abstinence from meates when I desired to eate what watching in the night whan I would haue slept what cares I haue suffred in steed of rest that I might haue enioyed let other proue if me they wyl not credite The intencion of my painful trauailes I offer to the deuine maiestie vpon my knees to youre highnesse noble prince I presente thys my worke and humbly beseche god that the doctrine of this booke may be as profitable vnto you and the common wealth in your lyfe as it hath ben to me tedious hinderaunce to my health I haue thought it good to offer to your maiestye the effect of my laboures thoughe you peraduenture wyl lytle regard my paines for the requyting of my trauayle and reward of my good wyl I requyre nought els of your highnes but that the rudenesse of my vnderstanding the basenes of my stile the smalnes of my eloquence the euil order of my sentences the vanitie of my words be no occasion why so excellent and goodly a worke shold be lytle regarded For it is not reason that a good horse should be the lesse estemed for that the ryder knoweth not how to make hym ronne hys carrier I haue done what I could doe doe you now that you ought to doe in gyuynge to this present worke grauytye and to me the interpretor thereof aucthority I saye no more but humbly besech god to mayntayne your estimacion and power in earth and that you maye afterwarde enioye the fruicion of hys deuyne presence in heauen The Argumente of the booke called the Diall of Princes VVherein the aucthour declareth hys intencion and maner of proceadinge ARchimenedes the great and famous philosopher to whom Marcus Marcellus for his knowledge sake graunted life and after vsing Nygromancie deserued death being demaunded what time was sayd that time was the inuentor of al noueltyes and a Regestre certaine of antiquities whiche seeth of it selfe the beginning the middest and the ending of al things And finally time is he that endeth al. No man can deny but the diffinition of thys Philosopher is true for if tyme could speake he would certifye vs of sundry things wherin we doubt and declare them as a witnes of sight Admyt al things perishe and haue an ende yet one thing is exempted and neuer hath end which is truth that amongest al things is priuileged in such wise that she triumpheth of time and not tyme of her For accordyng to the dyuine sayeng it shal be more easy to se heauen and earth to fal then once truth to perish There is nothing so entyer but may be diminished nothynge so healthful but may be diseased nothing so strong but may be broken neyther any thing so wel kept but may be corrupted And finally I say there is nothing but by time is ruled and gouerned saue only truth which is subiect to none The fruits of the spring time haue no force to giue sustenaunce nor perfait swetenes to giue any sauour but after that the sommer is past and haruest commeth they rype and then all that we eate nourisheth more and gyueth a better tast I meane by this when the world beganne to haue wyse men the more Philosophers were estemed for their good maners the more they deserued to be reproued for their euyl vnderstandyng Plato in his second booke of the comon wealthe sayd that the auncient Phylosophers aswell Grekes as Egiptians Caldees which firste beganne to beholde the starres of heauen and ascended to the toppe of the mount Olimpus to vew the influences and mocions of the planets on the earthe deserued rather pardon of their ignoraunce then prayse for their knowledge Plato sayde further that the Phylosophers which were before vs were the first that gaue themselues to searche out the truth of the Elements in the heauen and the first whych sowed errors in things natural of the earth Homere in his Iliade agreyng wyth Plato saith I condemne al that the auncient Phylosophers knew but I greatly commend theym for that they desired to know Certes Homere sayd wel and Plato sayd not amysse for if amongest the first Philosophers this ignoraunce had not raygned there had not bene such contrary sectes in euery schoole He that hath redde not the bookes which are lost but the opinions whych the auncient phylosophers had wyl graunt me thoughe the knowledge were one yet their sectes were dyuers that is to say Cinici Stoici Academici Platonici and Epicurei whych were as variable the one from the other in their opinions as they were repugnaunt in their condicions I wyll not neyther reason requireth that my penne should be so much dysmesured as to reproue those whyche are dead for to gyue the glory al onely to them that are alyue for the one of them knew not al neyther were the other ignoraunt of all Yf he deserueth thankes that sheweth me the way whereby I ought to go no lesse then meriteth he whiche warneth me of the place wherin we may erre The ignoraunce of our forefathers was but a gyde to kepe vs from â—rryng for the errour of them shewed vs the truth to theyr much prayse and to our great shame Therfore I dare boldly say if we that are now had bene then we had knowen lesse then they knew And if those were nowe whych were then they would haue knowen more then we know And that this is true it appeareth wel for that the auncyent phylosophers through the great desyre they had to know the trouth of small and bypathes haue made brode and large wayes the whych we now wil not sée nor yet walke therin Wherfore we haue not so muche cause to bewayle their ignoraunce as they had reason to complayne of our negligence For truth whych is as Aulus Gelius saith the doughter of time hath reueled vnto vs the errours which we ought to eschew and the true doctrine which we ought to folow What is ther to se but hath bene sene what to dyscouer but hath ben discouered what is there to reade but hath bene red what to write but hath bene writen what is ther to know but hath ben knowen now a dayes humaine malice is so expert men so we â—able and our wittes so subtyl that we want nothyng to vnderstand neither good nor euyl And we vndoe our selues by sekyng that vayne knowledge which is not necessary for our life No man vnder the pretence of ignoraunce can excuse his fault since al men know al men reade and al men learne the whych is euident in this case as it shal appeare Suppose the ploughe man and the learned man do go to the law and you shall perceyue the labourer vnder that simple garment to forge to his councellour halfe a dosen of malicious trickes to delude his aduersary as fynely as the other that is leerned shal be able to expound 2. or 3. chapters of this booke If men would employ their knowledge to honesty wisedome pacience and mercy it were wel but
to be blamed for those which haue credit for their euil are many and those whych haue power to do well are very fewe ¶ Of the golden age in times past and worldly miserie which we haue at this present Cap. xxxi IN the first age golden world al liued in peace ech man toke care for his owne lands euery one planted sowed their trees corne eueryone gathered his frutes and cut his vynes kned their breade and brought vp their children and finally all liued by their owne proper swette trauaile so that they all liued without the preiudice or hurt of any other O worldly malice O cursed wicked world that thou neuer sufferest things to remaine in one estate and thought I cal the cursed maruaile not therat for when we are in most prosperitie then thou with death persecutest vs most cruelly Without teares I say not that I wil say that 2000 yeres of the world wer past before we knew what the world ment god suffering it and worldly malice inuenting it ploughes were turned into weapons oxen to horses goades to lances whippes to arrowes slinges to crosbowes simplycitye into malice trauaile into Idlenes rest to paine peace to warre loue to hatred charitie to crueltie Iustice to tyranny profite to domage almes to theft aboue al fayth into Idolatrie And finallye the swete they had to profite in their owne goods they tourned to bloud sheading to the domage of the comon wealth And herein the world sheweth it selfe to be a world herein worldly malice sheweth it selfe to be malicious in somuch as the one reioyceth the other lamenteth the one reioceth to stomble to the end the other may fall breake his necke the one reioyceth to be poore to the end the other maye not be riche the one reioyseth to be dispraised to the end the other may not be honored the one delighteth to be sad to the ende the other shoulde not be merye to conclude we are so wicked that we banishe the good from our owne house to the end that the euill might enter in at the gates of an other man When the creator created the whole world he gaue to eche thinge immediatly his place that is to wete he placed intelligence in the vppermoste heauen he placed the starres in the firmament the planettes in the orbes the byrdes in the ayre the earth on the center the fyshes in the water the serpentes in the holes the beastes in the mountaines and to al in generallye he gaue place to reste them selues in Now let princes and great Lordes be vaine glorious sayenge that they are Lords of the earth for truly of all that is created god only is the true Lord therof because the miserable man for his part hath but the vse of the fruit for if we thinke it reasonable that we should enioy the profite of that which is created then were it more conuenient we should acknowledge god to be the Lord therof I do not deny but confesse the God created al things to the end they should serue man vpoÌ„ condicion that maÌ„ shold serue God likewise but wheÌ„ the creature riseth against god immediatly the creator resisteth against man For it is but reason that he be disobeyd who one only coÌ„maundemeÌ„t wil not obey O what euil fortune hath the creature only for disobeying the comaundement of his creator For if man had kept his coÌ„maundement in Paradise god had conserued to the world the signorie but the creatures whome he created for his seruice are occasion to him of great troubles for the ingratitude of benefit heapeth great sorow to the discret hart It is great pitie to behold the man that was in paradise that might haue bene in heauen now to se him in the world aboue al to be interred in the intrailes of the earth For in terrestiall paradise he was innocent in heauen he had bene blessed but nowe he is in the worlde enuirouned with cares and afterwardes he shal be throwen into hys graue and gnawen of the wormes Let vs nowe see the disobedience wee hadde in the commaundemente of GOD and what fruite we haue gathered in the world For he is very simple that dare commit any vice taking no delight nor pleasure therof in his body In my opinion through the sinnes whiche our forefathers committed in paradise the seruitude remaineth in vs their children which are on the earth For so much as if I entre into the water I drowne if I touche the fire I burne if I cone neare a dog he biteth me if I threaten a horse he casteth me if I resiste the wynde it bloweth me downe if I persecute the serpent he poysoneth me if I smite the beare he destroieth me and to be brief I saie that the man that without pitie eateth men in his life the wormes shal eate his intrailes in the graue after his death O princes great lordes lode your selues with cloth of gold heape vp your great treasours assemble many armies inuente Iustes Torneis seke your pastimes reueÌ„ge your selues of your enemies serue your selues with your subiectes marrye your children to mighty kinges set them in great estate cause your selues to be feared of your enemies imploye your bodies to al pleasures leue great possessions to your heires rayse sumptuous buildinges to leaue memory of your persons I sweare by him that shal iudge me that I haue more compassion to see your sinfull soules then I haue enuy to see your vicious liues For in the end all pastimes will vanishe away and they shal leaue you for a gage to the hungry wormes of the earth O if princes did consider though they haue bene borne princes created norished in great estates that the day thei are borne death immediatly commeth to seke the end of their life and taketh them here and there when they are whole when they are sicke now tombling then rising he neuer leaueth them one houre vntill their woful burial Therfore sith it is true as in dede it is that that whiche princes possesse in this life is but small that which they hope in the other is so great truly I marueile why princes the which shal lie so straight in the graue dare liue in such so great largenes in their life To be riche to be lordes to haue great estates men should not therof at al be proude since they see how fraile mans condicion is for in th end life is but lone but death is enheritage Death is a patrimonie heritage which successiuely is inherited but life is a righte which daily is surrendred For death counteth vs somuche his owne that oftimes vnwaâ—es he coÌ„meth to assault vs life taketh vs such straungers that oftetimes we not doubting therof it vanisheth away If this thing theÌ„ be true why wil princes great lordes presume to coÌ„maunde in a straunge house which is this life as in their own house which is the
