the first that was wronged I doe not know so much and therefore affirm that it was I or if I were the last theÌ„ was mine the greater wrong for that which hee did vnto thee may bee excused either by loue or necessitie but what hee offered vnto me can be no better tearmed then insolencie malice or disdain seeing that then his greatest heat was past neuerthelesse considering that clemencie is more naturall vnto our sex then crueltie I say that where the prerogatiues or claimes are of equal force there is more respect to be had vnto humanitie then rigor and if you alleage vnto mee the examples of Lucrece and Virginia I will in like sort alleage vnto you the Sabines and others no lesse honest but more discreet and the greater number from whoÌ„ hath proceeded greater good witnesse so many worthy Romanes issued from them His death can serue to no other end but to eternise the memorie of our infamie either by the publick or secret reuenge of his kindred neuer did any mans death profit a woman Lastlie if thou thinkest that thy honour deserueth his death I answere that mine is not vnworthie of his life and I beleeue that the iudges will affirme my wish to be more iust then thy will Declamation 62. Of him that his father did disherit because he went vnto the wars THe priuiledge of the war was that he which had ben thrise a conqueror should bee freed from going to the warres any more Wherevpon it happened that a certaine Romane which had beene thrise a conqueror would returne vnto the warres against his fathers will Who seeing that hee would needs goe did for his obstinacie disherit him wherevnto the sonne pleaded in this sort FIrst I am bound vnto God that hee hath made mee three times victorious and next vnto him am I bound vnto my countrie for the loue which I haue born vnto it hath ben the cause that I did fight and got the victorie wherefore after I haue performed my duty vnto these twaine I will obey my father in all things who ought not to be against the publick good and my glorie it may be that he himselfe hath not ben thrise a conqueror wherefore it is requisit that I should supplie his default or my childrens defect who peraduenture shall neuer be of such desert but why would you dissuade me from sighting after the obtaining of three victories Seeing that they doe yet fight whome I haue thrise vanquished As the Senator which is past threescore years of age may chuse whether he will come to Counsell yee or no and yet such as are much older do notwithstanding come thether so long as they liue so is it 〈◊〉 for me to goe vnto the warres when honor commandeth me as oft as list In that which is past I 〈…〉 no more then my dutie and therefore I 〈…〉 reward but that which hereafter I shall doe of free will shall merit a recompence You would haue him to be idle that neuer loued ease you see the danger wherein we stand all the Citizens doe fixe their eies vpon me and to speake the truth the Commonwealth doth yet owe me nothing for my passed victories seeing that it could not excuse me from the battaile but now the same law shall allow it to be desert which before did appoint it a dutie Seeing then that what I do is but for your profit and honour why should you disauow me for your heire mee I say which will fight to maintaine your life your house and the inheritance which you will take from me The Answere THou doest acquit thy selfe towards God and thy countrie in obeying thy father in a matter both lawfull and reasonable for the Commonwealth hath as great need of pittifull and obedient men vnto the lawes and their Parents as it hath of such as are valiant wherefore thou art bound to be both the one and the other thou art alreadie knowne to bee valiant bee thou then likewise knowne to be pittifull obedient and louing towards thy poore father who shall die if thou shouldest miscarrie by thy ouer boldnesse Doest thou thinke to be victorious in fighting against the law and the will of thy father No for God is too iust Aâ—neas was not so much praised for all his heroicall deeds as he was commended for louing his aged father and for preseruing him from the Troian site Doest thou wonder if thy father be no lesse carefull for the 〈◊〉 of thy person then the law is which forbiddeth 〈…〉 hazard thy selfe anie more in the like perill I had rather to renounce thee suddainlie then hauing lost thee in the warres to be attached with a double sorrow it is therefore in thy choice to remaine my sonne or no. It is a far greater vertue to bee able to containe thy selfe within thy bounds then to perish in this battaile thou shalt go in greater danger to lose thy gotten reputation then to inlarge thy future renowne therefore thou being my sonne no longer my griefe shall be the lesse Declamation 63. Of him that appeased the father of a maiden whom he had rauished and yet could not pacify his own father THe law commandeth that if any man do rauish a virgin that he should die therefore vnlesse that within thirtie daies hee doe both pacifie or appease the next of kin vnto the said damsell likewise the neerest of kin vnto himselfe Whervpon it fell out so that a certaine yoong man rauished a yoong virgin and before the prefixed tearm he had thorowly appeased the maidens father but yet his owne father would by no means be satisfied wherefore he accused his father to haue lost his wits saying HOw can that man bee said to haue his vnderstanding that is more cruell vnto his owne son then is he that hath been offended There is no beast in the world so fierce that seeketh not to preserue that which it hath it hath engendered whereby it appeareth that those which do otherwise may be iudged to haue lesse vnderstanding then brute beasts If you thinke that I haue wronged you in not comming rather vnto you as to him whom I was most bounden vnto then vnto the virgines father You must consider that it was because he was more wronged then you and that I iudged you more pittifull then he and hee harder to bee entreated then you But alasse infortunate that I am I haue found mine enemie more fauourable then mine owne father so that I know not what els to say but that amongst such men as haue their wits the loue of the father doth alwaies exceed the sonnes follie If it please you to saue my life or if your crueltie bee such as you loath to see me liue speake for the time is at hand But I grieue not so much to die if you haue lost your wits as I sorrow for the perpetuall mone that you will make in that you haue ben the abridger of my daies when as time more then reason shal haue
mightest also acknowledge my liberalitie but as for the Iudges they are too righteous to force the laws and to alter the last Will of our father Declamation 36. Of Simon who put himselfe into prison to redeem his father thence being dead afterwards how he slew his wife being daughter vnto him that had made him his heire and paied his debt THe law saith that if anie man take his wife in adulterie hee may kill them both and not offend the law Wherevpon it chanced that a noble Senator named Milciades a man of honest reputation was through malice accused for some offence and condemned to a great fine of monie so as not hauing wherewith to pay the same hee was imprisoned and there dieth and because the law commanded that those which died in prison should not be buried els where but in the same prison vnlesse anie man paied his debts Simon the sonne of the deceassed Milciades yeelded himselfe a prisoner in his fathers place to the end that hee might bee buried with his ancestors Hee remaining in that sort a prisoner without anie means or hope euer to come foorth one named Callies a man verie rich but of bad reputation offered to pay his debt and to make him his heire if he would take his only daughter in marriage Simon consented thervnto he was deliuered and married with the daughter of Callias within a while after hee tooke her in adulterie he therefore causeth Callias to be called who intreateth for his daughter that could not denie her fault Simon slew her in the presence of Callias who afterwards acused him of ingratitude which amongst the Athenians was a punishable vice The accusation of Callias I Had made thee double bounden vnto me therefore is thy ingratitude the more manifest I did redeeme thee from prison where