onelie by nature Which thing although it be written in the workes of learned and famous authours yet should it be counted in the number of things incredible if so bee perhaps it were written of the Indian or Scythian Ocean had not rather happened that in our seas this wonder had bin knowen to the Romane Emperours The cause of the stay was founde by this meanes in that when an whole fleete of shippes was setting forth one of them stoode stil as if she had lien at anker not stirring a whit out of her place Then some that were expert being lette downe into the sea easilie perceiued the trueth and there was founde cleauing fast to the bottome of the rudder a litle fishe like a snaile whiche was brought away and presented to the prince who disdained that so little a creature should be of so great power but speciallie wondred at this one thing that when it was receiued into the shippe it had no longer power to worke that effect which it did when it cleaued to the outside But as touching that other kinde of straunge thing truelie I had rather keepe silence than absolutely to auerre it the fame whereof I knowe not howe true it is but surelie it is newe and for that cause the more to bee doubted of The thing is this That about the Indian sea there is a certeine birde of an incredible bignesse whom our countriemen call a Roche which is able and accustomed to take vp not onelie a man but also an whole shippe in her beake and to flie away with it into the cloudes and so procureth a terrible death to the wretched people hanging in the aire See therefore howe great the force of couetousnesse is which not being able to deter the followers thereof from sayling neither by manie other perilles neither by this most cruell daunger maketh them a pray that are so greedie of pray And nowe also to bring some inuisible things to my purpose in what commixtion of contraries consisteth wished temperature among whiche there is a conioyning of repugnant cōtraries for the bringing foorth of the middle vertue By meanes of whiche differences and by what disagreement of voyces doe men atteine vnto true Musical concord Finallie examine whatsoeuer there is runne through in thy minde al the heauen the earth the sea there is like contention in the toppe of the skie and the bottom of the sea and there is strife in the deepe riftes of the earth aswell as in the woddes fieldes and aswell is there perpetuall disagreement in the desertes of sandes as in the streetes of cities And now lest through varietie of matter I wander from my purpose I say nothing that at the verie beginning of the world there was a battel fought in the highest of heauen betweene the ethereal spirites and some are of opinion also that they fight yet at this day in this region of the darke and mistie aire I say nothing howe that in the same heauenly conflict the angels that were vanquished beeing nowe become inferiour to their conquerours whilest they endeuour to be reuenged vpon vs mortall men that inhabite the earth they haue procured vnto vs an immortall warre of sundrie temptations with an hard and doubtfull businesse And that I may gather together into one summe al things whatsoeuer hauing sense or without sense from the vppermost toppe of heauen as I haue said vnto the lowermost centre of the earth and from the chiefest angell to the basest and least worme I omitte to speake howe there is continuall and euerlasting strife betweene them Man him selfe the lord gouernour of all liuing creatures who onely by the rule of reason seemeth able to guide in tranquillitie this course of life and this swelling and troublesome sea with what continuall strife is he tossed not onelie with other thinges but also with him selfe wherof I will speake anon But now I will intreat of the first for there is no mischiefe that one man worketh not against another to admit that all other harmes by what meanes soeuer they happen whether by nature or fortune yet being cōpared with these do seeme but light discommodities Which if I would discipher at large which I would not willingly do and it is far from my purpose both al the whole sceane of humane actions were to be opened al the historie of life to be perused But it shal be sufficient for me to say thus much for if there had ben neuer any other warres in all the world but the warres of the Romanes there had bin warres strife ynough Adde moreouer the disagrement of opinions the indissoluble knottes and intrications of matters who is able to reckon vp the varietie of sectes or contention of Philosophers The warres of kings nations are at rest but the Philosophers are not at agreement and they cōtend about a matter that when it beginneth to be the ones it surceasseth to be the others These men contend for the trueth which euery one of them cannot haue on his side this strife neither could the maiestie of the purchased veritie neither Carneades the Academike a carefull seeker after the Philosophicall quietnesse though in vaine euer be able to appease Insomuch that Anneus Seneca seemeth vnto me not vnfitly to haue writen where he cōpareth the clocks dials with Philosophers for the like discord that is found among thē Which howe true it is whosoeuer applieth his mind to Philosophers his eares to the clocks may wel perceiue neither is the doctrine of other Artisants in more tranquillitie what cōtentions are there amōg Grāmarians not yet decided what cōflicts among Rhetoricians what alterations among Logicians Finally what discord in all artes what clamour among Lawiers who how wel they agree the cōtinuāce of their causes doth shew Of the agrement of Physitians let their patients be iudge For that life which they haue pronounced to bee short by their contentions they haue made most short Moreouer what deformitie and what disagreement of opinions is there in the holie rites of the Church and Religion not so much in the woordes of the learned as in the weapons of the armed and more often tried in the fielde than discussed in the scooles Thus being but one trueth in all matters vnto which as saith Aristotle al things are agreeable yet the opinion of them is verie dissonant cōtrarie that it troubleth the professours of the truth What shall I say of the cōmon life and affaires of men That there are scarce two in a citie that do agree both manie things else but especiallie the great diuersitie of their houses apparell doeth declare For whosoeuer succeeded anie man in an house were hee neuer so riche and good an husband that hath not neuerthelesse chaunged manie things in it so that looke what one man had a desire to builde another hath a pleasure to plucke downe witnesse hereof may be the often changing of windowes damming vp of doores and
warnyng namely that hereby thou mayest make prouision agaynst darkenesse whiche is nowe but transitorie since thou takest it in so yll part least haply thou be constrayned to endure euerlastyng darkenesse Sorowe I am troubled with fyre from heauen with hayle and stormes Reason These and suche lyke make vnto an wholesome feare or yf ye contemne them vnto reuenge Heare this one thyng Fyre Brymstone and the breath of stormes are the portion of their cup. Heare also another saying Fire hayle famine and death al these make to reuenge Sorow I am frighted with tempestes of the sea Reason Doo not herein accuse nature but eyther thyne owne follie or couetousnesse for who constrayneth thee thereunto Sorow I am molested with darke cloudes and contrarie windes Reason Thou wast borne in darkenesse and in darkenesse shalt thou dye and lyuest betweene the wyndes of contrarie tempestes learne to suffer that at length whiche thou alwayes sufferest perforce Sorowe I am shaken with thunder and lyghtnyng Reason Herein there is more then weerisomnesse In the first truely a great feare contemned of none but of some fooles but in the seconde is death And therefore some haue iudged that none complayne of lyghtnyng but suche as want experience And who is so mad I pray thee vnlesse he be to farre gone that standeth not in feare of them both seeing that among the auncient Romanes whiche were a most valiant kynde of people it was prouided by an auncient statute that there should be no assemblies of the people holden to choose officers or otherwyse whyles Iupiter thundred from heauen Howbeit vnlesse this feare tende to the amendment of lyfe it is vnprofitable For what can feare auayle where there is no