deuotions in the temples when in dede they haue offered veneriall sacrifice to the Courtisan The vyce of the fleashe is of suche condition that a man can not geue hym selfe to it without grudge of conscience withoute hurte of his renowme without losse of his goodes without shortenynge of his lyfe and also without offence to the common wealth for oftetymes men enclyned to suche vyce doe rebell trouble and sclaunder the people Seneca satisfied me greatly in that whiche he wryteth in the seconde booke De Clementia to Nero where he sayeth these wordes If I knewe the Gods would pardon me and also that men woulde not hate me yet I ensure thee for the vylenes thereof I would not synne in the fleashe And truly Seneca had reason for Aristotle sayeth that all beastes after the acte of venery are sory but the Cocke alone O gouernours and maisters of great princes and lordes by that immortall God whiche created vs I coniure you and for that you owe to the nobilite I desyre you that you wyll brydle with a sharpe snaffle your charge and geue them not the rayne to followe vyces for if these younge chyldren lyue they wyll haue tyme enough to searche to followe to attayne and also to caste of those yokes For through our frayletie this wicked vyce of the fleashe in euery place in al ages in euery estate and at all tymes be it by reason or not is neuer out of ceason What shall I saye to you in this case if the chyldren passe the furiousnes of their youthe without the brydle then they be voyde of the loue of God they followe the trompet of sensualitie after the sounde whereof they runne headlong into the yoke and lose that whiche profiteth to wynne that whiche hurteth For in the carnall vices he that hath the least of that that sensualitie desireth hath muche more thereof then reason wylleth Considering that the maisters are negligent the children bolde their vnderstandynges blynded and seing that their appetites doe accomplyshe beastly motions I aske nowe what remayneth to the chylde and what contentation hath he of suche filthe and naughtines Truly since the fleashly and vicious man is ouercome with his appetite of those that escape beste I see none other fruite but that their bodies remayne diseased and their vnderstanding blynded their memory dulled their sence corrupted their wil hurted their reason subuerted and their good fame lost and worste of all the fleashe remaineth always fleshe O how many yoūg men are deceiued thinking that for to satisfie by once engaging them selues to vices that from that time forward they shal cease to be vicious the which thing not only doth not profite them but also is very hurtefull vnto them For fier is not quenched with dry woode but with cold water But O god what shal we do since that now a daies the fathers do as much esteme their childrē for being fine bold miniōs amōg womē as if thei wer very profond in sciēce or hardy in feles of arms that which is worst thei ofttimes make more of their bastards gottē in adultry thē of their legitimate child cōceiued in matrimony what shal we say thē of mothers truly I am ashamed to speake it but thei shold be more ashamed to do it which is because they would not displease their husbāds thei hide the wickednes of their children they put the children of their harlottes to the norse they redeme their gages they geue them money to playe at dyce they reconcile them to their fathers when they haue offended they borowe them money to redeme them when they are indebted finally they are makers of ther bodies and vndoers of their soules I speake this incidently for that the maisters would correcte the children but the fathers and mothers forbydde them For it litle auayleth for one to pricke the horse with the spurre when he that sitteth vpon him holdeth hym backe with the brydle Therefore to our matter what shal we do to remedie this il in the young man which in his fleshe is vitious Truly I see no other remedye but with moiste earth to quenche the flaming fier and to keape him from the occasions of vice For in the warre honour by tarrying is obteyned but in the vice of the fleshe the victorie by flying is wonne The ende of the seconde booke The thirde booke of the Diall of princes with the famous Booke of Marcus Aurelius wherein he entreateth of the vertues whiche Princes ought to haue as Iustice peace and magnificence ¶ How Princes and great Lordes ought to trauaile to administer to all equall Iustice Cap. i. EGidius Figulus one of the most famous renowmed Philosophers of Rome saide that betwene .2 of the zodaicall sygnes Leo Libra is a virgin named Iustice the which in tymes passe dwelled amonge men in earth and after she was of them neclected she ascended vp to heauen This Philosopher would set vs vnderstand that iustice is so excellent a vertue that she passeth all mens capacitie synce she made heauen her mansion place could fynde no man in the whole earth that would entertayne her in hys house During the tyme that menne were chaste gentle pitiefull pacient embracers of vertue honest and true Iustice remained in the earthe with them but since they are conuerted vnto adulterers tyraunts geuen to be proud vnpacient lyers and blasphemers she determined to forsake them and to ascend vp into heauen So that thys Philosopher concluded that for the wickednes that men commit on earthe Iustice hath lept from them into heauen Though this seme to be a poeticall fiction yet it comprehendeth in it hygh and profound doctrine the which seemeth to be very clere for where we se iustice there are fewe theues few murderers fewe tyrants few blasphemours Finally I say that in that house or common wealth where iustice remaineth a man cannot cōmit vice much lesse dessemble with the vicious Homer desyrous to exalt iustice could not tell what to say more but to call kinges the children of the great god Iupiter and that not for the naturalitie they haue but for the offyce of iustice whyche they minister So that Homer concludeth that a man ought not to call iust princes other but the children of god The deuine Plato in the fourth booke of his cōmon wealth saieth that the chiefest gift god gaue to men is that they beyng as they be of such vyle cley should be gouerned by iustice I would to God all those which reade thys writyng vnderstood right well that which Plato said For if men were not indued wyth reason and gouerned by iustice amongest all beastes none were so vnprofytable Let reason be taken from man wherwyth he is indued and iustice whereby he is gouerned then shall men easely perceiue in what sort he wyll lead his lyfe He cannot fyght as the Elephant nor defend hym selfe as the Tygre nor he can hunte as the Lyon neyther labour as the Oxe
thou tookest so that thou exceedest the limits of philosophy but in the end with thy princely vertues thou didst qualify thy wofull sorows What sentences so profound what woords so wel couched didst thou write in that booke entytuled The remedy of the sorowfull the which thou didst send from the warre of Asia to the Senators of Rome and that was to comfort them after a sore plague And how much profit hath thy doctrin doon since with what new kinde of consolation hast thou comforted Helius Fabatus the Sensour when his sonne was drowned in the ryuer where I doo remember that whē wee entred into his house wee found him weeping and when wee went from thence wee left him laughing I doo remember that when thou wentst to visit Gneus Rusticus in his last disease thou spakest vnto him so effectuously that with the vehemency of thy woords thou madest the tears to run down his cheeks And I demaunding him the occasions of his lamentacions hee said The emperor my lord hath told mee so much euils that I haue wonne and of so much good that I haue lost that if I weepe I weepe not for lyfe which is short but for death which is long The man whom aboue all thou hast loued was Torquatus whom thou didst obey as thy father and seruedst as thy maister This thy faithfull frend beeing ready to dy and desyring yet to liue thou sendst to offer sacrifices to the gods not for that they shoold graunt him lyfe but that they shoold hasten his death Herewith I beeing astonied thy noblenesse to satisfy my ignoraunce said vnto mee in secret these woords Maruel not Panutius to see mee offer sacrifyces to hasten my frends death and not to prolong his life For there is nothing that the faithfull frend ought so much to desyre to his true frend as to see him ridde from the trauels of this earth and to enioy the pleasures of heauen Why thinkest thou most noble prince that I reduce all these things to thy memory but for to demaund thee how it is possible that I which haue hard thee speak so well of death doo presently see thee so vnwilling to leaue life since the gods commaund it thy age willeth it thy disease dooth cause it thy feeble nature dooth permit it the sinfull Rome dooth deserue it and the fickle fortune agreeth that for our great misery thou shooldst dye Why therfore sighest thou so much for to dye The trauels whych of necessity must needes come wyth stout hart ought to bee receiued The cowardly hart falleth beefore hee is beaten down but the stout and valyaunt stomack in greatest perill recouereth most strength Thou art one man and not two thou oughtst one death to the gods and not two why wilt thou therefore beeyng but one pay for two and for one only lyfe take two deaths I mean that beefore thou endest lyfe thou dyest for pure sorow After that thou hast sayled and in the sayling thou hast passed such perill when the gods doo render thee in the safe hauen once agayn thou wilt run in to the raging sea wher thou scapest the victory of lyfe and thou dyest with the ambushements of death Lxii. yeres hast thou fought in the field and neuer turned thy back and fearest thou now beeing enclosed in the graue hast thou not passed the pykes and bryers wherein thou hast been enclosed and now thou tremblest beeing in the sure way Thou knowest what dommage it is long to liue and now thou doutest of the profit of death which ensueth It is now many yeres since death and thou haue been at defiaunce as mortall enemies and now to lay thy hands on thy weapons thou flyest and turnest thy back Lxii. yeres are past since thou were bent agaynst fortune and now thou closest thy eyes when thou oughtst ouer her to tryumph By that I haue told thee I mean that since wee doo not see thee take death willyngly at this present wee doo suspect that thy lyfe hath not in tymes past been very good For the man which hath no desire to appeere beefore the gods it is a token hee is loden with vyces What meanest thou most noble prince why weepest thou as an infant and complainest as a man in dispaire If thou weepest beecause thou diest I aunswer thee that thou laughedst as much when thou liuedst For of too much laughing in the life proceedeth much wayling at the death Who hath always for his heritage appropriated the places beeing in the common wealth The vnconstancy of the mynd who shal bee so hardy to make steddy I mean that all are dead all dye and al shal dye and among all wilt thou alone lyue Wilt thou obtayn of the gods that which maketh them gods That is to weete that they make thee immortall as them selues Wilt thou alone haue by priuiledge that which the gods haue by nature My youth demaundeth thy age what thing is best or to say better which is lesse euill to dye well or to lyue euill I doubt that any man may attayn to the means to lyue well according to the continuall variable troubles whych dayly wee haue accustomed to cary beetweene our hands always suffring hunger cold thirst care displeasures temptacions persecucions euil fortunes ouerthrows and diseases Thys cannot bee called lyfe but a long death and with reason wee will call this lyfe death since a thousand tymes wee hate lyfe If an auncient man did make a shew of his lyfe from tyme hee is come out of the intrailes of his mother vntill the tyme hee entreth into the bowels of the earth and that the body woold declare all the sorows that hee hath passed and the hart discouer all the ouerthrows of fortune which hee hath suffered I immagin the gods woold maruell and men woold wonder at the body whych hath endured so much and the hart whych hath so greatly dissembled I take the Greekes to bee more wise whych weepe when their children bee borne and laugh when the aged dye then the Romayns whych syng when the children are borne and weepe when the old men dye Wee haue much reason to laugh when the old men dye since they dye to laugh and with greater reason wee ought to weepe when the children are borne since they are borne to weepe ¶ Pannatius the secretary continueth his exhortatiō admonishing al men willingly to accept death and vtterly to forsake the world and all his vanities Cap. li. SIns lyfe is now condempned for euill there remaineth nought els but to approue death to bee good O if it pleased the immortall gods that as I oftentimes haue hard the disputacions of this matter so now that thow cooldst therewith profit But I am sory that to the sage and wise man counsaile sometimes or for the most part wanteth None ought to cleue so much to his own opinion but sometimes hee shoold folow the counsaile of the thyrd parson For the man which in all things will follow his own
