of their owne houses and then of the perticular points which ought to bée obserued in companie betwéene young men and olde Gentlemen and Yeomen Princes and priuate persons learned and vnlearned Citizens and Strangers Religious and Secular men women In the third is perticularly set foorth the orders to bee obserued in conuersation within doores betwéene the husband and the wife the father and the sonne brother and brother the Maister and the seruant In the fourth the report of a banquet ¶ Imprinted at London by Richard Watkins 1581. ¶ To the honorable and his very good Ladie the Ladie Norrice GEORGE PETTIE wisheth contentation in all thinges GOOD Madame the force of vertue is such that it purchaseth to those which are indued with it the good will of those which are strangers vnto them 〈◊〉 much more must it make mee duetifully affectioned to your Ladiship who am neither stranger to you nor vnacquainted with your noble vertuous disposition in signe of which my dutie and affection I haue presumed to present vnto you the first sight of this my translation humbly dedicating it to your honourable protection knowing that none will more willingly vndertake the defence of learning then those who are indued with singuler wit and learning and thinking none more worthy to receiue the first fruites of learning then those who beare especiall fauour to learning I will not heere enter into the wide field of your vertues for that I knowe you take more pleasure in doing wel then in hearing well and for that the right Corrall needeth no coulouring neither the fine Marble painting neither can my pen possibly procure more honour to your name then it hath alredie gotten partly by your owne doinges partly by the renowmed deedes of the noble Gentlemen your sonnes of whom some are furnished with suche wisedome with such discretion and with such sufficiencie euery way that our Prince and Countrie cannot spare their good seruice some are indued with suche valour that our Countrie is too little to conteine the greatnesse of their mindes some with such manly prowesse euen in their childishe yeeres that it stoode our Countrie of late in no small steede in repressing and subduing our rebellious enimies And though some of them like Alexander the great seeke newe Countries and newe worldes to shewe their valiancie in yet they remaine most redy to doe our countrie seruice whensoeuer it shall please our Prince to commaunde their returne And would to God it might please her Maiestie with speede to commaund it for suche rare iewels are well worth the wearing such worthy Captaines are necessary to be had in these daungerous times especially being such whose valiancie is sufficiently knowne to all men and whose fidelitie may be sufficiently warranted to her Highnesse by the good and trustie seruice of their noble father my Lorde Norrice both within this Realme and out of the Realme of their worthie grandfather my Lorde Williams both before her Maiestie came to the Crowne and after and by the rare vertue which they haue shewed and the faithfull seruice they haue doone where they are Whose credite is so great whose name so renowmed that it shall neuer die while the low Countries while Macklin while Stenewike no not while the worlde standes And if any name within these late yeeres haue by their valiaunt deedes wonne honour to England without derogation be it spoken it is the name of the Norrices And if any parents in Englande may count themselues happie in their children it is my Lorde Norrice it is your Ladiship You may compare with Olimpias for her Alexander with Hecuba for her Hector with Thetis for her Achilles And if you bee askt where your iewels are you may with Cornelia point to your children you may point to that rare iewell which you haue continually abouâ— you who both in vertue and bewtie excelleth the richest Diamond and the most precious Pearle that is But I am entring into a matter without ende therefore I will stay at the beginning humbly requesting you to accept in good part this small proofe of my good will and to assure your selfe of my redinesse to doe you seruice in greater matters when it shall please you to imploy mee From my lodging this sixth of February 1581. Your Ladiships redily to comâ—â—â—nd George Pettie The Preface to the Readers HAuing gentle Readers by reason of a trifling woorke of mine which by reason of the lightnesse of it or at least of the keeper of it flewe abroade before I knewe of it already wonne such fame as he which fyred the Temple of Dianae I thought it stoode mee vppon to purchase to my selfe some better fame by some better woorke and to counteruayle my former Vanitie with some formal grauitie And though I knowe all fame to be daungerous for that if it be good enuie foloweth it and if it be yll shame accompanyeth it yet seeing report once spread cannot be reuoked and hâ—â—yng already past the Pikes in a daungerous conflict without wounde of hoâ—â— such was your courtesie I doubte not now but to escape a fewe stragling shot in a lyght skirmishe without so much as bearyng the discharge of their Peeces for the men which wyll assayle me are in deede rather to be counted friendly foes then deadly enimies as those who wyll neyther mislyke with me nor with the matter which I shall present vnto them but tendryng as it were my credite thynke it conuenient that such as I am whose profession should chiefely be armes should eyther spende the tyme in wryting of Bookes or publyshe them beyng written Those which mislyke studie or learnyng in Gentlemen are some freshe water Souldiers who thynke that in warre it is the body which only must beare the brunt of all not knowyng that the body is ruled by the minde and that in all doubtfull and daungerous matters it is the minde only which is the man but hauing shewed els where how necessarie learning iâ— for Souldiers I ad only that if we in England shall frame our selues only for warre yf we be not very well Oyled we shall hardly keepe our selues from rustyng vvith such long contiâ—â—ance of peace it hath pleased God to blesse vs. Those vvhich mislike that a Gentleman should publish the fruites of his learning are some curious Gentlemen vvho thynke it most commendable in a Gentleman to cloake his arte and skill in euery thyng and to seeme to doo all thynges of his ovvne mother vvitte as it vvere not considering hovv vve deserue no prayse for that vvhich God or Nature hath bestovved vpon vs