redresse of the thyng feared Wherefore the matter must be thus applyed that although it thunder and lyghten by natural causes neuerthelesse it must be iudged to be a warnyng from hym who beyng tyed vnto no causes is hym selfe the fountayne and cause of al causes To this ende therefore doth he thunder in heauen that thou shouldest lyue well vpon the earth and driuyng away forgetfulnesse acknowledge the wrath of God and do that at leastwyse for feare which thou oughtest too do for loue Complayne not a lyke of good and euyl thinges it is expedient for you beleeue me that it thunder often and it is left in wrytyng vnto posteritie that it thundreth very often the same yeere wherein the assured aduersarie of God and al godlinesse Domitian the Emperour died not that ye should cry out as he dyd Let him now strike whom he lust but that ye may appease the wrath of God with penitent teares humble prayer Sorow I am greeued with the conuersation mirth of drunkardes Reason That wine maketh glad the hart of man that Bacchus is the geuer of mirth although Dauid Virgil had neuer spoken it very experience maketh it knowen And although that likewise be true whiche not so eloquent but a more holy Poet spake The flowyng of a ryuer cheareth the citie of God yet is there more feruent ioye and ioyful gladnesse as the Philosophers terme it in a fewe caskes of strong wynes then in many streames of running water whiche are conteyned within the ryuers and I confesse that there is nothyng more lamentable then the mirth of drunkardes and nothyng more vayne then typlers and Tauerners whom Cicero very wel calleth the dregges of cyties whiche notwithstandyng a man must suffer or els he must forsake cities or otherwyse flye from the market and place of iudgement or at the leastwyse from the streetes and haunt of Tauernes euen as he woulde doo from so many rockes Sorow I am oppressed with resort and importunate concurse of citizens Reason It is a sauage and vnnaturall wyshe to seeke thy countreyes desolation that thou thy selfe mayest lyue at lybertie For the very same cause as thou knowest in the olde tyme was the sister of Appius Claudius punished shee that was last celebrated among writers for an innocent and truly as this is an vngodly wish and deserueth punishment so to auoyde the weerisomnes of thronges and cities and it occasion so require to depart awhile out of the way is a poynt of modestie and frequented of the wise Sorowe I am greeued with a long suite and slow iudgment Reason To what ende was daying of matters deuised but to ende strife and to remedie the slacknes of iudgment Sorowe I am worne with wofull and troublesome strife Reason Thou hast vsed apte and conuenient tearmes for thy selfe For where strife and contention is there can be nether ioy nor quietnesse Thou if thou wylt liue out of stryfe auoyde the cause of stryfe Couetousnesse engendreth contention and nourisheth it when it is engendred Of an earthquake The .xci. Dialogue SOROWE I Am afrayd of an earthquake Reason This is I confesse a great discommoditie of dame nature and not without cause abandoned of al parentes which although it be more greeuous yet for that it happeneth but seldome the rarenesse thereof may stand in some steede of a remedie Many tymes the sorowful countenance of heauen foretelleth an earthquake at hande but precisely there is no token nor forewarnyng thereof although it be reported that Pherecydes foretolde of one to come by drynkyng a draught of water out of a well Moreouer agaynst the threatnynges of heauen caues vnder the ground perhaps doo yeelde some succour the lyke whereof we reade was Augustus Caesars denne into whiche he fledde for feare of thunder whiche is yet seene at Rome in the way Flaminia and keepeth the aucthours name vnto this day but from an earthquake no flight can serue no lurkyng places can preuayle For poore man that is made of the earth whyther shal he flye out of the earth or what shal become of hym yf the heauen thunder ouer hym and the earth tremble vnder hym vnlesse perhaps some wyl aduise hym to goe to the sea whiche is also partaker of the varietie of heauen earth and also vnquiet by it owne motion Feare Thou tellest me no remedies as thou wast woont to do but amplifiest the daungers Reason I supposed thou wouldest thinke so and doubtlesse so it is in deede There be some thynges that may be dissembled and extenuated in woordes that although by report they haue seemed greeuous yet in effect they may appeere at one tyme tollerable at another contemptible and truely this whereof I now intreate is such a one as by it owne force it refuseth the argumentes of mans eloquence but one comfort as I haue sayde is the seldomenesse thereof Thou hast seene welnygh an whole age without any earthquakes duryng whiche tyme there is no doubt but that there haue dyed innumerable who in al their lyfe tyme though they haue hearde the name of so terrible a matter yet neuer were made afearde with the sight thereof But who is not mooued when he heareth or reedeth eyther those auncient histories or these of latter tyme the memorie
shewe themselues willing to learne and not forsake them vnto their olde yeeres and crooked age no not to their death and graue God is the hope vnto man when he is borne and not his father though he were a king It is not good buylding vpon the sand but vpon the rocke for al hope in man is short and transitorie And therefore thy children being deceiued by the hope which they reposed in thee wil put their trust in God only sing with the Prophet Dauid My father my mother haue forsaken me but the Lord hath taken me vp The seedes sparkes of good nature vertue that haue appeared in many children haue been quite extinguished by their parentes to muche cockling lyke as on the contrary side losse of parentes and pouertie haue oftentimes driuen away the childrens deintinesse Feare What wyl become of my ryches Reason They wyl returne from whence they came that is to say vnto fortunes handes and from thence they shal be dispersed from one to another and neuer tarrie long with any For they are of a flitting nature and cannot abyde in one place And that not without a mysterie For some haue thought that mony cannot tarrie in a place because of the roundensse the rollyng forme of the coyne whiche some merily haue sayd to be a token of the slipperinesse thereof whiche partly I cannot deny But I am of opinion that if it were three or foure square it woulde tunne away as fast I meane concernyng the continuall passing of ryches whose nature is alwayes to slyp and flye away to hate coffers that haue but one locke to be delited with sundry and often possessours eyther to the intent to auoyd rust or els by their currantnesse and runnyng about to circumuent very many or lastly to contend with their owners in vnconstancie Seeyng therefore tha thou lyest nowe a dying cast of that care whiche vnto the lyuing is superfluous But rather yf thou dye ryche acknowledge howe that there is seldome any rust founde in fortune and nowe that thou art departyng out of this lyfe flye ryches whiche are not profitable for thee nor necessarie for any But yf thou be poore depart foorth vpon thy iourney lyght without burden whether thy ryches be very great or indifferent or very small or none at al heretofore they belonged very litle vnto thee but hencefoorth they shall apperteine vnto thee nothyng at al but this much onely that thou mayest perceyue that he that was poorer then thou lyued in more quietnesse then thou seeing that these troublesome and paynefull helpes of lyfe or whether thou list rather to terme them tormentes doo make thy death more carefull Feare What shal become of my children Reason Thy name shall lyue in them if they be good and if that be any comfort in death thou shalt not seeme wholy to be dead For in their countenances actions gesture thy freendes wyl thinke and also reioyce that thou art restoared vnto them But if they be euyl thou hast cause willingly to forsake them those whom thou thyselfe couldest not correct nor tame thou shalt deliuer them ouer vnto the worlde and fortune to be corrected and tamed And do not thou nowe dying lament for them that wyl nothyng at al be grieued at thy death and perhaps are sorie that thou diedst not sooner Sorowe But what shal become of my goodes Reason Fearest thou that when thou hast left them they shal fynde no owner They are looked for they are wyshed