straunge Idoll For all the Gods of the Gentiles are Diuels My sonnes kéepe your selues from Images the worshippinge of Idols is the cause of all euyll the beginninge and the ende Cursed bée that man that engraueth any Images it is an abhominatioÌ„ before the Lorde They shall be confounded that worshippe grauen Images or glory in Idols I wyll not giue my glorye to an other nor my prayses to grauen Images If all these testimonies of the Scriptures cannot make thée to acknowledge a lyuinge GOD harken what they saye of such as be altogether incredulous Euery vnbeleeuer shall dye in his incredulitie Woe be to those that bee loose in heart they beléeue there is no God and therefore they shall not bée protected of him The wrathe of the Lorde shall kindle agaynste an vnbléeuinge nation If yée beléeue not yée shall not endure Hée that beléeueth not shall bée damned Hée that beléeueth not is iudged alreadye The portion of the vnbeléeuers shall be in the lake that burneth wyth fire and brimstome which is the seconde death If thou feele in thy selfe Atheos anye sparke of grace praye vnto the Lorde and hée wyll cause it to flame if thou haue no feelinge of fayth yet praye and the Lorde wyll gyue aboundaunce for as hée is a terrible God whose voyce is lyke the rushinge of many waters so is he a mercifull God whose woordes are as softe as Oyle Though he breath fire out of his nostrils agaynst sinners yet is he milde to those that aske forgiuenesse But if thou bée obstinate that seeinge thou wylt not sée and knowing thou wylt not acknowledge then shall thy heart bée hardened wyth Pharao and grace shall bée taken awaye from thée with Saule Thus sayth the Lorde who so beléeueth not shall perishe heauen and earth shall passe but the word of the Lord shall endure for euer Submyt thy selfe before the throne of hys Maiestye and his mercye shall saue thée Honour the Lorde and it shalll bée well wyth thée Besides him feare no straunge god Honour the Lorde wyth all thy soule Offer vnto God the sacrifice of prayse Be not lyke the hipocrites whiche honour God with their lips but be farre from hym with their heartes neyther lyke the foole which sayth his in heart ther is no god But if thou wylt stil perseuer in thine obstinacie thine end shal be worse then thy beginning the Lord yea thy sauiour shal come to be thy Iudge when thou shalt beholde him come in glory with millions of Angels and Archangels when thou shalt sée him appeare in thundringes and lyghtninges and flashinges of fire when â—he mountaynes shall melt and the heauens be wrapped vp lyke a scrowle when all the earth shall tremble with what face wilt thou beholde his glorye that deniest his Godhead how canst thou abide his presence that beléeuest not his essence what hope canst thou haue to be saued which diddest neuer acknowledge a-any to be thy Sauiour Then shall it be sayde to thée and to all those of thy sâ—cte vnlesse ye râ—pent depart all yee workers of iniquitie there shall bée wéepinge and gnashing of téeth When you shal sée Abraham Isaac and Iacob and all the Prophets in the kingdome of God and yée to bée thrust out You shall conceyue heate and bringe foorth woode your owne consciences shall consume you lyke fire Héere dost thou sée Atheos the threatninges agaynst vnbeléeuers and the punishment prepared for miscreantes What better or sounder proofe canst thou haue that there is a GOD then thine owne conscience which is vnto thée a thousande wytnesses Consider wyth thy selfe that thy soule is immortal made to the Image of the almighty God bée not curious to enquire of God but carefull to beléeue neither bée thou desperate if thou sée thy sinnes abounde but faythfull to obteine mercy for the Lorde will saue thée bycause it is hys pleasure searche therefore the Scriptures for they testifie of him Atheos Truely Euphues you haue sayde somewhat but you goe about contrarye to the customes of schooles which mée thinckes you shoulde dilygentlye obserue béeinge a professed Philosopher for when I demaunde by what reason men are induced to acknowledge a God you confirme it by course of Scripture as who shoulde saye there were not a relatyon betwéene GOD and the Scripture bycause as the olde Fathers define wythout Scripture there were no GOD no Scripture without a god Whosoeuer therefore denyeth a Godhead denyeth also the scriptures which testifie of him This is in my opinion absurdum per absurdius to proue one absurditie by an other If thou canst as substantiallye by reason proue thy authoritie of Scriptures to be true as thou hast proued by Scriptures there is a God then will I willyngly with thée both beléeue the Scriptures and worshippe thy god I haue heard that Antiochus commaunded all the copies of the Testament to bée burnt from whence therefore haue we these newe bookes I thincke