Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	child_n	great_a	parent_n	1,520	5	8.2359	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09530	Phisicke against fortune, aswell prosperous, as aduerse conteyned in two bookes. Whereby men are instructed, with lyke indifferencie to remedie theyr affections, aswell in tyme of the bryght shynyng sunne of prosperitie, as also of the foule lowryng stormes of aduersitie. Expedient for all men, but most necessary for such as be subiect to any notable insult of eyther extremitie. Written in Latine by Frauncis Petrarch, a most famous poet, and oratour. And now first Englished by Thomas Twyne.; De remediis utriusque fortunae. English	Petrarca, Francesco, 1304-1374.; Twyne, Thomas, 1543-1613.	1579 (1579)	STC 19809; ESTC S114602	539,184	716

thynges But as for them that goe downe into hel casting of al charitie it is to be entended that they hate both God and men and also al the workes of God and man. Of one that at his death is carefull of his fame and good report The Cxxx. Dialogue SOROWE WHAT wyll men speake of me when I am dead Reason An vnseasonable care thou shouldest haue prouided for this in thy youth for looke what a mans life is suche is his fame Sorowe What wyll they say of me Reason What shall I answeare thee other then that which the most learned and eloquent Marcus Cicero sayeth What other men shall speake of thee let them see to that them selues but they wyl speake notwithstanding howbeit all their talke is comprehended within the narrowe boundes of these regions which thou seest neyther was it euer continual of any but is extinguished by the death of men and forgetfulnesse of posteritie Sorow What wil they speake of me that shal be borne herafter Reason I would tel thee otherwyse then Cicero doeth yf I thought that any thing could be better vttered then is by him And what skilleth it sayth he if thou be spoken of by them that shal be borne hereafter seeing there nowe remayneth no fame of them that were borne before thee One thing he addeth moreouer which perhaps at that time was doubtful peraduenture false but now very sure most true without doubt Who sayth he were as many in number as you are now and truely better men to For who is he that doubteth but that there wyl neuer come so good men as there haue ben Thus al thinges waxe woorse woorse and tend euery day toward their final ruine A merueilous care then it is which thou hast to stande in feare of the speeches of those whom thou knowest not are thy youngers as not liuing in the same age with thee seeing thou now contemnest the iudgement and woordes of excellent men of thine owne time and acquaintance Sorow What fame shal there be of me when I am dead Reason Far better then while thou liuest when enuie once holdeth her peace For enuie and malice seldome last longer then a mans life and as vertue is the roote of glorie so is enuie the cutter downe of it and as the enuious hand being present hindreth the growth of it so when it is taken away it restoreth the encrease of true commendation And therfore vnto many as the entrance into their graues hath been a bar vnto enuie so hath it ben the beginning of great glorie Sorow Howe long wyl my fame continue Reason A long time perhaps as you call long But that all thinges may not only be long but also euerlasting vertue alone is able to bring that to passe and specially Iustice of which it is written The iust man shal be had in euerlasting memorie Which meaning also your countrey Poet expressed as wel as he could where he sayth But by mens deedes their fame to stretch that priuiledge vertue geues Sorow What fame shal I haue after my deceasse Reason What skilleth it what it be which shortly shal be forgotten or contemned What shall the breath of men apperteyne vnto thee when thou thy selfe shalt be without breath For one that breatheth to be nourished and delyghted with the winde and ayre it is no meruaill but for a dead man to be so it is a woonder Sorowe What shal be sayde of me when I am dead Reason No goodnesse be sure vnlesse thou haue deserued it but muche euyl peraduenture not merited and perhappes lytle or nothyng at all For in many thynges fame is a lyer but in the most a true reporter otherwyse it could not long continue For trueth is the foundation of continuance and as for a lye it is weake and transitorie Sorowe What fame shall I haue after my death Reason Suche as thy lyfe was before and at thy death Concernyng this matter therefore let the tyme to come but specially the tyme present looke to that And thus perswade thy selfe assuredly that what report and fame a man is woorthy to haue after his death it is no way better discerned then at his death when as in deede which is a strainge thyng to be spoken many that haue lyued all theyr tyme obscurely and without glorie death onely hath made famous Of one that dyeth without Children