for they are valewed alreadie neyther oughtest thou to be afeard so muche for the neglecting of them as for the striuing for them But this is one thyng they shal nowe surceasse to be thy goodes any longer but whose they shal be next why doest thou looke vpon thy chyldren It cannot possibly be knowen nor it must not it suffiseth thee to knowe that they were once thine yf euer they were thyne indeede and not rather hers that is the lady and mistresse of goodes that passe away and generally of al wordly thynges whose name is Fortune But hauing been thine so long that is to say beyng but a short tyme in thy disposition it is nowe hygh tyme for thee to depart and to leaue them to others Let them nowe learne to be at others commaundement awhile and to keepe their accustomed chainge vnlesse thou wylt dye so ambitiously as some fooles haue also done the lyke and haue thy monie buried with thee in thy graue whiche may one day redownd to the commoditie of them that dig graues hereafter But rather nowe at length cast from thee al care of the earth and metalles and repose thy cogitations vpon heauen and thine owne estate Feare My goodes flye from me Reason Diddest thou thinke that they woulde tarie when thy lyfe passed away and when thou thyselfe wast continually carried hence Feare What shal become of my goodes when they leaue of to be myne Reason What dyd they before they were thyne Feare Leauing behynde me so great ryches as I doo I depart naked Reason Naked thou camest into the worlde and naked thou must depart agayne whereof thou hast no cause to complayne but rather to geue thankes In the meane tyme thou hast had the vse and occupiyng of an others goodes there is nothyng taken from thee that was thine owne but only the goodes of another required agayne at thy handes when thou mayest occupie them no longer For honest guestes when they are departyng away doe willingly restoare the vessel and stuffe whiche they borowed of their host Feare Alas of al my ryches I carie not thus muche away with me Reason Carie away as much as thou broughtest or yf thou lust as muche as any kyng doth Feare What wyl my young chyldren do Reason If they lyue they wyl growe vp and wax olde and walke their owne wayes and trye their owne fortune and passe through their owne troubles in the meane tyme they shal abide in Gods protection and perhaps when thou wast young thou liuedst lykewyse without a father Of one dying that is careful what his wyfe wil do when he is dead The .cxxviii. Dialogue FEARE WHat wyl my welbeloued wyfe do when I am dead Reason Perhaps she wyl marrie agayne what is that to thee Feare What wyl my deere wife do Reason Beyng discharged from thy yoake eyther she wyl yeelde her necke to another or liue at large or els rest herselfe after her wearinesse seeke only how to passe foorth her lyfe quietly Feare What wyl my most louing wyfe do Reason Doest thou aske what she wyl do when she hath escaped from thee and knowest not what she dyd when she was vnder thy subiection The greater sort of mortal men beyng ignorant what is done at home in their owne houses hearken what is a dooing in heauen and the farthest partes of the world Truely what shall become of thy wyfe after thy departure let her selfe or her next husbande looke to that
yeeres and there you appoynt the ende vnto whiche who so doth attayne theyr lyfe is but payne and trauayle vnlesse he aduaunce your hope a litle further who sayth The dayes of a mans lyfe are many tymes an hundred yeeres vnto which age how few do attayne we see but admit that it happened vnto al which happeneth but to fewe notwithstandyng I pray you howe muche is it Ioy. Very much truely For the lyfe of young men is more assured and farther of from olde age and so from death Reason Thou art deceiued for although there be nothing safe to a man notwithstandyng that is the most daungerous part of his lyfe whiche to muche carelesnesse maketh vnaduised There is nothyng neerer to other then death is to lyfe when they seeme to be farthest a sunder then are they neerest togeather alwayes the one passeth away and the other draweth nygh whyther soeuer ye flee away death is at hande and hangeth ouer your heades Ioy and Hope Wel at the leastwyse youth is now present and olde age is absent Reason Nothyng is more flytting then youth nothyng more deceyuable then olde age Youth stayeth not but in delightyng she slyppeth away olde age immediatly folowyng after softly in darkenesse and silence striketh men at vnwares and when she is thought to be farre of then standeth she at the doore Ioy. My age is in rysing Reason Thou trustest to a most deceitfull thing This rysing is a goyng downe this short lyfe this vnstable tyme stealeth away yea without makyng any noyse with the feete euen whyle we sleepe and make merie And O that this swiftnesse of tyme and shortnesse of lyfe were as well knowen in the beginning as it is in the ende whiche to those that enter seemeth infinite and nothyng when they goe out and are scarce so many minutes as they appeared to be hundredes of yeeres So then at length deceypt is knowen when it can not be auoyded whereby it commeth that many tymes counsell is geuen in vayne vnto those yeeres they are both vnbeleeuyng and vnskylfull disdainefull of anothers counsell and wantyng of their owne And therefore there is nothyng that discouereth the errours of youth although they be innumerable and greeuous and yet notwithstandyng hyd and vnknowen to those that committed them better then olde age doth and layeth them foorth before their eyes who sometyme dissembled them and winked at them Neither doo ye sooner perceyue what ye ought to be then ye be made that whiche ye woulde be and then ye can possibly be none other then ye be But yf there were any that coulde vnderstande these thynges in tyme or by hym selfe or beleeue when he is taught surely hym woulde I accompt a woorthy and happie youth among many thousandes he shoulde not passe his lyfe through so many difficulties whose onely course lyeth safe and straight through vertue Ioy. Myne age is nothyng spent Reason Howe is that vnspent whiche since the tyme it first beganne is euery day wasted and whyle it is geuen is also taken away by very small portions For Heauen turneth about with perpetuall motion minutes consume houres and houres the day That day thrusteth foorth another and that the next day folowyng and there is neuer any ceassyng So doo monethes passe away so yeeres and so dooth an whole age make hast and runne and as Cicero sayeth fleeth away And as Virgil sayth It neuer waggeth the swifte winges So lykewyse they that fare by Sea they are caried away in the shyppe and feele not howe and many tymes are at their viage ende before they be ware Ioy and Hope An age that beginneth is far from the ende Reason Within the space of a short lyfe nothyng is farre of Ioy and Hope But there is no part farther from the ende then is the beginnyng Reason None in deede but this shoulde be truely sayde yf all men lyued lyke space of time Howbeit euen the very fyrst age falleth sundrie wayes into death whereby it chaunceth many tymes that he that seemed farthest of is nearest his ende Ioy and Hope Truely I am of a most floorishing age Reason Although fewe do marke it yet there is some change wrought since we beganne to speake and in the drawyng foorth of euery sillable there is some part of lyfe passed away and some peece of transitorie flowre of youth decayed And I pray you what hath this deyntie and gallaunt young man more then that rough and riueled olde man besides this short and transitorie flowre whiche fadeth euery day wherein what shoulde be so pleasaunt and delectable I doo not finde since he knoweth that almost sooner then a man can speake it he shall hym selfe be suche an one as this olde man nowe is or els is mad yf he knowe it not vnlesse of twayne whiche are led togeto be put to death he is to be accompted the happier whiche is commaunded last to lay downe his necke vppon the blocke to be cut of who truely seemeth vnto me in a maner in the more miserable state for the deferryng of the death Howbeit the condition of these men and of the other of whom I spake before is not all one insomuche as this man may haue some entreatie or meanes made for hym in the meane whyle to escape his fellowes execution and to lyue Onely death can preuent a young man that he shall not lyue vnto olde age To be short there