thee and so depart from thee and then too late thou heare that saying of Ecclesiasticus Lyke as one that letteth a byrde flie out of his hande so hast thou lost thy neyghbour neyther canst thou take hym agayne or followe hym for he is farre of He hath escaped as a Roe out of the snare and because his soule is wounded thou shalt not be able to intrap hym any more And therefore as I say thou hast a great and sweete treasure but painfull notwithstandyng and difficult paineful I meane to be gotten and kept A freende is a rare Iewell he must be kept with great diligence and yf he be lost be lamented with great sorowe Of plentie of Ryches The .liii. Dialogue IOY BUT I abound in ryches Reason I marueyle now the lesse that thou seemedst to abounde in friendes for it is no strange nor newe matter to see the doores and entries of the ryche frequented by common friendes and feygned attendance Ioy. I haue great plentie of ryches Reason A dangerous and burdensome felicitie whiche shall purchase more enuie then procure pleasure Ioy. I flowe in wealth Reason It followeth not strayghtwayes that therefore thou flowest in quietnesse and pleasure Thou shalt scarce finde a rich man but he wyl confesse that he lyued better in meane estate or in honest pouertie Ioy. I am growne to great wealth Securitie ioy and tranquilitie are decreased which if they would encrease with ryches I woulde not only permit but exhort men to loue them Ioy. I haue great ryches Reason Then hast thou a thyng harde to be gotten careful to be kept greenous to be lost Ioy. My ryches are great Reason If they be dispearsed they wyll decrease and yf thou keepe them they wyl not make thee ryche but keepe thee occupied and make thee not a maister but a keeper Ioy. I haue great ryches Reason Take heede rather that thou be not had of them that is to say that they be not thy ryches but thou rather theyr slaue and they not seruant to thee but thou to them For yf thou knowe not so muche alredy there be many moe that are had then that haue ryches and there is more plentie whom also the saying of the Prophete noteth of men that belong vnto ryches then ryches that belong vnto men Thus the greedinesse and basenesse of your myndes of maisters maketh you seruantes The vse of money is well knowne to bâ—y those thynges that are necessarie for nature whiche are but fewe small and easie to be gotten what so euer is superfluous is noysome and then they be no longer ryches but cheynes and fetters and no longer Ornamentes of the body but impedimentes of the mynde and heapes of carefulnesse and fâ—ate Ioy. I am full of ryches Reason Beware that they burst thee not for euery fulnesse seeketh an yssue Ryches haue procured the death of many and doo bereaue almost all men of rest Ioy. I haue woonderful store of ryches Reason A thyng repugnant to good manners To muche ryches haue not only corrupted the manners of priuate men but also of the whole people of Rome â–ª and ouerthrewe theyr great and woonderfull vertue who so long were a noble iust and vpryght people as they were a poore people In pouertie they were conquerers of nations and which is more glorious conquerers of them selues tyll at length they that had ouercome vyces were them selues ouercome and ouerthrowne by ryches I speake that whiche I knowe and therefore thou seest what thou hast to hope of riches Ioy. I abounde in riches Reason How much had I rather thou aboundedst in vertue Ioy. I rest in my ryches Reason Poore wretches ye lye a sleepe in the bryers your sleepe is sounde that ye feele not the pryckles Beholde the day commeth that shal awake you and shal playnely expound that whiche is written The ryche men haue slept theyr sleepe and when they awaked they founde no ryches in theyr handes Of finding of a golde min. The .liiii. Dialogue IOY I Haue founde a Mine of golde Reason This hope of ryches hath been cause of pouertie vnto many and of destruction not vnto fewe whilst neglectyng all other thynges and bestowyng al theyr care and trauayle vppon this one thyng Notwithstandyng theyr toyle hath turned to litle profite whylest in respect of the greedie desire that they haue to golde forsaking the sight of heauen and the Sun they learne to leade foorth theyr lyfe in darkenesse and are consumed with the thicke and noisome dampe before theyr tyme. Ioy. Chaunce hath offered vnto me a gold Myne Reason To the entent that beyng turned away from the contemplation of heauenly things thou mightest gape after earthly thynges and not only that thou mightest liue more vnfortunately shorter time neare to the ground but also drowned vnder the ground Ioy. I enter into a golde Myne Reason Nero the Emperour the same terrible and miserable night which notwithstanding he had deserued which was the last night that he lyued being put in mynde by such as were about hym to hyde hymselfe in a certayne Caue vnder the grounde to the entent he might escape the reprochful death abusing of the people that sought after hym answered That he would not go vnder the ground while he was lyuyng But thou being compelled by no feare but only carryed away with couetousnesse goest alyue vnder the earth neyther can the comfortable shynyng of heauen keepe thee from thence neyther the horrible darkenesse of the earth dryue thee away What marueyle is it yf men consume themselues with trauayling al the world ouer to seeke ryches seeing also in seeking and digging for them vnder the grounde they disquiet the infernal soules and Fiendes of Hel And as the Poet Ouid sayth Men haue entred into the bowels of the earth And those riches which God had hyd vp and couered with the darknesse of hell they are digged vp notwithstanding which are the prouocations vnto al mischiefe Ioy. I haue found a Mine of gold Reason It is an olde prouerbe Many times one man starteth an Hare and another catcheth hym Thou hast found a bootie which many wyl couet one only shal possesse peraduenture thou shalt not be that one Vnto desyred thyngs there is much resort it is dangerous when one man hath found that which many wyl couet and none wyl be wyllyng to share with other And this is the cause that though Italie as Plinie sayth be inferiour to no country for plentie of al sortes of metalles notwithstanding by auntient prouision actes of parliament order was taken that Italie shoulde be spared Ioy. I digge earth that will yeeld golde Reason The trauel is certaine but the euent doubtful what if thou dyg long find nothing what if thou finde much but not for thy self what if it be the worse for thee to haue found sum what better for thee to haue found nothing Mans ioy is most times accompanied with sorowe Ioy. I am gone downe
to say as it was a poore people But Nero beyng drowned in lasciuiousnesse and reproches was not able to measure or reckon his goodes But Varius Heliogabalus the most effeminate and fylthy beast that euer lyued and the shame of your Empyre a shameful thyng to speake or heare woulde vouchsafe to haue the loathsome orduâ—â— and burden of his belly to be receyued into none other vessell then of golde a thyng not to be ouerslypped yf it were but to set foorth the irkesome and outragious desire of mortall men When as he well remembred that not only the meales and dayly dyet of suche men as the aboue named are but also the sacrifices of the Gods were woont to be serued and celebrated in earthen vesselles O miserable Citie in continuaunce of tyme by destiny fallen vnto so fylthy handes But rather O golde the extreame desire of couetousnesse O hope that art the last and ende of humane trauayles thou that art the woonder vnto eyes and the amazyng vnto myndes to what vses wast thou conuerted I woulde commend the deede or at leastwyse not reprooue it for that there is no mockerie more meete for so shameful errour of man yf so be it hadde proceeded from a man of sounde iudgement and perfect reason but now who dareth deny but that goodes are excellent and to be wished which men doo in suche sort seeke after with swoorde and wickednesse whyle neglectyng the best they abounde with the worst Sorow I passe foorth a poore life in trauel Reason Cleantes was constrayned by neede to drawe water to water hearbes in a garden withal and Plautus to lift vp sackes corne vpon a hand querne How great a Philosopher was the one and the other a Poet and againe how poore a gardiner was the first and the other a baker Who both after their woorke was doone the residue of the night wherein they should haue taken their rest suche was the courage of theyr mynde the one applyed his tyme vnto the studie of Philosophie the other to the wrytyng of Commedies that he myght sell them for money Lactancius Firmianus a man of great learning and rare eloquence among his compeeres beeyng also schoolemaister vnto the sonne of a great Prince led his lyfe in great pouertie of all thynges yea of common necessaries Horace was borne poore Pacunius lyued poorely Statius was poore both of them solde theyr Comedies and thereby gotte theyr lyuyng To be short Virgill also was sometyme a poore man vntyll contrary to the common custome ryches hapned vnto his wit. There be many such examples in al degrees of men and I omit these because there are very many who for the desire they hadde vnto heauenly ryches haue not only with indifferent myndes but gladly and wyllyngly chosen not only pouertie but also hunger thyrste nakednesse and all kyndes of miseries vppon the earth If that by these as it were humble and earthly examples thou art not mooued the Lorde of heauen hym selfe was here in poore estate that he myght teache by his example that this pouertie is the way whereby men attayne vnto great ryches He I say by whom Kynges doo reigne was borne in pouertie lyued in pouertie dyed naked whom in the meane whyle al the Elementes obeyed and thou sellie wretche doest grieuously beare the state of thy Lorde and maister and art not ashamed of thy foolyshe insolencie Certaynely who so thynkyng on hym shall arme hym selfe with vertue being very riche in pouertie and needyng nothyng wyll not desyre a Kynges riches Sorowe I haue no store of riches Reason As no riches are sufficient for a needie and base mynde so vnto a ryche and franke courage no pouertie commeth amisse as for the first he leaneth vnto that whiche is anothers but he of whom I spake last trusteth vnto his owne to builde vppon another mans grounde is a losse but to builde vppon his owne is a vantage Sorowe I am very poore Reason If thou obey necessities thou canst neuer be poore but if thou be subiect to lustes thou shalt neuer be riche Sorowe Hytherto I haue ben poore yea I am a very begger Reason Mens fortune and state dooth not continue for as from great riches vnto extreame pouertie so from extreame pouertie vnto great ryches there is often exchange I suppose thou hast read in Quintus Curtius the Historian how one called Abdolominus at the commaundement or rather permission of Kyng Alexander from a poore gardyner was aduaunced vnto the kingdome of Sidon and by contemning the kingdome is reputed greater then the kyngdome Truely whiche thou canst not choose but haue read Romulus from a shepheards cottage becomming the founder of so great a citie was the first that tooke vppon hym the Romane Crowne and the sixt Kyng ascended vnto the Kingly dignitie from a very base and as some haue thought from a seruyle degree neither more wealthie was the rising of Alexander sonne to King Priamus nor of Cyrus the most famous of al the Persian Kinges neyther were their beginnings much other then was that of Romulus Gaius Marius who had ben and shoulde haue been often Consull of Rome before he atteyned vnto any of these degrees of honour being an hyrelyng ploughman spent the first yeeres of his lyfe in the fieldes and at length after so many victories and triumphes and betweene those seuen times that he was Conâ—ul besides his hydyng of him selfe in the Fennes and his imprisonment he begged also a litle peece of bread Iulius Caesar that shoulde afterwarde be Lorde of all the worlde and by his Testament dispose it vnto his heyres that shoulde be Lordes of al the worlde after hym was poore when he was a young man Thou hauyng the company and felowship of suche woorthie men canst thou not eyther hope for ryches or contemne them Sorowe I am waxen poorer then I was Reason It is well thou shalt also be more humble light and at libertie then thou wast They that goe on a daungerous iourney loue to goe lyght Thou shalt want thine accustomed ryches and thy Myse and thy Theeues and thy stubberne Seruauntes and all other thynges that folowe wealth feygned friendes folowyng and catchyng Parasites and all the whole housholde flocke of those that wyll laugh with thee to thy face but wyll mocke and byte thee behynde thy backe To be short yf thou compare thy lost ryches with the troubles that thou hast lost also with them thou wylt call it agayne Surely to speake nothyng of securitie humilitie sobrietie quietnesse modestie whiche are the companions of pouertie yf she brought none other commoditie with her then that she deliuereth a man from the troupes of deceiptful flatterers and from the tyrranny of proude seruantes there were cause sufficient not only to suffer her but also to wyshe for her yea to seeke after pouertie But let this suffise thee for thou complaynest more then neede is whereat I woulde woonder in thee vnlesse I had obserued it of long tyme in
