found who would willingly die loose their owne life for him hee should begin the course of his life againe and continue on earth another age Now when the time of his naturall life drew to an ende there was diligent inquiry made who would bée content to abridge their owne dayes to prolong their princes life And first the question was put to his freindes who were néerest to them selues then to his kinsfolke whose loue was asmutch of custome as of kindenesse then to his subiectes whose affection was as mutch for feare as for fauour then to his seruauntes who thought their life as swéete as their mayster did his then to his children who thought it reason that as their father did first enter into this life so hee should first depart out of this life so that there coulde none bée founde so franke of their life to set this prince frée from the force of death Now Alcest seeing the death of her deare husband draw néere and knowinge her owne life without his life and loue would bée but lothsome vnto her of her owne accorde offred her selfe to bée sacrificed for her husbandes sake and to hasten her owne death to prolonge his life O loyall louing wife O wight good inough for god him selfe And yet had shée a husband good inough for her selfe for hee loued her so intirely that though by loosing her hée might haue gained life long time yet would hee not by any meanes consent to her death sayinge without her life his life would bée more gréeuous vnto him then a thousand deathes But shée perswaded with him against herself all that shée could saying I would not O peerles prince you should take the matter so kindly at my hands as though for your sake only I offred vp my life for it is in déede the commodity of your country and mine owne béeinge vnder your domynion which driueth mee hereto knowinge my selfe vnable to gouerne them you beeing gone And considering the dayly warre the spoylefull wastes the bloudy blastes the troublesome strife which your realme is subiect too I thought you had not loued mee so litle as to leaue mee behinde you to beare on my weake backe sutch a heauy burthen as I thinke Atlas him selfe could scarce sustaine Againe considering that death is but a fleeting from one life into another and that from a most miserable lifë to a most happy life yea from bale to blisse from care to quiet from Purgatory to Paradise I thought you had not enuied mee so mutch as to thinke mee vnwoorthy of it Doo you not know that Cleouis and Byton had death bestowed on them as the best gifte which God could deuise to giue them and doe you thinke it can doe mee harme especially seeing I may therby doe you good Alas sweet wife sayth Admetus this your piety is vnprofitable which is subiect to so many perils But if death bee so good good wife let mée inioy it who am inioyned to it and to whom onely it will be good for death is onely good to mée whom it is giuen not to you who are not appointed to it For it is not lawfull for any to leaue this life without speciall permission of the goddes And as in our court it is lawful for none to haue accesse vnto vs vnlesse by vs hee bee sent for so neither is it lawfull for any to appeare before the heauenly throne vnlesse by the goddes hee be sommoned Neither wil death bee so easy to you as to mee whose nature is apt to yeelde vnto it For you see fruite whiche is not ripe will scarce with strength bee torne from the tree wheras that which is ripe falleth easely of it owne accord Therefore good wife giue mee leaue to die to whom it wil bee onely good and easy to die Why sweet husband sayth shee the god Appollo allowed any that would to die for you otherwise to what purpose was that which hee obtayned of the destinies for you And for the vneasines of death nothing can bee vneasy or hard vnto a willing heart But bicause your pleasure is so I am content to continue my carefull life and with sorrowe to suruiue you And so left her husbande and went priuily to the Aulter and offred vp her selfe to death to prolonge her husbands life Which when the king knew hee would presently haue spoyled him selfe but his handes had not the power to doe it for that by the decrée of the destinies hee must now of force liue another age on earth Which when hée saw hée filled the court with sutch pitifull wayling sutch bitter weeping sutch hellishe houlinge that it pearced the heauens and mooued the gods to take remorse on his misery And Proserpine y goddes of hell especiallye pitying y parting of this louing couple for y she her selfe knew the paine of partinge from freinds beeing by Dys stolen frō her mother Ceres put life into his wife againe and with speed sent her vnto him Who beeing certified here of in his fleepe early in y morning waited for her cōming seing her come a far of hee had much a do to kepe his soule in his body from flying to meet her Beeing come hee receiued her as ioyfully as shee came willingly so they liued longe time together in most contented happinesse This séemeth straunge vnto you Gentlewoman that a woman should die and then liue againe but the meaninge of it is this that you should die to your selues and liue to your husbandes that you should counte their life your life their death your distruction that you should not care to disease your selues to please them that you should in all thinges frame your selues to their fancies that if you see them disposed to mirth you should indeuour to bee pleasaunt if they bee solemne you should bée sad if they hard you hauinge if they delight in haukes that you should loue Spanniels if they hunting you houndes if they good company you good housekéeping if they bee hastie that you should bee pacient if they bée ielous that you should lay aside all light lookes if they frowne that you feare if they smile that you laugh if they kisse that you cléepe or at least giue them two for one and so that in all thinges you should conforme your selues to their contentacion so shall there bée one will in two minds one hart in two bodies and two bodies in one flesh Meethinkes I heare my wish wishe mée sutch a wife as I haue spoken of verily good wish you wish your wealth great wealth and God make mee woorthy of you wish and your wishe and if I might haue my wish I am perswaded you should haue your wish But if I bee so good a husband as Admetus was if I forgoe father freindes and liuinge if I bee content to chaunge ioy for annoy court for care pleasure for pilgrimage for my wiues sake if I had rather die my selfe then shee should if shée béeinge dead with mournfull cries I moue the
wee thinke wee neuer haue inough wee thinke all to mutch that is spent wee take litle pleasure in any thing wee thinke the world is changed and that it is far worse then it was when wee were younge only bicause our bodies are changed and our vitall heat so vanished away that nothing seemeth pleasaunt vnto vs though it bee the same it was woont to bee so that wee thinke the alteration to bee in the thing when it is in our selfe And then not onely our memory fayleth our wits waxe weake and returne to infancy againe but our bodies also are broken with cares taken with crampes shaken with paulseies tormented with the stone lamed with the goute dried with dropsies our sight waxeth dim our hearing deafe our smelling smal our tasting vntoothsome our feelinge feable yea all our sences are almost without sence yet we are loth to die leaue our worldly mucke the feare of approching death doeth dayly daunt vs and at length his deadly dartes doe vtterly distroy vs And surely the consideration of this our miserable estate doth so resolue mee into sorrow that if your presence did not sprinkle mee with some deawe of delight I should hardly frame my wittes to procure you pleasure by any pleasant history but rather continew a dolorous discourse of our calamity And yet the history I meane to tell shall not bee altogether estraunged from the argument of my former discourse but though it manifest not our manyfolde misery yet shall it at least set foorth the frailty of our felicity The history is this The flowrishynge common wealth of Athens had to their prince one Pandion whose estate bothe fortune beutified with great wealthe and God blessed with goodly children to wit two daughters of excellent beutie the eldest named Progne the youngest Philomela