The Cxxxj. Dialogue SOROWE I Die without children Reason For that cause thou oughtest to die the more willingly and with the more expedition to goe foorth on thy iourney for that thou hast nothyng behinde thee to stay thee or cal thee backe The greatest greefe which they that lie a dying haue surceaseth in thee whiche riseth vpon the sorowe and compassion of leauing their children specially when they be young neede the asistance and counsel of their parentes being at those yeeres destitute of aduice subiect vnto iniuries many other casualties Sorow My children whom I wished hoped should haue liued after me are gone before me Reason Then hast thou some to whom thou art desirous to goe from whom thou art not willing to depart which is no smal comfort vnto thee Sorowe Bitter death constraineth me to dye without chyldren Reason If thou thinke this to be so miserable a matter what cause hast thou either to die now or heretofore to haue liued without children seeing there is such choise of young Gentlemen towardly youthes among whom thou maiest choose and adopt thee sonnes who perhaps wyl be more louing and obedient vnto thee then thine owne natural children descended of thy flesh blood for they come vnto thee by chaunce but these are elected out of many by exquisite iudgment The other were thy children before thou knewest them but these thou knewest chosest and louedst before thou madest them thy children And therefore the one sort of them wil wholy impute it to nature that they are thy children but the other to thy special good liking Whereby it hath hapned many times that the succession by adoption hath ben very fortunate vnto the heyres in which kind not only meane inheritances but also whole Empires haue ben committed in trust Thou knowest howe Iulius Caesar wanting issue adopted Augustus to be his sonne Augustus againe adopted Tyberius almost against his wyl And likewise afterward how Nerua adopted Vlp●us Traianus and he Elius Hadrianus be againe Antonius pius he likewise toke vnto him Marcus Aurelius to be his sonne which Marcus I would to God he had more happily adopted any other then vnluckely begotten his sonne Commodus commodious to none but discommodiouss to the whole world the only disgracing of so good a father one among a few of them that were no small shame reproch to the Romane Empire also a most apparent argument how much adoption is more fortunate then procreatiō For whereas the first princes had in order one after another raigned long time in happie

warnyng namely that hereby thou mayest make prouision agaynst darkenesse whiche is nowe but transitorie since thou takest it in so yll part least haply thou be constrayned to endure euerlastyng darkenesse Sorowe I am troubled with fyre from heauen with hayle and stormes Reason These and suche lyke make vnto an wholesome feare or yf ye contemne them vnto reuenge Heare this one thyng Fyre Brymstone and the breath of stormes are the portion of their cup. Heare also another saying Fire hayle famine and death al these make to reuenge Sorow I am frighted with tempestes of the sea Reason Doo not herein accuse nature but eyther thyne owne follie or couetousnesse for who constrayneth thee thereunto Sorow I am molested with darke cloudes and contrarie windes Reason Thou wast borne in darkenesse and in darkenesse shalt thou dye and lyuest betweene the wyndes of contrarie tempestes learne to suffer that at length whiche thou alwayes sufferest perforce Sorowe I am shaken with thunder and lyghtnyng Reason Herein there is more then weerisomnesse In the first truely a great feare contemned of none but of some fooles but in the seconde is death And therefore some haue iudged that none complayne of lyghtnyng but suche as want experience And who is so mad I pray thee vnlesse he be to farre gone that standeth not in feare of them both seeing that among the auncient Romanes whiche were a most valiant kynde of people it was prouided by an auncient statute that there should be no assemblies of the people holden to choose officers or otherwyse whyles Iupiter thundred from heauen Howbeit vnlesse this feare tende to the amendment of lyfe it is vnprofitable For what can feare auayle where there is no redresse of the thyng feared Wherefore the matter must be thus applyed that although it thunder and lyghten by natural causes neuerthelesse it must be iudged to be a warnyng from hym who beyng tyed vnto no causes is hym selfe the fountayne and cause of al causes To this ende therefore doth he thunder in heauen that thou shouldest lyue well vpon the earth and driuyng away forgetfulnesse acknowledge the wrath of God and do that at leastwyse for feare which thou oughtest too do for loue Complayne not a lyke of good and euyl thinges it is expedient for you beleeue me that it thunder often and it is left in wrytyng vnto posteritie that it thundreth very often the same yeere