gods in the temples And peraduenture their pride fyersenes beinge seene and our innocency knowen fortune wil dispose another thing For it is a generall rule that it is vnpossible for a prince to haue the victorye of that warre whiche by malyce is begonne and by pryde and fyersenes pursued It hath semed good vnto vs synce theyr cause is vniust and oure righteous to endeuoure oure selues by all meanes howe to resyst this Barbarous people For oft times that which by iustice was gotten by neglygence is lost For the remedie of this mischiefe to come the sacred senate hath prouided these thinges following and for the accomplyshing therof your fauour and ayde is necessarye 1 First of al we haue determined to repaire with al dyligēce our diches walles gates and bulwarkes and in these places to arme al our frendes But to accomplishe that and diuers other for the necessitie of warfare we lacke mony for ye know wel inoughe that the warre cānot be prosperous wher enemyes abound and money is scarse 2 Secondarilye we haue commaunded that all those whiche be sworne knightes and soldiours of Rome repaire immediatly to Rome and therfore ye shal send to vs all those which are vnder thage of 50. and aboue thage of 20. For in great warres aunciente men for counsaile and younge men and lustye to execute the same are required 3 Thirdly we haue agreed and concluded that the citie be prouided of victualles municion defence at the least for 2. yeres Wherfore we desire ye that ye send vs frō you the tenth part of wine the fift part of flesh and the third part of your bread For we haue al sworne to die yet we meane not to dye for famine asseged as feareful mē but fighting in plaine feld like valiāt Romains 4 Fourthly we haue prouided since the vnknowē barbarous come to fight with vs that you bring vs to Rome straunge gods to helpe and defend vs. For you know wel inough that since the great Constantine we haue ben so pore of gods that we haue not but one god whom the Christiās do honour Therfore we desire you that you wil succour vs with your gods in this our extreame necessity For amongest the Gods we know no one alone sufficiēt to defend al the Romaine people from their enemies The walles therefore being wel repayred and al the young and warrelike men in garrison in the cytie the batteries wel furnished and the treasour house wel replenished with mony aboue al the tēples wel adourned with gods we hope in our gods to haue the victory of our enemyes For in fighting with men and not against gods a man ought always to haue hope of victorye For ther are no men of such might but by god and other men may be vainquished Fare ye wel c. After this letter was sent through al the dominiō of the Romaines not taryenge for answere of the same they foorthwith openly blasphemed the name of Christ and set vp idolles in the temples vsed the ceremonies of the gentiles that which was worse then that they said openly that Rome was neuer so oppressed with tirantes as it hath ben since they wer Christians And further they sayde if they called not againe all the gods to Rome the cytie should neuer be in safegard for that they had dyshonoured and offended their gods and caste theym oute of Rome and that those Barbarous were sent to reuenge their iniury But the deuine prouidence which geueth no place to humayne malice to execute his forces before the walles were repaired and before the messaungers broughte aunsweare and before the straunge gods coulde enter into Rome Randagagismus king of the Gothes with 2000000. of barbarous without the effusion of Christian bloud sodainlye in the mountaynes of Vesulanes wythe famyne thirste and stones which fell from heauen loste all his armye not one left alyue but himselfe whoe had hys heade strycken of in Rome And this thing the eternal wisedome broughte to passe to th ende the Romaynes shoulde see that Iesus Christe the true God of the Christians had no neede of straunge gods to defend his seruauntes ¶ Of the true and lyuing god and of the maruailes he wrought in the old lawe to manyfest his deuine power and of the supersticion of the false gods Cap. ix O Grosse ignoraunce and vnspekeable obstinacy O Iudgemēts of God inscrutable What thinke these gentyles by the true god They searched the false gods to helpe them had a lyuing god of their owne they sought gods ful of gyle and disceyte and worse then that they thought it necessary that that God which created al things should be accompanyed with their gods to defend them which could make nothinge Let now all theyr gods come forth into the fyeldes on the one syde and I will go forthe alone in godlye company that is to say with the hygh god on thother parte And we wyll compare the deades and proue the aydes of their false God against wyth the least worke of our true god And they shall clearelye perceiue their falsehode and our truth For the tongue that speaketh of God can neuer beare with any lye and that whiche speaketh of Idolles can neuer dysclose anye truth Yf they esteme him much for creatinge the world with his might is it any lesse to preserue and gouerne it by his wisedome For many thinges are done in a moment for the preseruacion wherof long tyme is requysyte and much paynfull trauaile necessarye I demaunde further what God of the gentyles could do that whych our God hath done that is to knowe within one Arcke to make quyet the Lion with the leoperd the wolfe with the lambe the Beare with the Cow the Tigar with the Cocodryll the stoned horse with the Mare the Dogge with the Catte the foxe with the Hennes the houndes with the hares and so of other beastes whose enmytye is greater th one agaynst other then that of man is against men For thenmyty amōges men proceadeth of malice but that of beasts procedeth of nature Also I demaunde what God if it wer not the true God so mightye could sley and drowne in one hower and moment so many men women beastes so that al those which were in the world eight only excepted perrisshed in the deluge of Noy The iudgement of god by ordynaunce their offences deserued this so maruelous a domage For god neuer executed any notable punishmēt but first it came through our wicked offences And if this be coūted for a greate thynge I wyll that another thing be had in great estymacion Which is that if god shewed his rygorous iustice in this punishment incontinently he shewed his might clemency in remedyeng it in that of these eyght persons which were but few the generacion dyd multiplye in so great a nomber that they dyd replenysh many and great Realmes Wheron a man ought to marueil for according as Aristotle sayth the great thinges are easely
commaundeth al the eyes wherby we se are the good men in the commonwealth whom we folow the eares that heare what we say are the subiects which do what we commaund them the tongue wherwith we speake are the sages of whom we here the lawes doctrines the heere 's which groweth on our heads are those which are vexed greued and that demaund iustice of the kinge the hands the armes are the knightes which resist the enemyes the feete which susteineth the membres are the tillers of the ground which geueth meate to al estates the hard bones that susteineth the feble soft flesh are the sage mē which endure the trauaile of the common wealthe the harts which we see not outwardly are the priuye councellours Finally the necke that knitteth the bodye with the head is the loue of the kinge and of the Realme whiche make a common wealth All the wordes aboue named spake Plutarche the greate to Traian the Emperoure And trulye the inuencion and grace of him proceaded of a hygh and deape vnderstanding for the heade hath thre properties whiche are verye necessarye for the gouernoure of the common wealth The first is that euen as the head is of al other members of the body the hyghest so the aucthoritie of the prince exceadeth the estates of al others For the prince only hath aucthoritie to commaund and al others are bound to obey Admyt therbe many stout rich noble men in the comon wealth yet al ought to know and acknowledge seruice to the Lord of the same For the noble and worthy princes do dayly ease many of dyuerse seruices but they wil neuer except anye from their loyaltie and allegeaunce Those which are valiaunt and mightie in a Realme should contente themselues with that wherwith the battilments doe vpon a castel that is to wete that they are higher then the rampers wherin men walke on the walles and lower then the pinakelles which are in the toppe For the wise man of highe estate ought not to regard the prince which is the highe pinacle but ought to loke on the alleys which are the poore comfortles I would speake a worde and it greueth me that is wheras great lordes desire in the common wealthe to commaund is like vnto him that holdeth his armes and handes ouer his head For al that I haue herde and for all that I haue redde and also for al that hath chaunced in my time I counsell admonishe and warne all those which shal come after this time that if they wil enioy their goodes if they will liue in safegard and if they wil be deliuered from tirannye and liue quiete in the common wealth that they do not agre to haue in one realme aboue one king and one lord For it a general rule where there are manye rulers in a common wealth in the end both it and al must perishe We se by experience that nature fourmed vs with many synewes many bones with muche fleshe with many fingers and with many teeth and to all this one onely body had but one head wherfore though with many estates the common wealth is ordained yet with one prince alone it ought to be ruled If it consisted in mens handes to make a prince they would then also haue the auctoritie to put him downe but being true as it is most true in dede that the prince is constituted by God none but god alone oughte to depriue and depose him of his estate but thinges that are measured by the deuine iudgement man hath no power with rasor to cut them I know not what ambicion the meane can haue neyther what enuie the lowest can haue nor what pride the highest can haue to commaund and not to obey since we are sure that in this misticall bodye of the common wealth he which is most worth shal be no more estemed then the fingers or paringe of the nayles or the falling of an heere from the heade Let euery man therefore liue in peace in his common wealth and acknowledge obedience vnto his prince he that wil not do so away with him for euen as the onely offence procedeth