thou wilt not saye by reuelation therefore goe forwarde Euphues I haue read of the milke of a Tygresse that the more salte there is throwne into it the fresher it is and it may be that thou hast eyther eaten of that milke or that thou arte the Whelpe of that Monster for the more reasons that are beate into thy head the more vnreasonable thou séemest to bée the greater my authorities are the lesser is thy beliefe As touching the authoritie of Scriptures although there be manye arguments which do proue yea and enforce the wicked to confesse that the Scriptures came from God yet by none other meane then by the secrete testimony of the holy Ghost our heartes are truely perswaded that it is God which speaketh in the lawe in the Prophets in the Gospell the orderly disposition of the wisedome of God the doctrine sauoring nothing of earthlynesse the godly agreement of all parts amonge themselues and specially the basenesse of contemptible wordes vttering the high misteryes of the heauenly kingedome are seconde helpes to establish the Scriptures Moreouer the antiquitie of the Scripture whereas the bookes of other Relygions are later then the bookes of Moses which yet doth not himselfe inuent a newe God but setteth foorth to the Israelites the God of their fathers Whereas Moses doth not byde the shame of Leuy his father nor the mourninge of Aaron his brother and of Marie his sister nor doth aduannce his owne children The same are arguments that in his booke is nothing fayned by man Also the myracles that happened as well at the publyshing of the lawe as in all the rest of time are infallyble proofes that the Scriptures procéeded from the mouth of god Also whereas Moses speaking in the person of Iacob assigneth gouernment to the Tribe of Iuda and where he telleth before of the callynge of the Gentiles whereof the one came to passe foure hundreth yeares after the other almost two thousande yeares these are arguments that it is GOD himselfe that speaketh in the bookes of Moses Whereas
sinneth is of the Dyuell the rewarde of sinne is death thou shalte not suffer the wicked to lyue take all the Princes of the people and hange them vp agaynst the Sunne on Iybbets that my anger maye bée tourned from Israell these sayinges of holy Scripture cause mée to tremble and shake in euery sinnewe Agayne this saith the holy Byble nowe shall the scowrge fall vppon thée for thou hast sinned beholde I set a curse before you to daye if you shall not harken to the commaundementes of the Lorde all they that haue forsaken the Lorde shall be confounded Furthermore where threates are poured out agaynst sinners my heart bléedeth in my bellye to remember them I wyll come vnto you in iudgement sayth the Lorde and I wyll be a swifte and a seuere witnesse offenders adulterers and those that haue committed periurie and retained the duetie of the hirelinges oppressed the widowes misused the straunger and those that haue not feared me the Lord of hoasts Out of his mouth shall come a two edged swoorde Beholde I come quickly and bringe my rewarde with me which is to yelde euery one according to his desertes Great is the day of the Lord and terrible and who is he that may abide him What shall I then doe when the Lord shall arise to iudge and when hée shall demaund what shal I answere Besides this the names that in holy scripture are attributed to God bring a terrour to my guiltie conscience He is said to be a terrible God a God of reuenge whose voice is like the thūder whose breath maketh al the corners of the earth to shake tremble These things Euphues testifie vnto my conscience that if there be a God he is the God of the righteous one that wil confound the wicked Whether therefore shal I goe or how may I auoide the day of vengeance to come if I goe to heauen that is his seate if into the earth that is his footstoole if into the depth he is there also Who can shrowde himself from the face of the Lord or where can one hide him that the Lord cannot finde him his wordes are like fire and the people lyke drye woode and shal be consumed Euphues Although I cannot but reioyce to heare thée acknowledge a God yet must I néedes lament to sée thée so much distrust him The Diuell that roaring Lyon seing his pray to be taken out of his iawes alledgeth al Scripture that may condemne the sinner leauing al out that should comfort the sorrowful Much like vnto the deceitfull Phisition which recounteth all things that may endomage his patient neuer telling any thing that may recure him Let not thy conscience be agrieued but with a patiēt heart renounce all thy former iniquities and thou shalt receiue eternall life Assure thy selfe that as God is a Lord so he is a father as Christ is a Iudge so he is a Sauiour as ther is a lawe so there is a Gospel Though God haue leaden handes whiche