thou shouldest haue rotted and being poore I made thee both my sonne in law and mine heire I do affirme that thou hast induced thy thy wife to commit adulterie that therby thou mightst haue an occasion to kill her wherefore thou hast not kept her as thou oughtest and thou hast not onlie suffered her to fall from her former manners vnto vice but thou hast likewise furthered her therein and when occasion serued thou hast not failed to rid thy selfe from her to our great preiudice and dishonor and thou hast further showne thy crueltie in calling to the father to behold the slaughter of his daughter to the end that he might alwaies carrie this greefe that he had been both an eie witnesse of her miserie and that he was reiected or refused of his request by him whom he had succored and redeemed from extreame miserie before he was therevnto intreated and neuerthelesse being ashamed to bee sonne in law vnto the man that had so greatlie bounden thee vnto him hast caused the bodie soule and renoune of his daughter to be lost if then one alone ingratitude is punishable what punishment shall be worthie for thy infinit vnthankfulnesse ioined with an extreame crueltie Simons Answere THe shame of thy daughters adulterie was more ircksome vnto me then anie prison wherefore I haue likewise vsed that instrument which hath by the law beene giuen vnto me not for anie desire that I had to displease thee to rid me from thy kindred or to kill thy daughter but to reuenge her shamelesse immodestie to diminish my discredit If thou hast released me from prison to the end that I should be base minded thou hast lost thy monie because thou diddest not aduise me thereof before hand for I should surely haue told thee that as a noble heart could neuer be changed so also could it neuer endure a reproch alasse the difference betwixt my fathers disgrace and mine is that his ended in comming dead out of prison and mine but began in comming aliue forth of the same Milciades hath had the onlie honour in the Common-wealth to haue beene redeemed being dead by his sonne liuing who afterwards being redeemed aliue by another to his great misfortune was constrained to displease his redeemer because he required an vnlawfull matter I will neuer be vnthankfull when thou shalt request a good turne as honest as that which I haue receiued of thee but thou intreatest me to let the adulterers escape what could I do more if I had had my hands yet bound fast in prison where at the least the dishonour should neuer haue ben imputed vnto me Wouldst thou then thinke to keepe me so bound as I should be therby hindered from doing but my dutie Both of vs in doing a good turne haue receiued a farre greater I in taking my father foorth of prison dead and thou in fetching me forth aliue for the same hath beene vnto vs a great honour and it would not bee lawfull for vs to suffer adulters without the losse of that honor which we haue gotten moreouer it behoueth him that hath ben a true and a faithfull sonne vnto his father to haue the like children my father was trulie worthie to haue such a sonne as I was so also was I not vnworthie to haue the like which I could neuer haue had by thy daughter for whom thou hast bought me Thou saist I haue brought thee forth of prison I answere that I willinglie put my selfe therein and I will neuer beleeue that euer I got so great credit by being redeemed from thence by thee as I haue gained honour by entring therein for my father of mine owne accord I dare say that thou diddest neuer redeeme me thence for mine owne sake but onely to honour thee and thy daughter double vnworthy of so great honor which was the cause also that she could not long continue in the same wherein I desired not to imitate her likewise I can neither be reprooued condemned nor punished hauing done nothing against the law That is a good turne or a fauour which tendeth onlie to the profit of him that receiueth it but when he that doth it looketh also for some commoditie thereby the fauour loseth both his force and name euen so is thine so that I am in no sort beholding vnto thee and so consequentlie thou canst not twit me with ingratitude If Virginius slew his daughter because hee would not see her forced to bee vnchast what oughtest thou to do vnto thine who had neuer anie desire to be chast at all Declamation 37. Of him who is forsaken of his father for relieuing his ouncle who also doth afterwards forsake him for succouring his father TWo brethren are enemies the one hath a sonne the other hath no children neuerthe lesse by misfortune he becommeth poore his nephew taketh his fathers goods secretly and releiueth his ouncle therewith the father perceiueth it and forbiddeth him to doe so any more yet he ceassing not from releeuing him his father disheriteth him and driues him out of his house he goeth vnto his poore ouncle who adopteth him for his son and at the last chansing by succession to be
we either giue anie credit therevnto or effect the same least in thinking to obey them we doe disobey them What proofe haue you that Diana requireth the death of my daughter saue onlie the word of an old man who either doteth or it may be would haue this honour that at his bare word the warlike and inuincible Grecians ouercome with superstition haue sacrificed the noblest and worthiest maid of all Greece And neuer alleage that the gods desire the best things for sacrifice for that is meant onlie by brute beasts but as for humane creatures they doe preserue them witnesse the old age of Nestor and others Neither did there euer anie great good proceed of too much superstition which dooth much differ from true religion because the one alwaies tendeth vnto that which is good and the other vnto that which is bad If Diana require her death shee may find her well inough where she is without dishonoring me by the deliuerie of her Which in sooth were a trecherous part What certaintie or assurance will Chalcas giue that the seas shall bee calme by the death of my daughter Durst he gage his head that so it shall be and although he would so doe is those few years which an old man may liue to bee compared vnto the youth of a Princesse who by her progenie will be able to illustrate all the world To kill our owne children is not the way to combate Priam and the rest of the Barbarians I wil not faile in anie sort from the dutie of a good Generall no not in spending mine owne life but my daughters that will I not giue no more then you your selfe would doe if one should likewise demaund your Hermione as well as my Iphiginia I will not in anie sort accuse either Vlisses or Achilles but I doe excuse my daughter who is no way culpable of the forced or voluntarie adulterie of her aunt The same reason which commandeth mee to be couragious doth also forbid me to be cruell but what crueltie can be more vild then to kill an innocent virgin And how much more execrable is it for a man to kill his owne daughter I did at the first promise her as well to auoid publicke sedition in our armie as also to haue leisure thereby to laue my daughter for I hoped that you your selfe and they altogether deliberatlie considering the crueltie of the fact would at the last confesse with me the same to be altogether tyrannicall and vnlawfull for the gods doe neuer fauour such vniust acts To conclude so long as the breath remaineth in my bodie I will neuer consent vnto the death of my daughter for it is sufficient inough that we do leaue our houses forsake our wiues abandon our children and freelie vndertake this iournie no lesse painfull then perrillous to our persons without suffering our daughters to be sacrificed or offered vp to recouer that which you haue negligentlie lost and know no other reason why And I cannot beleeue that anie amongst so manie worthie mē should be desirous or would willinglie behold such a detestable deed but onlie you who thinke to encrease your owne house by the ouerthrow of mine Declamation 86. Of him that hauing taken vp and fostered two yong vnknowne orphants did maime them because he might the better beg with them THe law forbiddeth that no man should either hurt or hinder the Commonwealth in any sort Wherevpon it happened that a man found two infants who through their parents pouertie were laid abroad and left