finde no special thyng at al there for death whiche is indifferent vnto al men hath dispersed and consumed al. Ye loue your bodyes and mortal members ouer muche ye despise your immortal soules and vertue more then ye ought being blynd and vnequal discerners of thynges Sorowe Now I am quite without teeth Reason Now then art thou without toothache yea and without any succoure of them thou hast no vse of them at al. Thou must grinde thy meate paynefully without teeth vnlesse thou wylt dissemble with thy selfe thou oughtest to remember that thou hast a iourney shortly at hande to goe thither where as there is nothyng at al eaten but where men liue onely with ioy and the euerlastyng foode of the soule Of payne in the legges The .xcv. Dialogue SOROW. I Am troubled with a payne in my legges Reason In al buildynges that is the most daungerous fault whiche happeneth in the foundations For as touchyng al other defaultes howe euer thou repayre them this bryngeth ruin therefore at this present there is nought els for thee to do but immediatly to depart out of this ragged Inne Sorow I am troubled with the payne of my legges Reason The cause of this sickenesse as also of many other moe for the most part ryseth from no whence els but from your selues and therefore that whiche came from you by good ryght commeth backe vnto you agayne seeing thou hast forgotten the counsel of the wyse man whiche sayth Let thyne eyes goe before thy feet and I suppose that that first argument of an other wyse man may wel agree hereunto and be accordyngly applyed Ye cannot stay your selues nor looke vnto your feete but lyke blynd men ye runne headlong hither and thither groping after your way What marueyle is it then yf thou stumble sometyme at a stone and sometyme at a blocke This sure is very strange that you wil lay your faultes vpon giltlesse nature Yea moreouer ye haue a great delight to be thrusting in amongst a company of madde iades so that oftentymes ye bryng away the print of a horse showe vpon you Doest not thou thinke that that whiche is spoken by Tullie vnto one belongeth welnigh vnto al men These mischeefes saith he thou foolish felowe hast thou brought wholy vpon thy selfe And so it is truely deceyue not your selues the harme which you suffer for the most part is of your owne doing for whiche afterward ye be sorie Thou yf thou hadst remayned at home that is to say with thy selfe thou perchance ne hadst this greefe ne found any cause of these thy complayntes It is nothyng iniurious that a wandryng lyfe an vnstable should be molested with dyuers discommodities Sorowe I am tormented with the payne of my legges Reason If thou hast geuen the occasion to haue payne reioyce to be punished for the fault yf not comfort thy minde that is innocent And if thou be sory that thou hast a greefe yet reioyce that thou art without blame Howsoeuer the matter goeth in al thy greefe set the shielde of pacience against the sharpe dart of payne which is a perpetual document in al matters of perplexitie then the which there was neuer yet any medicine more wholesome Sorowe I am woonderfully greeued with the payne of my legges Reason The phisitions wyll geue thee counsel that thou shalt lye styl and moue thee from thy bed and truely they do wysely therein to geue thee counsell to do that after thou hast taken harme whiche thou shouldest haue done before but I wil speake no more of their counsels thou thy selfe shalt learne to thy owne cost how their counsels are to be estemed of Notwithstanding I wil geue thee that aduice which they vse to geue but in another respect For they suppose that they are able to restore thee easily to thy health when thou art sicke by applying fomentations other remedies whiles they endeuour to defend the part affected from the confluence of spirites humors whyther thou stand or goe For my part I would wish thee while thou lyest in thy bed setting al other cares aside aswaging thy greefes by laying thy selfe easily in thy couche after that thou hast taken order for thy bodily health to thinke some thyng of thy graue and howe and where thou shalt lye hereafter and to examine the condition of thy present estate and to make thy selfe so familiar with death before he come that when he is come thou do not feare hym For it is death only that is able to delyuer this mortall carckase from al infirmities Of Blyndnesse The .xcvi. Dialogue SOROW. I Haue lost myne eyes Reason O howe many loathsome thynges of lyfe also hast thou lost Howe many foolyshe toyes of fonde sight shalt thou not see Sorow I haue lost myne eyes Reason Of the face perhaps not of thine hart If they remayne good enough al is wel Sorowe I am blynde Reason Thou shalt see the sunne no more but thou hast seene it and thou remembrest what manner thyng it is or yf thou hast not seene it as it hath chaunced vnto thee the more hardly in that respect so the desire of a thing vnknowen shal greeue thee the lesse Sorow I lacke eyes Reason Thou shalt not see heauen nor earth but to see the Lord of heauen and of earth abilitie is not taken from thee this sight is much clearer then that other Sorowe I am condemned to perpetual blyndnesse Reason Thou shalt not see from hencefoorth the wooddie valleyes the ayeriall mountaynes the florishyng costes the shadowy dennes the siluer sprynges the crooked ryuers the greene meddowes and that whiche they say is of al thynges most beautiful the portraiture of mans countenance Thou shalt neyther see the heapes of dunge the ouerflowyng Iakes torne carkases nor whatsoeuer els by filthinesse of sight offendeth the stomacke and senses Sorow I am depriued of myne eye sight Reason If there were none other commoditie in this discommoditie in that thou shalt not beholde these games of enormious and deformed iestures blindnesse were to be wyshed whiche although I haue oftentymes confessed before to be a wyshed thyng yet doo I deny that it is to be wyshed for as muche now as in tymes past there is no hope left thee to runne away whyther soeuer thou turnest thy selfe the kyngdome of madnesse is a lyke and a like exile of vertue in whiche state to lose a mans eye sight is a kind of flight comforte Sorow I haue lost my sight Reason And the beholdyng of womens faces Reioyce therefore that those wyndowes be shut vp at the whiche death entred in and that the passage to many vices is closed vp couetousnesse gluttony ryotousnesse and diuers other plagues haue lost thereby their seruantes and retinue for looke howe muche of thy soule was taken away by these enimies so muche perswade thy selfe that thou hast gayned Sorow I haue lost myne eyes Reason Thou hast lost euyl guydes whiche lead thee into destruction
For theyr rysing is slow but theyr fallyng is sodayne This strength also whereof thou vauntest when it shall leaue to encrease wyl not continue but fyrst wyll priuily begin to decay and afterwarde at length wyl openly fal Al mortal thyngs do equally flyt away except the mynd only but the signes and footesteps of theyr departure doo not appeare alike vnlesse a man wyl say that those lyuyng creatures do go lesse or slowest which eyther go in the dark or make no noyse in their creeping and put out the prynt of theyr goyng with the pressing of theyr tayles Ioy. I boast in the strength of my body Reason What wouldest thou then do in thyne owne Thynke how great thyne owne strength is for this is not thyne but the strength of thy harborow or Inne or rather thy pryson It is a vayne thyng for thee beyng thy self weake to glory of thy strong dwellyng or to speake more aptly of a strong aduersarie Ioy. I reioyce in my strength Reason What other shal I say then that saying of the Poet Thou shalt not reioyce long and in steede of myrth complaintes shall come in place Dooest thou remember howe he that was so strong of whom I made mention twyce erewhyle complayneth of his strength in olde age Of swiftnesse of the bodye The syxth Dialogue IOY BVt I am very swyft Reason Tel me whyther thy runnyng â—endeth Many haue ben destroyed through their owne swyftnesse Ioy. My swyftnesse is wonderful Reason Run ye mortal men whither ye lust the swiftnes of heauen outrunneth you and leadeth you vnto olde age and death The one of these wyll take away your runnyng the other your mooueyng Ioy. My swyftnesse is very great Reason It tendeth thyther where it shal haue an ende Ioy. My swiftnes is sâ—eâ— as â—he lyke hath not been heard of Reason It tendeth thither where there shal be great slownesse Ioy. My swiftneâ—â— is infinite Reason Be it as great as it list it shal haue no place where to exercise it selfe for the whole earth is as is were a smal pricke or poynt Ioy. My swyftnesse is inestimable Reason This coÌ„mendation is due vnto wit vnto which the seas and heauen and eternitie the spaces of nature the hydden places and secretes of al thynges lye open As for this body which is circumscribed and compassed about with a prick and smal moment of space whyther wyl the swiftnesse thereof bring it and where wyl it leaue it Admit this space were very wyde great eyther in respect of tyme or of place notwithstandyng whyther soeuer it turneth it maketh hast to the graue This narrowe roomth and place of necessitie is knowne without Astrologicall coniecture or Geometrical demonstration So then ye runne thyther where in deede there is no runnyng at all Ioy. My swyftnesse is incredible Reason Although thou excel al men yet thou art not able herein to match an Hare Ioy. My swiftnesse is marueilous Reason The same accompaniyng many vpon hanging hilles and broken mountaynes sydes hath disapoynted them of the playne grounde and many also that woulde runne or as it were flie by vautyng or otherwyse vppon the walles and battlementes of towres vpon the tacklynges of ships vpon the cragges of hilles without hurtyng them selues shortly after by some litle tripping or slyding of the foote haue in this outrage been found dead in the hygh wayes by fallyng It is a dangeâ— us thyng and agaynst the course of nature that there should be such lightnesse in heauie bodies and the practise thereof wil make a man not to be nimble long For although he escape without hurt yet he shall soone leaue it of through weerynesse for the strength of a man is but short and his swiftnesse shorter Ioy. I am nowe very nymble Reason An Asse also is nymble in his youth a Parde waxeth slow with age In tyme nimblenes wyl waxe styffe The first age hath spurres the last hath bridles whatsoeuer thou art thou shalt not be long if thou desire to be good indeuour to be so Only vertue is not afrayde of old age Of wit. The .vii. Dialogue IOY MY wit is also quick Reason I pray God it be vnto vertue Otherwyse look how much the quicker so much the nearer to destruction Ioy. I haue a redy wit. Reason If it be also appliable vnto good artes it is a precious furniture of the minde If otherwyse it is burdensome perilous and troublesome Ioy. My wit is very sharpe Reason It is not the sharpenesse but the vprightnesse and staiednes of the wit that deserue the true and perpetual commendation The sharpnesse of some wittes is rebated with smal force and wil faile at the first encounter and the most strongest thinges if they be stretched foorth to the vttermost become feeble and so likewise weakenes ouercommeth all strength Ioy. I haue a most sharpe wit. Reason There is nothing more odious vnto wisdom then to much sharpnes Nothing more greeuous vnto a Philopher then a sophist for that cause in old time the auncient fathers feigned that Pallas could not abyde spyders whose curious worke and fine webs are brittle serue to no purpose Therfore let the edge of the wyt be lyke the edge of a weapon that it may not only pearse but also stay from going further Ioy. My wyt is prompt and redy to euery thyng Reason This was sometyme attributed vnto Marcus Cato Censorius that he was as redy and apt to learnyng as to the warres to matters concernyng the fielde as the citie and also to the exercise of husbandrie whiche thyng in part the Gretians doo ascribe to theyr countreyman Epaâ—inundas and the Persians to theyr Cyrus Take herde whereunto this thy redie wit be enclined that it be not craftie and that it be not only not quicke and pliant but rather lyght and inconstant For it is one thyng to be able to stay and another to be able to go whyther soeuer a man lust Ioy. My wyt is excellent Reason It skilleth much in what kynd a man do excel For the signification of that woorde is vncertayne and true it is that a mans wit is of force if he do throughly bende it And therefore geue me rather a good wit then an excellent for the one cannot be conuerted to euill the other is flexible vnto many thinges For Salust writeth that Lucius Catiline was a man of notable courage but of a corrupt naughtie wit and disposition Ioy. My wit is great Reason I requyre a good and a modest wit the greatnes only is suspected For a great wit hath many tymes ben the beginnyng of great euylles And seldome were there any great errours but they sprang from great wittes Of Memorie The .viii. Dialogue IOY MY memorie is very great Reason Thou hast then a large house of loathsomenesse and a gallery ful of smoky images among which many thinges may displease Ioy. My memorie conteyneth many thinges Reason Among many thynges there be but fewe that do delight