Now fame béeyng a tatlyng Goddesse blazed the brute of Progne abreade into diuers countries vntill at length the rumour of her renoâ—me ronge about the eares of Tereus kynge of Thrace who béeynge a younge lustie gallant made no great account of the commendations whiche were giuen her knowyng if hée were disposed to marrie hée might make his choyce amongst a great number as good as shée was and more nere neighbours vnto him then Athens was But destinies so draue that shortly after this on a night in his sleape hée séemed to sée her stand apparently before him only a stronge imagination assurynge him that it was shee which sight sunke so deeply into his heart and brought him sutch excessiue delight that hee presently awaked and missyng the partie that procured him such pleasure his ioy was tournd to anoy neither coulde hee euer after that finde any contentation in any thought or deed but only in this determination to goe haue a true sight of her whose seemyng shadow had so dazeled his eyes and with all speed repayred his shippes and prepared al thyngs necessary for sutch a voyage and by the help of good wynde and will shortly arriued there where his hart had already cast anker and sent ambassadours to the kyng to certifie him of his commynge who receyued him with royaltie fit for his regall estate And at the first incountry of the two princes Tereus sayde My commyng vnto you O noble prynce is not as an open enemie to inuade you for you see I am vnarmed neither as a secret traytour to intrap you for you know I am your freend but that you may not meruayle at my sodayne cummyng you shall vnderstand it is to sée your daughter the Lady Progne for you shall soone perceyue I pretende well vnto her Pandian answered As most worthy prince the cause of your comming is friendly so can I not but friendly accept it and how much I thinke my selfe honoured therby so mutch I count my selfe bound vnto you And after a litle parlee passed betweene them of the estates of their realmes and manners of their countreies Pandion preferred him to the sight of his daughter whom after Tereus had saluted with a curteous conge hee entred into discoursing with in this sort If faire Lady I should tell the truth of my comming into this country I thinke you would take it but for a trifling toy yea if I should in woords plainly set downe y cause of this my interprised iourney and the case which through your meanes I remaine in I doubt you would neither beleeue the cause neither reléeue my case for y the straungnesse of the one would bréed great incredulity for the other the small acquaintance I haue with you lesse deserts towards you can craue smal curtesy yet if it please you to know neither the desire to see this country neither the renoume of your vertue beauty brought me hither for though the report therof be great yet now I se I must néedes say y fame hath rather framed your praise maliciously then reported it truly for one good part reported to bée in you I perceiue by your countenance such confluence of good conditions that I can not but counte the rumor which run of you rather sparing speeche then right reporte But the cause of my hasty comminge and heauy case is this it pleased the goddes to presente your seemely selfe to my presence in the same louely likenesse wherin you are at this present what time I tooke sutch veiwe of your sweete face that approchinge this daye to your fathers palaice béefore I knew who you were what you were or where you were as you looked if you remeÌ„ber it out at your chamber window I said to my seruaÌ„ts loe yonder standes the péereles peragon princely Progne and since y sight in my sléepe I take the heauens to witnesse I neuer inioyed one quiet sleepe but continued in coÌ„templation how I might be placed in possession of that personage which draue me into sutch admiration Now seinge it pleased the gods thus miraculously to moue mée to traueile to see you and seeing the sight of your sweete face hath fast fettred my fancy in links of loue these may bee humbly to desire you neither to resist the motion of the goddes neither to reiecte the deuotion of my good wil. And if I haue preferred your loue before all the Ladies of my owne land if I make you that profer which many princes haue pressed for if neither wearines of way neither perils of sea could prohibite mee from pursuing your good will if I bee content to resigne my kingdome liberty and all that I haue into your handes I shall desire you not to coÌ„temne my curtesy but to counteruaile my paine and to returne my goodwill with like loue and affection This request also resteth to make vnto you that you driue mee not of with trifeling delayes for neither will the extremity of my perplexity permit longe delay neyther will the estate my kingdome standeth in suffer mee longe to bee away Progne hearing the ernest sute of this prince and seeinge nothing in him to be misliked considering also what
effect and séeyng the cause of this chaunce was good I doubt not but the effect wil folow accordyngly and if any euill do insue therof I trust it will light on my head through whose negligence it happened Agrip. answered As I know not the cause so I feare not the effect greatly and in deed as you say hethervnto you haue had the worst of it for that thereby you haue been put to double paynes If that bée all saith hée rather then it shalbée sayd any euill to haue insued of this chaunce I will perswade my selfe that euery payne whiche you shall put mee to shal be double delight and treble pleasure vnto mee You must vse sayth shee then great eloquence to your selfe to perswade you to sutch an impossibility Oh if it please you sayth hee there is an oratour which of late hath taken vp his dwelling within mee who hath eloquence to perswade mee to a far greater matter then this If sayth shee hee perswade you to thinges no more behouseful for your selfe then this if you follow my counsayle you shall not giue him house roome long Madame sayth hee it is an assured signe of a free and freendly minde to giue good counsayle but it is harde for one in bondage and out of his owne possession to followe it For what knoweth your honour whether hée haue already taken intire possession of the house wherin hée is which if it bee so what wit is able to deuise a writ to remoue him from thence If sir sayth shée hée entred by order of law and payd you truely for it it is reason hée inioy it marie your folly was greate to retaine sutch a tenant but if hée intruded himselfe by force you may lawfully extrude him by strength In déede sayth hée hée entred vi et armis forcibly but after vpon certaine parlance passed betwéene vs I was content hée should remaine in peacible possession marie hee hath payd mee nothinge yet but hee promiseth so frankely that if the perfourmance follow a house with beames of beaten golde and pillers of precious stones will not counteruaile the price of it yea if I were placed in quiet possession therof I would thinke my self ritcher I wil not say then the Emperour but which is most then god him selfe who possesseth heauen and earth and as the hope of obtayning the effecte of that promise heaueth mee vp to heauen so the doubt to bee deceiued therof driueth mee downe to hell And what ioyly fellow sayth shee is this that promiseth so frankely will hée not promise golden hils and perfourme durty dales Would to god sayth hee your semely selfe were so well acquainted with him as I am then would I make you iudge of the worthynesse of the thinge hee hath promised for that you know the goodnes thereof none better The lady smellinge the drift of his deuises and seeinge the ende of his talke seemed to tend to loue and that touching her owne selfe thought not good to draw on their discourse any longer but concluded with this answere As I am altogether ignorant what your obscure talke meaneth so care I not to bee acquainted with any sutch companion as your Landlord is for so methinkes by you I may more fitly call him then terme him your tenaunt and so departed away into her lodginge Germanicus likewise his Misteris beeing gone gat him to his chamber to entertaine his amarous conceites and béeing alone brake forth into these wordes O friendly fortune if continually hereafter thou furiously frowne vpon mée yet shall I all