Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	good_a	life_n	see_v	9,943	5	3.4753	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A08566	The fiue bookes of the famous, learned, and eloquent man, Hieronimus Osorius, contayninge a discourse of ciuill, and Christian nobilitie A worke no lesse pleasaunt then profitable for all, but especiallye the noble gentlemen of England, to vievv their liues, their estates, and conditions in. Translated out of Latine into Englishe by VVilliam Blandie late of the Vniuersitie of Oxeford, and novv fellovv of the middle Temple in London.; De nobilitate civili et christiana. English	Osório, Jerónimo, 1506-1580.; Blandie, William.	1576 (1576)	STC 18886; ESTC S113632	145,792	234

on fortune are not to be despised then hee seemeth to be one that fawneth on the people and pleaseth their humour and fonde delighte In which opinion notwithstanding how many grosse errours be hee may easely perceiue which wyth dilligent and deepe consideration will ponder this matter By the exercise sayth hee of the most excellente vertue blessed life is perfectly accomplished If the case stande thus then let vs vnderstande what maner a thing that vertue is the cause efficient of so wonderfull and great blessedn●s eyther by what meanes it is obtayned or how wee maye distinguish honestie which is perfecte and absolute from the false and pretended colour of honestie For I coulde neuer yet gesse how vertue could be vnderstoode excepte the nature of the last and soueraygne good be first plainly and manifestly knowen For vertue is nothinge els but a perfection of reason leadinge vs to the attayninge the last desired ende of blessednes and felicitie And then reason saye they is most perfecte when like as one that leueleth his shafte or darte at some marke so reason beholdeth some purposed ende as it were a marcke whither it directeth euery action Therefore the excellencie of true vertue by no meanes can bee perceyued excepte the ende vnto the which it shoulde readely bringe vs bee perfectly knowen The which thing Aristotle himselfe hath taught forasmuch as before he would any thinge at all entreate of vertue hee tooke in hande to expresse and declare what felicitie was that that being knowen the nature power and efficacie of true vertue mighte eftsones appeare the which notwythstandinge he coulde in no wyse performe For I woulde willingly learne of him what manner a thing that felicity is for the attayning wherof I should refuse no laboure and trauayle Here hee reckoneth the vertues of the minde the qualities of the bodye the goods of Fortune the which beinge obtayned felicity is attayned And in the firste place hee reposeth the duties that proceede from Vertue Nowe truly manifeste it is that this is a straunge and preposterous order that the laste desired ende should be knowen by Vertue not Vertue by the laste desired ende But let vs graunt him that that at length wee moughte perfectly see into the nature of Vertue Vertue sayth Aristotle is a constante affection of the minde obtayned by free election consistinge in a certaine mediocritie and the same being directed by the righte rule of reason But I pray you proceede a litle further in this matter for as yet I perceiue not what vertue is What meane you then by the righte rule of reason which is to vs by you deliuered in the definition of vertue That is it sayth he in another place which beinge obscured by no kinde of darcknes without any difficultie seeth that laste ende vnto the which all the doinges and actions of our life ought to bee referred Now thou doest turne mee ouer againe to the searchinge out of the last desired end which that I might plainly perceiue frō the searching out of the same thou didst put mee ouer to the consideration of vertue I pray you what other thinge is it to tourne round in a circle if this be not First you say that vertue bringeth vs to felicitie Then againe you so describe felicitie that except first wee perfectly vnderstand the nature of vertue what felicity is we cannot so muche as by coniecture imagine This therefore maketh mee to stand in a muse for neyther do I vnderstande what vertue is neither whither it tendeth But to leaue these crabbed and difficult matters it shal be very profitable to know whether that felicitie which Aristotle would frame be such a thing as we might happely at any time attaine For if it bee of that nature that it cannot bee obtayned neither that any maye possibly cōpasse because of the inconstancie and frailtie of mans estate and condition what shall that description of happie life profite the common societie of man Moreouer whereas all thinges in the whole vniuersall worlde do commonly at the length come to their ende and perfection no doubte it were an errour intollerable to thincke that onely man for whose sake all thinges which wee see wyth oure eyes were ordayned should neuer come to his prefixed felicitie which Aristotle must confesse being thereunto dryuen by necessitie For whereas his opinion is that felicitie is to be obtayned in