consisteth no great felicitie in a small processe of tyme and vnto loftie mindes there is nothyng that is short accompted acceptable Awake ye that sleepe it is now tyme open your dimme and slumbring eyes Accustome your selues at length to thynke vpon eternal thinges to loue them and to desire them and therewithal also to contemne transitorie thinges Learne to depart from them willingly which can not continue with you long and to forsake them in hart before by them ye be forsaken Ioy and Hope My yeers are stable and greene Reason They lye whiche say that there is some age I knowe not which stable There is nothyng more swift then tyme and tyme is the charret of al ages to carrie them away in And doest thou then imagine that it is permanent O vanitie there is nothyng durable for euen at this present thou art violently drawen away c. Of the goodly beautie of the body The seconde Dialogue Ioy. THE beautie of my body is goodly Reason It is no more permanent then the tyme that commeth with it with whiche also it flitteth away Stay the tyme if thou canst and so perhaps thou mayest stay beautie Ioy. The beautie of my body is singuler Reason Thou restest vpon a brittle foundation The body it selfe passeth away like a shadow and doest thou thinke that a transitorie accident of the body wyll continue Accidentes may perishe the subiect remaynyng but when the body perisheth they must needes decay And among all the qualities whiche passe away with this mortall body there is none swyfter then beautie whiche
of al other a most sumptuous and vnthankful maister to whom neyther any thyng is sufficient and if perhaps it want somwhat at any tyme it neuer is mindful of a benefite receiued and yet notwithstandyng ye obey whatsoeuer this maister commaundeth and sufferyng the mynd to hunger for this you do not only prouyde necessaries but also superfluous thynges in eche respect and suche as wyll hurt and not only suche thynges as apparteyne to foode and apparrel whereof we haue spoken in theyr proper places but also to games and sundrie lustes not perceyuyng how much the trueth is agaynst your deuises which speaketh by the mouth of the most eloquent Cicero whereby it appeareth that he whiche neglecteth the body neglecteth not hym selfe but his frayle and transitorie house but he that regardeth not his minde truely regardeth not hym selfe For be sayth not Thou art he whom this outwarde shape declareth but euery mans mynde is hym selfe and not this fourme whiche may be poynted vnto by the fynger Ioy. I am delyghted with the exercyse of wrestlyng Reason The heate of Charrettes the noyse of horses the guydyng of the scorching wheeles through narrow straightes vnhurt the crye of the wrestlers and theyr throngyng togeather the oyle the sweate and the woonderful dust is a great token of the dulnesse of the senses whether it be the pleasure of the eyes or nose or eares that is thereby conceyued Whiche yf it were sounde and perfect not these places of outcryes and tumultes whiche they tearme places of wrestlyng and exercyse but rather the diligent obseruation of this place of exercise and toyle whiche they that are borne doo enter into whiche they that lyue doo treade and trample continually from whence they that dye doo depart shoulde delyght thee beyng a more profitable and honest pleasure Ioy. I am geuen to the studie of wrestlyng Reason This was not the least glory among our forefathers in olde tyme but so great that vnto Diagoras Rhodiâ—s who was also hym selfe a famous wrestler when he sawe two of his sonnes in one day rewarded with wrestlyng victories as though there remayned nothyng more noble in this life wherunto he might aspyre another ancient man of Lacedemon a friend of his sayd Now dye Diagoras for thou shalt not ascend vp into heauen He accompted it so great and hygh a matter for three of one familie at one tyme to be tryed wrestlers Truely a very small and lyght Grecian estimation of true prayse but so common that it troubled also great wittes For Plato beyng so great a Philosopher as he was was famous for his deedes at Olympus and in that practise knowne by many euentes but this was whyle he was a young man The valiauntnesse of his courage from whence some thynke that Platoes name was deryued the strength of his body and the heate of his yeeres mooued his youthly mind to the tryall of his strength wherein he was equall with the best but in processe of tyme consyderyng what he had done he betooke hym selfe to that whiche was better and chose rather to belykâ— Socrates then Milo. And truely great age accuseth Youth is easyly forgeuen there is no excuse to a man of his folly Ioy. The studie of wrestlyng delyghteth me Reason In this game the vylest person sometime hath the victorie and the vertue of the mynde is vanquyshed by the hugynesse of the bodie What Duke or noble man canst thou name vnto me whiche Milo coulde not ouercome who woulde run a Furlong with a lyue Bul vpon his shoulders and kylling hym with a stroake of his bare fyst stucke not to eate hym whole in one day A straunge matter but commonly written by Historiographers Who therefore shal meete with this felowe to matche hym in his kingdome of Cheualrie Veryly there is nothyng more shameful then to beholde noble spirites to be ouercome with such a beast and therfore let valiant mindes whiche trust wel to themselues haue a special regard that they enter not into such exercise where they may be conquered by the most cowardes But if thou take pleasure in contention enter that conflict wherein he that ouercommeth is the better man not of the strength of the bodie or of any other matter wherein one may be both the worst and the conquerer Striue not therefore for riches nor for dignitie nor for power but for vertue and knowledge and not to the ende thou detract from any mans good name but that the emulation of another mans prayse may be a prouocation vnto thee towardes glory let there be no iotte at al of enuie but of vertue Here hast thou an example of the younger Cato of whom Salust writyng He striued not sayth he neither with the riche for ryehes neyther with the factious for faction but with the valiaunt for vertue and with the shamefast for honestie and with the innocent for abstinence This is the most honest kynde of contentious exercise not only to be kept at Olimpus but in euery place no lesse in the bedchaumber then in the iudiciall Court and no lesse in leasure then in businesse and no lesse with them that are present then them that be absent and with al noble myndes of al ages and of all countreys I haue alwayes iudged that saying of Scipio in Liuie to be notable and princely I am perswaded sayth he that this cogitation is in the mynde of euery noble personage to compare hym selfe not only to renowmed men whiche nowe lyue but that haue lyued in all ages And thou lykewyse yf there be any among the troupes that be present whiche I scarce can hope or among al the memorie of antiquitie choose some matche vnto thy selfe with whom thou mayest contende not with armes and Cuggels but with wysedome and vertue without feare of daunger but in hope of an immarcessible crowne This is my counsayle and opinion concerning the wrestlyng exercise Of sundrie Spectacles and Shewes The .xxx. Dialogue IOY I Am delyghted with sundrie Shewes Reason Perhaps with the Curteine or Theater which two places are well knowen to be enimies to good manners for looke who goeth thyther euyl returneth worse For that iourney is vnknowen to the good whiche yf any vndertake vppon ignorannce he can not choose but be defyled Ioy. I am delyghted with the playes and the pryses of Fence Reason Other dilightes haue some part eyther of vanitie or of sensualitie and this hath both besydes crueltie and inhumanitie vnwoorthy of good mindes neyther is it any excuse for vs that in foretyme the Romanes whiche were the flowre of men were delyghted in these for in vpright iudgement that same Citie which most abounded with good and noble examples had nothyng in it more to be reprooued or deformed then the residue sauyng at one side the troubles of ciuile warres on the other syde the immoderate studie of playes as though the great bloodshed at home in the warres were not sufficient vnlesse the peace also were blooddy and the pleasures
