vanytie of the malice therof is vanquished Howe cometh it y t a couetous ê‘son wyll soner nowe adays haue a wyfe that is ryche and foule than one that is poore and fayre O vnhappy women that brynge forth chyldren and more vnhappy be the doughters that are borne which to haue them maried no store is set by the blodde of theyr predecessours nor the fauour of theyr frendes nor the value of their warkes nor the beautie of theyr persones nor the clennes of theyr lyfe O cursed worlde where the doughter of a good maÌ„ without money shall haue no mariage But it was not wonte to be soo For in the aunciente tyme whan they treated of maryages fyrste they spake of the persones and after of the goodis not as they doo at this houre in this vnhappy tyme for nowe they speke firste of goodes and laste of all of the persone In the sayde golden worlde fryste they spake of the vertues y t the person was endowed with and whan they were maryed in sportynge they wolde speake of the goodes Whan Camillo triumphed vpon the Gaules or frenchemen he had then but one sonne and he was suche one that his person merited great lawdes And for the renome of his father dyuers kynges desyred to haue him to theyr sonne and dyuers senatours desyred to haue hym to theyr sonne in lawe This yonge manne beinge of the age of .xxx. yeres and the father at .lx. was importunatelye styred by his naturalle frendes and desyred of strange kynges for to mary hym but alway the olde Camyll repugned the counsell of his frendes the importunitie of the straungers whan it was demaunded why he determyned not vppon some maryage for his sonne sythe therby shulde folowe the restefulle lyfe of the yonge man and the quietnes of hym selfe in his aege He aunswered I wyll not mary my sonne bycause somme offer me ryche doughters some noble of lygnage some yonge and some fayre but there is none hath sayde to me I gyue you my vertuous doughter Certaynly Camylle meryted to haue triumph for that he dyd And he deserued eternall memorie for that he said I say to you Faustine al these wordes bycause I se you lede your doughter to the Theatres and playes and do brynge her into the Capitoll You put her to the kepynge of the swerde players you suffre her to se the toumblers and yet you doo not remembre that she is yonge and you not aged ye go into the stretes withoute lycence and play by the ryuers I fynd no vilany therin nor thynke that your doughter is yl but I say it bycause you giue occasion that she shoulde not be good Beware Faustine neuer truste in the case of the fleshe of yong people Nor haue no confidence in olde folkes For there is no better way than to flee the occasion of al thynges For this entent the virgins vestales are closed vp betwene the walles to eschewe the occasions of open places not to be more lyght and foolyshe but to be more sadde and vertuous fleing occasions The yonge shal not say I am yong and vertuous nor the olde shall not say I am olde broken For of necessite the drye flaxe wyl brenne in the fyre and the grene flagge smoke in the flamme I saye that a man beinge a diamonde enchaced amonge men yet of necessitie he ought to be quicke and mery amonge women And as waxe melteth in the heate we can not denye that thoughe the wodde be taken fro the fyre and the ymbres quenched yet neuer the les the stones oftentime remayne hote and brennyng In lyke wise the flesshe thoughe it be chastised with hote drie maladies or consumed by many yeres with trauayle yet concupiscence abideth styll in the bones What nede is it to blasen the vertues denye our naturalities Certaynly there is not so croked a hors but if he se a mare he wyll bray ones or twise There is no maÌ„ so yonge nor old but let hym se yong damoysels eyther he wyll giue a sigh or a wishe In al voluntary thinges I denie not but that one may be vertuous but in natural thinges I confesse euery man to be weake Whan ye take the wood fro the fire it leueth brennyng WhaÌ„ somer cometh the colde wynter cessethe whan the see is caulme the wawes leaue theyr vehemente mouynge whan the sonne is sette it beshyneth not the worlde I wyl say that than and not before the fleshe wyl cesse to peyn vs whan it is layde in the graue Of the fleshe we are borne and in the flesshe we lyue and in the fleshe we shall dye And therby it foloweth that our good lyfe shall sooner ende than our fleshe Oftentymes some holsome fleshe for meate corrupteth in an vnholsome potte and good wyne somtyme sauoureth of the foiste I saye though that the werkes of our lyfe be vertuous yet shal we fele the stenche of the weake fleshe I say this Faustyne sith age can not resist the hote enterprise howe can the tender membres of youth resist it you being the mother without you go the right way she being your doughter can not go the same way The Romayne matrones if they wil nourishe their doughters wel ought to kepe these rules Whan they se that they wolde goo abrode than breke theyr legges and if they wold be gasing than put out their eies and if they wyl harke stoppe theyr eares if they wyl giue or take cut of their handes if they dare speke sowe vp theyr mouthes and if they wil entend any lyghtnes bury them quicke wordes ought to be gyuen to an yll doughter and in stede of presentes and gyftis at her weddyng gyue her wormes and for her hous a graue Take hede Faustine if you wyll haue great ioy of your doughter take fro her the occasioÌ„s wherby she shall be ylle To vndersette a hous behoueth dyuers proppes And yf the principalles be taken awaye hit wylle falle downe I wyll tell you womenne are so fraylle that with kepers with great peyne they can kepe them selfe and for a small occasion they wyll lose all to gether O howe mamy yll hath there ben not bycause they wolde be so but by cause they folowed suche occasions the which they ought to haue eschewed It is for me to entre into this battayle but yet it is not in me to attayne the vyctorie It is for me to entre into the see yet it lyeth not in my handes to escape the perylle It is in the handes of a woman to entree into the occasion and after that she is therin hit is not in her handes to delyuer her from faute ¶ Howe the emperour counsayled Faustine to eschue yll occasions fro her doughter cap. xxxvii PAraduenture Faustine ye wyll saye to me that none may speke to your doughter Lucylle but if you here hit nor se her but in your syghte nor hyde her but you knowe where nor make none appoyntment with out your knowledge