but of the bare name only Ioy. There is nothyng that I holde more deere then precious stones Reason Truely I beleeue thee Not vertue not thine estimation not thy countrey not thy lyfe it selfe And to say nothyng of those two thinges whiche you make accompt of as nothing more vile the two last things therewith also great riches and whatsoeuer els ye esteeme most precious I wyll prooue that they haue geuen place to the price loue of a precious stone and that the keeping thereof hath been preferred before exile and pouertie yea and if neede had so required before death also Who knoweth not of Nonius practice in the like case This Nonius was a Senator of Rome and a very riche Gentleman and had a precious stone esteemed as twentie thousande crownes and the stones name was Opalus It groweth in India glisteryng with varietie of all colours Now Antonius the Triumuir beyng prouoked set on fire with the desire of this iewel as a man of all other most proude and couetous and vnto whom whatsoeuer nature made desired fortune made lawful conceyued as it fortuned a mortal hatred of the owner with an vnlawful desire of the stone Wherby it came to passe that in that general heateof proscription banishment wherein so many lightes of the common wealth perished that Nonius name also was published among the residue whiche whether it were for this crime that he possessed a thing that was precious and very wel liked of the tyrant it is not certeinly knowen But he as one that toke example of the Tiber of Pontus to the intent he might redeeme his libertie by the losse of his hurtful burden prouide for his safetie which was more deere vnto him then his present danger he tooke that with him and so departed perswading him selfe that yf he had that with him he would take no care for the losse of his liuing or countrey beyng redy therewith to goe into banishment to begge and if neede were to dye Who wyll not thynke well of that whereunto a Senatour bare so great affection And truely one of these twayne we must needes graunt eyther that the Iewell was of great value or that the owner was of a hase mynde But thou lookest not to knowe whiche of these twayne I conclude to be truest For although the iudgement of this and suche lyke or rather the infection of them whiche they leaue in the mynde haue farre and wyde infected the maners of the common multitude notwithstandyng it behooueth great wittes neyther to be delyghted with money nor any thyng els sauyng the beautie of vertue onely vnlesse it be that through the meanes of these short pleasures whiche delyght the eyes the mynde beyng styrred vp be taken with the loue and desyre of the eternal beautie from whiche fountaine it springeth whatsoeuer is fayre Ioy. I am enticed with the loue of excellent precious stones Reason This excellencie nature hath not made but opinion onely whiche among some hath geuen the cheefest price to the Carbuncle and among other to the Diamoude That whiche I reckened fyrst is the speciall iudgement nowe a dayes among the common Iewellers and Lapidaries And this last the opinion of certayne auncient writers according to whose iudgement the Diamond whiche is not only the most precious of al stones but of all earthly thinges was wont to be the Jewel and gemme in olde time of kinges and not all but of the chiefest But now at this day forasmuche as there is no encre ase of any thyng so great and so speedie as of lasciuiousnesse and pride it grewe not onely to be worne by kinges but also to be set vpon fingers of the common people Next vnto this is the Indian the Arabian Pearle in estimation and after them the Smaragde I know not by what perturbation of order For if the rednesse and palenesse of the first be commendable why likewise shoulde not the whitenesse and greenenesse of these in like maner shoulde not the whitenesse and greenenesse of these in like maner delight the eye The Saphyre also may more iustly complayne since there is nothing that the earth bringeth foorth that in likenesse more resembleth the cleere heauen Howbeit as I haue said it is the madnesse of men and not the nature of the thinges that is in price the vayne follies of the riche and the fables of idle persons who woulde soone contemne these trifles if they would busie them selues about more profitable affayres concernyng peace or warre Ioy. The glisteryng precious stones and pleasaunt shinyng pearles do much moue myne affections Reason Mooue thee sayest thou yea rather they ouerthrowe tread vnder foote effeminate and make weake the mynde Concerning which matter yf I shoulde goe about to heape vp examples both of men and women I should not instruct thee but weerie thee I wyll touche one onely and whiche is greatest of all to the ende thou mayest vnderstande howe daungerous this follie is to the weaker mindes whiche hath inuaded the most hygh and valiant Pompeius surnamed the great the most continent of all the Romane captaines I meane of the latter sort who how much they excel the residue in noble exploites and valiant deedes so muche they are inferiour vnto their forefathers in modestie of maners and frugalitie of lyfe when he returned conquerour out of Spayne from subduing the West partes of the worlde and had dryuen the theeues and pyrates into one place togeather to whom the name of Conuenae meeters together was geuen whiche shall last for euer There vpon the Pyrenean mountaynes the sharpenesse of the place perhappes assisting and modestie helping the matter and abatyng the pryde of his age and victorie he set vp a manlyke Trophei and monument framed in maner of a counterfeite of his naturall and rough vizage being then great in deede and magnificiall who although he were but young in yeeres yet was he olde in maners and rype in minde The same man afterwarde when he had taken the Pyrates and vanquished the East beyng then changed as it were with the alteration of the tyme and place and returnyng another man from another part of the worlde he shewed in triumphe not his humilitie but his manly countenaunce become more effeminate then before after a womanishe or diuine maner not portraited in Brasse or Marble but adorned with rare and exquisite pearles This is no small rebuke for the pryde and spoyle of the East to be layde vpon the head of one man not without the insultyng of the conquering people and to the excusing of the Princes that shoulde ensue For what shoulde not Rome being afterwarde in slauerie vnder tyrantes suffer which being free behelde this so great insolencie of a most louyng citizen As for the other furnitures of his triumphe whiche was more humble or sober they are not mencioned neyther the armour and horses of the subdued nations as the maner was wont to be nor the prisoners charrets nor other
But you weltring heauily vpon the ground stouping and as it were fastened to the earth dare not looke vpwardes towardes heauen and forgettyng the chiefe woorkeman with marueilous pleasure ye beholde the slender pictures of the Sunne and Moone and determine where the passage is to the highest places but there ye ende the boundes of your vnderstanding Ioy. I am specially delyghted with painted tables and Pictures Reason Thou conceiuest delight in the pencill and colours wherein the price and cunning and varietie and curious dispersing doth please thine eye euen so likewyse the liuely gestures of lyuelesse pictures and the vnmoueable motions of dead images and countenaunces comming out of poastes and liuely portraitures of faces doo bryng thee into woondring insomâ—ch as thou wilt almost thynke they would speake vnto thee and this is the onely danger in this behalfe in that many great wittes haue been ouertaken by these meanes So that whereas the clowne and vnskylfull person wyl with small woondryng passe them ouer the wyser wyll repose hym selfe with sighing and woondring A cunning matter truly howbeit it is not possible from the beginning to vnfold the fyrst originall and encrease of this art and the wonderfulnesse of the woorkes and the industrie of the woorkemen the madnesse of princes and the vnreasonable prices wherewith these haue been bought and brought from beyonde the seas and placed at Rome eyther in the Temples of the Goddes or in the bed chambers of the Emperours or in the common streetes or publique porches and galleries Neyther was this sufficient but that they must also apply their owne right handes which of duety ought to haue been busied about greater affayres vnto the exercise of this art which the most noble Philosophers of all Greece had doone before Whereby it came to passe that among you the art of paintyng was esteemed aboue all handie craftes as a thyng more neere to the woorke of nature And among the Grecians yf ye wyll beleeue Plinie it was accompted among the chiefee of the Liberal Artes. But I let passe these thinges for that they are in a maner contrary to mine entended breuitie and present purpose and may seeme rather to minister infected humours to the sicknesse whose cure I promised to vndertake and by the excellencie of the thinges to excuse the madnesse of the woonderers at them Howbeit I sayde yer whyle that the greatnesse of them that dyd erre made not the errour the lesse but I touched that poynt the rather to this intent that it myght appeare how great the force of that folly was with whiche so many and so great wittes haue conspired vnto whiche also the prince of errour the common multitude and long continuance whiche is the engenderer of customes and acutoritie whiche is a great heape of all mischiefes are ioyned so that the pleasure and admiration thereof is able priuily to remooue and withdrawe the minde from contemplation of higher matters But yf these thynges that are counterfeited and shadowed with vayne colours doo so muche delyght thee cast vp thyne eyes vppon hym that hath adorned mans face with senses his minde with vnderstandyng the heauen with starres the earth with flowres and so shalt thou contemne those woorkemen whom thou woondredst at Of Statues and Images The .xli. Dialogue IOY BUt I take great pleasure in Images Reason These be sundrie artes but the madnesse is one there is but one beginning of them both one ende but diuers matter Ioy. I delyght in statues Reason These come in shew more neere vnto nature then pictures For they doo but appeare only but these are felt to be sounde and substantiall and there theyr bodyes are more durable Whiche is the cause that there remayne to this day in no place any pictures of men of auncient times but statues innumerable Whereby this age in this point as in many thynges els erronious woulde seeme to haue been the fyrst inuenter of pictures or whether that because it alleageth that it hath deuised somwhat whiche commeth neare to the fyrst inuention thereof beyng perfect and excellent in it and in all kindes of engrauing and dare boldly and impudently affirme though falsly that it is not inferiour to any in grauing and caruing all sortes of seales statues seeing in very dtede they be almost al one art or if they be diuers they sprang both from one fountayne to wit the art of drawing doubtlesse are of one antiquitie flourished at one tyme For why Apelles and Pyrgoteles and Lysippus lyued at one tyme whiche may by this meanes be prooued in that the great pride of Alexander of Macedonie chose these three together aboue the rest whereof the one should paint him the other engraue him and the thyrde carue him strayghtly forbiddyng all other vppon whatsoeuer cunnyng or assuraunce of skyll presumyng to meddle with expressyng the kynges face any maner of way and yet was not this madnesse lesse then the residue But euery disease is so muche the more daungerous howe muche more stable and fixed the matter is whereof it proceedeth Ioy. But I am delyghted in Images Reason Thynke not that thou errest alone or that thou hast no fellowes but the common people For in tymes past howe great the dignitie hath been of statues and images and howe feruent the studie and desire of men was reposed in suche pleasures the most diligent enquirie of Augustus and Vaspasian and other Emperours and Kynges of whom it were impertinent and too long to intreate also of other noble personages of the second degree industrious keepyng of them when they had founde them and theyr sundrie dedicatyng and bestowing them may sufficiently declare Hereunto also may be added the great fame of the workemen not rashly spread abroade by the common people or reported vpon dumbe workes but celebrated in the soundyng bookes of learned and approoued writers whiche beyng so great seemeth in no wyse to be able to spryng from a smal roote A great name commeth not of nothing it must be great in deede or seeme to be so whereof great men doo seriously intreate But all these thinges I haue answeared before and tende to this purpose that thou mayest vnderstande with what force so auncient and stout an errour must be resisted Ioy. I conceyue pleasure in sundry statues images Reason There is one of these artes whiche by the handy woorke doth imitate nature men commonly call it framyng and fashionyng This art woorketh with waxe playster of Paris and cleauing claye whiche although among all the other artes that haue affinitie with it it be more freendly and come neerest to vertue or is lesse enimie to modestie and thriftinesse whiche two vertues doo more allowe of imagies and statues of Goddes and men to be made of earth and suche lyke matter then of golde and precious stone Yet what delyght there is to be conceyued in looking vppon faces made of waxe or earth I doo not vnderstand Ioy. I take delyght in
noble statues and images Reason I know the meanyng of couetousnesse it is the price as I suppose and not the art that pleaseth thee I am sure thou doest in minde esteeme one image of golde of meane woorkemanshyp aboue many made of brasse and marble and specially of clay or other cast stuffe and not vnwysely as the present valuation of thinges nowe adayes requireth and this is as muche to say as to loue the golde and not the statue whiche as it may be made noble of a vile matter so may it be made rude of pure golde How muche wouldest thou esteeme of an image whether it were the kinges of Assyria whiche was made of golde threescore cubites long which it was death not to adore although there be many at this day that would adore it to haue it of their owne or whether it were made of a great Topace of foure cubites long of whiche thou readest that the Queene of Egypts image was made a strange thing to be spoken I suppose thou wouldest not very muche enquire after the woorkeman that made it but rather after the matter that it is made of Ioy. Images and statues cunningly wrought delight mine eyes Reason Images and statues somtime were the tokens of vertues but now they be enticementes of the eyes They were erected in the honour and remembraunce of suche as had atchiued woorthy deedes or voluntarily yeelded them selues vp vnto death from their common wealth Suche as were decreed to be set vp in honour of the Embassadours that were slayne by the king of the Vetâ—i such as were erected in the honour of Scipio Africane the deliuerer of Italye whiche his most valiant courage and woorthy modestie woulde not receiue but whiche after his death he coulde not refuse They were erected in the honour of wise and learned men the lyke whereof we reade was erected vnto Victorinus and now adayes they are erected vnto ryche Merchantes wrought of outlandish Marble of great value Ioy. Statues artificially wrought doo muche delight mee Reason Euery kinde of stuffe almost wyl admit cunning woorkmanship but I perceyue how this thy delight is ful of wisdome and ioyned with the most noble matter Howbeit I can not perceyue how there shoulde be any pleasure in the golde no although it were wrought by Phidias or what worthinesse there shoulde be in it being but a drosse of that earth although it be yelow but by meanes of the Anduil hammers tongues coales inuention handy labour What thing may be wrought that is to be wished of a man or hath in deede any magnificencie in it consider with thee selfe Ioy. I can not chose but take great pleasure in images Reason To take pleasure in the wittie