and whereas your weakenesse ought to seeke some firme thyng and your principal part whiche is your soule to behold looke and desyre hygh and heauenly thynges on both sydes ye seeke after weake and base thyngs It happened wel that Murrhine stones are not had in pryce at this day among deynties The incredible madnesse of your auncestours with the same conquest whiche brought in many forraygne thynges among you brought in these also euen at that tyme when Pompeius tryumphed in Italy and roade so royally into the Citie of Rome brynging in with hym out of Asia an vnprofitable seede but whiche was sowne in a fertyle soyle and by diligent husbandmen and it grewe vp so fast in short tyme that a man myght see the pryce of one Murrhine stone to be at seuentie talentes and howe the lyppe of that cuppe was greedyly bitten away by the teeth of a certayne louer by meanes of which strange effect of loue that blemyshe muche commendyng the beautie of the cuppe encreased both the fame and pryce thereof In this respect therefore neyther your lasciuiousnesse wherein ye geue place to no age nor your pryde is lesse then was your forefathers but in respect of both the matter is diminished not only by the fallyng of the Murrhine stone to serue your turne but also in that they are not knowne vnto you in steede wherof a newe kynde of riotousnesse hath inuaded your myndes the roote of the Felberd tree beyng a woorthy wood to make cups of brauely set forth with knottes and skarres a special folly whiche now resteth among the Frenchmen To this purpose also are there other trees founde out some forraigne and called by strange names some knowne some called by one name some by another but al of like vanitie there wil more be dayly found and there wylbe no measure of new deuises vntyl the glorie of the Murrhine stones be surpassed by your cuppes In this one poyne I confesse ye haue geuen place to the madnesse of your auncestours in that they highly esteemed of Amber cups which scrued to no purpose but only to haue them for wantonnes sake reckoned them amoÌ„gst their chiefest delightes insomuch that it is reade how that Nero himselfe not only of al princes but of all men the cruellest by publyshyng of certayne verses adopted vnto hym selfe the yeallowe lockes and tresses of his yl belcued and worse murdred wyfe vnder this name and by a speciall chosen title For a woonderous matter to thynke it that cruel disposition of his was friendly to the Muses in that he called them his because they seemed golden O fierce and vnfortunate flatteries O comely and commendable head woorthy by some wycked foote to be troade downe to the Deuyl How be it you haue Ambar cuppes esteeme them not or esteeme them modestly or regard them sparingly Of Engrauinges and seales in precious Stones The .xxxix. Dialogue IOY I TAKE great pleasure in Engrauynges and markes in precious Stones Reason I confesse howe that to the comelynesse of nature a certayne ornament of Art is added howe stones are engrauen with prettie faces and portraitures in them to seale withall a kynde of skyl truely whiche is reckened among the fynest workemanshyppes of most curious wyts and among al stones the Amethist is most easie and fortunat for engrauyng as it is reported and among woorkmen Pyrgoteles first wan to him selfe the name of a cunning engrauer for that among al woorkmen of his scienc ehe seemed vnto king Alexander most meete to engraue the counterfeit of his phisnomie whiche afterwarde the Emperour Augustus dyd weare when as the precious Stone whiche he before vsed was commonly iested at among the people and tearmed the rydlyng Sphinx so that besydes the difficulties of the exactions the very perplexitie and doubtfulnesse of the seale seemed to purchase hatred to the most modest Prince Next vnto this man both in skyl and age were Apollonides and Eronius After whom was Dioscores of great name in this Art whose woorke when Plinie dyd set downe I marueyle that he expressed not also his name This is he that engraued the counterfayte of the Emperour Augustus whiche he vsed hym selfe so long as he liued and after him many of the Emperours suche reuerence they hare eyther to the countenance of so good a Prince or woondred at the skyl of so cunnyng a woorkeman But now that we haue discoursed thus muche of precious stones whiche eyther nature hath yeelded whole and sounde for your pleasures or art hath made hollow and engrauen for your delight I demaund of thee this question how much more ought the brightnes of heauen which is to be gotten without cost or paine delight thy minde And not that so much as he who is the spring and fountaine of that light Doo the radiant Carbuncles the greene Smaragdes the bright Saphyres the whyte pearles so much allure thee that neither the brightnesse of the Sunne and Starres nor the greennesse of the earth trees nor the purenesse of the ayre and skie in the cleare mornyng can mooue thy mynde Ye stand amâ—zâ—d at the beholding of faces which the hand of man hath engrauen in stones but ye wonder not at the cunning of that workeman neither do ye honour him ne ther do ye acknowledge him although ye haue so many so excellent meanes so to do who hath made these precious stones the cunning and the hands and the eyes wherwith to behold them to vnderstand them to make them O ye that are euermore the imitatours of vile thinges and alwayes the contemners of woorthy and excellent thynges Of Pictures and painted Tables The .xl. Dialogue IOY I Am delighted with pictures and painted tables Reason A vaine delight and no lesse folly then hath raigned sometyme in great personages no deale more tollerable then it hath ben in olde tyme For euery euyl example is then worst when as eyther the weight of auctoritie or of yeeres is ioyned vnto it The force of custome is great from whence soeuer it tooke beginning and age as it aduaunceth good thinges to better so doth it cast downe euyl thinges to woorse But O I would God that ye that do far surpasse your auncetours in vaine thinges would matche them in earnest matters and with them woulde esteeme of glory and vertue with whom ye stand fondly gazing at Pictures without ende Ioy. Truely I am woonderfully delighted with painted tables Reason O woonderfull madnesse of mans minde which woondreth at euery thing sauing it selfe since there is nothing not only among all the woorkes of art but also of nature more woonderfull Ioy. Painted tables delight mee Reason What mine opinion is herein thou mayest perceiue in that whiche I haue sayde before All earthly delyghtes if they were gouerned by discretion would styrre men vp to the heauenly loue and put them in minde of their first original For I pray thee who euer loued a riuer and hated the head thereof
and heresie haue at length become as it were wilde people many finally that fyrst by meanes of this exercise lost the eyes of theyr mynde haue afterwarde also by the same lost their bodyly eyes Hope I hope for golde whiche my woorkeman hath promised Reason It is hehofefull to vnderstande what euery artificer in euery art promiseth There be some that can not be beleeued whatsoeuer they promyse and so muche the lesse as they bynde theyr promyse the more with an othe But O you foolyshe men is it not sufficient for you to be madde in true mettalles which the earth bryngeth foorth but that other mineralles vexe you with counterfeiting Is it a small matter to haue wandred from vertue but that also losse be added to your errour and toyle to your losse and shame to your toyle He that promiseth thee his golde wyll suddenly runne away with thy golde It is no newe tale I tell thee but a common custome although the deceyt that is committed by fyre is often also purged by fyre notwithstandyng when thou art deluded by the subteltie of thy deceyuer art nothyng damnified by his punishment but shalt be the better knowen and poynted at for a couetous and foolyshe person consumed with blowyng of Coales singed with the fyre smutched with the smoke Hope The Alchimiste promiseth me great matters Reason Byd hym fyrst perfourme that for hym selfe whiche he promiseth to others and that first he relieue his owne pouertie For for the most part they are a beggerly kynde of people and confessyng them selues to be poore they wyll enryche others as though other mens neede were more greeuous vnto them then theyr owne so that beyng wretched them selues they vse most impudently to say that they take pitie vpon others and do promise great matters some time to them that they know not O shameful promise O foolysh