of hym so let the only paine rest vpon him For it is an old saying that he that taketh vp the sworde againste his maister wil shortlye after lay his heade at his feete The seconde condicion is to compare the kinge to the hed because the hed is the beginning of mans life The moste part of thinges that euer god created accordinge to their natures worke their operacions as in growing highe and towardes the heauens We se the vapors ascend high the plantes groweth highe the trees budde out on height the sourges of the sea mount highe and the nature of fier is alwayes to ascend and mount on highe only the miserable man groweth downeward and is brought low by reasone of the feble and fraile flesh which is but earth and commeth of earth and liueth on earth in the end returneth to earth againe from whēce he came Aristotle saith well that man is but a tre planted with the rootes vpward whose roote is the head and the stocke is the bodye the braunches are the armes the barcke is the flesh the knottes are the bones the sappe is the hart the rottennes is malice the gumme is loue the flowers are words and the frutes are the good workes To make the man to go vprightlye his heade should be wher his feete are and the feete wher the head is syth the head is the roote the feete are the bowes but in this case I sweare that we are correspondaunte to our beginning for if our fleshe be planted contrarywise so much more contrary we haue our life ordered Therfore concerning our matter I say that the Realme hath no lesse his beginning of the kinge then the kinge of the realme whiche thinge is plainlye seene for that the king giueth lawes and institucions to a Realme and not the Realme to the kyng The giftes and benefites which the king geueth commeth to the Realme not from the realme to the king To inuent warres to take trewse to make peace to reward the good and to punish the euyl proceadeth from the king to the Realme and not to the contrary For it apperteineth onlye to the maiestie of a prince to commaund and ordeine and to the common wealth to autorise and obey him As in a great sumptuous bylding it is more daungerous wher one stone of the foundacion doth fall then when .x. thousand tyles faule from the top so he ought more to be blamed for onely disobedience commytted and done to the king and his iustice then for fiue thousand offences against the common wealth For we haue sene of a lytle disobedience a great slaunder aryse in a common wealthe O it is a goodly matter for a prince to be beloued of his subiectes and a goodly thing also for the realme to be feareful of their king For the king that is not
so swift as he that is naked Aristotle in the sixt booke de Animalibus saith when the Lionesse is bigge with whelpe the Lyon doth not only hunt for her him self but also both night daye he wandreth continually about to watche her I meane that princesses great Ladies when they be with child should be of their husbande 's both tended serued for the man can not do the woman so great a pleasure before her lieng down as she doth to him when she bringeth forth a sonne Considering the daunger that the woman abideth in her deliuerance beholding the paines that the husbād taketh in her seruice without cōparison that is greater which she suffereth then that which he endureth For when the womā deliuereth she doth more then her power and the husband though he serueth her well doth lesse then his dutie The gentle and louing husband ought not one moment to forsake his wife specially when he seeth she is great for in the law of a good husbād it is written that he should set his eies to behold her his handes to serue her he should spende his goods to cherishe her should geue his harte to cōtent her Let not men thinke it paines to serue their wiues when they are with childe for their labour consisteth in their strengthe but the trauell of their wiues is in their intrailes And that whiche is moste pitifull is that when the sorowfull women will discharge their burden on the earthe they often times bryng them selues vnto the graue The meane women of the Plebeians ought no lesse to be reproued for that when they are with childe they would be exempted from all busines of the house the whiche neither they them selues ought to desire nor yet their husbandes to suffer For idlenesse is not only an occasion not to deserue heauen but also it is a cause whereby womē ofte times haue ill successe in their trauaile For considering bothe the deintie Ladie with childe that hath her pleasure and doth litle and on the other side the poore mans wyfe whiche moderatly laboureth you shall see that the great Ladies for all their pleasures abydeth more daunger then the other doth with all her labour The husbande ought to keape his wyfe from takyng to muche paines for so ought he to doe and the wyfe lykewyse ought to flee to much pleasure for it behoueth her For the meane trauaile is no other but occasion of a safe deliuerie The women with childe also ought to take hede to them selues and in especially noble and great ladies that they be not to gredy nor hasty in eating For the woman being with childe ought to be sobre and the woman whiche is a great eater with great paines shall liue chaste Women with childe ofte times doe disordre them selues in eating licorous meates and vnder the colour of feedinge them selues and their infant they take to excessiuely which is not onely vnholsome for the childe but also dishonour for their mothers For truly by the great excesse of the mother being with child commeth many diseases to the infant when it liueth The husbande 's also ought neither to displease nor greue their wiues specially when thei see them great with child for of truth ofte times she deliuereth with more daunger by reason of the offences that mē do vnto them then by the abondaunce of meates which they doe eate Though the woman when she is with childe in some thinges doth offend her husband yet he like a wise man ought to forbeare her hauing respect to the child wherwith she is great and not to the iniurie that she hath committed for in th end the mother can not be so great an offender but that the childe is muche more innocent For the profe of this it neadeth not bookes to reade but only our eies to see how the brute beastes for the moste parte when the females are bigge doe not touche them nor yet the females suffer thē to be touched I meane that the noble and high estates ought to absent them selues from their wiues carnally beyng great with child and he that in this case shal shewe him selfe moste temperate shall of all men be deamed most vertuous I do not speake this to thend it should bind a man or that it were an offence then to vse the company of his wyfe but vnto men that are vertuous I geue it as a counsel For some things ought to be done of necessitie others ought to be eschewed for honestie Diodorus Siculus saith that in the realme of Mauritania there were so few men so many women that euery man had fiue wiues where there was a law amōgest them that no man should mary vnder thre wiues furthermore they had a wonderful folishe custome that when any husband died one of these women should cast her selfe quick in to the graue be buried with him And if that within a moneth she did it not or that she died not by iustice she was then openly put to death saiyng that it is more honestie to be in company with her husband in the graue then it is to be alone in her house In the Isles of Baliares the cōtrary is sene for there increase so many men and so few women that for one woman there was seuen men and so they had a custome specially amongest the poore that one woman should be maried with fiue men For the ryche men sent to seke for women in other straunge Realmes wherfore then marchauntes came heuie loden with women as now they do with marchaundise to sell Vpon which occasion there was a custome in those Isles that for as muche as there were so fewe women when any woman with chylde drewe nere the seuen monethes they were seperated from their husbandes and shut and locked vp in the Temples where they gaue them suche thinges as were necessary for them of the commen treasure For the auncientes had their goodes in suche veneration that they would not permitte any personne to eate that whiche he brought but of that whiche vnto the goddes of the Temple was offered At that tyme the Barbarous kepte their wyues locked in the churche because the gods hauing them in their Temples should be more mercifull vnto them in their deliuery and also to cause them to auoyde the daungers at that tyme and besydes that because they tooke it for a great vilany that the women during that tyme should remaine with their husbandes The famous and renowmed philosopher Pulio in the fift booke De moribus antiquorum said that in the Realme of Paunonia whiche nowe is Hongarie the women that were great with childe were so highly estemed that when any went out of her house al those which met with her were bounde to returne backe with her in such sorte as we at this present do reuerence the holy Comunion so did these Barbarous then the women with child The women of Carthage being with child whē Carthage was
the Senatours thoughe in dede they wer verye vnlucky in the bryngyng vp of the Prince Comodus For this cursed prynce had nyne masters whych instructed him but he hadde aboue nyne thousand vyces whych vndyd him The emperour Marcus Aurelius made fyue bokes of declamations and in the third booke the syxte Chapter vnder the title ad Sapientes pedagogos he brought in these nyne maysters and perswaded them greatly that they should be diligent and attentyue to teach hys sonne Comodus And in this matter he spake vnto them manye and graue sentences the wordes whereof doe folow The matter is manifest in Rome and no lesse publyshed thorough out all Italy what paynes I toke to searche oute to manye Sages to enstructe my sonne Comodus the whiche all beyng examined I kept onely the wysest and the best and though in verye dede I haue done muche yet I haue not done so muche as I am bounde For Prynces in doubtefull matters ought not only to demaunde councel of all the good that be alyue but also to take payne to talke with those which are dead That is to reade the dedes of the good in their writynges You were fouretene maysters chosen whereof I haue put out fyue so that presently you ar but nyne and if in dede you be wyse men you shall not be offended with that I haue done For the greefe of euill thynges procedeth of wisdome but the admiration of good thynges commeth of small experience I do not denay but that wyse men do fele in them passions as men but in the end there is no arte nor science that doth excuse vs from the miseries of men But that wher at I maruaile is how it is possible that a wyse man shoulde meruaile at any thyng in this world For if the wise man shuld be astonied at euery thing of the world it appeareth that ther is litle constancy or vertue in him at all Returnyng therfore to our particular talke I haue taken you to be masters of my son and you se of many I chose a few to the end that with few my son shold be taught For as it is the fathers dutie to search out good masters so it is the masters dutie to be diligent about his scoller The nource of my sonne Comodus gaue hym sucke two yeres with her teates at the gate of Hostia And hys mother Faustine other two yeares brought him vp wantonly in Capua How be it thys was a sufficient excuse I woulde as a pitiefull father yf I coulde geue hym correction at the leaste thys twentye yeares For I sweare by the immortall Goddes that to a Prynce that shal be an enheritour one yeares punyshement is more worthe then twenty yeares of pleasure Synce the nources whyche geueth the chyldren sucke knoweth lytell and synce the mothers whyche bare them doe loue them muche and synce the chylde peraduenture as yet is but of a weake vnder standynge they are occupyed about the thinges that are presente considerynge that chastysemente in muche more betters for him then pleasure But the wise man whyche hath vnderstandyng oughte to thyncke of that that is past and by much wysedome to prouyde for that that is to come For he can not be counted wise that onely in one thing is carefull My sonne Comodus was borne the laste daye of