deuises of men so it be modestly done is tollerable and specially of such as excel in wit For vnlesse malice be an hinderaunce euery man doeth willingly reuerence that in another which he loueth in him selfe To take delight also in the images and statues of godly and vertuous men the beholding of which may stirre vs vp to haue remembrance of their maners liues is reasonable may profite vs in imitating the same Prophane images also although somtime they moue the nunde and styrre it vp to vertue whilst lukewarme mindes doo waxe hot with the remembraunce of noble deedes yet ought they not to be loued or esteemed of aboue reason and duetie lest they become eyther witnesses of our foslie or ministers of our couetousnesse or rebellious to our fayth and true religion and that most excellent commaundement of the Apostle Keepe your selues from Images But truly if thou beholde him in thy contemplation who created the fixed earth the moueable sea and turnyng heauen who also hath replenished the earth not with feigned and counterfeite but with true and liuing men and beastes the sea with fishes the heauen with foules I suppose that thou wylt as lytle esteeme of Polycletus and Phidias as of Protegenes and Apelles Of vessels of Corinthe The .xlii. Dialogue IOY WHO wyl not be moued with delyght vnto Corinthian vessels Reason Earthly thynges can not moue him that is accustomed to heauenly and euen so yf these vessels be compared with the heauenly treasures they be smal they be nothing they be but loathsomnes and an heauie burthen For how can the minde whiche thinketh vpon it owne beginning gape into the pittes of earth or esteeme of that which is digged out of them whyle he beholdeth the Heauens the Sunne the Starres himselfe and is busied in the contemplation of the most hygh creatour of all thinges Ioy. I take pleasure in Corinthian vessels Reason Knowest thou not then that thou takest pleasure not onely in a colde and senseles burthen of the earth but also in the woorkemanshyp of a smutchie and filthie woorkeman and lasty in the remnauntes and reliques of the Romane spoyles Returne to histories When Mummius had by fine force taken the Citie of Corinth and after the spoyle consumed it with fire al maner of images as wel of golde and siluer as of brasse whatsoeuer by chaunce had escaped the handes of the conquerours whereof that Citie in olde tyme had great plentie were with lyke fire molten togeather all kyndes of mettalles ran there flowing as it were in one channel and by that meanes of al those mettalles there arose one most noble mettall which was the beginning of these most pâ—ecious vessels from the destruction of the Citie sprang foorth the name of lasciuiousnesse not that the same madnesse arose in that Citie whiche nowe was fallyng but the matter onely was prepared for the madnesse that should folowe hereafter And by this meanes Corinth was at that tyme the beginner of this madnesse which now commeth from Damascus from thence at this day are vessels sent which wyll soone rauishe both your eyes and mindes Ioy. I am delyghted in Corinthian vessels Reason I shoulde marueile the more at thee vnlesse it were read in excellent good writers howe that Augustus the Emperour although he were a most modest and graue prince yet was he notwithstanding so inuaded dryuen headlong with this delyght that he was thought to haue condemned certayne in the Triumuiral proscription for none other cause then the desyre of suche vessels insomuche as there was an infamous libel fastened vpon the statue of this woorthie Prince to his perpetual ignominie wherein he was termed a Corinthiarian And yf ye wyll beleeue mee there was but small difference in this respect betweene this most excellent Prince and the vilest that euer was Antonius sauyng that a lesse cause mooued Augustus to doo an iniurie and euery offence is the more greeuous the greater the person is that offendeth and the lesse cause he hath to offende Neither can the greatnesse and power of the offender escape the woundes of tongues and pennes or exempt them out of the iudgementes of men but rather they doo sharpen them and prouoke them to farther reuenge The pratlyng multitude spareth
Father The Lxxxii Dialogue IOY I Haue a good Father Reason Acknowledge then thy good for it is but short Ioy. I haue a very good Father Reason He wyll procure griefe vnto thee or thou vnto hym Ioy. I haue a most tender Father Reason If the order of nature be obserued great heauinesse remayneth vnto thee for inheritaunce but yf the order be peruerted the lyke abydeth hym Ioy. I haue a Father yet Reason Vse him with diligence this is a frayle pleasantnesse and thy Father is an old man. Ioy. I haue an olde man to my Father Reason There is now no place for lingring make haste to gather the last fruite as it were from a ruinous tree Keepe him companie as much as thou canst see him diligently as yf he were immediatly departyng but heare him more willingly and lay vp his last aduertisementes in thy careful minde and when thou goest from him leaue him furnished with necessaries as yf thou were goyng a farre iourney The tyme wyll come thou shalt lacke his counsell and shalt seeke him and not fynde hym at home Ioy. I haue an extreame olde man to my Father Reason Make haste to shewe the last duetifulnesse of vertue towardes hym whyle there is tyme yf thou omit any thyng now thou wylt alwayes be sorie Ioy. I haue a vertuous Father Reason Then hast thou suche an one as desireth to dye before thee and feareth to lyue after thee Ioy. I haue a very good Father Reason Thou shalt not knowe what he was before thou want hym and for whom thou wylt lament when thou hast lost hym Of a most louing Mother The Lxxxiii Dialogue IOY I Haue a most louing Mother Reason But thou art vnto her a continual feare and carefulnesse Ioy. I haue a most louing Mother Reason The Fathers loue is greatest but the Mothers loue is most vehement and both their loues are such and so great that the affection of the childe vnlesse it be very rare can scarce counteruayle it Notwithstanding the contention betweene the Parentes and the Children in shewing loue and duetie one towardes another is commendable and vertuous let them haue the victorie vpon whom the fountaine of heauenly charitie is most abundantly powred But hytherto the Parentes haue the vpper hand neyther is yet the duetifulnesse of the Chyldren or their reuerence towardes their elders and progenitours suche that it may minister iust cause that we shoulde thinke it woulde be otherwyse but if it shoulde chaunce so to happen besides expectation there were no sight in the earth that coulde be deuised more acceptable vnto the heauens Ioy. I haue a verie good Mother Reason Be thou at leastwise a good childe vnto her remember that thou was first a burden and coyle vnto her and afterwarde a most bitter payne and lastly a continuall trouble and ielous carefulnesse Thinke on her wombe that bare thee and her breastes that gaue thee sucke how many sleepes and how many meales or pleasures thou hast broken her of by thy crying What feare and sorowe thou hast procured her by thy chaunces and sometymes also perhaps perilous pleasures Many tymes as the feare of chyldrens death hath enforced the wretched Mothers to ende their lyues so also hath the ioy of their lyfe This last poynt appeared playnely that day wherein they that remayned after the slaughter at Thrasimenus beyng dispersed returned safe to their friendes and when two Mothers who thought no lesse but that their sonnes were slayne in the battayle sawe them notwithstanding come agayne in safetie not being able to susteine the force of so sodayne a ioy they dyed presently So that by this and suche lyke examples it is truely verified that amongst men there is no greater ingratitude then that which is shewed agaynst the Mother Ioy. My Mother is yet lyuing an olde woman Reason As often as thou lookest vpon her and beholdest the earth also thinke from whence thou commest and whyther thou shalt out of how narrowe a place thou camest and into how narrowe an one thou shalt depart to witteout of the wombe of thyne owne Mother into the bowelles of the Earth that is mother of al thinges Among all the thinges therefore which between these twaine do delight and busie the minde drawe backe the raynes of pryde and couetousnesse Of good Brethren and louing and fayre Sisters The Lxxxiiii Dialogue IOY I Haue louyng Brethren Reason A rare matter for parentes for the most part doo alwayes loue but brethren most commonly doo hate and despise one another And therefore the trueth cryeth out by the mouth of the Poet Ouid That seldome is loue sounde among brethren whereas there is noted the wickednesse and vndutifulnesse of brethren children and almost al sortes of men exceptyng parentes Ioy. I haue very good Brethren Reason Truely I woonder at it it is enough that they be good for most tymes they be euyll and the worst of all other and so much worse then open enimies by how much there is lesse heede to be taken of domestical treacherie How great the loue of brethren is that I may not bryng to lyght them that are vnknowen nor offende them that are present the most famous couples the Micenian the Thebane and the Romane brethren doo declare which infamie why it shoulde more redounde vnto one citie then to the whole worlde I see no cause Beholde the first brethren that were in the worlde one was slayne by the hand of the other and yet hast thou not heard a most horrible mischiefe to tell for Phraates king of the Parthians of whom I spake before beside his most detestable parricide in murdering at one time his owne father and natural sonne we reade how he slue moreouer his thirtie brethren not fearyng by so foule a massacre and bloodshed to establish his yl gottten kingdome and vtterly to extinguishe al feare of competitours Ioy. My Brethren are good Reason I suppose you haue not yet deuided your inheritaunce for then your malice wylbreake foorth Golde is tryed by fyre and so is the minde by golde That agreement whiche seemeth to be great is oftentymes ouerthrowen by a litle golde Ioy. I haue louyng Brethren Reason Perhaps thy single lyfe or lacke of children causeth them to loue thee Thy marrying wyl discouer them but hauing of chyldren more better when they shal perceyue them selues depriued of the hope of succession whiche hope hath caused the most impatient to suffer muche Ioy. I haue brethren that loue me most deerely Reason It ought to be so vnlesse malice or feare or couetousnesse or immoderate desire to haue which whyle it coueteth to be satisfied quite forgetting the lawe both of God and man doo hinder it How great so euer the loue be betweene the parentes and the chyldren yet are the maners and conuersation diuers which although the parentes doo perceiue quickly yet do they acknoledge it too late Although fathers loue their chyldren at the fyrst yet it is long are they receyue them
for thy daughter a wyfe for thy sonne thou hast woon the peoples fauour with thy ambitious flatterie thou hast gotten theyr voyces thou hast prepared vnto thy selfe a redy way vnto ryches and honour there nowe remayneth nothyng but that thou reioyce in thyne owne felicitie This yf I be not deceyued is thy conclusion but myne is farre other wyse to wyt that thou dye It seldome happeneth vnto men to enioy long that which they haue gotten togeather with great diligence the toyle is long the vse is short Ioy. Nowe that my affayres goe forwarde prosperously I am in an assured state Reason Howe thou canst stande whyle thyne affayres goe forwarde see thou for I cannot perceyue Ioy. I reioyce nowe that my businesse proceedeth accordyng to my desire Reason Now therefore it is tyme to dye thynkest thou that there can any man lyue long meery heare Dye therefore while thou art meery before thou begyn to be sorowful I wyl nowe repeate agayne that whiche I haue sayde For the repeatyng of profitable thinges is not tedious but pleasant Dooest thou remember in Tullie what Lacon sayde to the auncient Diagoras Rhodius who at that tyme muche reioyced though vpon very lyght occasion whiche thou heardest before when we entreated of Palestrical exercises Die nowe Diagoras quoth he for thou canst not clymbe into heauen And truely it was grauely spoken For in this so great an alteration of thinges what can the mynde looke for more then to leaue to be mery and to begyn to be sorowful And therefore Diagoras very seasonably folowed his friendes counsel for in the sight and a middest the shoutyng and gratulation of the people in the middest of the embrasinges and kysses of his sonnes he gaue vp the ghost This Historie is written in the booke of the Attike nightes and in summe moe haue peryshed through ioy then sorowe Of all therefore that are wyse but specially that are in great ioy death is to be wyshed of whiche we ought alwayes to thynke but most of all in tyme of prosperitie and this cogitation wyll brydle al other Ioy. I haue taken payne and nowe I rest Reason Ye hope al for that but therein ye be all deceyued The course of your lyfe fareth otherwyse and the ende thereof answereth not your expectation This thy rest is eyther short or false or to speake more truely both and howe then carrye dreame any rest heare So dooth he that is in pryson dreame of libertie the sicke man of health and he that is hungrie of dayntie cheere but behold the last day is at hand whiche wyll shortly dryue away these dreames But be ye not deceyued by dreames and false opinions wherof the lyfe of man is full promyse not vnto your selues rest heare Beleeue me death is all the rest that men haue after theyr trauailes Ioy. I haue al thynges most plentifully that I thynke to be necessarie forâ—ine Reason All thinges more then needeful are wast superfluous but this is the maner of mans minde that professyng and ascendyng vpward to heauen burdeneth it selfe with so great care and studie as it is scarce neuer able to disburden it self againe so that being wayed downe with a forraigne burden whyle it endeuoureth to ryse vpward it falleth downe the earth is vnto it in steede of heauen Ioy. I haue abundaunce of al thinges and they be nowe in the Hauen Reason Then are they in the end of their course For this present lyfe is lyke to the troublesome Sea. The end of the