the dayes of my life count my selfe bound vnto thee for the onely pleasure which this day thou hast done mee in giuinge mee occasion of talke with her whose aungels voice made sutch heauenly harmony to my heauy heart that where before it was plunged in perplexity it is now placed in felicity and where before it was oppressed with care it is nowe refreshed with comfort Yea euery louely lookes of her is able to cure mee if I were in most deepe distres of moste daungerous disease euery sweete woord proceeding from her sugred lips is of force to fetch mee from death to life But alas how true do I trie that saying that euery commodity hath a discommodity annexed vnto it how dooth the remembraunce of this ioy put mee in minde of the annoy which the losse of this delight will procure mee Yea it maketh all my sences shake to thinke that some other shall inioy her more woorthy of her then my selfe and yet who in this court nay in all Christendome nay in the whole worlde is worthy of her No if shée neuer haue any vntill shée haue one worthy of her euery way shee shall neuer haue any And shall I then beeing but a poore gentleman seeke to insinuate my selfe in place so high Shall I by my rude attempt purchase at least the displeasure of her friendes and parentes and perchaunce hers also whom to displease would be no lesse displeasant vnto mée then death Alas and must loue needes bee rewarded with hate Must curtesy néedes bée counteruayled with crueltie Must goodwil needes be returned with displeasure Is it possible y bounti should not abide where beuty doth aboūd that curtesy should not accompany her comlinesse Yes I am sure at the least she wil suffer me to loue her though her younge yeeres high estate will not suffer her to loue mee though shée will not accept me for husband yet I am sure shee will not reiecte mée for seruaunt and though shee will not receiue my seruice yet I doubt not but shee will courteously take the tendringe therof vnto her And touchinge her parentes displeasure what care I to procure the ill will of the whole world so I may purchase her good will. Yea if I should spend the most precious bloud in my body in the pursuite of so pereles a péece I would count it as welbestowed as if it were shed in the quarrell of god my prince or country For shée is the goddesse whom I wil honour with deuotion shée is the prince whom I will obey with duty shee is the country in whose cause and quarrell I will spend life liuing and all that I haue Neither is there mutch cause why her friendes should storme much at the matter for though my lands reuenewes are not great yet am I of y bloud royall nere kinsman to themperour who wil not suffer me to want any thing pertayning to my estate degree Why Alerane a youth like my self practised the mightie emperour Otho his daughter darling Adalesia stole her away married her and do I sticke to attempt the like with one of far meaner estate though of far more worthinesse And though frowning fortune tossed him for a while in y tempestious seas of aduersiti yet at the length he arriued at the hauen of happy estate and was reconciled to the good grace and fauour of the Emperour againe And though at the first my
is the cause when they will lay on them selues heauier burdens then they are able to beare and refuse to beare those burthens whiche nature hath appointed them to beare which are but light What talke you sir sayth shee so mutch of nature and of creatures without reason as though wee ought to follow either the instinct of the one either the example of the other I haue bene alwayes taught that reason is the rule to direct our dooinges by and that wee ought to laye béefore vs the actions of creatures indued with reason to follow and imitate For if you sticke so strictly to the example of reasonles creatures you should vse the company of women but once or twice at the moste in the yeere as most of them doo with their females whereto I am sure you would bée loth to bée tied Madame sayth hee a gentlewoman of this citie hath answerd this obiction alredy for me Why then saith she wil you condemne their dooings in some poinctes place them for paternes to bée practised by in othersome Yea why not sayth hée otherwise you might generally take exception against the example of men for that some men in some matters do amisse The good euer is to bee vsed and the ill refused But to come to the dooings of men which you séeme to desire doth not euery man so soone as his daughter is arriued to ripe yeres trauell to bestow her in mariage wherby she may inioy the fruits of loue participate with the pleasures incident to that estate wherby they plainly shew that the cause why they begot them with pleasure and bring them vp with pain is to haue them enter into that trade of life wherin not only themselues may liue happily abounding in all pleasure but also by the fertill fruite of their body make their mortall parentes immortall that when they with age shalbée wasted and withered away the séede of their seede may begin gréenely to grow and flowrishingly to spring to the great comfort of both the father and daughter For what pleasure the graundfather takes in the sportinge pastime of his proper daughters prety children I thinke you partly vnderstaÌ„d and what delight the mother takes in the toyes of her litle sonne you soone shall perfectly perceiue if it please you friendly to followe the friendly counsayle which I frankely preache vnto you For do you thinke if virginity were of sutch vertue that parentes would not rather paine them selues to keepe their deare daughters modest maides then straine them selues and their substance to ioyne them in Iunos sacred bond Yes perswade your swéete selfe if your mother were so perswaded shée would rather locke you vp close in her closet then suffer any to inioy the soueraigne sight of your beuty or once aspire to your spéeche whereby you might bée perswaded to some other kinde of life But shée experienced by yéeres knoweth best what is best for your behouse and would you should followe her example and make no conscience to loose that which shée her self hath lost which except shée had lost wée had lost so rare a Iewell as your séemely selfe are with what a losse it had bene to my self I dare not say lest you count verity vanity and truth trifling and flattery But to our purpose you perceiue as I sayd your parentes pleased with the accesse of gentlemen vnto you wherby you may conceiue their minde is you should accept sutch seruice as they profer and pertake with those pleasures which they prefer vnto you Why sir sayth shée you altogether mistake the meaning of men in this matter for when fathers teÌ„der mariages to their daughters it is not for any minde they haue to haue them maried but onely for feare least they should fall to folly otherwayes for knowing the fickle frailenesse of youth and our procliuyty to prauity and wickednesse they prouide vs mariages to preuent mischiefes and séeinge of euils the least is to bée chosen they count mariage a lesse euill then lightnesse of our life and béehauiour Alas good Madame saith he why do you so mutch prophane the holy state of wedlocke as to count it in y number of euils wheras the goddes themselues haue entred into that state where as Princes pleasantly passe their time therin whereas by it only mankinde is preserued and amitie and loue amongst men conserued of the worthinesse wherof I am not worthy to open my lippes Sir saith she I speake it not of my self but according to the opinion of the most wise and learned Philosophers that euer liued amongest whom one Aminius so mutche misliked of Marriage that béeyng demaunded why hee would not marrie answered because there were so manie inconueniences incident to that estate that the least of them is able to slea a thousande men Why Madame saith hee you must consider there is nothyng in this mortall life so absolutely good and perfect but that there bée inconueniences as well as commodities incurred therby by that reason you may take the Sâ—une out of the world for that it parcheth the summers greene and blasteth away the beutie of those that blaze their face therin But to leaue naturall humaine lawes and come to the deuine precepts proceedyng from Gods owne mouth doth not God say it is not good for man to