chylde the great Alexander Philip her husbande and father to the yonge chylde wrote a letter to Arestotle wherin he sayde I gyue greate graces to the goddes not all onely that they haue gyuen vnto me a sonne but bycause they haue gyuen him to me in the tyme that thou mayste be his mayster and he thy disciple Marc Aurele the emperour of whom this presente boke entreatethe he speakynge of hym selfe wrote to Polion these wordes Frende I wyl thou knowe that I am not made emperour by reason of the bloude of my predecessours nor yet for the fauour of my lynage nowe present but it was bycause I haue ben always a frende and louer of the sage people and enmy to them that haue noo good knowlege Ryght happy was Rome to chose so valyant an emperour and ryghte fortunate was that emperour to come to suche an empire not by patrimonye but by sagenes And if that aege was glorious in ioyinge of his persone no lesse it is to vs to ioye of his doctrines I wyll intitle this boke the Golden boke It maye be called golden bycause in so high estimation it holdethe the vertuous discoueringe in theyr tyme this boke with the sentences as these princes holdethe their myndes of golde in theyr Indes But I saye that at this houre there be moo hartes banyshed into the Indes of golde than to employ them to rede the werkes of this boke Salust saythe that there ought great glory be gyuen to them that haue done there hygh and great actes And that there oughte no les fame and renowme be gyuen to those that in a good style haue written them In this case I confesse to deserue noo merites for my traduction or any fame but I demaunde pardon of all them that be sage for the fawtes that they shall fynde therin For excepte the diuine letters there is nothynge soo well written but that there maye be founde necessitie of correction lyne and sensure Semed this to to be trewe by that Socrates was reproued of Plato and Plato of Aristotle Aristotle of Abenruyz Scilio of Sulpice Lelie of Varro Marinê° of Tome Enio of Horace Senec of Aule Gele Estratocles of Strabo Tesato of Galene Hermagore of Cicero Origen of saint Ierom saynt Ierome of Ruffyn and Ruffyn of Donate Sythe that in them and in theyr werkes there hath ben correctyon who were men of hyghe knowlege it is no reason that I shulde be in their fraternitie seinge that I knowe so lytel as I do to the examynation of wise and vertuous men To them I submyt this present warke and to theym that haue ben suche I them require to be contente to be the reders and not iuges therof It were no pacience to suffre nor lawe to permytte that a thynge that a sage personne with great maturite and delyberation hath written to be dispraysed by a symple persone For ones redynge oftentymes the auctours and wryters are dyspraysed not of them that can traduce and compose werkes but of them that can not vnderstande them and yet lesse rede theym I saye further of aduantage that dyuers haue written of the tyme of the sayde Marke Aureleo emperour as Herodian wrote lyttel Eutropio lesse Lampridio yet lesse Iulius Capitolyn some what more The writinges of them and of other semeth rather epitomes than histories There is difference betwene this writynge and that they wrote by herynge saye but they by whome I haue composed this present warke they were wytnesse by syghte and not by herynge of other but they wrote what they sawe them selfe That is to say among the maysters who lerned the said emperour their scieÌ„ces there were thre that is to say Iunto Rastico Cina Catule and Sexto Cheronense neue we to the greatte Plutarke These bene they that haue written this present historie Sexto Cheronense in greke and the other two in latyne I thinke of this historie is but small notice bycause vnto this houre it hath not be seene imprinted Whan I departed from the college of my study and wente to preache in the palays where I sawe soo many newe nouelties in the courtes I delybered my selfe with greatte desyre to knowe thynges and gaue my selfe to serche and knowe thinges aunciente And the case fortuned on a day redynge an historie I founde therin matter to be noted in a pistel and it semed to me so good that I put all myne humayne forces to serche farther And after in reuoluyng dyuers bokes serchyng in dyuers libraries and also speakynge with diuers sages of dyuers realmes finally I founde this tretise in Florence amonge the bokes left there by Cosme de Medicis a man of good memory I haue vsed in this writinge the whiche is humayne that that dyuers tymes hath ben vsed in diuinitie that is to reduce not worde for word but sentence for sentence We other interpretours are not bounde to gyue for the meane the wordes it suffiseth to gyue for the weyghte the sentence As the historiographes of whom there were dyuers and the historie that they made was all but one thing I wyl not deny but I haue left out some wordes which were not mete nor well sittynge rude and leaste of valure and I haue medled it with outher more swete and profitable I thynke that euery wyse man after he hathe redde this boke wyll not saye that I am the principal auctour of this warke nor yet to iuge me so ignorant to exclude me clene from it for so hygh sentences are not found at this presente tyme nor to so hygh a style they of tyme past neuer atteyned ⧠Here endeth the prologue ¶ Here begynneth the boke of the lyfe of the noble and eloquent Marke Aurely emperour ¶ Of the byrth and lyguage of Marke Aurele Anthony emperour cap. primo IN the yere of the foundation of Rome .vi. C. lxxxxv in the Olimpiade a. C.lxiii Anthony the meke beinge deed than consules Fuluie Caton and Gnee Patrocle in the hygh capytol the .iiii. daye of Octobre at the demaunde of all the people Romayn and consent of the sacred Senate was declared for emperour vniuersall of all the monarche of Rome Marc Aurely Antony This excellente baron was naturally of Rome borne in the mounte Celye And accordyng as Iulius Capitolyne sayth he was born the .vi. kalendes of May the whiche accordynge to the accompt of the latyns was the xxvi daye of the monethe of Apryll passed His father was named Anio Vero. For the occasion whereof the histories dyuers tymes calle hym Marc Anthony Vero. True it is that Adriane the emperour called hym Verissimus bycause in hym was neuer founde no lyes nor neuer fayled the trouth These Anius Veres was a lignage that auaunced them to be desceÌ„ded of Numa Pompilio and of Quintê° Curtius the famous Romayn whiche for to delyuer the towne of Rome from perylle and to gyue his persone perpetualle memorye of his owne good free wylle he yelded hym selfe to the same vorage that as than was sene in