when they strike paye home yet hath he leaden féet which are as slow to ouertake a sinner Heare therfore the great comfort flowing in euery leafe line of the Scripture if thou be patient I my selfe am euen hée which doth blotte out thy transgressions and that for mine owne sake and I will not be mindefull of thy sinnes Beholde the Lordes hande is not shortned that it cannot saue neither his eare heauy that it cannot heare If your sinnes were as Crimosin they shall be made whiter then Snow though they were as red as Scarlet they shall be made like white Woll If we confesse our offences hée is faythfull and iuste so that he will forgiue vs our sinnes God hathe not appointed vs vnto wrath but vnto saluation by the meanes of our Lorde Iesus Christe the earthe is filled with the mercye of the Lorde It is not the will of your Father which is in heauen that any one of the little ones should perishe God is riche in mercye I will not the death of a sinner sayth the Lord God retourne and lyue The sonne of man came not to destroye but to saue God hath mercy on all bycause hée can doe all God is mercifull longe sufferinge and of much mercy If the wicked man shall repent of hys wickednesse which hée hath committed and kéepe my commaundementes doinge Iustice and iudgement hée shall lyue the lyfe and shall not dye If I shall saye vnto the sinner thou shalt dye the death yet if hée repent and doe Iustice he shall not dye Call to thy minde the great goodnesse of God in creating thée his singuler loue in giuing his sonne for thée So God loued the worlde that he gaue his onely begotten sonne that whosoeur beléeued in him myght not perish but haue euerlasting life God hath not sent his sonne to iudge the world but that the worlde might be saued by him Can the Mother sayth the Prophet forget the chylde of hir wombe though she be so vnnaturall yet will I not be vnmindefull of thée There shal be more ioye in heauen for the repentaunce of one sinner thē for nintie nine iust persons I came not saith Christ to cal the righteous but sinners to repentāce If any mā sin we haue an aduocate with the father Iesus Christe the righteous hée is the propitiation for our sinnes and not for our sinnes onely but for the sinnes of the whole worlde I write vnto you little children bicause your sinnes be forgiuen for his names sake Doth not Christ saye that whatsoeuer wée shall aske the Father in his name wée shall obtayne Doth not God saye this is my beloued sonne in whome I am well pleased heare him I haue reade of Themistocles which hauing offended Philip the king of Macedonia could no way apease his anger méeting his young sonne Alexander tooke him in his armes met Philip in the face Philip séeing the smilyng countenaunce of the childe was well pleased with Themistocles Euen so if through thy manifolde sinnes and haynous offences thou prouoke the heauye displeasure of thy God insomuch as thou shalt tremble for horror take his onelye begotten and welbeloued sonne Iesus in thine armes and then he neyther can nor will bée angry with thée If thou haue denyed thy God yet if thou goe out with Peter and wéepe bitterly God will not deny thée Though with the prodigall sonne thou wallow in thine owne wilfulnesse yet if thou retourne agayne sorrowfull thou shalt be receiued If thou bée a grieuous offender yet if thou come vnto Christ with the woman in Luke and wash his féete with thy teares thou shalt obteyne remission Consider with thy selfe the great loue of Christ and the bitter torments that he endured for thy sake which was enforced through the horror of death to crye with a loude voyce Eloi Eloi Lamasabathani My God my God why hast thou forsaken mée and with a groning spirite to say my soule is heauie euen
sor at the last sayling into his countrey with a prosperous winde he laughing sayde loe sée you not my Maysters how well the Gods rewarde our Sacriledge I coulde rehearse infinite opinions of excellent men who in this poynte holde on my side but especiallye Protagoâ—as And in my iudgement if there be any God it is the worlde wherein we lyue that is the onely God what can we beholde more noble then the worlde more faire more beautifull more glorious what more maiesticall to the sight or more constant in substance But this by the way Euphues I haue greter more forcible arguments to confirme my opinion to confute the errors of those that imagine that there is a god But first I woulde gladly heare thée shape an aunswere to that which I haue sayde for well I knowe that thou arte not onely one of those which beléeue that ther is a god but of them alsoâ— which are so precise in honouring him that they be scarce wise in helping themselues Euphues If my hope Atheos were not better to conuerte thee then my happe was heere to conferre with thée my hearte woulde breake