Auguste in a citie by Danubio I shall not forget the day that the gods gaue him vnto me nor yet this day in the whiche I commit hym vnto you Of greater reason I should remember that daye wherin I put him to be taught then the day whych I saw him to be borne For the gods gaue hym me as I gaue hym to you mortall since he is a man but you shall restore him againe vnto me and I lykewyse him to the Godds as immortall if he be wyse What will you I saye more vnto you but if you regarde that any thinge at all whyche I saye you will regarde much more thys whych I wyll saye When the Gods determined that I should haue a child of my wyfe and that my wofull destenies deserued that I should haue such a child truly the Gods made me a man in the sprite and I begot him a beast amongest the beastes in the fleshe But if you will you may make hym a god amongest the gods by science For princes winne infamye for beynge fearse and selfe willed but they get good renowme for beyng wise and pacient I would you should apply this busines well and therfore it is necessarye that you examine him ofte For it is a general rule that the precious iewel is litle regarded when he whyche hath it knoweth not the value thereof I require that you aunswere me in this one thynge What dyd I geue vnto my sonne Comodus when the gods gaue him me but frayle and mortall flesh by the corruption wherof hys life shal ende but you shal geue hym highe doctrine whereby he shall alwayes deserue perpetuall memore For the good renowme is not gotten by that the weake fleshe doth but by that whyche the highe vnderstandyng immagyneth and by that the curious harte executeth O if his tender age knew what I gaue to his weake flesh and if his dul vnderstanding could com to the wisedom which you may geue him he wold call you his right fathers me but his stepfather For he is the true father that geueth vs doctrine to liue and he is but an vniust stepfather that geueth vs fleshe to dye Certainely the naturall Fathers of children are but their open enemyes and cruell stepfathers synce we geue them such dul vnderstanding so weake a memory a wyll so frowarde lyfe so shorte fleshe so frayle honour so costly health so vncertaine ryches so troublesome prosperitie so scarse and death so fearefull Finally we geue them a nature subiecte to infinite alterations and great misfortunes Reason woulde not you shoulde lytle regarde that whiche I committe vnto your iudgement that is to wete that you haue the charge of Comodus my sonne For the thynge that Prynces chefely ought to foresee is to whome they oughte to recommende the gouernement of theyr children To be a mayster and Tutor of a Prince in the yearth is to haue an office of the Gods whyche are in heauen bycause he gouerneth him that ought to gouerne vs he teacheth him that ought to teache vs he chastneth him that ought to chasten vs. Finally he commaundeth one that oughte to commaunde all What wyll you that I saye more vnto you Truly he that hath the charge to teache the children of Prynces and great Lordes is as the gouernour of the shyppe a standarde of a battaylle a defence of the people a guyde of the wayes a father of the Orphanes the hope of pupylles and a treasourer of all For ther is no other true treasore in the common wealthe but the prince whyche doth mainteine and kepe it in good peace and iuste iustice I will tell you furthermore to the ende you
thou canst geeue mee to redeeme thy parson for I let thee to weete that I am not contented any phlosopher shoold perysh in my countrey because you other philosophers say that yow wyll willyngly renounce the goods of the world syth yow can not haue it The phylosopher Silenus aunswered hym Mee thinketh kyng Mydas that thou canst better execut tyrāny then to talk of phylosophy for wee make no accompt that our bodies bee taken but that our willes bee at lyberty Thy demaund is very symple to demaund raunsome of mee for my parson whether thow takest mee for a phylosopher or no. If I bee not a phylosopher what mooueth thee to feare to keepe mee in thy realme for sooner shooldst thow make mee a tyrant then I thee a phylosopher If thou takest mee for a phylosopher why doost thow demaund money of mee sins thow knowst I am a phylosopher I am a craftesman I am a poet and also a musicion So that the time that thow in heapyng vp riches hast consumed the selfsame tyme haue I in learning sciences spent Of a phylosopher to demaund eyther gold or siluer for raunsome of hys parson is either a woord in mockery or els an inuention of tyranny For sithens I was borne in the world riches neuer came into my hands nor after them hath my hart lusted If thou kyng Mydas wooldst geeue mee audience and in the fayth of a prynce beeleeue mee I woold tell thee what is the greatest thyng and next vnto that the second that the gods may geeue in this life and it may bee that it shal bee so pleasaunt vnto thee to here and so profytable for thy lyfe that thou wilt pluck mee from my enemies and I may diswade thee from tirannies When king Mydas hard these woords hee gaue him lycence to say these two things swearing vnto him to heare him wyth as much pacyence as was possible The phylosopher Silenus hauyng lycence to speak freely taking an instrument in his hands beeganne to play and syng in thys wyse The senate of the gods when they forethought On earthly wights to still some ryall grace the chiefest gyft the heauenly powers had wrought had bene to sow his seede in barrayne place But when by steps of such diuine constraint they forced man perforce to fyxe his line The highest good to help his bootles plaint had been to slyp his race of slender twine For then the tender babes both want to know the deare delight that lyfe doth after hale And eke the dread that griefly death dooth shew Er Charons bote to Stigeanshore dooth sal◠THese two thinges the philosopher proued with so high and naturall reasons that it was a marueylous matter to see with what vehemency Sylenas the philosopher sang them and with what bitternes Mydas the tirant wept Without doubt the sentences were marueilous profound which the philosopher spake and great reason had that king to esteeme it so much For if wee doo prepare our selues to consider whereof wee are and what wee shall bee that is to weete that wee are of earth and that wee shall retourn to earth Wee woold not cease to weepe nor sygh One of the greatest vanities which I fynd among the children of vanity is that they imploy them selues to consyder the influences of the starres the nature of the planets the motion of the heauens and they wil not consider them selues of which consyderacion they shoold take some profyt For man geeuing his minde to think on straunge things commeth to forget his own propre O if wee woold consider the corruption whereof wee are made the fylth whereof wee are ingendred the infinit trauaile wherew t wee are borne the long tediousnes wherew t wee are norished the great necessities and suspicions wherein wee liue and aboue all the great peryll where in wee dye I sweare and affirme that in such consideracion wee fynd a thousand occasions to wysh death and not one to desire life The children of vanyty are occupyed many years in the schools to learn rethoryk they excercise them selues in philosophy they here Aristottel they learn Homere without booke they study Cicero they are occupied in Xenophon they herken Titus Liuius they forget not Aulus Gelius and they know Ouide yet for all this I say that wee can not say that the man knoweth lytell which doth know him self Eschines the philosopher sayd well that it is not the least but the chiefest part of phylosophy to know man and wherefore hee was made for if man woold deepely consyder what man is hee shoold fynd mo things in him which woold moue him to humble him self then to stirre him to bee proud If wee doo beeholdyt without passion and if wee doo examin it with reasō I know not what there is in man O miserable and fraile nature of man the which taken by it self is littel woorth and compared with an other thing is much lesse For man seeth in brute beasts many things which hee doth ēuy and the beasts doo see much more in mē whereō yf they had reason they woold haue cōpassion The excellency of the soule layd asyde and the hope which wee haue of eternall lyfe yf man doo compare the captyuyty of men to the lyberty of beasts wyth reason wee may see that the beasts doo liue a peacible life and that which men doo lead is but a long death If wee prepare our selues to consyder from the tyme that both man and beast come into this world vntill such time as they both dy and in how many things the beasts are better then men with reason wee may say that nature lyke a pitifull mother hath shewed her self to beasts that shee doth handle vs as an iniust stepmother Let vs beeginne therefore to declare more particularly the original of the one and the beginning of the other wee shall see how much better the brute beasts are endowed how the myserable men are disherited ¶ The auctour followeth his purpose excellently compareth the mysery of men with the lyberty of beasts Cap. xxxiij WE ought deepely to consyder that no wilde nor tame beast is so long beefore hee come to his shape as the myserable man is who wyth corruption of blood vile matter is nine moneths hyd in the womb of his mother Wee see the beast when shee is great if neede require doth labor all exercises of husbandry so that shee is as ready to labor when shee is great as if shee were empty The contrary happeneth to women which whē they are bigge with childe are weary with going troubled to bee layd they ryde in chariots through the market places they eat lytle they brooke not that they haue eaten they hate that which is profytable loue that which doth thē harm Fynally a woman with childe is contented with nothing and shee fretteth and vexeth with her self Sithens therefore it is true that wee are noysome and troublesome to our mothers when they beare vs in theire wombs why
are old For how can hee loue hys health which hateth vertu All that which I haue spoken heere beefore is to the end you may know and beeleeue that I am sick and that I cannot write vnto the so loÌ„g as I would and as thou desirest so that hereof it followeth that I shall bewayle thy payne and thou shalt bee greeued with my gowte I vnderstood here how at the feast of the god Ianus through the running of a horse great stryfe is rysen beetweene thee and thy neighbour Patriciê° And the brute was such that they haue confiscated thy goods battered thy house banished thy children depriued thee from the Senate for x. years And further they banished thee out of Capua for euer haue put thy felow in the prison Mamortine so that by this lytle fury thou hast cause to lament all the dayes of thy lyfe All those which come from thens doo tell vs that thou art so wofull in thy hart and so chaunged in thy parson that thou doost not forget thy heauy chaunces nor receiuest consolation of thy faithfull freends Think not that I speak this that thou shouldest bee offended for according to the often chaunges which fortune hath shewed in mee it is long since I knew what sorow ment For truly the man which is sorowfull sigheth in the day watcheth in the night delyteth not in company and with only care hee resteth The light hee hateth the darkenes hee loueth with bitter tears he watereth the earth with heuy sighes hee perceth the heaueÌ„s with infinite sorows he remembreth that that is past and forseeth nothing that that to coÌ„e is Hee is displeased with hym that dooth comfort hym and hee taketh rest to expresse his sorowes Fynally the vnfortunat man is coÌ„tented with nothing and with hym self continually hee doth chafe Beeleue mee Domitiê° that if I haue well touched the condicions of the sorowfull man it is for no other cause but for that my euill fortune hath made mee tast them all And herof it commeth that I can so wel dyscribe them for in the end in things which touche the sorrows of the spiryte and the troubles of the body there is great dyffereÌ„ce from hym that hath read them and from hym that hath felt them If thou dydst feele it there as I doo fele it heer it is suffycient to geeue thee and thy frends great dolor to think that for so small a trifle thou shouldest vndoo thee and