true it semeth by diuers excellent barons well lerned in diuers sciences that flourished in his tyme Iulius Capitolin recounteth of them as foloweth Alexander a greke Trasion Polyon Euticius Anius Macrion Caninius Crodiaticus Fornius Cornelius Apolonius Nius Sextus Cheronense Iunius Rasticus Claudius Maximus Cina Catulus Claudius Seuerus and the renowmed Diogenitus paynter and the well lerned lawyer Volusius Mecianus All these were in this emperours palays and residente in his persence And yet for all that he had dyuers other wise presons in Rome and abrode in Italy It was no meruail to se in those dayes the multitude of men that flourisshed in wisedome There was no father but if he had two sonnes he wolde set one of them to study and the other accordyng to the Romayne lawe shuld be sette to the warres And if this emperour wyst of any wyse yong man aboue al other he wolde fauour hym ¶ Of the emperour Marcus sonne named Verissimus Cap. v. THis emperour Marcus Aurelius hadde only two sonnes as Herodian saythe The greattest and eldest was called Comode and the yōgest was named Verissimus He was a fayre childe of person and right vertuous of liuing With his beautie he drewe to hym the eies of many and with his good inclinations he robbed the hartes of all men He was the hope of the people and the glorie of his fathers age And though the eldest was prince yet themperour determyned that the laste borne for his vertues shulde inherite as the eldest And he that was fyrst borne for his demerites shulde be disherited And as good desyres in the best tyme fayle often by vnhappy chance this emperour being of .lii. yeres of age and the sonne of .xvi. the glorie of Rome and hope of the father the lyfe of the sonne toke an ende And as moche was the deathe bewayled as the lyfe desyred It was great pytie for the senate by reason therof sawe not themperour nor the olde emperour for sorowe sawe not the senate of a longe space Rome was ryght heuy and the senate withdrewe them to the heighte of the capitoll dyuers dayes And as the mystes and wyndes cause the leaues to falle that were grene in sommer and the dedes of honour constrayne vs to forget the myshappes of fortune as a man of high lynage and of stronge courage thoughe that sorowe remayne in his harte and abydethe locked therin determynethe to clense the braunches of sorowes that is outward fayning ioy and myrthe outwardely kepynge the sorowe within so this Marcus the emperour as a man whose vine freseth and dyethe wherin he had al his hope contented him with that was lefte behynde Whan his dere sonne Verissimus was deed he sente for the prince Comode his onely inheritour whiche sythe the chylde his brother was deed entred not in to the palays And the emperour seynge the proude and outragious porte of his sonne Comode bedewed his eien with salte teares remembrynge the shame of the one and the dethe of the other The whiche perceyued by Faustyne his mother which loued hym moste entierly commaunded to haue her sonne awaye fro the presence of his father ¶ What wyse and auncient men Marcus chose to instructe his sonne Cap. vi THoughe that the harte of this emperour was occupied with the death of his chylde yet for all that he reysed his vnderstandyng to haue the prince his heyre ryght well brought vppe For certaynely princis bene suche whan they come to mans estate as they be brought vp in their tender youth The father than knowynge the frayle inclinations of his chylde not correspondent to the good gouernaunce of the empire as a good emperour sent ouer all Italye for the moste wysest persones in lernynge the moste famous of renowme and the mooste vertuous in dedes And as in dyuers thynges the infamye is greatter in the yll doinge by malyce than the faute of the trespassour by weakenes so in dyuers other thynges the common voyce is more than the secrete vertue For the whyche occasyon after the assemblynge of these wyse menne the emperour commaunded to examyne them and to be informed of the bloude of their predecessours of the appoyntement in all their thynges and of the treatie of their busynes and of the credence amonge their neyghbours and of the purenes of their lyues and grauitie of theyr persones and finally of their sciences what they coulde do and this to be done in an order The astrologiens in astronomie the musitiens in musyke the oratours in their arte of rhetorike and some in other sciences And this not in one daye but in many and not onely by informacyon of other but he wolde knowe hit by his owne propre experience Thus they were all examyned soo that there was none lefte behynde And as for perfecte knowlege of thynges wherin we haue great affection it behoueth to haue straunge aduyse clere vnderstandynge and propre experience so the emperour commanded to chose out of dyuers a fewe and out of fewe the wysest and of the wysest the moste experte moste worthy and moste auncient And accordyng to the vii artes lyberall there was assigned to euery science two maysters so that the prince was one and the maysters xiiii This renowme that the Emperour sente ouer all to haue maysters for his sonne the prince caused to come to hym moo wyse men from straunge countreys than of the marches and neyghbours of Rome The good emperour considerynge that it was no reason that suche as came to his seruice shulde returne myscontented some with ioyfull wordes some vpon certayne hope and some with giftes and presentes were dispatched soo that they were all pleased And if this doinge was renowmed by the reporte of the wise men it was no lesse vertuous by the wisedome and worthynes of the emperour to sende them home soo well content For he sent them away as well satisfied that were ouercome as they were cōtented that ouercam them And certaynly they had all reason for some bare the swete wordes and satisfienge of the father and somme aboode there charged with the enterprise of the sonne Yet the good emperour not being contented with this commanded that these maysters shoulde be lodged in his palayes and eate in his presence and acconpany his personne to se if theyr lyfe were conformable to their science and whether their plesant and wel couched wordes agreed in effect with theyr warkes It was a meruaylous thinge to se the study and thought that the emperour had to regard them as well in goynge as fedynge ¶ Howe it chaunced to fyue wyse men wherfore they were put out of the emperours house Cap. vii IN the month of Septembre the .xi. day therof in halowyng the feast of the Emperours natiuitie in the same house where as he was borne in the place of moūt Celio As a trewande and foole dothe lyke hym selfe and semblably as he is accustomed to doo And lyke as oone dothe the semblable thynges and customes that he