liue alone and therefore made Eue for an helper and comforter Likewise in diuers places of Scripture he doth not only commend Marriage to vs saying Marriage and the bed vndefiled are honourable but also commaundeth vs to it saying you shall forsake Father and Mother and follow your wiues Why sir saith shee and doth not God say it is good for man not to touche a woman and if thou bee vnmarried remayne so But why alleadge you not this text it is better to marrie then to burn wherby is playnly shewed that Marriage is but a meane to medicine the burnynge in concupiscence and lust and as I sayd béefore of two euils the least and therfore preferred But because wee bee entred into deuine misteries I could refer you to a place of scripture where it is reported that in Heauen Uirgins chéeifly serue God and set foorth his glorie And Mahamet the great Turke who was in heauen saith he saw there Uirgins who if they issued foorth of Heauen would lighten the whole worlde with their brightnesse and if they chaunced to spit into the sea they would make the whole water as sweet as Honie but here is no mention of married folke Belike saith hée those Uyrgins bee like your self and then no meruayle though God be delighted with the sight of them whiche perchaunce is the cause hee hath them in Heauen to attend vpon him as first Heue and after Ganymedes did vpon Iupiter But generally of women the scripture sayth that by bringinge forth of children they shalbée saued and inioy a place in heauen which must bée by mariage if honestly But bicause I am perswaded that it is onely for argument sake that you
resteth for mee onely to beewayle my euill hap to lament my luckelesse loue and neuer to attempt that I am like neuer to attaine vnto By this time the earth was couered with a darke mantell and by reason that the Sun was departed out of our Horizon the light of the starres which the Sun lendeth them béegan to appeare in the firmamente where vpon this poore passionate louer weried with woe disposed him selfe to rest but hee whose bane loue hath brued neither by night nor by day neither in company nor solitary neither sléeping nor waking can take any rest or quiet For hee was no sooner in a slumber but the goddesse of his deuotions presently presented her selfe béefore him sayinge Myne owne why doest thou thus torment thy selfe for my sake who suffer no litle greife to see thy great sorrow wherfore be bolde to aske any thing at my hands honestly and bee sure I will graunt it willingly for I perswade my selfe the heauens haue reserued mee for thée Icilius hearinge as hée hoped this heauenly voice and séeing as hée thought that saint by his bed side with open armes reached to imbrace her but béeinge awaked with open eyes hée saw hee was deceiued which sodaine fall from heauen to hell tooke away his breath from him for a while but béeing come to him selfe hée began to cry out in this carefull manner O God is it not sufficient to vexe mée with vanities in the day time vnlesse thou torment mée with visions also in the night haue I not woe inough awake but that béesides I must haue sorrow in sleepe What gréeuous offence haue I committed that deserueth sutch gréeuous punishment if this bée the rewarde of them that loue woe woe bée to them that hate thou hast commaunded vs all to loue one another and if thou thus punishe the fulfillers of thy law what shall béecome of the transgressors therof but if thou bee disposed to punish mée and displeased with my deedes neuer suffer mée hereafter to do any thynge but cast mée into sutch a sleepe wherin I was erwhile and therein let mée continue continually O happy was Endymion who longe time inioyed the like sleepe O ten times happie are the dead if death bée any thynge like this sleepe But O hundred times vnhappie am I to whom wakyng is waylefull wheras to all thynges els it is ioyfull But was this but a vision which deluded mee was it but a dreame whiche I doated on And if it were but a dreame doth it portend nothyng and may there be effect in dreames Yea god wot commonly the contrary or as Cato saith wée sée sleeping that which wée wish for wakyng So that neither in dreaming nor doing neither in sleepyng nor séeyng neither in thinkyng nor sayinge finde I any cause of comfort or see any signe of solace This youthe passed his time so longe in these and sutch like passions that the carefull cariage of his eyes bewrayed his carefull minde and his pale countenance his painfull case Which a special fréend of his perceiuyng tooke sutch compassion and pitie on his painfull state that hée sought all meanes possible to sift out the cause of his sorrow to the intent to séeke some medicine for his maladie And hauyng oportunitie of time and place hée brake with him in this sorte Good freende if I should shew you what great sorrow I sustayne by your heauinesse you would perchaunce iudge my words to proceede rather of flattery and trifling then of truth but no more but trie how willyng I wil be to ease your payne and by that iudge how greatly it gréeueth mee But how great so euer my gréeif bee my wonder is more then great to sée you transfourmed from the estate of a pleasant Gentleman into sutch solitarie regardes that you séeme rather a Tymon of Athens then a courtier of Italy and so mutche the more cause I haue of meruayle by how mutch lesse I sée any apparent cause which should worke any sutch alteration in you For if want of worldly wealth coulde worke your woe why you want nothyng if you would eate golde as they say you might haue it If losse of freendes molest you why you haue an infinite number whiche loue you intirely If you bee disposed to trauayle to see straunge countries your parents wil bee well pleased with your departure If you bee wearie of your single life your freendes will foorthwith prouide for your Marriage If any repulse receyued of any dayntie dame doo daunt you why the Goddes them selues haue suffred the like as Daphne a seely damsel refused the God Phoebus Syrinx a simple mayde reiected the God Pan with infinite other If you haue fixed your fancie in place you thinke impossible to possesse why you haue reason to rule your affection you haue wit to compasse your desire you haue fréends to further it you want nothynge to finish it With this his colour beegan to chaunge and hee fetcht a deepe sighe or two whereby his freend perceiued hee had touched the cause of his calamitie and sore of his sorrow praying him very ernestly to vnfolde the secrets of his thoughtes vnto him sayinge two wittes are better then one and that which you blinded perchaunce by loue can not see I stirred vp by desire to doo you good may perceiue And for secrecy in your affaires assure your selfe that neuer Pithias to his Damon Pylades to his Orestes nor Gysâ—ppus to his Titus was more true then I will bee to you And though your learninge and wit to knowe what is best for your owne behalfe bee far better then mine yet the simplenesse of my wit shal bee supplied with the sincerenesse of my will which shal be alwayes so ready prest to pleasure you that if my seruice may satisfie you you shall commaund mee if my company may content you I will neuer be out of your sight if I may any way stand you in any steede account mee your owne only Icilius hearing this friendly discourse could not but say in his heart O friend vnfained O loue most loyall O curtesy incomparable and imbracinge fast his freend in his armes sayd if al the miseries in the world did muster in multitudes about mee yet this thing only is of force to fence mee from their furies to thinke I inioy so firme a friend as your selfe are and if I may liue but to requite some part of your good wil it is the second felicity I loke for in this life But touching the cause of my perplexity I must craue pardon if I make courtsy to disclose it for that many euils cary this nature rather to bee concealed with griefe then reuealed in hope of releife And as a greene wound by taking the aire spredeth farther abroad and is the hardlier healed so I thinke my tormente and greife beeinge once discouered would not bee so easely cured If sayth his frend the originall of your euil proceede of loue as in my fancy it doth then vndoubtedly the