for griefe which beginneth freshly to bléede for sorrowe thou hast stroken mée into such a shiuering and colde terror at the rehearsing of this thy monstrous opinion that I looke euery minute when the grounde shoulde open to swallowe thée vpp and that God which thou knowest not shoulde with thunder from Heauen strike thée to Hell. Was there euer Barbarian so sencelesse euer miscreaunt so barâ—arous that did not acknowledge a lyuinge and euerlasting Iehouah I cannot but tremble at the remembraâ—nce of his maiestie and dost thou make it a mockerie O iniquitie of times O corruption of maners O blasphemie against the heauens The Heathen man sayth yea that Tullye whome thou thy selfe alleadgest that there is no nation so barbarous no kinde of people so sauage in whom resteth not this perswasion that there is a God and euen they that in other partes of theire lyfe séeme very lyttle to differ from brute beastes doe continually kéepe a certeyne seede of Relygion so throughlye hath this common principle possessed all mens mindes and so faste it sticketh in all mens bowells Yea Idolatrye it selfe is sufficient proofe of this perswasion for we sée how willyngly man abaseth himselfe to honour other creatures to doe homage to stockes to goe on pilgrimage to images if therefore man rather then he woulde haue no God doe worship a stone how much more art thou duller then a stone which goest against the opinion of all men Plato a Philosopher woulde often say there is one whome we may call God omnipotent glorious immortall vnto whose similytude we that créepe héere on the earthe haue our soules framed What can be sayde more of a Heathen yea what more of a Christian Aristotle when he coulde not finde out by the secrecie of Nature the cause of the ebbing and flowing of the Sea cryed out with a loude voyce O thing of things haue mercy vpon mee Cleanthes alleadged foure causes which might induce man to acknowledge a God the first by the foreséeing of things to come the second by the infinite commodities which we dayly reape as by the temperature of the aire the fatnesse of the earth the fruitefulnesse of trees plantes and hearbes the aboundaunce of all thinges that may eyther serue for the necessitie of many or the superfluitie of a few the thirde by the terror that the minde of man is stroken into by lyghtenings thunderings tempestes hayles snow earthquakes pestilence by the straunge and terrible fightes which cause vs to tremble as the rayning of blâ—ud the firie impressions in the Elemente the ouerflowinge of â—loudes in the earth the prodigious shapes and vnnaturall formes of men of beastes of birdes of fishes of all creatures the appearing of blasing Commettes which euer prognosticate some straunge mutation the sighte of two Sunnes which happened in the Consulshippe of Tuditâ—nus and Aquilius with these things mortall men béeing afrighted are enforced to acknowledge an immortall omnipotent god The fourth by the equalitie of mouing in the heauen the course of the Sunne the order of the starres the beautifulnesse of the Element the sight whereof might sufficiently induce vs to beléeue they procéede not by chaunce by nature or destinie but by the eternall and diuine purpose of some omnipotent Deitie Héereoff it came that when the Philosophers could giue no reason by nature they would saye there is one aboue nature an other would cal him the first mouer an other the ayder of nature and so foorth But why goe I about in a thing so manifest to vse proofes so manifolde If thou denie the truth who can proue it if thou denie that blacke is blacke who can by reason reproue thée when thou opposest thy self against reason thou knowest that manifest truthes are not to be proued but beléeued and that he that denieth the principles of any Arte is not to bée confuted by argumentes but to bée left to his owne folly But I haue a better opinion of thée and therefore I meane not to trifle wyth Philosophy but to trye this by the touchstone of the Scriptures We reade in the seconde of Exodus that when Moses desired of God to knowe what hée should name him to the children of Israell hée aunswered thou shalte saye I am that I am Agayne hée that is hath sent mée vnto you The Lorde euen your God hée is God in the heauen aboue and in the earth beneath I am the first the last I am I am the Lorde and there is none other besides mée Agayne I am the Lord and there is none other I haue created the lyght and made darkenesse making peace and framing euill If thou desire to vnderstande what God is thou shalt heare he is euen a consuming fire the Lorde of reuenge the God of iudgement the liuing God the searcher of the reynes he that made all things of nothing Alpha and Omega the beginning and yet without beginning the ende and yet euerlastinge one at whose breath the