this life and withall giueth such power and preheminence to Fortune that with a boysterous blaste of her displeasure our happie estate may be shaken in sonder and vtterlye ouerwhelmed hee seemeth thereby to make men euer in a wretched and miserable case For who is hee to whom any priuiledge or immunitie is graūted from those mischieues wherewith wee see this life oppressed and continually afflicted Is there saye I any man so free and exempted from miserie but that sometimes will hee or nill hee hee tasteth of the cuppe of calamitie or at the least maye not dreade such discomfitures wyth the which the happy life if it may bee so called maye bee both obscured and vtterly loste For all men which liue on the face of the earth toke life chiefly to this ende and purpose that they should consume theyr dayes in teares and mourninge and spende the greateste part of their life lamentably languishinge in greate woe and miserye Neyther in anye age or memorye of man coulde there euer so much as one man be founde vnto whom by many degrees there did not more euill then good betide Solon for his wysedome the moste renowmed Grecian beinge demaunded of Craesus Kinge of Lydia whom hee iudged to bee of all other moste happie aunsweared one Tellus an Athenian which had begotten in a Countrye aboundinge wyth all commodities children excelling in goodlines of personage and strength of bodie and afterwards defendinge his Country manfullye ended his life wyth greate glory Also hee added to Tellus Cleobis and Biton borne in the Cittie of Argos who when they had marueylously shewed their good nature and dutifull obedience to their mother departed this life For theyr of theyr frendes wyth dauncing and singinge For they thought it most conuenient to weepe and mourne at their natiuitie being the beginninge of all misery and contrariwyse to death as to the ende of all wretchednes they thoughte reioysinge was moste agreeable But what neede I to this effecte and purpose discourse any more examples For not onely by the testimonies of aunciente wryters but also by infinite examples wythin the time of our owne remembraunce it maye be clearely perceyued that no man hath euer liued that hath not bin verye often times distressed wyth cares vexations daungers and an infinite sorte of diseases and calamities Yet there are some recorded by learned wryters not many which haue bin of the common people thoughte happie Such as Metellus of Macedonia Caesar Octauius Lucius Silla were and one or two more which mighte bee reckoned wyth these But they that write of the misfortunes which diuerslye happened vnto

vse fayned speach that he liuinge in this plenteous store and aboundaunce of worldly glory fealt himselfe neuerthelesse content but moued with farder desire Zeno immoderately with open mouth exclaimeth vpon this man reuilinge him as a pezant and mad man chiefly for that he cannot maister and qualifie that motion of the minde throughe the power whereof he is moued to desire infinitely then for that in the aboūdance of worldly wealth he professeth himselfe still oppressed with penury Whom for all that if you indifferently iudge you ought to pardon For put case his minde with those good thinges should rest contēted which can come to passe by no reasō For if you should powre into the mind all those good qualities that mought be procured by mans trauaile and industrie you coulde not by any meanes satisfy the vnsatiable capacity thereof But admit it satisfied yet notwithstandinge shall it be inflamed continually with the desire of immortalitye But this saieth he no wise man will desire Which hath appoincted vnto him selfe such boundes and limites that he ordereth his life by the rule of nature and not of desire As thoughe it were beesides nature to lyue euer Or as though there were any thinge more agreable to nature To proue this wherefore are we pensiue and carefull of those thinges that happen to vs after our deathes Wherefore doe we desire ofspringe and the succession of children Why do wee thinke it a worthye thinge to be commended to oure posteritye Whye are most pregnant and florishinge wittes moued with the desire of perpetuall fame and glory Assuredly this affection proceedes of no other cause then of the desire of immortality For whereas man beinge a creature endued with reason and vnderstandinge plainly and euidently seeth that that is not to be thought to appertaine to perfecte blessednes which is variable subiect to alteration knowinge also for a certainty that those thinges whiche may be lost or taken from vs are mutch disagreinge with the nature of felicity he dreadeth death and is stirred vp wyth an egree motion of the mynde and moued wyth a wonderful instincte of nature to couet the fruition of immortality And beinge yet vncertaine to attaine the same is duringe this life tossed and turmoyled hither and thyther and imployeth therto his whole study and diligence that by all meanes he possibly may he moughte preserue himselfe from vtter destruction and finall decaie Some man therefore holdeth