beleefe Hope I haue learned the art of Alchimie I shal be riche Reason Nay rather yf thou were ryche thou shalt waxe poore for I say that this art whereof thou speakest is none other then the art of lying and deceyuing But goe to forasmuch as thy minde is so bent followe it and I tell thee before hand that thou shalt reape profite by this art thy house shall swarme with strange gheastes and wonderfull kindes of implementes thou shalt haue store of eaters and drinkers and that by good reason as beyng incensed with heate of the fire and greedinesse of desire there shal be blowers deceiuers and mockers euery corner shal stande ful of vessels and pottes and basons and pannes glasses of stinking waters moreouer strange heathes and outlandy she saltes and sulphure and stilles and furnaces by meanes of all whiche in the ende thou shalt procure vnto thy selfe vayne cares follie of minde deformitie of countenaunce filthinesse of body dimnesse of sight carefulnesse and pouertie and that which is woorst of all the name of a Iugler or Sorcerer a lyfe continually to be ledde in darkenesse among the secret infamous lurkyng corners of Theeues Hope I hope to obteyne the effect of my desire Reason Perhaps thou mayest conceyue matter to hope and be glad hereof but not to reioyce Hope I drawe neare to the ende of my perpose Reason Hast thou fixed Mercurie or brought any other vayne conclusion to effect Notwithstandyng thou art very farre from thy purpose thou shalt alwayes lacke some necessarie matter but neuer want deceyt Of the promises of VVysemen and Southsayers The Cxii Dialogue HOPE DIuinours and Southsayers promise me many thinges Reason Loe thou hast found out another kynde of men to whom if thou geue credite thou shalt alwayes hang in suspense and lyue in Hope for the thynges shall neuer come to passe whiche they promise and thou shalt neuer lacke promisers so that on the one side gapyng after the runaway promised thynges and on the other syde prouoked by promises thou shalt continually be tossed to and fro after the maner of Ixion Hope The Southsayers put mee in good hope Reason It is as easie a matter to bryng the credulous into hope as the timerous into feare as for constant mindes they are not easily mooued vnto eyther side Hope Mathematicians promise me manie matters Reason There is nothyng more redie vnto them that want honestie then to abounde with promises but who so are ashamed to lye are flowe in promising Hope The Mathematicians promise me happie fortune Reason Choose other auowers as a pledge the kynde of promises is brittle a bare woorde is scarcely to be trusted Hope Mathematicians promise me many thynges Reason Seeke some that may fulfyll those promises it is sufficient for them to haue put thee in hope no one man canne doo all thynges Hope I am awaked by the Southsayers answers Reason Thou shalt be brought a sleepe by the euentes for nothing shall happen that is promised thee Hope I am willed to hope for great matters Reason It is strange that the mind of man that is stubberne to vertue should be so much obedient to vanitie If vertue commaund any one thing be it neuer so good it is not regarded but if vanitie wyl any thing although it be difficult and most vile it is obeyed Hope The Mathematicians promise me happie fortune Reason These be woonderful felowes that know only what is to come and are ignorant of that which is past and present and do so pronounce of thinges that are in heauen as though they had been called to counsell among the goddes and were now come downe from thence with a fresh memory when as in the meane whyle they be ignorant what is doone vppon the earth in theyr owne countrey in theyr house and in theyr chamber so that it is very true whiche thou readest in Tullie No man seeth what is before his feete but they searche the regions of heauen Hope A certayne notable and true Mathematician telleth me of great matters Reason The more notable the diuinour is the greater is his libertie of lying and his credite more prone to a false tale Truely I vse often tymes to marueyle and our countrey man Tully not without cause marueyled also what newe or vnaccustomable accident is happened in this matter that when as in al sortes of men many true matters are obscured by one notable lye and the credite of the reporter is euer more afterward had in suspition it fareth otherwyse in this kynde of people that one slender and casuall true tale as it were a veyle beyng set agaynst many fittens notwithstandyng purchaseth credite to a publique lye yf it be founde that he once tolde true wherein there was neuer any so impudent a lyar but some tyme hath told trueth eyther agaynst his wyl or vpon ignorance but yf any of those by chaunce doo hyt vpon the trueth then is the matter cocke he shal be beleeued yf he foretel that there shal fall a Star this day from heauen finally he may lye in all cases without suspition of lying
couetousnes before that they were drenched in the surgies of the sea For desire commeth seldome without headlong hastinesse and that which it wil haue it wil haue it presently al tariance and the companions therof costlinesse it hateth the same is the redie way vnto destruction and the first cause of often shypwracke Sorowe I am discomforted by a great shypwracke Reason Thou hast learned to pray vnto God to make vowes and promise many thynges of whiche although feare was the cause yet since thou art arryued agayne on the lande acknowledge thou that fayth was the cause God is not mocked skot free he hateth the breakers of their faithful promises Sorowe I haue suffered a foule shypwracke Reason None complayne of shypwracke but they that haue escaped it Reioyce therefore that thou art safe and more expert The remembrance of dangers past is commonly delectable as contrariwyse the memory of forepassed prosperitie is greeuous But howe muche wouldst thou haue esteemed in foretymes to haue seene the Triton goddes of the sea and the mountaines of water foming the waues vp to heauen swelling the monsters of the sea swimming Thou hast now some feareful tales to tel in the winter nightes by the fire side to make folke a fearde withall and to holde thyne amazed family in admiration Nowe therefore thou knowest what is a poetical tempest and that feare whiche thou wouldest scarce beleeue is certaynely knowen vnto thee whiche thou hast now wel gained eyther by the feare of death or losse of goodes Sorow I haue been in a dangerous shypwracke Reason There is nothyng learned without trauayle this if thou be wyse shal be a perpetual lesson vnto thee that heareafter thou neuer perswade thy selfe to commit thy lyfe vnto the windes Sorowe I haue suffered a woful shypwracke Reason If this be the first take heede thou fal not into the seconde if it be the second then holde thy peace For proper is the saying of Publius the wryter of scoffes He wickedly accuseth Neptune that committeth shipwracke the seconde tyme. Sorow I haue scarse escaped in a terrible shypwracke Reason I can not see why it shoulde be more terrible to dye in the sea then vpon the lande seeing men must needes dye vpon the one of them or why it were better to feede wormes then to be baite for fyshes but forasmuche as thou hast escaped beware that thou commit not agayne thy lyfe to a broken oare or a rotten boorde Since thou art an earthly creature learne to keepe the earth and rather to affect heauen then the sea Of Burnyng The .lv. Dialogue SOROW. I Haue scarce escaped out of a burning fire Reason Doest thou then drawe it vnto the iniurie of fortune that thou hast escaped Let Alcibiades be moued who could not escape out of the hot burning of his enimies howbeit although thou haue preuented the earthly yet who is able to gainestād the burninges that come from heauen Let the Romane kyng Tullus Hostilius and the Romane Emprour Charus answeare me whereof the one was consumed with fyre from heauen in the pallace at Rome and the other in his tentes neare vnto the ryuer Tigris if we may credite common histories Sorowe Hauing lost al my goodes I haue escaped naked out of the fyre Reason Whom I pray thee would eyther Kias as al men say or Stilbon as Seneca wyl haue it haue spoken suche a woorde who when his countrey was on fyre being demaunded or rather reprooued for that he conueighed none of his goods out of the flame as other of his neighbours did answeared in this manner Al my goodes sayd he I carrie with