wherein the assured aduersarie of God and al godlinesse Domitian the Emperour died not that ye should cry out as he dyd Let him now strike whom he lust but that ye may appease the wrath of God with penitent teares humble prayer Sorow I am greeued with the conuersation mirth of drunkardes Reason That wine maketh glad the hart of man that Bacchus is the geuer of mirth although Dauid Virgil had neuer spoken it very experience maketh it knowen And although that likewise be true whiche not so eloquent but a more holy Poet spake The flowyng of a ryuer cheareth the citie of God yet is there more feruent ioye and ioyful gladnesse as the Philosophers terme it in a fewe caskes of strong wynes then in many streames of running water whiche are conteyned within the ryuers and I confesse that there is nothyng more lamentable then the mirth of drunkardes and nothyng more vayne then typlers and Tauerners whom Cicero very wel calleth the dregges of cyties whiche notwithstandyng a man must suffer or els he must forsake cities or otherwyse flye from the market and place of iudgement or at the leastwyse from the streetes and haunt of Tauernes euen as he woulde doo from so many rockes Sorow I am oppressed with resort and importunate concurse of citizens Reason It is a sauage and vnnaturall wyshe to seeke thy countreyes desolation that thou thy selfe mayest lyue at lybertie For the very same cause as thou knowest in the olde tyme was the sister of Appius Claudius punished shee that was last celebrated among writers for an innocent and truly as this is an vngodly wish and deserueth punishment so to auoyde the weerisomnes of thronges and cities and it occasion so require to depart awhile out of the way is a poynt of modestie and frequented of the wise Sorowe I am greeued with a long suite and slow iudgment Reason To what ende was daying of matters deuised but to ende strife and to remedie the slacknes of iudgment Sorowe I am worne with wofull and troublesome strife Reason Thou hast vsed apte and conuenient tearmes for thy selfe For where strife and contention is there can be nether ioy nor quietnesse Thou if thou wylt liue out of stryfe auoyde the cause of stryfe Couetousnesse engendreth contention and nourisheth it when it is engendred Of an earthquake The .xci. Dialogue SOROWE I Am afrayd of an earthquake Reason This is I confesse a great discommoditie of dame nature and not without cause abandoned of al parentes which although it be more greeuous yet for that it happeneth but seldome the rarenesse thereof may stand in some steede of a remedie Many tymes the sorowful countenance of heauen foretelleth an earthquake at hande but precisely there is no token nor forewarnyng thereof although it be reported that Pherecydes foretolde of one to come by drynkyng a draught of water out of a well Moreouer agaynst the threatnynges of heauen caues vnder the ground perhaps doo yeelde some succour the lyke whereof we reade was Augustus Caesars denne into whiche he fledde for feare of thunder whiche is yet seene at Rome in the way Flaminia and keepeth the aucthours name vnto this day but from an earthquake no flight can serue no lurkyng places can preuayle For poore man that is made of the earth whyther shal he flye out of the earth or what shal become of hym yf the heauen thunder ouer hym and the earth tremble vnder hym vnlesse perhaps some wyl aduise hym to goe to the sea whiche is also partaker of the varietie of heauen earth and also vnquiet by it owne motion Feare Thou tellest me no remedies as thou wast woont to do but amplifiest the daungers Reason I supposed thou wouldest thinke so and doubtlesse so it is in deede There be some thynges that may be dissembled and extenuated in woordes that although by report they haue seemed greeuous yet in effect they may appeere at one tyme tollerable at another contemptible and truely this whereof I now intreate is such a one as by it owne force it refuseth the argumentes of mans eloquence but one comfort as I haue sayde is the seldomenesse thereof Thou hast seene welnygh an whole age without any earthquakes duryng whiche tyme there is no doubt but that there haue dyed innumerable who in al their lyfe tyme though they haue hearde the name of so terrible a matter yet neuer were made afearde with the sight thereof But who is not mooued when he heareth or reedeth eyther those auncient histories or these of latter tyme the memorie