iest at it and terme it an lukehorne terme And â—â—ough for my part I vse those vvâ—ords as litle as any â—et I know no reason vvhy I should not vse them and I finde it a fault in myselfe that I do not vse them for it is in deed the râ—â—dy vvay to 〈◊〉 our tongue and make it copious and it is the vvay vvhich all tongues haue taken to inrich them selues For take the Latine vvoords from the Spanish tongue and it shall be as barren as most part of their Countrey take them from the Italian and you take avvay in a manner the vvhole tongue take them from the Frenche and you marre the grace of it yea take from the Latine it selfe the vvoords deriued from the Greeke and it shall not be so flovving and flourishing as it is Wherefore I marueile hovv our english tongue hath cracke it credite that it may not borrovv of the Latine as vvell as other tongues and if it haue broken it is but of late for it is not vnknovven to all men hovv many vvoordes vve haue fetcht from thence vvithin these fevve yeeres vvhich if they should be all counted inkepot termes I knovv not hovv vve should speake any thing vvithout blacking our mouthes vvith inke for vvhat vvoord can be more plaine then this vvord plaine yet vvhat can come more neere to the Latine What more manifest then manifest and yet in a manner Latine What more commune then rare or lesse rare then commune and yet both of them comming of the Latine But you vvyll say long vse hath made these vvoords curraunt and vvhy may not vse doo as much for these vvoords vvhich vve shall novv deriue Why should not vve doo as much for the posteritie as vve haue receiued of the antiquitie and yet if a thing be of it selfe ill I see not hovv the oldnesse of it can make it good and if it be of it selfe good I see not hovv the nevvnesse of it can make it naught Wherevpon I infer that those vvoords vvhich your selues confesse by vse to be made good are good the first time they are vttered and therfore not to be iested at nor to be misliked But hovv hardly soeuer you deale with your tongue how barbarous soeuer you count it hovv litle soeuer you esteeme it I durst my selfe vndertake if I were furnished with Learnyng otherwyse to wryte in it as copiouslye for varietie as compendiously for breuitie â—s choycely for â—oordes as pithily for sentences as pleasauntly for figuâ—â— and euery way as eloquently as any writer should do in any vuâ—gar tongue whatsoeuer Thus hauing as I hope satisfied my curious enimies I am to â—craue â—he good wyll of my courteous friendes desiring â—ou gentle Reader to accepte in good part these my labours which â—f they shall lâ—ke you I shall counte my gayâ—â— great yf not yet must I needes count my lâ—sse but light in that the doing of it kept me from idlenessâ— a thing so daungerous to young Gentlemen that I wish you al aboue al thinges to auoyde it And so fare you well from my Lodgeing neere Paules Yours to imploy George Pettie GEntle Readers I haue supplyed diuers thinges out of the Italian original whiche were left out by the French translator with what iudgment I referre to your iudgement I haue included the places within two starres as you may see throughout the Booke I haue not published the fourth Booke for that it contayneth muche triflyng matter in it Farewell The first booke of Ciuile Conuersation by Maister Steuen Guazzo Conteining in generall the fruites that may be reaped by conuersation and teaching how to know good companie from yll PROEME I Went the last yeere to Saluce to doe my duetie to the most famous and excellent Lorde Lewes Gonzaga Duke of Neuers my olde maister and friende being very glad that he was come into Italy Lieuetenant general of the most Christian king Charles the ix A degree which no doubt was due vnto him for were it so that he had not heretofore wonne it by meanes of his owne valour and seruice doone to the king for the space of xxii yeeres and namely the day wherein fighting valiantly being but xix yeeres old he was taken prisoner at the battell of S. Quintance yet it might suffice to make him worthie of a charge so great as that the blood which he hath shed not eight monethes since at his returne into Fraunce amongest the enimies of the Catholike faith and the woundes which yet at this day put vs in some doubt of his life and recouerie Now to returne to my purpose I found there the gentleman my brother William who seemed to me to be altogether changed and yet I had seene him not past two yeeres before in Fraunce he was become so weake leane and falne away by the harde handling of a very long quartane Ague and of other great distemperatures of his body which as he bewailed and bewraied vnto mee I could not for my life seeing him in suche piteous case and hearing him drawe out his wordes so softly and so weakely keepe the teares out of my eies For I not only loue him as a younger brother but honor him as if hee were the eldest but that my pitie might not make him think worse of himselfe I foorthwith withstood my selfe and with a more couragious countenance I began to put him in hope that hee might recouer his health so soone as hee shoulde see his friendes and parents who did earnestly looke for him and so soone as he might haue the aduice and counsell of some good Phisition of that Citie there Whither not long after the Duke being come to see the most excellent Princes Leonor of Austria his cosen vnderstanding the iust desire hee had to see againe our house he was content with his departure to let him be heere for the space of sixe dayes Thervpon we thinking good to assemble the most excellent Phisitions of this Citie hee feeling himselfe by this time weery of the purgations hee had alredy taken and besides the Winter approching thought best to deferre this cure vntill the Spring time what time hee hoped to be in Italy with his Maisters leaue not onely to seeke remedie for his sicknesse and to preserue himselfe from greater euill but also to passe the rest of his life in quietnesse While he was in this deliberation in commeth Maister Anniball Magnocaâ—alli our neighbour aswell in house as in hearte who besides the name he hath gotten of an excellent Philosopher and Phisition for the diuersitie of Arts wherewith he is indued is counted in the number of those which are called Generals and by his good behauiour maketh himselfe so acceptable that I maruel nothing at all if in so little time which hee remained with the Gentleman he stirred vp in his hart by his delightfull deuise an extreeme desire to inioy longer time his pleasant companie Neither was maister Anniball lesse glad to haue founde my brother
of their knowledge giuing and taking of the fruites which they haue gathered with long trauaile You can not name mée any Philosopher so hard laced and so rebellious against nature who when time and place serued had not conuersation eyther with his schollers to teache or with other Philosophers to reason and to heare their reasons and which was not desirous to haue others followers of his doctrine And therfore the doing of Diogenes which you haue rehearsed serued wel to shewe that a Philosopher is contrary to the multitude but not to disallowe conuersation which hée more accounted of then other Philosophers did Wherefore I conclude that if the learned and students loue solitarinesse for lacke of their like yet they naturally loue the companie of those which are their like In so much that many of them haue trauailed farre with great labour to speake with other learned men whose bookes they had at home in their houses And though you alledge vnto me of these which haue refused promotions and publike offices thinking it a thing blameworthy to bring their frée minde into bondage and to intangle it with the affaires of the worlde yet there haue béen other excellent Philosophers who by their writings which are yet extant haue reprooued the opinion of those aforesaide and that not without great reason for giuing themselues wholy to the studie of the sciences and contemplation they altogether abandoned those persons to whom by the Lawe of nature they were bounde to giue succour and considered not that man being borne not onely for himselfe but for his Countrie parents and friends hée séemeth either too farre in loue with him selfe or too farre out of loue with others which followeth not his proper nature to benefite others béeing borne thervnto And therefore this sentence is well woorthy to bée written in letters of golde that Hee vtterly séeketh his owne shame who onely seeketh his owne profite