is wonte to doo so the emperour set more his intention on wyse men than his eies on fooles He sawe .v. of them satte beatyng the pauement with their feete and arose frome their places clappynge theyr handes speakynge lowde and laughyng excedyngely the whiche was noo lesse marked of the emperour than beholden Whan the feaste was done he called them asyde and sayde Frendes lette abyde with me the pitiefull goddis and lette the good dedes go with you I haue chosen you to thentent that foles shuld be conuerted to wyse men but I see wyse men become foles Do ye not knowe that with the fyre of myxture golde is drawen and by the lyghtnes of fooles wyse men are proued Certaynly the fyne gold defendeth his qualities in the quycke fournayes and lykewise the wyse man sheweth his vertues amonge fooles Wote ye not that a foole can not be knowen amonge fooles nor a wyse manne amonge sage folke Amonge wyse men the fole is made bryght and amonge foles wyse men do shyne Do you not knowe what shame it is to make the disciples of foles masters of princis Knowe ye not that of the couragious vnderstandyng procedethe the composytion of the bodye the reste of the person to be the temperance of the tonge What profiteth it you to haue an experte tongue a quicke memorie a clere vnderstandynge great science profounde eloquence or a swete style if with all these graces ye haue a wycked wyll Wherfore wyl wise men haue their wordes so distincte and moderate if their wordes be lyght And to thentent that it shulde not seme to you that I speake of pleasure I wyl brynge to you an antyke lawe of Rome In the seuenthe table of the lawes of our fathers was written these wordes We commaunde that a more greuous chastysement be gyuen to the wyse manne for a lyght dede done openly than to a secrete murderer O iuste lawe and iust men that ordeyned it For the symple labourer sleeth but one with his knyfe in his angre but he y t is wyse sleeth many with the euyll example of his lyuynge Curiousely I haue regarded that Rome begynneth to declyne when our senate fayllethe of meke and wyse Senatours and multyplieth with these serpentines The holy senate was adorned with olde prudent persons And not without teares I saye at this houre it is full of ianglers and lyers Auncientely in the scoles of Grece was taught onely wordes leauynge the werkes and than in Rome was taught to do werkes and leaue wordes But nowe it is contrarye for nowe in grece the lyers and ianglers are banyshed and hath sente them to Rome and Rome hath banished and sent the good wyse menne in to Grece and in this maner I desyre rather to be banyshed into Grece with wyse menne than to abyde in Rome with fooles To the prayse of a good man I sweare to you my frendes that whyles I was yonge I sawe in the senate the philosopher Crisippus broughte vp with good Traian speake oftentymes and he was so swete in his wordes that many tymes he was harde more than thre houres to gyther And he neuer spake word but it was of eternall memorye And whan so euer he wente out of the senate I neuer sawe hym do dede wherby he deserued to haue greuous peyn Certainly it was a meruaylous thynge to se here the estimation of his eloquence the infamie of his person All Rome was abasshed of his high eloquence and all Rome and Italy were sclandered with his wycked werkes The prosperitie of Rome dured CCC yere And so long Rome was Rome as it had simplicitie in wordes and grauitie in workes One thynge I shal shewe you ▪ which is great confusion to them alyue and great admyration of them that be deed that of all the auncient men I neuer redde a lyght word that they spake nor an yuell dede that they dydde What thynge was sene than in that glorious worlde but to reioyce in so glorious wyse men And nowe at this daye the worlde is so corrupted bycause there is so many yong corrupt surely I haue greatter enuie of their dedes thanne of our wrytynges Their fewe wordes and good werkes haue lefte vs example of greate admyration And the wyse men of this tyme teache vs openly and write vs secretely doctrines of pardition Than by this that I haue sayde and by other examples that I shall say ye maye knowe what I meane Whan the realme of Acaye submitted his peryllous hornes and his proude heed to the swete obeysance of the empire they drewe theym to this condicion that they wolde haue benne the hoostes of the garnysons of all Asye and not disciples of the oratours of Rome At that seson there was in Rome a great lorde ambassadour of Acaye temperate in wordes and honeste of lyuynge with a whyte heed He was enquired of the senate why he was so cruel to leade into his countrey for men of warre poore and couetous squiers and leaue wyse men of greatte harte He aunswered with suche loue as he had to his countrey and with suche grauitie as longed to suche a person and also with suche hardynes as his offyce required saying O fathers cōscriptes O happy peple It is .ii. days syth I yete any thynge and .ii. dayes sythe I slepte cursynge the fatall destenyes of fortune that hath brought me into Italye and lamenynge vnto the goddis that kepe me in this lyfe bycause my spirite is betwene the harde anuelde and the importunate hammer where as I do se all is as harde as the anuelde wheron the hammer often strykethe The thynge moste peryllous amonge all perylles is to make election ye constrayne me to chose and myne vnderstandynge canne not attayne therto and the goddis doo not shewe me what I haue to choose If I leade garrysons of menne of armes it shall be verye noyfull to the familyes if I brynge aduocates it shall be peryllous for the common welthe Sorowfull that I am what shall I do Oh heuy and vnhappy realme that abydeth for theym and ye cruel that commaundeth them Than sythe hit is thus I determyne me to leade them that shall waste our goodes and spende them rather thanne those that should corrupte and breake our customes For a legyon and an army by necessitie may put to affliction and sorowe onely a people But an oratour or an Aduocate by his malyce may corrupte a hole realme Than sayde the emperour to these wyse men Frendes howe greatte is the credence of ignorant people and losse of lerned men Wherfore shuld they of Acaie rather gyue meate to poore sowldiours men of armes than to haue for their neyghbours oratours and wyse speakynge aduocates So whan this communycation of the emperour was ended the .v. greate maysters wente awaye with greatte shame and the .ix. other taryed with great feare In all this whyle it passed not two monethes after that the prince Comode was come from his norces where as he hadde lerned