one is at the shore and of the other in death so that they may be both well termed Hauens And truely the most part of men while they be careful in heaping togeather necessaries to lyue by in the chiefest of their preparation they are cut of by death and there is nothyng nowe more common then for death to preuent the carefulnesse of this lyfe it happeneth but vnto fewe to obteyne their desire and from these the vse of theyr dayly gaine is so soone taken away that the shortnesse of theyr ioy is an encrease of their sorowe wherof it is knowne that many haue complained at theyr death Ioy. Now that I haue ended my trauayles I lyue in securitie Reason So doth the foule flie safe betweene the line and the grin the fishe playeth among the hookes and the wylde beastes among the toyles Oftentimes whereas is most danger and least feare it is fortunes cunning to take away distrust that she may strike the more freely Ioy. I haue toyled al my lyfe tyme to the end I might take my rest at last Reason Thou hast placed thy rest securitie vpon a daungerous downefal hast liued in sorow to die in mirth wherein thou hast folowed no absurd gouernment concernyng thy lyfe and death so that we agree about the qualitie of the securitie and rest sorow and ioy Ioy. I haue prouided al things to furnysh my selfe whyle I lyue Reason Nay rather to make thy death more greiuous Thou hast wel prouided for the Phisitions they will shortly come thicke vnto thee pratling about thy bed There wil come also some to make thy Testament some to loke for Legacies some that wil dissemble their ioy counterfeite teares secretly curse that thy life continueth so long thy death approcheth no faster some wil marke the crisis or determination day of the sicknesse some the signes and tokens some wyl watch the golden carkasse All these goodes whiche in al thy lyfe tyme thou hast scraped togeather wyl be the meanes onely not for thee to lyue the better but to dye the more accompanied Thou hast not altogeather lost thy labour for thou shalt not lacke companie when thou art sicke neyther money for thy lust and superfluities neyther pompe for thy buriall Ioy. Now that I haue gotten al things I may take my rest Reason I sayd erwhyle thou soughtest rest and comfort of lyfe but thou hast founde payne and tediousnesse of death Ioy. I haue disposed all thynges and attained prosperitie Reason Thou hast heaped togeather a nest of most deceitfull and transitorie hope which so soone as it groweth to any ripenesse wyl flee away leauing thy hart voyde and sorowfull and many tymes it perisheth before it be fledge Ioy. After my long traueyle commeth quietnesse Reason Perhaps it wyll be as short as may be possible For often the trauel of many yeeres perisheth in a moment when as for the most part al procedinges are by degrees the endes of thynges are not seldome sudden Ioy. By long cares at length I am come to the beginning of securitie Reason Humane curiositie is very careful of the beginninges but is so blynde that it cannot foresee the ende A thycke miste of the tyme to come hath bleared the sight of mortal mens eyes Let our deliberation be the accomplishment of our fortune But to speake more truely it is the wyl of God in whose hands are al mens chaunces not such as in your
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
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
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
nightly conflictes and to awake them out of their sleepe and alwayes to be carefull and circumspect howe these licentious cattayle vse them selues towardes their neyghbours at leastwyse thou shalt take thy rest in the night season for they that ryde do trauayle and are troubled also in the night Sorowe I go a long iourney on foote Reason Perhaps in shoes For the holie fathers walked about the wildernesse vpon their bare feete The apostles which were the messengers of Almightie God walked throughout al partes of the worlde one into the East another into the Weast another into the North another into the South somtime they went by water that but seldome only when as the situation of the place was such as they coulde not otherwise choose but which of them I pray thee hast thou hearde to haue ridden on horsebacke except S. Iohn only Neither rode he euer more then once and that but a litle way which was as Clemens writeth the Ecclesiastical historie maketh mention when as he was stirred foorth with a godly hast to recouer the soule of a lost desperat young man And how should they ryde whose Lorde and Maister went on foote He scarse rode once hym self vpon a poore Asse which was not long before he was hanged vpon the crosse But if these examples doo ouer-burden thee with incomparable holynesse yet is it knowne well yenough that the Romane armies which vanquished the whole world were for the most part of them footemen who not only carried their armour and weapon on foote but also as muche victual as should serue them many dayes moreouer a kinde of munition whereby when once they were entred within their enimies boundes they defended their campe in the day times and theyr tentes in the nyght agaynst the inuasion of their enemies whervpon our cuntreiman Cicero in a certein place excellently disputing of the Romane souldiers when he had sayd that vnto valiant men of other nations theyr armour was no impediment but in the maner of a garment yet this commendation he gaue them aboue al other saying that vnto the Romane souldiers only their armour weapons were not a garment but stood them in steede of their armes shoulders And when they had once put on those warlike burdens whereof I spake then they thought them selues in deede to be apparrelled And least haply any man be deceiued by the common custome of speache let it be knowne vnto them that by the name of souldiours or seruitours footemen are only signified and that in many places of the Romane historie it may be geathered that by this name they are distinguished from horse men although they doo both sortes of them serue in the warres Wherefore the remembrance of theyr labour and trauayle may breede thee no small ease comfort not only being vnarmed and light and trauayling on an hard though a safe iourney but also yf thou were armed and heauily laden and faryng on foote in a dangerous path For there is nothing more effectuall vnto the beareyng of aduersitie then to thinke that many haue borne the same with valiant myndes And a loftie minde wylbe ashamed that he only cannot doo that which in numerable coulde doo before hym Whiche thought hath not only been profitable in labours of difficultie but also in those paynes and tormentes of the body whiche seeme to be most miserable specially in death it selfe Sorowe A long payneful iourney do I sorowfully passe foorth on foote Reason There is nothing that so much easeth a painful iourney and comforteth an heauie minde as noble and sweete cares which cannot harbour within the hart and keepe company al the way long vnlesse it be with some good and learned man Herevnto if by chaunce there happen the pleasaunt societie of some meery and eloquent companion the iourney shall not only seeme light but short also Many haue been so delighted with pleasaunt communication vpon the way that they haue felt no tediousnesse at al of the trauaile and although the iourney were long indeede yet haue they complayned of the shortnes therof supposing them selues not to haue gone but rather to haue been carried This is also common among the wrâ—tie sayinges of Publius A pleasant companion vpon the way is as good as a Wagon Of one yeeres barrennesse The Lviij Dialogue SOROWE I Am oppressed with the barrennesse of one yeere Reason Plentie then will be the better welcome vnto thee euery thing is best knowne by comparyng it with the contrary Sorowe My lande hath deceyued myne expectation Reason It is not thy lande that hath deceyued thee but thy wyckednesse and greedinesse of mynde you promyse your selues euery thyng to fall out as you would haue them lyke proude fooles beyng worthie in your owne opinion that nature her selfe shoulde be at your commaundement Who yf she dare receyue her ryght and fayle once to satisfie the deepe and bottomelesse whyrlpoole of your couetous mynds which nothyng is able to fyl then seemeth she vnto you straunge and couetous iniurious This is no righteous nor modest hope but the imaginations of an immoderate desire yee feigne that those thynges shall come to passe whiche you woulde haue and if you mysse ought thereof you call it a losse thy lande keepeth it olde custome and thou thyne For the barrennesse and fruitefulnes of the earth come by course but your couetousnesse is continual You beyng most partiall interpretours of all thynges when as you ought to take the first thankefully and soberly and the seconde patiently and valiantly the one you contemne the other you bewayle the one maketh you proude the other playntyffe Sorowe My lande whiche promised me better successe hath deceiued me Reason You weery the earth with your oxen and plowes and heauen with your vowes and prayers The blowing of the wyndes the oportunitie of shewres the comelinesse of the springyng trees the beautie of the fieldes the Wynters dust the Springs durt the Sommer Sun the rypenesse of haruest all these do drawe your couetous mindes into hope And lyke as euery flambe setteth on fyre the drie stubble and euery wynde bloweth abrode the loose dust euen so euery gaine engendreth hope to the couetous minde and the least losse not of substance only but also of hope quite confoundeth him But O you wretches moderate your vnseemely motions restraine your vnmeasurable couetousnesse and chasten your crebulus hope which hath ben frustrated by a thousand successes to what end do you looke vpon heauen and earth Plentifulnesse commeth from God only O ye mortal men suffer him to worke his pleasure behold you what is done praise it Let the workeman woorke denye not vnto God that reuerence which ought to be geuen to a man that is skilful in any science Let vesselles of earth be ashamed to controule the heauenly potter but in voyce and mynde geue thanks vnto hym for al thing who being priuie of your necessities and not ignorant of your desires
it can not be remedied must be suffered with a valiant minde Howbeit as he doth not refuse to suffer the woorkes of nature who by this tyme ought to haue learned to suffer so many insolencies so many cruelties so many cruell outragies so many rapines committed by men the same man also shall soone perceyue howe iniuriously dame nature is dayly torne in peeces for small tryfles seeyng that one man is constrayned to suffer so manye bytter and greeuous touches at anothers handes Sorowe I am plagued with extreame heate Reason Stay a whyle for the sharpnesse of Winter is commyng apace whiche wyl abandon this tediousnesse Sorowe I am sore vexed with câ—â—de Reason Behold Summer maketh haste that wyll take away the bytternesse thereof Sorowe I am greeued with colde Reason There is scarce any discommâ—ditie to be found for whiche nature hath not prouided a remedie And many tymes there be sundrie remedies founde for one greefe these thynges followyng keepe away colde the house clothes meate drynke labour and exercise There is seldome any ouercome with colde vnlesse before he be ouercome by slouthfulnesse I am ashamed to recken vp fyre among the remedies agaynst cold which is a great argument of humane idlenes It is nothing so easie a matter with a wet lynnen cloath to drawe away water that is mingled with wine in an whole Hoggeshead as it is to separate sluggardes from good husbandes at a good fyre in the Winter season thyther run all they that haue neyther blood nor courage of minde a man may then beholde yf he haue a delyght to see it our youth to the intent they would seeme fayre to deforme them selues agaynst the fyre by making their bodyes naked from the nauell downwarde for whom how much were it more honest and seemely to couer their priuie partes then by scorching their thyghes and buttockes agaynst the flame to annoy the senses of the standers by with their loath some stynke Sorowe At one tyme I quake and at another I sweate Reason I easily beleeue thee for I knowe thy manners and whyles thou art speakyng I wyll tell thee what commeth into my minde The historie is but new and short In Fraunce there was a father and his sonne apprehended for treason and iudged to be executed accordyng to the manner of the countrey by standyng in a Caudron wherein they shoulde be boyled to death Now it was winter and when they were both put naked and bounde into the colde water the young man began to quake and chatter his teeth for colde but when once the water began to waxe hotte by meanes of the fyre that was made vnder it then began he also by greeuous lamentation and weepyng to declare his impacience of the heate But on the othersyde the olde man persisting vnmoueable in both and lookyng vppon hym with a sterne countenaunce Thou sonne quoth he of a most vyle whoore canst thou abyde neyther colde nor heate A saying truely perhappes of an euyll yet of a constaunt and valiant minde and well deseruyng that the speaker thereof shoulde leape vnhurt out of the deadly Caudron But most conuenient for your youth to learne then whom there is nothyng more effeminate nor tender who in the Summer doo curse the sunne lyke the Atlantes and in the wynter season woorshyp the fire as do the Caldees Sorowe The snowe molesteth me Reason Those that be nice do also loath delicate thynges Howbeit some haue counted it a most beautiful matter to see snowe fall without wynde and truely if there be any thyng fairer then snowe yet verily there is nothyng whyter Sorowe We are troubled sometyme with to muche heate and sometyme with to muche colde at one tyme with ouermuch drought and at another with to much rayne Reason Some say that Alexander was most impatient of heate and no marueyle for he could not endure prosperitie nor aduersitie and contrariwyse they say that Hannibal could indifferently away both with heat and colde Why doest not thou also take vnto thy selfe some one part though it be of vnlyke prayse He coulde suffer both wel canst thou endure neyther This good doth pleasure bryng you at the begynnyng whiche doth soften you and