profitable honest and worthy a good manne bothe priuatly and a peartly deserue no commendations but haue that kind of life wherin thei shewe no actiuitie like brute beastes and tourne it into a kinde of death Herevpon Pythagoras appoinctyng the pathe of mannes life from the beginning twoo grained was wont to declare the same by the letter Y whose firste leadyng driueth either to the right or left hande whiche Persius also properly expresseth in these verses The braunched letter of the Grekes that Ypsilon thei reade His rightside representes to thee the pathe thou oughtest to treade Therefore it is profitable well to garnishe the resortes of menne bicause it is the worke of God and not of man Forsomuch as â—he yearthly citee is builded to this ende that it resemble the appearaunce of the other heauenly whiche it bothe must signifie and also represent that from these visible thynges we maie passe vp to the vnuisible whiche thyng sainct Augustine doeth properly by waie of allegorie bryng in accordyng to S. Paules minde by Abrahams twoo sonnes the one the handmaides the other the frewomans childe and vpon this consideration good men and louers of vprightnes haue been alwaie by Gods prouidence stirred vp to kepe men in the societie and duetie of a ciuill life to adourne the common weale it self sensyng gouernyng and preseruing thesame by lawes Whiche citie is not alwaie furnished with soche as embrace vertue as obeic lawes bicause thei bee good and the rule of Iustice but it receiueth also euill persones whiche must be kepte in vnder feare of punishment And like as in a greate house there bee many vesselles some for one vse some for an other accordyng vnto the Prophetes wordes So likewise into euery common weale there crepe naughtie men and despisers of lawes whiche when thei can not be rooted out must bee borne withall vntill the greate daie of the lorde do come wherin thei like cocle weaded out shall be cast into hel fire and there haue the reward of their wickednes In the meane while thei must not be driueÌ„ out but kept vnder that thei maie not licentiously harme others partly bicause thei serue for a presidente to good men by their filthines to withdrawe theim selues from their vices For as M. Cato was wont to sais fooles do more good to wise men then wise meÌ„ to fooles as emeÌ„g the Lacedemonians droÌ„ken slaues wer trailed through the citee that children might se what a shamefull thing dronkennes was and for that notable and open rebuke begin to hate that vice whereunto Pittacus appoincted double punishment Partly I do graunt ill men a place in the citee that by the beholdyng of the good mennes life as it were a glasse thei might theim selues recouer thereby and at the length giue due glory vnto GOD whiche is Lorde hymself and none other to whom euery knee shall bowe and by whom euery toungue shall sweare Now ye see how that emong all liuyng creatures onely man is commonable and ciuill whiche when he himself doeth seke for the societie of man throughly 〈◊〉 with the bonde of good order and decked with the beautie of good maners then shall be a good citizen and meÌ„ber of a common weale as one that desireth the ende of a common weale appoincted by the Philosophers I meane the yearthly felicitie of whiche sort wer al those that vntill the tyme of fulnesse and redemption of man haue been named in common weales and gat renowne therein either for worthy gouernement or gentle obedience But we that haue yelden our names to Christe and through faithe be regenerate in his holy Baptisme doe not rest vpon those yearthly poinctes but loke vp to the heauenly and driue toward that citee wherevnto in these lower and subiecte to corruption we he prepared in the meane while wanderyng like straungers vntill that wee all beyng gathered together by the Gospell of Christ be receiued into those habitations whiche haue been euerlastyngly prouided for vs whiche ought to bee the marke wherefore we should be citezens and bestow the excellent gift of reason best that we maie winne the reward of our race whiche shall neuer decaie and hitte the pricke whereat hetherto by folowyng of Gods commaundement through blessed hope we haue shot where no hardnes shall be no vnquietnes no feare of enemies no wrong no decaie but truthe peace honour holines and euerlastyng life ¶ The argument of the second Chapiter That many thynges doe warne man euen from God that he beyng as it wer stalled in the throne of honor be not in y â— meane while high mynded â–ª and that nature hath emplanted in him many thinges whereby he maie learne to checke hautenes â–ª and to submit hymself before his creatour WHen we beholde mannes nature he incontinente appeareth the moste worthie and moste excellent of all creatures for argument whereof we maie alledge Reason wherein he is made after the Image and