Nowe if all the prayse of vertue consist in dooing according to the opinion of the Philosophers whereto serueth this dumbe and ydle Philosophie whereof may bée saide as of fayth that without woorkes it is dead and profiteth no body no not so much as to him who hath gotten it Who can not assure him selfe to haue learned any science if hée make it not knowen and if hée perceiue not that others which are learned allowe of it And thereof commeth the prouerbe Betweene treasure buried vnder the ground and wisedom kept hidden in the heart there is no difference at all And it may bée said that these same men resemble the couetous which possesse treasure but haue it not and that they are greatly to blame which knowing howe to doe well doe it not For as Musicke which is not hearde is not had in estimation so that Philosopher meriteth no honour which manifesteth not his knowledge * Which Socrates knew very wel who though no way else hée had deserued to bée counted the wisest man of the world yet he deserued it only for this that he was the first which brought moral philosophy down frō heauen For séeing al the Philosophers bent to the contēplatiō of nature hée not only framed himselfe to get wisdome to liue wel to teach other to liue but gaue himselfe altogether to the bringing to perfection this part of Philosophie which is so profitable and necessarie to our common life and made the worlde to sée the open folly of those who will rather hide a candel vnder a bushell then set it on a Candlesticke Besides you knowe that these which like not of companie howe learned soeuer they bée take them from their schoole points and matters of learning shewe themselues so insufficient and such beastly fooles that most commonly they giue occasion to euery man to laugh at them I haue not yet forgotten many grosse follies of a Gentleman sometyme my Schoolefellowe at Pad who in learning was not inferiour to any scholler in the Uniuersitie but for the rest you woulde haue sayde that hée had béen one of these Owles who stande in feare of other byrds in so much that his sottishnesse mooued mée to pitie him especially one day that hauing occasion to ride by hearing of the sodayne death of his father hée bought a paire of Bootes whereof the one was so straite that it wroong his legge and foote very sore and the other was a great way to wide And as wée blamed him that hée woulde suffer him selfe so to bée coosened hée answered That hée him selfe when hee bought his Bootes founde fault that there was suche oddes betwéene them but the shoemaker had sworne vnto him that the greatest Boote was made of such leather as woulde shrinke in the wearing and the other of a hyde that woulde so retch that in lesse then twoo dayes it woulde bée easier then the other what say you of this Doe you not thinke that these men may bée called wise by learning and fooles in respect of the common people Therefore it was rightly saide of an ancient Poet that experience is the father of wisedom and memorie the mother to shew that it is néedeful for him which wil attaine to the knowledge of humane thinges not only to be prouided of bookes but besides to haue vndoubted experience practise touching the vnderstanding of thinges which béeing knowen ought to be receiued kept in minde thereby to be able afterwarde to giue him selfe counsaile by the triall him selfe hath alredie made and to guide him selfe and aide other by the euents hée hath before noted to haue followed of like causes And if you will knowe that this is true consider that not onely in the profession of vs Phisitions but in other faculties likewise speculation without practise is nothing certaine But wée giue more credite to an argument grounded on thinges which wee haue tried by reason then in the simple Doctrine of other And you who haue eaten much salt out of your owne house are well able to iudge howe wise and discréete your trauaile hath made you and howe much you differ from those who neuer heard the ringing of other belles then these here And therefore to shewe the valour and wisedome of great Vlisses with good reason it was saide to his immortall praise That many countries he had seene and in their manners wel was seene I thinke I haue sufficiently confuted your reasons without I should force or straine my selfe as I could very well to make you a more peremptorie and waightie answere which I will leaue to doe thinking you are content with this and that you haue spoken of this matter rather to giue me to vnderstand your great wit then to maintaine in good earnest this opinion For the same which haue taught you this false doctrine haue likewise taught you the true and I am sure you are not ignorāt that Petrarch notwithstanding all the prayses he attributeth to the solitary life was not to learne that without Conuersation our life woulde bée defectuous For hée
as wée saide yesterday is sooner gotten by hearing one speake then by reading of bookes And therefore hee ought to count it no labour to listen to others nor shame to aske that which hée is ignorant in but hée ought rather to imitate that worthie personage who vsed to say I question with euerie man but I answere no man for that I knowe not how to frame a fit answere to anything Guaz. I am not ignorant that it behoueth one without learning to speake little and heare much and I knowe that by long obseruation of the sentences and discourses of others hée must néedes learne many things but nowe you haue taught him the profite hée is to make by brydling his tongue I looke you shoulde set him downe the charges hée is to be at in speaking Annib. As money well imployed turneth both to the commoditie of him that receiueth it and likewise of him that disburseth it so woordes well considered bring prefite to the hearer and prayse to the speaker And as out of one purse are drawen diuerse kindes of coyne as of golde siluer and baser mettall so out of the mouth procéede sentences and woordes of different value But as it is not lawefull to forge or pay out naughtie mony so neither is it lawefull to inuent or speake that thing whiche may turne to the preiudice or reproche of others For by such forgerie a man not onely shameth himselfe but besides putteth his own life in daunger which together with his death is in the power of the tongue Moreouer it is written that * the tongue is a little fire which kindleth greate matters * and that he which kéepeth and represseth his tongue kéepeth his owne soule Wherefore we haue to conclude that hée which wisheth to bée well spoken of by others must take héede hée speake not ill of others Therefore let him who hath his tongue in his mouth bee at this point that though he can not vtter graue and delightfull spéeches like vnto Philosophers and Oratours who are very scant in the worlde yet hée speake honestly and plainely as an honest and Christian man ought to doe * remembring alwayes that is better to slip with the foote then with the tongue * Guaz. As I thinke I haue read that a king of Egypt to prooue the iudgement of Solon sent him a beast to sacrifice inioyning him to choose out that part of the beast which he iudged best and that which hee iudged worst to sende backe vnto him Solon to accomplish the kings hestes sent him only the tongue Annib. And therefore the tongue is rightly compared to the sterne of a shippe which béeing the least parte of it yet is it of force to saue or sinke the shippe But of those which put the shippe in daunger of drowning and