himselfe most happy if he leaue behinde him after his death a perfecte portrayture of his owne name and one that shall be as it were himselfe in in another person Some man striueth excéedingelye by sententious sayinges and worthy monumentes of an excellent wit by noble and valiaunt Actes to purchase to himselfe continuall fame and memory Some other in erectinge great and sumptuous buildinges séeketh thereby to commende himselfe vnto posterity Which geueth a sufficient note that euen by natures instincte and fore warninge all men tremble and quake at the memory of death and then doe by all meanes sheewe their desire of perpetuity of life Therefore whereas the nature of man is such that it cannot haue on earth any longe contynuance for all kindes of estates are equally subiecte to death and the way to the graue as Horace saieth muste once be trode for this cause all men generally do apply therunto their whole diligence after death at least wise to leaue some representation or counterfaite shewe of life Howe can it therfore be gainsaide but that a creature desirous of euerlastingenes must needes bee stroken with great feare and terrour of death And seinge that no man in this life can attaine his ioye and hartes rest for how can the mind haue his contentation hauing not obteined that for the which it so mutch longeth it doth euidētly appeare that we are created to some other greater and more excellent purposes And therefore is it that oure myndes are not satisfyed wythe those good thinges that happen in this lyfe beecause all thinges here are of no estimation and streyghted into a narrow compasse in comparison of those whiche we through a secrete working and inclination of nature are prone to desire But to the knowledge of those good thinges which onely are accomted the chiefest and by all meanes possiblye to bee desired two wayes there are that may conducte vs First of all the very desire of the mynd it selfe wil open vnto vs plainly what it is then our byrth and the consideration of owr generation will more playnly shew vs what it is that we desire For we must not suppose anye other ende to bee proposed to eache thinge wee desire then that whereunto nature it selfe beynge not corrupted or depraued is bente and inclined neyther from any other fountaine ought the end of blessed life to be deryued thē frō that frō which we first borowed the beginning of lyfe FIrst therfore it is requisite to vnderstand what that appetite of desire is which is so depely imprīted in the mind of mā We se al mē for the most part do avoid as much as in thē lyeth the things that are displeasant and paynful and to desire inordinatlye that whiche maye stirre vp delectation and pleasure to make greate pryce of riches ability to be inflamed with the loue of learning the which if many through their dull and barrayn wits do not attayn yet they can do no lesse then loue and honour the learned man in so much that him whom they see furnished wyth moste excellente artes and sciences they thinke moste lyke and semblable to immortal Goddes Agayne dayly experiēce doth shewe vs that all mē are enamoured with the bewty and worthines of vertue and honesty in so much that wicked and euil disposed persons are moued and allured with the perfection thereof and beeyng taken in a trippe wexe ashamed at their offence desiring rather to be accompted honest and vertuous then leude and vngratious To conclude al mē are of that nature that they are not contented hauinge attayned one kynde of those thynges whyche are tearmed good but they would be fullye fraight with al together and cleane exempted from all feare and griefe of the mynd Agayn they immoderatly desyre to haue al those good thinges reache to the higheste degree of perfection and to haue theym continue and remayne for euer But what is this els then to desire to bee lyke vnto God in estate and conditiō For the omnipotent and diuine nature of God is suche that it aboundeth in all felicity and beyng replenyshed wyth his vnspeakable wysedome and vertue seperated from the contagion of all corruption reigneth in a most glorious kingdom blessed endles They therfore that woulde inioye the thinges that in perfectnes and principality exceede all other and woulde with an ardent desire couet an eternity and perpetuity therein wisheth hym selfe as it were to be of the numbre and companye of Heauenly sainctes What should I heere speake of the earnest zeale of religion by