all thy parentage And speaking with the trouth I am very sory to see thee cast away but much more it greeueth mee to see thee drowned in so litle a water When men are noble and keepe their harts high they ought to take their enemies agreable to their estates I meane that when a noble man shal aduenture to hazard hys person and hys goods he ought to doo it for a matter of great importaunce For in the end more defamed is hee that ouercommeth a laborer then hee which is ouercome with a knight O how variable is fortune and in how short space dooth happen an euill fortune in that which now I wyll speake I doo condemne my self and accuse thee I complayne to the Gods I reclayme the dead and I call the lyuing to the end they may see how that before our eyes wee suffer the greeses and know them not with the hands wee touch them and perceue them not wee goe ouer theÌ„ and see them not they sound in our eares and wee heare them not dayly they doo admonysh vs and wee doo not beeleue them fynally wee feele the peryl where there is no remedy of our greefe For as experyence dooth teach vs with a lytell blast of wynde the fruit doo fall with a lytell spark of fyer the house is kyndled with a lytell rock the shipp is broken at a lytell stone the foot doth stumble with a lytell hook they take great fysh and with a lytell wound dyeth a great person For all that I haue spoken I meane that our lyfe is so frayl and fortune so fykcle that in that parte where wee are surest harnessed wee are soonest wouÌ„ded Seneca wrytyng to hys mother Albina which was banished froÌ„ Rome sayd Thou Albina art my mother and I thy sonne thou art aged and I am not yong I neuer beeleued in fortune though shee woold promise to bee in peace with mee And further hee sayd al that which is in mee I count it at the dysposition of fortune aswell of ritches as of prosperitye and I keep them in such a place that at any hour in the night when shee listeth shee may carye them away neuer wake mee So the though shee cary those out of my cofers yet shee should not rob mee of this in my intrails With out doubt such woords were merueylous pythy and verye decent for such a wise man The Emperor Adryan my Lord did weare a rynge of gold on his fynger which hee sayd was of the good Drusius Germanicus and the woord about the ring in latin letters sayd thus Illis est grauis fortuna quibus est repentina Fortune to them is most cruell whom sodenly she assaulteth Wee see oftentimes by experience that in the fystula which is stopped and not in that which is open the Surgion maketh doubt In the shallow water and not in the deepe seas the Pilot despayreth The good man of armes is more afrayd of the secreate ambushment then in the open battayle I mean that the valiant man ought to beware not of straungers but of his owne not of enemyes but of frends not of the the cruel warre but of the fayned peace not of the manyfest domage but of the pryuy perill O how manye wee haue seene whome the myshaps of fortune coold neuer chaunge and yet afterward hauyng no care she hath made them fall I ask now what hope can man haue which wyll neuer trust to the prosperity of fortune Since for so lyght a thing wee haue seene such trouble in Capua and so great losse of thy person and goods If we knew fortune wee woold not make so great complaynt of her For speakynge the trouth as she is for all and would contente all though in the end she mock all shee geeueth and sheweth vs all her goods and wee others take them for inherytaunce That which shee lendeth vs wee take it for perpetuall that which in iest she geeueth vs wee take it in good earnest in the end as she is the mocker of all so shee goeth mockyng of vs thinkynge that she geeueth vs another mans and she taketh our owne proper I let thee wete that knowing that of fortune which I know I fear not the turmoyles of her traueyles neyther dooth her lightnings or thuÌ„ders astony mee nor yet wyll I not esteme the pleasantnes of her goodly fayr flatteryes I wyll not trust her sweete reioysings neither wyll I make accompt of her frendshyps nor I wyll ioyne my selfe with her enemyes nor I wyll take any
and cold of the ayre that is whot and moyst of fyre that is dry and whot So that taking the world in this sort there is no reason why wee shoold complayn and lament of it since that without him wee cannot lyue corporally When the paynter of the world came into the world it is not to bee beeleeued that hee reproued the water which bare hym when hee went vppon it nor the ayre that ceased to blow in the sea nor the earth that trembled at his death nor the light which seased to lyght nor the stones which brake in sonder nor the fish whych suffred them selues to bee taken nor the trees which suffered them selues to bee drye nor the monuments that suffered them selues to bee opened For the creature knowledged in his creator omnipotency and the creator founded in the creature due obedience Oftentymes and of many parsons wee heere say o wofull world o miserable world o subtyl world o world vnstable and vnconstant And therfore it is reason wee know what the world is whereof the world is from whence this world is wherof this world is made and who is lord of thys world since in it all things are vnstable all things are miserable all disceitfull and all things are malicious which can not bee vnderstanded of this materiall world For in the fyre in the ayre in the earth and in the water in the lyght in the planets in the stones and in the trees there are no sorows there are no miseries there are no disceit nor yet any malyce The world wherein wee are born where wee lyue where wee dye differeth much from the world wherof wee doo complayn for the world agaynst whom wee fight suffreth vs not to bee in quiet one hour in the day To declare therfore my entencion this wicked world is no other thing but the euill lyfe of the worldlings where the earth is the desire the fire the couetice the water the inconstancy the ayre the folly the stones are the pride the flowers of the trees the thoughts the deepe sea the hart Fynally I say that the sonne of this world is the prosperity and the moone is the continuall chaunge The prince of this so euill a world is the deuill of whom Iesus Christ sayd The prince of this world shall now bee cast out and thys the redeemer of the world sayeth For hee called the worldlings and their worldly lyues the world For since they bee seruaunts of sinne of necessity they must bee subiects of the deuyll The pryde the auaryce the enuy the blasphemy the pleasures the lechery the neglygence the glottony the yre the malyce the vanity and the folly This is the world agaynst whych wee fight al our lyfe and where the good are princes of vyces and the vyces are lords of the vicious Let vs compare the trauels which wee suffer of the elements wyth those whych wee endure of the vyces and wee shall see that lyttle is the perill wee haue on the sea and the land in respect of that which encreaseth of our euyll lyfe Is not hee in more daunger that falleth through malyce into pryde then hee which by chaunce falleth from a high rock Is not hee who wyth enuy is persecuted in more daunger than hee that with a stone is wounded Are not they in more perill that liue among vicious men than others that liue among bruit and cruell beasts Doo not those which are tormented with the fire of couetousnes suffer greater daunger then those which lyue vnder the mount Ethna Fynally I say that they bee in greater perils whych with hygh immaginations are blynded then the trees which with the importunat wyndes are shaken And afterwards this world is our cruell enemy it is a deceitfull frend it is that which always keepeth vs in trauell it is that which taketh from vs our rest it is that that robbeth vs of our treasor it is that which maketh him self to bee feared of the good that which is greatly beeloued of the euill It is that which of the goods of other is prodigall and of his own very miserable Hee is the inuenter of all vyces and the scourge of all vertues It is hee which entertaineth al his in flattery and fair speech This is hee which bringeth men to dissention that robbeth the renowm of those that bee dead and putteth to sack the good name of those that bee aliue Fynally I say that this cursed world is hee which to all ought to render accompt and of whom none dare ask accompt O vanity of vanity where all walk in vanity where all think vanity where all cleue to vanity where all seemeth vanity and yet this is lyttle to seeme vanity but that in dede it is vanity For as false witnes shoold hee bere that woold say that in this world ther is any thing assured healthfull and true as hee that woold say that in heauen there is any vnconstant variable or false thing Let therfore vayn princes see how vayn their thoughts bee and let vs desire a vayn prince to tell vs how hee hath gouerned him wyth the vanities of the world For if hee beeleeue not that whych my penne wryteth let him beeleeue that whych hys parson prooueth The woords written in the book of Ecclesiastes are such I Dauids sonne that swaies the kingly seat with hungry thurst haue throwen amid my brest A vayn desire to proue what pleasures great In flying life haue stable foot to rest To tast the sweet that might suffise my will with rayned course to shunne the deeper way whose streams of his delight shoold so distill as might content my restles though to stay For lo queene follies imps through vayn beelief So proudly shape their serch of tickle retch that though desert auailes the waue of grief to science toppe their claimming will doth stretch And so to draw some nice delighting end Of fansies toyl that feasted thus my thought I largely wayed my wasted bounds to bend to swelling realms as wisedoms dyall wrought I ryall courts haue reached from the soyl to serue lodge my huge attending trayn Ech pleasant house that might bee heapt with toy◠I reared vp to weeld my wanton rayn I causd to plant the long vnused vynes to smooth my tast with treasure of the grape I sipped haue the sweete in flaming wynes old rust of care by hidd delight to skape Fresh arbors I had closed to the skies A shrouded space to vse my fickle feete rich gardeins I had dasing still myne eyes A pleasant plot when dainty food was meet High shaking trees by art I stroue to sett to fraight desire with fruit of leeking tast VVhen broyling flame of sommers sunne did hett the blossomd bows his shooting beams did wast From rocky hills I forced to bee brought Cold siluer springs to bayne my fruitful ground Large thrown out ponds I labord to bee wrought where nūbers huge of swimming fish were found Great compast parkes I gloried long to plant