which by the venome of their mischieuous tongues procure hurte to others and blame to themselues wée spake yesterday sufficiently in so much that wée haue already excluded them out of the number of the good and desirable wherefore those which aspire to the degrée of vertue and which will shewe themselues woorthie to bée admitted into ciuile conuersation ought aboue all things to haue regarde that they offende no man with their tongue But they shall not bée quite discharged of their debt if besides that they doe not with their woordes séeke to profite and delight their hearers both together to the ende they may reape all the fruite which the tongue can yeelde For that the tongue by instructing conferring disputing and discoursing doth gather assemble and ioyne men together with a certaine naturall bonde Hée then that will behaue himselfe wel in ciuile conuersation must consider that the tongue is the mirrour and as it were the image of his minde And that like as wee knowe goodnesse or naughtinesse of mony by the sounde of it so by the sounde of woordes we gather the inwarde qualities and conditions of the man And for that wee are so much the more estéemed of by howe muche our Ciuilitie differeth from the nature and fashions of the vulgar sorte it is requisite that wée inforce our tongue to make manifest that difference in two principall thinges in the pleasant grace and the profounde grauitie of woordes Guaz. I vnderstande you your meaning is that as the poore people spende nothing but liards and other such lyke small monye so hée whom you speake of shoulde vse no other mony but gold which is the fairest in shewe and best in substance Yet if I bée not deceiued you are contrary to your selfe for you tolde mée not long since that it was ynough to vse plaine and simple speeche and nowe you will haue him speake with eloquence and wisedome But séeing you haue saide that there are amongst vs but fewe Orators and Philosophers howe shall I and such as I am doe that haue no golde to spende and who can not in companie be either Demosthenes or Plato Is it your minde wee shall returne to the schoole to learne Rhetorike and Philosophy Annib. I will neuer vnsay that I haue once said but I make good that a man ought to procéede in common talke simply and plainly according as the truth of the matter shal require notwithstanding if you consider how in Uillages Hamlets and fields you shall finde many men who though they leade their life farre distant from the graces and Muses as the prouerb is and come stamping in with their high clouted shooes yet are of good vnderstanding whereof they giue sufficient testimonie by their wise and discréete talke you cannot denie but that nature hath giuen and sowed in vs certaine séedes of Rhetorike and Philosophie But for that the more those good partes appeare in a man the better hée is accepted in all companies I would haue him aide nature with a little art and séeke to furnish himself with such good giftes that he make himselfe place bee desired honoured and estéemed in any honest companie hée shall come in Guaz. Yea Syr but take héede least eloquence bée not counted natural by diuers woorthy persons yea and it is much misliked of when it swarueth from the cōmon phrase and fourme of spéech which we vse with wife children seruantes and friendes For that wee ought to be content to expresse our minde without affectation without paine and without any pompe For if any of those be added it is besides the trueth and sheweth a superfluitie of woordes whose proper office ought to bee only to vtter our conceiued meaning And in trueth wherefore serue so many perephrases and circumlocutions so many translations and figures béeing able to set foorth matters and touche them brieflie in proper and plaine termes In my minde it may be saide that these professours of eloquence vnder the colour of an Oratour playe the parte of a Poet and by the feigning of woordes shewe the little plaine dealing that is in them Annib. To make you answere I must aske you this question whether you thinke the men
possesse that gift And for my part I confesse vnto you I haue not bestowed muche studie about those pointes But if your pleasure be that we shal roaue at them perchaunce we shall come neare the marke of the Authours of Rethorike Guaz. Euen as it shall please you Annib. I consider first of all that the first part of action consisteth in the voice which ought to measure it forces and to moderate it selfe in suche sort that though it straine it selfe somewhat yet it offend not the eares by a rawe and harshe sownde like as of stringes of instrumentes when they breake or when they are yll striken Guaz. To say the trueth that is the pronuntiation of the most part of our Monferins and muche more of those of Piemount who with the shrilnesse of their wordes goe thorow ones eares Annib. Yet wée must take héede we speake not so softly that we can scarce be heard Guaz. That is the voyce of Hypocrites and our holy Ankers who séeme to speake with the mouth of death Annib. Nexte wée must take héede to bring forth our woordes distinctly and to separate the sillables mary in suche sorte that wée set not foorth euerie letter as litle children doe when they learne to reade which is a verie vnpleasant hearing Guaz. The people of Verona and Venice séeme to erre in that Annib. But on the other side it is not méete to vtterous wordes in suche hast that like meate in the mouth of one almost starued they bée swallowed downe without chewing Guaz It is vsed of the Genowayes and those of Corâ—a Annib. And therefore it is necessarie to vse a meane that the pronuntiation be neither too swift nor too flow But we must take héede aboue all thinges that the last sillables be heard plainly least we fall into the fault of some who suffer the last letters to die betwéene their téeth Like as he who for feare to say amisse durst bring foorth neither Tempum nor Tempus but Tempt and therefore wée must speake freely without supping vp our woordes and bringing them but halfe foorth Guaz. Louers commonly vse such vncertaine and broken spéeches Annib. We must likewise take héede we speake not out of the throate like one that hath some meate in his mouth which is too hotte or els is almost choaked with the reume Guaz. This is the imperfection of the Florentines and those of Luqua who haue their throates full of aspirations Annib. Some others offende as muche who opening their mouth too muche fill it with winde and make the woordes resowne within as an Eccho doeth in Caues and hollowe places Guaz. As I think that is the natural custome of those of Mantua and Cremona wherin those of Naples also kéepe them company Annib. Lastly the voyce must be neither fainte like one that is sicke or like a begger neither shrill nor loud like a crier or like a schoolemaister which doeth dictate or rehearse to his scholers some theame or epistle For it would be saide as it was saide to one If thou singest thou singest yll if thou readest thou singest Guaz. I doe not thinke for all that you woulde haue vs in speaking vse alwayes one tune and measure Annib. No verily for the pleasure of spéech so wel as of Musicke procéedeth of the chaunge of the voyce yea to ende this talke I woulde haue you know that as we sometimes stande sometimes walke sometimes sit without continuing long in either of them so the change of the voice * like an instrument of diuers strings * is verie acceptable and easeth both the hearer and the