likenes of GOD although we speake not of the gifte of tongue and speache whiche he hath receiued singulare aboue all other liuyng creatures not onely for the vnderstandyng of an others mynde but one to teache an other to praise and glorifie GOD. Moreouer that he had in commission to subiecte the yearth to hym self and to gouerne all liuyng creatures whether thei be in the aire the water or the circuite of the yerth And I see not what can bee more desired for his prerogatiue seing he is shapen out with so beautifull comly a body that bothe deuisers of buildinges and Mathematicalles doe vse it as a president for well fashionyng any kinde of frame and the most perfite purtraite of all formes Here I make no rekenyng to recompte the state whiche man had in Paradise before he fell whiche was that he willed onely good yet for all that by the promptyng of the serpent he did miscarie and breake Gods commaundement whiche if he had not dooen he should neuer haue felt death but haue brought furthe children of thesame estate to hymself without carnall concupiscence or any pain Whereof you male reade at large in sainct Aagâ—stine bisshop of Hippo in his booke whiche he hath entituled Of the citce of God Furthermore although for this his trespace manne was sacked and dispoiled of his former honour so that where he was before immortall he then became mortall and subiecte to vnquietnesse in place of peace to calamitie and miserie in place of all prosperitie for so saith the holy Moses bicause thou hast heard the voice of thy wife and haste eaten of the tree whereof I forbadde thee that thou shouldest eate cursed is the yearth for thy worke in labour thou shall eate of it all the daies of thy life thornes and thistelles shall it bryng furthe to thee and thou shalt eate the herbes of the yearth and shalte eate thy bread with the sweate of thy browes vntill thou returnest to the ground whence thou wast taken bicause thou
haue been Lordes seldome hath gone well forward but giueÌ„ occasion of muche disagrement as whiche beyng ledde after their owne affections and moued with ambition hath caused muche murther and muche calamitie Wherevpon Cato that flue himself at Vtica was accustomed to saie that there was nothyng so pestilent nothyng so vnconstaunte as the peoples fauour as whose inheritaunce hath euer been occasion of muche heuines to their succession Therfore the verie necessarie duetie of a Prince and aboue all other ordeined by God is to rule and gouerne his people which although he be naturally borne for no euer kyng had any other beginnyng and froÌ„ the beginnyng hath obteined the sparcles bothe of equitie and of a princelike courage yet he muste bee taught and made fit for the gouernement whiche he shall take vpon him whereby he shall learne bothe to rule hymself and to ouercome those affections whiche almoste make a kyng naturally fierce and knowe hymself to bee suche a man in whom yet no poinct of man must appeare and thinke hymself appoincted a Prince ouer other not onely to be kyng ouer them but also to feade the people committed to his charge and to exhorte them to vertue wherein especially he must hymself trauaile to surmount the rest For as Paterculus writeth a good Prince teacheth his Subiectes to doe well when he doeth well hymself and whereas he is the worthiest in rule yet he ought to bee more worthy in giuyng good ensample Wherefore Seneca calleth the Prince the soule of his coÌ„mon weale accordyng to whose life and mouyng it bothe liueth and moueth For performaunce whereof he must not rest at any one vertue but ioyne altogether that he bee valtaunt chaiste stoute liberall modest gentle princelike free sober godly rightuous and so in all other vertues whiche be required in a noble gouernours life Of whiche you maie somwhat read in XenophoÌ„ in the training vp of Cyrus in Plinic in his Panegyricque vnto the Emperour Traiane in Agapetus a Deacon of Roome in his preceptine sentences vnto the Emperour Iustiniane of the duetie of a kyng whiche booke is therefore called the kynges tables and other matters of this discipline With which ornamentes of vertues if the prince be beautified he shal heare this saiyng of Hieremie and I will giue you kynges after myne harte whiche shall feede you with knowledge and learnyng and this also the king that iudgeth the poore in truth his throne shall be strengthened for euer for he doeth erecte the people of God Yet a Prince must not rest vpon this poincte onely to allure the people vnto a ciuill life concorde and societie but he must also see to the churches preferre the study of godlines and the onely care that the people be obedient vnto the commaundementes of God For so shall he doe his duetie well so shall he builde and edifie all thinges to the glorie of God so shall he not onely here in yearth receiue honour due to a