vnto the mercie of the world Wherefore he tooke them and fostering them vp in his owne house he did wryth and breake the ioints of their armes and legs in such sort as hee quite maimed and lamed them to the end that by begging with them he might gaine the money Which being knowne he was taken and accused to bee offensiue and hurtfull vnto the Commonwealth And his accuser said in this sort ALasse how miserable are these infants who haue found one that hath beene much more cruell then he or she that cast them forth Seeing that with the price of their members they are forced to paie for their bringing vp or to say more trulie to satisfie the greedie couetousnes of him that faineth to be their fosterer for if hee had not done it for couetousnesse the verie name of orphants might haue suffised to haue obtained a reliefe both for them and their fosterfather If those that through anger or malice doe wound or kill a man are punished What punishment is not this mischeeuous wretch worthie of who hath done far worse in making these poore infants for euer miserable Wherein hee hath shewed himselfe much more vnnaturall then the brute beasts if it bee true as Histories report that in such a necessitie Cirus Whilom King of Persia was nourished by a Bitch and Remus and Romulus first founders and Kings of Rome by a shee wolfe O neuer hard of crueltie when the lame and impotent are constrained to get his liuing that is whole and sound who hath not onelie made them vnprofitable but odious and burthenous vnto the Common-wealth For they serue to no other end then to increase the famine therein and also in the day of battaile to discourage the hearts of most valiant by their lamentable cries and complaints in like sort it may so happen that some womā with child may dreame of thē in such sort as with the verie fright thereof she may bring forth the like cripples All that which this lewd fellow can alleage is that if he had not beene these infants had died with hunger It may bee no For how manie others might haue found them that both would haue cherished and brought them vp for the profite of the Commonwealth How manie such as they haue become famous warriors yea and Kings Whereof Cirus and the two foresaid Romans are sufficient examples but this vngracious man hath cut off the tongues of some to the end that without speaking they might be more importunate in crauing seeing then O Iudges that you are pittifull towards cuerie one particularlie extend your mercie towards these twaine here together he is aboue all other most cruell who vnder the coulor of mercie doth most mischiefe these poore children are carried about to feasts and publicke assemblies to beg their almes where beholding the soundnesse and nimblenesse of others their sorrow is the more in seeing themselues maimed other orphants or castawaies that are sound are not altogether hopelesse to find their Parents againe or to be knowne by them but these wretches can neuer be knowne because they were not such when they were left of them Finallie it may be alleaged that it was the greatest mischiefe that could happen vnto these twaine to be found and brought vp by this bad man who is the cause of their perpetuall miserie The beggers Answere HE cannot be tearmed cruell who hath ben more pittifull vnto these infants then their owne father or mother
shall newly come forth of their office The Answere WE do confesse that the Dictator should be such a man as you say but you did not or at the least would not tell what els was requisit for him to doe which is that he ought also to consider to what end he was created whether to represse the Tuscans or to abolish or abridge the authority of the officers appointed by the Senat and people as if he alone were wiser then all the rest There was neuer any Dictator made vnlesse it were to withstand those casualties which could not otherwise be redressed We doe not stand vpon the necessity of this abridgement but doe onely demand if it could not be done vnlesse a Dictator should by this deed embolden the people euery day to attempt new matters And giue an example vnto the succeeding Dictators to do other things thē those for which they are ordained for of all things as well good as bad the beginning is the chiefe point so that it is most dangerous to be the ringleader vnto others to doe amisse because suddainly they alleage the example of him that went before them For the greater his authoritie is that was the first inuenter of any such matter so much the more pernicious is the same vnto the Commonwealth therfore we haue not done amisse if that should happen which you say because those which would follow his example should also remember that such presumptuous acts do not so greatly profit as they are supposed But we haue not burthened him for this cause but only because it was our dutie so to doe and we are no more bounden to giue an account of our actions then he is of his the which seeme no lesse contrary to the Senat then fauourable to the people who are ouer insolent of themselues already and although we will not say that Mamercus entendeth by this popular fauour to performe some bad act yet who shal hinder some to thinke that by such like means a man may imagine to aspire vnto some such vniust matter I will not say to be tyrant for there is more then one way to attaine vnto the same as there are many sorts of tyrannies Wherefore it is the duetie of a good Citizen to shew that he doth quite detest euery act that may breed any suspition Therefore it were no wisdome to come vnto this extremitie of the deserts either of his or our actions for the disputation thereof would be no lesse difficult then dangerous so that it were better to deferre that vntill you haue obtained as you say that we must be adiudged and corrected by our predecessors in the meane season let vs now pretend that our authoritie is more then your vnderstanding doth allow it We are not ignotant of Mamercus his vertue neither can we but know what fauour kindred and meanes he hath nor hath he offended vs but rather the Magistrat and the Common-wealth for hauing abridged the office he taketh away the men euen then when they might doe most good therein for there is no man so perfect that at the first committeth not some faults or at the least wise doth not execute a charge better after he hath beene exercised in the same some years then when he first began to vse the same the which neither he himselfe nor you can with reason denie neuertheles there is no malice in vs but rather in you that doe not only accuse vs but threaten vs aswell with the future authoritie of Mamercus as also that we must answere our actions vnto those that supplied this office before vs but considering that threatned men doe liue long and such as do most fear do sorest threaten and because threatnings are for the most part sure weapons to defend the threatned we will make no account thereof and the rather because they come not from him whom you pretend to haue the greatest wrong who is ouer wise to vse such speeches and though he should yet could we answere him well inough no man knoweth better then himselfe whether his wealth be increased and whether his imposition be ouer burdenous or no if he doe either affirme it or you doe prooue it we will answere you and if we haue heretofore spared him it was because the time did so require it and for some other respects wherewith we are not to acquaint you Finally Mamercus during his office did that which he thought good and we during ours neither haue nor will doe any thing but that which is good honest and reasonable and we are not to answer you for our actions God graunt that the people doe not beleeue that Mamercus hath abridged the office of Censors for the same end and purpose as Spurius Melius extended his liberality of corne vnto them Declamation 9. Of the husband that slew his wife for hauing lost two of his children the one by fire the other by water A Certaine woman as she was washing and wiping her little sonne did see her yong daughter fal into the fire wherevpon being ouer hastie to helpe it she let her sonne fall into the boule of water wherein he was drowned herevpon her husband happened to come in who presently slew her The womans kindred apprehended him accused him