Well I will sweet wenche preserue my life only to serue thee and the care I haue of you shall cause me to haue care of my selfe But touchyng the conueigh of our affayres I am at my wits end which way to worke for if your father chafe at this matter mine rageth and stormeth and watcheth mee so narrowly that not so mutche as my lookes but hee looketh to them But I will ease him of this labour ere it bee longe for this life I am not able to indure longe yea I had rather liue with you in most misery if hee may possibly bee miserable that inioyeth sutch a iewell as you are then here in most happinesse whiche of mee is not to bee had without you therfore waywaâ—d fortune hath only left vs this way if it please you so mutch to dishonour your selfe and to doo mee so mutche honour as meet mee the tenth of this moneth at the chappell of Diana standyng as you know sixe leagues from your fathers court I wil there god willing meet you and a priest with mee to marrie vs which done wee will shift our selues into Pilgrims apparell and so disguised indure together sutch fortune as the fates shall assygne vs And thus till then I byd you farewell Yours euer or his owne neuer ADMETVS Now see the valiantnesse of a vyrgin or rather consider the force of loue which maketh the weake strong the witlesse wise the simple subtil yea and the most cowards most couragious For the day prescribed in the letter of Admetus beeyng come the younge princesse beefore day attired her selfe in one of her Pages apparell and trudged out of the citie as if shee had been sent to the Campe on some message and so fast as her faynte legges but strengthned by loue could cary her she hasted thorow the desert and waylesse woods to this forlorne chappel where the God whom shée only honoured was ready to receiue her Who though at y first hée knew her not but thought shée had béen Cupid or Mercury fallen from the heauens yet at length by her louing lookes cast vpon him he knew who it was and imbrasing her fast in his armes sayde if Iupiter swéet wenche should sée thée in this Pages apparell no doubt but hée would forgoe his Ganymedes and take thée vp into heauen in his steede O moste soueraygne Lady and mistris what seruice shall I euer bee able to doo you which may counteruayle this kindenesse What dutie can bée a due recompence to this goodwill If I by any meanes can quite this curtesy I neuer doubt to bee deemed vngratefull while I liue But accept good Lady I beseech you that which is in mee to perfourme which is the faithfullest hart that euer was vowed to Lady which when it swarueth from you let al the torments of Tantalus Tytius Sisiphus and all the rufull rout of hell bee heaped vpon me Alcest hearinge him so earnest sayd Few wordes most worthy prince are inough to win credite to a matter already beleeued for onely vpon confidence of your constant and faithfull hart towardes mée I haue thus vnaduisedly aduentured mine honour as you see destringe you not sinisterly to thinke of this my attempt beeing boldned therto by the greate loue which I bare towardes you and by the loyalty which I looke for of you towards mee Ah sayth Admetus if I should make any ill interpretatioÌ„ of your vertuous loue and sincere affection towardes mée I were the veriest villain on earth for I take god to witnesse I take your forward will for sutch freindly good wil that I doubt my desertes will neuer bee able so to answere therto as I desire But here hee aptly ended his talke vpon her mouth and they entred into sutch priuy conference their lips beeing ioyned most closely together y I can not report the meaninge of it vnto you but if it please one of you to leane hitherward a litle I will shew you the manner of it Now hauinge continued some time therin they at the length entred into the temple wher the mariage accordinge to the sacred rites was solemnly celebrated which done they entred into a poore cotage in steede of a princely pallace ioyning to the temple where longe they durst not tary for feare of apprehension by postes which pursued them Therfore puttinge on their pilgrims apparell againe they wente hand in hand and harte in harte waylfully and wilfully wandring out of their owne natiue couÌ„try to auoide their parentes punnishment and displeasure O lamentable lots of loue which draue two princes from theyr pleasant pallaices from their flourishinge freindes from their traine of seruauntes from their sumptuous fare from their gorgeous garmentes from variety of delightes from secure quietnesse yea from heauenly happinesse to wilde wildernesse to deserte dennes to carefull caues to hard chéere with hawes and hippes to pilgrims peltes to perill of spoyling to daunger of deuouring to misery of minde to affliction of body yea to hellish heauines O pitiles parentes to prefer their owne hate beefore theyr childrens loue their owne displeasures before their childrens pleasure to forget y themselues were once younge and subiect to loue to measure the firy slames of youth by the dead coales of age to gouerne their children by their owne lust which now is not which was in times past to seeke to alter their naturall affection from their children vpon so light a cause shewinge themselues rebels to nature to indeuour to vndoe the destines and disappointe the appointment of the goddes shewing themselues traitours to the goddes But the one of them the father of Admetus reaped the iust reward of his rigour For Atys after the departure of his sonne tooke the matter very heauily abandoned all pleasures auoyded all company and spent most part of his time in discoursinge with himselfe in this sorrowfull sort If nature by the deuine prouidence of god did not moue vs to the maintenance of mankinde surely the charge of children is sutch a heauy burthen that it would fear men from entring into the holy state of matrimony For to omit the inconueniences of their infancy which are infinite when they drawe once to mans estate what time they should bee a stay to our staggeringe state good God what troubles doe they torment vs with What cares doe they consume as with What annoyes doo they afflict our olde yeeres with all They say wee are renewed and reuiued as it were in our ofspringe but wee may say wee die dayly in thinkinge of the desperate deedes of our children And as the spider feeleth if her web bee prickt but with the point of a pin so if our childred bee touched but with the least trouble that is wee feele the force of it to perce vs to the hart But how well this tender care is by them considered alas it maketh my hart bleed to think if wee looke for obedience of them and that they shoulde follow our counsayle in the conuaighe of their affaires why
they thinke wee doate and that their owne wits are far better then ours if wée warne them to bee wary and thrifty they thinke it proceedeth rather of couetousnesse then of kindenes if wee prouide them no mariages it is bicause wee will departe with no liuinge to them if wée perswade them to mariage it is bicause wée would haue them forsake all good felowship liue like clownes in the countrey by the Plowe tayle If wée perswade them to learnynge it is that they might liue by it without our charge if wée perswade them to one wife rather then another it is bicause the one is ritcher then the other if wée looke seuerely on them wée loue them not if wée vse them familiarly wée feede them with flattery bicause wée will giue them litle and so of all our louing dooinges they make these leud deuises yea when wée haue brought them vp with greate care and coste when wée haue trauailed all our time by sea and by land early and late in paine and in peril to heape vp treasure for them when wée haue by continuall toyle shortned our owne liues to lengthen and inlarge their liuinges and possessions yet if wée suffer them not to royst and to riot to spill and to spoyle to swashe and to lashe to lend and to spende yea and to followe the fury of their owne frantike fancies in all things this forsooth is our recompence they wish an end of our liues to haue our liuings Alas a lamentable case why hath not nature caused loue to ascend as well as discend Why hath shee indued the Storke with this property to féede his damme when shée is olde and men with sutch malice to wish their parents death when they are aged But I speake perchaunce of mine owne proper greife god forbid it should bée a common