make you effeminate and as I may truely say geld your myndes so that you dare not onely not abyde your enimies swoordes or death but also not so muche as the ayryal impressions I crye styll but alwayes I crye in vayne vnto you for that I crye vnto deafe folkes Leaue vnto nature her owne office she dooth nothyng without the counsell of the most hyghest You ignorant fooles there is not one drop of water that falleth vpon the earth more or lesse then is expedient and although that euery particuler mans lust be not satisfied yet is there generall prouision made for the safetie of all men Sorowe I am greeued on the one side with durt on the other with dust here with cloudes there with windes and thunder Reason The diuersitie of the earth foloweth the diuersitie of heauen moyst ayre breedeth durt and drye ayre dust so lykewyse by moouing of the ayre come wyndes of vapours cloudes of windes and cloudes tempestes and thunder are engendred Who so knoweth the causes of thynges and sheweth hym selfe obedient vnto nature shal not bewaile the consequence of effectes And although there be great question among some concernyng the wyndes neuerthelesse doth not the ayre that is mooued with no wynde seeme vnto thee in a manner halfe dead in so much that some not vnaptly haue tearmed the wynde a soule or a spirit As for dust thou seest how that among men of valure it is counted sweete which also vertue onely hath by dyuers operation caused that as much may be beleeued also of durt Thunder and lyghtnyng with suche other lyke forcible motions of heauen what be they other then the threates and warninges of the most mercyful God Who truely vnlesse he had loued man woulde not threaten hym but stryke hym seeing that he neuer lacketh many and iust causes to stryke hym in deede That these thynges apparteyne vnto the terrifâ—yng of men but specially of those that rebell agaynst God not onely the Poet who was skylfull of the secretes of nature doth signifie but also the Prophetisse whiche seemed to be priuie of Gods counsel sayeth The aduersaries of the Lorde shal feare hym and he shall thunder vpon them from heauen O ye the aduersaries of the Lorde stande in feare of the true thunderer labour to come into his fauour that beyng reconciled into freendshyp with God ye feare nothyng but to displease hym Doo ye this rather and leaue complaynyng Sorowe I am sorie for this darke and cloudie weather Reason No tempest continueth long and after fayre weather come cloudes and after cloudes fayre weather commeth agayne and one of them immediatly foloweth another and that which is so short should be suffered without complayntes Sorowe I am offended with the cloudes Reason This offence is a certayne kynde of
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
whereof is extant eyther in the bookes of histories or yet ryfe in the mindes of men that sawe them when as long sence vpon one and the selfe same day both the citie of Rhodes was shaken with an horrible earthquake and also newe Ilandes rose vp from the bottom of the sea and moreouer twelue auncient cities in Asia were ouerthrowen and some also swallowed vp into the earth After that the same mischiefe raged also in Achaia and Macedonia and last of all in Campania the most bewtiful part I say not of Italy only but also of al the world much about Senecas time who maketh mention therof among his naturall questions when as by the same most cruell outrage Herculaneum and the Pompeâ—j which are most famous cities of those quarters yea and Naples it selfe was not a litle molested as thou mayest reade Shall I prosecute all examples touching this matter Truely that were an infinite woorke Of late dayes thou mightest haue seene the Alpes which reach vnto the cloudes and deuide Italy from Garmanie who as Virgil saith do neuer mooue to stirre and quake and in many places to be ouerthrowne and immediatly after the queene of al cities greeuously shaken euen to the vtter subuerting of the towers and churches therof and also some layde flat with the ground And not long after this as it were for a continuance of the miserie it is wel knowne how that the best and most fertile part of al Germany namely the whole valley of the Rhine was shaken and vpon the shoare therof standing the citie of Basile and also castles and fortresses to the number of foure score and vpwarde vtterly ouerthrowen Truely an horrible matter were it not that death were the most terrible of al terrible thynges Who so hath learned not to feare that wyll feare nothyng as the Poet Horace sayeth excellently well If al the worlde shoulde fall though the peeces thereof strake hym he woulde not be a fearde For what skilleth it whether a litle stone fall vpon thee and brayne thee or the most mightie mountayne Apeninus crushe thee to death so thou be slayne by any of them or the whole worlde breake and fall vpon thee seeing there is but death in neyther Vnlesse perhaps some wyl count that death to be the more honorable whiche is procured by the greater instrument Wherefore to conclude this is the summe of myne aduice forasmuch as we haue also set downe some remedies agaynst lyghtnyng and all other mischeefes are releeued eyther by resistyng or geuing place vnto them and it falleth out contrariwyse in this that neyther flyght auayleth neyther wyt nor force can preuayle it were good aboue al thynges to lay away the feare of death whiche onely maketh al thynges dreadeful whiche thyng to do I confesse is very harde in deede to speake but yet not impossible to doo And forasmuch as there is no tyme nor place free from this heauie chaunce men ought to prepare and arme their myndes with al patience agaynst whatsoeuer may happen eyther by course of nature or by fortune at al tymes and places whiche cannot possibly be done vnlesse there be also adioyned the loue of vertue and feare of vice To conclude seeing that not only the heauens are in continuall motion and the elementes threaten you round about but also the earth vppon which you treade which also was hoped to be without al danger and a most assured rampire is sometime shaken deceiueth and putteth in feare her inhabitantes I exhort you to flee with your mindes vp to heauen and among al these shakinges and quakinges of thinges and men to repose al your hope in him who looketh downe vpon the earth and maketh it to quake of whom it is writen I am the Lorde and I am not changed Whosoeuer fasteneth vpon him the footestepes of a deuout minde is safe and sound and shal neuer be moued himselfe nor stand in feare of any earthquake Feare I cannot choose but be mooued and feared with earthquakes Reason Canst thou remoone al thy hope and mynde from the earth Do so and thou shalt lyue out of feare and stand vpryght whether that shake or fal For to repose assured trust in a quaking and vnconstant thyng is a great follie Of the plague farre and wide raging The .xcii. Dialogue FEARE I Am afrayde of the plague which rageth farre and wyde Reason In this also is nothyng els but the feare of death whiche being cast of thou hast purchased perfect securitie whiche feare ought not onely to be layde downe of valiant mindes but also neuer be admitted for what is lesse the part of a man then to feare common thynges Feare I am afeard of the plague Reason Forasmuch as thou must needes dye what shalt thou loose or gayne by dying of the plague but that thou shalt dye with more company but if thou escape that thy life be the sweeter vnto thee since that thou art deliuered out of so great a danger if so be it be danger and not nature to dye for the plague sweepeth not away al whiche if it had been so there should none haue escaped this last great plague a more sorer then which there was neuer any since the begynnyng of the worlde But many escaped who it had been better they had dyed whereof it commeth that as thou now seest the worlde is pestred with these kyndes of dregges as it was woont to be whiche neuer any plague nor death is able to consume they are so clodded and baken Feare I feare the plague Reason Say rather as the trueth is thou fearest death wherof for that I see thee so prone vnto complaintes I purpose to entreate before I make an ende of this booke For this only exepted wherefore shouldest thou abhor the name of the plague seeing as I haue sayd it is rather a kinde of comfort to die with many Feare I stand in dread of the plague Reason If it be a certayne kynde of loue and charitie towardes mankynde that draweth thee hereunto I haue cause to commend thee for there is nothing more besettyng a man then to take compassion vpon the miseries of men But if it be for thine owne sake onely I may iustly blame thee for wherein can the plague hurt thee that art a mortal man but to bryng thee to that whereunto thou must needes come vnlesse perhaps thou count this among the discommodities thereof not to be solemly mourned for whiche hapneth vnto them that dye so and thou count them more happie who are recited by Virgil to assend most bewayled of their freendes vp into heauen Of sadnesse and miserie The .xciii. Dialogue SOROW. I Am sad Reason A man must consider for what cause he is sad or merie These as many thynges els may be tearmed indifferent matters whiche vpon smal occasion may be made good or bad For sadnesse for sinne is good so that it ioyne not handes priuily with desperation and ioy for vertue and the remembrance of
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
tyme the diuinitie and Godhead humbled hymselfe to woorke your saluation although he coulde yet woulde he not take vppon hym any other then the body and soule of man neyther woulde he impart the vnion of his Godhead vnto the shape of the Angelles but of men to the ende that thereby thou myghtest vnderstande and reioyce howe deerely thy Lorde and GOD loueth thee For by this meanes as S. Augustine sayth notably hath he reuealed vnto those that are in the fleshe whiche are not able in mynde to discerne the trueth and are altogether lead by the bodyly senses howe hygh a place mans nature possesseth among al creatures Yea ouer and besydes al this he who by this marueylous and mercifull vouchsafeing preferred you before the Angels set Angels also ouer you to keepe and defende you that by all meanes he myght declare your excellencie aboue all other creatures For S. Ierome sayth That your soules are of suche estimation that euery one at theyr first creation hath an Angell appoynted vnto hym for his defence and safegarde Truely GOD hath a fatherly and more then a fatherly care ouer you and a litle to wrest the saying of the Satyrike Poet He loueth man more dearely then his owne selfe What place for sadnesse and complayntes is there lefte among these blessinges Wherefore it is not your nature but your fault that maketh you heauie and complaynyng Sorowe The basenesse of my byrth the frayltie of my nature and nakednesse and pouertie and hardnesse of fortune and shortnesse of lyfe and vncertentie of my ende doo make me heauie Reason Of purpose ye seeke matter to make your selues sadde when as ye ought otherwyse to endeuour to the contrarie that ye myght reioyce in honest gladnesse But I knowe your custome ye be verie dilygent to procure your owne harmes And therefore concernyng the basenesse of thy byrth or deformitie of thy bodye whatsoeuer is amplified vppon that ground by the witte and inuention of any when as the generall resurrection shall come whiche men of vpryght fayth doo vndoubtedly looke for shall not onely be taken away by the woorthynesse of the gloryfying of the bodyes but also be diminished by the present beautie and the singuler Maiestie wherewith GOD hath endued man aboue all the woorkes of his handes For wherein can the basenesse of byrth disparage the dignitie of man Doo not tal and spreadyng Trees whiche growe vppon filthy rootes couer the greene fieldes with their pleasaunt shadowe Doo not the rankest Corne spryng from most filthie dunge and yet so vile an encrease of so excellent a thyng is not contemned You are the corne of GOD that must be clensed vppon the floore of his iudgement and be layde vp in the barne of the great Maister of the housholde although your originall come from the earth and in some part it be excellent and of an heauenly nature but let it be what euer it wyll and be the encrease neuer so difficult yet the last restyng place thereof is Heauen What shall we say vnto the nakednesse and imbecilitie of the bodye and the pynchyng want of many thynges whiche are ascribed vnto the reproche of mans estate Are they not supplyed by the assistaunce of sundrie artes and manifolde prouisions so that they may be rather applyed vnto the glorie of man then to his miserie Whiche appeareth to be true in that dame Nature hath prouided for all other lyuyng creatures that want the vse of Reason a thycke hyde clawes and hayre to couer them withall but vnto man she hath geuen onely vnderstandyng to be a meane to fynde out all other thynges withall to the ende that the bruite beastes myght be in safetie by meanes of an outwarde defence but man by his owne inwarde purueyance and the fyrst shoulde haue as muche as was borne with them and no more but man as muche as he coulde by experience of lyuyng and meditatyng with hym selfe compasse by his witte In lyke manner yf a Maister geue any vaintie meate vnto his Seruantes and Hindes he deuideth vnto euery one his portion by hym selfe but vnto his wyfe and chylde he geueth none so that the Seruauntes must haue no more then that whiche was geuen them but the other may take as much as they lyst thus is the one sort stinted and the other are at theyr libertie Thus then when these other creatures waxe bald eyther by meanes of olde age or manginesse or haue sore eyes or fall lame we see they haue none other remedie but that which is mnistred vnto them by men but man beyng of himselfe naked is clothed and beautified and yf neede require is also armed with his witte and yf he chaunce to fall lame or be weake then he rideth vppon an Horse or sayleth in a Shyp or is carried in a Couche or leaueth vpon a Staffe To be short he assayeth all meanes to helpe and ease hym selfe yea though he haue lost some lym he practiseth to make him selfe legges of Wood handes of Iron nose of Waxe and prouiding against all mishaps yf he waxe sicke he helpeth hym selfe with medicines and with diuers sauces he quickneth his dull taste with medicines for the eyes he cleareth the dulnesse of theyr syght in whiche thyng ye haue deuised more wysely then dyd your forefathers who Anneus Seneca writeth vsed to occupy vessels of Glasse full of water whiche is a game very delectable vnto nature who is a pleasaunt and sweete mother in that she restoreth that vnto her chylde whiche she tooke from hym and when she hath made hym sorie she comforteth hym agayne Yea ouer and aboue this the Horse the Oxe the Elephant the Camel the Lion the Tyger the Parde and all other beastes of what strength so euer they be when they are once olde are no longer regarded and when they be dead they are no more hearde of they yeelde vnto olde age and geue place vnto death onely vertue whiche is proper vnto man alone maketh hym that is indued therewith honourable in his olde age and gloryous at his death and not beyng able to extynguyshe hym transporteth hym ouer vnto felicitie To be short there are some lyuyng creatures stronger then man some swyfter some quicker of sense none more excellent in dignitie none in lyke sorte regarded of the creator Vnto the head he hath geuen a Sphericall figure and as it were the forme of a Starre And whereas all other lyuyng creatures looke downe towardes the grounde he made man to turne his face vpwardes and to behold the heauens and to lyft his countenance towardes the starres as it is notably sayd of Ouid. although it were spoken before by Tully He gaue hym eyes he made hym a foreheade in the whiche the secretes of the minde shoulde shyne he hath geuen also reason and speache he hath geuen weeping he hath geuen laughing whiche are significations of secrete and hidde affections although some doo drawe them to an argument of miserie because hastie weeping is late laughing For