vnto the iustice saying THis wicked fellow not being content with two mischances would needs ad therevnto a third mischiefe O what griefe ought ours to be that hauing not only lost our yoong nephew and his mother but being iustly prouoked thervnto by this damned deed we must likewise procure the death of this wretch which in an vnluckie houre was our kinsman seeing that he alone must be the dishonor of all our linage dying as a publique spectacle by the hands of a hangman according to his deserts because he hath ben worse then a hangman to his poor wife whose only company he deserued not being so chast honest and vertuous as she was bearing a sincere and deuout loue vnto him who was her butcher so as I dare say and beleeue that this soule of hers no lesse louing then innocent dooth yet lament in another world not only in that she was martired by him who ought to haue loued cherished and defended her from all others that would haue burther but also taketh pittie vpon the most iust miserie of this murther and as whiles she liued she alwaies preferred his contentment before her own so now she would thinke her selfe happy if it were possible that she might once more die to saue his life as did the charitable Alcest to saue her most deare Admetus but I would demand of this wicked man wherein his wife had deserued to die by the hands of him who had sworne to keep and defend her from all iniurie Alasse an ouer vehement charitie made her commit a fault which as it fell out was great but to be blamed for it she is not For a motherly loue and a naturall charity seeing her daughter fallen into the fire made her
common people did throw themselues into the Tiber then Spurius Melius one of the order of the knights a verie rich man hauing great acquaintaince in Tuscane caused a great quantitie of corne to bee brought from thence the which he did freely distribut among the people for a gift so that by this meanes hauing gained the peoples loue he aspired to the kingdome wherevpon being warned before the Dictator he not only refusing to come but also moouing the people to sedition was slaine by Caius Seruilius Hala maister of the knights who shortly after was for this fact accused as an offender by one of the Tribuns of the people who said HOw can a cittie be tearmed free or well gouerned where it is lawfull to kill a Citizen vnder the colour of a crime before he be not only condemned but also before his cause be tried or his accuser knowne and what man was he Surely a man who in such a time being dead ought to be raised to life againe if it were possible a man noble by his vertue abounding in riches the which he knew how to distribute not onely according to the true order of liberalitie but with a wonderful and more then humane charitie but what charitie can be more great then immitating the gods to preserue the poore from death and especially from hunger which in truth is the horriblest death of all others how wicked then is the nature of those who desiring not to follow his vertue haue borne him such hate that being prouoked to rage at the report of one only accuser and it may be suborned haue depriued him of life some will say that he would not appeare before the Dictator was there no other meanes to cause Spurius appeare but first by placing guards through all the streets and afterwards to send vnto him the master of the knights to tell him that the Dictator demanded for him and consequently that he was accused for aspiring to be tyrant What man in the world is so resolute that he will come on the sodain hearing that he is accused of treason That knoweth a Dictator to be expresly chosen to condemne him the which officer is neuer made but vpon special cause and to represse the enemies to the Commonwealth That beholdeth a maister of the knights chosen of purpose to carrie him away Who would not be meruailously astonished at this because the more innocent a man is the more amased is he in the like extremitie for it is very manifest that those that are culpable foreseeing the dangers wherein they aduenture themselues doe also foresee to prouide for remedies or at the least whē dangers do happen they are least astonished but this man being as much afraid as innocent endeuoured to flie to the end he might haue some leasure to consider from whence this so suddaine mischiefe proceeded or to auoid the first rage of the Dictator who hauing his ears cloied with accusations and his mind occupied with passion and anger against the accused as he did very well manifest sending to seeke him with such furie he dispaired to find anie place reserued to heare much lesse to waigh his iust excuses was there no meanes to send for him after a more modest order It seemeth no because they would find an occasion to do that which was done If the commission of Seruilius was to slay him There was no need to expect anie further course of law If his authoritie were but to fetch him he could not kill him without being in verie great fault although Spurius had beene an offender For hauing pursued him so neere he might as well haue taken him and brought him away with him as murther him Is it possible that a maister of the knights was such a coward that he durst not being armed on horseback lay his hands vpon a man running away But I pray God that this be not true which the people do murmure abroad to wit that Seruilius doubted of the truth of the accusation wherefore finding in his owne iudgement an occasion to depriue the partie accused of audience and a means to iustifie himselfe he serued his owne turne fitlie to satisfie the malice of the Senators and the greedie auarice of the vsurers who by the liberalitie of Spurius lost the meanes to finish the deuouring of all the poore people for such is the nature of the malicious enuious and couetous people the one kind of which doe thinke themselues vndone to see another man prosper the other imagine that they are disgraced if any one attaine vnto honor and the third sort more worse then all the rest doe thinke that to be lost out of their owne goods which they cannot wrest foorth of the substance of another wherefore such people are hurtfull to all men and worst of all to themselues for they take as little pleasure in that which they haue of their owne as in that which they haue not at all so that they possessing nothing but riches doe neuer any good but when they die for then is their vnprofitable treasure set at libertie and the Commonwealth is freed from their greedie deuourings I passe ouer with silence that some doe presume seeing Seruilius triumph thorow the cittie with his sword all bloody in his hand that he had some particular malice against him and the more constantly is it affirmed because he might as well haue taken him as slaine him others doe say that this blocke was throwne in his way to confiscate his goods and they say that if it had been otherwise all the Senat together had more cause to appease the people then Spurius alone for they knowing how he was by dutie bounden had no occasion to stand in any doubt at all of Spurius but it is pittie when men will not only do no good themselues but also persecute those which do it God graunt that this which the people speake so rashly concerning the Senat be not very true but as touching Seruilius he cannot denie seeing that besides the boasting that is made thereof there are store of witnesses that he hath killed Spurius and not one will say that the other made any resistance wherefore we demaund that iustice may be executed vpon him who hath beene the cause that the same was not done vpon Spurius if he were culpable and if he were not then we require it because he hath slaine an innocent The Answere AS he whom I haue slaine was not guildesse so also I haue not only seene iustice executed vpon the offender but haue further done it my selfe because I could not other wise chuse for it is manifest that he is a malefactor that denieth to come to his answere and he doth sufficiently resist and make his defence that flieth from him that is sent to bring him touching the proof how can those be witnesses against him whom he had already suborned Especially such as assembled themselues to rescue him from me if I had taken him aliue I will not say