me Woorthily truely whether it were the one or both of them that spake it although suche kinde of speeches do alwayes sound most excellently out of the mouth of the first aucthour of them but omitting the aucthour the trueth of the saying is commonly perceiued For the true goodes in deede remayne within and cannot be taken from the owner whyle he lyueth neyther when he is dead For they cleaue fast to the soule whyther as neyther the ryght hand of fortune nor of death is able to reache Thou being safe and sounde lamentest that thou hast lost certayne thynges whiche if they had been thine in deede out of doubt they had been safe with thee this day For beleeue me true goods doo not peryshe Golde is not more precious then vertue nor so good as it although it be not consumed but purged by the fyre Sorowe A great fire hath blasted me Reason There was one Caeculus I knowe not who that sought the fame of diuinitie by fyre In Virgil a flame of fire taking hold of Iulus haire gaue the first hope to their doubtful health And for that Seruius head burned light with fire it was no poetical but an historical abodyng of a kingdome It is wel knowen that the founders of the Empire of Rome escaped out of the flame of troy To be short the scriptures declare that Helias dyed by fyre and that the Lorde hym selfe appeared in a flame of fyre so that it is not for nought that bonefires are a token of myrth and reioycing in your cities whiche now is a cause of thy heauinesse Sorowe My house is suddenly consumed with fyre Reason Yea the temple of Diana at Ephesus was in olde tyme set on fyre a goodlier peece of woorke then whiche that age neuer sawe And also the temple of Hierusalem that was dedicated vnto the lorde of heauen was burnt the verie enemies pitiyng it that set it on fire likewise in this our age the laterane castel for beautie the flowre of the world was twice consumed with fire an euident plaine token of Gods wrath in my iudgment no strange matter I confesse but terryble And last of al to say nothing of litle cities fire hath often touched Saguntum and Numantia and Corinth and other innumerable yea and Rome it selfe was brought almost vnto vtter destruction And Carthage once and Troy was twice destroyed with fire Cities haue been burned and we beleeue that the whole worlde shal be one day brought to nought by fire And doest thou then complaine that it dare take hold on thy house that shal consume both heauen and earth Sorowe I had much a doo to escape out of the fyre Reason Thou hast escaped then and art thou sorie for it vnlesse thou haddest escaped thou haddest helde thy peace but now being a lyue and ashes thou lamentest that ashes is extinguished Of great laboure and traueyle The .lvi Dialogue SOROWE I Am weeried with great labour Reason There is no glorie without difficultie Al vertue dwelleth on hygh not easily to be atteyned the passage thereunto is cragged rough and ful of stones Sorowe I am ouerweerie with traueyle Reason Traueyle is the ground of vertue and rest of pleasures there is nothing commendable nothing excellent without traueyle and therefore laboure was the foundation of Hercules prayse By nothing is Vlisses better knowen
credite I woulde recite examples whereby to comfort thy heauie chaunce but that they are innumerable For who lyueth and is not deceyued What euer myscheefe befalleth to man is not so muche as one man suffereth by another And for that it is not possible nor needeful to recken al remember the historie of Caninius in what sort he was once coosined by Pytius at Siracuse Neuerthelesse Caninius hath wherewith to comfort him selfe for that being a knight of Rome he was deceiued by a stranger that was liuing when as Augustus Caesar that was Emperour of Rome was deluded by a meane ritizen that lay a dying The history is wel knowen how that a certayne man called Marius who through the freendship of the same Augustus had been aduaunced from the base estate of a common souldier vnto great honour and ryches was woont commonly to geue foorth in speeche that he would make him only his heire and leaue al his goodes vnto hym by whose meanes he had gotten al that he had whiche thing when as in woordes he had assured vnto the Emperour Augustus hym selfe the day before he dyed he gaue vp his deceitful ghost and at the length it was found howe that in al his wyl he had not once made mention of the Emperours name Truely he wel deserued to haue his dissemblyng carckase drawen with an hooke into the ryuer Tiber who at his very death was not afeard to deceyue his cheefe lorde and benefactour Of a streight and narow dwelling The .lxiii. Dialogue SOROWE I Owel to straightly Reason A narrowe house is profitable for many thinges and amongst other matters it is good agaynst theeues wherof thou complainedst erewhyle for that they can fynde no lurkyng corners in it as the contrary may be verified of large houses that they deceyue their owner and are conuenient for theeues I take an house to be litle or large according to the number of the inhabitantes and thou seemest now to thy selfe to dwel in to litle an house But how muche more narrowly doth thy soule dwel and howe muche more filchily among blood and matter and other loathsome substance and yet yf thou myghtest haue thy wyl thou wouldest neuer haue hym depart from thence Sorowe My house is narrowe Reason The house of claye doth not pynche the heauenly soule with the narrownesse thereof many tymes a lytle house hath been capable of great glory when as in the meane tyme a great house hath been replenished with great infamie The house conformeth not the minde but the minde conformeth the house and therefore as the blinde cottagies of the poore may be merry and vertuous so may the castles of princes and palaces of the ryche be sorowful and dishonest There is no house so narrow but the greatnesse of the tenant maketh it larger and meete to receyue a great ghest Sorowe My house is litle Reason Kyng Enanders litle palace receyued great Hercules Iulius Caesar that was afterwarde lorde of al the worlde was borne in a simple tenement Romulus and Remus that were the first founders of so great a citie were brought vp in a shepheards cottage Cato dwelled in no sumptuous house Diogenes soiourned in a rouling tub and Hilarion vnder a simple shead the holy fathers lead their lyues in caues vnder the ground and great Philosophers in litle gardeins mightie captaynes haue lyen in the open ayre and vnder poore tentes but Caius and Nero dwelled in gorgeous pallaces chose thee nowe with whiche of these thou haddest leeuest dwel Sorow I haue a narowe and homely and euil-fauoured house Reason The walles are able to keepe out theeues and the wynde and the tediousnesse of the people which is woorse then any of them both the roofe colde and heat sunneshyne and rayne as for the loftie towres they are dwellinges for foules of the ayre a large house serueth for pride a beautiful house for lasciuiousnesse a stoared house for couetousnesse but vertue thinketh scorne of no habitation vnlesse it be possessed with vices Sorow I dwell very narrowly Reason Wouldest thou that any house may seeme very large vnto thee Then thinke vpon the narrownesse of thy graue Of a prison The .lxiiii. Dialogue SOROW. I Am shut vp in an vnwoorthy pryson Reason Better is an vnwoorthy prison then vnwoorthy libertie and muche more better it is for a man vndeseruedly to suffer aduersitie for righteousnesse sake then through wickednesse to abound in prosperitie although those ought not to be tearmed euilles neyther nor these goodes but I speake as the common people speaketh who iudge payne to be the greatest euyl and pleasure the greatest good thing Sorow I am shut vp in prison Reason Who is not shut vp in prison or who departeth out of prison but when he dyeth This is thy destinye and the common destiny of al men why then should you commence peculier or newe complayntes For knowe this since the first day thou wast borne yea and before thou wast borne to thou wast inclosed in prison and hampered with fetters by his commaundement vnto whom al the compasse of heauen is a litle house and yf we wyl also beleeue the greatest Poet euen in a darke and blynd pryson The ende of whiche pryson yf thou desire to be plausible and fortunate thou shalt not abhorre the narrownesse thereof neyther punishmentes nor death nor what soeuer may befall vnto man vnto the pacient tollerating