therefore Lewis moste puissaunte Prince that wee in more ample manner speake of fortitude and the vnconquerable courage of the minde the worthines of which vertue is such that by no flourish of eloquence it may be sufficienrly described For they that haue not bin dismaide at the terrour of death they which haue wyth most valiaunte courage suffred bodely tormentes they that would for no maner of griefe be disturbed in minde and do anye thinge to stayne theyr honour and estimation haue bin alwayes had in great admiration For whereas we all in generall thincke life to be sweete and do follow the intisementes of Nature whoe so despiseth death ouercommeth vndoubtedlye Nature it selfe And truly how much admiration and worthy renowne hath in all Nations bin attributed to this contempte of death Hereby we maye haue an euidente token that no vertue is in the bookes and monuments of learned men so muche commended no vertue wyth like prayse extolled The iust and temperate men are after a meane sorte commended but stoute and valiaunte men are placed amonge the starres themselues Socrates which was in his time the onely mirrour and example of continencie and sobrietie purchased by no kinde of vertue so worthy fame as by that his constancie which hee vsed in retayning his former dignity when by the seuere sentences of the Iudges he was condemned to die They themselues which abydinge a very harde Fortune are throwen downe being spoyled and bereaued of all their substance and voyd of solace if in extreme desperation they do themselues to death although in that kinde of death there is a certayne suspiciō of dastardly cowardise because they hasten their dyinge day not so muche for shewinge their constancie as for auoydinge of myserie yet they themselues which so of their owne voluntary disposition depart from lyfe are oftentimes wonderfully commended For so muche is the vertue of the minde accompted of that the counterfaite shewe therof stirreth vp admiration Which if it so be who can wyth words expresse the stoutenes and valiauntnes of Christian vertue For if the wittes of them that haue most professed eloquence whē they would wyth trim speaches and rhetoricall woordes describe the prayses of any humayne vertue are sometimes ouerwhelmed wyth the wayght of the matter to what kinde of eloquence can be so wonderfull or so excellente whereby a man may be able with filed phrase and piked speach to set forth the worthines of so greate a vertue But I albeit by reason of any witte or exercise am able litle to do seing that I haue taken in hande so great a matter least greater shoulde be my blame in geeuinge ouer the same then my boldnes in takinge it in hande as farre forthe as my poore ability will serue I will endeuour at large to discourse the excellencie of this so noble a vertue ANd first wee ought to consider what great diuersitie there is betweene the fortitude nowe specifyed and mannes valiauntnes and magnanimitie First of all if you respecte the ende they that for Christes sake venture theyr liues obtayne the true ende of vertue but they that propose vnto themselues ritches or fame and glorye dependinge on the voyce and consente of the vnlettered multitude and respecte not the true soueraygne good they are rather to bee accompted menne pufte vppe wyth a vayne desire and ambition then valiaunte and couragious men Further manye offerre themselues to daunger not wyth iudgemente and prudente aduise but beinge pricked forwarde wyth a certayne rage and furye of minde conceyued eyther of hatred enuie or some other earneste and whote affection But Christians whereas onelye wickednes they deadlye hate towarde the men themselues they beare a minde voyde and free from all manner enuie rancoure and other leude and wicked affection Finallye they neuer take vppon the manye daungerous attempte but beinge moued thereunto either with a verye earneste hope or with a desperate feare of theyr present estate For none of them except he had some certayne hope to escape daunger or gaine some priuate commoditie or els were paste all hope of escapinge woulde thincke it good to come into daunger but oure men in many places haue beene ledde to theyr temporall bane and death of the bodye hauinge free election if they woulde to liue in pleasure so that on one syde no hope of life was offered on the other side if they woulde forsake their opinion they had proposed vnto them manye thinges whereby they moughte liue a pleasaunte life yet notwithstanding they marchinge forwarde to a certayne and assured punishmente of most cruell death refused all pleasaunte intisementes of life and neyther with threates nor fayre promises coulde they be driuen from their profession of faith and Christian pietie And againe of what force is that that of so manye as are contayned in the memorie of manne verye fewe haue beene founde which by learninge exercise and continuall study to do well haue come to that perfection that they with a willinge minde coulde suffer death vppon a sodaine there beganne to growe an innumerable multitude not onelye of men and women but also of children and almost infantes which haue for the fayth of Christe suffered stripes death vppon Crosses and Gibbets burninge fires and to conclude moste cruell kindes of death with inuincible mindes and willinge hartes When all the rulers of the worlde and Lordes of the earth bent their maine force as it were and ventured lyfe and limme to the intente all relligion and feare of God should bee vtterlye rooted oute of the hartes of menne when the Deuils themselues authours of all mischiefe and wickednes stirred them to cruell tyrannie whom they had with moste