mine intent I will not say for my defence that her husband hath rather ben the cause of his death then I seeing that he would needs passe by such a place where manie men were fighting for not onlie they which are wise and well aduised do shun the like meetings but also fooles children and the verie brute beasts doe flie from them as touching the criminall coniectures that it was a thing done of set purpose the sharpe pursute of mine enemies doe sufficientlie excuse me and if there be anie other proofe more sufficient then hers of such a fact trulie I will condemne my selfe as worthie of death but being otherwise I cannot be so where she saith that I ought not to throw stones at anie man I answere that he which would iudge of that it were fit that he did prooue the like daunger as mine was to affirme also that to haue manie enemies is a signe of a wicked man is a verie absurd iudgement for it is often seene that the good are hated as well as the bad and that which is worst It is of the wicked that the good are hated so that they are in far greater danger and verie often constrained to defend themselues euen so it fell out with me But who was or euer shall be milder then Socrates And who had more wicked enemies then he who neuer ceassed to slander him euen to the procuring of his death as an offender What shall we say of Phocion and of Aristides likewise of Solon and Licurgus and of the great Scipio Africanus I passe ouer with silence our Sauiour Christ and other Saints least I should prophane their holie names in placing them amongst other men I am not be alone then that hath enemies neither ought this mishap impaire my reputation or make my cause the worse in anie sort Finallie there is no fault so little that cannot be greatlie aggrauated if anie man will seeke for circumstances as this woman doth who would prooue the Common-wealth and so manie persons interessed that it seemeth by her speech that her husband was immortall but I demand if he should haue died of an appoplexie or some other sudden death whether should not the losse haue ben all one But it is the manner of women to make the wrongs which they receiue seem great esteeming those which they commit verie little wherefore it were superfluous to answere her tedious accusations which is the cause that referring my selfe as well vnto the mercie as to the equitie of the iudges I will attend their iust sentence Declamation 18. Of Sergius who fought against his enemies without aduertising his fellow Virginius thereof and therefore is not aided by him SErgius and Virginius both equall in authoritie were captaines in the Romane army before the cittie of the Veies Sergius was encamped on that side where the Tuscanes might come to releiue the besieged cittie and Virginius on the other Now it happened that Sergius was assailed of the Tuscanes and fought with them without requiring aid of Virginius so that part of the campe was thereby discomfited he being returned to Rome accused Virginius for not aiding him and said thus WHat profiteth wisdome courage and dexteritie in a commander when enuie alone is farre more able to hinder him then all these vertues together are able to further the aduancement of his seruice that desireth to profit the Common-wealth Euen so is it happened vnto me for although Virginius and I did both together imploy all our best means to besiege and take the citie of Veies for the honor and profit of the Senat and people of Rome yet were we neuer able to doe anie seruice of worth but on the contrarie we receiued dishonor and hurt by the onlie enuie and ambition of Virginius Neuerthelesse what haue not I done to allure him vnto kindnesse and to persuade him to be carefull of the safetie and honor of the Commonwealth I haue alwaies giuen him the chiefest honour and held him not as my companion but as the only Generall commander of the enterprise yea and leauing vnto him the place of most aduantage I did encampe my selfe both where the greatest danger and most concourse of the enemies was thinking by that meanes not only to induce him but also to bind him more straightlie not vnto my aid but vnto the common good of the whole armie and his owne honor yet what haue I gained with all this dutie and true humilitie nothing at al but only thereby increased his malice pride and ambition I therefore considering with my selfe how hardlie two Generals in one armie doe performe anie enterprise fortunatlie and how on the contrarie by the diuersitie of their opinions wits they doe oftentimes not onlie procure one anothers mischeife but also sometimes put the Commonwealth in great danger as Terentia Varo did at Cannas when he gaue battaile against the opinion of his Collegue did rather desire yet further to abase my authoritie in respect of his honouring him as my superiour in all lawfull things but all was vaine for as much as those actions which doe serue to gaine the loue of such as are modest doe increase the pride and insolencie of those that are prowd for they doe attribute that vnto cowardlines which is done by modestie and wisdome which men Virginius desired to follow for he seeing that I to gaine his fauour did oppose my selfe vnto the greatest daunger for his securitie and defence did presume that I did not this noble act to induce him vnto the like aiding of me but that I did owe him this honour wherevpon he did not only forget that I was his companion but also he would not performe the dutie of a good Generall for how can he be a good Generall that seeth anie of the inferiour captaines in daunger to be ouerthrowne and will not send him aid Paulus Emilius ceassed not to fight but did willingly die in the battaile although that Varo began the same against his aduice the which I haue not done for it is well known that I would not fight against your will seeing that I encamped in that place to no other end but onlie to make head against the Tuscanes if they came to molest the campe to raise the siege or to hinder our enterprise yet neuerthelesse you had rather suffer the Commonwealth to be hindered then to affoord me your aid in so great an extremitie especially seeing that by that meanes we might happily haue ended our enterprise for in succouring me the Tuscanes had ben discomfited and no doubt the besieged could not haue chosen but of necessitie must haue yeelded but you rather desired my losse and dishonour then to haue your owne profit and honour ioined together with mine which had been but a small matter if all the Romanes had not ben therewithall greatly hindered The gods forbid that I should say that you had intelligence with the enemies but I am very sorrie that you giue occasion vnto many to
desire of reuenge that staied her from making her choise according to her wicked intention Thou wouldest know where she hath bestowed that which she stole I beleeue that shee hath giuen it thee and that thou wouldst saue her life to haue some more by the like means Neuerthelesse we will punish her alone that confesseth the fact vntill that thy sinnes doe induce thee vnto the like confession or that thou bee conuinced by more apparent testimonie and in so doing we shall appease the gods fulfill the laws performe our duties and cleare our consciences which commandeth vs to root out the wicked forth of the Common-wealth by publike punishmēt because there is nothing that doth better maintaine the world in equitie then rewarding the good and punishing the bad Declamation 40. Of the wife that would not forsake her husband although he went about to procure her death IT happened that a man and his wife made an oath vnto each other that if one of them chanced to die the other should not suruiue aboue three daies after Vpon a certaine time the man went vpon a long iourney and being on his way he sent a false message vnto his wife which certified her that her husband was dead she to keepe her promise threw her selfe downe from the top of her house neuerthelesse she died not with the fall wherefore her father caused her hurts to be healed and kept her vntill certaine newes came how her husband was not dead but had sent her word of his death only because he was desirous of his wiues death Whereupon her father would haue cōpelled her to forsake her husband she would not he renounceth her for his child and disheriteth