mountaines shall shake whose seat is the loftie Cherubins whose footestoole is the earthe inuisible yet séeinge all things a gelous God a louing God myraculous in all pointes in no part monstrous Besides this thou shalt well vnderstande that hée is such a God as wil punish him whosoeuer he be the blasphemeth his name for holy is the lord It is written bring out the blasphemer without the tents let al those that hearde him laye their handes vppon hys heade and let all the people stone him He that blasphemeth the name of the Lorde shall dye the death Suche a gelous God that whosoeuer committeth Idolatrye wyth straunge Gods hée will strike wyth terrible plagues Tourne not to Idols neyther make Gods wyth handes I am the Lord your God Thou shalte make no Image which the Lorde thy God abhorreth Thou shalt haue no newe GOD neyther worshyp any
bow bicause I was easely entreated to lysten to your late discourse Or séeing mée as finely you glose to excell all other in beautie did you déeme that I would exceed all other in beastlynesse But yet I am not angry â—upheus but in an agony for who is shée that will not fret or fume with one that loueth hir if this loue to delude mee bée not dissembled It is that which causeth me most to feare not that my beautie is vnknown to my selfe but that commonly we poore wenches are deluded through lyght beliefe and ye men are naturally enclined craftely to leade your lyfe When the Foxe preacheth the Géese perishe The Crocodile shrowdeth greatest treason vnder most pitifull teares in a kissing mouth there lyeth a gallyng minde You haue made so large proffer of your seruice and so fayre promises of fidelytie that were I not ouer charie of mine honestie you would inueigle me to shake handes with chastitie But certes I will eyther leade a Uirgins lyfe in earth though I leade Apes in hell or els follow thée rather then thy giftes yet am I neither so precise to refuse thy proffer neither so péeuish to disdain thy good will So excellent alwayes are the giftes which are made acceptable by the vertue of the giuer I did at the firste entraunce discerne thy loue but yet dissemble it Thy wanton glaunces thy scalding sighes thy louing signes caused me to blush for shame and to looke wanne for feare least they should be perceiued of any These subtill shiftes these paynted practises if I were to be wonne woulde soone weane mee from the teate of Vesta to the toyes of Vâ—nus Besides this thy comly grace thy rare quallyties thy exquisite perfection were able to moue a minde halfe mortified to transgresse the bondes of maydenly modestie But God shielde Lucilla that thou shouldest be so carelesse of thine honour as to commit the state thereoff to a stranger Learne thou by me Euphues to dispise things that be amiable to forgoe delightfull practises beléeue mée it is pietie to abstayne from pleasure Thou arte not the first that hath solicited this sute but the first that goeth about to seduce mée neyther discernest thou more then other but darest more then any neyther hast thou more arte to discouer thy meaninge but more hearte to open thy minde But thou preferrest mée before thy landes thy lyuings thy lyfe thou offerest thy selfe a Sacrifice for my securitie thou proferest mée the whole and onelye soueâ—â—igntie of thy seruice Truely I were very cruell and harde hearted if I should not loue thée harde hearted albeit I am not but truely loue thée I cannot whome I doubte to be my louer Moreouer I haue not bene vsed to the court of Cupide wherin ther be more slights then there be Hares in Athon then Bées in Hybla then stars in Heauen Besides this the common people héere in Naples are not onelye both verye suspitious of other mens matters and manners but also very iealous ouer other mens children and maydens eyther therefore dissemble thy fancie or desist from thy folly But why shouldest thou desist from the one séeinge thou canst cunningly dissemble the other My father is nowe gone to Venice and as I am vncerteine of his retourne so am I not priuie to the cause of his trauayle But yet is he so from hence that he séethe me in his absence Knowest thou not Euphues that kinges haue long armes rulers large reches neither let this comfort thée that at his departure he deputed thée in Philautus place Although my face cause him to mistrust my loyaltie yet my fayth enforceth him to giue mée this lybertie though he be suspitious of my fayre hew yet is he sâ—cure of my â—irme honestie But alas Euphues what truth can there be found in a trauayler what stay in a stranger whose words bodyes both watch but â—or a winde whose féete are euer fleeting whose fayth plighted on the shoare is tourned to periurie when they hoiste saile Who more trayterous to Phillis then Demophoon yet he a trauailer Who more periured to Dido then Aeneas and