case for my sonne Ah why doo I call him sonne hath not only wisht my death but wrought it Hée knew hée was my onely delight hée knew I coulde not liue hée béeing out of my sight hée knew his desperate disobedience would driue mee to a desperate death And could hée so mutch doate of a light damsell to force so litle of his louing father Alas a wife is to bée preferred before father and freind But had hee none to sixe his fancy on but the daughter of my most furious foe Alas loue hath no respecte of persons Yet was not my goodwill and consent to bee craued therin Alas hee saw no possibility to obtaine it But now alas I would graunt my goodwil but now alas it is to late his feare of my fury is to great euer to bee found his fault is to great euer to looke mee in the face more and my sorrowe is to great euer to bee saluted And therevpon got him to bed and in fiue dayes space his naturall moysture with secret sorrowe was so soken away that hee could no longer continue his careful life but yeelded willingly to desired death So it pleased God to prouide for the poore pilgrimes who hauing past many a fearful forrest and daungerous desert were now come to the sea shoare mindinge to take ship and trauell into vnknowen coastes where they might not by any meanes bee knowne and béeing on ship borde they heard the mayster of the ship make report that Atys king of the Lybians was dead Wherevpon Admetus desired to bée set on shoare againe and dissemblinge the cause thereof pretended some other matter and got to the next towne wherwith the mony and iewels hée had about him hee furnished him selfe and his lady with the best apparell could bee prouided in the towne and with sutch a trayne of men as hee coulde there take vp whiche done hee made the greatest expedition hee coulde vnto his owne country where hee was royally receiued as prince and shortly after ioyfully crowned Kinge And beeing quietly setled in the regall seate hee presently dispatched Ambassadours to Lycabas his fathers foe and his father in law whose ambassade contained these two pointes the one to intreat a peace for his people the other to craue a pardon for his wife who willingly graunted both the one and the other Wherby hee now liued in great quiet and tranquillity A meruaylous mutabylity of fortune which in the space of a moneth could bring him from happy ioy to heauy annoy and then from annoy againe to greater ioy then his former ioy For as the sunne hauing bene long time ouerwhelmed with darke cloudes when it hath bannished them from aboute it seemes to shyne more brightly then at any time beefore so the state and condition of this prince hauinge bene couered with the cloudes of care now it was cleared of them seemed more pleasaunt and happy then at any time before And verely as sharpe sauce giues a good taste to sweete meate so trouble and aduersity makes quiet and prosperity for more pleasaunt For hee knoweth not the pleasure of plenty who hath not felt the paine of penury hee takes no delight in meate who is neuer hongry hee careth not for ease who was neuer troubled with any disease But notwithstandinge the happy life of this prince albeit hee abounded in as great ritches as hee required albeit hee had as many kingedomes as hee coueted albeit hée had sutch a wife as hee wished for yea and inioyed all things which either god could giue him fortune further him to or nature bestow vpon him yet to shew that there is no sunne shineth so bright but that cloudes may ouer cast it no ground so good but that it bringeth forth weeds as well as flowers no kinge so surely garded but that the gamesome goddes fortune will at least checke him if not mate him no state so plentifull in pleasure but that it is mixed with paine hee had some weedes of wo which began to grow vp amongst his flowers of felicity some chippes of sory chaunce did light in the heape of his happynesse Yea fortune presented her selfe once agayne vpon the stage and ment to haue one flinge more at him For this prince possessinge sutch a pleasaunte life tooke great delight in good house keepinge and gaue sutch good entertainment to straungers that his fame was far spred into forrain countries yea the rumor thereof reached to the skies in so mutch that Apollo as the poets report hauing occasion to discend from heauen to the earth went to see the entertainement of Admetus who was so royally receiued by him that the god thought good with some great kindnesse to requite his great curtesie And as Philemon and Laucis for their harty house keepinge were preserued by the goddes from drowning when al the cuntry and people besides were ouerflowen so the god Apollo ment to preserue his life when all his countrey and people then lyuing should lie full loe in their graues And of the destinies of death obtained thus much for him that if when the time and terme of his naturall life drewe to an end yf any coulde bée
rightly that you had loued but lightly But now I sée you continue to the ende there is no reason but you should bée saued if I may terme it sauing the hauing of so worthles a wife as my selfe But assure your selfe this I haue not shewed my selfe heretofore in loue so colde and fainte as hereafter you shall finde mée in affection feruent and faithfull I thinke your labour shal be litle to get my freindes good will for if their iudgment agrée with mine they will thinke you worthy of a worthier wife and rather thankefully accept you then daintily delay you Thus ready to restoare the iniury I haue done you with any curtesy conuenient to my maydenly estate I cease not ceasinge dayly to recorde the depthe of your goodwill in the bottome of my hart and in deuouring by all meanes possible to shewe my selfe thankefull for the same Yourâ— and her owne if yours HORATIA This letter so louinge so vnlooked for so swéete so sodaine raised him from heauinesse to happinesse from hell to heauen from death to life And presently herevpon hée procured her parentes consent who were so willing thereto that they gaue him great thankes that it would please him to match in their stocke and kinred thinking perchance that hee had bene a man of a higher callinge then in déede hée was and prayed to god that their daughter might become a wife worthy of sutch a husband And herevpon the day of the solemnizing of the mariage was appointed but many thinges as the sayinge is happen betweene the cup and the lip many thinges chaunce betweene the bourd and the bed man purposeth and God disposeth and it is the fashion of fortune commonly thus to frame that when hope and hap when health and wealth are highest then woe and wracke disease and death are nighest For in this manner it happened this mariage to bée marred There arose a quarrell béetwéen the towne Albania and the cittie of Rome which not with wordes but onely with weapons must bée decided great hurly burly there was in either towne nothing but war war war the Cannons roard the barbed horse neighed the glitteringe armour shined the boystrous billes and pearcing pikes pressed forward the dartes were dressed the bowes were bent the women wept the children cryed the Trumpets sowned Tan tara tara the Drummes stroake vp the mournfull marchinge forward and the souldiours on both sides marched in battayle aray vnto the field Amongst whom Curia as one of the most couragious captaines and boldest blouds of the Albanes was the formost But to leaue the battayle and come to the conflicte which Horatia had with her selfe when shée hearde that her beloued was in armes against her cittie Shée fell forsooth to reasoninge with her selfe in this sorte O most doubtfull distres that euer poore damsell was driuen to For whom shall I offer vppe sacrifice for whom shall I make my vowes For whom shall I pray for victory to whom shall I wishe the ouerthrowe on the one side fighteth my freinde on the other side my father on the one side the cittie wherin I am is in daunger to bee sacked on the other side the towne whither I must goe is in perill to bee spoyled on the one side I am like to loose my loue on the other side mine owne life So that I know not to whether part I ought to incline in hart No can Why a woman ought to forsake father and mother and followe her husbande But ought any thinge to bée more swéete vnto mée then the cittie to bée