vncleane and filthye superstition as it were ledde captiue vnder their auctoritie when moste straunge and terrible tortures were deuised to the vtter ouerthrowe of Christian discipline when violence and horrible crueltye was practised in all corners of the worlde where the faith of Christe was euer hearde of when all these thinges were inuented to the subuersion and ouerthrowe of Christian Pietie Notwythstandinge suche was the vertue of true Nobilitie and Christian magnanimitye that it did not onely with constante perpetuall and inuincible defence of Christianity couragiously wythstande the assaulte of the ennemyes but also moste willinglye and cheerefullye offered themselues in Christes quarrell to the sworde to fire and faggotte They were leadde awaye to execution and cruell tortures whippes gallowses gibbettes and tormentes neuer afore hearde of were prepared for them Neyther coulde those butcherly bloudsuckers growen through villanie into outragious fury satisfie theyr crueltie if straight waye they should haue bereaued of their liues those innocent Lambes therefore wyth prolonginge theyr cruell punishmente they wente aboute to represse that kinde of contumacie springing not out of presumptuous pryde but oute of rare and excellent vertue Neyther were those horrible cruelties practised for the loue they boare to theyr owne relligion but onely for the enuye and mallice they boare to theyr excellente vertue

it were ouershadowed with darkenes wherin there dwelleth sutch a one as may be tearmed a lighte of most deuine and resplendent vertue for so it should bee accoumted not barbarous but famous neither yf there were in that commonwealth a mēber neuer so exceadinge fraight with especiall vertues yet could he come foorth to light and chalenge due deserued dignity and commendation shakinge of the cloudy mistines wherewith the whole countrie was ouerwhelmed Therefore the chyefest benefite that nature can bestowe on vs is to be borne and broughte vp in a country in fame and glory the next good gifte of nature is to bringe owr descent from some noble linage and worthy parentage Themistocles his aunswere to Tymodeus Aphydneus most fitely agreeth to this matter To whom it was disdainfully obiected that he was not through his owne vertues so mutch honoured of the Lacedemonians but onely for that he was borne an Athenian Thowe hast sayde ꝙ Themistocles for neyther I my selfe if I had bene borne in thy countrey Aphydnum coulde euer attayne so greate renoume and glory neither thou if Athens had bene thy countrey couldest thereby atchiue to the title of honour and dignity Which may in this manner be applyed For he which is obscurely borne and of low degrée may not throughe the worthines of any place be made noble neither any of gentle bloude shall haue yelded vnto hym estymation dewe to hys byrthe and estate in a barbarous and obscure Citty Noble men therefore haue their due honoures in their owne manour houses and country But perfecte and true nobility is not chaungeable through the alteration of place but wheresoeuer it hath his beinge and is déepely rooted and printed in mens myndes it is of all men honoured and magnified a like For what is hee amongest the Romaines at what time the estate of that renoumed Citty florished in all prowes and Nobilitye that hadde in admiration or made any accompt of the Princes of Sicilie or Bythinia On the other side the Barbarians did magnify the Romains as Gods. Therefore nobility may also be deuided in this maner The one most absolute and florishinge in al natiōs the other tyed to the place from whence it first proceded This nobility therefore sheweth her selfe no farther forth then the boundes of his natiue countrey will streach rather vaynely of the people commended then deseruedlye honoured But that nobility beautified with the glory of Princely parentage euery where and amonge al men shal haue deserued reuerence This caused Helena to thincke that she beinge amonge straūge people might vse her accustomed liberty in speakinge who in this manner vaunteth her selfe Who will as captiue coumpte or seruile her assigne who by descēt doth come from Gods and sacred lyne IT is a thinge most surely ingraffed in true nobility not to faynte for any trouble not to dispaire in any perill not to languish in any wo and greuous misery Yea if fortune froune if daunger death ensue a noble mynde will not be forgetfull So that nothinge may a like shewe a gentle and valiant harte then not to be vanquished which is seene in sorowe tryed in trouble proued in persecution Which thinge Virgill wittely noteth vnto vs where Queene Dido commendeth exceedingly thus Aeneas Forsoth I thincke ne am beguilde frō Gods descends his lyne There is no labour lost in examininge the cause why he deemed Eneas to be allyed vnto the Gods in byrth and cōsanguinity See what reason he yeeldeth A bastard borne of base degree by dastardnes is knowen Nothinge might haue bene sayd more truely or with better profe For euen as patience in persecution proueth a noble nature as