he a stranger both these Quéenes both they Caytiffes Who more false to Arâ—adâ—e then â—heseus yet he a sayler Who more fickle to Medea then Iason yet he a starter both these daughters to great Princes both they vnfaythfull of promisses Is it then lykely that â—uphues will be faithfull to Lucilla béeing in Naples but a soiourner I haue not yet forgotten the inuectiue I can no otherwise terme it which thou madest against beautie saying it was a deceiptfull bayte with a deadly hooke a swéete poyson in a paynted potte Canst thou then be so vnwise to swallow the bayte which will bréede thy bane To swill the drinke that will expire thy date To desire the wight that will worke thy death But it may bée that with the Scorpion thou canst féede on the earth or with the Quaile and Roebucke be fatte with poyson or with beautie lyue in all brauerie I feare me thou hast the stone Contineus about thee which is named of the contrarye that thoughe thou pretende faithe in thy words thou deuisest fraude in thy heart that though thou seeme to prefer loue thou art inflamed with lust And what for that Though thou haue eaten the séedâ—s of Rockatte which breede incontinencie yet haue I chewed the leafe Cresse which mayteineth modestie Though thou beare in thy bosâ—me the hearbe Araxa most noisome to virginitie yet haue I the stone that groweth in the mounte Tmolus the vpholder of chastitie You may gentleman accompte me for a colde Prophet thus hastely to deuine of your disposition pardon mée Euphues if in loue I cast beyonde the Moone which bringeth vs women to endlesse moane Although I my selfe were neuer burnt whereby I should dread the fire yet the scorching of others in the flames of fancie warneth me to beware Though I as yet neuer tryed any faithles wherby I should be fearefull yet haue I read of many that haue bene periured which causeth me to be carefull though I am able to coÌ„uince none by proofe yet am I enforced to suspect one vppon probabilyties Alas we silly soules which haue neyther witte to decypher the wyles of men nor wisedome to dissemble our affection neyther crafte to trayne in young louers neither courage to withstande their encounters neyther discretion to discerne their dubling neither hard hearts to reiâ—ct their complaynts wée I say are soone enticed béeing by nature simple and easily entangled béeinge apte to receiue the impression of loue But alas it is both common and lamentable to beholde simplicitie intrapped by subtilytie and those that haue most might to be infected with most mallice The Spider weaueth a fine webbe to hang the Fly the Wolfe weareth a faire face to deuoure the Lambe the Merlin striketh at the Partridge the Eagle often snappeth at the Fly men are alwayes laying baytes for women which are the weaker vessells but as yet I
nursed of the moysture and milke of the earth the Lionesse nurseth hir whelpes the Rauen cherisheth hir birdes the Uiper hir broode and shall a woman cast away hir babe I accompte it cast awaye whiche in the swathe clowtes is cast aside and little care can that Mother haue whiche can suffer suche crueltie and can it bée tearmed wyth any other tytle then crueltie the infant yet lookinge redde of the mother the mother yet breathing through the torments of hir trauaile the childe crying for helpe which is sayd to mooue wilde beasts euen in the selfe sayde momente it is borne or the next minute to deliuer a straunge nurse whiche perhappes is neyther holsome in bodye neyther honest in manners whiche estéemeth more thy argent although a trifle then thy tender infant thy greatest treasure Is it not necessary and requisite that the babe bée nursed wyth that true accustomed iuyce cherished with his wonted heat not fed with couÌ„terfaite diet Wheat throwne into a straunge ground tourneth to a contrary grayne the Uyne translated into an other soyle changeth his kinde A slippe pulled fro the stalke withereth the young childe as it were slipped from the pappes of his mother eyther changeth his nature or altereth his disposition It is pretely sayd of Horace a newe vessell will long time sauour of that lyquor that is first powred into it and the infant will euer smell of the Nurses manners hauing tasted of hir milke Therefore lette the mother as often as she shal beholde those two fountaynes of milke as it were of their owne accorde flowing and swelling with lycour remember that shée is admonished of nature yea commaunded of dutie to cherishe hir owne childe with hir owne teates otherwise when the babe shall nowe beginne to tattle and call hir Mamma with what force canne she heare it of his mouth vnto whome shée hath denyed Mamma It is not milke only that encreaseth the strength or augmenteth the body but the naturall heat agréement of the mothers body with the childes it craueth the same