speaker and yet we must sée that this change be made with discretion in time place according to the qualitie of the woordes and the diuersitie of the sentences and sayinges Guaz. As far as I sée you haue nothing els to say touching this action Annib. No more touching the voyce but there is an other parte which perteineth to the iesture whereof perchaunce it were better to say nothing then speake too litle for that there belong vnto it so many circumstances that for my part I am not able to rehearse them Guaz. It is muche in my opinion to kéepe a certaine maiestie in the iesture which speaketh as it were by vsing silence and constraineth as it were by way of commaundement the hearers to haue it in admiration and reuerence Annib. Yet herein is required such a moderation that a man with too litle be not immoueable like an image neither with too much too busie like an Ape and as the one stirring no parte thinking to get the opinion of grauitie incurreth the suspition of folly and is taken for a feigned person brought in to speake hauing of him selfe no life so the other by the libertie of his iestures thinking to vse a plausible kinde of curtesie whereby to winne fauour speaketh a playerlike kinde of lightnesse whereby hée getteth discommendation I will not in this place aduise him that speaketh to holde his head vpright to take héede of licking or byting the lippes and to sée the woordes agrée to the iesture as the daunce doeth to the sowne of the instrument neither likewise doe I thinke it méete to admonishe the hearer to take héede of rude lowtishe lookes of wrying the bodie aside of too set a grauitie in lookes of too sower a countenaunce of gazing about him of whispering in any others eare of laughing without occasion of gaping too wide of shewing him selfe gréeued at the speakers wordes and of all those thinges whereby you may either amaze him that speaketh or els séeme to bée wearie of his talke I will not I say speake of these thinges for I should but make a recitall of Galatee and those bookes whiche the morall Philosophers and Rhetoritians haue written vppon this matter These are thinges whiche are learned not so muche by readyng as by vsing company for when an other speaketh wée marke what liketh and what disliketh and by that wée knowe what we ought to auoyde and what to followe as when wee our selues speake and that wee sée some of the hearers litle attentiue or some other way to vse some yll behauiour wée learne by his inciuilitie how we ought to behaue our selues in hearing others It shall suffice then to say for this time that touching this action wee must frame all the bodie in suche sort that it séeme neither to bée of one whole immooueable lumpe neither yet to bee altogether loosely disioynted Guaz. That is wée must imitate those which neither Saintlike are too ceremonious neither Iugglerlike are too quicke and too full of action Annib. Iust. But aboue all it behooueth him which by his action is willing to mooue an ether to féele first some motions in him selfe and to drawe foorth the affections of his heart in suche sort that the hearers séeing them shew without the eyes may be mooued by the verie countenance of him that speaketh Guaz. This same in my iudgement is one of the best
vp with vna cauiglia Whereby wée may gather that if the faulte in wordes bée veniall the faulte in sentence and matter is mortall Guaz. Séeing you neither allowe my simple spéeche nor diuers but will haue mée vse only mingled and changeable it is requisite if it so please you that you lay before mée the way to myxe this chaungeable language in suche sort that the diuision and parting of the colours bée not perceiued Annib. As in changeable silke and cloth there is euer some one colour that sheweth more liuely then the rest so to fashion this mixed spéeche it is necessary that the natural language bée chiefly set foorth in suche discrete sort as you doe For you dippe somewhat the Pencill of your tongue in the freshe and cléere colour of the Tuscane tongue Whereby you shadewe the stained spottes of our mother tongue mary yet so lightly that your spéeche is alwayes knowne for Lombard Guaz. As I remember there was a Philosopher who speaking of the myngling and effectes of diuers colours saith that by mingling togeather white and black browne is made so your meaning is belike that I speake neither Lombard nor Tuscane but some hotche potche of both Annib. In making this browne colour you make your selfe shewe bright and in confounding these tongues you shewe your selfe to bée of good iudgement And for that examples explane thinges more plainely I will tell you that I haue noted how in this mixture you haue vtterly razed these wordes il moizo la feia la Sgroglia and other suche like corrupt wordes whiche are proper not only to some poore labourers of this Countrie but also to some Citizens and in stéede thereof haue enterlined these woordes Matto pecora and guscio And as it behooueth a Gentleman to speake better then a Plebeian so the wisest and best learned Gentleman ought to speake better then those that are of lesse learning But alwayes in such sort that hée séeme not to set vppe a newe language and bée a stranger in his owne house And for conclusion that hée haue regarde to this sentence That hée bée indued with suche knowledge as the fewest sorte haue attained to and that hée vse suche speache as the most part are accustomed to Guaz. You haue handled this matter touching spéeche verie profoundely but yet I am not throughly cléered of one doubt For whē I shal obserue al those things you haue spoken of I shal easyly make my selfe to bée knowne for a Lombard but it shall bée harde to discerne by my speache whether I bée of that parte of Lombardie called Montferrat Whereby that which you haue set downe shall take no place that euery one ought to manifest by his tongue of what countrie he is for I may as wel be taken to bée of Plaisance or of Verona as of this Citie Annib. Your doubt maketh mee out of doubt that my discourse touching this matter is not yet finished and therefore in fewe wordes I answere you that as by the bookes apparrell and behauiour wee giue a gesse of what Countrie a man is so the speache ought more manifestly to bewray it Guaz. The Gascons and the Frenchmen are euidently enough knowne from others by their blalsphemie and swearing Annib. The like is vsed almost in all places but the iust God will vse no difference in punishing vs for it I would also that not onely in y e words but also in the sound accent and pronuntiation wée shoulde retaine some signes and markes of our countrie aswel to shewe our selues such as wée are to strangers as also not to greeue by a thorowe reformation and diuersitie our countriemen with whom wée must leade our liues And therefore reason would we shoulde in some sort shewe our selues agréeable to them in speach and manners And for so much as we began this discourse of the tongue by a similitude of money we wil end it with the same and conclude that as money by meane of the coine hath a publike stampe set vpon it whereby it is knowen where it was made so our speach ought to haue a mark vpon it which may shewe the originall and countrie of him that speaketh Guaz. You may now if it please you descende to other things which this day are to bée spoken of Annib. Make account that all which hath béen sayde hythervnto apperteineth only to the pleasure of the eare is but externall and without Nowe wee haue to consider