her for which she complaineth saying O Immortall God which by thy prouidence gouernest all mankind thou hast not permitted that this fact should be for our hurt or destruction but onelie for a triall and proofe of the loue which I beare vnto my husband yet my father would seperate those whom death could not put asunder neither is that which I haue done to be thought strange seeing that I had both cause to doe it the example of diuers women which haue done the like to allow it for some haue burned themselues with the dead bodies of their husbands others haue by their death redeemed their husbands life I am therefore happie to bee accounted one of the same number being yet liuing and my husband safe and sound who it may be would trie whether I were worthy to be beloued of him and now knowing it he will loue me better then euer he did The loue which is ouergreat is cause of suspitions and iealousies and therefore my husband was desirous not onelie to trie whether I did not loue some other but also whether he was beloued of me and I am verie glad that with the danger of my life hee hath found me such a one as he desired What wrong shall I then both doe vnto my selfe and vnto him if when I should reape the fruit of my loialtie and most constant loue I should depart from him God forbid I should so doe Moreouer I should neuer bee well able to liue without him for it was partlie the cause that I threw my selfe headlong down because I would not languish without the hope and comfort of his presence which I shall now possesse with more pleasure then euer I did To conclude I cannot leaue him and if I could I would not wherefore it is lost labour to speake any more thereof The fathers Answere IT cannot be denied but that he which went about to procure my daughters death is mine enemie wherefore there is no reason that she which loueth mine enemie better then her owne father should be my heire thou saiest I cannot nor I ought not to forsake him Why cannot or may not she so doe that cannot onely determine to die but to be her owne butcher Hauing no sooner heard a fained report of the death of thine enemie thou soughtest thine owne death in good earnest if thou couldest endure his abscence being gone on a long voiage when thou haddest occasion to loue him why canst thou not now doe the like hauing iust cause to hate him Thou art quite freed from all former oath or promise which thou hast made him in shewing the desire which thou hadst to accomplish that which he caused thee to sweare thereby not onely to abuse thee but to make thee die Thou saiest that all is fallen out for the best I know not how that should bee for as no bad act can be tearmed the author of any good so ought we not to iudge things by the euent but by the intent hardlie can hee euer loue thee who as oft as hee seeth thee shall be either ashamed of his fact or aggreeued that it tooke not such successe as he wished likewise the triall of loue is not made by a danger so euident Declamation 41. Of the prodigall sonne who being forsaken of his father redeemeth his brother whom his father had neglected THe law was such that when the children were thirtie yeares of age they might require their father to giue them their portion Wherevpon it chanced that a man had two sonnes the one of them was prodigall and the other a good husband He gaue the prodigall sonne his portion who demanded the same by vertue of the law and did wholy disherit him from anie of the rest of his lands or goods the other who was the good husband made a voiage by sea and fell into the hands of Pyrats he writ vnto his father for his ransome his father was deafe and could not heare on that side Wherevpon his prodigall brother redeemed him who when hee was returned home made his said brother his heire in recompence of his release by him wherewith the father being displeased disinheriteth the thirstie son of his patrimonie who withstandeth him thus ALl those which doe know what I haue done doe praise me for it except you How true an example of pittie and brotherly loue hath my brother shewed when sailing to seeke me hee hath aduentured great dangers trauailing ouer many lands and seas neuer giuing ouer his enterprise vntill he had brought mee home againe vnto my fathers house wherefore if you did loue me as both my obedience and seruices deserue and as nature doth bind you you could not denie but to haue receiued at his hands seruice most acceptable And in recompence thereof to haue acknowledged him for your heir as I haue done for if for his prodigalitie you did disherit him he hath shewed himselfe both towards you and me not to bee prodigall but indeed verie liberall If you did disher it him because he was vnprofitable hee cannot now bee tearmed so Seeing he could make so long a voiage and when all fatherly loue was in you forgottē he yet could performe the dutie both of a good sonne and a better brother You say that age hindered you from
together they were both left or lost together because I knew that being twinnes the one could not liue without the other thou foundest them together thou hast fostered them vp together and I haue found them together againe wherfore then in the restoring should they be sundred especially seeing fortune which once seperated them from their Parents would neuer sunder them one from another how could I chuse the one and leaue the other seeing that because I could not chuse I did leaue them both if the martiall law which is the cruellest doth not suffer that two brethren being taken in the warre should bee sundred how doth the Ciuil law allow it in these here who are not onelie brethren but may well bee tearmed the halfe of one another each of them loseth his grace and worth if he be absent from the other I should doe a wrong in desiring thy children but not in retaining mine why wouldest thou haue acquaintance to sunder that which abandoning to the world could not seperate I would giue al for my child except my child onely I made the bargain weeping and trembling as much as when I departed from them for I was constrained by force and necessitie because I could not find the one without promising the other It is inough of the first wrong that I did vnto my children in expulsing and leauing them through necessitie without adding thereunto a second iniurie which would bee in seperating them willinglie seeing the law my dutie and the equitie of the iudges may be my warrantise for euery agreement made by feare or force is nothing worth but only those which are willingly made or according to the lawes The Answere IF thou wilt not seperate them reason commandeth thee to leaue me both twain seeing thou haddest not onely the heart to leaue them at all aduentures but further also thou hast beene accustomed to liue without them but I leauing the one shall neuer be but in perpetuall greefe and anguish for the other seeing I haue ben accustomed to haue them both doest thou thinke that he vseth force or constraint that maketh thee a father when thou neuer hopedst to be one I haue freed them from the danger to be deuoured of brute beasts or to die with hunger I haue nursed and fostered them I doe restore one vnto thee yea and giue thee thy choice wherefore no man is a loser but I although the iudges should be neuer so righteous and fauorable to my most iust demand Declamation 45. Of him which stroke his father by the compulsion of a Tyrant whom he afterwards did slay and requireth a reward therefore THe law appointed that whosoeuer did strike his father should haue his hands cut off Wherevpon it chanced that the King being a Tyrant caused a man and his two sonnes to be sent for vnto his pallace and hauing brought them vp vnto the top of a high tower hee commanded the sonnes vpon paine to be throwne headlong downe to strike their father and he would defend them from the punishment which by the law was appointed one of them because he would not strike his father threw himselfe downe the other did giue his father a blow with his fist wherevpon the Tyrant who did greatly fancie and daily sought such men as were wicked entertained him into his seruiâ—e and loued him so deerely as he wholy put his trust in him but as Treason doth oftentimes spring of too much trust so this man took an occasion to slay the