kyng but in recompence of his watchyng and endeuour he shall receiue an immortalle reward to be placed emong the nomber of the holy sainctes Wherein he hath Moses his speciall leader whiche did not onely reforme the people of God with politicke ordinaunces but also counsailed theim to the kepyng of Gods commaundmentes without the guiding wherof â–ª let vs neuer trust to entre the land of promise or to haue any profit by our ciuill life For he saieth thus And now Israell heare the preceptes and iudgementes whiche I teache thee that doyng them thou maiest liue and enteryng in maiest possesse the lande whiche the Lorde God of your fathers will giue vnto you ye shall not adde to the woorde that I speake vnto you ne yet take from it Kepe the commaundentes of the lorde your God which I commaund you for this is the part of a Prince to feed the flocke coÌ„mitted vnto hym and to gouerne it well of whiche thyng Homere putteth vs in mynde in namyng kyng Agamemnon the peoples leader Howbeit no manne is so ignoraunt but he knoweth that the prince is a man and somtyme misledde whose fall is the occasion of so muche the more harme the more in sight his estate is emongest menne In whom Dauid warneth vs not to trust but as in the sonnes of men in whom there is no health And these mightie gouernors be sore corrupte when thei begin to set little by the discipline of their life whiche thei doe then dispise when as thei ones vnderstande that thei be princes aboue lawes and haue the prerogatiue of honour in their owne hand For fleshe and bloud whereby we bee seduced doe make vs more prone to euill In deede it muche awaileth the whole countrey that he whiche shall be their Lorde be well trained vp and made fit for the takyng vpon hym the publike gouernement lest to their greate destruction thei finde this saiyng true woo bee to that lande whose kyng is a childe and the saiyng of Horace whiche maie seme spoken as it were by an oracle what euer dotyng princes doe The subiectes feele thereof the â—o But when the Prince hath been well trained vp it is hard to kepe hym to doe his duetie and so muche the harder the more occasiions he hath to bee seduced so that it seameth verie well saied that good princes bee so fewe that thei maie all be wellnigh shut in one ring For the greatnes of their libertie and knowledge that thei shall not be punished causeth theim either not to heare good counsaill or to contempne it and to go forwarde in doyng euill Herevpon commeth it that some princes be so rauished with the fonde desire of huntyng that thei can not be kept froÌ„ euer beyng in the woodes or be so giuen to riotuous liuyng that thei neither take any thought nor any care of their people Whereas a Magistrate should looke to his people wake when thei sleape kepe rekenyng of all mennes behauiours and to be carefull least thei despisyng the rule of lawe growe to a wilfulnes So vnprofitable a kyng is he whiche leauyng his people followeth other matters and neglecteth his duetie for how can it be but that he should be naught whiche by his naughtie ensample maketh so many other naught at whose handes God will require the soalle which so negligently hath been cast awaie Heare what Hieremie saieth Wo be to those shepherdes whiche do lease and rent the flocke of my pasture you haue disperpled my flocke and cast theim out and haue not visited them Beholde I will visite ouer you the malice of your desires saieth the Lorde Then naughtie courtiers doe corrupt a good prince and make hym to forsake the waie of rightuousnesse as Vopiseus writeth in Aurelianus his life These thinges make euill Princes firste of all to muche libertie then wealth of thinges thirdly naughtie frendes a vile gard courtiers either foolishe or detestable For of all this noÌ„ber
how many thinke you are thei that either can or will giue their prince good aduise But one edgeth hym to moue warre and that vppon no occasion for hereby thinketh he to be enriched though his Prince lese some parte of his landes I neede not to make mention of innocente bloud whiche must be thereby shedde An other counsaileth hym earnestly when he hath mispente his goodes to charge his subiectes with some exactiō of money or Tares ▪ intolerable to theim but perchaunce not altogether hurtfull to hymself Some yea though the Princes bee thereto vnwillyng thinke it best to breake couenaunt with their creditours neither to stande vnto suche licences as thei haue graunted and if thei obteine this thei thinke it a greate vertue Hereby ensueth it that the people aliene their myndes from their Princes beginne to mistruste and fall to rebellion so that it shall not neade to seke any forrein enemies considering there maie be easely found enough euen within the very walles through occasion of the yoke of bondage wherewith thei be pressed For not onely the common