counted mine wée beeing both one flesh But life is sweet to euery one full sower God knoweth to mee without his loue and life So that if my will might worke effecte I would rather wish that of the two Rome might run to ruine But alas dareth hee lay siege to the cittie wherin I am Is hée not affraide to ouerthrow the house that harboureth mée Doubteth he not least some peece should perce my tender breast Yes no doubt of it hee deepely doubteth it but alas they that are bound must obey hee must follow of force his general captayne vnlesse hee will incur the suspition of cowardlinesse or treason or both Like as Vlysses was greatly defamed bicause hee faigned himself to be mad for that he would not go to the siege of troy No god sheild my Curiatius from shame god sende him either friendly to enter into the citie all quarrels beeing ended and truce taken either valiantly to venture into the cittie and with triumphant armes to imbrace mee By this time both the armies were met and to auoyd the effusion of bloud the general Captaines entred into this agreement There were in either army three brothers of great courage and countenaunce the Romaines were named Horatii brothers to the GentlewomaÌ„ before spoken of the Albanes were called Curiatii wherof one was y gentlemaÌ„ before meÌ„tioned Now it was concluded that these brothers on both sides should by dint of sworde stint the strife betweene these townes and if the Hor. conquered the Curiatii that then the Albanes should remain vnder the rule and empire of the Romains if otherwise then otherwise Herevpon these sire valiaunt champions at the sound of the Trumpets entred the listes and fell to furious fight within short time two of the Horatii were slayne and al the three Curiatii wounded the Romaine remaynynge alone to withstand three reâ—ired somewhat backe to the intenfe to single his enemies one from another which done hee slue them all one after another This valiant victory atchiued with great ioy triumph he returned into y citie amongâ— y rest ready to receiue him was his sister Horatia who knew nothing perticulerly of y which was done in y field but only y the Romayns were victors But seing a far of about her brothers shoulders y coate armour of her Cur. which she her self with needle work had curiously made being therby fully assured of his death she was driuen into these dolefull plaints Oh HeaueÌ„s what hellish sight doe I see far more dolorous and dangerous then monstrous Medusaes head And is my Curiatius slaine then care come cut in sunder my corps theÌ„ dole deliuer me to y dreadful darts of death For what lyfe alas in this lyfe is to bee counted lyfe without his life and loue for so to liue as not to liue why should I long any longer to liue What ioy in this coÌ„mon ioy can I count ioy and not him inioy who was my only â—oy No though the whole Cittie singe in triumphe I must sorrow in torment though the Romanes vaunt of victory I must complaine of ouerthrowe though they flourish in prosperytie I must fade in aduersitie though they swimme in blisse I must bath in bale though they liue in peace I must lead my lyfe in warre though they possesse pleasure I must pine away in paine For my triumph my victory my prosperytie my blisse my peace my pleasure is perished Yea now
for that in nature and conditions there is sutche difference beetwéene vs But repentaunce now commeth to late this only resteth to bee foreséene that vnto the greate greife which mine owne conceite procureth me her abuse adde not infamy and dishonour And if the heauens haue assigned mee sutch heauy fate as due to my doatinge desyre yet this at least let mée take heede that with the losse of her owne honour shee procure not the losse of my lyfe And herevpon appointed certaine of his assured friends to haue the custody and kéeping of the queene who seeinge her selfe thus disloyally without cause abridged of her liberty béegan to curse the time that euer shée came to bee quéene wishing shee had continued in meaner callinge with fruition of liberty rather then to sit in chayre of dignity with suspicion of dishonesty What pleasure sayth shee doth my princely estate procure mee whiche must liue as a prisoner Who wil honour mee for queen which am suspected for a queane and harlot How shall I dare to shew my face in the Courte when the kinge doubteth of my dealinge towardes him My lookes haue not bene so light my curtesie hath not bene so common my glaunces haue not bene so garish wherby hee shoulde enter into this sinister suspicion of mee But loue they say is light of beeleefe and ielousy is grounded vpon loue Auant fond foolish loue God send my husbande rather to hate me then to beare mée any such loue which bereueth him of rest and mee of renowme which breaketh the bond of faythfull freindship and intire amity betwéen vs which causeth him to doubt mee and mee to dread him which maketh both our liues so lothsome that I wishe death to dispatch ether the one of vs or the other But this froward fate I must ascribe only to mine owne fault and fraud towardes Verecundus who hath now iust cause to triumph that I my selfe am fallen into the pit I digged for him Wel I must retire to patience perforce and hange in hope of some good hap to redresse my woe and misery But you shall vnderstand Gentlewomen this was not all her punnishment nay this was but a trifle in respecte of that which after followed a matter in haynousnesse so horrible in desire so detestable and in lust so lothsome that it is no lesse strange to bée tolde then hard to bée beléeued so that I thinke my wordes will rather carry wonder then credite with you For whether it were gods plague for y husbands ielousy or for her iolity pride and subtelty I know not but thus it pleased him to suffer the diuell to deale with her Beeing by her husbandes commaundement in his absence kept from company her cheife solace was to walke in a pleasaunt groue ioyned to her palaice where vsed to feed a heard of beasts amongest which was a goodly white bull I dare not say shee fell in loue with the bull least I should driue you rather to laughinge at my story then listninge to it but surely so it was Yea shee was not only in loue with the beast and went euery morninge and with her owne hands brake downe boughes for him to brouse vpon but which was more shee was ielous ouer him for what cow in all the herd shee saw hee liked best shee caused to bée had from the heard and killed as she pretended for sacrifice but in deed for fatisfiyng her ielous minde And as the beast was opening shee would take the inwardes in her hand saying now goe thy way and please my loue if thou canst And taking delight a while in this daliance at length her lust grew to sutch outrage that shee felt in her selfe an impossibility to continue her cursed life without the carnall company of the bull And notwithstandinge shee assayed the assistaunce of reason the pollicy of perswations the helpe of herbes and the meane of medicines to mortyfy her beastly desire to the beast yet nothinge would preuayle yea beeinge often in minde to make her selfe away her hart would not suffer her hands to doe it not that death feared her but that desyre forced her first to fulfil her filthy lust But GentlewomeÌ„ because you shal not enter into colorick conceites against me for publishing in this presence a hystorie whiche seemeth so mutch to sounde to the shame of your sexe I meane not to iustifie the truth of it but rather will proue it false by the opinioÌ„ of one Seruius who writeth that Pasiphae indéede played false with one Taurus which signifieth a Bul secretary to her husband in the house of Dedalus and after being delyuered had two sonnes the one lyke Minos the other lyke Taurus and therevpon the Poets faigned the fable aforesaide but whether béeing a woman shee vsed the carnall company of a beast or whether lyke a lewde wife shee gaue her husbande the badge of a beast her offence was sutch that I cannot though gladly I woulde excuse it Yet must I néedes say that in my fancy her husbande deserued some blame for no doubt his suspicion without cause caused her in sutche sorte to transgresse marriage lawes For seeing her honestie doubted of and her good name as good as losâ—e shee thought as good to bee naught for somewhat as to bee thought naught