to them that were estemed amonge the commons but vnto them that deserued laude amonge wyse men In this maner he trusted no person for he maried not his doughters to suche as were praysed a farre of ▪ but to them that of longe tyme had ben proued nerehand In good faythe herein his reasone was good For in the thynge that towcheth a mannes honour he that is wyse ought not to trust in the onely information of straungers Nor he is not wyse that is so hardy to doo al thynges by his owne semynge and opinyon And he is but a symple persone that wyll do all thynge after the opinion of strangers And in these poyntes the emperour Marcus had a good respecte to kepe theym In walkynge good rest In speakynge great eloquence in eatynge good temperance In answering great subtiltie In his sentences and determynations great grauitie And therfore in this case of maryage he was full of grauitie tyl he was therin determyned And this onely came not of hym but of other whan they came to pray hym It befell that in a feast of the god Ianus the emperour goinge to the campe of Mars vppon a lusty hors fyers and flyngynge he mette soo rudely with a trūpettour that coursed as a knyght vpon a hors that with the stroke of metyng the trumpetour was ouerthrowen with his horse so that he was slayne and themperours hors legge broken and his owne fote hurte and his arme out of ioynte So greattely encreaced his hurt that he was in perylle Italye in heuynesse and all Rome was in doubte of his lyfe And bycause a fewe days afore that he had communication of a maryage for his thyrde doughter named Matrina for the determination that he shulde haue made the same day great suite was made to hym But for the great peyne of his arme and the bloude that was congeled in his bodye and the anguysshe that was at his harte as for the demaunde that was offered hym he dyfferred the aunswere tyll an nother daye The whyche daye commen in open presence he sayde in this manier ¶ What the emperour Marcus sayd to the father of a yonge man that wolde marye one of his doughters Cap. xii OFtentimes I haue sene in other and haue proued by experience that the small consyderation passed and the great acceleration in busynesses nowe present maketh great inconueniences in tyme to come onles that at that point the thynge be commytted to the vertue of some wyse persone rather than to his owne sole opinion Neuer the lesse in the case of mariage though the father be wise yet without the opinion of an other he ought not to determyn him lyghtly For enuyous fortune thoughe she shewe her selfe somwhat frowarde in all thynges yet in this case of mariage she ouerthroweth more than in all the other He that wyll speake of maryage ought to entre into his owne secretenes and to thynke profoundly theron as of a thyng that all his welthe lyeth in his credence his lyfe his honour his good fame the reste of his owne personne and his fleshe whiche is his chylde I am of opinion that yf all wise men were molten in a fournayes they coude not gyue one good counsell to make a mariage And wold ye that I whiche am simple shuld do it lyghtly by my selfe Truely therin behoueth rype and sadde counsell For ones fallen into the peryll therof none may haue remedy withoute greatter perylle The renowmed Marcus Portius whose lyuynge was a myrrour in his dayes and his wordes and counsels remayne for a remembrance sayd openly in the senate O noble fathers and happy people by the decrees openly proclaimed in places accustomed I know that in a coūsel and senate ye ordeyned three thinges that is ye vndertoke to make a newe warre agaynste the Parthes to continue the enmitie agaynst the Peniens and to marie .v. hundred matrones of Rome to .v. C. knyghtes of Mauritanie And certaynely I am abashed that amonge wyse men so hyghe affayres shulde be so soone and sodaynely concluded and determined To satisfie myn vnderstandynge and for the good wylle that I owe to the countrey I shall saye one worde that is to begyn warre and to pursue hatred and yll wyll and to conclude mariages In these causes a man ought to aske counsell of all the men of the worlde and al the goddis oughte to correct and amende it And .x. M. counsaylynges wolde be holden vpon eche of these thynges These wordes were worthy of great recommendation For one thynge by dyuers opinions ought to be determyned But many thinges by one opinion oughte not to be determyned And if this be for all thinges it serueth then most specially in mariages My frēdes ye say that he that offreth hym to be my sonne in lawe is greatly desyred loued and wel named amonge the common people To sell suche marchandyse set it not in so yll a shewe ▪ The credence of an honest manne lyethe not amonge the common voyce of the people but amonge philosophers not amonge many but amonge fewe not among howe many but what they be Ye know your selfe that at this houre all that the commons thynke is but a vayne thynge that they prayse is false that they condempne is good that they approue is nought that they alowe is shamefull and finally all that they laude is but folye Theyr praysinge begynneth with lyghtnes their folowynge without order and it endeth with furie O howe many haue I sene in Italye lyke the lies of wyne caste out of the senate and after put as fyrebrondes of tauernes in Rome by whose opinions the cōmon welth is gouerned and with great lyghtnes men put downe and with no les lyghtnes exalted agayne Beholde here that the workes of the people are holden in mockage with wyse men and that that is agreed amonge theym is estemed but for vanities with wise men For that that is meale with philosophers is eaten but for branne chaffe with symple folke and contrary wyse the meale of the symple is but branne chaffe amonge wise men Of al that our predecessours haue syfted in these dayes the chylderne of vanitie worke thereafter for they wyll be desyred and hate to be hated All suche holdeth a generall rule that euery man that desyreth to be beloued of euery man openly can not escape fro diuers secrete fautes Shall I tell you who is best beloued nowe adayes Than harken to me and I wyll tell you as moche as it toucheth to whom it may touche hurt who it may hurte fele it who that may fele it The people loueth hym that can dissimule with them and him that is nought and enuious of them that be good also suche as fauour lyers setteth trouth asyde and suche as accompanieth with mankyllers and murtherers to be serued of theues and fauoureth quarellers and pursueth suche as be peasible delyuereth offenders and sleeth innocētis renometh them that be shamefull and shameth them that