prouerbe but also very experience teacheth vs that wee haue so many enemies as wee haue seruauntes whereby destructions of whole Kyngdomes haue ensued as the histories declare at large and that by suche prouidence of destinenie as though it fell not so vndeseruedly Paterculus in the seconde booke of the Romaine historie saieth for so it is that for the most part god when he entendeth to chaūge any estate doth corrupt mennes counsailes and causeth suche thynges as in deede come by fortune which is a piteous case seame to fall by deserte and that chaunce shall be tourned into blame Neither must we onely impute it to the Princes whē either naughtie men be put in office or after thei bee so made officers bee corrupte but rather to our synnes whereby we doe leudely straie frō the commaundementes of God and bee vnworthie of a good gouernour but be constraigned to suffer the scourge wherewith when we haue been well canuazed and beaten it self also decaieth Oseas I will giue thee a kyng in my rage and take hym awaie in myne indignacion Also Esaie I wil giue them children to ther Princes and effeminate persones shall be Lordes ouer them Now therefore ye kinges vnderstande and bee instructe you that iudge the yearth least your honour be tourned into reproche and your throne into ignominie remember you must looke for the greate daie of the Lorde wherein you must make an accompt how you haue gouerned your Princely stewardship and that you which now iudge shall then be iudged with a iudgement as it is iust so vnpossible to be auoided And no lesse streightly shall it happē to the people whiche hath a kyng after their owne harte And for that thei be plagued rigorously handled their offence moueth God to se it reuenged Therfore so we ought to liue in y ◠cōmon weale that he which hath the gouernement rule in suche wise that he thinke his function to be Gods not his owne that be whiche obeieth dooe it sincerely and that bothe doe agree to aduaunce the common wealth and seke the onely glorie of God ¶ The argument of the. iii. Chapiter That the Prince in gouernement of the common weale must haue thassistaunce of others and what maner of men thei must bee HOw moche the higher powers dooe surmounte and excell other men as whom the scripture doeth somtyme call Goddes as who sate benefactours of men so moche the greater is the office wherevnto thei bee appoincted for it is the duetie of a gouernor to reare vp that is decaied to gather together that is dispersed to recouer the lost to reforme the misordered to punishe the euill to enlarge the common weale to releue the poore to defende the orphane and widowe to promote vertue to minister iustice to kepe the lawe to shewe hymself father of his countrie to holde the people cōmitted vnto hym as his owne children to embrace godlinesse faithfully and with his whole hart to performe all that is profitable or nedefull among the people accordyng to his duetie no lesse then if God hymself were in presence Neither can a prince cloke or colour hymself in any poinct or alledge any pretenced excuse of his disabilitie or that he is occupied with other affaires For he is soche a one as neither maie alledge any staie ne yet surmise any fained excuse He must tender all men heare all men bee thei iuste or vniust accordyng vnto the saiyng of Chilo the kyng heard all matters were thei right were thei wrong And touchyng this matter there is a famous aunswere of a certaine woman for a poore olde woman besought Philippe the Kyng of Macedonia to bee gracious to her in her sute but he made an excuse that he had no leasure to heare her then said she verie aptlie be then no longer kyng But the Emperour Alexander was moche more praise worthie whiche staied all his traine on horsebacke gentlie to heare a poore womans complainte Whiche ensamples bee therefore to bee noted that we maie thereby knowe how God alwaie reiseth vp some to preserue the societie of man and to profite the common estate yea and that amongest the Gentiles And secondly how sincerely he would haue thinges dooen so that he whiche beyng exalted to thonour of a kyng when the croune was offered hym saied verie well O noble clothe whiche who so well considereth would not so moche as take thee vp from the grounde Whereby it appeareth that a prince must be euery man as the prouerbe is becommyng all to all to doe his duetie toward all and to shewe the waie of vertue to all which without the aide and assistaunce of other specially in a greate nomber of people he can not doe alone but he muste needes ioyne vnto hym good and goodly menne with whom he maie execute his office throughly Hetherto y ◠saiyng of Aristotle maie be referred that kinges haue many eares and many iyes And also an other saith alludyng to the former reasō kinges haue long handes As who should saie princes nede many mennes