but be reprochful and ignominious for that it is contrarie to the commaundement of the most hygh Lorde agaynst whiche nothyng can be wel done Sorowe I had rather dye then to see the thynges that are lyke to happen shortly Reason It is not the part of a man not to be able with open eyes to behold both faces of fortune it is the part of a woman to turne away the eyes in feare What is the thyng that troubleth thee so muche that nothyng can helpe thee but death only Is it thine owne or thy freendes or perhaps the aduersitie of thine afflicted countrye As for the first two they are but gentle for fortune is not so strong but vertue is able to withstand it the thirde is godly but the loue thereof is fainte and slouthful For the bondage and captiuitie of a mans countrey and the gouernement thereof in manner of a Tirannie is rather to be repelled by death then auoyded by steppyng a side For the first is the part of a man but this tastest of womanyshe imbecillitie Whiche thyng notwithstandyng the same Seneca doth woonderfully extol in the death of Cato in that same his peculiar opinion whereof I spake erewhyle But Cicero thinkyng it sufficient to excuse him only abstaineth from commending him For he sayth that vnto Cato that was a man of such wonderful grauitie and perpetual constancie of nature it was better to dye then to looke the Tyrant in the face whom Brutus notwithstandyng behelde and thought it better to make hym away by kyllyng hym then by kyllyng hym selfe Whiche how wel or ill it was done I do not now dispute But so in deede he did As for Cicero whyle he excuseth Cato he forgetteth his owne more commendable opinion whiche long before he had set downe in his sixth booke De republica of a common-wealth whiche is after this manner folowyng whiles that he bringeth in Publius Scipio Affricanus the younger dreaming howe that he talked in heauen with his father and graundfather and hearyng them speake of the immortalitie of the soule and the felicitie of the other lyfe made hym desirous to dye and brought in his father by and by reprouing the same his fonde and vnprofitable desyre in these woordes It may not be so quoth he for vnlesse God whose churche al this is which thou beholdest doo loose thee out of these bondes of thy bodye thou canst haue none entrance hyther For men were created for this cause that they shoulde beholde the globe whiche thou seest in the middest of this temple whiche is called the earth Wherefore good sonne Publius both thou and also al vertuous men ought to keepe your selues within the custodie of this your bodye and not to depart out of the lyfe of man contrarie vnto his commaundement by whom that lyfe was geuen vnto you least happely ye seeme to forsake the vocation whereunto God hath called you Doo not these woordes of Cicero sufficiently reprooue Cato that is excused And truely yf thou were appoynted by some earthly Prynce or Captayne to keepe a place by defence of armes thou wouldest not dare to depart from thy charge without his lycence whiche yf thou shouldest doo doubtlesse he woulde take it in ill part Howe then woulde the heauenly Emperour take it thynkest thou vnto whom so muche the more obedience ought to be geuen by howe muche God is greater then man There was of late dayes one Stephanus Columnensis a gentleman of auncient vertue who yf lie had lyued had not onely been famous in this age but also in remembrance of al posteritie The same Stephanus beyng besieged by a mightie enimie of his vnto whom he was in power far vnequal committed the defence of one turret wherein there seemed to be most danger vnto one of his captaynes of whose trust he was assured This turret being vndermined and secretly shaken by the enimies so that it was in danger of fallyng when as the residue of the garison perceyuing so much forsooke it and perswaded hym also to come downe and prouide for his safety since it was bootelesse to tarrie but vnto him selfe very dangerous or rather present death I wyl not come downe sayde he vnlesse he cal me away who set me here Which being reported vnto Stephanus who also was very careful for the gentleman came running in bast to cal hym away the turret beyng shaken at the very foundation fel downe immediatly with great noyse Thus that trustie defendant was miserably slayne whom his lord and maister beyng scarcely able to finde out among the rubbishe and ruynes of the turret buryed hym with great sorowe and lamentation and whyle he lyued had a dutiful care ouer hym and in his common speeche alwayes aduaunced his fayth with worthy commendation What I meane by these wordes I thinke thou knowest Suche a keeper oughtest thou to be of thy body whiche is committed vnto thy keepyng by God as he was of his turret which was commended to his charge by his lorde and maister Notwithstandyng I am not ignorant howe that the death of Cato was muche commended by many of that age wherein he lyued and very glorious in the common opinion of men And that saying of Iulius Caesar is wel knowen who beyng conquerour and making hast vnto Vtica where Cato had slayne hym selfe and hearyng report of his death Cato quoth he enuyed my glory and I enuie his death Doubtlesse it seemed some excellent thyng whiche so great and glorious a personage enuied at Sorow Then what shoulde let me to folow the death of a wyse man that was enuied at by so great a person and excused and commended of the wyse and to eschewe the innumerable distresses of lyfe by a voluntarie death Truely I had rather dye Reason Beware that thou be not caryed away with the vayne hope of hynges For there be some inferiour in eloquence but superiour in sense whiche neyther commend nor excuse this death of Cato but sharpely reprehende it Among whom Sainct Augustine a most sharpe searcher after the truth disputeth that this was not the cause of the hastenyng of his owne death because he woulde not lyne vnder the empire of Caesar togeather with his sonne forasmuche as he hym selfe was the cause that his sonne fledde to Caesar and in hope of safetie submitted hymselfe to his mercy wherein he was not deceyued Whiche yf he had thought to haue been a shameful thyng would he not haue delyuered his sonne from it as wel as hym selfe eyther by poyson or by sword or by some other kynde of death whatsoeuer Seeing that Manlius Torquatus is commended for killyng his owne sonne for that he had geuen battel to his enimies and vanquished them but contrarie to his fathers commaundement Neyther can it be sayde that it is a more shameful thing to be conquerour ouer a proude enimie then to be subiect to an arrogant conquerour Why then dyd he thinke Caesar woorthy to graunt lyfe to his sonne who thought hym vnworthie
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
estate this man forsaking the sleppes of so many his auncetours predecessours hauing defiled the Commonwealth with his short and filthy gouernment or rather tyrannie at last came to a miserable but for his desartes a woorthy end the whole contempt mockerie of the common people being turned vpon him But long before al these Scipio that was the sonne of Scipio Africanus the great adopted vnto him selfe to the honour of his familie the second thunderbolt of the Punike war and hammer of the citie of Carthage by special ordinance appointed to that purpose that the same citie which the grandfather had shaken the nephew should ouerthrow as Florus the Historician sayeth being translated from the stock of Aemilia into the familie of Cornelia no small glory confesse and yet the last of them both Hereby thou seest that neither thou nor any Prince can lacke a sonne or rather that which is best of al they that are good can not lacke a good choise which if it please thee to make perhaps it wil geue thee such an one as thy wife wyl not bring thee the like being losed from the bandes of marriage shalt possesse the desired effect and end of matrimonie In such sort doth the law prouide for the defectes of Nature Sorow How shal I now dispose of my house since that I die without children Reason Do not refuse this great occasion of wel deseruing and commendation which is now as it were throwen into thy lap and that which thou determinest to bestowe vpon thy children who peraduenture would be vnthankful for it or wickedly hoorde it vp or els as it is the custome of either sort of these to conuert it to vngodly vses or rather in very short tyme or waste consume al most prodigally employ thou more cōmendably more profitably more durably Attalus that was king of Pergamus by his testament made the people of Rome his heire not being poore nor needefull of it who also were sshortly after corrupted with the wanton wealth of Asia But I wyl tel thee of another people to whom thou mayest leaue thy goodes On the one side of thee standeth a route of thy freendes kinsfolke at the other a rabble of poore people out of both which thou art permitted to adopt chyldren The one sort of these when thou art gone wyll deteyne the sweete remembraunce of thee in theyr mindes the other preuent thee with their godly prayers vnto the place whyther thou art nowe passing insomuch as looke what thou bestowest vpon them here thou shalt receiue an hundred fold there which is a large interest a most assured prouision for them that are vpon the poynt to passe that way Sorow I die without a sonne Reason What if thou haddest many wouldest thou then chose one of them to be the keeper of thy house and money which shal be thine no longer Or wouldest thou appoint one of them to be thy Champion in the conflict pangues of death beyng hym selfe also mortall or els to wayte vpon thee to thy graue for farther none of all thy freendes wyl folowe thee more then Metellus freendes followed hym The way is but short from the death bed to the graue and what skilleth it whether thou lye alone here or there These are but friuolous and vaine causes truely to wysh for sonnes and yf in them moreouer as the vulgare speeche is thou hopedst to haue thy name preserued and continued thou wast also vulgarly deceiued For doubtlesse for the most part suche is the obscurenesse of the children generally to be found that they are not able to beautifie nor to keepe vp their fathers name But the rare nobilite of the sonnes as alwayes it maketh the sonnes them selues honourable so for neerenesse sake sometyme it couereth and obscureth the parentes euen as the Sunne doth the lesser Starres which is in none seene more euidently then in Iulius Caesars father whom his sonnes bryghtnesse made almost vnknowen And to be short whosoeuer reposeth the trust of his name in his sonne he putteth a slender and slipperie substance into a rotten and cracked earthen vessell and which is more foolysh that is none of his owne a thyng truely more accounted of among the common multitude then of the learned and yet contemned of neyther Howbeit this hope were more commendably and assuredly layde vp in their sounde and vncorruptible vessels to wit in their owne vertue notable deedes and learning Sorowe I dye without chyldren Reason Thou hast none to diuide thy care vpon thyne attendaunce is fixed only on thy selfe so that thou maiest depart with more readinesse and libertie respectyng thy selfe and consideryng thine owne estate how miserable or happie thou shalt die And further thou diest not in an vncertayntie whether thy miserie be augmented or felicitie abated by the dishonour or vertue of another Although some others be of another opinion to accord with whom I finde my selfe more wyllyng notwithstandyng it hath seemed true for the most part vnto Philosophers of great skil that the fathers estate concernyng miserie or happinesse is varied by the euent of the chyldren Truely it is a weake good thyng that streatcheth vnto fortune that shal befal hereafter and dependeth vpon anothers estate Whiche opinion if we do admit what may be concluded thereon thou knowest for it is out of al doubt that many had departed in more happie estate if they had dyed without chyldren Of one dying that feareth to be throwne foorth vnburied The Cxxxii. Dialogue FEARE I Shal be throwen foorth vnburyed Reason Enuiest thou the birdes or the beastes or the fishes And yf thou be afearde of them take order that thou mayest haue one appoynted to keepe thee or a staffe layde by thee to dryue them away from thy carcasse Feare Thou doest iest at my miserie for truely I shal feele nothyng Reason Why then doest thou feare that which thou shalt not feele If thou couldest feele it thou wouldest lyke wel of it for to burie one that feeleth is to kyl him Feare I shal lye vnburied Reason If the earth presse not thee thou shalt presse the earth if the earth couer thee not heauen wyll Thou knowest the olde saying Him heauen hides that hath none other graue And very wel knowen is this other most common speech also To lacke a graue is but a slender losse so slender a losse indeede that there is none more slender Feare I shal lye vnburied which is a woful thyng to be spoken Reason I know not what to be spoken but truely in effect a very trifle beleeue me it is muche more tollerable for a man to be throwne out of his graue then to be turned out of his bed or apparrel Feare I I shal lye vnburied whiche is a filthie sight Reason Filthie perhaps vnto others but nothing at al vnto thee It is the general opinion of al learned men and experience also confirmeth no lesse that all manner of buriall was deuised not so