hee speak not with his head aswell as wyth hys tongue nor that hee play not wyth his hands nor his feete nor that hee stroke hys beard nor wynk with his eyes for such fond countenaunces and gestures doo rather beecome a foole or iester then a ciuill or honest courtier And in his discourse with the Prince that hee exceede not in superfluous woords more then shall onely bee needefull and touching his matter and not to seeme in his presence to depraue or detract any man Hee may honestly allege and that without reproch the seruyce hee hath doon him but not to lay beefore him others faults and imperfections For at such a tyme it is not lawfull for him to speak yll of any man but onely to communicate wyth hym of his own affayrs And hee may not goe so farre also as to remēber him with too great affection the blood spent by his auncestors in hys seruyce nor the great acts of his parents for this onely woord sayd to the prince I did this better pleaseth and lyketh the Prince then to tell him a hundred other woords of that that hys predecessors had doone It pertayneth onely to women and they may iustly craue recompence of the prince for the lyues of their husbands lost in the princes warres but the valyaunt and woorthy courtier ought not to demaund recompence but for that hee only hath doon by persyng launce and bloody swoord Hee must beeware also that hee shew no countenaunce to the king of insatisfaccion neither to bee passioned in casting his seruice in the princes teeth saying all others haue been recompenced saue only him whom the Prince hath clean forgotten For princes will not that wee only serue them but that wee also at their willes and pleasures tary for recompence and not to haue it when wee gape or are importune for yt Howbeeit it is lawfull notwithstandyng humbly and lowly wythout cholor or passion to put the Prince in remembraunce of all that wee haue doone for him and of the long tyme wee haue spent in seruyng him Also the curious courtier shall not shew him self to dyslike at all of the prince neither by heaping of many woords to induce him to bere hym the better good will For mens harts are so prone to yll that for one only vnpleasaunt or ouerthwart woord spoken to them they lyghtly forgeat a thowsand seruyces doone them Socrates beeing one day demanded what hee thought of the princes of Greece aunswered There is no other difference beetwene the names and properties of the gods and that of princes but that the Gods were immortall and these mortall For these mortall princes vse in maner the lyke aucthority here in earth that the gods immortall doo in heauen aboue Saying further also that I alwayes was am and wil bee of that mynd that my mother Greece remayn a common weal. But since it is determined to bee gouerned by princely monarchie I wish them in all and for all to acknowledge their obedyence and allegeance to their king and soueraigne For when they woold otherwise vse it they may bee assured they shall not only goe against mortall princes but also against the eternall god Suetonius Tranquillus sayeth that Titus the emperor being aduertised that the consuls woold kill him and vsurp his empire aunswered thus wisely Euen as without the diuine will and prouidence I coold neuer haue possessed the imperiall crown so without their permission and sufferaunce it lyeth in no mans power to depriue mee of it For to vs men it pertaineth only to keepe the imperiall iurisdiccion and to the gods alone to geeue and defend it Which wee haue spoken to thend no man presume to bee reuenged of his prince neither in woord nor deede for to speak yll of hym wee shoold rather purchase vs their high indignation and displeasure then procure vs any cause or suggestion to bee reuenged of him Let the good courtier bee also aduysed that in talking with the prince hee bee not to obstinate to contend with the prince or any other in the princes presence For this name of arrogant and self willed beecommeth not the person of a wise courtier For wee know that in sport and argument euery man desireth to ouercome how tryfling so euer the matter bee And therefore wee read in the lyfe of the emperor Seuerus that Publius the consull iested one day with Fabritius his compagnion and told him hee was in loue Whom Fabritius aunswered I confesse it is a fault to bee in loue but yet it is a greater fault for thee to bee so obstinate as thou art For loue proceedeth of witt and discretion but obstinacy commeth of folly and great ygnoraunce Yf perchaunce the kyng ask the courtiers opinion in those matters they discoursed if hee know his opiniō to agree wyth the princes let him tell it him hardely but if it bee contrary let hym hold hys peace and not contend against him framyng some honest excuse to concele hys oppinon But if perhaps the king were obstinate and bent to his oppinion in any thing and that through his self will and obstinacy hee woold doo any thing vnreasonable or preiudiciall to his common wealth and that great detryment might come thereby yet for all this in such case the beeloued courtier shoold not at that instant bee to playn with hym to let hym vnderstand his error neyther yet shoold hee suffer him altogeether to passe hys way vntouched but in some fyne maner and proper woords as may beecome the place best to geeue him to vnderstand the troth But to vse it with more discretion hee shall not neede beefore them all to open hys whole mynd but to keepe his oppynion secrete expecting a more apter tyme when the kyng shall bee apart in his priuy chamber and then frankly to tell hym his hole mynd with all humylity and reuerence and to shew him the plaine troth wythout keeping any one thing from his knowledge For otherwyse in tellyng the kyng openly hee shoold make him ashamed and in dyssemblyng his fault also priuily hee shoold not bee admonished of hys error committed Now therefore let our conclusion bee that the courtier that proceeds in his matters rather with oppinion and obstinacy then discretion and iudgement shall neuer bee in fauor with the Prince nor yet beeloued in the court For it is as necessary for the courtier that will seeke the fauor of the prince and loue of the court to impose his tongue to sylence as it is to dyspose his body to all maner of seruyce I know there are some such rash vndiscreete and arrogant fooles that as much doo bost and reioice to haue spoken vndiscreetly to the king and without respect of his princely maiesty as if they had doon some maruelous thankfull seruice with whom truely no man ought to bee greatly offended for such fond bostes and vaunts as they make and much lesse also with that that happens to them afterward The courtier also must bee
wee are all of the earth wee liue in the earth and in th end wee haue to turne into the earth as to our naturall thing If the planets and the beasts coold help vs wyth the instrument and benefite of the tongue they woold take from vs the occasions of vayn glory For the starres woold say that they were created in the firmament the Sunne in the heauens the byrdes in the ayer the Salamaunder in the fyer and the fysh in the water but only the vnhappy man was made of earth and created in the earth So that in that respect wee cannot glory to haue other kinsfolk neerer to vs then are the woormes the flyes and horseflyes If a man did consider well what hee were hee woold assertain vs that the fyer burnes him water drownes him the earth wearies him the ayre troubles him the heate greeues him the cold hurts him and the day is troublesom to him the night sorowfull hunger and thirst makes him suffer meat and drink filles him his enemies daily follow him and his frends forget him So that the tyme a man hath to lyue in thys wretched world cannot bee counted a lyfe but rather a long death The first day wee see one borne the self same wee may make rekening that hee beginnes to dye and although that parson lyued amongst vs a hundreth yeres after in this world wee shoold not say therefore that hee lyued along tyme but only that hee taryed a great tyme to dye Therefore that parson that hath his lyfe tyed to so many trybutes I can not deuyse or think with my selfe why or wherefore hee shoold bee proud But now returning againe to our purpose let vs say and exhort the seruaunts and familiers of princes that they take heede they bee not proud and presumptuous For it seeldom happeneth that the fauored of kings and princes fall out of fauor and credit for that they haue or can doo much nor for that they craue and desyre much but for that they are to bold and presume to much For in the court of kings Princes there is nothing more hurtfull and lesse profitable then pryde and presumption For oft tymes the ouerweening of the courtier and the foolysh vayne pryde and reputacion hee hath of hym self brings him to bee in the princes disgrace and makes the people also to bee offended and angry wyth him For till this day wee neuer saw nor hard tell of any that euer got into the princes fauor and credit for that hee was proud and high mynded but only for that hee hath shewed himself an humble obedient curteous louyng and a faithful seruant I woold bee of this mynd that the courtier that seeth hee is receiued into fauor in the princes court shoold euer waxe better in seruing well then grow woorse in presuming to much And I dare boldly say and affirme that it is a mere point of folly by his pryde and rashenesse to lose all that good in one day that by great good fortune hee hath attained to in many yeres And though that the fauored courtier subiect possible to his fantasticall humor bee sometymes ouercome wyth cholor carnal desyre drawen with auaryce and addicted to the gorge enuenomed with enuy plunged insloth and ydlenes or some other vyce and imperfection it shal not skill much neither bee any great wonder since all mankynd is subiect to those passions and neither the prince nor the common weale will recken much of that For of all these faults and vyces there can come no greater hurt to him saue only that that the common people woold murmure against him But his pryde and pecokes glory once knowen and espied euery man casteth his eys vppon him to beehold his princely gate and curseth hym in woord and deede Therefore let a man bee in as great fauor as hee can deuyse to bee as woorthy noble ritch and of as great power and aucthority as hee desyreth to bee I neuer saw any yll in al my lyfe if with al these vertues hee were proud and high mynded but in th end hee was persecuted of many and hated and enuyed of all For those that are in greatest fauor about the prince haue secret enemies enough to hinder their credit although they doo not purchase them new to accuse them of their pryde and presumption And as wee are taught by experience the burning coal cannot long bee kept alyue without it bee couered with the whot ymbers Euen so I mean that the fauor of the prince cannot bee long maintained without good bringing vp and ciuile maners gentle conuersation and familiarity The great mē of auctority about the prince runne estsones into great and many daungers and this happeneth because they woold not bee reproued in any thing what so euer they doo much lesse here any woord that shoold displease them neyther can they abyde to bee told of their faults much lesse suffer to bee corrected for them Nether doo they suffer willyngly to bee counselled in any thing bee it neuer of so great weight and importance neyther woold they haue any compaygnion with them in fauor and credit with the Prince but they desire to bee both on the right hand of the prince and of the left styll they only woold bee the fauored of the prince and none other aspiring to gouerne them in all their dooings and to bee thought and reputed the sole and only rulers of the affairs of the prince and his common weal and to bee beleeued in all things of the prince and to bee obeyd also of the comon people Those therfore that are continually resient in the court of princes and that haue the cheefest roomes and offices of auctority in the court let them well consider and keepe in memory this one woord that I will tell them And that is this That the first day that they take vppon them to bee superintēdēts and gouernors of the common weal euen in the self same day they shal come to put in hasard their honor fauor and credit how great so euer it bee For with great difficulty are the lest things the prince himself cōmaundeth executed or doon in his realm or common weal and therefore may the fauored of the court see how much more hard it is for him to rule as sole absolute lord the affairs of the realme and to bee obeied in the common weal since the kyng him self cannot doo it by his regall auctority And therefore the lesse hee shall desire to meddle with thaffairs of the people the more shall hee lyue in quiet and contented For naturally the common people are so vnstable and vncertain in their dooings vnthankfull of benefits receiued and so ingratefull of a good turne doon them that the beloued of the court or any other person in fauor with the prince can euer doo any thing for the people bee it neuer so well but they will speak ill and mislyke of him and fynd fault with some of his dooings It is impossible