valiantnes in aduersity argue than vncōquerable minde So truely timerousnes in terroure and daunger euidently sheeweth a man to bee base and of vile condition Nowe finisheth he the commendations and prayeses of Eneas A griefe it is to tell how he was tost by cruell fates what warres to him befell IT seemeth a thing farre passinge the reache of reason the suche a one who abode stoutlye so greate a brunt who valiātly ouerstoode so many dangerous skirmiches to be no gentleman borne whereas he declared before that basenes of byrth linage was knowen by feare cowardlines Whereas then to return again from whēce we haue digressed Nobility is diuersly sorted that is the one more generall absolute and principall whiche not onely receiveth his light from a countrey florishing in all vertue but taketh his ofspringe of a familye famous muche spoken of for equitye iustice and magnanimitie the force whereof may be nowhere abased deminished grounded and fixed surelye on some vnspeakable vertue The other not of such excellencie onely professed in s●me one particuler prouince and country where is decayed the studye of noble qualityes My meaninge therfore is to descrybe the nature of the most principal and chiefe nobilitye And to the entent that I may leaue no one parte thero●●●●●●●hed I wil speake of the original and beginninge thereof grounding my argument on some other principle VVHat time nature tooke in hande to make man to frame in him a spirit much like to the diuine nature it apeareth with what prouidente foresight iudgement she finished so hard and great an enterprice not for this cause and consideration onely that mankynd was endued with the selfe same gifts and qualities of the minde and so knit and vnited together throughe the likenes of their nature that amongest al other liuing creatures none was so fitte to keepe and maintaine society but in this also that in disposinge their affections diuersly it was broughte to passe that those whych were by nature ordeyned to liue in loue and amity should be therunto forced by necessity for wheras innumerable sorts of artes hath bene deuised to maintayne the common societye of man and no one may excell in al it was not without the prouidence and deuine decree of nature appoynted that some should seeke out the hydden secretes of scyences other some shoulde bestow themselues busely in their faculty whereby euery one labouring in his calling earnestly myght by the trauaile of other atchiue to that which by his owne industrie he should neuer attaine It may not be because Hippias most arrogantly gloried of him selfe that hee throughe the sharpenes of his witte and quycknes of his capacitye coulde vnderstād all thinges that therefore euerye other man shoulde stand in like manner in his owne con●eit who besides that he attributed to hymself the skil of al such sciences whiche contayne all learninge and wysedome was not ashamed allso to saye that in euerye vyle and seruile occupation he had an especiall gifte that he through ●●●ninge dyd make the ring that he woare the 〈◊〉 that courted him and the sockes that serued his necessitie I say it were hard for anye man were his witte neuer so quicke and pregnante to take vppon him so many intricat laboures In so much that I thinke that Hippias could not acquite himself

therefore throughe their furye and madnes hurt and wounde their countrye but beyng oute in daūger of vtter vndoyng they are able by no meanes to saue it or restore it beyng once lost and decayed to his for●●●●onour and dignity It is therefore most cleare and euident that the estat of that coūtry is lamētable where people are preferred before their peeres and the ignoble and ●●l●born before the honourable But when the case standeth thus that noble men do flow and abound in al vertue and noblenes and are not onelye through the good inclination of th●yr noble natures but also through the loue of vertue inflamed with iustice and temperance and daylye study to do good to all men and to knit vp al in one word doe depely cōsider the office and duty of a noble personage what is hee were he neuer so vilanos a verlet or cursed caytiue with wold not willīgly obey their wil autoriti Nay who wil not rather persuade the body of a cōmōwealth to be geuerned by so worthi and noble a coūsel For who soeuer is of so a le●● mynde as to thinke it not a thinge most needful profitable to yeld himselfe conformable to the protection of some one most wise and modeste gouernour who for his wisedom and modestie onely deserueth commendation is not to be thought a louer of liberty but rather corrupted with the luste of licentiousnes and would by his ryot and foule demeanour molest the quiet estat of the country For there is nothing in the vniuersal worlde that is more apt to preserue the common societye of men then good lawes with out the which no familye no nation no countrye is ●●l to stande and haue any contynuance But you will saye it is greeuous and intollerable burden to become seruile Truely I am of that mynde that no euill may be compared to seruitude