helpe to looke to all and to let no thing passe that toucheth their duetie Wherevpon I thinke it hath growne in vse in Courtes that Princes in their letters answeres and other their actes do vse to speake in the plurall nomber rather to declare that thei doe it by coūsaill then sekyng by soche forme of speache any honour So Aelius Spartianus dooeth reporte that Adriane the Emperour when he sate in iudgement had ioyned with hym not onely his frendes and companiōs but also Iulius Celsus Saluius Iulianus Neratius Priscus and other Lawiers and yet none other then the counsaill had allowed Wee reade also in Chronicles that Alexaunder Seuerus neuer gaue answere but by counsaill of others which had as Lampridius writeth no lesse then twentie of the grauest Lawiers of his counsaill amongest whom he rekeneth vp Fabius
For thei knew that mannes life with out knowlege was not like a life and that the passage to vertue so troubled with brambles and Briers so harde to climbe coulde not easelye be founde out and passed Which thinge many men holde to be signified by the notable herbe Molie whiche Homere so highly praiseth Which had that name geuen it by the Gods and was deliuered to Vlisses by Mercury whose rotes grewe so deepe into the grounde that they coulde not be plucked vp as who say Vertue can not be atchiued without great labour Therefore good enstruction is nedeful whereby manne is framde to that excellencie whiche he must shewe in his liuynge for so muche as he is not bredde for him selfe alone For althoughe there he certaine seedes laied in vs by nature whereby we be moued to vertue and equitie yet they stande vs in no steade but lye hidde frutelesse onelesse by the prouocacion of singuler studie they be fashioned after reason and shewe forth amongest men some token of learning For the obteininge whereof discipline and exercise are necessarie lest manne if those primatiue mocions be once suppressed become brutishe without any fruite of life like vnto other vnreasonable creatures For mannes life is like vnto yron as Marcus Cato saieth whiche weareth by little and little if it be occupied but if not it is consumed with rustines and pearisheth without any profite had thereof There is nothing then more euident then this that citees be bothe brought into order of societie and also gouerned by counsaill trauail and labour of vertuous wisemen whiche estate Plato so ofte calleth happie when either the Gouernoure is a Philosopher or a Philosopher the Gouernour whiche ceaseth not to folowe the studie of wisedom Moreouer it behoueth the whole nomber to bee so instructed that they may vnderstande how to obeie how to obserue the ordinaunces of ciuilitie and how to embrace vertue And to this ende did I saie that Discipline serued whiche is not borne with vs but is learned by teaching ThereupoÌ„ who so euer minded to deserue well of mannes life haue alwaie had an especiall care to brynge vp their children vertuously and to instructe theim with good and liberall Sciences that thereby accesse might bee had to the attainyng of vertue So Lycurgus when a childe was borne at Lacedemon would not leaue it to the fathers bringing vp but coÌ„mannded that it should be conueighed into a certain place named Lesche wher soche as were the beste of the childes aliaunce should trie out his to wardnesse and if thei had perceiued the infaunte to be well featured and in limmes well proporcioned thei then with charge coÌ„mitted hym to his parentes that thei should diligently and carefully teÌ„der his educacion And herevpon although Plutarke doeth commende the common weale ordeined by Numa Pompilius yet he doeth farre preferre Lycurgus for the trainyng vp and instructyng of youth whiche brought Sparta to soche a decente order that menne might looke thereon none otherwise then as it were vpon a Scholemaster or teacher of honest life perfite discipline and a dwelling place and marte of al kinde of vertue and honestie in somoche that he checked a young man bicause he knewe the waie to Pylea as if he should haue saied no man ought to degenerate froÌ„thordinaunces of his couÌ„trey Solon likewise charged y â— Iudges called Areopagites at Athens y â— thei should punishe loiterers and vagaboundes therby meanyng that youthe should not onely bee well brought vp but that order and foresight should be had that when thei had learned their facultie thei should neither lose the same ne yet mispende their tyme in idlenes Aristotle writeth that in the Grekes citees there were appointed certain named Paedonomi whose charge was onely to see that children were well trained vp No man is in this poinct more carefull then Plato which then hopeth that his common weale shall haue good successe if yong men well trained vp be brought by sounde doctrine and discipline vnto the marte of good literature the discipline