accustomed moisture that before it receiued in the bowells by the which the tender parts were bounde knit together by the which it encreased and was succoured in the body Certes I am of that minde that the witte and disposition is altered and chaunged by the milke as the moysture and sappe of the earth doth change the nature of that trée or plant that it nourisheth Wherefore the common bye worde of the common people séemeth to be grounded vppon good experience which is This fellow hath sucked mischiefe euen from the teate of his nursse The Grecians when they saw any one sluttishly fedde they woulde say euen as nurses whereby they noted the greate dislykinge they hadde of theire fulsome féeding The Etimologie of mother among the Grecians may aptly bée applyed to those mothers which vnnaturally deale with their children they cal it meter a meterine that is mother of not makinge much off or of not nourishing héereof it commeth that the sonne doth not with deepe desire loue his mother neyther wyth duetie obay hir â—is naturall afâ—ection being as it were deuided and distraught into twain a mother a nurse heereoff it proceedeth that the mother beareth but a colde kindenesse towardes hir childe when she shall sée the nature of hir nurse in the nurture of hir childe The chiefest way to learning is if there be a mutuall loue and feruent desire betweene the teacher and him that is taught then verely the greatest furtheraunce to education is if the mother nourish the childe and the childe sucke the mother that there be as it were a relacion and reciprecall order of affection Yet if the mother either for the euill habite of the body or the weakenesse of hir pâ—ppes cannot though she woulde nurse hir infant then lette hir prouide suche a one as shall be of a good complexion of an honest condition carefull to tender the childe louing to see well to it willyng to take paynes dillygent in tending and prouiding all thinges necessarye and as lyke both in the lyniaments of the body and disposition of the minde to the mother as may be Lette hir forslow no occasion that may bringe the childe to quietnesse and cleanelynesse for as the parts of a childe as soone as it is borne are framed and fashioned of the midwife that in all poynts it may be streight and comely so the manners of the childe at the first are to be looked vnto that nothing discommend the minde that no crooked behauiour or vndecent demeanour bée founde in the man. Young and tender age is easily framed to manners and hardelye are those thinges mollyfied which are harde For as the steele is imprinted in the softe waxe 〈◊〉 learning is engrauen in the minde of an young impe â—â—â—to that deuine Philosopher admonished all nurses and weaners of youth that they shâ—uld not be to busie to tell them fonde fables or filthie tales least at their entraunce into the worlde they shoulde be contaminated with vnséemelye behauiour vnto the which Phocides the Poet doth pithely allude saying Whilst that the childe is young lette him bee instructed in vertue and lyterature Moreouer they are to bée trayned vpp in the language of their country to pronounce aptly and distinctly without stammering euerye worde and sillable of their natiue speache and to be kepte from barbarous talke as the shippe from rockes least béeinge affected with their barbarisme they bée infected also with theire vncleane conuersation It is an olde Prouerbe that if one dwell the nexte dore to a creple he wil learne to hault if one be conuersant with an hypocrite he wll soone endeauour to dissemble When this younge infante shall growe in yeares and bée of that rypenesse that hée can conceiue learninge insomuch that he is to be committed to the tuition of some tutour all dillygence is to be had to searche such a one as shall neyther be vnlearned neyther ill lyued neyther a lyght person A gentleman that hath honest and discréete seruants disposeth them to the encrease of his segnioryes one he appoynteth stewarde of his courtes an other ouerseer of his landes one his factoure in farre countryes for his merchaundize an other puruayour for his cates at home But if among all his seruauntes he shall espye one eyther filthye in his â—alke or foolishe in his behauiour eyther wythout witte or voyde of honestie eyther an vnthrifte or a wittaâ—l him hée settes not as a suruayour and ouerseer of his mannors but a superuisour of his childrens conditions and manners to him hee committeth the guydinge and tuition of his sonnes which is by hys proper Nature a slaue a knaue by condition a beast in behauiour And sooner will they bestow an hundreth crownes to haue a horse well broken then a childe well taught wherein I cannot but maruell to see them so carefull to encrease their possessions when they be so carelesse to haue them wise that should