more déepely such thinges as are conuenient for education and manners requisite in ciuile conuersation For Diogines vsed to say That the Mathematicians behelde the heauen and the starres but saw not that which lay before their féete and that Orators study to speake wel but doe it not Hauing then set down in our ciuil conuersation y e purity of spéech we must now cōsider y t that is not sufficient without the puritie and sinceritie of manners And therefore euery one ought to labour to conforme his minde and affections to his wordes yea and hauing not the gift of pure spéech hée ought to supplie that defect with the puritie and simplicitie of manners And therevpon that graunde Captaine Marius speaking before the people of Rome sayde My woordes are not well set in order but I waygh not that much so that my déedes bée good Those haue néede of artificiall spéech who with goodly woordes goe about to couer dishonest déedes Guazzo Your conclusion in briefe is that to be acceptable in companie a man must indeuour to be a Grecian in wordes and a Romane in déedes Annib. You haue hit my meaning right but for that I haue already protested that I will not binde my selfe to search out all the partes of morall Philosophy we will giue those that are more studious leaue to turne ouer the Philosophers bookes to furnish their mindes thorowly with morall precepts and wée will content our selues to speake of things most familiar and easie to bée obserued in conuersation Amongst the whiche to growe nowe to the matter I woulde wishe euery one that séeketh to winne credite in companie to resolue with him selfe aboue all thinges whiche very fewe folke doe to followe that excellent and diuine counsell of Socrates who béeing demaunded which was the readiest way for a man to winne honour and renowme answered To indeuour to bee such a one in deede as hée desireth to séeme to bee in shewe Guazzo If you meane to intreate but of the easiest matters you must let that alone For séeing there is almost no man that putteth it in execution it is a signe that it is a very harde point and you knowe that a very great difficultie and an impossibility are taken by the lawes for one self thing Annib. Men leaue it not vndone for want of power to doe it or of knowledge howe to doe it but onely for want of will and therefore you must not iudge those things hard to bée done which consist onely in our will to doe or not to doe
am sure I haue seene the role of more then a thousande who haue been excellently seene in Diuinitie in Philosophy in Phisick in Musick in painting and in all Sciences Guaz. I sawe about the Frenche Queene certayn meane Gentlewomen enter into such credit onely by some one of those good partes by you rehearsed that they are now come to be maryed to the cheefe Gentlemen in Fraunce without any peny giuen them in dowrye by their father but a priuate Gentleman hath no neede in his house of singing or daunsing Annib. You say well and therefore if the Father bee not like to bestowe his daughter 〈◊〉 some man of great calling hee ought to practise her rather in spinning on the wheele then in playing on instruments Guaz. And how thinke you of the daughters not onlye of Gentlemen but of Merchants and artificers which learn to write and reade Annib. Seing these things are at the least commodious if they be not altogether necessary I do not mislike them so that they be well imployed Guaz. I would thinke you had reason if the women of Italy did follow sutes in law and frequented the houses of Iudges and Aduocates to make them priuye to their case or in Merchandise kept the bookes of account as diuerse women in Fraunce doe but in teaching our women to write and reade we doe but giue them occasion to turne ouer the hundred Nouelles of Boccace and to write amorous and lasciuious letters Annib. We giue them also occasion to reade the liues of Saints to keepe the accountes of the house to write their minds to their absent husbands without disclosing their secretes to anye Secretary besydes you maye assure your selfe that those women whiche cannot write nor make loue by Letters will doe it if they bee disposed by wordes yea and if their tongue shoulde fayle them they woulde fall to it by signes but to ende this matter I conclude touching Daughters that in such diuersities as are vsed at this day in their education I canne giue no fitter aduertisemente then this that the Fathers bestow all their studye and industrye to bring them vp chaste as well in bodye as in mynde for a man wayeth it not much to haue the flesh vnspotted if the thought bee defyled And therefore it is needefull to put into their hartes Godlye imaginations that from their inwarde puritye there may shine outwardlye in their face and countenaunce the brighte beames of modestye And for that bewtye is a frayle and daungerous thing those whiche are bewtifull haue so muche the more neede of that vertue to keepe their bewtye vnblemished for bewtye in an vnchaste woman serueth to no more purpose then a Golde Ring in a Swines Snoute and to make it shorte they muste vnderstande that as the Poet sayth A woman voyd of honesty can make no brags of bewty Guaz. Before you passe to the conuersation betweene Brothers I woulde gladlye haue you sette downe the difference which ought to be betweene sonnes and Daughters in conuersation Annib. I know not whether in tossing ouer your bookes you haue lighte vppon that place where Cicero giueth a nippe to his Daughter and his sonne in Lawe both at once Guaz. I doe not know that I haue read it and if I haue I haue forgotten it Annib. His sonne in law was so delicate of nature that in his gate he vsed a slowe and mincing pace like a woman his Daughter on the other syde â—iryd out lustilye like a man whiche her Father seeing fayde merrilye vnto her Daughter goe as your Husbande doth which is to be vnderstoode not only of going but of all other doinges wherein it is an vndecent thing for a woman to resemble a man or a man a woman And therefore a Mayde oughte to frame â—er behauyour in such sorte that aboue all thinges shee shewe both inwardlye and outwardly that maydenlye modestye which is proper to maydes for it is a monstrous and naughtye thing to see a young Gyrle vse suche libertye and boldenesse in her Gesture lookes and talke as is proper to men and therefore lette maydes learne in all their behauioure to expresse that modesty which is so seemely for their estate assuring themselues that though they be furnished with al other bewties graces and vertues of the world yet if that bright sun shine not in theÌ„ all the other as starres borrowing light of that will make no shewe at all And as Goldesmiths sometime couer their ware and iewels with a Glasse to make them shewe the better so a mayde vnder the vayle of modesty ought to incloase all her other perfections to increase the brightnesse of them and the more forcibly to drawe the eyes and the hartes of others to haue her in admiration On the other side it is the worst sighte that may bee to see sonnes who by their womanly gestures and countenaunce make men doubt whether they are males or Females which maketh mee returne to say that the father vnderstandeth it ill who with too greate rigour maketh his sonne as fearefull as a Cony whereby comming before his betters he sheweth that he hath no tongue in his mouth or else he speaketh and aunswereth so foolishly that he maketh himselfe to be laughed at by reason whereof hee will not willingly come in