it shalbe said it is by reason of the ignoraunce of hym selfe or by yll counsell of such as be about hym if goodnes succede to hym it shall not be attrybuted by reason of his good gouernaunce but that fortune hath suffered it and not by the circumspecte wysedome that he hath hadde in the meane seasone but that it was of the pitie that the goddis had of hym Than sithe it is thus a vertuous and a worthy prince in his ydell tymes ought secretely to rede is bokes and openly to common and counsell with wyse men And in case yll fortune wyll not permyt hym to take their counselles yet at the least he shal recouer credence among his subiectes I wil say no more to you but I estem the knowlege of a wise persō so moch that if I knewe that there were shops of sciēces as there is of other marchaundise I wold giue al y t I haue only to lerne that a wise mā lerneth in one day Finally I say that I wil not giue that litel that I haue lerned in one houre for al the gold in the worlde And more glory haue I of the bokes that I haue red and of such workes as I haue writtē thā of al the victories that I haue had or of y e realmes that I haue won ¶ What a vilayne sayde to the senatours of Rome in the presence of the emperour Cap. xxxi THis emperour being sicke as it is aforesaid on a day as there were with hym diuers phisitiōs and oratours there was a purpose moued amonge them howe greately Rome was chaunged not all onely in edifices but also in customes and was full of flaterers and vnpepled of mē that durste say the trouthe Than the emperour sayd The fyrste yere that I was consul there came a poore vilayne from the riuer of Danubie to aske iustice of the senate ayenste a censure who dydde dyuers extortions to the people and he hadde a small face and great lyppes and holowe eyes his heare curled bare heeded his shoes of a porkepes skyn his cote of gotis heare his gyldell of bulle rushes and a wyld eglantine in his hand It was a strāge thinge to se him so monstruous and meruayl to here his purpose Certainly whan I saw him com into the senate I wende it had bene some beaste in the figure of a manne And after I had harde hym I iuged hym one of the goddes if there be goddes amonge men And as the custome in the senate was that the complayntes of the poore persons were hard before the requestis of the ryche this villayne had lycence to speake and so beganne his purpose wherin he shewed him selfe as bolde in wordes as extreme and base in his aray and sayd O ye auncient fathers and happy people I Myles dwellynge in a citie on the ryuer of Danubie doo salute you Senatours that are here assembled in the sacred senate The dedes do permytte and the goddis suffre that the capytayns of Rome with theyr great pride haue redused vnder subiection the vnhappy people of Germany Great is the glory of you Romayns for your battayles that ye haue wonne throughout all the worlde But if writers say true more greater shalbe your infamy in time to come for the cruelties that ye haue done to the innocentes My predecessours had people nyghe to the flode of Danubie and bycause they dyd ylle the erthe wared drie and they drewe to the frseshe water than the water was noyful to them and they returned to the main lande What shal I say than your couetise is so great to haue steangers goodes and your pryde soo renoumed to commaunde all strange landes that the see maye not profite vs in the depenes therof nor the erthe to assure vs in the caues therof Therfore I hope in the iust goddes that as ye without reason haue cast vs out of our houses and possessions so other shal com that by reason shal cast you out of Italy and Rome And infallible rule it is that he that taketh wrongfully an other mans good shall lese the right of his owne Regard ye Romains though I be a villain yet I knowe who is iust rightwise in holding his owne and who a tyrant in possessynge others There is a rule that what so euer they that be yl haue gathered in many dayes the goddes taketh fro them in one day and contrarie wise all that euer the good haue loste in manye days the goddis restoreth to them agayne in one day Beleue me in one thynge and haue no doute therin that of the vnlaufull wynning of the fathers there foloweth the iuste losse to theyr chyldren And if the goddes toke from them that be yll euery thyng that they haue wonne as soone as it is wonne it were but reasone but in lettynge them alone therby they assemble by lyttel and lytel diuers thynges and than whan they thynke least theron is taken from them all at ones This is a iuste iugement of the goddis that sithe they haue done yll to dyuerse that some shulde do yll to them Certaynely it is not possible to any vertuous man if he be vertuous that he take any taste in an other mans good And I am sore abashed how a man kepynge an other mans good can lyue one houre Syth he seeth that he hath don iniure to the goddis sclādred his neibours plesed his enmies lost his frendes greued them that he hath robbed and aboue all hath put his owne person in peryll This is a shamefull thynge amonge menne and culpable before the goddis the man that hath the desyre of his harte and the brydelle of his warkes at suche lybertie that the lyttel that he taketh and robbeth fro the poore semeth moche to hym but a great dele of his owne semeth to hym but lyttel O what an vnhappy man is he whether he be Greke or latin that without consideration wyll change his good fame into shame iustice into wrōg ryght into tyranny or trouth into lesynge the certayne into vncertayne hauynge annoyaunce of his owne goodes and dye for other mens He that hath his principall intention to gather goodes for his chyldren and seke not for a good name amonge them that be good it is a iuste cause that he lese all his goodes and so without good name to to be shamefull amonge them that be yl Let all couetous and auaricious people knowe that neuer amonge noble men was gotten good renoume with spredynge abrode of yll gotten goodes It can not endure many dayes nor yet be hydden vnder couert many yeres a man to be holden ryche amonge them that be ryche and an honorable man amonge them that be honorable for he shal be infamed of that he hath gathered his ryches with greate couetyse or kepeth it with extreme auarice O if these couetous people were as couetous of theyr owne honour as they be of other mens goodes I swere to you that the lyttel worme or mothe that eateth