of maners the loue and studie of Philosophie and finallie to humanitie it self whereby thei maie become fitt members of a common weale Which poinct Aristotle the great master of the Peripateciane secte one that as he was beste learned among all the Philosophers so was he the beste Philosopher among all the learned in his common weale dooeth principallie appoincte that in euery citee there should â—ee soche a Schoole for learnyng whereby the true vse thereof might be obteined whence soche men might isshewe as should bee able well to gouerne the common weale and by doyng their duetie kepe it in one estate of honour Cicero also although he confesse that there haue been many worthie men of excellente spirite and prowes without any knowledge of learnyng as were Scipio the Aphricane conquerour Lelius Furius and the olde Cato the best learned in his tyme yet he thus moche affirmeth that if learnyng light vpon an excellent naturall wit then there is like to ensue a worthy pece of woorke And whereas other thinges be not common to all tymes ages and places these studies doe nourishe youth delight olde age adourne prosperitie be a comfort and solace to them that bee in aduersitie bee recreatiue at home be no hinderaunce abroade continue with vs all night goe into straunge landes with vs dwell with vs in the countrey Besides this all bookes all wisemennes talke and all olde histories be full of good ensamples which should all lye hid in darkenes if the light of learnyng did not reueale the same For the attainyng of this aide of learnyng so profitable to a common weale it is moste neadefull that soche wittes be cherished to whom the charge thereof must be committed Whiche first of all is doen by educacion whiche wise menne would haue so simple so well appoincted so vpright that thei dooe not allowe that the child should receiue any milke but of his own naturall mother Whiche thing Phauorine the Philosopher reasoneth finelie in Aulus Gellius bicause it is an heauie parte to depriue the childe of the foode of blood whiche is so nere to his own alredy brought in to this worlde alreadie requiryng the duetie of his mother whom she nourished in her wombe when she did not see it and to put hym to soche a nourse as also is bothe of an other kinde of blood and milke consideryng that the nourses disposicion and nature of her Milke beareth greate swaie in establishyng the maners of the child â–ª whiche thing Virgile imitatyng Homere did liuely expresse where Dido in her extreme anguish for Aeneas his departure speaketh vnto him these wordes Thy mother neither Goddesse was Thou traitour to thy broode Nor Dardan aucthour of thy kinne nor parent of thy bloode But in the mount of Caucasus thou vvast begote and bredde And in the ragged rockes thereof the Tygres vvilde thee fedde As though nature
vs for vertues sake either to do our duetie or els to amende for feare of punishement Thus we see that there is nothinge but it maie â—e turned in some parte to mans behofe so that it be well emploied either as a prouocacion to vertue or as a lesson to enstruct vs y t sinne will not escape vnpunished For to what ende can those u. dreames of Ioseph otherwise be applied He dreamed that his sheaf of corne stode vp was worshipped of the sheaues of his brethren He dreamed also that the sunne moone and eleuen starres honoured him What meante these but that his brethren might vnderstande by coniecture the auctoritie whiche he did beare with Pharao the Egipcian and cease from so enuiynge him Pharao also had two dreames whereof the one betokened as the same Ioseph enterpreted seuen yeres of great plentie and the other seuen yeres of great dearth Whiche the kinge vnderstandynge commaunded that corne shoulde be laied vp that men might not starue for honger in such a scarcitie Wherby Iosephes father and his breâ—â—reÌ„ also were relieued by Goddes prouision Nabuchodonosors dreame also was of a straunge signification which Daniel expouÌ„ded that his kingdome whiche was of so great power that it semed vnpossible to decaie by mannes might shoulde be destroied and that an euerlastinge and vnthauÌ„geable kingdome shold afterward be established Moreouer visâ—â—s in the night be a terrour to the euil that thereby they maie forsee the dauÌ„gers which must happen vnto them and being priuie to their owne offences must be the sharper punished for the same Of these saieth Salomon Then the sight of the euil dreames vexed them sodainely and fearefulnes came vpon them vnawares For those visions were onely to put them in minde whie they did suffer those euilles that they shoulde not pearishe without a warning thereof before Whiche Iob whether he were so in dede as it is written or els that a meane was wrought to shewe vnto men the ymage of Pacience dothe euidently declare Thou wilt feare me saith be with