any company but hideth himselfe and according to the saying of the Poet In thickets he him shrowds as deere pursued with houÌ„ds Guaz. In my iudgement the Frenche men in that poynt vse great discretion who in their childrens infancye begin to embolden them before their betters and to make theÌ„ talk with them whereby they come to haue a good audacitie and to be resolute in their behauiour neyther are they any more abashed at the presence of the King himselfe then of their equals Annib. That boldnesse is not too be found in many Italians for I haue knowen of them many excellent and worthy men who comming before princes haue been so astonishâ—â— and so timerous that their coolour hath chaunged the 〈◊〉 hath runne downe their face their voice hath trembled their body hath quiuered and their wordes haue come out so foolishly that they haue playnely shewed in what troublesome taking they haue been in And though wise men like well of it and take it for a token of a good nature yea and in respect therof beare them the greater affection yet oftentimes such perturbations hinder a man much and are mockt at as vnmeete for men And thereof we may gather the great wrong that fathers mothers and nurces doe to yong children wheÌ„ they will make it a sport to put their children in feare with tales of Robin good fellow and such like whereby they offende God and make their children fearefull and dastardlye It behooueth vs therefore to make our children bolde and to vse them at the beginning to withstande those things which breed any such fearfulnesse in them otherwise the prouerbe will be verified in them That the wolfe is
your friends did for the iest of the bootes and the laughter begunne afresh after when being required to shew the meaning of Petrarch in those verses hée added that hée meant to say that neither Virgil nor Homer nor all the Poets of Tuscane were able to incounter Horace alone Nowe if the scholler fell into a certaine tollerable lightnesse of beliefe this fellowe stumbled vpon a corrupt persuasion in opinion Whereby I am induced to thinke that learning without experience is more certaine then experiēce without learning and I had rather haue the name of a simple scholler then of an ignorant Courtier Wherevpon I wil infer that whosoeuer will attaine knowledge and sounde the depth of it must as the artificers say sée to the shoppe and not walke the stréetes all the day long and braue it out before the people But put the case that many commendable effects come of conuersation yet put the discommendable in ballance against them and they will ouerway them a great deale For that the number of the good is so smal and scant that though you be neuer so well giuen you cannot continue so but you shal be driuen to change and to thinke with your selfe that hée which sléepeth with the dogs must rise with the flées And hereof the Crerensians being assured whē they wished ill to any they forspake him that he should take delight in haunting ill companie meaning that thereby hee shoulde come to confusion Besides that wée are now growen to this point that you can not behaue your selfe so well but that you shall receiue thousand iniuries if not in life which is not it selfe very safely warranted yet at least in good name And at this day the malice of men is so great that they spare not the honour of whosoeuer it bee whether Prince or priuate person and thinke smisterly and preposterously of all the good déedes which are wrought in such sorte that if you addict your selfe to deuotion and the exercise of charitie you are taken for an hypocrite If you be affable and courteous you shal be called a flatterer If you succour any desolate widowe you shall by and by heare a voice which saith I knowe what foloweth If through héedlesnesse you resolute not a friend hee will speake no more to you If you defend one that is oppressed take héede you bee not taken out of your house at vndue tyme. Thinke not to be spared for that you make not profession of a souldiour for now they wil not stick to beate euen doctors and aduocates to hinder them from defending their clyents But to what end goe I to loose my selfe in the intricate labirinth of the abuses disorders of our time I wil get out presently perswade my selfe that vices should be banished out of y e world if conuersation were taken out of it séeing that adulteries robberies violences blasphemies murthers and infinite other euils are learned by the conuersation of men and by meanes of the same are committed Annib. You made a shewe at the beginning to yeld vnto me and yet neuerthelesse are risen against me with a second assault But notwithstanding I will not cease to assay with other answeres to set an ende if it bée possible to our controuersie And for that you grounde learning vppon solitarinesse I must first aske you of whome the principles of sciences and learning are for the most part learned Guaz. Of Maisters Annib. You shall bée then taken in your owne net séeing by these words you graunt vnto me that the beginning and end of learning dependeth of conuersation And verily as the armourer can not assure him selfe of the goodnesse of a corselet vntill such time as he hath séene it prooued with the launce or harquebouse so neither can a learned man assure him selfe of his learning vntill he méete with other learned men and by discoursing and reasoning with them bée acertained of his sufficiencie Whereby it séemeth to me verie cléere that conuersation is the beginning and end of knowledge But for that you adde that men conuersant in the Court and common wealth are voide of learning I must put you in minde touching y e point that as there are diuers sciences artes professions so likewise is the life of men diuers who as it pleaseth god are called some to merchandise some to warfare some to phisicke some to the lawes And for that all these tend to one ende to get by these meanes honour and profite you sée that euery one of these diuideth his life into two partes the one to learne those thinges which may serue to lead him to the end I haue spoken of the other to put them in practise And for example you haue alredie purposed with your selfe to bée Secretarie to a Prince I am not ignorant that by reason of the good partes which are in you you are to looke for reputation and commoditie therby and to bethinke you of the good hap of those who from that degrée haue béen raysed to Cardinals and Uicars of Christ. And therefore to make your selfe fit for that office you haue learned the Latin and Tuscane tongue and so many arts as are necessarie for that purpose and by your perfect style in wryting great discretion in handling matters you haue wonne the reporte and name of an excellent Secretarie All other men doe the like amongest whom there are some who giuing their mindes either to husbandry or to merchandise care for no more learning but to reade wryte and cast a count And albeit amongst learned men these same are not able to discourse of Rhetorike or of Poetry yet are they not therefore to bee blamed neither may wée say they are bereaued the knowledge of good letters by reason of conuersation for that from the keginning of their life they haue determined not to meddle with studie and it sufficeth them to bée estéemed wise and well séene in their owne profession But a scholler is well worthy to be laughed at and reprooued who applying him selfe altogether to studie doeth not frame his learning to the common life but sheweth him selfe altogether ignorant of the affaires of the world And I will say vnto you moreouer that it were a great errour to beléeue that learning is more gotten in solitarinesse amongest Bookes then in the companie of learned men For this is a maxime in Philosophy and experience sheweth it That learning is easilier gotten by the eares then by the eyes neither should a man neede to dimme his sight and weare his fingers in turning ouer the bookes of wryters if hée might alwayes sée them present and receiue by hearing that natural voyce which by wonderfull force imprinteth it selfe in the minde Besides that if you chaunce to reade some harde and obscure place you can not intreate the booke to expounde it vnto you but you shal be fayne sometime to goe your way from it vncōtented saying If thou wilt not be vnderstood I wil not vnderstande thée Whereby