be fulfylled or wholy reiected and reputed among the most vylest thyngs Moreouer shame hath cured many which remedy happeneth to the most noble myndes whylest they seeke to auoyde infamie and irrision are loath to be poynted at as they goe in the streetes laying before theyr eyes the filthynesse of the thyng voyde of effect ful of shame ful of danger ful of iust causes of sorow and repentance last of al settyng false excuses and vayne perswasions aside to put on the true to wyt that neyther nature nor destiny nor starres beare any sway in this matter and finally nothyng but only a lightnesse and free iudgement of the mynde For it is in the choyce of hym that is sicke to be made whole so soone as he begynneth to haue a wyll to be whole and can finde in his harte to breake of the pleasant linkes of their sweete companie which is an hard matter to doo I confesse but possible to hym that is willing For as Cicero sayeth most grauely This is to be declared which is found to be in euery perturbation that it is nothing but in opinion in the iudgment and in the wyl For yf loue were naturall then all should loue should alwayes loue al loue one thyng and then shame should not deterre one and musing another and sasietie another For this last which is sacietie or fulnesse is by some numbred among the remedies and so is also a newe loue wherby the old is dryuen foorth as it were one nayle by another which although vnto Artaxerxes kyng of Persia whom the holy scripture calleth Assuerus it was put in mynd by friendes and found profitable by effect as Iosephus declareth the matter more at large I contend not of the euent but I speake of the choyce And therefore truely I haue ben of opinion that these two remedies haue sometyme been profitable but alwayes dangerous and yf with none of these nor with them al thou canst recouer then must thou in thy mynde run to the causes of the disease These as I suppose are the cheifest and greatest of al health beautie and good fauour ryches leasure youth And as contraryes doo best cure the diseases of the body so wyl they excellently remedy the minde also as sicknesse deformitie pouertie great businesse and olde age which is a worthy refourmer of the errours of youth These be my last remedies which are hard in deede but in respect of the greatnesse of the plague to be wyshed Of the byrth of chyldren The .lxx. Dialogue IOY I Haue chyldren borne vnto me Reason A double mischief and a domestical burden Ioy. There are chyldren borne vnto me Reason Thy wyfe is troublesome her Aunt more troublesome and her children most troublesome of al. Ioy. I haue chyldren borne Reason A most bytter sweetnesse gall annoynted with Hony. Ioy. I haue sweete issue borne vnto me Reason Thynke that there is sprong vnto thee at home a fountayne of grieuous cares thou shalt neuer lyue without feare and anguysh Ioy. I haue begotten children Reason Thou couldst before neither feare nor hope nor pray but now thou shalt learne to thy cost thou shalt learne also to take compassion vpon parentes bereaued of their chyldren and thou shalt learne to experiment long cares in thy short lyfe that now thou takest longer businesse in hande thou shalt learne to be greeued for the thynges that belong nothyng vnto thee and to dispose that which thou shalt neuer see To be short thou shalt learne to loue another more then thy selfe thou shalt learne to loue most ardently and to be loued most coldly whiche are hard matters Ioy. I haue chyldren Reason Now thou begynnest to vnderstande what duetie thou owest to thy parentes Ioy. I haue begotten chyldren Reason Thou hast planted a tree which must be husbanded with intollerable paynes whiche wyl keepe thee occupied as long as thou lyuest and whereof perhaps thou shalt reape either no fruite at al or late fruite and that peraduenture when thou art dead Ioy. I haue chyldren Reason If they be good a continual feare yf they be wycked a perpetual sorow in the meane whyle a doubtful comfort and an vndoubted care Ioy. I haue chyldren Reason Then hast thou whereof to be sory whyle thou art liuyng and to be knowne when thou art dead and wherefore thou mayest be willing to die often Ioy. I am the father of good chyldren Reason The better thy chyldren are the more daungerous is thine estate Thou knowest not what cause of sorowe thou hast purchased by begetting chyldren what entrance thou hast made into thy house for teares what power thou hast geuen vnto death and miserie ouer thy selfe O wretched mothers sayth Horace but O wretched fathers say I. Ioy. I am father of very good children Reason Thou shouldest wishe for death while thou art in this prosperitie lest that whilest thou lyuest thou surcease to be that whiche deliteth thee and at length with Nestor thou demaunde of thy felowes why thou hast lyued so long Ioy. I reioyce and am happie for that I haue wished issue Reason A troublesome felicitie a carefull ioy and many tymes sorowfull a miserable happinesse I coulde aleage many excellent men whose felicitie was by nothyng so much hyndred as for that they had chyldren Of a pleasant young childe The .lxxi. Dialogue IOY I Haue a pleasant young chylde Reason If so be that this myrth turn not to sorowe and the pleasanter thine infant is whyle he is present the more sorowful thou be when he is from thee Ioy. I haue a chyld of good towardnes Reason What if