dreames and by visions thou wilt astonie me Among the Philosophers also and Ethnicks there are manie dreames specified whiche dooe notifie vnto vs that suche thinges as menne haue either earnestly thought vpoÌ„ or bene weried withall in the daie time dooe come into their mindes in the night season of the secrete and misticall interpretacion whereof diuers haue written and their bookes be extant But for this place there is none worthier to be remembred then that dreame which Scipio of whom Tullie speaketh had when he was with kinge Masinissa in Africque being in his â—eâ—â—e in a deade slepe Wherein Scipio 〈…〉 d the â—ldeâ— conquerour of Africque put hym as his nephew in minde of derine and valeauntnesse How that after he by the destroying of Carthage and doinge other seruice whereunto the common weale shoulde call him hadde well deserued of his countrey should flee out of the bandes of his body as it wer out of a prison As though good men did then onely begin to liue when thei ended their liues and wente vp into immortalitie in heauen For they whiche haue behaued them selues worthelye in wisdome temperaunce valiauntnes and other vertues muste haue a greater reward then praise in this worlde whiche thei that be notorious for vice and filthie liuyng can not haue for they be as infamous persons bothe quicke and deade But if they haue committed soche haynous offences that menne can not easelie forget theim then it is the greatest shame to them that may be to haue the remeÌ„braunce of their former lewde and damnable state of life to be renued As Perillus the deuisour of that cruall forment Dionisius Syracusanus Nero Domiciane Herodes Antipas and many other may be an example Which God would therefore haue to be a warnynge vnto vs that by them we may not onely be put in minde of a better life but also to their great confusion and for a reward of their wickednes vnderstand that they be euerlastinglye tormented And to the intent men might be withdrawne from this ignominiouse and filthie life the olde fathers were not content onely to teache vs with preceptes of philosophie and to set before our eyes the deformitie of vyces but they also shewed the tormentes wherewith tirauntes Cutthrotes thieues murderers periurers aduouterers fornicatouts couetous iniurious seditious persons despisers of iustice wicked meÌ„ and so many as haue offended in the common weale preferring their priuate gaine before the publike proâ—â—t and vice before vertue be plagued in hel with perpetuall punishmentes Whereof certayne be artificâ—allie descriued by Virgill Which Aeneas suffered by report of Sibilla and tolde abroad at his returne out of Hell Of which sort there is a tale in Plato whiche Socrates said that one Herus Armenius a Pamphiliane borne reported on this maner This man was slayne in the fielde and the twelueth daâ—e after when his bodie was brought to be buryed he arose from deathe and tolde many thynges which he sawe while he was deade declaringe that when his soule was seuered from his bodie he with diuerse others came into the place of deuilles where there were foure passages two downe into the lower depthe and two vpwarde betwene the whiche they did sit which were iudges ouer the soules departed and thence they that were adiudged rightwise were commaunded to go vp to Heauen on the righthand hanging their iudgement signes on their brestes and the vniuste on the left side downwarde bearyng the cognysaunce of all their offences that they had committed in their lyfe tyme on their backes And therfore wheÌ„ he came to the iudges he said that he would tell all men at his returne that which he had seene and learned Then thei willed him diligentlie to vewe and marke that whiche he sawe there to the intent he might therof make a more certaine reporte Then told he sundry paines wherwith they which liued viciouslye here were tormented and how that thei whiche embraced iustice and godlynes and deserued well of their countrey after their death were in greate honour estimacion and perpetuitte of glorie and renowne as benefactours of mankynde Whiche sable althoughe Tullie be sorie that it is mocked at of manie yet as Macrobius telleth he willing to eschew the occasion of foolish fautefinding wished rather that their mighte one be raised vp to make suche a reporte then to â—e reuyued and to saye nothing That was an ensample of to bold and monstruous superstition when Menedemus scholer to Colotus a philosopher borne at Lampsacum went about as Laertius writeth apparayled like a furie saying that he came from hell to espie the faultes of men that at his descendinge downe he mighte reporte to the fâ—endes that whiche he sawe in midle earth This was his attire a longe blacke coate gyrte vnto him with a scarlet belte a cappe after the vsage of Arcadia on his heade hauing the foure elementes