but it is one thinge to serue and another to obeye For ther is greate odds between a lorde and a gardian The gardian is carefull for the safegard of those who are committed to him to be defended the lord onely doth respect his priuate commodity Euen so the loyalty and obedience of hym that is free greatlye dyfferethe frome the bondage of hym that is seruyle For seruitude is thus when the slaue wanting will free election foloweth the commaundement and becke of his lorde and hauinge no choyse repyneth at his lordes auctoritye But it is the propertye of a liberal nature to yeelde all dutye and reuerence to them whiche doth excell other in knowledge and wisedom and to whom for a long tyme haue bene committed the care and custodye of many people And as the sicke man doth no maner of seruice to the Phisition but willinglye foloweth his aduise and councell because he shal thereby be restored to health and as the passenger obeyeth the master of the shippe and the souldier his captaine so it behoueth a multitude well disposed to yeeld them selues wholy into the handes of right noble and worthy personages For the people through their dull wits and brutish nature cannot perceyue what is profitable eyther to themselues or for their countrye on the other side the noble mynd is not onely the worker of present profite but also through great foresight preuents imminent daunger Furthermore the people hath no taste or feelinge of honoure and renoume and glorye excepte they be by some strayght law brydeled and therefore are most couetous and giuē to al impyetie and in the defence of their countrye are of no stoute hardye stomache On the other syde the noble bloude is inflamed with the loue of renoume and abhorreth dastardlines as a most foule vgly vice and in defence of a common profitt accompteth greate and daungerous enterpryces Whiche by Homer whose graue sentences I do often recite and willinglye repete is in manye places most playnly declared For after suche sorte hee bryngeth in the king with sundrye and diuers kyndes of oracions perswadinge with the people as thoughe therby his meaninge were to geue notice and intelligence to al worthy and noble personages by the recitall of Agamemnon his prayse and worthines that they in like maner ought to excite and stirre vp themselues to striue with him for fame and glory But vnto the rude and barbarous people yf they turne their backes in battayle scourginge and killinge he denounceth Therefore as the stomach and courage of a lusty horse doth most appeare when hee yeeldeth to be guided by the will of a skillfull rider And as we suppose our minde to bee best setled when will to reason geueth the soueraignty And as we thincke a houshoulde to be well ordered when it leaneth to the aduised disposition of a wise and carefull housholder So must we persuade oure selues that the good estate of the people is then best ordered and established when they yeelde the free administration and as it were the sway of gouernmente to true Nobilitie ❧ THE SECONDE Booke of ciuill Nobilitie WHat the nature force order efficacie of true Nobilitie is Lewis most noble famous Prince how first beinge bred fostered by worthines of witte and excellencie of vertue it attayned the highest place of honour and soueraingtie and howe the people in all antiquitie was fully perswaded that noble birthe and worthines of parentage by bloude and aliaunce was ioyned and linked to the Gods and how great and honourable titles ensignes in all wel gouerned cōmon wealthes were attributed and geuen thereunto I haue alreadye not onely by testimonies of excellent Poets and manifeste presidents of aunciente Records but also by authoritie of holy Scripture aboundantly declared and confirmed sufficiently And after I had put downe in writinge howe much antiquitie might preuaile for the furtheraunce and settinge forth of true Nobilitie I declared consequentlye that they who were of highe degree and noble parentage were not onely borne to beare rule and sitte in the place of Maiestie but also that the securitie safegarde and preseruation of the people was then beste kept and maintayned when the whole gouernmente was yelded vnto worthy noble personages But for as much as there is nothing in this world certaine stable and permanent but al thinges are frayle mutable and much subiect to alteration it may not be that Nobilitie and the glory thereof shoulde continue alwayes and be euerlasting Nobilitie therfore as most part of other thinges to the state and condition of man is subiect to mortalitie Wherefore 〈◊〉 ●f ●ll 〈◊〉 ●hings ●o o● nobilitie there is a certaine prime and youthly Estate then riper yeares ensue and old age foloweth last of all death wasteth and consumeth all vtterly so that no printe or signe appeareth of auncient Nobility Wee see therfore that many families which were in time past barbarous obscure and litle reckoned of are excedīglye stirred vp and enkindled to purchase prayse and winne glorie Againe other wee see scarcely vphold the renowne of their auncestors other daily