you may knowe that it is much better to talke with the liuing than with the dead Againe I note this that the spirite of a solitarie man waxeth dul lither hauing none to stirre it vp awake it in demanding some question touching his learning and in reasoning vpoÌ„ it or else he waxeth hautie proude by vaine beliefe for not comparing any with himselfe hee attributeth too much to himself On the contrary side he which heareth other to commend his studies hath them in more admiration hee which is reprehended amendeth his faultes hee which is any thing negligent is pricked forwarde by his corriuals which séeke to outgoe him in glory And as hee thinketh it a great shame to come behind his equals so doeth hee count it a great honour to bee able to goe before his betters But aboue al other things the commendable controuersies which arise amongst learned men haue most force to quicken the spirits For by disputing they learne that which they learne in that manner they vnderstande best they expounde best and remember best And while they dispute by liuely reasons indeuouring to get the vpper hand ech of other the perfect knowledge of things is come by thervpoÌ„ it is commonly saide that Disputation is the sifter out of the trueth And for so much as the trueth is taken froÌ„ the common consent opinions of men those opinions can not be knoweÌ„ but by conuersation and companie which the Poets meant to shew and infer reporting that though Iupiter was God omnipotent yet he called the other gods to counsaile and heard their opinions But let vs set fables aside doe we not knowe that the waighty wonderful institutioÌ„s of the holy church procéede not from the Pope onely but from the holy general counsailes where they haue bin discréetly wayed allowed Besides is it not the fashioÌ„ of al princes where there is question of the affaires of their estates because they wil doe nothing of their owne heads to assemble their counsailours to determine matters according to their aduise Common-weales Cities yea smal townes do they not assemble together to choose officers to establish orders by common consent Is it not the vse of Magistrates to take the common aduise and opinion of their assistentes and we phisitions do we not the like in our assemblies Colledges wherein wee take resolutioÌ„ touching the healing of the sicke by the aduise and iudgement of the greater part Did not Apelles take delight to set his pictures abroade to throud himself secretly néere vnto theÌ„ to heare the opinion of the beholders when many were of one mind in reprehending some part did not hee mend it according to the common voices and opinions * And did not another painter say that the people was the maister of whom he had learned his art * And lastly was it not the vse of a wise Emperour whose name I now remember not to send spies abroade euery day to harkeÌ„ what was said of him altering somtimes vpon that occasion his maner of dealings and reforming his life from good to better according to the reports were made vnto him Uerily he hazardeth too much who reposeth himselfe in his own iudgement And it is a coÌ„mon saying that he doth wel which couÌ„sayleth himselfe wel For which cause counsel is estéemed for a holy thing I am not able sufficiently to expresse the great good which commeth of conuersatioÌ„ of y e knowledge which entreth in by the eares sinketh into the mind comming from the mouth of learned men But I wil tel remember you of the honorable Academies or Uniuersities which for that purpose haue been instituted in many cities of Ialy amongst which we must not forget to speake of that in Mantua fouÌ„ded in the house of the most famous Lord Caesar Genzaga a mightie prince and a special patrone of learned men neither that in Pauia which flourisheth prosperously by reason of the great nuÌ„ber of students But perchance it is a thing to be meruailed at y â— in that litle citie of Casal the Academie of y e Illustrati maketh so gallaÌ„t a shew But for that the time serueth not to speake of the excellencie therof to returne to the matter in question I say that the fruite which is gathered by these Academies is inestimable and that they know wel what they do which haue any doings in them For knowing that one alone cannot of himselfe attaine to many sciences for that an art is long and life is short there they may obtaine whatsoeuer they desire For some discoursing of diuinitie some of humanitie some of Philosophy some of Poetry and other diuers matters they partake mutually in coÌ„mon of that which euery one priuately with great paine long study hath learned by the example of those who béeing not able to liue of themselues make good cheere at their table méet together with other of their neighbors in one place bring euery one their cates with them and thereof make a suptuous feast And therfore it hath bin very profondly said y t man is a god vnto maÌ„ for that one receiueth so great pleasure and comfort of another Which selfe thing is represented vnto vs by the picture of the blinde man carying vppon his backe the lame créeple who teacheth him the way and thervpon wel saith Almanni So of twoo halfes the whole is fitly made the one with eyes the other with feete doth aide I say then againe that conuersation is the full perfection of learning and that it more auayleth a student to discourse one houre with his like then to studie a whole day by himselfe in his studie Yea and in conferring with his companions if he haue vnderstood any thing amisse he therby most commonly commeth to the right meaning of the matter cléereth his minde of many errours * and beginneth to perceiue that the iudgement of one alone may bee easily darkened with the veile of ignorance or of some passion and that amongst a multitude it seldome falleth out that all are blinded and finally vpon proofe he knoweth that vertue knowledge set foorth in bookes is naught else then a painted vertue and that true vertue and learning is gotten rather by practise then by reading * But it is nowe time to answere you touching the inconueniences which are incurred as you say by conuersaâ—ioÌ„ which make vs turne out of y e right way alter our good purposes by accoÌ„panying with men of lewde behauiour And though in my fancie you might satisfie your self with some reasons alreadie alledged yet I will say further y t it is true y t as some diseases of y e body are infectious so y e vices of the minde take froÌ„ one to another so that a drunkard draweth his companions to loue wine a Carpet knight corrupteth effeminateth a valiant man so much force hath coÌ„tinual conuersation that oft times against our wils we imitate