it selfe it be an excellent good thing yet is it accompanied with very euyl companions vniust lawes lasciuious maners secret hatred open tyrannie Remember what sometime in the ciuile wars that Prognosticatour foresayde and was not deceyued What auayleth it to pray to the Goddes for peace This peace commeth with the owner thereof But warlyke libertie is more acceptable to valient men then peaceable seruitude Hope I haue peace Reason In the meane whyle thou hast warre also Of peace and truice The Cvi Dialogue IOY I Haue Peace Reason An excellent good thing if it were sincere and perpetual but truely it is neither For it is no new thing but too common and dayly accustomable that warre lurketh vnder the couert of peace and though the peace were pure yet the instabilitie of mindes wyll not suffer it to continue long which contende euery day among them selues no lesse then with an enimie Ioy. I haue obtayned peace Reason But warinesse and warlike discipline are lost and assured preseruation of cities but thou hast gotten idle slouthfulnesse and continual dangerous securitie since in most respectes peace is better then war but in this one respect war is better then peace in that it is more warie and full of experience The Romane prowesse had neuer decayed yf the Carthagien warre had continued The peace with the Carthagiens was the destruction of the Citie of Rome and an euerlastyng document to all other Cities to shewe that peace is not alwayes best for Nations and Empires that whiche good Nasica wyll sweare to be so in that it was committed sometyme to his charge and all the learned wyll confesse that he sayeth true Ioy. I haue peace Reason Vse 〈◊〉 modestly Proude and negligent peace is more hurtful then any warre Many that haue been in armes haue been safe among weapons but so soone as they haue been in peace they haue fallen among weapons and too late haue wished for warre What shal I speake of the ruine of Manners and the vtter ouerthrowe of Humanitâ—â— it selfe How many that haue been very good men in warre haue by peace become very euyll as though laying downe all vertue with their armour they had put on all vices with their gowne Thus hath the inwarde affection been changed with the outwarde apparrell In confirmation whereof although many thousande men might be brought to witnesse yet two onely shal suffise vs to wit Sylla and Marius of whom the first as it is written of hym no man is able sufficiently to prayse or disprayse for whyle he sought aâ—â—â—r conquestes he shewed him selfe to the people of Râ—â—â—â— to be Sâ—â—pio but while he exercised crueltie he represented hym selâ—â— to bâ— Hannibal The seconde was a man as it is also written of hym whose vertues yf they be conferred with his vices it is hard to say whether he were more valiant in warre then pestilent in peace insomuche as the same Common wealth whiche he preserued beyng in armes so soone as he put on his Gowne and was in peace he defiled with all kynde of tretcherie and lastly ouerthrewe lyke an enimie with forcible Armes Ioy. I reioyce in that my Countrey is in peace Reason What yf peace some tyme extinguishe that whiche is best in a man and nourysh that whiche is worst Well knowen is the saying of the Satyrical Poet who when he had sayd muche concernyng the causes of the auncient Romane vertue and valiencie among whiche is and Hannibal neare to the Citie at the last he inferreth But now wee feele the discommodities of long peace Wantonnesse and riot more cruell then Armes doo vrge and take reuenge vppon the conquered Citie Is there any peace I pray thee so muche to be esteemed of that is no odious to excellent personages yf it be accompanied with sensualitie and riotousnesse Truely vnto hym that shall deepely consyder of the matter though armes be layde downe yet can it not seeme peace where the mindes are oppugned with domestical and most subtyl warre that wanteth 〈…〉 good maners are exiled pleasures beare rule and vertues are troden vnder foote Ioy. The peace is assured Reason And so as I haue sayde are the companions of peace libertie licentiousnesse with dan gers no lesse in qualitie or quantitie then are in warre These bryng destruction vnto the body the other vnto the soule and many times vnto the body also And therefore vnto many the brestplate hath been more fortunate then the gowne the fielde more safe then the chamber and the Trumpet then the Pype and the Sun then the shadowe There hath ben some that were neuer in more safetie then in the warres as thou hast hearde Iulius Caesar report concernyng hym selfe and his souldyers as for peace yf it woulde come without vices I confesse it is an heauenly gyft and suche a good thyng as is inferiour to none but it seldome commeth without vices Ioy. But I haue taken a truice Reason Thou hast geuen thyne enimie respite to recouer his force that he may strike more strongly then thou Ioy. I haue truice Reason Truice is cosen germane to treason Thou seest that through subtiltie many things are doone by the enimie but thou readest of many moe so that the policies of warre are neuer better executed ayde neuer more freely sought for yea truice hath made many inuincible in warre IOY I haue taken truice with myne enimies Reason A loytryng tyme neyther meery with peace neyther exercised in warre but doubtfully waueryng betweene both where pride hyndereth peace and feare detracteth warre and I knowe not whether it be more hurtful so to continue or other wyse to fall For to desyre a time of breathyng is the part of one that is weery and the part of a wretched and madde man to be able to abyde neither peace nor warre Of the Popedome The Cvii Dialogue IOY I Haue atteined to the Popedome Reason Men vse commonly to flye out of a tempest into the Hauen but thou wyllingly thest out of the Hauen into a tempest thou art a woonderfull marriner Ioy. I haue â—â—ten the Popedome Reason A rare matter I wyl not say difficult Dyd the care ouer one soule seeme so litle grieuous vnto thee but that thou must take the charge burden of al vpon thee Thy shoulders are stroÌ„g or thine ambition is great so far to pricke thee foorth where thou knowest thou shalt be in euyl case Ioy. I am ascended to the Popedome Reason By what meaues see thou For there are two wayes both tendyng vnto trauaile but the one leadyng vnto miserie Whichsoeuer of these thou followest knowe that thou art in miserie or yf the best happen that of a freeman thou art become a bondslaue So thou that art sayde to haue ascended art fallen downe beyng nowe become one of those to whom is song that saying of the Prophete They that goe downe into the Sea in shyppes hauing busynesse vpon many waters they that ascende vp into heauen and descende downe to Hell
whose soule languishyng within them by reason of the greatnesse and abundance of the storme is troubled and they stagger lyke a drunken man and al theyr wysedome is consumed Ioy. I am ascended into the seate of the hygh popedome Reason The deeper the sea is the more it is subiect to wyndes and dangerous for tempestes Ioy. I am made Pope of Rome Reason Looke howe muche Rome is bygger then other Cities so much more toyle remayneth for thee Some wyll houour thee some adore thee some attende and stand about thee some lay sylken couerlets vnder thy feete harneyes thy whyte Steedes with golde prepare thee wyne and banquettes and taste them vnto thee whiche is suche a kynde of seruice as the auncient Popes neuer hearde of Contrarywyse some wyl let theyr owne busynesse alone and fasten theyr eyes vpon thee thee wyl they note of thee wyll they iudge but how iustly GOD knoweth some also wyll reprooue thy manners wrest thy woordes teare thy fame carpe thy lyfe and whatsoeuer is any where done amisse men wyl say it proceedeth from thee as the only cause and fountaine of euil and thou shalt be called the beginner of all discordes and mischiefes among the people How wyl they say can the body of the church be whole when the head is sick yll at ease I pray thee is eyther a golden eup or a silken bed or a mitred head so much to be estemed that it shoulde be purchased with the losse of quietnesse a good name Ioy. I am chosen Pope Reason Gouerne thy selfe in this tallyng as wel as thou canst which is so greatly esteemed at this day which truely is altogether vayne or intollerable insomuche that not without cause certayne popes beyng ouerweeryed with tediousnesse haue wyshed to theyr enimies none other punyshment then that felicitie For to speake in fewe woordes the popedome if it be rightly administred is a great honour a great burden a great seruitude a great labour But yf it be yl gouerned it is a great danger to the soule a great euyll a great misery a great shame and in al respectes a businesse full of peryl Ioy. I holde nowe the seate of the popedome Reason Thou shalt not holde it long Mans lyfe is short Kynges lyues shorter and Popes lyues shortest of all for that by reason of the greatnes of the cares and charge the olde daies of the Pope are shortened which are alredy weerled and worne before he attayne to that dignitie Ioy. I syt in the top of the Popes seate Reason The hygher thou syttest the greater is the fall and men can scarcely come downe from an hygh place without danger or labour Take heede thou discende soberly least thou be founde to be one of those of whom it is sayd They are lyfted vp on high to the end their fal may be the greater There is no man doubteth but that men must descend from almortall aduancement but this is the difference in that iust and wyse men do descende and al other fall downe headlong And therefore the Carthagien Captayne who as it is reported of hym sayde when he was dyeing The end of all that are aduaunced is to fall downe spake not improperly as an vniust man. Ioy. I gouerne the state of the Popedome Reason The fyrst Popes were woont to be called from that state to the honour of Martyrdome but nowe a dayes they thynke that they are called to all kynde of pleasures and delicacie and for that cause men striue nowe for this place and euery man coueteth that preferment For who is he that sueth or wysheth to be Pope of Rome or Byshop of any other place but only for encrease of power and ryches Contrary to the precept of iustice men seeke to gouerne not to profite and that moreouer which is sacrilegious and shameful to be spoken fat Benifices great Ecclesiastical prefermentes are bought with great rewardes yea they be bargayned for and promised before they fal O most vyle exchaunge of manners in that men cannot be drawen from that vnto whiche in olde tyme they were wont and also ought to be enforced And furious ambition is now so hot that it seemeth to exceede the boundes of christian shamefastnesse and modestie but rather to be an Heathen desire and wylfulnesse Whom I meane the Heathen we haue hearde say to haue been so earnest that way in theyr petitions and suites that it is read how that Iulius Caesar sued for the hygh Byshops or Prelates office not without moste large and lasciuious expence of money wherein recountyng the greatnesse of his debt when in the mornyng he went foorth to the election he kyssed his mother saying that he woulde neuer more returne home vnlesse he were hygh Byshop And he kept promise for he returned hygh Byshop in deede It appeareth with what vehemencie not request he laboured for that preferment insomuche that he determined to wyn it or els to dye for it or to goe into exyle whiche he myght doo both lawfully who in his youth had purposed vnto hym selfe to raigne so that he thinketh hym selfe iniured yt there be any other gouernour in the world but Caesar â–ª or any land that belongeth to twayne But how it may be lawful for a Christian to sue for the popedome that hath proposed to hym to serue and beare the yoke of his lorde I do not perceiue and to sue for it not onely by most lanish prodigalitie but also that is not much lesse vile by flatterie lyes which are aries vnmeete for men but so common and vsual now a dayes that these are onely the meanes to come to preferment Ioy. I am pope of Rome Reason Thou shouldest say seruant of seruantes Take heede thou couet not to be Lorde of Lordes Remember thy profession remember thy duetie remember thy Lorde who wylbe wrath with none more for transgressing of duetie then with him that presumeth to be called his owne Vicar Of happinesse The Cviii. Dialogue IOY I Am happy Reason Thou thinkest to be made happy eyther by the popedome or empire or by some other kind of power and also by ryches thou art deceyued these things make not a man happy or wretched but they disclose and discouer him and yf they made hym any of the twayne they woulde make hym rather wretched then happy for they be ful of dangers whiche are the rootes of humane miseries Ioy. I am happy Reason O wretch that thynkest thy selfe happy in so many miseries Ioy. I am happy Reason Perhaps in thyne opinion which because it is false it addeth nothyng vnto felicitie but much vnto misery For for a man not to know his howne misery is the greatest miserie of all Ioy. I am happy Reason So much dyd Pompeius the great vaunt of hym selfe among the swoordes of the slaughter men which notwithstandyng yf it be deepely examined he neuer was no not when he was most happy in his most floorishing state Ioy. I am happy Reason Thou art happie and