in nothing That age is of al other most frayle and is many tymes cut of in the middes of their flowre And as there is nothing more sweete so is there nothing almost more bitter Ioy. I haue a most flattering and pratling Infant Reason O take heede that these flatteries turne not into teares The sight and pratlyng of a young chylde is very pleasant I confesse and as it is written in Sta. Papinius â–ª their heauenly lookes and interrupted woordes after the maner of verses or mytre whiche whyle they are heard doo delight when they can be heard no more doo grieue and can not be remembred without sorowe Thus in all worldly thinges but in nothing more then in this bitternesse is euermore set against sweetenesse Ioy. I am delighted in my most pleasant Infant Reason I forbid thee not to be delighted that I may not withstand nature but I seeke for a meane in al thinges without which there is nothing wel doone I would haue thee to reioyce more sparingly that if thou haue occasion to be sorie thou mayst also more sparingly be sorie and I would wish thee to thinke that it may easily come to passe that thou mayest trust to a broken staffe or leane to a rotten wall which Adriane the Emperour is reported to haue sayde often when he had adopted Aelius who was a fayre chylde in deede and

Father The Lxxxii Dialogue IOY I Haue a good Father Reason Acknowledge then thy good for it is but short Ioy. I haue a very good Father Reason He wyll procure griefe vnto thee or thou vnto hym Ioy. I haue a most tender Father Reason If the order of nature be obserued great heauinesse remayneth vnto thee for inheritaunce but yf the order be peruerted the lyke abydeth hym Ioy. I haue a Father yet Reason Vse him with diligence this is a frayle pleasantnesse and thy Father is an old man. Ioy. I haue an olde man to my Father Reason There is now no place for lingring make haste to gather the last fruite as it were from a ruinous tree Keepe him companie as much as thou canst see him diligently as yf he were immediatly departyng but heare him more willingly and lay vp his last aduertisementes in thy careful minde and when thou goest from him leaue him furnished with necessaries as yf thou were goyng a farre iourney The tyme wyll come thou shalt lacke his counsell and shalt seeke him and not fynde hym at home Ioy. I haue an extreame olde man to my Father Reason Make haste to shewe the last duetifulnesse of vertue towardes hym whyle there is tyme yf thou omit any thyng now thou wylt alwayes be sorie Ioy. I haue a vertuous Father Reason Then hast thou suche an one as desireth to dye before thee and feareth to lyue after thee Ioy. I haue a very good Father Reason Thou shalt not knowe what he was before thou want hym and for whom thou wylt lament when thou hast lost hym Of a most louing Mother The Lxxxiii Dialogue IOY I Haue a most louing Mother Reason But thou art vnto her a continual feare and carefulnesse Ioy. I haue a most louing Mother Reason The Fathers loue is greatest but the Mothers loue is most vehement and both their loues are such and so great that the affection of the childe vnlesse it be very rare can scarce counteruayle it Notwithstanding the contention betweene the Parentes and the Children in shewing loue and duetie one towardes another is commendable and vertuous let them haue the victorie vpon whom the fountaine of heauenly charitie is most abundantly powred But hytherto the Parentes haue the vpper hand neyther is yet the duetifulnesse of the Chyldren or their reuerence towardes their elders and progenitours suche that it may minister iust cause that we shoulde thinke it woulde be otherwyse but if it shoulde chaunce so to happen besides expectation there were no sight in the earth that coulde be deuised more acceptable vnto the heauens Ioy. I haue a verie good Mother Reason Be thou at leastwise a good childe vnto her remember that thou was first a burden and coyle vnto her and afterwarde a most bitter payne and lastly a continuall trouble and ielous carefulnesse Thinke on her wombe that bare thee and her breastes that gaue thee sucke how many sleepes and how many meales or pleasures thou hast broken her of by thy crying What feare and sorowe thou hast procured her by thy chaunces and sometymes also perhaps perilous pleasures Many tymes as the feare of chyldrens death hath enforced the wretched Mothers to ende their lyues so also hath the ioy of their lyfe This last poynt appeared playnely that day wherein they that remayned after the slaughter at Thrasimenus beyng dispersed returned safe to their friendes and when two Mothers who thought no lesse but that their sonnes were slayne in the battayle sawe them notwithstanding come agayne in safetie not being able to susteine the force of so sodayne a ioy they dyed presently So that by this and suche lyke examples it is truely verified that amongst men there is no greater ingratitude