for nothing And surely the experience is to common y suspicion and slaunder maketh many to bee that which they neuer ment to bee But some are of this foolish opinion that it is simple and sottishe folly for a woman to deale truly with him whiche dealeth ielously and cruelly with her some againe lewdly thinke y if a woman cannot coÌ„ceiue by her husband y she may lawfully enter into coÌ„uer sation with some other some wickedly wéene that if the husbande bee not able to satisfie the insatiable desyre of his wife that to auoyde concupiscence shee may communicate with some other but surely Gentlewomen I am setled in this opinion that no suspicion or ielousie ought to cause a woman to transgresse the boundes of honesty that rhastitie is the only Iewell which women ought to bee chary of that women hauinge lost their chastitie are like broken glasses which are good for nothing that they make shipwrack of all if the cabels of constancie be once crakt the anchors of honestie slipt y it is better for theÌ„ to be fooles then false to be simple then subtil to be doues then diuels to be abused then abuse y it is better for theÌ„ to be barren then beastly to bée without fruite then faith children then chastitie that concupisence is only to desire other besides their husbandes that they which burne in sutch desire shall burne in hell fire y no adultresse shall inherite the kingdome of heauen that all women ought to bee like y matronesse of Rome which knew y sauour of no mans breath but of her husbandes like the wife of Fuluius Torquatus who died with longinge rather then shée would goe forth of her chaumber in
her husbandes absence to sée a wilde Aegiption with one eye in his forehead whom shee longed to see that women ought to spin with Penelope to spill with Camma to kill with Lucrece to bee slaundred with Susanna with Sauoy and with others to indure any torment rather then to lose one iote of their chastity and honesty Pigmalions friende and his Image PIGMALION a Gentleman of Piemount continuing the space of certaine yeares in honest affection and vertuous loue with PENTHEA wife to Luciano a noble gentleman of the same country is at length by her reiected in respect of a base stranger Pigmalion abandoning the company of all women and giuinge himselfe to the arte of Caruing burneth in loue with an Image whiche himselfe had fashioned whom at his earnest sute Venus transformeth into a faire Mayde and hee taketh her to Wife TO make the reckoning without the host is the way soone to bee â–ª ouershot in the shot to resolue certenly vpon incertenty is the way neuer to be in any certenty to looke for constancy of those y lyke of inconstancy or to determine of those things which are not in our powers to perfourme is nothing els but to bee deceiued of our expectation and to be driuen to alter our determination as the History whiche you shall heare shal yéelde example of both the one and the other In the country of Piemount had his beeinge one Pigmalion a gentleman discended of noble birth indued with perfection of person perfectly pourtraied forth with y lineameÌ„ts of learning so that it was dooubtful whether he were more indebted to fortune for his birth to nature for his beauty or to his parentes for his learninge But as beautie birth ritches and the rest must néedes geue place to learninge so no doubt but his parentes deserued the preheminence of prayse For the other are but dim starres where learninge giueth light And as when the sunne shineth the light of the stars is not séene so where learning appeareth all other giftes are nothing to be accounted of Besides that beeside his learning he was indued with a great dexteritie in all thinges in so mutch as nothing came amisse vnto him whiche was méete for a Gentleman in feates of armes no man more couragious in exercises of the body none more actiue in game or play none more politike amongst the auncient who more graue amongst the youthfull who more merrie so that there was no time no person no place wherto hee aptly applyed not him self By reson wherof he was acceptable to all good companies wel was he that might entertaine him in his hous But most of al he frequeÌ„ted y â—hous of one Luciano a noble Gentleman of the same countri in continuaunce of time grew so farre in familiaritie with his wife that he reposed his onely pleasure in her presence Yea shee had made sutch a stealth of his harts that neither Father nor Mother Sister nor Brother nor all the friends he had in the country beside could keepe him one wéeke together out of her compani Yea this faithful loue hée bare her séemed in a manner to extinguish all naturall loue towards his allies and kinsfolke Who beeinge as they were wont desirous of his company at hauking hunting and sutche like pastimes coulde not by any erauing or importunity obtayne it but being ignorant of the cause they thought it had proceded of this that his minde vpon some occasion had been alienated from them which caused them on the contrarie somewhat to withdrawe their goodwils from him But hee forced litle thereof he cared not whom hee displeased so he might worke her contentation shee was the starre by whose aspect he did direct his doynges she was the hauen wherein he sought to harborough shée was the heauen whyther he coueted to come shee was the saint to whom hée did lend sutch deuotion that hee could finde in his heart to bend no liking to any other whatsoeuer In so mutch y hauing the profer of many ritch maryages hee alway refused them as hauing his hart so replenished with the loue of her y there was no roomth for the loue of any other to remayn within him Now shee on the other side whose name was Penthea béeinge a curteous courtly wenche gaue him sutch freindly entertaynment and vsed him so well in all respectes that her husband excepted shee séemed to holde him most dere vnto her of any wight in the whole world Shée neuer made feast but hée must bee her guest shee neuer rode iourney but he must be her companion shee neuer daunced but hee must direct her shee neuer dised but hee must bee her partner shee in a manner dyd nothing wherin hee did not something Her Husbande all this while beeinge fully assured of her vertue and very well perswaded of the honesty of the Gentleman susspected no euill beetweene them but lyked very well of their loue and familiarity together neither in deede had hee any cause to the contrary For Pigmalion knew her to bee indued with sutch constant vertue that he thought it impossible to allure her to any folly and besides that his loue was so exceedinge great towardes her that hee would not by any meanes bee the cause to make her commit any thinge which might make her lesse worthy of loue then shee was And if at any time as the fleshe is frayle the vehemency of his affection forced him to perswade her to folly he did it so faintly that it might plainly bee perceiued hee was not willing to ouercome For hee deepely doubted that if by the force of her loue towardes him or of his perswasions towardes her shee should haue yeelded the forte of her fayth and chastity in to his handes his loue towards her with the sun beinge at the highest would haue declined and decreased which would haue bene the greatest greife to him in the world No hee liued with sutch delight in the contemplation of her chastity and vertue that hee was voyde not only of Libidinous lust towardes her but also towardes all other women whatsoeuer Yea hee receiued more pleasure of her by imagination then of any other woman by y acte of generation So that betweene these friends was no cause of suspicion no cause of iarre no cause of ielousie but they liued together the space of three or foure yeares in most heauenly hauen of most happie lyfe The floud of their felicity flowed from the fountaine of most faithful friendship the building of their bidinge together was raised on the rock of vertu so y it was to be thought no seas of subtiltie or floudes of fickelnesse coulde haue vndermined it But what perpetuitie is to bee looked for in mortall pretences What constancy is to bée hoped for in kytes of Cressids kinde may one gather Grapes of thornes Suger of Thistels or constancy of women Nay if a man sift the whole sexe thorowly hée shall finde their wordes to bee but winde their fayth forgery