of the earth and deaw of heauen So that the sustenance for men is called meate and that of plāts trees Increase This beeing true therefore that wee haue spoken wee must needes confesse that to lyue wee must eat and yet with all wee must vnderstand that the synne of gluttony consisteth not in that that wee eat for necessity but onely in that that is eaten with a disordinat appetite and desire And sure now adays men vse not to eat to content nature but to please their lycorous and deinty mouthes Hee that geeueth him self ouer to the desire of the throte dooth not onely offend his stomack and distemper his body but hurteth also his conscience For al gluttons and dronkards are the children or the brothers of synne And I speak but lytle to say that the mouth sinne are cosin germayns togethers for by they re effects and operations mee thinketh them so knyt and combined together as the father and the sonne Syth burning leachery acknowlegeth none other for her mother but onely the insatiable and gurmand throte And the dyuersity of meats is but a continual importunat awaking of dishonest thoughts Doo wee not read of saint Iherom that albeit hee remayned in the wildernes burned of the sunne his face dryed vp and wrinckled barefooted and also bare headed clothed with sackcloth his body scourged with bitter stripes watchinge in the night and fasting in the day cōtinually exercising his penne and his hart in contemplacion and yet for all this greeuous penance hym self confessed that in his sleepe hee dreamed and thought hee was among the courtisans of Rome And saint Paule the apostle who was a man of rare and exquisite knowledge and deserued to see the very secrets of paradise neuer heretofore seen trauailing in his vocation more then any other of the apostels did not hee get his liuing with his own hāds and also went a soote preaching through all the world bringyng infynit barbarous people to the fayth of christ being beaten in the day tyme by others for that hee was a christian and in the night tyme hee beat him self for that hee was a sinner punishing the flesh to make it subiect to the spirit And yet neuertheles hee sayth also of hym self that hee coold not defend him self from dishonest thoughts which did euer let him to preach and pray with a quiet mynd Saint Austin reciteth of him self in his booke de confessionibus that al the while hee inhabited in the deserts hee eat litle wrote much prayd oft and sharply chastised his body with continuall fasts and greeuous disciplines But yet perceauing that notwithstanding all this his dishonest thoughts suppressed hys holy desires hee beganne to crie with a lowd voyce thorough the deserts rocky hills saying O lord my god thou commaundest mee to bee chast but this frayle and accursed flesh can neuer keepe yt And therefore I humbly beseech thee fyrst to indue mee with thy grace to doo that thou wilt haue mee then commaūd mee what shall please thee otherwise I shal neuer doo yt If therefore these glorious saints with their continuall fasts and contemplations and extreame punishing of theyr bodyes could not defend them selues from the burning motion of the flesh how shall wee beleeue that a company of dronkards and gluttons can doo yt which neuer lynne bibbyng and eatyng Wee may bee assured that the lesse wee pamper and feede our bodies with delicacy idlenes the more wee shall haue them obedient and subiect to our willes For though wee see the fier neuer so great flaming yet it quickly wasteth is brought to ashes if wee leaue to put more woode vnto yt Excesse is not onely vnlawful for the boddy but it is also occasion of a thousād dyseases both to the body the soule For to say troth wee haue seene more rych mē dye through excesse thē poore mē of necessity And in my opiniō mee thynkes the sinne of Gluttony neede not to bee otherwise punyshed by diuine iustice syth that of yt selfe yt brīgeth penance inough And to prooue this trew let vs but require these gluttōs to tel vs vpon theyr othes how they fynd thē selues in tēper beeyng ful paūched they wil confesse to vs that they are worse at ease thē yf they had fasted That their mouth is dry their body heauy yl disposed that their head aketh their stomack is colde that their eyes are slepy their bellye 's ful but yet that they desire to drink styll And therefore Diogenes Cinicus deryding the Rodians sayd these woords O you dronken gluttonus Rodians tell mee I beseech you what occasion mooues you to goe to the church to pray to the gods to geeue you health whē at al tymes keeping sober diet you may keepe yt with you And more ouer hee sayd vnto thē also yf you wil bee ruled by my coūcel I tel you you neede not goe to the churches to beseech the gods to graūt you health but onely to pray to them to pardon you your synnes iniquities you dayly cōmit Also Socrates the philosopher was wōt to say to his disciples of the vnyuersity of Athens Remēber O you Athenians that in the wel gouerned pollycies mē lyue not to eat to glut the body but doo onely eat to lyue sustayn the body O graue saiyng of the good philosopher I woold to god euery good christian would cary this lesson in mynd For if wee woold but let nature alone geeue her lyberty dispositiō of her self shee is so honest of such temperaūce that shee will not leaue to eat that that shall suffice her neither wil also trouble vs with that that is superfluous Yet an other foule offence bringeth this vice of Gluttony that is that many put them selues in seruice to wayt on others not somuch for the ordinary fare that is commonly vsed in their house as for the desire they haue to fyll theyr bellies with dainty and superfluous meats And in especiall whē they know they make any mariages or feasts for their frends then they geeue double attendance not consēted alone with that themselues haue eaten but further in remembraunce of the worthy feast committeth to the custody of his trusty cater hys great hose perhaps a two or three days store of those rare dainty dishes which I am ashamed to write and much more ought they to bee ashamed to doo yt For that mā that professeth to bee a mā ought to inforce himself neuer to engage his liberty for that that his sēsual appetite incyteth him to but onely for that that reason byndeth hym to Aristippus the phylosopher washyng lettyse one day with his owne hāds for his supper by chaūce Plautus passing by that way and seeyng hym sayd If thou wooldst haue serued Kyng Dionisius wee should not haue seene thee eat lettises as thou doost now Aristippus aūswered him again O Plautus if thou wert cōtent to eat of these lettyses
the thou wilt not se me if I write to the thou wilt make no aunswere And the worst of al is if others do shew the of my grefes thou takest it as a mockerie O that I had so much knowledge wher to complaine to the as thou hast power to cease my plaint then my wisedom should be no lesse praised among the wise then thy beauty amongest the foles I besech the hartely not to haue respect to the rudenes of my reasons but regard the faith of my teares which I offer to that as a witnes of my wil. I know not what profite may come by my harme nor what gaine of my losse thou maist hope to haue nor what surety of my peril thou maist attaine nor what pleasure of my paine thou maiste haue I had aunswere by my messenger that without reading my letters with thy owne hands thou didst rent them in pieces it ought to suffice to thinke how many parsons is tormented If it had pleased you lady Macrine to haue red those few lines you should haue perceiued how I am inwardly tormented Ye women be very extreme for the misaduenture of one man a woman wil complaine of al mē in general So ye al shew cruelty for one particuler cause openly ye pardon all mens liues and secretly ye procure death to al. I accompt it nothinge lady Macrine that thou haste done but I lament that which thou causest thy neighbour Valerius to say to me One thing I would thou sholdest remember and not forget that is Sith my libertie is so small and thy power so great that being wholy mine am torned to be thine the more iniurie thou dost to me the more thou hurtest thy selfe since by the I die as thou by me doest liue In this peruers opinion abide not so mayest thou hasarde the life of vs both Thou hurtest thy good name and destroyest my health in the ende thou must come to the same phisicke Pardone me lady Macrine if I saye ought that may offende thee I know ye women desire one thing greatly that is to haue soueraintie of vs and yet not seame so much as by thought to wyshe the same Thou haddest the same of a gentle nature though in dede thou were not so yet thou haddest the same thereof and an auncient good name ought not to be loste with a newe vnkindenes Thou knowest howe cōtrary ingratitude is to vertue in a vertuous house Thou canst not be called vertuous but if thou be curteous There is no greater ingratitude then not to loue againe Though I visite the and thou not me it is nothing though I remember thee and thou forgettest me it is nothing though I wepe and thou laugh it is nothing though I craue of thee and thou denie me it is nothing though thou owest me and paye me not it is nothing But if I loue thee and thou not me this is a great thing which the eies can neither dissimule nor the hart suffre All the vices in mortall men are to be pardoned because they offende naturally saue onely this discourtesy in women and vngentlenes in mē which are counted of malice Diuerse seruices by me done to thee and all the good willes I haue heretofore borne to thee thou onely lady Macrine with one thing rewarde me I praye thee be not slacke to helpe me for I was not so to offer me into peril If thou sayest that Patroclus thy husbande hath the propertie in thee at the least yet receiue me vpon proufe and I will pretende a possession of thee and in this wyse the vayne glorie in being thyne shall hyde the hurt being myne thou makest me maruayle not a litle that for so small a rewarde thou wilt suffer so great an importunitie For certainly we graunte many thynges to an importunate man whiche we deny to a temperate man If thou lady Macrine hopest to ouercome me beholde I yelde me as vanquished If thou wilt lose me I holde me loste if thou wylt kyll me I holde me dead For by the gestures whiche I make before thy gate and the secreate sighes whiche I fetche in my house thou mayest knowe howe greatly I mynde to reste but thy braue assaultes are rather buyldinges to nouryshe death then to cōforte the lyfe If thou wylt I escape this daunger deny me not remedy For it shal be a greater dishonour for to slea me then shame to saue me It is no iust thing for so small againe to lose so faithfull a frende I wote not howe to make thee my detter nor howe to make thee paye me and the worste of all is I knowe not what to saye nor howe to determine For I was not borne to myne owne wealth but to be faithful in thy seruices And sythe thou knowest whom thou haste trusted with thy message the same I doe trust with this open letter and my aunswere in secrete I doe sende to thee a iewell of pearle and a piece of golde I pray the gods make thee receiue them as willingly as I doe frely sende them Marke Oratour to the inexorable Macrine ¶ Of a letter whiche the Emperour Marcus Aurelius sent to the beautiful lady Liuia wherein he proueth that loue is naturall and that the moste parte of the philosophers and wyse men haue bene by loue ouercome Cap. xv MArke full of sorowe to thee careles Lyuia If thy litle care did lodge in me and my sorowes were harboured in thee thou shouldest then see howe litle the quarell is that I make to thee in respect to the torment I suffer If the flambes issued out as the fire doth burne me within the heauens should perishe with smoke and the earth should make imbers If thou doest well remember the firste time I saw thee in the temple of the virgin Vestals thou being there diddest alwayes praye to the gods for thy selfe and I vpon my knees prayed to thee for me Thou knowest and so doe I that thou diddest offer oyle and hony to the goddes but I did offer to thee teares and sighes It is iust thou geue more to hym that offered his harte then to him whiche draweth money out of his purse I haue determined to wryte to thee this letter whereby thou maieste perceiue howe thou arte serued with the arrowes of my eyes whiche were shott at the white of thy seruice O vnhappy that I am I feare least this present calme doth threaten me with a tempest to come I wyl saye that discourtesy in thee causeth doubtfull hope in me Beholde my misaduenture I had lost a letter and tourning to the temple to seeke it I founde the letter whiche was of some importaunce and had almoste loste my selfe whiche is the greatest thyng Considering my small rewarde I see my eyes the ladders of my hope set on so high a wal that no lesse certaine is my fal then my climming was doubtfull Thou bending downe thy harnes of thy high desertes and putting me to the point of continuall seruice