then that which is shewed agaynst the Mother Ioy. My Mother is yet lyuing an olde woman Reason As often as thou lookest vpon her and beholdest the earth also thinke from whence thou commest and whyther thou shalt out of how narrowe a place thou camest and into how narrowe an one thou shalt depart to witteout of the wombe of thyne owne Mother into the bowelles of the Earth that is mother of al thinges Among all the thinges therefore which between these twaine do delight and busie the minde drawe backe the raynes of pryde and couetousnesse Of good Brethren and louing and fayre Sisters The Lxxxiiii Dialogue IOY I Haue louyng Brethren Reason A rare matter for parentes for the most part doo alwayes loue but brethren most commonly doo hate and despise one another And therefore the trueth cryeth out by the mouth of the Poet Ouid That seldome is loue sounde among brethren whereas there is noted the wickednesse and vndutifulnesse of brethren children and almost al sortes of men exceptyng parentes Ioy. I haue very good Brethren Reason Truely I woonder at it it is enough that they be good for most tymes they be euyll and the worst of all other and so much worse then open enimies by how much there is lesse heede to be taken of domestical treacherie How great the loue of brethren is that I may not bryng to lyght them that are vnknowen nor offende them that are present the most famous couples the Micenian the Thebane and the Romane brethren doo declare which infamie why it shoulde more redounde vnto one citie then to the whole worlde I see no cause Beholde the first brethren that were in the worlde one was slayne by the hand of the other and yet hast thou not heard a most horrible mischiefe to tell for Phraates king of the Parthians of whom I spake before beside his most detestable parricide in murdering at one time his owne father and natural sonne we reade how he slue moreouer his thirtie brethren not fearyng by so foule a massacre and bloodshed to establish his yl gottten kingdome and vtterly to extinguishe al feare of competitours Ioy. My Brethren are good Reason I suppose you haue not yet deuided your inheritaunce for then your malice wylbreake foorth Golde is tryed by fyre and so is the minde by golde That agreement whiche seemeth to be great is oftentymes ouerthrowen by a litle golde Ioy. I haue louyng Brethren Reason Perhaps thy single lyfe or lacke of children causeth them to loue thee Thy marrying wyl discouer them but hauing of chyldren more better when they shal perceyue them selues depriued of the hope of succession whiche hope hath caused the most impatient to suffer muche Ioy. I haue brethren that loue me most deerely Reason It ought to be so vnlesse malice or feare or couetousnesse or immoderate desire to haue which whyle it coueteth to be satisfied quite forgetting the lawe both of God and man doo hinder it How great so euer the loue be betweene the parentes and the chyldren yet are the maners and conuersation diuers which although the parentes doo perceiue quickly yet do they acknoledge it too late Although fathers loue their chyldren at the fyrst yet it is long are they receyue them

not what it is to leese a father vnlesse thou haddest had a sonne Of the losse of a mother The xlvii Dialogue SOROWE I Haue lost my mother Reason Thou hast yet another mother whom thou canst not leese if thou wouldest from the first thou camest and vnto this thou shalt returne The first gaue thee houséromth the space of a few monethes the other shal giue thee lodging the space of many yeeres The one of these gaue thee thy body the other shal take it away Sorowe My most milde mother is dead Reason But a most hard mother remayneth who wyl keepe thee and thy mother whom thou bewailest in one besome in whose wombe she shal rest with thee and as we beleeue bryng you both foorth agayne at the last day Sorowe My good mother hath forsaken me Reason She made hast fearyng to be forsaken and likely it is that her death was acceptable vnto her because she would not see thine prouiding for her securitie in that whiche alwayes she most feared Sorowe My good mother is dead Reason She is happily dead thou being a lyue whiche beyng otherwyse such are the affections of women she would haue died in sorowful lamentation Sorowe My mother is dead Reason Shee must haue died and thou also neyther canst thou complaine of death nor of the order therof Of the losse of a sonne The xlviii Dialogue SOROW. BUt I haue lost my sonne Reason Say rather and better I haue sent hym before me for thou shalt folowe hym quickely and perhappes to day and howe know we whether this same houre There is no trust in lyfe since there is so great certentie in death shalt folowe hym sayde I Nay rather thou doest folowe hym I woulde haue sayde for thou folowest hym continually it is not permitted vnto a man at any tyme to stay his course in this lyfe but euermore