and contempt whereof vnlesse the mynde be prepared and armed at al poyntes in whatsoeuer fortune he wandreth in a verie perilous path Sorowe I am shut vp in a filthy and narrowe prison Reason There is no pryson more filthy none narrower then this pryson of the body wherein thou takest so great delight and from whiche thou fearest so muche to be dissolued Sorowe I am deteyned in an inconuenient pryson Reason Pryson hath delyuered many from instant daunger and the handes of their enimies Vnto many the very entry of their pryson hath stand in steade of a shielde and that whiche was profitable vnto them at their entryng in hath been hurtfull vnto them at their goyng out insomuche that beyng certified by the departure they haue confessed that to be profitable whiche they abhorred and that to be miserable whiche they wyshed Sorow I am holden in pryson Reason Howe knowest thou whether perhappes it be a pryson or rather as it is sayde a place of safe keeping Howe often hath eyther the enimies swoorde or pouertie more cruel then any foe consumed those that haue been loosed from pryson Howe often haue they repented of their escaping and their imprisonment which they complayned to be long haue they afterwarde lamented that it was not perpetuall we haue seene some that haue lyued in pryson sumptuously but so soone as they haue been set at libertie they haue finished their poore and wretched lyfe with a sorowful ende Sorowe I leade a miserable lyfe in pryson Reason Some haue written bookes in pryson but thou framest complayntes there Some haue learned
good woorkes doone is commendable so that it set not the gate wyde open to pryde and therefore the causes of these affectes must be fyrst consydered least haply disprayse possesse the place of commendation and therefore weygh thou nowe what cause thou hast to be sorowfull Sorowe I am heauie for the miserie of this lyfe Reason The felicitie of the lyfe to come shall make thee merie for this lyfe is not so miserable whiche in deede is most miserable as the other is happie and glorious Sorowe I am heauie Reason Of this mischiefe there are as many rootes as there are thynges which you tearme aduerse and miserable of many of whiche sort we haue alredie entreated and for that I perceyue thee to be redy to complayntes we haue lykewyse hereafter much to entreate of Some tymes a man shall perceyue no apparent cause at all neyther of sicknesse nor losse nor iniurie nor shame nor errours nor of any sudden rumor of suche lyke matter but onely a certayne pleasure to be sorie whiche maketh the soule sadde and heauie Whiche mischiefe is so muche the more hurtfull by now muche the cause is the more vnknowen and the cure more difficult And therefore Cicero wylleth men to flee from the same with all theyr myght and maine yea with all their sayle they can make as from a most dangerous rocke of the Sea whose counsayle in this as in many other thynges I lyke wel of Sorowe The thinking of the present miserie maketh me heauie Reason That the miserie of mankinde is great and manifolde I doo not denie whiche some haue bewayled in whole great volumes but yf thou looke to the contrarie part thou shalt also see many thinges whiche make this lyfe happie and pleasant although there be none hytherto so farre as I knowe that hath written of this matter and some that haue taken it in hande haue geuen it ouer for that whiles they haue been in the very course of their wryting they haue perceyued howe wrong a matche they haue vndertaken and that the argument hath fallen out to be muche more barren then they fyrst supposed and the rather for that the miserie of mankynde appeareth to be euident and the felicitie thereof seemeth to be verie small and hydden so that in discourse of disputation it requireth a deeper displaying and examination then that the incredulous sorte are aable to conceyue And nowe out of many matters to geather one summe togeather haue not you great cause to reoyce Fyrst for that you are the image and likenesse of GOD your Creator whiche is within in the soule of man your witte memorie prouidence speeche so many inuentions so many artes attendyng vppon this soule of yours and next howe many necessities doo followe this your bodye whiche all are comprehended vnder the most singular benefite of GOD also so many opportunities so many sundrie shewes and kindes of thynges whiche by strange and marueylous meanes doo serue to your delyght moreouer so great vertue in rootes so manie iuices of hearbes suche pleasaunt varietie of so many sortes of flowres so great concorde of smelles and colours and castes and soundes rysyng of contraries so many lyuyng creatures in the ayre vppon the lande and in the sea seruyng onely to your vse and created onely to doo man pleasure And vnlesse you had of your owne accorde voluntarily fallen vnder the yoake of sinne you had nowe been gouernours ouer all thynges that are vnder heauen Adde herevnto moreouer the prospect of the Hylles the opennesse of the Valleys the shadowie Wooddes the colde Alpes the warme Shoars Adde also so many holsome Streames of water so many sulphurious and smookyng Lakes so many cleare and coole Fountaynes so many Seas within and rounde about the earth so many confines and boundes of Kyngdomes whiche are euerie day changed and some most assured for theyr immoueable stabilitie Adde lastly some Lakes as bygge and brode almost as the Sea and Pondes lying in bottomes and Riuers fallyng downe headlong from the toppes of Hylles with theyr brinkes full of flowres and pleasaunt hearbes And the bed-chambers of the shoares and Medowes greene with runnyng Streames as Virgil sayth What shall I neede to speake of the foming Rockes that lye vpon the soundyng shoare and the moyst Dennes and the Fieldes yellowe with Corne and the buddyng Vineyardes the commodities of Cities the quietnesse of the Countrey and the libertie of Wildernesses And also the most glorious and bryght spectacle of all whiche is the circumference of the starrie Firmament that continually turneth about with incomprehensible swiftnesse wherein are fastened the fixed Starres Lykewyse the wanderyng lyghtes whiche you call the seuen Planettes And especially the Sunne and Mone the two most excellent lyghtes of the worlde as Virgil tearmeth them Or the most glorious beautie of Heauen as Horace speaketh of them By these consist the fruites of the earth by these the strength and force of lyuing creatures of these also depende the varietie of seasons by these we measure the yeere the monethes dayes nyghtes and spaces of tymes without whiche this lyfe coulde not be other then weerisome and tedious Herevnto moreouer there is geuen vnto you a bodye whiche although it be frayle and transitorie yet notwithstandyng in shewe is imperious and beautifull fashioned vpryght and conuenient in contemplation to beholde the heauens Agayne the immortalitie of your soule and a way prepared for you vnto heauen and an inestimable merchandize bought for a small pryce with other matters also whiche of purpose I haue deferred to the ende for that they are so great that of my selfe I was not able to comprehende them but onely through the benefite of fayth lykewyse the hope of rysyng agayne from death and takyng vp of this bodye after that it is rotten and consumed to be quickened agayne and made lyuely and bryght shynyng and impassible with great glorie and maiestie and moreouer that whiche surpasseth not onely the dignitie of man but also of the Angelles the nature of man so vnited to the nature of GOD that GOD hymselfe became man and beyng made but one person comprehended perfectly in hymselfe the two natures and was both GOD and man to this ende that beyng made a man he myght make man a god An vnspeakable loue and humilitie in GOD exceedyng felicitie and glorie vnto man all manner of wayes an hygh and secrete misterie a woonderfull and comfortable societie whiche I knowe not whether any heauenly tongue canne expresse but sure I am no mortall mouth is able to vtter Dooeth the state of mankynde seeme vnto thee by this meanes but smally aduaunced and the miserie thereof but a lytle relieued Or what I pray thee coulde man I say not hope but wyshe or imagine better for his owne commoditie then to be made GOD And beholde he is god What remayneth there more that you myght wyshe for or desyre or inuent or thinke vppon yet greater then you haue alredie obteyned Truely at what