Tyrant as well to reuenge his brothers death and the iniurie done vnto his father and him as also to winne honour and gaine the reward promised secretly by the Citizens to him that should kill the Tyrant who hauing slaine him demanded the said reward but the ingratefull people accused him for striking his father for the which they wold haue his hands chopt of Whervnto the poore father would in no sort consent but gainsaied him thus I Should be more happie if I did rather defend many malefactors then one onely innocent will you cut off those hands which hath slaine the Tyrant restored you your libertie what doe you meane why did you not cut off the Tyrants hands that constrained my son to transgresse our laws so that it was as necessarie for him to strike his father as it was lawfull for others to rob Temples and to rauish the Virgins and wiues O how much doe we owe vnto those hands by the which such crueltie is brought vnto an end the tyrant did trust that by the same hands he might shame some and slay others but they haue depriued him of the means to performe either the one or the other but how much more am I indebted vnto this my sonne then vnto the other that brake his owne necke For he did not that to spare his father but himselfe because hee cared not though I had died with sorrow which no doubt I should haue done if this here had done as much and in smiting me hath he not onlie saued my life so much as hee hath afterwards likewise preserued the Commonwealth Alasse my poore children what great extremitie haue you both endured by the crueltie of a Tyrant The one hath broken his necke and the other to his most great griefe too was inforced to beat his father but farre greater praises doth he deserue that hath slaine the Tyrant then the other doth which did murther himselfe What offence hath this my son and your protector committed Saue only that in lifting vp his fist and gently letting it fall againe he fained to strike his father who in like sort seemed as though he were aggreeued therewith but both the one and the other did it to escape a worser mischiefe and to performe a greater good necessitie in all doth greatly excuse humane weakenesse and therefore the Saguntines were not only excused but exalted for slaying their fathers which is more then a light stroke His brother in leauing me at the Tyrants mercie did worse then he who without hurting me hath saued me You say that hee had no respect vnto the law I know well that the law is strict but the interpretation is large if one being mad chance to strike another he is not punished Neither yet is the little child which striketh his father condemned For the mad man hath more need of pittie then punishment and is rather to bee holpen then hurt and the child hath neither strength nor vnderstanding to offend these two points in such an extremitie are found in my sonne for in striking me hee endured a greater paine then I if those women who were defloured by the Tyrant are not esteemed vnchast Nor those Priests which through force or feare haue brought the treasures of the Temple vnto the tyrant are not deemed culpable Wherfore then should my sonne bee blamed who fained to strike his father Thereby not only to saue his life but to kill the Tyrant reuenge the rauished women and to restore both
he had receaued so manie detestable persecutions and iniuries Must there then be a quarrell taken because I haue ben more pittiful then my sonne who neuerthelesse would not do anie thing without my commandement by the dutie whcih he ought vnto me which hath chieflie induced him heretofore to commit that offence for which we are both condemned Lastlie reason willeth that your last sentence be not reuoked for no sentēce ought euer to be reuoked to the hinderance or preiudice of such as are to suffer if one of vs must die it is I that ought so to doe seeing that I was first born and being the elder I haue offended through malice but he through ignorance I willinglie and he in obeying me I then being the onlie cause that both hee and I haue offended it is requisit that I onlie should die for both our misdeeds and neuer imagine that my sonne doth for all that escape vnpunished for as all my miserie shall in my death haue an end so shall his calamitie in liuing together with his yeares dailie more and more increase as well in grieuing that hee hath offended the Commonwealth as that he hath ben constrained to kill his father by their commandement who ought to abhorre the onelie thought of so execrable a crueltie The answere of the Iudges OVr sentence was not pronounced by way of mockerie neither was it reuoked to encrease your miseries but onlie to know seeing you are both twaine worthie to die whether of you is most vnworthie to liue for mercie which assuageth Iustice ought alwaies to be extended towards him that is least culpable Wherefore finding your sonne more faultie then you we haue appointed him to die yet not by your hands for we know that the same were rather crueltie then iustice but we haue hereby made a certaine triall whether there were anie vertue remaining in him when in consenting vnto your death he hath bewraied his vngraciousnesse so that except you bee yet an enemie to your countrie you ought not to bewaile the death of a man so wicked or a sonne so worthlesse but we plainlie perceiue that euerie one fauoureth such as himselfe is and that you will neuer surceasse to hate the Commonwealth so that it will bee no great losse although you should as you say die with griefe for such a losse shall be more profitable to all then hurtfull to anie likewise of two wicked men we had rather saue him that by course of nature will die the soonest and which hath little time and lesse strength to accomplish his wicked purpose We haue children but if wee did know that they would euer bee like vnto you or your sonne wee would presentlie doe with them as wee will with him and as wee ought to doe with you they are to bee pittied which are poore and miserable not such as are wicked and malefactors for as to afflict the good it is an act of crueltie so to punish the bad is a deed of charitie we doe not cause your sonne to die for being willing to accomplish our sentence as you say but because he being alreadie worthie of death the same doth make him more worthie and wee doe saue you by our speciall grace because you would not kill him shewing your selfe at the least a better father then he is a sonne and the dutie which he ought vnto you can bee no excuse for him for it is verie apparent that he would hardlie euer haue obeied you had you commanded him to doe anie good true it is that neuer anie sentence is to bee reuoked to the hinderance of the good but as wee haue moderated the first to saue the life of one of you so is it lawful for vs now to applie the other in such sort that he may die which is most wicked Also the choice which we doe put you vnto cannot bee called crueltie seeing that it was not to that end that it should be so effected neither was the same anie suddaine inuention of our owne thoughts but it is to bee considered that the wickednes of malefactors causeth the iudges to inuent new extraordinary punishments thereby to represse vice the sooner To conclude if you thinke that we do you any wrong you may appeale vnto those who haue as great authoritie ouer vs as ouer you Declamation 81. Of a Chirurgion who murthered a man to see the mouing of a quicke heart THere was in Padua a most cunning Chirurgion excelling all others of his time who hauing made wonderfull experiences of his art for no lesse is the desire of cunning then is couetous of coine had also a wonderfull great desire to open a liue man that he might perfectly know the motion of the heart wherevpon hee made diuers and sundrie requests vnto the Senat of Venice that they would grant vnto him some condemned malefactor to make therewith this his desired experience but he could neuer obtaine the same at their hands for the Venetians are by nature not only pittifull but also somewhat supersticious But these refusals did but the more encrease the longing of this Chirurgion for to say the truth euery haulty spirit are in that like vnto women who doe for the most part couet after that which they are forbidden to touch So that hee