he steppeth foorth one step vnto death a strange matter to be spoken whether he be bound or at libertie sicke or whole walkyng or sitting awake or sleepyng he is caryed foorth toward his ende much after the manner of them that sayle in a shyp or sitte and ride in a wagon and are carried foorth a pace Sorowe I am greeued with the lacke of my sonne whom I haue lost Reason Qiuet thy minde for thou shalt finde hym whom thou desirest ere it be long not to be able to suffer the want of a short tyme is the part of a childe or a woman for vnto a man there is no short thing difficult Thou knowest I thinke by what woordes Socrates in Plato and Cato and Lelius in Cicero do comfort suche desires and wantes Although men surpasse in vertue and glory yet in this hope do some farre surpasse other Thou knowest moreouer of what minde Paulus Emilius Cato hym selfe Pericles and Zenophon that was scholer vnto Socrates and scholefelowe with Plato and his equal and other innumerable were for the death of their chyldren neyther art thou ignorant howe he that was both a prophet and a king wept for his chylde whyle it was sicke but not when it was dead thinkyng that to lament and weepe for thinges vnrecouerable is rather a poynt of vayne madnesse then of true affection Among the number of whiche manly examples the Spartane woman shuffeleth her selfe whose name is not set downe by wryters nor her saying semblably commended who hearyng that her sonne was slayne in battayle therfore sayd she did I beare hym that he shoulde not be afrayd to dye for his countrey The vertue of Linia and the elder Cornelia is nothyng inferiour vnto this but their names muche more famous of whom the first layde downe her mournyng so soone as her sonne of most honourable byrth and that was lyke to haue aspired vnto the hyghest degree of Empire was once layd into the ground but neuer left of the remembrance of hym The other hauing lost many chyldren yea al that she had whereof some she behelde slayne by the people and lying abrode vnburyed when as other women accordyng to the manner of that sexe rued her state and pitifully weepyng bewaled her woful case she answeared that she was not infortunate but happie for that she had borne such sonnes A woorthy woman that was not surprised with the present miserie but counted her selfe happie for that whiche was past who contrary to the common opinion and custome of them that are in miserie comforted herselfe with her forepassed felicitie and the remembrance of her prosperitie wherin shee had somtime liued and tooke it indifferently although she had then lost it for that cause only was woorthie to haue bad good children Now she being a woman remained wholy not once touched with the greeuous and sharp woundes of fortune and thou beeyng a man art ouerthrowne by one only doest thou lament so childishly Sorow I haue lost my sonne Reason If he were a duetiful sonne there is no cause to feare his estate for he is well But yf he were wicked thou art rydde of one that counted vpon thy death and encreased the infirmities of thine olde age Sorowe I haue lost my sonne Reason If he were vertuous reioyce that thou haddest hym but yf he were vnthryfty be glad that thou hast lost hym and in eyther case acknowledge the benefite of nature eyther for geuing thee suche a one or for takyng hym a way Sorowe Death hath taken away my sonne before his tyme. Reason That is not done before due tyme whiche may be done at al tymes Death hath directe entrances into al ages but into youth innumerable Sorowe I haue remayned without a sonne Reason And without trouble and feare Now hast thou none for whose cause thou shalt spend the nyghtes without sleepe and the dayes in care for whose sake thou shalt enter into long and inextricable hope that shall thinke vpon thy hory heares and wryncles examine thy lyuing fynde fault with thine expences and blame the staying of thy death thou art in securitie and quietnesse on euery side both which are a great commoditie although it be made more bitter by the name of death Sorowe I am cast downe by the geeuous death of my sonne Reason Hast thou not hearde what Anaragoras sayth Hast thou forgotten that thou begattest a mortal creature Or doest thou perhappes lament that he is gone before that should haue folowed And although the lyfe of man in many other thinges be disordinate and out of course yet death keepeth his ordinarie custome crooked olde men stagger and young men make hast and chyldren runne headlong infantes at their first entrance into lyfe are drawen to their ende one man more slowly another more speedily one more ripely another more vntimely but euery man must die this is the conclusion of al. And in whatsoeuer age of this lyfe a man die be it gently or sharpely he hasteth vnto death Sorowe I weepe for the death of my sonne Reason If thou wouldest haue wept at his death thou shouldest also