mothers And the mothers to be good mothers ought to knowe how to bring vp their children The father is excused in gyuynge counsaill if the mother be vertuous and the doughter shamefast It is a greatte shame to the father beinge a noble man that his wyfe being a woman shuld chastise his sonne And a great inconueniēce of the mother beinge a mother that her doughter shuld be chastised by the handes of her father There was a lawe ordeyned by the Rodiens that the father with the doughter if she hadde a mother nor the mother with the sonne if he were a man shuld not entermedle eche with other but alonely men with men and women with women ought to be brought vp And thextremitie of the lawe was such that amōge them that dwelled in one house semed y t the fathers had no doughters nor the mothers no sonnes O Rome I wepe not to se thy stretes vnpaued nor that there is so many gutters in thy houses nor that the batylmentes fall downe nor the tymbre hewed downe nor for the mynyshynge of thine habitantes for all this the tyme bringeth and the tyme beareth away but I wepe for the and wepe for the agayne to se the vnpeopled of good fathers and vnprouided in the nourishing of theyr sonnes Our countrey began to faille vtterly whan the doctrine of sonnes and doughters was enlarged and theyr bridell lette go at libertie For there is now such boldnesse in men children and so lyttell shamefastnes in women chyldren with the dishonestie of the mothers that where as one father suffised for .xx. sonnes one mother for .xxx. doughters nowe .xx. fathers scantly dare vndertake to brynge vp well one son and .xxx. mothers one doughter I say to you thus Faustin you remēbre not how you ar a mother for you gyue more libertie to your doughter than oughte to be suffred And you Lucill remembre not how you are a doughter For you shewe to haue more lybertie than requireth for a yonge mayden The greattest gyfte that the goddis haue gyuen to the matrones of Rome is bycause they are women they kepe them selfe close and secret and bycause they be Romayns they are shamefaste The day whan the women want the feare of the goddis secretelye and shame of menne openly beleue me eyther they shall faile the worlde or the worlde them The common welth requireth so greatte necessitie that the women that dwell therin shulde be as honest as the capitaynes be valiant For the capitaynes going to warre defende them and the women that abyde at home conserue them As a. iiii yeres passed ye sawe the great pestilence and I demanded then to haue a compt of the people and I founde that of a. C.xl. M. women well lyuynge .lxxx. M. dyed And of .x. M. yll womenne in maner they scaped all I can not telle for whiche I shulde wepe eyther for the lacke that we haue of the good and vertuous women in our common welthe or elles for the greuous hurte and domage that these yll and wycked women do to the youthe of Rome The fyre that brenneth in mounte Ethna dothe not so greatte domage to them that dwelle in Scycille as one ylle woman doth in the circuit of Rome A fierse beast and a perillous ennemie to the comon welth is an yl woman for she is of power to do moche harme and is not apte to folowe any goodnesse O how many realmes and kynges rede we of to be loste by the yll gouernance of women and to resyste agaynste them hath ben nede of wysedom peryls money force and worthynes of many men The vices in a womā is as a grene rede that boweth euery way but the libertie and dishonestie is as a drye kix that breaketh in suche wise that the more yll they vtter the more vnlykely is the redres therof ageyn Behold Faustin there is no creature that more desireth honour and wors kepeth it than a woman And that this is true se by Iustice by orations by writynge and other trauayles manne getteth renowme but without it be by flatterynge and fayre speakyng vnto this houre by antyke writing we can rede of fewe women or none that eyther by writinge redynge workinge with nedell spynnyng or by weauyng haue gotten them any great renoume But as I saye of one I saye of an other Certaynly of dyuers we rede by kepynge them close in their houses well occupied in their besynesses temperate in theyr wordes faythfull to their husbandes well ordered in their personnes peasible with their neyghbours and finally beinge honeste amonge theyr owne famylye and shamefaste amonge straungers suche haue attayned great renowme in theyr lyfe and lefte eternal memorie of them after theyr death I wol tel you an antike histore as profitable to restreyne our vices as it dyd than augment vertues and it is this The realme of Lacedemoniens as Plato sheweth was at a season more dissolute by the vnthriftines of women than infamed by the crueltie of men so that of al maner nations they were called Barbariens What tyme Grece as a mother called philisophie of philosophers Lygurge a wise philosopher in knowlege and a right iuste kynge to gouerne partely with his doctrine righte profitable and partely with his pure lyfe made lawes in the sayde realme wherby he extirped all vices and planted all vertues I can not telle whiche of these two were moste happy The kynge hauynge so obedient people or els the realme to haue so rightfull a kynge Amōge all other lawes for women he made one greatly to be commended He commanded that the father that dyed shuld gyue nothing to his doughter And an other that neyther lyuinge nor dienge he shuld gyue any money to mary her with to the entent that none shulde marye her for her ryches but all onely for her goodnes and not for her beautie but for her vertues And where as nowe some be vnmaried bycause they are poore so then they abode vnmaried bycause they were shamefulle and vicious O tyme worthy to be desyred whan maydens hoped nothynge to be maried with theyr fathers goodes but by the vertuous werkes of theyr owne persons This was the tyme called the golden worlde whan neyther the doughter feared to be disherited by the father in his lyfe nor the father to dye sorye for leauynge her without remedye at his deathe O Rome cursed be he that first brought golde into thy hous and cursed be he that firste beganne to hurde vp treasure Who hath made Rome to be so ryche of treasure and soo pore of vertues Who hath made menne wedde villaynes doughters and leaue the doughters of senatours vnmaryed What hath made that the ryche mannes doughter is demanded vnwyllyng and y e doughter of a pore mā none wyll desyre what hathe caused that one mariethe a foole with fyue C. marke rather than a wyse woman with .x. M. vertues Than I saye that in this poynte the flesshe vanquysheth the fleshe and er euer the