being still in this rauing or rather longing there came vnto his doore a poore souldiour very well proportioned and of a sound bodie comming newly from the wars and demanded his almes of the Chirurgion who caused him to come in and cherished him secretly some three daies after his owne fantasie afterwards hauing brought him downe into a caue he caused him by certaine fellows hired for that purpose to be bound vnto a post and opening him aliue he saw that in him which he so greatly desired but as no murther can euer remaine vndisclosed long so it happened that one of his confederats was taken for some other crime and being vpon the racke he amongst other matters reuealed the murther which he his companions and the Chirurgion had committed wherevpon they were all taken and the Chirurgion confessed the fact saying TRue it is most iust Iudge and you worthie Senators that I haue ben the death of one man to saue the liues of an infinit number of others not onelie by the cures which I hope to performe during my life but by that which I will leaue behind mee in writing after my death wherefore it may bee said that hauing made an experience so notable and profitable I haue done worthilie but hauing killed a guiltles man I haue done wickedly I confesse it and would confesse to haue offended more hainouslie if I had not more then once intreated that to preuent a further mischiefe I might haue beene allowed to make this triall vpon some condemned malefactor the which I was neuer permitted to doe some one may answere must you therefore kill an innocent Or doe that by your owne authoritie which a whole Senate would neuer
may say that I speake with small respect vnto my lord but we protest that from henceforth we will neuer so account him and if wee cannot obtaine from the King the hoped remedie of our due reparation we make a vow that we our children parents kindred alies friends and whosoeuer els dependeth vpon vs will rather goe dwell amongst the Scithians or anie other more cruell nation then we will remain any longer vnder the gouernment of a man so infamous The earles Answere THe same Iustice mercie and Maiestie of the King which you imploy against me shall yeeld mee reason against all you and shall in my behalfe punish you for your no lesse vain then outragious and vnreuerent speeches wherefore I doe not refuse the iudgement of his Maiestie although the matter concerneth his highnes nothing at all in as much as those whom you speak of were no Gentlemen but robbers and theeues and for such haue I punished them and if anie would know why I did it not after the vsuall manner as there shall no reasons be wanting so am I not bound to tell them vnto anie but vnto such as it shall please my selfe therfore I will only say that they being in that sort put to death their ingrateful kindred towards me haue receiued lesse dishonour thereby then if they had beene made a publike spectacle to the people Likewise the nobilitie of Flanders are become so insolent as they stand in no aw at all of Iustice wherefore this Iustice no lesse suddaine then iust will make them to bethinke themselues twice before they will commit the like offence againe Moreouer you were resolued to saue them either by intreaties or otherwise therefore I desired to take away all occasion to ad vnto their death not onlie yours but also other mens destructions for he may be tearmed wise and vertuous which by one smal mischiefe can eschew farre greater mischances but he that dooth neuer so great good vnto the ingratefull receiueth nothing but hate and reproch for his reward euen so hath it happened to me herein If you who say that you are noble did know what nobilitie is and wherein it consisteth you would say that these robbers were no Gentlemen seeing that gentilitie cannot be grounded but only vpon vertue and as thereby the base borne attaine to nobilitie euen so he which continueth not therein loseth that nobilitie which his father hath left him to the intent that hee should bee vertuous for nothing is more pernicious in a Commonwealth then he who dooth falselie vsurpe the title of Nobility I do demand of you whether the sonne of a good musition may inherit his fathers cunning renoume chieflie to be a good musition without learning and thorowly exercising of musicke It seemeth not if then in an art of so small consequence a man cannot attaine vnto the fame or facultie of his father without he be the same in effect although it should not preiudice the Commonwealth in any sort how then can they inherit nobility who make no proofe therof by vertue by the which our ancestors haue gained it If nobility came but by descent it would be no lesse weake then of small continuance considering the multitude of those that die in the wars but vertue which doth thereby nobilitate others doth still maintain the same I haue then caused these villains to die secretly for the respect I had vnto their kindred who desired to remaine noble in following vertue for those which doe swarue from it a man may rightly say that nobility doth end in them and they which follow it cannot chuse but be noble indeed the which Cicero knew very well how to applie when Claudius said vnto him that he was no gentleman Truly said he in me doth the nobilitie of my race begin to bud as in you the gentrie of your stocke is alreadie blasted And since that I being so exceedingly bound vnto vertue as God hath made me by birth more noble and greater then any other of my countrie I haue done but my dutie in executing good speedie and short Iustice for Iustice surely is not the least kind of vertue and not to execute Iustice were cruelty wherefore I am not cruell much lesse a coward neither doe they speake the truth which doe say that I am an enemie to gentlemen or that I fear them but I am indeed an enemie to the vicious and I fear least they should hurt the good or that they should be corrupted by them now haue I been their executioner or hangman as you affirme but they themselues according to their deserts haue ben the butchers of their owne liues and were it otherwise yet is he rather a hangman which robbeth or killeth an honest man thē is he which executeth malefactors This Spanish pittie proceedeth of no other cause but onely for that they would not execute those which are of their profession yet to betray or murther good men they are nothing scrupulous The Prince of a countrie cannot shew anie better example then in performing Iustice the which I haue done And know you that the Iudges are not necessary but where the Prince is not present for proofe whereof Salomon himselfe iudged causes yet no other but the King can iudge me As for Flaminius he put a condemned man to death vpon pleasure onely to content an harlot but I haue executed foure to obserue Iustice But for any seruice that they might haue done for the King a man may as well say the like of all other theeues for such people can easilie assemble a great number of such worthlesse lewd fellows as they are Likewise it is not a small mischiefe that prodigalitie is wrongfully held for liberalitie as if the prodigall did not commit a thousand mischiefes to get wherewith to performe their follies as these foure did who by their prodigality became theeues Wherefore it may be affirmed that they and such as would maintaine them are those that esteeme vice to be vertue and villaines to be Gentlemen As for the small respect that you haue vsed in slandering me it is therein that I may shew my clemencie for it is true Magnanimitie to pardon great faults especially when none is offended therby by only he which pardoneth the same as I doe not only pardon you but also doe further beseech the King not to punish you because it may bee at your owne choice either to remaine in your countrie or to forsake the same not for that I care for such subiects as you are which disdaine me to be their lord but because I would not against my custome shew my selfe rigorous towards those who being ouercome by passiō do but offend me in words the rather because they which speake more then they should doe thereby but procure their owne shame And to conclude there is no reason that you should be beleeued concerning the dead But it may please the Kings Maiestie to bee better informed vpon this matter if it