her expences For folye in the heed and beautie in the face bene two wormes that frete the lyfe and wasteth the goodes Also he must suffre her ryottes for a faire womā wyll that none but she haue her commandementes in the house Also he must suffre her nyce mynionnesse for euery fayre woman wyll passe her lyfe in pleasure Also he must suffre her presumption for euery fayre woman wyll haue preeminence before al other Finally he that marieth with a faire woman aparaileth him to a right great aduēture and I shall tell you wherfore Surely Carthage was neuer so enuyronned with Scipions as the howse of a faire woman is with lyght persones O vnhappye husbande whan his spirite is at rest and the body sleping than these lyght persons wyl come about his house drieng his body with ielousy casting their eies to the wyndowes scalynge the walles with ladders or clyminge ouer singyng swete songes playeng on diuers instrumētes watchinge at the gates treting with baudes vncoueryng the house waitynge at euery corner therof Al these thinges in case they shote at the pricke of the womans beautie they leue not to shote at the butte of the sorowfull husbandes good name And whether this be true or not report me to my self that maried me with your beautie and let them wite of my renoume that go so about the citie I say moche but truely I fele more No man complayneth of the goddis for gyuynge hym a fowle wyfe amonge his destenies Whyte syluer is not wroughte but in blacke pytche and the tender tree is not conserued but by the harde rynde I say the man that marieth a fowle wyfe ledeth a sure life lette euery man chuse as he lysteth and I say a man that marieth a faire wife casteth his good fame at hasarde and putteth his lyfe in peryl Al the infamy of our predecessours stode in none exercysinge of dedes of armes and nowe all the pastime of the Romayne youth is to serue ladies Whan a woman is famed to be faire than euery man gothe thyther and taketh great peyne to serue her and the women woll be sene I say Faustine you neuer sawe a yonge damoysel Romayne greatly renoumed in beautie but either in dede or in suspection there folowed som yl name of her In that lyttell that I haue redde I haue harde of dyuers fayre women bothe of grece Italy Parthe and Rome and they be not put in remembraunce bycause they were fayre but for the greatte perylles and heuy chaunces that by their beauties felle in the worlde For in maner by reason of their excellente beauties they were vysited in theyr owne landes and by their infamye shamed throughe all the worlde ¶ Whan the realme of Carthage was flourysshynge in ryches and happy in armes they ruled the common welth by wyse philosophers and susteyned it by discrete armies on the see Arminius the philosopher was as greatly estemed amonge them as Homer amonge the grekes or Cicero amonge the Romaynes he lyued in this worlde syxe score yeres and .ii. Of the whiche happy age .lxxx. yeres he ruled quietly as a baron most peasible of mynd and was as straunge to women as familiar with his bokes Than the senate seinge he was so broken with the cōmon welthe and withdrawen from all naturalle recreations they desired hym with greate instaunce to be maried bycause that memory myght be had of so perfytte a wyse man in tyme to come and the more importunate they were the more he resisted and sayd I wyll not be maried for if she be foule I shall abhorre her if she be ryche I muste suffre her if she be poore I must maynteyn her if she be faire I must take hede to her if she be a shrewe I canne not suffre her and the leaste pestylence of all these is suffycient to flee a M. men With suche wordes this wyse man excused hym selfe and he in his aege by reason of his great study lost his sight And the solytarines of his swete lyberties constrayned hym to take company of a womā and she had by him a doughter of whom descended the noble Amilcares of Carthage cōpetitours of the Scipions of Rome the which shewed no lesse worthynesse in defēce of Carthage than ours were fortunate to augment Rome ¶ Tell me Faustine may not suche suspection fall vppon your doughters though their vertue succour in the peryl and their honestie assure their persons I will discouer a secrete thynge to you There is nothynge that can be soo quyckely commytted yf a womanne be enuyronned with chast kepers and feminine shamefastnes Stedfastly they desire and with great leysure they procure these thynges that lyghtly may be atteyned There is nothynge soo certayne but that the welth of an other is matter for the own euyll And Faustine ye knowe that the moost honest womenne by our malyce are most desyred Certaynely theyr shamefastnes and kepynge close ben arowes in defence of our honestie We rede not that bludde ryches nor beautie of the vnhappy matrone Lucrece was the cause that she was desired But the clerenes of her visage the grauitie of her person the purenesse of her lyfe the kepyng of hyr selfe close in her howse the exercytie of her tyme the credence amonge her neyghbours and the great renoume that she hadde amonge straungers waked the foolyshe Tarquine to commytte with her aduoultrye by force What thynke you Wherof came this I shall shewe you We that be yll are so yll that as yll we vse the goodnes of them that be good This is no faute to the ladyes of Rome but rather in the immortall goddis Their cleane honestie accuseth our cruell malice Faustine you say your doughter is to yonge to be maried Do you not knowe that the good father ought to endoctrine his sonnes fro their yong age and to prouide for his doughters whiles they be yonge Of a trouthe yf the fathers be fathers and the mothers mothers as sone as the goddis haue giuen them a doughter forthwith they ought to fyxe in their hartes a newe remembraunce and not forgette it tyll they haue prouided their doughter an husband The fathers ought not to tary for ryches nor the moder for hygh lygnage the better to marie them So what with the one the other the tyme passeth and the doughters waxe aeged and than after this maner they be to olde to be maryed and to abyde alone they be maydens and to serue they be women they lyue in peyne the fathers in thought the parentes in suspection least they shuld be lost O what great ladies haue I knowen doughters of great senatours and not for faut of ryches nor of vertues in their persons but all only for slacke of tyme and driuinge of one houre to an other soo that at laste sodeyn dethe came to the fathers and no prouidence made for the doughters So that in maner some were couered vnder the erthe after their deathe and some buried with forgetfulnes